Category: Worship Resources

       Violence is hard to talk about because we have such mixed feelings about it, especially in America. A country that has more guns than people clearly has a relationship with violence We might say we abhor it—until we want it for our protection. Violence is almost tantamount to patriotism: we’re a nation that was formed by means of a war, and that believes we’re “kept free” by our military. But it’s not just America. Think of all our stories about shining knights and heroes who save the world, or at least a fair damsel: they almost always do it, in the end, by fighting. We don’t like violence yet we enshrine it. We also harbor a deep level of sexism and misogyny. Men are expected to be more powerful and controlling of women. Domestic abuse and relationship violence thrive under these conditions.
       Domestic violence is one of those things we need to talk about precisely because we don’t want to talk about it. Part of how the violence endures is that it’s secret. Abusers don’t want to be exposed. A culture of silence protects the violence. One of the most important things we can do is to break the silence. Domestic violence happens everywhere, in every community, among members of every church of every kind. Members of your congregation have experienced it. They need to hear a healing word about it. They need to hear that it’s OK to talk about. That there is no shame in being the victim of assault. That they didn’t bring it on themselves. That they are still beloved, whole, and powerful. And if they are still in an abusive relationship they need to know that church will be there for them, and not abandon them, judge them, or avoid them.
       They do not need for the church to try to rush in and rescue them: part of their reality is the sense of being robbed of their power. They need to make their own decisions. It may be hard for those of us who know and care to stand by, because we want to fix things. But the abused don’t need to be rescued. They need to be respected, empowered, supported and accompanied. But not treated like they’re helpless.
       All of this is coherent with the gospel and Jesus’ message honoring those whom other would shame, respecting those whom others thought powerless, and staying in relationship with those others would distance themselves from. The gospel highlights the power of nonviolence. It consistently condemns oppression, violence and the abuse of power. It calls for justice, not through retaliation against perpetrators but empowerment of those who suffer. And the gospel invites us to see each person as a whole person, not merely a “victim” or an “abuser.” Our goal is redemption of all people and healing of the whole culture.
       The pain of a victim of domestic abuse or relationship violence is complex and many-sided. Among many wounds there’s physical pain; grief and brokenheartedness from being hurt by someone you love; shame that there’s something wrong with you; anger and self-judgment for not being “smarter” or more deserving of respect or more able to prevent the abuse; embarrassment that prevents you from talking about it, which then leads to deep loneliness; persistent fear, because you know it can happen again; and inner conflict of wanting to both escape the violence and stay in the relationship…. And most of these wounds are invisible. The victim feels the need (or is forced) to put on a happy face and pretend everything’s fine. All of this pain cries out for healing. And for the church to break the silence.
       The church needs to confront its own complicity in domestic violence in the common message given to women in abusive relationships that they ought to submit, and stay in the relationship because “marriage is sacred” or even because “woman are subservient.” This is both psychological torture and also theological bullcrap, and needs to be renounced from the pulpit. We also need to renounce our history of assigning shame. The church has behaved as if it’s in the business of distributing God’s judgment, especially in the form of shame. Shame is both spiritually and theologically inappropriate, and also psychologically contraindicated. Shame is sticky stuff. As a teenager I was sexually assaulted by an older man; for decades I felt embarrassed as if I was “weak” or did something wrong. Victims of domestic abuse and relationship violence need to be assured: there’s no shame in this. There’s nothing you did. It’s not about you at all. Victims need to hear God’s grace and also to be given a place to reclaim their belovedness, power and dignity.
       We also have a calling to offer redemptive relationships with abusers. (Yes, there are likely some in your congregation.) They need to hear the gospel too. They need to be invited to accountability, self-awareness and repentance, without shame or judgment. After all, they are simply acting out inner wounds they haven’t been able to process. You become an abuser by being abused. Bullies learn bullying by being bullied. They need healing, too. And it begins with forgiveness, even before they repent. Forgiveness is not the same as condoning their action, but simply letting go of any judgment that impedes our full love for them. In a safe and accountable place, they can face their wounds, repent of their violence, and start the long road to recovery. Jesus would have us invite them all in, “the bad and the good,” to experience redemption.

Useful texts
       The Bible is full of stories of relationship violence, troubled families, and sexual assault. (Think of Hagar, Tamar, Bathsheba…) Most of the stories maintain the culture of silence, focusing on the lives of the perpetrators, and silencing the victims and ignoring their experience. In many, like the story of the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19, or the woman caught in adultery, the woman is not even named, as if she’s a mere prop in the story. Further, the perpetrators of the violence are not reprimanded. (Where’s the man caught in adultery?) This needs to be examined. We can use these texts in preaching— to expose and confess our complicity, and even our scripture’s complicity, in the conspiracy of silence.
       Many of the lament Psalms give voice to the cry of the abused. (They often cry out against “my enemies.” Those enemies might be abusers, but they might also be a person’s inner enemies: my own fears, blame, self-doubt and shame…) I think especially of Psalms 4; 54; 62; 70; 91; 121; 130; 142 and 55.1-8, 12-14, 16-22. Psalm 88 is a song of acute despair. Try paraphrasing a psalm in the voice of a woman. (Swallow’s Nest, A Feminine Reading of the Psalms, by Marchiene Vroon Rienstra, offers paraphrases of the Psalms in a voice that victims of violence and abuse might use.)
       Consider texts about power, like Philippians 2.5-11, or the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5.22-23. The Exodus is a story about people escaping abuse. Think of the shame victims feel, the “uncleanness.” In Mt. 15.11 Jesus says it’s what you do, but not what happens to you, that defiles you. Consider the Beatitudes, both as a model of nonviolence, gentleness and respect, and also a message of healing, honor and redemption for victims of violence or abuse. Victims often feel “poor in spirit,” ashamed, and powerless. They need to hear Jesus’ blessing and assurance.

Prayers

1.
Leader: God of life and healing, we come to you.
All: God of gentleness and compassion, we turn to you.
In a world marred by violence and domination,
we seek your ways.
You who are gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
give us your grace.
In a world weary with hurt and fear, we seek your healing.
Bind up the brokenhearted, give courage to the fearful,
and give hope to those who despair.
In a world that condones cruelty and selfishness,
teach us you ways.
Give us wisdom to see the hurt around us,
boldness to act for justice,
and gentleness to bring resoration.
In the spirit of Jesus, give us hands of healing,
words of grace, and hearts of love. Amen

2.
God of love and healing, we pray for one another. For all among us who have been hurt, we ask healing. For all who are afraid, we pray for hope and courage. For those who feel shame, hold them in your adoring arms. For those in troubled relationships, give them wisdom to know what to do, and to ask for help. For those who don’t know what to do with their anger, who act hurtfully, who are controlling, give them honesty to see themselves, faith to want to change, and courage to seek help. For all of us, we pray that we may be an honest, supportive and healing community, welcoming all and blessing all, in the gentle spirit of Jesus. Amen.

3.
       Healing prayer

O Infinite Love,
we pray for all who are wounded,
who are abused or terrorized.

O Crucified Christ,
we pray for all who are made victims
by violence, by pride, by greed,
by overt acts and subtle systems.
O Holy Spirit, may those who hurt
find true freedom and joy.
For those whose hearts and bodies
bear scars seen and unseen,
we pray for healing.
For spirits shadowed by fear

we pray for peace and courage.
Sustain them who must carry grief or fear,
who feel they must pretend.
Your mercy surround them,
your Spirit strengthen them,
your hope guide them.
For those among us who bear such pain
may we offer welcome, safety,
and the end of shame.
For a culture that nods at violence
we ask your forgiveness,
seek repentance,
and pray that we may become a people
of gentleness, justice and joy.
Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

God of love,
we who readily silence the truth
and the voice of the wounded,
now listen.
The crucified Christ is quiet,
but speaks.
Help us to hear.

Prayer of Confession

God of love, we confess the violence of our culture.
We confess our complicity in it.
At times we have looked away from the suffering of others.
We have excused hurtful behavior.
We have given approval to domination.
We have hurt others out of fear and the need to control.
We confess our brokenness;
we repent of our partnership with violence,
and we open our hearts to be changed.
Forgive us, heal us, and grant us the heart of Christ,
the fruit of the Spirit:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
      …. Silent reflection … The word of grace

Response / Creed / Affirmation

       We entrust ourselves to you, God, Creator of all, who rule not by force but by love. You are gracious and merciful slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
      We entrust ourselves to you, Jesus, the embodiment of God’s love, who healed the broken, fed the hungry, empowered the weak, honored the shamed, and included the outcast. Victim of our violence, yet still forgiving, you were judged and killed; but in love you were raised rom the dead. And still you speak to us in the voice of all who are made victims, who are judged, who are abused, who are in terror. Christ, crucified, yours is the voice of life and resurrection among us.
      We entrust ourselves to you, Holy Spirit, spirit of love and gentleness, courage of non-violence, power of healing and forgiveness, wisdom of liberation and freedom. Yours is the power in us to act against violence, to bear witness against injustice, to bring forth your Realm of grace and peace. Gentle God, we are yours. We submit ourselves to your guidance, your hope, and your power. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

Loving God we thank you, for you create all people in your image.
You covenant to be our loving presence, provider and protector.
We marvel at your divine humility, serving us not as master but as servant.
You are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
You condemn the forces of violence and oppression.
You freed the slaves from Egypt, and your will is to set free all who are oppressed.
As a mother gathers her children, you gather us at your table as one,
regardless of our pride or shame, for all are beloved.
Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise.

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who embodied the gift of your gentleness and the power of your love.
He fed the hungry, healed the broken,
honored the shamed and witnessed on behalf of those
who were made victims in any way.
He himself was made victim of our violence, rejected and crucified.
Yet you vindicated him, raising him from the dead.
He invites us to this table, to share this bread,
the bread of suffering, the wine of grief,
made life-giving by your resurrecting spirit.

     (The Blessing and Covenant) *
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
filled with your love, joy and peace,
moved by patience, kindness, and generosity,
radiant with faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
May this meal be healing for those who suffer,
redeeming for those who feel apart,
and encouraging for those who seek justice.
Transformed by your grace, may we do you will,
for the sake of the haling of the world.
in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
Gracious God, we thank you for
the mystery that you give yourself to us /
this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
Feasting on the bread of Christ that rises from pain and humiliation, moved by the wine of resurrection granted to all who suffer or struggle, may we go forth in gentleness and peace, for the sake of justice and healing, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page.)


For Households
         (Tune: Blest Be the Tie that Binds…
         downloadable file also includes a version set to
         DETRIOT, Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive.)

For homes where love is shared we give you thanks, O Lord,
where all your children hear your grace and know they are adored.

We pray for homes where fear and hurt and loneliness stay.
For those abused, unsure, not free, your blessing, God, we pray.

As when from Egypt slaves escaped and crossed the Sea,
God, make a way and go with those who are becoming free.

God, give us hearts to speak, to break the silent shield
that covers the hurt, protecting the sin: so violence may be healed.

God help your church to be a home, a healing place,
where all are free and whole and blest and honored in your grace.

When Fear Lives Close       (Tune: GIFT OF LOVE / The Water Is Wide)

We pray for those who live in fear,
where secret hurt and shame live near
that they may know your loving grace,
and find their way to freedom’s space.

And God of love, we pray for those
whose inner darkness overflows,
that those who wound, control or use
may be healed, too, their demons lose.

We pray, O God, that we may be
your gentle ones who set them free,
with deep respect, with love and prayer,
create a world of gentle care.

Music

Here are links to musical resources:
Eucharistic Prayers set to Christmas tunes
Eucharistic Prayer Responses (Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation, Amen)
         set to Christmas tunes
Advent Table Songs (invitation/preparation for communion)
Advent Blessing Songs (to sing to each other) set to Christmas tunes
Awaken Us, God, one-verse responses set to “Away in a Manger”
     Weekly Litanies
           (Dialogue between cantor and congregation reflecting lectionary texts
           suitable for use, one verse per week, throughout Advent.)
Shepherd of Israel (All Years) (Includes a Kyrie)
Come, Holy Dawn (Year A)
Come, O Jesus, Come (Year A)
Come, O Savior (Year A)
Come Bring Your Light (Year B)
God, We Are Waiting (Year C) (Includes a Kyrie)
Tree of Life (Year C)

Prayers

Below are links, with samples, to prayer resources:
Advent Candle Prayers– Series 1
Advent Candle Prayers – Series 2
Advent Wreath prayers(Two series)


Advent Candle Prayers – Series 1
Several sets: a scripture reading and response
for the lighting of Advent candles, for each year of the Lectionary.
Sample: Year A, Week 1

Lighting the first advent candle —Matthew 26.42-44
Response:
In the darkness there is a wonder.
         In the darkness there is a light.
There is a candle of wakeful awareness,
        a candle for watching, candle for sight.
In the starlight, people singing,
        people singing songs in the night,
singing songs of hope and wonder.
        God, we pray as this candle we light,
        that we may be wakeful by the light it imparts;
        and we worship you now with glad, joyful hearts.


Advent Candle Prayers – Series 2

A scripture reading and response for the lighting of Advent candles,
for each year of the Lectionary.
Sample: Year A, Week 1

Lighting the first advent candle — Romans 13.11-12
Response:
God of light, as we light this candle in this season of darkness,
our hearts ache for your presence.
         Dawn upon us and be our light.
Spirit of hope, in this season of waiting we turn to you.
         Direct our longing, bless us with your patience, and grant us your hope.
O Loving Christ, keep our spirits awake as we await your coming.
        Clothe us in trust and joy,
        in the the armor of light, in the glad raiment of love
       Come, Beloved Jesus, come, and grant us your light. Amen.


Advent Wreath Prayers
Two four-week series of prayers around an Advent wreath.
Sample: Series 1, Week 1:

We praise you, O God, for this circle of light
that marks our days of preparation for Christ’s advent.
        As we light the first candle on this wreath,
        rouse us from sleep, that we may be ready to greet the Beloved
        who comes, in whose hands is our healing.
Enlighten us with your grace,
and prepare our hearts to welcome Christ with joy.
        Kindle within us the gift of hope through Christ the Beloved,
        whose coming is certain and whose day draws near. Amen.

Sample: Series 2, Week 1:

This wreath is the great circle of time,
held in the promise of God.
        Light dawns; a new day is coming.
Stay awake and be ready,
for you don’t know when grace will appear!
       God of love, teach us to see with eyes of faith.
Direct our hope, an d transform our longing.
        Keep us alert to your coming,
        shining with mercy and lively with hope.

Lent is about giving stuff up and generally being miserable, right?

No. Lent is about returning to delight.

Lent invites us back into the loving arms of God. Lent is about confronting all the life-draining ways we seek cheap substitutes for God’s love and grace and mercy, and chucking them and turning to the Real Stuff. It’s about giving ourselves the gift of receiving the love we crave. No matter what we may “give up for Lent,” what we’re really giving up is the habit of withholding God’s love from ourselves by seeking it elsewhere. We give up junk to receive treasure. But, yeah, sometimes the giving up is hard. Because we’re addicted. But there’s life on the other side.

Sin

Sin is thinking (or acting as if) we’re on our own.
There’s only one thing, one Holy Being (which we nickname “God”), and we’re part of it. But we don’t get it. The part of our consciousness (actually mostly unconscious) that we call our ego is at work, as it should be, continually asking, “What’s me, and not me? How do I protect what’s me?” The trouble is, we believe it. We believe and act as if we’re our own little selves, individual physical units, contained in and defined by our bodies. (Paul calls this “living according to the flesh.”) This self-centeredness is sin. But God is infinite; there is nothing outside God. We are part of God. We are emanations of divine love, members of the Body of Christ, made one in the one Spirit. To trust this, to willingly be part of God, is what Paul calls “living in the Spirit.”

Our sinfulness doesn’t mean we’re “bad.” It means we’re afraid. It means we’re inherently self-centered. We don’t know how to trust God, and trust our belonging in God. We focus on the survival of our bodies and possessions and outward appearances, and not on the life of God within us. The only cure for separation is connection. The only cure for fear is love. The only cure for sin is grace.

Righteousness

Righteousness is being in harmony with God.

Sin is being out of tune. Righteousness is being in tune. It does not mean “being right.” In fact it’s the opposite. There are two religions in the world: the religion of being right and the religion of being in love. In the religion of being right you figure out how the universe works and play by those rules and succeed (defined as “righteousness”), or fail to get it right and suffer. The religion of being right is inherently selfish, inimical to love. In the religion of being in love you allow yourself to be loved as a gift, and in gratitude pass that love on to others because you’re all part of the same love. Righteousness is allowing yourself to be loved, and to become loving. The two religions are incompatible. If you follow all the rules sooner or later you’ll hurt somebody. And in the religion of being in love if you always do what is loving sooner or later you’ll break a rule, or fail to “get it right” for yourself, and suffer for it. You can’t practice both religions at the same time; we’re always choosing one or the other. Jesus quotes Hosea 6.6 (twice!) and says “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Mt. 9.13. See also Mt. 12.7).

The religion of being right is the religion of our sin. We don’t trust God’s love but instead believe we have to deserve God’s favor by being good enough. We achieve righteousness. Even our attempt to be righteous is sinful. Instead we’re invited to allow God, in love, to make us righteous, to bring us into harmony with God in loving mercy. Despite our waywardness, God, out of pure love not our merit, says, “We’re good.” God’s love makes us righteous.

Salvation

God’s love saves us from the life-sapping power of our own selfishness.

Because in our sin we cut ourselves off from life, seeking to ensure for ourselves the life that can come only from God, sin is death—that’s the bad news. But the good news is God gives us life anyway, life that can’t be taken from us—not even by sin or death. This is the gift of eternal life. We disconnect ourselves from God, but Gods stays connected anyway. This is not anything we can affect: we are unable to save ourselves from our own self-centeredness. It is a gift of pure grace.

Salvation doesn’t mean going to heaven after we die. Salvation means being rescued from the selfishness that destroys our lives—our distrust of God, our alienation from the divine breathing Spirit in us that is our our true and only source of life. God overcomes all this. It is not the result of our effort, but God’s grace. The “heaven” we go to is not the afterlife, but the paradise of being in harmony with God.

Repentance

Sin is being out of tune with God. Repentance is tuning up.

Repentance is listening to God so we can sing in tune. Even Jesus needed to listen; notice how often he goes off to pray. So we attend to the work of repentance: the work of turning from what diminishes life toward what restores life: turning away from sin, toward God. Repentance is not what we do to be saved, but what we do because we have been saved. Repentance is a three-fold process: being honest about our brokenness, opening ourselves to God’s grace, and allowing ourselves to be transformed. (Followers of John Wesley will recognize the prevenient, justifying and sanctifying nature of God’s grace.) With Jesus in the desert we face our temptations, the ways our desire for life get distorted into desire for power, security and belonging in sources other than God. We confront our ego and its fears and desires, our self-centeredness and its consequences; and practice letting go of those false fears and demands. We confess not only our individual sins but our collective sin, the systems of injustice that our sin produces and sustains. We acknowledge that we are dust in need of Spirit.

God’s response is not punishment, but grace. God’s judgment is not a verdict, but a prescription. When we fail to bear fruit fruit God does not punish us but gives us what we need to bear fruit (see Luke 13.1-9).

So our focus is not on our sin, but on God’s grace. For only God’s love cures the sickness that is our sin. Repentance is accepting the love we’ve been resisting, and giving God’s forgiveness a chance to sink in. We practice breathing-in God’s love.

And we invite and allow that grace to change us, to inhabit us, to rule us. Repentance is about turning to the divine life that is there inside us that we’ve been neglecting. When we let go of our self-contentedness and accept God’s love, our hearts are changed: we want to live in harmony with that love and grace. We allow ours old selves to die so God can re-create us, animated by the Spirit instead of our sin. We are re-born. This is the true nature of resurrection: not a comeback, but a complete new beginning.

Lent is a season of forty days of repentance and purification in preparation for Easter. We pray for the gift of repentance through fasting, prayer and works of love, that we may be healed and transformed according to the grace of God. Remembering that we are dust, and to dust we shall return, we place our trust in God alone for life. Beholding the cross of Christ, we enter into the mystery of our salvation. Giving our lives to God, we die and are raised to new life. Our guiding images in Lent are Jesus’ sojourn in the desert facing his temptations, and his journey toward the cross

Ashes

We are ashes (dust) plus Spirit. Remember that.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. The ashes represent the frailty of our faith—they are made from last year’s Palm Sunday palms. As with anything we loved but have lost, ashes represent the sorrow we feel upon facing our sinfulness, our regret over having hurt ourselves, our neighbor, God, and all Creation. (It may seem odd to speak of God being hurt, but that’s the very meaning of love—and the reality of the cross.) In the beginning God took dust up from the ground and breathed life (breath, spirit) into it, and it became a living human. We are dust and spirit. Of course what we see and touch seems most real to us, so we believe in the dust more than the Spirit. Ashes remind us that we are made of dust, dependent on God’s grace. And they remind us of our mortality. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The future is not guaranteed: now is the time to let go of our illusions about ourselves (burning them to ashes) and to live the authentic life God has given us. Mindful that life is short and precious, we devote ourselves to using every moment we are given for the sake of love, to give and receive God’s grace while we can. We place ashes on ourselves as a sign that we are Creatures and God is Creator; that we are to die to sin, and that it is not our efforts, but God’s grace, that redeems us. Remembering that in Creation God formed a human from the dust of the ground and breathed life into it to create a living human, we present ourselves as dust to God, that God may breathe God’s Spirit into us and create us anew.
 

The Cross

What saves us is not Jesus’ suffering but his forgiveness.

The scandal of the cross is that God saves us not though God’s power and might but through God’s vulnerability. God doesn’t vanquish evil by conquering it, but in suffering it with us and setting us free from its power. The cross is the cost of love. In Jesus on the cross we see God’s suffering love in the face of our sin and violence. Jesus did not die “so that God could forgive us;” God forgave us already. Jesus died because we killed him. Jesus suffered the consequences of our sin, our injustice, but he did not “pay for our sins:” sin can’t be bought off. To say we have been “purchased with a price” doesn’t mean Jesus “bought” something. Our salvation is a gift, not a transaction—though it costs God. God did not arrange for Jesus to be killed; that was our doing. God didn’t “plan” the cross. Jesus didn’t set out to die; he set out to do justice, at any cost to himself. Jesus opposed unjust religious, political, economic and social systems of oppression—and the powerful struck back. In his death we see evil exposed. We see God as the victim of all injustice and oppression (“whatever you do to the least of these…”) And we see God’s love and forgiveness in the face of our evil. Jesus suffered our judgment, and brought God’s judgment in return: God’s absolute, eternal, infinite love and forgiveness.

Our sin is that we don’t trust God’s love, and think instead that we have to be good enough to deserve God’s favor. The crucifixion embodies our judgment that Jesus didn’t “get it right.” God’s judgment is mercy on one who didn’t get it right, because God’s way is to be loving, not to be right, or to demand that we get it right. God’s mercy overturns our judgment.

In the cross we see the scandal of God’s vulnerability with us. God doesn’t demand suffering; God suffers with us and even because of us—to stay with us. In the cross God lives out the reality of being in a body, with all the beauty and pain and even mortality that entails: such is the price of incarnation. God suffers with us. In the Cross God absorbs everything that separates us from God: our fear and violence, our shame, our judgment, and our death― and God embraces us, with nothing in between. In the cross we exercise the power of death and violence and God receives it and transforms it, overcoming even the power of death with love. Because Jesus trusts God absolutely, and serves God fully in the cause of justice and healing, he is not afraid to face violence. Having already given his life to God, Jesus enters into life that is infinite and can’t be taken from him (this, not the afterlife, is the meaning of eternal life). On Good Friday the Resurrected One was crucified.

To contemplate the cross is to behold our sin, God’s grace, and our calling all at once. To take up your cross is to willingly surrender your life to God, die to your old self, and allow yourself to be raised—re-created—as a new person, like dust that God breathes new life into. And to take up your cross is to be willing to suffer for the sake of love and justice.


Lament

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken heart.

Lent is not only about repentance; it’s also a time to lament. The Ashes of Ash Wednesday evoke not only our sin and our mortality; they also speak of our sorrow. We are sorry for our sinfulness; and we are sorry for the suffering of the world. We join Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem. Repentance is never just a personal thing; it’s a communal movement. Our whole society needs to repent of our injustice. To begin, we need to lament, to let our hearts be broken by the suffering of the world, with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem (Lk. 19.41-42). It’s easier to make pronouncements about the world’s problems than to stand (or sit) with the people who suffer because of those problems. Let them have a voice in your confession and repentance: those who suffer because of racism, poverty, violence, sexism, heterosexism, consumerism, mass incarceration, the climate crisis, the assault on democracy… Of course the list goes on and on, and you don’t want your worship to be nothing but grievance. But don’t overlook our need to lament and grieve with those who are the crucified ones among us.


Lent: Living beyond death

The story of Lent is the salvation story. Salvation doesn’t mean going to heaven after we die. It means being rescued from the power of self-centeredness that rules our lives. Just as the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, we are slaves to sin and death. Sin works in us in ways we can’t seem to control, and death creates bounds for our lives that we can’t escape. But just as Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus delivers us from slavery to our self-centeredness. In his death and resurrection we see the grace that sets us free from the power that sin and our fear of death have over us. Jesus leads us to life in Infinite Love.

During Lent the scripture lessons will take us through the unfolding of death and new life. We go with Jesus into the desert to face our temptations (week 1), and then onward toward the cross—which is really toward resurrection. Jesus invites us to take up our cross (week 2): to be willing to suffer for the sake of love. He scourges the temple of the religion of being right (in offering sacrifices) and invites us to imagine a temple of love (week 3). We contemplate the wisdom of the “foolish” cross, acknowledging that God’s ways aren’t like ours. We give thanks for God’s judgment of light, that we’re saved by grace, as the Son of God is “lifted up”—that is, both exalted and crucified (week 4). Jesus reminds us that we are to die as seeds do so that we can bear fruit. By God’s grace, we learn to live the resurrection life (week 5). We are ready for Easter.


The Eucharist in Lent
In my Methodist tradition we’re accustomed to celebrating communion once a month. There’s no theological reason for this. It’s just because three centuries ago the only ordained clergy who could preside over the sacrament was a circuit rider who was only in town once a month or so. For most of history, and still in many denominations, the Eucharist is a regular part of weekly worship. If you’re a member of the once-a-month club, I encourage you to consider offering communion weekly during Lent or Easter or both. The Eucharist speaks to Lent: it replicates the meal Jesus shared the day before he surrendered to the cross. It touches on Lenten themes like repentance, grace, transformation, and reconciliation. Of course it is a Resurrection meal— but resurrection is what draws us to the cross: the promise that when we give our lives in love God gives us new ones.

Resources

See Eucharistic Responses for eleven sets of prayer responses (Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen) set to familiar hymn tunes appropriate for Lent. Two of them include Table Songs, hymns of invitation to the table.

Lent is also a season for the Kyrie: Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. (“Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.”) See Kyrie, Six Versions, all original tunes. Some are part of Eucharistic settings.


Behold the Lamb of God (Original song)
A short prayer song, may be a repeated chant.

Behold the lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
Come, let us follow the lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.

The Jesus Prayer (Original song)
A short prayer song, may be a repeated chant.

Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on me, for I need you.

Download this service here.

GREETING
Pastor: God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Hosanna. Beloved, Save us!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Holy One.
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven.

SONG

GOSPEL — Mark 11.1-11

PRAYER
Beloved, that we may praise Christ in all we do,
grant us mindfulness, O God.
That Jesus may truly be our ruler,
grant us obedience, God.
That we may be as gentle as Christ,
grant us humility, O God.
That we may turn to you alone to save us,
grant us faith, O God.
Hosanna. Save us! Amen.

SILENCE

NEW TESTAMENT — Philippians 2.5-11

PRAYER
For the gift of Christ, who comes among us as our humble servant,
we give you thanks.
For our lust for power, and for wanting our own way,
forgive us, Lord.
For our distrust of your grace,
heal our fearful hearts.
For deep trust in the power of resurrection,
give us faith, O God. Amen.

SILENCE


OLD TESTAMENT Isaiah 50.4-9:
God has called me to reach out to those in need,
to sustain the weary with good news.
Morning by morning God awakens me
and calls me to humble awareness.
God has opened my understanding,
therefore I won’t turn away.
I stand in solidarity with those who suffer;
I give my heart to those who know injustice.
I will not hide from our cruelty.
God helps me to enter the suffering of the world.
I will not fear disgrace.
Therefore I have courage to move forward.
I am not afraid of the world’s taunts.
I believe only God’s gracious love.
To those who don’t believe this
I will come near, without fear.
Even to those who would oppose me
I am not afraid to act in love.

SILENCE

SONG

PRAYERS

We pray that we may be at peace with Christ, our savior and our sovereign.

We pray that we may be at peace with all that is wounded in us.

We pray that we may be at peace with all people, and all Creation.

We pray for those in need.

We pray for the work of your Spirit in our lives and in the life of the church.

We pray for justice, and the coming of your Realm.

THE PRAYER OF JESUS (“Lord’s Prayer)

SONG

BLESSING AND SENDING

___________________

Suggested Songs

See all songs with tags for “Cross,” but especially these:


Behold the Lamb of God (Original song)

Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Come, let us follow, come let us follow
the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Kyrie – Six Versions (The traditional words set to six original tunes.)

Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.
(“Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord haver mercy.”)



O Jesus, Wounded Sovereign (Tune: O Sacred Head Now Wounded)

Dear Jesus, you who suffer and walk among the poor
whose hearts and lives are broken, whose faith is still unsure:
despised, accused and battered, you do not say a word.
So powerless, yet loving!— you are my Sovereign Lord.

You bear no arms but loving, no threats nor flags unfurled.
You wear no kingly robes, but the sorrows of the world.
Yet your forgiveness conquers each worldly rule and reign,
and rises, whole, undaunted, from evil, death and pain.

While emperors abuse you, and people shrug or stare,
and dark injustice troubles the ones for whom you care,
your mighty grace arises, and hidden from our sight,
enfolds all living beings in your triumphant light.

O Jesus, wounded Sovereign, I pray, give me the nerve
without this world’s armor to love and bless and serve.
My master and companion, rule all eternity
with grace and deep compassion, and, Love, begin with me.

Woeful Cross (Original song)

Woeful cross, saddest wood, death in me of all that’s good,
I confess. Mother/Father, bless. Mercy.

Holy cross, mystery, love from fear of death set free.
Sin’s dark lie. Here I die. Mercy.

Gentle Christ on the cross, for our life your own life’s loss.
You forgive, and we live. Mercy.

Our own cross calling us to your love and gentleness:
may we live, as you give, mercy.

April 14, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Acts 3. 12-19— Peter has healed a crippled beggar, and explains the miracle: the power of Jesus, who was crucified and raised, has healed him.

Psalm 4 — “God, hear me,” … When you are disturbed do not sin. I lie down and sleep in peace.

1 John 3. 1-3 — “What love we have been given, that we are God’s children.”

Luke 24. 36-48 — Jesus appears to the disciples, shows them his scars, and eats some fish. He tells them to spread forgiveness that leads to changed lives.

Preaching Thoughts

Acts
       Resurrection doesn’t just restore us to the way things used to be. It propels us into new life, life that is healed—that is, whole—and imbued with the life of the risen Christ. It’s God who has that power; we are merely vessels.

Psalm
       Sometimes the highest praise we can offer to God is that God’s blessing is so sure that we are not afraid to lie down and sleep without fear. Sabbath is an act of profound trust.

1 John
        When we worry about the future John says what the future will be (what we will be) we can’t know—but we are God’s children, right now, in the present. The more we see, the more we will see God in us. This is our hope: not opinion about the future, but assurance in what is true but unseen right now: that we are God’s, and therefore God’s grace is alive and well in us, and God’s love is poured out for us, no matter what.
       If we are God’s children then God is our mother. God conceives us, carries us, labors to bring us into this world, and feeds us with the milk of her own flesh. She teaches us how to walk and speak and live with love. She provides a home for us, washes us clean, and watches over us. She sacrifices for her children, protects them, and goes to battle for their sake, and even risks her life for their well-being. Every good mother, in their imperfect way, reflects the perfect motherly love of God for her children.

Luke
     Reminiscent of John’s story we heard last week, Jesus appears, shows his wounds, and gives the disciples a charge— to go spread repentance and forgiveness. (He also drops a little foreshadowing of Pentecost—spoiler alert!— when they will be “clothed with power from on high.”) At first glance it seems the heart of the story is Jesus showing his flesh wounds and eating fish, thus demonstrating that he’s not a specter but a real, flesh-and-blood body. Some may latch onto this as proof that Jesus’ resurrection is real. But the real proof, I think, is not in Jesus’ flesh and bones, but in the changed lives of the disciples. Forgiveness and repentance is a real-life, flesh-and-bones proof of the presence of the living Christ. Our calling is not to satisfy ourselves with believing that Jesus is alive out there somewhere, but to live in such a way that Jesus is alive in us. Forgiveness is evidence of resurrection, evidence that someone has risen from the grave of self-protection and self-serving, and been given a new life of love. Contrary to the Puritan view of repentance that focuses on sin, Jesus’ focus in repentance is actually on transformation. The new life ahead, not the old life behind. New life is the essence of resurrection.

Call to Worship

1. (1 Jn. 3.1-3)
Leader: See what love God has given us,
that God says, “You are my children!”
All: Indeed that is who we are.
The reason the world does not understand us
is that it does not understand God.
Here and now we are God’s Beloved children.
What we will be has not yet been revealed,
but we do know this: when God is revealed,
we will be like God, for we will see God as God truly is.
All who have this hope in God purify themselves,
just as Christ is pure.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Risen Christ, you come among us.
All: Living One, you speak to us.
Loving One, you grant us your Spirit.
You who call us to bear witness: lift us up and guide us,
that we may shine with your light. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Amazing God, maker of things seen and unseen, we praise you!
All: YOU are our breath, our life, and we thank you.
Risen Christ, you who come to us in flesh, we greet you.
In your rising all flesh becomes a gift of wonder.
Holy Spirit, kindle your passion in us, that we may breathe deeply of your life.
May your heartbeat drum within us,
that we may live with your joy, with your beauty, with your love.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of Love, Risen Christ, you come to us and often we are bewildered. Come to us anyway. Come and speak to us, give us your peace, and send us by your Spirit, according to your word, to do your will in the world. We open our hearts to you, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of resurrection, we bring before you all that we are, all that we do, all that we hope for, our fears and desires, our secret wounds. Receive us with your gentle grace, transform us by your love, and raise us to new life. We open our hearts like the earth opening to the sun in spring, that your light may fill us. Amen.

3.
God of Resurrection, Jesus was your Word made flesh. Though he was crucified and buried, you gave him to us again in the flesh. Speak your living Word to us now, that our own flesh may be raised to new life, and that in the Spirit of your Christ we may embody your love for all the world. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

Risen Christ,
body of love,
flesh of grace,
presence of God,
you are real;
we are only becoming real.
By your Spirit,
bring us along.

Reading

Psalm 4, a Paraphrase

O Love, when I cry out in silence,
         you are the One Who Hears.
Between the rock and the hard place,
         you give me room.

I have carried the stone of shame too far,
         as if opinions could give me life,
         as if human judgment is not a lie.
But you, Beloved, hold me close,
         and know who I truly am.
When I am disturbed I am still yours.
         I soak in this grace, silent,
         letting it seep into me.

I surrender everything to your love.
         Help me to trust this with my life.
I ignore the cynics who don’t see
         your blessing in everything,
         your face beaming at me.
You are a gushing spring of joy in me,
         my jackpot, my victory dance.

In your peace I can stop. I let go.
         I lie down.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

           We praise you God, for your Creation of all that is, for your presence with us, for your love that is at the heart of all things
           We thank you, O Christ, for you have embodied God’s love among us. You healed the broken, fed the hungry, gathered the outcast. You created a new community that embodied God’s vision of justice. And when you were killed and laid in the grave, you rose again, in the flesh, to redeem our bodies and our souls. Still you are among us, in the flesh, calling us to life.
           We breathe you, Holy Spirit. Each moment you create us anew. You make us one Body, in the flesh. You inspire our love. You empower us to proclaim totally changed lives arising from the gift of forgiveness, and to live by the light of the mystery of resurrection and your gift of eternal life. Holy God, Three In One, you are our life; and we are your Body. May all our living praise you. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

God, we thank you and we praise you, for out of darkness you brought light.
Out of slavery you brought a people to freedom.
In our wandering you lead us to new life.
You forgive our sin, heal our wounds and re-direct our living.
With each breath you re-create us, set us free, and invite us to start anew.
Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise:

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who healed the broken, fed the hungry, and gathered the outcast.
He suffered for the sake of love, and was crucified.
But you raised him from the dead.
He breathes his spirit into us, the spirit of grace and mercy.
He sends us out in his spirit for the sake of new, transformed lives.
Our love and forgiveness is his flesh-and-blood presence among us.
As he eats with us in this meal we ourselves are nourished
on his promise to be with us in love forever.

     (The Blessing and Covenant)*

As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Breathe your Holy Spirit into us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
risen from our brokenness and death,
risen from anger, fear, and judgment,
free to love, by the power of your Spirit alone,
in this moment and in eternal life.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) As you raised Christ from the dead, you have raised us to new lives. Send us into the world, to be vessels of your healing, and to proclaim changed lives rooted in the gift of forgiveness, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

See Easter Communion Songs
Twelve songs of invitation and preparation for communion.
        Sample:
God of Wonder         (Tune: Infant Holy)

Alleluia! God of wonder, you have raised Christ from the grave.
You are faithful, always loving, always just and strong to save.
All our sin and all our sorrow can’t begin to stop your grace:
Christ is present here among us, speaking with us face to face.

Christ, we meet you; Life, we greet you! Alleluias loud we sing.
You invite us to your table. To the feast our gifts we bring.
Bread is broken; hearts are mended; truth is spoken; wine is poured.
In our love and joyful sharing we behold you, living Lord.

Holy Spirit, life eternal, gift of grace, all praise to you!
In this feast of resurrection raise us up to lives anew:
free, forgiving, deeply loving, gently living without fear,
Christ in us, alive, forever! Christ in us, your presence here!


You are the Nerve        (Tune: Finlandia)

O God, your Christ is risen in your people.
On earth Christ has no body now but ours.
We are the flesh and blood of your compassion:
moved by your Spirit, with its loving powers.
God be our heart, and we will be your Body,
serving in love in all our days and hours.

We are your feet, that go with joy to others
to share your love, the gospel we confess.
We are your eyes that see what is and may be,
that see each person’s need and loveliness.
We are your hands, that work with strength for justice,
your hands that shelter, heal and feed and bless.

Love, move in me, and guide me by your Spirit,
even when I don’t see or understand.
My life is yours, to be your living Body,
that I may love and serve at your command.
This is my life, my purpose and my power:
you are the nerve, and I your willing hand.

April 21, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Acts 4. 5-12 — Peter is arrested by religious authorities after having healed a man; he attributes the miracle to the power of the resurrected Christ.
Psalm 23 — Green pastures, gloomy valleys, and hospitality.

1 John 3. 14-24 — We know we are risen because we love. Love not in words but in action. Jesus abides in us in our love.

John 10.11-18 — “I am the good shepherd, who lays down their life for the sheep. Not so the hired hand. My sheep and I know each other.”

Preaching Thoughts

See also Earth Day Resources.

Acts
       Peter says then power to heal is in “the name” of Jesus. This isn’t a magic incantation, as if pronouncing the right syllables launches a magic spell. (Beware of people who claim to do stuff “in the name of Jesus.”) It’s not in the words, it’s in the love. To act “in the name of” someone is to act on their behalf, as if they are represented by you and in fact present in you. Like 1 John says: when we love, it’s Jesus loving in us. Love has power, but it’s not our power; we’re merely the vessels, the conduit. We’re the wire; love is the electricity; God is the generator. The important thing is not that you invoke Jesus but that you embody Jesus.

Psalm
       The Psalm is not so much an idyll as a journey, and one that Jesus shepherds us on. We are led to green pastures and living waters. But we are also led onward to “paths of righteousness,” which means justice, which means hard work. If we really want to be shepherded, we sheep have to get up and move. And the next place the shepherd leads us is the gloomy valley. If we really follow our Good Shepherd, we’ll follow into difficult places, places of sacrifice, even places of death. Jesus asks us to follow and pick up a cross, not a lawn chair. But even there Jesus comforts and sustains us. (The rod and staff, of course, are used to guide and protect the sheep, not to control or punish them.)
       But the scary canyons of grief and fear aren’t the end of the journey. We are led to a place of deep hospitality, and the gift of anointing, refreshment, and sharing a meal. “In the presence of my enemies.” Maybe that’s an allusion to the ancient practice of asylum: if a stranger, pursued by murderous enemies, even touched a tent peg of yours, it meant they were your guests and it was your moral obligation to protect them, and the enemies could not harm them while they were in your care. We are under God’s protection. I think of Jesus’ last supper, with death waiting at the door… Of course Jesus takes it a step further: he prepares a meal in the presence of your enemies and then invites them to dine with you all. Think of communion.
       In the end, goodness and mercy “follow” you—the sense in the Hebrew is that they pursue you, shadow you, haunt you, stick to you. You can’t shake them. You dwell in God’s house, that is, God’s presence, every moment.

See Psalm 23 Paraphrases and Praying with Palm 23.

1 John
       John has a fine definition of eternal life: not the afterlife, but the after-selfishness. We know we have passed from death to life because we love. We have passed out of the grave, the solitary confinement, of the isolated, self-centered, self-limited life of “me, myself and I,” where we have cut ourselves off from God. We have been raised into the eternal life of “we,” not by our own doing, but by being so profoundly loved. Jesus is raised in us, and lives in us in our love. Eternal life is the infinite Christ living in us. Whenever we love, that’s Christ beaming out from within us. To love is action, not just words, and not just feelings. It’s commitment to our co-being, our being together in God.

John
        Jesus the Good Shepherd. Not a judge, proctor or prosecutor. Not demanding or aloof. The shepherd knows the landscape, offers guidance and leadership—moving us from where we are to where we need to be next. There’s intimacy: “I know my own and my own know me.” There’s protection: “I lay down my life for the sheep.” This is not an image of Jesus laying down his life as a sacrifice to God, but risking his life to protect us from the enemy of our own fear, greed and selfishness. He is not “made” a sacrifice; he makes it himself: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” True, he has “received this command from God,” but he willingly follows it, not like a sheep that is taken against its will.
       “I have other sheep not of this fold.” Jesus loves and includes people we don’t love or include. We don’t get to decide who they are, or aren’t. To accept Jesus as our shepherd is to accept his ability to accept people we don’t accept.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator of the World, Womb of the Universe, thou Love,
who has called all things into being, and who has called us here to worship:
All: we praise you with lips and lungs of your glory, with hands of your making.
Christ, love of God embodied, gentle Lamb and faithful Shepherd,
you who have fed us in the wilderness:
we thank you with songs of your love, with hearts made new.
Holy Spirit, wind of heaven, breath of life, you who hold all living things as one:
with all Creation we sing your praise. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Beloved, you shepherd us in love
All: In your grace we feast, we rest, we travel this life.
Beloved, you shepherd us in love.
You lead us through death to new life.
Beloved, you shepherd us in love.
In your love we love one another.
In our love we worship you. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
You alone are holy, and we worship you.
Glory be to you, O God of all Creation.
Thanks be to you, O Christ, for our salvation.
Gentle shepherd, you bless us, protect us and provide for us,
and we give you thanks.
Alleluia! Shepherd us, O God, toward life.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Loving God, shepherd of our souls, you provide for us; you guide us; you lead us to new life. We turn to you now, to listen for your voice. Call to us, and lead us out to do your will, in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Shepherd of love, lead us beside the still waters of your grace. Feed us in the green pastures of your Word. Guide us in your path of mercy. Restore our soul with your presence. Speak to us, and we will follow. Amen.

3.
Gentle God, you are our shepherd. You provide food for our bodies and our souls. Feed us now with your word; lead us and guide us by the power of your love. As we hear your scriptures and proclaim your Word, may Christ be alive in us. Amen.

4.
Gentle shepherd, you have fed us with the fruits of the green pastures of earth and its life-giving waters. You have restored our souls. Shepherd us by your Spirit to rest in your grace, to drink deeply of your mercy, to follow you in paths of love and justice. You call us your own; may we be yours. Amen.

5.
Gentle Christ, our good shepherd, you gather us beside still water to be refreshed by your Word. You have led us through dark valleys, and guarded our ways. We thank you, and we rest in the blessing of your grace. Feed us with your presence and renew us with your Spirit. Amen.

6.
Loving God, you give us the gift of Jesus, who tends us like a gentle shepherd. You fill us with your Spirit, so that we live in you and love with your love. We thank you for your grace, and pray that in hearing your Word we may be drawn more deeply from death into life eternal. We pray in the name of Christ, who is with us now. Amen.

Listening Prayer

(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)

1.
Loving One,
in the green pasture of your love I rest.
I drink of the clear waters of your grace.
Lead me in your path.

2.
Good shepherd,
you have guided me to green pastures;
you have led me through gloomy canyons;
now you anoint me and welcome me
to the feast of your love.
I rest in the house of your goodness and mercy.

3.
God of love,
we know we have passed from death to life,
for your love lives in us.
In stillness we cherish the living Christ
loving in us, praying in us.

4.
Gentle Shepherd,
you know us;
you call us your own.
By your grace help us
to know you,
and to be yours.

Prayer of Confession

Gentle Shepherd, you have led us to clear springs and green meadows.
But we have strained against you, and wanted to go our own way.
We have gone in ways other than the ways of deep life.
Forgive our waywardness, and brings us back into your way.
Show us your way; lead us to life, and restore us in blessing.
Help us to know your voice, to trust your desire for us,
and to follow you, for the sake of goodness and mercy. Amen.

Other prayers

1.
God, shepherd me today.
      Grant me grace to walk behind you,
neither to stray from your leading
       nor to run ahead alone.
Lead me through the dry valleys
       to springs of living water.
Let me not wander from your flock,
       but enclose my heart with your people.
Keep me from harm I might suffer
       and harm I might cause.
This is my only hope, to follow you closely,
       and so to be in your presence all of this day.
Shepherd me, O God,
       and I will follow. Amen.

2.
Loving God, the earth is our faithful shepherd, and we thank you. Creation shelters us, feeds us and gives us all we need. We belong in this Creation; we are part of it. Yet we have sullied your waters and laid waste to your green pastures. We have filled the earth with our own valleys of death. Lead us in the paths of goodness, to care for Creation, to shepherd all living things, to lead your beloved people always toward life. We pray, as we live, in the name and the spirit of Christ, our good shepherd. Amen.

Readings

1. See Psalm 23 Paraphrases and Praying with Psalm 23

2.
From 1 John 3.14-24

Leader: We know that we have passed from death to life
because we love one another.
All: We know love by this, that Christ died for us—
and so we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
How does God’s love abide in someone who has the world’s goods
and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Let us love, not only in word or speech,
but in the truth of our actions.
This is God’s commandment:
that, trusting in the love of God’s Own, Jesus Christ,
we will love one another, just as God has commanded us.
All who live by this love live in God, and God lives in them.
We know that God lives in us, by the Spirit that God gives us.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
           We praise you God, for the green pastures of our world; for the amazing grace of your presence even in the gloomiest canyons of life; for the table you set before us, and the goodness and mercy you give us,. By your grace you welcome us into your life, and we thank you..
           We thank you, Christ, our loving shepherd. For your guidance, your gentle presence and your fearless love we thank you. You have shepherded us in green pastures of love, through the deepest valleys, to a place of feasting and hospitality. You laid down your life for us, and God raised you from the dead, and with you has raised us to eternal life, for you love in us and through us.
           We belong to you, Holy Spirit. We have passed from death to life in you. We live by the power of your love in us, that we may be gentle shepherds for others and lead all to wholeness of life. Holy One, shepherd us, and we will follow. Amen.

2.
           We believe in you, God, for you provide for us, protect us, and bless us.
           We trust in you, Christ, our strong and gentle shepherd: you guide us in life, lead us in God’s ways. Yo laid down his life for us so that we might know the path of forgiveness and love, and follow in that way.
           We live by the power of the Hoy Spirit, God’s love alive in us, enabling us to love one another and even lay down our lives for others.
           We know we have eternal life, and that the risen Christ lives in us, in that we love as Christ loved. We live as his Body, the Church, trusting the power of forgiveness, the power of resurrection, the power of love. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]
#1: General
# 2: Good shepherd, 1 John 3
#3: Psalm 23
—————— #1 ——————
[General]

God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

We thank you, God of Love, for you are our shepherd; we lack nothing.
You make us lie down in green pastures.
You provide this abundant Creation, and give us rest and belonging.
You lead us beside still waters and restore our souls.
You lead us from oppression to freedom, from anxiety to peace.
You lead us on a good path for the sake of your love.
Holy God, Heart of Light, all Creation glows with your grace.
Blessed is the one who comes in your name. Hosanna in the highest!

Even though we walk through the darkest valley we fear no evil.for you are with us; your rod and your staff comfort us.
In Christ you walk with us, your Word and your Presence made flesh,
gathering outcasts and making peace among all people,
healing, guiding and empowering, and establishing your Covenant of love.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

[… The Blessing and Covenant…] *

You prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
In the face of our sin, fear and selfishness you give us your grace.
Even though we separate ourselves from others you join us in this meal.
You anoint our heads with oil. Our cup overflows.
Pour out your Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup
that they may be for us the Body and blood of Christ,
and on us, that we may overflow with your love.
Surely goodness and mercy shall accompany us all the days of our lives.
May we spread goodness and mercy in all that we do.
We shall dwell in the house of the Lord all our days.
We live in your presence, for the sake of your love,
for all the world, each moment in eternal life.
Amen.

—————— #2 ——————
[Good Shepherd]

God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

Blessed are you, O God, Creator and ruler of all things.
You are our shepherd; we are in want of nothing.
You have made us in your image, and given us all of Creation.
We lie down in the green pastures of your grace.
You know us and claim us as your own.
You guard us from the wolf that snatches,
from the powers that oppress.
You lead us in paths of love and justice
and guide us, for we do not know the way.
You gather us here at your table with all your sheep,
and those not from this fold—one flock, with one shepherd.
And so with all Creation we join in singing your praise.

            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He was a shepherd to the poor
who fed the hungry, tended to the wounded,
and and guided those seeking deeper life.
He laid down his life for his flock,
but you raised him from the dead.
With him we too have passed from death to life,
because his love abides in us.

[… The Blessing and Covenant …] *
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
one flock, called by God, shepherded by love,
God’s love abiding in us,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world,
in the name and spirit of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

————— #3 ——————
[Psalm 23]

Blessed are you, O God, Creator and ruler of all things.
       You are our shepherd; we are in want of nothing.
You have made us in your image, and given us all of Creation.
       We lie down in the green pastures of your grace.
By the Baptism of Christ’s life, death and resurrection
you have made us your holy people, and given us your Holy Spirit.
       You lead us beside still waters of life, and restore our souls.
You have delivered us from bondage, and made Covenant with us
to be our God, that we should be your people.
       You lead us in the pats of goodness and justice, for your name’s sake.
And so with all the saints, and all Creation, we join in singing your praise.

Sanctus

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He shepherds us in life,
heals us in our brokenness,
and walks with us even through our deepest sin and our worst evil.
He laid down his life for us, in perfect forgiveness,
and you raised him from death in perfect love.
       Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death
       we will fear no evil, for you are with us.
       Your rod and your staff give us comfort.

[… The Blessing and Covenant …] *

Receiving the Body of Christ, we become the Body of Christ,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Memorial Acclamation

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, O God, and on these gifts,
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of Christ.
In this feast you make us all your children, united in your grace.
       You prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies.
Renew your Holy Spirit within us, and fill us with your grace,
to serve as the Body of Christ in this world.
Grant us the power of your Spirit to witness by our love and forgiveness,
and to humbly serve the poor, for the sake of the healing of the world.
       You anoint our heads with oil,
       and our cup overflows.
Through your Son Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,
all glory and honor is yours, our Mother and Father,
now and forever.
       Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives,
       and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen
____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]

On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it,. broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) May we embody your love as Jesus did. May we be shepherds of life and good stewards of the earth, honoring all that you have made. May we give of our gifts and our lives for the sake of the healing of our neighbors, the nations and all Creation, in the name and the spirit of the crucified and risen Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have shepherded us in love; lead us now out into the world to do your will for the sake of the healing of all Creation, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) May we love as you have loved us, giving gentle care to others as you have shepherded us, in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have laid down your life for us, and now you live in us. Send us into the world with your love, to serve all who are hurting and to shepherd them into your grace, in the name and the power of the risen Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)

Easter Eucharistic Responses includes nine sets of Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen to familiar hymn tunes. One is Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.

Eternal Life (Original song)
[ 1 Jn. 3.1-4]

This is how we will know eternal life:
we will love one another.
I lay down my life, all that is mine alone,
that we may be raised together.

We are not bound by any earthy thing
when our lives we surrender to God
whose love is eternal life,
and so we will love one another.


Psalm 23 (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God is my shepherd; I have all I need. God
makes me lie down in green pastures to feed.
By the still waters God gently will lead.
Love, you’re my shepherd. I have all I need.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I
fear not, for you are as close as my breath.
For you are with me, your staff and your rod
they are my comfort, my shepherd, my God.

You set my table before all my foes. You
pour out your blessing; my cup overflows.
Goodness shall hold me wherever I roam,
and I will live with you, my Heart, my Home.