Category: Worship Resources

February 25, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 17. 1-7, 15-16 — God makes a covenant with Abram and Sarai, a promise of offspring and land.

Psalm 22. 23-31 — God tended to me in my affliction. The poor shall eat and be satisfied.

Romans 4. 13-25 —Abraham was considered “righteous” by trusting the promise. Our righteousness is a gift of God’s grace; we see it in the resurrection.

Mark 8. 31-38 — Jesus predicts he will be killed, and Peter objects. “Take up your cross and follow. Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose it will save it.”

Preaching Thoughts

Today’s scriptures continue the theme of trusting in God’s promises.

Genesis
       God’s covenant makes Abram and Sarai new people, so they receive new names: Abraham and Sarah. Repentance isn’t just shedding bad habits. It’s opening ourselves to God’s promises, which changes our lives as much as having a baby does. Repentance isn’t as much like becoming a new person as it is discovering the real person that’s inside of us already—like a miraculous child within Sarai.

Psalm
       “Dominion belongs to God. To God, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down” (v. 29). You can take this in a triumphalist way: everybody on earth will convert to our religion. Or you can take it in a more inclusive way: everyone in the world belongs to God and receives God’s blessings.

Romans
      Abraham was considered “righteous” not by being law-abiding, but simply by trusting God’s promise. Our righteousness is not a matter of believing the right things or being theologically or morally correct, but trusting in God’s grace. It’s not about us being good, it’s about surrendering our lives to God’s goodness.

Mark
       Jesus’s “passion prediction” isn’t necessarily knowing the future. Jesus knows how things work, how power represses resistance, how evil fights back against good. He sees who has power, who’s threatened, who is against him. It doesn’t take a seer to know what’s happening.
    Jesus’ rebuke of Peter isn’t merely that Peter is disagreeing with Jesus, or contradicting “God’s plan,” but that Peter is thinking life is something we cling to rather than something we give away. “Divine things” is not God’s intent to get Jesus killed. It’s grace. It’s the miraculous gospel that when we give our lives away in love God gives us new life. You ”lose” your self-centered, self-enclosed life, and are given life as a part of God’s infinite life, what Paul will come to call the Body of Christ. The little, ego-driven self thinks of it as loss… but the result is life—“and abundantly.”
      What Jesus means by taking up our cross is being willing to suffer for the sake of love. It’s not a nuisance. It’s not all about unpleasantness. We trivialize it when we treat it like that: enduring an unpleasant uncle is “your cross to bear.” Bearing the cross certainly involves suffering, but it’s not just taking on suffering for the sake of being miserable or winning piety points. It’s entering into the suffering of others for the sake of healing, justice reconciliation, or even simply accompaniment. And because it’s an act of love it is therefore a joy. Because, remember it’s not really your cross: it’s Jesus’, and he’s carrying it with you. What better thing, even if it’s painful, than to be side by side with Jesus? “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus says to Julian of Norwich, “Lo, how I loved thee!… And now is all my bitter pain and all my hard travail turned to endless joy and bliss to me and to thee…. If I might suffer more, I would suffer more.” To avoid pain and suffering is the task of what Jesus says to Peter is “human things,” what Paul calls “life according to the flesh.” To love, even at the cost of pain, is what Jesus calls “divine things,” what Paul calls “living in the Spirit.” Death on the cross of love is the doorway to the resurrection to Real Life, infinite life, eternal life. So even the suffering of the cross is joy.
      Ponder “gaining the world and forfeiting your life.” How do we trade away life in God for the sake of worldly “profit?” When do we choose reputation over love, or comfort over justice, or riches over relationship? Life is more than financial security or even biological survival. It’s relationship with others and with God.
      Jesus comment about the Son of Man being ashamed of those who are ashamed of him sounds like a writer’s addition to Jesus’ words. Jesus did not trade in shame. He also seemed to be OK with people not agreeing with him, not following him, not seeing things his way. I don’t think Jesus was preparing to judge humankind. I think he was just trying to teach people to trust God and love.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God of mercy, you hear the cries of the afflicted.
All: God of love, you hear the voice of our pain.
You save us, and we praise you.
You bless us, and we worship you.
By the mystery of the cross you are with us in our suffering.
Redeem us, and bring us to life.

2.
Leader: God of infinite love, you have suffered in Christ for our sake.
All: This is a mystery!
You have suffered because you love us.
This is a gift!
You call us to take up our cross and follow Jesus,
to enter into the suffering of the world.
This is our calling!
But to follow, we need you.
So we come to you, to give thanks,
to pray, and to worship. Bless us with your grace. Amen.

3.
Leader: We are gathered in the grace of God.
All: Holy One, hold us in your love.
We journey with Jesus toward the cross.
Beloved, sustain us with your love.
We lay down our lives and follow.
Holy Spirit, fill us with your love. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Gracious and loving God, we want to follow Jesus. So we open our hearts to your living Word, that it will bless us and change us, and draw us closer to you, to our neighbors, and to all Creation. We pray in the name and the company of Jesus. Amen.

2.
Loving God, your passion for the world is infinite. Jesus bore the cross in the power of your love, and calls us to do the same. Be our faith and courage; be our love. Speak to us, we who cling to life, and call us to life. Amen.

3.
Gentle God, Christ did not cling to his status, but emptied himself and became humbly obedient, even to the point of death on a cross, so that we might have life. Therefore you have highly exalted him, that everyone should honor him. Grant that in gratitude for his grace we may humble ourselves, become obedient, and take up our cross for your sake and for the sake of the Good News, to your glory. Amen.

4.
God of our lives, we are hungry for your Word. We cling to many things that do not give us life. Feed us the Word that gives us life. Help us to follow Jesus. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Christ, you who bear the cross,
you share our suffering in love.
You draw near to us in our struggles.
We open our hearts to you,
that your love may become ours.
Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
God of love, in the mercy of Christ, who dies on the cross of our sin, yet forgives,you receive our whole lives with grace.Forgive what is hurtful, heal what is fearful,and redeem us in the power of your Spirit.

2.
Gracious God
our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide, and too deep to undo.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name,
what our hearts no longer can bear,
and what has become for us
a consuming fire of judgment.
Set us free from a past we cannot change;
open us to a future in which we can be changed;
and grant us grace to grow more and more
into your likeness and image;
through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

3.
Gentle God, we confess that we have not loved you wholly, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We confess our lack of compassion, our assent to violence and injustice, as individuals and as a nation, and we humbly repent. For our rebelliousness and our pride we ask your forgiveness. Forgive our sin, O God, change our hearts, and renew us in your Spirit, to live in the spirit of your love alone.

4.
The grace of God is with you.And
also with you.
Christ bids us to take up our cross and follow him. Yet we assert our own will, and go our own way. In the Spirit of Christ, we return to God, confess our sin, and open our hearts to be transformed, that we may follow Christ in the Way of the Cross.
God of mercy, we confess that we have not loved you out of our whole heart and soul, our understanding and our actions. Nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. Heal our broken hearts, forgive our sin, and make us new, so that we might do your will alone.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

Leader: Eternal and almighty God, creator of the universe, we worship you.
All: You are infinite in Being. Your glory is beyond our words.
Yet in Christ you have come to us in love, as a humble servant.
In tender compassion, you have suffered for us. We thank you.
In Christ you have called us to follow, in love for one another.
Grant us your Spirit, that with Christ
we may truly love you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength,
and love our neighbors as ourselves.
May we serve you with courage, trust and hope.
Spirit of life, transform us by your grace. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

1.
In your Love, a song, below, may serve as a musical Eucharistic Prayer.

2.
[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.

We thank you, God, for you create life,
life that is not mere existence, but life in you.
You create us in your image and put your Spirit within us.
By the power of life-over-against-death
you confront the powers of evil, and set us free.
Because we betray our true life in you
you send us Jesus, to show us your love.
So in gratitude we sing with all of Creation:
            [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 loved and taught, he created a community of the outcast,
and he touched those who were in pain.
He shared our suffering so that we might share in your grace.
He called us to take up our cross,
to be willing to suffer for love.
In this meal we behold the mystery of the gospel:
when we surrender our lives in love you give us new lives.
In this meal Jesus gives himself for us,
and in that love, though he died, he lives on.

[ 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 our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, that we may be the Body of Christ,
broken for the world in love.
Give us courage to enter the suffering of the world with Christ,
trusting in your Resurrection.
By your grace may we lose our lives in love,
serving the world in the name of Christ, and receive eternal life
in the power of your Spirit, to your eternal glory.

     [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.]
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.) Our lives are taken up into the life of Christ, crucified and risen. No longer alone, no longer afraid, we are one in Christ. May we take up our cross and follow, for the healing of the world. 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 filled us with the love by which Jesus bore the cross. Send us into the world with your compassion for those who suffer, in the name of Christ and the blessing of your Holy Spirit. 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.) In laying down his life, Christ has given us life. Filled now with his spirit, may we go forth to lay down our lives for the sake of your good news, so that, dying and rising with him, we may know eternal life. For the sake of the redemption of the world, send us forth in the name of Christ, and the power of your Holy Spirit. 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 poured out your life for us, and we have received. Grant that we may pour out our lives for the world, knowing by your grace we will receive life. Send us, accompany us and guide us, in the name of Christ and the life-giving power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

                               Brief (repeatable) prayer songs

Kyrie, Six Versions (All original tunes. Some are part of Eucharistic settings.)
     Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
          (Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.)

The Jesus Prayer     (Original song)
       Jesus, Beloved of God, have mercy on me, for I need you.

God, Be Merciful to Me (Original song)
        God, be merciful to me.
        With empty hands and open
        I turn to you for mercy.

Eucharistic Responses
(Eleven sets of Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen set to the tunes of familiar hymns appropriate for Lent. Two of them also include “table songs” of invitation/preparation for communion.)


Table Song: Feed Us Your Grace (Tune: Finlandia)
          (Can be found in Table Songs, songs of invitation and preparation for Communion.)

You call us, Christ, to take our cross and follow,
but first you bring us here to feast with you.
Our gifts we bring, to celebrate your loving.
Our lives we give, to die and rise anew.
Feed us your grace, your spirit of compassion;
make us your body now, your will to do.

                                  Regular Songs

Christ in Your Pain (Original song)

Christ, in your pain for the world, we are healed.
       May our hearts be yours.
Christ, in our pain for the world, we are one.
       Grant your Spirit, Lord.
Christ, in your pain for the world we are saved.
       May your heart be ours.


I Take Up My Cross (Original song)

Congregation:
Letting go, I am held. I take up my cross and follow.

Cantor
1. Jesus, you call to me, and draw me into your life.
2. Christ, I leave all behind, to follow you in love.
3. I yield my life to you, for you alone are God.
4. Loved with your costly love, I’ll suffer for the sake of love.
5. Christ, make my one desire to be to serve you in love.


In Your Love        (Tune: What Wondrous Love)
[May serve as a Eucharistic prayer]

Our thanks we give to you, holy God, Loving One.
All earth and heaven shine with your love.
You form us wonderfully, and love us faithfully,
and come and set us free by your love, by your love.
Hosanna, God on high, Loving One!

How blest is Christ, who comes in your name, in your love,
who blessed and taught and healed in your love.
In love your Christ has died, is risen at our side,
and still will come again in your love, in your love,
and Christ will come again in your love.

Pour out your Spirit, God, on this bread, on this wine:
for they are Christ made real in your love.
Make us the Body, too, of Christ, now sent from you,
that we your will may do in your love, in your love.
We offer you our lives in your love.


Into the Darkness (Original song)

Only the seed that has died and is buried
lives to bear fruit, Jesus said.
Lead me then into the darkness and dying,
so you can raise me up from the dead.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

All of my living, my loves and desires,
all of the things that I cling to,
now I surrender to die and be buried.
Raise me in following, serving you.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

Lead me to truth and have mercy and wash me
deep in the dark of my being,
a spirit like bread that is taken and broken:
this is the death that is freeing.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

Give me a clean heart, a heart pure in spirit,
willing and steadfast and made new.
My life I lose; let your cross lift me up now.
One joy restore to me: life in you.
Jesus, help me die and rise.


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.


Your Healing Cross       (Tune: The River Is Wide)

Dear gentle Christ, in love you died;
for us you wept, were crucified.
and, through your pain, the blood they drew,
we see the love that carried you.

And so for you, we gladly live,
our love, our hearts we freely give.
We neither fear despair nor death,
but trust your grace in every breath.

As one with you who died and rose,
we give our hearts and hands to those
who suffer need, or pain or loss;
in love we bear your healing cross.

March 3, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Exodus 20. 1-17. The Ten Commandments.

Psalm 19. The heavens are telling the glory of God. The law of God is perfect. Clear me from hidden faults. Let my words and thoughts be acceptable to you.

1 Corinthians 1. 18-25 The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but we proclaim Christ crucified.

John 2 .13-22 Jesus “cleanses” the temple.

Preaching Thoughts

Today’s’ scriptures invite us to trust and be faithful to God’s Covenant not in order to be saved, but because we already are.

Exodus
        See Ten Commandments: Variations and Meditations for further reflections and some paraphrases.
       The Ten Commandments do not belong in courthouses. (“Thou shalt have no other gods before me?” Are you kidding? The way we idolize money, violence, military power, popularity, nationalism and white supremacy? Our courts would be a mess! And, golly, this country’s economy is built on coveting.) The “commandments” are not rules God imposes on the world. They’re a religious practice. They’re spiritual disciplines. They’re the vows Israel takes to be faithful to God’s covenant—Israel’s marriage vows to God. They’re our reciprocation of God’s love, rising out of our love of God—not out of moral obligation. And they’re ours—as personal as wedding vows. They’re not for others. They’re a picture of what it looks like to love God and love your neighbor.
      God’s laws are not hoops to jump through, as if God is testing our loyalty by making us do certain tricks. They’re how we affirm and support life. “Because God says so” is not a valid rationale for religious laws. There’s a reason God says so: pay attention to the reason—the spirit of the law, not just the letter. Though most of them are stated in the negative—“Thou shalt not…”— they’re ways of living positively, ways of honoring and serving life. Think of them as positives: Trust God, receive grace, be faithful, be gentle, share generously…
       The Sabbath commandment is the only one with a rationale attached, both here and in the other version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5.6-21. And since it’s Jewish, if there are two versions of the Ten Commandments, there will be two different rationales for the Sabbath commandment. In Exodus it’s because God rested on the seventh day. It suggests that beyond our doing there is holiness in our being. In Deuteronomy it’s that you were slaves in Egypt but God set you free: you are not going back to that! Your worth is not measured by your productivity but simply because you are God’s. Again, our value is in our being rather than our doing. (This understanding places a healthy corrective on God’s laws: even when we don’t obey them God still loves us, because our value is in our being, not our doing!)

Psalm
       If our eyes are open we see the Word of God in all Creation. The “law of God” is not a requirement, but simply what is True. God’s law is not an order like a civil “law” but the way it is, like the law of gravity, or the laws of nature. God’s law is love. It’s the way God works, and the way we live in harmony with God’s will.
       And of course, like singers who don’t know they’re out of tune, we’re out of tune with God most of the time. So we listen, and we pray for wisdom to discern our “hidden faults” so as to be faithful to God’s way.

1 Corinthians
      “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom.” God is not a “thing,” even a “person,” we can actually talk about; words are useless. God’s grace is not an idea we can agree with or disagree with. It’s not a rational entity at all. The great paradox is that, as The Cloud of Unknowing says, God can be loved but not thought. Or as Martin Buber says, “God can properly only be addressed, but not expressed.” The reality of God is beyond rational understanding, and God’s grace does not fit in any intellectual or emotional frames. So the cross—the story of Jesus’ self-sacrificing love—doesn’t make “sense” as Greek philosophers sought, or seem like a sign of God’s power as Paul’s fellow Jews expected. But it gives us life. We’re still stuck on wanting it to either make sense or display power. But God’s wisdom and power don’t fit our categories or expectations. You can’t comprehend God’s truth through rational thought any more than you can smell a symphony. Love operates in a different field of energy. And love seldom appears powerful. It often looks like loss, weakness or surrender. But there is life in it. Primarily the way we come to see that is not through signs or explanations but through experience. People will not come to love God through having things explained to them, or seeing some wondrous sign; they’ll come to love by being loved.

John
      Jesus’ argument with temple commerce is not that people are overcharging or that money is filthy. He’s shutting down the possibility of sacrifices. It’s as if he’s saying “Don’t give God coins or animals, give God yourself.” Give to God what is God’s. (And stop making others—even animals—pay for you.) Jesus is actually deeply faithful to the temple—he goes there to pray and to teach. But he’s against a religious system that emphasizes pious acts over actual love. His action in the temple echoes what he says when he quotes Hosea 6.6 (twice! Mt 9.13 and12.7): God says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He echoes the frequent critiques of the prophets against religious sacrifices as a substitute for justice. (“I hate your feasts and festivals…”) Part of his thinking may also be that the temple taxes and offerings put an inordinate burden on the poor. By prohibiting sacrifices (that some could not afford) Jesus puts everyone on equal footing before God.
      Be careful not to fall into the trap of presenting Jesus’ action as against Judaism. I sometimes hear Jewish faith portrayed as offering sacrifices to appease or please God, as if to earn God’s favor, in contrast with Christianity that has faith in God’s grace. Sacrifices weren’t meant to curry God’s favor. They were spiritual practices of commitment and gratitude, ways not so much to show God how faithful you were but to remind yourself to be faithful, to actually practice the generosity God empowers you to do. Jesus’ actions aren’t drawing a line between Jewish and Christian worship, but between mere religious devotion and actively loving. He’s forcing us to give our sacrifices to other people instead of—or rather as a way of—giving them to God. Remember how he complained (Mark 7.9-13) about people giving their offerings to God instead of to their elders?
      In what ways is Jesus symbolically “cleansing” the structures of your religious beliefs and practice? How might he be challenging “good deeds” you do that shield you from actually loving? (“I gave at church… so I don’t have to actually go to the homeless shelter…”) In what ways does Jesus challenge your sense of spiritual entitlement—that you’ve made the right sacrifice, so God “ought” to help you—rather than receiving grace as pure gift?

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: We stand in the temple of the universe, the holy place where God dwells.
All: We worship in awe and gratitude.
We gather in the temple of the Body of Christ, where God is lovingly present for us.
We worship in love and peace.
Our own bodies are temples of God, where the Spirit works miracles.
We worship in humility, with open hearts.
Grant us forgiveness and life, and receive our gifts.

2.
Leader: Galaxies, spinning, cry: Glory!
All: God’s Word enters us and cries, Life!
Loving God, receive us; receive our prayers; receive our praise.
Gracious God, guide us now, that we may embrace you and your love.

3.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you.
All: Source of life, we return to you.
Christ, light of God’s forgiveness, we thank you.
Brother and healer, we open our hearts to you.
Holy Spirit, new life of God, you rise in us.
You make us holy, and make our lives a sacred offering,
We give them to you, in the name of your love. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy One, we come into your presence to offer that most precious of gifts to you: our open, listening hearts. We lay aside our pride and certainty, and come humbly seeking your grace. Speak to us and let your Word transform us into your offering for the sake of your will for the blessing of all people, for healing and justice, for the completion of Creation. Amen.

2.
Cleanse the temple of our hearts, O God, of all that would distance us from you. Bring us close and hold us near in your loving grace. Speak your Word to us, that we may be made whole. Amen.

3.
Gracious and faithful God, all Creation sings with your love. You speak your Word in all things, your Law in each moment. Help us to hear now, so that we may see your way more clearly and love you more deeply, and serve you more fully, in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, you have established your Covenant with us, promising to be our God and calling us to be your people. Calm our anxious hearts and order our scattered lives by writing your Word on our hearts. Instill your ways in us, and restore in us the grace of your Covenant, so that we might worthily worship you by serving you, now and always, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Gentle God
whose only law is love,
cleanse the temple of my heart
of all I think I must do
for you to love me,
and of all that keeps me
from loving freely.
May the thoughts of my mind
and the prayers of my heart
feast on your delight. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, we confess our need for your grace.
In the temple of our hearts,
receive our gifts,
forgive our sin, and set us free.
We offer up to you all in us that you would transform by your grace.
                  Silent prayer … the word of grace

2.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we bring our whole lives into the light of God’s grace.
For those times we have been most in harmony with you, O God, we give thanks.
          …Silent reflection…
God of grace, we thank you,
for your mercy is great.
For those times we have been most out of harmony with you, O God,
we ask your forgiveness and healing.
          …Silent reflection…
God of grace, we thank you,
for your mercy is great.
Siblings in Christ, in the love of God and the grace of our Beloved Jesus Christ
your sins are entirely forgiven, and you are set free
to live by the power of God’s Spirit alone, now, to eternal life.
Thanks be to God.
         … Passing the peace

3.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Loving God, we are nothing without you.
We confess our need for your saving, life-giving grace.
We turn from our self-saving, and rely upon you wholly.
In the grace which we know in Christ,
receive us, forgive us, and renew us. Amen.

4.
Holy and loving God,
you have created us to live in harmony with you and with all Creation;
but I have not always lived in harmony.
Some of my sin I can see; but some only you know.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask you to forgive my disharmony,
and deliver me from the forces that distort my life
Heal the fear that leads me away from you.
and change my heart,
so that I may truly live in harmony with you and all Creation,
in the love of Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Readings

1.
Click here for Psalm 19, a paraphrase.


2.
1 Corinthians 1.18-25. A parpahrase

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who don’t mind throwing their lives away, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
       “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
      and the discernment of the discerning
            I will thwart.”

Show me one who is wise. Show me a scholar. Show me a debater of this age. When it comes to understanding God, all their worldly wisdom is completely foolish. Reason doesn’t work to come to know God. So God uses this news about the cross, and even though it sounds foolish, it saves those who trust it.

Jews demand to see signs from God, and Greeks want to figure everything out. But we are proclaiming Christ crucified, which sounds awful to the Jews and makes no sense to the Greeks. But to those whom God calls, both Jews and gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For God has made foolish the wisdom of the world.
The devout want lofty feelings and the cynical want proof,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a challenge to head and heart alike;
but in this mystery we find the power of God and the wisdom of God.
God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom,
and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
God’s love is greater than any law.
It is that love we cherish, honor, and obey. Alleluia.

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 —————

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 give you thanks, for you create us out of your love.
We who are the image of your love return to you with love.
You make covenant to be our God, and you set us free from all that oppresses us.
You have set us free from all demands, free to be your beloved community.
You walk with us toward new life, giving us Jesus to show us the way.
We turn to you in gratitude, to offer our gifts and sing your praise,
joining with one voice with all Creation:

            [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 love, and blessed is Jesus, your Anointed One.
He taught and healed, he lifted up the poor and received their gifts,
he confronted the injustice of the demands of the powerful,
and established a new Realm in which love is the only currency.
He cherished your love in the temple of his body,
and for his rebellion against the Empire they destroyed his body.
He was crucified; but you raised him from the dead.
He is your living law, and he is our life.
[The Blessing and Covenant…]

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
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 Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be the Body of Christ for the world.
For you desire mercy, not sacrifice:
you call us to love, freed from the fear of inadequacy,
filled with your Spirit, our bodies temples of your grace.
All glory and honor is yours, loving God, now and forever.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

————— #2 —————
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: for you created us in your image
and made Covenant to be our God—grace for which we cannot repay!
You have brought us out of slavery and gave us a place of belonging—
blessing without price!
You have walked with us in Christ, who shares our suffering
and gives himself to us in love—a gift we cannot match!
Therefore we come to his table singing your praise with all Creation:

            [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 loved and taught; he gathered the outcast; he confronted injustice.
He occupied our violence, to awaken us and lead us to a new Way.
He showed us how to love you in each other,
and embodied your commandments as one:
to love one another as you have loved 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,
transformed by your grace and forgiveness.
May our love be our sacrifice.
May our offering be our service for healing and justice,
that we may bring your love to all Creation in the name of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

————— #3 —————
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.

In the beginning, you created us in love.
You made Covenant with us to be in love always;
and when we have broken that Covenant
you have come to us in love.
You have judged the forces of oppression, set us free,
and given us a place of belonging in your house.
You have spoken to us your Word, showed us your Way,
and given us love we could not earn.
Therefore with all your Beloved people,
with all of Creation, and the communion of the saints,
we sing your praise with one voice.

            [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 loved and taught; he gathered the outcast; he confronted injustice.
As threats mounted and his death drew near
he chose, instead of making a sacrifice, to be a sacrifice.
He has given us faith that lives in acts of compassion,
that fulfills your commandments in love of each other,
love that he has given 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 our 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,
asking no one to sacrifice for us,
but giving of ourselves in love/
for the sake of the healing of the world,
in the name and Spirit of Christ.
     [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.]
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.) You have not given us worldly riches or power; you have given us your priceless love and your mighty grace. Send us into the world as your humble, confident servants, for the sake of the good news of your Realm of grace, in the name of Jesus. 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.) Send us into the world to obey and to embody your commandment to love, 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)

Eucharistic Responses : Eleven sets of Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation and Amen set to familiar hymn tunes appropriate for Lent. Two of them also include “table songs” of invitation/preparation for communion.

Table Song: Feed Us Your Grace (Tune: Finlandia)
(Among Table Songs, one- and two-verse songs of invitation and preparation for communion set to familiar hymn tunes.)

You call us, Christ, to take our cross and follow,
but first you bring us here to feast with you.
Our gifts we bring, to celebrate your loving.
Our lives we give, to die and rise anew.
Feed us your grace, your spirit of compassion;
make us your body now, your will to do.

March 17, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Jeremiah 31. 31-34. “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…. I will write it on their hearts…. I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

Psalm 51. You desire truth in the inward being…. Create in me a new heart…. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a contrite heart.

Hebrews 5. 5-10. Jesus offered up prayers to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. He learned obedience through what he suffered; and became the source of salvation, a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

John 12.20-33. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life….Should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour … Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”

Preaching Thoughts

Jeremiah
       The new covenant God offers is written on our hearts: not something we “ought” to do, but as a part of who we are. It’s a covenant of love, not obligation. I don’t care for my wife because I’m supposed to. I care for her becauseI want to, because I love her, because treating her well gives me delight. Such is the Covenant God offers us: one not of duty but delight, not of laws and punishments but of desire and gratitude.
       “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” See how different this is from “I will remember their sin and demand payment for it and send someone who will sacrifice himself so that then I can let go of their sin”? Totally different.

Hebrews
        Note that although Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death, he wasn’t saved from death. As Jesus says in John his prayer wasn’t “Save me from this,” but something else. It’s worthy to wonder what. Maybe “Help be stay faithful.” Or “Not my will but yours.” What do you think Jesus prayed? Ponder that. Hebrews seems to say that since Jesus was faithful to God, even through suffering, he paves the way for us to do the same.
       Hebrews doesn’t say what it means for Jesus to be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. “Today I have begotten you” quotes Psalm 2, with its heavy messianic overtones. The Melchizedek bit (which runs through Hebrews) quotes Psalm 110, which also says nothing about what that means. It’s a reference to Genesis 14, which also doesn’t explain what it means other than that there was this guy who was a priest of El Olium,“God Supreme.” He blessed Abram, and brought him bread and wine. Yeah, that sounds like Jesus.

John
       Here’s Jesus’ gospel in a nutshell: when you give your life away in love, God gives you a new one. This is death and resurrection: not going to heaven, but receiving new life after surrendering your old one. We’re comfortable with Jesus’ parables about seeds growing secretly and seeds yielding a hundred fold and sixty and thirty… but we’re not as at ease with the reality that to sprout a seed has to die. It has to be thrown away and be buried and fall apart and break open and cease to be a seed. In the delusion of our sin we believe we’re whole, self-contained units and we need to protect ourselves to live. But in fact we can truly live only when new allow ourselves to be part of an ecosystem of soil and rain and sun. Unless we’re part of the whole workings of Life we’re just a little unit, but not bearing fruit, not truly and deeply fulfilling the call of life. The way to live your life fully is to be embedded I God, to give your life over to God in loving service, like seeds that “die” and then bear fruit. Think of yourself as a seed and God as good soil.
       “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” This is not a before-and-after distinction. Eternal life isn’t just dying and going to heaven. The reason it’s “eternal” isn’t because it’s interminably long. That’s not actually what we want. (Are you kidding? Your people don’t even like it when worship goes 10 minutes over, and they think they want to live for 14 billion years?!? Fat chance.) No, eternal life isn’t infinitely long; it’s infinitely deep and wide. It’s life that’s infinite, in this life here and now, life that’s connected with God, with all other life, with the Real Purpose of Life, which is Love. It’s life that’s infinite because it can’t be depleted, can’t be diminished, can’t be taken from you. The distinction is between clinging to life in terms the world values—personal survival, comfort, power and esteem—or being connected to the heart of what it is to really live. You can have one or the other, Jesus says, not both. To have either you have to let go of the other. Sometimes letting go of “life in this world” is easy; sometimes it costs you dearly. But every moment, you’re choosing.
       Jesus says “the ruler of this world will be driven out.” He (or John) may have in mind an apocalyptic event of God’s final victory over human evil and injustice… or he may be saying

Love is more powerful than anything. Love wins, even when evil powers stay in place. Even in this messed-up world, right now, love is still victorious. Love is still the dominant power and the ultimate reality. Love casts out the powers of this world— hate, fear, greed and violence—and replaces them with healing, trust and generosity. The question is not whether it will succeed but which side we’re on.
       “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” We could interpret this doctrinally, that every earthling will become Christian. Or we can see it symbolically: that love includes everybody. Love, lifted up on a cross of self-giving, draws all people into its care. No one is left out. Christ, crucified and risen, loves all people.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Holy God, you are the soil of heaven.
All: We are your seeds of life. We fall into you.
We are buried in you, and we live.
Holy God, you sow us in the soil of the world.
We are your seeds of love.
We let go of ourselves, and we bear fruit.
May your Spirit live in us, your Christ blossom in us,
your love bear fruit in us. Amen.

2.
Leader: Eternal Mystery, Ground of our being,
you are the soil from which we grow.
Risen Christ, Loving Presence,
you are the courage with which we die.
Holy Spirit, Radiant Oneness,
you are the joy with which we are raised.
In mercy, receive our praise, our prayers and our lives,
and transform us in the spirit of compassion. Amen.

3. [Ps. 51]
Leader:Holy One, open our lips
All: and our mouths shall show forth your praise.
Behold, you desire truthfulness in our inner lives.
Therefore give us grace to see ourselves clearly.
Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and faithful spirit within us.
Have mercy on us, according to your steadfast love.
We worship you with open hearts. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy One, speak your Word to us, and write your love on our hearts. 
Holy One, speak your truth to us, and write your love on our hearts.
Holy One, speak your grace to us, and write your love on our hearts. Amen.

2.Loving God, we do not ask for your Word carved on tablets or inscribed on scrolls. Write your grace on our hearts, that we may always bear it with us, listen to its music, and follow its ways, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.
Leader: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,”
Jesus said, “it remains just a single grain.”
All: But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
God of love, we come to worship,
that we may bear the fruit of love in our lives.
Therefore we come to die and be buried in Christ.
“Those who love their life lose it,” Jesus said,
“and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
We come to let go of our desires and attachments,
to let go of the life of appearances,
so that with empty hands
we may receive the infinite life you give us.
We worship that your grace may flourish in us.
We worship that we may bear the fruit of your love. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

I will be your seed, O God;
for you are my soil.
Let me fall into you.
Let me be buried in you.
May your love break me open and rise in me,
that I may bear the fruits of your Spirit. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God, we confess that we cling to the things of this world;
our hands are too full to receive your grace.
Help us let go of all but you,
to lose our life,
to receive your life.
Help us to die and rise
with Christ,
who is our Beloved, our promise,
our courage.
         Silent prayer … The Word of Grace

2.
O God, you desire truth in the inward being;
teach us to see ourselves clearly.
Your mercy is abundant, O God;
wash us clean of our sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within us.

3.
Eternal Creator, steadfast in grace,
I who am inconstant in love turn to you.
Write your Word upon my heart.
Root your grace in me, that I may be faithful in all things
in the spirit of your compassion.

4.
Eternal God, we confess our sin, that we have not loved you perfectly, nor loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have clung to our lives rather than surrender them to you. Forgive our sin, heal our fear, and transform our desires, that we may trust you wholly and serve you heartily, in the Spirit of Christ.

Readings

1.
Because you are God’s child, you are like God.
You have God’s Spirit.
You are filled with God’s gifts.
Though you may feel inadequate,
the gifts God has given you are holy, beautiful, and powerful.
But they are not for you. They are for the world.
If you hold onto them, they have no beauty, purpose or power.
Only when you let them go, give them away, do they become true gifts.
Like a seed, your gifts will only become apparent if you “die,”
if you give of yourself. Then beautiful things will happen.
The only reason we withhold our gifts,
our time and talent, our money or our passion,
is that we are afraid.
But since we are God’s and God’s Spirit is in us,
we are not afraid. We are free.
So we give generously. We give our best.
We give joyfully.
In this way we fulfill the purpose of our lives,
glorify God, and participate in the healing of the world.


2. Psalm 51, a paraphrase

Be gentle with me, O God,
         hold me in your constant love.
With your abundant mercy
         free me from my sins.
Wash away the grime
         that covers your image in me.I know I don’t live the life you give me;
         you know the difference.
My love is not perfect;
         this you see.

But you lead me to live in harmony
         with my inner truth,
to be transparent
         to your presence within me.
Purge me with your love,
         that I may be pure love.
Fill me,
         that I may be pure light.
Deep within me, in your light,
         I discover joy,
gratitude even for bones broken
         to be reset.
When you look at me you don’t see sins;
         you see love.

Create me all over again, O God;
         breathe your life-giving breath in me.
Hold me close
         and give me your loving spirit.
You are the joy that sustains me;
         you give me my willing heart.
O Beloved, when I open my lips,
         my mouth will sing praise, only praise.

I can’t offer a thing to please you,
         can’t determine your love for me.
What delights you is just me,
         this broken heart,
         this true, simple heart.
Use me as I am to love the world.
         That will be gift enough for both of us.

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 of love, we praise you,
for in the deep soil of this world you have sown yourself,
where you grow and flourish with beauty and grace,
bearing the fruit of life.
You have planted yourself in us and made us in your image.
You have claimed us as your own and made covenant to love us.
You have condemned the forces of oppression and you walk with us to freedom.
In the fullness of time you came to us in Jesus,
who died in love for us, that your love might bear fruit in us.
Therefore we come to Christ’s table, hungry for life.
We come singing your praise, with all Creation:

            [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.
In this meal he draws all people to himself.
In this meal love casts out the powers of the world.
In this meal Jesus nourishes the grace that is hidden in our lives.
In this meal Jesus heals and teaches us,
feeds the hungry and lifts up the heartbroken.
In this meal we remember Jesus’ life and ministry,
his self-giving love, and his death,
For he flung himself like a seed of God into the world,
and was crucified and buried.
But in his dying there is life; in his rising your love bears fruit.[The Blessing and Covenant…]

Remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving,as a holy and living 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 Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
transformed by your mercy, dying and rising with Christ.May your love bear fruit in us,for the healing of the world, to your eternal glory.

     [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.]
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.) We are the seeds of your love. Sow us in the soil of this world, that your grace in us may bear fruit. 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.) In the death and resurrection of Jesus you give us courage to die and rise with him, to surrender ourselves to lives of love and self-giving. May the seed of your grace flourish in us, that we may bear the fruits of your Spirit, for the sake of the wholeness of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen..

Suggested Songs

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

God, I Surrender       (Original song)

God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
All my desires I give to you.
Take them from me and make me new.
   
God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
Trusting you wholly I follow you
Take my life and make me new.
  
God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
I am a seed that has died in you.
Raise me to serve and make me new.

God, you have searched me    (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
                   [ Psalm 139, Psalm 51]

God, you have searched me; you know from within
all of my beauty, my wounds and my sin.
Deep in my heart—I’ve not spoken a word—
you know my soul, and my thoughts you have heard.

You who have made me and always are near,
help me to shed my illusion and fear.
Help me be truthful, and truthfully see,
humbly transparent to your grace in me.

Your loving presence within me each day
go with me, guide me, and show me your way.
Give me the eyes of your mercy and grace,
to walk in love in each moment, each place.


Into the Darkness (Original song)

Only the seed that has died and is buried
lives to bear fruit, Jesus said.
Lead me then into the darkness and dying,
so you can raise me up from the dead.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

All of my living, my loves and desires,
all of the things that I cling to,
now I surrender to die and be buried.
Raise me in following, serving you.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

Lead me to truth and have mercy and wash me
deep in the dark of my being.
A spirit like bread that is taken and broken:
this is the death that is freeing.
Jesus, help me die and rise.

Give me a clean heart, a heart poor in spirit,
willing and steadfast and made new,
my life I lose; let your cross lift me up now.
One joy restore to me: life in you.
Jesus, help me die and rise.


Seeds of Light     (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)
       [May be used as an invitation to communion,
       or the three verses used as Eucharistic Prayer responses.]

Holy and Loving One, thank you for your love and grace
from the beginning, throughout our days.
With every living thing in grateful joy we sing,
and lift to you our song of praise.

Dying, Christ died with us. Rising, Christ has raised us up.
Christ will come in love and reign.
May we be seeds of light, shining with mercy bright,
that death itself cannot contain.

Pour out your Spirit now on these gifts and us as well:
make us the body of Christ again.
Send us in love and grace, serving in joy and peace.
All praise to you! Amen. Amen.


Shine In Me       (Tune: Breathe on Me, Breath of God)

Shine in me, light of God: into my shadows shine,
all that is dark and hidden, show; reveal with your light divine.

Open the window, Love, into my heart’s abyss:
fears and desires, all wants and wounds bring into your light and bless.

What is unseen reveal; give me the gift of sight,
lighten the shadows deep within and, Love, make my darkness light.

Shine in me, light of God, your mercy gleaming bright.
I am the lantern, you the flame. Love, let me live in your light.


You are the soil (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)
      [The verses of this song could also be used as Eucharistic Prayer Responses]

God, Holy Presence, source of life and blessing,
you are the soil and we the seed.
By your indwelling grace, we die in your embrace;
you raise us up and we are freed.

Jesus, Beloved One, healer, teacher, guide and friend,
in you we come to die and rise:
buried like seeds in earth, given new, gracious birth,
with your love shining in our eyes.

Spirit, breathe into us. Fill us with your loveliness.
Flourish in us with your new green shoots.
May your life freely flow, swelling our hearts to grow,
that we may bear love’s finest fruits.

January 14, 2024

Lectionary Texts

1 Samuel 3.1-10 God calls to Samuel, who at first does not realize that it is God who is speaking to him.

Psalm 139 “You have searched me and known me.” (Click here for Psalm 139, a paraphrase.)

1 Corinthians 6. 12-20 Not everything that is lawful is helpful…. Our bodies are members of Christ, a temple of the Holy Spirit. … You are bought with a price.

John 1.43-51 Jesus calls Phillip, who tells Nathaniel about Jesus. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” “Come and see.”

Preaching Thoughts

1 Samuel
       A classic common of a call from God is that we tend to disbelieve it at first. “Sorry, wrong number.” … How might God be calling you, nudging you, attracting you, alluring you, even tricking you into God’s delight for you? Yes, God’s delight. God does not call us toward misery, but toward joy.

Psalm
       One reason we can trust God’s call is that God knows us better than we know ourselves. God is not “watching over us” from above, but living in us, seeing us from the inside. God has “known” me in “the biblical sense, “ that is, as intimately as with sexual intercourse. This suggests to me that God’s judgment is not a matter of God standing above us with opinions about how good we are, but God’s knowledge and understanding of what it is to be us—to be you—and God’s vision of who we are created to be, and our journey toward that vision. God is not in the clouds above us sending sun and wind and rain and storms and calm down on our little sailing ship, but in the boat with us (remember Jesus asleep in the boat?), offering wisdom for how to navigate. It’s a voice we can trust.

1 Corinthians
       We see again here Paul’s mystical theology, that we are not separate beings but one in God, one in the Body of Christ. Our bodies look like separate individuals but in reality we’re all fingers of the same hand, members of the same body. That implies that our true calling is toward harmony with the whole and our place in it. God’s call may involve conflict as we engage the Powers in the struggle for justice, but God’s call doesn’t pit us against others; we’re all one, even the people we oppose. (We’re not against them, but the powers of injustice.)

John
       “Can anything good come from Galilee?” Another mark of God’s call is that not only do we doubt it sometimes, but others doubt it, too. God’s call works in people we don’t suspect. Part of learning to listen for God’s call in us is to listen for it in others, too. God calls all of us. Think of the motley crew Jesus called.. including Judas!
       In John’s gospel people, including Jesus, go around saying he is the Messiah, the Son of God. Nathaniel’s outburst— “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” sounds like an odd thing for someone to say who’s just met Jesus. But John is not giving us a historical account, nor is he evangelizing, trying to beat unbelievers over the head and get them to believe in Jesus. He’s writing for his church, for people who are already following Jesus. John knows we know Jesus is the Son of God. He’s inviting us to watch Jesus with that knowledge, so we more deeply entrust ourselves to him. John is saying to us “Come and see.” Watch Jesus. Unbelievers trouble themselves over whether or not Jesus is sent from God, but that’s not our focus. We watch him and see how he behaves—the acts of radical love, healing, inclusivity and liberation—and learn from that, learn both how to trust Jesus and also what to do with our own lives.
       John can’t resist adding one of his theological spoilers here (there’s on on every page): “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon ‘the Son of Man.’” (The New Human.) Ascending and descending matches the order of movement of the angels on Jacob’s ladder. Contrary to those who think heaven is hard to get into, here’s another of the New Testament’s many visions of heaven being open. The angels don’t travel with the New Human, but upon the New Human. As if Jesus is the stairway to heaven, the bridge to the holy, the entry into the divine mystery. (“I am the way.”) Whatever this means, I don’t think it means access to heaven is limited to people who believe in Jesus. It doesn’t say “on their faith,” but “on the Son of Man.” Jesus carries us into the divine, like a parent carrying a child into the house. Jesus bears us into lives of perfect love; that’s Jesus’ work, not ours.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Silence of God, you enfold us.
All: We are here. We are listening.
Word of God, you come to us.
We are here. We are listening.
Spirit of God, you live in us.
We are here. Speak to us, for your servants are listening.

2.
Leader: Eternal God, source of all wisdom, we praise you.
All: Open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may see your truth.
Risen Christ, you whose word rings true, we greet you.
Open our ears, so that we may hear your voice.
Holy Spirit, you whose light shines in us, and guides our way, we thank you.
Open our hearts, and give us courage to seek your wisdom.
Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: The Holy One calls us. Do we hear?
All: Sometimes, when the chaos of the world is quiet, and we decide to listen.
And how do we answer God’s call?
We worship today seeking to hear and answer God’s call.
Here I am, God. Speak for I am listening. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love and Truth, many images present themselves to us, but they are not your vision for us. Be thou our vision. Many voices call to us, but they are not you. Beneath the noise of this world you are calling to us. We want to hear you, and see your vision for us. Speak, for your servants are listening. Amen.

2.
God of truth, you speak and we fail to hear; you whisper and we do not listen. You call us to follow, and we falter. Yet still you come to us and give us the gift of your Word. You are calling to us now. Help us to hear. Give us courage to see. By your Spirit, may we follow Christ in faith. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, in many quiet ways you come to us; you speak to us. Grant us the grace to listen with our hearts, to look with the eyes of our souls. Open our hearts, that we may know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day praising you, with Christ your Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

4.
Almighty God, You who continually call your people to yourself, draw us by the power of Your Holy Spirit into such a warm and binding relationship that we may faithfully follow you in our daily lives in the name and spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

God, you are whispering.
We are silent.
Deep within the temple of our heart,
you are calling.
Our ears cannot hear, only our hearts.
We are listening.
In silence our hearts are listening.

Prayer of Confession

Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Gentle God, we confess that we are afraid to look honestly at ourselves.
Help us by your grace to see ourselves as you see us.
We place ourselves in your light, in your mercy.
Heal us, forgive us, bless us, and set us free,
in the name and the spirit of the crucified and risen Christ. Amen.
[Silent prayer… the word of grace]

Reading

Click here for Psalm 139, a paraphrase

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

You have loved us, and in your love you have called us. Awaken us to your Spirit, give us courage, and empower us with grace to follow you, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Calling me (Original song)

Dear God, Creator eternally, you call everything to be.
How are you calling me, even now?
Who do you call me to be?
Where is your image in me, calling me?

Jesus, lord of the fishermen, calling your children,
you call to me once again, even now.
What will you lead me to do?
How can I witness to you, calling me, calling me?

Spirit, power of love in me, how do you set me free,
what gifts are you giving me, even now?
I am a vessel for you.
Humbly I listen to you, calling me, calling me.


Drawing Me (Original song)

Holy One, Mystery, how will you keep drawing me
nearer to the heart within the heart?
Nearer still, falling in, closer to the heart within,
draw me God. I fall into your love.
Lover, you are calling, you are drawing,
I am falling into you in love.

Deep in me there’s a voice, there’s a hunger, there’s a choice,
seeking something vital that is you.
By your grace drawing me, may I fall eternally
nearer to my center deep in you.
Lover, you are calling, you are drawing,
I am falling into you in love.


God, you have searched me – Psalm 139 (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God, you have searched me; you know from within,
all of my beauty, my wounds and my sin.
Deep in my heart, before I speak a word,
you know my soul, and my thoughts you have heard.

You who you have made me and always are near,
help me to shed my illusion and fear.
Help me be truthful, and truthfully see,
humbly transparent to your grace in me.

Your loving presence within me each day
go with me, guide me, and show me your way.
Give me the eyes of your mercy and grace,
to walk in love in each moment, each place.