Category: Worship Resources

November 12, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Joshua 24. 1-25 — Joshua recites the story of the exodus and invites the people to renew their commitment to God. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Holy One.”

Psalm 78 — recalls that history, giving thanks that although the people were rebellious, God still forgives and provides. (It’s long see an excerpt, adapted, below.)

1 Thessalonians 4. 13-18 — proclaims that at the final coming of Christ, those who have died will be raised to new life and join the living, to be with Christ.

Matthew 25. 1-13 —The parable of ten wedding attendants.

Preaching Thoughts

Joshua
       At Schechem Joshua gathers the people who have recently come into the Promised Land from their wilderness wanderings. His telling of the exodus story is a tale of God’s gracious and consistent care. But it’s couched in an ancient image of God that’s basically a great big human being, with human intentions, actions and feelings. You might want to help folks find a way to appreciate this image of God’s interventions (“I gave them over to you…It was not by your sword or by your bow”) as an expression of God’s faithfulness to us—without taking literally its more destructive dimensions (“I destroyed them before you…”). I hope we have grown beyond the archaic notion of God being “for us” by being against others, whoever they may be. Ancient Israelites saw both their victories and defeats as God’a actions. Maybe we can see that those military actions were human acts, not God’s, but God was present in all of it.
       What follows is an invitation to the renewal of the Covenant that’s rooted in Joshua’s own life. “You can do what you want, but as for me and my household…” That’s a pretty solid evangelistic approach. Don’t coerce people, just show them how it works. Joshua offers something that feels more like a final exam than an evangelistic pitch. “Are you sure you wan to do this?” Joshua asks, “because this is going to be really hard.” What if instead of proselytizing we warned people that obeying the Spirit is hard work, that following Jesus doesn’t always make your life easier or maybe even “better”—just more true and purposeful? Joshua’s “examination” of the people isn’t necessarily a deterrent to faith, but a warning that living a life of love and justice is hard, and it’s going to take commitment and discipline. And we’re going to need God, and each other.
       
1 Thessalonians
       As the flight attendants say, “We have begun our initial descent into the Reign of Christ.” The lectionary begins to point toward the coming of Christ. As it winds up the story of the escape from Egypt and entry into the Promised Land, it anticipates our entry into a different kind of Promised land at the second coming of Christ. But note: if you’re going to read a scripture like this in worship, sooner or later you need to talk about it. We don’t need to take the imagery literally—fodder for all those hokey “Rapture” movies in which people literally float up into the sky… and then what? Live where, the upper mesosphere? Maybe all the way out to the exosphere, dodging communication satellites? Our out in deep space? Let that go.
       Paul is using poetic imagery to suggest that we are liberated from the physical bounds we now know, not that we physically “meet the Lord in the air.” But with or without the part about being “caught up in the clouds,” the notion of an afterlife in which we get to meet loved ones who have died is truly comforting for a lot of people. So be careful how you deconstruct it. I think it’s important to be honest with your people: we actually don’t know anything about the afterlife, other than that it’s in God’s hands. So it’s got to be good. Even if we discard all our specific ideas about the afterlife, at the very least we can affirm that we are part of something greater than ourselves that even death can’t cancel. Our faith in resurrection isn’t certainty about what we, or life, will be like after we die, but that all of life, and even death, in in God’s loving hands. True faith is not having lots of comforting ideas about the future; it’s trusting God especially when the future is completely unknown.
        By the way, if you give yourself permission to fiddle with the lectionary, and you want to preach on the parable of the wedding attendants, you might pair it with next week’s Epistle reading, 1 Thessalonians 5.1-11, about belonging to the day instead of the night.

Matthew
       The usual interpretation of this story is: “Be prepared. Jesus is coming any minute, so be ready for the rapture.” So the theme is waiting, being ready. But wait. How does one prepare for the rapture? I can’t think of what that means, other than living your life the way God wants you to, whether the rapture is tomorrow or in the year 4046. (It seems just as likely that we should have to wait 2,023 years as the writers of the New testament should.) Liturgically it makes sense to focus on the imminent coming of Christ, since we’re we’re approaching Reign of Christ Sunday, and Advent. Jesus is coming. Be ready. So come to the marriage feast of the Lamb….
       But all of this is post-Jesus interpretation, arising in a community that had expected Jesus’ return, but after 50 years he still hadn’t. There was some anxiety about how long they had to wait. That’s Matthew’s concern, but not Jesus’. I don’t think he told parables about himself. Besides, if Jesus is the groom, we are not wedding attendants. We are the bride. So let’s find another angle to this story.
       Maybe it’s about how it’s easy to say you believe in God, but more important to actually live as if God is a part of your life. The foolish guests act like they don’t really expect the critical moment to come. How differently would we live if we actually expected Jesus to show up in our living room tomorrow?
       Maybe it’s saying: “Have faith, and keep the oil in your lamp of faith burning. (Again. How do you just up and “have faith?” Easier said than done. And, wait. If you are the light of the world, then you don’t need oil. You already shine. So what’s with that?) So maybe putting oil in your lamp is about feeding your soul. What do you need to do to fill your lamp? What helps you grow spiritually? What strengthens your love? That’s the oil. Maybe the story is saying: “Practice spiritual discipline so when you really need spiritual strength you have it.”
        Maybe it’s about the light we bring to the world instead of expecting the world to give us light. Maybe it’s about how your relationship with God isn’t dependent on anybody else’s. You can’t just borrow some faith from your neighbor like oil. You have to develop your own.
       If you want a “moral of the story” there are ideas like that. But there’s way more than that going on here. The parable isn’t just a fable, “a story with a moral.” It’s an experience in many dimensions with multiple layers, that can open our eyes or raise questions in many ways. Maybe it’s not trying to “tell” us anything, but inviting us to experience something that gives us a new perspective. For instance, this story ends up pretty sadly—the foolish ones being left out in the cold. Matthew would have been happy to make the story end like this: he thinks there are people in the church who should, at least in the Final Judgment, get kicked out. But that doesn’t sound like Jesus, who believed in radical inclusion. If “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Mt. 21.32) then maybe foolish people are, too. Maybe Jesus isn’t telling us an idea, but inviting us to wonder. Maybe at the end of the story we sit with the foolish ones in the dark and wonder how our friends could be so cruel as not to share. And what about the partygoers inside? Are they really happy with half the guests missing? Maybe not. And the groom, saying “I don’t know you” to half of his friends? Just because they’re late—after making them wait all night!? Our sadness or disappointment, maybe even loneliness, might teach us something: I don’t like it like this. I would rather have all of us together. What if the “wise” ones had been wise enough to be prepared to share? That’s a story I’d like to be part of. I don’t need oil just for my lamp—I need oil for my neighbor’s lamp. Maybe Matthew thinks of it as a story about making sure we’re included, even if others are excluded, but Jesus uses it as motivation to share, and to include everybody. …. Or maybe this story evokes something else for you. Play with it.
       It’s easy to imagine the story is about certain people, or groups of people. But maybe all ten of the wedding attendants are me. Some of me is wise, some foolish. What are the foolish parts of me that get left out because I don’t admit the light of God? What are the parts of me that are prepared to welcome God into my consciousness, prepared to celebrate?

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God of love, we come with our hearts lit to meet you.
All: We rejoice at your love and faithfulness.
Loving Christ, we come to be part of your celebration.
We want to be part of your community of joy.
Holy Spirit, we want to reflect the radiance of your love.
May the light of your joy and love shine in us, in all we do. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
All: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
Let everyone who hears say, “Come!”
Let all who are thirsty come, for Christ will turn none away.
We come, O Love, to worship in your light, to feast upon your grace. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: God of love, we long for you. We search for you. We wait for you.
All: Light the lamps of our hope, so we may wait and watch with patience.
The world is often dark, and it feels late.
Light the lamps of our faith, so we may shine with your light.
There are still those who wait in darkness.
Light the lamps of our love, sp we may share your light with others.
God, we open the vessels of our hearts to you;
we hold the wick of our hearts to the flame of your love.
Fill us with your light. Amen.

4.
Leader: God of love, you provide everything for us.
All:Life is a banquet of beauty. We come to the feast!
God, you are faithful; your love is steadfast.
You have married the world. We come to celebrate!
And what of those who don’t have enough light?
We will share our light, so that all may come.
Fill our lamps with the oil of your love, God,
fill them to overflowing,
so that we may share your light with others. Amen.

5.
Leader: Light of our night, you rise among us.
Congregation: We waken to your glory, and we praise you.
Light of our lives, you illumine our way.
We follow your radiance, and we thank you.
Light of our souls, you shine within us.
Alleluia! We open our hearts to your presence, and we turn to you,
that we may follow your light, and walk in your way.
Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of faithful love, all of life is your wedding feast, celebrating your Covenant with us. We want to be part of your joy. Proclaim your love to us again, in word and in silence. Declare your faithfulness. We will be present for you, and listen in trust and enter into your joy. Let our whole lives be your praise. Amen.2.God of love, we wait for your coming; we long for your presence. We trim our lamps with the oil of hope, eager to celebrate with you. Come, O Lord; speak to us who wait; in your Word invite us into the hall of your light and warmth. Amen.

3.
Loving God, we look for you. We wait for you. Fill us with the oil of hope and attentiveness so that we may see you when you are near, and see to enter into your presence. Amen.

4.
Eternal God, we are like bridesmaids waiting for the groom to appear. Give us oil in our lamps, that we may be ready. Give us hope in our hearts, that we may be awake. Give us your Word, so that we might bear your love into the world, in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
There is a wedding,
and the joy of love and faithfulness.
There is an invitation to enter,
to share in delight.
And there is oil in our lamps,
to see and to celebrate.
Love of God, welcome us in
and fill us with the light of your joy.

2.
God may the oil of your love
fill the lamp of my heart,
that I may share your light with joy.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God be 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 set before you all that we are,
all we have done, and all we have not done.
By your grace given to us in Christ,
we come to make peace with ourselves
and with you,
you who grant us your forgiveness and your peace.
       [Silent prayer … the word of grace]

2.
… Loving God, you call us to life,
but we have not fully entered in.
You shine your light in our lives,
but we have lived in darkness.
Open our eyes, forgive us,
and return us to the way of life. Amen.

Reading

     [from Psalm 78, adapted. Stanza breaks are appropriate places for sung responses.]

Listen, O people, to this teaching;
pay attention to these words of truth!
         We will tell a story that is rich with meaning,
         and utter sayings with truth hidden in them,
an ancient story that we have heard,
because it is a story about us.
         We will not hide these stories from our children,
         but tell them to the next generation:
         the glorious deeds of God, and God’s power,
         and the wonders that God has wrought.
God made this promise to us,
         so we would never forget God’s grace.

In the sight of our ancestors—
in your own memory—God worked miracles in Egypt.
         God divided the sea and led them through it,
         making the waters to stand like a heap.
God led them by a cloud in the daytime,
and all the night with a fiery light.
         God split the rocks in the wilderness,
         and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep,
         made streams to come out of the rock,
         and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

Yet they tested God in their hearts,
by demanding the food that they craved.
They spoke against God, saying:
         “Yes, God, you struck the rock
         so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed.
         But can you spread a table in the wilderness?
         Can you give bread, and provide meat for your people?”
Yet God commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven;
God rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
         With upright heart God tended them,
         and guided them with skillful hand.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
Jesus Christ, light of God, shine in us.
May the oil of your peace fill our hearts.
May the lamp of your grace lead our steps.
May the light of your love shine in our lives.
May we be a source of light for others
who wait for you in the dark.

2.
       We believe in God, maker of all that is and all that is to come.
       We follow Christ, the Light of God, who as our Bridegroom pledged God’s faithful love to us, who died and rose, and who leads us in grace into the celebration of life.
      We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, God’s loving flame within us, whose warmth gives us life and whose light guides us. In prayerful listening we open ourselves to that inner guidance, in union with all the saints; that we might bear witness to God’s faithful love and the forgiveness of sin, and to the present reality of resurrection and the mystery of eternal life. By God’s grace, in the name of Christ, we vow to walk in the way of love.

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.) In gratitude we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Light the lamp of your love in us, and guide and sustain us in shining your light in the world, for the sake of the healing of all Creation, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2.
… Send us out into the darkness to share your light. Strengthen us by your grace to share all that we have for the sake of the healing of the world, to increase your joy, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
… Gratefully we give you our gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. Guide us by your light, shape us by your Word, and send us into the world to serve others for the sake of the healing of the world, 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)


Be Thou My Wisdom (Tune: SLANE —Be Thou My Vision )

Be thou my Wisdom and grant me your sight.
Help me to see by your love’s perfect light.
Love, be my compass, my balance, my Way:
guide from within what I choose day by day.

Grant me the wisdom to seek and to learn, to
pray for your leading and wait and discern.
Help me to listen with all of my heart,
listen for all of the Truth you impart.

Grant me your Wisdom: a heart that’s made pure,
courage to follow a love that is sure.
Led by your Spirit, listening still,
help me to know and to follow your will.


Fill Me, Love (Tune: Lead Me, Lord)

Fill me, Love, fill me with the oil of love,
may my lamp burn, burn long and bright.
For, Love, you fill me when my heart is empty,
so I may shine through the longest night.


Sharing the Light (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

Bridegroom, Beloved, all life is your bride.
We come to celebrate here at your side.
Feasting and dancing long brighten the night.
Grateful we are for your love and your light.

See, though, beyond our small circle of light
those who are longing still, out in the night,
those who though seeking have no lamp or oil:
see how the bridegroom still loves them as well.

God who has loved us and filled us with grace
sends us in love to go out from this place,
sharing our own lamps, to bless and invite,
sharing our wealth, our abundance, our light.

This is the true feast, the love of our Lord:
sharing grace widely, for all are adored.
Sharing is how we will find true delight,
sharing the feast and the joy and the light.

Sleeper, Awake [Ephesians 5.14] (Original song)

Sleeper, awake,
come rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine upon you.

November 19, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Judges 4. 1-7 — Deborah, a judge of Israel, gives advice to Barak, a local military leader, about a conflict.

Psalm 123 —We look to God like a maid watches the hand of her mistress.
—or—
Psalm 76 — God overwhelms for forces of war and saves the oppressed.

1 Thessalonians 5.1-11 — Stay awake and be alert for the coming of Christ.

Matthew 25.14-30 — The parable of the talents.

Preaching Thoughts

Judges
       This is a glimpse into the period of the Judges before Israel was really a “nation” yet. But a pretty tiny glimpse. And it’s a paltry attempt to include a little (token?) spotlight on a woman in the history of Israel. It’s not very illuminating. I’d rather offer folks a fuller picture of woman’s leadership than this little snippet of Deborah’s military advice. Why not Tamar, or Rahab? Yes, those stories are “adult content,” but they show women as resourceful, wise, courageous and definitely part of God’s care for Israel.

1 Thessalonians
       As we ramp up toward the big climax of the liturgical year on Reign of Christ Sunday, we hear again about the Second Coming. Whether or not we anticipate an actual incident in our future we can label as the “Second Coming,” it’s clear that in this world torn by greed, violence, hate and oppression, we are clearly in need of divine intervention. As alarming as the images of “sudden destruction” are, that’s not the heart of Paul’s message. (After all, maybe the Second Coming is really gradual!) The message is twofold: the promise that the God of love and grace is not done with us yet, and the importance of “belonging to the day” instead of the night. When we focus on the image destruction our image of God’s judgment becomes destructive. But Paul is clear: “God has destined us for salvation.” The point is to live with God’s light, now, in this long night of evil and injustice. The point is not to separate ourselves into the saved and unsaved, but to “encourage one another and build up each other.”

Matthew
       It’s hard for us in our capitalist society to grasp the truth that nothing is ours, and hard to let go of the idol of personal possessions. The framers of the Declaration of Independence, perhaps influenced by John Locke, considered naming our inalienable rights as “life, liberty and property.” (Other contemporary declarations do.) Jesus knew better. This story suggests that everything that we think of as “ours”—our whole life— is actually God’s, given to us to steward. No matter how hard you think you worked for it, it’s not yours. (Besides, there’s always someone who’s worked harder than you, and they don’t have what you do.) Think of your whole life—your health, your skills and abilities, your possessions, your time, your income, your loves and cares and prayers, all of it—and imagine it’s a plate of fine food the chef has given you, as a waiter, to serve to some customers. It’s not yours, and not for you! It’s for you to share, to act as a steward. How would God spend your life? How might God want you to give away your time, your skills, your resources? A talent is a measure of weight (it works out to about 15 years’ wages), so even one talent, not even two or five, is what we might call “a ton of money.” So the one-talent worker doesn’t have much to complain about. “I was only given a measly million dollars to invest. Poor me.” How much do we have—what spiritual gifts—that we dismiss because others have more skill, fame, talent, charm or luck than we do? It’s all good. How do you focus on what you do have, not what you don’t, and share those gifts?

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Loving God, you create us in your image and claim us as your children.
All: We give you our lives in thanksgiving and praise!
You give us gifts, each different, and bless us with your grace.
We give you our lives in thanksgiving and praise!
Fill us with your Spirit, that we may serve you with love and joy.
We give you our lives in thanksgiving and praise! Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Joy of heaven, you shower us with gifts!
All: Fountain of life, you bless us.
Spirit of abundance, you flower in us.
God of grace, we thank you. We worship you.
We give our lives to you in gratitude and praise. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: What light God has given us,
that we might shine in the world’s darkness!
All: What love Christ has give us,
that we might love with his love!
What gifts the Spirit has given us,
that we might be for the world the good news of God’s grace.
Alleluia! Come, Love, and inspire us
to be your gifts for the world. Amen.

4.
Leader: Creator God, eternal Love, we praise you!
All: You bless us with good things.
You surround us with Creation, and bless us with human community.
You give us your presence in Jesus.
You forgive our faults and encourage us in our weakness.
You give us spiritual gifts, and your grace shines in us. Why then would we not trust you? Why would we not be generous, as you are generous?
Alleluia! Fill us with your spirit of giving.
Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Leader: Abundant God, you have given us every good thing, and so we thank you.
All: Enrich in us our spirit of generosity.
You provide for us, so that we may share abundantly in every good work.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of love, you love this world, and you choose to accomplish that love through us. You have given us gifts with which to bless this world, to heal the hurting, to feed, the needy to encourage the downtrodden. Stir up those gifts in us, and give us love and courage to share them, by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit and the presence of your loving Jesus. Amen.

2.
God of abundant blessings, you give us the gift of Creation; you give us the gift of life; you give us the gifts of all that we possess. Everything is a gift from you. We turn to you now to receive the gift of your Word, so that we might be transformed by your grace and filled with your spirit of abundance. We listen for your Word, and we open our hearts to your presence. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, unending source of blessing, unceasing well of grace, we thank you for the abundance of your good gifts. You have laid the treasures of your goodness in our hands. Stir up your grace in us so that we may bear your love and trust gladly into the world, by the power of your Spirit working in us. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Generous God,
you have invested your prayers in us
for the sake of your gospel.
Let your prayers multiply in us
for the sake of the healing of the world.

Prayer of Confession

Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we confess our sin to God with one another.
God have mercy.
We recall those times when we have invested what you have given to us
in love of others, and we give thanks for your grace.… Silent prayer …
We recall those times when we have kept your riches to ourselves,
and we give thanks for your grace. … Silent prayer …
God, we have seen your love in Jesus Christ.
We give thanks for your mercy.
People of God, by the grace we have seen in Christ we are assured
that our sin is forgiven entirely.
We are forgiven, and set free to live by the power of the Holy Spirit,
to the glory of God. Amen.

Poetry

             One talent

Sunrise and its gold,
a single kiss,

the sea that never tires
throwing its beauty at you,

trees scattering jewels,
stars saying their prayers

by candlelight
in their little houses—

such loveliness,
such precious coins.

You can’t say what they’re worth,
there is no measuring them

any more than the one you are,
little star among millions,

generous, infinite Talent
unburied,

mere single radiant
sun.

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.) In gratitude we give you our lives, symbolized in our gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. You have given us each gifts with which to live your gospel and share your grace. Send us, each with our own way of blessing, and together as the Body of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

2.
…. Having received abundantly, we offer ourselves abundantly. Send us into the world, transformed by your spirit of generosity, to invest ourselves in the mending of all Creation, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

All of the Gifts I Have (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

All of the gifts I have, all that is within me,
you give to me, O God, with care;
all of my prayers and skills, passions and energies
you grant to me to freely share.

Here are my hopes and dreams, attitudes and deepest loves,
all of the treasure to which I cling.
I will not hold them in, stilling my ardent song,
but serving you I’ll freely sing.

In all I keep or give, may I do my very best
in everything I say and do,
in harmony with you, only to love and bless,
with joy, to serve and honor you.


All That We Hold in Our Hands (Original song)

What do we hold in our hearts?
The hopes of a hungering people,
longing for you, and for bread,
and to truly be free.
What can we do, who are small?
The power is not ours at all:
God, you have hidden such grace
here in our hands.

What do we hold in our hands?
Nothing we have is unworthy.
An everyday gift you can use
in miraculous ways.
All that we hold in our hands
you’ll use if we give it to you.
Use what we hold in our hands
for what you will do.

What do we hold in our hands?
In it you’ve hidden the wondrous,
fishes and loaves you can use
to feed thousands with love.
All that we hold in our hands
we give in the name of your Son:
more than we ask or imagine,
may your will be done.

What do we hold in our hands?
Grace is abundant, not lacking.
Look now and see what we have
and find power and life.
All that we hold in our hands,
all that we have or can do,
all that we are by your grace
we give now to you.

All that we hold in our hands,
all that we have or can do,
all that we are by your grace
we give now to you.


Giving Heart (Tune: The Water is Wide- Gift of Love)

O God of grace, you set us free
and feed us all abundantly,
so help me trust the gifts you give,
with giving heart and hands to live.

Come, Spirit, come, and set me free
from all I cling to fearfully.
Come heal my heart, my fears relieve,
so I may give as I receive.

Your Bread of Life transforms us, Lord,
so we become your living Word.
Our lives no more are ours to hold,
but yours to share with all the world.


The Giving Song (Tune: DOVE OF PEACE — I Come with Joy)

God, send me out into the world to share all I possess.
My generosity shall be the faith that I confess,
the faith that I confess

For you have given me such gifts, grace infinite and deep,
that I can only share them all. There’s nothing I will keep,
there’s nothing I will keep..

And let my giving change me, Lord, to make me more like you:
to let your blessing flow through me, creating me anew,
creating me anew.

My life will not be known by what I have, but how I share,
courageously, with trust in you, with love and joy and care,
with love and joy and care.


God, We Give You All Our Gifts
(Tune: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, or Come Thou Long Expected Jesus)

God, we give you all our gifts, for they have come by grace from you.
Take them, bless them, use them for the work that you intend to do.
We are grateful for your blessings, grace you give a million ways.
May our gratitude resound through all our lives with joyous praise.

All that you entrust to us is meant for all the world to share;
we are stewards of your grace to scatter wide your loving care.
All our gifts are yours, not ours, and meant for us to humbly bear
to the world, in trust that in our grateful giving you are there.

Take our treasure, all our earnings, all our silver and our gold;
take in grace the things we cling to, those possessions that we hold.
In our giving may we find release from fear and trust in thee,
love for all, not just ourselves, for all the whole community.

Take our prayers, our loving presence; let compassion be our creed;
help us be there for each other and for those in greater need.
Take our many, varied, gifts, our works and service, God, employ;
let our lives bear witness to your grace, with thanks and boundless joy.


The Harvest of Your Grace (Original Song)
[2 Corinthians 9.6-15]

God scatters abroad, and gives to the poor, and fills the hungry with good things.
    Alleluia! O God, we rejoice in the harvest of your grace.
How blessed the poor, and all those that mourn. “You do to me as to them.”
     Alleluia! We offer our gifts for the harvest of your grace.
Now come to the Feast. Our cups overflow. With grateful hearts we remember.
    Alleluia! We come now to work in the harvest of your grace.
God’s grace will abound, in seed and in bread. In joy then sow as you reap.
   Alleluia! God, gather from us the harvest of your grace.
You will receive, so that you can give, and yield a harvest of good hearts.
   Alleluia! God send us to share in the harvest of your grace.

I Belong to You (Tune: Water is Wide / Gift of Love)

Beloved, I belong to you.
You give me birth; you make me new,
your image formed, by Spirit stirred.
You are the Song; I am your Word.

Whatever pains I may endure,
I still belong. Your love is sure.
Since I am yours, your will I do.
I trust and give myself to you.

I am your coin to richly spend,
so spend me, God, as you intend.
You bless my end; you hold my worth;
send me to love throughout the earth.

Beloved, I belong to you.
Do with me what your love will do.
Bear me, and I, through ease or strife
will find in you eternal life.

November 26, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Ezekiel 34.11-24 — God will shepherd us, rescue the lost, and save them from the fat, oppressive sheep.

Psalm 100 — We are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.

Ephesians 1.15-23 — “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened” that you may know the greatness of God’s power, which raised Christ from the dead to be head of the church and all things. (See my paraphrase of the book of Ephesians.)

Matthew 25.31-46 — The final judgment of sheep and goats. “What you have done to the least of these…”

Preaching Thoughts

Ezekiel
       The promise of God’s grace doesn’t come in a vacuum, but in the context of a world of hurt, evil and injustice. So the tending of God’s vulnerable ones includes saving them from the ravages of the selfish ones. Viewed socially, it’s a political outlook. How do we support the weak and vulnerable, and hold the rich and powerful to account? The “Reign of Christ” isn’t just a religious idea; it’s a vision for the real world, the way God intends for us to live together. How do we shape our laws, policies, economy and social structures to reflect God’s care for the weak, the marginalized, the dehumanized, the silenced and the exploited? To fail to do this is to give license to the “fat sheep” and their various systems of privilege and exclusion, and the resulting oppression and exploitation.

Ephesians (Click here for my paraphrase of the book of Ephesians.)
       If you’re ever feeling blue, read Ephesians. It’s just one blessing after another. (One hint that it’s not Paul writing but a follower, is that it never lapses into legal arguments. Just blessings.) As is often the case, pretty much every phrase in this passage is the seed of a good sermon. Among the gems:
   • “May the eyes of your heart be enlightened.” May you see through the lens of God’s love.
   • “The hope to which God has called you.” Trust that God’s will for you is good.
   • The power God exercises toward us is the power that raised Christ from the dead. The spirit of resurrection. Strong stuff.
   • Christ is above all human hierarchies and power structures. Love is more powerful than governments.
   • Christ is the head and the Church is the body, which embodies the fullness of God’s love.

Matthew
       The kingdom of God is not the afterlife. Jesus was intently interested in this life. The Kingdom of God is the world as God intends it, and the image of Jesus as “king” or sovereign means Love reigns over this world, and is the greatest power, even as greed and fear exert their will. When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God it was s a real-world alternative to the Kingdom of Herod, the Lordship of Caesar, the Empire of Rome. “Jesus is Lord” is a political statement. Reign of Christ Sunday celebrates that Christ is as Ephesians says “far above all rule and authority.” Jesus is Sovereign over a real, actual, worldly Empire of Grace, a real-world alternative—subversive, treasonous, even—to consumerism, Christian nationalism, capitalism, white supremacy, and all our hierarchies and power structures.
       The parable of the great judgment lets us glimpse something of what that Empire is about: compassion is the law of the land. In the Realm of God everybody gets what they need to thrive as members of the Body. That means special attention to the folks who are most harmed by our systems of privilege and exclusion. So God takes the side of the poor and powerless and marginalized, and commands us to do the same. Honoring Jesus as our king means committing to obeying his command to care for the poor and hurting.
       The reign of Christ means that Jesus is sovereign not only over the powers of the universe, but also over us and our own inner worlds. To claim Jesus as ruler of our lives is to make him the center of our rule of life, our intentional discipline, our way of living. A piece of paper is aligned with the use of a ruler. If Jesus rules our lives, our lives are arranged and measured with Jesus as our template, the ruler that provides straight lines of justice and righteousness. For Jesus to reign over our lives means we are willing to suffer for the sake of love and justice, to be faithful to God and in harmony with God and God’s grace, no matter what. So it’s not just Christ’s demand over us but Christ’s rule within us us that leads us to care for the poor.
       For those who believe in a literal hell, this story in Matthew is one of two stories Jesus tells specifically imagining such a thing—the other is the rich man and Lazarus. In both cases, the way you end up hell is not based on your religion, your creed, your faith, or even your prayer life, but ignoring the poor. It’s a great passage to begin with when discussing with “literalists.” Our true Sovereign is not found among the trappings of power, but among the poor. God does not just care about the poor; God is among the poor. To obey the sovereign of the Empire of Grace, we share the ruler’s passion and compassion for the poor.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Eternal God, you are the light of the minds that know you.
All:You are the joy of the hearts that love you,
the strength of the wills that serve you
Grant us so to know you that we may truly love you,
And so to love you that we may gladly serve you,
now and always. Alleluia! Amen!

2.
Leader: Creator God, you reign over all the universe with love and justice.
All: Glory! We thank you with love.
Christ, you reign over all human history with mercy and grace.
Glory! We thank you with love.
Holy Spirit, you reign in our hearts with beauty and power.
Glory! We thank you with love. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: From the Spirit who was, the Rock who is,
and the Strong One yet to come, grace and peace to you!
All: To the Love that reigns over us, the love that walks beside us
and the love that guides us from within, be praise and thanksgiving!
We come before God with humble joy, that we may learn to obey
the Sovereign of Love, the Ruler of mercy.
Alleluia! Let us worship God.

4. [from Ephesians 1.15-23]
Leader: God, glorious Mother and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you.
All: You raised Christ from the dead
and seated him at your right hand, at the heart of all things.
Christ is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
above any title that can be given,
not only in the world we see, but in the unseen as well.
You have made him sovereign over everything,
and made him the head of the church, which is his body.
God, we pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know you better.
Alleluia! May the eyes of our hearts be opened.
Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Christ, Divine presence, Living Word,
God has put you at God’s right hand,
and you rule in power above all things.
Rule over our hearts, and work your infinite power within us.
Raise us to life, and direct us by your Spirit.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Jesus Christ, you have taught us that what we do to each other, we do to you. Make us quick to help and slow to hurt, knowing that in our neighbor it is you who receive our love or our neglect. Shape us by your love, and fit us for your Realm of grace. Amen.

2.
O God of Love, you have put all things under the rule of Christ, the Lord of Love. Bring us under your sway, that we may be faithful citizens of your Empire of Grace, and obedient to the spirit of love you birth within us. Speak your Word to us, and make us yours, in the name of Christ, our friend and our Sovereign. Amen.

3.
Eternal God, you have set Christ to rule over all the earth. He reigns with mercy and grace. Under his glorious and gentle rule, help us as we read your scriptures and proclaim your good news, to listen with humble hearts and to devote our lives to your service. We pray in the name of Christ, our sovereign. Amen.

4.
Gentle and mighty God, we thank you, that you reign over the world with grace and compassion. You revealed your Realm in Jesus, who embodied your mercy and justice. He healed the sick, raised up the downtrodden, destroyed the powers of oppression, and proclaimed your Jubilee. In his death and resurrection you have brought us out of the realm of darkness and into the realm of your eternal light and life. Holy God, pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on all your church, that we may serve you faithfully in all that we do, in the name and the love of Christ. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, in this season of harvest and thanksgiving, we offer to you our gratitude and praise. For all that you have given us, we thank you. And we give you our hearts. Speak to us now, that we may hear your Word, and become your living Word by the Spirit of Christ living in us. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
Holy Love,
you create, you rule, you give life.
Take charge of our hearts.
Bless us that we may be obedient
citizens of your Realm of Grace.

2.
God of love, Ruler of the Universe,
Gentle Christ, Sovereign of our hearts,
your love is supreme,
and we bow to your life-giving power.
May your love, and love alone,
rule our lives.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you.
Though you have been our sovereign, we have not obeyed you.
We have not let you rule our hearts.
We have not let you direct our thoughts or command our actions.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
You who have power over us, forgive us.
Remake us according to your grace.
Guide us in every step we take.
May your presence be the power in our lives;
may your love control our hearts and minds.
Help us to follow your Way, in the name of Christ,
and by the power of your Spirit in us. Amen.
[Silent prayer… the word of grace ]

2.
… God of love, we bow to the power of your love.
Gentle Christ, we submit to your mercy.
May your compassion cast out our fear.
May your forgiveness overrule our guilt.
May your generosity banish our selfishness.
May your grace supplant our sin.
O Love, rule on our hearts.
Make us obedient to your love.

Readings

Ephesians 1.15-23 — a paraphrase

I pray that the God of our Sovereign Jesus Christ,
the Father and Mother of glory,
who in Jesus has embodied among us
the love that creates and orders our lives
and makes them good and beautiful,
may awaken in you deep awareness
of God’s presence and love.
With the eyes of your heart enlightened
may you have the hope God has for you;
may you live in wonder and trust
of the gifts we all receive as God’s Beloved;
may you come more deeply to trust
the immeasurable power of God’s love.
It is love that raised Christ from the dead.
Christ’s love is the power that orders the universe,
that rules over all human dominion
and all realms before and after humans,
in the visible world and the unseen.
All things are subject to the sovereignty of Love.
And we, the church, are the Body of that love,
love that fills everything, and contains everything.
Everything.
Alleluia.

[See all of Ephesians paraphrased, here.]

Poetry

                The least of these
      
         Whatever you did to the least of these
                  you did to me.
                           —Matthew 25.40


This is not a simile.
         The poor are not an allegory.
                  God is the poor.

God is not observing them, but in them,
         the lonely and the rejected.
                  God takes the lowest place.

God is the powerless one,
         the misunderstood one,
                  the crucified one.

Under the bridge,
         in the nursing home,
                  in solitary,

this is the throne of the Sovereign,
         the Ruler of the universe:
                  the cross.

Until you see the glory of the divine
         in the street gang, the wheelchair,
                  the power of the heavens in the lifer,

you do not believe.
         Don’t go elsewhere to worship in ease.
                  Bow down, and serve, and know.



         The great judgment

“Lord, when did we see you
shot dead in the street and not cry out?
When did we see you walking in the desert
and not leave water for you?
When did we see you deported
or carted off to prison and not protest?
When did we see you homeless, and not reach out?
When did we see you struggling in the ICU,
or the nursing home, or on the locked ward,
and did not come to you?”

And he will answer…


         

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
       We believe in God, Creator of all, who is beyond all and in all, whose love and power is unsearchable and yet mysteriously present.
       We place our trust in Jesus, and not in any earthly authority; for Jesus fully embodies the loving presence of God: he taught and healed, and performed prophetic acts of mercy and justice. In his life, death and resurrection he released God’s infinite power for life and healing: grace that is eternal, free from all human authority, power or expectation.
       We live our lives by the grace of the Holy Spirit, God’s loving presence within and among us, which makes us the church, the Body of Christ. We live by the grace of forgiveness, the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life. We rejoice that we are under no human authority, but under the grace of God; we are beholden to no earthly powers, but to the power of love. Therefore we devote ourselves to lives of worship through fearlessly giving the gifts God has given us, and loving and serving others in the spirit of Christ, for the sake of the blessing of the world, to the glory of God. Amen.

2. [Ephesians 1.15-23]
       We believe in God, the glorious Mother and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
       We rejoice that God has put immeasurably great power to work in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at God’s right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every title that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. God has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of Christ who fills everything in every way.
       We pray that God may grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and that we may come to know God more deeply. We pray that the eyes of our hearts may be opened, that we may know the hope to which God has called us, and that we may know the riches of God’s glorious inheritance among the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us who believe. As we give thanks for one another and remember each other in our prayers, may God deepen our faith, and our love for all the saints. Amen.

3. [Corinthians 15.1, 3-4, Ephesians 1.20-23]
       Leader: Sisters and brothers, remember the good news
that has been proclaimed to you, in which you stand.
       All: We gladly proclaim what we have received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,
that he was buried, and that God raised him from the dead;
and God seated him at God’s right hand in the heavenly places,
above all rule and authority and power and dominion,
and has put all things under his feet.
In Christ all things hold together.
God has made him the head over all things for the church,
which is his body, by which he fills everything with his presence.
We, the Body of Christ, are given the ministry of grace,
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may bear witness to the Reign of Christ over all things,
now and forever. Amen.

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.) In gratitude we give you our lives, symbolized in our gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. By your Spirit in us form us as citizens of your Realm, obedient to your law of grace, eager to work for justice in this world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Bread and Justice (Tune: Amazing Grace)
[This can be found in Table Songs, a collection of communion songs.]

Dear Jesus, when we break our bread
with those who are in need,
we then by grace commune with God,
and it is you we feed.

When we sit down and eat with those
who hunger and who thirst,
we know that we are also poor,
and you have fed us first.

So call us to your table, Lord,
your grateful children, call:
where we receive your grace, unearned,
and turn to share with all.

Christ, Ruler of All Things (Tune: ST. ELIZABETH – Fairest Lord Jesus)

Christ, Ruler of all things, what is seen and unseen,
your love reigns; your grace is sure.
Beneath our fear and strife, death fails to conquer life:
your tender mercy still endures.

Christ, Ruler of our hearts, come and reign within us.
Make us comrades, siblings, friends.
Your love be our life, our only power,
that gives us life that never ends.

Christ, Ruler of the earth, bring your gentle justice:
your Realm come, your will be done.
Heal all oppression; fill us with mercy,
as faithful as the rising sun.

Christ, Ruler of all things, of what is and is to come,
Risen One, our song we raise.
Rule in our living; guide us with tender love.
Your grace in us will be your praise.

Love Is Enthroned     (Tune: Finlandia)

O, risen Christ, who once appeared among us,
you have ascended! Loud we sing your praise.
Though we may see no shadow of your nearness,
you have not gone; your loving presence stays.
You are no longer in one time or place,
but in all things, to radiate your grace.

Christ has ascended, reigning now above.
Love is enthroned at the Creator’s side.
All powers on earth are subject to Christ’s love,
who is our history’s unseen, gentle guide.
Though evil try to make this world its home,
Love is its Lord, and love shall overcome.

Go in the peace of Christ who is our Lord,
and gently heal, amid the fear and strife.
For we who eat and drink the living Word
are now Christ’s Body, and Christ’s earthly life.
We may not see the journey or the end,
but Christ still reigns, our ruler and our friend.

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.


O Sovereign Love
(Tune: O God, Our Help In Ages Past, or Amazing Grace)

Beloved, you who guard and guide and give for every need,
reign in my heart, O Sovereign Christ; direct each thought and deed.

O Sovereign Love, my root, my sun, my purpose and my peace,
I spurn the world’s vain, anxious rule, and trust your Law of Grace.

The Empire of your justice, God, with mercy’s clear command
shall be my home; my loyalty is to no lesser land.

In humble and obedient thanks I pledge my life to you,
to join your work of justice, God, to make the world anew.

Reign in my heart, O Christ, my Rule. In faith I am compelled
to serve you, who by love alone have conquered all the world.

June 4, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 1.1-2.4. God as Creator, and as Spirit: in the beginning God’s Spirit brooded over the waters….

Psalm 8. We marvel that although God is creator and ruler of all the universe, God cares for us.

2 Corinthians 13.11-13. Before the advent of the idea of the Trinity, Paul concludes a letter with a three-fold blessing.

Matthew 28.16-20. Jesus gives us the great commission to make disciples, to teach and to baptize in the name of Abba-God, Son and Holy Spirit.

Preaching Thoughts

        The image of the Trinity does not just describe three different jobs God has, but that God’s essence is in relationship; that God’s nature is beyond any one quality; that God exceeds all our understandings and categories. The Trinity is not a “doctrine” so much as an image. An icon. We diminish it when we turn it into a scientific formula. In fact what the “doctrine” of the Trinity means is that God can’t be turned into a doctrine.
         The Trinity is not a logical proposition you can either “agree” or “disagree” with. It’s an image, an icon, a symbol. It’s not two men and a bird; it’s about our three-dimensional experience of God. It’s a picture of God as Lover, Beloved and the Love that Flows Between—or Lover, Love, and Loveliness. It’s sort of like E=mc² in three dimensions. It’s an image of the whole world as a “thin place,” where the boundary is thin and porous between physical and spiritual, seen and unseen, finite and infinite.
         God is Love. God is Mother, Heavenly Lover, source of all Being: “Father.” God’s love is infinite and eternal. When God’s love exists as pure energy we call it “Spirit.” When God’s love is embodied, made finite and mortal, we call it “Christ,” God’s energy appearing as matter, Word made flesh. Jesus fully embodied the Christ, or embodied love, of God. He was not just Jesus of Nazareth, he was Jesus of Christ. He was Christ appearing as Jesus. We too are finite instances of the infinite love of God, just as Jesus was. God’s spirit, which we see in him, is in all of us.
         The Trinity reminds us God is more than we think. It’s a way to keep our images of God slippery so we can’t have just one image. God is This and the Opposite of This and None of the above: God is infinite and also embodied; divine and also human; Father also Son, and also Mother.
       The Trinity is an image of God’s three-dimensionality. God is the Eternal Creator, Infinite Source, Reality Itself, Ground of Being, beyond all knowing or understanding. Yet God also comes to us in real, revealed, embodied form, in spoken Word, as God does in Jesus. And God also is within and among us, neither beyond us nor coming to us but arising from within us as Spirit: whenever we love—that’s God.
         The Trinity is an image of God as relationship. And it’s also an image of God as unity. Even though there seem to be three persons, they are One. And we’re part of that One. “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (Jn. 14.20). And it’s an image of God as energy. With God one plus one equals three, because you also count the “plus.” God is the “proceeding” of Son from Father, and Spirit from both of them. (There’s a big controversy about whether the Spirit proceeds “from the Father” or “from the father and the Son.” The very nature of the Trinity is that they can’t be separated or distinguished. The Spirit proceeds from their relationship.) The Trinity is not a static organizational chart but an electric field, a living process, a loving flow, a divine dance. The Greek word for it is perichoresis (from peri, which means “around,” and chorein, which means “to give way” or “to make room”). The Trinity is God’s dancing-to-make-room-for-the-other.
         Strictly speaking the “Holy Trinity” isn’t biblical. Both 2 Corinthians 13 and Matthew 28 use what seems to be “Trinitarian” language; but the idea of the Trinity wasn’t developed until long after New Testament writings. However we can read the Trinity into those passages as well as other, right? Well, yes, in fact we can read the Trinity into everything. Which is the point: not that Genesis preaches the Trinity, but that we see the Trinity everywhere we look.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Eternal God, infinite and invisible Lover: we are in awe.
All: Beyond us, beside us, within and among us, you are our life.
Christ, Beloved, Word made flesh, brother in the journey: we are in love.
Beyond us, beside us, within and among us, you are our life.
Holy Spirit, love of God breathing in us, making us one: we are in you.
Beyond us, beside us, within and among us, you are our life. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: O Great Mystery, Infinite Being: Praise!
All: O Living Love, Word Among Us: Thanks!
O Flame of Life, Spirit of Joy: Awe!
Father-Mother, Giver of Life, we worship you.
Son, Beloved, Chosen One, we adore you.
Spirit, Breath of Love, we open ourselves to you. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Infinite God, Loving Mystery, Eternal Father, Life-Giving Mother:All: We worship you.
Christ, the Only Begotten, Son of God, Loving Brother, Eternal Word:
We love you and trust you.
Holy Spirit, Breath of Life, Energy of Love Within:
We open our hearts to your grace.
We wonder at your mystery.
We are grateful for your love.
We accept the life and grace you give us.
O Love beyond us, beside us, within us, we give ourselves to you.
Create us anew in you, teach us your way, and breathe us into the world. Amen.

4.
Leader: Abba, Jesu, Spirit, come.
All: Abba, Jesu, Spirit, come.
Great Holy Trinity, heavenly family, draw us to your table.
Great Holy Mystery, heavenly Love, hold us in your heart.
We worship you. We praise you. We open to you. Alleluia.

5.
Leader: Eternal God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
You are present, you are holy, and we worship you.
Glory be to you, O God of all Creation.
Thanks be to you, O Christ, for our salvation.
Eternal God, Holy Trinity, bless us as we worship.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy One, Loving Mystery,
we belong in you; we open ourselves to your presence.
We are your Beloved; we open ourselves to your Word.
We are vessels of your Spirit; we open ourselves to be made new in your grace.
Speak, for we are listening. Amen.

2.
Mystery of God, enfold us.
Body of Mercy, lay your hand upon us.
Breath of God, move in us.
Energy of Love, re-create us us.
Word of Truth, speak to us.
Fire of joy, burn in us.
We worship in gratitude and awe.

3.
O Holy Trinity, you open your arms to us and include us in your blessed community. Bless us, that we may enter you; feast with you, and be one with you; that you may live in us, for your sake and the sake of the world. Source of Life, Eternal Word and Spirit of Love, we worship you; Mother, Son and Holy Spirit, we listen for your Word. Amen.

4.
Eternal God, you are present with us, and you are speaking to us. We open the windows of our hearts, so that the light of your Word will stream in and make beautiful all that within us. Speak, for your people are listening. Amen.

5.
Calm our minds, God, and still our hearts.
Bring us to your table, to delight in your presence, and to feast on your Word.
Be with us in speaking and in silence, in understanding and in wonder,
in our time together and beyond. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Eternal One, you contain us.
Loving One, you come to us.
Life-Giving One, you empower us.
In your mystery we open ourselves;
in your presence we listen;
in your love we are ready.

Poetry

       God is also not a rock

but a certain dancing
color under the river
where the light and the water
and the flowing happen
movement mingling
a murmur of curves
indefinite
but certain

outlines surrender and
the stone flows
the color of fish
also where you do not see it
and where the fish is
there is only a ripple
a dapple a shadow
a light

making everything
even later and far away
ocher and purple and blue
and flowing.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
         We live in you, God, infinite and eternal Creator and Source of all: you made us and all Creation out of yourself, made us of love, and made us for love.
         We follow you, Christ, love of God made flesh, our brother and companion. In Jesus of Nazareth, in the Crucified and Risen One, you show us the invisible God; you walk beside us; you heal, forgive and call us. Teacher and Savior, you direct our lives.
         We live by your grace, Holy Spirit: Love flowing in us from your infinite heart to all the world. In our communion in you we are One, the Body of Christ, raised from death to eternal life. By your power in us we live lives of love and justice, healing and reconciliation. Mother, Son and Holy Spirit, we worship you; we follow you; we open ourselves to your grace. Amen.

2.
         We give our hearts to you, O Loving Mystery, Father and Mother, Creator of all that is and all that is to come, unseen yet present in every place and time.
         We love you and trust you, Jesus Christ our brother, embodied Love of God, our savior and our teacher. You enter our life; you share our journey, even our sufferings: you were crucified and raised again, so that sharing our human nature we may share your divine nature.
         We live by your grace, Holy Spirit, breath of God in us, emerging energy of love. You lead us to live lives of compassion, courage, justice and beauty. You make us one with each other and with all living things. You are our Breath, our Life, our Loving. Mother, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are yours. Alleluia and Amen.

3.
         We believe in God, the Holy Trinity. God is eternal Mystery, infinite and unknowable, who contains and transcends all, creator and ruler of all that is and that ever shall be.
         And God is love embodied in Christ, finite and vulnerable. We see the fullness of God’s love in Jesus, fully human and fully divine. We see God in his loving, his teaching, his gathering a community, in his dying and his rising.
         And God is Holy Spirit, alive in us, empowering us to love and to heal, to live lives of peace and justice, and to make of all nations disciples on the Way of God.
         Holy Triune God, all praise be yours, now and for eternity. 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.]

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.

Eternal God, we thank you for the universe you create.
We thank you for your presence in our lives.
We thank you for the gift of salvation.
We thank you for your will for justice,
and your liberation of the oppressed.
We thank you for the gift of Jesus.
Holy Mystery of Love, 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,
Word made flesh, love made real.
Conceived and led by your Spirit,
he taught and healed, fed the hungry, and honored the outcast.
Infinite love in mortal form, he was crucified;
but infinitely alive with the Spirit, he was raised.
He comes among us to renew your Covenant to be with us always in love.

     (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 in your grace, radiant with your love,
and empowered by your Spirit
for the sake of the healing of the world.
Mother and Father, Son, and Spirit,
we thank you and bless you.

     [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.) In gratitude, we give you our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace, and use them according to your will. Send us into the world, radiant with your mystery, alive with your Spirit, aflame with your love, to be your disciples and to make disciples of others. Be with us always, to the end of the age. Amen.

2.
Eternal One, enfold us in your mystery. Loving One, make us whole in your grace. Present One, empower us for lives of mercy and justice, in the name of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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


God Beyond, Within, Among (Tune: For the Beauty of the Earth)

Holy God, great Trinity, source of all things good and true,
Gracious, Blessed Mystery, now we come to worship you.
God beyond, within, among: hear us sing our thankful song.

God, Creator, Womb of Life, whose eternal love and power
gather Earth and bring forth light, re-create us in this hour.
God beyond, within, among: hear us sing our thankful song.
Christ, our, brother, meet us here; touch our wounded hearts and heal.

Word of God, made close and clear, in your grace your truth reveal.
God beyond, within, among: hear us sing our thankful song.
Holy Spirit, Breath within, Wind of Heaven, gentle Dove,
make us holy, save from sin, fill our hearts with perfect love.

God beyond, within, among: hear us sing our thankful song.
Blessed, Holy Trinity, in your image and your power
we are your community; re-create us in this hour.
Holy God, we worship you! Take our lives and make them new.


God Eternal, Holy Trinity (Tune: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus)

God Eternal, Holy Trinity, Father-Mother, Spirit, Son,
Gracious Mystery, Loving Family, you have baptized us as one.
Sharing life at your kitchen table, feeding us with generous grace,
send us now into the world, one with all the human race.

Christ, our Brother, Guide and Teacher, Savior, Healer, Living Word:
we are baptized in your dying, in your rising, love out-poured.
You have fed us with the outcast, raised us to new life in you;
send us now to love our neighbors, with your Presence in all we do.

Holy Spirit, Bright Companion, Breath of Life that lives in us,
we are baptized in your power, grace to share your love and peace.
Send us now as your living Body, radiant with your infinite grace.
Lead us, guide us, bless and sustain us. May our living be your praise!


God of Creation, Birthing us Daily (Tune: Morning Has Broken)

God of Creation, birthing us daily,
granting salvation, making things new,
thanks for your blessing gladly we give you,
freely confessing our love for you.

Healing, forgiving, Jesus you touch us.
Bless all our living; grant us delight.
Jesus our brother, help us live gently,
love one another, trust in God’s light.

Grant us our living, great Holy Spirit,
faithfully giving hearts made of praise:
baptized in glory, servants of Jesus,
living your story all of our days.

God our Creator, You Gather Us Here (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)

God our Creator, you gather us here,
you who release us from bondage and fear,
you who make all things, and make all things new,
gladly we sing our thanksgiving to you.

Light of the world, Christ, you healed the blind,
freed us from chains of oppression that bind,
died with our dying! Our life is in you:

Spirit, unite us, and make our hearts new.
Help us by grace to live lives that are true,
touch with your healing and see with your sight,
live in your pure love and shine with your light.

(Communion verse:)
Christ, by your Body and Blood, present here,
make of one Body your people so dear,
taken, blessed, broken and given, all free,
so all may have life, and abundantly.

Holy Mystery (Tune: Of the Father’s Love Begotten)

Holy Mystery, we worship you, Holy Three in One,
God beyond our understanding, Mother, Spirit and the Son,
Holy Love, Beloved, and the flowing Love between,
never ending or begun.

God, our infinite Creator, Source of all and ending too,
Holy Lover eternal, all around and in and through,
Love that flows in us, and in whom we all are one:
we find ourselves in you.

Infinite, eternal Love unseen, Love made flesh on earth,
Love that burns within our hearts, in whom all have infinite worth,
Mother, Son and Holy Spirit: we worship y0u in awe,
and receive new birth. Amen.


O Holy Trinity (Tune: Finlandia)

O Holy One, O Mystery beyond us,
we praise you, God, O Grace without a name.
Creator of the universe within you,
source of our life, Thou Infinite Divine,
unseen, unknown, we cannot frame or bind you,
only our wonder and our praise proclaim.

O Loving One, O Love who made the heavens,
you choose to come among us as our own,
the Living Word, in flesh revealed, Companion,
stranger and Friend, whose suff’ring is your throne.
Eternal Christ who humbly dies among us,
your tender mystery in love is known.

O Living One, O Grace who lives in our life,
we can’t contain you, but we can adore.
Spirit of Love beyond, beside, within us,
into our hearts your healing presence pour.
Many and One, O Mystery, Christ and Spirit,
we sing, we live your praise forevermore.

June 11, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 12.1-9. God calls Abram (soon to become Abraham) from his native land to the land of Canaan. God promises that Abram will have land and many descendants, and especially that they will be a blessing to all on earth.

Psalm 33.1-12. A song of praise to God, who is the maker of all Creation and the ruler of all nations.

Romans 4.13-25. God’s acceptance of us comes by God’s grace, not our own doing. Faith does not mean being good enough, it means trusting God. Abraham was accepted by God as righteous, not because he obeyed some law, but because he trusted God.

Matthew 9.9-13, 18-26. Jesus calls Matthew to follow him in ministry. He then heals the woman with a flow of blood and raises the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue.

Preaching Thoughts

Genesis
         A story about trusting God. A story about how a relationship with God isn’t about “believing in” God but listening to God, and going with God. A story about allowing God to lead us into the unseen, unknown. A story about leaving behind the familiar, adapting to change. A story about how following God changes who we are (even if we don’t get a new name.)

Gospel
         Matthew. As with Abram and Sarai, Matthew the tax collector is called not just to believe in Jesus but to follow him. Go with him. Join him in his ministry. Which, we can imagine, greatly changes who Matthew is.
        “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Jesus quotes Hosea 6.6 twice (also in 12.7). I think it’s central to his theology: God doesn’t care if we get religious forms correct, or believe the right things; what God cares about is that we love.
        Two healings. • This is clearly a story about Jesus’ power to heal. Imagine what is made whole in the woman’s life besides her body, since she is also considered “unclean:” her relationships, her faith… Imagine what it’s like for any of us for someone who has reason to focus elsewhere to give us undivided time, really pay attention to us, listen to our story. I also think about her “flow of blood,” a disruption and restoration of her reproductive (creative, life-giving) powers.
         • It’s also a story about the power of faith—understood not as “belief” but as reaching out. How much of our spiritual life is reaching out to God (in one form or another), without knowing the outcome, but trusting the process? Note the woman seems to have “faith” that Jesus can heal her, while the girl’s family doesn’t. (They laugh at Jesus!) But healing comes equally to both. God’s grace is not dependent on our level of belief. Sometimes faith means reaching out even when we doubt.
        • This is also a story about Jesus’ patience, his willingness to be interrupted on an emergency call by a “diversion,” as if it’s actually not a diversion; his willingness to stop and attend to the woman without hurrying off to a “more important” mission. It’s not enough for him for an impersonal healing to happen; he wants a relationship, even if it takes precious time. He’s also patient with a family who laughs at him for his faith; he offers healing despite their cynicism (and maybe ours).
      • It’s a story about hidden grace: hidden in a crowd… a need.. a passing opportunity… hidden in a girl we think is dead, in a time when we think there is no hope.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Beckoning God, you call us.
All: Wandering Jesus, you invite us to come.
Moving Spirit, you go with us.
Holy One, we follow you, even into the unknown,
so that we may be a blessing.

2.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you.
All: Risen Christ, we greet you.
Holy Spirit, we welcome you.
You call us to follow you, and we see miracles.
A flow of blood healed, the dead raised.
What is unwell in us is mended;
what is dead is brought to life.
Bless us that we may follow closely.
Shape us by your Word, Beloved.
Make us yours.

3.
Leader: God of life and wholeness,
we come to you broken, and our world is broken.
All: We reach out for the hem of your garment.
We come to you longing for healing.
We open ourselves to your mercy.
You come among us full of grace.
We feel your spirit move in us, and we are healed.
And so we bow before you, and in gratitude, humility and wonder
we tell the story of your grace.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of the journey, God of the unknown, you spoke to Abram and Sarai and called them to a new place. Speak to us now. Call us, and we will follow. Amen.

2.
God of healing, the flow of life in us is disturbed. Heal us. There are parts of our hearts that are dead. Revive us. You have given us gifts that we don’t use. Call us, and we will follow. We pray in the name and the presence of Christ. Amen.

3.
God of love, even as the world presses in on you with all its wants and demands, you walk among us in peace. You radiate your mercy and grace. We open ourselves to your love. We listen for your Word to enter us and change us. We reach for the hem of your garment. Enter our longing, and heal us. Amen.

4.
O God, you who called Abram to leave his country and go with you, who in Christ called disciples to follow him, you call to us now. Help us to hear your voice, to leave behind old lives, and to walk with you in new life in your grace. Help us to hear what you are saying to us today, and to respond, by the grace of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, you called Abram to go to a new land. Jesus called Matthew to follow him. Speak to us now and invite us into the journey of your grace. Open the ears of our hearts to hear you calling, so that we may follow in love, in the loving company and healing spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Eternal God, Loving Healer,
we reach out to touch
the hem of your garment.
Trusting your grace,
we reach out to touch.
Trusting, we reach.

Poetry

              The flow of blood

The sacred blood that flowed twelve perfect years
was never stanched—the healing was not such.
Drawn by the Heart most wounded, salved in tears
still flowing and too sacred to be touched,
she surged through calloused throngs; and stained his cloak
and heart with dark, unclotted faith, her true
blood sacrifice, her tithe of pain, that spoke
of life within her flowing, flowing through.
Heart pierced, he blessed his new blood-sister’s flow;
they both the holy mystery revealed
of wounds blood-sanctified, in which we know
that life is uncontained, and we are healed.
The cross thus washed in double flow of blood,
the curse thus hemorrhaged, life renewed its tide,
a welling up, a sea released, a flood
of life her tear-stained face could never hide.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

We trust in God, Creator of all things,
who is pure compassion,
who loves us unconditionally,
who is present with us in good times and in bad,
who is our salvation.

We trust in Christ Jesus, who is the embodiment of God’s love,
and the embodiment of humanity,
the lover and healer of our souls,
who saves us by washing away our transgressions,
who teaches us life’s deepest things:
how to pray, how to love,
how to be gentle with each other.

We trust in the Holy Spirit, God’s power flowing in us,
hat comforts the faithful,
empowers us to love as Christ has loved us,
and joins us together as the Body of Christ
in loving service to the world.
We trust in the power of forgiveness,
the reality of resurrection,
and the infinite, eternal life God gives us through love,
to which love we pledge ourselves as followers of Christ.

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, for life flows from you,
and power comes from you.
You walk among us with grace and healing.
You bring life out of death and hope out of despair.
You call us to new paths, and make us new people.
Therefore we reach out to you,
to touch the hem of your garment, to receive your grace.
And power flows from you, and we are made whole.
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 and taught, who fed the hungry and honored the outcast.
He has brought healing into our lives.
What was dead in us he has brought to life.
Christ, crucified and risen, comes to us in this meal
to reaffirm your covenant 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.
Pour out your Spirit on us, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
the flow of life in us restored,
radiant with the power of love.
As you called Abram and Sarai to follow you,
as Jesus called Matthew to follow,
may this meal call us forth in your love.
May we bear your grace, for the healing of the world,
in the name and the 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.]
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 gratitude we give you our gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. By your life-giving Word and your loving presence, lead us into the world to new places, trusting you in the unknown, for the sake of the blessing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

June 25, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Genesis 21.8-21. Abraham and Sarah, unable to conceive an heir, have used Sarah’s servant Hagar as a concubine to produce a child, a son named Ishmael. But once Sarah has a son of her own she comes to resent Hagar and Ishmael, and has Abraham send them away. But God promises to care for them.

Psalm 86. We rejoice in God’s steadfast love and pray for an “undivided heart:” for singular mindfulness of God’s presence, undistracted by other things, and we seek to walk in God’s ways.
     —or: Psalm 17. The psalm cries out, as Hagar might have, for God’s compassion.

Romans 6.1-11. We die with Christ, leaving behind our self-centered lives, and we are raised with Christ to a new kind of living that is free from the powers that used to control us. We are “dead to sin and alive to God.”

Matthew 10.24-39. Jesus warns us that since people criticize him, they will also criticize us who follow him: “How much more will they malign those of his household.” But he reassures us that God, who cares for even the birds, will watch over us.

Preaching Thoughts

Genesis        
       From a self-serving stance we might claim this is a story about God continuing to preserve Abraham’s genetic line—but that’s exactly the sin we should confess: pretending that God wills other people’s suffering for our sake. Here’s the ugly side of our culture and even of our faith: we use and discard people for our own benefit, and attribute it to God, or at least to “the way it ought to be.” We perpetuate a triple evil: we use people selfishly, we exclude them and cause them suffering, and we blame it all on them as if it is all their choice, their wrongdoing. It’s the shadow side of the notion of “election,” that God has chosen Israel for a specific purpose in human history. “Election” is not “preference.” Israel is not chosen because they’re better or more important than other nations but because God has a specific task for them, which is for the world to be blessed by them (Genesis 12.3). Our error—our temptation—is to believe our mission or survival is more important to the world and to God than other people’s. It taps into the basic human sin of “pride”— thinking it’s all about us. It gives rise to unjust systems of privilege and exclusion. It’s the thinking that justifies slavery and war and rape and unfettered capitalism and all kids of evil.
        Delores Williams points out in her book Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk that Hagar’s experience matches that of black enslaved women in America. She writes, “Hagar’s predicament involved slavery, poverty, ethnicity, sexual and economic exploitation, surrogacy, rape, domestic violence, homelessness, motherhood, single-parenting and radical encounters with God” (p.4). Of course such experiences are familiar to contemporary Black women in America. More broadly, Hagar is everyone who is used and abused, who is discarded, judged, excluded or looked down upon, who is blamed for her troubles: victims of domestic abuse, the working poor, immigrants and refugees…. It takes some moral numbness to avoid seeing the image of Hagar and Ishmael wasting away in the desert trying to cross the US border. Where are the Hagars in your world?
      From Sarah’s perspective the story ends with Hagar and Ishmael disappearing into the desert. But that’s not how the story ends, does it? God accompanies them, hears them, tends to them, and promises the same thing that God promises Abraham: to make a great nation of them. As Delores Williams points out, God does not enact liberation for Hagar, but God does offer survival and quality of life. How might God be calling us to join in God’s promise and help care for the Hagars and Ishmaels of our world, to accompany the desert wanderers, to be the ones who hear and have compassion, who encourage and equip people to become great?
      This story isn’t exactly about domestic violence but it brings it up. It’s a story about a household that is not safe. It’s about one person’s will dominating another’s well-being.
       Click here for Domestic Violence worship resources.

Romans
      “Should we continue to sin?” I’ve actually been asked, “Since everybody is saved, why be good?” Seriously? Why be bad? The thing is, God’s love changes us. When we know how deeply we are loved we don’t want to sin. God’s grace is so life-giving we want to live in harmony with it. We want to be loving.
       Baptism is an invitation to that change. Baptism doesn’t magically change us, but it reminds us of God’s promise to give us new life when we give God our old ones. Baptism symbolizes the life-cycle of faith: our little self-enclosed self drowns in God’s love, and God gives us a new self made out of pure love. Resurrection isn’t just the after-life, it’s the now-life: when we surrender our lives to God in love, God gives them back to us as a gift. This death-and-resurrection cycle isn’t a one-time thing: we go through it every day, every moment, continually giving our life to God and receiving life anew. Like breathing. (This doesn’t call for re-baptism, but renewal of our baptismal vows. God has already claimed us. We’re the ones who need to renew our faithfulness, breath by breath.)

Matthew
      In the context of sending out the 12 apostles, Jesus warns us, as servants of Jesus, that since people criticize him, they will also criticize us: “How much more will they malign those of his household.” Our faithfulness will be controversial: he brings not peace but a sword. The sword Jesus speaks of certainly isn’t advocating physical violence: he’s talking about controversy, opposition, the “sword” that divides. Think of Hebrews 4.12: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart..” That’s the sword Jesus brings.
       So we should expect opposition. But God, who cares for even the birds, will watch over us. So don’t worry about people who threaten you physically. Worry about what can bring death to your soul. If we are willing to let go of our place in society—if we take up our cross—we will find deep life. Having died and risen, as Paul suggests, we are free from fear for our physical well being, and have the courage to do justice, love radically, and serve boldly.

Call to Worship

1. [Matthew]
Leader: In this world of struggle and conflict we turn to God.
All: God of love, we need you.
Friends, not a sparrow suffers without God knowing,
and you, beloved, are worth more than many sparrows.
God of love, we trust you.
Those who cling to their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for Christ’s sake will find it.
God of love, we give ourselves to you.
Receive us, transform us, and fit us for your service,
in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2. [Genesis]
Leader: Glory be to you, God of all people,
you who have made us as siblings in one family.
All: Thanks be to you, Christ of compassion:
when we were lonely and cast out, you claimed us as your own.
Praise be to you, Spirit, for when we were in danger you saved us.
Come again, and make us your own.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

3. [Matthew]
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
Alleluia! Christ, you call us to follow,
through difficult times and choices.
Grant us faith and courage. Alleluia!

4. [Psalm 86]
Leader: Listen, O God, for we are poor and needy.
All: Save us, for we rely on you.
We open our souls to you. Give us joy.
For you are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who turn to you.
Be gracious to us and give us your strength.
For you are merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Alleluia.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Gracious God, giver of life , lover of all beings, we live within your embrace, and our hearts are filled with wonder at your presence. We set aside this gentle time to listen to you, and to rest in your care. Speak to us, and shape our hearts by the power of your Word. Amen.

2.
Loving God, you have baptized us into Christ’s death and resurrection, so that we may live new lives. Death no longer has dominion over us. Remind us again. As we tell the story of your love, let us die to sin so that we may freely and fully live for your sake, not for our own ease. As we worship, speak your good news to us, so that we may follow Jesus with faith and courage, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.

3.
God of love, may your grace give us faithfulness.
Christ, may your love give us courage.
Holy Spirit, may your presence give us trust.
Loving God, in a world that is afraid of love,
help us to be loving. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Like Hagar under a tree in the wilderness,
in solitude and need,
I sit with the infant of my hopes.
Hear the voice of my heart
and speak to me.
Lead me to the well of your love.

Prayer of Confession

Most merciful God, we confess our sin
we have not been the people you created us to be.
We have suppressed wonder and gratitude;
we have withheld love;
we have lived by fear.
Receive us, forgive us, and heal us,
that we may truly be your children,
and truly be sisters and brothers of all people,
in the name and the Spirit of Christ.
Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
       We trust in God, the maker of all things, source of all life and Mother of all children. Our life is in God, and in God we are one with all beings.
        We follow Jesus, the Christ, the Revealer of God, who taught us to love, who gave us courage to trust God’s grace, and who bid us to take up our cross and follow him. In his life and ministry and his death and resurrection, he has shown us that in losing our lives we find them. He who was crucified is the Ruler of the Universe.
        We rely upon the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, the communion of saints, the unity of the church, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and the reality of eternal life.
        Therefore we devote ourselves to disciplined practice of the Way of Jesus in our daily lives, so that we may grow in faithfulness, and serve God in humble, confident love for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.

2.
         We love and trust God, Creator of all things, heavenly father and mother, of infinite love, wisdom and power, ruler of all that is and all that is to come.
        We follow Christ, God’s chosen one, who loved and served humbly, who chose to die rather than kill for the sake of the healing of all Creation, and who was raised by God to new life. We believe that he calls us to humbly follow him and obediently serve him for the sake of proclaiming God’s grace. We trust that he accompanies us and will help, guide, heal and defend us through all difficulty and suffering.
        We believe the Holy Spirit guides us, empowers us and sustains us as servants of God’s grace. We live as the body of Christ, in the power of forgiveness and the reality of resurrection, and the light of eternal life. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

             Songs addressing domestic violence:

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.