OT 10 – PE +3

June 9, 2024

Lectionary texts

1 Samuel 8.4-20, 11.14-15 — Samuel anoints Saul as king.

Psalm 138 — God is great yet tends to the lowly. “Lord, fulfill your purpose for me.”

2 Corinthians 4.13- 5.1 — God, who raised Jesus, raises us also…. We do not lose heart….We look at what can’t be seen… We have a house not made with hands in the heavens.

Mark 3.20-35 — People accuse Jesus of having demons…. Jesus has “tied up the strong man….”
“My family is whoever does the will of God.”

Preaching Thoughts

Samuel
       Today we begin the long tale of king David in the Old Testament readings, which will continue into August. The story of Samuel anolnting Saul is one of those stories in which God does not issue decrees, but works with us. God shares Samuel’s doubt that Israel’s having a king will go well, but says, “OK, let them have one. See how that goes.” It’s an interesting backdrop to the rest of the Hebrew bible that continually longs for a king like David (who was clearly a mixed bag). The people want a king so they can be like other nations, yet their Covenant specifically sets them apart as not like other nations. And they want a king though God knows how kings abuse power. (Sure enough, by the way, Saul ends up a disappointment…) Though the idea of democracy was flourishing at this time in Norway—yes, seriously—oh, and also famously in Greece—it was unknown in Israel. So the choice wasn’t between a king and an elected official: the status quo was local divinely anointed judges. Still, the story does raise interesting questions about the idea of a theocracy… which, like a monarchy, doesn’t usually go well….

2 Corinthians
       Paul raises a series of contrasts: inner and outer (”though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day”), present and future (“this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure”), seen and unseen (“we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen”) and temporary and eternal (“what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal”). I think they’re all the same contrast: between surface appearance, which is fleeting, and inner reality, which is unchanging. This theme is repeated throughout scripture.
      Paul seems to have more emphasis than Jesus on the whole “pie in the sky” thing. Jesus wasn’t interested in the afterlife, lovely as it may be, but in this life. When we are in harmony with Real Life, that is, God, we participate in something infinite, which you can call eternal, but what makes it valuable is not that it’s long-lasting (even if you have to wait for it), but that it’s deep, and it’s right now, and it can’t be taken from you, even by people’s judgments, even by your sin, even by suffering or even death. It’s absolute. All you have to do is be in harmony with it. But that’s the trick, since it isn’t like the outward appearance the world tries to convince you of.

Mark
       Mark loves to tell a story within a story. People accuse Jesus of having demons but he says the only way he can cast out demons is if he has already “tied up the strong man,” robbed the demonic of its power. This is in verses 22-30. It’s set within the frame of another story, in verses 21 and 31-35: Jesus’ family thinks he’s gone mad and want him to come home. Jesus’s parable of thieves entering a house and tying up the strong man is partly a logical rebuttal to the accusations against him. He’s healing people! How could Satan possibly want that? But even more profoundly it’s a glimpse of his whole mission: he has entered the power structure of evil itself and bound up its powers in love. He is free to “plunder” the evil empire because love has overpowered the force of evil. This is why it’s always the demons who recognize him (“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God….” 1.24. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” 3.11) You bet, he has come to destroy them, and they know it. His healings are evidence of that— part of undermining evil itself. This sense that Jesus has already “bound the strong man” is in parallel to Paul’s confidence that though evil seems rampant in the visible world, in the unseen reality love has already conquered.
       The story then gets back around to Jesus’ family. And alarmingly Jesus re-defines family, not as blood kin but whoever shares in doing God’s will. Kind of a slap in the face to his blood family, no? (“Whoever does not hate mother or father…”) This is pretty radical in a culture that considers family to be just a half-shade less holy than God. But again, Jesus is not denying the importance of family; in fact he’s making it more important, because it’s not just the happenstance of birth: it’s about intentional community. It includes whoever chooses to be in it, including the orphan, the childless, the single, the widowed—those who get left out of our existing social structures. Jesus rejects biological destiny, that our birth determines our fate. In Luke 11.27-28 someone says “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But Jesus says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” No, you’re not saved by being a mother. You’re saved by being a disciple. Families, Jesus says, are made, not born.

Call to Worship

1.
People of God: Christ, our sibling, calls us as a family.
We gather as one, made family not by genetics, but in your Spirit.
Our bonds exceed our bounds.
We are one with followers around the world.
God of Love, Jesus calls us to hear and do your will.
Open our hearts to hear, and to follow.
We worship with open ears and a willing spirit.

2.
Proclaim the good news!
Though we are beset by the forces of evil and injustice,
Jesus has invaded the halls of power and bound up the strong man.
Love reigns supreme!
Though our own loyalties are divided, Jesus calls us his own.
Love claims us, and draws us in.
We renounce the works of oppression,
in the street, in the boardrooms, and in our own hearts.
Love, we worship: in humility, in gratitude, in unity,
that we may hear you will and do it,
that we may love our neighbors and do justice in the name of Christ.

3. [Psalm 138]
Leader: I give you thanks, O Love, with my whole heart.
All: When my heart cries out, you answer.
Though I walk through trouble you preserve my life.
In the face of what I fear, your love sustains me.
O Lord, fulfill your purpose for me.
May your steadfast love endure forever.

Prayer

1.
God of love, we proclaim that Jesus has overcome the powers of evil. All our divisions of family and race, class and religion are erased in your love. Bless us that we may surrender our small loyalties and join the family of your love and justice, in the name and spirit of Jesus our savior and our brother. Amen.

2.
Holy One, we come to listen for your voice, to hear your Word in our hearts and to live it out with grace. Bless us that we may hear and be changed, and that we may live by your Spirit in us as siblings in Christ. Amen.

3.
God, we praise you. The forces of evil that frighten us you have undermined. The demons that haunt us you have overpowered. The strong man of injustice you have bound. By your grace help us trust, and be people of healing, not fear. By the power of your Spirit help us be among those who do your will, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
We look not at what can be seen, but what cannot be seen.
We listen in the silence for your Word that cannot be heard,
yet may be known.
Spirit, you who raised Jesus, raise us now in your love.

2.
(Adapted from Ps. 138)
Leader: I give you thanks, O Love, with my whole heart.
All: When my heart cries out, you answer.
Though I walk through trouble you preserve my life.
In the face of what I fear, your love sustains me.
O Lord, fulfill your purpose for me.
May your steadfast love endure forever. Amen.

3.
Christ, you have entered the house of our hearts.
The demons we are afraid of are still,
for your have overcome them.
In peace we listen for your voice.


Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
        We delight in you, God, Eternal Source of all. You create us as one family in your love.
        We follow you, Jesus, Messiah, head of our family of love and justice. You have broken into the house of human powers of domination and you have bound the strong man; you have plundered the powers of evil and oppression. Though the powers had you crucified, you have overcome, and have bound up death itself.
        We live by your love, O Holy Spirit. You are the breath of God in us, granting us forgiveness, raising us to new life, uniting us as one family, and empowering us to resist evil and injustice. By your grace, O God, we give you our thanks, and we give you ourselves, that we may do your will. Amen.

2.
      We give our hearts to you, God, creator of all, giver of life. Though our bodies are dying and the circumstances of our life are passing, your grace in us is eternal, and you are always re-creating us.
      We follow Jesus, your Christ. He taught and healed; he loved and blessed all people. He gathered a community of radical inclusion and kinship that upended all forms of domination and exclusion. He invited us on the journey of death and resurrection. For his witness he was crucified, but you raised him from the dead, and he lives among us, our Beloved, our sovereign, our companion.
      We live by your Holy Spirit, your eternal presence, your infinite love overflowing in us.  By your spirit in us, though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. By your spirit we live lives of love and courage, of healing and blessing and justice.  Trusting in the grace of forgiveness, the power of nonviolence, and the mystery of resurrection, we live and serve as one body to do your will, in the name of Christ, for the healing of the world. Amen 

Prayer after Communion

Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. At your table you make of us one family, one Body. Send us into the world in the unity of your love to bear your blessings to all our sisters and brothers in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

Jesus, you who have broken the powers of evil, bind up our own evil and set us free. Holy Spirit, you who make us one family, send us forth to do your will, in the name and the company of Jesus. Amen.

Suggested Song

Do Justice (Original song)

Do justice, love mercy,
walk humbly with your God.
O, help us humbly live your justice,
your love, your mercy.

Trinity Sunday

Lectionary texts

In Isaiah 6.1-8 the prophet sees a vision of God in the Temple. He feels inadequate because of his sin—and his people’s sin—but an angel sears his lips with a burning coal: he has been purified. Then God asks “Whom shall I send?” and the prophet replies, “Send me.”

Psalm 29 honors God’s glory and strength. God’s mighty voice (God’s power) shakes all Creation

Romans 8. 12-17 says rather than living according to our self-limited desires (“the flesh’), we live by God’s spirit in us, since we are God’s children. In this Spirit we are radically free

In John 3. 1-17 Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must be born “from the top,” that is, both from God and also anew, over and over. We receive our life from God. John then goes on to say that Jesus was sent for our salvation. The Son of man will be “lifted up” (meaning both “crucified” and also “honored”) like the bronze serpent Moses lifted up to cure people in the desert.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Eternal God, Holy Mystery, Infinite Love, we are in awe.
All: Wow.
Loving Christ, Body of God, you heal us and accompany us and show us the way.
Thank you.
Holy Spirit, breath of God in us, re-create us, birth us anew and fill us with your love.
Please.

2.
Leader: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of God’s robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above God; they called to another and said:
All: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of God’s glory!
God so loved the world as to give us Christ, that whoever trusts may have eternal life.
Praise be to Christ, who is our life!
The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.
May we live by the Spirit, as children of God.
O Holy Mystery, Holy Trinity, Mother, Son and Holy Spirit,
we worship you; we praise you; we give our lives to you. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
People: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
Alleluia! Eternal God, Holy Trinity, you are Mystery,
you are grace, you are the power of love within us.
In awe, and gratitude and in obedience we worship you. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Loving God, Mother of our Birth and Creator of all things, your Spirit blows where it will. You bear us in your arms through all our lives. We turn to you now to hear your voice, to nurse from your love, and to give ourselves wholly to you. Through the Spirit and the Word give us new birth. Amen.

2.
O Holy One, you who are beyond us, and beside us, and within us, you who are our Source, our Companion, and our Life: we open our hearts to you. We don’t need to see your infinite splendor; but let us behold your glory just enough to fall in love, and give ourselves entirely to you, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

3.
Eternal God, you who are Mystery to us, yet who reveal yourself to us, we open our hearts to you. We do not ask that you enable us to understand or explain you, but only that you fill our hearts with your love, that we may receive your blessings and serve you in love, in the name of Christ, in whose name we pray, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

4.

Holy One, you so love the world that you give us your Beloved, your Only Begotten, that we may be made whole. By your Spirit in us, may we be born again and again from you grace; may we be readily blown where the wind of your Spirit blows us, in the name and the company of Jesus. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Loving God, you make us your children and you call us to help you to love the world. Stir up your Spirit in us so that as we read your scriptures and proclaim your Word we might hear what you are saying to us, and be transformed and enabled to sing more freely and beautifully the song of your grace. Amen.

Reading

Romans 8.12-17, a paraphrase.

Dearly Beloved, siblings in Christ, we are not isolated bodies,
constrained by their needs and limitations.
When we live that way, as separate units, we die.
But when by the breath flowing from God
we leave behind mere survival, we live deeply.
All who are led by the Spirit are children of God.
The Spirit doesn’t leave you in slavery, leashed to fear:
the Spirit is your adoption as God’s own.
When we cry out to God it is God in us making it clear
that we are God’s children—who inherit from God what Christ does,
invited as Christ’s siblings to share in Christ’s sufferings,
and also in Christ’s glory.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

We believe in God, who is mostly mystery but all love, the Holy Trinity: the Lover, the Beloved and the Love that Flows Between.
We follow Jesus, whom God gave to us in love, not to condemn us but to save us from slavery to our self-centeredness. Though the world condemned him, he did not condemn, but loved. Though he was crucified, by the eternal Spirit that was complete in him, he rose from death and gave to us his spirit.
We live by that Spirit, by whom we are born again and again from God, with new life. By the grace of that Spirit we are not isolated individuals but one, the Body of Christ, infinite in life and love. On the wind of that Spirit we sail into this world as Love leads us, to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with God. In love the Spirit breathes us into the world to be the good news of God’s grace. Alleluia.


Prayer of Dedication / Sending

(suitable for dedicating the offering of gifts or sending forth at the end of the service. You may substitute “our lives” for “these gifts.”)

1.
Gracious God, 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. Holy God, Three In One, send us in the love of Christ and the power of your Spirit for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, receive our lives nd all our gifts, which we give to you in thanks and joy. In giving this we honor you as our Creator, and we humble ourselves before you. We remember the gifts of your Son, Jesus, and offer thanks for his grace. And we open our hearts to your Spirit, that you may use us to show your love to all Creation, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer after Communion

Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. As you have fed us in this meal, give new birth to us in every breath: continually make us new in love for you, for each other, and for the world, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Pentecost

May 19, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Acts 2.1-21 — The Pentecost story

Psalm 104 — God’s Creation. “When you send forth your spirit, they are created.”

Romans 8. 22-27 — All Creation groans in labor pains, waiting to be set free. We hope for what we do not see… We do not know how to pray; the Spirit intercedes.

John 15.26-27, 16.4-15 —Jesus promises to send his Spirit. “It’s good that I’m going, so that the Spirit can come.” Spirit will guide you in all truth.

Preaching Thoughts

[For the sake of both chronological sense and dramatic flow, if I include the John reading it’s first among the readings, and I end with Acts.

John
       The “Advocate” Jesus promises is, in Greek, a “paraclete,” a person who would accompany you in a legal trial. Essentially a defense lawyer. What a contrast to what we so often imagine—that God is our judge and prosecutor! God is not. God is our defense lawyer! God is for us, not against us, not looking for fault,

Psalm
       “When you send forth your spirit, they are created” (v. 30). God breathes living beings into life. Remember Genesis, God breathing life into the dust and it becomes a living human? Respiration = inspiration = in-spiriting.

Romans
          The world groans in agony. When we pray for the world “we do not know how to pray as we ought.” It can seem overwhelming; there’s so much suffering. But when we get around to praying we’re only following up on what the Spirit is already doing, already groaning with the suffering of the world, and already groaning in us: “and not only the creation, but we ourselves.” Our prayer simply gives voice to that groaning, to God’s compassion for the world and suffering with the world—though often in “sighs too deep for words.”
       All of Creation groans in labor pains, waiting to be set free. Our role, then, is not to save the world, or save the earth, or even save the whales, but to come alongside Creation as it labors to bring forth life. (Climate change and species adapting to new habitats is Creation struggling!) But the life is already there. Creation already knows how to do this. Our job is to assist. (The loss of habitats and species and pollution suggests we’re not helping.) Of course Paul isn’t talking about the environment; he’s talking about the universal need of all of life for God’s grace. But the environment embodies what he is talking about. Environmental crisis comes because we haven’t yet learned how to live in harmony, how to be reconciled—how to live in grace.
       We don’t know how to pray as we ought. But God prays in us. I understand this literally. In the deepest form of contemplation, I don’t really do the work: I hold the space and God prays in me. It’s beyond words, beyond what I understand. St. John of the Cross says, “the Spirit comes to us without any act on the part of the soul.” Just like my bodily functions go on without my knowing how, so do my spiritual functions. The act of prayer is really the act of allowing God to pray in me, allowing God’s will and God’s Word to hold me and unfold in me. My part is to be intentional, to pay attention, and to listen. Of course it can be “hard work” to do nothing, to hold still and let the spirit pray in us.

 
Acts
        Speaking in tongues
I’m intrigued that the Pentecost story of “speaking in tongues” is about communication—the disciples speaking in other people’s languages (“tongues”) to communicate the gospel they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to communicate—and yet “speaking in tongues” came to be understood not as speaking in known languages for the purpose of communication but in speaking ecstatic utterances that were meaningless, even to the speaker, with out interpretation. I wonder how that reversal came about? I think the pentecostal challenge is not to experience ecstasy but to communicate the good news in ways people understand—which is not in our religious language, or even in words, but in love and justice.
       That involves more listening than talking: paying attention to people and their lives, their context, their needs, and listening to them, to what they experience and need and ask for—a kind of “listening in tongues.” Pentecost invites us to check our tendency to center ourselves, our desire that others “speak our language,” our temptation to impose our own values on them. Sometimes the most pentecostal thing we can do is affirm people as they are, rather than ask them to conform to our standards and expectations. Pentecost invites us to assume God has been with them in their journey, even if it’s very different from ours.
       The Pentecost story lights the fuse that will propel the church in ever-expanding circles of inclusivity. The nations named were essentially the whole known world for the first Christians. The book of Acts chronicles the always-expanding nature of the community of Jesus (“in Jerusalem and throughout Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”), and it calls us to be intentional about that inclusivity. Our goal is that in our day people say,”How is it that we, from all these different races and genders and economic levels and paths of life all hear about God’s great love in ways that make sense to us?”

       The Holy Spirit
It’s helpful for us to personify the Spirit, to imagine the Holy Spirit as, well, a spirit—a sort of invisible “someone” who comes to us and acts upon us. That’s cool, as long as we remember we’re anthropomorphizing a member of the Holy Trinity, that is, God, who is not a god, but beyond all gods—the Mystery of Love that gives rise to all being, that is Being itself. The Holy Spirit is not some ghost, but God in us. In both Greek and Hebrew the word for wind, spirit and breath (and hence life) is the same: ruach in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. The Holy Spirit is the living energy of God (which is love) in us. When we love, that’s God doing God’s thing.

Jesus says “I am in God, and you in me, and I in you (Jn. 14.20). Sounds a little spacey, but it’s literally true. God is infinite; we are within God. The Holy Spirit is our inter-penetration, our inter-being. Jesus was both human and divine; so are we.

We speak of the disciples “receiving “ the Spirit at Pentecost, but they already had it. They were born with it. (Joel says the Spirit is poured out on all flesh.) And just to make sure, Jesus has breathed on them in John 20. But Pentecost is the moment when the spark catches fire and they burn with it, overcoming their fear and grief. Acting in the power of the Holy Spirit isn’t some ecstatic experience, but simply being a vessel for love. It’s not our love, our effort, but God’s. We let the Spirit, God’s love in us, do its thing. That’s what enables us to do things that seem beyond our capacity or expectations—like communicating love in languages we haven’t studied.

       Baptism
Pentecost is a great day for baptisms, baptismal renewal, Confirmation, and receiving new members. People often conflate baptism and confirmation. Those who believe in “adult baptism” see it as a way to affirm one’s faith. But baptism, like birth, isn’t something you do; it’s something you receive. Baptism is a symbol of God’s unconditional love of the person being baptized—whether or not they like it, or understand it, or even know it. (That’s why we baptize babies.) Confirmation is the act in which we respond—we confirm our baptism; we accept our divine belovedness and vow to live in harmony with it. We can only be baptized once, since our belovedness is permanent, eternal and unchanging, and isn’t dependent on the pastor or church or denomination that pours the water, nor on the person receiving it. But we do need to continually re-affirm our baptism, to re-commit ourselves to the vows that were made at our baptism. Pentecost is a great time for baptismal renewal services. See a service of Baptism/ Baptismal Renewal/ Confirmation.

Call to Worship

1.Leader: Breath of God, breathe in us!
All: Wind of God, move among your people!
Fire of God, burn in our hearts!
Flame of love, leap from us to all the world.
Dove of God, give us comfort in your presence.
Give us the peace of your Spirit.
Come, Holy One, and rekindle our hearts.

2.
Leader: In the beginning the earth was a formless void,
and the Spirit of God brooded over the waters.
All: Spirit of Creation, create us anew!
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, came to Galilee, teaching and healing.
Spirit of Christ, move among us!
Jesus breathed on his followers and said,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. As God has sent me, so I send you.”
Spirit of love, move us to do your will. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Holy Spirit, breath of Creation, wind of God, breathe in us.
All: We open our hearts to your light and your life.
Holy Spirit, love of Christ, energy of healing, burn in us.
We open our hearts to your grace and your power.
Holy Spirit, we are One in you, and we adore you.
We open our hearts to one another and to all Creation.
We worship in thanksgiving, in joy, in love. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Holy Spirit, you who hovered over the waters at Creation—Praise!
All: Spirit of Love, by whom Christ was conceived—Thanks!
Spirit of Truth, you who fill us with your grace—Wonder!
Alleluia! Spirit of God, you who raise the dead, raise us to new life.
Spirit of Peace, in whom we are all one, lead us to love one another.
Spirit of Life, come, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Spirit of God, we thank you, for you create us.
You breathe in us and we live.
You fill us with your love, and we shine.
You intercede for us with sighs too deep for words.
You pray in us; it is by your grace alone that we can worship.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

6.
Holy Spirit, you breathe in us.
Spirit of Life, you burn in us.
Flame of God, fill us.
Fire of love, kindle our hearts.
Wind of justice, move us.
Light of compassion, shine in us.
Warmth of joy, radiate in us.
Spirit of God, make of our lives
the language of love. Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Eternal God, Spirit of Love, you create all things. You give life to all living beings, in all our diversity and wonder. You breathe in us and make us one in your love. Your presence calls out in each of us to one another, seeking to be one with each other. Speak to us in our worship. Sing your song to us in our hearts. Come to new life in us. We open our hearts to you. Spirit of love, arise! Amen.

2.
God of Love, Jesus promised to send the Spirit, who would guide us in the truth. Enliven your Spirit in us, that we may hear your voice, trust your grace and embody your love in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
Spirit of God, it is you who have invited us here, moving in our hearts before we are aware. Move in us now again: move us closer to you in deep trust, closer to one another in prayer, closer to our neighbors in love. Spirit of God, speak to us; speak in us; speak through our love. Amen.

4.
Spirit of Life, stir in us. Breath of heaven, breathe in us. Holy Spirit, we do not know how to listen as we ought. But intercede for us with openness too deep for words. As we hear the scriptures read and good news proclaimed, breathe in us; pray in us; create us anew. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, on the day of Pentecost you filled the disciples with your Spirit, they embraced their mission in the world, and the church was born. Gather your church now in the wind of your grace, that we may be one in unity and peace. Fill our lungs with your breath, that we might sing your praise. Light our hearts on fire, that we might spread your love. We pray in the name of Jesus, who promised that he would send us his own Spirit, so that he would live in us. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Spirit,
we do not know how to pray as we ought.
Breathe in us.
Pray in us.
Live, radiant, in us.

Prayer of Confession

God, you have created us to live by your Spirit.
Sometimes we live by your Spirit
and at times we are driven by our wounds and fears and desires.
Sometimes our words and actions are the language of love
and sometimes they are not.
By the light of your Spirit
help us see clearly in us what is love and what is not.
Forgive us, heal us, and rekindle in us the power of your love;
for by the grace we know in Christ
you have set us free to live by the power of your Spirit alone,
now and forever..
       …Silent reflection … The word of Grace

Further prayers

Leader: The whole Creation has been groaning in labor pains.
Al: The world cries out in suffering.
We pray, then, for the suffering of the world.
But we do not know how to pray as we ought.
Yet by your grace we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly; our spirits ache for the world.
God, you help us in our weakness,
for your Spirit prays in us with sighs too deep for words.
So for the sake of the world we allow your Spirit to pray in us,
giving voice to your silent cries in us.
We offer your our silence, and the space in our souls, O God,
as you pray for the wholeness of the World.
      …Silent prayer…
Amen.



Readings

1. paraphrased, from Psalm 104

                Sung Response: Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Love, you are sovereign!
How amazing are your works.
 In wisdom you have made all creatures.
They look to you, and you give them life breath by breath.
When you give, we gather. You open your hand, and we live.
When you hide from us we are dismayed.
When you take away your breath, we die and return to dust.
When you grant your breath again, we are created.
You renew the face of the earth.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praise to Love with all of my being.
Praise the Lord!
                [sung] Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

2. Paraphrased from Psalm 51.10-17
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
put a new and right spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation;
sustain in me a willing spirit.
Then I will show your ways to those who struggle,
and those who wonder will turn to you.
Reweave me into the Body, O God, O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
Love, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrifices;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a spirit broken open;
an open and humble heart, O God, you will embrace.

3.
In the beginning, God, your Spirit brooded over the waters, and you began creating.
You formed a human from the soil of the earth,
and breathed the breath of your life into us.
By your Spirit you sent prophets to speak your Truth to people,
and you promised to pour out your Spirit on all flesh.
Jesus was conceived by your Holy Spirit, and ministered by its power.
At Pentecost his followers received your Spirit,
and you gave birth to the Church.
Be the one Spirit we are baptized into the Church, the Body of Christ.
By your Spirit alone we live.
By your Spirit alone we are one.
By your Spirit alone we serve you with love. Alleluia!

Poetry

Spirit intercedes


Spirit helps us in our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but that very Spirit intercedes
with sighs too deep for words.
— Romans 8.26

Spirit, I do not know how to pray.
But you ask of me no skill.
You ask my presence—you, who are present.

I will be the seed, small and unassuming,
and you will be the flower in me,
spreading light, creating me.

I will be the spring tree, silent and unknowing.
And you will be the bird singing,
singing your joy in me.

I will be the woods
and you a thousand living things
growing in me unseen,

I the ocean and you the creatures,
I the word and you the meaning,
I the heart and you the rising joy.

I will be the chalice and you the wine.
I will be this moment and you the silence.
I will be myself and you will breathe in me.

Spirit

      
         When you send forth your spirit, we are created
                  —Psalm 104.30

Holy One,
         breath of the big bang,
         idea of creation,
you who make spring come forth,
         who make life out of nothing,
breathe yourself into me.
         Create me.

you are the flame,
         I am your light.
You are the nerve,
         I am your muscle.
You are the Word,
         I am the story.
You are the song,
         I am the singing.

I am one with you
         and one with all Creation.
One Spirit,
         one flesh, many forms.
In your Spirit
         I am we.

Holy One, live in me;
         I am your body.
I remember,
         and I live.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
       We believe in you God, Spirit of Love, creator of all that is and that ever shall be.
       We follow Jesus, your Christ, the embodiment of your love. He taught and healed and gathered a community of radical love and diversity ruled not by laws or religions but by your Spirit. For his rebellion against the forces of oppression and injustice he was crucified, but you raised him from the dead. He returned and gave to us his Spirit, so that we are now the Body of Christ.
       We live by your Spirit, your love alive and working in us, leading us in lives of justice and compassion, one with each other and with all living beings. We open our hearts, that your Spirit may always lead us, sustain us and unite us in Christ, for the sake of the wholeness of all Creation. Amen.

2. Adapted from St. Theresa of Avila

Christ has no body now but ours,
no hands, no feet on earth but ours.
Ours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world.
Ours are the feet with which he walks about to do good.
Ours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
       Spirit, be with us; Spirit be within us.
       Deep-breathing God, hold us all in your loving Spirit. Amen.

3.
       We believe in God, the Spirit of Love, who creates all things, embraces all things, and lives within all things.
       We follow Jesus, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and in the power of the Spirit taught and healed. The Spirit was upon him to bring good news to the poor and set free the oppressed. Though he was crucified, by the power of the Spirit God raised him from death, and he comes to us still in the power of that Spirit.
       The Holy Spirit lives in us, and makes us, the Church, one body, the Body of Christ. By the grace of the Spirit we love God and our neighbors; we trust in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection, and the mystery of eternal life. In the one Spirit we are one with Christ, one with all people, and one with all Creation. By that Spirit we live in love, for the sake of the blessing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
       We believe in God, the One Spirit of the universe, who breathes all Creation into being, whose Spirit gives life to all living things.
       We follow Jesus Christ, who wholly embodied God’s Spirit, who taught and healed and enacted love and justice; who opened the Realm of God to all. He was crucified, yet by the eternal Spirit living in him, he rose again and is present with us still in the power of that spirit.
       We ourselves live by the Holy Spirit. We are one body in the one Spirit, aflame with God’s passion for the world, in mystery and in ministry. We trust the Spirit’s gifts of forgiveness and resurrection. And we devote ourselves to expressing the gifts of the Spirit in our lives, for the sake of the transformation of the world.

Eucharistic Prayer

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

————— #1 ——————
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

Spirit of God, flame of life, we adore you.
You breathe life into us.
You make us loving and beautiful.
You are the Life Force in all living beings;
we all come from you, and we are one in you.
All of us, of every nation, language and race,
every shape, gender, ability and class,
all of us, every species, are one in you,
and we gather here at your table.
With one voice, with the breath of your breath, we sing your praise

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who embodied your spirit in all he did.
He fed the hungry, healed the broken, gathered the outcast,
and created a community of love and justice.
He was crucified by the powers of injustice
but your Spirit is infinite and eternal,
and by your Spirit you raised him to life.
Raised from the dead, he breathed his Spirit into us,
and embodies your covenant to be with us in love always.

     (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.
Pour out your Spirit of love and courage.
Pour out your Spirit of justice and hope.
Breath of life, fill us and energize us.
Flame of love, guide us and empower us
to bring your love to all peoples,
of all nations and languages, all kinds and cultures,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world,
in the name of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

————— #2 ——————
A brief prayer

Blessed are you, O God, for in the beginning
your Spirit hovered over the waters, and you created all things.
You breathed your Spirit of life into the dust of the earth
and it became a living being. Your Spirit is the breath of our life.
You have taken us as your people,
and even when we turn from you your love for us is faithful.
You have set us free from slavery to sin and death,
and overthrown the powers of evil and injustice.
You breathe your Spirit into everyone on earth;
therefore we gather at your table as one with all people
We come at the invitation of Christ,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
led by your Spirit in ministry,
and who at his death gave up his spirit to you,
promising to send his spirit to his followers.
We celebrate the great mystery of our faith:
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

             [… The Blessing and Covenant …] *

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and wine,
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, as on Pentecost,
that with hearts aflame with love, and lungs full of your breath of life,
we may bring good news to the poor, and set free the oppressed,
and convey your love to all peoples,
in the name of Christ. Amen.


———— #3 —————
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your heart.
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 thanks and praise.

Holy One, in the beginning your wind brooded over the waters
and you created the world.
You breathed into the clay of the earth
and it became a living human being.
The strong east wind of your breath
parted the Red Sea and led the slaves to freedom.
Your breath entered the dry bones in the valley
and they rose to life again.
Therefore with your holy breath in us we sing your praise.
     (Sanctus)

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
At his baptism your Spirit descended on him as a dove.
He embodied your love, he breathed your grace.
By your Spirit he healed and taught and nourished your people.
The powers of evil opposed him and crucified him;
but the Spirit of Life raised him.
Risen from the dead, he came to us and breathed his spirit into us,
his promise to be with us always.
     (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)

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 Spirit, breathing deeply of your grace,
on fire with your love, for the healing of the world.
     (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.) Fill us with your Spirit. Guide us and sustain us by your Spirit,. Send us in the power of your Spirit to do mercy and justice for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Send us in the power of your Spirit to give language to your love, to convey to all the world the good news of your grace, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
Graceful power, move in me.
May my living give language to your miraculous ways.
May my words express your goodness,
my actions reveal the abundance of your blessing.
Spirit, be the nerve that moves me as your body
to do your will, that all that I do
might clearly embody your grace
and be your living example.
May all whom I meet be given to understand
in the language of their hearts
your loving presence.
Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) By your Spirit alive in us, may our lives be the language of your love, and the vessels of your grace. May your Spirit sustain us, guide us, and inspire us to lives of compassion, courage, gratitude and joy, in the name of Christ. Amen.

5.
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 this meal you have created us anew, filled us with your Spirit, made us one, and strengthened us for love and justice. Send us into the world to embody the gifts of the Spirit in the name of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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


Bearers of Light Tune: Morning Has Broken

God, how you love us, hold us and bless us,
reign from above us, lead us by hand
Call us to healing, bound by your Promise,
your Word revealing, by your command.

Great holy giver of life and wonder,
deep like a river your blessings flow.
Gladly we give you praise and thanksgiving:
gifts we will give wherever we go.

Baptized, anointed, filled with your Spirit,
we are appointed bearers of light:
for liberation, servants of justice,
bringing the nations joy and delight.


Breath of God (Tune: Londonderry Air – “Oh Danny Boy”)

O Holy One, Creator of the stars of night,
whose dust we are, created with your light,
now breathe your spirit into us and give us life;
give us new hearts that beat with your delight.
Our dust and ashes, Love, we give in faith to you.
Receive our lives, our sin, our wounds, our death;
and raise us up with Christ from death to life by grace.
God, may we be your love and you our living breath.

Breathe into us the breath of your compassion, God,
the breath to sing your praise in all we do,
the breath to run the race of justice, long and far.
Breathe, holy breath: empower and renew.
O be the grace that fills our lungs, reviving us;
O be the wind on which our hearts can soar;
O be our life, our beauty and our living breath.
O Spirit, come breathe in us now and evermore.


Feast of the Spirit (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
A communion song

Spirit, you lead us to gather and dine,
making us new in the bread and the wine.
Ent’ring us wholly and making us one,
one in our loving and one in the Son.

Once we have eaten the wine and the bread
we are made one, with Christ as our head.
We are one Body, one Spirit, one heart,
each of us strengthened to do our own part.

Just as we offer our gifts for the meal,
God gives us Spirit to bless and to heal,
serving our neighbors and changing the world,
led by the Spirit of our risen Lord.

Fire of Love (Tune: HOLY MANNA or ODE TO JOY)

Holy Spirit, you have gathered us as on that Pentecost
when you gathered Christ’s disciples and their fears and doubts were lost:
breathing life into their souls, and shining out of every face,
you sent them into the streets to tell of God’s amazing grace.

Each aflame with your compassion, eager that your praise be sung,
fearlessly they filled the streets to tell your news in every tongue.
So we ask you, by your life within us, giving us new birth,
send us out to spread God’s love in Jesus’ name to all the earth.

Holy Spirit, you have granted gifts to each, in our own way,
so that we might serve you as we live and work and share and pray.
By your pow’r we love our neighbors, work for justice, act with peace,
reach the lost and serve the lowly: so your work will never cease.

Holy Spirit, energy of God that links us soul to soul,
by your grace we are the Body of the risen Christ, made whole.
Be the breath that lifts our singing; be the wind that fills our sails;
be the fire of love among us ‘till the Reign of God prevails.



Holy Spirit, Burn Within Us
(Tune: HOLY MANNA or BEECHER, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling)

Holy Spirit, Sun of Heaven, source of light and warmth and power,
fill us and transform us like a seed that turns into a flower.
Kindle in your willing people joy’s bright spark, compassion’s flame.
Set us all afire to bear your loving light in Jesus’ name.

Holy Spirit, burn within us, radiant with your healing grace.
Give us brand new ways to meet and love the stranger face to face.
Help us find new ways of caring. Help us set new, daring goals.
Give us brand new languages to speak your love to seeking souls.

Holy Spirit, let your fire consume us, changing us at last.
Let us rise like light emerging from the embers of the past.
May the star of pure compassion shine within and set us free.
Holy Spirit, make us all your flame that burns eternally.


Holy Spirit, Wind of Heaven      (Tune: Joyful, Joyful)

Holy Spirit, Wind of Heaven, Breath of Life, our warmth and light,
Power of Creation, bringing hopeful dawn from darkest night:
you have birthed us, you have borne us; you have blessed us all our days,
now you fill our lungs with singing; how you fill our hearts with praise!

Holy Spirit, flame of passion, you who brought your Church to be,
re-create us as your Body, holy in our unity.
Fill us with your fierce compassion, gentle courage, trust and peace.
Lead us all to love each other; make our sad divisions cease.

Holy Spirit, Dove descending, mind of Christ within us all,
speak your wisdom, move among us, help us hear your inner call.
Be the only pow’r that moves us; be our life, O singing Dove!
Holy Spirit, come, revive us! Fill us with your heart of love!


Spirit of God (Original song)

Spirit of God, bright Wind, breath that bids life begin,
blow as you always do; create us anew.
Give us the breath to sing, lifted on soaring wing,
held in your hands, borne on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, come.

Spirit of God, bright Dove, grant us your peace and love,
healing upon your wings for all living things.
For when we live your peace captives will find release,
held in your hands, borne on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, come.

Spirit of God, bright Hands, even in far-off lands
you hold all the human race in one warm embrace.
No matter where we go you hold us together so,
held in your hands, borne on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, come.!…

Spirit of God, bright Flame, send us in your holy name,
with power to heal, to share your love everywhere.
We cannot fail or fall or know defeat at all,
held in your hands, borne on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, come.!…

Spirit of God in all, we gladly hear your call,
the life in our hands that sings, the power of your wings.
Born of your grace we rise, love shining in our eyes,
held in your hands, borne on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, come.!…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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