Tag: YEAR B

April 28, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Acts 8. 26-40 — Phillip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch

Psalm 22. 25-31 — Praise… “The poor shall eat and be satisfied. … Dominion belongs to the Lord.”

1 John 4. 7-21 — God is love. … There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear… We love because God first loved us.

John 15. 1-11 “I am the vine; you are the branches.”

Preaching Thoughts

Acts
       Here we have a perfect example of the Body of Christ’s inclusivity: the Spirit leads Phillip to reach out to a foreign, non-gender conforming person of color. Work with that.

Psalm
       This is the other half of “My God my God, why have you forsaken me?” It’s the trust that God actually hasn’t forsaken me. I just felt like it. As with all of the laments (but one), the cry of despair works into a cry of hope, thanksgiving and praise.

1 John
       Again, the gospel in a nugget. We love because God first loved us.
       I take John’s theology literally: God is love, and love is God. As the ancient saying goes, “Ubi caritas et amor, ibi Deus est:” wherever there is love and compassion, there is God. God is not just some loving guy up in heaven; God is love itself, the love that begets the world and saturates the world, and begets us, and holds us and lives in us. Whenever we love, that is God being God.
      “God sent God’s Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Be careful with this. Maybe John really means God intends for Jesus to be slaughtered like a lamb to make up for our sins. I choose to see it differently: love motivates Jesus to sacrifice his own life, so we might experience deep trust in God. God is not someone who orders Jesus around, but love propels him into action. What atones for our sins is not that Jesus pays in punishment for them, but that his self-giving outweighs our alienation from God and allows us to be at one with God. Jesus occupies the place of condemnation, and suffers our worst evil, and God still loves him, and still loves and forgives us. Experiencing this love (in Jesus’ sacrifice), we can let go of the fear that makes us distrust God (our sin), and we can trust God (be “at-oned”).

John
       Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” He also says “I am in God, and you are in me, and I am in you” (Jn. 14.20) Paul says “We are members of the Body of Christ.” John says “God lives in us.” I think we are all one Being. Righteousness is participating. Sin is thinking (and acting as if) we’re separate. We are not separate from Christ, but a part of Christ, and part of one another. Everybody is part of everybody. And by God’s love living in us we bear the fruit of that love in our own lives. We falter in our trust that we’re part of Christ, part of the embodiment of God’s love. That’s our sin. God’s response is purely to give us more love, to bring us back into harmony with God. The life of faith is one of continual mindfulness of coming back into harmony with the love that is at the heart of our being, and bearing the fruit of that love in our lives.
       “God removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit.” We prefer to hear about God tending us, feeding us, being gentle with us. It’s a little harder to realize God also prunes us. Whatever is not fruitful is removed for the health of what is fruitful. In a dying vine even the smallest tender shoot is the deepest hope of the vinegrower. Even if most of a tree is dead, it is pruned to save what is living, what is kind and hopeful and giving. If we are willing, God lovingly removes what is unkind, unloving, selfish and fearful in us. It’s not an easy little snip-snip. We have to willingly let go, over and over. But God works in us to prune what is not loving for the health of what is loving. The vinedresser tends each branch within you, the part in each of us that is unloving, ungiving, whatever is attached to what is dead. The death of what is unkind in us is the pruning by which the resurrection of love may come forth, small and green.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Living God, Root of Life, we grow and blossom from your heart.
All: You are the river; we are your flowing.
Loving Christ, Flowering of Love, we give thanks for the beauty of your grace.
You are the vine; we are your branches.
Holy Spirit, Fire of God, your love burns in us, and shines into the world.
We are your candle; you are the flame.
We belong to you; we worship you; we serve you. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Christ, you are the vine and we are your branches.
All: Our life flows from you, and we give you thanks.
You are the vine and we are your branches.
Your love flows through us, and we praise you.
You are the vine and we are your branches.
We are one in you, and as one we worship you. Alleluia!

3.
Leader: Creator God, Tree of Life, Root of Love, we live in you.
All: We grow from you; we are rooted in you; we live within you.
Christ, our Vine, your life flows in us, your strength upholds us.
Our blossoming is your praise; our beauty is your glory.
Holy Spirit, love of God unfolding within us, you give us life.
Your presence swells our hearts, and your grace ripens within us.
Alleluia! Living Vine, fill us with your grace,
that we may bear fruit in your name, to your delight,
for the blessing of all the world. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Tree of Life, we belong to you; we are part of you.
Vine of Love, we need you. You nourish us.
May we be deeply rooted in you,
your spirit flowing through us.
Abide in us, that we may bear the fruit of your love.
May your perfect love cast out our fear.
By your grace prune what is not loving in us.
Come, holy vinedresser, and renew your life in us.
Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5. [From 1 John 4.7-13]
Leader: Beloved, what love the father has given us, that we should be called children of God.
All: God, we thank you.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent the Beloved into the world so that we might live through Christ
Christ, we greet you.
By this we know that we abide in God and God in us because God has given us of God’s spirit.
Holy Spirit, we are alive by your power.
We worship by your grace.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Christ, you are the living vine. May your presence give us life, your Word give us wisdom, and your grace flow through us that we may bear fruit in the Spirit of your love. Amen.

2.
God of love, we give thanks for our unity in you. In one Spirit, by your one grace, we worship, we pray, and we listen for your Word. Make us one in your love, one in Christ, and one in service to the world, through your one Spirit. Amen.

3.
God of love,
may the flower of your delight
and the fruit of your compassion
grow in us as we hear your Word.
Amen.

4.
Loving God, you are the vine and we are your branches. Our life flows from you. Our very being is yours. By your Spirit in us, we root ourselves deeply in your presence, and receive your Word. Bless us that your grace may flow through us, that we may bear the fruits of your Spirit. We pray in the name of Christ, in the Presence of Christ, as the Body of Christ. Amen.

5.
Faithful God, you bring us forth into life and nourish us like a mother. You give us the gift of Jesus, who tends us like a gentle shepherd. You fill us with your Spirit, so that we live in you and love with your love. We thank you for your grace, and pray that in hearing your Word we may be drawn more deeply from death into life eternal. We pray in the name of Christ, who is with us now. Amen.

6.
God of Truth, you are the vine and we are your branches. Root us in your Word, so that our life flows from you. Prune the branches in us that do not bear fruit, and nourish the fruit we bear, so that we may be faithful to your love. May your love flow through us, so that we may bear the fruits of your grace, in the name of Christ. Amen.

7.
O God, you are the vine and we are your branches. Our life springs from you. Our souls are rooted in you; our bodies rise from your heart. Your Spirit flows through us, and our lives are part of you. As our lives fill with your love and our spirits swell with your blessing, we bear fruit. We blossom with joy, and bear the fruit of love in your world. We celebrate, O God, and we open our hearts that by your grace we may receive and give your love more freely. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Loving One
you are the vine;
we your branches.
Your Spirit flows through us,
your Word lives in us.
We open the veins of our souls
that your grace may flow freely.
May your grace bear fruit in us.

Prayer of Confession

1.
The grace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of life, you are the vine, and we are your branches.
But we confess that we have tried to live separate from you.
We have not rooted ourselves in you, or opened ourselves
to your life and your spirit and your power flowing through us,
your love and your beauty blossoming in us.
Our lives become dry and fruitless.
God of life, we desire to be rooted in you, joined to you, part of you.
Return us; forgive us, fill us again with your life,
          Silent prayer… The word of grace

More Prayers

1.
Christ, living vine,
    be my life.
Let my life flow from you,
     from your heart to mine.
My soul is rooted in you;
     my very being is your being.
I am rooted in your love;
     your love alone gives me life.
Let my love be your love,
     flowing through me.
Let my life be the fruit of your presence,
     my thoughts the vessels of your grace,
     my deeds the movements of your spirit.
Let me receive the life that is rooted
     with all others in you.
Prune all of me that does not bear your fruit;
     though I cry out, I willingly surrender it.
My life is in you,
     and your life is in me.
Christ, living vine, be my life,
     and I will be your living branch,
     your life-giving fruit.
Amen.

2.
God, this is love,: that you first loved us.
      We receive your love.
            Silence…

If we love one another, God lives in us,
and God’s love is perfected in us.
      Dwell in us God,
      and perfect your love in us.
            Silence…

Beloved, since God so loves us
we ought to love one another.
      Your love flows out through us
      to all the world.
            Silence…

There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear.
      By your love cast out our fear
      and perfect your love in us.
            Silence…

Poetry

Vine and Branches

Holy One, you are the living vine
and every creature is a branch of you.
All whom I see are branches of you.
We are all one living being. One.

I am your branch.
Beyond believing, un-understandably,
I belong to you.
I live in you.
I grow from you.
Your life flows through me.
I bear your fruit.
Your juices run in me.
I bear you forth in the scent of my blossoms.
You are beautiful in me.

Mmmm, what beauty!
Ah! What wonder.
My, what a gift.



Vine and branches

Does the branch pray to the tree?

Does the little limb think
of the great root buried in its grave,
the wine poured up
through the sturdy chalice of the trunk?
Does the leaf seek the will
of the seed, or contemplate
the shape of the body,
the arms spread out over the earth?
Does the bud seek guidance
or understand its place
in the miracles and teachings of the seasons?

I don’t know about that;
only this:

in the branch the leaf opens,
the blossom unfolds,
the fruit swells.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1. From 1 John 4.7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God.
Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
You can’t know God without being loving, because love is God.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent God’s Only Begotten into the world
so that we might live through Christ.
In this is love, not that we loved God
but that God loved us
and sent the Only Begotten to heal our alienation from God.
Since God loves us so much, we also love one another.

No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in God and God in us:
because God has given us of God’s Spirit.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear;
for fear has to do with coercion,
and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars;
for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen,
cannot love God whom they have not seen.
We love because God first loved us.
The commandment we have from God is this:
we who love God must love our brothers and sisters also.

2.
       O God, Creator and Source of all, you are the Tree of Life. We live in you, and we desire always to be in communion with you, deeply rooted in you, flourishing in your grace.
       O Christ, you are the vine and we are your branches. One with God and one with us, you are our Root, our Savior, our Life. In your life and ministry and your death and resurrection you bear the fruit of God in perfect love. In your grace you cast out our fear. You gather us in communion with God and one another, transform us by your Spirit flowing through us, and send us into the world in service for the sake of love and justice.
       O Holy Spirit, Life of God in us, we live by your power and beauty. We blossom with your grace. You make us the Body of Christ, one with you and with all Creation, one in resurrection, one in forgiveness, one in the mystery of eternal life. Therefore we devote ourselves to you, that bearing the fruit of your love, we may glorify you, so that your joy may be in us, and our joy may be complete. Amen.

3.
        We believe in God, the Root of all living, Creator of all things.
        We live in Christ Jesus, God’s Son, who loved all people and who makes us one in his love. He suffered and died, and was raised on the third day. In his death and resurrection we are also raised to new life. Christ is our Vine and we are his branches, and without him we cannot live.
      We live by the Holy Spirit, flowing through us so that we may bear fruit for God, the fruit of love, the fruit of justice, beauty and joy. In the Spirit we are one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

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

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

Christ, you are the vine and we are your branches.
Eternal Love, we spring from you.
Nothing can separate us from your love, for we are part of you.
You hold us when we stray and when we falter.
As the scattered seeds are made into one loaf,
as the many branches grow from the one vine:
we are one with you and with all your beloved.
You set us free from all that oppresses us,
from all that diminishes love or the wholeness of life.
You prune what is unloving in us,
so that in us your love may flourish and bear fruit.
We come to this table to feast on the fruit of your love in Christ.In one voice 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;
he loved us so that we may love.He forgave us so that we may trust.
His perfect love casts out our fear.
He made us into one Vine, one Body, in your Spirit,
a community of love and forgiveness
that includes everyone of every race and nation,
every gender, every place on the journey of life.
He was crucified and buried; the vine was cut down.
But you raised him to new life, and the vine lives on in us.

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

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

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts, O God,
that they may be for us the Body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us, that we may be renewed as your people,
the Vine of your Love, the Body of Christ.
You are the vine and we are your fruit.
May your spirit flow through us as sap through the vine,
that we may bear the fruit of your love in this world.
By your Spirit in us may we be perfected in your love.
Make us one with you, one with each other and one with all Creation,
for the sake of the wholeness 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.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) We are one in your spirit, and one in service to the world. May your grace flow through us that we may bear the fruit of your love in this world, for the sake of the coming of your Realm, 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.) You love us perfectly and cast out all fear. May we then love one another and all the world without fear, in the name of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) May your love flow through us, and your beauty blossom in us. By your Spirit may we bear your fruit in this world, and offer your love to all in the name and the Sprit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Offering Song (Tune: This Is my Father’s World)
[Included in Offering Songs,a collection of one-verse songs to familiar hymn tunes.]

We give our gifts, O God, as branches of your vine.
The lives we live, the gifts we give spring from your grace divine.
So may we do your will, in all we say and do,
the fruit we bear, the love we share, flow from our life in you.


Vine and Branches (Original song)

You are the vine and we are your branches,
one with your life and rooted in your heart.
Flowing with grace, with life you fill us,
strengthened that nothing can break us apart.

You are the vine and we are your branches.
Deep in our hearts your life is flowing through.
Rooted in you, we grow and flourish.
You live within us, and we live in you.

You are the vine and we are your branches.
One common blood flows through all of our veins.
We all are part of one another.
We all are branches of one living vine.

You are the vine and we are your branches,
flowing with power greater than our own,
bearing your fruit to all Creation,
till all the seeds of your love have been sown.

June 2,2024

Lectionary Texts

1 Samuel 3.1-20 — God calls Samuel in the temple.

Psalm 139 — You know me from the inside.
          See two paraphrases of Psalm 139 here and here, and a meditation on it here.

2 Corinthians 4.5-12 — God’s light shines in us, but we have this treasure in earthen jars. We are afflicted but not crushed…

Mark 2.23 – 3.6 — David and the bread of presence. “Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the sabbath.” Jesus heals the man with the withered hand.

Preaching Thoughts

1 Samuel
       It’s usually only afterward that we realize it has been God talking to us. Especially if that voice is a call— a vocation—to some kind of service or self-giving. Even if that work is our love and passion, we often doubt it meets God’s delight. Until we answer the call…

2 Corinthians
       I love the paradox of Paul’s image that we are simple clay jars—cheap, imperfect and fragile, even—filled with incredibly precious and eternal stuff. The light of God shines in us; it’s the light, not the jar, that matters. But we take care of that breakable jar, for the sake of the light. It’s typical for people to doubt themselves as bearers of God’s light, and to judge others for being inadequate; but the good news is that the light is always carried in cracked, imperfect jars. Yes, your jar is flawed. Of course. But the light in you is holy. It’s there because God says “Let there be light.” And that light created in you is as real and powerful as the Big Bang. Let it shine. And don’t mind those people who are so afraid of their own light, and afraid of their own cracks and imperfections, that they project their fear onto you and belittle you. Never mind them. You have the Light. Shine it.

Mark
       The legalists fault Jesus for playing loose with the law of God. But That’s not what Jesus is doing. It’s not just that he tends to the spirit, not the letter of the law; in fact he takes the law to a higher level. About healing on the sabbath the Pharisees ask “Is it legal or not?” But Jesus asks What’s the sabbath for? ”Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm?” It’s about surrendering to the power of God, right? Therefore it’s about healing, isn’t it? Well, then, this is lawful. (He does the same thing with the bent over woman in Luke 13. The sabbath is about liberation, right? Well, then the sabbath is the perfect time to liberate this woman.) Jesus invites us not just to “obey” the laws of God but to think through what those laws are for. They’re for healing and liberation. The way to follow God’s commandments is to heal and liberate, no matter what the “rules” say.

Call to Worship

1. [2 Corinthians]
Leader: In the beginning was the Word,
All: and the word was love.
God said “Let there be light,
and all things came from the light of love.
We are created in the light of your love,
and it shines in us.
God of mercy, we open our hearts to your light.
May the sun of your love rise in us and shine in us always. Amen.

2. [1 Samuel]
Leader: God of truth, in darkness and unknowing, you call us.
All: Here we are; we are listening.
God of love, you call us by name.
Here we are. Speak to us.
God of justice, you call us to your work.
Here we are. Send us.
God of mercy, re-form us by your Word.
Gracious God, we worship you with open hearts.

3. [Mark]
Leader: God of love, we are broken people.
All: You reach out to us in love.
We have doubts and expectations; we put limits on your love.
Yet you reach out to us in love.
Touch our brokenness; heal our wounds.
Gracious God, restore our wholeness.
We open ourselves to you.

4. [Psalm 139. Also appropriate for a response/affirmation. ]
Leader: O God, you have searched us and known us.
All: Where could we flee from your presence?
Even at the farthest ends of the world, you are there.
Even in darkness your light shines.
You have formed us; you know us from the inside.
How unimaginable are your thoughts, O God.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts.
Lead us in the way everlasting.

5.
Leader: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was the light of life.
All: O God, let your light shine in us.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world;
let your light so shine that others may see and glorify God.”
O God, let your light shine in us.
Sleeper, awake, and rise from the dead, and God will shine upon you.
O God, let your light shine in us.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy Mystery, you fashion us out of love; you create us with your grace. We shine with the light of your presence. Strengthen the clay pots of our faith, that we may hold your light faithfully and share it lovingly in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of grace, we are broken people; only you can heal us. Yet we are held back by our own doubts and fears, our judgments and expectations. Set us free from the imprisonment of our own minds, to trust your grace, to stretch out our hands to you and be made well. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Holy Mystery,
in the darkness and silence of our prayer
you call to us.
Help us to listen and to hear.
Help us to respond.

Prayer of Confession

Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we open ourselves in honesty to God.

God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see what in us is loving,
and what is not loving.
God, we recall when we have been in harmony with you, or with life, and we give thanks. [silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, and we seek your grace. [silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us. [silent prayer…]

Readings

2 Corinthians 4. 5-12

Leader: We do not proclaim ourselves.
We proclaim Jesus Christ as our Sovereign.
We are one another’s servants for Jesus’ sake.
All: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”
has shone in our hearts also
so the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
will shine in our own faces as well.
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be clear
that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
we have difficulties, but we do not despair;
we are opposed but not abandoned;
we are struck down, but not destroyed.
We bear in our bodies the death of Jesus,
so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be clear.

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 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 praise.

We thank you, God, for In the beginning you said “Let there be light.”
And your light shines in us.
We are wondrously made.
You know us inside and out, and are with us always.
Even in the farthest places you are with us;
even in the darkest times you are light.
You set us free from all that enslaves us,
and ask us to set one another free.
In the inner darkness of our hearts you call us by name.
And so we come to your table to be made whole,
singing your praise:

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He taught even those who threatened him;
he healed even when opposed,
he fed even when there was no food.
He loved even at the cost of his life,
and asks us to do the same.
Under an oppressive power he was crucified,
but by your infinite grace he was raised from the dead.

     (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.
By your Spirit in us may we hear your call and respond.
May we be the clay jars your light shines in.
Here we are; send us.
Send us with courage and compassion no matter the cost,
to heal and to bless,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world.

     [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.) Shine in us with your love. Send us, as beams of your light, into the world, for the sake of all Creation, 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.) You have reached out and made us whole. Your light shines in us. You have called us, not to do harm, but to do good. By your Spirit in us it is always the right time to heal. Send us, to heal, to serve, to love, in the name of Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Christ Our Healer
(Tune: Joyful, Joyful…
or HOLY MANNA … or BEECHER (Love Divine, All Loves Excelling)

Christ, our healer, you have touched us, reaching through the dark divide,
healing broken hearts and bodies, casting death’s old shroud aside:
raised us from our bed of sorrows, put your arm around our pain,
raising us to new tomorrows, bringing us to life again.

Christ, our teacher, in our healing you have given us your gift:
grace to bless, your love revealing, pow’r to heal and hope to lift.
In your Spirit, your forgiveness, your compassion we embrace
ev’ry wounded, shamed or silenced child of God with gentle grace.

Christ, our savior, you are going on to every town and field,
on to every land and people, on until the world is healed.
Use us in the whole world’s mending, use us as your healing hands,
’till as one the world, made whole, takes up its mat with joy and stands.

Jesus, My Healer      (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

Jesus, my healer, come to me and touch me;
lay your hand upon my soul.
All of my woundedness gently embrace and bless
and, though I’m broken, make me whole.

Source of our healing, God, our Re-Creator,
your deep joy is to raise and bless.
Your faithful promises and all our trusting hope
are stronger than our dark distress.

Spirit of healing, move among your people
to bear the blessing that flows from you:
with tender love to bless the world’s brokenness
and share the grace that made us new.

March 10, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Numbers 21. 4-9. The Israelites who are escaping from Egypt complain about their suffering. To give them some perspective, God sends poisonous snakes, but also provides a means of healing, in the form of a curative bronze serpent.

Psalm 107. Thanks to God for leading the people through the desert, and feeding and healing them, with special care for the hungry, the powerless and the needy.

Ephesians 2. 1-10. You were dead through sins but God made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

John 3. 14-21. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up…. For God so loved the world that they gave their only Son…. This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world…

Preaching Thoughts

Numbers
       The story is rooted in an image of a God who, like an abusive human being, asserts control, demands loyalty, rejects criticism, prohibits disobedience and punishes it. And God doesn’t even punish people for misdeeds, but simply “speaking against the Lord.” They’re punished for feeling bad! Taking this story literally leaves us with a testy, hurtful, vindictive God. Sure, God gives the Israelites an escape, in the form of magic. But the hurt can’t be undone. Further, for God to offer a way to counteract God’s own punishment is both logically and spiritually silly. Instead, let’s find some morsel of grace in this story. Maybe God doesn’t “send” poisonous snakes. Maybe the consequences of our choices bite us. God invites us to examine our choices —to “look upon the snake.” God invites us into the painful but curative work of self-awareness.

Ephesians
       Here’s the gospel in a nutshell. Out of harmony with God, we’re subject to the chaotic pushing and pulling of our fears and desires. Believing ourselves to be separate from God, we cut ourselves off from life, like an astronaut cutting their lifeline to the spaceship. We’re as good as dead. But even in that mess God loves us, sets us free and gives us new life, as dramatically and miraculously and profoundly as God raises Jesus. Now we can be the true, good selves God creates us to be, and live in love. This is all God’s gift, not our doing.

John
       This is clearly John talking, not Jesus. In John’s gospel Jesus talks a lot about himself— in pretty high terms. In real life I bet Jesus talked about God’s love, not about himself. John really wants people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God; Jesus really wants people to love each other. This doesn’t mean we should discount these words, but be aware of the Johanine context. In John’s gospel we need to look behind the doctrinal assertion that Jesus is God’s Son to what such a belief means for our lives, our trust, and our choices. It’s not what we think, but what we do, that matters. John says in love God gives us Christ, who is like Moses’ bronze serpent: a source of healing and hope, a cure for what ails us. What ailed the Israelites in the wilderness was lack of trust in God. For John it’s lack of belief in Jesus. Publicly good old John 3.16 is used more often as a coercion to get people to be among a select group of “those who believe in him” than a promise that God loves the whole world. The implication is that God’s grace comes to us only if we “believe,” while “those who do not believe are condemned.” But a “grace” that conditional isn’t really grace, which makes it even harder to trust! I don’t trust myself to believe enough, nor God to accept me when my belief falters. And the fragility of our trust is the issue. Because we are self-aware we see ourselves as “selves,” separate from God and others. It leads us to distrust God. (This is sin: not that we’re bad people but that we are alienated from God. It’s inherent in human nature; in that way—not because Adam did it first— it is indeed “original.”)
       When we distrust God it’s not God who condemns us, but our own distrust: we cut ourselves off from God, and doom ourselves to selfishness and anxiety. What saves us from our deep, inherent distrust? A love that reaches across our distrust, that loves us precisely when we don’t trust. Like for instance when we see Jesus “lifted up”—not glorified and exalted, but lifted up on a cross: condemned, despised, abused, and still loving and forgiving us. We behold a love we can trust even when we can’t trust our own hearts. When we see Jesus “lifted up,”crucified and yet forgiving, it’s like the poisoned Israelites looking at the bronze serpent: it heals our fear and overcomes our distrust. It saves us. There is no condemnation, only salvation. We come to trust God’s love. That trust is actually what we mean by “believing.” John 3.16 means God so loves the world that God embodies God’s love, and whoever trusts it connects with real life and won’t die of loneliness, selfishness and anxiety.
       There is no condemnation, only salvation. God’s judgment is not condemnation, but light. God doesn’t issue an opinion about our lives, but simply shines the light of truth on them and reveals them as they are. Then we can see clearly and live lives of love instead of hiding in delusion and falsehood. John’s words about darkness and light are rally about delusion and self-awareness:
“This is the judgment, that the truth has come into the world. We love delusion rather than self-awareness because our deeds are evil. For when we do evil we hate self-awareness and do not come to it, so that our deeds may not be exposed. But when we do what is true we live in awareness, so that it may be clearly seen that our deeds have been done in God.”

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, in the beginning you said, “Let there be light.”
All: We come into the light of your glory.
Loving Christ, your judgment is the light of mercy and grace.
We come into the light of your love.
Holy Spirit, by your grace in us we are light for the world.
We come into the light of your presence.
Fill us, that we may always live in your light. Amen.

2.
Leader: God of all being, in the beginning — Light!
All: In your light is the life of all. Praise!
The light was coming into the world.
And we have beheld his grace. Grateful thanks!
Out of hiddenness we come into the clarity of day.
You fill us with your radiance. Blessing!
We open our hearts to your grace.
Fill us with your Spirit. Make us yours once again. Amen.

3.
Leader: God, you so love the world that you give your Beloved,
that in giving our hearts to him we might find eternal life.
All: Great is your mercy, God! By your grace we are saved.
Come, shed your light upon us, so that we may live in you.

4.
Leader: God, you love the world so much!
You give us your deep, embodied love.
All: Help us to trust, to break free of our fears,
and receive life that can’t be taken from us.
You shine the light of your mercy in our lives,
so that we may see and live truthfully.
Help us walk in your light.
Shine your Word upon us.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Divine Beloved, you shine in all Creation, with the light of your love. Your Word shines in scripture and song. We open the windows of our hearts, to let your light stream in and change us. Fill us with the light of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of love, we have been lost in the chaos of fears and desires, wrapped in death in our self-defined selves. But you have saved us by your grace; this is your doing, not ours. We want the faith to trust this grace. So we open our hearts to you, to hear your Word, to be filled with your light, to breathe in your Spirit. You who are eternally present within us, we give you our hearts, our minds, our souls, our bodies. In your light, we are listening. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, you so love the world that you gave your Only Begotten, so that whoever will give their heart to him will know eternal life. And so we give our hearts to your living Christ now, to hear your Word, to be freed from all that destroys life, and to know life that is deep and holy, blessed and infinite. Bring us into the light of your truth, and give us life. Amen.

4.
God of gentle mercy, your light has come into the world. By your Word spoken among us, and your grace working within us, bring us into your light. May it fill us, transform us, delight us, and guide us. We pray in the name of Christ, our light, who gave himself for us so that we might know your love. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
God of grace,
what is in darkness is not bad,
but only hidden.
Shine your light into our hearts’ dark places
so that we may see in the light of your grace,
both the tragedy and treasure there.
Shine the light of your mercy,
so that we may see ourselves clearly. Amen.

2.
Loving God, we want to know your truth;
we want to trust your love.
By your grace in Christ Jesus,
shine your light on us.
Remind us of your love.
Deepen our trust.
Amen.

3.
Light of God,
shine in my heart
and transfigure my darkness,
that I may become your light,
radiant with your presence.
Amen

Prayer of Confession

1.
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Loving God, in your light is the life of all beings;
your judgment is light.
Out of the shadows, from dark, unseen places within us,
we come into your light.
We open our hearts, to let in your light.
Help us see what has been hidden,
the good and the bad,
and shine your mercy upon it.
May your light embrace us, forgive us, heal us,
and show us the way. Amen.
       Silent prayer… the word of grace
       Response

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

3.
Holy and loving God,
you have created me to live in harmony with you and with all Creation;
but I have not always lived in harmony.
Some of my sin I can see; but some only you know.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask you to forgive my disharmony,
and deliver me from the forces that distort my life;
heal the fear that leads me away from you.
and change my heart,
so that I may truly live in harmony with you and all Creation,
in the love of Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

4.
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Dear friends, the sin in our hearts hides in the darkness of unseen places.But by the grace of Christ we may let them open to the light of God’s mercy, confessing our sin before God and one another.
Eternal God, we confess that we do not love you perfectly, nor do we love our neighbors as ourselves. We confess that our sin is hidden from us, and that only by your grace do we see truly. Forgive our sin, heal our hearts, and bring us into the light of your Spirit, that by your grace we may see ourselves clearly and live honestly, so that we may be light for the world in the name of Christ.

         Silence for reflection and self-examination… The Word of Grace

Readings

Ephesians 2.1-10. A paraphrase.
        [Click here for a paraphrase of the entire book,
        including an alternative of this passage.]

Once you were drowning in a chaos of fear and desire
that sucked all the life out of you.
You were tyrannized by voices outside of you,
enslaved by the Prince of Expectations,
indebted to The Corporation,
obediently oblivious.
All of us have been there,
slaves to our ego’s fearful desires,
children of anxiety, shards of ourselves,
desperate for our own lives.
But the Loving One, who is pure tenderness,
with this huge, heartbreaking love
gets beneath us in our mass graves
and rises to life in us,
and pushes us out and makes us alive,
arm in arm with Christ,
restoring our belonging at the heart of life
us as part of God’s great, holy presence on earth.
By pure gift—no reason but love!—you’ve been salvaged,
pulled right out of the wreckage of your life.

God’s gentle kindness—you get a taste of it in Jesus—
blossoms within us with blessings beyond our knowing,
blessings that outlast everything you see.
God has saved your life—trust it.
And be grateful, not smug:
this is not your doing, but God’s.
It’s pure gift, unconditional and absolute;
nothing you do can influence it.

God created you good, and nothing can undo that.
You are part of God’s love made real in this life:
that’s your true self.
Who you are, and the reason you exist,
is beautiful love.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1. [Ephesians 2.1-10, a paraphrase]

We were dead in our sin, cut off from life
by the tangle of fears and desires and forces that strangle everyone.
But God, rich in mercy, out of the great love with which God loves us,
even when we were dead in our sin, made us alive together with Christ.
By grace we have been saved!
God raised us up so our lives shine with power and purpose alongside God.
We are a part of Christ Jesus!
This will be evident forever: the immeasurable riches of God’s grace
in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
By grace we have been saved, through faith!
This is not the result of our doing or believing; it is simply a gift from God.
We are who God made us, not who we make ourselves out to be:
we are created in Christ, for lives of love,
which God laid out like clothes for us to step into, all our lives.
Come, let us live in the light!

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.

Creating God, in the beginning you said, “Let there be light.”
And still your light shines in us.
You are present in the darkness of the unknown,
a pillar of fire in the night of our wandering.
You come among us in Jesus, light of the world, to illumine our darkness.
In this meal we take your light into ourselves,
that we may shine with your love.
We come, singing your praise.

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who embodied your love.
He brought not condemnation but salvation.
The people who had been pushed into the shadows
he brought into the light.
The thoughts of people’s hearts he exposed with his truth.
When he was crucified, still he forgave us
with your infinite love.
When we look upon him we are healed of our fear.
The light of his love is our truth;
the light of his grace is our judgment.
In this meal we come again to receive your grace
and renew our trust in your Covenant of love.

     (The Blessing and Covenant)
Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ—
your Beloved, the light of the world,
in whom we see our salvation.
In this meal Jesus draws all people to himself.
In this meal love casts out the powers of the world.
In this meal Jesus brings to light the grace that is hidden in our lives.
In this meal Jesus heals and teaches us,
feeds the hungry and lifts up the heartbroken.
In this meal we remember Jesus’ life and ministry,
his self-giving love, and his death.
And in this meal Christ is raised from the dead in us.
So we proclaim this mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
Eating this bread we enter into the darkness of death;
drinking this cup your light is poured out into us.
This is your judgment: that your light has come into our hearts.
Bless us that we may live in your light,
and all our deeds be done in 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.) You have filled us with your light. Send us into the world to live truthfully, to see clearly, to bear your light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, in the name and Spirit 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.) We have looked upon the miracle of your love, and it has broken the fever of our fear. We have seen the light of your mercy, and it has given us new life. Send us out into the world in trust and gratitude, to walk in your light, to live with your mercy, to love in the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Grant that in our hearts we may always feast upon your immeasurable kindness toward us. Send us into the world in the power of your Spirit, to live lives of grace reflecting your love, to share your good news with others, and to be people of healing in a world that yearns for redemption. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
God of love, bless us that we may live with the love of Christ, so that those who look upon us may be healed of their fear. Bless us that we may live with such light that others may see and rejoice. E pray for the sake of your delight and the healing of the world in the name and the Spirit and the company 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.) You have filled us with your light. Send us into the world to live truthfully, to see clearly, to bear your light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

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


In Your Light       (Tune: What Wondrous Love Is This

What wondrous love is this O my soul, O my soul,
what wondrous love is this, O my soul!
that you so freely give the bread by which we live,
that you revive our soul, by your Word, by your Word,
and by your life in us make us whole.

Our lives we give to you, by your grace, by your grace,
our lives we give to you, by your grace.
Lord, use the gifts we give to help your children live,
that all may come and feast by your grace, by your grace,
the greatest and the least, by your grace.

O, Savior, let us live in your light, in your light,
your mercy’s gentle light from above.
May we live by such light that we give others sight
to see your wondrous love for the world, for the world,
to trust with deep delight your great love.


Into the Light      (Original song)

God, I come into the light of your mercy and grace:
may I receive your forgiveness, your loving embrace.
You know my brokenness better than I, and my sin.
You love me perfectly, setting me free once again.

All of myself I now humbly bring into your light:
wash me, renew me, forgive me and set me aright.
God, I surrender myself to your life-giving love:
may I be born by your Spirit, anew, from above.

God, you have loved us so much that you even would give
Jesus, your Son, the Beloved, so that we would live.
Help us to live so we bring your good news into sight.
Help us to trust in your grace and come into the light.


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

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

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

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

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

Wake Us From Our Sleep (Original song)

God of mercy, wake us with your light.
Rouse our sleeping hearts and give us sight.
Raise us up from death; fill us with your breath.
Wake us from our sleep to live new lives in you.

Life comes only from the Word you give.
You alone have power to make us live.
Seeking what is True, Love, we turn to you:
springs of living water flow, and so we live.

Christ, you touch our hearts and heal our fear.
Even in our pain your grace is near.
Spirit, you who save, raise us from our grave.
Born again, dry bones who rise, we live in you.

Christ, light of the world, your radiance bright
wakens us to day out of our night:
shining in, it heals; shining out, reveals.
Help us all to live as children of the light.

March 17, 2024

Lectionary Texts

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

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

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

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

Preaching Thoughts

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

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

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

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

Call to Worship

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

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

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

Collect / Prayer of the Day

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

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

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

Listening Prayer

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

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

Prayer of Confession

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

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

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

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

Readings

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


2. Psalm 51, a paraphrase

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

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

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

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

Eucharistic Prayer

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

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

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

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

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

Remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving,as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

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

Pour out your holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
transformed by your mercy, dying and rising with Christ.May your love bear fruit in us,for the healing of the world, to your eternal glory.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.
_____________________

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

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

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) We are the seeds of your love. Sow us in the soil of this world, that your grace in us may bear fruit. Amen. 


2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) In the death and resurrection of Jesus you give us courage to die and rise with him, to surrender ourselves to lives of love and self-giving. May the seed of your grace flourish in us, that we may bear the fruits of your Spirit, for the sake of the wholeness of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen..

Suggested Songs

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

God, I Surrender       (Original song)

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

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

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

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

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


Into the Darkness (Original song)

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

March 3, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Exodus 20. 1-17. The Ten Commandments.

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

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

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

Preaching Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

Call to Worship

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

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

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

Collect / Prayer of the Day

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

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

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

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

Listening Prayer

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

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

Prayer of Confession

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

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

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

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

Readings

1.
Click here for Psalm 19, a paraphrase.


2.
1 Corinthians 1.18-25. A parpahrase

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

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

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

Response / Creed / Affirmation

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

Eucharistic Prayer

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

————— #1 —————

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

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

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

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

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be the Body of Christ for the world.
For you desire mercy, not sacrifice:
you call us to love, freed from the fear of inadequacy,
filled with your Spirit, our bodies temples of your grace.
All glory and honor is yours, loving God, now and forever.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

————— #2 —————
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

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

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved and taught; he gathered the outcast; he confronted injustice.
He occupied our violence, to awaken us and lead us to a new Way.
He showed us how to love you in each other,
and embodied your commandments as one:
to love one another as you have loved us.

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

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

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
transformed by your grace and forgiveness.
May our love be our sacrifice.
May our offering be our service for healing and justice,
that we may bring your love to all Creation in the name of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

————— #3 —————
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

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

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved and taught; he gathered the outcast; he confronted injustice.
As threats mounted and his death drew near
he chose, instead of making a sacrifice, to be a sacrifice.
He has given us faith that lives in acts of compassion,
that fulfills your commandments in love of each other,
love that he has given us.

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

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

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
asking no one to sacrifice for us,
but giving of ourselves in love/
for the sake of the healing of the world,
in the name and Spirit of Christ.
     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

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

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

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have not given us worldly riches or power; you have given us your priceless love and your mighty grace. Send us into the world as your humble, confident servants, for the sake of the good news of your Realm of grace, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Send us into the world to obey and to embody your commandment to love, in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

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

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

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

February 25, 2024

Lectionary Texts

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

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

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

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

Preaching Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

Call to Worship

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

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

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

Collect / Prayer of the Day

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

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

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

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

Listening Prayer

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

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

Prayer of Confession

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

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

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

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

Response / Creed / Affirmation

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

Eucharistic Prayer

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

2.
[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]

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

We thank you, God, for you create life,
life that is not mere existence, but life in you.
You create us in your image and put your Spirit within us.
By the power of life-over-against-death
you confront the powers of evil, and set us free.
Because we betray our true life in you
you send us Jesus, to show us your love.
So in gratitude we sing with all of Creation:
            [Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
        Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
        heaven and earth are full of your glory.
        Hosanna in the highest.
        Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
        Hosanna in the highest.
               [or alternate version]

Blessed are all who come in your name, and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
He loved and taught, he created a community of the outcast,
and he touched those who were in pain.
He shared our suffering so that we might share in your grace.
He called us to take up our cross,
to be willing to suffer for love.
In this meal we behold the mystery of the gospel:
when we surrender our lives in love you give us new lives.
In this meal Jesus gives himself for us,
and in that love, though he died, he lives on.

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

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

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

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

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

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

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Our lives are taken up into the life of Christ, crucified and risen. No longer alone, no longer afraid, we are one in Christ. May we take up our cross and follow, for the healing of the world. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have filled us with the love by which Jesus bore the cross. Send us into the world with your compassion for those who suffer, in the name of Christ and the blessing of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) In laying down his life, Christ has given us life. Filled now with his spirit, may we go forth to lay down our lives for the sake of your good news, so that, dying and rising with him, we may know eternal life. For the sake of the redemption of the world, send us forth in the name of Christ, and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have poured out your life for us, and we have received. Grant that we may pour out our lives for the world, knowing by your grace we will receive life. Send us, accompany us and guide us, in the name of Christ and the life-giving power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

                               Brief (repeatable) prayer songs

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

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

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

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


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

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

                                  Regular Songs

Christ in Your Pain (Original song)

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


I Take Up My Cross (Original song)

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

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


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

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

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

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


Into the Darkness (Original song)

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


Your Healing Cross       (Tune: The River Is Wide)

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

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

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

February 4, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 40. 21-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? God is the everlasting God. Those who wait for God shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Psalm 147. God, heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. God lifts up the downtrodden, and casts the wicked to the ground. God’s word runs swiftly.

1 Corinthians 9. 16-23. “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” “I have made myself a slave to all…” “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some…”

Mark 1.29-39. Jesus heals Simon’s mother in law, heals all the sick in town, centers himself in prayer and goes on to other villages, teaching and healing.

Preaching Thoughts

1 Corinthians
       Be careful how you toss around the idea of Paul “making himself a slave.” Slavery in Paul’s setting was not the same as American chattel slavery. Slavery was economic, and people sometimes moved in and out of slavery. But one can’t move in and out of race-based slavery. Paul couldn’t make himself a slave in our modern sense. He could commit to service for others, which we can do as well. It’s a call to let go of our own ways and preferences in order to bring the good news more effectively to others.

Mark
      Note with Peter’s mother in law her trajectory from need to healing to service. There’s the life of faith in a nutshell.
      Jesus goes off by himself to pray. He is unavailable. The gospels are keen to show us Jesus’ accomplishments, but they do let us see that he also engaged in a lot of solitude. This is all part of how God works in us: not in our busyness and over-functioning and high accomplishment, but in God’s presence in us as we are present for others. Solitude is the space we give ourselves to practice being present for God. Solitude is the garden soil of our faith in which our roots sink deep, so we can bear fruit.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: Risen Christ, we greet you!
Holy Spirit, we are one body by your grace.
You alone are holy, and we worship you.
Glory be to you, O God of all Creation.
Thanks be to you, O Christ, for our salvation.
You heal the brokenhearted and lift up the downtrodden.
You have healed us in many ways; you have cast out evil and set us free.
Alleluia! Grant that we may be your humble servants.Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Creator God, you give us life.
All: We turn to you, to receive the gift of life.
Loving Christ, you give us the gift of healing.
We kneel before you, to be made whole.
Holy Spirit, you give us the gift of compassion.
We open our hearts to you, to be filled with your light.
Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Gracious God, people gathered around the house to hear Jesus and to be healed. We, too, come to hear your Word proclaimed and to receive your healing deep in our hearts. Speak, for we are listening. Touch us, for we are still. Feed us, for we are hungry. Love us, for we are yours. Transform us, for we are ready to share your grace with all the world. We pray in the name and the spirit of Christ, who is present. Amen.

2.
God of healing, Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law, and she began to serve them. In the reading of your scripture and the proclaiming of your Word, touch us and speak to us, so that me might be made whole and rise, strengthened to serve you, in the name of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, Jesus went about proclaiming the message of your salvation and healing people. We come now to hear of our salvation, to be healed, and to join our lives with Christ in serving your Realm. Speak to us, make us whole, and fill us with your Spirit. Amen.

4.
Gracious and tender God, Jesus cured those who were sick and cast out demons, and he proclaimed the good news of your Reign. In him we see your desire to bless, your grace that heals and restores us, and gives us life. We open our hearts to you now, that in hearing and reflecting on your Word, we may be healed and made new; that we may come to trust your gentle grace; and that we may be sent out to bear your healing to a hurting world. We pray in the name and the spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Jesus, we come with you
to a deserted place to pray.
We do not know how to pray,
but we sit with you in the stillness,
for it is you who are praying.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

       We give our hearts to God, Creator of all things, who forgives our sin and heals our diseases, who is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love.

      We give our hearts to Jesus Christ, God’s Beloved and ours, who came that we may have life, and have it abundantly; who went about doing good and healing; who died, and was raised from death, and will come again. He is the living Word, the healing of our souls, our reconciliation with God, and the mending of all of life.

      We live by the power of the Holy Spirit, whose grace is upon us to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the oppressed and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the time of God’s favor. In the Spirit we embody healing, we bear the good news to strangers, and we join with Jesus in the healing of the world, to the glory of God. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

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

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

God of love, we give thanks,
for you create the world as a flowering of your goodness.
You set free the oppressed and heal the broken.
You walk with us in new directions, healed, made new, and full of your light.
Your mercy flows freely, and we open ourselves to its light.
We hunger for your grace, and feast on your generosity.
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.
He taught and healed, and made his grace available to all.
He healed people’s bodies and souls, offering wholeness.
He healed relationships and communities.
He healed injustice; and in retaliation the powers of evil crucified him..
But in love you raised him from the dead, healing life itself,
faithful to your covenant that we may have life, and have it abundantly.

[The Blessing and Covenant…]

Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
As often as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection until he comes again.
Remembering these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

             [Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
        Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
                     —or—
        Dying, Christ destroyed our death. Rising, Christ restores our life.
        Christ will come again in glory.
             [or alternative]
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
healed and restored to life,
and radiant with you grace,
sent out to the towns and villages of our lives
for the sake of others who reach out for mercy and healing.
In our compassion may your glory shine.

     [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.) You have called us to return always to the still, life-giving center where you have fed and healed us. Send us into the world now, to listen for your guiding and to follow your Word, to take your good news to others near and far, in words and in deeds, and so to be a part of your transformation of the world, in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you. have given yourself to us.) You have healed us by your presence with us and within us. Send us in your Spirit as your healers with Jesus into the world that so needs your healing. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you. have given yourself to us.) You have served us, humbly offering your very life to us. Redeemed by your grace and filled with your Spirit, may we go now and humbly serve others in the name of Christ, and in the powerful companionship of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Christ our Healer (Tune: Joyful, Joyful … or … Love Divine, All Loves Excelling)

Christ, our healer, you have touched us, reaching through the dark divide,
healing broken hearts and bodies, casting death’s old shroud aside:
raised us from our bed of sorrows, put your arm around our pain,
raised us up to new tomorrows, bringing us to life again.

Christ, our teacher, in our healing you have given us your gift:
grace to bless, your love revealing, pow’r to heal and hope to lift.
In your Spirit, your forgiveness and compassion we embrace
ev’ry wounded, shamed or silenced child of God with gentle grace.

Christ, our savior, you are going on to every town and field,
on to every land and people, on until the world is healed.
Use us in the whole world’s mending, use us as your healing hands,
’till as one the world, made whole, takes up its mat with joy and stands.

January 14, 2024

Lectionary Texts

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

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

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

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

Preaching Thoughts

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

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

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

John
       “Can anything good come from Galilee?” Another mark of God’s call is that not only do we doubt it sometimes, but others doubt it, too. God’s call works in people we don’t suspect. Part of learning to listen for God’s call in us is to listen for it in others, too. God calls all of us. Think of the motley crew Jesus called.. including Judas!
       John can’t resist adding one of his theological spoilers here (there’s on on every page): “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon ‘the Son of Man.’” (The New Human.) Ascending and descending matches the order of movement of the angels on Jacob’s ladder. Contrary to those who think heaven is hard to get into, here’s another of the New Testament’s many visions of heaven being open. The angels don’t travel with the New Human, but upon the New Human. As if Jesus is the stairway to heaven, the bridge to the holy, the entry into the divine mystery. (“I am the way.”) Whatever this means, I don’t think it means access to heaven is limited to people who believe in Jesus. It doesn’t say “on their faith,” but “on the Son of Man.” Jesus carries us into the divine, like a parent carrying a child into the house. Jesus bears us into lives of perfect love; that’s Jesus’ work, not ours.

Call to Worship

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

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

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

Collect / Prayer of the Day

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

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

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

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

Listening Prayer

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

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

Prayer of Confession

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

Reading

Click here for Psalm 139, a paraphrase

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

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

Suggested Songs

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

Calling me (Original song)

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

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

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


Drawing Me (Original song)

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

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


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

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

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

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

January 21, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Jonah 3. 1-5, 10. God sends Jonah to speak to the city of Nineveh (which he has tried to avoid). Surprisingly, he does—and, even more unexpected, they listen to his message and repent!

Psalm 62. 5-12. For God alone my soul waits in silence… Trust in God … power belongs to God.

1 Corinthians 7.29-31 Time is short. Live as if you are not married, mourning. The present world is passing away.

Mark 1.14-20 Jesus calls fishermen beside the lake to follow him as his disciples. Leaving everything, they go with him.

Preaching Thoughts

Today’s readings speak of God’s call, inviting us out of our familiar ways into new ways of service.

Jonah
      This lectionary selection guts the story of Jonah like a fish, leaving a pretty skin but none of the good stuff. It takes the story literally: God calls Jonah, who runs away but then obeys —and, look: success! See? You should obey God and go where God calls you. It will turn out OK.
      Baloney. That’s not what this story is about. Or even how it goes. They leave out all the irony—and this is a story about irony. What they leave out, for starters, is that Jonah is pissed that God relents from punishing Nineveh. In Jonah’s eyes, it’s not success. It’s disappointment, resentment and maybe shame as well. The people of Nineveh are despised bad guys; having them all repent, from the king down to the animals, makes them look good. That’s not what Jonah wants. Repentance or not, he wants them destroyed—maybe partly because they’re the bad guys, and partly because that’s what he said would happen, and he wants to be the key power person here, not them. And not God. Which is what the story is really about. Even seeming to obey God, we can harbor our own agendas.
      The thing is, the story of Jonah is not a serious prophetic vision. It’s a farce. It’s slapstick. (There’s whales and storms and worms, but it could have been pies in the face and slipping on a well-placed banana and a poke in the eye.) But we take it all so damn seriously. Jonah thinks running away will work because, what, God can’t leave the office? God sends a storm to get at Jonah? Really? God’s GPS can’t pinpoint his location any more specifically than “somewhere at sea?” … Right. Then Jonah, Mr. Selfish, says “To save you, throw me overboard.” So, he can’t just jump? Sure. Three days in the belly of a fish? Yeah, why not. He’s barfed up onto shore and sees Nineveh—which is how far from the ocean? And then everybody in Sin City, from the mayor down to the stray dogs, repents and gets all pious! Yea, right. And then the funniest part: Jonah gets a good seat for the fireworks, but they get cancelled (poke in the eye) and Jonah whines about that, and besides it’s too hot (banana peel) so God gives Jonah a bush, Jonah whines, and God sends a worm, which destroys the bush (pie in the face), and Jonah whines about that… and God says “You really don’t care do you? Those are my people. And also much cattle.”
       And also much cattle. What a punchline.
       Jonah is making fun of us. I think this story is about how silly our desire is to be independent of God, and how laughable our inability to have compassion. We are the Three Stooges of love. So how do we preach this little snippet? Tell the whole story, even if you only read this little lectionary verses. Preach about how we leave out the funny parts because they’re the embarrassing parts because they’re the true parts. Even after Jonah obeys God he’s still running away from God, and never does turn around. And yet, by God’s grace, a good guy with a bad attitude helps the bad guys do the good thing.

Psalm
The Psalm proclaims what Jonah can’t get: that only God alone has real power in this world, and so it is in God alone that we put our trust. Human efforts, and all that we cling to, provide nothing.

1 Corinthians
Paul assumes that the Second Coming will be immediate, so he tells people: let go of the things of this world. Let go of your plans and preferences. Don’t even bother getting married or mourning the dead. It’s all going to change any minute now. I don’t think it’s helpful to count on the Rapture any time soon. However, Pauls isn’t really talking about the future, but the present. We’re called to live in a new way, right now. We might have to let go of a lot of things to live this new way. Like disciples leaving everything to go with Jesus, Like an addict leaving behind familiar activities, places, even friends. Like Jonah needed to do but couldn’t: to leave behind his snitty attitude. Even after his great prayer in the belly of the whale, he backslides into his old ways. Paul says, go a new way.

Mark
      To be “fishing for people” doesn’t mean to drag them into church, or convert them to Christianity. (Jesus didn’t convert anybody.) We can be tempted by allusions to “catching” people—capturing them, or controlling them—but the metaphor is not about the act of fishing. It’s about turning our loving attention toward people instead of our own business. It’s not about changing our occupation but our preoccupations.
       Jesus’ call to us is neither as once-and-done as deciding to be Christian nor as farfetched as leaving our job and family to go off on some quest. It’s an invitation to live in a new way for a new purpose, a call that is renewed every day, every moment. Maybe when you’re in an argument with someone, Jesus is calling you to lay aside the nets of being right and come with him on a journey of listening. Maybe when you witness another act of injustice Jesus is calling you to leave the boat of your comfort and speak out. Or maybe in the cut and thrust of your justice advocacy Jesus is calling you to be at peace and practice Sabbath. The “call” isn’t just to be a pastor or evangelist, but a to be a loving person. That takes many forms. We have to keep listening, moment by moment.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: God, in the beginning you called forth light.
All: O Holy Mystery, you call forth life!
Christ, you called to the fishermen and they followed.
O Deepening Love, you call forth love!
Holy Spirit, you call to us from within.
O Life-Giving Voice, you call forth our gifts!
We hear. Our hearts are awakened, and we follow. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: God, you have created us for your purposes, and we give you thanks.
All: Christ, you set us free, and we give you our lives..You call us out from our lives into your life.
You call us to follow you instead of our own ways.
Help us, Christ, to relinquish all things and follow you.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

3. [ Ps. 62]
Leader: For God alone my soul waits in silence.All: My hope is from God.
God alone is my rock, my salvation, my fortress.
Trust in God, and pour out your heart.
Power is God’s alone.
And to you, Holy One, belongs steadfast love.
We worship you in joy and faith.

4.
Leader: Wind of Life, Song of God, Breeze of Freedom, you blow about us.
All: You fill our lungs with blessing, and we sing praise.
Breath of Grace, Call of Christ, Word of Promise, you whisper to our hearts.
You fill our ears with hope, and we rise to our feet.
Spirit of Love, Presence of Heaven, Light of our Hearts, you bear us in your arms.
You fill our sails with your courage, and we follow you.
Alleluia! Arise, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

5.
Leader: God, you made all kinds of creatures.
All: We thank you! We are glad to be here.
Jesus, you have caught us in your net of love.
Thank you for bringing us here! We are glad for one another.
Holy Spirit, you baptize us deep in your grace.
Thank you for your love.
God, your love is deeper than the ocean.
We come to plunge deep into it with Jesus.
Alleluia! We thank you! We praise you!
We give ourselves to you! Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of life, Jesus called to the fishermen and they heard something in that voice, something compelling—and they followed him. Call to us now. Let us hear your voice; let it touch something deep in us; and move us to respond. We are hungry to hear and to follow. We open our hearts to your word. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, in Christ you called the fishermen beside the sea. Call us now. Let us hear your Word, recognize your voice, and follow. Draw us up like fish from our own deeps, and bring us into your good work, in the name of Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

3.
God of Silence, God of the Call, you speak our names and beckon us to follow you. Christ, you walk into our lives, into the ordinary tasks and duties of our days, and you draw us into another world. Our hearts leap at your Word. Grant us the grace to listen with passion, to follow with faith, and to stay with you, with courage, resolve and trust. Amen.

4.
Creator God, you called your prophets to speak on your behalf. Your Christ called disciples to follow him. You call to us now, deep in our hearts. We listen for your voice. We wait for your will. We want to follow. Call us, and we will follow, in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

5.
Gracious God, Jesus walked among fishermen and called them to follow him. So now you move among us and call us. You speak our names, and you reach out to us in the midst of our daily work. You touch us as we mend the nets of our lives, and call us to follow you. Help us, as we hear and reflect on your Word, to hear your voice, to trust your call, and to follow in faith. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Beside the sea of familiarity,
among the boats of busyness,
we lay down the nets that entangle us,
and listen for your voice, calling us,
calling us deeper, calling us beyond,
calling us to you.
We listen, and we draw near.

Prayer of Confession

1.
Tender God, we have been caught in the nets of our own lives,
living in the small boats of our own ways, our own fears and desires.
We confess that we have become entangled.
In our fear and hurt we have hurt you and others.
We have not brought forth life as you have called us to do.
We confess our self-centeredness, and ask your forgiveness.
Call us out of our lives into yours.
Help us let go of all that holds us back, all that traps and entangles us.
Set us free by your grace, free to follow you and serve you all our days.

2.
God of mercy, you create us in love and for love;
but we make our own lives by our own will.
Now we release our lives to your making.
Call us out of our self-made lives
into the life you offer us.
Transform in us what is not of your Spirit
and lift up what is,
that we may be true to your will in us, by your grace.

Reading

Psalm 62.5-12, A paraphrase … Version 1

Beloved, for you my soul waits in silence.
         My hope is hidden in your silence.
Life of my living, you are my earth.
         You are what cannot be taken.
In the gravity of your grace I rest.
         In your silence is my deep belonging.

I trust in you, Holy One.
         I pour myself into your hands,
         into this light, my resting place.

Rich or poor mean nothing;
         they are an illusion.
I abandon my little “happy” and “sad.”
         They are both lint.
Do I catch myself trying to gain?
         Ah, ignore all that fool’s gold.
         Ignore it. Let it go.

I keep hearing this in the silence;
         the silence says it over and over:
the only power is Love,
         and love, all love, is God.

Beloved, you live, you speak, you resound
         in all we do.


Psalm 62.5-12, A paraphrase … Version 2

God, for you alone my soul in silence waits.
        in you alone my confidence is rooted.
God, you are my steadiness, my solid ground.
       I n you I find my resolute steadfastness.
You are my only security, my truest strength.
        You are where I belong.

People, notice where you put your trust:
        root it in God, not some other fluff.
Let your heart and God flow into each other.
        It’s where we all belong.

The way we judge and compare people
        is a complete delusion.
A noble person, a lowlife—it’s a sham.
        Who made this up? Who believes it?

Don’t think your life will be enriched
        by getting your way, or having stuff.
Learn to see through the shimmer
        to what really matters, what really is.

Pay attention: it keeps coming up:
        God is the only power.
And God, you are the only Love,
        No matter what we do.

3
                 Jonah’s Prayer – Jonah 2.1-9
I was in a bad place so I cried out to you, God.
       I was in the belly of death, but you heard me!
You threw me into something deep and mysterious.
       I was at the bottom of the ocean,
It was dark all around and stormy waves crashed over me.
       And I said, “I can’t see you anywhere!
       Will I ever see you again?”
The water closed up around me. Seaweed wrapped around my head.
       I was at the bottom of the whole world.
I went down to where there was nothing but death.
       But, God, you brought me back up!
       You bought me into life!
As my life was draining away, I thought of you.
       When I was afraid, I prayed to you.
You are the one I can really depend on.
       I will always sing a thankful song to you.
       You are the one who saves us no matter what.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
We believe in God, who called light out of darkness, who calls all things into being.
       Holy One, it is you who call us to life, and you call us your Beloved.
       We hear your call, and we turn to you.
We live in the name and Spirit of Jesus, God’s Christ, who loved and taught,
who called demons out of people, who called out injustice,
and who calls forth the best in us.
       Loving One, you call to your disciples to follow you.
       We join ourselves to your life, your ministry, your death and resurrection.
We breathe the Holy Spirit, the spirit of life, who grants us gifts and calls them forth.
       Living One, we open ourselves to the grace you give us
       to live lives worthy of the calling to which you call us:
       lives of awe and gratitude, humility and love, forgiveness and mercy.
       We give ourselves to you, to follow your leading
       moment by moment, day by day.
       Loving God in Christ, you have called us by name, and we follow. Amen.

2.
      We live in God, Creator of all that is and all that is to come.
      We live in the company of Jesus, the love of God made flesh, who taught and healed, who called disciples to follow, who died and rose, and who speaks in our hearts, who names the truth that gives us life and sings the song that makes us dance, and who bids us go with him in love to all the world.
      We live in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Breath of God, that gives us the faith to follow, walking with God, and the love to be fishers of people: to connect deeply, especially with those who have been rejected. We follow as one Church, with gratitude for the power of forgiveness, the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, in the name and Spirit of Jesus, for the sake of the world. Amen.

3.
       We belong to God, eternal and infinite, Creator of all things and all that is to come.
       We follow Christ, who comes to us from God, and reveals God to us. He heals people and transforms lives, and calls us to join in his ministry. He was crucified, died and was raised again by God, and reigns over all Creation; and he bids us to die and rise with him in the service of the healing of the world.
       We are moved by the Holy Spirit, together with the communion of saints, as members of the Body of Christ, God’s holy universal church. We are confident in the forgiveness of sin, the power of resurrection and the reality of eternal life. In all things it is our desire to follow Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for God’s glory. Amen.

4.
Holy God we ask your blessing
as you gather us and send us as members of your church.
Unite us in your love, and hold us together in one another’s hearts.
Give us the gift of trust in you and in each other.
Forgive our sins, grant us your grace and blessing,
and imbue us with your spirit of forgiveness.
Show us your Way, and help us on our journey.
Give us wisdom and grace in al our hardships.
Help us tend the light you have given us
so we shine with your love,
in mercy and justice, throughout the world,
in the name of Christ, Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

1.
Gracious God, you call us to follow, and so we surrender what is dear to us, and we come. We give you our gifts as symbols of our lives. Grant us your Spirit to faithfully follow Jesus all our lives: to draw near to him, to learn from him, to receive your grace through him, and to join him in ministry to the world. May we cast your net of light over all people, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Generous God, we leave the boats of our own desires to follow you. We surrender the nets of our possessiveness to do your will. We let go of much, so that we may cling to you. Bless us that in our letting go we will know fulfillment. Bless those who are in need, that our gifts may give them life. Bless us that in our giving we may understand how we receive. We pray as followers of Jesus. Amen.

3.
Wondrous God, you have fished us out of our little worlds for your purposes. You have immersed us deep in your grace. Send us into the world, trusting you and your love, to share your love and to do your will 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)


Calling Me (Original song)

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

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

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


Drawing Me (Original song)

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

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


I Am Open      (Original song)

Dear gentle Jesus, I open to you
the deepest chambers of my soul.
My heart is open, wounded and broken.
Heal and forgive and make me whole.
Open, I am open, open to your grace.

Beloved Jesus, my eyes are open;
your healing touch restores my sight.
Like open windows, they shine, and in flows
your glory filling me with light.
Open, I am open, open to your grace.

My wounded Jesus. Your arms are open,
our hurt and dying to embrace.
When I would close them, hold my arms open,
to be so loving by your grace.
Open, I am open, open to your grace.

Now risen Jesus, my life is open,
a flower unfolding in the sun:
by your light growing, and boldly showing
the love of God, as you have done.
Open, I am open, open to your grace.



I Am Listening     (Original song)

Speak, for I am listening.
My heart is open.
Speak, for I am listening,
open to your word.



I Wait for Your Will (Original song)

Congregation:
I wait for your will.
I wait for your will.
I wait for your will, O God,
for your loving will,
your life-giving will.
I wait for your will, O God.

Cantor:
1. All I desire to control
I let go and place into your hands, my God.
2. Heal and protect and provide.
Hear me and stay by my side.
3. You are my wisdom and strength.

I will do your will alone, my God.
4. Help me to listen and wait,
trusting your Spirit to move, my God.

January 28, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Deuteronomy 18. 15-20. God promises to raise up a prophet for the people. You will know to take the prophet seriously if what the prophet says turns out to be true.

Psalm 111. Great are the works of God: God gives us food, provides us with a wisdom (“precepts”) that directs our lives, redeems us and establishes a covenant with us. “Fear of God (reverent humility) is the beginning of wisdom.”

1 Corinthians 8. 1-13. Dealing with food sacrificed to idols. “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” Don’t cause others to fall.

Mark 1. 21-28. Jesus drives out an “unclean” spirit, “He teaches with authority!”

Preaching Thoughts

Deuteronomy
        Prophets aren’t people who predict the future; they speak for God about the present moment (as has been said, forth-telling, not foretelling). Their reference to the future is simply pointing out the consequences of people’s actions. They’re saying “Here’s where you’re headed.” You’ll know they’re authentic when it turns out they’re right.

1 Corinthians
       Paul says idols aren’t really gods, so eating food dedicated to them doesn’t really matter—except that it may mislead some people. The important thing is not to be right, but to be loving. Don’t do what makes you look good; do what helps people.
       There’s a distinction to be made between what Paul sees as idols and what we know as various religions. In Paul’s experience no other religion besides Judaism (Christianity didn’t really exist yet) was actually a real religion. They all worshiped idols but not God. Well, we know better. Most religions in the world are not actually idol-centered, but worship God with different language and images and stories than we use—but it’s still God. (There are greater differences among Christian theologies than among some religions!)
       One question is about sharing in people’s observance of other religions. Is it OK to attend Muslim prayers, or a Buddhist meditation? Of course! To participate in another tradition doesn’t require you to renounce your faith. There’s no competition. Every religion is trying to connect us with God and help us lead good lives. We can learn from them all, and earnestly pray with them all.
      But a second question has to do with actual idols. What’s the real equivalent for us of “eating in the temple of an idol?” How about our worship of money, or political power? How we idolize beauty (narrowly defined by corporate powers) or status? Maybe saying the Pledge of Allegiance. (I pledge allegiance to God alone.) How do we act in ways that make our commitment to Christ clear, or on the other hand expose our idolatries?

Mark
       I’ve come to appreciate the notion of possession by spirits as a way to understand mental illness. It honors the mystery that one’s mental health is separate from one’s identity. You are not your illness. A good person can be possessed by a bad spirit. Even under the possession, the person is still a good person. We easily fall into judgmentalism toward people with mental illness as if it’s a moral failing. Understanding them to be “possessed,” beyond their control, helps us avoid that.
       It’s an “unclean” spirit. Technically it’s not evil, just unclean. But it is by the power of evil that the man is possessed. The spirit says,”Have you come to destroy us?” Mark’s implied answer is, Yes. Jesus is not just healing individuals; he’s out to do away with the idea of “uncleanness,” and in fact overpowering the power and structure of evil itself. He has come to destroy all unclean spirits. Our own actions for the sake of justice and healing, even opposition to the greatest human evils, takes place one small act at a time.
       People describe this exorcism as a “new teaching.” Jesus’s teaching is not doctrine; it’s healing. That’s a model for us: that the teaching of the church not be doctrine but action. What makes us the church is not what we believe, but how we love.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creating God, you made us in the image of your good love. You know what is in us.
All: We open our hearts to your grace.
Loving Christ, you reach out to us with tender mercy and healing. You set us free.
We open our hearts to your grace.
Life-giving Spirit, you fill us with your mercy and power. You bear us on a journey of grace.
We open our hearts to your grace.
Heal us, and make us a healing people,
in the name of Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

2.
Leader: Praise to the God who loves us.
All: Thanks to the God who heals us.
Praise to Christ, who sets us free.
Thanks to the Spirit who makes us one.
We worship you, Holy One, in gratitude and love.

3.
Leader: Creating God, your grace overwhelms us.
All: Glory! Wonder! We praise you!
Your Word is made flesh. Your Truth is made real among us.
Blessing! Beauty! We thank you!
You dwell within us, giving new life, overcoming all that would diminish life.
Greetings! Welcome! We open ourselves to your Spirit.
By the power of your Word, set us free and restore your image within us.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

4.
Leader: Christ our Savior, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
All: You cast out evil spirits, and you heal the brokenhearted.
Cast out our sin, heal us in your tender mercy,
and grant us the power to serve with you, with courage and compassion.Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Healing God, we are a broken people. Only your Word of grace can make us whole. Speak your grace to us. Let your healing power enter us, change us, and set us free, free to be who you create us to be, free to love, free to live joyfully.. We pray in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.2.God of love, your servant Jesus taught with authority. We give him our obedience, our trust and our listening. Speak to us, that we may hear and be healed, that we may listen and obey. Amen.

2.
God of Truth, you speak your word and bring us to life. You lay your hand upon us and heal us. You walk with us and show us the way of compassion. We open our hearts to you, to hear your Word, to be shaped by your Word, to be made new by your Word. Bless us, for we are listening. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, people gathered around the house to hear Jesus and to be healed. We, too, come to hear your Word proclaimed and to receive your healing deep in our hearts. Speak, for we are listening. Touch us, for we are still. Feed us, for we are hungry. Love us, for we are yours. Transform us, for we are ready to share your grace with all the world. We pray in the name and the spirit of Christ, who is present. Amen

4.
Gracious God, Jesus worshiped in the synagogue and taught with authority. Gather us among his listeners, so that he may heal us, and your Word may have authority in our lives. Grant that we may be guided not by our own demons and desires, but by your Spirit alone, by the grace of Christ. Amen.

5.
God of grace, in Christ you bring healing to broken lives and hearts; you restore our faith and call us into new relationships. Anoint us with the power of your Spirit that we may bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim justice for the oppressed, that we too may faithfully offer healing to the world, in the name of Christ. Amen

Listening Prayer

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

God of healing,
quiet the demons in us,
still the fears, silence the many voices,
and let us listen for your word,
wait for your touch,
and open ourselves to your life-giving work. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

1.
God of love, many spirits inhabit our hearts.
Help us see the loving ones and the fearful ones.
Heal our fears, forgive our sins,
strengthen our love,
and make us whole in your Spirit.

2.
Loving God, we confess that not all that is within us is of you.
Not all that is within us gives life.
Forgive our sin, heal our wounds,
and cast out whatever in us would diminish life.
By your grace, re-create us in the image of Christ.

3.
Healing God, we lay our lives before you:
all that is, and all that has been,
what is helpful and what is hurtful.
We lay open to the light of your grace
all that has distanced us from you and from others,
what we have done, and what we have left undone,
the wounds that led us to these choices
and the wounds these choices have caused.
Accept us as we are, we humbly ask you, tender God:
receive our sorrow and disappointment,
heal us, and cast out all evil spirits.
Forgive us and set us free,
so that we may live in your grace alone.

Reading

Psalm 111, A paraphrase

God! You! Glory!

I thank you in my deepest guts,
         echoed by the whole tribe of God!

Your magic amazes me,
         confounds anyone who tries to understand.
Your miracles, brilliant and vast,
         come from such tender, loving hands!
The universe shimmers with grace,
         glows with your gentle mercy.

We are in awe: you feed us;
         you are steadfastly thoughtful toward us.
We see your grace in all that you do,
         mighty Creator, tender nursemaid.

Your love and justice sing through the world.
         When we hear it we know how to dance.
The song is eternal.
         To live is to sing it, sing it out loud,
         with eyes closed.

The bound ones you set free;
         the abandoned ones you marry.
This is your holiness,
         what sets you apart.

(Wisdom is rooted in awestruck wonder,
         overwhelmed by God.
Practice wonder,
         and you will know what you need to know.)

Lovely One, the universe is your praise.
         Infinite Beauty!
         Infinite Glory!

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 bad,
who is our salvation.
      We trust in Christ, the embodiment of God’s love,
the love and healer of our sols,
who saves us, forgiving our failures,
washing away our betrayals,
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,
that comforts the faithful,
empowers us to love as we have been loved,
and joins us together as the Body of Christ.
We believe we are sent in that Spirit
to heal, to forgive, to do justice,
to radiate the love of God, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

[Adapt as needed.]
Gracious God, we thank you for the mystery that you give yourself to us. You bless us by your grace and your presence, heal us of our demons, and empower us to work with you for the healing of this world. Send us forth, in the name and authority of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

Becoming Whole (Original song)             
Multiple verses are provided. Sample lyrics:

We are a broken people becoming whole again.
We are a wounded people being healed again.
We are a captive people walking free again.
We are a sinful people given grace again.


Christ Our Healer      (Tune: Joyful, Joyful)

Christ, our healer, you have touched us, reaching through the dark divide,
healing broken hearts and bodies, casting death’s old shroud aside:
raised us from our bed of sorrows, put your arm around our pain,
raising us to new tomorrows, bringing us to life again.

Christ, our teacher, in our healing you have given us your gift:
grace to bless, your love revealing, pow’r to heal and hope to lift.
In your Spirit, your forgiveness, your compassion we embrace
ev’ry wounded, shamed or silenced child of God with gentle grace.

Christ, our savior, you are going on to every town and field,
on to every land and people, on until the world is healed.
Use us in the whole world’s mending, use us as your healing hands,
’till as one the world, made whole, takes up its mat with joy and stands.


Jesus, My Healer          (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

Jesus, my healer, come to me and touch me;
lay your hand upon my soul.
All of my woundedness gently embrace and bless
and, though I’m broken, make me whole.

Source of our healing, God, our Re-Creator,
your deep joy is to raise and bless.
Your faithful promises and all our trusting hope
are stronger than our dark distress.

Spirit of healing, move among your people
to bear the blessing that flows from you:
with tender love to bless the world’s brokenness
and share the grace that made us new.