Tag: YEAR B

December 10, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 40. 1-11. Comfort, comfort my people. Prepare a way in the wilderness for God’s people to come home. God is coming with power to save and lovingly shepherd the people.

Psalm 85. Thanks for God’s grace and forgiveness, and a plea for God’s continued grace. “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss.”

2 Peter 3. 8-15. God is not slow to keep their promise. The Day will come like a thief. How shall we prepare? By leading lives of holiness and godliness. We wait for new heavens and a new earth.

Mark 1. 1-8. Like Isaiah’s cry, “Prepare a way,” John the Baptist preaches repentance in preparation for “one more powerful” who is yet to come, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Preaching Thoughts

Isaiah
      The pre-exilic prophets warned Israel they were about to suffer the consequences of their unfaithfulness. During the exile, the prophets had a different message: not warning but assurance— that God was still with them, and would bring them home again. The Gospel preaches both messages to us these days: warning that we’re reaping the harvest of our greed, violence, and oppression; and also comfort that God is with us to redeem, not to punish.
       Exile is a powerful image: people feel alienated, isolated and imprisoned, or at least not free. People on both sides of the political spectrum may feel exiled from their safe homeland, whether they see that as White America or a just society. Of course God’s longing is for the latter, not the former. Our anticipation of the coming of Christ is rooted in that longing for a safe home. But it’s not nostalgia. Think of the exiles who anticipated “returning” to Israel. Most of them had probably never actually been there. It was their parents more than a generation ago who had been sent into exile. So the “return” was a return to something new. So it is with God’s promise for us. To return from exile will be to enter a land where we’ve never actually lived—we’ve only seen far-off glimpses. (That’s what the church is supposed to be.) That’s why it matters that we prepare a way.

2 Peter
       This letter was written a couple generations after Jesus’ death, to people who thought Jesus would have returned by then, and he hadn’t. It assured them God was giving them more time to be ready. As dated as that concern sounds, we also might feel some despair that God hasn’t intervened in the evil of the world. We wonder: will God ever straighten things out? I think we can dismiss the idea that Jesus is going to “come on the clouds,” that at some historical moment God will bring about The Apocalypse. It’s been 2000 years. There’s no reason to think it won’t be another 2000. But the point of 2 Peter isn’t about the timetable: it’s the way we live. It’s the thought that by living lives of love and justice we bring about the world we hope for. I punctuate verses 11-12 differently than our translations: “Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be? Lead lives of holiness and godliness; waiting like this, we hasten the coming of the day of God.”

Mark
       John the Baptist echoes the call to prepare a way by leading lives of holiness and godliness. We “Way” means different things to different speakers. For Isaiah it’s a way for God to come into the world and enact God’s decisive will in freeing the exiles. And it suggests a way for the exiles to return home, a straight, smooth highway instead of the bumpy road they’ve been on. It also implies making a way for God’s will in our world, doing justice so God’s will is enacted. For Mark, John is preparing a way for Jesus. And for John the way is a reformed life of righteousness. All of that—the coming of God, the return of exiles, the doing of justice, the coming of Christ, and our preparations in our own hearts—is part of the Advent message. God, Cyrus, John, Jesus and we are all making a ways for grace to move in our lives and our world. Advent is a time to make space in our lives in which something new can enter, not unlike clearing a space in a room for a new piece of furniture. (And likely some old stuff has to go!) Mary & Joseph ended up in a stable “because there was no room for them in the inn.” Imagine what needed to be moved out of the stable to make room for them even there; what had to be cleared out of the manger to allow for the baby Jesus. What do you need to clear out to make room for grace in your life? What are barriers to grace that need to be leveled to allow it in? Prepare a way.

Call to Worship

1.
See advent candle lighting prayers here.

3.
See Advent wreath prayers here.

3.
In the darkness there is a light.
       In the wilderness there is a voice.
Your love, O God, leads us to you.
       Your wisdom leads us to life.
Gracious God, be our guiding star.
      Be our rising dawn.
      Prepare your way in us,
      that we may worship and serve in love. Amen.

4.
Light of God, rising in the wilderness, awaken us to your glory.
By your revealing light, may we see ourselves clearly, and repent.
Light of Christ, making level the uneven ground, awaken us to your way.
By your guiding light, may we free ourselves of all fear and hatred.
Spirit’s light, rising in our hearts, awaken us to the gift of love.
By your transforming light, baptize us with your Holy Spirit,
that we may prepare for your coming
with hearts full of love and lives of compassion.
Come, dear Jesus, come! Amen.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of grace and mercy, you prepare a way to come into this world, many ways that we do not see. Prepare a way to enter our hearts now. In word and silence, in song and prayer and meal, make your way into our hearts and make within us and among us a new heaven and earth, in the Spirit and the Body of Christ. Amen.

2.
God of love, as we wait in the darkness, speak to us. Comfort us, make gentle what is rough in our lives, grant us your promise, and direct us in living out your good news. We pray in the spirit and company of Christ, who is here, and who is coming. Amen.

3.
God of the new dawn,
we gather, mindful of those who live in darkness.
Our hearts ache for your comfort.
Our sorrows cry for your healing.
Christ, O Patient One, you who are coming,
prepare your way in us.
Make our hearts patient, still and receptive;
that we may repent and love one another,
that we may go before you all our days.
O Holy Spirit, strengthen our hearts, that we may live in hope.
By your tender mercy, O God, may your dawn from on high break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.

4.
In our darkness we look for your light, for a star in the night, for a candle in a window, for the rising of your dawn. In our weariness we long for your comfort, for an easy chair, for tender, loving arms. In our busyness we search for your grace, for a place to rest, for a promise of hope. In the presence of Christ and of one another, we have gathered to listen for your Word and to receive your grace. In the name of the One who is coming, speak to us; reach out to us, come to us. Amen.

5.
Eternal God, your prophet cries out to make a way for you in the desert. In the barren land of our wayward ways, lead us to life. Across the wasteland of our injustice, selfishness and fear, guide us in the way of peace and the path of justice. Through the dark valleys of our broken hearts, show us the way to your heart. Prepare your way in us, O God. Amen.

6.
Gracious God, you sent your prophets to prepare a way for your peace and justice. You sent Jesus to transform us into your faithful people. Send your Word now to us, prepare a way in our hearts for your presence, baptize us in your Holy Spirit, and guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.

7.
Gracious God, Creator of all things, you are still creating.
Receive our deepest longings with tenderness, and nourish them,
that we may plead for your coming in hope.
Gentle Christ, you who have come among us in love, you are still coming.
Open our hearts, that we may prepare for you with lives of love.
Spirit of Life, you shone in the darkness, and still you shine.
Shine in us, that we may proclaim your coming in lives of joy and justice,
Incarnate God, you entered into Mary, and she bore you into the world.
Bless us, that we may participate in your coming with deep and life-giving peace. Amen.

8.
God, you who speak promises to us, you who are coming, we gather with you in silence and awe. Speak to us your Word, instill your promises in our hearts, and transform us by your Spirit. By Christ’s birth in our hearts, and the baptism of you Spirit, make us signs of your coming, by which the world me see, and rejoice. Amen.

9.
Gracious God, through all our doubt and despair prepare a way for hope.
Through our selfishness and fear, prepare a way for love.
Through our resistance and control, prepare a way for grace.
Through our anger and enmity, prepare a way for peace.
O You Who Are Coming, prepare your way in us.

Listening Prayer

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

In the wilderness of the world,
in the wilderness of our hearts,
in the wilderness of this silence,
prepare a way, O God,
and move into our hearts.

Poetry

        Prepare Your Way

Holy One,
prepare your way in me.

Give me faith, like the stable,
to know your presence within me.

Give me courage, like Mary,
to let your life overwhelm mine.

Give me strength, like Joseph,
to protect what is holy, tender and growing.

Give me patience, like the shepherds,
to be still and listen.

Give me humility, like the magi,
to kneel before your presence.

Give me trust, like the child,
to let myself be borne into a new world.

Give me joy, like the angels,
to bring good news to the poor.

Give me love, like the manger
to hold Christ within.

Holy One,
prepare your way in me.

Eucharistic Prayer

See musical Eucharistic prayers set to Christmas tunes.
See Eucharistic prayer responses (Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen) set to Christmas tunes.
                   •

[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 in the beginning
you made a way for light in the darkness.
You made a way for the Hebrews through the sea,
and a way for exiles to return.
You make a way for justice in this world,
condemning oppression and demanding freedom for the oppressed.
You have showed us a way through your prophets,
the way of faithfulness and mercy.
You have opened a way for us in Jesus,
the way of love and life that cannot die.
And still in Christ you make your way into the world,
always a new coming, in a new way.
Here at this table you make a way for us to love each other,
a way for you to enter our hearts.
Therefore we sing your praise with all the faithful:

            [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 prepared the way for your empire of grace.
Jesus is the way for those who are hoping,
and comfort for those who are weary.
His love makes smooth what is rough in our lives,
and straightens what is crooked.
In his death and resurrection is the Way of life eternal,
a grace that transforms our lives from death to life.

     (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]


Prepare the way of your Holy Spirit in these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Prepare the way of your Holy Spirit in us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
In this meal you have prepared a way to enter us;
and through us, to enter into the world.
Baptize us in your Holy Spirit,
that we may be made new.
May we make smooth the rough places.
May we bring comfort
to those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
that by your grace, through our faith, your glory will be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

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

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

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]
1.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) In this meal you have made us new, and fashioned us as living promises of the world to come. Send us into the world to prepare a way for you in love and justice. May we be the way you enter the world, in the power of your Spirit and the loving presence of the Beloved, Jesus 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 who are coming, baptize us in your Holy Spirit. Lead us in a new way of living, by the light of your Spirit in and among us, for the sake of the renewal of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Send us now to go before you to prepare a way, to give the people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sin. By your tender mercy, may your dawn from on high break upon us, to guide our feet in the way of peace. 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.) In this holy meal the light of your new dawn begins to rise in our hearts. Send us into the world to prepare your way and to give knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of people’s sins. By your tender mercy, may your dawn from on high break upon us, that we may bring light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. By your grace, guide our feet in the way of peace. 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.) Send us into the world to bless without reserve, to love without fear, to serve without holding anything back. Our beloved chief, Jesus, you have come to us in the sharing of this meal. In our lives of love, come again, O Jesus, come! Amen.

6.
God of promise, we offer these gifts as symbols of our lives, given in gratitude for your grace and in preparation for your coming. Bless the gifts that through them your will may be done; and bless us that through our giving we may become living signs of your coming. We pray in the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

See Advent table songs (preparation for communion), Eucharistic responses, whole Eucharistic prayers, and songs of blessing. All set to traditional Christmas tunes.

Come, Bring Your Light and Shepherd of Israel are two weekly litanies, one verse per week; suitable for a call to worship, introduction or response to scripture, response to sermon, affirmation, or other places in worship. The Cantor’s lyrics reflect the day’s lectionary texts; the congregational response is the same throughout Advent.

Come, Bring Your Light (Original song)
A weekly litany. A dialogue between solo cantor and congregation.

Week 2:
Comfort, comfort my people, says our God.
Speak tenderly to them that their suffering is at an end.

In the wilderness prepare a way for God.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

        Congregation:
       O Come to us, O come, Emmanuel,
        and bring your light into our darkened world.

The uneven ground shall become a level path,
and the rough places will be made smooth.

Then the glory of God shall be revealed.
For one is coming who will baptize you with fire.

        Congregation:
       O Come to us, O come, Emmanuel,
        and bring your light into our darkened world.

Shepherd of Israel         (Original song)
A weekly litany. A dialogue between solo cantor and congregation.

Week 2:
Congregation:
Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.
Come to us, and grant your peace.

Cantor:
Comfort, speak tenderly. Gently lead your people.
God, forgive our sins and make us new.
             Kyrie…


Child of Promise        (Original song)
Child of promise, oh, child of hope, prophets spoke of you:
visions treasured but unfulfilled. Shall our dreams come true?
Help us wait for you.

Child of woman, oh, child of God, birthing us anew,
make a room, oh, make a womb, in our hearts for you.
Help us wait for you.

Child of patience, oh, child of pain, suffering ills we do,
heal, forgive and help us be gentle child, like you.
Help us wait for you.

Child of wonder, oh, child of joy, you make all things new.
Re-create us, come again like the morning dew.
Help us wait for you.

Comfort, Comfort              (Original song)
Isaiah 40.1-11. A dialogue between cantor and congregation.

Cantor:
Comfort, comfort my people,
speak tenderly to my beloved:
from your imprisonment, from your despair
you shall be released.
Congregation:
Prepare the way in the wilderness.
Prepare the way.
Prepare the way in the wilderness.
prepare the way.

Build up, build up a new way,
the rough and the crooked make even.
Build up a way where God’s justice may come.
Open up a way.
Prepare the way in the wilderness….

Cry, cry out the mystery,
for we are like flowers and grasses,
growing then fading when winter winds blow.
But God’s love endures.
Prepare the way in the wilderness….

Raise up, raise up your voices,
rejoice for your savior is coming.
God like a shepherd will gather us in,
guide us on in love.
Prepare the way in the wilderness….



Prepare Your Way In Me (Original song)

Prepare your way in me, God, prepare your way in me.

1. Make my rough places smooth, the crooked make straight, my God.
2. Lay your hand at my root, that I may bear fruit, my God.
3. Come and empty my heart of all things but you, my God.
4. Guide my feet in your Way. Fill me with your peace, my God.

December 3, 2023

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 64. 1-9 —“Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down!” God will reshape us, as a potter reworks the clay.

Psalm 80 — “Give ear, O shepherd of Israel!” We are a vine out of Egypt that has gone to ruin. Restore us.

1 Corinthians 1.3-9 — We have every spiritual gift we need as we await Christ’s coming, for which God strengthens us so we’ll be ready.

Mark 13.24-37 — Jesus imagines the coming of God’s “Human One” with “signs in the heavens.” The New Human is near. Stay alert. Like servants ready for the homeowner’s return, Keep awake!

Preaching Thoughts

Advent
       Oh, how badly our people want to skip Advent and get right to Christmas! Part of the discipline of Advent is holding back, waiting, trusting, being patient—even being powerless. We experience our need for God to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. But it’s not a desperate waiting. Hope isn’t wishful thinking, it’s trust in what is already present but unseen. Let your people experience the discipline of waiting in trust: surrendering, being still, listening, Confession isn’t just enumerating bad stuff we’ve done. It’s also simply naming our need, our incompleteness without God.
      People want Christmas already—and they want Christmas carols. One way I’ve found to satisfy people’s hunger for Christmas carols in December and still stay in Advent is to set liturgical words to the melodies of familiar carols. I use them with table songs (preparation for communion), Eucharistic responses, whole Eucharistic prayers, and songs of blessing.
       We anticipate the birth of Christ on three levels: looking to the past, with Joseph and Mary we prepare for the birth of Jesus; looking to the present, we prepare for Christ to be born in our own hearts; and looking to the future we prepare for the coming of Christ to transform human history. Following along with Joseph and Mary and Elizabeth can help us practice a spirit of preparation and “hurry up and wait.” Listening to John the Baptist helps us prepare more than presents, food and decorations: we open ourselves to the transformation of our hearts. A quick perusal of the headlines as well as honesty about our own hearts makes it clear how badly we need God, how we need to be saved from the demonic power of our fears, desires and distrust. Even as we sometimes worry about the future and “where the world is headed” God’s promise is for blessing. We practice preparing for grace even when things look scary. Advent is a time when we re-tool how we think about the world, and our role in its healing.
       Often terrible things happen in December that seem to “spoil Christmas.” But in fact those terrible things are exactly why Jesus is coming, and where Jesus is needed. It’s those awful experiences that are really the “reason for the season.” If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t need Jesus. Advent is a time to get honest about suffering and injustice, about our hurts and wounds, our worry and despair, and the power of evil, selfishness and fear in our world. It’s in honesty about our brokenness that we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Healer of the World.

Isaiah
     Advent begins, even before the luminous promise of God’s coming, with the reality of our need, our deep hunger for God, for grace, for the restoration of life. Isaiah’s image of God far off, needing to burst the bounds of heaven to come to us, is not literally true. God is not distant. God is here, in everything. But the longing is real. We don’t sense God’s presence—or trust God’s presence when we don’t sense it. Our lack of trust is a veil that makes God seem distant. What needs to be “torn open” is our awareness. We long for God to burst through the veil of our inability to see, our inability to trust.
        Our awareness, of course, depends on our perspective. So often we want to sense God’s presence for our own comfort and reassurance. Because that’s self-centered, that’s not where we’re likely to behold God. But if we re-orient ourselves in love, then we see God! So what’s needed is not for God to move toward us but for us to turn around and face toward God. This requires more than a new thought: it’s a re-modeling of who we are. We need to be re-worked like a potter works the clay into a new vessel. In Advent we express our longing and anticipation in repentance.

Gospel
       Apocalypse. Jesus seems to have had a vision, consistent with apocalyptic thought, of God entering into human history in a concrete way on a certain day in the future. Such thought is common among persecuted minorities who believe human culture is unable to “evolve” to where God intends us to be, and nothing short of divine intervention will save us. “Apocalypse” doesn’t mean the end of the world. It means “revealing.” God reveals God’s true intent for human history, by dismantling the systems we have in place—taking apart the Legos of human society—and re-creating it the right way. It’s “the end of the world as we know it” only if we hang onto human power structures. If we let go and repent, it’s not an end at all but a new birth. The point of apocalypse is not the burning cauldrons and Hollywood special effects of death and destruction, it’s the new heaven and new earth. (By the way people who try to “bring on the apocalypse,” for instance by encouraging huge disasters like war or ecological collapse, are tragically deluded: the apocalypse is something God does in God’s own time, and we have absolutely no influence on God’s timing.) Advent is a time when we turn our eyes and our imagination toward the reality that God is revealing to us in Jesus, the life of love and justice. It’s a world that is not yet fully here. We await its coming.
       Apocalypse now. Of course Jesus isn’t concerned with some imagined future event that may or may not involve us. (After all, if it’s been over 2000 years, who’s to say it won’t be another 2000 before it happens?) He is, as always, directing our attention toward the present moment. If at some point God intends to bring human culture into harmony with God’s grace, what might that look like? Imagine that—and live that way now! Jesus’ parables aren’t about checking the timetables of God’s future appearance, they’re about living in harmony with God’s grace right now, this moment. One way to do that is to be aware of God’s grace at work in this world, here, now. Even in this broken, twisted world full of evil and injustice and suffering and grief, God’s grace is present and at work. Look for it. God’s love is powerful. Notice it. Keep your eyes open. Focus on the overwhelming power of goodness and kindness amid greed and violence. Focus on the courage and beauty that love gives to people in the face of fear and oppression. Stay mindful of injustice and how it works, and keep your eyes open for justice and how it rises, how it changes things. Advent is a time of increased focus in our awareness.
       The New Human. Jesus says the Son of man is near. “Son of Man” has a double meaning. It means both “one of us,” or “really human human being,” and it also refers to the character in Daniel’s vision that in Jesus’ time was given Messianic overtones: someone sent by God to usher in a new age. For Christians Jesus exemplifies both of those: he is an ordinary human, “one of us,” but also shows us the glorious and even divine nature of who it is we really are. He dies this not by claiming anything but by showing us: by enacting a new vision of what it means to be human, and thus ushering a new age of human experience. He’s the New Human. In Advent we observe the emergence of a new way of being; as thew prophet cries to “prepare a way” we acknowledge that Jesus is the way. So Advent isn’t just a time to look to the heavens for God to come intervene. It’s also a time to look at a new way of living, and new way of being human
       Stay woke. Conservatives have reacted against the idea of being “woke,” but being woke is exactly what Jesus is talking about: being awake, aware of what’s going on—“when you see these things taking place”—and in particular aware of justice and injustice, and alert to signs of God’s activity in righting wrongs and confronting injustice. Or in Isaiah’s words (that Jesus seems to love), the work to “bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners, and to proclaim the time of God’s favor” (Isa. 61.1-2). Such wakefulness requires painful self-examination for the ways we are complicit in injustice. People who demonize being “woke” are simply giving voice to our resistance. So Jesus coaches us: “Keep awake!” Stay woke. Advent is a season of waking up in the dark, and beginning to see the light.

       See Advent Resources including Advent Candle lighting prayers (two        series), Advent Wreath prayers and music including Eucharistic prayers and        responses and weekly litanies.

Call to Worship

1. See Advent Candle lighting prayers here.

2. See Advent wreath prayers here.

3.
O deepening darkness, make room for us!
       O gathering darkness, receive our prayers.
O luminous darkness, bring Mystery near.
       O welcoming darkness, let us find God.
We gather to worship, O God, seeking your light.
       We come by your invitation, led by your love.
Bless us in our worship, that we may see your light.
       Bless us that we may be your light,
       the light of Christ dawning in this world’s night. Amen.

4.
We are gathered here, led by the Spirit that has called us.
         We are led by our longing, longing for God,
         for God’s peace in our hearts and justice in the world.
Rejoice, and be glad, for God is near.
         God is coming, always coming into the world,
         and into our hearts.
God, you open our eyes to see signs of your coming.
         Even our longing is the voice of God.
God, we worship you in hope and in faith.
         Come, dear Jesus, come, and renew our hearts.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God of Eternity, God of this moment, we trust that you are coming. Come to us in scripture and in silence. Open our hearts to your grace, that we may prepare a room for the birth of Christ in us and among us. Awaken us, God, and keep us awake. Amen.

2.
God of Hope, we turn to you. In the darkness be our light. In the longing be our hope. In the silence be our Word. May your Promise be our light. Amen.

3.
Eternal One, we cry to you. A the darkness of night enfolds us, wondering and waiting. We long for light. We long for you. We long for the coming of Christ, your humble one, among us. Open the eyes of our hearts to look for your coming. Open the arms of our souls to welcome you. Lift up our heads to watch for your dawning. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, Creator of all things,
we give thanks that you are still creating.
Receive our deepest longings with tenderness, and nourish them,
that we may plead for your coming in hope.
Gentle Christ, you who came among us in love, you are still coming.
Open our hearts, that we may prepare for you with lives of love.
Spirit of Life, you shone in the darkness, and still you shine.
Shine in us, that we may proclaim your coming
in lives of joy and justice,
Incarnate God, you entered into Mary, and she bore you into the world.
Bless us, that we may participate in your coming
with deep and life-giving peace. Amen.

5.
God of hope and mystery, we cry out to you out of the darkness of winter and the darkness in our hearts. How we long for you to reveal yourself to us, to come and be with us! Open our hearts as we worship and as we live our lives, that we may hear again your promise, see signs of your coming and ready our hearts for your advent among us. We pray in the name of Christ, who is coming. Amen.

6.
God, sometimes it feels you are far away. Open the eyes of our hearts to see you are near. Open the ears of our spirits to hear your footsteps in this world. Strengthen the hands of our faith tp open the door to you, for you are coming, always coming, into this world and into our lives, in the person and the presence and the spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

1.
In the night
the dawn is barely perceptible
but we know it is coming.
So we know your grace is present
through we cannot see it.
Awaken our hearts, keep our spirits alert,
open to signs of your grace. Amen.

2.
In the night, just before dawn,
your gentle light rises in the east
of our hearts.
In stillness, watching, we wait.

Eucharistic Prayer

See Advent table songs (preparation for communion), Eucharistic responses, whole Eucharistic prayers, and songs of blessing. All set to traditional Christmas tunes.

[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 Faithful One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.

God of grace, we thank you,
for out of the chaos and darkness you brought light;
out of the shadows of slavery you brought us to freedom
out of the dark tomb you raised Jesus up to life.
And now in the darkness we look for your grace
we see your power at work, and we know you are near.
Entering into the brokenness of our world,
you transform and bring forth life.
By many signs you awaken us to your coming.
Therefore we join with all those who long for new life,
whose eyes are eagerly on the door of your grace:
together with them we rejoice at the promise of your coming,
and 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,
the flesh of your presence and the light of your coming,
Jesus loved the neglected and healed the broken,
gathered the outcast and gave hope to the despairing.
Jesus entered into the suffering of the world to redeem it,
and to redeem all who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

[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]

Awaken your Holy Spirit in these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Awaken your Holy Spirit in us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ,
transformed by your grace and confident in your coming,
to your eternal glory and praise.

     [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 promise to enter into our suffering and the suffering of the world. By this meal awaken us to your coming and come to new life in us, that we may live as signs of your coming, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the power of your Holy Spirit and the name of Christ, who is coming. 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 depths of our hunger, you feed us with your promise. In the darkness of the night you enlighten us with your coming. May your longing in us be light for this world, for the sake of the healing of all Creation, in the name of Christ. Amen.

3.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) Help us to prepare for your coming again in hope and trust. Send us into the world, transformed by your grace into the Body of Christ, to be signs of your coming, by your presence in us, in the name and the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) You have filled us with the bread of hope, the bread of longing. Bless us that we may never lose our hunger for you. Send us into the world to plead for your coming with patience and faith, living prayerfully, and serving lovingly, in the name and the Spirit of Christ, who is coming. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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

See Advent table songs (preparation for communion), Eucharistic responses, whole Eucharistic prayers, and songs of blessing. All set to traditional Christmas tunes.

Come, Bring your Light and Shepherd of Israel are weekly litanies, one verse per week; suitable for a call to worship, introduction or response to scripture, response to sermon, affirmation, or other places in worship. The Cantor’s lyrics reflect the day’s lectionary texts; the congregational response is the same throughout Advent.

Come, Bring Your Light       (Original song)
A weekly litany. A dialogue between solo cantor and congregation.

Week 1:
O God, that you would tear open the heavens and come down!
You are our maker, you the potter and we your clay.

We lack no spiritual gift as we wait for you, O Christ.
For you will strengthen us to the end.

       Congregation:
       O Come to us, O come, Emmanuel,
       and bring your light into our darkened world.

Keep alert, for you do not know when the Beloved will appear.
As with the fig tree, watch for signs of new life.

Heaven and earth will pass away but your words will not pass away.
Help us follow your call to keep awake.

       Congregation:
       O Come to us, O come, Emmanuel,
       and bring your light into our darkened world.


Shepherd of Israel      (Original song)
A weekly litany. A dialogue between solo cantor and congregation.

Congregation:
Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.
Come to us, and grant your peace.

Cantor:
Week 1. Shepherd of Israel, come, restore your people.
Shine your face on us and save us, God. Kyrie…

Week 2. Comfort, speak tenderly. Gently lead your people.
God, forgive our sins and make us new. Kyrie…

Week 3. Pour out your Spirit, God, Heal the brokenhearted.
Love, prepare our hearts to see your light. Kyrie…

Week 4. Grant us your mercy, God. Fill the poor with good things.
Guide our feet into your way of peace. Kyrie…


Child of Promise (Original song)

Child of promise, oh, child of hope, prophets spoke of you:
visions treasured but unfulfilled. Shall our dreams come true?
Help us wait for you.

Child of woman, oh, child of God, birthing us anew,
make a room, oh, make a womb, in our hearts for you.
Help us wait for you.

Child of patience, oh, child of pain, suffering ills we do,
heal, forgive and help us be gentle child, like you.
Help us wait for you.

Child of wonder, oh, child of joy, you make all things new.
Re-create us, come again like the morning dew.
Help us wait for you.

May 26, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Isaiah 6.1-8 — The prophet sees God in the Temple. “I am a man of unclean lips!” An angel sears his lips with a burning coal. “Whom shall I send?” “Send me.”

Psalm 29 — God’s voice flashes forth. God sits enthroned over the flood.

Romans 8. 12-17 — Live according to the spirit, not the flesh. We are heirs with Christ.

John 3. 1-17 — Jesus tells Nicodemu we must be born “again from above.” The Son of man will be “lifted up” like Moses’ bronze serpent.

Preaching Thoughts

Creation
       The Sunday after Pentecost is often focused on the gift and care of Creation. See Creation-Centered Resources.

Trinity Sunday
       The Sunday after Pentecost is Trinity Sunday. Now that the Holy Spirit has made her liturgical debut on Pentecost, the gang’s all here, and we can celebrate the Trinity. Of course the Spirit has been here since before Creation, but now she’s center stage.
       The image of the Trinity does not just describe three different jobs God has, but that God’s essence is in relationship; that God’s nature is beyond any one quality; that God exceeds all our understandings and categories. The Trinity is not a “doctrine” so much as an image. An icon. We diminish it when we turn it into a scientific formula. In fact what the “doctrine” of the Trinity means is that God is mystery and can’t be turned into a doctrine. The image of the Trinity is an icon of God as relationship, as community, as mystery and paradox, as loving energy, as what we think and also what we can’t imagine. See further reflection and worship materials related to the Trinity.

Isaiah
       Typical of Hebrew thought, Isaiah is aware he bears not only his own sin but his people’s. In The Brothers Karamazof Father Zosima says, “You should know, my dear ones, that every individual is undoubtedly responsible for everyone and everything on earth, not only with respect to general guilt, but each individual person is responsible for every single person and all mankind on earth.” Sounds a little like Jesus suffering for all of humanity… And it gives dimension to our being sent out (“Here am I; send me”), not just to be kind to our immediate neighbors but to care for the well-being of all living beings.

Romans
       Living according to the flesh is living according to the delusion that I am contained, defined, and limited to my physical body. But in fact, Paul says, we’re more than our individual bodies: we’re all cells of one living organism, each of us a part of the Body of Christ. “I” am not just this little individual, but “we,” made alive and made one by the one breath, the Spirit of God. To liv according to the flesh is to be compelled by our fears, wounds and desires. To live according to the Spirit is to be led by the Spirit, to live as part of the Body of Christ, accountable to, responsible for and compassionate toward the whole, not just ourselves.

John
       Metaphoric, not literal. Nicodemus is a literalist: “climb back in my mother’s womb?” Of course Jesus will have none of it. All religious language, including all scripture, is metaphorical. “Take up your cross” is a metaphor. “Jesus died” is, too. Yes, it’s a historical fact—but its meaning for us lies in its metaphorical meaning, not just that it happened.
       Born from the top. Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must be born “from the top,” that is, both from God and also anew, over and over. We receive our life from God. It’s not a one-time thing, like “I was born again on November13…”) It’s every breath, a gift from God,. Every breath we die and are born again. To be born “from above” is to receive life from God, to let God be our life, because we’re receiving it from God, moment by moment, not just because our heart hasn’t stopped yet.
       Flesh and Spirit. As in Paul’s writings, Jesus isn’t saying the spiritual is separate from the physical, or that there’s something less holy about our bodies. It’s distinguishing between the little parts and the whole, between the illusion of our separateness and the reality of our connectedness. To be “born of the Spirit” is to live in relatedness to all living things, indeed, to all Creation, because we’re all breathed into life by the same one breath of God.
      So loved. Despite evangelists’ use of John 3.16 as a club to convert people, it’s about love, and salvation, not about condemnation. It’s about how much God loves the world, not about how much you need to convert. God sent the son so that the world wold be saved, not just Christian believers.
       Eternal life. This doesn’t mean a long afterlife. It doesn’t mean living for 15 billion years after you die. It means living life that is infinitely deep, flourishing and flowing with life from God that is timeless, that can’t be taken from you, life radiant with with joy and beauty.

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 are holy, and we worship you.
We are your children, born of your Spirit.
What is within us is holy, for it is from you.
Help us to give our lives so that we may receive life.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Creator God, we praise you!
All: By water and the Spirit you create us.
In the womb of your love we are born anew, breath by breath.
In our worship give birth to us again
as your Beloved,
as your community,
as the Body of Christ. Amen.

3.
Leader: God, like Nicodemus we come to you in the dark.
All: We do not understand; we only love you.
By your grace we are born from you, new, over and over.
Give us new life in your Spirit.
The world thinks we are separate,
but we are one in your love, one in your Spirit.
Awaken in us our prayers for one another
and for all the world.
In love for the world you have given us Jesus.
In love for the world you send us.
Fill us with your love, that in our lives
Christ may be lifted up,
for the sake of the wholeness of all Creation. Amen.

4.
Leader: Holy One, your Spirit blows where it will.
All: Spirit of love, breathe in us.
By water and the Spirit we are born of you, new every moment.
Spirit of life, give us new birth.
Breathe your strength and beauty into us.
Wind of grace, blow us out into the world to serve you in love. Amen

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Holy One, you so love the world that you give us your Beloved, your Only Begotten, that we may be made whole. By your Spirit in us, may we be born again and again from you grace; may we be readily blown where the wind of your Spirit blows us, in the name and the company of Jesus. Amen.

2.
Loving God, you make us your children and you call us to help you to love the world. Stir up your Spirit in us so that as we read your scriptures and proclaim your Word we might hear what you are saying to us, and be transformed and enabled to sing more freely and beautifully the song of your grace. Amen.

3.
Holy Mystery of Love, you have loved the world so much as to give us yourself in Christ. BY water and the Spirit you have made us, your church. To your love, beyond our comprehension, we turn in awe. To your love, made real among us, we open our hearts. To your love, birthed within us, we give ourselves. By your grace may we be born anew, breath by breath, in your love. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

God of Love,
we are born anew from you, breath by breath.
We breathe deeply of your Spirit.
We open our hearts to your love.
We wait for your Living Word.
Come to us.

Prayer of Confession

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.
Gentle God, you have created us by your Spirit and filled us with your gifts.
You have placed within us the fruits of your good news to share with the world.
But we have kept them to ourselves. We have held on to our goods;
we have withheld our love; we have stilled your Word within us.
Forgive our sin. Heal our fear. Break open our self-centeredness.
Let our self-limited selves die, and give us new life instead,
abundant with your grace and generous in love and service.
                   Silent prayer… The word of grace

Reading

1. Romans 8.12-17, a paraphrase.

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

2.
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.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

       We love you and trust you, God, Mother of all things, by whom we are born anew, breath by breath. You so loved the whole world that you gave us yourself to us in Christ, so that we might know the depth of life.
       We love you and trust you, Jesus, the Begotten One of God, who came among us to free us from condemnation and open to us the way of life that is infinitely deep, that is loving, that is eternal. You were lifted up on a cross—and lifted up again, raised from death to life. And so you welcome us into the realm of God.
       We love you and trust you, Holy Spirit, by whom we are born again and again from God. By water and the Spirit you have created us, and created your church, born of both flesh and spirit, to serve you, to embody you, to bear your love, do justice, and live in your joy and beauty, for the sake of your love for the world. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

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.

Holy Love, Holy One, blessed are you, for in the beginning
over the swirling darkness your Spirit brooded,
and by your Word you created the world.
The wind of your Holy Spirit blows where it will,
and we cannot see where it comes from, or where it goes.
Yet we know it moves in love, and with thanksgiving
we can trace your works of justice and mercy.
By your grace you transform all things:
you free us from slavery to sin and death,
and overthrow the powers of oppression.
You call us to new lives in Christ,
that being born of water and the Spirit,
we may know eternal life in the Realm of your presence.
In your Spirit we gather at your table to be made new.
Feasting on your grace, we join all Creation as 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.
For you so loved the world that you gave us yourself,
embodying your love in your Only Begotten.
He fed and taught and forgave and blessed.
He healed the broken and raised up the downtrodden,
and created a new community of justice and love.
He called us to live by your Spirit
and offered us the mystery of salvation, the gift of new life.
He was lifted up on the cross and died;
but you lifted him up in glory, raising him from death.

The Blessing & Covenant *

As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
And so, in remembrance of 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 sacrifice for us
as we proclaim the mystery of 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 the Beloved, Jesus Christ.
Renew your living Holy Spirit within us,
that, receiving the body of Christ, we become the Body of Christ.
In the death and resurrection of Christ,
may we die to our old ways, and be born anew.
Here we are; send us as your people
to serve you for the sake of your love for the world,
in the name and the Spirit of Christ.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup.
that they may be for us the Body and Blood of the Beloved, Jesus Christ.
Renew your living Holy Spirit within us,
that, receiving the body of Christ, we become the Body of Christ.
In the death and resurrection of Christ,
may we die to our old ways, and be born anew.
Here we are; send us as your people
to serve you for the sake of your love for the world,
in the name and the Spirit of Christ.

     [Spoken or sung]
Amen.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / After communion

Suitable for dedicating the offering of gifts, after communion, or sending forth at the end of the service. 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.
Holy God, Three In One, send us in the love of Christ and the power of your Spirit for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for
the mystery that you give yourself to us.
/ this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
As you have fed us in this meal, give new birth to us in every breath: continually make us new in love for you, for each other, and for the world, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

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.
Gracious God, receive our lives and all our gifts, which we give to you in thanks and joy. Grateful for your Son, Jesus, and for the gift of salvation, we offer ourselves to you. Here are we, your people. Send us, to show your love to all Creation, in the name of Christ. Amen.

4.
You have fed your children at your table. You have filed us with your gifts. Send us into the world now to share those gifts, to give freely of our selves, our hearts and resources, our time and attention, for the sake of your desire for the healing of all Creation. We pray in the name of Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit within and among us. Amen.

Suggested Songs

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


Always New
(Tune: Gift of Love -“Water Is Wide”- or Tallis’ Canon)

O God, you make me always new.
Each breath I breathe is life from you,
a gift of love that sets me free.
Beloved, breathe new life in me.

O Christ, you call me to new birth
like God’s creation of the earth,
to leave the things I’m fastened on
and walk into the rising dawn.

O loving Spirit, live in me.
Forgive my sin and set me free.
Give me new birth, life from above,
that I may live in your deep love.


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

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

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

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


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.


Live by the Spirit (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
[Romans 8.1-6]

God has now done what the law could not do:
God set you free and God reconciled you.
Live by the Spirit that God freely gives,
Spirit of Christ, by which each of us lives.

Setting your mind on the Spirit is peace:
rooted in grace, from our sin we’re released.
Live, then, by the Spirit that raised Christ from death,
Spirit that raises us in every new breath.

Go in God’s peace. Go in Christ’s gentle light.
Go in the Spirit that leads us aright.
Children of God, go in love as you do,
dying with Christ and arising anew.

Spirit of God    (Original song)

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

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

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

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

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

June 106, 2024

Lectionary Texts

1 Samuel 15.34 – 16.13 — Samuel anoints David as king of Israel. (God tends to the inner reality, not the outward appearance.)

Psalm 20 — May God answer you, and fulfill your desires…. Some take pride in chariots; but our hope is in God.

2 Corinthians 5. 6-10, (11-13)14-17 — We walk by faith, not sight…. Christ’s love urges us on… Christ died for all so that we might live for him…. If anyone is in Christ there is a new Creation.

Mark 4.26-34 — The parable of the seed growing secretly, and the mustard seed.

Preaching Thoughts

2 Corinthians
        “While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord” implies that in this life we’re not as close to Jesus as we will be in the afterlife. Maybe. But thinking of Paul’s image of living “according to the flesh” and “according to the Spirit,” the former means living under the delusion that I am contained in and limited to my flesh, my body. But in fact I’m part of a greater whole, the Body of Christ; living “according to the Spirit” is living in in harmony with this truth. So one can interpret “being in the body” as being obsessed with the protection of my little ego-defined, body-contained self rather than the well-being of the whole Body of Christ. In this sense when I am “in the body” I’m not so close to Jesus. I don’t actually think this is what Paul means here, but it’s consistent with his theology and it works for me.
        “One has died for all; therefore all have died.” Again, to understand this we have to abandon the thought that we’re individuals, and accept the idea of being all members of one Body. In light of this we “live for him.”
        “We no longer we regard anyone from a human point of view.” That is. We know they’re not just individual beings; they’re part of the whole Body of Christ. So “when anyone is in Christ, there is a new Creation”—not just they they’re a new creation, but that Creation is new. The whole world is changed! Everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” If one member of a choir changes the note they’re singing, it changes the whole chord. This is how we change the world.

Mark
        The growing seed is a beautiful icon, a Christian koan. You can take this many ways. A few:
   • God’s grace is sown in our lives and we don’t know how it works but it does, and it bears fruit, gradually, over time, and we need to receive its gifts.
   • Life is a crop that grows and bears fruit without our knowing how; but when it does the thing to do is to receive it!
   • Your life is a gift, sown in the world. You have gifts of the Spirit that sprout and grow and bear fruit, without your knowing how. It happens while you “sleep and rise”— when you pay attention and when you don’t. And then you harvest those gifts that are in you and offer them to the world.
   • God’s grace grows within you and you “sleep and rise;” in self-surrender you die and are raised to new life, over and over. In this process new life grows, gradually, but when the harvest is ready (to “give way,” says the Greek—again, an act of self-surrender)‚ you “send” in the sickle (yes, the word “sent” is “apostled”).
   • The realm of God is a world of justice. It is growing even now, unseen—yet there are signs of its gradual emergence. Look for them: the small green shoots of healing, the tender stalks of courage and compassion, and even every once in a while the full grain of peace, freedom and justice.
   • The work of justice has gone on mostly without your seeing or knowing; but when the time is right, get in there!
       Similarly the mustard seed is an image that shines light in many different directions. A few:
  • God’s grace is alike a small seed in you: it grows into something that changes your life.
   • Our faith seems like a small thing given the scope of the world’s needs and the power of evil; but God’s grace can lead to enormous changes.
  • Even small acts of love are powerful.
  • Faith can’t be measured. God’s grace is so powerful that even a little trust in it can produce great results.
  • Don’t judge anyone’s faith, not even you own. You can’t tell what mighty power lies in a mustard seed of faith. You can’t tell what great things will arise from small beginnings.
  • We’re often tempted to judge our spiritual gifts, lamenting that we don;t have the gifts that someone else has.. never mind that. What may seem like a small little gift in you—your sense of humor, or your delight in beauty, or your ability to appreciate people—may have tremendous impact.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader:  Eternal Mystery, Sun of Life , you create all things.
 All:    Your glory shines in every living being.
Living Christ, Divine Presence, you plant the seed of your love in us.
 Your beauty, your grace are hidden in our hearts.
Spirit of Love, you call forth our compassion.
 By your growth in us, we flower with the fruit of your grace.
 We thank you.  We worship you.  We give ourselves to you.  Alleluia!

2.
Leader:  Creator God, you scatter the seed of your grace in this world.
      All:    It produces blessing, though we know not how.
You scatter the seed of your love in us.
       It sprouts and grows, though we do not know how.
When the time is ripe you gather your harvest.
      We offer our love to you, for the harvest is yours.

3.
Leader: Creator God, Source of Life, we praise you!
All: You plant the seed of your grace in us,
and Creation begins anew.
The mystery of your presence grows within us; we know not how.
The tree of Christ flourishes among us, bearing fruit.
The vine of your Spirit connects us all, and we thank you.
We are seeds of your promise, saplings of your Realm.
Alleluia! Spirit of Life, grow within us,
and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Prayer

1.
God of grace, you plant the mustard seed of your love in us.  May it flourish and grow by your grace. May the sun of your Word shine upon us; the water of your grace nourish us; the warm earth of Christ hold us and bless us to bring forth life in your name.  Amen.

3.
God of all goodness, you are working your healing and justice in the world, though we do not see the whole of it. Nourish the seed of trust in our hearts. Open the eyes of our hearts to see the green blades of your work in the world. Prepare us to know when the harvest needs us,. By your Spirit make us ready to be sent into the harvest of justice and peace. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, as plants in a garden root themselves in rich soil, and open themselves to the rain and sun, so we root ourselves in your Presence.  We open ourselves to your Word.  And we await the working of your Spirit within us, so that what you have planted in us may bear fruit.  We pray in the name of Christ.  Amen.

3.
God of all goodness, you are working your healing and justice in the world, though we do not see the whole of it. Nourish the seed of trust in our hearts. Open the eyes of our hearts to see the green blades of your work in the world. Prepare us to know when the harvest needs us,. By your Spirit make us ready to be sent into the harvest of justice and peace. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

God of life,
we are the soil
where you scatter the seed of your Word.
May it take root in us,
grow mightily, and bear good fruit.
Amen.

Readings

1.   Psalm 20, a paraphrase

The Holy One gives herself to you in your day of trouble.
        The Divine Presence wraps you in protective arms.
May the Beloved give you life from the heart of Being,
         and heaven itself accompany you.

God treasures all that you are
         and honors all that you offer.
God grants you your deepest desires.
         Your becoming is God’s greatest pleasure.

All Creation sings with joy over you
         and Spirit dances to the music of your soul.
The Holy One gives all your hopes
         the power of becoming.

I know this: God chooses you to be who you are,
         talks to your soul like an old friend,
         brings to fruit every seed within you.

Watch out for the temptation to manipulate
         what others think of you.
God already knows who you are,
         and loves it.
Those illusions all crumble like ashes,
         but your Being rises and stands, solid and beautiful.
What happens to you is ephemeral;
         but who you are is sacred.

Holy One, give blessing to your Beloved.
         Opening our hears to you, we meet you.

2. Abridged from Psalm 20, a paraphrase

May the Holy One be with you in all your struggles.
        May God treasure your gifts with delight.
May God grant your deepest desires
       and bring to fruition the seeds of grace in you.
We rejoice at one another’s giftedness;
       we celebrate what God is doing in you.
God will always be present with God’s Beloved.
       God responds with love and blessing.
Some trust in power and accomplishments,
       but our trust is in God,
       in God’s amazing glory unfolding in each of us.
Help us to trust this vision, O God.
       Be our hope and our trust.

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

1.
Gracious God, we give you our gifts as symbols of our lives.  Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will.  May your grace grow and bear fruit in our lives by the power of your Spirit in us, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, we thank you for (the mystery that you give yourself to us / this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.) As the seed sprouts and grows, we know not how, so in the mystery of this meal your grace grows in us without our understanding.  May it bear fruit in us, for the sake of the mending of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view on the Music page)

Abounding Harvest
(Tune: KREMSER –We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing)

O God, you have scattered your gifts and your blessings,
the bread that gives life and the seed that grows.
Your grace is astounding, the harvest is abounding.
You give to the poor, and our cup overflows!

We come to the banquet, as each one is able,
rejoicing and voicing our thanks and our praise.
While singing we’re bringing our gifts to your table,
that we may serve you through all of our days.

As you have enriched us, so may we be giving,
and sow as we’ve reaped, in abundance and trust:
now gratefully giving through all of our living
the grace that you offer; for share it we must.

Our God who has planted and nurtured now harvests,
and so we surrender our lives to God’s use.
With Christ as our Vine, we are branches in his spirit,
all bearing fruit in love, and made one in God’s Peace.

       The following verse may be included with previous verses,
       or used as a sending song at the end of worship:

We go now, confessing our love and our blessing
for each, our companions in service and grace.
We’ll nourish each other as sister and brother,
to serve as God’s Bread for the whole human race.


The Harvest of Your Grace (Original song)
      (Including Eucharistic responses to this tune.)
      [2 Corinthians 9.6-15]
      A dialogue between cantor and congregation.

Response: Alleluia! O God, we rejoice in the harvest of your grace.
Cantor
1. God scatters abroad, and gives to the poor, and fills the hungry with good things.
2. How blessed the poor, and all those that mourn. “You do to me as to them.”
3. Now come to the Feast. Our cups overflow. With grateful hearts we remember.
4. God’s grace will abound, in seed and in bread. In joy then sow as you reap.
5. You will receive, so that you can give, and yield a harvest of good hearts.


Love-Sowing God (Tune: The river Is Wide)

Love-sowing God, sow love in me.
Sow seeds of grace abundantly.
My soul be soil where love may root
and grow and bear your precious fruit.

Where habit’s feet and wheels have tracked,
my anxious work the soil has packed,
soften my soul with bliss or pain,
so love may enter in again.

My angry thorns, my selfish weeds,
God, clear away, and sow your seeds.
Despite the hungry, wanting bird,
Love, plant in me your living Word.

Love-sowing God, your labors done,
help me to trust the rain and sun,
receive your grace and faithfully
bear forth your love that grows in me.



Seeds of Light (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)
(Communion Hymn: may either be used as a free-standing song
or as Eucharistic Prayer responses.)

(Sanctus)
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.

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

(Amen)
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.


The Tree of Life
(Tune: The Water Is Wide or O Love, How Deep)

O God, you plant deep in each soul
the tree of life that makes us whole,
whose leaves can heal and set us free,
whose fruit will feed abundantly.

The seed is small; the tree is great.
We cannot know what gifts await.
We only tend our plot with care,
in loving deed and listening prayer.

Teach me to trust, my soil to till,
to plant and water, and be still.
The seed will swell, and crack and grow,
though how this is I cannot know.

And I will die, and I will rise,
each day a birth, a new surprise.
And you will give life to the tree,
and I behold your mystery.



You are the soil (Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus)

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.

June 9, 2024

Lectionary texts

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

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

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

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

Preaching Thoughts

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

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

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

Call to Worship

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

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

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

Prayer

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

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

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

Listening Prayer

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

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

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

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

Response / Creed / Affirmation

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

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

Prayer after Communion

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

Prayer of Dedication / Sending

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

Suggested Song

Do Justice (Original song)

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

October 6, 2024

World Communion Sunday

Lectionary Texts

Job 1.1, 2. 1-10 — The beginning of the story of Job: God & Satan’s “deal.”

Psalm 26 — Vindicate me… I walk I integrity.

Hebrews 1. 1-4; 2. 5-12 —As God spoke through prophets, now God has spoken in Jesus, the “pioneer of our faith.” We are under angels, who are under Christ (thought Christ was once made lower than angels).

Mark 10. 2-16 — Jesus teaches on divorce. … “Let the little children come… receive the Realm of God as a child.”

Preaching Thoughts

Communion
       It seems paradoxical to preach that in the Eucharist we are in communion with all Christians around the world when Communion itself is among the things that divide us. I usually insist on respecting multiple interpretations and traditions, but here’s a place where I’ll step out and say the traditional Roman Catholic teaching is just plain wrong. Jesus clearly shared food with everybody—sometimes 5000 at a time—including believers and unbelievers, clean and unclean, righteous and sinners, Jews and gentiles. It’s just plain wrong to insist that one must belong to a certain sect to partake of the Eucharist. I see no biblical warrant for it, and plentiful evidence to the contrary. Paul says, “All who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.” This is often interpreted to mean you’re supposed to see the physical flesh of Jesus in the bread and wine. But in the context of everything Paul is talking about, that is, the church, I think he means discerning the body of Christ—the community, the whole. The bread, and the complete self-giving it symbolizes, lead us to be mindful of the whole human community Jesus died for, including people of every tradition, denomination, sect, religion, belief system or unbelief. I think central to Jesus’ and Paul’s gospel is the radical inclusiveness of God’s love and the profound oneness of the human family.
       Jesus does something radical in his sharing of meals. He clearly—blatantly, out loud and unmistakably—demolishes the exclusions, restrictions and taboos around table fellowship of both religious laws and cultural habits. What was the one charge they brought against him at his trial that was actually true? “He eats with sinners.” You betcha. That was his ministry. Calling all of us to one table. None are insiders, none are foreigners, none are deserving or undeserving. All are simply invited. Think of how many meals and stories about meals Jesus gives us. In most of them the meal includes outsiders. He eats with pharisees and tax collectors and prostitutes. He’s eating with Simon and in comes an outsider, whom he welcomes. With Zacchaeus Jesus himself is the outsider. At the Last Supper he includes Judas (in the place of honor!) In his parables, at the king’s wedding banquet the poor and excluded are invited. Jesus enacts the line from Psalm 23: “You have prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” And Jesus invites them in! This is the community Jesus intends to create around his table. We are all one.
       The great mystery is: when we receive the Body of Christ we become the Body of Christ. We ourselves become the one loaf he is offering us. We are part of one another. Paul speaks of the one Body in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. The eucharist is the symbol that we are indeed one body, part of one another, around the world. When we eat the bread it becomes part of our body. And we become part of one another’s bodies. We are drawn into spiritual quantum entanglement. We are one another. So we love our neighbors as ourselves, not just as much as we love ourselves, but as ourselves: as the rest of ourselves.
       Be mindful how you celebrate this feast. Be intentional about invitation and inclusion. I once attend a service in which “communion” was offered after the service: I had to fight the exiting traffic down the aisle to the railing where it was self-serve. Me and one other older woman who apparently didn’t appreciate my coming to kneel beside her. I didn’t “commune” with anybody. It was the loneliest communion I ever had. Absolute travesty. When our oldest son was about 2 or 3, we held him in our arms as we came forward to receive communion at a church that didn’t serve those who had not been confirmed. As we turned away he said, blessedly loud enough for all to hear, “Why didn’t I get any?” Good question. Of course some would argue he was too young to understand. I’d argue so are you. Who “understands” this mystery? It’s not a concept you understand. It’s a love you receive. It’s an inclusion you accept. (Our son did understand that!) I mean, you eat this bread—and there’s God in it! It’s not the pastor, it’s Jesus giving it to you! And you think you understand that? Ha.
       So. Make your invitation clear, especially to people who may expect there to be restrictions. I offer it to anyone who wants it. Everyone has already been invited by Christ. I’m not going to interfere! There is no prerequisite but to be hungry—for God, for interaction, for forgiveness or acceptance, for feeling like you’re part of something, even just for a snack—it’s all the Spirit’s invitation to something sacred.

Job
       This passage is profoundly problematic for me. Not all scholars agree but I am convinced the original, ancient tale of Job consisted only of chapters 3 through 42.6. The God-made-a-bet beginning and the Happy Ending are later (unfortunate) additions. I believe this is true for two reasons. One is the form: this section is poetry, while the prologue in Chap. 1-2 and the epilogue in 42.7-17 is prose. They feel different. But the other is the very heart of the story.
       The story of Job addresses the age old question of why we suffer, and especially why bad things happen to good people. The assumption behind the question is that life is supposed to be fair: God rewards good people and punishes bad people. So why do good people suffer? Job’s three friends try to theologize around that by basically saying “Well, you must have deserved this somehow.” They argue from the old assumption of the fairness of life. Job doesn’t buy it… but still wants to know why he’s suffering. After patiently listening to his not-very-helpful friends, he loses all patience and cries out, “I want to argue with God but God’s not answering.” (Next week’s lectionary) And God responds! (The following week.) God says, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”(38.2) And goes on to describe the vastness of Creation and how ignorant we are. And (three weeks from now) Job responds, “You’re right. I don’t know what I’m talking about. Sorry I asked.” Then comes the Happy Ending.
       God’s response says two things to me. One is, basically, “Shit happens. Do you think you can ferret out a reason for everything? It’s way too complicated. Besides, who says life is supposed to be fair? Are you so smart you know that? Where did you hear that when I was designing the world?” Some suffering is caused by injustice, and sometimes people bring suffering on themselves. But some of it just happens. Life isn’t actually fair, and isn’t supposed to be. It’s just not true that “everything happens for a reason.” Sometimes things just happen. God doesn’t reward goodness and punish evil. There isn’t always a “reason” bad things happen to good people. That’s not how it works. And if you humans think you can figure out a “system,” you’re deluding yourselves.
       But there’s more. God places Job’s suffering in the context of the whole, magnificent universe. Yes, you’re miserable, but you’re part of this glorious thing! Some parts of it hurt, but as a whole it’s pretty marvelous. Everything won’t work out well for every individual person, but as a whole it’s wonderful, and worth it. And you’re part of the whole wonderful Oneness of it all.
       And Job’s response is to accept the randomness of suffering. That’s the heart of the story: to accept the randomness of suffering. But I think at some point the stewards of the story couldn’t stand that conclusion, so they made up a prologue and epilogue that contradicted the whole point of the story by explaining Job’s suffering!… and then making everything all better again. As if either the cause (God making a bet??) or the outcome (happily ever after? Seriously?) is relevant to any actual human suffering. What about suffering that’s not caused by Satan having made a back room wager with God? What about suffering that doesn’t end so nicely? Besides, would anybody be OK if God destroyed their life and their family… and then they got another spouse and more kids as replacements? I think not. The story hangs together much better, and speaks to actual life, without the fairy tale beginning and ending.
       So. What to do with this passage. I just skip it. The following weeks speak louder and clearer without this part.

Psalm
       Well, this is a pretty self-righteous psalm, isn’t it? I think of it not as bragging to God, but maybe it’s along the lines of what Job may have thought: I’m not so bad as to deserve this suffering, am I? Or maybe it’s really more aspirational. I read it as “I want not to sit with the wicked… I want to walk in integrity…” Then the line “try me and test my heart and mind” is more of an honest plea for God to help me repent than a self-assured pronouncement of how good I am. But that takes some re-writing or explaining. (See a version below)

Hebrews
       Hebrews was written long before we invented the Holy Trinity, but the lines of thought here are pretty Trinitarian. “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, but the title of an eternal, cosmic presence, an aspect of God, that Jesus embodies. That eternal Christ was there at the beginning, through whom God created the worlds. Christ is a self-expression of God, and sustains all things. Christ seated “at the right hand of the Majesty on high” is an image that lends itself to the Trinity.        Hebrews lays out a hierarchy of Christ above angels, who are above humans, and all things are subject to humans, though we can’t see it yet. We don’t have to buy the whole architecture to appreciate that God chooses to take a low place to raise us up. Christ saves us not in power and dominion but in powerlessness and vulnerability. Christ is the pioneer of our salvation, made perfect in suffering. As our pioneer, Christ leads us, and we follow, seeking the place that is low, powerless and vulnerable. This is model for Christian humility, not superiority.

Mark
       Tread carefully in preaching on Jesus’ teachings about divorce. A strict prohibition against divorce isn’t life-giving. Jesus’ teaching is rooted in the Jewish laws and culture of the times, and doesn’t exactly translate into ours. In that culture marriage was a man’s prerogative, not a woman’s. (A man is allowed to divorce a woman, but not vice versa.) The wife was almost in the position of being the husband’s property. (According to the law, if a woman was raped it was her husband to whom reparations were to be paid.) And a single woman was at great financial risk. Given the legal status of the wife, Jesus’ teaching protects her from being used and cast into poverty. It also puts her on an equal footing with the man. They are one flesh. The woman is not subservient; she is an equal part and partner.
       This passage is sometimes used to justify heterosexism: “obviously marriage is between a man and a woman.” Again, this teaching is so embedded in Jewish culture and sexual regulations that it doesn’t translate into our world. It has no integrity to lift this one bit of sexual law out of the whole Hebrew canon without honoring the rest of it, too. We freely neglect commandments that regulate a woman’s period, the obligation of a man to marry his brother’s widow, the obligation for a rapist to marry his victim, and for that matter the taking of multiple wives. To take this one commandment as inviolable and ignore the others has no integrity or moral weight. Like animal sacrifices, the insistence that marriage can exist only between a man and woman is one that needs to be let go of.
       Let the little children come. Think of all the ways we prevent children from getting close to Jesus, including how we do worship. Think of all the ways we try to keep plenty of kinds of folks at a distance. It’s partly evident in how exclusive our worship can be. We’ve learned to make our sanctuaries handicap accessible, but how welcoming are we to to kids, or people with mental illness or on the spectrum, or the homeless? We keep people away from Jesus not only in our Sunday worship, but in our daily discipleship. We bring Jesus to the people we feel comfortable with, but not those outside that circle. For people to come to Jesus doesn’t necessitate their going to church; maybe they just need to get close to you. “Let them come to me.”
       Receive the realm of God as a child. What might this mean? Vulnerable… powerless… curious.. dependent… receptive… trusting… without status… playful… without preconceptions… still growing and learning… “beginner’s mind”… adaptable… as beloved as a mother’s infant, without cause or deserving, just given…. Maybe to enter the realm as a child is to be without history, without a record, without accomplishments and mistakes, just living, and accepted, in the moment.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Creator of all things,
       All: we praise!
Of earth and sky, the seas and stars, and all living beings,
       we praise!
Loving Mother and Father of all people, nations and races,
       we adore!
You whose arms hold Koreans and Bolivians, Rawandans and Inuit,
       we adore!
For Baptist and Orthodox, Methodist and Moravian, Congregational and Coptic,
       we give thanks!
With all your Beloved we gather at your table to feast with our siblings in Christ,
one in the Body of Christ, one in your love.
       We worship, we receive your grace, and we give of ourselves, for the sake of the world.
       Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Holy Parent, Give of Life,
       All: we are your children.
Christ, brother to all who are suffering,
        in you we are all siblings.
Holy Spirit, love that unites us,
       make us and all humanity your holy family.
       We thank you. We bless you. We worship you.

3.
Leader: Loving God, Infinite parent, you birth us and claim us.
All: We are in awe, and we praise you.
Gentle Christ, you love us and walk beside us.
We are made new, and we thank you.
Holy Spirit, you breathe your life into us and re-create us each moment.
We are your children, and we live in your love.
We are your beloved, and we worship you.

4.
Leader: Gentle God, we come to you as children.
All: We come as your little ones,
in need of your power and grace.
We come hungry for your love.
And you welcome us, not because of our past,
not for our deserving
but because we are your beloved children.
We come with all our siblings around the world.
Though we may squabble we are one at your table,
All our siblings are with us here in your love,
from every nation, every language, every culture.
Gather us, God, and make us one in your love,
one in the Body of Christ.
We worship you. We submit ourselves to you. Alleluia!

Prayer of the Day

1.
O, how we want to be equals to you, O God!— but we are not. You are the Creator; we are your creatures. You are the parent and we are the child. You are the One who Speaks, and we are your Word. Speak now, God, that we may hear your Word, and receive your Word, and become your Word in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

2.
Gracious God, as Christ welcomed the little children, so you welcome us. We come to you not in pride of accomplishment, not in power and might, but in smallness and need. We are tender little ones in your presence. Forgive us for trying to be bigger than each other. Heal our fear and receive us into the lap of your gentle grace. Bless us as we listen to your scripture read and your good news proclaimed, that we may be renewed as your children, made in your image, faithful to you. Amen.

3.
Holy God, Infinite Love, Intimate Lover, Faithful One, we come from you. We rest in you. We listen for you. Open our hearts to your presence. Open our ears to your Word. Open our arms to your children. Open our future to your grace. Amen.

4.
Loving God, we gather here at your table with all our siblings in Christ around the world. In the mystery of your grace, they are all here. Though we have many different stories we are all one. We all live by the power of the one Spirit. We worship as one body. We are made as grains into one loaf. And with one voice, in glorious million-part harmony, we sing your praise. Bless us, that all our lives we may live in harmony with one another. Amen.

5.
Loving God, we give you thanks that you love all your children. There is no blessing you give to one people that you do not give to all people. There is no favor you grant to one that you withhold from any. On this World Communion Sunday we pray for all your people, all nations, all races, that we may all know your love and freedom, that we may all share your blessings, that we may all live in loving and grateful harmony, as your beloved children. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Mother God, hold us in your lap.
Receive our hearts;
tend our hurts, cherish our gifts,
embrace us in your love.
Feed us your grace.
Show us your way.
Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Gentle God, we are your children, yet we want to be independent of you. We are siblings yet we want to be superior to others. You offer us your love as a gift but we want to deserve it. We want to do things our way. We confess how deeply we need you. We open our hearts to you. With the grace we have seen in Christ, receive us, forgive us, heal us of our fears, and set us free, that we may receive your grace as beloved children.

Readings

1.
Psalm 26 – Paraphrase A

You are on my side, God.
       It is you who enables me to walk in integrity.
       Therefore I trust you absolutely.
Help me see myself, God,
       look with me in your knowing way into my heart and mind.
With your steadfast love right there before me
       I can walk faithfully behind you.

I won’t join the cynical ones;
       I don’t want to be judgmental.
I don’t want to participate in evil,
       or cooperate with injustice.
You wash me clean,
       and I approach you with humble trust.
Let my life be a song of thanksgiving,
       and all I do convey your love.

O God, I treasure your presence;
       I see your glory everywhere.
Don’t let me get carried away by my weaknesses,
       swept up in my attachments.
I know I’m capable of evil;
       I always seem to have some on hand.
Help me walk in integrity;
       save me by your strong grace.
Thanks to you, I stand on level ground!
       Let the whole world know I bless you!

2.
Psalm 26 – Paraphrase B


     Response

Bless my journey, O God,
for I have walked in faithfulness
     I have trusted in you without straying.
Trace my steps, O Lord,
and reveal the truth of my heart.
     I trust in your faithfulness;
     I walk in your path.

Response

I do not sit outside the circle, nor am I
among those who refuse to walk with you.
     I choose a different path than evildoing,
     and I will not depart from your ways.
I leave behind what separates me from you;
my life is a journey toward your heart.
     My life is a song of thanksgiving,
     a story of your wonderful love.

O God, your presence makes this place holy,
and makes wherever I am shine with your glory.
     Keep me from being swept away in the crowd
     and abandoning your ways,
     from filling my life with desires
     and my hands with things.

     Response

As for me, I will walk in integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
     My feet are on gentle ground.
     In the great circle of life I sing your praise.

     Response


          

3.
Psalm 26 – Paraphrase C

     Response
You are my only security, God.
     I find my safety in you.
You are my Holy One.
     There is no good in my life apart from you.
As for the noble ones, who are always accepted,
     whom even I admired,
they have secretly married sorrow,
     and chosen a path going nowhere.
I will not pay what they do for comfort,
     or speak as they do just to be admired. Response

Holy One, you are my present and my future.
     The estate I have inherited is you yourself!
Everything that befalls me has you in it,
     therefore all that is, is gift.
I bless you, for you give me mindfulness.
     you speak to my heart,
     even in shadowtimes, when I see nothing.
Holy One, I hold you always before me.
     Mindful of your presence, I find firm footing. Response

Therefore my guts rejoice; my heartbeat is delight;
     my whole body rests in your grace.
I know you will not let me slip away.
     You will not abandon your Beloved to oblivion.
Show me the path of life.
     Your presence is a flowing fountain of joy.
     Your hand is a land of abundant delight. Response

Poetry

           As a child

Little sparrow
crisp as nature’s card trick
finding banquet enough
among sand and gravel
I would live as truly as you.

Little spider
doddle in nature’s margin
deft cartographer
hanging your art
and waiting
I would know as much as you.

Little bee of joy
flying pun
nosing the erotic flower
I would live as generously as you.

Little worm
good humor of the dirt
waving nodding left and right
then going left
renewing the soil
I would live as peaceably as you.

Little frog
surprise of a dead leaf leaping
your one ballet move
then still
I would live as you
in the hand of God.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
We love you, God, infinite creator of all that is, and we rejoice that we are your children. We come from you; we are born of your love. You create us as living images of you and your grace.
We follow you, Jesus, Christ of God, Word made flesh, love made real. You healed and taught. You welcomed and blessed all God’s children. You included all people as siblings. You included the outcast, the wounded, the children. For your love and courage you were crucified; but in love God raised you from the dead. You live among us, calling, guiding, blessing.
Holy Spirit, we live by your grace. Born of God, adopted by God, blessed by God, we live by your life and power in us. You lead us to live lives of love and courage, to bless all our siblings, to live together as children of God in harmony and joy,
We give thanks to you, O God, and promise to live as children of your love. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

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

1.

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.

Creator God, you have made the whole universe
from a single batch of dough,
and all humanity from one lump of dust,
breathing your one Spirit into us in our many forms,
many colors, many languages.
You continually create us as one, set us free from our divisions,
and walk with us into new life that is not like our captivity.
And so we celebrate with this Bread of Liberation, Bread of Unity.
       As many grains are made into one loaf,
       you make us into one Body in Christ.

We thank you for Jesus, who embodied your loving presence
and called us to our natural unity,
bringing back the outcast, restoring the forgotten.
For challenging our proud divisions
he was crucified by the forces of separation,
but he was raised by the power of unity and oneness, the power of love.
       In his life, death and resurrection we behold your grace,
       and we give thanks.

                     [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:
       Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

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,
       one in your love, one with each other, one in Christ,
       and one in ministry to all the world
       by the power of your Spirit alive in us. Amen.
                                   


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

It is our delight to give you our thanks,
for we are born from you, and we bear your loving image.
       We and all living beings are your beloved children.
       You make a Covenant with us, drawing us into your holy family.
       You judge the forces of oppression that divide us, and set us free.
       You walk with us as refugees to a new life you create for us.
       Even though we wander from our home in you,
       you give us Jesus, who like a mother calling her children home,
       invites us back to your table.
       And so we come, singing your praise with all Creation.

[Sung, to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”]
Holy, holy, holy Lord, source of life and love adored,
Heav’n and earth are radiant with your glory, heaven sent.
Praise God! Hosanna! Praise in the highest.
Blest is the one__ who comes__ in your name.

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ.
       With humility he comes among us as a child;
       with a call to justice invites us to welcome the children;
       with healing he makes us one family;
       with love he blesses the child within each of us.
With so many of the children of this world, vulnerable and neglected,
he suffered our violence and injustice.        He was crucified, but you raised him from the dead.

[The blessing and Covenant] *

We thank you for your life-giving acts in Jesus Christ.
       Therefore with praise and thanksgiving we offer ourselves
       as a living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us,
       as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

[sung]
Dying Christ destroyed our death. Rising Christ restores our life.
Christ will come again in love, With the Spirit, rising Dove.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ, dead and risen, lives!

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of food,
that they may be for the hungry the body of your love.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of read 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,
       children of God, who reach out with your love
       to our whole human family.
All glory and honor is yours, loving God, now and forever.
       Amen.

[sung]
As a Mother gathers in all her children, makes them kin,
you unite us in this meal, in the love that you reveal.
Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus loves us.
Yes, Jesus loves us: this table tells us so.
                         ______________________

* 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 cherish us as your beloved children. You are gentle and tender with what is fragile in us. You have fed us with your love. Send us in love for all your children, as gentle and loving as you, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

2.
…In the love of Christ you make us all one, all who love you, all around the world. Not by our own doing but by your grace, we are one Body. We thank you. Feasting on your one Spirit, fed by your one love, we go as one people, to love and to serve, humbly as children in this world, for the sake of the restoration of our wholeness, to your glory, in the name of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

Child of God (Original song)

I’m a child, a child of God,
God’s beloved in whom God is pleased.
I will live in the peace of God.

You’re a child…

Children of the Heavenly Mother (Tune: Children of the Heavenly Father)

Children of the Heavenly Mother,
gather gladly with each other,
for you call us to your table
bringing gifts as we are able.

You have held us and caressed us,
washed and taught us, healed and blessed us;
now you cherish and adore us
and you set this table for us.*

You have birthed us, and have freed us;
with your body now you feed us.
In this grace, O loving mother,
we are one with one another.

So we praise you, heavenly Mother,
Holy Spirit, Christ our brother,
All Creation sings together
honor, thanks and praise for ever.

* Without communion: “and you set our lives before us.”

Family (Tune: Children of the Heavenly Father)

Children of one loving Mother,
we are each a sister, brother.
In your image, God, you mold us;
in one family, Love, you hold us.

Though we strive with one another,
hurt our sister or our brother,
in our struggles and our wronging
still is blessing and belonging.

We are not alone, but rather,
God, you grant us grace together.
May we learn to love the Other
as our sister-self or brother.

As one family, God, you gather
all your children here together.
Help us shed all walls and labels:
bring us home, Love, to your table.

Jesus, Come Speak to Us [Tune: Fairest Lord Jesus]

God, you have gathered us, hungry for the Bread of Life,
thirsty for waters of flowing grace.
Our broken hearts are yours, open and waiting.
We want to meet you face to face.

Jesus, come speak to us. Sit beside the way with us.
Draw from the well and refresh our souls.
Shine light into our hearts, heal hidden wounds within,
call forth our gifts and make us whole.

Spirit, our Breath of Life, fill us with your grace and truth.
Make us your vessels of love and light.
Flow like a river, welling up within us
with waters of eternal life.


O Faithful God [Tune: Finlandia]

O faithful God, whose steadfast love is sure,
O Loving Father, Mother kind and strong:
your Covenant forever will endure;
you bind us to your heart our whole life long.
No matter how rebellious is your child,
in you we are brought home and reconciled

You hold us, God, in kinship with each other.
We have been loved and held when we would run.
We all are siblings, all born of one Mother;
though we would flee, you join us all as one.
Our deepest wounds come from our deepest love,
and so our highest hope for life above

So teach us God, to bravely love each other,
for all belong within your house of grace,
to give our enemy, who is our brother,
our steadfast mercy, and a wide embrace;
for in our love, though we be right or wrong,
we know the grace to which we all belong.


We Welcome the Child [Original song]

We welcome the child among us.
We welcome the tender ones.
In our embrace we meet your grace,
your gentle love divine.

Welcome to those who are fragile,
a safe healing place to belong,
a shelter from harm, a comforting arm,
a refuge where you may grow strong.

Welcome the child within us,
the small, timid voice in the night,
her wonder and fear at the world so near,
the child of your love and delight.

God, you are a child among us,
no power or might or control.
By your gentle part you soften my heart
and make me a more loving soul.

Your Holy Feast (Tune: “Londonderry Air,” Oh Danny Boy)

Oh healing Christ, you bring us to your table here,
to share with you, and all the ones you love.
We come as one, alike forgiven, healed and dear.
Oh come and bless us, Spirit, tender Dove.
Oh, make us yours, your servants and your lovers.
Oh, make us one, united here in you.
Oh, make us new: the Red Sea lead us over,
and set us free to walk in harmony with you.

Oh, Christ, you come, forgiving, risen from the dead,
in gracious love, that far outlives the grave.
You offer us your life in this, your humble bread,
and in this wine, your love poured out to save.
So fill us with your peace and make us one again.
Oh, fill us with your gentle, freeing love.
Oh risen Christ, draw us into your rising here,
and fill us with your light now dawning from above.

We come to eat the bread of peace you offer us.
We come to drink your resurrecting wine.
We come to feast upon your presence here with us,
and so become your Body as we dine.
So make us whole again, and be our living breath.
Make us your hands, and you will be our nerve.
Oh, risen Christ, we join you, rising up from death,
and by your side we’ll go, made new, to love and serve.

October 13, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Job 23. 1-9, 16-17 — Job despairs that in his suffering he can’t find God anywhere. He wishes he could vanish as completely as God seems to have.

Psalm 22 — My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Hebrews 4. 12-16 says that God’s Word is alive, and sees us in our deepest reality. Jesus, the “great high priest,” sympathizes because he knows our weakness and shares our human travails.

Mark 10.17-31 Sell what you have and give to the poor. … The camel and the eye of the needle. … With humans salvation is impossible but with God all things are possible.

Preaching Thoughts

Job
       It sounds like the deepest despair from the trash pit of the world, but it’s really the way we all feel sometimes. God just isn’t there. We want to connect but there’s only silence. It can feel like punishment, like banishment, like anger. Or that there’s something wrong with us. But it’s not that God is avoiding us, or that we lack faith. It’s just that we can’t see God. Our senses are too weak. We expect to be able to “feel” God’s presence, but in fact we seldom do. The experience of being abandoned by God is a real part of our faith. We need not judge ourselves, that our faith is weak or inadequate if we feel this way. It’s normal! The essence of faith is not “feeling God,” but reaching out for God even when we can’t feel anything there at all.

Psalm
       Here’s that cry of longing faith: “Why have you forsaken me?” Of course it’s spoken to God with the trust that God is actually listening. And, as happens in the laments, as the psalmist goes on we hear of God’s goodness… and it becomes a song of praise. But we have to go through the night to get to the dawn. We have to be honest about our spiritual loneliness before we discover our spiritual home. First we feel the longing, and only then the belonging.

Hebrews
       The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. God’s x-ray vision. There’s no hiding anything from God. Nothing is hidden. God sees us in our deepest reality. Sees us from the inside out. God not only separates out our good motives from our bad, God also understands where those bad motives come from, understands our wounds and fears, understands the burdens we bear in our hearts that make us stumble, lose our balance, crash into things and go astray. This is God’s judgment: not ferocious criticism, but compassionate understanding, even if sometimes what’s needed is surgery with that scalpel of the Word.
       Jesus, our great high priest, understands our weakness because he too has gone through the suffering we experience. So God’s judgment is always mercy. Always. Approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing you will receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Mark
        “Why do you call me good?” Jesus really doesn’t believe in judging people, even to the point that he’s unwilling to call himself good. We’re all just human. That’s all.
       “You lack one thing.” We can follow all the commandments and still fail to love God and neighbor. Righteousness isn’t a matter of following the rules but an open and generous heart.
       “Sell what you own..” The key to Jesus’ wisdom is to let go and trust. It’s at the heart of so much of his teaching: lose your life to find it… blessed are the poor… look at the lilies… take up your cross… forgive seven times seventy times… whatever you do to the least of these… it’s all rooted in letting go. Our main spiritual problem is our attachments: the things we think we can’t let go of. It’s addiction. We’re addicted to all sorts of things: possessions, comfort, control, reputation, security, belonging, power, happiness…. We’re even addicted to our religion and our ideas of God. We can’t allow ourselves to let go of them and allow God to show us something new. We need to follow AA’s Twelve Steps that lead us to let go, not necessarily of alcohol, but whatever we can’t let go of—to let it go anyway and trust God to offer us new life. It’s death and resurrection.
       Our clinging is what blocks us from drawing near to God. God can only be apprehended from a position of empty-handed openness and receptivity. It’s harder to get close to God while hanging on to anything else than it is to cram a camel through the eye of a sewing needle. (No, not merely a narrow gate; an actual sewing needle. Though Jesus does use exaggerations, this is not one of them.)
       “Then who can be saved?” Well, nobody. Nobody can do what they need to do to get saved, which is why they need to be rescued. For a drowning person to do what they need to do to be saved is what we call swimming. Actually being saved means being rescued exactly when they can’t do what they need to do to be saved. For us, it’s impossible; for God, it’s what God does.
       “We’ve left everything.” Peter is kind of raising the stakes. Jesus raises them further: “Before this is over you’ll leave even more of everything.” Not merely possession, but land, home, family.
       Note that in speaking of what we lose and then receive from God, “fathers” is included in what we let go of, but not what we receive. In the new world there’s no authority figure, no hierarchy. We have mothers, but we’re all siblings. In that way the last is first and the first last: we’re not on a ladder but in a circle.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Giver of Life, you fill us.
       All: We praise you.
Gift of Love, you save us.
       We thank you.
Power of grace, you bear us into new life,
       We serve you with joy. Alleluia!

2.
Leader: Gracious One, you are our life.
       All: You are our Source, our security, our beauty.
Loving Christ, you are our healing.
       You are our courage, our healing, our hope.
Holy Spirit, you are our breath.
       You are our compassion, our generosity, our love.
       We worship you. Breathe new life in us, and set us free. Amen.

3.
Leader: God of life, you invite us and we come.
     All: Jesus, Beloved, you call to us and we draw near.
We release all we have been clinging to,
and open our hands to you.
     We release all and set at at your feet.
Our anxieties, our hopes, our possessions,
we lay in your hands.
     Do with them as you will,
     for the sake of the world.
We let them go. We are here.
     We are here. We are open.
     We worship you.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
God we hear your call and we want to follow… and our fears and desires pull us back. Speak to us again, call us again, and stir our hearts to move. Let your spirit move in us, that we may become more fully the people you create us to be. Amen.

2.
God of mercy, we want to know what to do to inherit your love. Speak your truth to us, set us free, and bring us with you on the path of Life. We open our heart to your Word. Amen.

3.
Loving God, to enter the realm of your grace there is only one thing needed: to let go of everything and be present. So in your Spirit we relinquish everything we cling to; we let go of our concerns and fears, to be present with you, to listen for your voice, to receive your grace. With empty hands and open hearts we wait in your presence. Amen.

4.
Gracious God, we seek many kinds of wealth, but your Word is all that will give us life and make our living rich. Be generous with your Word now, so that as the Scriptures are read and your good news is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you are saying to us today.

Listening Prayer

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

Loving God,
I give you all that I care about.
Letting go, I trust you.
With open hands,
I receive your grace.

Prayer of Confession / Devotion

1.
God, I confess all that I cling to,
all that stands between me and following Jesus.
I confess I need your grace;
all I have done, all I possess, is not sufficient,
but your grace is more than enough.
Help me release what I cling to,
give freely of al my gifts,
and follow you.

2.
Holy God, fountain of life,
my love, my deepest hope and only treasure:
strip me of all that I cling to but you,
that I may come to you empty handed.
I will be poor for you; I will be hungry for you.
I will bring you no riches, no wealth with which to buy your love.
I open to you the simple treasure chest of my heart.
I yield all to you, that I may be yours.
Make me your treasure, yours and none other’s.
In the name of Christ, who gave all, I pray. Amen.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

         We give our hearts to you, God, Creator of all, giver of life, Source of all that is; whose love is faithful, whose grace is abundant, whose heart is generous with mercy.
         We follow Jesus, the Christ, the embodiment of God’s love, who taught and healed, who fed the hungry, who set us free from our fears and wants. He was crucified and died; but in the infinite generosity of your grace you raised him to life. He reigns among us, living proof of your steadfast love, calling us to faithful trust in you.
         We live by the Holy Spirit, your Word unfolding in us, that leads us to live lives of gratitude and trust, compassion, courage and generosity. We believe in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection, the gift of the community of the Body of Christ, and the mystery of eternal life. In gratitude to God, we commit ourselves to lives of abundant love, for the sake of the world, in the name of Christ, who lives and reigns with the Creator and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Poetry

           Thin thread

All of your smarts
don’t fit in the lifeboat.
Your accomplishments
are too heavy for this parachute.
Even your thoughts
are only junk in your pockets.
The ideas people have of you,
even your own,
make quite a pile,
don’t they,
enough to fill a grave,
too big a pile
to fit through
the tiny door to heaven,
the little keyhole
into real life.
All that fits through
the needle’s eye
is your soul.

Why are you
afraid of that?
Thread this realm
with your beauty.

You are a song,
it passes through,
whole and perfect,
and fills the world.

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 give us the gift of eternal life. In trust and gratitude we release all else, that open to your grace, we may love you and love our neighbor and hold nothing back. We pray in the name and the spirit of Christ. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs & hear excerpts on the Music page.)


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

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

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

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

All That We Hold In Our Hands ( Original song)

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

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

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

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

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

Feast on Mercy (Original song)
[A dialogue between soloist and congregation]

Refrain: May not my comfort cloud my eyes
to see the needy at my door.
But, poor in spirit, may I rise,
and feast on mercy with the poor.

Cantor: Poor Christ, I confess: I cling to all I posses.
With grace, open my eyes to see the poor
who bear your image to my door. [Refrain]

My my privilege and place
not blind me to my need for grace.
With empty hands I come, for I am sure
with grace, O God, you feed the poor. [Refrain]

As one who by your hand is fed
I hunger now to share your bread,
to see that justice for the poor is done,
for at your table we are one. [Refrain]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Set Me Free (To Love) (Original song)

From all that binds me, Love, set me free.
Set me free, Love, set me free.
Oh Love, set me free to love.

From what I fear, O Love set me free….
From what I cling to, Love, set me free…
To live in perfect love, set me free….

With Open Hands     
(Tune: The Water Is Wide / Gift of Love
or DEO GRACIAS, O Love, How Deep)

O Love, we come with open hands
for grace we do not understand.
We simply take, and we are blessed
that you receive us as your guest.

We open all our treasure stores
in gratitude that freely pours
from open hearts that you have healed,
so in our love, yours is revealed.

You open wide great heaven’s doors;
your love includes, heals and restores.
We share your feast, and we are called
with open arms to all the world.

October 20, 2024

Lectionary Texts

Job 38. 1-7 — God’s response to Job.

Psalm 104 — The glory of Creation.

Hebrews 5.1-10 — Christ was appointed by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Mark 10. 35-45 — Whoever wishes to become great must be a servant. The Human One came not to be served but to serve.

Preaching Thoughts

Job
       Job asks, Why do bad things happen to good people? God answers: “I can’t tell you. Did you create the world? Do you understand the cosmos? No. Well, you can’t understand this, either.” To me God’s response to Job says three things. The first is that we’re confused by our belief that we can correctly judge “good” and “bad.” Do we have the wisdom to understand the world? Did we see the plans? Nope. We don’t have that insight. We can’t actually judge correctly any more than we can describe how to set the bounds of the sea. That’s above our pay grade. So stop trying to make sense of it. Just accept it.
       God’s answer also suggests that God doesn’t “make “good stuff happen to good people and bad stuff happen to bad people. Life doesn’t work like that. Stuff happens. Accept the randomness (and even unfairness) of life. Life isn’t supposed to be “fair.” But, oh. how hard it is for us to let go of that! How often do we cry to the heavens, “What have I done to serve this?!?” Our resistance to accepting the unfairness of undeserved misfortune is part and parcel of our resistance to accepting the gift of undeserved grace. There is no deserving. Here is only God’s presence, and God’s grace.
       Job has asked God to explain his suffering. Instead God invites Job to be mindful of the whole universe. God’s response goes way beyond the lectionary selection. God goes on for four whole chapters about Creation. We get a walking tour of the entire universe. Why? Because Job is part of that amazing wonder. Even in his suffering, he is part of a beautiful thing. God lifts him out of his individual experience and connects him with the shared experience of all living things, the whole world. It sounds a bit callous, but God essentially says, “Look at this amazing world. Isn’t it cool? And you’re going to complain? Your little existence is not the extent of your life. You are part of this whole thing. Expand your consciousness.” Now, that’s not a helpful things to say to someone in crisis. But the book of Job wasn’t meant for them. It was meant for us. Now. God is saying “Expand your consciousness now, so that when suffering comes you can greet it with the mindfulness of the entire universe, not just your one isolated little life. You are a single note in a great symphony. Hear the whole symphony.

Psalm
       See a paraphrase of a portion of Psalm 104 below.
       As well as celebrating Creation, the Psalm invites us into “Creation consciousness” in which we are aware of not only the grandeur but the sacredness of Creation, and attentive to God’s self-expression in it, and willing participants in it, responsible to it and cooperating with it. We are not separate from “Nature,” but part of it. We are integral parts of God’s ecosystem..


Hebrews
       The book of Hebrews, as its name implies, is deeply rooted in the sacrificial practice of the Temple. In next week’s reading we’ll see Jesus as a sacrifice. Today we see Christ as a priest. The role of the priest was as an intermediary between the people and God. Though Hebrews was written before we invented the Trinity, the image of the Christ is not just a human office Sometimes we feel like crying out to God, “I know I screw up sometimes, but—God, you just don’t understand. You have no idea how hard it is to be human!” In Christ God says, “Oh, yes, I do.” I’ve beeb through the worst of it just like you—with you. Christ as high priest embodies both our belovedness before God and God’s mercy toward us.
       Jesus offered up prayers to the one who could save him from death and he was heard. That he was heard doesn’t mean he was saved from death—he clearly wasn’t—but simply that he was heard. God listened to him. God did not abandon him. God went through it with him. When we pray to God in difficulty, we often ask God to remove us from the difficulty. But what God does is companion us through the difficulty.
       He learned obedience through what he suffered. Contrary to the medieval theology apparent in places like Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of Jesus Christ,” what’s saving about Jesus is not the physical blood he shed, nor the pain he endured (many people have suffered longer and more deeply than Jesus did); what’s saving is the grace he offers. Jesus’ suffering doesn’t mean suffering is good for us. What Hebrews is talking about isn’t physical pain but humble subservience. It’s the obedience described in today’s Gospel passage, or the self-emptying in Philippians 2.5-11. Jesus’ saving power is not the might of a warrior but the paradoxical power of powerlessness. His saving power is his vulnerability, what Paul repeatedly named as “Christ, and Christ crucified.”

Mark
       James and John sound insensitive and arrogant. But put this moment in context. Since the Transfiguration in chapter 9, Mark has been pointing us toward the cross. Today’s passage follows this scene (vv. 31-34), unfortunately omitted from the lectionary: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him.” The disciples are beginning to get that sinking feeling that Jesus is speaking literally, that people in power are going to stop him with deadly force—and they themselves will be in danger. They’re terrified. And how do they cope? They escape into fantasies of domination. “Grant us to sit beside you in glory.” They don’t sound arrogant; they sound scared. We all partake of that a little. When we’re suffering we think ahead to when it will all be better. Our innate desire for security, power and belonging escalates into desire for superiority. They are not unlike us. They speak for those who are afraid of losing our White American culture. They reflect our desire to come out on top. And Jesus disappoints them
       Jesus brings them back to earth, and to the present moment—and to their calling. He names the culture of dominance, of lording it over people, and specifically rejects it. “You must be slaves of all.” Jesus models downward mobility.
       James and John’s overconfident “We are able” will soon be proven false in the garden. (How odd that we sing a hymn of such self-confidence without irony!)
       “To give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus is not speaking of his death as payment for our sins, but as self-giving that sets us free from the bondage of our fear and selfishness. In his self-giving he re-connects us with God’s love; in his vulnerability he redeems our own brokenness; in his forgiveness he restores our trust in God. In his willingness to suffer for our sake he saves us from believing we have to earn our salvation. He just gives it to us. And this he does, and can only do, from a position of humility, vulnerability and submission.
       And so he sets our calling before us: that we too should serve others, that we renounce domination and instead exercise the paradoxical power of powerlessness, the power that lifts others from beneath them. To follow Jesus is to follow him I downward mobility into radical letting go, deep trust, and humble service.

Call to Worship

1.
Leader: Eternal Creator, in the silence of galaxies
       All: your Word shines.
Loving Christ, in the voices of the hurting
       your Word cries out.
Holy Spirit, in the secrets of our own hearts
       your Word whispers.
       Give us faith to listen for your voice,
       and answer. Alleluia.

2.
Leader: Gracious One, you are our life.
       All: You are our Source, our security, our beauty.
Loving Christ, you are our healing.
       You are our courage, our healing, our hope.
Holy Spirit, you are our breath.
       You are our compassion, our generosity, our love.
       We worship you. Breathe new life in us, and set us free. Amen.

3.
Leader: Creator God, you hold all the universe in your loving hands.
       All: Eternal and almighty God, we praise you.
Gentle Christ, both human and divine, you chose the most humble path among us.
       Loving servant, we praise you.
Holy Spirit, you unfold your compassion within and among us.
       Present and life-giving Spirit, we welcome you into our hearts.
       In the name of Christ we worship you.

4.
Leader: Mighty God, Creator of the universe, you reign over all things,
and yet you stoop to help us, and humbly serve our needs.
       All: Radiant Christ, you who hold the worlds in your hands,
       you kneel to wash the feet of your betrayers,
       and humbly sit with the poor.
Eternal God, grant us your spirit of humble service.
       Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!

Collect / Prayer of the Day

1.
Loving God, open the windows of our hearts, that the light of your love may flow in. Open our ears, that we may hear your Word. Open our arms, to embrace your way. Open our hands, that we may serve you with strength and joy. Speak to us; we are listening. Amen.

2.
God of grace, your Christ comes among us not with power and dominion but in vulnerability and humble service. We do not look up to see Christ; we look down, and find our salvation there, kneeling at our feet, serving us in love. We thank you for your grace, and pray that you may fill us with your humble love, in the power of your spirit, in the presence of your Christ. Amen.

Listening Prayer

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

Gentle God,
gracious God,
humble God,
we open our hearts to your grace,
serving us with love,
kneeling before us,
granting us your healing,
your mercy, your power.

Readings

            Psalm 104. 1, 24-35. – A paraphrase

O God, I bless you!
       May my soul be my blessing and thanks,
for you are infinitely good;
       you are the perfect heart of all things.

Your working unfolds richly with grace
       and layers upon layers of your poetry.
Earth abounds with your presence—
       all these living things, your creatures!

Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
       teeming with innumerable beings,
       small and great in the hidden waters.
Beneath our confident ships,
       deeper than our understanding,
swims a great secret creature whom you made,
       at home in the depths.

Your creatures live in faith,
       looking to you for their sustenance
       from moment to moment.
So simple, the way of life!:
       you provide, and they gather.
You open your hand
       and fill them with good things.
These “dumb creatures” who do not understand
       cannot imagine life without you.

When you withhold their breath,
       they are once again only dust.
You give of your Spirit,
       and create them anew with each breath.
In each breath of every creature
       you make a new Creation altogether.

This glory is eternal!
       God, may it give you joy,
you whose mere look trembles the earth,
       whose simple touch ignites mountains!

Let this awe fill me as long as I live.
       Let this song be the breath of my being.
May my mindfulness delight you
       as much as you delight me.

Let all that is sinful in me be consumed;
       let all my evil be no more,
so that all of me is a blessing to you,
       so that I may be your Alleluia!

Prayer of Confession

Loving God, we confess
we want to be safe, we want to be respected,
we want to feel good about ourselves,
we want to be in control,
more than we want to be faithful.
We confess our self-centeredness,
and surrender it to your grace.
Forgive us, open our hearts to your gift,
and strengthen us to follow Christ
in humble service.

Response / Creed / Affirmation

1.
      We love a God who reigns over us not with force and manipulation but with the power of love, to lift us up and set us free.
      We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed, who shared the power of healing and forgiveness. He was crucified by the powers of domination, but he was raised by the power of love.
      We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to serve humbly, to bless and not to threaten, to create and not destroy. By that Spirit we seek to serve, to forgive, to heal, and to lift up those who are oppressed. By that Spirit alone, and not by any power of this world, we receive life that is eternal and joy that sustains us always. Alleluia!

2.
      We trust you and give our lives to you, God: Creator of all things and ruler of the universe, yet humbly serving, coming among us in Christ.
       We trust you and give our lives to you, Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s self-giving love. In your teaching and healing, in your reaching out to the outcast and rejected, you took the lowest place of service. Though divine you did not cling to that, but emptied yourself and came among us as a human, subservient even to death, even the shameful death of the cross. In such love we proclaim that you are our savior, our Lord and our model.
       We trust you and give our lives to you Holy Spirit of God, for you are the spirit of loving self-giving, who empowers us to serve, to forgive, to count all others as worthy of our love. By your grace we seek the lowest place of service, justice and hope, trusting in the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, given to us in the name of Christ. Our great and humble God, we give ourselves to you. Amen.
1.
      We love a God who reigns over us not with force and manipulation but with the power of love, to lift us up and set us free.
      We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed, who shared the power of healing and forgiveness. He was crucified by the powers of domination, but he was raised by the power of love.
      We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to serve humbly, to bless and not to threaten, to create and not destroy. By that Spirit we seek to serve, to forgive, to heal, and to lift up those who are oppressed. By that Spirit alone, and not by any power of this world, we receive life that is eternal and joy that sustains us always. Alleluia!

2.
      We trust you and give our lives to you, God: Creator of all things and ruler of the universe, yet humbly serving, coming among us in Christ.
       We trust you and give our lives to you, Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s self-giving love. In your teaching and healing, in your reaching out to the outcast and rejected, you took the lowest place of service. Though divine you did not cling to that, but emptied yourself and came among us as a human, subservient even to death, even the shameful death of the cross. In such love we proclaim that you are our savior, our Lord and our model.
       We trust you and give our lives to you Holy Spirit of God, for you are the spirit of loving self-giving, who empowers us to serve, to forgive, to count all others as worthy of our love. By your grace we seek the lowest place of service, justice and hope, trusting in the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, given to us in the name of Christ. Our great and humble God, we give ourselves to you. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

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

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


Holy One, we thank you, for though you are the Creator of the universe
and ruler of all that is, you humbly serve us.
All of life is your loving self-giving: in the gifts of Creation,
in the community of all who have sustained us,in your gentle forgiveness.
In this holy meal you enter into the fruits of the ground,the gifts of the earth,
taking your place in this cup and bread.
You come to us humble, in the form of our neighbors,
both those who care for us and those in need.
Here we are gathered, all of us, made one in the mystery of your self-giving.
Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise.

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

Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who poured himself out for us.
In healing and teaching and feeding the hungry,
in embracing lepers and defending the ostracized
he gave of himself to others in humble service.
He did not claim status or seek victory,
but sought the lowest place of service.
From a place of vulnerability he loved deeply,
embodying the power of powerlessness.
Though divine, Christ, in radical self-emptying,
came among us as a human, subservient to death,
even death on a cross.
But you raised him from the dead,
and we acclaim his as our savior, our Chief and our model.

     (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,
hat 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.
Trusting in your grace in the mystery of the power of powerlessness,
we seek to serve, and to lift up others.
As you humbly love us here, fill us with your love,
that we may count all as worthy of our love,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world, in the name of Christ.

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

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

Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion

[Adapt as needed.]

Gracious God, we thank you for
the mystery that you give yourself to us /
this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
You have poured your self out in self-giving in your Word, in this meal, in this community, and in your presence with and among us. Now send us, strengthened by your love, humility and courage, to serve and to honor others, knowing we will find you in the lowest places, loving, healing, serving, and giving life. Amen.

Suggested Songs

(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)

At Your Feet

Jesus, at your feet I bow.
I am yours completely now.
By your mercy show me how
to be loving.

Jesus, Master, you who save,
you have served me as a slave.
This, the perfect gift you gave:
to be loving.

In each hurting one I meet
it is you, O Christ, I greet.
Make my faithfulness complete,
to be loving.


God, I Surrender

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.


I Am Listening

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