32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 27 - A

Texts:  Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7; 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18;
Matthew 25:1-3

Call to Worship
L: God has gathered us to this place,
P: where we hear those stories which show us
what the kingdom of God is like.
L: God summons us to this place,
P: where we can learn how to serve our God
without reservation, or hesitation.
L: God will send us from this place,
P: to tell others of God's hopes and dreams,
so they, too, can choose to follow God.

Prayer of the Day
You do not want us
to be ignorant of your
dreams and hopes for us,
God of holiness,
so you speak to us in parables,
so we might pay careful attention
to your words;
you tell us stories about
our grandparents in the faith,
so we might become mentors
to our grandchildren, and theirs.
Filling us with the holy oil
of generosity and grace,
you make us ready to welcome
Jesus Christ into our lives,
and to open our hearts
to those who are in need.

On this day, we choose to serve you,
God in Community, Holy in One,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us,
Our Father. . .

Call to Reconciliation
Throughout Scripture's stories and people, God
is bluntly honest with us about hopes, dreams,
expectations.  If we are to be as honest, we must
stand before God, confessing what we have done
and said, as well as our silences and inactions, so
that we might be drenched in God's healing tears
of forgiveness.

Unison Prayer of Confession
   We have so much trouble putting away our
false gods, Patient God.  When we could place our
hope in you, we trust platitudes and shaky promises.
When we could tell our friends about what you have
done in our lives, we become forgetfully silent.  When
we could make ourselves ready to serve in your kingdom,
we find other places to put our time and resources.
   Forgive us, Holy Lover, and fill us with your tender
mercy.  As you whisper to us of your faith in us, may
we listen to your transforming grace, so we may follow
wholeheartedly Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
being faithful in our calling as disciples.

Silence is kept.

Assurance of Pardon
L: Listen, my friends!  The good news is that God
is in our midst - moving, forgiving, renewing, restoring.
P: This day, we choose - to live with hope, to share God's
grace, to tell of God's goodness in our lives.  Thanks be
to God.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: May the Lord be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: People of God, lift up your hearts.
P: We lift them to the One whose faithfulness never ends.
L: People of God, give thanks to the Lord.
P: We offer our praise and thanks to the One whose love is eternal.

How good and right it is to praise you,
God who gathers us around this Table!
You opened your mouth,
and creation's glory sprang forth;
you appointed the stars
to glitter in the night;
you established the waters
to nourish the earth.
You shaped us in your image,
calling us to be your children,
to live with you in harmony and joy.
But we chose to serve sin,
crossing death's river back into chaos,
our false gods clutched tight to our hearts.
Yet, you did not give up your hopes,
sending us the prophets
to get our attention with words
of challenge, as well as comfort.
When we steadfastly refused
to let go of our reliance on idols,
you sent Jesus to us,
to die and rise again for us.

Therefore, we join our voices
with those who await in heaven,
as well as witnesses here on earth,
forever singing your joyous praise:

P: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of parables and peace.
all creation sings of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who leads us across the waters
   into the kingdom of God.
Hosanna in the highest.

You alone are holy, God of all time,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior.
When we turned our backs on your love,
following the false gods of sin and death,
you came to us in Jesus, to lead us home.
When we would no longer to tilt our heads
In order to listen to your songs,
Your Word of hope walked among us,
to be your love in our midst.
When we could not shake off
sin's grasp on our souls,
Jesus reached out, taking our hands,
Showing us what the kingdom truly is.

As we remember his death and resurrection,
we would speak to others of that mystery
we know as faith:

P: Christ has died;
Christ rose again;
God will bring with him into the kingdom
     all who have died, that we will live forever.

It is at this Table of gentleness
that you pour out your Spirit
upon the cup and the bread,
and on your people you have gathered.
As we leave our false gods behind us,
We open our hands for that Bread
which, broken, can make us whole once more,
that we might offer our lives for others.
As we would encourage others
who are searching for your presence in their lives,
we drink of the Spirit of Christ,
that we might serve you
in both the foolish and the wise.
Nurtured and refreshed,
we no longer can plead ignorance,
but with open eyes and embracing hearts,
we may welcome all you send our way,
that we might listen to their souls
even as we tell our stories.

And when we are gathered in your kingdom,
seated at the Table of the Bridegroom,
we will praise you forever and ever,
God in Community, Holy in One.  Amen.

(c) 2008  Thom M. Shuman