Texts: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Psalm 145:10-18; Ephesians
3:14-21; John 6:1-21
Call to Worship
God
comes with hands filled with grace;
God
offers justice like a neighbor with tomatoes from the garden.
For this reason, we
come to worship our God.
Jesus
comes to hold up those whose legs wobble;
Jesus
picks up all who stumble over their faith.
For this reason, we
come to follow Jesus.
The
Holy Spirit comes, as close as every breath we take;
the
Spirit makes clear God’s hopes for us.
For this reason, we
come to learn from the Spirit.
Prayer of the Day
We
fill sacks with groceries
and
hand them out to
hungry
neighbors and strangers;
we
run, walk, wheel
with
kids and teens
to
help pay medical bills
for
one of their friends;
and
you strengthen our faith
with
these and so many other
ways
to serve, Holy God.
A
couple hold their grandchild
for
the first time as she
beams
up at them;
a
carer holds our hand
as
we prepare for another round
of
treatments which weaken us;
and
you dwell in us
through
these and so many others,
Jesus
our Companion.
You
awaken that dormant
commitment
to peace and justice
which
has been gathering dust;
you
till our souls with
goodness
and compassion
so
we can welcome refugees
into
our communities;
and
you continue to plant us
deep
into the rich soil of hope,
Spirit
of wonder.
Through
these ways and opportunities,
these
people and challenges,
you
show us the dimensions of your love,
God
in Community, Holy in One,
and
we lift the prayer you have taught, saying,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
We
get out our yardsticks, our calculators, our laser distance measurers,
determined we can figure out just how many square feet of grace we can
expect. But the dimensions of your love cannot
be figured out, any more than the depths of your mercy. And so, we know we can bring our prayers for
hope as we speak of those foolish lives we have been leading. Hear us, as we pray together, saying,
Unison Prayer for
Forgiveness
Believing you exist to save us, Holy One, we
think we can do anything we want, no matter the consequences; we can speak any
words that are on our lips, no matter how much they hurt those we love; we can
hoard everything, and anything, we wish, no matter how much need others have in
their lives.
Yet you choose to redeem us, God of
imaginative justice, not so we can keep living the lives we have, but we might
be transformed into those who praise you, not just with our songs, but with
hands that lift others to their feet, with hearts that love those ignored by
the world, and with hope that has been planted deep within us by the Master
Gardener, Jesus Christ, our Brother.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
There
is more than enough grace for everyone.
We may not understand why, or how, or when; but God will make it
happen. And that is all we need to know.
When it comes to grace,
hope, peace, forgiveness – there are so many leftovers from God’s abundant
heart, that we can put them in to-go boxes to share them with everyone we
meet. Thanks be to God, we are
forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of
Dedication/Offering
When
we worry about having enough to feed the hungry, to clothe the cold, to shelter
the homeless, to embrace the lonely, you simply ask us to share but some of our
abundance, and you will multiply it beyond every expectation. Receive our gifts, and use them we pray in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
Great Prayer of
Thanksgiving
May
the God who feeds us be with you.
May God be with you as
well.
Let
us open our hearts to the One who fills us with grace.
We lift them to our God
who touches us with hope.
Let
us join our voices in praising our God.
Taught by the Word, we
sing the melodies of the Spirit.
Gathering
up the fragments of chaos,
Innovative
God,
you
took them and, giving thanks,
shaped
them into creation’s wonders:
little children willing to share with
everyone;
little birds that swirl in autumn breezes;
lightning bugs twinkling over summer lawns.
You
even crafted us in your image of love and hope
so
that we might live in joy with you,
but we withdrew into the embrace of death,
preferring to sail sin’s tossing seas.
Giving
them your words of faith,
you
sent prophets to call us back,
but we did not think it was enough
to keep us from ignoring you.
So,
you chose to send your grace to us,
becoming
one of us so we might
be
brought back to your heart.
With
those who have been fed by your grace,
and
those who hunger for hope,
we
sing our praises to you:
Holy, holy, holy are
you, God who knows our hearts.
The faithful join all
creation in glorifying you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who
feeds the hungry.
Hosanna in the highest!
You
could choose to stay apart
from
us, God of all that is good,
but
you cross to the other side of your holiness
to
become one of us in Jesus.
In
him, you became weak,
so that we might be pulled up
from where we have fallen;
in
him, you became a laughing stock,
so that we our tears could be wiped away
by your grace and hope;
in
him, you took on death,
breaking its power once and for all,
and denying sin’s claim on us,
as you raised him from the grave.
As
we remember his compassion for the most vulnerable,
as
we prepare to receive the gifts of life and grace,
we
sing of that faith which knows no reason:
For this reason, Jesus
set across the rough seas of fear and death;
for this reason, Jesus
was raised in resurrection love;
for this reason, Jesus
will return to gather us in hope.
As
your people gather at this Table,
where
the Holy Meal awaits,
pour
out your Spirit on the gifts
of
the bread, the cup, and your children.
As
we eat of the bread
which
is as broken as your heart,
may
its love and hope
not
become leftovers we throw away,
but strength for those broken by life,
peace for those torn by conflicts,
wonder for those dulled by disappointment.
And
may grace filling this cup
not
be poured down the drain,
but
be offered in love
to those who have no friends,
to those who long for justice,
to all who listen for words of affirmation.
And
when you have accomplished more
than
we could ever dare imagine,
gather
up all of us from every time and place,
so
that together we may forever praise you,
God
in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
With
words and whispers of the heart,
God
has spoken to us in these moments.
For this reason, we
shall go out to share good news with everyone we meet.
With
ways to care for others, with bread for the journey,
Jesus
sends us to care for those around us.
For this reason, we
shall go out to be
with the hungry, the
broken, the lonely.
With
seeds of hope planted deep within us,
the
Spirit prepares us to be hope and peace to others.
For this reason, we
shall go to the places we try to avoid,
to serve those we
usually ignore.
© 2018 Thom M. Shuman
