Texts: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians
2:5-11; Luke 22:14 – 23:56
Call to Worship
We
begin the holiest of weeks this day,
seeking
to discover God in the passion and grief.
Have grace on us, O God, as we listen
for words which will sustain our
weariness.
We
will be invited to sit at the Table,
where Jesus
welcomes friends and followers.
Have grace on us, Brother of our tears,
as we struggle not to turn our backs on
you.
As the
days unfold, may we worry not so much
about
ourselves, but for the One who stands by us.
Have grace on us, Spirit of comfort,
and hold us in every moment of this
journey.
Prayer of the Day
By
your grace,
God of
every moment,
you sustain
the weary
with
words of hope,
you
heal the brokenness
caused
by silly choices.
By
your grace,
Brother
who stands
by us
in every moment,
you
choose passion
when
you could have
remained
in glory;
you go
toe-to-toe
with
death for us.
By
your grace,
Spirit
of peace,
you refuse
to forget us
like
so many around do,
you offer
us strength
as we
journey through these days.
By
your grace,
God in
Community, Holy in One,
we
discover we can trust you in every moment,
and so
we pray, saying
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
How
weary we are from the foolish choices we make, how broken our lives become when
we rely on pride, strength, bullying.
But, as we offer our prayers, God will remember us – our dreams, our
hopes, as well as our failings, and will restore us to new life. Let us join our voices together, as we pray,
saying,
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
Have mercy on us, God of betrayers and deniers. We have run out of tears, weeping for
ourselves, so have none for those damaged by life. We forget those who are around us, as if they
have died, rather than caring for them.
We argue about who is the wisest, strongest, greatest, and never notice
those who serve with humility and grace.
Yet
we pray that you would remember us, God of the Passion, and pour out mercy on
us. May we commit our hearts into yours,
so we may learn how to love as deeply as you.
May we commit our hands into yours, so we may be taught how to serve
others with joy. May we commit our
spirits into yours, so we may be as trusting as Jesus, the One who was willing
to believe the promises you made so long ago.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Our
tears are mingled with those of God; our sighs are held in the heart of grace;
our emptiness is filled with hope and peace.
Hesitantly, hopefully, we will walk with
Jesus to Jerusalem, and beyond. For
everything is done for us, and we bend our knees in praise and joy. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
As we
offer our gifts, may we have the same mind as Christ, remembering those who
have so little, thinking of all the ways we can serve, trusting completely in
your love and grace, Holy God. We pray this in the name of our Brother,
Jesus. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May
the God who gives us everything we need be with you.
May God be with you, so you lack nothing.
Let us
empty ourselves of the shadows within.
May God fill our empty hearts with the light
of love.
Trust
in God in these moments, for God is with us.
We come to the One who saves us with love.
Like
wheat, you sifted chaos,
God
who helps in every moment,
and
creation was formed from the emptiness:
mornings which break bright and clear,
gentle breezes that herald spring,
soft rain which nourishes new life.
We
were shaped in your image,
and you
longed to serve us with your love,
but we cried for you to release death
so we might welcome it with open arms.
Time
and again, you sent prophets,
women and
men who sought
to
heal our grief with words of hope,
to
wipe the tears from our cheeks,
yet we refused to listen to them,
mocking their words and insulting them.
Then
you chose to send your Child,
the One
who would not let his faith fail him,
but
would follow you all the way to death.
With
those who desire to feast with you,
with those
whose hearts are filled with nails,
we
offer our thanksgiving to you:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God whose heart
aches with grief.
All creation mingles its tears with yours
this week.
Have grace on all who journey in the
coming days.
Blessed is the One who stands by your
through everything.
Have grace on all who seek to find peace
in the coming days.
Daring
to imagine new life for your children,
God of
holiness and hope,
Jesus
became one of us, made in your image.
He
could have turned the corner
every time
he saw us,
but chose to greet us with open arms;
he
could have forgotten us,
leaving
us alone in our foolishness,
but he remembered us in death, and in life;
he
could have hardened his face
in
judgment and punishment toward us,
but he chose to endure the Passion,
being mocked and beaten,
being insulted and spat upon,
being betrayed into death’s hands.
The powerful,
the bullies of the world
forgot
him after his death, but you
raised him to new life
and new hope for all.
Though
we fear to follow, we will;
though
we wonder how Jesus was obedient,
still
we proclaim this mystery called faith:
In every moment, Jesus knew you were with
him;
in the moment of death, Jesus committed
himself to you;
in the moment of resurrection, you
committed yourself to him;
in the moments to come, you will commit
yourself to us.
It is
here at this Table that we gather,
where
our tears will be wiped,
our brokenness
be made whole,
our
weariness transformed into service,
as you
pour the gift of your Spirit on us,
and
the gifts of this feast.
The
bread which is broken
becomes
the strength which fills
our emptiness
so we can be with those
whose sighs are not heard through angry
words,
whose closest friends are grief,
whose lives are mocked by the powerful.
The
cup which overflows with grace
becomes
the nourishment we need
to join our voices with the voiceless,
to gather little children who are lonely,
to listen to the hearts of all the
forgotten.
And
when you bring us home
at the
end of all time and history,
we
will join our sisters and brothers
who
have been remembered by you
in
every place, every moment,
in
serving you through all eternity,
God in
Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Let us
leave with silence as our companion,
so we may hear the whispers of all
who have been forgotten, except by God.
Let us
leave with service as our teacher,
so we learn the art of compassion from
Jesus,
to bring healing and hope to everyone we
meet.
Let us
leave with surprise as our guide,
so we may be open to the promises
the Spirit speaks in the moment of our
utter grief and loss.
© 2019
Thom M. Shuman
