Texts: Isaiah 65:1-9; Psalm 22:19-28; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39
Call to Worship
With the faithful, as well as the foolish;
with the voiceless, and those who talk too much:
we gather to praise our God.
With those who find it easy to follow,
with those who stumble along the Way:
we rejoice in Jesus, who makes us whole,
and calls us sisters and brothers.
With all who are heirs to the promises of grace,
with all who share hope with others:
we give thanks to the Spirit of peace,
who cradles us in the arms of hope.
Prayer of the Day
What have you to do with us,
Holy God?
When others would push us away,
you cradle us in your heart;
when we have lost our directions,
you hand us your map;
when others would chain us
to the fears and prejudices,
you rush to rescue us.
What have you to do with us,
Brother of the outsiders?
When the powerful would
put up walls to separate us,
you tear down all barriers;
when the angry would torment us
with their hurtful names,
you call us your sisters and brothers.
What have you to do with us,
Spirit of grace and hope?
When worries hassle us,
you would send them away;
when the world would damage
our souls beyond recognition,
you gather us up in your arms,
healing every broken place.
What have you to do with us,
God in Community, Holy in One?
Only everything. Only everything.
And so, we join our voices in praying
as we have been taught, saying,
(The Lord's Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
With the angry words we use, with the things we do to others, it is as if we are saying to those around us, as well as our God, to keep away from us! But God is always ready for us to find the grace, the hope, the forgiveness being offered to us. Let us come, to tell of our lives, trusting the One who comes to be with us and save us. Join me, as we pray together, saying,
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
We do not call them demons anymore, God who listens to us, but there are those words which chain our hearts to them - words which shame others, There are those actions which bind our lives to them - those fears which grab our hands, that anger which pushes away those around us. There are those thoughts which draw us into the shadows, where we seek to hide from you, hoping you do not see the lives we lead.
Yet, you refuse to stay away but come to closer to us in every moment, God who makes us whole. You would clothe us with grace, so we might be your people in this world. You would tear down all that separates us from others, so we might be one. You would make us heirs to the promise of life and hope with our Brother, Jesus the Christ, who comes to heal us and make us your children. Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
Hear the good news, dear friends. Our God comes, not to torment us, but to release us from all that keeps us from being God's beloved children. We are sisters and brothers of Jesus, those who have been blessed, forgiven, transformed.
Thanks be to God, who reaches out to us and shows us the way of of the shadows, pointing to the path of mercy and hope. We are forgiven! Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
What have we to do with those who are hungry, who are lonely, who are afraid, who are hurt? Only everything. Yet you ask that we offer back but a portion of our blessings, so that others might know of your presence, your healing, your grace in their lives. So, in Jesus' name, we present our gifts. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
You tore down that barrier called chaos,
God who spoke with the Word
and caused the Spirit to give life
to the lizards that sun themselves on porches,
to the frogs that serenade us on summer nights,
to the reindeer who prance in the snow.
All creation was called forth by you,
and shared with those shaped in your image,
but rather than the sun-dappled fields of Eden,
we preferred the shadows of temptation;
rather than life in your embrace,
we let death wrap its cold arms around us.
You would not leave us alone,
but came close to us in the words
of the women and men
who called us back to you
but we pushed them as far away
from us as we could, putting up walls
of indifference between them and us.
So, you chose to send your Child to us,
the one who came to that distant country
of rebellion to your love and hopes,
that we might find the path home to you.
And so, with those who are made whole,
and those who bring their brokenness to this Table,
we sing our songs of praise to you:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God who frees us from the shadows.
The furthest corners of the farthest universes remember you.
Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is the One who makes us whole.
Hosanna in the highest!
Though you are holy, God of our lives,
you are always ready to be found,
and Jesus is the One who comes
to gather us back into your arms of grace.
When he could have remained in glory,
he chose to come to that distant country
where we wandered in the shadows;
when we could have turned his back on us,
he chose to have everything to do with us,
tearing down the barriers we had built;
when he could have left us in death's clutches,
he went into the very grave itself
to defeat its powers and offer us
new life in the resurrection.
As we prepare to come to the Table of grace,
as we gather with our sisters and brother,
we proclaim that mystery we call faith:
Jesus died, choosing to have everything to do with us;
Jesus was raised, as you chose life over death;
Jesus will come, choosing to take us with him to eternity.
As you pour out your Spirit
on the gifts of the bread and cup
and on Jesus' sisters and brothers
who have gathered in these moment,
we hear you whispering 'here I am; here I am."
In the bread which is broken,
you draw us closer to your shattered heart,
so we might go forth
to feed the hungry,
to cradle the most vulnerable,
to give hugs to those who live in shadow.
In the cup which is poured,
you draw us closer to your sighing soul,
so we might be able
to listen to the cries of those named 'Legion,'
to hear the whispers of the lonely,
to learn the stories of those who tell
them over and over.
And when all time and history comes to an end,
we will join our sisters and brothers
from every place, every generation who,
with the furthest corners of the universes
remember your love and grace, and will
call on your name as we come to the Feast,
joining in singing your praises forever,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
What have we to do with the forgotten
around us, we ask?
And so, God sends us to welcome with love
our sisters and brothers we do not notice.
What have we to do with the injustices
which others must bear, we ask?
And so, Jesus calls to stay with those
whom the powerful ignore, and challenge those
who could bring about the changes that are needed.
What have we to do with the silence
which greets the cries of those in the shadows, we ask?
And so, the Spirit gives us the light, the peace, the hope
we can share with others in a world chained
by fears, prejudices, and hate.
(c) Thom M. Shuman
