Epiphany 2 / Ordinary Time 2
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook, Series IV, Cycle C
Soul Motion
Object:
A single song is being inflected through all the colorations of the human choir.
The way to become human is to recognize the lineaments of God in all the wonderful modulations of the face [of humankind].
-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome! Together we will explore ancient stories about a wedding, a city, and our life together.
People: We've come to thank God for the gift of life and to ask for help when our paths are difficult.
Leader: Then let our thanks begin -- in music, in conversation, and in prayer; let our time together be pleasing to God and to one another.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Gracious God -- the year seems fresh and we want to hope that goodness and peace bless us all. We are grateful for the opportunities that come to us and for the ways we can be your voice and your justice in our neighborhoods. During this time, we offer you our undivided attention so that your Spirit can minister to us as we worship you. Amen.
Call To Confession (Leader)
God's love is constant and dependable. Like birds, we find ourselves "snuggling" for protective grace. We take these moments as opportunity for introspection. Pray with me the prayer printed in your bulletins. Then name for yourself and God the unmerciful and inhospitable, the unrighteous attitudes and behaviors that block your wholeness.
Community Confession (Unison)
Living God -- we want to be good people. We want to do what is right.
We want to be known as disciples of Christ.
Yet we do not do what we ought.
We do not love you with our whole selves nor care for our neighbors as we care for ourselves.
Straighten our thinking; inspire our actions; free us from last year's errors.
Let us exhibit your presence wherever we are. Amen.
Sermon Idea
In the Isaiah text, we can recognize our roots in Judaism. We have prayed for Jerusalem -- Jerusalem as an image of a perfect community and as a contemporary city claimed by Jews, Muslims, and Christians. We are still praying for peace as did the prophets before Jesus himself grieved over its divisions. We can anticipate Passover as we look at the psalm and prophet; the sermon could consider the images of scriptures -- Psalm 36 as well as Isaiah 62 -- compared with the literal ways they have been read. The interpretation might also look at contemporary politics and globalization and ask how we can accommodate ancient stories. Likewise, the issues of "costly show weddings" and alcoholism might be addressed as quite different from the gospel of John in 30 CE. The epistle texts for today and the next two Sundays are so familiar that they have little impact on the people sitting in pews. Perhaps the image of the body functions could be dramatized by leaders whose roles in the congregation are clear and visible, for example, the person who serves as a long-range planner -- we might say she serves our Body Politic as brain; another member enjoys growing zucchinis and is adamant about caring for the earth -- he serves our Body Politic as hands that share what he grows and as a voice in local government for clean water and sheltering the homeless. Another congregant may hold lots of balls in the air without getting stressed and still keeps a clear head -- we might say she is a big toe, helping us as Body Politic keep our balance.
Another way to look at all the lections as a whole is: a society that is civil and hospitable feels good about itself and has a far-reaching good reputation.
Contemporary Affirmation (Unison)
Throughout nature we see the imagination of the Creating God.
In Jesus the Christ we learn how to be in relationship with the Holy.
With the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to embody divine love and mercy.
In community, we experience belonging and receive the encouragement to live as faithful disciples of Jesus and to struggle for justice and peace for all creatures.
Together, we have an insistent voice, proclaiming that there can be a "kingdom of heaven."
Offertory Statement (Leader)
With tithes and offerings, with money and talents, we care for this building and reach out to neighbors with joy and kindness.
Doxology
Now Thank We All Our God, tune: NUN DANKET ALLE GOTT
Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love and still is ours today.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Thank you, God, for what we have and who you are shaping us to be. Amen.
Intercessory Prayers (Leader or Readers)
God -- we pray for peace -- peace now -- peace tomorrow -- peace within and peace external to our psyches.
God -- we pray for strength -- strength in our decisions -- strength in our bodies -- strength in our souls.
God -- we pray for others. With unmistakable tenderness, make yourself and your grace palpable to people who seek wholeness.
God -- we thank you for revealing yourself in Jesus of Nazareth. We want to live as his disciples. Amen.
Benediction/Charge (Leader)
As you leave the sanctuary, be alert for all the colors of humanity; listen for songs beginning low and swelling to a great "Hooray!" Watch for the modulations of souls -- your own and others, move about wearing some sign of God-within; reach with unmistakable goodness to those close by. Most of all, may the God of today and tomorrow enliven your life through this new year!
Music
Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire
Words: Attr. Rabanus Maurus, 9th century; trans. John Cosin, 1627, alt.
Music: Plainsong, Mode VIII; arr. Healey Willan (1880-1968)
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Words: Walter Chalmers Smith, 1867, alt.
Music: Welsh folk melody
ST. DENIO
Many Are The Lightbeams
Words: De unitate ecclesiae, Cyprian of Carthage, 252; tr. Anders Frostenson, 1972, 1986
Music: Olle Widestrand, 1974; harm. A. Eugene Ellsworth, 1994
MANY ARE THE LIGHTBEAMS
Who Is My Mother, Who Is My Brother?
Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1991
Music: Jack Schrader, 1991
KINDRED
The way to become human is to recognize the lineaments of God in all the wonderful modulations of the face [of humankind].
-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome! Together we will explore ancient stories about a wedding, a city, and our life together.
People: We've come to thank God for the gift of life and to ask for help when our paths are difficult.
Leader: Then let our thanks begin -- in music, in conversation, and in prayer; let our time together be pleasing to God and to one another.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Gracious God -- the year seems fresh and we want to hope that goodness and peace bless us all. We are grateful for the opportunities that come to us and for the ways we can be your voice and your justice in our neighborhoods. During this time, we offer you our undivided attention so that your Spirit can minister to us as we worship you. Amen.
Call To Confession (Leader)
God's love is constant and dependable. Like birds, we find ourselves "snuggling" for protective grace. We take these moments as opportunity for introspection. Pray with me the prayer printed in your bulletins. Then name for yourself and God the unmerciful and inhospitable, the unrighteous attitudes and behaviors that block your wholeness.
Community Confession (Unison)
Living God -- we want to be good people. We want to do what is right.
We want to be known as disciples of Christ.
Yet we do not do what we ought.
We do not love you with our whole selves nor care for our neighbors as we care for ourselves.
Straighten our thinking; inspire our actions; free us from last year's errors.
Let us exhibit your presence wherever we are. Amen.
Sermon Idea
In the Isaiah text, we can recognize our roots in Judaism. We have prayed for Jerusalem -- Jerusalem as an image of a perfect community and as a contemporary city claimed by Jews, Muslims, and Christians. We are still praying for peace as did the prophets before Jesus himself grieved over its divisions. We can anticipate Passover as we look at the psalm and prophet; the sermon could consider the images of scriptures -- Psalm 36 as well as Isaiah 62 -- compared with the literal ways they have been read. The interpretation might also look at contemporary politics and globalization and ask how we can accommodate ancient stories. Likewise, the issues of "costly show weddings" and alcoholism might be addressed as quite different from the gospel of John in 30 CE. The epistle texts for today and the next two Sundays are so familiar that they have little impact on the people sitting in pews. Perhaps the image of the body functions could be dramatized by leaders whose roles in the congregation are clear and visible, for example, the person who serves as a long-range planner -- we might say she serves our Body Politic as brain; another member enjoys growing zucchinis and is adamant about caring for the earth -- he serves our Body Politic as hands that share what he grows and as a voice in local government for clean water and sheltering the homeless. Another congregant may hold lots of balls in the air without getting stressed and still keeps a clear head -- we might say she is a big toe, helping us as Body Politic keep our balance.
Another way to look at all the lections as a whole is: a society that is civil and hospitable feels good about itself and has a far-reaching good reputation.
Contemporary Affirmation (Unison)
Throughout nature we see the imagination of the Creating God.
In Jesus the Christ we learn how to be in relationship with the Holy.
With the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to embody divine love and mercy.
In community, we experience belonging and receive the encouragement to live as faithful disciples of Jesus and to struggle for justice and peace for all creatures.
Together, we have an insistent voice, proclaiming that there can be a "kingdom of heaven."
Offertory Statement (Leader)
With tithes and offerings, with money and talents, we care for this building and reach out to neighbors with joy and kindness.
Doxology
Now Thank We All Our God, tune: NUN DANKET ALLE GOTT
Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love and still is ours today.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Thank you, God, for what we have and who you are shaping us to be. Amen.
Intercessory Prayers (Leader or Readers)
God -- we pray for peace -- peace now -- peace tomorrow -- peace within and peace external to our psyches.
God -- we pray for strength -- strength in our decisions -- strength in our bodies -- strength in our souls.
God -- we pray for others. With unmistakable tenderness, make yourself and your grace palpable to people who seek wholeness.
God -- we thank you for revealing yourself in Jesus of Nazareth. We want to live as his disciples. Amen.
Benediction/Charge (Leader)
As you leave the sanctuary, be alert for all the colors of humanity; listen for songs beginning low and swelling to a great "Hooray!" Watch for the modulations of souls -- your own and others, move about wearing some sign of God-within; reach with unmistakable goodness to those close by. Most of all, may the God of today and tomorrow enliven your life through this new year!
Music
Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire
Words: Attr. Rabanus Maurus, 9th century; trans. John Cosin, 1627, alt.
Music: Plainsong, Mode VIII; arr. Healey Willan (1880-1968)
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Words: Walter Chalmers Smith, 1867, alt.
Music: Welsh folk melody
ST. DENIO
Many Are The Lightbeams
Words: De unitate ecclesiae, Cyprian of Carthage, 252; tr. Anders Frostenson, 1972, 1986
Music: Olle Widestrand, 1974; harm. A. Eugene Ellsworth, 1994
MANY ARE THE LIGHTBEAMS
Who Is My Mother, Who Is My Brother?
Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1991
Music: Jack Schrader, 1991
KINDRED
