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Year B

Sunday’s Coming: Working toward April 29

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We have arrived at the Fourth Sunday of Easter–in many places known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Are you going with the Good Shepherd this week? Singing Psalm 23, reciting it in unison in an attempt to liberate it from the funeral, or ignoring it completely? Pairing the psalm with Jesus saying, plain as day, “I am the good shepherd“?  And what does all that mean to urban people, anyway?

Maybe you’re headed for the continuation of the story of Peter being questioned by the authorities about his healing activities, and responding with “Jesus, people, Jesus!”

Or perhaps this week you’re loving in truth and action, not just in word and spirit.

Or maybe you’re on a completely different track!

Whatever direction you might be headed, stop in for some brainstorming! Even if all you have is a word or a sentence fragment, it may spark someone else’s creativity! This is a space for letting the ideas fly, bouncing off one another’s thoughts, and letting our imaginations run wild on their way to worship. What are you waiting for?? 🙂

easter season communion

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Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L:  May the Lord of Easter be with you!
P:  And also with you!
L:  Open your hearts to God, beloved of the Lord.
P:  We lift them to the One who fills our lives
with joy and wonder.
L:  Children of Easter, sing praises to God.
P:  Our voices unite in thanksgiving to the One
who walks with us in this life.

You opened your hands,
pouring creation’s glory
into the emptiness of chaos,
God of beginnings.
The sun, moon, and stars became
the mirrors of the light of your face,
shining down upon all that was crafted.
Shaping us in your divine image,
you stood beside us,
pointing out all the good you offer to us.
But we found comfort in sin’s shadows,
fear and doubt claiming us as friends,
and we turned our backs on you.
Through our ancestors in the faith,
Sarah and Samuel, Hannah and Hosea,
you demonstrated your faithfulness,
your longing to welcome us
into your embracing arms of love.
But we did not recognize them,
and clung to the vain words
spoken to us by temptation.
So, you sent your child to us,
to show us what love truly is,
that we might have this hope
offered to us in Jesus.

So, with little children who delight in your joy,
and with older folks who trust in your promises,
with our sisters and brothers throughout all time,
we join our voices in praising your name:

P:    Holy, holy, holy, God of grace and beauty.
All creation joins in singing your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is the One who comes so we may be like him.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed are you, Holy and Righteous God,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, Author of Life.
In the Word become flesh,
you call us to repent and turn to you.
In the Light of the world,
our eyes are opened
so we can see you standing with us.
In scarred hands and feet,
we see the power of sin and death
destroyed by your grace and hope,
so we can reach out and embrace
that life which is ours forever with you.

As we gather around the Table to remember,
as we give thanks for the life which was given for us,
we speak of what we do not always understand – the mystery of faith.

P:    Christ walked to Calvary to die for us.
Christ strode from the tomb to raise us to life.
Christ will come and stand among us, to lead us home.

In this moment, and in this place,
pour out your Spirit upon us,
and on the gifts of the bread and cup
which have been prepared for us.
As we take the bread
from your scarred hands,
may we reach out
to mend the broken of our world.
As we drink from the cup,
open our hearts and eyes,
so we may see those
the world overlooks,
so we may stand with them
in every moment and place.

And when our journey has ended,
when at last all is revealed to us,
we will take our places around
the wedding banquet in heaven,
joining our sisters and brothers
in singing our thanks and joy to you,
God in Community, Holy in One,
now and forevermore.  Amen.

Submitted by Rev. Thom Shuman, author of Lectionary Liturgies.

invocation: hard to live new life

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Heavenly Parent, you have called us your children.
And you have called us to new life.
Sometimes that makes it hard to live in this world, where other people are so separate from you.
Help us to find the inner resources to stay in touch with you.
Help us to find our source in Christ Jesus, who taught us to pray saying…

 

Submitted by Rev. Martha Spong, First Congregational Church, North Yarmouth Maine.

 

CTW: day and night

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One: Christ is risen!
Many: Christ is risen indeed!
One: Now what? What are we supposed to do next?
Many: He showed himself to the disciples.
One: But we sometimes struggle to know him.
Many: What can we do? How can we find him?
One: We can pray. First and last, we can pray.
Many: Day and night, we can pray.
One: It’s a start. Let us worship God together.

Submitted by Rev. Martha Spong, First Congregational Church, North Yarmouth Maine.