Sunday's Coming

It’s here! It’s here! The last of the “bread of life” weeks! After all that, the disciples are all “man, that’s difficult…but we’re not going anywhere Jesus, so you’ll have to keep putting up with us…”

Tired of the whole bread thing? How about armor?? The liturgy I can hear in the whole armor of god thing is incredible–I’m imagining calls to worship that invite us to move our bodies, confessions that remind us that the armor of god doesn’t come from the military-industrial-complex, prayers of dedication that offer up our whole selves, visuals of old suits of armor…but probably not armor-of-god-pajamas. 😉

If reclaiming the whole armor of God from the pajama people isn’t your calling for this week, perhaps you’ll want to spend some time praying with Solomon or the psalmist, contemplating the house of God to which the nations will stream and from which holiness and wonder emanates.

Whatever your direction, leave your ideas here so we can create the liturgy together!

Yes, it’s barely Monday morning, but Sunday is still on its way…and as the end of summer nears, so too does the end of the seemingly interminable series of bread sayings. Do you ever wonder about people in, say, Singapore or Taiwan or someplace where bread is a luxury, not an everyday item, and how they read these passages? What are we really saying when we say that Jesus is the bread of life, or that if you eat this bread you’ll live forever abiding in Jesus? And given that we’ve been discussing this for several weeks now, with still one more week to go (sort of)…what else is there to say about it? What approach have you taken? And how will you enter into this idea in prayer, in song, in art, in movement, in ritual, in words?

Perhaps, like Solomon, you’ll be praying for wisdom (or using some wisdom to avoid yet another week of bread!). Or maybe you’ve read those verses the lectionary leaves out and will instead be pondering the mysteries of sibling rivalry and a mother’s power.  What words might you use to call people to prayer for wisdom, or to confess how we use our worldly wisdom?

Perhaps a ponder of Paul’s admonition to spend time in singing and praying as a path toward wisdom is in order?

Or maybe you’re wondering just what it means to end a song of praise with “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom“…how does one “practice” this fear and so gain understanding and right-relationship with God and the whole creation?

Lots to think about this week…what catches your attention? What word or phrase or image pops to mind? How might you help a community encounter the living Word this week in liturgy? Leave your ideas–whether fully formed or thoroughly vague–in the comments, so we can create together!

It’s Tuesday morning! Do you know where your liturgy is? What have you been doing this summer? This would be a great time to check in, leave a comment here, and let us know what you need, what has been helpful to you at LiturgyLink, and what you have written that you want to share with your colleagues! What creative things have you done in worship this summer.

While 2 of us are spending time in Scotland…and one of us is preparing a trip to Kansas City &San Francisco in a week, we still have to deal with the relentless return of Sunday.

So what is your focus on Sunday? Will you reflect on David’s desire to build a house for God (2 Samuel 7:1–14a)? The familiar words of the 23rd Psalm whose writer finds comfort in God’s presence and providence? Paul’s encouragement to the Christians who do not come from the Jewish tradition, that they are part of the promises of God (Ephesians 2:11-22)? Or will you reflect on the relentless nature of the people who wanted to see Jesus, and his unshakeable compassion to care for them (Mark 6:30-34,53-56)?

Let’s talk! 🙂

Guess what? Monday morning means that Sunday is on its way soon. How did last Sunday go? For those of you in America or Canada, did you touch on the national holidays at all? Or will you this coming Sunday? Or are you a “keep the 4th of July out of church!” church?

This week in the lectionary is one of those weeks that makes me glad we are doing a summer series…creating liturgy around some of these texts is going to be a challenge! I look forward to everyone rising to the challenge, though, and sharing the brilliance with friends around the world.

So…in the Old Testament readings this week we have David being anointed king (and hey, check out those verses omitted from the lectionary…whoo-ee!), and a psalm about the presence and might of God/King in Jerusalem being so great it put others to flight/awe. Perfect for the weekend after the Fourth of July, right?

In the New Testament we have an epistle reading that actually made me shake my head in surprise at the beginning (someone taken up into the third heaven? really?), and then wonder again about that pesky thorn…and a gospel reading where the thorn in Jesus’ flesh seems to be the unbelief of the people in his own town (and his response to that–which is to send out others to share the good news too! Indeed, grace is sufficient.)

So what’s the liturgical word on your street this week?