Sunday, April 3, 2011

Lent  IV

 

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 23

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

 

 

Call to Worship:

Leader:      People of God, you once walked in darkness, but now you walk in the light.

People:      We once were blind, but now we see!

Leader:      The fruit of God’s light is found in all that is good and right and true.

People:      We are children of the light.  We were asleep, but now we are awake!

Leader:      Let us worship Jesus — the One who opens our eyes so that we may see God in the flesh among us.

People:      Let us worship the Living Christ who gives sight to our hearts, to our minds, and to our spirits.

 

Invocation:

Come, Holy Spirit, come.  Rain gently upon our congregation today.  Touch our eyes so that we may see, our hearts so that we may feel, and our mouths so that we may declare the Good News of the Good Shepherd.  May our songs and sacramental celebration, our prayers and proclamation, magnify the Son of Man who speaks to us through our worship and the community that is formed, informed, and transformed in this house of hope.  We ask this in his name.  Amen.

 

Call to Confession:

God does not judge us according to our stature: our height, our looks, the money we have amassed, the great deeds we have done.  God looks within.  God judges the heart.  Let us lift up our confessions to our Triune God, trusting that the Holy One will heal us in the depths of our being.

 

Prayer of Confession:

Forgiving God,

In our quest to live by Christ’s Gospel we often get it wrong more often than we get it right.  We judge others.  We are quick to point out their sins — to justify our righteousness and condemn their shortcomings.  Forgive us, we pray.  Open our eyes so that we may see ourselves with clarity.  Bless us, Good Shepherd.  Enable us to perceive your healing touch in our lives.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

 

Assurance of Pardon:

We do not inherit our failures.  We are responsible for who we are — what we say and what we do.  Fortunately, for us, we worship and serve a God who is slow to anger and quick to restore our vision with one touch.  Trust the Good News, my friends: in Jesus’ name, we are healed.  Amen.

 

Call to the Offering:

What can we possible offer to thank God for the blessings that have been poured into our lives — for the healing that has transformed our bodies and souls, the vision that goes beyond the physical?  If we are honest, then we know that nothing compares to God’s grace, and nothing we offer can repay God for granting us such mercy.  But that’s just it.  If it had to be repaid, then it wouldn’t be grace!  May we therefore see our offerings as a way to work with God so that others may see that grace unfold in their lives as well.  May our gifts enable our ministry to be a portal through which Jesus works.  Please join me in this morning’s offering…

 

Prayer of Dedication:

Merciful God,

Bless these tithes and offerings that we humbly place before Christ’s cross.  Use them and us, we pray, to help all people see by the Holy Spirit.  May these gifts enable us to provide inspirational worship and compassionate service so that others may find a home here.  May all people, especially those thrust to society’s margins, find sanctuary in the Good Shepherd’s fold.  May your healing touch work through us.  May this offering fan the flame of our collective ministry in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

 

Pastoral Prayer:

Healing God,

 

Shepherd of all who call upon your name,

hear the supplications of your people,

prayers we proffer this day —

 

We savor the Scriptures.

Its poetry and drama saturate our spirits.

We seek to live within its narrative.

You — the God of prophets and apostles — are our God.

Christ walks our streets, not just the lanes of Galilee.

We confront Jesus on our journey — or rather he confronts us!

He reaches out and heals our blind souls.

Through one touch, he enables us to see.

And what we see is amazing!

It moves us to tears.  It causes us to lift up songs of joy.

We see our lives the way that you intend them to be.

We are not judged for our sins or the sins of others.

We are forgiven and given a new vision, a new hope.

 

Bathed in fresh light, we see your gracious radiance

piercing the inner darkness that shadows our souls.

Let the light of your Christ shine in our hearts as a beacon,

guiding us to become children of the light, infants seeking

to cultivate a rich, luminous faith.

 

Give us a faith that believes in miracles, O God — a faith that trusts

that your grace has the power to disrupt the course of human history

that is so bent on war and hatred, greed and intolerance.

Give us a faith that truly believes that by your will and by your hand

the blind can see, the deaf can hear, the dead can be raised, and

the desperate can have hope.  And make us impatient, O God,

with any obstacle that prevents us from taking part in such miracles;

any impediment that compromises our will to be co-creators,

your partners in bringing the healing balm of your mercy

to those with open arms longing to embrace it.

 

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving (Post Communion):

As we stand in this sacramental moment, O God, we give thanks that you have fed us through this bread and cup.  As the disciples at table in Emmaus, may our eyes be open so that we may see you clearly in our midst.  May we depart from this sanctuary sharing the Good News we have seen and tasted and shared.  Be with us as we do, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Benediction:

God has opened our eyes.

God has opened our hearts.

God has opened our arms.

God has opened our minds.

Embrace the blessings you have received.

Share them with everyone you encounter

so that they, too, may walk in the light

with you, with me, and with the ever-present

God we call upon as Creator, Christ, and Spirit.

Go in peace, my friends.  Amen.

 

 

© 2011, The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III,

All rights reserved.