Call to Worship
O God, let us hear of your steadfast love in the morning
for in you we put our trust.
Teach us the way we should go,
for to you we lift up our souls.
Glory be to the Creator, and to the Christ, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
Opening Psalm (63:1-8)
O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.
Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place,
that I might behold your power and your glory.
For your loving-kindness is better than life itself;
my lips shall give you praise.
So will I bless you as long as I live
and lift up my hands in your Name.
My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,
When I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the night watches.
For you have been my helper,
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
Collect
God our rock and refuge: keep us safe in your care and strengthen us with your grace, that we may pray to you faithfully and love one another boldly, following the example of Jesus, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives for ever and ever. Amen.
(source: Veronese Sacramentary)
Scripture
Isaiah 1:21-31
How the faithful city
has become a whore!
She that was full of justice,
righteousness lodged in her—
but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,
your wine is mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan,
and the widow’s cause does not come before them.
24 Therefore says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Ah, I will pour out my wrath on my enemies,
and avenge myself on my foes!
25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will smelt away your dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
26 And I will restore your judges as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.
27 Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For you shall be ashamed of the oaks
in which you delighted;
and you shall blush for the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 For you shall be like an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
31 The strong shall become like tinder,
and their work like a spark;
they and their work shall burn together,
with no one to quench them.
Silent and/or Spoken Reflections
Meditation
“Life is relationship, learning to relate to the whole earth and all that is therein. But in the end every cherished person must be surrendered, every familiar place given up, every precious object handed over. All of our dyings are preparation for a final dying; all of our births, preparation for the resurrection. God who makes our very life dependent upon relationship, wants for [God’s] self an ever deepening relationship with us, and that is possible only as we become like [God].”
-Elizabeth O’Connor, The New Community, p. 83
Offering Our Prayers (God, in your mercy . . . hear our prayer.)
Canticle: Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55)
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for you have looked with favor on the lowliness of your servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for you, O Mighty One, have done great things for me,
and holy is your name.
Your mercy is for those who fear you
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm;
you have scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
You have brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
you have filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
You have helped your servant Israel,
in remembrance of your mercy,
according to the promise you made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and Hagar and Sarah and to their descendants forever.
Benediction (source: from Saint Clare)
Live without fear: your Creator has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Go in peace to follow the good road and may God’s blessing be with you always. Amen.
