Category Archives: Worship Liturgy

God of holy surprises

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Reflections, Worship Liturgy

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Change-the-worldThe season of Advent begins the liturgical year for the Christian Church. It is a time of inward reflection and anticipation of the coming of Christ — in the birth of Jesus, in the spiritual rebirth of Christian believers, and in the return of the Messiah in glory at a time no one can know or foresee.

“Prepare” is a central idea of this season! Prepare to be surprised by God. Prepare to open your life to divine inspiration. Prepare to listen to the stirring of the Spirit in the ordinary moments of each day. Prepare to see the glory of the coming of the Lord. Prepare for something new to break into the world!

In the Christian tradition we celebrate a meal called Holy Communion. Another term we use is Eucharist, the root meaning of which is to rejoice or show gratitude for the gifts of God.

Here is a Eucharistic Prayer I wrote for the season of Advent:

God of holy surprises,
whose dreams encircle the world,
whose wisdom enlightens creation,
whose love enthralls humankind,
be with us in this season of watching and waiting.

We are a people living in exile
in a land blinded by material comfort,
corporate greed, and military might.

We are a people living in spiritual exile
in an age confronted by rigid beliefs,
increasing intolerance, and growing unkindness.

We long for you to tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains quake
and nations tremble at your presence.                                                Isaiah 64:1-2

We long for you to come at an hour or day no one knows,
and to find us awake to the possibilities your Spirit unfolds.

In the fullness of time your Son Jesus
lived and ministered upon this troubled earth –
forgiving sins,
healing broken bodies, minds and hearts,
challenging the powers that strangle and bind,
eating and drinking with sinners and friends,
loving people of every description,
walking the lonely road of authentic love.

He blessed and shared many a meal
as signs of how sacred ordinary life is.

He shared bread as his body, broken for all.
He shared wine as his blood, poured out for all.

In the fullness of time your Son Jesus gave his life,
because it is our lives – first given to us –
that are ours alone to give.

Pour out your Spirit, we pray, on us gathered here.
May we taste the sweetness of your presence.
May we be changed by the gift of your grace.
May we go from this place to be the body of Christ,
redeemed and sent out to heal and transform the world.  Amen.

Words (c) 2002 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Renew Your Church, Lord

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Reflections, Worship Liturgy

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Lord,
You are the Breath of life
Who from earth’s very beginning
Has enlivened all of creation
With your powerful presence.

You are the Song of freedom
Who throughout human history
Has stirred our hearts toward the truth
That alone is able to set us free.

You are the Strength to love
Even in the midst of life’s sorrows,
Knowing that beneath any suffering
We are embraced in everlasting arms.

You are the Font of forgiveness
Who grants mercy before justice, and
Calls us to become reconcilers
Amid the many conflicts of this world.

Daily our gratitude rises within us
because of your extravagant grace.

Daily we count our blessings,
believing that the life we receive from you
is life indeed and abundantly good.

Your Church, Lord, is a people,
not a steeple.

Your Church is a testing ground
for all who choose to follow you,
for all who put their trust in you
and live their lives in you.

Every day we hear your invitation –
to listen and heed your voice,
to open our hearts to compassion,
to be agents of peace in your world.

Every day our choices are opportunities –
to draw closer to you and your Kingdom,
a Kingdom of love and light!

Renew your church, Lord!

Renew our vision
for reaching new people
with the gospel of hope in Jesus Christ!

Renew our commitment
to being Christ’s body in the world –
Christ’s arms and feet,
Christ’s hands and ears –
always extending the generosity of grace
to the least, the last, and the lost!

Renew our belief
that every person we meet
is a child of God –
co-workers and caregivers,
mechanics and store clerks,
farm workers and corporate CEOs,
Republicans and Democrats,
Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews,
the neighbors we haven’t yet met,
the strangers we don’t yet know,
the enemies we can’t yet love.

Renew our spirits, Lord.

Renew our faith.

Renew our joy
in being servants of the King of kings
and Lord of lords!

By your Spirit
make us one with Christ,
one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory
and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

May it be so, Lord.
May it be so!

Words and photo (c) 2012, Mark Lloyd Richardson

God of Seaside and Mountain

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Here’s a prayer for use in worship this coming Sunday or for your personal use anytime.

Invitation to Prayer

The miracle is that God made us for a divine purpose. We are chosen, blessed, called and equipped to be God’s ambassadors of grace and peace in this world. Such duty requires that we be people of prayer who regularly turn to the One who sustains us. In prayer, we seek God’s will and presence to guide our actions. Let us enter now into a time of prayer.

Prayer for One Voice

God of seaside and mountain,
God of Gentile and Jew,
God of miracle and mundane,
You enter our lives in the most ordinary places.
You meet us in our everyday needs and concerns.
You come to us in our waking and our sleeping.
You feed us in our deepest longings.
You guide us on the paths of righteousness.
You bless us with your steadfast love.
You grace us with your incarnational presence.
For all of these places of meeting, we give thanks.
We pray that you will continue to teach us
what it means to live whole and holy lives.
We pray that you will open our eyes to
the everyday miracles of grace in an ungracious world.
We pray that you will lead us into your peace
so that we become instruments of peace
among our sisters and brothers of all races and nations.
We also pray that in the abundance of your mercy,
you would bring comfort to the grieving this day,
peace of mind to the troubled,
encouragement to the hurting,
wholeness to the sick and dying,
hope to all the world’s people.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Words (c) 2006 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2011 Dallis Day Richardson (Monterey, CA)

Christ Is Firstborn Of Creation

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Poems, Worship Liturgy

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

This coming Sunday, to accompany the Revised Common Lectionary epistle reading from Ephesians 2:11-22, I am using a hymn text I wrote six years ago. I’m posting it here early in the week in case any of my colleagues in ministry wish to use it in worship too. It is sung to the tune “BEACH SPRING,” found in The United Methodist Hymnal and other worship songbooks.

Christ is firstborn of creation, image of the God of grace.
In Christ all things are created, and the pain of death erased.
Christ before things seen and unseen; In him God is pleased to dwell.
Christ has first place within everything; In him God does all things well.

Christ across the farthest ocean, and in neighbors near at hand.
Christ upon the highest mountain, and in valleys ‘cross the land.
Neither death nor life can keep us separated from God’s love
that is ours within Christ Jesus, Lamb of God who reigns above.

We the church are called his Body, of which Christ our Lord is head.
We, with hands and feet made holy, feed the poor with Christ’s own bread.
God in Christ is reconciling, making peace upon the cross.
Alleluia! Praise the Mystery! In Christ hope is never lost.

Words: Mark Lloyd Richardson, (c) 2006 (Col. 1:15-20, Romans 8:38-39)
Photo: Dallis Day Richardson (c) 2012 (Redlands University Chapel)
Tune: BEACH SPRING

Prayer for an Open Heart

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Community garden flowers

God,

with each new day you prove your love for creation.

You illustrate your beauty in an array of glorious color.

You establish your intentions in the hearts of your people.

You paint our lives into your masterpiece of original blessing.

Open my heart, I pray, to this enduring miracle of life.

Today let me drink in your restorative light,

let me rise up to the image of God within me,

let me grow unhindered in the immensity of your grace.

Amen.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson (Bob & Elizabeth Clover’s garden in Los Osos, California)

From Our Present Abundance

27 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

On the first Sunday of each month our faith community gathers around the Table of our Lord to receive the gifts of God in bread and cup. We also bring our gifts to be shared with those in our community who find themselves hungry and in need of food.

This coming Sunday’s Opening Prayer (for Proper 8, Year B, in the Revised Common Lectionary) is based on 2 Corinthians 8:7-15. Please feel free to use this prayer in worship, whether it be your own private prayer or that of your community of faith.

Generous God,
whose very word is life,
whose presence is peace,
and whose promise is hope,
we give thanks for this new day!

Your grace unfolds before our eyes
as we come face to face with the One
who though he was rich became poor for our sakes.

Through this generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ
we are invited into a rich relationship with you.

Grant that as we worship and grow in grace
the genuineness of our love for you
will excel in our eagerness to live generous lives
and to give from our present abundance
to meet the needs of our neighbors the world over.

So that we might live into your coming Realm. Amen.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Permission to use with attribution.

God of wind and wave

23 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

 

Here is an Opening Prayer for use in worship tomorrow on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, based on the Gospel reading from Mark 4:35-41.

God of wind and wave,
the seas of life can be rough some days,
tossing us here and there,
threatening our wellbeing,
troubling our minds and testing our hearts.

You are the One whom even the wind and sea obey!
You are the One whose words, “Peace! Be still!”
settle with calm resolve in our hearts today.
You turn our fear into faith, our trembling into trust.

We come in adoration, praise, and thanksgiving,
for your strong and tender presence,
your steadfast and durable love.
Amen.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson (Mark 4:35-41)
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson (Pacific Grove, California)
Permission to use the prayer in worship with attribution.

Gather Around the Table of Grace

31 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Here is a prayer that may be used as a Great Thanksgiving or Eucharistic Prayer in celebrating Holy Communion on Trinity Sunday, coming up in a few days.

It is always good to give you thanks, O God, for our lives are brought forth and renewed by your creating Spirit. You form us in your image and breathe into us the breath of life. You love us with an undying love.

You call us by name and bring us on a journey filled with wonder and amazement. In spite of the dangers and worries of this life, you challenge us to live in just, loving, and humble ways for the sake of the world you love.

When we fail to be the people you need us to be, you continue to draw us toward the light and life of your presence. You offer us grace to become new people, redeemed by the ministry of Christ, empowered by the Spirit of love, blessed by the gifts of Creation.

So as we gather around the table of grace this morning, seeking strength for the journey we are on, we raise our voices with all who have gone before us, with all creation, and with all the company of heaven, to sing your praises: (“Sanctus,” #2257-b in The Faith We Sing)

            Holy, holy, holy Lord; God of power and might.
            Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
            Hosanna in the highest! (3X)
            Blest is the one who come in the name of the Lord.
            Hosanna in the highest! (3X)

Holy God, you sent us your beloved Son Jesus, who identified fully with our humanity, taking on the same flesh we do, knowing the same grief we know in the losses and deaths that accompany life, suffering the same pain we suffer because of the grip of sin upon the world.

Jesus became one of us and one with us in life’s journey.

He welcomed all to the table of grace and gave these common elements of the earth and the vine in celebration of the great gifts of life and joy in the eternal kingdom.

Jesus took the bread, and having blessed it, he gave it to his friends, as he gives it to us today, saying, “This is my body broken for you.”

Jesus took the cup, raised it in blessing, and shared it with his friends, as he shares it with us today, saying, “This is my life poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Whenever you receive these gifts of bread and wine remember me and remember the life that I offer you this day.”

O God—Mother, Father, Spirit, Christ—giver of all good gifts, hope for the weary, strength for the disheartened, peace for the grieving, mercy for the sinner, grace for us all, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us gathered here and upon these gifts. May they become for us the presence of Christ, in whom we find our life and our joy.

By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one in communion with one another, one in solidarity with all who hunger for justice and righteousness, one in harmony with all creation.

Through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory be yours, loving God, now and forever. Amen.

Words (c) 2009 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson
(Permission granted to use this prayer in worship with credit given.)

Holy Mystery, Three in One

30 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Worship Liturgy

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Here is a Call to Worship for use on Trinity Sunday:

One: God is the music in our souls,

All: touching deep chords within us,

One: soothing our weary hearts,

All: connecting us with the melody of life.

One: The Spirit breathes grace through our world,

All: helping us to forgive one another,

One: convincing us that we are God’s own,

All: praying for us when we have lost all words.

One: Christ invites us into a full and generous life,

All: a compassionate and affirming life,

One: a life abounding in joy and peace,

All: a life that never loses sight of eternity.

One: Come, Holy Mystery, Three in One, and meet us here.

All: Come, and we will know true worship.

Words (c) 2008 Mark Lloyd Richardson
(Permission to use in worship with credit given.)