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~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Tag Archives: worship

Drawn into the Deep

01 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

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Tags

Holy Spirit, prayer, spirituality, water of life, worship

Ocean-Bound.07.30.2006

A morning prayer for the Spirit to move us:

Tender powerful Spirit,
who goes wherever you will,
like a flowing fountain soothe us,
like a mighty river transport us,
like a mountain lake enchant us,
like a gentle rain wash over us,
like a boundless ocean draw us into the deep. Amen.

Words (c) 2019 Mark Lloyd Richardson

God of Still Mornings

20 Wednesday Feb 2019

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Worship Liturgy

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Tags

God, God's mercy, grace, healing, Holy Spirit, hymns, praise, promise, silence, wholeness, worship

STV_losososca3jpg_crop_1433002852

Early in my pastoral ministry in Los Osos, California, I was already falling in love with the varied topography and weather patterns of coastal living, when I wrote this hymn text inspired by my new physical surroundings. It’s been sung a few times in worship settings since then, but I just this week shared the words with friends who are in a covenant group with me. I told them about this place I loved (and still do, though we don’t currently live here) and what was significant about it in the feeding of my soul. It was only as I searched for the text that I realized I had never shared it here in my blog.

“God of Still Mornings”
(May be sung to the tune of “Be Thou My Vision”)

God of still mornings draped softly in mist,
we sing your praises upon grateful lips.
Heirs of your promise you clothe us in grace.
Call us in silence as we seek your face.

God of flower’d bluffs swept by winds off the sea,
we pray your mercies upon bended knee.
Children of dust to the earth we return.
Call us in beauty your gifts to discern.

God of deep valleys brought forth by your hand,
we share your healing and with you we stand.
Bearers of love by your Spirit made whole.
Call us in witness of grace overflowed.

Words (c) 2001, Mark L. Richardson

A Child Has Been Born For Us

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Peace with justice, Reflections, Sermon portions

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Child of Bethlehem, Christmas Eve, fear, grace, Isaiah, Israel, justice, peace, peacemaking, Psalms, terrorism, worship

(Originally preached on Christmas Eve 2015 in Santa Barbara, CA)

The world has had a rough year! I suppose that could be said of any year, but there seems to be a heavier sense of worry and fear in the air these days for reasons we all understand. Parents may sense a greater burden when the world feels like it’s going off the tracks. All of us feel the burden though – grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, first responders, counselors, health care providers – all of the adults who care about the generations being raised in today’s world.

Fear is being hyped these days. It’s being bottled and sold on the political trail along with sides of protectionism and militarism masquerading as patriotic fervor. That’s not to say there’s no basis for the fear, only that the escalating rhetoric benefits the ones using it more than it does the public good. Tough talk lets people feel safer in the short term but doesn’t significantly change anything for the better.

The prophet Isaiah wrote during a time of national chaos and despair. In fact, things were about as bad as they could get for those living in the kingdom of Judah. In the midst of geo-political upheaval and shifting alliances in the Middle East, King Ahaz refused to listen to the counsel of the prophet Isaiah who offered him a word promising God’s deliverance from their aggressive neighboring kingdoms. The resulting destruction of Damascus, annexation of large portions of Israel, and deportation of much of the population forms the backdrop of darkness Isaiah describes at the beginning of chapter 9.

The light of the nation had grown dim. It was not just King Ahaz who had chosen this path of destruction; it was the people themselves who were looking for easy solutions to their fears without stopping to listen to the God who had rescued them before. It was the people themselves who had opted for darkness – the darkness of warfare, violence, oppression, and inhumanity. Darkness describes those times when we do not allow the better angels of our nature to come out.

The psalmist, in perhaps the most familiar poetry in scripture, describes darkness as the “shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). “Even though I walk through the darkest valley,” the psalmist reassures, “I fear no evil; for you are with me.”

We long to be in that state of grace that would enable us to face all of the challenges of life and the troubles of this world without fear, knowing that God remains near. We long also, I believe, for an end to the violence and conflict that touches us not just on an international scale, but much closer to home, and sometimes tragically even within people’s homes. We long for the light of God’s peace to spread throughout the communities and nations in which we live.

Sometimes it is difficult to relate the message of scripture, written in a different time, in ways that will be fruitful and relevant to our lives. Isaiah spoke to a people who had been mired in dark times, their freedoms under threat, their spirits troubled, and he said that God had not given up on them, that God had already broken the yoke of their oppressor.

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness –
on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

As we gather around the manger, we come to embrace the child of the light! With hearts that ache for this world, with hearts longing for peace, with hearts open to the healing word of God, we come and kneel before the holy child of Bethlehem.

Indeed this is the sign offered by the prophet Isaiah that a new divinely inspired dominion is upon us:

For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
for this time onward and forevermore. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Stephen Boyd comments, “In the face of the fear, even terror, it is tempting to put our trust in the powerful – those who, seeking their own interests, promise to protect us. In this, our own darkness, Isaiah poses the questions: Will we make room for the Prince of Peace, who orders the world with justice and righteousness? Will we prepare to follow him in peacemaking?”[i]

At Christmas, kneel before the Christ Child who is the very light of God. Poet Ann Weems, in her poem “The World Still Knows,” leads us to the manger with these words:

The night is still dark
and a procession of Herods still terrorize the earth,
killing the children to stay in power.

The world still knows its Herods,
but it also still knows men and women
who pack their dreams safely in their hearts
and set off toward Bethlehem,
faithful against all odds,
undeterred by fatigue or rejection,
to kneel to a child.

And the world still knows those persons
wise enough
to follow a star,
those who do not consider themselves too intelligent
too powerful
too wealthy
to kneel to a child.

And the world still knows those hearts so humble
that they’re ready
to hear the word of a song
and to leave what they have, to go
to kneel to a child.

The night is still dark,
but by the light of the star,
even today
we can still see
to kneel to a child.[ii]

Let us pray:
God of all ages,
in the birth of Christ
your boundless love for your people
shattered the power of darkness.
Be born in us with that same love and light,
that our song may blend with all the choirs of heaven and earth
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.[iii]

Words (c) 2015 Mark Lloyd Richardson (except where noted)

[i] Stephen B. Boyd, “Theological Perspective,” in Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 1, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, p. 102.

[ii] Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1980, p. 55.

[iii] The Revised Common Lectionary website, Year C – Christmas, Nativity of the Lord – Proper I (December 24, 2015), Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

Like a River Flowing

15 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Worship Liturgy

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

baptism, blessing, Christ's peace, grace, hope, humanity, praise, reconciliation, spiritual renewal, worship

WyomingWe sang this song at the close of worship this past Sunday using the familiar tune FINLANDIA. If you wish to use these lyrics in worship sometime, please let me know.

The peace of Christ is like a river flowing
from God’s own heart in healing streams of grace.
In all our comings and in all our goings,
God’s mercies lead us to a holy place.
Peace like a river flowing through our lives
reminds us what it means to be baptized.

This earthly home we share with one another
cannot withstand our hatreds and our fears.
So when we look and see a sister, brother,
we know Christ’s peace is also coming near.
May we now live into this hopeful dream,
a day made new in shared humanity.

This dream for peace seeks out the meek and lowly,
children of God by blessing and design,
created in the image of the holy,
to reconcile this life with life divine.
Peace like a river flowing through our days
renews our hearts in gladness and in praise.

Copyright (c)2010 Mark Lloyd Richardson

This Preaching Life

30 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems, Reflections

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Tags

church, God's grace, Pastoral ministry, peace, Poetry, preaching, spiritual life, United Methodist Church, worship

Pulpit of First United Methodist Church, Santa Barbara (taken by Dallis Day Richardson)

Pulpit of First United Methodist Church, Santa Barbara (taken by Dallis Day Richardson)

Every week
week after week
I put words on a page
and I pray
as I write each one out
it is a word
that in combination with other words
will speak peace into the lives of hearers.

I am a preacher –
not a wild, untamed preacher like John the Baptizer,
whom one might be excused for judging as harsh
as he roared his message of repentance
at the righteous and unrighteous alike,
calling every soul out
to take a clear-eyed look at themselves
and finally grasp that something’s got to change!

I preach with trepidation,
aware that some may find my words inspired
while others seem to know better.

This preaching life does not get any easier.

The preacher stands in need of grace too.

I am a preacher.

Week after week,
the Word who took on flesh calls to all who have ears to hear,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.”

Words (c) 2014 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Creator, Christ, Spirit

12 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

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Tags

Christ, Creator God, discipleship, Gospel, grace, gratitude, Holy Spirit, hope, Invocation, praise, salvation, Savior, Trinity, worship

DSCN0050_2

A prayer for worship on Trinity Sunday:

Creator God,
in you all of nature sings of heaven.
In this sacred time and space
may our hearts join the chorus of praise
that already resounds in the rocks and trees,
the skies and seas of this amazing world.

Christ our Savior,
in you our eternal inheritance is secure.
In this sacred time and space
may our souls stir with the joy of salvation,
as we surrender to the holy love
at the center of your gospel.

Gentle and powerful Spirit,
you carry us on the generous winds of grace.
In this sacred time and space
may we fully embrace the freedom
that meets us on paths of discipleship
and invites us into faithful and whole lives.

Fill us with hope and gratitude this day,
knowing that wherever we go
there you are with us. Amen.

Words (c) 2014 Mark Lloyd Richardson

A Room Remembered

01 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

childlike devotion, good memories, grandparents, imagination, Jesus, Pastoral ministry, preaching, sacred calling, worship

Nooksack, Washington parsonage

Nooksack, Washington parsonage

A Room Remembered

Granddad’s study
is a modest room
off the living room
in the two-story Nooksack parsonage,
a half block from the wooden country church
where he preaches every Sunday morning.

Its scents fill the air
and remain with me to this day —
wood paneling,
serious books,
mimeograph ink and paper.

In this room every Saturday my granddad copies bulletins
on an aging mimeograph for the next day’s worship service.

At the tender age of five
I am his able assistant.

We watch as sheets of paper fly rhythmically through the machine
and are caught in a tray on the other side.
Then he and I fold the bulletins,
careful to find the middle of each one,
and I am again swept up
in my imaginings of being him.

I imagine standing before a congregation someday,
with a stain-glassed Jesus holding a lamb tenderly in his arms
on the wall behind the pulpit,
and daring to tell the truth about God’s ways in the world.

I am no mere admirer gazing upon my granddad’s noble calling.
No, I love him with eager childlike devotion –
my heart full of wanting to be like him.

Words (c) 2004 Mark Lloyd Richardson

My Granddad, the Rev. Norval Sweet Richardson

My Granddad, the Rev. Norval Sweet Richardson

A Rock of Refuge

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems, Reflections, Sermon portions

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

abundant life, assurance of faith, grace, hope, kingdom of God, lament, mercy, peace, praise, Psalms, refuge, suffering, worship

IMG_4417

I wrote this contemporary psalm based on Psalm 71:1-6 for my sermon today. It is a movement from lament to praise!

In you, O God, I take refuge
from the noisy clamor of this hectic life,
with its ubiquitous social media
and easy access to every imaginable entertainment.

My phone is always by my side
sounding off when texts or emails arrive
teasing me to open them asap!

My annual physical raises the alarm
of slightly elevated blood pressure
and high cholesterol.
The doc says, “Let’s watch ’em for a while,
and see if lifestyle changes make a difference.”
Okay, but I wonder – am I headed for a heart attack?
Is the pressure of meeting work demands
and the expectations of those I love
doing damage to my health?

Loving Creator,
Source of life and Ground of our being,
you are the one I run to in my need.
You are the one who offers peace in the storm.

Do not abandon me, I pray.
Enfold me beneath the wings of your grace,
that I might know the liberating strength
only your Spirit is able to breath into my life.

In your righteousness
you make known your will for my life:
that I walk in your ways
and observe your commandments,
that I choose life –
loving you, obeying you,
and holding fast to you (Deut. 30:16, 19-20).

You want nothing more for me
than that I embrace the person I am meant to be,
the creation of your loving and generous heart,
so that I can offer this world you created in love
the very best of myself,
the very giftedness I discover in you.

You call me to orient my life in your direction,
to strive first for the kingdom of God
and your righteousness (Matt. 6:33).

Deliver me, Lord, from the flashy allure of things.
Remind me often to use things and love people,
not the other way around.

Save me from my stingy self-centeredness –
the times when I think the world revolves around me
and I forget my sister or brother in need.

You have always been like a Rock for me,
a place of refuge where I know I am protected –
from life’s incessant demands, to be sure,
but also from my own inner strivings.

You save me from myself –
from thinking that I must achieve importance
when all the importance I really need
comes from joining you
in the unveiling of your gracious purposes for the world.

You are for me a strong fortress, O God,
and always have been,
shielding me from the harm others seek to do me.

In this world where evil so often flourishes –
where malicious viruses are set loose on computers,
where whole identities are stolen from people,
where those in whom we place our trust betray us
with lies that cheat us out of our life savings
or deceit that destroys our innocence
or violence that robs us of peace of mind –
you remain the one trustworthy place of refuge.

Rescue me, O my God, from all of the voices
that tell me to depend solely on my own strength,
that tell me to create my own life on my own terms,
that tell me I am not meant to be deeply connected to others.

Rescue me from the crass commercializing of life,
always throwing in my face the manufactured images
that falsely promise happiness and fulfillment.

Rescue me from thinking that I am immune to suffering
simply because I come to church
and read the Bible sometimes
and pray almost every day
and try to be a decent human being!

Rescue me from pious platitudes and cheap grace.

Rescue me from the polarizing influences
that pit neighbor against neighbor
in ideological battles
in which no one truly wins
and the fabric of society is torn and trampled.

Rescue me from those who spread misery
by their greed and lack of compassion.

Rescue me from the loss of hope
the loneliness of isolation
the trap of fear.

For you, Lord of life, have walked with me
from the day of my birth
when you took me from my mother’s womb.

You call my name
and seek my companionship each day.

You speak to me in whispers –
through the quiet breathing of a newborn,
the silence of contemplative prayer,
the breeze touching lightly on the trees.

You say that I am one of your own,
that I have always belonged to you.

You give me confidence enough
to trust in your tender mercy and amazing grace.

You, Lord of eternity, are my hope.
You are my refuge.
You are my strength.
I will not be shaken.

Praise wells up in my heart and soul.

Praise that your glory shines upon this world
in spite of our constant fighting
and our shameful willfulness.

Praise that the power of your love
dawns upon us as surely as the morning sun.

Praise that you fully know me,
and the content of my heart,
and still you love me.

Let praise be the language of my being.
Let hope be the attitude I carry into the future.
For just as my past has been lived in you, Lord,
so my future depends on your ever-flowing mercy.

You will comfort me again in my times of need.
You will guide me in right paths.
You will continually offer me abundant life.
You will give me faith’s assurance
even when I come face to face with my own doubt.
You will restore my soul.

You will manifest yourself in the world
through the witness of courageous people,
through the hospitality of strangers,
through the presence of the poor and the needy.

You will not allow me to forget
that ultimately nothing is able to separate us
from your love in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:39).

You will follow me throughout my life
with your goodness and mercy
so that I am able to dwell with you
my whole life long (Ps. 23:6).

Words (c) 2013 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2008 Mark Lloyd Richardson

God of Seaside and Mountain

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers, Worship Liturgy

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

blessing, comfort, grace, hope, mercy, peace, prayer, spirituality, worship

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)

God is going to get what God wants

02 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Reflections

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Christ, compassion, Dorothy Day, faith, grace, justice, LGBTQ, Methodism, worship

Retiring United Methodist Bishop William H. Willimon recently said, “The best training for being a United Methodist bishop is, fortunately, exactly the work that is done by any faithful Methodist preacher: Tell the truth as God tells it to you; try to miss as many meetings as possible; expect the church to be thoroughly tainted with sin (including your own); try to love Jesus more than the praise of your people, and keep believing that despite all of the church’s setbacks, in the end God is going to get what God wants! Hallelujah!”

Because I try to be a faithful Methodist preacher, and because I’ve always admired Bishop Willimon’s prophetic voice, I share here some words I recently wrote for our church newsletter:

Too often the church that claims to follow the Risen Christ into the world is mostly absent from the real human needs that exist in all communities.

Do you care whether your neighbors experience the presence of God in their lives?

Do you want all people (and I do mean “all”) to feel welcome in Christ’s church?

Do you desire to live more deeply into the heart and mind of God so that your life becomes the reflection of divine grace it is intended to be?

Do you hope to make a difference in the world through an act of daring surrender of your will to the will of your Creator?

Dorothy Day once said, “The greatest challenge of the day is how to bring about a revolution of the heart.” This applies to individuals and to the church as the body of Christ.

There is more of God than you or I can possibly know. We are daily being called into a deeper and fuller humanity in which the lines of race, gender, religion, nationality, class, and sexual orientation are blurred, and we all breathe the same air of divinely offered potentiality as God’s beloved children.

As for me, I am a progressive, evangelical, ecumenical, open and affirming, contemplative, socially active and globally concerned Christian!

I do not believe that faith is primarily a matter of what one believes – I believe faith is mainly about trusting in the God who loves us and calls us to love one another!

I do not believe that worship is either traditional or contemporary – I believe that worship is either relevant to our lives or not!

I do not believe that orthodoxy (“right belief”) is more important than orthopraxy (“right practice”)! Indeed, Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” ~ John 13:35. Servant ministry trumps theology any day!

I do not believe that Christians are the only people whom God loves, or that God cares more about straight people than LGBTQ people. I do not believe that heaven is reserved solely for followers of Christ, but rather that God will bring into God’s Realm whomever God chooses to eternally embrace (and that just might be everyone; we cannot fully know the mind of God)! Indeed, Jesus said, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold” ~ John 10:16.

Perhaps most importantly, I do not believe that church is mainly about having our personal or spiritual needs met; rather God’s message to the church is the invitation to surrender our lives to the Spirit whose grace transforms us and sends us out to be instruments of Christ’s blessing in a hurting world.

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson preached at the California-Pacific Annual Conference this June, saying that “People looked to Jesus, because Jesus looked for what God was looking for—justice, compassion, the kingdom come.” I say Amen to that!

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson (University of Redlands Chapel)

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