Prayer as We Gather: You shaped us and called us, Lord, while we were still in the womb, hidden in the shadow of your hand. In this holy hour, in this sacred space where “memory believes before knowing remembers,” we draw near to you as you draw near to us. We feel the ancient pull of a covenant with you older than time, stronger than death. You have chosen to move among us, now have your own way with us while we are waiting, yielded and still. Amen.*(Inspired by Isaiah 49, the wisdom of William Faulkner and the poetry of Adelaid Pollard)
Call to Worship:
I put all my hope in the Lord,
Who leaned down and listened to my cry for help,
Lifted me out of the mud and filth, set my feet on solid rock.
The Lord steadied my legs, put a new song in my mouth.
Those who trust the Lord, who pay no attention to the proud,
Are truly happy!
I want to do your will, my God.
Your Instruction is deep within me.
So don’t hold back any of your compassion from me.
Let your loyal love and faithfulness always protect me. (From Psalm 40, The English Common Bible)
Morning Prayer: How blessed we of UBC’s beloved community have been these thirty years, Lord, to greet each other in worship every Sabbath by echoing apostle Paul’s venerable words of compassion: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Like Paul, we give constant thanks for the sisters and brothers who have peopled our faith journey, as together we have seen Jesus reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings we have passed through in His fellowship, learning as an ineffable mystery who He is, this risen Lord who taught us to pray, saying …*(Inspired by 1 Corinthians 1 and the eloquence of Albert Schweitzer)
Prayer of Confession: Forgive us, Lord, when we try to change the subject on you. Like those first curious followers of Jesus, tagging along behind him at a safe distance after John the Baptizer outed him as “the Lamb of God,” we have often been little more than religious stalkers of the Galilean carpenter. When he abruptly turned to demand “What are you looking for?” their clumsy “Where are you staying?” implicated them as conflicted camp followers, driven as are we by cravings for familiarity without commitment. We yearn to be called people of The Way, heedless that it leads to a cross. Have mercy, we pray. Amen.*(Inspired by John 1)
Assurance of Pardon: Take heart, for even a lame inquiry about where he is lodging can be transformed by Jesus into a liberating summons: “Come and see.” More than simply providing a street address, Jesus bids us tag along on the most perilous, terrifying, joyful and life-giving sojourn we could ever embrace. One of the two disciples mumbling an awkward response was Andrew, who sought out his own brother Simon Peter and led him to Jesus, prompting the history-altering pronouncement: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” You and I, thanks be to God, are no less capable, through acts of simple obedience, of changing the world in Jesus’ name.*(Inspired by John 1)
Thought for Season of Epiphany: “I believe our inner world of emptiness is itself the sound God’s voice makes in a world that has explained him away. Maybe God speaks to us most clearly through his silence, his absence, so that we know him best through our missing him.” - Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark