We – Me

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so, if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye Heav'nly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

All-loving God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in our labor and leisure that it may be for the common good of all Creation; and, as we seek the proper share for all, make us supportive of the rightful needs of all creatures who live and love on this earth; through Jesus the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God.

We bless you, O God, for your watchful care: in places of excise and at home.

We bless you, O God, for your healing presence: in sickness and in brokenness.

We pray to you for the needs of the world: for those enslaved by political, military, or social oppression … For those suffering from violence and illness we can prevent … For those at risk from famine, drought, and natural disasters …

God of Mercy and grace, we are meant to praise you and give you thanks. Help us to live joyful lives that bring transformation.

We pray to you for the renewing of creation: for an end to harmful habits and willful ruin … For heightened care for species at risk … For more faithful stewardship among us towards earth’s resources …

God of Mercy and grace, we are meant to praise you and give you thanks. Help us to live joyful lives that bring transformation.

We pray to you for the prayers of our community: for those who have lost jobs, homes, and hope … For those who are hungry today and will be again tomorrow … For those troubled in mind, body, or spirit, and for those recovering …

God of Mercy and grace, we are meant to praise you and give you thanks. Help us to live joyful lives that bring transformation.

We pray to you for the cares we hold this day: For patience in difficulty … For renewal of commitment … For grace to forgive ourselves or another …

God of Mercy and grace, we are meant to praise you and give you thanks. Help us to live joyful lives that bring transformation.

Heal us, we pray, in our dis-senses, estrangements, and in the broken places of our lives. May we return to you, to creation, and to community in joy and thanksgiving according to your grace.

God of Mercy and grace, we are meant to praise you and give you thanks. Help us to live joyful lives that bring transformation.

Give this, your community, fresh courage and bold vision in this changeful time, as we pray for the welfare of all people. In the name of the one who came to restore and renovate, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

These are your words, O God. Humble us to speak their weight. Strengthen us to hear their truth. Unbind us to live their call. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of the way of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

¹¹ On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he entered a village, ten men with a skin disease approached him. Keeping their distance, ¹³ they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. ¹⁶ He prostrated himself at Jesus’s feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

The Greek word for Eucharist means thanksgiving and is used in Luke 17:16 to describe the Samaritan’s thankful response of faith to Jesus who had mercy on him. To live a eucharistic life then, is to live a life beyond oneself that is focused on giving thanks to God. The Eucharist is also the sharing of the bread and fruit of the vine that bind us together as the resurrected body of Christ. How are you living beyond yourself — glorifying and enjoying God in your daily life? What new habits or practices might cultivate in you a more eucharistic life?

Practicing gratitude can change our lives as individuals; it can change our life as a congregation. In the spirit of gratitude to God, our giving is not reduced to ethical duty but is elevated to delight and joy. As we offer to God these measured gifts, let us also offer unmeasured praise.

Like the shepherds in Bethlehem’s field, like the leper healed who returned to Jesus, like the Jews and Gentiles of the early church, we praise and glorify your name, O God. You have given us more than we could have imagined! For tidings of joy, for wholeness received, for the gift of belonging, we thank you. Make of us, as well as these gifts, offerings of good news to the people at the margins, may we be hope to the hopeless, and signs of your power to reconcile and redeem. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus who showed us The Way. Amen.

My siblings, practice your faith by practicing gratitude to God every day, and in all circumstances. Seek the welfare of those around you, yes even that one person who just gets on your every nerve and especially on your last one. And may God keep watch over us and all peoples; May Christ guide us in the way; and may the Holy Spirit abide with us through these moments of darkness. Amen.