Lectionary Readings
Semicontinuous
Job 23:1–9, 16–17
Job complains bitterly about the absence of God in his suffering.
Psalm 22:1–15
My God, why do you forsake me? You lay me in the dust of death.
Complementary
Amos 5:6–7, 10–15
Establish justice; seek good and not evil, so that you may live.
Psalm 90:12–17
Satisfy us with your love, O Lord; prosper the work of our hands.
Hebrews 4:12–16
The living word of God is our judge; Jesus is our great high priest.
Mark 10:17–31
For God all things are possible; the last will be first in the kingdom.
— Gathering —
Call to Worship
God sees us as we are.
Jesus calls us: Follow me.
Yet we don’t always do as Jesus did.
Jesus calls us: Follow me.
Will you give up everything to establish justice?
Jesus calls us: Follow me.
Prayer of the Day
All-knowing God,
when we consider the vastness of your works,
it can be easy to feel insignificant.
When we think about the abundance of your love,
it can feel as though
we do not have enough to offer.
Release us from our shame
and the comparisons and judgments
that weigh us down.
Free us from our insistence on scarcity,
that we might discover your infinite grace
among us and within us. Amen.
Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song
Thanksgiving For Baptism
At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession and Pardon
At the baptismal font:
It is only by the power of God
that we are able to stand against evil.
Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin.
O Lord, you are the maker of justice
and the source of righteousness,
the one who hears the cries of the suffering
and who fills the hunger of the poor.
Forgive us, O God, when we fail to reflect your just love:
when we have food and food leftover,
yet we do not share with any in need;
when we have power for good and power for change,
yet we use it only for our own self-preservation;
when we have the words of the prophets before us,
yet we cover our ears lest they make us uncomfortable.
Forgive us, O Lord,
and teach us to follow in your way.
Lifting water from the font:
Now stand firm in your faith,
covered by the saving grace of God
and ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God.
— Word —
Prayer for Illumination
At the lectern or pulpit:
Sovereign God, let your Word rule in our hearts
and your Spirit govern our lives
until at last we see the fulfillment
of your realm of justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture
Before the readings:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Listen to the word of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:4
After the readings:
Keep these words in your heart.
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Thanks be to God.
Deuteronomy 6:6
Sermon
Ascription of Praise
After the sermon:
To the Lord our God, Alpha and Omega,
be all glory and honor forever. Amen.
Revelation 21:6
Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song
Affirmation of Faith
Time after Pentecost
The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33
Prayers of Intercession
Steadfast God,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those who wait for justice . . .
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who wait for healing . . .
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who wait for a loved one . . .
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who wait for resolution . . .
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who wait for affirmation . . .
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are impatient . . .
Turn impatience into persistence.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who work with their hands
in giving care . . .
Give them wisdom and wonder to sustain them
and rest from weariness.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all times,
teach us to count our days,
that we may have a wise heart.
Through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
— Eucharist —
Invitation to Offering
At the communion table:
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,
to present yourselves as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God.
Let us offer our lives to the Lord.
Romans 12:1
Prayer of Dedication
At the communion table:
To you, O God, we offer our lives—
our abundance, our poverty,
all that we have, all that we are—
a sign of our great thanksgiving
for the treasure of your grace.
Take and use us for good
in the world that you so love;
we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mark 12:41–44
Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God:
By your prophets you call us to seek good and resist evil,
to love righteousness and establish justice.
The works of our hands prosper only by your grace.
Therefore we praise you, joining the song
of the universal church and the heavenly choir:
A Sanctus (“Holy, holy, holy”) is sung.
Blessed is Jesus Christ, our Savior:
Jesus taught the way of eternal and abundant life;
he promised that, for you, all things are possible.
Still he calls us to come and follow him.
The words of institution are included here.
Remembering your goodness and grace,
we offer ourselves to you with gratitude
as we share this joyful feast.
A Memorial Acclamation (e.g., “Christ has died”) is sung.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this bread and cup;
make us one in the body and blood
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through the power of your Word, open our hearts and lives to you,
so that we may approach your throne of grace with boldness,
receiving your mercy in our time of need.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ,
in the unity of the Spirit,
we bless you, God of glory,
now and forever.
An Amen is sung.
Lord’s Prayer
Breaking the Bread
Communion of the People
Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song
Prayer after Communion
At the communion table:
Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
creator and ruler of the universe,
for your have satisfied our souls
with this feast of your grace.
Keep us faithful in your service
until your realm of glory comes;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
— Sending —
Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song
Blessing and Charge
At the doors of the church:
The blessing of the holy, triune God,
who was and is and is to come—
first and last,
beginning and end,
Alpha and Omega—
be with you now and always. Alleluia!
Revelation 1:8
Go in peace to love the Lord your God
with heart and soul and mind and strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself. Amen.
Mark 12:29–31
Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet
Ford Madox Brown, 1856
Additional Materials
Congregational Song
GATHERING
- Christ Is Alive! (TRURO) GTG 246 (E)
- Womb of Life and Source of Being (RAQUEL) GTG 3 (E)
- Celebramos del Señor (VICTORIA) FJ 42 (E)
- The Strife Is O’er (VICTORY) GTG 236 (G)
WORD
- O Lord My God (HOW GREAT THOU ART) GTG 625 (O)
- Blest Be the Holy Other (EVAN) SFHO (O)
- Speak, O Lord (Getty & Townend) AM 388 (E)
EUCHARIST
- Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior (PASS ME NOT) UMH 351 (E)
- Lamb of God (AGNUS DEI (Vasile)) GTG 603 (E)
- This Is the Feast of Victory (FESTIVAL CANTICLE) GTG 513 (G)
SENDING
- What Does the Lord Require of You? (MOON) GTG 70 (O)
- I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (WALK WITH ME) GTG 775 (E)
- Lift High the Cross (CRUCIFER) GTG 826 (G)
- All My Days (HIXON) WAS 3011 (G)
Psalms and Canticles
Psalm 22:1–15
Metrical
- In the Presence of Your People [CELEBRATION] PAS 22 F
- Lord, Why Have You Forsaken Me [DISTRESS] GTG 210
Responsorial
- All the Ends of the Earth Shall Remember UMH 752
- My God, My God PSA 16
Psalm 90:12–17
Metrical
- O Praise the Gracious Power [CHRISTPRAISE RAY] PH 471
- God Everlasting at Your Word [LYONS] PAS 90 A
Responsorial
- Lord, in You Do I Trust PP 164
- God, You Are My Refuge UMH 809
Organ Music
- “Fugue in E flat Major,” ST. ANNE, Neue Bach-Ausgabe, Series IV, Band 4, J. S. Bach, IMSLP (A)
- “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” NETTLETON, The Essential Collection for the Church Organist, Book 1, arr. Joel Raney, HOPE (MA)
- “Kingsfold / I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say,” Step It Up! Volume 3: Hymns from the Isles, arr. Meirion Wynn Jones, World Library Publications (M)
- “O Love, How Deep,” DEO GRACIAS, Ten Chorale Improvisations, Set 9, arr. Paul Manz, MSM (ME)
Anthems for Adult Choirs
- “Happy and Blest Are They,” Felix Mendelssohn, ECS, SATB, org (M)
- “Dream On, Dream On,” arr. Michael Burkhardt, MSM, SATB, treble, hb, pno (M)
- “What Does the Lord Require?” Eric Nelson, MSM, SAB, pno (E)
- “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” arr. Mack Wilberg, OUP, SATB div, org (M)
- “Walk with Me, Lord,” Rosephanye Powell, GP, SATB, org, (M)
- “I Need Thee Every Hour,” arr. Moses Hogan, HAL, SATB, acap (E)
Art
- Untitled, Carmen Herrera, 2018 (MoMA)
- Job and His Friends, Cathedral of the Annunciation, Moscow, ca. 1500 (VDL)
- Table Manners: Season 2, Zina Saro-Wiwa, 2019 (MoMA)
- Wrestling Details 1–4, Carroll Dunham, 2019–21 (MoMA)
