The active, ascended Christ
Worship
LECTIONARY WORSHIP AIDS
Series II
Exegetical note: Stephen's vision of the ascended Christ in heaven prior to his own martyrdom is curious for two reasons: 1) his use of the phrase "Son of Man," otherwise used in the New Testament almost exclusively only by Jesus (but cf. Rev. 1:13, also in a vision!) and with eschatological if not apocalyptic overtones; and (2) his image of the Christ standing rather than sitting at God s right hand. What both of these suggest is a Christ not resting on his laurels but ready to become active, either to receive the spirit of the martyr-to-be or, more likely, to inaugurate the judgment of the end time.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 31)
Leader:
Let us seek refuge in God!
People:
MAY GOD NEVER LET US BE PUT TO SHAME!
Leader:
May God give ear to us!
People:
MAY GOD RESCUE AND PROTECT US!
Collect
Everlasting God, You sent us a son of humanity to act on our behalf for our salvation. Let his redemptive power continue to work for us: that, touched constantly by his love, we may ourselves become worthy daughters and sons of you. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Everliving God, we confess that we use the image of the exalted Christ seated at your right hand as an excuse to rest on his laurels and to be righteously inactive; and we admit that we often pray and wait for his second coming only as a way of shirking our Christian responsibility to be active in his name. Forgive us our passivity and laziness, O God, and fill us with your Spirit and a sense of the Christ's dynamic presence, which alone can inspire us to do the work of your coming Reign against all odds in this troubled world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 2:2-10
Theme:
God's transforming power and mercy
Exegetical note: Whoever this letter's real author was, it certainly does reflect what often appears to be the great Apostle's tendency to put his foot in his mouth. Here he jumbles and mixes three metaphors: newborn babies, living (?!) stones, and the New Israel (although he doesn't quite call it that). The most important theological thing he says comes in verse 10, after even he appears to have given up on his dubious images: God's power and mercy are utterly transforming.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 31)
Leader:
God is our rock of refuge!
People:
GOD IS THE FORTRESS OF OUR SAFETY!
Leader:
Let us commit our spirits into God's hands!
People:
LET US WORSHIP THE FAITHFUL GOD WHO HAS REDEEMED US!
Collect
God of creative might, you have transformed us and all humanity with your power in the Christ. Continue to recreate us through your Holy Spirit: that, changed gradually into the image of Jesus, we may know and do your divine will, even as he did. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of manifest mercy, we confess our ongoing resistance to your power to transform us from our present condition as slaves to sinfulness and captives to confusion, and our unwillingness to lay aside our pointless endeavors and meaningless lives in order to become righteous and holy people, empowered and eager to do your will. Forgive us, we pray, and open us up to your gracious desire and offer to change us into new creatures. Make us long for the image of the Christ until we are finally ready to accept your tender mercies and abundant new life. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Gospel:
John 14:1-14
Theme:
Apocalypse now
Exegetical note: This passage begins three chapters of Jesus' "farewell discourses," which follow directly the foot-washing and "new commandment." Among several distinctively Johannine themes here is the notion of Jesus' "coming again" presented in verse 3. But its elaboration does not occur until vv. 15ff., where it becomes clear that what John has in mind is not an event of the distant future, but rather precisely the gift of the Holy Spirit, which, in effect, makes the apocalypse a 'now" event for both the evangelist and us.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 31)
Leader:
Let us rejoice and be glad for God's steadfast love!
People:
GOD SEES OUR AFFLICTIONS AND KNOWS OUR ADVERSITIES!
Leader:
God does not deliver us into the hands of our enemies!
People:
GOD DOES GIVE US FIRM-FOOTING, HOWEVER TROUBLESOME OUR PATHS!
Collect
God of every moment, you have guaranteed your Church the ongoing presence of the Christ through the power of your Spirit. Sensitize us to the movements of this Comfortor: that, invigorated by its energy, we may become and remain the Body of the Christ at work in the world. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of the eternal now, we confess that we often find a misplaced comfort in the remoteness of the Christ, and use his apparent absence from this earth and the seeming unlikelihood of his imminent return as excuses to accept the world as it is and only dream of how it might be. Forgive us our passitivity, O God, and set us on fire with your Holy Spirit, so that our own souls will burn with a desire to experience your Reign over the earth in our day and our age. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 31)
Leader:
Let us seek refuge in God!
People:
MAY GOD NEVER LET US BE PUT TO SHAME!
Leader:
May God give ear to us!
People:
MAY GOD RESCUE AND PROTECT US!
Collect
Everlasting God, You sent us a son of humanity to act on our behalf for our salvation. Let his redemptive power continue to work for us: that, touched constantly by his love, we may ourselves become worthy daughters and sons of you. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
Everliving God, we confess that we use the image of the exalted Christ seated at your right hand as an excuse to rest on his laurels and to be righteously inactive; and we admit that we often pray and wait for his second coming only as a way of shirking our Christian responsibility to be active in his name. Forgive us our passivity and laziness, O God, and fill us with your Spirit and a sense of the Christ's dynamic presence, which alone can inspire us to do the work of your coming Reign against all odds in this troubled world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 2:2-10
Theme:
God's transforming power and mercy
Exegetical note: Whoever this letter's real author was, it certainly does reflect what often appears to be the great Apostle's tendency to put his foot in his mouth. Here he jumbles and mixes three metaphors: newborn babies, living (?!) stones, and the New Israel (although he doesn't quite call it that). The most important theological thing he says comes in verse 10, after even he appears to have given up on his dubious images: God's power and mercy are utterly transforming.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 31)
Leader:
God is our rock of refuge!
People:
GOD IS THE FORTRESS OF OUR SAFETY!
Leader:
Let us commit our spirits into God's hands!
People:
LET US WORSHIP THE FAITHFUL GOD WHO HAS REDEEMED US!
Collect
God of creative might, you have transformed us and all humanity with your power in the Christ. Continue to recreate us through your Holy Spirit: that, changed gradually into the image of Jesus, we may know and do your divine will, even as he did. In his name we pray. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of manifest mercy, we confess our ongoing resistance to your power to transform us from our present condition as slaves to sinfulness and captives to confusion, and our unwillingness to lay aside our pointless endeavors and meaningless lives in order to become righteous and holy people, empowered and eager to do your will. Forgive us, we pray, and open us up to your gracious desire and offer to change us into new creatures. Make us long for the image of the Christ until we are finally ready to accept your tender mercies and abundant new life. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Gospel:
John 14:1-14
Theme:
Apocalypse now
Exegetical note: This passage begins three chapters of Jesus' "farewell discourses," which follow directly the foot-washing and "new commandment." Among several distinctively Johannine themes here is the notion of Jesus' "coming again" presented in verse 3. But its elaboration does not occur until vv. 15ff., where it becomes clear that what John has in mind is not an event of the distant future, but rather precisely the gift of the Holy Spirit, which, in effect, makes the apocalypse a 'now" event for both the evangelist and us.
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 31)
Leader:
Let us rejoice and be glad for God's steadfast love!
People:
GOD SEES OUR AFFLICTIONS AND KNOWS OUR ADVERSITIES!
Leader:
God does not deliver us into the hands of our enemies!
People:
GOD DOES GIVE US FIRM-FOOTING, HOWEVER TROUBLESOME OUR PATHS!
Collect
God of every moment, you have guaranteed your Church the ongoing presence of the Christ through the power of your Spirit. Sensitize us to the movements of this Comfortor: that, invigorated by its energy, we may become and remain the Body of the Christ at work in the world. Amen
Prayer of Confession
God of the eternal now, we confess that we often find a misplaced comfort in the remoteness of the Christ, and use his apparent absence from this earth and the seeming unlikelihood of his imminent return as excuses to accept the world as it is and only dream of how it might be. Forgive us our passitivity, O God, and set us on fire with your Holy Spirit, so that our own souls will burn with a desire to experience your Reign over the earth in our day and our age. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen
