This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies. If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Call to Worship
Lord of mercy,
we have gathered to be formed in the way of Christ
to become more fully
who we were made to be
spread a balm over our eyes
that we may see people like You do
lay coals on our tongues
that we may speak truly
replace our hearts of stone
with hearts that feel
and renew our minds
with the imaginative power of Your Spirit
Amen
Scripture
Psalm 130
Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice;
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss,
O Lord, who could stand?
For there is forgiveness with you;
therefore you shall be feared.
I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for the Lord;
in the Lord’s word is my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, wait for the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy;
With the Lord there is plenteous redemption,
and the Lord shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
John 9:1-12
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.”
He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.”
They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
Prayer
This week's prayer was from An Iona Prayer Book (p.53):
Guide and Friend
of every seeking heart,
you take upon yourself
all that burdens our lives:
our days of doubt,
our divided hearts,
our physical weakness
and that fear of the future
which is often our companion.
And you transfigure them,
freeing us of all that weighs us down.
Lord of the perplexed,
enable us today to rediscover
your amazing truth--
that in your strength
we truly can begin to walk anew
with lightened step and clearer vision,
moving from the shadows
into the clear flowing waters
of your healing, gentle grace.
Amen.