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Invitation to Worship
Come, let us return to Adonai our God,
our God who is gracious and merciful.
O Holy One,+ open my lips.
~And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
In You, Adonai, is the Source of Life;
~In your Light we shall see light.
Hymn for Lent V
O breathe on us, O Breath of God, Fill us with life anew,
That we may love the things you love, And do what you would do.
O breathe on us, O Breath of God, These old dry bones revive;
With sinews, flesh, with skin and breath, with love make us alive.
O breathe on us, O Word of God, Your resurrection-life;
Call us from graves, unbind these slaves, and free us from all strife.
O breathe on us, O Word of God, Our wills to yours incline,
Until our inmost hearts, once dead, Glow with your fire divine.
O breathe on us, Thrice Holy God, So shall we never die,
But live with you to share your love and praise your name, Most High.
Text: Edwin Hatch (1835-1889) alt. v. 2-3. The Daily Feast. Tune: ST. COLUMBA CM
Psalmody
Antiphon/Refrain:
O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn, for you
O God are my stronghold, the God who gives me life.
Psalm 42/43
Decide for me, O God,
and plead my case against the hateful;
defend me from liars and thugs.
For you are God my fortress.
But why have you forgotten me?
Why am I bent in half
under the weight of oppression?
O send forth your light and your truth,
let these be my guides;
Let them bring me to your holy mountain
to the place you have made your home.
Then I will approach the altar of God,
who gives me the joy of the young.
I will thank and praise you with my harp,
My Redeemer and my God.
Why are you sad, my heart?
Why do you grieve and groan?
Wait for Adonai, whom I will always praise,
my Savior and my God.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn, for you
O God are my stronghold, the God who gives me life.
READING John 12: 23-26
The hour has come for the Human One to be glorified. Amen, I say to you: unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsory
R. Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; *but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. V. If you would serve me, you must follow me. Wherever I am, my servant will be there also. *but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Canticle of Zachariah
Antiphon
I am the resurrection and the life;
all who believe in me, even if they die shall live;
and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die.
Blessed + be Adonai, the God of Israel,
Who visits this people to set us free
Raising for us a sign of salvation
In the house and family of David.
God promised throughout past ages
In words of holy prophets
To save us from our enemies,
And from the control of our oppressors.
Adonai favored our ancestors
And remembered the sacred covenant.
The pledge to Abraham and Sarah
Is now renewed for us;
That freed from the grip of our foes
We might worship without fear
And be both just and holy
For the rest of our days.
And you, child, called “prophet of the Most High,”
Will go ahead to prepare the way,
By teaching this people of salvation
Through forgiveness of their sins.
For the loving compassion of the Holy One
As the Rising Sun will shine upon us
To illumine the darkness and dispel death’s shadow
To Guide our feet on the way of peace.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
I am the resurrection and the life;
all who believe in me, even if they die shall live;
and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die.
Service of Prayer
Litany of Intercession
Your people cry “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off;”
~open our graves and call us to life.
Moved with compassion for those who were suffering, you wept at the grave of Lazarus;
~open our graves and call us to life.
You called Lazarus to life from the tomb, and called his family and friends to unbind him and let him go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by poverty and racism to fullness of life, and call us to work for justice, to unbind them and let them go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by bitterness and resentment to the new life forgiveness, and call us to be ambassadors of reconciliation, to unbind them and let them go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by addictions to freedom and flourishing, and call us to support them on their journeys, to unbind them and let them go free; ~open our graves and call us to life.
You call those entombed by depression or loneliness to life in community, and call us to be a loving presence in their lives, to unbind them and let them go free; ~ open our graves and call us to life.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
Closing Prayer
Gracious God of all Compassion, you sent Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, to call from their tombs those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death and to lead them into the light of life. As Spring now calls forth an abundance of life-forms from their wintry tombs, call each of us from the holes which we have dug for ourselves and help us to unbind those still bound by poverty, racism and every form of injustice. Then, together with the whole of creation, we can join you in building up your reign on earth as it is in heaven where you live and love, One God, forever and ever. Amen
Blessing
May the light of God surround us; the love of God enfold us; and the life of God + fill us to overlowing. ~Amen.
Let us bless the world with peace. ~And give thanks to God.