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Invitation to Worship
Come, let us sing to Adonai, let us praise the God of all creation!
O Holy One,+ open my lips.
~And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Seek first the Reign of God,
~where everything you need is provided.
Sunday Morning Hymn
Sing with all who love God’s glory,
sing the resurrection song!
Death and sorrow, earth’s dark story,
to the former days belong.
All around the clouds are breaking,
soon the storms of time shall cease;
In God’s likeness, we awaking,
know the everlasting peace.
O what glory, far exceeding
all that eye has yet perceived!
Holiest hearts for ages waiting,
never that full joy conceived.
God has promised, Christ prepares it,
On that day our welcome waits;
Every humble spirit shares it,
Christ has passed th’eternal gates.
Life eternal! O what wonders
Crowd on faith; what joy unknown,
When, amidst earth’s closing thunders,
Saints shall stand before the throne!
O to enter that bright portal,
See that glowing firmament
Know with You, O God immortal,
“Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Words: William J Irons, alt.; Music: Beethoven; Melody: Hymn to Joy 87.87.D
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Open to me the gates of truth and justice,
that I may enter and sing God’s praises, Alleluia!
Psalm 117/118
Give thanks, Adonai is good,
God’s love endures for ever!
Now let Israel say:
“God’s love endures forever!”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“God’s love endures forever!”
Let all who revere Adonai say,
“God’s love endures forever!”
In distress, I called to Adonai
who answered and set me free.
Adonai is with me, I am not afraid;
What can they do to me?
Adonai, my Help, is with me,
I can face all that I fear.
Better to trust in Adonai
than rely on human help.
Better to trust in Adonai
than rely on people with wealth.
When all that I fear surrounded me
your Presence, Adonai overwhelmed them;
When they surrounded me completely
your Presence overwhelmed them;
When they surrounded me like bees,
and blazed like a brushwood fire,
in your strong Presence I faced them!
I was pushed to falling,
but you, Adonai, gave me help.
My strength, my song is Adonai,
who has become my savior.
Glad songs of victory sound
from the tents of the just.
With right hand raised on high,
Adonai is strong to save.
I shall not die but live
to tell all that Adonai has done.
I was struck down and dwelling in darkness
but not doomed to die.
Open to me the gates of truth and justice,
let me praise God within them.
This is Adonai’s own gate,
which only the just may enter.
I thank you for you answered me,
and you became my savior.
The stone rejected by the builders
has become the cornerstone.
This is the work of Adonai,
it is amazing and wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day Adonai has made,
let us rejoice and be glad.
Adonai, give us the victory!
Adonai, grant us success!
Blest is the one who comes,
who comes in the Name of Adonai.
We bless you from the house of our God.
Adonai Elohim is our light:
I will thank you, my God,
I will praise you highly.
Give thanks, Adonai is good,
God’s love endures forever.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Open to me the gates of truth and justice,
that I may enter and sing God’s praise!
READING Isaiah 49: 14-15
Zion said, “ADONAI has forsaken me;
my GOD has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
Responsory
R. When Israel was still very young I loved them, *and out of Egypt I called my own.
V. I led them with cords of compassion, with guiding bands of love. *and out of Egypt I called my own. V. Glory to the Abba and the Word, and the Holy Breath of Love.
Canticle of Zachariah
Antiphon
The birds in the sky do not sow or reap,
they gather nothing into barns,
yet your Abba feeds them all.
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
The birds in the sky do not sow or reap,
they gather nothing into barns,
yet your Abba feeds them all.
Litany of Intercession
That all who claim to serve God may overcome what divides us and work together to free those enslaved and oppressed by Mammon, let us pray…
~ Hear us O God.
That we may learn from the birds of the air and the flowers of the field how to trust in Providence, living more simply that all creatures may simply live, let us pray…
~ Hear us O God.
That we might seek first the all-inclusive solidarity, equality, generosity and justice of God’s reign so that all people and the rest of Earthkind may flourish in the fulness of life, let us pray…
~ Hear us O God.
That the sacredness of all life and the rights of all human and all earthly beings may be upheld in the hearts and in the laws of all peoples and nations, let us pray…
~ Hear us O God.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Dear Abba …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
O Holy One, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, You called and gifted Jesus to live and to proclaim the justice and compassion of your Reign. You have called and gifted each of us to continue his mission and ministry in a great variety of ways with a wonderful diversity of gifts. Free us to trust in your Providential care and join you in sharing the abundance so that all may enjoy the freedom and fullness of life. Amen.
May the Spirit of God + kindle in our hearts a passion for justice and a commitment to the poor. ~Amen
Let us bless Adonai.
~Thanks be to God.