Faith, Love and
Grace
is our worship theme for Reformation Sunday, October 28, 2012. Our focus
scripture is Jeremiah 31:31-34.
As
a United Church of Christ in the reformed tradition, the Church of the Nativity
emphasizes the love of God for all people, and the desire of God to call each
person into a relationship of love.
Martin
Luther, who began his ministry as a monk, was famously concerned about his
salvation. He worried that every sin he committed must be confessed to his
confessor and pardoned, lest he end up damned. He then worried that he might
forget to confess a sin, or that he might commit a sin without realizing it.
His worry became so obsessive that his confessor finally told him to stop
bothering him about every little sin and wait until he had done something truly
wrong – like committing a murder! Finally as he pondered the teachings of the
Apostle Paul, Luther came to the realization that we are not saved by works,
but by grace. That it is not whether we confess every detail of sin, but
whether we confess Jesus as Lord, and thereby enter the circle of his saving
love. So in the traditional formula of Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
To
me, the life of Jesus is a living love letter from God addressed to the deepest
part of our souls. He embodies God’s revolutionary love. Like the prophets, he
works to reverse the fortunes of the poor, the sick, the prisoners, the victims
of discrimination and violence, and those who suffer from hopelessness. He
seeks to prepare the way for God’s reign of love and justice and peace. In his
presence, people of all kinds can experience God’s reign if they have eyes to
see. His death on the cross reveals the full depth of God’s love. His
resurrection reveals the full power of God’s love. When we fall in love with
Jesus his living presence gives us courage to act as citizens of heaven even as
we live as citizens of earth. Reformation churches express his radical love in
their ministries. The Reformation is not a long ago historical event that we
dust off once a year on Reformation Sunday. It is an ongoing revolution based
in God’s constantly working love as we discover it in Jesus. And it means that
we continually work with God’s guidance to reform ourselves, our churches, and
the world that God loves.
Here
is a Call to Worship and a Litany based on Psalm 126, and a Call to Worship
based on Jeremiah 31:31-34. Please use or adapt anything helpful to you.
Call to Worship From Psalm 126
L: Sisters and brothers, we
serve a gracious God,
whose glory is revolutionary love!
P: When God called the people out of slavery in Egypt,
then we
were like
those whose dreams come true.
L: When God brought Israel
home to a land flowing with milk and
honey, then our mouths were filled with
laughter.
P: When God restored the fortunes of Zion and freed
them from
captivity
in Babylon, then our tongues shouted for joy.
L: When God raised Jesus and
shattered the power of death,
then
we danced the dance of life.
P: And now, when the blind see, the lame walk, the
sick are
healed, the deaf hear, the lonely are
welcomed, and the poor
are fed, then
we celebrate God’s amazing love.
L: Sisters and brothers, we
serve a gracious God,
whose glory is revolutionary love!
whose glory is revolutionary love!
All: Let us worship God! Amen.
A
Litany Based on Psalm 126
L:
When God brought our people back from captivity in Babylon,
we were like those who dream.
P:
Then we shook with laughter, then we shouted for joy!
L:
When God came to us in a poor baby born in a stable...
P:
When God spoke to us from a mountain top...
L:
When God shattered the power of the tomb...
P:
When God poured out Spirit from the heavens...
L:
When God built our church on a farm field...
P:
When God blessed us with children and a church school...
L:
When God called us into small groups...
P:
When God empowered us to serve the hungry...
L:
When God comforted our broken hearts...
P:
When God helped our youth build houses for the poor...
L:
When God strengthened us in a time of illness...
P:
When God joined our voice for justice with other churches...
L:
When God inspired us to create wonderful music...
P:
When God moved our 3rd & 4th graders to raise a mile
of pennies...
L:
When God started us thinking about an elevator...
P:
When God opened the way for us to welcome all kinds of people...
L:
Then we shook with laughter, then we shouted for joy!
P:
May we always trust in your goodness, Loving God!
L:
May our tears of sorrow water seeds of joy.
All: May our times of tribulation bear a harvest of
justice and peace.
Note:
This litany refers in some places to events in the life of the Church of the
Nativity. Please substitute events that your people will recognize from the
life of your church.
Call to Worship From Jeremiah
31:31-34
L: Sisters and brothers, let us remember the Living Word of God
as it
came to the prophet Jeremiah: “The days are surely coming,
when
I will make a new covenant with my people.
P: It will not be
like the covenant I made with their ancestors
when I led them out of slavery in Egypt –
a covenant which they broke, though I was
their husband.
L: This is the covenant I will make with them:
I will put my law within them and I will write it on
their hearts.
P: I will be
their God and they will be my people.
No longer shall they have to teach one
another about me,
for they shall all know me, from the least
to the greatest of them.
L: And I will forgive all their offenses, and remember their sin no
more.”
All:
Thanks be to God! Let us worship God!
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