Liturgy
We long to see you, Jesus, but things
get in our way. You are often hidden
behind crowds who chant your name.
We look for you in the moment of triumph,
the hubbub, the places of power. But these
are not the places to find you, dear Jesus.
For you are often with the straggler
on the fringe of the group. You are at
dinner with the sinner and the outcast.
We search for your Spirit inside of ourselves.
You are often unseen beyond our own inner protectors.
We expect you will get along with our inner critic,
our best do-er, our smiling mask.
But this is not where your Spirit indwells.
You are sitting with our hurt and exiled parts,
locked deep inside us. We find you in the
desolate and difficult places within.
We are waiting, Jesus, for you to see us.
For you to look at us where we are and as we are.
We are inviting you to our place, to all our places,
So that we can see them as you do.
So that we can see ourselves as you do.
So that we can see everyone as you do.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We pray in the name of the Creator God,
the Christ Revealed,
and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
(Prayer Writing Team)
Scripture Reading
We invite you to hear from the Gospel of Matthew 19:13-15.
13 Then children were being brought to him in order that he
might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke
sternly to those who brought them, 14 but Jesus said,
“Let the children come to me, and do not stop them,
for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
15 And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.
Benediction
Let us close with a benediction.
May Jesus meet us wherever we go.
May we invite him into all our hard places.
May he show us the excluded around us.
May he show us the excluded within us.
May his welcome of these become our welcome.
We go out into the world with you, Jesus,
Seeking healing for those who have been hurt,
A voice for those who have been silenced,
Connection for those who have been isolated,
Justice for those who have been wronged.
In the name of God who made us,
Jesus who sees us,
And the Spirit who lives within us.
Amen.
(Prayer Writing Team)
Go in peace, Vox family, and live the church.
May you find belonging and community this week.
[Photo by Mark Bishop]