Liturgy

As the day approaches its end,
so also our weary souls wane.

Lord, breath the warmth of your presence
as we wander into the haze of night.

In our weakness, it is so easy
to let our fear and fatigue persuade us
to suspect and harm one another.

Lord, whisper your wisdom in our ear
that we would hear it more clearly
than the murmurs all around us.

The shadows lengthen and take shape,
morphing, growing, rustling all around us.
Soon, they fade, and a first light exhales softly.

Lord, the sun begins to rise, a new day is dawning.
Steady us as the world around us continues to change.

We pray in the name of God, our path,
Jesus, our wayfinder,
and the Holy Spirit, our companion along the way.

Amen

(Vox Prayer Team)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the book of Numbers 21:5-9
5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food
and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6 Then the Lord sent
poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that
many Israelites died…
So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a
poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall
look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon
a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at
the serpent of bronze and live.

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.

Homily & Reflection

Homily Podcast: Shifting Our Gaze

• How has God carried you through times of trouble?
• Where might you be “looking at snakes” and misperceiving God’s intent towards you?
• How might God be steadying you through a season of change even now?

Benediction

Before this world taught us to fear,
our fun and play took us among the forests and hills.
The creatures and bugs emerged with curious eyes
and were content to sing and dance alongside us.
We promised never to harm or steal
and so they promised never to bite or sting,
and the trees sang their resounding harmonies
lower and more joyful than ever we heard.
Lord, teach us once again how to play, to sing, to dance,
bring us to the safety of your presence
where we may again join with each other and all creation
in cultivating what is good, kind, and beautiful.
This we pray in the name of God, our Creator,
Jesus, our playmate and friend,
and the Holy Spirit, the joy of our time together.
Amen

(Vox Prayer Team)

[Photo by Marine Hovhannisyan]