Sunday, February 27, 2022

The Last Sunday After Epiphany The Transfiguration of the Christ Quinquagesima Sunday—5 Weeks / 50 Days Before Easter From the Gelasian Sacramentary (7th Century) A Liturgy For Worship HYMN OF PRAISE—When Morning Gilds the Skies (Click Here For Music) 1 When morning gilds the sky, our hearts awaking cry: May Jesus Christ be praised! in all our work and prayer we ask his loving care: May Jesus Christ be praised! 2 To God, the Word on high, the hosts of angels cry: May Jesus Christ be praised! Let mortals too upraise their voices in hymns of praise: May Jesus Christ be praised! 3 Let earth's wide circle round in joyful notes resound: May Jesus Christ be praised! Let air and sea and sky from depth to height reply: May Jesus Christ be praised! 4 Be this, when day is past, of all our thoughts the last: May Jesus Christ be praised! The night becomes as day when from the heart we say: May Jesus Christ be praised! 5 Then let us join to sing to Christ, our loving King: May Jesus Christ be praised! Be this the eternal song through all the ages long: May Jesus Christ be praised! COLLECT FOR WORSHIP Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, alldesires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy Name. Amen. TRISAGION Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: To you be all glory, honor, and praise. Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: All the heavenly host proclaim the glory of your Name. Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: Peace and goodwill be to all on earth. PRAYER FOR THE DAY O God, You call us to go to the mountain top with Jesus And we follow, not quite sure of what is to happen, but we like mountain tops, we like the view from up here, we like mountain top experiences. O God, sometimes we need mountain top experiences with you when our days are dark and dreary, when our hearts, are heavy, when the valleys seem more depressing than ever. O God, may this mountain top experience fill our hearts with your light, may we be filled with your love, may we be filled with hope. O God, just as Moses, Elijah and your disciples were changed by their experiences we too are changed and transformed into the image of the Christ by your mercy. O God, may we have unveiled faces that reflect your love, your hope, and your light. —adapted from Rev Abi (RevGalBlogPals) http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.ca PSALMODY Psalm 43 2 You are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you cast me off? Why must I walk about mournfully because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. HYMN—Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies (Click Here For Music) 1 Christ, whose glory fills the skies, Christ, the true, the only Light, Sun of Righteousness, arise, Triumph o’er the shades of night; Dayspring from on high, be near; Day-star, in my heart appear. 2 Dark and cheerless is the morn Unaccompanied by Thee; Joyless is the day’s return Till Thy mercy’s beams I see, Till they inward light impart, Cheer my eyes and warm my heart. 3 Visit then this soul of mine; Pierce the gloom of sin and grief; Fill me, Radiancy divine; Scatter all my unbelief; More and more Thyself display, Shining to the perfect day. GOSPEL READING Luke 9:28-43 28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two people, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and spoke of the prophecy that Jesus was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others had already fallen into a deep sleep, but awakening, they saw Jesus’ glory—and the two people who were standing next to him. 33 When the two were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, how good it is for us to be here! let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—Peter didn’t really know what he was saying. 34 While Peter was speaking, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Own, my Beloved, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. SCRIPTURE PRAYER Eternal God, you revealed to the disciples the everlasting glory of only Begotten, Beloved One. Grant us, who have not seen and yet believe, the gift of your Holy Spirit, that we may boldly live the gospel of your Anointed One and shine with your transforming glory, as people changed and changing unto to the likeness of the Christ in glory. Amen. —adapted from https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu HYMN—Be Thou My Vision (Click Here For Music) 1 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. 2 Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word; I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord. Born of thy love, thy child may I be, thou in me dwelling and I one with thee. 3 Be thou my buckler, my sword for the fight. Be thou my dignity, thou my delight, thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tow’r. Raise thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r. 4 Riches I heed not, nor vain empty praise; thou mine inheritance, now and always. Thou and thou only, first in my heart, Ruler of heaven, my treasure thou art. 5 "True Light of heaven, when vict’ry is won may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Sun! Heart of my heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all. MEDITATION Before we enter the dark days of Lent, we are given a view of resurrection light. Upon the mountaintop, Jesus is experienced—along with the prophets of old—as being glorfied by God. The God who led the people of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness as a cloud by day and a fire by night, leads the followers of Jesus into the new reality of resurrected love. Out of a cloud the Voice comes upon the shinning radiance that filled the air: this is my Beloved, my Chosen One, the Word to whom you are to listen. Within the distrations of noise, the voices of earyday life, there is a Voice to which we are to be attentive—listening, hearing, digesting, following, obeying, being. In a time when the scream of pandemic fills the world . . . as the shriek of war's probability bellows over the possibility of peace . . . when the cackle of blight and economic suffering weighs brutaly heavy upon so many lives . . . in the screech of Earth's warning cry that creation is burdened beneath the hand of human greed and foolish exploitation . . . by the ravenous howl of politics that rent division and name the enemy that is we ourselves . . . a voice speaks life. Life is proclaimed in the very places where justice and peace are most threatened. The Light of Life is most radiant in the shadows of brokenness and pain. The Luminous Love of God is eternal Splendor transforming life's thick places into thin places where the Holy flows in and through and of. The Life that is revealed on this mountaintop is no different than the life that became when God spoke, saying, "let there be light." The Life is the same that Moses expereinced in the burning bush who uttered the Holy Name that is beyond human speech. The Life is the same that Elijah discovered in the still, small voice that we not in the storm or the devastation. The Life is the same as the angelic spoke to Mary announcing the birth of One who will be justice and peace. Yes, the Life—like all life—comes through the labor of pregnancy's pangs. In a few days we will enter the cloud of Lent. The shadows will grow dreary . . . the light will seem absent. And, through those forty days of the soul's dark night, we will emerge from the other side transformed. The night does not last forever. The night is not a bottomless sink hole. the night is not an all encompassing presence that fills even to the core. No, the bleak absence of light may be a crucible, but it changes us from the inside out to live as children of Light. Our journey in those days of Lent lead us to an empty tomb. The tomb, however, is the result of a cross . . . a crucifixion . . . a death. It is Jesus being the scapegoat for all that is wrong with humankind that makes the tomb a womb. The tomb is not the last word. In the face of suffering and death, God speaks Life. What comes forth from death-night's tomb is the brilliance of Life-Light that will never be overcome by even our worst ways of being conformed to the means and ways of the world's undoing. In God's Wisdom, the Church lends us Lent that we may be the Easter of a New Morn. Amen. CONFESSION We are drawn to you, O God, like those being drawn from the night into sunlight. Yet there are times when we are drawn away from your light. We may feel inadequate, unworthy, or less than perfect. We forget that we are your children, your beloved creations, and that you reach out for us even when we turn away from you. Forgive us, O God. The night is gone and the day has come. Christ, the Light of the World, born in the person of Jesus, reminds us that God’s light and love are for all of us— no matter who we are and no matter what we have done. We are loved and forgiven. —adapted from Worship Ways, https://www.ucc.org/worship-way PRAYER OF INTERCESSION O God, as Jesus drew apart to be in prayer with you, we offer our prayers for the transformation of the world and the church: For the Church: that the wisdom of God may enlighten our words and actions so that our deepest identity as children of God may be manifest . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For the grace of discernment: that the Spirit will help us recognize what motivates us and inspire us to choose those actions that lead to fuller life . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For freedom from self-deception: that God will heal our narrowness of mind and blindness to the truth proclaimed in the Gospel . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For the grace to be single-hearted: that God will cleanse us of hypocrisy and help us to live fully what we profess . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For a re-centering of our lives during the coming Lenten season: that God’s grace will guide us to love God more fully and to love our neighbors as we do ourselves so that we may live forever Christ’s new resurrected life . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For refugees and displaced persons: that God will protect them from harm and mistreatment, guide them to places of safety, and help them find acceptance in new communities . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For all who are burdened by lack of education: that God will open new doors for them to learn, help them recognize their gifts and find new ways to put them into practice for the good of others . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For all catechumens who are preparing for the Rite of Election: that God will strengthen them, free their hearts to surrender more fully to God, and help them to grow in their discipleship . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For all who are ill: that the Spirit will bring healing to all burdened with illness, restore them to their activities and responsibilities, and help them to be strengthened through the care and companionship of family and friends . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For all struggling with addictions: that God will free them from all that holds them bound and help them find the resources that will help them restore their life . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For a healing of the wounds of racism and discrimination: that God will heal those who have been wounded by racism and open new opportunities for them to share their gifts and enrich society . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For greater stewardship of fresh water: that we may wisely use water and work to share this valuable resource with all who have limited access to it . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For the safety of schools: that God will watch over and protect all young people in school, protect them from violence, and help them grow in knowledge and maturity . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For Peace: that God will guide world leaders in diffusing international tensions and help them to work together to end famine, disease, and lack of educational opportunities . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. For all who have died: that they may share in Christ’s defeat of death and be clothed in the new life of the resurrection . . . God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. You revealed your glory and presence in your Beloved One. In receiving our prayers, reveal the glory and presence of your Spirit alive in the world today, free us from all doubts, and empower us to act as a transfigured people. Amen. —adapted from Joe Milner, https://liturgy.sluhostedsites.org/ THE PRAYER OF JESUS Holy One, our Mother and Father Let your name be revered. Let your kin-dom come, Let your will be done on earth as it is in the heavens. Give us today the bread we need for today. And forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, And deliver us from evil. For yours is the Kin-Dom, the power, and the glory Now and forever. Amen. —from https://davebarnhart.wordpress.com/ HYMN—O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair (Click Here For Music) 1 O wondrous type! O vision fair of glory that the Church may share, which Christ upon the mountain shows, where brighter than the sun he glows! 2 With Moses and Elijah nigh th'incarnate Lord holds converse high, and from the cloud the Holy One bears record to the only Son. 3 With shining face and bright array Christ deigns to manifest today what glory shall be theirs above who joy in God with perfect love. 4 And faithful hearts are raised on high by this great vision's mystery, for which in joyful strains we raise the voice of prayer, the hymn of praise. 5 O Father, with th'eternal Son and Holy Spirit ever one, we pray you, bring us by your grace to see your glory face to face. DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING May God bless you and keep you; may God's face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; may God's countenance be lifted upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)