33A*
A Call to Worship
Easter 3A 2017
Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19

Eternal God: in life, in death, we trust you with all that we are and will become.
“...Because the LORD bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath...”

Nurturing God: because of your love for us, you nurture us in our living and dying.
“...How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours...!1

Transforming God: we trust your enlivening powers to enrich our living; and to
bless us with your grace through health and sickness, in our dying and death.
“...O LORD, I am your servant…The LORD protects those of childlike faith… Let
my soul be at rest again…so I walk in the LORD’s presence as I live here on earth…”
1 Amen.


Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19

1 I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
2 Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
3 Death wrapped its ropes around me;
the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “Please, LORD, save me!”

12 What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving me.
14 I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die.
16 O LORD, I am your servant;
yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfil my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people—
19 in the house of the LORD in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!


Prayers of Trust and Thankfulness
Easter 3A 2017
Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19

God of all hope and truth: in you we entrust all that we have and are, because you
are for us the Eternal One, the Holy One who holds us in the palm of God’s own
hand; and in whom we can safely entrust all that is precious to us. We give thanks
for the many blessings of answered prayers; for the gift of God’s presence with us—
especially in the dark times of life when we struggle to make sense of life itself. We
entrust to you our very lives, and we even entrust to you our death and our dying!
We give thanks for that gift of trust in you shown through your sacred promises;
“...Because the LORD bends down to listen, we will pray as long as long as we have
breath...”
Timeless God: in life, in death, we trust you with all that we are, and will be.

God of all joy and faithfulness: in you we entrust all that we have received from you
of love, joy and peace; and especially for the people you have given to us to be our
travelling companions in life. We have been nurtured by your loving grace and mercy
and our instinctive prayers and thoughts speak for us: “...How kind the LORD is! How
good he is! So merciful, this God of ours...!
1 We give thanks for all those people who
have guided and blessed our development as a child of God, and we pray that they,
too, may know the ever-new joy of your presence always with them. We commit to you
all that we are in life, in death, and we entrust you all that we have been and will be.

God of all generosity and tenderness: in you we entrust our future, as individuals and
as a community of faith, asking that you will be for us always the One who transforms
our sin-filled lives into testimonies to your merciful forgiveness and gracious love. As
individuals, we can only place our trust in your renewing powers to enliven our living;
and to enrich us with your grace through health and sickness, in our dying and death.
We acknowledge that there are times that we are not always positive about our faith
in you; and that we tend to allow doubt to darken our attitudes and actions; but even so
we still ask: “...What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me...?” The gift we can
and do offer to the LORD our God is our trust and thankfulness by praising and thanking
God with every action, word and thought, so that our living and dying gives glory to God. Amen.


A Personal Meditation
Easter 3A 2017
Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19

“...Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw
only trouble and sorrow...”
Recently, I was involved in supporting a woman whose
partner had died of a drug overdose, which came as a huge shock to her, because he
had hidden his addiction from her. For relevant reasons, the Coroner did not release
his body for burial for some weeks, so that I could conduct a grave-side service. Due
entirely to the skills of the mortician, we were able to view his body prior to burial without
it being too traumatic to his partner stoic in her grief. It was an unusual privilege to be
involved in this deep sense of loss, but I have never before conducted a funeral – complete
with heavy security for the safety of his partner. However, for the deceased siblings ...the
terrors of the grave overtook...
them in heartbreaking ways, as their grief and remorse
completely overwhelmed them. What a challenge it was to give a message of hope!

Creative pause: “...Let my soul be at rest again…”


After consulting with the partner of the deceased man, and conscious that there would
be no LORD’s Prayer or Psalm 23, and with no symbols of religious thought or actions,
the theme I chose for the service was ‘Freedom’ – freedom from all that had previously
imprisoned him. Ruth Burgess’ writings are always helpful, including “Saying Goodbye”—
“Go now, go and be one with the winds and the stars and the warmth of the sun. Go in
peace, go in love. Go now, go and be one with the seeds and the trees and the flowers
that blossom. Go in peace, go in love. Go now, go and be one with your hopes, with
wonder and your questions. Go in peace, go in love. Go now, go and be one with all
that is and all that will be. Go in peace, go in love.”
2 His partner was able to release him,
without it diminishing her grief and her sense of loss for their failed hopes and dreams.

Creative pause: “...The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die...”


The psalmist promised: “...The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die...” that is
our hope and our inspiration; and in the verses not included in the selected passage we
also learn that: “...How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!
The LORD protects those of childlike faith… Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD
has been good to me…”
1 The psalmist had been close to death, and he knew it, and
he celebrated, recommitting himself to God’s service before the assembled people. He
knew the meaning of real freedom because of God’s mercy and grace in guiding and
protecting him through all his life. He vowed: “...I will pray as long as I have breath..!”

Creative pause: “Go in peace, go in love. Go now, go and be one with...”2


1 Psalm 116: 5,6,7 & 9

2 “From “Saying Goodbye”
© 2013 A compilation by Ruth Burgess
Wild Goose Resource Group, lona Community.
Used with Permission
Word of Life International licence #2425.



Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological help and inspiration so frequently available from the writings of Professor Walter Brueggemann and Professorial brothers Rolf and Karl Jacobson; and the resources from "The Text this Week" (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditation are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2017 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Based on verses from Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19.
Used with permission.


jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

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