54B*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 14B [Ordinary 22B] or [Proper 17B] 2012
Psalm 45: 1-2, 6-9

Today we gather together in humble worship of our Glorious God!
God’s beauty is so overwhelming – there are no suitable words!
Our hearts and minds overflow with profound thoughts about God.

God’s holiness is so awe-inspiring – there are no appropriate words!
It is beyond our comprehension – we can only bow in humble worship!
Our souls respond with delight to the awesome wonder of our God.

God’s love and justice are breathtaking – there are simply no relevant words!
These graces are the foundations of God – we joyfully accept these blessings!
May our lives be a testimony to God’s loving and compassionate justice. Amen.

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Prayers of Praise
Pentecost 14B [Ordinary 22B] or [Proper 17B] 2012
Psalm 45: 1-2, 6-9

Holy God, we are so limited in the way we can express ourselves
in words, and sometimes, there do not seem to be enough words
or concepts invented to say what we think or feel! When we think
about and pray to our Glorious God, we search for different ways
to say what is in our heart and soul, arising from life’s experiences
of God’s goodness to us, and yet our thoughts and images are
so poor and totally inadequate! Eternal Love, we thank and praise
you for your compassionate justice and your merciful judgements.

As we struggle with concepts and ideas about our Creating God,
our very human minds collect images of high profile people with
good reputations for goodness and care for others, but these images
are inadequate! We think about people with good taste in colours
and style, with pleasing features and movements, but they too are
as nothing, when placed besides our understanding of God’s inner
beauty. We can call to mind the most beautiful birds and butterflies;
the loveliest of flowers; the most magnificent of trees; the most
dramatic of scenery; or the loveliest of sunrises or sunsets; but as the
Maker of all creation, God is supreme above and beyond all of these.

Holy and Wonderful God, we your humble children are in awe of
you and your gracious beauty; and perhaps God’s beauty is best
seen and understood in our experiences of love in its most pure
form. We offer to you our thanks and praises, for the glimpses that
you give to us of your Godly Beauty, and for this we worship you. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 14B [Ordinary 22B] or [Proper 17B] 2012
Psalm 45: 1-2, 6-9

God’s gift of love to humanity is an amazing emotion - in all its
variations. There is passionate love and gentle love; committed
relational love, parental and sibling love and friendship’s love.
There is the love we feel towards nature and creation; towards
objects and belongings; towards certain foods, animals, gardens,
and creative activities; education, knowledge and vocational love—
the list is endless. Yet these many “loves” seem to require nurture
to grow, develop and become deeper and stronger; but when love
becomes selfish or manipulative, it defiles and even destroys the
very meaning and reality of love – and that love dies a painful death.



In Australia, we have “L” plates for learner car drivers, and I think that
the human loves mentioned above, are actually training exercises for
the deeper and much richer love we are gifted by God - to offer back to
God - and that as human beings, we can respond to that Godly love
with our own deep love and devotion for God’s own Self and Being.



Having shared all the above, I am still uncomfortable about even
attempting to write a “love” poem, essay or song to God! Somehow,
to me, it seems too presumptuous and bold to make such an attempt.
Obviously, the psalmist also had trouble expressing himself, and he
also resorted to human comparisons and symbols; yet what else can
we do? Everything else is outside our experience. I do know that we
see “LOVE” with the eyes of our heart and soul, and experience it
with the deepest of our emotions and thoughts. May God accept this
bumbling attempt to reflect on and discern the beauty and loveliness
of God’s generous and freely-offered love God’s own loving attraction.

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Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and Meditations are from
‘The New Revised Standard Version’ Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

*The additional weekly numbering is from the Revised COCU Indexing Scheme
COCU = ('Consultation on Church Union'); as it offers an easy sequential numbering
for the Revised Common Lectionary for the Church Calendar.

If any part of these Prayers and/or Meditations is used in shared worship, please provide
the following acknowledgement:
© 2012 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost14[22]b_2012.pdf

© 2012 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year B