60B*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 21B [Ordinary 28B] or [Proper 23B] 2018
Psalm 22: 1-15

Trustworthy God, “Our ancestors trusted in you… they cried out to you and were saved.”
“Have faith in God, my heart, trust and be unafraid; God will fulfil…each promise…made.”¹

Inspirational God, you reveal yourself to us in so many ways, and we gladly worship you.
“…Have faith in God, my mind…God’s mercy holds a wiser plan than you can fully know…”¹

Awesome God, you are our Creator, our Liberator and you are our sure Refuge in times of
trouble; and we rely on your presence, guidance and blessing upon us - each and every day.
“…Have faith in God, my soul…neither life nor death can pluck his children from his
hands. …grant me no resting place until I rest, heart, mind and soul, the captive of your
grace…”¹ In faith, hope and trust, we gather to honour, revere and praise you, for you are our God. Amen.

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Psalm 22: 1-15
For the choir director: A psalm of David,
to be sung to the tune “Doe of the Dawn.”

1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.

3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the LORD?
Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much,
let the LORD rescue him!”

9 Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
10 I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.
11 Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near,
and no one else can help me.
12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
13 Like lions they open their jaws against me,
roaring and tearing into their prey.

14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax, melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sun baked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.

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Prayers of Trust
After Pentecost 21B [Ordinary 28B] or [Proper 23B] 2018
Psalm 22: 1-15

Trustworthy God, we celebrate the blessings God has poured out on every generation,
and give thanks that “…Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. They
cried out to you and were saved…” Each day we are challenged by issues – personal
and shared; local and international. We are confronted by ethical matters that touch us
and our neighbours in varying ways, but which require a response from us that is fair
and just; and these confrontations and challenges can shake the very foundations of our
life and our faith in God. We pray for a stronger trust in God; and in God’s ways: as we
seek to: “…Have faith in God, my mind, though oft your light burns low; God’s mercy
holds a wiser plan than you can fully know…”¹ We thank God for these assurances.

Inspirational God, you reveal yourself to us in many ways, and we gladly come together
to worship you. We have been in a relationship with God since our conception, whether
we acknowledge it or not; but that intimate link has always been there. Each day we are
challenged in our relationships with those closest to us; or through cultural or ethnic links.
We are confronted by relationships that have been soured or broken; and this affects us
in many ways; because of our fickle capacity to trust people who have hurt us or whom
we have hurt. Forgive us our hesitation in building lasting relationships. We pray for a
deeper sense of the reality of God’s presence with us to guide and bless us; and we
ask that we may: “…Have faith in God, my heart, trust and be unafraid; God will fulfil in
every part each promise he has made…”¹ We give thanks to God for these assurances.

Awesome God, you are our Creator, our Liberator and you are our sure Refuge in times
of trouble; and we rely on your presence, guidance and blessing upon us. Each day we
are challenged to confirm our faith in God as we are confronted by cynicism and disbelief;
and sometimes we struggle to choose the godly way to live, act and think. We pray that
with God’s help, we can faithfully worship, witness and serve the God who blesses and
guides us. We thank you for the positive influences on our life of faith, especially for those
people who have prayed for us as we developed and matured. Through their faithfulness,
we have learned to “…Have faith in God, my soul…grant me no resting place until I rest,
heart, mind and soul, the captive of your grace.”¹ We thank God for these assurances. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 21B [Ordinary 28B] or [Proper 23B] 2018
Psalm 22: 1-15

What is it that motivates you? What is it that makes you roll out of your bed every
morning; and hopefully, ready for another day? Is it because there are people who
rely on you to get them started? Is your motivation for leaving your bed a response
or a reaction to some form of stimuli? Is it because you need to attend your work,
your school, or a community-based responsibilities. Some of your answers to these
questions may depend on your age, your gender; and whether you are capable of
leading a full and active life. Our motivation helps to determine how committed or
enthusiastic we are about proposed actions; it helps us to meet a personal or shared
need; or our ambitions and aspirations challenge us to live a more fulfilling life; to
study subjects for the purpose of making life easier and better for other people; to
seek to negotiate complex issues; or simply to follow our conscience with integrity.



What is it that motivates you and makes you enthusiastic for a good cause; a hobby;
an ideal; or a relationship? Basically, our motivations could be classified as being either
emotional, mental, physical, economic, cultural, social or needs based challenges; or
simply our ambitions. But what about our spiritual motivation? What motivates you to
worship God; to follow Jesus; to work for justice and equality by serving people in need;
praying for and seeking to help bring the Reign of God a little nearer? Do you, like the
psalmist, crave a relationship like his to God? Verses 9-10 of the psalms speak of the
intimacy of a life-long relationship: “…you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast. I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born…” Can you also make that claim?



When reflecting on Psalm 22, it very hard to move on from the first verse of that Psalm,
as we are so familiar with Jesus’ use of these words when he felt so alone, dying on the
cross; and knowing a sense of utter abandonment! Professor Walter Brueggemann wrote
describing verses 3-5 as being ‘motivational’… prayers uttered “…in the conviction that
when YHWH re-engages the life of the petitioner, all will be well…² Brueggemann writes
again about motivation in verses 9 and 10: “…this time the case is made that the life of the
speaker was at YHWH’s initiative and therefore YHWH has continuing responsibility for
that life. This divine obligation is matched by the speaker’s complete attachment to YHWH,
who is ‘my God’…”² Precedent has been set by God’s long involvement with Israel, and
so the prayers, claims and requests in this psalm are based on that trusted relationship.



1 From “Together in Song” #619
‘Have faith in God, my heart’
Words by Bryn Austin Rees
© Mrs M E Rees
Used By Permission CCL Licence No. 221735

2 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
& William H Bellinger Junior from “Psalms”
Psalm 22, pages 114 & 115
© 2014 Cambridge University Press

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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:
© 2018 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Based on verses from Psalm 22.
Used with permission.

joanstott16@gmail.com
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost21[28]b_2018.pdf