62B*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 22B [Ordinary 30B] or [Proper 25B] 2015
Psalm 126

Trustworthy God, we gather together to share in worship and to celebrate our joy.
“Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy” is to be found in God!

Amazing God, we gather to rejoice in the wonderful blessings of God’s grace.
Pilgrim’s God, our hearts and spirits dance with joy at the glory of your presence.

Home-coming God, we gather to praise and thank you for the way you respond
to our prayers; and we give thanks that you bless us every day with your mercy.
Generous God, you have answered our prayers and met our real needs, and so
we rejoice that you have turned our tears into songs and prayers of praise and joy. Amen.

Psalm 126
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 When the LORD brought back his exiles to Jerusalem,
it was like a dream!
2 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said,
“What amazing things the LORD has done for them.”
3 Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!

4 Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert.
5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest.

Prayers of Praise and Confession
Pentecost 22B [Ordinary 30B] or [Proper 25B] 2015
Psalm 126

Trustworthy God, we gather together for worship and to celebrate the spiritual
joy, delight and contentment we find when we are at home with you; when we
are in an intimate and trusting relationship with the God, who knows us so well.
Through our own actions in the past, there have been blocks that separated us
from our Faithful God; but with joy-filled hearts and with songs and prayers of
thanks; we celebrate God’s renewed relationship with us. Unbelievers are always
astonished at God’s grace and mercy towards us; and of God’s rescue of us—
and we all agree with their reactions – God’s loving actions really are astonishing!

Pilgrim’s God, we have wandered away from your path to life and fullness of joy—
and we have known years of isolation and of very deep regret. But through God’s
loving mercy, we have been restored again to the family of God, and welcomed
back into a loyal and honest relationship with God. Because of this, our hearts
and spirits dance with joy again at the recognition and experiences of the glory of
God’s presence with us. Amazing God, we gather to rejoice in the blessings of God’s
grace towards us all, and for the transforming power of God’s blessings of love.

Generous God, you have heard and answered our prayers and met our needs;
and you have forgiven us our confessed sin; so we praise and thank you God for
the way you respond to our prayers. We give thanks that you bless us every day
with your mercy, and we rejoice that you have turned our tears of remorse into
prayers and songs of praise and joy. What amazing things God has done for each
of us, as we have been so blessed as members of a community of faith; and also
as individuals who seek to love and serve our God. Praise be to God’s Holy Name. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 22B [Ordinary 30B] or [Proper 25B] 2015
Psalm 126

Sister Monica Brown is an Australian nun whose religious formation came
through the Benedictine tradition with the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, and
through “Emmaus Productions”, her original music and spirituality is spread
worldwide. I often use her CD’s at our “Worship on Thursday” group, and her
messages always provide an inspiration and encouragement to us all. The
people of Israel had been in exile in Babylon and their hopes for being able
to return home were in tatters – yet they still trusted in their God but asked
the question: “Who will comfort my people? Who will wipe their tears? And
who will heal the broken hearted? Who will bind up wounded souls?1 The chorus
gives the answer: “I myself will comfort my people, I will speak to their hearts,
I myself will lead them through darkness, I will be their God…”1 The other verse
gives God’s promise: “See how the darkness is fading, see how the dawn now
breaks through, see how the desert is blooming, see how my Word is now fulfilled.”1

Creative pause: “I myself will comfort my people... I will be their God…”1


Another Sister Monica song from that same CD has this prayer for the chorus:
“Bring us home to you, O God, bring us home to you, that we might live, bring us
home…”2 Two of the verses pray: “Speak to the heart of your people O God, we
wander and thirst through so many desert places. We long to see your face, to hear
your voice, to find our way….” “Speak to the heart of your people, O God. We’re
lost and alone, our hearts have strayed far from you, we hunger for you, O God,
our hearts are restless and aching…”2 Sister Monica has the spiritual capacity to
speak directly to the hearts of people who are troubled or sick, and our “Worship on
Thursday” group members have had a special blessing from Sister Monica; and as
we shared the final journey of life with one of our members, and at her funeral we
had one of Sister Monica’s “blessing” songs, based on an ancient Celtic blessing.

Creative pause: “...they sing as they return with the harvest...”


One of Sister Monica’s songs from the “Special Collection” CD includes some words
from today’s Psalm 126 with this chorus. “You may sow in tears, but you will reap
in joy. You may cry in darkness, but you will dance in morning light, in the glory of
the new dawn. From darkness to light, you will song a new song, a song of life…”3
One of the verses has these words: “…Visions and dreams may all fade, hope lost
in despair. But for those who place all their trust in God, the day will dawn when their
hope will not be deceived…”3 The message of this psalm is that hope in God will
not deceive, and God can be trusted – even if “visions and dreams may fade…”3

Creative pause: “Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!”


1 From “Comfort My People” CD
Words & music by Sister Monica Brown
© 1999 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used by Personal Permission

2 From “Comfort My People” CD
Words & music by Sister Monica Brown
© 1999 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used by Personal Permission

3 From “A Special Collection” CD
Words & music by Sister Monica Brown
© 1994 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used with personal permission

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 inspiration available from the writings of
Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2015 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

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

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