17B*
A Call to Worship
Jesus' Tranfiguration - Last Sunday after Epiphany, Year B 2018
Psalm 50: 1-6

The LORD has called God’s faithful people into the Holy One’s presence.
We come in response to that call, to worship God in awed amazement.

The LORD has called God’s faithful people to answer on their stewardship.
We come in response to that call, praying that we are worthy to serve God.

The LORD has called God’s faithful people to worship, praise and revere
the radiance of God’s presence, and our God will not be silent before us.
We come in response to that call, giving thanks for the revelation of God’s
Holy Presence; asking God’s blessing on our ministry, mission and worship. Amen.

Psalm 50: 1-6
A psalm of Asaph.

1 The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken;
he has summoned all humanity
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
2 From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines in glorious radiance.

3 Our God approaches, and he is not silent.
Fire devours everything in his way,
and a great storm rages around him.

4 He calls on the heavens above and earth below
to witness the judgment of his people.
5 “Bring my faithful people to me—
those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.”
6 Then let the heavens proclaim his justice,
for God himself will be the judge.
Interlude

Prayers of Confession and Petition
Jesus' Tranfiguration - Last Sunday after Epiphany, Year B 2018
Psalm 50: 1-6

The LORD has called God’s faithful people into the Holy One’s presence; and so we
come in response to that call, to worship God in awed amazement. We come, because
we have committed our life, our living and our loving to the service of our God; and we
are answerable to God, to our community of faith, to the community in which we live,
and to ourselves; because whilst there is freedom in serving God, there must be an
accountability. Therefore, we come and confess to God where we have failed; for those
things we know we have failed to do or be; and when we have been oblivious to our
neighbour’s needs; or even to the needs of those people we love the most. Forgive us,
O God, for our sins of omission and commission; and renew within us an awareness
of the world and the neighbourhood in which we live; but especially of our loved ones.
“Be merciful, O LORD, for we have sinned; be merciful, O LORD, for we have sinned…”1

The LORD has called God’s faithful people to answer on their stewardship of their gifts,
their commitments to God and to others; and we come in response to that call, praying
that we are worthy of loving and serving the LORD our God. In humility, we confess that
we will never be totally worthy of serving God. God has blessed us in so many ways
with so many gifts and privileges; and yet we seem to take these blessings for granted.
Grant to us, O God, a new awareness of all these blessings given to us by God’s grace:
our home and loved ones, a ‘place’ in the world that is uniquely ours; and that we are part
of a community where we can be a witness to God’s loving compassion for all people.
“Be merciful, O LORD, for we have sinned; be merciful, O LORD, for we have sinned…”1

The LORD has called God’s faithful people to worship, praise and revere the radiance of
God’s Holy Presence; and we give thanks that the ‘voice’ of our God will not be silent
before us, calling us to service in new and challenging ways, however we hear or interpret
that ‘voice’s’ message to us. Today, we respond to that ‘voice’ - as we understand that
message. Forgive us when we question that ‘voice’, because it is speaking to us in ways
that are too challenging for our liking; or when we confuse the message of that ‘voice’
because of our noisy lifestyle; or when the message is against all our natural inclinations.
Grant to us a sense of the long history of God at work in the world God created; and is still
creating; and remind us again that God’s voice has always been heard by faithful people—
even when they have been in a minority; and that somewhere right now, God’s ‘voice’ is
being heard and the task accepted. Our prayers today are for all faithful witnesses to God.
“Be merciful, O LORD, for we have sinned; be merciful, O LORD, for we have sinned…”1 Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Jesus' Tranfiguration - Last Sunday after Epiphany, Year B 2018
Psalm 50: 1-6

The Old Testament reading associated with this day tells about Elijah’s knowledge
that he would go to God that day; how Elijah was sent by God to various destinations;
and each time, Elisha insisted on going along with his mentor. Finally, they reached
the Jordan River, and “…Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I can do for you before
I am taken away.’ And Elisha replied, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your
spirit and become your successor….’”2 Elijah told Elisha that if Elisha witnessed his
departure, his request would be granted. “…suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn
by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was
carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, ‘My father! My father!
I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!’…”3 That symbolic imagery was a mixture
of the warrior charioteers of Israel’s history of being at war; and God’s sacred presence.

Creative pause: God calls people to ministry and mission – and the story continues.


Whilst the activities of Elijah and Elisha take centre stage, the other messages in this
reading are the faithfulness and continuity of the prophets from Bethel, Jericho and
around the Jordan River to the holy vision, when that ‘guild of prophets’ all remained
faithful to God’s vision; and their support of each other’s ministry. Another element of
this message is that the continuation of ministry and mission should not be interrupted
by death or departure – as people are called to faithfully continue where others leave off.
Psalm 50 is a psalm about the continuity of God’s mission in the world and amongst
people; and God calling in judgement on the people of Israel over their lack of personal
and shared commitment to the covenant relationship gifted to them by their God. But in
Psalm 50, the message is also that we are all accountable for the worship and behaviour
of God’s people - whether in Old or New Testament situations and times - or for us now
today. However those commitments were established, we are all accountable for the
continuation of God’s ministry and mission – but have we been faithful and committed?

Creative pause: Who is accountable for worship and behaviour in your community?


“The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken; he has summoned all humanity…
Our God approaches, and he is not silent…” God called the people of Israel to be judged
according to their fulfillment of their covenant commitment, and as God approached them
they learned that God would not be silent! In fact God instructed: “…Bring my faithful people
to me - those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices…” I can’t help linking this
reading with Abraham’s intercession to God on behalf of the few faithful people of Sodom.4
Abraham, humbly and tentatively begged God that if there were 50 faithful people - reduced
gradually to 10 faithful people - then God would spare Sodom. God’s judgment of people is
usually understood as being punishment, revenge or a ‘gotcha!’, when someone is ‘caught
in the act!’ God is not a police or traffic officer waiting to ‘catch’ someone! What if God’s acts
of judgment are loving suggestions to change behavior or thought patterns? What if God’s
judgment is an act of loving encouragement to try harder, to become even more committed?

Creative pause: How do you imagine God judging you, your life and your living?


1 From “Together in Song” #32
“Be merciful, O LORD…”
© Words by Christopher Wilcox
Used with Permission, Word of Life International License #2425

2 2 Kings 2: 9 (NLT)

3 2 Kings 2: 11-12 (NLT)

4 Genesis18: 16-33 (NLT)

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 50.
Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: transfigurationb_2018.pdf