Ash Wednesday: Marked by a Cross


Here’s a Lenten litany from Ruth Burgess.

Marked by a Cross

Marked by a cross,
cherished and forgiven
We are traveling home.

Called to be holy,
called to be happy
We are traveling home.

Across deserts,
over mountains
We are traveling home.

God in our hearts,
God in our lives
We are traveling home.

~ written by Ruth Burgess.  Included in Traveling to Easter with Jesus as our Guide, posted on the website of Patmos Abbey—The Order of Saint Columba. http://www.patmosabbey.org/

Closing Litany: All Belong to God


Here’s is a closing litany for Ash Wednesday written by Lisa Frenz for the Mount Carmel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Portland Oregon.

Closing Litany

The End is God’s. The Beginning is God’s.
The Storm is God’s. The Peace is God’s.
The Depths are God’s. The Heights are God’s
The Dark is God’s. The Light is God’s.
For all times, all things and all, all belong to God.
Travel with God to the end from the beginning.
Walk with the Lord of your salvation.
Continue with God during the storm as well as the peace.
Walk with the God of your deliverance.
Journey with God through the depths and the heights.
Walk with the Lord of your restoration.
Tarry with God in the dark and the light.
Walk with the Lord of your assurance;
For all times, all things and all, all belong to God.
Amen.

— from Ash Wednesday (Taize with imposition of ashes) written by Lisa Frenz for the Mt. Carmel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.  Posted on Lisa’s Liturgies. https://sites.google.com/site/lisasliturgies/home
If used, please include this note: “Copyright © 1999 Lisa Frenz. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission."

Note:  Lisa Frenz has prepared a number of other Ash Wednesday Liturgies.  You can find them on her site here. https://sites.google.com/site/lisasliturgies/home/lent

A Liturgy for Ash Wednesday


Here’s a liturgy for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday.  It was written by Bill Loader.

A Liturgy for Ash Wednesday

A mangled body on a cross
stands for all mangled bodies,
victims of torture and violence,
wizened and misshapen bodies of malnutrition and poverty.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

The burning which generates the ashes
reflects the misdirected passions of abuse
and the searing apathy
which renders hope barren
and suppresses change.

Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing 
 
To take the sign of the cross
means to allow oneself to be stretched out wide
in solidarity with the Christ
and in compassion for all,
even at cost,
and to believe against defeat and despair
that hope can rise and life begin again.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

Receive the sign of the cross.
(done according to local custom,
making the sign of the cross on the forehead)

— prepared by William Loader, 22 February 2004.  Posted on Bill Loader’s Home Page. http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/ashlit.htm

Ash Wednesday Reflection: On Dust and Glory


Here’s a reflection for Ash Wednesday from William Maxwell.

From Ash Wednesday to Easter and Beyond

Remember
that you are made of dust
and you will return to dust.
Remember too
that we are made in the image of God -
male and female,
old and young,
white and all persons of color
and geniuses
and people with attention deficit disorder.

It’s a strange and confusing combination,
this dustiness
and this freedom to love
and to be selfish
and to be afraid
and to know hope
and joy
and wonder.

I don’t need to know all the answers,
but I’d appreciate help remembering
that the Cross and the Resurrection
add a new dimension
and a new promise.
I remember this:
When we “Do this” in remembrance of Him
the dustiness
and God’s image
and my history
walk together,
led by His hand into life.
My life.

It’s a strange business,
this combining of
        dust
        and
        glory.

~ Copyright © 2010 William Maxwell. Posted on In the Courtyard. www.inthecourtyard.com 


Ash Wednesday Prayer: Come and save us


Here’s a prayer for Ash Wednesday from Christine Sine and the Godspace website.

Ash Wednesday Prayer

Jesus come and save us,

We are but dust,
We are like ashes,
but you can touch our unclean souls.

Jesus come and forgive us,

Our hearts are heavy,
Our burdens are great,
Cleanse us with the water of life.

Jesus come and heal us,

Restore our sight,
Teach us truth,
Speak to us words that bring us wholeness.

Jesus touch us with your heart of love,

Cleanse us with the water of life,
Restore our sight that we may see,
Teach us truth that we may lead Godly lives.

~ written by Christine Sine, and posted on the Godspace website.


Reflection: The Wisdom of Ash


Here’s a thoughtful prayer reflection on ashes from John van de Laar’s Sacredise.com website.

The Wisdom of Ash

There is a wisdom in ash,
that we need so much,
but seldom hear.

It's the wisdom of grief,
that reminds us of our mortality,
and that Life is more than this dust can contain.

It's the wisdom of confession,
that brings our darkness out of hiding,
and opens the windows to Light.

It's the wisdom of repentance,
that stops us in our tracks,
and charts the way to Love.

There's a wisdom in ash,
and we welcome it, Jesus,
thankful for the renewing gifts it brings.

Amen.

~ Copyright © John van de Laar.  Posted on the Sacredise website. http://sacredise.com/

Ash Wednesday Prayer of Contrition


Here’s a beautiful prayer of contrition for Ash Wednesday (and the Lenten season).  It was written by William Barclay.

Prayer of Contrition for Ash Wednesday

Save us, O God,
   From the blindness,
      which is not even aware that it is sinning;
   From the pride,
      which cannot admit that it is wrong;
   From the self-will,
      which can see nothing but its own way;
   From the self-righteousness,
      which can see no flaw within itself;
   From the callousness,
      which has sinned so often that it has ceased to care;
   From the defiance,
      which is not even sorry for its sins;
   From the evasion,
      which always puts the blame on someone or something else;
   From the heart so hardened,
      that it cannot repent.

Give us at all times,
   Eyes which are open to our faults;
   A conscience which is sensitive and quick to warn;
   A heart that cannot sin in peace,
      but is moved to regret and remorse.

So grant that being truly penitent we may be truly forgiven,
so that we may find that your love is great enough
to cover all of his sin; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

~ written by William Barclay in Prayers for the Christian Year (1965). http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/prayers-for-the-christian-year/author/barclay/

Ash Wednesday Confession


Here’s a prayer of confession for Ash Wednesday from Joanna Harader’s Spacious Faith blog.

Prayer of Confession for Ash Wednesday
(based on Psalm 51)

God of Compassion,
We turn toward you now. We rend our hearts.
Forgive our pride and forgive our insecurities.
Forgive our self-absorption and forgive our self-destruction.
Forgive our doubts and forgive our confidence.
Forgive our longing for attention and forgive our desire to hide.
Forgive each step we take away from you.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of my salvation, and grant a willing spirit to sustain me.”

~ posted by Joanna Harader on Spacious Faith. http://spaciousfaith.com/

Prayer for Ash Wednesday


God of the desert,
as we follow Jesus into the unknown,
may we recognise the tempter when he comes;
let it be your bread we eat,
your world we serve and you alone we worship.

- from New Zealand Prayer Book  

Ash Wednesday: Rend Your Hearts


Here’s a thoughtful reflection written for Ash Wednesday by Jan Richardson.

Rend Your Heart
A Blessing for Ash Wednesday

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing. Joel 2.12-13a

To receive this blessing,
all you have to do
is let your heart break.
Let it crack open.
Let it fall apart
so that you can see
its secret chambers,
the hidden spaces
where you have hesitated
to go.

Your entire life
is here, inscribed whole
upon your heart’s walls:
every path taken
or left behind,
every face you turned toward
or turned away,
every word spoken in love
or in rage,
every line of your life
you would prefer to leave
in shadow,
every story that shimmers
with treasures known
and those you have yet
to find.

It could take you days
to wander these rooms.
Forty, at least.

And so let this be
a season for wandering
for trusting the breaking
for tracing the tear
that will return you

to the One who waits
who watches
who works within
the rending
to make your heart
whole.

~ written by Jan L. Richardson, and posted on The Painted Prayerbook blog. http://paintedprayerbook.com/

Ash Wednesday Liturgy


Here’s a corporate confession and liturgy for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. It is set for leader and congregation (divided into two voices).

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

Corporate Confession
Leader: Creator God, you fashioned us out of dust,
            breathing your Spirit into us,
            so we might sing your praise. 
  
One:     But we have denounced your gift of life
            in order to be our own gods,
            clinging to death-dealing idols of our own making.   
  
Two:     We have denied our creaturely status,
            seeking to lord it over those we label “less-than.”  
  
One:     We squelch all who are different
            through ignoring, belittling, murdering, and bombing.
  
Two:     We believe survival-of-the-fittest lies,
            discounting the weak,
            and profiting by others’ pain. 
  
Leader: Not trusting in your providence,
            we stop our ears to cries of those in need
            because we’re afraid we won’t have enough. 
  
One:     We have been unfaithful stewards, O Lord. 
  
Two:     We live in a state of sin among a people of sin. 
  
One:     Save for your grace, we perish.      
 
Two:     Remember our making, Creator God;
            remember we are dust. 
  
All:       Have mercy on us according to your loving kindness. 
            Breathe new life into us once more,
            so we might be the people you created us to be.  
            Restore unto us the joy of your salvation
            that we might do justice, love kindness,
            and walk humbly with the Lord Jesus Christ,
            in whose name we pray,
            Amen. 
   
Silent confession of sin

Imposition of ashes
Leader: Those who so desire may come forward
            to receive an imposition of ashes
            as a sign of penitence not only for our individual sin,
            but also in recognition of our complicity in the sin of the world. 
 
Assurance of Pardon (Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Hear the promise of God:
“I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean
from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 
A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you;
and I will remove from your body the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh. 
I will put my spirit within you,
and make you follow my statutes
and be careful to observe my ordinances.” 

Friends, the promises of God are true:
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross
that we might be dead to sin and alive to all that is good.
In the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven. 
Live now as new people, free to love God and neighbor.

~ posted on the PCUSA website. http://www.pcusa.org/

Opening Prayer: Faith, Hope and Love


Here’s an opening prayer inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.  It was written by Carol Penner.

 

Opening Prayer

(based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

 

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

and the greatest of these is love.  I Cor.13:13

 

God of Gods:
We come to worship today to hear your good news,
to hear of faith, hope and love
ringing out from your kingdom.
We know that doubt, fear and hatred
can shake even the strongest.
Shape us into faithful hopeful people,
fill us with your love that passes all understanding.
We pray this together in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

~ written by Carol Penner, and Posted on Leading in Worship. http://carolpenner.typepad.com/leadinginworship/


Prayer of Invocation: Martin Luther King


Here’s a unison opening prayer for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday in January).  It was written by Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy of First Church Congregational in Rochester, NH.  (Note that it could also easily be adapted as a closing prayer.)

Opening Prayer: Martin Luther King, Jr

God of Righteousness, grant us your life-giving presence. 
Guide us in our time of worship,
and remain with us as we step out into the world,
that we may face injustice with courage and love. 
May we come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself,
a society that can live with its conscience.
The timing may feel off;
the end of the road might be out of sight,
yet we trust in your holy presence.

How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.
How long? Not long, because you still reap what you sow.
How long? Not long.  Because the arm of the moral universe is long,
but it bends toward justice. 
How long? Not long, because you are our God,
and all may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  Amen.

~ written by Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, adapted from “Our God is Marching On!” (speech delivered at the Alabama State House by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, March 25, 1965). sermonizing.wordpress.com

Pastoral Prayer: John 2: 1-11


Here’s a prayer inspired by John 2:1-11, the wedding at Cana.  It comes from An Old Song with a New Dance. It was written for the Advent season, but would also be appropriate if you’re using the text for Epiphany 2, Year C.

 

Pastoral Prayer

(inspired by John 2: 1-11)

 

Long-awaited Jesus,

bring us rest for our weary hearts,

bring us peace for our troubled minds,

and bring us joy at seeing your face.

 

We anticipate the wedding feast,

the celebration of your presence

and our connection forever with you.

 

When our lives run dry,

we rest in the hope that you will replenish us.

We await the hour when you come and reinvent the world.

 

With patience at times and sometimes without it,

we plead with you to transform our lives

and provide what we can never provide for ourselves.

 

We trust you to take the emptiness of religion

and fill us with the richness of new creation in you.

We submit ourselves to your transforming power

and your wisdom to make us into our true selves,

the people you made us to be.

 

With joy, we praise you for your wonderful power and grace,

coming once to give us what we needed

and coming again to make all things complete.

 

We place our trust in you.

Help us also to believe in the glory you have revealed

as we look expectantly toward the fullness of the future you bring.

Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

~ posted on An Old Song with a New Dance. http://oldsongnewdance.wordpress.com/


Prayer of Commitment: To Love as You Love


Here’s a prayer of commitment from Terri on the RevGalBlogPals blog.  She wrote it for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but it would work well in many other situations as well.

Prayer of Commitment

Holy God, may we hear your voice
In the stillness of night, in clatter of day
You call us, and we respond,
Here I am!
May we follow you and
May we love as you love.

Holy One, through trials and turbulence
Make us steady, your hands
Holding strong the fragile and weak
May we love as you love.

Gracious God, may the fruits of our lives
be food for the hungry, bread
clothing, shelter, fire, water, Word
May we love as you love.

God of justice, remove the barriers
Of our lives that keep us from
One another, barriers we construct
Based on skin color, religion, or gender
May we hear, and follow, graciously.
May we love as you love.

Loving God, take this day our fears our
Worries, distractions, and all
Turn them into grace and mercy,
And, following the example of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and all your Saints,
May we love as you love.

Amen.

— written by Terri, and posted on the RevGalBlogPals blog.  http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/

Litany: Devoted to Positive Peace


Here’s a responsive litany written for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  It comes from Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy of First Church Congregational in Rochester, NH.

Responsive Litany

We know from experience that freedom is never free.
Throughout history,
the struggle for freedom has not been well-timed.
More often than not, those who strive hear the response, "Wait!"
It is easy for those who do not suffer to urge patience,
to speak of timing.
Yet there must come a time when the cup of endurance runs over,
when we become unwilling to be plunged into an abyss of injustice,
and the bleakness of corroding despair.
Let us not be more devoted to order than to justice,
let us not suggest that the quest for justice
might ever await a more convenient season. 
As people of the Gospel,
let us devote ourselves to the positive peace
which is the presence of justice, of righteousness,
of solidarity in the Body of Christ.

~ written by Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, freely adapted from Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham City Jail." sermonizing.wordpress.com

Prayer: Quietly Prophetic


Here’s a prayer of petition from John van de Laar.

 

Quietly Prophetic

 

In a cynical and despairing world, O God,

give us a quietly prophetic voice

to proclaim your hope.

 

In a violent and angry world, O God,

give us a quietly prophetic voice

to proclaim your peace.

 

In a dismissive and disinterested world, O God,

give us a quietly prophetic voice

to proclaim your compassion.

 

In a lonely and inhospitable world, O God,

give us a quietly prophetic voice

to proclaim your love.

 

In a grieving and weeping world, O God,

give us a quietly prophetic voice

to proclaim your joy.

 

May we be so captivated by your hope, O God,

that we cannot help but to whisper,

to sing, and to enact,

the message of your reign

which is always coming into our world;

And may our quietly prophetic lives,

be channels of your restoring grace

wherever we may go.

 

Amen.

 

~ written by John van de Laar, and posted on Sacredise.com.


Gospel Reflection: Luke 4: 21-30


Here’s a reflection on Luke 4: 21-30.  It was written by Katherine Hawker.

 

Gospel Reflection: Who is this man?

(inspired by Luke 4: 21-30)

 

A hometown boy

made good.

Isn't that Joseph's son?

His ministry begins

prophetic words.

Who is that man?

The message haunts

painful challenge.

Is that Joseph's son?

Welcome worn thin

dismissed, forgotten.

Who is this man?

 

~ written by Katherine Hawker (2004), and posted on Liturgies Outside. http://liturgyoutside.net/


Confession based on 1 Corinthians 13


Here’s a prayer of confession inspired by 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13.  It comes from the Open Source Spirituality blog.

 

Prayer of Confession

(inspired by 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13)

 

Love is patient;

for our quick-temperedness:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love is kind;

for our indifference towards others:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love is not envious;

for our petty jealousies:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love is not boastful;

for our pretentiousness:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love is not arrogant;

for our opinionated views -

Lord, have mercy:

Christ, have mercy:

 

Love is not rude;

for our crass behaviour:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love does not insist on getting its own way;

for our false sense of our own importance:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love is not irritable;

for our resentful behaviour:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Love does not rejoice in wrong-doing;

for our rejoicing in all the wrong things:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

May God show us mercy,

forgive us our sins against love

and lead us to life that lasts:

 

Amen.

 

~ posted by Steve on OpenSourceSpirituality. http://opensourcespirituality.blogspot.ca/


Readers' Theatre: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13


Here’s a readers’ theatre setting of 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13.  It is set for two voices.

Readers’ Theatre: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels,
but didn’t love others,
I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I had the gift of prophecy,
and if I understood all of God’s secret plans
and possessed all knowledge,
and if I had such faith that I could move mountains,
but didn’t love others,
I would be nothing. 

If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body,
I could boast about it; 
but if I didn’t love others,
I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
It does not demand its own way.
It is not irritable,
and it keeps no record of being wronged. 
It does not rejoice about injustice
but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 
Love never gives up,
never loses faith,
is always hopeful,
and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge
will become useless.
But love will last forever!
Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete,
and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 
But when the time of perfection comes,
these partial things will become useless.
When I was a child,
I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child.
But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 
Now we see things imperfectly,
like puzzling reflections in a mirror,
but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.
All that I know now is partial and incomplete,
but then I will know everything completely,
just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever—
faith, hope, and love—
and the greatest of these is love.

Intergenerational Talk: Temptations of Christ


Here’s an intergenerational conversation about Luke 4:1-13 (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13) – the temptations of Christ after his baptism.  It was written by Moira Laidlaw.

 

Children’s Feature: Temptations of Christ

(Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13)

 

Give three people placards to wear which identify them as one of the following:

            Narrator

            Evil thoughts

            Jesus

Find the following props:

            Hamburger-shaped stone

            Crown and money

            Picture of the Temple or perhaps a church with a large spire

 


Leader:  In Jesus’ time, it was a regular thing to go without food for a few days or even weeks.  This was to help people concentrate more on what God wanted them to do with their lives because it took away the hassle of having to think about what to buy or prepare to eat and so gave extra time for prayer and thinking abut God.  Some people still do that today.  I don’t think I’d be very good at going without food for any length of time – I have difficulty just staying on a diet - I find temptations everywhere! Our story from the Bible today about Jesus, tells us how he did not eat for many, many days.   This happened after he had heard the voice at his baptism claiming him as God’s beloved Son and he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe he played these events over and over again in his mind like a movie, wondering what God had in mind for him to do next.  


Narr:    After Jesus had been walking through wild, desert country

            and  hadn’t eaten for a week or so, he felt very hungry....

Evil thoughts (holding out the stone):

            See this stone -- looks just like a hamburger doesn’t it?

            Why don’t you use your power to turn it into one—
            you wouldn’t be hungry then.

Jesus:  No - I refuse to use God’s power in that way. 

            I would only be serving myself , and God’s power is for all people. 

 

Narr:    As Jesus walked a bit further,

            perhaps thinking about this power he possessed...

Evil thoughts (holding out crown and money):

            Just think how wealthy  and powerful you could be.

            You could live in luxury and rule the whole world.

Jesus:  No—God is the only one who is to be worshipped. 

            God’s power is for building others up, not to build me up.

Narr:    And then, as Jesus walked along in prayer,

            perhaps he pictured the temple in Jerusalem....

 

Evil thoughts (holding up a picture of the temple):

            You could jump off the very highest point of the temple

            and wait for the angels to catch you.
            They would, wouldn’t they??

Jesus:  God’s  power is not to be used in sensational, high-powered acts.
            God’s power will be found enabling poor and powerless people

            to live lives of worth and dignity.  


Evil thoughts slinks away. 

Jesus stands with head bowed and hands together in attitude of prayer.

Narrator sits down.

Leader:   Jesus understood these temptations as evil—tempting him to use his power in ways which would bring glory to himself rather than  to God.  He was able to resist temptation because he was happy to let God be in control at all times.  He must have prayed for God’s strength to keep him strong.  There are times in our lives when we will be tempted to do other than what God wants us to do.  If we follow Jesus’ example and believe that his power and strength are in us, we will be able to resist doing wrong even as Jesus did. 

 

~ written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on Liturgies Online. http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/