Litany of the Called

Here’s a litany which focuses on the call of Jesus. It was written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws.

Hamilton writes: “For four people reading from a single microphone in the middle. As one finishes and moves away, another comes in to pick up the story. One story, made up of each other’s stories.

There are so many stories we could have used for this. This is but a pinhead’s selection of people called to follow, to come from the darkness and shadows of one life… and called to be fully alive in the world, for that is what Jesus calls of us: not to be church members, or signatories to some doctrine, but to he fully alive with the life God grants and set that free in the world.”

Litany of the Called

Voice 1 (Male):
“Come follow me,” he said as he walked towards us.

“Leave the nets behind. Become nets yourself.

We have an adventure to be part of.”

And so we left with him not knowing what lay in front of us.

Voice 2: (Female):
In front of me was a crowd of Pharisees: all of them hypocrites.

They knew what I had done and done it mainly with them,

yet they were ready to stone me for it.

Jesus called out,

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,”

and there was silence

and one by one they left me with him

who called me to go and find my humanity again,

and so I went more alive than ever before.

Voice 3 (Female):
She was more alive than every before, my daughter.

When her father left her to find Jesus

he knew he’d never see her again, my poor daughter,

not able to make it to womanhood.

But Jesus never gave up hope.

We left him with her

and after what seemed an eternity he called for food,

‘Your daughter is alive and hungry”

and so we threw our sadness into celebration

that she had been called back to life.

Voice 4 (Male):
I was called back to life.

I was once dead,

not the death of eternity, worse than that,

the death of the living.

I am a tax-collector.

My death was the silence and hatred of others

until I climbed a tree,

and was invited back into my own home by Jesus

for a meal through which I was reborn,

a new person now called a friend of God.

I was on my way.

Voice 1 (Male):
We were on our way, ten of us,

unclean with bandaged limbs,

dirty rags covering our hands and feet

that leprosy was eating away.

Everyone avoided us except Jesus who touched us,

befriended us and called us back into community,

clean once more and acceptable.

I ran back to Jesus to thank him,

it was all I could do.

Voice 2 (Female):
It was all I could do to say ‘Yes!’

Yes to God asking me to be his handmaid:

mother of a child who would be the salvation of the world,

who harboured hope enough

to bring down the oppressor and the tyrant

and lift up the poor and hungry.

I was called to be the mother of God

and I said ‘Yes!’

Voice 3 (Female):
I said ‘yes’

but it wasn’t in some biblical story.

It was now.

I said ‘yes!’ to God’s justice today,

God’s hope now,

God’s intent in me,

to call out the life in me,

and set it free in the world,

to be a follower of adventures,

a follower of dreams,

a follower of love.

Voice 4 (Male):
Be a follower of love,

and join the fishermen and the sinners,

the women and the children,

the sick and the poor,

the needy and the hopeful:

called to be fully alive in this world,

called to be the hands and feet of heaven,

called to be all we can be,

called to follow.

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on the New Kilpatrick Parish Church website. https://www.nkchurch.org.uk/original-liturgy