Second Sunday of Lent (Year C)

I know most of the liturgical world is living in Year B just now, and this site is focussed on Year D, but since preachers in search of fresh but timely texts will sometimes slip out of sequence and draw in texts from other years, I thought I would link to this piece I wrote for Interpretation a while back, focusing on Philippians 3:17-4:1, the epistle reading for Second Lent (Year C). 


Here are links to the Barth source and to Sally Brown's book mentioned in that article:


 

I hope you find this helpful.

Second Sunday of Lent

Ezekiel 47:1-12

Psalm 143

John 7:14-39

James 2:(14-17) 18-26 OR James 2:1-26 OR Galatians 2:1-14 (15-21)

CALL TO WORSHIP

Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,

and let the one who believes in me drink.”

Indeed, “out of the believer’s heart shall flow

rivers of living water.”

When the river that flows from the threshold of the temple

enters the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. 

Everything will live where the river goes.

There will grow all kinds of trees for food.

Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail,

because the water for them flows from the sanctuary.

Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.

Living God, let us hear of your steadfast love in the morning!

                 

INVOCATION

O LORD our God, you are the One true source of Living Water, the One who has been revealed in Christ Jesus, crucified, risen, and glorified, the One who sends the Spirit to summon your church into life anew! Give us life, O God, for we thirst for you! Give us freedom, O Christ, for we are bound to you! Give us courage, O Spirit, for we would have you lead us into the deep, deep waters that flow from life unto life, from deep unto deep, from the heart of the very temple of God to the heart of those who believe in and love you. This we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

CALL TO CONFESSION

Remember the days of old, and think about all the deeds of God! Meditate on the works of his hands, and stretch out your hands to him. For the one who is thirsty like a parched land will find relief in the living waters of Christ’s mercy. To the one who is crushed under the weight of sin, to the one who sits in the darkness of the Pit, to the one who spirit faints and fails, Christ is the way to freedom and forgiveness. Therefore, seek the LORD, seek his face, confess your sin and you faith in him, for he will answer you quickly and will not delay in forgiving the penitent heart. We confess first silently, and then in unison, using the prayer that is printed in the bulletin.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION 

[… after a time of silence, simply say, “And now together ...”]

Hear our prayer, O LORD, and give ear to our confession, O you who are always faithful! Do not enter into judgment with your servants, for no one living is righteous before you. We ourselves have not always walked in conformity to the truth of the gospel, neither have we consistently remembered the poor. Though we profess belief, we have produced scant evidence, far too few good works, to show that our faith is alive and well. Forgive us for our transgressions, O God, and for our unfaithfulness. Give us courage, even now, to be crucified with Christ, to die to the law that condemns us, that we might ever live to you, through faith in your Son, and that he might, now and forever, live in each of our hearts and enliven your church, for the glory of your name.  

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

You who have fled to the LORD for refuge, now live by faith in the Son of God, who has given himself for you in love. Discipline yourselves under the teaching of him whose good Spirit leads you on a level path. For the freedom we have in Christ Jesus is freedom to walk on the side of truth and to conform our lives faithfully to the One who has justified us by his faith.

   

First Sunday of Lent

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 OR Nehemiah 9:1-38
Psalm 6
John 7:1-13

Galatians 2:1-14 (15-21) OR Galatians 1:1-24 OR James 1:1-27 OR James 1:17-2:13


CALL TO WORSHIP

You shall fear the LORD your God; him alone you shall worship.

To the LORD you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear.  

The LORD is our praise; he is our God, who has done

great and awesome things for us that our own eyes have seen.

Heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the LORD our God,

the earth with all that is in it!

The LORD, the great God, is God of gods and Lord of lords.

Mighty and awesome, he is not partial and he takes no bribe.

Circumcise your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer,

for what does the LORD your God require of you?

Only to fear the LORD, to walk in all his ways, to love him,

to serve him with all our heart and soul, and to keep

his commandments and decrees for our own well-being.

INVOCATION 

O LORD our God, draw near to us and receive our thanksgiving and praise, for you have given us a gospel that is not of human origin, but one that originated with you and you have revealed it through and in your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Come, O Lord, in the power of your Spirit, and let your presence, your voice, your Word be revealed to those whom you have summoned here this day, you who have graciously set your heart in love upon your people Israel through whom salvation has come into the world, you who, still more graciously, have extended your grace and freedom to us through your self-sacrificing Son. Now, in this hour, let there be no doubt among us that you yourself are here, and let there be seen from the heights of ecclesial and worldly power that a flame is kindled here, a signal fire of faith and truth and holiness and grace, of joy and freedom and unity and patience, of hope and blessedness and strength and peace. Come, O Lord, in the person of your Spirit.

CALL TO CONFESSION

Let us not worry about human approval, but let us seek God’s approval above all. Let us no longer live so as to please people, but rather, let us aim to be servants of Christ. We live in a world so loved by God that God sent his only Son to save it. Yet, this same world in which we live, this world so loved by God, hates the Lord Jesus, because according to his own testimony, Jesus testifies against it that its works are evil. Though we are called to keep ourselves unstained by this world, none of us have been successful in this regard. Therefore, let us confess and renounce and repent fully of the sin that puts enmity between us and God and which destroys our relations with one another. We confess first silently, and then in unison, using the prayer that is printed in the bulletin.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

O LORD, what evil and wickedness, what confusion and sickness we see in the world! Everywhere truth is perverted, and those whom you have called in the grace of Christ are deserting you and turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel! Forgive us, Lord Jesus, and forgive your church, for the ways in which we ourselves have become confused or contributed to the confusion! Forgive us, O Father, for each way in which we ourselves have perverted the gospel of Christ, or allowed others to pervert it, whether by wrong action or inaction, whether by false speech or a failure to speak on behalf of your Son. Forgive us, O Spirit, wherever we have, by thought, word, or deed, intentionally or unintentionally, persecuted Christ’s body, the church, and distorted your message of penitence and faith, salvation and grace, freedom and love! Be gracious, O LORD, for we are languishing! Turn, O Holy LORD, save your church and deliver us for the sake of your steadfast love, in Christ Jesus our Lord!

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Hear again the good news, as though for the first time! The Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age. The victory which he has won on your behalf is such that I may say, and you may believe, with the authority of him who has revealed the gospel and commissioned us to proclaim it: the LORD has heard your weeping and your supplication; the LORD accepts your prayer. Now let every enemy of the gospel, every enemy of the faithful, be struck with terror, let every tempter be ashamed, let every cause of stumbling be removed from before you, that you may walk, without stumbling, without wandering, without wavering, in the strength of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Catholics talking lectionary reform ...

Over at Commonweal, Michael Peppard, Assistant Professor at Fordham, has started a discussion of lectionary reform in which he describes the current Roman rotation as "a booby-trapped lectionary." 


"Lectionary reform is not exactly a hot topic," he says. Don't I know it! Before he and his "couple dozen nerds" (his words) head too far down the road of lectionary reform, I hope some intrepid Year D readers will click over there to let them know it has already begun ... once again, with those meddling Presbyterians!