This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies. If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Call to Worship
we have gathered to worship the Eternal One
the Refuge of the weary
the defender of the weak
to enter the story of God with our songs,
our prayers, our silence, and our attention
and find our own stories changed
hoping the Spirit of God will transform our hearts and minds
that we might learn to love God,
and to love our neighbors,
to be formed in the way of Christ
in our time and place
Amen
Scripture
Psalm 82
God takes God’s stand in the council of heaven;
God gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
"How long will you judge unjustly,
and show favor to the wicked?
Save the weak and the orphan;
defend the humble and needy;
Rescue the weak and the poor;
deliver them from the power of the wicked.
They do not know, neither do they understand;
they go about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Now I say to you, 'You are gods,
and all of you children of the Most High;
Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
and fall like any prince.'"
Arise, O God, and rule the earth,
for you shall take all nations for your own.
Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"
He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them.
Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.'
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"
He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Prayer
O Christ, kindle in our hearts within
A flame of love to our neighbor,
To our foes, to our friends, to our kindred all
O Christ of the poor and the yearning,
From the humblest thing that lives
To the name that is highest of all,
Kindle in our hearts within
A flame of love
Amen