April 3, 2011

Invocation

God of light, in whom there is no darkness at all, we are not blinded by your glory though we are dazzled by it even as it is refracted in Jesus Christ your Son. Fill us with your light so that the darkness still within us will gradually disappear; in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen

Call to Worship (Responsive Reading)

God sends the light of the world into our midst to bless the humble and judge the proud,

That those who see might become sightless, and that the sightless might see.

God sends the light of the world into our midst to debase the exalted and to exalt the debased,

That those who see might become sightless, and that the sightless might see.

God sends the light of the world into our midst to reveal the sin of the saints and to give hope to the sinners.

Let your light illumine us, O Lord, that we may see ourselves with your eyes. If we cannot see our goodness for yours, bless our sight. If we cannot see your goodness for ours, reveal to us our blindness.

Pastoral Prayer

O God, in whom are met all the issues of life and death, and who knows us and our frailties better than we know ourselves, we cast ourselves upon your mercy and ask for your continued grace in our lives. We praise you for the little things that make our days so rich and meaningful: the touch of a friend, the sight of a child sleeping, the memory of a good time, the sound of a particular voice, the appearance of a flower where yesterday there was none. Forgive us for days spent in not seeing, not hearing, not being open to the miracles that abound at our elbows and fingertips. Teach us to be sensitive: to know when a star falls, when a friend hurts, when the wind stirs, when someone needs something we have in our possession. Show us, in our faith, how to be transparent: so to live and move and think and care that others, looking upon us, see you and know that all creation is one in your love. Amen. (John Killinger)

Benediction

We scanned the heavens, O God, in search of your likeness, but we did not find it there. We found it on earth in Jesus Christ, not as the result of our search for you, but as the result of your search for us. O Face whose light illumines our lives, let our lives illumine the world.