Longest Night

Candle [dry gouache] by Julia Seymour

Life begins in the dark. 

Seeds, babies, resurrection- new life starts unseen.

It is unseen, but not without a witness. 

Divine eyes of love perceive all things. 

We sometimes think of our grief, our doubt, our pain as kinds of darkness. 

In darkness, the light looks different. 

In the dark, we dig deep for what is true- giving hope, strength, and peace. 

In the dark, we move slowly, easing forward by degrees. 

Seasons of darkness can break our hearts, 

Seasons of darkness teach us lessons that shape our living. 

Some nights are longer than others, 

But dawn comes- and not through our work or goodness.

It is the goodness of God that lives in the dark and the light. 

It is the goodness of God that carries us through all seasons. 

In doubt and in faith, in grief and in joy, in pain and in wholeness, 

Life begins in the dark. Light begins in the dark. 

And, in the light or in the dark, you belong to God. 

We belong to God. 

Revelation Read-Along: Day 5

Reading: Revelation 4

Advent Theme: Praise

Let us return, briefly, to the concept of apocalyptic literature. Within this genre, the metaphors are never straight lines, as in A is used to described B. Instead, apocalyptic literature takes metaphor A and using it to describe what it would be like to braid hockey sticks and oranges. Wait, what? (Read it again.) The metaphors borrow from images that readers or hearers know and then combine them in a way that almost defies imagination. Thus, with a charged imagination and a small amount of heightened anxiety, the writer drives the audience back to a simpler concept that, ideally, they should be able to understand. 

Therefore, as we kayak the river of John’s revelation, don’t attempt to hang out in the rapids of his extreme metaphors. All it will do is spin you around and make you dizzy, providing little spiritual food and much mental frustration. Instead, let the current of the Holy Spirit carry you through the text, help you note the complex scenery, but bring you to the slower waters of the plain meaning of the text. 

“Plain meaning” is a phrase that comes from the early years of the (German) Reformation. Martin Luther and others asserted that descriptions in the Bible were meant to be accessible to people in every age. He was thinking in particular of the effort to complicate the parables in the gospels, making each and every aspect of the parable mean something that couldn’t reasonably be discerned from the text. When we come to Revelation, the plain meaning must be restricted to what we can clearly understand.

In our devotional reading, we look for how God is acting in the story and how God might want us to respond. In historical reading, we might use additional information to see how symbols of Rome- like dragons, the color red, or the seal of the emperor- were used during that time or look up how Christians in Asia were being treated at the end of the first century. In a literary reading, we would notice how the writer stirs up anxiety and soothes it, noting themes and recurring phrases. There is more that one way to correctly and spiritually use and learn from the written word.

What does this have to do with today’s reading? First, GOOD WORK for making it to Day 5! I’m proud of you! As we move ahead, this is where the book can really start to feel overwhelming, but remember the river metaphor. You and the Holy Spirit have got this!

As John begins to describe the scene in heaven, do not break down each aspect of the picture. We could, and people have, assign meaning to every single number and every single color. We could use Ezekiel, who has a very similar image of heaven (Ez. 1 and 10), and Daniel and parts of other books and hammer out exactly what we thinkJohn meant. That level of interpretation is possible, but not necessarily beneficial and may also not be truthful based on John’s intentions. 

So, the images of the animals, the crowned elders, and the throne give us a scene of heaven as a source of power and majesty. There are creatures beyond imagining and powerful leaders and natural elements- all of which yield to the power that is on the throne. From that throne comes life, creativity, and mercy. The heavenly throne has nothing in common with any throne that appears on earth. The correct response to this power and majesty is worship and praise.

Potential takeaway: The only book of the Bible that offers more phrase and images to Christian worship music and liturgy than Revelation is Psalms. The words of countless communion settings, stanzas of favorite hymns, phrases of needlepoint plaques, and the scenes of centuries of paintings come straight from John’s revelation. No hymn writer, painter, liturgist, or preacher can claim truthfully claim to understand all that is contained in this book. Yet, we cannot stay away because its mystery presses us toward the parts we do understand: the importance of worship, the need for community, the power of God. Can you let go of the need to comprehend every detail and just look at the bigger picture of the book? 

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Holy, holy, holy is the God who sits on a throne of power and yet comes to us as a helpless infant. Holy, holy, holy is the God who brought all things into being and yet permits us to be co-creators in the midst of it. Holy, holy, holy is the God whose everlasting arms provide shelter, rest, and strength for all of our days. Amen.

Great Thanksgiving for Black History Month (Liturgy)

God of hope and grief,

God of power and strength,

God of the widow and the orphan,

God of the imprisoned and impoverished,

God of the poor in spirit, the merciful, the mourning…

God who sees the proud and arrogant,

God who does not forget those who turn away from the one in need,

God who waits to be greeted in prison, in hunger, in hospital, on the corner,

God who grieves the word spoken in hate and the action that excludes…

You are the one true God and it is our gift and right and duty to call upon you here.

We praise you for your faithfulness in history.

We praise you for your prophets who have shouted the truth.

We praise you for your saving action in leaders, in the church, in the community

And for what You have done sometimes in spite of them.

With all faithful people of Christ, with all your children across the world, with all the saints we name now [insert names appropriate to your congregation regarding Black History Month and local observances], with the whole creation, we praise your name and join the unending hymn.

[Insert whatever form of Holy, Holy, Holy you may choose]

God, with our sighs to deep for words, we come to this table

And we remember when it has been closed.

We remember when the invitation was not open.

We remember when the feast was in part, but not the whole.

With gratitude and thanksgiving, we celebrate in our spirits and our bodies that the barriers people erect cannot withstand the Holy Spirit.

With gratitude and thanksgiving, we celebrate in our spirits and our bodies that the prejudices that people hold will not withstand the Holy Spirit.

With gratitude and thanksgiving, we celebrate in our spirits and our bodies that the ignorance people profess will not withstand the Holy Spirit.

We gather here today and we remember Jesus gathered with those whom he loved.

They celebrated the first Passover, that event that marked the move of the people from slavery into freedom.

As they ate and drank their celebration, their actions anticipated the second Passover- from death into life, from fear into joy, from resignation into resurrection.

Jesus took the bread, a food that they as Jews had in common with all people,

gave thanks to you, O God, broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Take, eat; this is my body - given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me."

After supper, he took the cup- filled with wine-

A drink they had in common with all people.

He gave thanks to you, O God, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Drink from this, all of you; this is a new covenant in my blood,

 shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this in remembrance of me."

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,

You have brought us thus far and we trust that you will not leave us.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts

That they may strengthen us in the faith, in the fight, and in our freedom in Christ.

Draw us together and bring us ever more fully into being the people you have created us to be.

Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,

all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and for ever.

This is free and open for use in any congregation with attribution to Pastor Julia Seymour, Lutheran Church of Hope, Anchorage, AK. 

Copy and paste to other electronic formats is only permitted WITH inclusion of the blog link. 

Please comment if you use this in your congregation so I can pray for you and your church. 

Affirmation of Baptism for Epiphany

I ask you to acknowledge the gift of faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church.

Do you say no to external spiritual forces that defy God and attempt to disrupt the presence of love in the world?

Response: I forcefully say no to them.

Do you say no to lies that are told about God, including ones that perpetuate fear, scarcity, and control?

Response: I forcefully say no to them.

Do you say no to sin, that is, actions that cause you feel far from God and God’s love?

Response: I forcefully say no to it.

Do you believe in God, the ground and source of your being?

I believe in the eternal love that is God, creating, redeeming, and healing.

God’s grace is greater than anything that opposes it.

Neither the will of the flesh, the twists of the mind, or the efforts of evil

can bring lasting destruction where God is working for good.

Eternal love, which is God’s ultimate manifestation, bears all things.

All time exists within this love.

Do you believe in Jesus the Christ, God enfleshed and the pioneer of our faith?

I believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, Emmanuel, and fellow child of God.

Emmanuel, God with us, walked as Jesus in a certain place and a certain time.
Emmanuel, God with us, still comes in unexpected ways, through ordinary and extraordinary means.

Emmanuel, God with us, anchors us, and our hope, within God’s eternity.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit, holy breath, holy mystery.

The Holy Spirit has brought us here.

Beyond our understanding, but with our trust, the Spirit gives us faith.

Our lives are our response to all we have been given,

The sum of which is greater than we know.

We are grateful. Amen.

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Worship resources posted here are written by the Reverend Julia Seymour. They are available for use, in full or part, but only with attribution and permission. Use without both attribution and permission is stealing. 

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Litany for the Feast of All Saints

...based on Isaiah 25:6-9; Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,

All that surrounds it and all who dwell therein have a home in God.

The Lord has taken chaos and brought forth beauty, creativity, and community.

The bounds of creation extend beyond our imagination.

Science and mathematics spiral out in response to God’s omnipresent expanse.

Who may ascend into the Lord’s presence and who dares to seek God’s holy face?

We believe in rest and peace in God’s light for all who died in the faith.

We dare to claim the same comfort and mercy for those who died in fear, pain or without clarity of heart or mind.

Because grace and mercy are upon God’s holy ones, and God watches over those who have been saved.

Our grief is not in vain because God is faithful and has promised to destroy death- our final enemy.

Our grief is also not false because we do miss those we love, who loved us, and with whom we look forward to reuniting.

Those who have not been named are not forgotten.

They shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of their salvation.

Those who rest in the Lord will understand truth.

Those with whom the Lord abides will perceive his loving presence.

God will wipe away all tears, bring healing to the nations, and console those who mourn.

This is most certainly true.

The communion of saints is around us, within us, ahead of us, and beside us. It exists outside of time and place.

This is most certainly true.

We give thanks for those whose faithfulness and love brought light and life to us and to all around them. We are glad to continue their work through the help of the Spirit.

This is most certainly true. Amen.

Be Blessed

The Lord is with us in our grief,

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

The Lord is with us in times of trouble,

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

The Lord is with us in our hunger for mercy and our pursuit of justice,

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

The Lord is with us in time of humility and humbling.

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

The Lord is with us in the depth of righteous anger.

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

The Lord is with us in the height of peacemaking and reconciliation.

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

We are the salt God uses to season creation and the lamps through which God’s own light shines.

God has brought us too far to leave us now.

Litany for Jeremiah 1:4-10

I was doing other writing around Jeremiah 1:4-10 today and I wrote this litany to accompany it.

I can't stop thinking about what the words are and their implications. It's actually unsettling.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

1:4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7 But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, "I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." 

Litany:

In God’s creation, both young and old are called to witness to truth.

God uses all people in their time.

In God’s creation, all kinds of men and women are equally valuable.

God uses all people in their time.

In God’s creation, no one is too slow or unlearned.

God uses all people in their time.

In God’s creation, no person is without skill, talent, or ideas.

God uses all people in their time.

As with Jeremiah, God rejects all objections.

God uses all people in their time.

John 6: Litany and Prayer

Lord, we are hungry for your food.

We ask you to nourish our souls.

Lord, we are hungry for your food.

We ask you to strengthen our minds.

Lord, we are hungry for your food.

We pray for courage and wisdom.

Lord, we are hungry for your food.

Our souls are restless and unsatisfied.

Lord, we are hungry for your food.

Fill us with the Bread of Life.

Gracious God, sometimes we do not understand what Jesus is saying. We sympathize with the frustration and confusion of the disciples and those around him. Open our minds to a new and deeper comprehension of his teaching. Prepare us as a field to receive the lessons Jesus sows in our hearts, that they may come to an amazing harvest for you. Amen.