This call to worship is done responsively with the worship leader beginning and the congregation responding with words from Psalm 19. Selected parts of the Psalm are used and the translation is New Revised Standard Version.
Leader-Look! Listen!
Congregation- The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
L-Look! Listen!
C- The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;
L-Look! Listen!
C-The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;
L-Look! Listen!
C- The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
L-Look! Listen!
C- Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
When was the last time you used your sense of wonder? When was the last time you stared in awe at an object and were amazed by it? When was the last time you watched something and wondered how does that work? How long has it been since you saw two or three or four things and thought if I put them together they will create something new? For some of us and unfortunately for probably many of us, the demands of life impinge on our time to develop our sense of wonder. Many children do not let anything get in the way of their time to create and explore. In fact, this is how my nephew earned his nickname, Crafty Sam. One rainy summer day when he was visiting, he saw one of his three favorite objects a cardboard box. He asked for his two other favorite things Scotch tape and a pair of scissors. He sat down on the floor and got to creating. What his Aunt sees as a pile needing to be recycled is for him a collection of cardboard waiting to be transformed by his imagination. So, I sat down beside him and asked how I could assist. He held up a box and said this is going to be a clothes hamper. And like too many of us adults do, I began to doubt. That box is too small to be a clothes hamper. I don’t need another clothes hamper. And, I pushed those questions down and instead asked him what clothes would go into this new clothes hamper. And Crafty Sam said, “Obviously, small clothes like socks and underwear because it is a small hamper.” I sat on the floor and took followed his directions for the pattern he saw in his head. I guess I did a good job because that day I earned the nickname, Crafty Suz. That small clothes hamper created with only part of a shoebox, a pair of scissors, lots of Scotch tape, and a sense of wonder sits on my dresser. I have learned that if I place a pair of dirty socks in it as requested by its creator then I forget to wash those socks. So for creativity to meet practiciality, it is now home to my socks without friends which you might call socks searching for their partners. What can we learn from Crafty Sam, other children, the more creative types among us? Cultivate your sense of wonder. For you, that might be creating something from ordinary objects like Crafty Sam. You might take all the leftovers in the fridge and create a new, and hopefully delicious, meal. You could take that box of memories and make a scrapbook. Another idea is going outside and listening. Close your eyes and hear the sounds around you and imagine what you aren’t seeing. Or stare up at the sky for awhile and watch the way it changes when we simply pay attention. Let yourself daydream using the what ifs from your life, and if in that time you discover something you want to change, change it. I recognize that after reading this you are returning to regular life which left me pondering how to conclude in a way that encourages a sense of wonder combined with the necessity to do what must be done this day, and so as I contemplated how to conclude this time I thought I should leave you with a three step plan of how to include wonder in your daily life. And then I realized (and not as quickly as I should have realized) that I was falling right back into my old routines with no room left for my sense of wonder. So, I am not going to tie this up in a box and a bow for you with all the answers and instead I’m going to encourage you today and in the coming days to cultivate your sense of wonder-by looking, listening, feeling, tasting, and smelling the ways you can explore and experience that which exists around you. Creative One, Life gets busy and we hurry and rush and keep our eyes trained on the next thing that must be done. Slow us down. Distract us with a bird or a flower or a cloud in the sky. We feel this need to be productive at all times. Slow us down to listen to another person, to read a book, write a letter, look at a picture. Slow us down and remind us to be and to breathe. Amen and Amen.
Crafty Suz assisting Crafty Sam in making a creation.
I shared this reflection this morning with a group of Coastal Hospice staff. I hope you find it as meaningful as they did.
As I was driving home from work last night, I sighed and said out loud to myself in the car, “I am tired.” And I paused to reflect on what type of tired I was feeling…was I good tired or bad tired?
Let me step back for a moment and explain. When I was a child, one of my favorite cassette tapes we listened to as a family was Harry Chapin’s Greatest Stories Live. My sister and I learned every word to every song on that tape. Harry Chapin’s best known song is Cats in the Cradle which he wrote and sang and many singers have covered that song throughout the years. To this day, he is my favorite singer and songwriter even though he died when I was young.
In addition to writing many, many songs some of his albums also include quotes like this one.
“My grandfather was a painter. He died at age eighty-eight, he illustrated Robert Frost’s first two books of poetry, and he was looking at me and he said, “Harry, there’s two kinds of tired. There’s good tired and there’s bad tired.” He said, “Ironically enough, bad tired can be a day that you won. But you won other people’s battles; you lived other people’s days, other people’s agendas, other people’s dreams. And when it’s all over, there was very little you in there. And when you hit the hay at night, somehow you toss and turn; you don’t settle easy. It’s that good tired, ironically enough, can be a day that you lost, but you don’t even have to tell yourself because you knew you foughtyour battles, you chased your dreams, you lived your days and when you hit the hay at night, you settle easy, you sleep the sleep of the just and you say ‘take me away’”.”
And as I reflected on this quote and my day, I realized I was good tired. I have a job where I can utilize my gifts and talents. And this is my hope for you. I hope the work you do leaves you good tired knowing that you as part of the hospice and palliative care team are working with people at a difficult time in their lives and you can make it a little less difficult. What I love about this work is being part of a large team—most of whom I do not know the intricacies of your jobs, and what I do know is that each one of us is needed to ensure that we can promote dignity and quality of life for patients and families who face life-limiting conditions.
My hope is that the next time you are feeling tired at the end of the day you take a moment to determine if you are good tired or bad tired. If you find yourself bad tired, please consider how you can put more of yourself into your day. We need you and the gifts you bring. The world needs you and the love you have to share. And if you determine you are good tired, give thanks for a good day, “settle easy and sleep the sleep of the just.”
Let us pray together-Holy One, Too often we find ourselves tired from work and life and responsibilities and so much more that fills our days. As you have made us all unique and full of different abilities, help us find ways to share ourselves with others so that at the end of day we can rest easy. Amen.
My life has not been ordinary for the past few weeks. And I know we can all say that our lives have been less than ordinary for most of this year. This is a prayer for those days that are not ordinary.
Loving God, We need you today. Our plans have flown out the window as we are coping with the unexpected. It feels like we do not have an anchor and we are floating in the sea unable to see land. Rescue us! Anchor us! Bring us safely to shore. We wonder if our hopes will ever come to reality. God, guide us through this day with changing expectations. Guide us! Hold us! Love us! Remind us that nothing can separate us from your love for us! Nothing! So even when things are upside down and backwards, you are with us. While we wait for direction, be our gps turning us around when we start down the wrong road. The questions keep piling up, and we seek answers from you, O Wise One. Answer us in your time while giving us the patience to keep on waiting even when the wait seems so long. We long for the ordinary days to return, and until they do be with us, Loving God, every single day. Amen.
Last night I had a dream where I was leading worship. I must be missing in person worship more than I had realized. For all of us dreaming of returning to worship with handshakes, hugs, singing, and no worries of sharing germs, I offer this benediction.
Go in love. Know you are created in God’s own image and loved more than you can imagine. Share that love!
Go in peace. Follow in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace seeking to be peacemakers in all you do.
Go in hope. Listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you live into your calling.
Sunday’s Psalm reading is Psalm 139:1-12 and 23-24. In the challenging and odd time, we all need a reminder that wherever we are God is present. God does not abandon us nor ever stop loving us. This is good news. I encourage you to read the Psalm and then speak out loud for yourself and those you love this benediction.
As you go out into the beauty of God’s world or stay in your homes, know God sees you. As you do your part to keep others safe in this time, know that God is with you. As you pray for your friends, family, and people you do not know, know that God hears your joys and cries of pain. As you begin a new week with God, know that God is leading you in the way everlasting. You are created in God’s own image, and you are God’s beloved. Amen.
I would like to talk about fishing. Growing up, my grandparents would take my sister and I fishing in a pond on their farm. We would load up all the necessary supplies into the pickup truck and then set out driving a little ways on the road and then through the field until we came to the fishing pond. Everyone would get their five gallon bucket and fishing pole. And I also brought a book. I wanted to be back at the house reading and had to fish. So, I would cast my line into the pond, see that my bobber was steady, sit on my bucket, and pick up my book. Someone would yell my name when my bobber went under. I would sigh and set down my book so I could reel in a fish. As you can tell this was not an activity I enjoyed.
Recently, my husband thought we should start fishing. All of the trips to the fishing pond came back to mind. Reluctantly, I agreed to fish with him. And I cannot tell you how surprised I was to discover that I am enjoying it. I find it so relaxing to stand on the dock, casting into the water, and slowly reeling it in. I find myself breathing slower and can feel my body relaxing as I fish. I have been watching sunsets and birds flying overhead. Lest you think I am a true fisher person. I am still happiest when I do not catch anything and can just enjoy the rhythm and action of casting out and reeling it in over and over. So you can hear this reflection as an encouragement to try something again. Try something you didn’t enjoy and maybe this time you will. Disclaimer-you may still dislike the activity, and that is okay too! Or maybe you will hear this as a call to go outside and soak in the beauty of nature. Possibly, you are hearing a reminder to rest because God rested on the seventh day and your body needs rest too. Holy One, we give you thanks this day for memories and new experiences. We are grateful for sunsets and time in your creation. We ask for strength to do the work you have called us to do. And as one of my hospice patients would always remind me, we can’t just pray for ourselves we have to pray for everyone else God loves too. So God, we remember your children around the world today. Ease the suffering. Mend the broken hearts. Feed those who are hungry and comfort everyone who is scared. Strengthen those fighting for justice and increase our compassion for each other. Hear our prayer and the prayers of all who call to you. Amen.
Sometimes a fish jumps on the line even when you just want to enjoy not catching anything.Last night’s catch
This is an adaptation of a reflection I shared in the daily call for prayer and inspiration which is led every weekday morning for volunteers and staff of Coastal Hospice.
What a different place and space we find ourselves than when the Spiritual Counselors began hosting these calls a few months ago. Whatever you believe about COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter and the stock market and our elected officials and how we best educate our children and so many other things, we are not where we were a few months ago. Things have changed and each one of us has changed. Don’t hang up because you think I am going to tell you how to think about a specific topic on the news. I’m not. Instead I’d like to encourage you to think about how you react to another person who has a different view than you hold. Because we are a healthcare organization, I’m going to focus on our reactions to COVID-19. Even on this call, I am going to make an educated guess that we have different responses and feelings to where we currently are with this virus. Some of us might think that everything should be opening up and people should be able to make their own choices with what to do. Others of us might think that we should have continued with stay at home orders in this state for a longer period of time. Like all of you, I have my own feelings on this based on my life experiences. Again, I want to say I’m not trying to change your mine on this. What I would like to call to your attention is how you react to someone who feels differently. How do you respond to someone who has a different view? What emotions bubble to the surface when someone is doing something that you disagree with? My reflection today is a call for kindness. We don’t have to agree. We can be kind. We don’t always understand what is going on in someone else’s life. We can be kind. We may worry about the future or not have a care in the world. We can be kind. I may not like what you do. I can be kind.
As you go about your day and into the weekend, don’t rush to judgment, bite your tongue when necessary, and believe in the good of other humans. Response with kindness in your thoughts, your words, and your actions. Lest you think this is Susannah calling us to all be Pollyannas, being kind is hard work. So be kind to each other and especially yourself!
Hear these words from Colossians 3: 12, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”
God of Love, Fill us with your love this day, so we may be kind to ourselves and each other. And when that proves to be difficult, give us strength to try again. We are thankful to be called your beloved ones. Teach us your kindness. Amen.
Let us pray on this holy day (this coming Sunday) as we end the Easter Season and celebrate the Holy Spirit and the Birthday of the Church!
Today does not look like other Pentecosts for many of us. Wherever we are celebrating this Pentecost, we know you are with us, Holy One. We ask that you pour out your Holy Spirit upon us like that first Pentecost. Revive us as we are so weary. Inspire us so we may live out our faith in new ways. Strengthen us for the coming days. God, we celebrate today as the birthday of your church. Whether we gather as your church virtually or physically, we are your church. Remind us today that we are your beloved children who you have called to do your work in this your world. We have heard your call and answered with the help of the Holy Spirit. Revive us. Inspire us. Strengthen us. Amen.
However you celebrated Easter Sunday, I am guessing it didn’t look like a typical Easter Sunday for you. Here’s a bit of good news. Easter is not over. While we may not be gathering to celebrate in person, the resurrection has happened and is happening. Signs of rebirth and renewal are all around even amid the sadness.
This Easter Season I encourage to you to notice and name the places and times you see resurrection, renewal, new energy, goodness at work in the world. Look for tiny Easters all around and you will see them.
God of Big Surprises and Ordinary Days, walk with us through this Easter Season. Open us to see you in each other and your creation. Remind us of your promises while surprising us as we experience new things. Our lives are not what we expected, Holy One, and we ask that you use us in this time to share your love with others. No matter what tomorrow brings, we will trust in you and give thanks. We know you are making all things new, and so we will wait and be ready. In the name of Jesus who lived and died and lives with you, we pray. Amen!
