Resources
Worship Worldwide
Reformed Ecumenical Council assembly in Utrecht, the Netherlands
July 12-26, 2005
 |
(Elizabeth Steele Halstead, Visuals for Worship, |
Thursday, July 21: Suffering
GatheringGathering Songs
*Call to Worship:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey;
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech. 9:9)
*Song of Praise: “The King of Glory Comes”
Text: Willard F. Jabusch, 1966
Music: Israeli, Promised One; arr. John Ferguson, 1973. Arrangement from The Hymnal of the United Church of Christ.
Text © 1966, 1982, Willard F. Jabusch, administered by OCP Publications, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland OR 97213
Music © 1974, United Church Press
WordAs we are called into worship today,
it is sobering to remember
that when God appeared on earth in the person of Jesus,
most of the world did not recognize him
and therefore did not worship him.
Today we ask for faith that will open our eyes
to see Jesus for who he is,
that we might worship him in truth.
People of God, behold and see your God!We open our eyes to see his glory.
We open our ears to hear his wisdom.
We open our hands to offer him gifts.
We open our mouths to sing his praise.
We open our hearts to offer him our love.
He is Lord! [Reformed Worship 27:42]
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture: John 12:12-24
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Silent reflection
Scripture: Romans 6:3-5, John 12:25-26
During the reading of these verses, you are invited to take a stalk of grain
and plant it at the foot of the cross.
Response
Song of Dedication: “Will You Come and Follow Me”
Soloist on st. 1-4, all on st. 5
Text: The Iona Community
Music: Kelvingrove, Scottish traditional
Text © 1987, WGRG/Iona Community (Scotland), admin. GIA Publications, Inc.
Testimony: Following in the Footsteps of Jesus
Prayers of the People
Prayer refrain: “Nada te turbe / Nothing Can Trouble”
Text and music: Jacques Berthier (1923-1994)
© 1991, Ateliers et Presses de Taizé, F-71250 Taizé Community
*Statement of Faith: Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 1
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my heavenly Father.
In fact, all things must work together for my salvation.Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.
*Song: “In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found”
Text: Stuart Townend
Music: Keith Getty
© 2001 Thankyou Music
Sending
*Blessing:
Lord Jesus Christ,
you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross
that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace:
So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you,
for the honor of your name. Amen. [Book of Common Prayer, p. 101, alt.]Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid. (John 14:27, NIV)
*Parting Song: “Surely, Surely”
Text: Matthew 28:20
Music: Emily R. Brink
© 2005 Reformed Ecumenical Council
*Please stand if you are able.
Bible Study
“And where I am, there will my servant be also.”
John 12:12-26
We find these words in a very full and heavily laden pericope. Its center is Jesus’ pronouncement that his hour has come and that he must leave the world in order to return to his sender, in other words, that he must be glorified and receive his heavenly glory. The way this will happen is a paradoxical glorification itself, because it is the way of the cross, an instrument of pain and shame, not of glory at all. But on closer inspection, John claims, this way itself means glory, because in it the Son shows the love he has towards his people. The simile of the grain of wheat that only bears much fruit by dying in the earth helps us to ascend to a possible acceptance of the paradox that only by dying will Jesus be able to accomplish his work of giving life to all.
The move his words make in verses 25-26 is that the lives of his followers become integrated with Jesus’ own life. When we participate in the Son we also participate in the way he must go. This way of his may look disastrous since it leads to death, but Jesus tries to comfort his own and to encourage them by stating that where he will be, there they will be also.
We will naturally ask then, “Where is he?” At first sight he looks to be in pain, on the way to his death, scorned and suffering severely. But in hindsight his place is with his Father, who receives him in heaven and bestows on him his glory, which was his from the beginning. The same, our text says, will hold true for Jesus’ followers.
This is language of martyrs. Jesus’ early followers had to learn that in the wake of their master they would have to reckon with pain and death also. They had to learn that on the one hand they should avoid the danger of masochism and not seek martyrdom, but, on the other hand, when martyrdom would come to them in the course of following Jesus, they should not run away, avoiding it at all costs. We, too, have to learn to overcome our fears and stay true to the voice we have heard in our lives.
Whoever is close to Jesus is close to the fire. Where he is, there is hope and life. This is a comforting, though by no means easy boat of words in which we can sail the world.
Acknowledgements
The art in the REC Worship Book is by Betsy Steele Halstead, resource development specialist for the visual arts at CICW.
The Bible studies that follow each morning worship service were prepared by Dr. Eep Talstra, Professor of Old Testament, Faculty of Theology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and Dr. L. Theo Witkamp, Senior-lecturer in Practical Theology and Pastoral Supervision, Deputy Director at Hydepark Theological Seminary, Protestant Church in the Netherlands.
All scripture references are quoted or adapted from NRSV, unless otherwise noted.
The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright, 1989, from the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
| Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 1 © 1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI. www.crcna.org. Reprinted with permission.
Litany from Reformed Worship 27:42 used by permission.