Lent Series: Litany for Palm Sunday, "Fulfillment"

"Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" comes directly from John 12, the instance for which Palm Sunday derives its name; in which the people of Jerusalem pave the streets with palm branches and garments, an ancient version of a red carpet, for Jesus and the donkey colt he rides upon. Earlier in the text, Mary pours a pint of expensive nard, a costly essential oil, on Jesus feet.

Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

The One we have long awaited, the Messiah, has come.
Hosanna!
Riding into Jerusalem, not on a warhorse, but on a young donkey,
Hosanna!
The Prince of Peace has come, the one who heals our wounds.
Hosanna!

Everything that was foretold, Christ has fulfilled.
We offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
We set up a banquet, and pour costly perfume at His feet.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

This is Jesus
Whose name is glorified
This is Jesus
High and lifted up

Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 5 "Waiting"

God, in this season of Lent
We quiet our souls
That we may see more clearly the one our hearts long for
We ask, seek, and knock
That our prayers may be answered
And our longing fulfilled

We acknowledge that so much of faith-life involves waiting
     for the voice of God to speak
     for the Spirit of God to move
     for the fullness of Your kingdom to come
     for Christ’s return
     for the world to be made new
     for justice and peace to become ordinary
     for love to become the world’s motivation

We acknowledge that even as we wait, you are working
     redeeming the earth
     redeeming people
     confirming Your love.

As Christ waited three days in a tomb
So do we wait for resurrection life.
We wait in faith,
That You are even now giving us new life.
We wait in hope for the Lord.
All creation waits for the Lord.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 4 "Thirst"

This prayer in the Lent Series is written for the fourth Sunday in Lent (this year March 6). I re-used lyrics from one of my songs for this one. You can find the prayers for the first Sunday in Lent (February 14, 2016) here, the second Sunday (Feb 21, 2016) here, and the third Sunday (February 28, 2016 ) here.

God, in this season of Lent we reflect upon our emptiness, and Your fullness
Our souls thirst for You.
We come to You, Wellspring of Life
Our flesh longs for you.
You graciously offer us a fountain of water, springing up to eternal life
In a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

Jesus, You are the Living Water, the holy spring
You satisfy our deepest needs.
Whoever drinks of the water You give
Need never thirst again.

We acknowledge the miracle, mystery, and kindness of Your provision
We were thirsty, and you gave us a drink.
Fulfill now Your promise to us:
That those who thirst for righteousness will be filled.

May our hunger, thirst, and need always lead us to You
Let all who are thirsty come to Jesus and drink of living water.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 3 "Hunger"

This prayer in the Lent Series is written for the third Sunday in Lent (this year February 28). You can find the prayer for the first Sunday in Lent (February 14, 2016) here, and the second Sunday (Feb 21, 2016) here.

God, in this season of Lenten fasting we set our eyes toward You.
We turn our hearts in Your direction.
We acknowledge our great need for you, and our great hunger.
Give us food from Your hand, oh God.
We confess that we often seek to fill a void inside us with frivolous things, spiritual junk food.
Forgive us, and bless us with manna from heaven.

We set aside the expectation that our hunger might be satisfied by anything but Your Spirit.
Nourish our souls, oh God.
We rely upon Your promise of provision.
They that hunger for righteousness will be filled.
Where we are empty
Fill us up, Oh God.

Jesus said: “I am the bread of Life. Those who come to me will not hunger.”
We come to You, Jesus.
We do not live by bread alone
But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 2 "Mercy"

This prayer in the Lent Series is written for the second Sunday in Lent (this year February 21). You can find the prayer for the first Sunday in Lent (this year February 14) here.

Hear, Oh God, when we call to You
Have mercy on us and answer us.

In our vulnerability
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our forgetfulness
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our anxiety
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our wrongdoing
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our hard-heartedness
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our blindness,
Have mercy on us, oh God

In your mercy, you rescue us from our enemies.
In your mercy, you remove our transgressions from us.
In your mercy, you made a way for us to be reconciled to You.
In your mercy, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to heal our brokenness.

Grant that in this season of Lent, our hearts may be devoted to You,
That we may see Your mercies new each day.
Grant that we may be always ready to offer mercy to those in need of it,
For mercy triumphs over judgement.

Amen

Litany for Ash Wednesday

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Congregants wear a smudge of ash on their foreheads to symbolize repentance and fasting, and commence the season of preparation for Easter.

Oh God, we are reminded this day of the temporality of our lives here on the earth.
We are dust and to dust we will return.
It is by your Spirit and your power that we are given life.
You are the source of all hope and life.

We enter now a season of repentance.
That we may turn from selfishness.
We set aside some comforts
That we may turn our attention to Your holiness.
Cast now our transgressions far from us
As far is the east is from the west.

We mourn the profound disconnection from You that happened at the dawn of humankind.
Bring us back into Your presence.
We rejoice in the perfect work of Christ on earth.
Christ reconciles us to You.

Prepare our hearts, Oh God, for Resurrection life.
You bring beauty from ashes.
Prepare our hearts for the joy of Your coming.
You bring gladness from mourning.
Prepare our hearts for the fullness of Your presence.
You bring forth praise from despair.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 1 "Temptation"

Holy God: in this season of Lenten fasting, we remember Christ
Who went out into the desert to fast and undergo temptation.
We confess that we are often distracted by material comforts
And tempted to value them above the Kingdom of God.

You, God, are our help in difficulty;
Christ is our inspiration.
We confess that we do not live by bread or worldly provision alone,
But by every word that comes from Your mouth.

May we fill our mouths, our hearts, our minds now with your words
That we might be transformed and renewed.
May we, with renewed hearts and minds,
Better serve the purposes of Your kingdom.
May we, by setting aside worldly distractions
Become more like Christ.
May we, with purified motives and deeper understanding,
Receive Christ when He comes to us.

Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.

Amen