Tag: God

Maundy Thursday

Jesus Christ
I think about how
Bread is shared
the Crusty Full flat breads
That are more easily shared with
a quick tearing among friends for
Tapas

I think of how
Sharing is entrenched
In Christ’s ministry
of how Jesus spent
his last moments
Sharing food
and Prayer

The gentle
voices of how
to survive
this moment
come across
this very moment
and people say
Volunteer

Find a friend
a community
in Need

And I think
Of how
When You Return
Ever Knee
Shall Bow
Because
You will return
As you Left
Serving
On Your

Knees
Gardening
Washing Feet
Healing
Greeting Children
Praying
So we will all Kneel
To Serve
Beside you

The Mandate
Command–is not necessary
In stark contrast to law and order

The reign of Christ will come
through mercy
and Love

Love and mercy you
Say
and you will feed us
And we will
throw our doors
Open wide

Maybe it’s Agape Thursday
Or Hesed Thursday
But sure
Maundy Thursday
For Now
Holy Spirit
Come!

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Thy Kin-Dom Come

I don’t want to live
in a world
Where we live out
imprisoning
and killing
immigrants
innocent
and guilty
side by side
Why they cry out
for water

I don’t want to live
in a world
where
the loneliness
of those in power
manifests
in intimidation
betrayal
and
empty promises

I don’t
want the Palm Sundays
of Protest
to End in the
Fridays
of Violence
where
we think

Sacrifice is
the only answer

I don’t
Want us
to Cry out
“my
God
MY GOD
why…

Why have
You abandoned
Me?”
Feeling the
Hell of
Divine
absence

I don’t
want to
live out
empty
Saturdays
Of Mourning
Where there
is absolutely
no right
word of
comfort to Say

But I do
Want
the resurrection
of community
Where
White people
Learn
Listening
and Community
And Solidarity
for Real this time

I do want the
Apostle-ship
Of the Women
To be
whispered

At Dawn
And for the
Empires
To topple
at the truth

And I do
want the
Church
To be
Alive
and well

Not in pews
Or choirs
But in

Shared Meals
and understandings
Beyond denominations
And accountability
Liberation
And Mission
in the Neighborhood and Beyond

I want to
meet Jesus
And God
in the gardens
And for
the Divine to remind us
That all the
Seeds that we are
Planting Count

(Even the ones that don’t bloom)
And that
God is tending
some to produce
Resurrection
Harvests
Beyond
All Imaginings

And I
Want to
Remember

That Chuffing
Off
the Offal
Is Ok
And that
Jesus
will Rise
Again

And he
Will Kneel
in the Garden
To Plant
And so
Of course

We will kneel
Next to him

In solidarity

And so
With
the Holy Spirit
Whispering
Encouragement
In My
Heart
I walk
Towards
a Kin-Dom
Now.

Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Psalm 41:1-3

God
We are calling down
Your protection

Because
I see the face
of terrified
College students
of Brown People with
Tattoos

Echoing
Those of
Separated
Families
at the border

I am still haunted
by a picture of
their jewelry
and crosses
piled like
Jewish
loot
during
the Holocaust

And the Fragile
Gaza
peace
has been broken

and so I pray
Protection
For the families

And for the Soldiers
in Yemen
And around the world

As OPSEC is said
but not Enacted

Though truly
My heart
Longs for Peace
I pray for a language
beyond bombs
and threats
and bullying

and even tariffs

Staunch Pacifist that I am

As the budget for food
and Veterans are cuts
but the Military remains
bloats
Military Industrial Complex
Indeed Lord, I cry

And God,
I cry out for all of those
with Cancer
longing for Treatment
whose funding was cut
The researchers
who have been sustained
I know that God
You work to sustain
All those with infirmities
I pray that you will work
To heal all infirmities

Open the ears and hearts
of those who need to
understand
Melt those with
hearts and brains of stone

Melt them
Reverse their Decisions
Transform things so Completely
That we do not even Recognize things

For God you know
When we pray for Health
We are praying for a healthy
World–
Not for just ourselves
But for me, my neighbor, my enemy
to all be transformed into
(almost unrecognizable) signs of mercy
Signs of the Kin(g)dom
And so I pray
For a Forgiveness of Debts
That I cannot comprehend

For Food for all people
In a Dailyness of Bread

For the coming of your Glory
Which of course will be in Mercy

And for
Your Kin(g)dom Come
Your Will Be done
Amen,
Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka “KatyandtheWord”

Psalm 41:1-3

1 Happy are those who consider the poor;* (marginal/oppressed)
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
2 The Lord protects(guards them/covenants with them) them and keeps them alive;(like a. shepherd guards a sheep, like a sacred duty, like a hedge of protection)
   they are called happy in the land. (It will be a gifting, a granting)
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; (a sustain, supporting, comforting, stability and continuity))
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.* (Healed and transformed, reversed, turn over a new leaf) The grace and mercy of God will be through compassion.

Transfiguration

When faced
with Divinity
We find
your Equity
it has
ranges
upon ranges
like mountains
covering all
heights
and elevations-
and yet somehow
accessible to all

Confession:
Your Justice
contains
so much Mercy
It cuts
into me
with a Deepness
that I
cannot
comprehend it

There is no word
For your
Kind of Love
It Overshadows
all else

Sometimes I feel like
I need protection
From
the holiness
That I will
be blotted out
in your Presence

Glory
Spills out
and Touches me

And
I am
in Awe

And Realize
all
the Systems
of Injustice
and Hopelessness
that surround me

And I know
In that
Deepness
of My
Very Self
That I cannot Touch you

Without being
Tranformed
Transfigured

Changed

(And God do you know
how much we humans
Love change?
Not much)

But then..
You come
and protect
me
From your own Glory

And Divinity
With ..

Your very Self
Offering Divine

Shadow

Protection

Shade

A moment to collect
and Be
My
Self

And whilst
You Shadow
me
From You

I can see
God’s Loving-Kindness-Mercy-CovenantalParentalLoveFromtheWomb
And
the Whisper Comes
All Will Be Well
Listen
AllWillBeWell

Based on Psalm 36 and Luke 9

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

image

Haloed Jesus in a white outfit surrounded by Haloed two figures in Red robes, with three kneeling disciples. All Figures are brown skinned, the painting rendered is older and somewhat chipped. It is credited to Solomon Raj in India and can be found here https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/110604805435/transfiguration-global-art

Narrative Lectionary Lent, Year 3, Easter, Resurrection Sunday

April 20 
Resurrection
Luke 24:1-12
Psalm 118:17, 21-24

Call to Worship:
This day is marvelous 
Because it is the Lord’s doing
What day is that?
Today, is the the day that the marginal stone, that the builder’s rejected became chief cornerstone for equity
This is the day, this must be the day that the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it

Call to Worship
We must recount the deeds of the Lord
We give thanks to God who has become Salvation 
Salvation and Liberation, for are they not the same thing?
God is marvelous in our eyes
This is the day that the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be Glad in it.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that your resurrection is too hard to believe. We confess that some days it is hard to talk about the good news, that sometimes the message seems to get lost. Help us to live in such love and relationship that we can understand the Good News we pray.

Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we confess that we are perplexed. Your love is too deep for us to understand. Teach us to be an Easter people we pray. Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Here the Good News, Jesus loved us, came for us, died for us and is the Resurrected living Christ, thus we know in our Hearts the Good News of Easter: In Jesus Christ, we are Forgiven. Alleluia. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, all sins have already been washed away, we have the promise of the resurrection and so we can sing the Good News to one another. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven, Alleluia, Amen. 

Prayer of the Day/Dedicaiton: God, we are an Easter People, and we get to celebrate it every Sunday. May we go into the world with the promise of Resurrection in our hearts we pray. Amen. 

Children’s Story: Summarize Velveteen Rabbit. (Being made more real/human by God’s Love)

Narrative Lectionary, Year 3, Luke Lent 5

April 6
Lent 5
Zacchaeus 
Luke 18:31-191:10
Psalm 84:1-4, 10-12
Lost Sight of Things? God calls You

Call to Worship
How our souls long for God
My heart and flesh sing for the joy to the living God
Even the Sparrow (Freest of Birds) finds a home, and the Swallow (Smallest of Birds) a nest for herself.
Happy are those who live in your House, Singing your Praises God.
A day in God’s house is better
A day in your courts, are better than a thousand elsewhere
Come let us keep the door for God
Come let us listen for God, our sun and our shield, today.

Call to Worship
We long for you God
We want to feel your presence
Even when we can’t see you
God you see us and call us
Be with us
God, be with us today

Prayer of Confession: God I confess that it is hard to see Jesus. We look and cry out, and sometimes Jesus is not there. Teach us to be open to Jesus so that when he invites himself over to dinner, we may be able to open our doors to him we pray. Amen

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, Jesus is looking for us, and loving us into being. Thus we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we confess that we hate not knowing and feeling lost. We feel like we need to know the way. Allow us trust that it is ok to feel blind, and help us when we stumble and fall we pray. Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and will never lead us astray, so we know the truth. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God teach us to be ok with following Jesus, even when we feel lost along the way. Teach us to trust and follow we pray. Amen. 

Children’s Book: Red by Michael Hall https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/red-a-crayons-story/9128924/all-editions/?resultid=8c659c58-dc2a-4647-8ab4-e5ea74a40596 Knowing how to see yourself (how God sees you) even when other’s don’t

Red: A Crayon's Story 0062252070 Book Cover

Narrative Lectionary Luke 3, Lent 2

March 16
Lent 2
Lament over Jerusalem/Fig Tree Bore No Fruit
Luke 13:1-9, 31-35
Psalm 122
Lost Fruit/People? God Gives Time and Dirt (remember what humans are formed with)

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 122)
I am glad, whenever I make it to God’s House
We stand at the Gates of God, and sigh
We are heading towards God, bind us together
Peace is on our lips
Put it in our hearts
Come let us experience the fruit of God

Prayer of Confession

God, we are looking for the fruit of our labors, and yet, we confess that it seems to be missing. Where is it? We are frustrated! Grant us patience, fertilizer, dirt, time, all of the time we need. Grant us the peace to grow we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: God of Time, a thousand years is like a day for you, and so we know that your forgiveness is quick. We will linger in your steadfast love and the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we long for your sanctuary and to seek your walls, but it is hard to get you. We cannot always find your peace. We can’t always get to church, find time to pray, or even remember that you are there to shout to God? Help us when we cannot find the ways to access you God, to take the time and space to do so, we pray. Remind us that you will fill the space for us. Amen. 

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus is the Prince of Peace, therefore we can rest in the truth In Jesus Christ we are Forgiven

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, remind us as we enter the world, that you will give us time and food that we need, grant us the gift to do the same for others we pray. Amen. 

Children’s Story: The Carrot Seed https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-carrot-seed-by-ruth-krauss/285680/?resultid=242d96a7-6ea9-4c2e-babe-8aefdb988163#edition=1904277&idiq=1569512

Paperback The Carrot Seed: 75th Anniversary Book

Prayer of Psalm 92

God
I’m gonna have to be
reminded
of your steadfast Love
once again

Because the truth is
I might be grasping
onto it,
by threads
these days

For it might be
one of the few things
That makes my heart sing
and reminds me
that there are good things to eat
and that art is worth making
in this world

For truly
sometimes
everything seems to be full
consumers–
you know them
the dullards
who for some reason
want to BURN everything
Down
And they seem to
multiply
like weeds
And at time Evil seems to flourish
And spread
Nothingness
Wherever they go

And so
I meditate on
you God
and remember
How Evil
fell once before

And I count
my blessings
And how you
reach out to me.

I remember all the enemies
—my enemies, but really
our enemies, because they
are the enemies of justice, 
equity and good—
You have defeated
on my behalf before
that my eyes have seen
my ears have heard
internal
external
I have proof
And I take a deep breath
and remember

God I know that you
grow justice
blooms, fruits, flourishes
It becomes mighty
and beautiful
solid and wondrous, Like a towering
oak that I could build a treehouse in
and nestle in to sleep–
and that will continue to be safe even
in its oldest years.

And God
as I nestle, may I remember
you are always full of justice
even when all else fails
You will always stand for equity.
I can sleep knowing that.

Amen.

God of Empathy

Breathe in: God I am overwhelmed
Breathe out: God sit with me

God,
I confess that I have been cursed
with your Holy Spirit
I have your empathy in spades

Her whispers echo in my ear
I feel worry 
for the children
for my trans* and nonbinary family
for all those who are black and brown

whose birth, citizenship and being
are being tossed about 
and trying to be erased
like words on a page

Holy Spirit
How is it that the same Spirit
that comes and teaches us to witness
also encourages, inspires
and consoles?

God almighty
I confess
my breath catches when I 
feel our relationships
with other nations
disintegrating
when I see signs of hate
shrugged off or joked about

Pneuma–
I confess, I need your help
to breathe in
to breathe out
because I confess that sometimes 
remembering to breathe freely
is an act of rebellion

Jesus Christ
I remember all of your short actions
that were so disruptive 
most of them were 
listening
and calling people by their
chosen
name

Walk with me
walk with us
as we do the same
help us to 
listen closely to one another
and to call one another by name

God of empathy
breath
listening
and Name

Be with us
in this time of Trial
I pray
Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Throw Jesus Off the Cliff

Some days
God
I feel like
we are throwing
Jesus
off a cliff


I feel like
we hear the words of prophecy
that say
Make things easier
help those in need

It is amongst the cacophony
of “Masculinity” “Capitalism”
and “Christian Nationalism”


Do you hear it under the cries for
Nazareth First?

Jesus says: I am here for the immigrant widow,
the strangers,
the broken,
the disabled,
the weird,
the LGBTQIA,
and the strange

I feel like
when we hear the echo
of Jesus’s voice
Calling us
to do the hard work
of the gospel

that when Jesus walks with us
and says
you are correct
Christianity
is not
about success

We have to sit down
and say
what is life about then

and many people
throw Christianity
leadership
Jesus
or whatever out

Why do we do this worship
thing
If it isn’t about that anyway?

Sometimes I want to put out posters
Come to church
We do brokenness
really well

Come to worship
We are bad at community

Join us Sunday
We have had to practice
for 2,000 years and are
still getting power dynamics
wrong

Put your faith not in
princes
power
and principalities

But the dandelion
still bloomed
A perfect
Weed
spreading
Wishies
for children
to blow
in the yard

I treasure God
calling me
a dandelion
full of
seeds
and
Wishes

Image: A child, in a red coat, you happily cannot tell their gender, drawing butterfly and heart) out of a giant dandelion (like making a wish). Image sourced from https://img.freepik.com/premium-photo/child-blowing-dandelion-with-heart-star-sketch_587981-17165.jpg


Practice focusing on God
practice community
practice honesty
exercise everyday–not
because you will win any races
But because walking together
is the journey

And some days
I too want to throw Jesus off the cliff
Because it’s clear
I still don’t get it

And then Jesus floats back
and hugs me
Because
it never was about
perfection
in the first place

But the moments of
beauty
community
laughter
still count

Thank God
for that

Amen

Feel free to use/share Adapt with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta aka KatyandtheWord