21st Century Africana Liturgy Resources for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C

Suggested Music: Cry Out O Zion (Stephen Hurd and Corporate Worship Volume 1)

Gathering Meditation
(Based on Psalm 36: 5-10)
God, this past week has been hectic. Please shelter us from the storms of life. The mountains have been too high for us to climb, and the waters of life have overwhelmed us. The hard knocks and headaches of life seem to be too much for us to bear, but what a consolation to know that there is refuge in the shadow of your wings. Despite the way life has treated us all week long, you continue to wrap your arms of protection around us. In spite of us, your steadfast love never ceases. We come this morning, gracious God, seeking the abundance of your house. We come looking for the rivers of life to flood over our souls.

Invocation
(Based on John 2:1-11)
God, our God,
As you were with the wedding party in Cana of Galilee, be with us here today. The wine of our lives and souls has run out. Fill this place with the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Fill the water pots of our souls this day with new and fresh wine from your wine cellar. The wine of yesterday is gone; it is stale; it is old. Today, God, send your anointing power in this place and in the lives of your people that we may find strength to hold on and hold out. Help us to know that the best wine is yet to come, and we can taste and see your goodness. Show yourself to be powerful, empowering, and awesome this day and for all times to come. In the name of Jesus the Christ, we pray. Amen.

Call to Worship
(Based on Psalm 36:5-10)
The Steadfast Love of the Lord Endures Forever.

One: Your steadfast love, Lord, never comes to an end. As high as the heavens are, your love for humanity is that high. In our unfaithfulness, God you are ever faithful to us.

Many: The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

One: You, O God, are a right-now God. Your righteousness is like the Atlas Mountains of Africa; your judgments are deep as the Nile River. Regardless of our infirmities and frailties, you save all of your creation; none of us is overlooked.

Many: God's sure and ready love never comes to an end.

One: Through the storms of life, the tragedies of family, the injustices of life, your love remains steadfast as you provide shelter in our storm-tossed lives.

Many: The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

One: No matter what, God, you are our source of abundance: our water when we get thirsty; our food when we are hungry. The rivers of life flow from you. You are our light in the darkness of our every day. You know all of creation by name; you know the desires of our hearts.

ALL: Continue to love us, God, through the love of Jesus Christ. For your steadfast love endures forever, a sure and ready love that never, ever ends.

Litany: Look Our Savior Comes!
(Based on Isaiah 62:1-5)

One: We can no longer afford to sit by the side of the road while injustice and hatred tear at the very fibers of home, family, and community, in Africa, South America, Australia, and Cuba.

Many: Look our Savior comes!

One: We cannot rest until our drug-infested communities, molested children, homeless people, imprisoned men and women are free mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Many: Look our Savior comes!

One: For the mother beaten and left for dead. For those living in war-torn lands where it seems the fighting will not stop.

Many: Look our Savior comes!

One: For the cast-down, broken-hearted, misused and abused, those precious in the eyes of Almighty God ?? you whom God loves and in whose beauty God delights.

Many: Look! It is for us that a Savior comes!

Confessional Prayer
(Based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
God, we have not known how to use the gifts you have given us. At times, we have misused and abused your gifts, not knowing how to use them in a world where homelessness, pain, disease, injustices, and death affect young and old. We have not encouraged the downtrodden or the outcast of our societies. We continue to build bigger homes, drive fancier cars, and wear fine clothes at the expense of those who live below the poverty line. Forgive us for our lack of caring and sharing. God, we don't want to be uninformed; so help us use the gifts you have given us in the Spirit in which they were given, to build your Kingdom and your people. Amen.

Confessional Prayer
(Based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 ?? Optional)
God, we have not known how to use the gifts you have given us. We have failed to share words of wisdom with our young ?? those words that let them know they have value and worth, those words that help those in prison know that, though they are locked out of our society, they are not locked out of God's grace or mercy. Forgive us for not using our gifts to bless. God, we don't want to be ignorant; so help us use the gifts you have given us in the Spirit you gave them, to build your Kingdom and your people. Amen.

Words of Assurance
Hear the good news. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Praise God!

Call to Discipleship
(Based on Isaiah 62:1-5)
Zion is calling us to a higher place of praise. We can not sit comfortably in our churches while our children shoot and kill one another in the streets. We can not be quiet while hunger, war, genocide, and poverty kill our brothers and sisters in Africa, Haiti, Cuba, and North and South America. We cannot rest until every child has food to eat, a place to sleep, and freedom of mind, body, and spirit. We are the creation and the image of God ?? no matter where we live, or what we live in. God sees all of creation as a crown of beauty, as a precious jewel in the hand of Almighty God. God loves each of us and delights in the very fibers of our lives. Turn to God with all of your heart; serve God with all of your strength.

About the Author: The Rev. Bryan K. Fleet is the pastor of Mt. Zion-Warren United Methodist Church in Dickerson, Maryland, and a member of the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference.