21st Century Worship Resources for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

We pressed our way into this moment
Carrying the concerns of the week
Looking . . . searching . . . hoping

We come, to touch and be touched
Like the blur of people
who rushed toward Jesus
from ancient villages, and cities, and farms

We have come to worship;
For the same Jesus who cared for them . . . cares for us.

(Kwasi Kena)

Gathering Meditation or Prayer: Pause and Rest
(Based on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56)

He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."
For many were coming and going,
and they had no leisure even to eat.
(Mark 6:31 NRSV)

Come away and rest a while
Lest you be crushed by the load.

Get away and rest
Lest the world and its troubles
Trouble your soul into amnesia
And you forget
Why you are here
And how important you are to God.

Go away and rest a while
Lest temptation's noose find a soft spot
Around your neck
And destroy you.

Come away and rest a while
In the presence of your God.

(Safiyah Fosua)

Pastoral Prayer
(Based on 2 Samuel 7:1-14a)

Gracious God, too often we try to limit you.
We build buildings full of comfort, we say . . . for your benefit.
We pad and cushion the place we visit for an hour . . . to worship you.
We expect you to bless us within the confines of our well-timed services.

Our raw intentions bark:
"Come!"
"Now!"
"Bless!"
"Me!"

But you do not live in houses built with hands.
You live in our hearts, hoping to touch the world through us.
May you live in six billion hearts today.
Change us, so that through us, you can change others. Amen.

(Kwasi Kena)

The Rev. Dr. Kwasi I. Kena is a former staff member of Discipleship Ministries currently serving as Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. Kena is a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Safiyah Fosua is also a former staff member of Discipleship Ministries currently serving as Assistant Professor of Christian Worship at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. Fosua is a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference.