We’re always calling God.
Where are you God?
Why don’t you pick up?
The phone rings and rings,
echoing in that heavenly chamber.
We check the number,
this has got to be right.
Finally God’s answering machine clicks in.
We hear God’s voice,
“Why are you calling me?
I’m standing right beside you.”
It wasn’t the colourful coat
or even Joseph’s dreams that tipped the balance.
Maybe it was the day—too hot,
or maybe just the fact that there was a pit.
If the traders hadn’t happened by
they would have all had supper together,
Reuben’s voice as eldest
would have decided the outcome.
But instead the cup of resentment,
filled drop by drop for years,
is drained in one sudden act of violence.
The deal is done, the money changes hands
It was a miracle really, that we were there at all.
We sold our trade goods remarkably quickly
and set off for home far earlier than expected.
The long trek through the wilderness went so fast,
it was mid-day when we came to the spring where we always stop.
Having gained so much time, we decided to spend the night.
My son Cornelius took the notion of climbing the high mountain,
“I came to see the world, Father,” he said to me!
It’s our last trip before he becomes a centurion,
he’ll see the world soon enough.
I sent two servants with him (there are lions in these parts),
and the rest of us settled in for a long nap in the shade…
On our dry journey,
forgiveness is the water on the horizon,
and we’re the pilgrims in the desert
who cannot possibly walk there.
Tied up tight,
revenge is a hot little bundle
we hug to our chest.
We are plagued with hurt;
the betrayal, the murder,
the verbal barbs, the abandonment
the lack of love, whatever.
We have been robbed
God of our hearts…here we are!
We’ve come with thirsty hearts,
praying that your word will satisfy us.
We come with aching hearts,
praying for good news to comfort us.
We come with overflowing hearts,
praying for a chance to share your love.
You, who know our hearts and hear our prayers,
be with us now in this hour of worship.
Amen.
Lord Jesus, you are the one who came to set captives free.
Today we pray for all among us who are slaves to addictions,
fettered in body and mind to behaviours that destroy.
We call out for one more;
one more bet, one more illicit meeting,
one more cigarette, one more snack,
one more year of working this hard,
one more hit, one more downloaded picture,
one more meal to be purged,
one more little drink that won’t hurt anyone.
Open our eyes to the chains that bind us
and the destruction it is causing in our lives
and the lives of those we love….
What child is this?
This hungry child, this child with AIDS,
this child afraid of bombs and soldiers,
this child too poor to go to school,
this child from a refugee camp,
this child abused and neglected,
this child crying and uncomforted.
What child is this?
This child is not a statistic,
this child is not collateral damage,
Jesus, you know the 35,000 people in jail in Canada
by name, not number.
You know each holding cell, each regional detention centre,
each provincial institution and federal prison.
You were a captive, you too wore chains.
No one falls through the cracks in your kingdom,
you witness every tear shed in the night.
Where there is loneliness, bring companionship.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is fear, courage.
Where there is confinement, your freedom.
We pray for every imprisoned person who misses their family,
We are people of the light…
we say, “Let there be light!” And behold!
Lamplight, headlight, spotlight,
flashlight, floodlight, footlight,
searchlight, stoplight, streetlight,
windows cascading light,
skyscraper towers of light,
satellites that compete with starlight,
screens of all kinds lit with light,
light sabres, lighthouses and light bulbs;
halogen, incandescent, fluorescent!
We dodge deep darkness with twinkly lights.
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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