31B*
A Call to Worship
Easter Day Year B 2015
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

Faithful God, we honour the love of God whose “...faithful love endures forever...”
We sing: “..all praise be to his name, who was, and is, and is to be, and still the same..”1

“...The Lord is my strength and my song..” whose arms enfold us in your embrace.
We celebrate because “...The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things..!”

“...God’s... love shall be our strength and stay while ages roll. Praise to the living God,
all praise be to his name, who was, and is, and is to be, and still the same…”
1 Alleluia!
Faithful God, we come to worship you as we continue to sing the story of God’s faithful
and enduring love, and we celebrate together and joyfully give thanks for that great love. Amen.



Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let all Israel repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the Lord.
20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.

24 This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.


Prayers of Praise and Petition
Easter Day Year B 2015
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

Faithful God, we gather together to rejoice and be glad on this special day
of celebrating your faithful and enduring love for all humanity and creation.
This is the day when all God’s promises were fulfilled, and we rejoice and
praise God’s Holy Name. It is also a day when we look back at the story of
God’s faithful love, and the way this love was demonstrated to a restless and
troubled people; who yearned for solidarity and a home of their own, where
they could live together and worship God in freedom, justice and peace. We
offer our prayers for all people who have no home, no sense of belonging—
and who yearn for peace, justice and above, loving, personalised acceptance.
“...This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it...” Alleluia!

Trustworthy God, we gather together to rejoice and be glad in this special day
of celebrating the way we can trust in your love, knowing that it will not falter
towards us, regardless of our sin and failures. This is the day when all God’s
promises were fulfilled, and when we can revel together in celebrating the power
of God’s Holy Name. It is the day we when look around us to see and experience
God supportive and encouraging presence with us now - right at this very minute.
We offer our prayers for people for whom there is no sense of God with them,
who feel isolated from everyone, but especially from God. We pray for people
who yearn to know the satisfaction of being special to someone; may they come
to realise that God is indeed with them and even now, is embracing them in love.
“...This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it...” Alleluia!

Dependable God, we gather together to rejoice and be glad on this special day
of celebrating the way we can always depend on you as we go into the unknown
future. This is the day when all God’s promises were fulfilled, and we can look
forward in confident reverence as we honour and praise God’s Holy Name. It is
also a day when we look forward in hope and expectation of God’s faithful love
continuing with us always and forever. We offer our prayers for people for whom
there is no sense of hope or expectation for happy times ahead when life will be
better for them, but can only imagine the continuation of deep loneliness and the
inner darkness of spirit and mind. We pray for people who yearn to know the joy
of living within community acceptance and understanding; who can anticipate that
it will continue; and when they can confidently know they are loved and cherished.
“...This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it...” Alleluia! Amen.


A Personal Meditation
Easter Day Year B 2015
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

Memory was a very important part of Israel’s life and faith, and there was
nothing more central to their faith, hope and trust in God than their ancient
Exodus experience so eloquently expressed in the opening words sung
by Moses and all the Israelites in praise of God as they were liberated from
slavery in Egypt: “..The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me
victory. This is my God, and I will praise him — my father’s God, and I will
exalt him.
2 Some of these words were echoed in Psalm 118, and they show
the durability, strength and wonder of God’s steadfast love for the people of
Israel. God was their hope and their refuge, and this song celebrated God’s
active commitment to those people by leading them into a new life under God.

Creative pause: The reality of God’s presence was demonstrated in tangible ways.


The memory of God’s liberation and goodness lingers on not only as a communal
memory; it was also a deeply personal memory, because the people of Israel
could trace their own ancestor’s liberation from slavery back to that experience;
and it then became their own liberation and victory song in joyful praise of God’s
steadfast love for those people – generation after generation. Shared experiences
and their memories create unique links and bonds that are extremely difficult to
erase; and are often even stronger than blood ties; connections to a particular
piece of land or even a region; and are often even stronger than inherited items.
Our shared memories enable us to act today in anticipation of the future, because
of the bonding memories of those past shared events. So it was with Israel, creating
for them a unique identity and even a unique destiny as the people God had chosen.

Creative pause: Remembering made the past their own present experience of God.


As we in this generation try to imagine the Being of our Holy God, and the way
that God’s-Own-Self is expressed in ways that we humans can grasp, or even
understand or know just a little about the Unknowable God; as part of this struggle
we often give God many human attributes and characteristics. In this psalm, God
is the Door-Keeper, who opens the door for God’s own people to enter into God’s
Holy Presence. God also has a strong right arm that does glorious things, and
which is often raised in triumph by God’s liberating actions. God is also imagined
as a Song – one which brings delight and pleasure; a Song that expresses deep
emotions; and a Song that encourages us to join in learning how to sing that
same song about the God - who joyously delights, encourages and empowers
people to live a richer life in sweet fellowship with God. Are you singing God’s song?

Creative pause: What human attributes and characteristics do you give to God?


1 From “Together in Song” #102
“Praise to the living God”
From the Jewish Yigdal c 13th century
Words are in Public Domain

2 Exodus 15: 2 (2-18) NLT



Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the writings of
Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2015 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

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