28C*
A Call to Worship
Maundy Thursday, Year C 2016
Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19

Dependable God, you are my God: and I come to worship and praise you.
Faithful God, you are our God: and we come to worship and praise you.

Listening God, you are my God: and I give thanks that you hear my prayers.
Attentive God, you are our God: and we give thanks that you are always near.

Responsive God, you are my God: and I commit myself to your worship; to
witness to your glory and mercy; to serve you just as I am; and wherever I go.
Welcoming God, you are our God: and we rejoice that with you there is no need
for pretence or posturing; you know us for the unique people you created; and
so we celebrate your gracious capacity to accept and bless us as we worship you. Amen.

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Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19

1 I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
2 Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

12 What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving me.
14 I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die.

16 O LORD, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant,
born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people—
19 in the house of the LORD in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

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Prayers of Thankfulness
Maundy Thursday, Year C 2016
Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19

Dependable God, you are my God: and I come to worship you with this my deeply
personal prayer of thankfulness, because I know that I can always trust in your
generous mercy and grace. I want to thank you for your gift of gentle relief when
I was in deep trouble and despair. I was not able to share my desperate need with
anyone but you, my Faithful God; and that makes it very special for me that I can
offer this my private prayer of thankfulness in the sacred sanctuary, amongst the
people who I know love and serve you; and who always offer me their support and
compassion – and yet - this is just between God and me as I accept God’s blessing.

Attentive God, we give you thanks that you are always ready and willing to hear
the prayers of your people, whether they are about personal or shared concerns,
and that in your mercy, you answer our prayers in ways are best for everyone. We
give you our thanks that we do not have to go searching for you, but that you are
as near to us and our needs as is our own breath and heart beat. Compassionate
God, we give thanks that through your grace, you bring healing and wholeness
to our wounded souls; to our wounded spirits and bodies; and that you even bring
healing to our wounded egos! Help us we pray, to move on from that which drags
us back from loving and serving you; and may we always listen for your word of grace.

Welcoming God, we rejoice that with you there is no need for pretence or posturing—
you know us for the unique people you created us to become through your blessings;
and so together, we gather to celebrate your gracious presence amongst us this day.
Generous God, we also gather to acknowledge the uncounted mercies we receive
from you; the many blessings we have received from you, which we took so much for
granted; and the guidance and directions you have given us, which we claimed as
our own wisdom and foresight. We give thanks for this privilege of prayer, and for
the fact that there is no burden too great not to share it with God for help and answers. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Maundy Thursday, Year C 2016
Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19

Psalm 118 commences thus: “I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my
prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have
breath...!” The psalm’s author has had a ‘near death’ experience as he explained:
“…Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw
only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “Please, LORD,
save me!” How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! The
LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me…” This
was no remote or disinterested God, but the God who inspired a deep and lasting
love from for those with “childlike faith” who were the recipients of God’s loving mercy!



Through the Covenant relationship God had made with the people of Israel, there
was in place a process to commit to when following God’s way and instructions. Yet
I am still bothered by these words: “I love the LORD because….”! Maybe I am naive—
but I am sure that it must be possible to love God, not for what God does or gives to
us; but rather, for what the being and nature of God really is - after all – God is God,
and therefore, God is also Love in its deepest expression. The wonder of all that is—
that God actually loves us, regardless of whether we react and respond to that love or
not; or whether we even can understand why God could still love us - the doubter that
we often are! As we react and respond to that love, God “....hears my voice and my
prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath...!”



The psalmist meditated on this question: “...What can I offer the LORD for all he has
done for me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving
me. I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people…” The
natural desire to respond to gifts with a responding gift is quite instinctive, so in honest
thankfulness, the petitioner “lifts up the cup of salvation” – a very personal act of worship
in itself. After the traditional meat burnt offering, the second part of the “thanksgiving”
offering was a designated quantity of wine “poured out” before the Lord on to the altar,
in an act of worship and reverent thankfulness, firstly for deliverance from slavery in Egypt,
and then for all subsequent deliverances wrought by God’s generous and merciful grace.
Such an act of worship was a joyous and special occasion - especially for individuals.
“…These modest, intimate statements are quite personal.… It is, moreover, likely that
those who offered such narrative accounts of personal transformation through divine
intervention find these intimate attestations more powerful and more defining than the
great public ‘miracles’…”¹ The connection between our Generous God and any recipient
of God’s goodness was/is usually treasured and cherished – as a special and private gift.



1 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
from “Worship in Ancient Israel – An Essential Guide”
Chapter 4, page 42 © 2005 Abingdon Press
201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville TN 37202-0801 USA

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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 scholarship and 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:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

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

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