58A*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 17A [Ordinary 26A] or [Proper 21A] 2017
Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16

Listening God: we gather to celebrate the God who responds to our prayers.
We give thanks that God knows us so well, that we can never shock God!

Ever-near God: we gather to worship you because you know our secrets.
We give thanks for God’s merciful, presence which heals, helps and blesses.

God of intimate relationships: we gather in awed wonder because despite
your knowledge of us as we truly are; that you still love and even forgive us.
We give thanks that God opens our eyes, our minds, our spirits and our inner
beings to the truth of God’s accepting, yet holy, living presence with us always. Amen.

Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16
A psalm of Asaph.

1 O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
2 for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
3 stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
4 We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the LORD,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

12 the miracles he did for their ancestors
on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
13 For he divided the sea and led them through,
making the water stand up like walls!
14 In the daytime he led them by a cloud,
and all night by a pillar of fire.
15 He split open the rocks in the wilderness
to give them water, as from a gushing spring.
16 He made streams pour from the rock,
making the waters flow down like a river!

Prayers of Thankfulness
After Pentecost 17A [Ordinary 26A] or [Proper 21A] 2017
Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16

Listening God: we gather to celebrate the God who hears and responds to our prayers;
and we give thanks that God knows us so well, that we can never shock God! We
give thanks too that the God that we worship is our Creator and Liberator; who knows
who and what we are without burdening us with the weight of guilt; and that instead
of the pain of guilt, we can come to God as often as we need to unburden ourselves
of all that binds us - into the joyous freedom of God’s forgiveness and blessing. We
give thanks for the many examples in God’s holy word, of faithful and holy people who
have failed themselves and their God and who felt guilty about their own flaws; and yet
they were the ones whom God continued to use to bring hope and blessings to others.

Ever-near God: we gather to worship you because you know our secrets; those things
we hide even from our most intimate partners and friends, because we are ashamed of
of our failures and flaws; when we would like to become much better than we really are.
We give thanks for God’s merciful presence which heals, helps and blesses us; that God
does not reject people who share their secrets with God; and who ask for help in dealing
with their regrets or their human sinfulness. We give thanks that you are our Quiet Centre
in a troubled and noisy world, and that no matter who we are, we can still come to you.

God of all intimate relationships: we gather in awed wonder because despite your own
knowledge of us as we truly are; that you still love and even forgive, renew and restore
us, giving us a fresh start. We give thanks that God opens our eyes, our minds, our spirits
and our inner beings to the truth of God’s accepting, yet holy and living presence with us
always. With regret, we remember the painful experiences of life; our broken relationships;
our missed opportunities and our failures to hold dear, all that enriches our living, loving
and being. We give thanks that, as our Creator, you have woven into our inner beings, the
options of learning from our mistakes and regrets. O God, go with us into the future, so
that with you to guide us - and in turn - for us to listen to you, we may live more faithfully. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 17A [Ordinary 26A] or [Proper 21A] 2017
Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16

Psalm 78 covers an approximate period of 700 years from Patriarchal Jacob in
Egypt to King David’s reign; and so the psalmist cried out on God’s behalf: “O my
people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will
speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past, stories
we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us...” What
stories were incorporated in those 700 years, or was it an overview? A parable is
a simple or short symbolic allegorical story often used to illustrate a spiritual lesson,
and may convey a meanings either indirectly or by comparing one story against
another. In his recent book “From whom no secrets are hid” Professor Walter
Brueggemann writes: “...The Psalms script us for truth-telling that breaks the killing
force of denial. It is no surprise, then, that it is the truth-telling God who first told the
truth about us: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name,
you are mine.’ (Isaiah 43:1) That is the bottom line of our existence... But not in the
Psalms, because God is the listener. So we tell our secrets in the holy presence...”1
Are those the “secrets” that must be shared - the “...hidden lessons from our past,
stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us...”?

Creative pause: “...God is the listener. So we tell our secrets in the holy presence...”1


What was the parable the psalmist was singing about? Was the psalmist simply and
only comparing God’s faithfulness against Israel’s unfaithfulness? Who could listen
to those “parables” in their worship services? There was no system of Synagogue
worship before the Exile in 700 BC; and prior to that there was the Tent of Meeting in
the wilderness; and then gathering at the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. So
who or what was involved in the worship if everyone or a few obeyed the Law of Moses:
“…Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each
week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to
the LORD YOUR GOD..”2 Was the gathered or community worship of God solely reserved
for the priests of that time? How did the Jewish people personally express their faith
and trust in their Liberating God? Were the various Festivals and sacrifices the only
community acts of worship for the Jews? In Leviticus the term is used “…wherever
you live…”3 Was the worship of God mainly a private ritual in one’s own residence?

Creative pause: What does it mean to “observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”?2


In Leviticus Chapter 23 we have the instructions about the worship of God: “The
LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These
are the LORD’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for
holy assembly. “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly.
It is the LORD’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live. In addition
to the Sabbath, these are the LORD’s appointed festivals, the official days for holy
assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year....”3 The various
Festivals, Sacrifices and Celebrations were then detailed and the ways in which they
were to be celebrated. Each of the designated Festivals or Celebrations included
“holy assemblies”; but those Festivals mostly seemed to relate to how each individual
person expressed their relationship with God, and also in relation to their ‘neighbours’.

Creative pause: Are your community acts of worship “holy assemblies”?3


1 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
from “From whom no secrets are hid”
Chapter 2, page 30 © 2014 Westminster/John Knox Press
Louisville Kentucky USA

2 Exodus 20: 8-10a (NLT)

3 Leviticus 23: 1-4 (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 help and inspiration so frequently available from the writings of Professor Walter Brueggemann and Professorial brothers Rolf and Karl Jacobson; and the resources from "The Text this Week" (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditation are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2017 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Based on verses from Psalm 78.
Used with permission.

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

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