Photo by Pavel Danilyuk:
Liturgy of St Mark, 2nd century
O Soverign and almighty Lord, bless all thy people, and all thy flock.
Give thy peace, thy help, thy love unto us thy servants, the sheep of thy fold,
that we may be united in the bond of peace and love, one body and one spirit,
in one hope of our calling, in thy divine and boundless love.
Amen
A Prayer of Lament: Missio Dei
Oh Lord our God,
To you we cry out,
To you we run,
For where else would we go?
We feel the weight of our broken world,
Through wars, famines, and disasters,
In injustice, hatred, and oppression.
The nations desperately need your deliverance.
We weep at our own brokenness
For the guilt, shame, and pain we feel
Weighed down by sin, held back by fear
We mourn our distance from you.
Be near to us, Oh God
Remember not our sin or failures
Reveal your Kingdom to our hearts and our community
Restore us to an awareness of your presence.
But, we have experienced your grace
And we will experience your restoration
Through your atoning death our sins are forgiven
And in your return we will be made whole.
Amen
Psalm 22 NIV
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Michael Balboni is a compelling speaker. He holds an MDiv and Ph.D.; He is an instructor at Harvard. Link
Benediction:(Source unknown – early Scottish) link
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you, forever.
Amen
Even better in person..
“Deep peace….” was written by William Sharp of Paisley in 1910 under his pseudonym Fiona Macleod. A literary editor and poet, he was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society devoted to the study and practice of Hermeticism and the occult. Nothing to do with Gaelic/Celtic Christianity.
What a blessing to hear Dr. Balboni preaching on Psalm 22! And ever so poignant, under the circumstances…
Thank you for posting, Dee. Yes, he is a gifted preacher. I also heard just the other day from a colleague, that he was a very faithful pastor to the medical community in Boston, many of whom have now left PSC.
This morning, we sang the hymn “God the Spirit, Guide and Guardian. Verses 3 & 4 really spoke to me. They may speak to some of you as well.
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Great Creator, life bestower, truth beyond all thoughts recall,
Fount of wisdom, womb of mercy, giving and forgiving all:
As you know our strength and weakness, so may those the church exalts
Oversee its life steadfastly yet not overlook its faults.
Triune God, mysterious being, undivided and diverse,
Deeper than our minds can fathom, greater than our creeds rehearse:
Help us in our varied callings your full image to proclaim,
That our ministries uniting may give glory to your name.
_________________________
I’m ever so grateful for the ministries of Dee Parsons & Dr. Michael Balboni.
May all who visit here have a blessed Sabbath.
I too was blessed by this sermon. Thank you Dee for posting it.
I think he is a fine preacher-thoughtful and compelling. Pastor Booker screwed up on firing him.