Opening Prayer:
Loving Shepherd, you know our names;
you care for us. When we face darkness and death, walk beside us. When we hunger for your love, fill us with your presence. When we are fearful, feed us at your table.
May we dwell in the house of goodness
and mercy all the days of our lives.
Amen.
By Mary Petrina Boyd (http://www.ministrymatters.com)
Accessed at RE:Worship https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2015/04/opening-prayer-psalm-23.html
STF 481 – The Lord’s my Shepherd (Psalm 23)
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me lie in pastures green,
He leads me by the still, still waters,
His goodness restores my soul.
And I will trust in You alone,
And I will trust in You alone,
For your endless mercy follows me,
Your goodness will lead me home.
He guides my ways in righteousness,
And he anoints my head with oil,
And my cup, it overflows with joy,
I feast on his pure delights.
And though I walk the darkest path,
I will not fear the evil one,
For You are with me, and your rod and staff
Are the comfort I need to know.
By Stuart Townend. Words & Music © 1996 Getty Music & Songs; Thankyou Music. Admin by Integrity Music and Capitol CMG Publishing. CCLI Song Number: 1585970.
Bible Reading
Jeremiah 23: 1-6
Restoration after Exile
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.
The Righteous Branch of David
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
Time to reflect:
In order to more fully understand the reading that we have from the Book of Jeremiah today we need to consider the social and historical circumstances that the prophet is writing in. Judah has been twice invaded by the Babylonian Empire (in 598 and 587 BCE) which has resulted in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. Significant numbers of Judean’s have been forcibly relocated to Babylon to serve the Empire in a period that would become known as the exile. Jeremiah’s writing puts these events into a theological context, as the people try to work out why the disaster has befallen them. It is Jeremiah’s assertion that it is Judah’s failure to trust in and follow God that has resulted in the downfall of the nation.
In chapter 23 Jeremiah turns his attention to those who hold positions of leadership in Judean society. The ‘shepherds’ that Jeremiah refers to are both the political and religious leaders of Judah who have failed to attend to their flocks and have scattered them. The specific charges have already been outlined in the previous chapter. The sons of King Josiah, in contrast to their father who furthered the cause of the poor and needy, allowed injustice to grow through their selfishness (Jeremiah 22:17).
Idolatry, oppression, violence and the shedding of innocent blood, neglecting to take up the cause of the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner are all identified as sins committed by Judah’s leaders (Jeremiah 22:8-9). This corruption and injustice weakened Judean society and has led it away from God. The destruction that follows is therefore an outworking of their bad leadership, which the prophet makes it ominously clear will have consequences for those leaders.
Jeremiah’s utterances, which outline and explain the disaster experienced by the Judean people, are why he is often cited as being a prophet of gloom and doom. Yet we also have to recognise that Jeremiah also seeks to offer hope in a difficult situation. Jeremiah makes reference to the exilic remnant, now living in Babylon, who he states will find restoration by God’s hand. Jeremiah is confident in the faithfulness of God as the true and ultimate Shepherd of the covenanted people. It is this confidence in God which leads Jeremiah to proclaim that God will gather and restore his flock.
This regathering will enable God’s covenanted people to be fruitful and to multiply (Jeremiah 23:3) words that echo the promise that God offers to all of humanity in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 1:28). Jeremiah also affirms that God will raise up shepherds who will actually shepherd the people and that none of the flock will be found to be missing (Jeremiah 23:4). Thus, through God’s action there will be a complete restoration of the covenanted community where people will no longer live in fear, a reversal of their situation in exile.
Jeremiah then goes on to talk about a righteous branch from the house of David who will reign as King, dealing wisely and executing justice and righteousness in the land (Jeremiah 23: 5-6) and where the people will dwell in safety. For Christians interpreting this passage, it is the person of Jesus Christ who fulfils this prophetic expectation in his life, death and resurrection. Through Christ God’s Kingdom is established amongst us and his way of love is made known.
In the 21st Century we see many examples of bad leadership within the world. Cruel and vain rulers whose corruption, lack of concern for the vulnerable, and embrace of violence leads to war, poverty, and oppression. Yet Jesus, the Good Shepherd, offers a different way, the way of love. It is the calling of the Church to embody this love in its mission.
So let us commit ourselves to following Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who leads us in the way. Let us uphold God’s mercy and justice for all people and let us seek to live out our calling to love one another in Jesus’ name.
Prayers of intercession
You are invited to pray silently for:
The needs of the world…
The Church and its calling…
Loved ones going through difficult times…
For peace, justice, and reconciliation…
In Jesus name.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
StF 713 – Show me how to stand for justice
Show me how to stand for justice:
how to work for what is right,
how to challenge false assumptions,
how to walk within the light.
May I learn to share more freely
in a world so full of greed,
showing your immense compassion
by the life I choose to lead.
Teach my heart to treasure mercy,
whether given or received –
for my need has not diminished
since the day I first believed:
let me seek no satisfaction
boasting of what I have done,
but rejoice that I am pardoned
and accepted in your Son.
Gladly I embrace a lifestyle
modelled on your living word,
in humility submitting
to the truth which I have heard.
Make me conscious of your presence
every day, in all I do:
by your Spirit’s gracious prompting
may I learn to walk with you.
By Martin E Leckebusch. Words & Music © 1999 Kevin Mayhew Ltd. CCLI Song Number: 3484230.
Final Prayer
In the Shepherd all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through the Shepherd God was pleased to reconcile to God all things, whether on earth or in the heaven,
by making peace through the blood of the cross. The Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, has remembered us and forgiven us – the gates of Paradise have been unlocked; we are free to enter where the Shepherd reigns forever and ever! Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Extracted from a prayer by James E. Janecek, in The Shepherd Reigns. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s WorshipWays website. http://www.ucc.org/worship/worship-ways
Accessed at: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/10/prayer-of-confession-proper-29c.html/