Celtic Prayer Feb.28'21 Lent 2B Carmina Gadelica
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Chris McMullenCeltic Prayer Feb.28'21 Lent 2B Carmina Gadelica
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Chris McMullenA Service of Prayer
in the Celtic Tradition
For Lent 2 (B)
(Adaptations from the Carmina Gadelica)
For the Week of Sunday,February 28 , 2021
The Rev.Dr. Chris McMullen, Parish of Upper Kennebecasis
Call to Worship
My God and my Chief,
I sought you this morning;
My God and my Chief,
I will seek you this night.
I give you my mind,
I give you my will,
I give you my every wish;
My soul is yours for ever;
My mortal life be yours as well.
My you be my Chieftain;
May you be my Master;
May you be the Shepherd before me;
May you be my Guardian.
May you be my Guide;
But above all, may you be with me,
O Chief of chiefs;
Father everlasting; God of earth and heaven!
(Adapted from Alexander Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations
[Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1992; first published, 1899 ff.] #334, p. 303.)
Hymn of Praise
“From the Falter of Breath” CP # 489
From the falter of breath
Through the silence of death,
To the wonder that's breaking beyond;
God has woven a way,
Unapparent by day,
For all those of whom heaven is fond.
(Continued…)
(2)
From frustration and pain,
Through hope hard to sustain,
To the wholeness here promised there known;
Christ had gone where we fear,
And has vowed to be near,
On the journey we make on our own.
From the dimming of light,
Through the darkness of night,
To the glory of goodness above;
God the Spirit is sent,
To ensure heaven's intent,
Is embraced and completed in love.
From today till we die,
Through all questioning why,
To the place from which time and tide flow;
Angels tread on our dreams,
And magnificent themes,
Of heaven's promise are echoed below.
John Bell ©1988 The Iona Community, Wild Goose Resources Group
(Tune: “Iona Boat Song”) Used with Permission CCLI # 3117248
Prayer of Approach
Thanks to you, O God, that we have risen today,
To the rising up of this life itself;
May our daily rising be to your glory, O God of every grace,
As our Saviour’s rising is for the glory of our souls.
O Great God, aid our lives
With the aiding of your own everlasting mercy;
Even as we clothed our bodies when we started the day,
May you cover our souls under the shadow of your wing.
Help us to avoid every sin,
And the source of any sin to forsake;
So that as the mist scatters from the crest of the hills,
So each haze may clear from our hearts and souls.
(Adapted from Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, # 225, p. 198.)
Psalm 22: 22-31
22-24
Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel. (Continued…)
(3)
He has never let you down, never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.
25-26
Here in this great gathering for worship
I have discovered this praise-life.
And I’ll do what I promised right here
in front of the God-worshipers.
Down-and-outers sit at God’s table
and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
Don’t ever quit!”
27-28
From the four corners of the earth
people are coming to their senses,
are running back to God.
Long-lost families are falling on their faces before him.
God has taken charge;
from now on he has the last word.
29
All the power-mongers are before him
—worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
—worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
—worshiping!
30-31
Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived will hear the good news—
that God does what he says.
(Eugene Peterson, The Message, © 1993, 2002, 2018)
Prayer for Grace
May the Eye of God dwell with us,
The Foot of Christ guide us,
The shower of the Spirit pour on us,
Richly and generously.
God’s peace to us;
Jesus’ peace to us;
Spirit’s peace to us,
(Continued…)
(4)
And to our kinfolk,
And to all who we live among,
and everyone in each of our portions of the world.
(Adapted from Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, #277 Stanza 19, p. 254.)
Scripture Lesson
Mark 8: 31-38
Meditation
Affirmation of Faith
Father, bless to us our belief.
We believe, O God of all gods,
That You are the eternal Father of Life.
We believe, O God of all the gods,
That You are the Eternal Father of Love.
You are the Eternal Father of the saints;
You are the Eternal Father of us all.
We believe, O Lord and God of the peoples,
That You are the Creator
Of the ends of the earth,
The Creator of the skies above,
The Creator of the oceans below.
You made our bodies from dust;
You gave to our bodies breath,
And to our souls their life.
We believe, O God of all gods,
That You gave Your beloved Son
In covenant for us.
He lived as we must live;
He died as we must die.
You raised Him from death’s dark domain,
And set us free to live for ever.
He speaks for us before Your throne,
And brings us grace to help in time of need.
We believe that He will return
To give new life to the world.
We believe, O Lord and God of the peoples,
That You gave Your Spirit of healing
To redeem our souls.
(Continued…)
(5)
We believe, Father Eternal and Lord of Life,
That at the gift of baptism
You poured on us the Spirit of grace,
The Spirit of life and truth and love.
Praise to the Father,
Praise to the Son,
Praise to the Spirit:
Three in One.
(Adapted from the Carmina Gadelica [cf. Floris Edition # 228, pp. 201-3], by the
Church of Scotland, Common Order Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press © 1994] pp. 147 f.)
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom, come, thy will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive our sins
As we forgive each one of those
Who sins against us.
And lead us not to the time of trial
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom,
The power and the glory.
…Let every heart's desire be joined
To see the kingdom come…
Let all the world sing with one voice;
Let the people say Amen!
Paul Field and David Deal © 1998 Meadowgreen Music Ltd.
(Tune: “Auld Lang Syne”) Used with permission, CCLI # 3117248
Prayers of Intercession and Thanksgiving
Thank you, O God, Holy Father of Glory,
Father kind, ever-loving, ever-powerful.
Because of all the abundance, favour, and deliverance
That You bestow on us in our need.
Whatever providence befalls us as your children.
In our portion, in our lot, in our path.
(Continued…)
(6)
Along with it give us the rich gifts of your hand
And the joyous blessing of your Word.
We are guilty and polluted, O God,
In spirit, in heart, and in flesh,
In thought, in word, in act.
We are hard-put before you in sin.
Put forth on us the power of your love.
Be leaping over the mountains of our transgressions.
And wash us in the true blood of Christ’s reconciliation.
Like the down of the mountain, like the lily of the lake.
In the steep common path of our calling,
Be it easy or uneasy to our flesh—
Be it bright or dark for us to follow—
May your perfect guidance be upon us.
Be a shield to us from the wiles of the deceiver.
From the arch-destroyer with his arrows pursuing us.
And in each secret thought our minds get to weave,
Be yourself on our helm; the Spirit-wind in our sail.
Though wolves and thieves would reive* us from the fold,
Be the valiant Shepherd of glory near us.
Whatever matter or cause or propensity,
That would bring to us grief, or pains, or wounds,
Or that would bear witness against us at the last,
On the other side of the great river of dark shadows,
Oh! please obscure it from our sight,
And from our hearts drive it away for ever.
Now to the Father who created each creature,
Now to the Son who paid ransom for His people,
Now to the Holy Spirit, Comforter of might:
Shield and sain* us from every wound;
Be about the beginning and end of our race.
Be giving us to sing in glory.
In peace, in rest, in reconciliation,
Where no tear shall be shed, where death comes no more.
Where no tear shall be shed, where death comes no more.
* “reive” = steal; “sain” + sanctify, make holy
(Adapted from Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, #7, pp. 41 f.)
(Continued…)
Hymn
(7)
“When I Survey” CP # 386
When I survey the wondrous cross
where the young Prince of Glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the cross of Christ, my God:
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
Isaac Watts (1674-1748), 1707
(Public Realm)
The Benediction
Let us go in the name of God;
In the fleetness of the deer, in the strength of the horse,
In the wisdom of the serpent; in the dignity of a Queen;
Stronger in God than in any human alone.
May the hand of God keep us;
The love of Christ flow in our veins;
The strong Spirit baptize us day by day:
The Holy Three shielding and aiding us,
The hand of the Spirit baptizing us,
Day by day, in step with the Holy Three.
(Adapted from Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica, #411, p. 374.)
