Sing to the Lord a new song - 911 Litany

O God, our mighty tower, and creator of Heaven and Earth,
Have mercy upon us.

O God, our Redeemer, who died and rose again,
Have mercy upon us.

O God, our comforter, who fell as a dove at the Baptism of Jesus, and strengthens all the faithful,
Have mercy upon us.

Holy Trinity, undivided, One God,
Have mercy upon us.

By the establishment of the firmament, and the speaking of light into the darkness,
Have mercy upon us.

By the blessing and sending of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Rachel,
Have mercy upon us.

By the liberation of the children of Israel from Pharaoh’s hand and the renting of the Sea,
Have mercy upon us.

By the witness and courage of your holy prophets of old,
Have mercy upon us.

By the calling of our sister Mary, and the Incarnation of the Word into the world,
Have mercy upon us.

By the ministry of Christ, the preaching of the Good News, the healing of the sick, the casting out of evil, and the raising of the dead,
Have mercy upon us.

By the agony of the cross, and the victory of the Resurrection,
Have mercy upon us.

From the forces of evil, and from deadly acts of terrorism,
Good Lord, deliver us.

From the fear that grips us as individuals and as a people,
Good Lord, deliver us.

From the senseless hatred that hardens hearts and minds,
Good Lord, deliver us.

From war and violent conflict of all stripes,
Good Lord, deliver us.

We do beseech you to hear us, good Lord, that on this tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, that you would rule and govern our hearts, and the powers of this world,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to protect this nation, and the peoples of the whole world,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to uphold the military of this nation, and all nations, who strive to bring peace and freedom to all your children,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to root out the causes of terror and war in all places and among all people,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to look upon those who would seek to do us harm, and turn their hearts from the ways of hatred and violence,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to rain down grace and mercy upon us all, that your peace, which passes all understanding, would overtake us all,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you on this day to uphold all those who lost people dear to their hearts during the attacks, and in the conflicts which have followed in their wake,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to surround widows and children, parents and loved ones, the injured and maimed with a hope in your trust, your abiding Presence, and life everlasting,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to uphold all those who maintain peace and safety in our local communities and abroad,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it would please you to shine your light into the darkness, that all would see and know you, and your ways.
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

Son of God, we beseech you to hear us.
Son of God, we beseech you to hear us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Grant us your peace.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray.

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, whose heart is glad when all your children live together in unity; we lift to you the grief of our hearts, hoping that you will not only comfort those hearts, but change them; that we may be the people you have created, and called us to be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Sing to the Lord a new song - Pentecost plus 12

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Sing to the Lord a new song.  Praise him with dancing, with tambourine and lyre.

Do we have God on our side when we seek vengeance?

When we want those who have hurt us to be hurt worse than we ever were?

Our readings today are all about vengeance.  Our reading from exodus is the lead-up to one of the plagues of Egypt.  It is the basis of the Jewish feast of Passover and thus the basis for the last supper, Easter and our celebration of the Eucharist.  But at the heart of it, it is about God taking vengeance against Pharaoh for his treatment of the Israelites.

Our psalm today is also about vengeance.  It is about praising God for being with us when we punish those who have hurt us.

But do we really have God on our side when we hurt someone else?  Even if our cause is really Good?

Sing to the Lord a new song.  Praise him with dancing, with tambourine and lyre.

Our readings from the New Testament are about vengeance too, but they tell us another side of being hurtful.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he tells them that Love is the fulfillment of the Law.  When he tells us to live honourably, not revelling in quarrelling and jealousy; about making no provision for the flesh, he hints at, but doesn’t directly say, that hate is always a sin.

Our reading from the Gospel of Matthew is even more clearly about vengeance.  Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  When we take vengeance, we bind that hate, not only to whoever or whatever we hate, but to ourselves.  That hate will follow us beyond this life.

Sing to the Lord a new song.  Praise him with dancing, with tambourine and lyre.

So what is our path forward?  Where do we find God in our lives and in these readings?  What is our new song?

I’m going to read an letter to you from the Rev. Canon Rod Gillis about Labour Day.  I believe that it leads us in the right direction.

The Holiday That Dares Not Pray Its Name

Monday is Labour Day. One of the legacies of growing up in the church in a large industrial area is an awareness of just how alienated working people, especially those in unionized jobs, became from the church. Coal miners, for example, had their "check-off" to the denomination, but participation in worship en masse was limited and with a heavy dose of scepticism.

Part of the reason for this is that , (with exceptions at the margins like AFSA, Sammy Prince, COADY and the like), the institutional church made choices--choosing monied interests over labour most times.

As September begins, one considers the focus in churches. Labour Day is mostly a demarcation line for programming. It's all about "after the long weekend" in September. There is an emphasis on the fad of "back to church Sunday" but no overt emphasis on Labour and working people. There are bulletins galore about injustices on the other side of the planet (and very important in the interests of human solidarity that there ought to be) but little emphasis on chronic injustices at home. Where are the statements from Church leaders on the recession and unemployment, and chronic youth unemployment, the silence about our participation in foreign wars?

Last week the mill closure in Port Hawkesbury was announced as a  catastrophic hit to the entire economy of Eastern Nova Scotia. Do we have something to say about that?

Some of the traditional themes that preachers might explore on Labour Day are unemployment, work place justice, war and peace (veterans are often lauded as heroes but treated like redundant labour by government), the environment.

[Today] the Hebrew Scripture reading is the story of the Passover from Exodus. It’s an archetypal story. I'm working on a homiletic angle around the "death of the first born, the sparing of the first born". The story is a classic Hebrew presentation of tangible justice being done by a reversal of roles (see also the Song of Mary). The first born child, first born calf, first cereal harvest are primarily signs of hope for the future. The story seems to convey the notion that the hope of the oppressor is ultimately tied to the hope, or denial of the same, to those who are oppressed.

Perhaps if we focus on why historically we have lost entire sectors of the population to the church by siding with vested interests then we may develop some clues about how to realistically get connected to people and the reality in which they live.

                                                                                                The Reverend Canon Rod Gillis

                                                                                                Rector, St. James’ Armdale

Sing to the Lord a new song.  Praise him with dancing, with tambourine and lyre.

In the Anglican Church, we have become very stiff.  Our worship is rigid and we have established a very set “in group.”  Everyone is welcome as long as they behave just like us, or at least don’t disturb my area of comfort.

Well, sorry to say it, but Christianity was never supposed to be comfortable.  It is about pushing boundaries.  It is about welcoming those who no one else will welcome.  It is about putting ourselves in the line of fire, choosing to be the ones to get hurt instead of the ones doing the hurting.

We are very good at being welcoming according to a schedule.  We welcome children on specific Sundays like the Blessing of the Book Bags, and St. Nicholas’ Day.  We welcome fishermen when we bless the fleet.  Where are those we welcome on other days?

Not here!

What do we need to do to be not only welcoming but truly inviting to those in our community who are not here?  Whatever it is, we need to start doing it soon, and at least in the beginning, it is not going to be comfortable.  Even though we are Anglicans, we need to get up and dance.  We need to make some noise around us.  For too long, we have been wearing Harry’s cloak of invisibility.

What is our new song?  How are we going to praise God?  Will it be with a whimper or with a bang?

Sing to the Lord a new song.  Praise him with dancing, with tambourine and lyre.