Day 3: Hope

OPENING PRAYER

God who is our Source and our End, the One who holds all margins and in-between places of the world, we stand on the threshold of this day in a posture of hope. Open our hands and hearts to receive your reign of Love which is already among us and still emerging in every moment.

OPENING SONG: Dweller

Refrain: I am an artist and a pilgrim on the threshold.

FIRST READING: Randy Woodley

In Indian country, any hope is good hope. This hope—sustained through poverty, racism, poor housing, chronic disease, and a host of other maladies—is not based on utopianism. The earned hope of which I speak is built on a spirituality of relationship with the land and with all living creation and on respect for elders who sacrificed to give the generations to follow them a future.

SUNG PSALM OPENING

O Hope, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)

PSALM 23

O my Lord, You are my shepherd,
I shall not want;
You bring me to green pastures
and lead me beside still waters
restoring my soul.
You guide my life.
and lead me along the path of
Love’s great mercy and truth.

Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I am not my fear.
For You are always with me
your rod and your staff
You guide me,
You give me strength and comfort.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies
you anoint my head with oil
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Beloved forever.
And ever, Amen. Amen.

SUNG DOXOLOGY

Glory to the Maker, Lover, and Keeper; as ago, in this breath, and will be ever. Amen, Amen.

SECOND READING: Maurice J. Nutt

Hope can be learned with practice. Certain attitudes support it. One is patience, an ability to tolerate delays, a willingness to let events unfold in their own time. The other is courage, an attitude of confidence even when facing the unknown. A third is persistence, the determination to keep going no matter what happens.

SILENT CONTEMPLATION

PRAYERS OF CONCERN

God who made the dance of light and dark, illuminate the heavy and shadowed places where hope is hard to find. Reveal to us the tender emergence of your presence beyond the boundaries of our expectations. Kindle within and around us the flame of your patient love so that we can join you in proclaiming the goodness of Creation in the midst of all that is broken.

SUNG RESPONSE

O God of Hope, receive the prayers we offer.

You, Spirit of Creation, have placed in us the vision of a world where we all are flourishing in justice and peace. Grow in us a holy imagination that we might gain the courage to act on our hope for your reign of love. Where we are stuck in preconceptions of specific outcomes, orient our lives toward the fullness of what is possible through your presence already among us. Strengthen our commitment to the oppressed, and teach us to live in active anticipation of the healing world.

SUNG RESPONSE

O God of Hope, receive the prayers we offer.

Mothering God, gather us into communities of hope where we can practice persistence with each other. When we are in threshold places, feeling tired or confused, nourish us with glimpses of resurrection. Invite us into the dynamic dance of sacred longing, where every step, no matter how small or halting, is collected into your movement toward liberation.

SUNG RESPONSE

O God of Hope, receive the prayers we offer.

Please add the prayers you are longing to express.

SUNG RESPONSE

O God of Hope, receive the prayers we offer.

CLOSING SONG: Fear Not the Pain

Fear not the pain
Fear not the pain
Let its weight fall back into the earth
Fear not the pain
Fear not the pain
Let its weight fall back into the earth
For heavy are the mountains
For heavy the seas
For heavy are the mountains
For heavy the seas

CLOSING BLESSING

When despair knocks on your door,
threatens to drown you,
whispers impossible impossible impossible
in your exhausted ears,
you do not begin with hope.
You begin with Love,
poured out infinitely,
unconditionally,
your foundation and your breath.
Only out of this all-pervasive love
can hope emerge.
You can rest, rooted,
held securely,
in the love of the earth and the One who made it.
You can trust
in the infinite goodness
of the earth and the One who made it.

And you do not end with hope.
Hope isn’t the goal;
hope moves:
hope is the pathway, the getaway car, the sheet music,
hope is the water that nourishes the seeds,
hope is the bowl that holds the meal.
Hope is the vessel, the instrument, the posture.
May hope open your hands
to let go of expectations,
to receive the gifts of the present moment,
to reach out to others in committed connection.
When your cup overflows
with tears or gratitude,
may hope give you the courage
to begin again and again
every day,
assured of the promise
that you never walk through the valley of the shadow
alone.

SUNG AMEN