Liturgy for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A (Matthew)
Introduction
Israel is given instructions for a meal to be eaten in haste, blood marking the doorposts so death will pass over.
Ezekiel is appointed a watchman for the house of Israel, responsible to warn and to hope that the wicked will turn and live.
Paul tells the church to owe no one anything except love, for love is the fulfilling of the law, and to wake from sleep before the day arrives.
And Jesus gives his community a process for addressing sin between members, promising his presence wherever two or three are gathered in his name.
This liturgy follows the Revised Common Lectionary for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Year A) and is shaped by themes of watchfulness, reconciliation, and a love that fulfills every law.
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Lectionary Readings for this Sunday
Exodus 12:1-14: God institutes the Passover, instructing Israel to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb so that death will pass over their houses on the night of deliverance. What is Passover in the Bible?
Psalm 149: A call to sing a new song and praise God with dancing and music, for the Lord takes pleasure in his people and adorns the humble with victory.
Ezekiel 33:7-11 (alternate first reading): God appoints Ezekiel a watchman for the house of Israel, responsible for warning the wicked, and declares that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn and live.
Psalm 119:33-40 (alternate psalm): A prayer to be taught God's statutes, to turn the heart toward God's decrees and away from vanity, and to be given life in God's ways.
Romans 13:8-14: Paul instructs the church to owe no one anything except love, since love is the fulfilling of the law, and to wake from sleep and put on the armor of light.
Matthew 18:15-20: Jesus gives instructions for addressing sin between members of the church, and promises that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there among them.
A sermon on this passage about forgiveness (Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is not about forgetting. It is about absorbing the debt and not seeking retribution - literally, not making them pay and refusing to pay them back for what they did.)
Liturgy for this Sunday
Call to Worship
One: Where two or three are gathered, Christ is there.
All: Come, for we are gathered in his name.
One: It is good to gather, to see one another, and to sing to the God of love.
All: Let us worship the God whose love fulfills every law.
One: Come, let us gather as the body of Christ.
All: Come, for the Lord takes pleasure in his people.
Call to Worship
One: Wake from sleep, for the day is near.
All: Let us lay aside the works of darkness.
One: Come, and put on the armor of light.
All: Come, and walk as children of the day.
One: Let us worship the God who calls us to watch and to love.
All: Let us worship the God who gathers us as one.
Opening Prayer
God who gathers us in your name, wake us from sleep and clothe us in love. Teach us to watch for one another and to owe no debt but love. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we have slept when we should have watched. We have kept score instead of loving. We have avoided the hard conversations that reconciliation asks of us. Forgive us, and gather us again as your people. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live." Ezekiel 33:11
More assurance of pardon scripture
Prayer for Illumination
Teach us your way, O Lord, and turn our eyes from what is worthless. Open this word to us, that we might walk in your truth. Amen.
Benediction
Go, clothed in the armor of light. Go, owing no one anything but love. And may the God who gathers us in his name go with you now. Amen.
More benedictions and blessings
See also
Worship Resources
Calls to Worship
Opening Prayers
Prayers of Confession
Assurance of Pardon
Prayer of Illumination
Benedictions and Blessings
