This Sunday seems like a huge departure from last Sunday. We find ourselves in Psalm 69:1-16 as we continue to focus on the Psalms offered by Working Preacher. The Narrative Lectionary offers the the option to pair this reading with Matthew 7:7-11 but I’m skipping it… again.

Instead, it this the connection to the Exodus story that jumps out of this passage for me. I’m reminded instantly from verse 1 of the midrash story of Naschon. It’s a story that I attempted to tell in worship last year when that particular story from the Exodus stumbled into the other lectionary cycle. It’s a great story and one that deserves to be retold. My version was called Up to Our Necks.

On that Sunday, I used the liturgy I wrote for the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways. (It was Pentecost 14–September 14 in Year A.) I’ve adapted the introduction to worship to be used with the Psalm for this Sunday.

Call to Worship (Responsive)

It has been a hard week
when so many things have gone wrong
and nothing seems to have been done well.
So here we are, to worship together asking God,
Save us from the mud. 
We have felt stuck and tired
where it hasn’t felt like anything could possibly change
in our lives or in this world.
So here we are, to worship together asking God,
Don’t let us drown.
We’ve been up to our necks in our own fears
and our our own limitations. It’s almost swallowed us up.
So here we are, because we need to hear God say,
I hear your prayers.
In our worship today, let our prayers reach out to God,
in God’s great and faithful love,
so that we might know,
We are saved.

I would love to hear what you’ve go planned for worship on Sunday — especially as summer arrives. Does this mean a transition in your worship experience? I’d love to hear what you’re daydreaming about in the comments below. And, if you happen to use the prayers I’ve written in your worship, and I hope you will, please do offer me credit.