Our Family’s House

A meditation for Ash Wednesday based on Psalm 51
(Ashley Johnson)

There are many rooms in our family’s house;
all sorts of rooms,
and our relationship with each one of them is different.
There are the rooms that we have spent an infinite amount of time in;
these rooms we know quite well.
Everything from their smell to the energy that bounces between their four cozy walls is familiar.
Other rooms aren’t as familiar because they don’t belong to us,
but they can be comfortable, nevertheless.
When life leads us to, we meander into these rooms and take a seat.
As we sip on the sights and sounds in these rooms, we begin to feel a little more relaxed, which makes spending time in them enjoyable.
In our family’s house, there are also annoying rooms that we begrudgingly poke our heads into from time to time,
cluttered rooms that we’ll only enter into if we have to,
and gloomy rooms with menacing shadows that we scurry by.
There are shared spaces where we have connected and dined as a people for generations.
And still, there are rooms with long secrets that we don’t even know exist.
During this year’s season of Lent, God, help us to clean up this house.

A Call to Worship for Ash Wednesday

Inspired by Psalm 51
(Kaleb A. Oates)

Leader: God, we are dirty and need more than bleach for cleansing.

People: For you, Lord God, are able. Able to erase our wrongs.
Scrub away our guilt.
You are the only one able to wash us clean from our sins.

Leader: God, you are merciful and compassionate. Your love is everlasting.

People: We have done wrong -- repeatedly -- and we continue
to violate the commands of your word.

Leader: We pause now, Lord, to confess our sins to you.
You are faithful to forgive.

(Silence for Reflection and Confession)

Prayer of Submission: God, create in us clean hearts and renew your spirit within us. Please don't take your spirit away from us; restore unto us the joy of your salvation. Be willing, O God, to keep us in your tender care. Deliver us, Lord, and free us from ourselves – our flesh. Help us, Father, to use our lives as a testament to your transformational power. Allow your Holy Spirit to redirect us when we begin to wallow back to the former. We want to be used in your service.

Here we are, Lord. We yield ourselves to you.

(Silence for Reflection and Submission)

Words of Assurance: God, you remind us in your word that when we are in Christ we are new creatures, and the old things pass away. This Ash Wednesday, we take hold of your promise: Renew us, Lord: a new walk, a new talk, a new mind, a new heart, a new life.

Thank you for the promise that we can truly be made new again. Amen.

Re-create Us, Lord

A Responsive Prayer based on Psalm 51:10-12
(Taylor Marie James)

*Consider using this worship element as a Call to Worship or a Congregational Prayer. If you use projection, project the italicized prayer response on your screens. If you do not use projection, the leader will need to prompt the congregation.

Read: (Psalm 51:10-12) Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (NIV [1])

Prayer

Lord, we ask that you create in us a clean heart and a sustaining spirit that we may go throughout this day and the rest of our lives with peace, regardless of all that is going on around us. Lord, we know that you are our protection, our comfort, and our peace. We pray that we will be reminded of your presence when:

We watch the news and learn that one of our friends has been gunned down.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We are talked about just because of the wonderful brown you have placed in our skin.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We are refused service, not because of what we know, but because of what is assumed we know.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Parents lose their jobs and can’t hear a good reason why.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Schools won’t effectively teach us.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Lawmakers seem to be against us at every turn.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We are told we have rights, but we can’t find them.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We want to be proud of who we are and how you created us, but we are told we are not good enough.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Prisons are built with our names on them.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Lord, we know you created us good, perfect, and in your image, though sometimes we seem to forget. So, Lord we ask daily, that you re-create in us a pure heart and a right spirit, so we may face this world with hope, peace, and joy.

Amen.

Running Back to You

A Litany Inspired by Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
(Kaleb A. Oates)

Leader: Lord, we are tired of doing things our way.
The benefits are temporary and the effects are long-lasting.
People: So, Lord, we come running back to you.

Leader: Lord, we have gone astray.
We are guilty of living contrary to your Word, your will, and your way.
People: But, Lord, we come running back to you.

Leader: Lord, you are coming back soon and very soon.
We want to be ready when you return.
People: Yes, Lord, we come running back to you.

Leader: Lord, we fear you. This fear doesn't run us away from you,
but it keeps us running back to you.
People: My Lord, we come running back to you!

Leader: We cry out to you, Lord. We ask for your forgiveness.
We recall the price you paid for us on Calvary.
People: Thank you, Lord. We come running back to you.

Leader: At this time, Lord, we choose to fast and to pray.
We seek to separate ourselves from our fleshly desires
in order to concentrate wholly on you.
People: Hold us fast, Lord. We come running back to you.

Leader: Lord, we meet you, here, in this special place of gathering.
We rejoice in knowing that you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly,
above all that we can ask, think, or even imagine
according to the power that is at work within us.
People: With our sacrifices of praise and worship,
we come running back to you.

All: God, we glorify you today. Thank you for not giving up on us.
Thank you for not throwing us away or casting us aside.
Thank you for not dealing with us as we so deserved.
Thank you for love that covers a multitude of sins.
With wide open arms, you have received us,
so we come running back to you.

Clean Us Up!

A Litany inspired by Psalm 51
(Valerie Boyer)

From the weight of the world, and the weight of our worlds, God we’ve picked up filth along the way. Mercy was extended, but it did not eradicate our filth. We are such messed-up creatures, yet you still love us.

May we no longer Febreze our iniquities for the sake of appearing well, while rotting inside.

We know better, Lord. Clean us up!

May we no longer turn our clothes -- the clothes of guilt, pain, shame, and sin -- inside out in hopes that people won’t see the stain.

You deserve better, Lord. Clean us up!

May we go through the process of being rinsed and drenched so that the cleansing soap of your word has a chance to work.

Make us better, Lord. Clean us up.

Keep us in the wash cycle long enough to tackle both the stain of guilt and the stench of sin all at the same time.

We can do better, Lord. Clean us up!

May the spin cycle not drive us crazy, but rather center us in you.

We want to be better, Lord. Clean us up!

Our bad deeds can never devalue your dominion.

Our grudges can’t taint your grace.

Our mess doesn’t expend your mercy.

And our wicked ways don’t disqualify us from being made whole.

Nothing can keep us from your heart, and although we try and hide,

YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE US BETTER, LORD! CLEAN US UP!

Kaleb Oates, a native of Detroit, Michigan, is a dynamic orator, educator, and musician. He currently serves as the music director of the historic Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. A proud graduate of Howard University, Kaleb is currently pursuing graduate studies at American University. An impassioned teacher, Kaleb enjoys reading, laughing, cooking, and traveling.

Valerie Boyer was born and raised in Galveston, Texas, the home of Juneteenth, curated at Howard University, with a journey to Detroit, Michigan, and now Columbus, Ohio. Valerie has embraced life through the lens of preaching, praying, poetry, and activism, working to make a difference in different pockets of the world, one person at a time.

Taylor Marie James is an undergraduate student at Emory University and a member of the Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She plans to attend medical school.

Ashley Johnson is a proud alumna of Spelman College. She received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University and has enjoyed serving as an elementary school teacher for more than ten years. In 2017, Ashley graduated from BU’s School of Theology with an MTS. She is a provisional Deacon in The United Methodist Church and currently serves at Union Church Boston.

[1] Verses marked NIV are from the New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.