Joyce Borger

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of waiting: Waiting for the pandemic to end. Waiting for decisions to be made. Waiting for repairs to my house to be done. Are you also tired of waiting? Are your congregants? We can’t wait to get back to a greater sense of normalcy, to the “before time,” even to the familiar smells of worship. We want to focus on all the good and skip over the challenging and difficult aspects of our reality. I have my suspicions that this desire to escape is a fairly prevalent feeling, so it should come as no surprise to hear the suggestion that maybe this year we should skip Advent. In some ways skipping Advent and elongating the celebration of Christmas seems like a pastoral and appropriate decision given the context many of us find ourselves in. But I implore you to take the countercultural approach. Rather than running from the struggles of this past year, intentionally enter into them. Use the opportunity of Advent to acknowledge all that is not right in the world and in our lives and to yearn together for our coming Savior. Use the opportunity of this Advent to further develop the spiritual practice of waiting. Help your people become more resilient in the face of adversity by showing them how it is possible to hold in tension grief and joy, lament and hope. To assist you there is a reflection in this issue on Blue Christmas / Longest Night along with practical suggestions. We also offer a worship series that asks the question “What Are You Waiting For?” to use as you lead your congregation in the practice of Advent waiting. Several songs of waiting and longing (with suggestions for how to use them) can be incorporated into the worship series or wherever your worship planning takes you. Following that same waiting theme, you will also find in this issue a children’s program, a poem, and a series of Advent candlelighting readings. Help your people become more resilient in the face of adversity by showing them how it is possible to hold in tension grief and joy, lament and hope. This Reformed Worship is part of a number of issues focusing on the connection between our communal worship and our small group and individual faith practices. You will find the story of one individual who applied the practice of the passing of the peace in a tangible way. There’s an exploration of how the spiritual practice of presence is connected to the incarnation of Christ and to preaching. There’s a worship service for New Year’s that connects to the practice of Ignatian Examen, and there’s also a service that leads into the Epiphany practice of the “chalking of the doors.” Reflecting further on Epiphany themes is an article inviting us to practice wonder by embracing the mystery of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. If all of that isn’t enough, I hope you will appreciate learning about the historical practice of holding baptisms at Christmas and gaining insights into Korean worship. This issue is packed with practical resources and new insights and ideas. Read it reflectively, using it not only as a resource, but as a tool for your own spiritual nourishment. If you’ve been eager to receive this issue, be assured it has been worth the wait!

I’ve been thinking about the spiritual discipline of waiting lately as we are working on the next issue of Reformed Worship and waiting is one of its themes. Sometimes our waiting is short lived like when the Amazon package arrives on my doorstep early, even before I had begun to wait. And sometimes our patience is tested as it seems that the waiting knows no end.

This last year and a half will take some time to unpack. The grief of so many deaths, the emotional toll of social distancing, fear, division, and the growing fissures in the world around us and our own churches must be attended to. There is much for us to learn. Early on in the pandemic I had an email exchange with a pastor in Africa. I asked him what his church did for congregants when it needed to shut down due to Ebola. The answer was that they didn’t do much when it came to worship; families simply worshiped together. They chose a passage and read it, shared their thoughts, and sang together. The church spent its energies meeting the physical and emotional needs of the community. That exchange really struck me when I compared it with how much God’s people in North America seemed to depend on the institutional church for their spiritual sustenance. Many were at a complete loss when the church could not meet in person for worship or other programming. They were at a loss for how to lead their own households in meaningful worship. They lacked the knowledge to attend to their own and their children’s faith formation. It seemed as if the people of God in North America had subcontracted their spiritual life to the institutional church. And so the church responded with extraordinary efforts to try to fulfill that contract. Some churches felt the impact of that contract in discussions of when and how to begin worshiping in person again. Of course there were exceptions to this characterization, but before you dismiss this assessment as being too harsh, think through where your church’s energies were spent and why. I understand that our people were overwhelmed. Parents in particular were adjusting to having their children home all day for online education while at the same time having to transition to working remotely or scrambling to find additional childcare. People were justifiably worried about their jobs, their health, and the health of those they loved. These were stressful times—times the North American church had failed to prepare for. It would be an interesting exercise to ask your congregants, “If you were alone on a deserted island, how would you nurture your faith? If you had children or teens with you, what would you do to nurture their faith? If the island wasn’t deserted but you found people who didn’t know the gospel, what would you do or say?” Would folks be able to give a robust response? Each Christian should be equipped both to answer those questions and to live the answers out—not on a deserted island, but in their everyday living, by engaging practices that will sustain their faith even if they are all alone. The role of the church is not to do the practices for its members, but to help them develop these practices and support them over a lifetime. How are we as the church preparing our people to face the inevitable difficulties in this world? How do we help our people become spiritually resilient so that, if the institutional church is not fully available, they can find spiritual sustenance on their own and provide it to others? How do we give our people the necessary tools to worship on their own or to lead their household or small group in worship? Do we need to create a new program for faith formation and spiritual disciplines? I don’t believe so. I contend that much of this can happen through our communal worship. Worship finds itself in the interesting position of being not only a spiritual discipline, but also one of the places that Christians are formed in the disciplines. I would argue that the formation that occurs in worship should not happen as much through “teaching sermons” as through the act of worship itself and through the practices we include in worship. “If you were alone on a deserted island, how would you nurture your faith? If you had children or teens with you, what would you do to nurture their faith? If the island wasn’t deserted but you found people who didn’t know the gospel, what would you do or say?” For example, while it’s good to have a sermon on the importance of confession and forgiveness, if we don’t actually practice confession and forgiveness within worship our congregants won’t know how to do so on their own. The repetitive act of confessing our sins to God and receiving God’s forgiveness forms us over time. It becomes part of our spiritual DNA. The words of the liturgy remind us that sin isn’t just doing wrong; it’s equally sinful not to do something we know is right. When the Holy Spirit itself or people in our lives confront us with our sin during the week, then, we know we ought to confess, and we know how to confess. More importantly, we know we are forgiven, and we know how to extend that forgiveness to others. The repetition of confession and forgiveness in our worship also helps teach our children about the need to confess and receive forgiveness. We practice it with them ourselves when we tell them we are sorry and ask them for forgiveness. We practice it with our children when squabbles break out between siblings and in the prayers we lead them in. The encounter we have with God, the dialogue of confession and forgiveness, forms us over time and equips us to disciple others. Everything we do in worship forms us. As pastors and worship leaders, we can choose to let formation happen unintentionally, possibly leading to malformation, or we can do it intentionally, in a way that helps our congregants become spiritually resilient. The questions then become: What practices do we need to include in worship so that we have the “spiritual memory” to practice them in our daily living? What faith practices form us as Christ’s disciples? What these practices are and what they look like will most likely vary from place to place. Some practices we will naturally be drawn to, while others may require us to be more intentional. We have much to learn from each other as each community likely excels in some practices and needs to grow in others. Over the next several issues of Reformed Worship we will consider what these spiritual disciplines or faith practices might look like in worship. It is an echo of Jamie Smith’s teaching in Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation, where he writes, “Discipleship and spiritual formation are less about erecting an edifice of knowledge than they are a matter of developing a Christian know-how that intuitively understands the world in light of the Gospel.” It is also another take on the “vertical habits” language that we have previously highlighted in RW (see tinyurl.com/RWverticalhabits). We begin with this issue by focusing on worship practices around the reading and preaching of God’s Word, learning about practices that help connect corporate worship with our daily faith practices. I am excited to present the many practical suggestions and wisdom generously shared in the articles along with the quality worship resources you’ve come to expect. In future issues, we will continue to look at different practices related to elements of worship while still providing you with worship resources around the Christian year.

“I pray that we will remember that on Easter Sunday we proclaimed a unified gospel message one that needs to continue to unify us as together we work to bring Christ’s healing to a hurting and divided world.”

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” —John 14:1–3 Last week I visited someone at their place for the first time and immediately felt at home. In part it was because of the gracious hospitality offered, but it was more than that. This lovely woman is close to the age my deceased mother would have been, and they have the same cultural background. From the decor in this woman’s home to her manner of doing things, there were reminders of my own mother and the home I grew up in. That same connection to my past can be seen in my own home: the coffee mill that belonged to my grandmother, the painting my parents received as a wedding gift, the needlepoint that used to hang in my parents’ home—all the little things that speak to me of “home” and now make up the place where my daughter and I dwell and call home. In this issue you will find many references to “dwelling” and “home.” We hope these themes will help churches to connect with and talk about Ascension Day and Pentecost. We join the Holy Spirit’s work in calling others to come dwell with us in the house of the Lord—to come and find their true home. Consider the roller coaster of emotions the disciples must have experienced in just a few months: Seeing their worst fears realized when Christ was arrested and then crucified. Their confusion and fear displaced by the overwhelming joy of the resurrection. Jesus dwelling with them again, being their anchor, their comforting presence, their home. Then the ascension: For the disciples it seemed to be another loss. For Christ it meant going home. What joy there is in knowing that Christ is going on ahead to prepare rooms for us! And when we get there it will not feel strange, but rather like the home we have always been craving. In the meantime, to keep us connected with our true home and to serve as a reminder, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to dwell with us. The Holy Spirit has made our world, our hearts, and the church its temporary home, a window into our heavenly dwelling. And every time we gather around the table for the Lord’s Supper, we experience the greatest glimpse of our glorious future that can be afforded us on earth. Yet as we look around at those partaking in the feast with us, we see empty seats. People are missing from our family and are still yearning for a place to call home. So we join the Holy Spirit’s work in calling others to come dwell with us in the house of the Lord—to come and find their true home.

But the light is here. It has come into this world we just need eyes to see. So look up and out.

As pastors and worship leaders we may need to remind ourselves and those we lead in worship that our joy is rooted not in our immediate context but the much larger story of redemption.

This service was inspired by and incorporates many of the suggestions from Dr. John Witvliet’s article “The Psalms of Anger: Is There a Place for Anger in Worship?” (p. 35). This service uses Psalm 13 as a guide, moving from anger and lament to professions of faith and trust. Psalm 13 appears three times in this service, with more of the psalm read each time. Consider using three different individuals to serve as readers to give diverse expressions to the psalm.As I was reflecting on Psalm 13 I wondered about that pivot point occurring in so many psalms between despair and hope, anger and praise. How is it that the psalmist is able to move from one to the other? How are both held in tension? These questions became the foundation of the message and the purpose for examining David’s faith as expressed in 2 Samuel 7.It should be noted that different communities and individuals experience different occasions that give rise to anger. This service provides the opportunity for you to be specific in voicing those complaints and prayers.Music and song reside close to our emotions and give expression to them. It is no wonder that anger and lament find their way into music. Still, many of our worshiping communities have not provided space for such songs of anger or lament to be expressed. But if we as a covenant community want to have an honest, authentic relationship with our Lord and Savior, we need to sing songs of lament as well as songs of praise. We need to provide the context for our anger, setting it properly within the larger gospel narrative that promises freedom. We need to name our anger, fears, laments, and griefs in order to hand them over to God, who holds all things in God’s hands. Then in obedience to God, empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, we continue to work for justice and healing in this world.For each portion of the service I have included song options from multiple musical styles, from traditional hymns to rap, from gospel to folk. Choose one or more in each section. While you don’t want the whole service to be full of unknown songs, don’t be afraid to challenge your congregations to sing something new—maybe even something with a text that will stretch you. If there is a text you find particularly appropriate for your context but you don’t want to sing it, consider having someone recite it like a poem.Whatever you do, do not rush the service. If yours is a church where folks get antsy when a service runs longer than an hour, make sure to have this service at a time where there is some freedom to go beyond that. Invite folks to set aside their clocks and turn off their cell phones to allow the Spirit to do what the Spirit wills. Take as much time as needed to name the anger and pain, spend significant time in prayer, and allow for times of silence.To communicate the service’s movement visually, adjust the lighting from dim to full as the service progresses.One additional note regarding singular and plural pronouns: While normally I shy away from using singular pronouns in corporate worship, there were times in this service where I felt the singular was much more powerful and reflected the singular pronouns used in Psalm 13. Feel free to make them plural if that is a stumbling block for folks in your community.PreludeIf you are singing any unfamiliar songs in this service, you may wish to include them as part of the prelude to give those gathered an opportunity to hear the melody before they are invited to sing later in worship.Call to WorshipOur help is in the name of the Lord,      the Maker of heaven and earth.Lord, I believe,help my unbelief. —Psalm 124:8; Mark 9:24 (NKJV)God’s GreetingBut now, this is what the Lord says—      the one who created and formed you:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;      I have summoned you by name; you are mine.When I pass through the waters,      I will be with you;and when I pass through the rivers,      they will not sweep over you.When I walk through the fire,      you will not be burned;      the flames will not set you ablaze.For I am the Lord your God,      the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.Do not be afraid, for I am with you.—Isaiah 43:1–3, 5, adaptedOpening Prayer: A Prayer of DistressGod—are you really there?It seems so long since I have felt the comfort of your presenceAnd even longer since I have experienced the assurance of your blessing.I do not like the thoughts in my own heart, let alone the words of my enemies.Come, Lord Jesus, to this dark place in me.Let me know the joy of your presence again.With you, I have all I need.Help me to want nothing else.—Paul Detterman, 2011, © Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlikeSung Prayer“Our Song in the Night” Van Patter, Bifrost Arts“Illuminate the Shadows” Zach, Wardell, The Porter’s Gate“Drive Out the Darkness” Zach, Wardell, The Porter’s Gate“Christ, Be Our Light” Farrell, LUYH 908, GtG 314, SSS 242“Beams of Heaven” Tindley, LUYH 454, PsH 577“Dans nos obscurités / Within Our Darkest Night” Taizé, LUYH 417, GtG 294, SSS 300“Quédate con nostros / Stay with Us, Holy Savior” Veneziale, SSS 296“Where Are You in the Storm” Hargreaves, Resound Worship“My God, My God, Why (Psalm 22)” Vermeulen-Roberts, The Psalms ProjectAnger and Lament“As we hear now these words of protest and anger, call to mind all the people around us and among us who are living with these emotions today” (Witvliet, p.36). In solidarity with them, or as an expression of our own anger and lament, we ask:How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?      How long will you hide your face from me?How long must I wrestle with my thoughts      and day after day have sorrow in my heart?      How long will my enemy triumph over me?—Psalm 13:1–2Optional: At this point in the psalm, add “How long” questions that are relevant to your own context and give expression to the anger of your community. These could be prepared beforehand and spoken by a leader, individuals can be invited to voice them aloud, or those gathered could spend some time in silence to reflect on their questions, write them, or express them visually.Songs of Anger and Lament Based on Psalm 13“How Long, O Lord, Will You Forget” Woollett, GtG 777, PfAS 13D“How Long?” Wardell, Bifrost Arts“How Long Will You Forget Me?” Idle, LUYH 410, PfAS 13B“How Long, O Lord, How Long” Stuempfle, LUYH 291“Psalm 13” Wilhelm“How Long, O Lord” Doerksen, PfAS 13CConsider using this song throughout the service, singing up to the first repeat after the first two readings of Psalm 13 and adding the second half after the third reading.Other Songs of Anger, Protest, and Lament“We Will Make No Peace with Oppression” Alattas, Vice, Zach“Justicia” Williams and Wardell, The Porter’s Gate“Hear the Song of Our Lament” Ying, Resound Worship“Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” Traditional“I’m Gon’ Stand” Sweet Honey in the RockIntercessionScripture ReadingHow long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?      How long will you hide your face from me?How long must I wrestle with my thoughts      and day after day have sorrow in my heart?      How long will my enemy triumph over me?Look on me and answer, Lord my God.      Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”      and my foes will rejoice when I fall.—Psalm 13:1–4Sung Response“Rise Up!” Wardell, Bifrost Arts“Can the Dead Rise Up to Praise?” Juby, Bifrost Arts“Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior” Crosby, LUYH 422“Jesus, Lover of My Soul” Wesley, LUYH 424, GtG 440, PsH 578“En tu misericordia danos paz / Lord, in Your Mercy, Give Us Peace” Oberman, SSS 313“Purge Me” Hurst, Palmer, Urban Doxology“Come, Deliver Me” Kim, Runderburgh, ProskuneoPrayer with Optional Sung RefrainDuring this time, as John Witvliet suggests in his article,“offer a prayer that names particular sources of injustice, violence, pain, and bitterness in the world around us” (p. 36).Do not rush this time of prayer. Allow for moments of silence. Multiple prayer leaders could participate. You could also introduce this time of prayer by reading headlines from current news stories.Sung Refrain: “O Lord, Hear My Prayer” (first stanza only) Taizé, LUYH 903, GtG 471, SSS 311Interlude: God's ResponseScripture2 Samuel 7Message: “The Interlude”What happens between verses 4 and 5 of Psalm 13? How is the author able to pivot? David is able to give voice to his anger and lament and declare his faith in God because of the larger context of his life. That larger context is summarized in 2 Samuel 7:Remembering what God has done in the past:“I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt” (vs. 6)Remembering God’s promises especially “rest from all your enemies” (vs. 11)Testimony of the individual and/or community: vs. 22–23, the gift of Nathan the prophetFaith in the coming Savior, the one who will establish the kingdom forever (vs. 11–16, 25–27)Hope (vs. 28–29)Song of ResponseIf earlier in the service you invited people to write their “how long” questions or express them visually, invite them to bring their papers to the front to be disposed of or ripped up, or remain in their seat and draw a cross over them as an expression of faith and hope in our Lord and the promise of new life.“Victory Belongs to Jesus” Dulaney“Break Every Chain” Reagan, Cobbs“His Eye Is on the Sparrow” Martin, LUYH 441, GtG 661, SSS 322“The Seed Must Fall” HardyScriptureHebrews 4:14–16Prayer with Optional Sung RefrainDuring this time pray specifically for the faith and hope to continue and the ability to find joy even in difficult times. Pray too that our lives may be living testimonies, reflecting a boldness that comes from the surety of Christ’s victory over death itself.Sung Refrain: “O Lord, Hear My Prayer” (second stanza only) Taizé, LUYH 903, GtG 471, SSS 311Profession of FaithScripture ReadingHow long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?      How long will you hide your face from me?How long must I wrestle with my thoughts      and day after day have sorrow in my heart?      How long will my enemy triumph over me?Look on me and answer, LORD my God.      Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”      and my foes will rejoice when I fall.But I trust in your unfailing love;      my heart rejoices in your salvation.I will sing the LORD’s praise,      for he has been good to me.—Psalm 13Songs of Faith and Trust“Lift Every Voice and Sing” Johnson, LUYH 44, GtG 339, SSS 36“We Believe in the Name” Wardell, Vice, The Porter’s Gate“Total Praise” Smallwood, LUYH 420, SSS 329“The Lord Is My Light” Bouknight, LUYH 431“Vancerá el amor / Love Shall Overcome” Colón, SSS 286“Que no caiga la fe / Never, Never Lose Faith” Páez, SSS 315“Why Are You Downcast (Be Still My Soul)” Pagnam/Resound Worship“Sing Hallelujah to the Lord / Lift Up Your Hearts unto the Lord” Benjamin, LUYH 844, PsH 309, SSS 685This is not a song one might associate with protest, yet it became a significant part of the protest movement in Hong Kong.The Lord’s SupperSending1 Corinthians 15:50–58Optional Closing Songs“Your Labor Is Not in Vain” Kimbrough, Wardell, The Porter’s Gate“O Jerusalem” Wardell, Thompson, The Porter’s Gate“Sizohamba naye / We Will Walk with God” Swaziland traditional, LUYH 931, GtG 742, SSS 719“Canto de esperanza / Song of Hope” Spanish traditional/Mitchell, LUYH 941, GtG 765, SSS 721“Walk the Talk” Ward, New City Hymnal“Arrive” Massey, Common Hymnal“Let Us Be Known by Our Love” Massey, Flanigan, Common Hymnal, RW 127:28BlessingAs you leave this place this day,may God’s love sustain you,and may you love those who surround you.May God’s Spirit empower you,and may you empower all those you meet.May God’s joy fill your hearts,and may this joy overflowto the ends of the earth for God’s glory,now and forever. Amen.—Reprinted by permission from The Worship Sourcebook, © 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources. 9.2.18Doxology“To God Be the Glory” Crouch, LUYH 956—Joyce Borger © 2025 Reformed Worship, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Used by permission. Lead sheets for songs by The Porter’s Gate can be found in the dropbox at www.theportersgate.com with the understanding that they are to be used only with a valid copyright license or permission.Revised Common LectionaryYear A Proper 8 (Ordinary Time 13) 

I’m angry. I am angry that my daughter, who is starting ninth grade today, which in the U.S. marks the move to high school, is doing so from the desk in her bedroom. I’m angry that we as a country couldn’t do what was necessary to make a safe return to school possible for many of our students and teachers. Truth be told, that isn’t the only thing I’m angry about, and in the scheme of world events it’s not that significant. The world we inhabit at this moment is full of anger. Anger at the “other” who doesn’t share our political position or worldview. Anger at Hong Kong police attacking a twelve-year-old girl and ongoing anger over broken promises. Anger that a sixteen-year-old boy in South Africa was caught in crossfire and killed while eating a biscuit at his kitchen table. Anger over vote rigging in Belarus. Anger that the opioid epidemic is worsening in Canada and getting so little attention. Anger at injustices shown to indigenous people groups and people of color. Even the creation seems to be angry, with raging fires, swarms of locusts, hurricanes, derechos, and drought. I’d like to think that by the time you read this all will be solved—my daughter physically in school; democracy returned to Hong Kong; indigenous people groups fully recognized, with progress towards restitution and reconciliation for all who have suffered from systemic racism. Creation at rest. But my guess is that many of these situations will remain, and so will the anger and grief. Let us continue to lament and turn our anger over to God, and then ask God how God wants to use us to bring about shalom. In the midst of all of this I was blessed by the content of this issue, and I hope you will be blessed by reading it. Even if you don’t use the worship services for congregational worship, use them for your personal devotional time. Read the prayers provided in the services. Spend time reflecting on the texts of songs; click on the links in the digital edition to listen to them. Spend time with Scott Hoezee’s reflection (p. 18). Use the images of the slain lamb (p. 27) and Hans Holbein’s “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb” (p. 33) to reflect on how Christ took on this world’s righteous anger, its laments, its pain, and its sin, how he suffered, died, and descended to the dead so that we might be saved—that we might have hope. I also encourage you to read about the importance of joy and praise in Latino worship even amid struggles (p. 43). Finally—or maybe first—read John Witvliet’s response to a question about the place of anger in worship (p. 35). Today especially, I needed the reminder that “some psalms of protest and anger are notable not simply because they express anger or disappointment but because they do not simply express anger or disappointment, but relinquish it, entrusting the pain or source of bitterness to God” (p. 35). Let us continue to lament and turn our anger over to God, and then ask God how God wants to use us to bring about shalom.

God’s got you. You are not alone. God’s got you and God isn’t afraid of your fears and wonderings, your anger and questions, your weariness.