Praise the Maker

Lent 2. Year B

Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16 

People of Holy One: remember

who is our God – 

the Maker of all that is,

the Maker of covenants

with Noah and all that lives,

with Abraham and Sarah

and all of their descendants;

the Maker of life

from barren wombs, 

so much life to match the stars

in sparkling, dancing, number – 

this – this! – is the One

we come to worship. 

Come now, good people,

worship Holy One! 

In the clouds

 

A lament 

Genesis 9:8–17 

Lent 1 Year B 

When the bow is in the clouds

do we remember promise? 

Promise Divine, promise that life

will not be drowned out again? 

How often we forget with our floods

of anti-others vitriol we spit

to drown out life we do not like; 

pushing promise under water.

When the bow is in the clouds

do we remember trust? 

Trust in the Word Divine,

covenant established and remembered? 

How often we forget with our turning

to the gods and idols that we make

with the muse that you refuse 

to take away, Creative Spirit. 

When the bow is in the clouds

do we remember hope? 

Holy Hope of green to fill

the fields that rise as waters fall.

How often we let fear

strangle, twist, and tangle

all that's good and full of life,

starve 'us' so we can keep 'them' unfed. 

When the bow is in the clouds,

God has told us we can 

trust the promise and the hope.

Oh, God, help us remember! 

Amen. 

 

We are jealous

Genesis 37:1–4, 12–28 

confession 

We are jealous,

so jealous of each other. 

Heal us of our envy,

give us peace, give us peace. 

We see the love offered

to another – we would

have it for ourselves;

we see gifts bestowed

elsewhere – we feel

we are overlooked;

we hear praises showered

on a neighbour – let them

drown all we receive in doubt. 

We see the honours adorn

the walls of others, wonder why

our walls are lined with bad reviews;

we see them come between 

us and our desire – throw them

in wells, for profit, far away. 

We are jealous, 

so jealous of each other. 

Heal us of our envy, 

give us peace. Give us peace. 

grace 

Holy One will feed us

the peace for which we hunger, 

and more: will forgive

our jealousy to heal it,

heal us back to being enough. 

Look up, look deep,

to the heart of Holy One: 

find yourself, enough,

find peace, find peace. 

Amen. 

in the striving, found

Genesis 32:22–31 

The Dream

Genesis 28:10–22 

To sleep – perchance to dream

of angels and stair ways,

wondrous things of heaven

come to touch the earth

and mortals dwelling here ... 

To sleep – perchance to dream

sweet Holy whispers nothing

could prepare your heart

to hear, such promises, such 

stuff to make our dreams ... 

To sleep – perchance to dream

such hope to carry into waking,

making fools of us, staking 

claims on us to fly

into such newness of life! 

To dream, and wake from sleep,

perchance to see, at last,

the presence of the Holy, here, 

on earth amidst these fools,

the madness – here – in peace ... 

To dream, to wake to live

the Dream of Holy One

that calls us from our slumber, 

to wonder at the gateway,

things of heaven and of earth! 

Grace for the scoffers and deniers

Genesis 18:1–15 

'I did not laugh.' 
'Oh, yes, you did laugh.' 
Gen 18:15 

Confession 
When your message is hope for those oppressed,
for surely hope is futile –
we laughed;
then we denied it.
Oh, but you know we did.

When your call is to make room for the outcast,
for surely they belong outside –
we laughed;
then we denied it.
Oh, but you know we did.

When your love means staying home, staying away,

for surely, you did not mean us? – 

we laughed;
then we denied it.
Oh, but you know we did. 

When your justice demands we let them cross our border,

for surely we can not take that risk – 

we laughed;
then we denied it.
Oh, but you know we did. 

When your peace requires presence, reconciliation, restraint,

for surely we need not pay such costs – 

we laughed;
then we denied it.
Oh, but you know we did. 

When your Way is welcome, generosity, vulnerability,

for surely not? Not us, not such price, no now – 

we laughed;
then we denied it.
Oh, but you know we did. 

Repentance 

Forgive us our scoffing, our dismissal.

Forgive us our denial, our dishonesty. 

Heal our shame, 

God of grace,

God of surprise,

God of Love. 

Forgiveness 

Holy One sees and hears.

Holy One understands our fear. 

Holy One extends a hand to bid us stand,

leave our tents of safety and comfort,

and with courage, to embrace the Way

of grace, surprise, and Love. 

Amen.

sarah tells stories · Grace For The Scoffers And Deniers

New Year’s Resolution

Genesis 1:1–5



Beginning, God created,
so beginning again
this New Year’s Day I
create, I play, I dream,
and dance with Wisdom,
hover with Spirit-Breath,
embrace with delight
this life I’ve been given,
this story to write, canvas
to paint, drama to play,
and I will play and I will see
all things as good that God
has made and I will make
a resolution to be good, to be
peace and love and hope
in a world created for hope
and love and peace and I will
begin again this New Year’s
Day, this new year, this
new day and the next day,
creating a life to delight in,
living a story to gladden
my reminiscing, singing a song
to catch you up in, in joy,
in peace, in hope, in love.

Sarah's turn

Sarah laughed

Genesis 21:1–7



as God promised,
though I had laughed to think
of motherhood, shocked to think
of motherhood, afraid
of motherhood now

but God promised
a child to us now, when
the bridge was crumbling
from disuse, the water under
long ago evaporated

was this promise
of new life to dry bones
a curse in disguise? of course
I laughed, preposterous
promise to bring to a desert
content to be a desert

who would promise
a son to a man
of a hundred years and counting?
yet here is the son God
promised Sarah and Abraham,
and I laugh more joy than fear –
laugh with me, all who hear:
I am a mother, as God promised,
and I will laugh you a river.

Sarah’s scowl

Genesis 21:8–14



the boys played as brothers
play having not yet learnt
to doubt their father’s love

the mothers watched, as rivals
watch, jealous of what she has,
blind to what is her own

and in a moment, the bow
snapped its arrow through thick
taut air, thwacked into its target

a mother’s love twisted the light
to cast shadows to follow them all;
and the father’s love had not seen its last test yet

Hagar’s song

Genesis 21: 8–21



Sarah sent me far away
lest my son usurp her boy
in fortune, rank, or father’s love.

Abraham his wife obeyed,
for peace at home he gave
away his peaceful heart.

God had told him, so he said,
my son would prosper,
Ishmael would grow to be a nation.


Beneath the trees I laid him,
weak with hunger, dying.
Let me go first, I wept, I wept, I wept.

God heard my son cry out,
and spoke to me a promise:
Ishmael will grow to be a nation.

Before my eyes water of life,
I ran to my child, we drank,
we spilled our joy to grow seeds of hope.

I am Hagar, Sarah’s servant,
mother of the first born of Abraham;
God was with my son, grew Ishmael.