Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai.
Worship Order-23-6-2009.
Theme- Communication is Prophetic.
Introductory Thoughts (To be Read in Silence)
Many media workers are trying to interpret the signs of the times, because this is part of the public information work to which they are committed. For Christians, the events of the day are part of God's agenda for action. In it, God's plans are revealed through changing circumstances and new opportunities. In order to discern and interpret the situation correctly, Christian communicators must listen to God and be led by the Spirit. This is a condition of prophecy. But words are only part of prophecy. They take on real meaning only when they are accompanied by action. Prophetic communication expresses itself in words and deeds. Such prophetic action must be willing to challenge the principalities and powers, and may carry a high price. Prophetic communication serves truth and challenges falsehood. Lies and half-truths are a great threat to communication. Prophetic communication stimulates critical awareness of the reality constructed by the media and helps people to distinguish truth from falsehood, to discern the subjectivity of the journalist and to disassociate that which is ephemeral and trivial from that which is lasting and valuable. Often it is necessary to develop alternative communication so that prophetic words and deeds can be realized (WACC Document).
1.Invocation.
Leader: Blessed is our God always, now and for the ages to come.
All: Amen.
Leader: O Lord, open our lips,
All: And our mouths will declare your will
Leader: Create in us a clean heart, O God,
All: Put a new and a right spirit within us.
Leader: Do not cast us away from your presence,
All: And do not take your holy spirit from us. Make us prophets of this time.
Leader: Restore to us the strength of truth telling
All: And sustain in us the courageous spirit of the Prophets.
2.Opening Hymn-No.650 (Page No.495) meaning- God accept these tears coming out of our commitment. We offer our lives and talents for the fulfillment of your will. God , Source of life enrich our lives and the whole creation with the radiance of your life. God bless us and anoint us in this blessed occasion.
3.Readings and Responses.
A Reading. “Hear the words of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of red beasts;………When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? ………bringing offerings is futile; …..I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice , rescue the oppressed , defend the orphan, plead for the widow (Isiah.1:10-17).
Response. God we are ready to wash ourselves; make us clean. Help us to be the channel of peace, justice and integrity of creation. Open our eyes to see our evil doings, Open our ears to hear the cry for life, Give your vision so that we may be your prophets. Help us to discern the signs of your Kingdom so that we may be voices of the oppressed, orphan and widow.
A Reading. We cannot communicate with others when we consider them ‘inferior’. The master may impart information to his slave or servant, but genuine communication hardly takes place. The same is true when men consider women as ‘inferior’ human beings. Mere information, or the sale of and access to media products, may then become substitutes for genuine communication. Communicative freedom presupposes the recognition that all human beings are of equal worth. And the more explicit equality is and becomes, in human interactions, the more easily and completely communication occurs (Michael Traber- Found in the article-Communication is inscribed in the human nature).
Response. God we are not mere producers, distributors and consumers of information. We are called to engage ourselves for a viable community where true communication and communion exists. Help us to transcend all kinds of divisions, parochialisms and inequalities.
A Reading. Christ who is the foundation of our Christian faith is both ‘communication between’ and ‘communication of’. He is the medium and the message. It points to the fact that Christ’s mission was a communication of himself, that others may hear this message and be enabled to respond to him. He exemplified the prophetic message in his life. That’s why Jesus is said to be the message and the medium. Prophets were not just channels but they were also the message themselves. ….Prophetic communication is being with people in their fears and anxieties and more so with the existential conflicts of life and death, and their riddles of life to maintain justice and righteousness ( Samuel W. Meshack –Found in the article-Christian Commn. is Prophetic: A Theological and Ethical Perspective).
Response. God we acknowledge that we are called to be communicators and prophets of this time. We know that a prophetic communication never seeks for neutrality. Rather it always challenges the principalities and powers and may carry a high price. Help us to stand for truth and question the falsehood. Help us to be agents of peace in the midst of conflict, violence and death.
Leader. Communication is Prophetic.
All. Communication is taking sides. Communication is peace. Communication is for creating viable communities.
4.Thanksgiving Prayer.
Leader. God of Community, Communication and Communion we thank you for the great gift of communication. God of language, we praise you for the diversity of the language. God of Prophets, we adore you for calling people to be the spokes person in the midst of injustice, inequality, violence and domination of all kind.
All. God of alternatives, we thank you for the alternatives you have shown through the New World Information and Communication Order. We praise you for the prophetic voice of the World Association for Christian Communication. We adore you for all the policies in making communication as a right of all especially through the Right to Information Act. We thank you for communicating peace through the story tellers, poets, the voices of the voiceless and the activists of justice issues.
5.Prayer of Confession.
Voice-1. Our right to communicate, right to inform and right to access are denied because we are poor.
Voice-2. Our right to live, right to express and right to freedom are negated because we are Dalits, Women Powerless and Marginalized .
Voice-3. Information is Power. It should be democratically shared to all. But today we are discriminated as Information Poor when some are rich in information.
Voice-4. How communication is possible when our dignity is in question. Who has given you the power to distort the image of God inscribed in us by our Creator God.
All. God of Mercy and Forgiveness we were kept in diplomatic silence in the places we were supposed to raise our voices. We have forgotten our call to be the spokes persons of God of Justice and peace and compromised with the principalities and powers of injustice, discrimination and violence. Help us to speak truth when falsehood is dominating. Help us to discern the signs of the time and anoint us with your spirit so that we may become true communicators of the time. Amen.
6.Bible Readings.
John.8:31,32. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”.
John.8:44……….You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
Jeremiah.1:7-10 … “Do not say ‘ I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you , says the Lord”. …. “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant”.
Revelation.3:15,16. “ I know your works; you are neither cold or hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot , I am about to spit you out of my mouth”.
7.Reflection - Sajeev Thomas(MTh.Com II).
8.Affirmation of Faith.
Leader. We believe in the God who communicates with us through God’s creation…
All: We believe in the true Communicator, the one God who always intervenes in history / herstory through words and deeds. We affirm our faith in the Communicating God who is prophetic in nature and taking sides with the marginalized.
Leader. We believe in Jesus Christ the Perfect and Genuine Communicator
All. We believe in Jesus Christ who taught us that Communication is for human beings, not human beings for communication. We affirm our faith in Jesus the real communicator who gives respect to human dignity, people’s cultural integrity, their ability to respond and participate, their right to express their own concerns and anxieties, rather than how others think they ought to be.
We believe in Jesus the prophetic communicator. We believe in Christ Not merely in the sense of Jesus as the master of communication techniques, the clever story-teller, but rather in his identification with and respect for people where they are. We realize that his Incarnation is not to maintain the status-quo but to question, challenge, and re-order the society according to the will of God. To share this incarnation is to share radical human acceptance towards the marginalised. His identification with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized is equally compelling. In order to affirm this he stood outside the boundaries of orthodox communication.
Leader. We believe in Holy Spirit who transcends all kinds of differences and creates community.
All. We believe in Holy Spirit who strengthen us to challenge all kinds of hegemonic and dominating attitudes and deeds. We affirm our faith in Holy Spirit who was present in the Pentecost and never there in Babel. We experience the presence of Holy Spirit in our prophetic engagements and in our faith journey.
Leader. We believe in the Christian Principles of Communication.
All. We believe that communication creates community, Communication is participatory, Communication liberates, Communication support and develops cultures and Communication is prophetic.
9.Interpreted Version of the Lord’s Prayer.
All: Our Parent God, Who lives in Community. Your kingdom come. Help us to stand for your will in this earth as it is in heaven. Help us to forgive others so that our debts may be forgiven. Strengthen us with the spirit of justice so that we may resist the market driven temptations. Fill us with the spirit of truth so that we may recognize the falsehood and struggle for truth and Justice. The Kingdom we are searching is yours, where media giants do not rule and the information rich never dominate. The Glory of Kingdom is for you and not for the capitalists. Now and for ever we Christian Communicators be your spokes persons in words and deeds. Amen.
10.Blessing.
All: May the blessing of the God of Community, peace and justice be with us; may the blessing of the Perfect Communicator Jesus Christ who listen the cries of the world’s suffering be with us; and may the blessing of the Spirit of Unity, who inspire us for reconciliation and hope be with us; from now unto eternity. Amen(Three Fold).
Prepared by Rev. Sajeev Thomas,Dept. of Communication, GLTC, Chennai
Worship Order-23-6-2009.
Theme- Communication is Prophetic.
Introductory Thoughts (To be Read in Silence)
Many media workers are trying to interpret the signs of the times, because this is part of the public information work to which they are committed. For Christians, the events of the day are part of God's agenda for action. In it, God's plans are revealed through changing circumstances and new opportunities. In order to discern and interpret the situation correctly, Christian communicators must listen to God and be led by the Spirit. This is a condition of prophecy. But words are only part of prophecy. They take on real meaning only when they are accompanied by action. Prophetic communication expresses itself in words and deeds. Such prophetic action must be willing to challenge the principalities and powers, and may carry a high price. Prophetic communication serves truth and challenges falsehood. Lies and half-truths are a great threat to communication. Prophetic communication stimulates critical awareness of the reality constructed by the media and helps people to distinguish truth from falsehood, to discern the subjectivity of the journalist and to disassociate that which is ephemeral and trivial from that which is lasting and valuable. Often it is necessary to develop alternative communication so that prophetic words and deeds can be realized (WACC Document).
1.Invocation.
Leader: Blessed is our God always, now and for the ages to come.
All: Amen.
Leader: O Lord, open our lips,
All: And our mouths will declare your will
Leader: Create in us a clean heart, O God,
All: Put a new and a right spirit within us.
Leader: Do not cast us away from your presence,
All: And do not take your holy spirit from us. Make us prophets of this time.
Leader: Restore to us the strength of truth telling
All: And sustain in us the courageous spirit of the Prophets.
2.Opening Hymn-No.650 (Page No.495) meaning- God accept these tears coming out of our commitment. We offer our lives and talents for the fulfillment of your will. God , Source of life enrich our lives and the whole creation with the radiance of your life. God bless us and anoint us in this blessed occasion.
3.Readings and Responses.
A Reading. “Hear the words of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of red beasts;………When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? ………bringing offerings is futile; …..I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice , rescue the oppressed , defend the orphan, plead for the widow (Isiah.1:10-17).
Response. God we are ready to wash ourselves; make us clean. Help us to be the channel of peace, justice and integrity of creation. Open our eyes to see our evil doings, Open our ears to hear the cry for life, Give your vision so that we may be your prophets. Help us to discern the signs of your Kingdom so that we may be voices of the oppressed, orphan and widow.
A Reading. We cannot communicate with others when we consider them ‘inferior’. The master may impart information to his slave or servant, but genuine communication hardly takes place. The same is true when men consider women as ‘inferior’ human beings. Mere information, or the sale of and access to media products, may then become substitutes for genuine communication. Communicative freedom presupposes the recognition that all human beings are of equal worth. And the more explicit equality is and becomes, in human interactions, the more easily and completely communication occurs (Michael Traber- Found in the article-Communication is inscribed in the human nature).
Response. God we are not mere producers, distributors and consumers of information. We are called to engage ourselves for a viable community where true communication and communion exists. Help us to transcend all kinds of divisions, parochialisms and inequalities.
A Reading. Christ who is the foundation of our Christian faith is both ‘communication between’ and ‘communication of’. He is the medium and the message. It points to the fact that Christ’s mission was a communication of himself, that others may hear this message and be enabled to respond to him. He exemplified the prophetic message in his life. That’s why Jesus is said to be the message and the medium. Prophets were not just channels but they were also the message themselves. ….Prophetic communication is being with people in their fears and anxieties and more so with the existential conflicts of life and death, and their riddles of life to maintain justice and righteousness ( Samuel W. Meshack –Found in the article-Christian Commn. is Prophetic: A Theological and Ethical Perspective).
Response. God we acknowledge that we are called to be communicators and prophets of this time. We know that a prophetic communication never seeks for neutrality. Rather it always challenges the principalities and powers and may carry a high price. Help us to stand for truth and question the falsehood. Help us to be agents of peace in the midst of conflict, violence and death.
Leader. Communication is Prophetic.
All. Communication is taking sides. Communication is peace. Communication is for creating viable communities.
4.Thanksgiving Prayer.
Leader. God of Community, Communication and Communion we thank you for the great gift of communication. God of language, we praise you for the diversity of the language. God of Prophets, we adore you for calling people to be the spokes person in the midst of injustice, inequality, violence and domination of all kind.
All. God of alternatives, we thank you for the alternatives you have shown through the New World Information and Communication Order. We praise you for the prophetic voice of the World Association for Christian Communication. We adore you for all the policies in making communication as a right of all especially through the Right to Information Act. We thank you for communicating peace through the story tellers, poets, the voices of the voiceless and the activists of justice issues.
5.Prayer of Confession.
Voice-1. Our right to communicate, right to inform and right to access are denied because we are poor.
Voice-2. Our right to live, right to express and right to freedom are negated because we are Dalits, Women Powerless and Marginalized .
Voice-3. Information is Power. It should be democratically shared to all. But today we are discriminated as Information Poor when some are rich in information.
Voice-4. How communication is possible when our dignity is in question. Who has given you the power to distort the image of God inscribed in us by our Creator God.
All. God of Mercy and Forgiveness we were kept in diplomatic silence in the places we were supposed to raise our voices. We have forgotten our call to be the spokes persons of God of Justice and peace and compromised with the principalities and powers of injustice, discrimination and violence. Help us to speak truth when falsehood is dominating. Help us to discern the signs of the time and anoint us with your spirit so that we may become true communicators of the time. Amen.
6.Bible Readings.
John.8:31,32. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”.
John.8:44……….You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
Jeremiah.1:7-10 … “Do not say ‘ I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you , says the Lord”. …. “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant”.
Revelation.3:15,16. “ I know your works; you are neither cold or hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot , I am about to spit you out of my mouth”.
7.Reflection - Sajeev Thomas(MTh.Com II).
8.Affirmation of Faith.
Leader. We believe in the God who communicates with us through God’s creation…
All: We believe in the true Communicator, the one God who always intervenes in history / herstory through words and deeds. We affirm our faith in the Communicating God who is prophetic in nature and taking sides with the marginalized.
Leader. We believe in Jesus Christ the Perfect and Genuine Communicator
All. We believe in Jesus Christ who taught us that Communication is for human beings, not human beings for communication. We affirm our faith in Jesus the real communicator who gives respect to human dignity, people’s cultural integrity, their ability to respond and participate, their right to express their own concerns and anxieties, rather than how others think they ought to be.
We believe in Jesus the prophetic communicator. We believe in Christ Not merely in the sense of Jesus as the master of communication techniques, the clever story-teller, but rather in his identification with and respect for people where they are. We realize that his Incarnation is not to maintain the status-quo but to question, challenge, and re-order the society according to the will of God. To share this incarnation is to share radical human acceptance towards the marginalised. His identification with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized is equally compelling. In order to affirm this he stood outside the boundaries of orthodox communication.
Leader. We believe in Holy Spirit who transcends all kinds of differences and creates community.
All. We believe in Holy Spirit who strengthen us to challenge all kinds of hegemonic and dominating attitudes and deeds. We affirm our faith in Holy Spirit who was present in the Pentecost and never there in Babel. We experience the presence of Holy Spirit in our prophetic engagements and in our faith journey.
Leader. We believe in the Christian Principles of Communication.
All. We believe that communication creates community, Communication is participatory, Communication liberates, Communication support and develops cultures and Communication is prophetic.
9.Interpreted Version of the Lord’s Prayer.
All: Our Parent God, Who lives in Community. Your kingdom come. Help us to stand for your will in this earth as it is in heaven. Help us to forgive others so that our debts may be forgiven. Strengthen us with the spirit of justice so that we may resist the market driven temptations. Fill us with the spirit of truth so that we may recognize the falsehood and struggle for truth and Justice. The Kingdom we are searching is yours, where media giants do not rule and the information rich never dominate. The Glory of Kingdom is for you and not for the capitalists. Now and for ever we Christian Communicators be your spokes persons in words and deeds. Amen.
10.Blessing.
All: May the blessing of the God of Community, peace and justice be with us; may the blessing of the Perfect Communicator Jesus Christ who listen the cries of the world’s suffering be with us; and may the blessing of the Spirit of Unity, who inspire us for reconciliation and hope be with us; from now unto eternity. Amen(Three Fold).
Prepared by Rev. Sajeev Thomas,Dept. of Communication, GLTC, Chennai
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