A commissioning or sending prayer drawn from the prophet's call: read aloud when ordaining, sending out, or commissioning ministers, missionaries, and lay witnesses. The community may read the charge (leader: Ezekiel 2:1–3; congregation: response of assent or vow) and pray for courage and obedience to speak God's word despite rejection.
Thematic focusDivine calling; being sent; obedience amid hostility; proclamation of God's word.
Connections to tradition
Scriptural parallels that shape commissioning liturgies: the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) as a New Testament sending, and Jesus' promise that the Spirit will give words in opposition (Matthew 10:19-20). These biblical texts together ground the practice of public commissioning and sending.
Used as a short responsive reading or affirmation before preaching, in ordination services, or in pastoral prayers. Leader reads the divine charge 'Do not be afraid of them' and congregation responds with assent and petition for strength, echoing the prophetic assurance that God has made the prophet's forehead like the hardest stone.
Thematic focusCourage in witness; divine empowerment; steadfastness in the face of opposition.
Connections to tradition
Linked to New Testament assurances for ministry: the Spirit granting boldness (Luke 12:11-12; Matthew 10:19-20) and Paul's exhortations about spirit and power (e.g., 2 Timothy 1:7). These scriptural connections inform the use of such readings in services that commission or encourage preachers and witnesses.
Meditation / Scripture-Dedication Reading (Eat the Scroll motif)
A meditation or short liturgical reading used to open Bible studies, commit individuals or congregations to hear and internalize Scripture, or to frame a time of proclamation. The image of the divine hand with a written scroll calls worshipers to receive God's word inwardly—even when its message includes lamentation or woe—and then to proclaim it.
Thematic focusInternalization of Scripture; receptivity to God's word; the weight and seriousness of prophetic proclamation.
Connections to tradition
Scriptural parallels that inform this practice include Jeremiah's experience of receiving God's word (Jeremiah 15:16) and the Johannine/eschatological image of eating a scroll (Revelation 10:9-10). These passages together provide a biblical basis for services and devotions that emphasize 'taking in' and proclaiming Scripture.