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Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; For the Lord’s steadfast love endures forever. Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord, or declare all God’s praise? Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. *Hymn 475 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing Prayer of Confession O God, who alone can probe the depths of the heart, you hear the prayers of the faithful; you justify the repentant sinner. Grant us the gift of humility, that we may see our sins clearly and refrain from judging our neighbor. We make our prayer through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. *Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness God pours out mercy and grace, never giving up on us, but freeing us to live lives worthy of our calling. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ saves us from sin and sets us free to enjoy newness of life. Know you are forgiven and be at peace. Amen. First Reading Joel 2: 23-32 Moments With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Luke 18:9-14 Morning Message You may know that one of my favorite TV shows is Blue Bloods. At least once an episode we see the Reagan clan gathered around the Sunday dinner table hashing out the highs and lows of the week. There is a lot of mirth and sometimes, some deep and dark angst. Dinner always begins with a blessing over the meal: “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from the bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.” Traditional Catholic table grace. If danger has come calling, if grief or loss is upon them, someone may add to the prayer that particular concern. Likewise, should there be a reason to celebrate, the prayer sounds much like a cheer. But, one night, following lively, irreverent banter, daughter-in-law, Linda, offers to say grace. “Lord, bless these sinners while they eat their dinners. Amen.” Sounds a little like the prayer of the Pharisee in our text today. “God, I thank you that I am not like those other people, those sinners.” Rev. Mandy Sayers of Elliot City, Maryland, says she had to fight the urge to think something similar when she was asked to submit a sermon to a well-respected radio program and web-site, Day 1.org. There are many famous, popular preachers who are invited each Sunday of the year to proclaim the Word of God on Day 1. She was honored to be included though she is very young and inexperienced. Feeling her Cheerios she thought for a moment, “I thank you, Lord, that I’m better than at least one of the great multitude of preachers they’ve had in their decades of amazing ministry.” But, after some self-reflection and sober thought, her prayer changed to, “Be merciful to me, a preacher.” I confess that’s where I am most weeks. “Help me, Lord! Your Word is precious and I can do harm, or through my feeble attempts, your word can inspire, enlighten, correct and challenge. Help me.” Sayers says, two men went up to the Temple to pray-one leading with his extensive resume. He’s a Pharisee, a church regular, a charter member, city council chair, faithful in marriage, raises well-heeled kids, honest, forthright, thrifty, brave, and even a tither. A church valedictorian in the making. The other fellow, the tax collector, seems to have staggered in there at the last minute. He’s in the corner, in the back row. You can bet he forgot his homework at home and has to borrow a pencil. He has little to commend him by way of righteousness. A tax collector is despised and rejected by most. Tax collectors and sinners seem to be paired in scripture like we pair peanut butter and jelly or nuts and bolts, mac and cheese. Jesus asks which one does God love most? The saint or the sinner? Let’s break it down a bit. At first, the Pharisee’s prayer seems to be directed toward God in thanksgiving, but if you look closely, it’s really a form of bragging and ridicule. The man is trusting himself for righteousness, as if to say, “Don’t worry about me, God. I got this. Send me a job to do because nobody can do it better than I can.” The Pharisee regards other people with contempt. He’s thankful he’s not like the other screw-ups and misfits. Convicts, addicts, dead beats, people who vote for the other party. Meanwhile, the tax collector is exhausted by his self-inventory. These moments of confession leave him so spent and aggrieved that he is beating his chest. He can’t even look up. The tax collector knows he is a sinner who found his way to the temple, and other than that, it’s all about God. If the Pharisee’s prayer is “I got this,” then the tax collector’s is, “I got nothing. Nothing but you, God.” Sayers says she thinks that whenever we get to the place where we realize we cannot achieve or earn our way into God’s heart, that’s when God’s eyes begin to sparkle. Because that’s when we are ready to be purposed by God. We are ready to serve, to show and share the love of Jesus with Pharisees, tax collectors, and everyone in-between. Jesus demonstrates humility over and over. He says take the last place at the banquet. If you want to be great, be a servant. Become like a child to enter the kingdom. Take up a towel and wash each other’s feet. Sayers says a few times in her ministry, she has had the privilege of going up to the temple to pray with some folks in recovery groups. Or rather down to the basement to pray. She finds it humbling and inspiring to hear the stories from those who are very clear that they need God’s help, they can’t do this on their own, that they need and want the help of their brothers and sisters here in their daily walk. Every single person is welcomed. There is coffee, hospitality, acceptance. There is love. People of all ages, pedigrees, conditions, in biker jackets and business suits and yoga pants. Whenever she is there, Sayers feels like it’s an oasis where those in attendance are able to be themselves, with no need to pretend they are anything other than the beloved children of God, freed from the endless torrent of judgment and shame, and competition, if even for a couple of hours. One evening, when the program was over, a man named Tom got out his harmonica and Chuck played the out of tune piano. “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” She wonders if, when we all get to heaven, if it may look more like that church basement than a beautiful stained-glass sanctuary. The surprise ending is this: a tax collector knows he needs God, that he is saved by God’s grace and not by his own achievement, or how well he kept the commandments. People who are saved by grace, whose hearts are broken and re-made make great Sunday School teachers, and choir members, and committee members and even preachers. They are wonderful at setting the table for Communion. They know what it is to be hungry and thirsty for the things of God. Those who are forgiven great debt can be the most forgiving. They are the ones who sit with people in the hospital waiting room or at the bedside, not counting the time, just bearing witness to the pain and fear and unknown. If they have a theme song, it’s probably more like “Standing On the Promises” than “I Did It My Way,” no offense to Frank Sinatra. Two men went up to the temple to pray…and we can see ourselves in both of them, can’t we? I’ve had some eye problems lately. Thankfully, they are being resolved. I’m going to have cataract surgery after the New Year. But, at the end of a doctor’s visit a few days ago, I was told I would have to return in a week for another exam…this time I was to to go without eye makeup for a minimum of 48 hours before the appointment to avoid any stray particles of the products affecting my readings. Seriously? Forty-eight hours without mascara? I am so self-concious about my hair loss, and absentee eyelashes, that I used to get eyelash extensions and had them refreshed about once a month. The Pharisee in me is afraid to be seen as I really am. And that’s my spiritual work in the days ahead. So, when we go up to the temple, or down the street, or kneeling beside our beds to pray, let us let go of all the vain things we carry, and bow before the one who calls us beloved, the one who made us in God’s own image, called us God’s people when we were no people, the one who, when we were in a far-off country, threw us a party and put the best robe around our shoulders, and said, “Come home.” *Affirmation of Faith A Declaration of Faith, PCUSA, 1985 We are certain that Jesus lives. He lives as God with us, touching all of human life with the presence of God. He lives as one of us with God. Because he shares our humanity, He has bound us to himself in love. We declare that Jesus is Lord. We have an advocate in the innermost life of God. His resurrection is a decisive victory over the powers that deform and destroy human life. His lordship is hidden. The world appears to be dominated by people and systems that do not acknowledge his rule. But his Lordship is real. It demands our loyalty and sets us free from all the lesser lords who threaten us. We maintain that ultimate sovereignty now belongs to Jesus Christ. In every sphere of life, Jesus is Lord. He has been from the beginning. He will be Lord at the end. Even now he is Lord. *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Gifts of Tithe and Offering Offertory *Hymn 606 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication *Hymn 36 For the Fruit of all Creation *Blessing May the God of endurance and encouragement, grant you to live in such harmony with one another that with one voice we may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Go now in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen. * Hymn 48 Rain Down Psalm 33 Rain down, rain down, rain down your love on your people. Rain down, rain down, rain down your love, Lord of Life. *Postlude Prelude
*Call to Worship Shine like stars in the world, holding fast to the word of life. *Prayer of the Day Lord, tireless guardian of your people, Ever-prepared to hear the cries of your chosen ones, teach us to rely, day and night, on your care. Support our prayer, lest we grow weary, drive us to seek your enduring justice and your ever-present help. Grant this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen. *Hymn 14 For the Beauty of the Earth Verses 1, 2, and 3 Prayer of Confession Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our sinfulness, our shortcomings, and our offenses against you. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love. Have mercy on us, Lord, for we are sorry for all we have done to displease you. Forgive us our sins and help us to live in your light, and walk in your ways, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. *Hymn Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Chrsit died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life is gone and a new life has begun. Know you are forgiven and be at peace. Amen. First Reading Psalm 121 Moments With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Luke 18:1-8 Morning Message “If we can just get him in the house, she’ll let us keep him.” My friend chuckles as she describes the day she overhears her young children, their earnest logic, their hopeful voices. They had found yet another stray animal, a little dog this time, and they were compelled to bring it into the warmth and shelter of their home. But, first they had to win over their mother. And that would require a plan. The plan worked, of course, as they knew it would. In today’s text, Jesus speaks to the act of persistence. Like children who beg their mom to keep a cold and hungry stray puppy, he lifts up persistence in prayer…steadily approaching God for God’s help or favor or healing, or whatever the need is. By the time Luke was writing this gospel,l a generation or so after Jesus’ life on earth had ended, people were starting to feel discouraged. They were tired of waiting for Jesus to bring all things to fulfillment. They were weary of being persecuted as a small minority going against the grain in a vast and powerful empire. They were anxious and suffering. Jesus reasons with them that if an unjust, disrespectful judge hears the case of a poor widow because she has worn him out with her pleas, then, Jesus asks, how much more will God-the God of the universe, the God of compassion and justice- how much more will God listen and respond to his beloved children in their hour of need? Once again, Jesus uses someone from the margins of society, a needy, powerless widow, to make his point. Bible scholar John Pilch says the Hebrew word for “widow” is “silent one,” or “one unable to speak.” In the patriarchal Mediterranean world, only men could take on a public presence. They speak for women who are not allowed to speak for themselves. They have no voice, no agency. So this “silent one” is acting outside the normal bounds when she finds her voice and speaks for herself. Maybe it’s because she knows that there’s a special place for her in the heart of God. Widows, orphans, and aliens are all very close to the heart of God. We would do well to ask ourselves who the widows, orphans, and aliens are of our day. Who are the ones without a voice. Pastor Kate Matthews reminds us of the true story of Greta Thune. Do you remember her? She was a sixteen-year-old Swedish environmental activist who called attention some years ago to the urgent need to protect the environment.She was quiet strident in her speeches and serious in her presence. Many appreciated her advocacy, but others ridiculed her. Greta is only one example of the many young people who have become activists to bring attention and raise a hope for change for the deep problems we encounter these days. I am reminded of David Hogg and other young people who have traveled the country following the violence that devastated the residents of Parkland, Florida several years ago. Their particular position is for stricter gun control, a hot issue for many American citizens. The young people have found support and they have been met with criticism. Still, they carry on with their cause. Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor, takes a close look at the heart of the woman in the parable. Society may tell her that she is to be silent and remind her of her powerlessness. But, she rejects that position. She would persist. “She was willing to say what she wanted-out loud, day or night, over and over-whether she got it or not, because saying it was how she remembered who she was. It was how she remembered the shape of her heart.” The shape of her heart: it makes us wonder about the shape of our own hearts and the health of our prayer life. Why does Luke find this story necessary? To pray without ceasing. Why does he ask if Jesus will find any faithful people left on earth when he returns in the fullness of time? Several years ago, during news coverage of the terrible injustices against the people of Myanmar, a BBC reporter shared the story of Ma Thida, a writer and doctor who was held in solitary confinement for six years after she wrote about the abuses of the government. When asked how she survived those long years of waiting and suffering, she cited inspiring books that were like vitamins to the prisoners. Then she described her spiritual life. She meditated 18-20 hours a day. The reported noted Ma Thida’s commitment to her Buddist faith. She had a deep engagement with a “Holy Other” from whom she sought peace and solace and strength. Sometimes we have to wonder how many of us Christians are as deeply engaged with our “Holy Other.” Barbara Brown Taylor says in Jesus’ day and ours, so many of the religious adherents practice prayer like they brush their teeth…morning and night like a kind of spiritual hygiene program. Prayer shapes our faith, and in turn, our faith gives shape to our prayer life. Kate Matthew says she believed for a long time that faith had to do with believing the “right” things. Learning and memorizing the faith of our mothers and fathers as handed down to us in creeds and catechisms and religious textbooks. Keeping the faith was about guarding a treasure of beliefs and handing them down to the next generation, safe and intact and unchanged. Faith was something you had in your head. Theologian Marcus Borg writes that “you can believe all the right things and still be miserable. You can believe all the right things and still be relatively unchanged. Believing a set of claims to be true has very little transforming power.” Instead, Borg suggests, faith has to do with relationship-our relationship with God, and giving our heart, and our trust, our radical trust, to God. Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, says that “Faith is like floating on a deep ocean. Faith is like floating in seventy thousand fathoms of water. If you struggle, if you tense up and thrash about, you will certainly sink. But if you relax and trust, yiu will float.” Borg describes faith as trusting in the buoyancy of God. Faith is trusting in the sea of being in which we live and move and have our being. Kate Matthews had a life-long fear of water. She could not even float. She couldn’t put her face in water. She made sure her children all learned to swim and she says they took to water like ducks. One summer they were staying in a place with a pool. Her son, Doug, was about ten years old. He decided, on a day when they were the only two in the pool, that this was the day that Mom was going to learn to swim. He had utter confidence in his ability to teach her to do something that forty years of fear had prevented. “Mom,” he said, “If you close your eyes and hold your breath and relax, the water will hold you up. Just believe me. It works.” And then he demonstrated. He floated right there on top of the water. And so she gave it a try. And it worked. Kate says, “I floated there, held up by the buoyant water but also by the buoyant hope and confidence-and persistence- of my own unlikely little teacher who had already gone ahead of his older, more fearful parent, and discovered new experiences and new possibilities.” So, this little parable isn’t about a nagging woman or a corrupt judge who gave in to save face. It’s ultimately about the character of a loving God who listens to the cares of our hearts, especially when they point to human need or suffering or longing, freedom, or justice. It’s about aligning our will and intentions with that of God. Barbara Brown Taylor says our prayer life sustains us even in the worst of times, and it keeps us close to God. “You are going to trust the process,” she writes, “regardless of what comes of it, because the process itself gives you life. The process keeps you engaged with what matters most to you, so you do not lose heart.” Taylor writes, “prayer keeps our hearts chasing God’s heart. It’s how we bother God, and it’s how God bothers us back. There’s nothing that works any better than that.” *Hymn Faith of Our Fathers (Insert) *Affirmation of Faith p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 606 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication *Hymn 14 For the Beauty of the Earth, Verses 4 and 5 *Blessing Go now and continue in what you have learned and believed. Pray always, and do not lose heart. Proclaim God’s message, endure hostility, carry out your ministry fully. And may God be quick to answer your prayers, may Christ Jesus inspire faith within you, and may the Holy S[irit tutor your hearts and equip you for every good work. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen. *Postlude Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship God says,” I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts; And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” *Hymn 2 Come, Thou Almighty King Prayer of the Day Merciful God, in Jesus Christ you do not call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Draw us away from the easy road that leads to destruction, and guide us into paths that lead to life abundant, that in seeking your truth, and obeying your will, we may know the joy of being a disciple of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Hymn Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from sin and free us to live holy and joyful lives. This is the good news of the gospel. Your sins are forgiven. Be at peace. First Reading Psalm 66 Time With Our Young Disciples Second Reading Luke 17:11-19 Morning Message Pastor Debie Thomas says she remembers well the day when she was snooping in her father’s study. She was four years old and bored. She began rummaging thru his files and found a manila envelope. She looked inside to find a small bundle wrapped in tissue paper. It held four little blue books. Upon opening one of the books she was delighted to find a baby picture of herself. There were a lot of big words in the books which she couldn’t read. She took a pencil from her father’s desk and began doodling in the one that held her picture. Her father came into the study at some point and shouted at her, “What are you doing? “ And he grabbed the book out of her hands. She said he immediately set to work carefully erasing her drawings, his hands shaking. “What are they?” Debie asked. “Our passports, “ he said. These are our American passports. They prove we belong here. Without them…” he didn’t finish that sentence. Even now, years later, Debie says she remembers her father’s fear that day. It was the immigrant fear of not belonging, of being cast out. To this day, Debie treats her passport with great care, as though it might disintegrate in her hands. The memory of her father’s reaction to the defacing of her passport is a reminder of how seriously he took his citizenship and his role in keeping his family safe. The scripture text points to at least three things for our attention. One is healing. Jesus healed ten very sick people. One is gratitude. One leper returned to Jesus to express his gratitude. And one is identity. Within this text we find questions of inclusion and exclusion, exile and return. Debie Thomas says, as the daughter of immigrants, she feels these questions deep in her bones. They aren’t intellectual or abstract. They are emotional and urgent. Where is home? What is my identity? Her security is bound up in these questions. A few years after that day in the study, Debie’s family travelled to India, her parents’ homeland. One day while waiting in line at a village train station, her little brother pointed to two people huddled in a corner. “What’s wrong with them?” he asked. They had been in India about two weeks by this time. They were getting used to seeing beggars, women with rail-thin babies on their hips, men who were blind or lame, at the mercy of passers-by for a few coins a day. Debie and her brother had never witnessed such devastating need and were moved to help with whatever change or small bills her parents could spare. But somehow these two at the train station seemed different. They were in need but their appearance scared Debie. She didn’t want to approach them. Didn’t want to drop a few coins in their hands. They were missing fingers, their feet were mere stumps. Their faces were misshapen. “They’re sick,” said their father. “They have leprosy.” And though the train station and the city streets were crowded that day, what struck Debie was how very alone those two seemed to be. She says it was like an invisible barrier, solid as granite, separated them from the rest of humanity, rendering them untouchable. The disease was frightening, but what frightened her more was their isolation, their not-belonging. The lepers in the text also lived in the shadows, in the region “in-between.” It was a no-man’s land. They were required to live in seclusion, to keep their distances from others. They had to warn the public by announcing, “Unclean! Unclean!” whenever they came close. When Jesus heals their disease, he also restores their identities. He enables them to return to their families and their communities. They could enjoy human interaction once again. They had a place to belong. They could go home. He healed ten, but only one returned to thank Jesus. I think we miss the point if we say the others weren’t grateful. We know they were. But this one man has the deck stacked against him. He was a Samaritan. He was a “double other.” He was marginalized by both illness and foreignness. Jews and Samaritans bore years of enmity. They disagreed about where to worship God and how to interpret the scriptures. They avaoided interaction with each other. This reminds me of the first time Ed and I were in Ireland. WE were talking with the host at the bed and breakfast where we spent the night. Our plan was to go into Dublin. The host informed us that U2 was giving a concert that night in the city so it would be crowded. “And mind your purse, dear,” the woman warned me, “The damn English will be there.” Debie Thomas suggests that this man in the text, by virtue of his disease and his foreignness, is enabled to see his truest place of belonging lies at the feet of Jesus. Jesus embraces all of him-leper, foreigner, exile. So, what are we to take from this story? In a much less dramatic way, we have probably all experienced the discomfort of being alone, or new, or unfamiliar. Next weekend Ed and I are participating in our nephew’s wedding. We will be doing things we do every week in worship with no nerves at all. But the size of the sanctuary, the power of the organ, the massive marble altar and beautiful shrines are enough to take your breath away. When we visited on Thursday night, I felt like I didn’t belong there. But, the most lovely thing happened. The church music director was extremely hospitable, showing Ed around the organ and showing me all around the sanctuary, leading me up to the pulpit. He took me on a tour, describing the artwork, the beautifully carved statues, the fresh red roses that are replaced several days a week at the feet of the shrine of the infant king, the statue of the pregnant Mary, bearing God’s Word into the world. It was evident that here was a place where you could truly worship God with all the senses. It was very reassuring, comforting. I was realized that we fit just fine because our ultimate, eternal, most satisfying home is with Jesus. Jesus is home for the well and the sick, the immigrant and the native-born, Jesus is home for Catholics and Protestants. Jesus is home for the faithful in prayer and for babies in the cry room. Jesus is home for those who live in luxury and for those who have no place to lay their heads. And those who recognize home when they find it, can do none other than fall to their knees in gratitude. May it be so for all of us. Amen. *Hymn 647 Give Thanks *Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 606 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication Generous God, who creates, redeems, and sustains, we present our offering, signs of the work you have called and gifted us to do. Use it, use us, in service to your world, to the glory of your name. Amen. *Hymn 772 Live Into Hope *Blessing Go now, and may God be glorified in your life, in your song, in Christ’s church, and in God’s world. Amen. *Postlude Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship From north and south, from east and west, we come; God’s people called to the Table where simple grace nourishes us. From down the street to across town, from single households to apartment dwellers, God’s people are called to community. Where we live and serve one another from every class, every race, and every status, from little ones with sippy cups to elders with overflowing hearts, God’s people are called to witness to God’s hope, God’s people are called to offer peace to a shattered world. *Hymn 1 Holy, Holy Holy Prayer of Confession Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. In your mercy, forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen. *Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness Hear the good news! The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might be dead to sin and alive to all that is good. I declare to you in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Be at peace. Amen. Time With Our Young Disciples Scripture Reading Matthew 15:29-38 The Morning Message The air conditioning in my car went out some time ago. It was finally scheduled for repairs last week, meaning Ed and I made two trips to the Honda dealership in South Charleston. On our way home on Friday night we stopped for dinner at a place we like in Teays Valley. Ed arrived first, but, he told the hostess I may have beat him because I had a head start. Could he just walk thru the restaurant to see if I might already be there? To which the hostess replied, “Well. Do you know what she looks like?” We got a lot of mileage out of that this weekend. When we entered the sanctuary today, we probably noticed something different. The paraments have been changed to white. The Table is set for Communion, the holy meal to which Jesus calls us. We know what it looks like. Bread and wine. Simple. And profoundly filling. Food and drink were important to Jesus. The forst of the miracle stories happened at a wedding in Galilee. He turned water into wine. Then he multiplied a little boys lunch of bread and fish to feed thousands of hungry people. He read a poignant story of Jesus being the dinner guest at the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. After the resurrection, he shows up at the beach to cook breakfast. Food is important to Jesus. Who remembers their high school love interest? I clearly remember one boyfriend. We had a debate one day: Which is better- to live to eat or eat to live? He argued that I seemed to live to eat, whereas, he had taken the better, higher understanding- he ate to live. I fired that boyfriend. Today Christians around the globe are celebrating World Communion Sunday, a day when we are urged to embrace the Biblical vision of unity and peace. Not as a far-off dream, but as Christ’s calling to us. World Communion Sunday is a gift of the Presbyterian Church to the larger ecumenical body of Christ. The first observance was at the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, in 1933. The Rev. Dr. Hugh Thompson Kerr was the pastor. It was from his vision that the day was set apart for the purpose of promoting peace and global witness. Years later, his son, the Rev. Dr. Donald Kerr, reflected on his father’s vision. “The concept spread very slowly at the start. People did not give it a whole lot of thought. It was during the Second World War that the spirit caught hold, because we were trying to hold the world together. World wide Communion symbolized the effort to hold things together, in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we are one in the Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” It seems to me, we are trying to hold the world together in the 21st century. Hurricane Ian wrought all kinds of destruction in recent days, the pandemic just keeps raising its ugly head, cereal is $5.00 a box, civic unrest seems ever more contentious, many have experienced job insecurity, food insecurity exists even here in our community. That should not happen. Noted theologian, Karl Barth, is remembered for saying this about preaching: “Hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.” Faith, apart from real life, is irrelevant. Rev. Christine Chakoian of Los Angeles says the first time she heard the gospel preached that way wasn’t at her church, but in her parents’ family room. It wasn’t from a pulpit, but a record player. It was Simon and Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night.” Silent Night is one of our most beloved Christmas carols, a lullaby that the Christ Child and the world he came to save, would “sleep in heavenly peace.” But, in this particular recording, over that carol, another sound intrudes, growing louder and louder. The voice of a reporter announces that demonstrators have been forcibly evicted from the US House of Representatives. And then the grim announcement that unless there is a substantial increase in the effort in Viet Nam, the US should look forward to five more years of war. And then the reporter signed off, “That’s the 7 o’clock news. Good night.” Christine Chakoian says she has been thinking about that Simon and Garfunkel song a lot lately, and Barth’s words of preaching advice. There is a taught tension between the Bible’s vision for the world and the world’s news. Let’s consider just a few. The Bible says: “No more shall there be the sound of weeping, or the cry of distress.” The New York Times says: “An incalculable Loss: America has reached a grim milestone in the Coronavirus outbreak.” The Bible says: “They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.” The newspaper says: Political Battle Erupts Over Homeless Encampment on Venice Boardwalk.” The Bible says: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” The newspaper says: Collateral Damage of COVID-19: Rising rates of domestic and social violence. We find these competing truths in our own town. What are we supposed to do? God promises peace, but violence exists, poverty exists, disease and death exist. One way we can respond is to just look the other way. Don’t concern ourselves with social ills. Ignore the Bible. It’s irrelevant today. It certainly doesn’t compel many people to action. Judging by the inactivity in my own neighborhood on Sunday mornings, I’d say this is the prevalent attitude. But, Christians have to do better than that. We could take the eschatological approach and lean into the time to come when Christ returns to make all things new and establish the peaceable kingdom. God will take care of this in God’s good time. No worries. This approach reminds me of a high school friend of mine who decided not to apply for college admission because he believed the Rapture, or Christ’s return, was imminent. We could concentrate on our personal salvation. It is important. Jesus saves. Our eternal security is sealed. But, Jesus saves us for what purpose? What is the work or mission to which Jesus has called us? Christine Chakoian says we could set all those approaches aside and try another way- the prophetic way. “A way that lifts up God’s end game vision and at the same time, opens our hearts to let Christ make a difference now.” That’s the prophetic way, the Gospel way-where God’s reign can be real, even now. Where peace is not a pipedream, where God assures that none of his beloved sheep goes hungry.” Is that too naïve, too idealistic? Or is there a way to embrace that vision for the world God created and loves? Seminary Professor Fred Craddock shares this story of how the reconciliation of faith and current events came together in his classroom. At the beginning of many seminary classes, a student leads the class in prayer or shares a brief devotion. Maybe the student brings along a guitar and invites everyone to sing a hymn or chorus. This was a part of seminary education that I loved. Every lecture, every assignment, was wrapped in the Word read and proclaimed, and sealed with prayer. On this particular day the student leading devotions stepped up to the front of the class with her yellow legal pad. It had a lot of writing on it. Fred thought this could take a long time. The student spoke sofly, first in one foreign language, then another-one sentence repeated over fifty times in different languages. Fred said it was only when she spoke in German, Spanish and French, that he began to understand what she was saying. She ended in English with these words: “Mommy, I’m hungry.” And then she sat down. Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.” Jesus asks all of us here, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.” Christine Chakoian offers these thoughts to us who are even now praying about the world’s great problems and waiting in hope for the coming kingdom: “Cynicism is the fate of realists who clearly see the present, but see nothing of God’s vision for the way the world could really be. That vision is before us now: where wolves and lambs can feed together; where all of God’s hungry children are fed at the table of grace.” It takes some imagination and not a little courage to live into God’s vision. But, that is the call of Christ on our lives: to feed his sheep, so that every single one of the children of earth is fed- fed with security, fed with love… and bread. *Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed p.35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Celebrating the Sacrament of Communion With Our Brothers and Sisters Around the World The Invitation, Words of Institution, Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, Communion of the People Prayer after Communion And the Table Will Be Wide by Jan Richardson And the table will be wide. And the welcome will be wide. And the arms will open wide to gather us in. And our hearts will be open wide to receive. Women:And we will come as children who trust there is enough. And we will come unhindered and free. And our aching will be met with bread. And our sorrow will be met with wine. Men: And we will open our hands to the feast without shame. And we will turn toward each other without fear. And we will give up our appetite for despair. And we will taste and know of delight. All: And we will become bread for a hungering world. And we will become drink for those who thirst. And the blessed will become the blessing. And everywhere will be the feast. Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 606 Doxology *Hymn 500 Be Known to Us In Breaking Bread *Charge and Blessing Go out into the world in peace, rejoicing in the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we celebrate the Sacrament of Communion with our brothers and sisters the world over, uniting in purpose and prayer. To receive the elements, come forward when invited, remove a cup from the tray, and return to your seat. We will eat and drink together when all have been served. If you prefer to remain seated, the elements will be brought to you. |
PastorCinda Harkless Archives
July 2024
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