MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY
ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2023
TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to many of the songs. However, our musicians have chosen music to fit the scriptures. We invite you to look up the words in your worship book and ponder them. If you do not have a worship book, ponder the words of one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have the internet may find the songs on YouTube.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Each human being, however small or weak, has something to bring to humanity. As we start to really get to know others, as we begin to listen to each other’s stories, things begin to change. We begin the movement from exclusion to inclusion, from fear to trust, from closedness to openness, from judgment and prejudice to forgiveness and understanding. It is a movement of the heart.
~ Jean Vanier
BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT…
The coach who argues with the referee. The teacher who pushes for different books to be included in the curriculum. The adult child who advocates for their parents’ health. All of these have the same trait: they will fight for those they care about. The Canaanite woman was that kind of person; she stood up for what she needed. She heard Jesus could heal the sick, and her daughter needed healing. The whispers around town didn’t mention that Jesus only healed the Jewish sick. Illness is illness. Jesus heals all people. Speak out against injustice. Speak up for those who have no voice.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We acknowledge we gather and worship on Treaty 1 Territory, the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
O God, Creator of all, with humility we your children acknowledge the relationship of all living things. For this we thank you, praise you and worship you. We call on you, Great Mystery, the Word made Flesh – our teacher, prophet and brother – to open our hearts to all our brothers and sisters, and with them to grow in wisdom, honesty, courage and respectfulness. As we deal with many challenges, may we never give way to fear and anger, which can be the source of division and threat amongst peoples. O Creator, show us the way to healing, forgiveness, reconciliation and a renewed fellowship. Amen.
*Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who greets us in this and every season, whose word never fails, whose promise is sure.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of our neighbors.
Merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned. We have hurt our community. We have squandered your blessings. We have hoarded your bounty. In the name of Jesus, forgive us and grant us your mercy.
Righteous God,
we confess that we have sinned. We have failed to be honest. We have lacked the courage to speak. We have spoken falsely. In the name of Jesus, forgive us and grant us your mercy.
God is a cup of cold water when we thirst. God offers boundless grace when we fail. Claim the gift of God’s mercy: you are freed and forgiven in the name of ☩ Jesus Christ.
Amen.
CHILDREN’S SONG: VU 365 Jesus Loves Me
CENTERING PRAYER
God of all peoples, your arms reach out to embrace all those who call upon you. Teach us as disciples of your Son to love the world with compassion and constancy, that your name may be known throughout the earth, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
MINUTE FOR MISSION: “We are there for people who have nowhere else to go.”
In the last three years, the number of refugees and asylum seekers in Morocco has more than doubled. Today, the country is both a transit and a host country with 18,102 refugees and asylum seekers.*
Each person arrives in Morocco hoping for a better life for themselves and their family. Many attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to Europe. Some make the 14-km trip; others don’t because it proves too costly and dangerous.
“To give you an idea of what this ‘trip’ looks like, they get on an inflated boat normally made for 10‒20 people and they are more than 40 people on it hoping that the wind, their manual maneuvers, and God will get them to Europe. And they pay thousands of euros to get on that boat!” write Fritz Joseph and Emmanuela Loccident, who served four years in Morocco with the United Church in partnership with Global Ministries of the Disciples of Christ.
“Every day we hear of people who die trying to cross over. A lot don’t even know how to swim. Many of those wishing to cross the sea and ultimately go to Europe were, and still are, living in scarcity and poverty because they have used all their money to get to Morocco. Every country they must cross requires fees for passage. So, when arriving in Morocco, they must find a way to pay for their next and final trip to Europe.”
In Morocco, your Mission and Service gifts support refugees and migrants by providing life-saving medication as well as blankets, food, clothes, and professional training.
“Without the help of partners, none of this tremendous help that is offered to migrating people in Morocco would be possible. None,” explain Fritz and Emmanuela. “Helping migrants is one of the biggest ministries of the church. We are there for people who have nowhere else to go.”
This is only one story of how your generosity through Mission and Service helps change lives. Thank you for your gifts!
CANADIAN LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF: Our history with refugees
Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) has always been concerned with the plight of uprooted people; in fact, responding to the needs of refugees was its founding purpose. In March of 1946, representatives from North American Lutheran churches gathered in Ottawa to discuss a pressing challenge of the time: providing support for the millions of Europeans displaced by the Second World War. The outcome was the creation of CLWR to serve as an avenue through which Canadian Lutherans could extend a hand of welcome to loved ones and strangers an ocean away.
CLWR quickly partnered with Catholic, Mennonite and Baptist church agencies to form the Canadian Christian Council for the Resettlement of Refugees (CCCRR) to assist refugees from Germany and Austria in coming to Canada. Strangers to the land, but not to its people, the first arrivals joined relatives already living in Canada, who sponsored them and paid for the costly voyage. Soon, CCCRR’s mandate was expanded to include refugees who did not have relatives in Canada.
By the end of 1949, 30,000 ethnic Germans came to Canada as refugees and displaced persons, 206 of whom had no relatives in Canada. The latter were sponsored by CLWR and given employment in farming or service sectors; by 1960, CLWR had provided $3.2 million in transportation loans and employment assistance to 20,000 refugees and nationals from Germany and Austria.
CHILDREN’S CHAT
I drive a big, heavy car, so my tires are big to support my big, heavy car as I drive down the highway.
There was a time when I was driving and noticed my car wasn’t handling as smoothly. It wasn’t the engine. I kept going, but as the car felt like it was driving more and more awkwardly, I finally pulled off the road to check out the situation.
It turns out that I had a slow leak in one of my tires. It was only about half full. To keep driving on it would wreck the tire and possibly damage the car. So, I had to change the tire right there on the side of the highway! Not the safest option, true, but I could not keep driving on that tire.
In many ways, people are like tires, or balloons. We all have feelings and we all like ourselves – or don’t. The words we use can slowly deflate, take the air out, of ourselves and others.
There is an old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Don’t believe it! Words DO hurt. They hurt A LOT!
As people who follow Jesus, we are to use words that are helpful, not hurtful. When people are hurt by another’s words, sure, they may get A bit deflated, yet they can keep going. However, if it keeps happening, like my car tire, damage to how a person likes themselves can occur. This can be serious.
I try very hard to say things in a positive way. That is what Jesus wants me to do. We can still hold people responsible for their choices, we don’t need to deflate them with hurtful words.
As you speak to others this week, pay attention to your words. May they be helpful, not hurtful.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth. Make us hungry for this heavenly food, that it may nourish us today in the ways of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.
READINGS AND PSALM
First Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
The prophet calls upon Israel to do justice in view of God’s imminent intervention to save. Righteousness and obedience define who belongs to the Israelite community—not race, nationality, or any other category.
1Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.
6And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant—
7these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
8Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.
Psalm 67
1May God be merciful to us and bless us; may the light of God’s face shine upon us.
2Let your way be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations on earth.
5Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6The earth has brought forth its increase; God, our own God, has blessed us.
7May God give us blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe.
Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
God has not rejected Israel. Rather, the call and gifts of God are irrevocable so that, while all have been disobedient, God has mercy upon all.
1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2aGod has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28
Jesus teaches his disciples that true purity is a matter of the heart rather than outward religious observances. Almost immediately, this teaching is tested when a woman considered to be a religious outsider approaches him for help.
10 called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
HYMN: VU 606 In Christ There Is No East or West
SERMON: From the ELCIC Summer Sermon Series: Rev. Dr. Ali Tote, Assistant to the Bishop, Saskatchewan Synod
Who’s in? and Who’s out?
Sisters and brothers, siblings in Christ,
At this point of our journey on the twelfth Sunday after the season of Pentecost, or ordinary time also known as the season of the church, the Holy Spirit’s birthing of the church and sustaining of the church in its growth means that we are solidly aware of who we are as recipients of God’s benevolent love and grace, and whose we are as God’s beloved children.
Such is the case for Matthew’s community at this juncture of their journey as this community of believers who are aware of their special status as God’s people and the call that they are therefore blessed to be a part of. They are called to join Jesus in making the shift from learners to teachers, from the gathered ones to the sent-out ones, from being disciples to now becoming apostles, from being only with their own to now reaching beyond their usual circle of family and friends, and acquaintances. They are called to make
the shift from understanding God’s love and grace in a restrictive sense, to now understanding God’s love and grace as boundless and limitless, and including and welcoming all.
Matthew 15:10-28 culminates in Jesus’ crossing important boundaries into gentile territory, in Tire and Sidon. Jesus’ engagement there with the Canaanite woman prompts everyone to wrestle with the very important question: Who’s in and who’s out?
If in the earlier part of the text, in Matthew 15:10-20, Jesus is insisting that people are focusing on the wrong things, external things, as sources of defilement, in the latter part of the text, Jesus demonstrates with undeniable precision, that the source of defilement is rather internal, and proceeds from the heart.
In other words, we are focusing on the wrong things as the source of the issues we face. The heart of this gospel text is Jesus’ rebuke of a system built on self-righteousness, the judgment and condemnation of others, their exclusion and marginalization along with their treatment as belonging outside of God’s reign and reach.
Matthew aptly moves us from Jesus’ discourse in verses 10-20 to the praxis of that discourse in verses 21-27. And verse 28 is the stunning reversal and display of God’s all-encompassing love and grace that has to survive our system of rejection, marginalization, and oppression, that excludes people like the Canaanite woman. To her, and shockingly to the people present and to us today, Jesus proclaims to this rejected and despised Canaanite: “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Jesus’ proclamation of the greatness of the gentile woman’s faith stands in sharp contrast to what anyone expected. How can anything good come outside of Israel? The Pharisees who were already unhappy with Jesus’ declaration that “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles” would now be even more livid.
The most shocking part about Jesus’ declaration is how Jesus contrasts the Pharisees’ myopic focus on the nature of what goes into the mouth and its implications as opposed to what comes out of the mouth and the different reality that this points to. The Pharisees were obtusely focused on food as that which goes into the mouth, hence focusing on personal purity and self-righteousness. Jesus turns the Pharisees’ paradigm completely on its head by focusing on what proceeds from the mouth, which is totally different in nature from food, and which has a wider reach. Jesus’ shift focuses not on individual purity and personal salvation, but on the reign of God that reaches out to all people and embraces them without discrimination.
Jesus engages the Canaanite woman in a stunning display of Christ’s incarnational enactment of the sin and sinfulness of our hearts expressed and lived out in how we marginalize others. Before our face, Jesus plays our part to perfection. Jesus shows the people present how the proceeds from their hearts that have helped establish a system of discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization, plays out and its impact on the marginalized, the vilified, the downtrodden, the forsaken, and the oppressed.
The Canaanite woman, a gentile who is not accepted or welcome, who does not belong, but to whom God has been present all along, has her God-given opportunity to display the marvel, the beauty, the kernel of the gospel. As Jesus engages the Canaanite woman humorously but with a surgical precision that excises the sin of discrimination and prejudice that has ostracized her and her people for so long, we are left speechless in front of God’s undeniable display of humanity’s sin of self-righteousness on the one hand, and of rejection and ill-treatment of others on the other hand.
We are left to see the ways in which we build our families, our communities, our churches, our villages, our cities, our countries, our ethnic groups, our racial groups, and whatever groups we have formed, on a system that identifies who’s in and who’s out, and maintain things that way.
The world including the church continues to wrestle with systemic discrimination, racism, and the oppression of those who are not seen as belonging.
In Canada, we continue to wrestle with the evils of colonization and its genocidal impacts on Indigenous people. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action have become one of the ways we can respond and journey with Indigenous people in a good way. Jesus does not need to engage Indigenous people in the manner we sinfully do to show us how we have mistreated Indigenous people. We have ample evidence of past, present, and even hints of future actions that continue to inflict more harm and pain on Indigenous people.
In the United States, the ongoing struggles of Blacks, Latinos, Latinas, Latinxs, and other minorities are on full display every day.
These challenges are present in other parts of the world, such as in India with the marginalized Dalits, in Cameroon with the marginalized Anglophones, in China, with the marginalized Uyghurs, in the middle-East with unending conflicts that continue to discriminately inflict pain, In Europe with the plight of refugees and immigrants to name only a few. These are all examples of systems that continue to oppress and marginalize entire groups of people. All of this in addition to the concerning trend we are seeing negatively impacting people from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Our beloved church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada continues to strive to respond to Jesus’ call as displayed in his engagement of the Canaanite woman upon whom God’s grace comes to rest. Jesus’ proclamation to her “Great is your faith” acts as a rebuke of the Pharisees to whom greatness in the faith is rooted in their patriarchs crystallized in Abraham as the gold standard of faith and faith greatness. A system built on that paradigm meant that only people who identified with such a system belonged. Jesus upgrading the old paradigm and broadening it to include everyone while shockingly praising the faith of this gentile woman as “great”, presents us with a renewed call to live out the central message of the gospel.
Sisters and brothers, siblings in Christ,
We are called to be benevolent like Jesus in living out the gospel of God’s all-embracing love. The test of our living out the gospel is not found only in who we embrace, but also, and most importantly, in who we reject or in who we do not embrace.
In the church, we have often proclaimed our acceptance of marginalized people while rejecting others within our midst. An all-encompassing love calls us to embrace and deeply love the ones among us with whom we do not see eye to eye.
Shall we welcome some and reject others? Or shall we love all and embrace all? The answer is obvious; isn’t it?
The church’s sin can often be found in its internal struggles where people victimize one another even as the church seeks to genuinely include others. Could it be that the church finds it easier to love the stranger with whom there is no real engagement, than to internally love one another and treat each other with kindness, acceptance, and grace?
Jesus may need to enact that one for us to see and repent yet again!
May Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless the word in our hearts and in our minds. Amen!
HOM: MV 143 We Cannot Own The Sunlit Sky
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Confident that God receives our joys and concerns, let us offer our prayers for the church, those in need, and all of creation.
O God, your Spirit gathers the church. Shepherd those who are newly baptized and newly ordained in the proclamation of the gospel, breathe life into ecumenical and inter-religious endeavors, and support missionaries throughout the globe. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
You created the earth and all its inhabitants and declared it good. Clean polluted skies, seas, and soil, provide nourishment to plants and animals, and make us aware of our impact on the environment. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
You call leaders to bridge differences and practice generosity. Inspire all in authority to protect people in harm’s way, deliver those in bondage, support fair elections, provide care for military personnel and veterans, and show mercy to those for whom they have responsibility. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
You provide for those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. Embrace people who have been rejected because of difference, heal trauma caused by racism or prejudice, shield any who are persecuted, console the dying, and heal the sick. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
O God, you journey with us in all of life’s transitions. Guide those preparing for baptism, marriage, and retirement. Guide our church council and committees in their visioning and ministry. Safeguard those who travel. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We give you thanks for those who now rest from their labors (especially Bernard of Clairvaux, whom the church commemorates today). Motivate us by their lives of dedication to the gospel, until that day when we join with them in our eternal home. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, in the name of the one who reconciled all creation to himself, Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SENDING SONG: VU 397 O Praise The Gracious Power
BENEDICTION
The God who calls across the cosmos and speaks in the smallest seed ☩ bless, keep, and sustain you now and to the end of the age. Amen.