MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY
ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2023
THIRTEENTH 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
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
~Steve Jobs
BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT…
The disciples have left behind everything they knew to follow a man who offered something different, something better. Now Jesus asks his disciples the hard question: “But who do you say that I am?”. Following Jesus is hard. It is much easier to go along with everyone else. Almost every waking moment is filled with making choices. In a world where it seems like anything goes, we get to choose Jesus.
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.
CALL TO WORSHIP
We are God’s work of art–each one of us a precious gem, a marvelous melody, a potter’s delight.
We are God’s handiwork–woven together in love, shaped with infinite compassion, painted with incredible beauty.
We are the church of Jesus Christ–diverse in human qualities but united in our call to love God with our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.
We are the body of Christ–living in his truth, sharing his peace, carrying his hope, with all the marks and flaws of our humanity.
Today and every day we crawl back from sin and selfishness into our new identity.
We are Christ’s people: set free from sin and compulsion, empowered to serve others. We open ourselves to God, who makes all things new. Amen.
CHILDREN’S SONG: The Wise May Bring Their Learning
CENTERING PRAYER
O God, with all your faithful followers of every age, we praise you, the rock of our life. Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son, that we may gladly minister to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
MINUTE FOR MISSION:
Making a Home for Refugees: ChrisAnn Alvarez’s Work
Imagine being forced to leave your home.
Set adrift, hoping to find a place to land, somewhere safe so you can rebuild your life.
“There’s this huge misconception that refugees choose to be refugees,” says ChrisAnn Alvarez, Refugee Support at The United Church of Canada. “It’s not a choice. It’s something they’re forced into.”
It’s a reality that is faced by millions of refugees, and it’s a reality that is becoming more and more prominent. More people are displaced today than ever before: 117.2 million, says the UN Refugee Agency.*
That’s the equivalent of three Canadas.
There are many causes: human conflict, climate change, human rights violations, and more.
We can help.
Your gifts provide food, water, sanitation, and social support to people forced to flee their homes. Mission and Service creates educational and confidence-building programs in refugee camps.
Mission and Service also helps refugees find new homes. “Congregations form sponsorship groups together to sponsor the refugee,” Alvarez explains. “What Mission and Service allows is for them to sponsor through their own congregation.”
She tells one story of a sponsor who renovated their basement after it flooded and immediately planned to sponsor a refugee in the new space.
“Who thinks like that?!” Alvarez exclaims with wonder and awe. “It’s just so beautiful!”
The refugee stayed with his sponsors for years, and they became an adopted family to one another. “The sponsor told me, ‘We have no kids, so this was an unexpected blessing,’” Alvarez recalls, tearing up. “That’s one example of someone opening their home in their home, in their heart, and allowing themselves to be transformed.”
When we help protect one refugee from persecution, death, or years in a refugee camp, we save the world for that one person—and just maybe for ourselves, too.
More detailed videos, A Deeper Look: Making a Home for Refugees – Part 1 and Part 2, are available on YouTube.
*Global Appeal 2023 | Global Focus (unhcr.org) 2023
CHILDREN’S CHAT
Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Hmmm. Good question. Thankfully, Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, calls out the answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” THANK YOU, PETER! Now I don’t have to think about the answer! Or do I? I believe it is always important to sit and think about who Jesus is for me. Yes, I believe Jesus is the chosen (anointed) one of God, but what does that mean?
I think who Jesus is for me came to me very quickly and clearly when I was in my car accident in 1989. As my best friend and I were rolling in circles in my rolling car, I suddenly had the understanding that we were not going to die, yet, even if we did, we would be ok. That’s it. That is who Jesus is for me. Jesus is my hope, my salvation, my peace that passes all human understanding. Jesus is the one in whom I place my trust. Even my death is going to be ok because Jesus will be with me, in this life and in the life to come. Maybe that still doesn’t make sense, it does, however, give me comfort.
Ok, so Peter knows who Jesus is. Who is Jesus to you?
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
O Lord, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love, and strength to follow on the path you set before us; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
READINGS AND PSALM
First Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6
Just as God had called Abraham and Sarah and given them many descendants, so now God offers comfort to Zion. God’s deliverance will come soon and will never end.
1Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you
were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.
3For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like
Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving
and the voice of song.
4Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my
justice for a light to the peoples.
5I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope.
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation
will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.
Psalm: Psalm 138
1I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing your praise.
2I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast love
and faithfulness; for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.
3When I called, you answered me; you increased my strength within me.
4All the rulers of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they have heard the words of your
mouth.
5They will sing of the ways of the Lord, that great is the glory of the Lord.
6The Lord is high, yet cares for the lowly, perceiving the haughty from afar.
7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; you stretch forth your hand against the fury of
my enemies; your right hand shall save me.
8You will make good your purpose for me; O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not
abandon the works of your hands.
Second Reading: Romans 12:1-8
In response to God’s merciful activity, we are to worship by living holistic, God-pleasing lives. Our values and viewpoints are not molded by the time in which we live but are transformed by the Spirit’s renewing work. God’s grace empowers different forms of service among Christians, but all forms of ministry function to build up the body of Christ.
1I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
At a climactic point in Jesus’ ministry, God reveals to Peter that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus responds with the promise of a church that will overcome the very gates of Hades.
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
HYMN: VU 331 The Church’s One Foundation
SERMON: From the ELCIC Summer Sermon Series: Rev. Paul Gehrs, Assistant to the National Bishop, Justice and Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations ELCIC National Office.
I am speaking to you today from Treaty One Territory: the land of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree,Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and homeland of the Métis Nation.
The ELCIC acknowledges that its buildings and ministries, from coast to coast to coast, are on traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples. Working for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples, respecting Indigenous Rights and learning from Indigenous wisdom is essential to climate justice and renewed relationships with the land.
My name is Paul Gehrs. My pronouns are he/him, and I serve as Assistant to the Bishop for Justice and Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations at the national office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Thanks for joining me today: to reflect on, and listen for, God’s word to us for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost.
Every year, from September 1st to October 4th, the global ecumenical community observes the Season of Creation1 as a time for prayer and action to care for our common home. Each year a Celebration Guide is produced; the information I share with you about the season draws heavily on the 2023 guide. (You can learn more at www.SeasonOfCreation.org.)[1] Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together.
Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed September 1st as a day of prayer for creation for Orthodox Christians 1989. In fact, the Orthodox church year starts on that day with a commemoration of how God created the world.
The World Council of Churches was instrumental in making the special time a season, extending the celebration from September 1st until October 4th. October 4th is the feast day for St. Francis, and many traditions view St. Francis as an inspiration and guide for those who protect creation.
The 2023 theme is Let Justice and Peace Flow, based on Amos 5:24: But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! The Guide comments:
We are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity.
For me, every gathering of the church includes the purpose of listening for a word from the Holy Spirit. The disciples with whom I gather help me to listen for the Spirit’s call, and they inspire me with their stories, ministries, wisdom, questions, challenging questions, commitment, and love. Dare I say, sometimes I have to do some internal work to embrace the hard questions as a gift.
I also believe that God’s ongoing formation and transformation is part of the life of discipleship. It is one of the reasons I gather with the church. Dare I say transformation is not always comfortable and sometimes I have to do some internal work to embrace transformation as a gift.
The Season of Creation invites us to pay attention to the climate crisis. Multiple voices, including the earth, are crying out. Climate justice deserves our attention and our discernment.
The Season of Creation invites us into deeper relationships with all creation. We need to be in respectful, living relationship with four-leggeds and two leggeds; with swimmers and fliers and crawlers; with rocks and trees and plants; with earth and air and water. We need to engage all our relations as neighbours, friends and family.
The Season of Creation invites us to honour worship and prayer as part of the journey to healing and transformation. Worship opens us to the Holy Spirit and helps us to muster the courage to act boldly for the love of creation. In water, bread, and wine, we are blessed with grace. In beauty, image, movement, and ritual, the Spirit acts.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter seems to knock it out of the park with his answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
However, I wonder if we need to let the question be the question.
After all, Jesus does tell the disciples not to give the answer away.
Perhaps each one needs to wrestle or play with the question.
Perhaps our first job is to listen, rather than to give answers.
Today when I hear Jesus ask, “Who do you say that I am?”, these things come to mind:
Jesus is the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.
When my daughter was born, I remember her tiny fingers. They looked so fragile, and yet they were resilient enough to have just made the journey through the birth canal. Beings are fragile and resilient. Jesus came to live among us, in fragile resilient flesh, and with the reality of God in his being.
Jesus wandered around, plucking grain to eat, and pointing to the lilies, the birds, the fig trees.
I remember an eagle flying over a Vacation Bible School group in rural Manitoba: circling above the lawn, the church, the cemetery, the people. A blessing of love.
We are invited to pay attention to creation and to creation’s witness to the Source of all love.
Jesus is the one who told religious leaders that if the people didn’t sing praises, then the stones would shout out. Creation knows how to honour God. I can learn.
Jesus is the one who stopped and asked, “who touched me?” when a desperate woman received healing. Many said “it’s too hard to tell” or “don’t bother,” but Jesus took the time to hear the story.
To his first disciples, Jesus said, “follow me.” And they left they everything and followed him.
I do wonder sometimes what I am being asked to leave behind, so that I might follow more faithfully.
What do I need to leave behind to help care for creation?
What do I leave behind to help the community heal?
What do I leave behind to hear the Spirit more clearly?
What do I leave behind to see the fragility and the resilience in every neighbour?
Sometimes with Jesus the questions are not any easier just because you know the answer. And sometimes the questions just get harder.
I do know I am glad that I am following Jesus. And I am glad that I am following with you.
I look forward to hearing how you respond to the questions you hear, with prayer and action.
Let Justice and Peace Flow. 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.
God of Sarah and Abraham, inspire your church to pursue righteousness in its ministry. Equip us to share your compassion that unites us as one family of faith. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Remind us that from the beginning of creation, you knit together a world meant for harmony. Protect and restore the wasted places to joy and gladness. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Stir the leaders of nations and towns, militaries and courts, to respond to your teachings. Let your call for justice reach all people and bring deliverance where there is oppression. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Show your steadfast love and faithfulness to those in despair. Increase their strength, care for all who feel low, keep safe any in the midst of trouble, and protect vulnerable people from harm. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Encourage those who offer their gifts and talents in service to your church. Energize this congregation’s rostered and lay leaders, musicians, teachers, greeters, and administrators so they may be transformed in sharing your grace. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of all the saints, death is overcome in Christ’s resurrection. We rejoice with the faithful departed. Sustain us in hope until we come at last to our heavenly 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: WOV 669 Come Away To The Skies
BENEDICTION – Roy Lessin
May your heart be full of celebration and praise to the One whose mercies are over you, whose hand is upon you, whose favor is with you, and whose presence is within you. Amen.
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© 2011 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/byncsa/2.5/ca.
[1]Resources can be found at https://seasonofcreation.org/