ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2022
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Due to copyright limitations, we are unable to print the words to 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 to one of your favourite hymns and listen for God’s voice. Those who have internet may find the songs on YouTube.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT…
As digital tablets and smart phones keep us busy and on the go, today’s gospel reminds us of a struggle: when are we to set aside our busy calendars, duties, and to-do lists and simply rest in God’s presence, listening to what God has to say to us? This tension mounts in our gospel as Jesus addresses Martha’s busyness, worry, and distraction, juxtaposed with Mary’s contemplation, focus, and desire to sit at the feet of the great teacher. But is “quietly sitting” even possible in our age of distractions? Perhaps we can find helpful advice in our first reading, as Abraham rests in the heat of the day. In that time of rest, he was ready to receive the three guests who came bearing the news that Sarah would have a son, fulfilling God’s promise given years earlier. With the heat keeping him from moving on to other things, the guests had Abraham’s undivided attention. These readings remind us how crucial it is to set aside time to spend with God. We might even wonder what sort of things Jesus was saying to Mary. Were they profound words, akin to the “mystery” the author of Colossians addresses in the epistle? Jesus was the person in whom God was pleased to dwell, that same one who is “the hope of glory.”
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
We acknowledge that we gather to worship on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people.
Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on what we do and what we can do to make Manitoba a better place for everyone who lives here.
CALL TO WORSHIP:
We have gathered to worship God.
We have come seeking comfort, inspiration, community, and insight.
We have come to open ourselves to the power of God’s presence in our midst.
We have come to offer up the seasons and the turnings in our lives, and to ask God’s help in our learning and in our growing.
CHILDREN’S SONG: WOV 650 We Are Marching In The Light Of God
CENTERING PRAYER:
Eternal God, you draw near to us in Christ, and you make yourself our guest. Amid the cares of our lives, make us attentive to your presence, that we may treasure your word above all else, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
A NEW CREED:
We are not alone; we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN’S CHAT:
Imagine you trying to get to sleep. You are just about there, when you hear a mosquito buzzing near your head. NOOO!! You know you will never get to sleep if you are wondering if the mosquito is going to land on you and suck your blood! Still, you pull the blankets over your head, close your eyes and tell yourself, “You are getting sleepy…” Then you hear the mosquito again. Nope, you are too distracted to sleep. You are going to have to get up, turn on the light, find and kill the mosquito before you can go back to bed. It may take a while. You may not get to sleep for a long time. You are so tired! Mosquitos are annoying!
Jesus is a Mary and Martha’s house. Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to what he has to say. Martha is rushing around trying to get a meal ready to serve Jesus, their guest. Mary isn’t helping Martha. Martha is getting angry at Mary. Martha might want to sit at Jesus’ feet too, yet she is distracted by the feeling that she must go to extra work to please Jesus. Jesus tells Martha that in that moment, she can come and sit at his feet and learn many wonderful things about God’s love, and that they can eat when he is finished. Jesus tells Martha to stop getting distracted by preparing a meal, and just enjoy being together for a little while.
Like the mosquito, and making meals, sometimes life can distract us from taking the time just to sit quietly and talk to God, to read the Bible, to listen to God’s voice. Jesus says to us that taking time for ourselves to connect with God helps us get through the day. Thank you, Jesus, for thinking about us!
MINUTE FOR MISSION: Supporting Refugees and Migrants In Morocco
In the last two 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 19,620 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 & 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 one story of how your generosity through Mission & Service helps change lives. Thank you for your gifts!
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Almighty God, in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Open our eyes that we may see the wonders of your Word; and give us grace that we may clearly understand and freely choose the way of your wisdom; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings and Psalm:
First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a
The Lord visits Abraham and Sarah to tell them that the long-awaited promise of the birth of a child will be fulfilled for them in their old age.
1The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10aThen one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.”
Psalm 15
R: Lord, who may abide upon your holy hill? (Ps. 15:1)
1Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill?
2Those who lead a blameless life and do what is right, who speak the truth from their heart; R
3they do not slander with the tongue, they do no evil to their friends;
they do not cast discredit upon a neighbor.
4In their sight the wicked are rejected, but they honor those who fear the Lord.
They have sworn upon their health and do not take back their word.
5They do not give their money in hope of gain, nor do they take bribes against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be overthrown. R
Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-28
This letter offers a mystical teaching, that the great mystery of God is “Christ in you.” Because Christ is present in the church, Christians share in his life, suffering, and glory.
15 is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
24I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
HYMN: VU 601 The Church Of Christ In Every Age
SERMON:
Pentecost 6 Luke 10:38-42, 16-20
Rev. Dr. Sid Haugen
Bishop, Saskatchewan Synod
The Holy Gospel for this day is from the Gospel according to Luke the 10th chapter, beginning at verse 38:
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.[a] Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
The Gospel of our Lord.
I would like to center with you on one story today, the Gospel Lesson. It is a familiar story to people of faith: the story of Mary and Martha. Usually it is told, I think too simply, as the story of Martha who is judged for being too busy with work and Mary who is commended for taking time to worship. But the story has many layers that may invite you in this morning. And remember, that stories have a way too of changing shape with the shape of our lives. The Prodigal Son story took a very different shape for me as a father and grandfather than it did when I first listened to it as a child. The Easter story of hope beyond the grave sounded very different to me after my father passed away. So as we settle in front of this story today, take a moment to prayerfully consider your life situation this morning. What is happening around you? In your church. In your family. In your profession. And listen for the word of God this morning emerging new from this sacred story for this time in our lives.
In this moment, let us pray: Creator God, you know each of us. You watch over us from the day of our birth, through all the changes and chances of life, through all the ups and all the downs. Speak to us as we gather this day as human beings, as people of faith, as church. May these words of my mouth and the meditations and imaginations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Strength, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
This Gospel story is taken from the wider narrative of the Gospel According to Luke. The Gospel narrative begins with familiar stories: Jesus’ birth to Mary in a stable in Bethlehem; his baptism by John and then Jesus begins his public ministry.
As the narrative follows the ministry of Jesus, there are two broad aspects of his ministry that are striking. First there is Jesus’ public ministry: He brings healing to people, healing to their body/mind and spirit. H also brings healing through his teaching. He teaches people about what God is like. When you pray to the Creator God start like this, he says: “Our Father” even more intimately, “Our Papa.” He teaches them about what is important in life, and also what isn’t as important as we might think. His public ministry brings healing both in acts of healing and in his teachings.
There is a second aspect to Jesus’ ministry that is just as important as his public ministry. Jesus calls and equips a faith community. He calls disciples/students/apprentices to follow him. This mission of Jesus is not the ministry of a one-man band. He has come to gather a faith community—that Jesus is still gathering today. That is why we are here this morning.
The gathering of the community takes some time. In the first weeks he calls together “the twelve”: Peter, James, John, Thomas and all the rest. Some were fisherman, one was a tax collector. One was Simon the Zealot, a revolutionary.
But the calling of the faith community didn’t end with the twelve. On the journey, in chapter 8, hear this, “The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.” Already in this early Gospel, there are women– Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna—who are part of Jesus’ faith community. Later, in Luke 10, Jesus, appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.
Our Gospel text happens in the midst of the narrative of the ministry of Jesus. The text begins: “Now as they went on their way.” Who is this “they?” They are the Jesus people. They are Jesus church. They are a collection of the twelve, the women and the 70.
The text continues: “He entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home”
The narrative does not make clear who all was invited into the room. Who would be welcomed with Jesus in Martha’s kitchen? Peter and John? Or the women? Some of the 70? Who is in Martha’s kitchen for this story? I think, as we ourselves enter the story, the answer if that thechurch of every time and place is there in Martha’s kitchen. It’s a crowded kitchen that day. It’s a full house. The twelve, the women and the 70 are there. We are there.. Watching. Wondering. Listening.
Martha welcomes Jesus under her roof. I wonder if as the older of two sisters, it is actually Martha’s house. That this is literally Martha’s kitchen. In any case, she welcomed Jesus into her home. The story may remind you of a story much later in Luke. The day, remember, when Jesus is walking down the road with a crowd all around him, and a little tax collector who can’t see for the crowd, climbs a tree to see Jesus, to maybe be seen by Jesus. Remember what Jesus says to Zacchaeus, “Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.” There is something about Jesus in the house that matters in both stories.
Martha welcomed Jesus into their home. I wonder what welcoming Jesus into your home looks like today. Maybe it is saying table grace before a meal. We were taught the very quaint sounding table grace: “Come Lord Jesus be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed.” It is a simple little prayer we were taught as children, but it has stuck somehow in my family. When you think about it, the simple little prayer is a prayer in which we welcome Jesus in to our home, isn’t it? Maybe that is why this little prayer is said among so many families in the faith communities.
What does welcoming Jesus into our home look like? Is it reading the Scriptures and meditating on them? Going to church together and bringing those learnings back to our homes? Martha welcomes Jesus into her kitchen. So do we.
The text continues: Martha had a sister named Mary. While Mary is usually the one commended in the usual telling of the story, it is not Mary who “welcomed Jesus into her home”—that was Martha. But when Martha invited Jesus into her home, guess what? Her sister Mary met Jesus in Martha’s kitchen. That happens a lot, doesn’t it?
I think, I’m in the faith community today because a church 100 years ago cared for my grandma and grandpa when they lost their infant child. And so the Gospel was shared from mother and father to children down the line. The way to Jesus is so often through those who have met Jesus before us isn’t it? It is not an encounter that usually happens through a logical argument that overwhelms us, or through evidence that cannot be ignored. It usually happens in Martha’s kitchen. Author Madeleine L’Engle said, “When it comes down to it, I’m a Christian because of my aunt who lives in Teacup New Jersey.” It happened in Martha’s kitchen. In relationship with those who love us. Just at it did for Mary.
The text continues: Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. Mary sat down in Martha’s kitchen and was drawn by the teachings of Jesus–profound words, life giving words. Like these: The kingdom of God, the dream of God is like a sower who goes out to sow. Most seed is lost. But some grows beyond all human expectation. Or this. Do not be anxious about what you are going to eat. Does not God feed the sparrows? Do not be anxious about what you are going to wear. Are not the lilies, who ‘neither toil nor spin’ clothed wonderfully. Mary was fixed on the Gospel of Jesus. She hung on every word.
The text continues: Martha was “distracted with many tasks.” She was setting the table for Jesus in her kitchen. Preparing food. Practicing hospitality—a good thing! Maybe also trying to impress. With Jesus in the house, wouldn’t you? Or maybe, just maybe she was trying to be one up on her sister. Sisters and brothers can be like that. Maybe she was fussing anxiously as though somehow this good work would make her worthy of love. A lot of things might have made Martha busy—and very likely she wasn’t sure herself what kept her so busy. Does that sound familiar?
Martha, however, is not too busy to notice that she is doing all the work and sister Mary is just sitting there. So Martha comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” Now, you might have thought that Martha could have quietly ask her sister to help out, rather than telling someone else about it. But no, Martha takes the so familiar and so destructive indirect route and tells Jesus to tell Mary to help out.
In fact, as you read the text, Martha is mad at Jesus for not already telling Mary to get to work. “Lord, you don’t even care.” Martha’s kitchen can be a complicated place.
The text continues: The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha.” I love that piece. “Sidney, Sidney” my mother used to say to me from time to time–and I knew that I was being directed, and I knew that I was being loved. “Martha, Martha” Jesus says to her.
Listen to Jesus’ words sounding to the church gathered together in Martha’s kitchen: “Martha, Martha; Peter, Peter; Joanna, Joanna you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
You remember those moments when someone says something or tells a story and silence falls on the room—just for an instant. A moment. There is such a moment of silence for the little church gathered round Jesus in Martha’s kitchen, I think.
“Martha, Martha, People of faith, People of faith, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The text, perhaps surprisingly, ends there. There is no explanation by the narrator of ‘what does this mean’. Rather we have heard a story that lives on, inviting us in, inviting us into Martha’s kitchen.
Peter, James, John, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Suzanna, and the whole church still gather round the story and even now are listening. What does this story say to us in the midst of the events of our lives as this moment in the summer of 2022?
I wonder how it sounds to you in your life. But let me share with you how the story meets me today as a human being and as a part of our faith community.
I do hear the story speaking to me as a human being as summer holidays begin. It has been a busy year. It has been busy both with work and even more with constantly working out how to pivot our work to the latest wave of the pandemic. It has been a thoroughly distracting year. This summer seems to be a time when we may be called to set down the complexities of the last few years. To take some time for quietness again. To do some camping and take time to make a fire and sit by it in silence. To do some work in the quiet of the garden. Fish. Do some reading. Do whatever activity gives you some space to slow down enough to hear God speak. Like Mary did in Martha’s kitchen.
I do hear the story speaking too to our faith communities as we gather back to in-person worship after two years of meeting either in limited and constrained gatherings or online. It is so important to gather and take the time to just be still and know that God is God. As we sing the music or listen to the music played. As we open our hands for the bread and wine. As we open our ears to listen to the Word. As we reach out to our companions on the journey.
One more profound image comes to me as a person of faith as I enter into the story this year. When my father passed away many years ago, I was gifted with a very familiar book: his personal Bible. I have to admit, I can’t use it. It is in the King James Version. The language, while beautiful, is not my language. On the other hand, this old Bible, its look and feel, speaks to me of Martha’s kitchen. The pages have yellowed a bit—some are almost brown with use. It is underlined throughout. There are notes in the margins of texts that were used for this event or that a certain pastor may have used for a sermon. It was the Bible of a life-long farmer, a life-long person of faith. But the most striking thing to me is not the pages or the notes, it is, of all things, the cover. I imagine at one time it was shiny and stiff and new. But after all those years of use, the black leather is soft and supple. The cover spoke of years of taking the time to sit at the feet of Jesus, hanging on every word.
I know. . .there are other stories to be told about the importance of work and service. Many of them. In fact, do you know what story immediately follows the story of Martha’s Kitchen in Luke’s gospel? The Good Samaritan. But let those stories sound on another day. Today, this week, in the summer of 2022, I would invite you to spend some time in Martha’s kitchen. I would invite you to take the time to sit at the feet of Jesus and hang on every word.
As you are this morning.
Amen.
HYMN: MV 12 Come Touch Our Hearts
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
United in Christ and guided by the Spirit, we pray for the church, the creation, and all in need.
Ever-present God, in Christ you fill all things. As your church gathers to hear your word, share your meal, and receive your blessing, teach us to welcome strangers as we have been welcomed by you. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Through Christ you created all things, visible and invisible. Teach humankind to honor and protect all creation, including living things that remain hidden from our eyes such as air, atmosphere, molecules, and microscopic creatures. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Through Christ you reconcile all things. Motivate those in power to end enslavement, dehumanization, or brutality of any kind and to protect and improve the lives of Indigenous peoples. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Through Christ you bring peace. Assure all who are worried and distracted by many things of your constant presence. Soothe those suffering in mind, body, or spirit. Sustain all who are afflicted and those who serve as caregivers. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
In Christ you make your word fully known. Inspire this worshiping community to abide fully in your word as we sit at the feet of Jesus. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
In Christ you brought forth the firstborn from the dead. We give thanks for the saints you have gathered at your table. Gather us with them in your eternal glory. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
God of every time and place, in Jesus’ name and filled with your Holy Spirit, we entrust these spoken prayers and those in our hearts into your holy keeping.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SENDING SONG: MV 1 Let Us Build A House
BENEDICTION:
The God of peace + send us forth to live for others, both friend and stranger, that all may come to know Christ’s love. Amen.