MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY
ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 2, 2023
FIFTH 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 to 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
I was neurotic for years. I was anxious and depressed and selfish. Everyone kept telling me to change. I resented them and I agreed with them, and I wanted to change, but simply couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried. Then one day someone said to me, Don’t change. I love you just as you are. Those words were music to my ears: Don’t change, Don’t change. Don’t change . . . I love you as you are. I relaxed. I came alive. And suddenly I changed!
~Anthony de Mello
BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT…
The welcome of baptism is for all God’s children. This baptismal gift sets us free from the power of sin and death. In today’s gospel, Christ promises that the disciple who gives a cup of cold water to the little ones serves Christ himself. From worship we are sent on our baptismal mission: to serve the little ones of this world and to be a sign of God’s merciful welcome.
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.
Creator of all life, as long as there is breath in our bodies, and minds that function, fill us with your love for all, that we take the time to learn about the horrors endured, past and present, of the indigenous peoples of Canada, and around the world; to listen to the stories of those who endured, and overcame; to repent our corporate sin and strive to be people who choose to make a difference. May our words not be false or idle, our intentions paving the way to complicity. May we, like Jesus, truly seek justice, equity and respect for all our relations. Amen.
CALL TO WORSHIP – written by Thom Shuman
When we stand at the edge of fear and worry,
God invites us to step into the waters of faith and trust.
When we stand at the edge of the world’s pain and need,
Jesus invites us to step into the land of humble service.
When we stand at the edge of our hunger and thirst:
the Spirit invites us to sit at the Table of grace.
CHILDREN’S SONG: Children Of The Heavenly Father
CENTERING PRAYER – written by Thom Shuman
God-ever-with-us: you draw us near to your heart, so that, cradled in compassion, we might see the brokenness of all who are around us. Teacher-beside-us: you draw us near to yourself, so that, by following you, we may discover the deep joy of serving the broken of the world. Spirit-within-us:
you draw near to us with your peace, so that, reconciled and restored to God, we may be the healers to a world shattered by despair. God in Community, Holy in One, as we draw near to you in this time, set us on fire with a passion for all of your creation, that we may be a people who are the “repairers of the breach”. God in Community, may it be so. Amen.
MINUTE FOR MISSION: Inspiring Generations to Lead
Eunice Chianka felt a calling to preach and share the gift of education. Growing up, most of the religious leaders she knew were male ministers. When she had the opportunity to encounter female ministers, she felt inspired, and knew she wanted to inspire and empower other young girls in the same way.
“I always ask God: Do you really love us as women? I need to do my best as a woman to challenge the dominance of men,” Eunice says.
Coming from the United Methodist Church, Eunice is one of the students who received a scholarship from the United Church of Canada’s partnership with the United Theological Seminary in Zimbabwe. She shared that she wanted to “express her humble gratitude for this opportunity.”
When it comes to inspiring young women, Eunice shares a few words: “If I can do it, they can do the same,” she explains. “We have power. It’s the society at large that assumes we don’t take part, often we’re behind the scenes.”
The strength and determination of leaders such as Eunice inspires us all. Your Mission and Service gifts empower young women like Eunice as they grow to become leaders for the future. Thank you.
CANADIAN LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF: Addressing long-term food security: Violette’s story
Violette is a single mother living in Munyinya, Burundi with her 7 children. In 2021, food rations she received from CLWR partner LWF Burundi allowed her to feed her children after their father abandoned the family. Violette is now part of a savings and lending group through which she has purchased a goat as a source of income. This has helped her greatly improve her living conditions. Soon, she hopes to purchase more livestock to grow her farm and produce more fertilizer for her small plot of land.
In Burundi, with the support of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, through our partners, CLWR is implementing a multi-year project that aims to bridge the gap between emergency support and addressing longer-term barriers that families like Violette’s face in restarting their lives. Alongside addressing immediate food shortages and hunger, our partners are helping communities build longer-term food security by providing training through farm field schools and farm starter kits that include seeds, inputs, and small livestock.
CHILDREN’S CHAT
Jesus wants us to welcome people. How do we do that? We have talked about this subject before. It is so important that it helps to go over it again from time to time.
When you welcome someone to your home, you offer them something to eat and drink. You probably have some activities planned in order to pass the time. You may say to this person, “Make yourself at home.” You want this person to feel comfortable in your space.
What about at church? We can say, “Welcome! My name is _____. Glad to have you worship with us this morning!” “Here is a worship bulletin. Do you have a preference as to where you would like to sit?” We want people to feel comfortable in God’s house. If they have not used the hymnbook before, you can explain how to find the hymns and psalms. People enjoy worshiping much more when they can follow along!
You could do something similar if there is a new student at school. Be a friend. It makes a new situation less scary for the new person.
There are many ways and many places where you can welcome people. Jesus says that when we are kind and welcoming to someone, it is as if we are welcoming Jesus himself! Beautiful!
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Draw us close, Holy Spirit, as the Scriptures are read and the Word is proclaimed. Let the word of faith be on our lips and in our hearts, and let all other words slip away. May there be one voice we hear today — the voice of truth and grace. Amen.
READINGS AND PSALM
First Reading: Jeremiah 28:5-9
Through a symbolic action Jeremiah insisted that Judah and all the surrounding nations should submit to the king of Babylon (Jer. 27). Hananiah contradicted the word of Jeremiah, who in reply insisted that Hananiah’s rosy prediction should not be believed until it came true. God confirmed the word of Jeremiah and sentenced the false prophet Hananiah to death (vv. 16-17).
5The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; 6and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
1Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing; from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
2For I am persuaded that your steadfast love is established forever; you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
3“I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4‘I will establish your line forever, and preserve your throne for all generations.’ ”
15Happy are the people who know the festal shout! They walk, O Lord, in the light of your presence.
16They rejoice daily in your name; they are jubilant in your righteousness.
17For you are the glory of their strength, and by your favor our might is exalted.
18Truly, our shield belongs to the Lord; our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23
Sin is an enslaving power which motivates us to live self-serving, disobedient lives. Sin’s final payoff is death. We, however, have been set free from sin’s slavery to live obediently under God’s grace, whose end is the free gift of eternal life.
12Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
15What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
20When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42
When Jesus sends his disciples out as missionaries, he warns them of persecution and hardships they will face. He also promises to reward any who aid his followers and support their ministry.
40“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
HYMN: VU 660 How Firm A Foundation
SERMON: from the MNO Synod Summer Sermon Series.
Rev. Adam Snook, Assistant to the Bishop, Eastern Synod.
Grace to you and peace, in the name of the God who loves us all!
My name is Adam Snook. I serve as an Assistant to the Bishop in the Eastern Synod of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada where my primary roles are in the areas of Mission, Communication and
Congregational Support. I count it as a true privilege to participate, once again, in this year’s ELCIC Summer Sermon Series. What a joy it is for us to worship together!
If you’re hearing this sermon on July 2, then you’re doing so as delegates conclude the
business of Assembly 2023 – a joint gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
and the Anglican Church of Canada, held over the past four days in Calgary. On behalf of our
delegates and church leaders in attendance, I want to thank you for your prayers as they’ve
accompanied those who’ve gathered for this important event in the life of our church and
full communion relationship! We are grateful for your prayerful accompaniment through these days.
The tenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel is devoted solely to the topic of discipleship. It’s in
these verses that Jesus commissions, empowers, and then sends the twelve disciples out to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. It’s also in these verses that Jesus offers warnings about coming persecutions…speaks about fear…wades into the topic of division on account of the gospel…and even calls the disciples to take up their cross and follow after.
Wowzer.
Imagine what the modern-day job description for such a role would look like:
Wanted: A Disciple. Must be able to do the seemingly impossible…sustain attacks and
rumors…withstand threats of violence…speak truths that are sure to be poorly received…and
be willing to lose their life. It’s a tall order! Needless to say, I doubt the position of
‘Disciple” would end up trending on LinkedIn or Indeed!
Sadly, I think our approach to Matthew’s 10th chapter often mirrors the response we would
have to such a job description as the one I just described. Hearing these verses as they talk
about such daunting…and often foreign…concepts may leave modern-day disciples (may
leave you and me) feeling overwhelmed, uninspired…and even reluctant to take up that
same cross which Jesus has called us to carry.
And after all…who could blame us?!?
But what if this chapter actually has less to do with fear…and more to do with hope. What if
these verses are less concerned with the seemingly insurmountable odds…and more
concerned with true and blessed opportunity. What if Jesus was actually focusing less on
what it takes to be a disciple…and more on with what it actually means to be a disciple.
Because, in my mind, that changes things.
Yes, perhaps struggle…but also empowerment.
Yes, maybe rejection…but also welcome.
Yes, possibly division…but also the call to faithfulness.
Yes, challenges…but also holy opportunity!
Because, a quick return to this morning’s short gospel reading will remind us that
discipleship comes…even in the form…of just a cup of cold water – offered for the sake of
one of God’s blessed and beloved. Something so unassuming. Something so ordinary made
beautifully sacred.
Or, and to phrase it quite differently, discipleship doesn’t have to be heroic. It can be, as
Sarah Bessey puts it, that moment when we find ourselves outside with the misfits…with the
rebels…the dreamers…the second-chance givers…the radical grace lavishers; the ones with
arms wide open. That moment when we find ourselves courageously vulnerable.
I love that…because it means that:
Discipleship can be a hand outstretched to help another over the divide…
Discipleship can be a warm word spoken amidst the turmoil of conflict…
Discipleship can be love extended when the world says hate…
Discipleship can be radical acceptance…can be openhearted welcome…can be a commitment to learn…can be a life touched by the embrace of grace.
Discipleship can be as simple as a cold glass of water offered to parched and dry lips in search of a sip of hope – because to be a disciple means to be courageously vulnerable …and all for the sake of the gospel.
As I said at the beginning of my sermon, one of my roles in the life of our synod is to work
with congregations engaged in the work of mission. The ministries of these congregations
are wonderfully varied – each of which represents a thread that is woven to form the
beautiful tapestry of mission ministry across our whole church. Now I don’t know if you’ve noticed…but we’re not always good at telling our mission stories. And yet – these stories provide us with a great example of what it means to be a disciple! They are evidence that we are, truly, living as a courageously vulnerable church.
Where food is made available to hungry bellies…
Where people are welcomed into intentional community…
Where steps are taken to bring awareness…
Where reconciliation is embodied…
Where joy is shared…
This, to me, is discipleship. And it’s absolutely beautiful!
Several weeks ago, I decided to spend a weekend touring around New York City. It had been
a ‘bucket list’ item for as long as I can remember…and a sale on flights made it irresistible.
Of course, there are many visuals that stand out to me from those four days in the Big
Apple…but perhaps one of the most lingering came as I was headed toward the subway at
West 34th and 8th Ave. As I approached, I could hear singing – which I quickly recognized as
hymns. This group ran through some of the old favourites like ‘What A Friend We Have In
Jesus’, ‘In The Garden’, and ‘Softly and Tenderly’. But as I ran past the well-intentioned
choristers, I noticed that behind them…sitting on a pile of blankets that had been soaked
through from the overnight rain…was a man. Unsheltered. Unfed. Unknown. Forgotten.
Hidden.
Let me tell you…the sound of the hymns…the banner the singers held…and the messaging it
contained has long since faded into the deepest recesses of my mind – but I can’t say the
same for that man. I have thought, and prayed, about him so often. And it occurs to me –
that he…a man sitting on a pile of wet blankets – he is precisely the person into whose life
God would choose to step. God sees him – even when I could not. God calls him – even
when I didn’t know he was there. God loves him – even when he was hidden from view.
Because that’s what God does! Because that’s who God is! And God calls me…calls us…to
get up…to follow…and to go and do likewise. God calls us into a life of discipleship.
What does it mean…in the life of our church…what does it mean to be disciples who are
courageously vulnerable?
What does it mean to live out such a calling in God’s world?
And what does it mean, as the church of Christ in the year 2023…to offer even a cold cup of water to one of God’s beloved?
I suspect it looks less like hymns sung on street corners…and more like walking hand-in-
hand with those who were once hidden from view.
Less like brick and mortar, beautiful though it may be…and more like a reformed take on a
long and beautiful story.
Less like the way ‘we’ve always done things’…and more like a new path unto which God is
leading us.
Less like yesterday…and more like tomorrow.
May we hear the Spirit’s call, which beckons us into a life of courageously vulnerable
discipleship. And having heard that call, may we boldly step into the days ahead…assured
that we are loved…assured that we are called…and assured that we are accompanied by the
one in whose name we serve.
Thanks be to God. Amen
HYMN: VU 561 Take Up Your Cross
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Trusting in God’s abundant mercy, let us offer our prayers for a world in need.
We pray for the church. For wisdom to heed the voices of prophets in our midst who cast a vision of God’s promised future. For courage to welcome people whom society rejects. For resolve to serve all in need. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for creation. For all rivers, lakes, oceans, and streams. For lands experiencing scorching heat, drought, or wildfires. For conservation organizations and environmental activists. For scientists working on clean energy solutions. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for this nation and all nations. For all elected leaders. For judges, juries, district attorneys, and public defenders. For military personnel. For those who are incarcerated. Guide us in ways of freedom that promote the common good. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those in need. For exiles, immigrants, refugees, and those seeking asylum. For victims of harassment, torture, or abuse. For those who are ill. For any near death and for all who grieve. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for children. For their safety at home and in childcare settings. For their flourishing at summer programs and camps. For the many people who care for them including parents and grandparents; childcare workers and teachers; coaches, counselors, and mentors; pediatricians and psychologists. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We give thanks for all the saints and prophets who have received the free gift of God, which is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. May their lives of humble service inspire us in faith. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Receive our prayers and answer us, O God, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SENDING SONG: VU 120 O Jesus, I Have Promised
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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PASTOR LESLIE is on holiday. She returns on Monday, August 7th. Should you require pastoral care during her absence, please contact Debbie Swift who will put you in touch with the emergency clergy.
REMINDER: THE CHURCH WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE MONTH OF JULY. WE WILL RESUME WORSHIP ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 13TH
The online worship services will be posted on the Morris United Church website throughout July.