MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY

ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2024

NINTH 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

I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and rose again, and that’s my belief. I still don’t know what ‘Christian’ means. I’m a follower of Christ, but I keep making a whole bunch of mistakes. And I thank God for forgiveness. — Sherri Shepherd

Before we worship, we reflect…

The world can be a dangerous place, and we all long for someone, some leader, who will watch over us and protect us from all harm. The prophet Jeremiah issues strong cautions to those who abuse the trust placed in them to care for God’s people, and the psalmist sings the praises of the Lord who guards and guides us through life’s trials.

But the letter to the Ephesians suggests that lasting safety comes through the healing and reconciling work of Christ, which allows us to share a meal with those we are inclined to regard as enemies, because Christ has “broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” So, in Christ, aliens become citizens and strangers become members of the household of God.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge we gather and worship on Treaty 1 Territory, the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.

Dear Loving Lord, Creator of all, you created us all in your own image, one image – many colours, one image – many cultures.  You made us come together like a rainbow, separate parts but coming together in one creation.  Help us to see the beauty you have created in each and every one of us.

Dear Loving Lord, we are your creation, hear the cries of your people.  You gave us ears to

hear and eyes to see, open our eyes to what you want us to see, help us always to look to you to see the wisdom of your ways.  In the name of your dear son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.[1]

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come, out of your busy lives to a quiet time and place
Our souls thirst for some peace and quiet.
Come, and rest in the Lord who will restore your souls.
Our lives need moments of rest.
Come and find the quiet center. Come, be at peace.

Praise God who offers to us a shelter and resting place.[2]

GATHERING SONG:  More Voices #126  Are You A Shepherd?

CENTERING PRAYER

O God, powerful and compassionate, you shepherd your people, faithfully feeding and protecting us. Heal each of us, and make us a whole people, that we may embody the justice and peace of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

CANADIAN LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF – Protecting small-scale farmers in El Salvador

Julio Gonsalez Vasquez is one of many vulnerable small farmers in El Salvador, whose corn fields are located in Zacatecoluca, an area known to be part of the Dry Corridor in Central America prone to irregular drought.

“I am a small farmer, I don’t own a lot,” Julio says. He has farmed in Zacatecoluca for a long time. He and his family work hard but the threat of drought or flood is never far. If either were to happen, they could lose everything they have planted. With no crop to sell, they would fall into debt and have to sell farming tools and equipment to survive, which would mean their next yield would become even harder to produce. Like many others, Julio was ready to give up on farming, which would have had a devastating impact on the country’s already low food supply.

In order to support farmers like Julio, CLWR has launched an innovative new form of crop insurance which offers compensation to farmers based on real-time satellite data. Claims are automatically triggered based on soil and weather data, which removes virtually all the work on the part of the farmer when making a claim. We are also providing training to the farmers who use the insurance and education on climate change resilience.

The project has provided a real life-line for Julio and many farmers like him, allowing them to continue farming through these challenging times and be better-prepared and resilient to the challenges they might face in the future.

If you want to find out more about how you can help vulnerable farmers like Julio, please visit clwr.org/elsalvador

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Calm us now, O Lord, into a quietness that heals and listens. Open wounded hearts to the balm of your Word. Speak to us in clear tones so that we might feel our spirits leap for joy and skip with hope as your resurrection witnesses. Amen.

READINGS AND PSALM

First Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6

Jeremiah prophesied before the exile in 587 BCE. In this passage, he uses the metaphor of a shepherd to describe the bad kings who have scattered the “flock” of Israel. God promises to gather the flock and to raise up a new king from David’s line to save Israel and Judah.

¹ Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. ³ Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴ I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

⁵ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Psalm 23

¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

² The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.

³ You restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.

⁴ Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22

The author of this letter reminds his audience that originally they were not part of God’s chosen people. Through Jesus’ death, however, they are included in God’s household of faith, whose cornerstone is Jesus Christ.

¹¹ Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—¹² remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵ He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. ¹⁷ So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸ for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, ²⁰ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; ²² in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

When Jesus sends his disciples out to teach and heal, they minister among large numbers of people. Their work is motivated by Christ’s desire to be among those in need.

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. ⁵⁴ When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, ⁵⁵ and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

HYMN:  Voices United #273  The King of Love My Shepherd Is

SERMON – Deacon Michelle Collins, Assistant to the Bishop, MNO Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of the one who gathers, calls, nourishes and restores. Amen.

My name is Deacon Michelle Collins and I serve as the Assistant to the Bishop in the Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario Synod. I want to acknowledge that I live and work in Winnipeg, which is on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Dene, and Dakota people, and the homeland of the Métis nation. I am grateful for this land and the invitation to participate in reconciliation and restoration of this place.

I want to begin with a word of thanks for all the bishops and synod staff who have participated in this summer sermon series, and for all those across this church who have taken advantage of this series. It is inspiring and encouraging to hear from a variety of voices in our life together.

There’s a pithy saying I picked up somewhere along the way that goes, “The interruptions ARE the ministry.” Today’s gospel reading is an example of that saying. Jesus’ disciples have returned from being sent out, the political pressure around Jesus is rising, and Jesus himself is grieving the tragic death of his cousin John the Baptist. The disciples—and Jesus—are feeling emotionally, physically and spiritually spent, and Jesus appropriately recommends that they take a beat to recover. He suggests that they get away and rest.

You likely know what it’s like to need a break. Whole industries have developed around providing rest, respite, retreat and restoration. I get more auto-replies about colleagues and friends being on holiday in July and August than at almost any other time of the year. Rest is important to our wholeness, and even those who are “doing the work of following Jesus”, need rest. Many of our congregations are weary from faithfully trying to serve and support their people through trying times. Jesus knew that the ministry he was inviting folks into was emotionally, physically and spiritually exhausting, and he modeled that restoration was not just a spiritual goal, but a physical necessity.

But the interruptions ARE the ministry. As the disciples try to go away to a deserted place, the crowd finds them. And when Jesus sees the crowd, he has compassion on them. Mark writes that Jesus sees them like sheep without a shepherd. If we’ve been in the church for any length of time, we’re familiar with references to Jesus being the Good Shepherd. But this is not Mark’s way of saying the crowd was spiritually “lost” because they hadn’t “professed faith in Jesus”. More likely, Mark is making a comment about the political, social and economic condition of the people. There were ways in which the designated leaders were failing to meet the physical, social and economic needs of their people, leaving them like sheep without a shepherd. When Jesus witnesses people who are being denied well-being and justice—whether they are his disciples or whether they are the crowd that finds him—he is moved with compassion and compelled to respond^[3]. And as he responds, more people are drawn to him.

Jesus doesn’t go out and chase people, forcing his healing on them. But something about him and how he navigates his environment is magnetic, and people find him. In our reading today we see various ways that Jesus invites those around him into wholeness and restoration. He encourages those who are overextended to take a break and rest. He sees the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering of those who are seeking him, and is moved with compassion. He teaches. And those who touch his cloak or are brought to his attention are restored in whatever way they need it. There is healing and restoration when people get those who need help to the one who can help.^[4]

As congregations are trying to figure out what we are being invited to do in our communities to share the message of God’s presence and love, Jesus again models some practices and rhythms that provide us with some guidance. We can encourage those who are over-extended to take a break and rest. Ministry—whether it’s being done for salary or as a volunteer—is exhausting, and we are encouraged to take a break. Congregations can become over-extended by being unwilling to let go of anything and insistent on doing it all on their own. Volunteers can become over-extended by never stepping away from a role for fear the work won’t get done. Clergy can become over-extended by not sharing the work of ministry with the whole community and not leaning into collegial support. We can get overextended and exhausted—as individuals and as systems—and can end up “coming and going, with no leisure even to eat.” Jesus models that it’s okay to stop. It’s okay to let programming go for the sake of rest and restoration. It’s okay to share the ministry with others—even if they do it differently or imperfectly. It’s okay to step away from a beloved volunteer role. It’s okay to take a break from the “work” of ministry.

Because maybe it’s in the taking a break, that we are able to see clearly those who are in need of healing and restoration. Maybe if the disciples had not stopped the frenzy of ministry and gone across the lake, they wouldn’t have met the crowd that was hungry. And although what happens next isn’t in our reading for today, if they hadn’t met the crowd, they wouldn’t have experienced Jesus feeding the crowds with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish, or witnessed Jesus walking on water and reminding them that whatever storm might surround them, they are not alone and are not without hope.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in doing the work we think Jesus has tasked us with, that we miss the invitation to step away, take a break, and witness the new thing that God is up to as God continues to encounter with compassion the pain and suffering in the world and responds with hope and restoration—in ways that go way beyond our imagination.

The interruptions ARE the ministry. When we think the work is to keep our congregations alive by repeating old patterns and holding tightly to methods that are no longer drawing people into our spaces, the interruptions might be looking outside of our walls for community organizations in need of space, marginalized communities asking to be seen and heard, or ideas for innovation from those who don’t look or sound like us. As we follow Jesus—even when Jesus invites us to stop and take a break—we might just see the new thing that the Spirit has for us, and we might be reminded that the Good Shepherd knows their sheep by name, seeks out the sheep that have strayed, gives their life for their sheep, and then invites us into the work of tending, feeding and loving. The healings, the casting out of demons, the miraculous feedings, and the teaching are all ways the Son of God is shepherding people into an awareness of God’s love and presence in the realities of daily life^[5].

Jesus is interested in human flourishing—not just eternal salvation. There is a relationship between the gospel and wholeness. Throughout his ministry he is keenly aware of the very real physical, emotional and spiritual suffering that people are experiencing. And he offers them the restoration that they need. For some, it’s an invitation to rest. For some, it’s a time of teaching and remembering the promises and faithfulness of God. For some, it’s healing and restoration of pain, doubt, disease, and loneliness.

The same is true of us. We get overwhelmed and exhausted by the stuff of life. Our pain and suffering, or the pain and suffering of those around us, doesn’t have a quick fix. The systems of injustice continue to affect those who are vulnerable and marginalized. It’s easy to feel like we are the sheep without a shepherd.

But Jesus is here for all of it, and continues to Shepherd us into the love and care of the one who can heal our pain, give us rest, and restore us in body, mind and spirit. And when we participate in engaging and encouraging rest, in teaching and learning, in healing and restoring, we make real what God did through Jesus

When we gather together around Word, water, wine, and bread, and when we share the gifts of God with the people of God, we are renewed and restored, and we share renewal and restoration with others. That’s the life of discipleship to which we have been called. And along the way, we are likely interrupted by the pain and hunger of the world around us, a world desperate for a reminder that the Good Shepherd is still shepherding them and they are known and loved. Those interruptions invite us into a deeper understanding of who God is and how we are being invited to join God in the work of healing, feeding and restoring. Because, after all, the interruptions ARE the ministry.

May the invitation of the Good Shepherd to rest, be restored, and be made whole sustain you today and every day. Amen.

HYMN:  Trust and Obey

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

One in the communion of saints and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we join our voices in prayer.

For the church of Jesus Christ in this and every land: Through the One who is the cornerstone of a firm foundation, join us together and build us up as a temple of mercy and peace. In your mercy,

hear our prayer.

For the creation: Cause new trees to be planted. Restrain the melting of polar ice caps. Save land from destruction. Like a shepherd tends her sheep, raise up from among us caretakers of all you have made. In your mercy,

hear our prayer.

For the leaders of nations and heads of tribes (especially): Where peace seems far off, bring it near. Where justice seems fleeting, bring it to light. Where discord seems relentless, bring harmony. In your mercy,

hear our prayer.

For the health and well-being of family, friends, and neighbors: Heal those who are sick. Give courage to all who struggle with addiction. Touch with your tender care all who reach out to you in pain. In your mercy,

hear our prayer.

For this assembly and for the faith communities represented this week at the ELCA Youth Gathering: Nurture the faith of young people as they encounter new experiences and people. Break down dividing walls and inspire collaboration among people of every age. In your mercy,

hear our prayer.

In thanksgiving for those who have died: Make us certain that in Christ we are no longer strangers and aliens but citizens with the saints in the household of God. In your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Holy God, holy and merciful: into your outstretched arms we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

SENDING SONG:  The Lord Now Sends Us Forth

BENEDICTION

The blessing of God, who provides for us, feeds us, and journeys with us, be upon you now and forever.

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] Rev’d Robyn Davis, NATSIAC Life Member, Diocese of Bendigo, https://www.abmission.org/resources/prayers-for-reconciliation/

[2] https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/2949/worship-connection-july-21-2024

[3] Matt Skinner, Commentary on Mark 6:30-34. 53-56, July 21, 2024. Workingpreacher.com

[4] Matt Skinner

^[5] Elizabeth Webb, Commentary on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, July 19, 2015. Workingpreacher.com.