MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY
ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 11, 2023
SECOND 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 internet may find the songs on YouTube.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Look at Jesus’ life: All Jesus did was heal the sick and bring wholeness and deliverance to people. He did not put sickness upon people to teach them a lesson. We need to get our theology lined up with God’s nature and intent.
BEFORE WE WORSHIP, WE REFLECT…
Though Jesus was a devout Jew who practiced his faith, he was criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinners—the religiously non-observant. Jesus criticizes the self-righteous and reminds us that mercy is to be at the heart of our religious practices. God continues to be made known in those on the margins of society, like Matthew the tax collector and the hemorrhaging woman. As we gather each Lord’s day we receive the healing that makes us well and sends us forth to be signs of God’s mercy for the world.
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 God, we look at your world and praise you for the diversity all around us. Thank you for the gift of relationships; our connection with people, animals and the land. Help us, Lord, to see differences and diversity as strengths. Help us to listen and understand; to meet one another with wonder and anticipation.
Help us to love as you love, without expectation. Reveal to us your way of reconciliation and guide us into right relationships with all living things. Lead us to understand how Indigenous peoples have been and continue to be profoundly harmed by settler people and institutions. Lead us to repent when we as settlers deny Indigenous peoples respect, dignity and fullness of life. Help us to listen compassionately, to speak humbly and to act justly. Help us to seek the peace, justice and reconciliation you desire among all your children. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Amen.
Prayer by Dianne Climenhage, MCC Atlantic Canada Regional Representative
CALL TO WORSHIP
A word of encouragement came from prophet to people;
Live a life that is full – build, plant, eat, love, multiply–
Pray for your communities
Keep God in the center of all that is.
We enter into worship today with hope in our hearts
For something happens here that reminds us that we can live as God desires
God has made a promise of faithfulness to us
and we can trust the promise.
~ written by Henrietta Stith Andrews
CHILDREN’S SONG: VU 570 Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands
CENTERING PRAYER
O God, you are the source of life and the ground of our being. By the power of your Spirit bring healing to this wounded world, and raise us to the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
MINUTE FOR MISSION: Preserving Language through the Mohawk Language Bible
A much-anticipated project will be on bookshelves this fall.
After recognizing the need to preserve the Mohawk language, the idea to produce a Mohawk translation of the Bible was proposed. Preserving language enables future generations to engage in their rich culture in a rounded and essential way. Without understanding dialect-specific phrases and expressions, the vital wisdom of a culture can be lost.
Those partnering on the Mohawk Language Bible have taken great care and effort in ensuring proper language interpretation and translation. Working in agreement with the Mohawk Nation, collaborators have taken the time to listen to each other and learn in order to move the project forward.
A dedication of the Bible is set to take place on September 9, 2023, in Kanesatake, QC. The translation is expected to be available in hardcopy, digital copy, and audiobook formats.
Your gifts to Mission & Service allow projects to preserve language and culture to flourish.
CANADIAN LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF – Gender roles
Women are vulnerable on all dimensions of food security. Within the household, because of a weaker bargaining position, they frequently eat least, last and least well. Because agricultural gender inequalities remain strong, women farmers are particularly at risk of hunger, especially when a crisis strikes. CLWR aims to combat this issue by focusing on women farmers and women-led households and providing training on issues such as gender-based violence.
CHILDREN’S CHAT
If you want to know what the church looks like, get a bag of Skittles. Notice that all the colours share the space in one package. Each colour accepts all the other colours. There is no fighting. Some of the Skittles may be slightly different in shape, they are still accepted. Skittles may look different, yet they are all the same inside. Just like people. People who love Jesus work to get along with others, sharing the planet, the water, food and everything else we need to live. People who love Jesus can disagree. They also work to solve any problems and respect each other. We may not be Skittles, yet God wants us to work together and share the space on the planet, no matter how different from each other we may be, just like Skittles in a bag. Yep, that’s the Church!
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Holy Wisdom, come. We long for your truth that sets the captives free. Bring us your Word that liberates. Quiet all that turns us against ourselves, one another, or any of your creatures and creations. Lead us in , love that mends and restores. Amen.
READINGS AND PSALM
First Reading: Hosea 5:15–6:6
Because the people have trusted in military powers and not God, God decides to withdraw from the scene until Israel acknowledges its guilt and seeks God’s face. The response of the people does not acknowledge this guilt and is as fickle as fog or dew burned away quickly by the sun. God desires loyalty rather than words or meaningless deeds.
15I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor:
6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
2After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
3Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.
5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Psalm 50:7-15
7“Listen, my people, and I will speak: Israel, I will bear witness against you; for I am God, your God.
8I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are always before me.
9I will not accept a calf from your stalls, nor goats from your pens;
10for all the wild animals of the forest are mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the fields are mine.
12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.
13Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and make good your vows to the Most High.
15Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.
Second Reading: Romans 4:13-25
Paul presents Abraham as a living model of right relationships. For Abraham and for us, a right relationship with God involves trusting that God’s promises will be fulfilled because God makes the dead alive and calls into existence what otherwise does not exist.
13The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy and power, accepting the unacceptable and curing the incurable. Even the dead receive new life.
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
18While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26And the report of this spread throughout that district.
HYMN: VU 612 There Is A Balm In Gilead
SERMON
I love books. I love sales. So, when there is a book sale, I am a very happy person!
I picked up a book on etiquette at just such a sale. The subtitle is “Rules & Usages of the Best Society.” Reading through it, I am amazed at how many societal rules there were in the past for just about everything! One of the more interesting social practices was calling cards. I read to you the opening paragraph from the chapter titled, “Etiquette of Cards.’
When one would pay a visit and find no one ‘at home,’ which was the accepted phrase for one’s servant to use when one didn’t want company, the caller was supposed to leave one of their cards for each adult woman in the household, plus one for the male head of the household. The idea was to rush around leaving one’s cards, thus satisfying a lot of social obligations at one time, without having to spend time with anyone. Then one could go home and put up one’s feet on a dainty footstool and enjoy a cup of tea.”
Little did I know I would spend much of my adult life distributing my calling card. We still have calling cards, only now they are called “business cards,” and the purpose is not to keep people at a distance but to give them access to you through your work phone, cell phone and email address – 24/7. One would think that such availability would improve communication. No. Now, as in Jesus’ day, there are those who, rather than speaking to an individual directly, from whom one desires answers, will avoid the person in question and speak to a coworker or friend. Hence the religious leaders asking the disciples about Jesus’ eating habits, rather than asking Jesus himself.
In my last year of university, the drama department hosted an International Directors’ Colloquium. Theatre directors from all over the US and Canada, and one from Europe, came to the University of Calgary to share their expertise with paying participants. My role for this event was as the communication hub. I worked with a woman whom I loved dearly, yet who would say one thing, and then later say something else. It was very frustrating because people assumed I was at fault for any miscommunication, and vent at me. In those moments it would have been handy to have the woman’s business card so that I could have handed one to the incensed person and say, “Here is her card and her number. Tell her yourself.”
When I entered ministry, the situation did not get much better. I was “the one at the front,” easy to spot, and the receptor of all disgruntlement. I quickly gained an appreciation for what the disciples experienced in our gospel text. I also realized very quickly that I had to maintain my boundaries and redirect the person to address the offender, not me. Not always an easy task.
The reality is that I, like Matthew the tax collector, had answered a call from Christ that puts me, like the disciples, squarely in the line of fire, and if the practices of Jesus himself drew criticism, then I, and the rest of the body of Christ, possessed only of humanity and not divinity, cannot hope to escape it.
Several times in scripture Jesus points out that when others criticize you it means you are speaking an unwanted truth. We lose sight of that in our own desire for the love and approval of others and our fear of being rejected.
The quote for the week reads as follows: Look at Jesus’ life: All Jesus did was heal the sick and bring wholeness and deliverance to people. He did not put sickness upon people to teach them a lesson. We need to get our theology lined up with God’s nature and intent.
God’s nature and intent, as witnessed through Jesus’ life and ministry is that everyone is loved, embraced, forgiven and granted salvation through Christ. Compassion and mercy are given to all. None of us is above the other, less sinful than the other, more righteous than the other. Jesus looked at the person’s heart and walked with them accordingly. I have not been called as a servant of Christ in order to keep others at a distance but to draw them to Christ with my words and actions.
The gospel states that Matthew followed Jesus immediately. By the standards of his time Matthew was a sinner by virtue of his occupation. Tax collector equalled sinner. There had to be power flowing from Jesus for Matthew to respond so quickly. Perhaps he had heard of the love Jesus had for others who lived in the margins of life and desired that love for himself. We can only speculate. The point of the story is that in that moment, Matthew’s life changed forever. Before, he gathered coins for the Romans. Now, he would gather followers for Jesus. In that moment, Matthew was healed, forgiven and called.
My ministry has changed over the years. I no longer use business cards. Now I make an appointment with the person with whom I want to visit by phone. I bring my “pastor bag” that I might offer communion, blessing, anointing, and healing. I offer prayer and hugs. I remind the person of Christ’s presence and unconditional love.
Jesus recognized the need for God in each person, the desire to be loved and accepted. That need and desire still exist in people today. If we are honest with ourselves, it also exists in us. In our baptism Christ has called us to follow him. We respond by calling others. We do that by living out unconditional love, getting to know people, sharing our faith story, one person at a time. Amen.
HYMN OF THE MONTH: MV 182 Grateful
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Trusting in God’s abundant mercy, let us offer our prayers for a world in need.
We pray, O God, for the church. Unite us with any on the margins, that the whole world recognizes that your mercy is greater than our human capacity to restrict it. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray, O God, for creation. Tend forests and fields and safeguard all cattle, birds, and wild animals. Preserve lakes, rivers, and oceans and send rains to water the earth. Revive lands recovering from natural disasters. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray, O God, for the nations. Awaken in our leaders compassion for people who have too often felt forgotten or neglected, and inspire policy solutions that promote equity and inclusion. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray, O God, for all who are in need. Accompany anyone enduring chronic illness, any who suffer in secret, and those grieving a loved one’s death. Send healing for all who plead for relief from sickness or pain. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray, O God, for the eradication of racial hatred. On this week when we commemorate the Emanuel Nine, we implore you to cast out the demons of white supremacy that make us believe lies about ourselves and our neighbors. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We give thanks, O God, for Barnabas and all the saints. Renew our faith that you can do what you have promised and raise us, with all our beloved dead, to new life. 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: WOV 741 Thy Holy Wings
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.