MORRIS-ROSENFELD ECUMENICAL SHARED MINISTRY

ORDER OF SERVICE FOR SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2024

TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

WORLD FOOD SUNDAY

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

We have, I fear, confused power with greatness.

~Stewart Udall

Before we worship, we reflect…

Hearing the servant song (Isaiah 53) in October rather than Holy Week invites a fresh identification of the servant with the church. This is not a call to passive-aggressive martyrdom or acquiescence to abuse, but an invitation to journey toward the heart of God, especially as that journey leads toward the cross.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & PRAYER

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.

Creator God we live and love imperfectly. You called us to love our neighbour as ourselves  but collectively we have not, and individually we fall short. We say all people reflect your image  but our actions betray what we say.  For those of us living with pain or grief caused by racism and colonialism,  we ask you for healing and strength. For those of us living with privilege and wondering what to do,  we ask for the strength to learn, to listen, and to work to end systems that oppress. As you came to set captives free,  free us all from those ways of thinking, speaking and acting  that belittle or harm any of your beloved creations  and show us again how to live in your love. Let us work for reconciliation. Amen.[1]

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come, let’s praise God together!

For God is great, and worthy of our praise!

Let’s tell stories of the things God has done—

mighty acts of power and love throughout history: for God is great, and worthy of our praise!

Let’s remember how much God loves us, and celebrate the care God continues to show to all of creation:

for God is great, and worthy of our praise! Let’s worship God together![2]

GATHERING SONG: Voices United 595  We Are Pilgrims  

CENTERING PRAYER

Good and gracious God, You are gathering this community from across the earth, Asking us to pour out our lives on behalf of those who hunger. For hope, For justice, for daily bread. You are asking us to see the earth as you do, So very, very good. Trees with fruit, bursting with seed. Green plants for food, for humans and for every living creature. As a holy place for everything that breathes and to whom you have given life. Yet we see the realities before us and it takes our breath away: Those whose bellies growl every day. Those who consume more than their fair share. Breathe new life into us… As a global community, as local congregations Gather us together so that we may remind each other of your intent for this earth. Gather us so that we may pour out our lives in Christ’s name, as Christ does on behalf of those who hunger.[3] Amen.

MISSION AND SERVICE – An Abundance of Blessings in a Time of Need

With your generous support, many Canadian seniors who might otherwise face empty plates this season are able to enjoy nutritious meals and maintain their dignity throughout the year.

The Food Security for Elders program relies on your support to provide grocery cards to Indigenous Elders in the Morley First Nation and Lethbridge, AB area, where access to healthy food is limited. Without your support, these seniors face the harsh reality of choosing between essential needs and nourishing meals. They need your help to ensure their tables are filled with the food they deserve.

In a time of rising grocery prices and economic challenges, your kindness ensures that our most vulnerable neighbours are not left to struggle with food insecurity. Your gifts help transform their experience from one of worry and scarcity to one of comfort and nourishment. With your support, Elders can enjoy healthier meals and maintain their well-being.

Your generosity through Mission and Service gives more than just food; it offers hope and a sense of community. As we continue through our seasons of gratitude, we extend our heartfelt thanks to you for making such a significant impact. Thank you.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God of mercy, you promised never to break your covenant with us. Amid all the changing words of our generation, speak your eternal Word that does not change. Then may we respond to your gracious promises with faithful and obedient lives; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

READINGS AND PSALM

First Reading: Isaiah 53:4-12

This reading is from the last of four passages in Isaiah that are often called “servant songs.” Christians are probably most familiar with this servant song. In light of Christian faith, the servant’s healing ministry and redemptive suffering are understood to be fulfilled in the life and death of Christ.

⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
⁶All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
⁸By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
⁹They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
¹²Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm 91:9-16

⁹Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your habitation,
¹⁰no evil will befall you, nor shall affliction come near your dwelling.
¹¹For God will give the angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways.
¹²Upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 
¹³You will tread upon the lion cub and viper; you will trample down the lion and the serpent.
¹⁴I will deliver those who cling to me; I will uphold them, because they know my name.
¹⁵They will call me, and I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue and honor them.
¹⁶With long life will I satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10

Using imagery from scripture and from Jewish worship practices, Jesus is presented as the great high priest who was obedient to God’s saving plan. Through his suffering and death he has become the source of eternal salvation.

¹Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; ³and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
⁵So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
⁶as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
⁷In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; ⁹and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

On the way to Jerusalem the disciples ask Jesus to grant them seats of honor. Jesus responds by announcing that he and his followers will “rule” through self-giving service.

³⁵James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; ⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
⁴¹When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴²So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

HYMN:  Voices United 601  The Church Of Christ 

SERMON

Mike prepared himself each morning for death.  Before he left his apartment he had a ritual of prayer, song and crossing himself as he made ready to step out his door and face the streets.  Mike was doing his internship in inner-city Detroit, the murder capital of the United States.  Mike very quickly learned the meaning of grace, mercy, service to God, and fear.  He also learned the meaning of joy, sorrow, racism, power of the Spirit, service to God, and peace.  Mixed in among this was culture shock, frustration and anger.

Mike was very zealous for the Lord.  He wanted to share his love with the community in many and various ways.  He learned that there were those in the community who did not like what he had to say, or the fact that he was white, and desired that he leave.  Mike sometimes hid in his apartment, afraid for his life, afraid of those who could kill the body but not the soul.

There were signs from God all around him that he need not fear, big signs in the form of caring neighbours and supportive church members, but still Mike was faced with periods of fear when all he could do was hide.  Then one day God spoke and Mike had the courage to walk out the front door.  He began to walk down the street.  As he walked, he became aware of footsteps behind him, matching his own.  Mike became concerned.  He picked up his pace.  The feet behind him did the same.  Faster and faster Mike walked, equally so did the presence behind him.  Just as the presence was literally breathing on his neck and Mike was fearing that he was about to die, suddenly a woman leaned out her apartment window and yelled, “Don’t you touch him!  He’s the vica’.”  As suddenly as the footsteps appeared, so they disappeared, and Mike was left standing in the quiet of the street.  It was in this moment of silence that Mike became fully aware of the presence of God.  That was when he made his decision.

Mike felt called to ministry, called to the inner city, to its broken, hurting people, and if he was to die serving God in this place, so be it.  He suddenly realized that no matter what happened, God would be present.  That was when Mike’s zealousness for the Lord took on new life.  That was when Mike decided to live by faith, not by fear.

On July 25, we honor the Feast Day of the apostle Saint James the Greater. A passionate evangelist and devoted disciple of Jesus Christ, Saint James serves as an example of unwavering faithfulness and enthusiasm. James and his brother John were the sons of Zebedee.  St. James who was beheaded at the command of King Herod Agrippa.  St. James, the only apostle whose death is recorded in scripture.  St. James who did drink the cup that Christ drank, who was baptized with the same baptism.  St. James, who requested a very egocentric favor and who was ridiculed by his peers because of it.  St. James, naive and hopeful disciple of Christ who thought he could follow Jesus anywhere, prove his loyalty by stating he could endure anything that Jesus could endure, and who ran in the face of a mob.  This same James became filled with the power of the Spirit and went out boldly to proclaim the Gospel of the risen Christ, even when that meant facing death.

Does this mean, then, that there is hope for me?  I don’t know about you, but I have asked many a foolish, egocentric request of God.  I have promised much to God, and myself, and fallen far short of the mark more than once.  And yet God has performed miracles through me, and I am profoundly moved and thankful for the wonders God has performed.  So I guess it just goes to show that the emphasis is not on my worthiness for the task, but rather what God can do with and through me.

What about Mike and James?  What about these people of faith?  True, they experienced the presence of God and went out with renewed vigor to serve God.  Yet not everyone is faced with death for proclaiming Gospel, certainly not in Canada, that I have heard anyway.  But the fear of a different kind of death still exists.  It is the death of the spirit, the death of integrity.

As a minister I am outnumbered.  Simply put, all of you are my boss.  I have to answer to you for my work.  With this I have no problem.  I do have a problem.  I will tell you my fear.  My fear is that I will try too much to please you.  This is something I learned early in life.  I am very good at it.  I am good at serving others.  I acknowledge it as one of my gifts from God.  My fear, however, is that I may become so intent on serving and pleasing and keeping my job, that I will sacrifice the Gospel.  That I will tell you what you wish to hear rather than what God desires you hear.  This, for me, is a real fear.  I have seen it happen before in clergy, and I am certain it continues to happen.  It does not make it right.

When Mike was hiding in his apartment, I would hazard a guess that at one point he thought, “Is proclaiming the will of God worth all this anguish?”  This, too, is a common lament among clergy.  The answer, of course, is–yes.  Yes, in spite of the fear, pain, anguish and even death itself, proclaiming the Word of God is worth every moment.  It is in those moments that God’s presence is most strongly felt.  It wasn’t until Mike was left standing in fear in the silence of the street that he experienced the presence of God and became determined to live in faith.  James had to endure the silence of the loss of his rabbi and friend to the cross for two days, struggling to find God in the silence.  And when did the risen Christ appear to him?  As he was sitting in a locked room, in fear and silence, with the other disciples.  The Risen One suddenly appeared and offered peace.  After this, it was only a matter of time until Pentecost, and James became fearless.

It has been sixty-one years.  I have lived much.  And while I still have my moments of fear and doubt, confusion and anger, I have experienced the presence of God enough to know that when it comes to the crunch, God will grant me the strength of integrity to proclaim the compassion, grace and Gospel of Christ, regardless.  Indeed, I will still, like John, ask things of God from motives self-centered, I will think I can do more than what is humanly possible, and I will probably be laughed at by my colleagues for my naivete and stubbornness.  What I hold on to is the knowledge that Christ will not reject me, but rather show me clearly what I am called to do.  Christ will continue to guide and mold me into a courageous, fearless, determined voice for God.  May you listen closely in the silence to hear the voice, feel the presence and know the peace, courage, and YOUR calling from God.  Amen.

HYMN OF THE MONTH:  Voices United 307  Touch The Earth Lightly

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

When Jesus told the disciples to give the crowd something to eat, they found only a few loaves and two small fish. But they brought what they had to Jesus. Let us bring our prayers before the Lord.

We thank you, God, for the abundance of food we receive from your hand. We thank you for the progress that has been made against hunger in recent years, and we remember today those people at risk of falling back into hunger and extreme poverty. Lord in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

We pray for all those directly affected by hunger, especially those in the Sahel region of Africa. For farmers whose livelihoods depend on natural, economic, and political conditions beyond their control. For parents who struggle to put food on the table, and for children who go to bed hungry.  Lord in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

We ask your blessing on those working to save lives and end hunger in the world, especially now at a time when the high cost of food makes meeting those needs an even greater challenge. Lord in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

We pray for the leaders of the nations, especially our own leaders, that they will act with wisdom, generosity, and compassion, bring relief to those who are hungry now, and help move us all toward a world without hunger. Lord in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Finally, we pray for ourselves, that you will show us the ways your church can be an instrument of grace to hungry people, and give us the courage to act in your name, sharing generously what you have so freely given to us. Lord in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Jesus blessed the five loaves and the two small fish, and it was multiplied, and everyone had enough and more. God, please accept our prayers. We know you will multiply this small offering beyond our imaginings, and that one day soon, everyone will eat and be satisfied. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Amen

~Adapted from Prayer of Intercession from Bread for the World website. www.bread.org

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it

is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against

us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING SONG: Voices United 472  O Jesus, Joy Of Loving Hearts

BENEDICTION

May the blessing of God, Creator of heaven and Earth, rest upon you and upon all that God has made; May the Risen Christ Jesus transform your life and your vision, so that you may live in reconciliation with all things; and May the power of God’s Holy Spirit move over this whole Earth, like the breath of Spring, to renew the Earth and all its people, so that all creation may join together in praise to God’s holy name!

Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. Amen

Written by Kim Winchell, in Living Earth: Creation Waits  with Eager Longing.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS011617.

© 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] 2022-05-22-Healing-Reconciliation-Prayer-Resource.

[2] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://united-church.ca/sites/default/files/2022-08/world-food-day-2022_cfgb.pdf

[3] Adapted from WFD prayer on presbyterianmission.org.