September 3, 2023

14^th Sunday after Pentecost

10:00am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WELCOME

 

OPENING PRAYER

Holy God, we give you thanks
that you have spoken to us
and revealed yourself to us
through the gift of your word.
Help us to heed your voice,
that we may follow you faithfully
and honor your glorious name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

PRELUDE                   “The Glory of the Spirit”                  Lani Smith

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

We gather hoping to see God,

here in worship, we realize that we see God in one another.

We can see God

when we show one another honor,

when we pursue hospitality to strangers,

when we live in harmony with one another,

when we rejoice in hope.

Let us worship the visible God amongst us.

 

*HYMN No. 719                     “Come Labor On”

1 Come, labor on.
Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain
while all around us waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say,
“Go work today.”

2 Come, labor on.
Claim the high calling angels cannot share;
to young and old the gospel gladness bear.
Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly.
The night draws nigh.

3 Come, labor on.
Cast off all gloomy doubt and faithless fear!
No arm so weak but may do service here.
Though feeble agents, may we all fulfill
God’s righteous will.

4 Come, labor on.
No time for rest, till glows the western sky,
till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie,
and a glad sound comes with the setting sun,
“Well done, well done!”

 

*CALL TO CONFESSION

God wants us to be ourselves. But every time we hurt one another, or ourselves, we get further and further away from who we are. It is in our confession, in admitting the truth of our lives, that we can be our genuine selves again. Let us join in our prayer of confession together:

 

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

God of love,
you ask us to love one another from the center of who we are,

you tell us to bless one another,
you encourage us to do good.

But we have not listened to your words,

instead of loving we have practiced hatred,

instead of blessing, we have perfected cursing,

instead of doing good, we have sought to get even.

Forgive us for giving up.
Give us grace to try again,

and encouragement to make your ways, our ways.

We pray, we wait, and we hope. Amen.

 

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

God’s love for us is genuine. When we need it the most, God’s grace washes over us seeping into the cracks of our brokenness and saturating our thirsty hearts. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace. Amen.

 

*RESPONSE No. 582            “Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines On Me”             x2

Glory to God, whose goodness shines on me,
and to the Son, whose grace has pardoned me,
and to the Spirit, whose love has set me free.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Although we believe and trust in God, we have forgotten the covenant which God made with our ancestors and sinned.

However, God shows the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembers this holy covenant, giving us the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins.

By the tender mercy of our God, the Dawn will break upon us, shining into the darkness and the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the way of peace.

 

Peace be with you.

And also with you.

 

ANTHEM                   “O God Unseen Yet Ever Near”                   Hal Hopson

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION                Elder Lori Wadding

O Holy Creator, you spoke all of creation into being, we ask that you keep speaking to us now. Speak to us as we read Scripture, that we might hear your voice ringing clear and concise through the many voices around us. Speak to us, that we might hear and understand. Amen.

 

SCRIPTURE               Romans 12:9-21

⁹Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Pause…

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

 

SERMON                   “Genuine Love”

Before it’s closing, Makemie Wood Camp and Conference Center outside of Williamsburg, VA, had a sign above the kitchen door that said, “There are no strangers here, only friends we have not met.” Having been to Makemie Woods as a camper and having worked there for several summers, I walked past that sign many times while at the camp. The sign sat right above the kitchen door, and as it turns out, the kitchen is usually the first place that I loved spending time in. To me, Makemie Woods was always a place of welcome, and the kitchen has served a symbol for the hospitality that is part of the culture at this Presbyterian camp, so it very appropriate that a sign with those words on it greets me as I came into the kitchen. I often found my way to the kitchen first because there is usually someone there to greet me and because there is almost always a pleasing aroma wafting out of the kitchen. Sometimes, if I happen to be there on the right day, the smell that greets me when I walk into the kitchen is that of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. For my money, Makemie Woods cinnamon rolls are the best you’ll find anywhere, and to me, those cinnamon roll is what hospitality tastes like. The only thing that would make it better would be sitting in a rocking chair wiling away the hours on the conference center’s lodge porch, while eating a cinnamon roll of course.

While being greeted with a warm smile, pleasing smells, and a comfortable place to relax might be my idea of hospitality, the apostle Paul had a very different idea of hospitality in mind when he wrote his letter to the Romans. At this point in his letter, Paul has spent eleven chapters telling the Romans that God’s grace has been extended to both his fellow Jews as well as Gentiles, that is non-Jews who have joined the new Christian community. Now in chapter twelve, Paul shifts his focus from theology and begins to write about ethics. Paul’s intent with this chapter is to begin moving the Romans away from self-indulgence and toward maturity in Christ. Brian McLaren notes that just as Paul called on the Romans to move toward maturity, faith communities today are still called to “multiply contagious examples of maturity, to create communities where the more mature can mentor others, to build a global Spirit movement toward individual and collective maturity.” Paul hopes that this move toward maturity will become the focus of the Romans’ life of faith. Prior to our passage, Paul calls on the Romans to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). For the Romans to begin moving toward maturity, Paul says, they cannot think too highly of themselves, but instead must “think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3). Paul then reminds the Romans that each body has many members, but not all members of the body perform the same function. The Romans, Paul says, make up the body of Christ, and as such each person has a different role to play in this new community of faith. Not only that, but there are certain standards of behavior that must be followed if the community as a whole has any hope of moving toward maturity. These instructions Paul gives go far beyond what the world requires of the Romans. The world has told the Romans that evil should be repaid with evil, but Paul says the opposite. The world has told the Romans to curse those who persecute them, but Paul says that the Romans should bless them. And perhaps the most radical instruction of all, the Romans should not seek vengeance of their enemies, but should instead feed those who are hungry and give a drink to those who are thirsty. This may seem like a random assortment of rules to live by, but in Paul’s mind they are necessary if the Romans are to extend hospitality to all, stranger, friend, and enemy alike.

Pastor John Pavlovitz writes that, when done right, “Hospitality ascribes value to people. It declares them worth welcoming. It disarms them by easing fears that past rejection has yielded and lets them know that this place is different.” This value ascribing, disarming hospitality is what Paul is talking about in his letter to the Romans. This is why he uses words like love, bless, live in harmony, feed, and give drink. Hospitality was certainly not an unheard of practice among the people of Rome. At that time, travelers relied on the kindness of strangers to provide them with food and shelter on long journeys. And as Paul knew, hospitality was an important practice in the early church as well. Early Christians, particularly those who traveled to spread the gospel, relied on fellow Christians to provide them with food and shelter during their travels. Christian communities also developed the practice of sharing meals together. What set these meals apart, however, was that they were not designed to reinforce socioeconomic boundaries, as were the banquets given by leaders in Roman society. At these banquets given by the church, no one was considered better than anyone else. What Paul is doing with this passage then is building on the tradition of hospitality that was at the heart of the Christian community. Paul knew, however, that followers of Christ were called to practice a different kind of hospitality, that is a hospitality that went beyond the minimum that would have been expected of any person at that time. It was one thing for the Romans to show hospitality to their friends, or even to strangers for that matter. There were many in Rome who did that. But what Paul is calling on the Romans to do is to also extend hospitality to those they consider to be their enemies.

To fully understand what Paul means when he tells the Romans they are called to extend hospitality to friends, strangers, and enemies alike, we need not look any further than God’s words to the prophet Jeremiah, who has come to God mired in the depths of frustration and pain. In the ancient Near East, prophets had a special responsibility to tell people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear. Prophets were, therefore, often not well liked by the people around them. Jeremiah was no different. God had called Jeremiah and appointed him to be a prophet to the nations, and since then things had not been going so well for Jeremiah. Because God told Jeremiah not to marry or have children, or even to socialize with other people, Jeremiah was forced to live in isolation, probably because God knew that Jeremiah was going to have to tell the people of Israel some hard truths, a practice that resulted in Jeremiah being insulted, persecuted, and ostracized.  It would seem, however, that Jeremiah did not mind being God’s messenger, at least at first. Jeremiah even tells God that God’s words were “a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). All that has changed, however. Now Jeremiah is angry, so much so that he compares God to a stream of water that does not quench his thirst. In other words, at this point in their relationship, God and Jeremiah are enemies. And yet, despite Jeremiah’s harsh words, God shows Jeremiah hospitality and welcome. God tells Jeremiah all he has to do is turn back to God and God will welcome him with open arms. Not only that, but God will make Jeremiah stronger so that he will be able to withstand the insults and persecutions of the Israelites when he speaks God’s prophecies to them.

The kind of hospitality Paul preached to the Romans, and God showed us in his relationship with Jeremiah, requires opening the door and extending welcome to strangers as well as enemies. In her writing on hospitality, theologian Christine Pohl says that hospitality must begin by making space in our homes and our churches for strangers. She sites as an example the Christian Worker House practice of keeping a Christ room in our homes, that is a space in our homes for people who are in need. A practice like this is not designed to exhaust our resources or make us feel like we have to pull out all the stops whenever we welcome a guest.[7] What it does require of us, however, is the setting aside of space in our homes and our lives for a stranger in need. When it comes to welcoming strangers in the church, Pohl suggests that we borrow from the rich tradition in the African American church of the welcome table, of the providing of food to all. Pohl reminds us that, “Churches, like families, need to eat together to sustain their identity as a community. The table is central to the practice of hospitality in home and church – the nourishment we gain there is physical, spiritual, and social. Whether we gather around the table for the Lord’s Supper or for a church potluck dinner, we are strengthened as a community.”

Practicing the kind of hospitality that Paul describes is going to take some self-examination. We need to ask ourselves questions like, “who do I include in my life and why?” And, perhaps the more important question, “who do I exclude from my life and why?” As we answer these questions, we might come to the conclusion that we have excluded some because they are strangers and we simply have not gotten to know them yet. However, we may also find that there are some we exclude because we consider them to be enemies. The question then becomes, “who is my enemy and why?” We live in a time when finding enemies is easy. All we have to do is find people who agree with our point of view, and, in many cases, we will be told who we should see as an enemy. When that happens, we need to be honest with ourselves and confront the biases and prejudices we possess that have led us to view certain people as our enemy and examine whether there is any merit to those beliefs. In some cases, we will realize that there is no reason to view a particular person or group as an enemy, which means that we can begin extending hospitality and welcome to that person or group. There are, of course, situations where someone we consider to be an enemy has hurt us, and it is necessary for us to keep that person at a distance. In that case, extending hospitality may need to be done from a distance through the sending of letters or emails. It may also be that contact will need to be cut off completely so that the person who has hurt us might come to see and better understand the pain they have caused us. I will admit that this is not the way the rest of the world does things. But hospitality, as Paul calls on the Romans to practice it, is an act that, as Paul says, does not conform the ways of this world. Theologian Eleazar Fernandez says as much when he writes, “Against the culture of conformity and acquiescence, those who live in the power of the crucified Christ embody virtues and practices that promote life-giving relations. They engage a way of being and acting that seeks to embody genuine love, mutual regard, humility, solidarity, peace, and harmony. It is a way of being and acting that cares not only for members of the faith community but also for the wider society, particularly the strangers in our midst. The Christian tradition has called this practice hospitality.”

While serving in Virginia, I traveled with a group of Presbyterians to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, when we arrived, we were invited to a local church to join them at a worship service and dinner. What I remember more than the food, however, is the welcome we received when we arrived at the church. Given the way we were greeted, we might as well have been long-time members. I think over the course of the evening I either shook hands with or received a hug from everyone in the church. The kind of hospitality we experienced that night was delightful. There are things we can all do to show hospitality and welcome to others. We can buy someone a meal or deliver one to someone we know is alone and then call and check-in with them to make sure they got it. Regardless of what action you take, or what is happening in the world around us, our call remains the same, to love one another and welcome everyone home. Amen.

 

Commentary and Liturgy from the Book of Common Worship (PCUSA), Christine Pohl, Mindy Douglas, Gianna Bairby, David L. Bartlett, NT Wright, Paul Achtemeier, Doug Bratt, and John Pavlovitz

 

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                       from A Brief Statement of Faith            

We trust in God the Holy Spirit,

everywhere the giver and renewer of life.

The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,

sets us free to accept ourselves
and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers

in the one body of Christ, the Church.

 

The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles

rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,

engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,

feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,

and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church.

 

In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,

to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

 

*HYMN No. 501                     “Feed Us, Lord”

Feed us, Lord.
Feed us, Lord.
In the broken bread, be revealed again.
Come and feed our hearts, O Lord.

Quench us, Lord.
Quench us, Lord.
On this thirsty ground, may your love flow down.
Come and quench our hearts, O Lord.

Fill us, Lord.
Fill us, Lord, 
with the bread and wine of the risen Christ.
Come and fill our hearts, O Lord.

Lead us, Lord.
Lead us, Lord,
nourished here by Christ, given strength for life.
Come and lead our hearts, O Lord.

 

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

Beloved in the Lord,

as we draw near to the Lord’s Table,

we are to consider the great benefits of this Sacrament

for those who come in faith and repentance,

and those who hunger and thirst after Christ.

Those who, putting their trust in Christ,

desire to lead a new life,

and to mature with the gifts of grace,

are invited and encouraged to come to

the Supper of the Lord

for their spiritual refreshment and renewal of strength.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

 

Holy God, Creator of heaven and earth,

with joy we give you thanks and praise.

You commanded light to shine out of darkness,

divided the sea and dry land,

created the vast universe and called it good.

You made us in your image

to live with one another in love.

You gave us the breath of life

and freedom to choose your way.

You set forth your purpose

in commandments through Moses,

and called for justice in the cry of prophets.

Through long generations

you have been patient and kind to all your children.

How wonderful are your ways, almighty God.

How marvelous is your name, O Holy One.

You alone are God.

Therefore with apostles and prophets,

and that great cloud of witnesses

who live for you beyond all time and space,

we lift our hearts in joyful praise:

 

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

 

We praise you, most holy God,

for sending your only Son Jesus to live among us,

full of grace and truth.

Sharing our joy and sorrow,

he healed the sick and was a friend of sinners.

Obeying you,

he took up his cross and died that we might live.

We praise you that he overcame death

and is risen to rule the world.

He is still the friend of sinners.

We trust him to overcome every power that can hurt or divide us,

and believe that when he comes in glory

we will celebrate victory with him.

Therefore, in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

we take this bread and this cup

and give you praise and thanksgiving

as we proclaim the mystery of faith:

 

Christ has died,

Christ is risen,

Christ will come again.

 

Gracious God,

pour out your Holy Spirit upon us,

and upon this bread and wine,

that we, and all who share this feast,

may be one with Christ and he with us.

 

Here we offer ourselves to be a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to you.

In your mercy,

accept our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

Fill us with the joy of eternal life,

that we may be your faithful people

until we feast with you in glory.

 

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all glory and honour are yours, almighty God,

for ever and ever.

 

As our Lord taught us we now pray:

 

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

 

ANTHEM                   “Let Us Break Bread Together”                   Traditional Spiritual

 

COMMUNION

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Father of all, we give you thanks and praise, that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home. Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory. May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

Why do we give each week?
We give because we have received so much from God.
We give to practice the gratitude for all that God has done for us.
We give because we trust that God can do more with what we have than we can do alone.
So let us practice our gratitude this morning through the giving of our gifts.

 

OFFERTORY

 

*RESPONSE N0. 609                        “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessing flow, Praise God, all creatures here below.  Alleluia, Alleluia Praise God in Jesus fully known; Creator, Word, and Spirit one. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

 

* PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Gift-giving God, we bring you what we can offer, our time, our talents, our finances, our very selves, in the hope that what we bring, you might magnify, and multiply, for the work of your love in the world. Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 377        “I Want to Walk as a Child of God”

1 I want to walk as a child of the light.
I want to follow Jesus.
God set the stars to give light to the world.
The star of my life is Jesus.

Refrain:
In him there is no darkness at all.
The night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God.
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus. (Refrain)

2 I want to see the brightness of God.
I want to look at Jesus.
Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path,
and show me the way to the Father. (Refrain)

3 I’m looking for the coming of Christ.
I want to be with Jesus.
When we have run with patience the race,
we shall know the joy of Jesus. (Refrain)

 

*BENEDICTION

Remember, as our time of worship draws to a close and our lives of service begin anew, go out into the world in peace. Return no one evil for evil. Strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, love everyone. That God’s light and love, justice, and joy, might be for you and all people everywhere. Amen.