The Fourteenth
Sunday after Pentecost
3 September
2023
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Prelude, Welcome, and
Information Hymn #655 Son of God, Eternal Savior |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And
also with you. Psalm: Psalm 26:
1-8 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my
integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without
wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart
and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I
walk in faithfulness to you. I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort
with hypocrites; I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit
with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your
altar, O Lord, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling
all your wondrous deeds. O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
and the place where your glory abides. |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. O God,
we thank you for your Son, who chose the path of suffering for the sake of
the world. Humble us by his example, point us to the path of obedience, and
give us strength to follow your councils, through Jesus Christ, our Savior
and Lord. Amen. |
Reading: Jeremiah 15:15-21
A
reading from the prophet Jeremiah
O Lord,
you know; remember me and visit me, and bring down retribution for me on my
persecutors. In your forbearance do not take me away; know that on your account
I suffer insult. Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words
became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts. I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had
filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters
that fail. Therefore thus says the Lord: If you turn back, I will
take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious,
and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will
turn to you, not you who will turn to them. And I will make you to this
people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall
not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says
the Lord. I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and
redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.
The
Word of the Lord
Reading: Romans 12: 9-21
A
reading from the letter to the Romans
Let
love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one
another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not
lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be
patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the
saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with
those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but
associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not
repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of
all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with
all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of
God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the
Lord.” No, “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.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The
Word of the Lord.
Gospel Verse:
Alleluia! May the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may know the
hope to which God has called us. Alleluia! (Eph. 1:17, 18)
Gospel
Reading: Matthew 16: 21-28
A
reading from the Gospel of Matthew
From
that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem
and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him
aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never
happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!
You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine
things but on human things.”
Then
Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to
save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will
find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but
forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For
the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then
he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are
some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man
coming in his kingdom.”
This is
the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to
you, O Christ.
Sermon (added at the end of the document)
Hymn #798 Will You Come and Follow Me
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers
of the Church:
Gracious
God, teach us your Son’s way of the Cross. Trusting in your mercy shown to us
in that cross, we ask you to hear our prayers this day.
Gracious God, redeem
your church from selfishness and greed. Teach us your way of service. Lord, in
your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, bless
and sustain your church where it suffers and is in trouble. Teach us your way
of trust and faith. Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, continue
to teach us to keep our minds on heavenly thing, even in this life, while
keeping us from depending on earthy attitudes and ideas. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, support
and uphold all who work the land and teach us to value your creation. Lord, in
your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, teach
us your way of peace and give your peace to people throughout the world,
especially in Ukraine, Russia, and Niger. Bless all those who suffer the
terrors and dangers of violence. Lord,
in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, many
still suffer from disease of mind, body, and spirit and are in need of healing,
especially those suffering from the new strains of COVID-19. Strengthen and uphold
those who work for healing in any way. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Gracious God, hear
our prayers this day for the people of British Columbia and all in our nation as
well as in the state of Florida who endure natural disaster. We pray as well
for all fighting the fires. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Gracious God, today
we remember and pray for our own congregation. Grant us grace to continue our
faithful service. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, we ask
you to hear our continual prayers for those we care for and for those who have
asked for our prayers … * Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer. {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Rose Gotzmeister,
Rick Cerna, Rose Ungar, Marjorie Weber}
Gracious God, teach us daily about the way of
Jesus’ cross and all that it means. We turn to you in faith and ask you to hear
our prayers made in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn #879 For the Beauty of the Earth
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let us pray for all
things as our Lord would have us ask:
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.
Closing prayer
Almighty
God, grant that your holy word that has been proclaimed this day may enter into
our hearts through your grace, that it may produce in us the fruit of the
Spirit for witness and service in the world and to the praise and honor of your
name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Benediction & Sending
May the Lord bless us and keep us.
May the Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and
mercy.
May the Lord look upon us with favor and X give
us peace.
Amen.
Hymn #624 Jesus Still Lead On
Go in
peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to
God.
W
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Upcoming Services for
September & October (All services begin at 11:00am) September
10 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Pentecost XV) September
17 YouTube (Pentecost XVI) September
24 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Pentecost XVII) October
1 YouTube (Pentecost XVIII) October
8 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Pentecost
XIX/Thanksgiving) October
15 YouTube (Pentecost XX) October
22 Holy Communion at St. John’s
(Pentecost XXI) October
29 YouTube (Reformation Sunday) {Please note – This may be subject to change in
the near future} |
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Then
Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
· Generally this passage
is not something we want to hear. Peter didn’t want to hear it either, so we’re
in good company.
· What we want to hear is words
of victory and words of comfort. Jesus saying we must take up our cross is
neither. Yet it IS the Gospel. How is this Good News?
· First, Jesus tells us
what will happen; it shouldn’t be a surprise. Now we do have the advantage of
looking back on all this. Peter and the other disciples could not see
where all this was going. We, on the other hand, have read the end of the book.
We know the Good News. Still the challenge is there before us.
· Second, Jesus goes
against what was expected by everyone, both his disciples and the general
culture around him. He would be an unexpected Messiah, tearing down what was looked
forward to and bringing in a new vision
of what the Chosen One of God would be. It was held that the Messiah was the
ultimate “winner” while a crucified person is obviously a “loser.” Death on a
cross was gruesome and horrible, filled with insult aimed at all who would
challenge imperial power. It is death rather than glory that is the role of the
Messiah Jesus would be. Yet in that death, Jesus’ glory would be found.
· Third, cross bearing
might not mean what we think it means. We say to ourselves that living with
“that obnoxious/terrible person” is “my cross to bear” or my aches and pains
are “my cross to bear.” These might be the ordinary pains of life and surely none
of them are a treat. Yet taking up the cross to follow Jesus will take us
beyond the ordinary. Compassionate service to others while laying aside our own
agendas could well be our cross. Yet that cross of compassionate service may
mean a meaningful life here and now as well as a glimpse of the Kingdom of God,
not at a distance but from the inside.
· Where is the grace of
God in all this? The cross of Christ has been and is the center of God’s saving
grace for us. It is also the main point of all this discussion. Jesus remains
the unexpected Messiah who shows the love and mercy of God through laying down
his life for all and reconciling us to the Father in that. Jesus’ teaching to
his disciples (and to us) was not what they expected and Peter probably
expressed this for the entire group. It was not something they were ready for
and church history tells us that they all carried their cross as Jesus said.
This is still happening today. I’ve read of some pastors whose congregations
consider compassion and mercy to be “weak” or “woke” and they wonder where the
pastor gets all this left-wing propaganda from. It makes me wonder if those
folks have read the Sermon on the Mount or the entire Gospels.
· For our part, our
response of compassion, mercy, and service is brought about by this grace seen
in the cross and is both propelled and sustained by that grace. In taking up
our own cross, we live for and live like Jesus Christ. There is also the
promise found in this grace: Those who serve themselves alone have their reward
already. Those who carry their cross live a life of meaning and carry that
cross to the promised Kingdom.
· The cross is there for
us, as a symbol of salvation brought at great cost and as a symbol of what our
graced lives are to be about. How and with what we take up the cross will
depend on the individual; that we as disciples must take up the cross and
follow Jesus remains what Jesus prescribes for us all. It is how we live out
the grace we’ve been given.
Then
Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
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