October 20, 2024
Lectionary Texts
Job 38. 1-7 — God’s response to Job.
Psalm 104 — The glory of Creation.
Hebrews 5.1-10 — Christ was appointed by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Mark 10. 35-45 — Whoever wishes to become great must be a servant. The Human One came not to be served but to serve.
Preaching Thoughts
Job
Job asks, Why do bad things happen to good people? God answers: “I can’t tell you. Did you create the world? Do you understand the cosmos? No. Well, you can’t understand this, either.” To me God’s response to Job says three things. The first is that we’re confused by our belief that we can correctly judge “good” and “bad.” Do we have the wisdom to understand the world? Did we see the plans? Nope. We don’t have that insight. We can’t actually judge correctly any more than we can describe how to set the bounds of the sea. That’s above our pay grade. So stop trying to make sense of it. Just accept it.
God’s answer also suggests that God doesn’t “make “good stuff happen to good people and bad stuff happen to bad people. Life doesn’t work like that. Stuff happens. Accept the randomness (and even unfairness) of life. Life isn’t supposed to be “fair.” But, oh. how hard it is for us to let go of that! How often do we cry to the heavens, “What have I done to serve this?!?” Our resistance to accepting the unfairness of undeserved misfortune is part and parcel of our resistance to accepting the gift of undeserved grace. There is no deserving. Here is only God’s presence, and God’s grace.
Job has asked God to explain his suffering. Instead God invites Job to be mindful of the whole universe. God’s response goes way beyond the lectionary selection. God goes on for four whole chapters about Creation. We get a walking tour of the entire universe. Why? Because Job is part of that amazing wonder. Even in his suffering, he is part of a beautiful thing. God lifts him out of his individual experience and connects him with the shared experience of all living things, the whole world. It sounds a bit callous, but God essentially says, “Look at this amazing world. Isn’t it cool? And you’re going to complain? Your little existence is not the extent of your life. You are part of this whole thing. Expand your consciousness.” Now, that’s not a helpful things to say to someone in crisis. But the book of Job wasn’t meant for them. It was meant for us. Now. God is saying “Expand your consciousness now, so that when suffering comes you can greet it with the mindfulness of the entire universe, not just your one isolated little life. You are a single note in a great symphony. Hear the whole symphony.
Psalm
See a paraphrase of a portion of Psalm 104 below.
As well as celebrating Creation, the Psalm invites us into “Creation consciousness” in which we are aware of not only the grandeur but the sacredness of Creation, and attentive to God’s self-expression in it, and willing participants in it, responsible to it and cooperating with it. We are not separate from “Nature,” but part of it. We are integral parts of God’s ecosystem..
Hebrews
The book of Hebrews, as its name implies, is deeply rooted in the sacrificial practice of the Temple. In next week’s reading we’ll see Jesus as a sacrifice. Today we see Christ as a priest. The role of the priest was as an intermediary between the people and God. Though Hebrews was written before we invented the Trinity, the image of the Christ is not just a human office Sometimes we feel like crying out to God, “I know I screw up sometimes, but—God, you just don’t understand. You have no idea how hard it is to be human!” In Christ God says, “Oh, yes, I do.” I’ve beeb through the worst of it just like you—with you. Christ as high priest embodies both our belovedness before God and God’s mercy toward us.
Jesus offered up prayers to the one who could save him from death and he was heard. That he was heard doesn’t mean he was saved from death—he clearly wasn’t—but simply that he was heard. God listened to him. God did not abandon him. God went through it with him. When we pray to God in difficulty, we often ask God to remove us from the difficulty. But what God does is companion us through the difficulty.
He learned obedience through what he suffered. Contrary to the medieval theology apparent in places like Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of Jesus Christ,” what’s saving about Jesus is not the physical blood he shed, nor the pain he endured (many people have suffered longer and more deeply than Jesus did); what’s saving is the grace he offers. Jesus’ suffering doesn’t mean suffering is good for us. What Hebrews is talking about isn’t physical pain but humble subservience. It’s the obedience described in today’s Gospel passage, or the self-emptying in Philippians 2.5-11. Jesus’ saving power is not the might of a warrior but the paradoxical power of powerlessness. His saving power is his vulnerability, what Paul repeatedly named as “Christ, and Christ crucified.”
Mark
James and John sound insensitive and arrogant. But put this moment in context. Since the Transfiguration in chapter 9, Mark has been pointing us toward the cross. Today’s passage follows this scene (vv. 31-34), unfortunately omitted from the lectionary: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him.” The disciples are beginning to get that sinking feeling that Jesus is speaking literally, that people in power are going to stop him with deadly force—and they themselves will be in danger. They’re terrified. And how do they cope? They escape into fantasies of domination. “Grant us to sit beside you in glory.” They don’t sound arrogant; they sound scared. We all partake of that a little. When we’re suffering we think ahead to when it will all be better. Our innate desire for security, power and belonging escalates into desire for superiority. They are not unlike us. They speak for those who are afraid of losing our White American culture. They reflect our desire to come out on top. And Jesus disappoints them
Jesus brings them back to earth, and to the present moment—and to their calling. He names the culture of dominance, of lording it over people, and specifically rejects it. “You must be slaves of all.” Jesus models downward mobility.
James and John’s overconfident “We are able” will soon be proven false in the garden. (How odd that we sing a hymn of such self-confidence without irony!)
“To give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus is not speaking of his death as payment for our sins, but as self-giving that sets us free from the bondage of our fear and selfishness. In his self-giving he re-connects us with God’s love; in his vulnerability he redeems our own brokenness; in his forgiveness he restores our trust in God. In his willingness to suffer for our sake he saves us from believing we have to earn our salvation. He just gives it to us. And this he does, and can only do, from a position of humility, vulnerability and submission.
And so he sets our calling before us: that we too should serve others, that we renounce domination and instead exercise the paradoxical power of powerlessness, the power that lifts others from beneath them. To follow Jesus is to follow him I downward mobility into radical letting go, deep trust, and humble service.
Call to Worship
1.
Leader: Eternal Creator, in the silence of galaxies
All: your Word shines.
Loving Christ, in the voices of the hurting
your Word cries out.
Holy Spirit, in the secrets of our own hearts
your Word whispers.
Give us faith to listen for your voice,
and answer. Alleluia.
2.
Leader: Gracious One, you are our life.
All: You are our Source, our security, our beauty.
Loving Christ, you are our healing.
You are our courage, our healing, our hope.
Holy Spirit, you are our breath.
You are our compassion, our generosity, our love.
We worship you. Breathe new life in us, and set us free. Amen.
3.
Leader: Creator God, you hold all the universe in your loving hands.
All: Eternal and almighty God, we praise you.
Gentle Christ, both human and divine, you chose the most humble path among us.
Loving servant, we praise you.
Holy Spirit, you unfold your compassion within and among us.
Present and life-giving Spirit, we welcome you into our hearts.
In the name of Christ we worship you.
4.
Leader: Mighty God, Creator of the universe, you reign over all things,
and yet you stoop to help us, and humbly serve our needs.
All: Radiant Christ, you who hold the worlds in your hands,
you kneel to wash the feet of your betrayers,
and humbly sit with the poor.
Eternal God, grant us your spirit of humble service.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!
Collect / Prayer of the Day
1.
Loving God, open the windows of our hearts, that the light of your love may flow in. Open our ears, that we may hear your Word. Open our arms, to embrace your way. Open our hands, that we may serve you with strength and joy. Speak to us; we are listening. Amen.
2.
God of grace, your Christ comes among us not with power and dominion but in vulnerability and humble service. We do not look up to see Christ; we look down, and find our salvation there, kneeling at our feet, serving us in love. We thank you for your grace, and pray that you may fill us with your humble love, in the power of your spirit, in the presence of your Christ. Amen.
Listening Prayer
(suitable as a Collect, preparation for hearing scriptures, or invitation to prayer)
Gentle God,
gracious God,
humble God,
we open our hearts to your grace,
serving us with love,
kneeling before us,
granting us your healing,
your mercy, your power.
Readings
Psalm 104. 1, 24-35. – A paraphrase
O God, I bless you!
May my soul be my blessing and thanks,
for you are infinitely good;
you are the perfect heart of all things.
Your working unfolds richly with grace
and layers upon layers of your poetry.
Earth abounds with your presence—
all these living things, your creatures!
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
teeming with innumerable beings,
small and great in the hidden waters.
Beneath our confident ships,
deeper than our understanding,
swims a great secret creature whom you made,
at home in the depths.
Your creatures live in faith,
looking to you for their sustenance
from moment to moment.
So simple, the way of life!:
you provide, and they gather.
You open your hand
and fill them with good things.
These “dumb creatures” who do not understand
cannot imagine life without you.
When you withhold their breath,
they are once again only dust.
You give of your Spirit,
and create them anew with each breath.
In each breath of every creature
you make a new Creation altogether.
This glory is eternal!
God, may it give you joy,
you whose mere look trembles the earth,
whose simple touch ignites mountains!
Let this awe fill me as long as I live.
Let this song be the breath of my being.
May my mindfulness delight you
as much as you delight me.
Let all that is sinful in me be consumed;
let all my evil be no more,
so that all of me is a blessing to you,
so that I may be your Alleluia!
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we confess
we want to be safe, we want to be respected,
we want to feel good about ourselves,
we want to be in control,
more than we want to be faithful.
We confess our self-centeredness,
and surrender it to your grace.
Forgive us, open our hearts to your gift,
and strengthen us to follow Christ
in humble service.
Response / Creed / Affirmation
1.
We love a God who reigns over us not with force and manipulation but with the power of love, to lift us up and set us free.
We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed, who shared the power of healing and forgiveness. He was crucified by the powers of domination, but he was raised by the power of love.
We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to serve humbly, to bless and not to threaten, to create and not destroy. By that Spirit we seek to serve, to forgive, to heal, and to lift up those who are oppressed. By that Spirit alone, and not by any power of this world, we receive life that is eternal and joy that sustains us always. Alleluia!
2.
We trust you and give our lives to you, God: Creator of all things and ruler of the universe, yet humbly serving, coming among us in Christ.
We trust you and give our lives to you, Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s self-giving love. In your teaching and healing, in your reaching out to the outcast and rejected, you took the lowest place of service. Though divine you did not cling to that, but emptied yourself and came among us as a human, subservient even to death, even the shameful death of the cross. In such love we proclaim that you are our savior, our Lord and our model.
We trust you and give our lives to you Holy Spirit of God, for you are the spirit of loving self-giving, who empowers us to serve, to forgive, to count all others as worthy of our love. By your grace we seek the lowest place of service, justice and hope, trusting in the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, given to us in the name of Christ. Our great and humble God, we give ourselves to you. Amen.
1.
We love a God who reigns over us not with force and manipulation but with the power of love, to lift us up and set us free.
We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed, who shared the power of healing and forgiveness. He was crucified by the powers of domination, but he was raised by the power of love.
We live by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to serve humbly, to bless and not to threaten, to create and not destroy. By that Spirit we seek to serve, to forgive, to heal, and to lift up those who are oppressed. By that Spirit alone, and not by any power of this world, we receive life that is eternal and joy that sustains us always. Alleluia!
2.
We trust you and give our lives to you, God: Creator of all things and ruler of the universe, yet humbly serving, coming among us in Christ.
We trust you and give our lives to you, Jesus, the Christ of God, the embodiment of God’s self-giving love. In your teaching and healing, in your reaching out to the outcast and rejected, you took the lowest place of service. Though divine you did not cling to that, but emptied yourself and came among us as a human, subservient even to death, even the shameful death of the cross. In such love we proclaim that you are our savior, our Lord and our model.
We trust you and give our lives to you Holy Spirit of God, for you are the spirit of loving self-giving, who empowers us to serve, to forgive, to count all others as worthy of our love. By your grace we seek the lowest place of service, justice and hope, trusting in the mystery of resurrection and the gift of eternal life, given to us in the name of Christ. Our great and humble God, we give ourselves to you. Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer
[After the introduction, the body of the prayer may be read responsively with the presiding leader(s) and congregation, or by the leader(s) alone.]
God is with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God our praise.
Holy One, we thank you, for though you are the Creator of the universe
and ruler of all that is, you humbly serve us.
All of life is your loving self-giving: in the gifts of Creation,
in the community of all who have sustained us,in your gentle forgiveness.
In this holy meal you enter into the fruits of the ground,the gifts of the earth,
taking your place in this cup and bread.
You come to us humble, in the form of our neighbors,
both those who care for us and those in need.
Here we are gathered, all of us, made one in the mystery of your self-giving.
Therefore with all Creation we sing your praise.
[Sanctus, spoken or sung:]
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.
Hosanna in the highest.
[or alternate version]
Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Christ,
who poured himself out for us.
In healing and teaching and feeding the hungry,
in embracing lepers and defending the ostracized
he gave of himself to others in humble service.
He did not claim status or seek victory,
but sought the lowest place of service.
From a place of vulnerability he loved deeply,
embodying the power of powerlessness.
Though divine, Christ, in radical self-emptying,
came among us as a human, subservient to death,
even death on a cross.
But you raised him from the dead,
and we acclaim his as our savior, our Chief and our model.
(The Blessing and Covenant) *
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Therefore, remembering these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
[Memorial Acclamation, spoken or sung:]
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
—or—
Dying, Christ destroyed our death.
Rising, Christ restores our life. Christ will come again in glory.
[or alternative]
Pour out your Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
hat they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Pour out your Spirit on us,
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
Trusting in your grace in the mystery of the power of powerlessness,
we seek to serve, and to lift up others.
As you humbly love us here, fill us with your love,
that we may count all as worthy of our love,
for the sake of the wholeness of the world, in the name of Christ.
[Spoken or sung]
Amen.
____________
* The Blessing and Covenant
[I usually don’t print the words. I want people to be looking at the bread, not their bulletins.]
On the night in which he gave himself for us
Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples,saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
blessed it with thanks and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink of this, all of you. This is my blood,
poured out for you and for many, in a new Covenant,
which is the forgiveness of sin.”
As long as we break this bread and share this cup
we remember his death and resurrection, until he comes again.
Prayer of Dedication / Sending / after Communion
[Adapt as needed.]
Gracious God, we thank you for
the mystery that you give yourself to us /
this mystery in which you have given yourself to us.
You have poured your self out in self-giving in your Word, in this meal, in this community, and in your presence with and among us. Now send us, strengthened by your love, humility and courage, to serve and to honor others, knowing we will find you in the lowest places, loving, healing, serving, and giving life. Amen.
Suggested Songs
(Click on titles to view songs on the Music page.)
At Your Feet
Jesus, at your feet I bow.
I am yours completely now.
By your mercy show me how
to be loving.
Jesus, Master, you who save,
you have served me as a slave.
This, the perfect gift you gave:
to be loving.
In each hurting one I meet
it is you, O Christ, I greet.
Make my faithfulness complete,
to be loving.
God, I Surrender
God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
All my desires I give to you.
Take them from me and make me new.
God, I surrender myself to you,
all that I have and all I do.
Trusting you wholly I follow you
Take my life and make me new.
I Am Listening
Speak, for I am listening.
My heart is open.
Speak, for I am listening,
open to your word.