September 15, 2024
Lectionary Texts
Proverbs 1.20-33 —Sophia, the Wisdom of God, calls out to us to listen.
Psalm 19 — The heavens are telling the glory of God…. God’s law is perfect, reviving the soul…. Clear me from hidden faults…. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you.
James 3.1-12 — The difficulty, and importance, of taming the tongue.
Mark 8. 27-38 — “Who do you say I am?” …”The Human One must suffer, be killed, and rise…” “Take up your cross and follow me.”
Preaching Thoughts
Proverbs 1.20-33
Sophia, the Wisdom of God, a feminine character, is an eternal companion of God, and also a self-expression of God. Not unlike how we Christians speak of the Holy spirit, or how John says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So Sophia is really God calling to us.
The image of Sophia calling out to us to listen is not dividing us into those who are “right” and “wrong.” She’s just trying to help us live. I think of watching a young girl, maybe 7 years old, who wanted to go on the bumper cars. Her dad said “let’s go,” but she insisted on going by herself, and bolted ahead. Her parents shouted some instructions to her but she wasn’t listening. When the cars started up hers just sat there. She didn’t know that she had to press the button on the floor to make it go. She sat there, fuming, the whole time. Behold the tragic perplexity of those who ignore God. Sophia is calling out to us with truth about how to live. It is to our own detriment that we don’t listen.
Psalm 19
All Creation is God’s self-expression. We say we “see God in nature,” but we seldom take ourselves seriously: that “Nature” isn’t just God’s creation, but God’s own being made real, God’s presence incarnate—the Body of Christ. Part of our deep sin as that we think of “Nature” as “out there,” when in fact we ourselves are also Nature. We are creatures—mammals, to be specific—who exist in a complex ecology, even if we’re in what must seem to wild animals to be the solitary confinement of buildings in cities. The blood flowing in our veins, the air exchanging in our lungs, our incredible microbiome—it’s all nature.
“There are no words, but their voice goes out…” Creation “speaks” to us but not in words, ideas or fodder for dualistic thinking. God communicates in Creation as a lover communicates in a kiss. Creation communicates divine presence, and the grace of the Life Force that blesses everything, moves everything, raises every living thing. Life will live. This is the grace of God. Beauty, wordless and mysterious, surrounds us. This is the grace of God. Whales accompany us, crows learn from us, trees know things and communicate with each other. This is the grace of God. The mycelium beneath the trees, the mycorrhizal network of fungi and roots and bacteria, praise God in their sacred, life-giving interweaving.
This Life Force, this unending process of grace, this is the “law” of God. God’s law isn’t a rule we’re supposed to follow; it’s The Way Things Are, like the “law” of gravity, the laws of nature. The Life Force, the persistence of grace, is the law that is perfect, reviving the soul.
“But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.” Sin isn’t just willfully breaking a rule. It’s being our of harmony with God. And that happens all the time. A person sings out of tune precisely because they can’t hear how out of tune they are. Ask any musician: you constantly have to be listening and tuning up, and following the beat. Sometimes you don’t realize you’ve hurt someone until they tell you. We industrialized humans may not have known (well, a lot of us did) how we were offending against the laws of nature until things like pollution and climate change confronted us. So we continually pray to become aware of “hidden faults.”
James
Imagine being of such kindness and integrity that you never said anything false or mean. Imagine that all that ever came out of your mouth was gentle, true and respectful. Would there be any reason not to live like that, or to aspire to? Would that be possible? So we pray to learn to tame our tongues.
Mark
Who do you say I am? — Jesus asks two radically different questions. First, “Who do people say I am?” Mark sets this in the context of their being in Caesarea Philippi, a crossroads of many religions, cults and beliefs. So we’re ready for a wide range of what folks think. Who others say Jesus is includes rumor, gossip, and speculation. It also includes doctrine and all the teachings of the church. That Jesus is “the Son of God” or a savior or anything else—even Peter’s “right answer” that Jesus is the Messiah—that’s what other people say. Jesus asks the second, very different question. “Who do you say I am?” Jesus is not asking for hearsay, or conjecture, but relationship: “Who am I to you?” Who is Jesus to you? How do you experience Jesus? What’s your relationship like? How does Jesus enter into your life, your awareness? What’s he like for you? Jesus is great enough that we experience him in many, many different ways, even seemingly contradictory. (Sometimes Jesus is a teacher and sometimes he’s just silent. Sometimes he knows it all and sometimes he shares my not knowing. Jesus laughs at my foibles—but he never laughs at me. He asks hard questions. He’s a trickster. He holds me when I’m disgusting. He believes in me when I’m a failure. He’s a mirror, and also an icon. He shows me what God is like, and also what I can be like. He carries me in his heart. He gets a kick out of me. He wants me to take all of his love, drain him dry, and spill it out into the world.) OK, that is a little tiny bit of who Jesus is to me. How about you? Preach on that.
Messiah — Jesus sternly orders them not to say he is the Messiah—for at least three reasons. For one, in that charged atmosphere of political repression, if Pilate or Herod heard it, it could get him killed. (Sure enough, he was right about that.) And also because in their context “Messiah” meant “liberating warrior,” and that wasn’t what Jesus had in mind. But they wouldn’t know that until after the cross and resurrection, so now was not the time to use that kind of language.
Petros — And maybe also Jesus wanted people to answer his question for themselves, who Jesus was for them, rather than just conform their ideas to what the disciples said about him. (Do not be conformed, but be transformed….) Even Peter’s “right” answer could be wrong. In fact in the very next moment Jesus says he’ll be crucified and rise again, Peter says “God forbid!” and Jesus says “Get out of my way, you satan.” The name Peter means “Rocky,” as in “On this rock the church is built.” But when we become attached to our “right” answers Petros becomes Petrified and we’re unable to move, unable to accept new realities, unable to be transformed. So Jesus discourages labels or titles for himself. Let people come to it on their own.
Vulnerability — Jesus pivots from Peter’s high-falutin’ label of Jesus as Messiah to Jesus’ own image of his calling: that we will suffer and die at the hands of political power. This is how Jesus sees God’s, power in the world: not through combat and domination but in vulnerability, shared suffering and profound forgiveness.
Son of man — Jesus names the one who is rejected as the “Son of Man,” the usual way he speaks of himself in the third person. It’s a loaded metaphor. It means an ordinary person— a human child. But as Jesus embodies what it means to be human, he reveals humanity at our best, so it really means “The Truly Human Person.” Jesus shows us a new way of being human, free from old bondage: so it also means “The New Human.” And on top of all that it has messianic overtones as one who will rule all people, in Daniel 7.13. And yet at root the “Son of Man” is still just an ordinary person… which means whenever Jesus talks about the Son of Man he doesn’t just mean himself; he means us also. So even as he says he’s the one who will suffer, die and rise, he seems to be including us in that story. And then, sure enough, he does: “Take up your cross and follow me.” We can’t hold beliefs about Jesus without implicating ourselves in his life ad ministry.
Take up your cross — Clearly to take up your cross doesn’t mean to have a certain belief, which means no more than wearing a cross-shaped piece of jewelry. Nor does it mean to endure an inconvenience, as in “that’s your cross to bear.” No, it means our willingness to suffer for the sake of love. It’s tragic how unclear we are about this. The cross we “take up” is a symbol of nonviolence in the face of empire, forgiveness in the face of evil, and willingness to suffer for the sake of love. To take up our cross means to submit our lives to the demands of love, whatever the cost. It means to enter into the suffering of Jesus, which means to enter into the suffering of the world. So it also means to enter into the death-and-resurrection of Jesus.
Loose your life to save it _ Jesus talks about “life” and “death” on two levels. The surface level is the life of our physical and social survival: our security, image and comfort. But there’s another level: our spiritual well-being, our connection with God. We have to let go of the things of the surface level to experience the life of the deeper level. (Paul speaks of this as living according to the spirit instead of the flesh.) So much of our culture is driven by pursuit of power, security, esteem and approval, requiring us to abandon what really makes us alive: humbly, gratefully, trustingly receiving the grace of God. To willingly forfeit the treasures of the ego seems like “death” to us, but beyond it is the mystery of life that is “eternal,” that is, given by God, absolute, and infinite. We lose our life to save it.
Gain the world, lose your life Think of the times we choose to “gain the world,” and forfeit the chance to revive our souls. Think of the many ways we pursue false life, cling to artificial substitutes, settle for cheap imitations, instead of living real life. “Real life” isn’t just “living it up,” it’s not just having a good time, it’s not just “life the way we want it.” It’s life in relationship with God. (What else do we think heaven is?) We have to lose the world, and all its flimsy attractions, to tend to our soul. What we truly are is our soul—not our possessions, our experiences, or our memories, but our being in God. There’s nothing you can give in exchange for that. There’s no way you can pay for that. You can only receive it, and receive it from God, and receive it in empty hands.
Worship Note
Consider using Psalm 19.1-6 as a call to worship, verses 7-10 as a Response to the Hebrew Bible reading, and verses 11-14 as a prayer of confession:
Call to worship:
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
All: Day to day pours forth truth,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their truth goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens God has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.
Hebrew Bible Reading Proverbs 1. 20-33
Psalm (Psalm 19.7-10)
Response: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
Response…
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 19.11-14)
Pastor: The grace of God be with you.
All: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
Your truth guides your servant;
in observing it there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Save me from insolence;
do not let it have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
… Silent prayer… The word of grace
Call to Worship
1.
Leader: Jesus, we come to you in need.
All: We reach out in brokenness, and you heal us.
We stay with you in love.
You are the fountain of life, and you give us your spirit.
We follow you in service.
In gratitude we offer ourselves in openness and anticipation,
that you will shape us by your Word and send us in your love.
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, come. Alleluia!
2.
Leader: God of life, we praise you!
All: God of all Creation, we are in wonder!
Mother of all people, Father of the poor, all humanity is your praise.
In the Spirit of Christ, who calls us, we honor you.
In the name of all who love you, we thank you.
In the company of all who all who long for life, we worship you.
Your Christ calls us to life, calls us to compassion, calls us to follow.
Alleluia! Rise in us, Spirit of Life, and transform us by your grace. Alleluia!
3.
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God!
All: The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul.
Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
We come, O Christ, to lay down our lives,
to take up our cross, and to follow you.
Lead us, Lord, to abundant life.
May the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts
be delightful to you, O giver of Life. Alleluia!
4. [Psalm 19.1-6]
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
All: Day to day pours forth truth;
night to night reveals wisdom.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
no voice is heard.
Yet their truth goes out through all the earth,
and their message to the end of the world.
In the heavens God has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and nothing is hid from its heat.
We join all creation in praising God!
We join in harmony to worship our God!
5.
Leader: Jesus, we come because you have called us.
All: We offer ourselves to you in service.
We come because you have healed us.
We offer ourselves in gratitude.
We come because yougive us your spirit, and we need it.
We offer ourselves to you in openness and anticipation.
We worship God, in the name and the Spirit of Jesus. Alleluia!
Prayer
1.
Spirit of mercy, though you are infinite, you come to us, embodied, near, and intimate. We thank you for the presence of Jesus; he is a mystery to us, and yet we love him. Open our hearts so we may behold him among us: teaching, healing, loving, setting us free. We pray in the grace and power of your Spirit. Amen.
2.
God of all life, God of new life,
let your wakening Word come to us like morning
and call us up out of our little selves
to become your people, great with love.
Call us, revive us, and make us new,
in the grace of Christ. Amen.
3.
God, you have given us the world, but it will not profit us to gain the world but lose our life. There is nothing we can give in exchange for life. Therefore we come to you, to hear your Word, to be changed into the likeness of Christ, so that we make truly take up our cross and follow Jesus. We pray in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
4.
Gracious God, you reveal yourself to us in word and silence, in clarity and mystery, in the song of our souls and the work of our hearts. Source of all compassion, you call us to receive your love, and to become your love in this world. We open our hearts to your presence. We open our spirits to your will. We open our souls to your Word. In your presence for us, may we be present for you, for the sake of the world. Amen.
5.
Gracious God, we proclaim Jesus as the Messiah but we still want to know what that means. We need to hear his word to us, to see what it is to follow him. May your Spirit move us closer to him, that we may follow him more faithfully. Amen.
6.
Gracious God, Jesus calls us to let go of our attachments and to follow him. We confess that we cling to the things of this world; forgive us, and heal our hearts, so that we may faithfully let go and follow freely. Speak your Word to us again; bless us now, that as scripture is read and your good news proclaimed, we may hear what you are saying to us today. Amen.
Listening prayer
Beloved, you ask us
to lose our life in order to save it.
Empty-handed, we turn to you.
We let go of all,
all,
to receive you.
Reading
1. Adapted from Psalm 19
All Creation expresses God’s nature.
It silently speaks a deep wisdom.
There are no words; our reason cannot grasp it.
But God’s will is in it, infinite in wisdom.
What God has in mind is a Truth that gives life.
To understand this is wisdom;
to see this clearly is deep joy.
To know God’s will is life’s deepest treasure.
But how can we know?
How can I see myself accurately?
God forgive me for all the faults
I don’t see in myself.
Grant me your wisdom, and show me your ways.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be in harmony with your grace,
O God, our rock and out redeemer.
2.
Psalm 19 – A paraphrase
Creation sings the glory of God;
the galaxies utter their prayers daily.
Each day is a word of God’s story;
each night discloses the truth.
Oh, they don’t talk with words,
their only language is silence.
But their message saturates the world,
and sings out to the edge of the universe.
God has set the sun at home in this world,
and every day it comes to marry us,
comes to dance with vigor and grace.
It comes to our world from another,
and fills the earth with its light,
no one is left out
from its divine, life-giving warmth.
God’s love is all that we need;
it restarts our hearts.
God’s wisdom is as sure as gravity;
it sustains even the unwise.
God’s ways are pure beauty,
delighting the soul.
God’s desire allures us,
enlightens our eyes.
Live in wonder and awe and you become holy;
you slip into the eternal.
The voice of God is What Is;
pay attention and you truly live.
Throw away money for this kind of wisdom,
even what you actually need.
Abandon all your loves for this Love,
your favorite things, your most precious.
God, your love portrays me better than I;
when I listen I become myself.
But who can see themselves clearly?
Save me from my hidden faults.
Cut me loose from my attachment to myself.
Set me free from my fears.
Help me live as a servant to life,
not hurting or destroying.
God, may all my thoughts and words and actions
be in harmony with your delight—
my Lifeboat, my Lover,
my Life.
Prayer of Confession
1.
God of grace, we come to you in humble honesty.
Who can detect their errors?
Clear us from hidden faults.
Forgive the sins we know and those we don’t.
Transform our desires,
so that in all we do our thoughts and words and actions
may be pleasing to you.
2.
Gracious God, Jesus calls us to let go of our attachments and to follow him. We confess that we cling to the things of this world. Forgive us, and heal our hearts, so that we may faithfully let go and follow freely. Speak your Word to us; bless us now, that we may clearly see our hidden faults, that our hearts may be changed, and that we may trust your grace. Amen.
3. [Psalm 19.11-14]
Pastor: Trusting in God’s tender mercy,
let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of mercy, your truth guides your servant;
in observing it there is great reward.
All: But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Save me from insolence;
do not let it have dominion over me.
Then we shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer.
[Silent prayer… Words of grace]
4.
Gracious God,
you are One; you are the source and the unity of all things.
But in our fear we have broken away;
Each of us has gone our own way.
Separate from you,
we have hurt ourselves and one another.
Faithful God, we, your creatures, are broken.
Receive us as we are; take us in your gentle arms.
Heal our wounds, forgive our sin,
and root us again in your grace,
that we may live in unity with you and with others.Amen.
Response / Creed / Affirmation
1. [ Col. 1.15-20, 26]
Christ is the visible appearance of the invisible God,
the beloved older sibling of all creation.
All things in heaven and on earth were created in Christ,
everything visible and invisible,
rulers and powers and systems and empires—
everything was created through Christ and for Christ.
Christ came before anything,
and in Christ everything holds together.
Christ is the head and the church is the body.
Christ is the Source of life, and has turned even death into a birth:
so Christ is first in every way.
In Christ God lives completely.
Through Christ we are reconciled to God—
all of us, and everything on earth and in heaven:
in dying on the cross, Christ brought God and humanity together.
This is the mystery, hidden for ages but now revealed:
that Christ is alive in us. Alleluia!
2.
We give our hearts to you, O God,
Creator of all that is, and all that is to come.
We follow Jesus, your Word made flesh, who loved without limits.
For his love he was crucified; but in love you raised him from the dead.
He calls us to follow him, and so we pray that you enlarge our lives
and set us free from ourselves, that with his Spirit alive in us
we may love without limit, take up our cross, and join him.
We trust your Spirit in us to give us this life of love,
to lead us in forgiveness and healing,
to enter into the mystery of eternal life
in the name and the company of Christ. Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer
[The body of the prayer may be read responsively or by the presiding 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.
We praise you, God: the heavens are telling of your glory;
all Creation is your praise.
We turn to you, God, at your invitation,
for Wisdom cries out; she has set her table,
and we come to feast.
Your ways are perfect, reviving the soul;
and so we come, that you may bring us to life again.
When we are lost you show us the way.
When we are imprisoned you set us free.
The very lives we cling to hold us back;
but we let them go; we turn to you;
we lose our lives so we may receive life from you.
And so we come to this table, the Feast of Life, with joy.
With the heavens that sing your glory,
and all Creation that praises you, we too 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 embodies your love.
He is our teacher, our healer, our companion,
our priest, our chief, our savior.
He was rejected by the powers;
he suffered and died in love;
and he was raised, calling us
to let go of the lives we cling to
and receive life from you alone.
(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,
that 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,
willing to suffer for the sake of love,
unwilling to gain the word and lose our lives,
ready to take up our cross and follow Christ
for the sake of the healing of the world,
in the power of your Spirit
and the light of your grace.
[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
1.
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 bless us that in our giving is our receiving; in our searching is our finding; in our living for you we find your purpose for us. God of love, send us out in ministry for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.
2.
… We thank you that you come among us in the person of Jesus. Give us faith to receive him, to follow him, and to serve with him in healing the world, in the light of his name, and in the power of your Spirit. Amen.
3.
… By your Spirit in us may we take up our cross and follow Jesus, willing to suffer for the sake of love. May we transcend our selves and become one with Christ, infinite in love, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.
4.
… By your grace may we take up our cross and follow Jesus into the streets and homes, into the prisons and shelters, to the hurting and also the powerful, in the name and the Spirit of Christ, for the sake of the healing of the world. Amen.
5.
…. Free us from our clinging and our fear. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, that we might follow Jesus with all our hearts, and so find life that is eternal in you. Amen.
Suggested Songs
(Click on titles to view, and hear an audio clip, on the Music page)
Be Thou My Wisdom (Tune: Be Thou My Vision)
Be thou my Wisdom and grant me your sight.
Help me to see by your love’s perfect light.
Love, be my compass, my balance, my Way:
guide from within what I choose day by day.
Grant me the wisdom to seek and to learn, to
pray for your leading and wait and discern.
Help me to listen with all of my heart,
listen for all of the Truth you impart.
Grant me your Wisdom: a heart that’s made pure,
courage to follow a love that is sure.
Led by your Spirit, listening still,
help me to know and to follow your will.
I Take Up My Cross (Original song)
[Dialogue between soloist & Congregation.]
Lyrics:
Congregational Refrain: : Letting go, I am held. I take up my cross and follow.
Solo:
1. Jesus, you call to me, and draw me into your life. (Refrain…)
2. Christ, I leave all behind, to follow you in love. “
3. I yield my life to you, for you alone are God. “
4. Loved with your costly love, I’ll suffer for the sake of love. “
5. Christ, make my one desire to be to serve you in love. “
Wisdom (Original song)
[Prov. 7.4, 3.13-18; Ps. 25.4]
Wisdom, you are my sister;
let us talk together hand in hand.
Teach me the ways of your heart;
help me to understand.