Third Sunday after Pentecost
Service of the Word
June 13, 2021
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GATHERING
The mustard seed becomes a great shrub that shelters the birds, recalling ancient images of the tree of life. We’d expect a cedar or a sequoia, but Jesus finds the power of God better imaged in a tiny, no-account seed. It’s not the way we expect divine activity to look. Yet the tree of life is here, in the cross around which we gather, the tree into which we are grafted through baptism, the true vine that nourishes us with its fruit in the cup we share. It may not appear all that impressive, but while nobody’s looking it grows with a power beyond our understanding.
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WELCOME
"You say goodbye and I say hello", these words from one of my favorite Beatles songs have recently been rattling around my head...and there's enough empty space to make a nice echo! Just because I don't read notes or play an instrument and cannot sing a lick doesn't mean I don't love music; even though "Hello, Goodbye" barely cracks the top hundred Beatles' hits, it speaks to me today. Written just a couple years after Nativity's charter, Paul is singing to one who isn't on the same page with him; today's theme is not adversarial, rather a sequence of healthy transition in the midst of life's changes.
This is an adios to springtime, next Sunday we say hola to summer. Today we bid a fond au revoir to worship on the lawn, next week we greet each other with a bonjour in our sanctuary for the first time in the last 66 Sundays. Two weeks from this day, you'll be saying goodbye to PB, in three a hello to Pastor Mitch Watney. And I'll also be bidding auf wiedersehen to Nativity and hallo to retirement July 1.
It could be said that our faith and life journey is a long (hopefully) series of 'hello's' and 'goodbyes'...what counts is not those bookends, rather what resides in between. And in eternal terms, we might note that if you are reading this today, that means there are more chapters for us both to be written in the days and months yet to come. You woke up this day, that is God's way of saying 'Good Morning' to us; while goodbyes might be a bittersweet, rest assured that will never be a Word of the Lord you'll ever hear!
So Nativity welcomes you to our gathering here and now in faith, in hope, in fervent love for God and deep regard for each other, whoever and wherever we might be. And we will disperse at sending. We pray that our time in between would serve the Word and the world around and within each of us.
I would be remiss if I did not observe a 'dedication' of Nativity's 'great outdoors', our focal point for this assembly, where we have shared word and sacrament from last 4th of July, and watched the leaves fall...and now we are leaving. We had a truly memorable Christmas Eve, candlelight gave way to headlights. We celebrated Easter and Pentecost here, a full cycle of our church year. Usually we dedicate at the beginning, prior to use; today we'll do it at the end. This day we dedicate our grounds as every bit as meaningful and useful to us as the table, windows, pews, and organ that are awaiting our return. At the end of our run, we look back and dedicate this time, this circumstance, indeed ourselves...we were carried in part by God's creation and creative purpose on the lawn or through the airwaves. Thank God, and all the folks who had a hand in it...love was, and still is in the air!
We now begin another run: two dozen + Sundays of post-Pentecost praying, singing, learning, caring, reaching out. Let's get to it...before you know it, it'll be Nativity time again! PB
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Confession and Forgiveness
All may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.
Blessed be the holy Trinity,☩ one God,
the God of manna,
the God of miracles,
the God of mercy.
Amen.
Drawn to Christ and seeking God’s abundance,
let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God, our provider,
help us.
It is hard to believe there is enough to share.
We question your ways when they differ from the ways
of the world in which we live.
We turn to our own understanding
rather than trusting in you.
We take offense at your teachings and your ways.
Turn us again to you.
Where else can we turn?
Share with us the words of eternal life
and feed us for life in the world.
Amen.
Beloved people of God:
in Jesus, the manna from heaven,
you are fed and nourished.
By Jesus, the worker of miracles,
there is always more than enough.
Through Jesus, ☩ the bread of life,
you are shown God’s mercy:
you are forgiven and loved into abundant life.
Amen.
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GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Amen
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PRAYER OF THE DAY
O God, you are the tree of life, offering shelter to all the world. Graft us into yourself and nurture our growth, that we may bear your truth and love to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
WORD
First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24
Tree imagery is used in a messianic prophecy to tell how the Lord will choose someone from Judah’s royal family (the cedar tree) to reign over all creation. This tree will be planted on Mount Zion, the location of the holy temple.
22Thus says the Lord God:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
23On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
24All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the Lord have spoken;
I will accomplish it.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
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Psalm: Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
The righteous shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon. (Ps. 92:12)
1It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, O Most High;
2to herald your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night;
3on the psaltery, and on the lyre,
and to the melody of the harp.
4For you have made me glad by your acts, O Lord;
and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.
12The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.
13Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God;
14they shall still bear fruit in old age;
they shall be green and succulent;
15that they may show how upright the Lord is,
my rock, in whom there is no injustice.
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17
Paul encourages believers to live by faith and not by sight. We do not consider Jesus from a human perspective but through the eyes of faith, believing he died for all and was raised. All who are in Christ are now in God’s new creation.
6So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
[11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. 12We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ] 14For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia. Welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. Alleluia. (James 1:21)
The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
Jesus frequently uses parables to teach ordinary people as they are able to hear and understand. Images of sowing and growing show the vitality of God’s kingdom.
26[Jesus] said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
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SERMON
In the name the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I've found that when changes are coming and decisions need to made, it is best to establish flexible and firm dates to implement them; you cannot etch them in stone, but writing them in chalk won't work either. So far for Nativity, leadership's plan for the next month of Sundays is holding: you'll welcome your new Pastor Mitch; before that we shall be 'farewelling'. There is also another transition next Sunday, we are returning to our sanctuary, which means today we are saying 'gracias & adios' to our lawn and lot, where have worshipped on 50+ occasions this past pandemic.
You didn't arrive here to hear me recite Nativity's schedule, allow me to explain. On our last Sunday outdoors I wanted to be intentional about our regard for the grace that landed us here and honor the setting we've been blessed with for worship...our own canopied cathedral. Once this date had been determined, I decided to check the readings for today; direct divine intervention finds 3 of the texts using as a lesson the image of...trees! So I chose all the hymns that contained 'tree' or 'forest' and decided to declare a First Article Festival: "I believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth"...especially the woodlands!
I almost chose the First, the word of the Lord God from Ezekiel casting us in the part of the "noble cedar"; I could speak for a long time to both Nativity's nobility and yours. Or Jesus' parable in the Gospel concerning seeds sown, even if they are tiny to start, then we "grow up" and become a center of both light and shade. I find interesting that both Zeke and Mark make growth a certainty...there are no 'ifs or buts or maybes." And both make the object of the exercise a locale for nesting: shelter from the storm, safety, sturdiness, solace for birthing hope. I believe Nativity knows a thing or two about that!
Instead, the underutilized Psalm caught my eye: Those who are planted in the (field of God's kingdom) shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be green and succulent..." We aren't cedars or mustard shrubs (unless you really like mustard)...we are created and redeemed to be bearers of fruit.
If I was to guess the demographics of this readership, I'm pretty sure it would skew old. David's words of "still' doing it, no matter time and tide, hold true today; the virtue is not in the plants...it's all about the richest soil of salvation in which we are planted.
On occasion this year past, we might have felt green with envy or sick to our stomach at all the malarkey; and when we're following Jesus at times it's not easy being green. After all we've been through, we are anything but inexperienced! Yet green is our hue not just for half a year...it's our daily color of choice; it means we are healthy, growing, and producing the all natural and sweet fruits of faith and love. We are succulents, sometimes prickly as cactus and often soothing as aloe. We retain water...the moisture of grace, the water of baptism, the drink handed to a stranger, a cascade of hope. We are tastiest when open and offered fresh, we are juicy with promise, fleshy and flourishing as the Body of Christ.
Having touched 3 out of the 4 readings, I don't want to leave St. Paul out...he would be the kind to remember that when we meet in heaven! He reminds us that "the love of Christ urges us on; convinced that he died for all". The love of The Father sent The Son to another tree...we know it as the cross. That love is saturated with urgency; God cannot compel by force our love nor constrain our freedom of choice. Rather, 2 urgent requests: "Come, Follow Me" and "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel." And when Jesus joins us in our comings and goings, being green is better than anything else ever!
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your heart and mind in + Christ Jesus our Lord.
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HYMN OF THE DAY ELW # 737 |
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APOSTLES' CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
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PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Let us come before the triune God in prayer.
A brief silence.
Holy God, you plant the seeds of faith in every nation. Enliven your church, so that the good news of your grace may root and grow throughout the world. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Creator, even the trees, shrubs, and flowers delight in your goodness. From the depths of the soil to the highest mountain, bring forth new plants. Restore growth to places suffering drought. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Judge of nations, we pray for our leaders and those in power. Grant them the ability to regard those under their charge with humility, dedicating their lives in service to others. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Divine comforter, you show compassion to those in need and provide relief to those who call on you. Bless all who suffer, especially people trapped in cycles of poverty and homelessness. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Sovereign God, this house of worship belongs to you. We give thanks and pray for our church musician(s) (especially). We dedicate to you the joyful noise that comes from this place; the cries of children, the melody of voice and instruments, and the songs from our hearts. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Here other intercessions may be offered.
God of Creation, we give you thanks for the many outdoor ministries across the nation that provide us with a sacred space in God's creation (especially Caroline Furnace, Hungry Mother, and Mar-Lu-Ridge). We pray for a safe, healthy, and fun summer for all campers, staff, and volunteers. May your hand guide their work in all they do, and may their ministry continue to share love, build community, and change lives. Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Eternal God, we give thanks for our ancestors in the faith who are now at home with you (especially). We look forward to that day when we are reunited in your new creation. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We lift our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your abiding grace.
Amen.
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PEACE
Call or text someone with whom you may ordinarily sit on Sundays, or a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker. Share the Peace of the Lord with them.
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OFFERING
Offer at this time to care for someone that may need you this week,,,and make a commitment to support Nativity in any way you are able.
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PRESENTATION OF GIFTS ELW 838
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PRAYER
Jesus, Bread of life,
you have set this table with your very self,
and called us to the feast of plenty.
Gather what has been sown among us,
and strengthen us in this meal.
Make us to be what we receive here,
your body for the life of the world.
Amen.
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LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
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BLESSING
The blessing of God,
who provides for us, feeds us, and journeys with us,
☩ be upon you now and forever.
Amen.
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DISMISSAL
Go in peace. You are the body of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
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NATIVITY LUTHERAN CHURCH
1300 COLLINGWOOD RD
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22301
Brent H. Thalacker, Pastor
Cell: 571-236-4976
bthalacker@cox.net
momwendel57@gmail.com
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