The Goal of Reconciliation - 9/6/2020

 

Call to worship:

L: The Lord bore you on eagles’ wings to enter into a covenant with you. Now, therefore, if you will obey the Lord and keep the covenant, you shall be the Lord’s own possession among all peoples.

P: We will obey the Lord’s voice and keep the covenant.

L: The Lord bore you on eagles’ wings to establish a colony of heaven on earth. Now, therefore, if you will obey the Lord and keep the covenant, you shall be the Lord’s ambassadors to all peoples. 

P: We will obey the Lord’s voice and keep the covenant.

A: All that the Lord has spoken we will do.

Opening Hymn:   He Touched Me   #367

Shackled by a heavy burden
'Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same

He touched me, oh, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me, and made me whole

Since I've met this blessed Savior
Since He's cleansed and made me whole
Oh, I will never cease to praise Him (to praise Him)
I'll shout it while eternity rolls

Oh He touched me, oh He touched me, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole

Opening Prayer:   

O Gracious One, you have promised that, wherever two or three of us are gathered in your name, you will be present. Today we have gathered here to claim that promise. Now, as we praise your name with our lips, let us feel your spirit in our hearts.

Epistle Reading:  Romans 13: 8-14

Love for One Another

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
An Urgent Appeal
¹¹ Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹² the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³ let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Hymn:  Where Cross The Crowded Ways of Life   #427

1. Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of man.

2. In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.

3. From tender childhood's helplessness,
from woman's grief, man's burdened toil,
from famished souls, from sorrow's stress,
your heart has never known recoil.

4. The cup of water given for you still
holds the freshness of your grace;
yet long these multitudes to view
the sweet compassion of your face.

5. O Master, from the mountainside
make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
among these restless throngs abide;
O tread the city's streets again.

6. Till all the world shall learn your love
and follow where your feet have trod,
till, glorious from your heaven above,
shall come the city of our God! 

Prayer of Dedication:

Gracious Lord of creation, you have made us one in our dependence on you and one another. You have so ordered existence that, through our fellowship with human beings, we discover our need for communion with you. We praise you, O God, for esteeming us so highly, endowing us so richly and trusting us so fully. We are humbled by your willingness to take such great risks for our growth into mature human beings. We bless you for having seen in us more than we see in ourselves and for having done better by us than we do for ourselves.

Stay with us, we pray. Continue to lead us, protect us, and love us.  Amen.

Gospel Reading:   Matthew 18: 15-20 

Reproving Another Who Sins

¹⁵ “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. ¹⁶ But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Sermon Title:    The Goal of Reconciliation (video link)

Years ago, I had a golden retriever named Scotch, (short for butterscotch of course). He was a good dog in every sense until he endeavored to “care for” baby rabbits that he found every spring. As gentle as he was, he would find them and think that they needed his assistance and so he would carry them up to the house. Unfortunately for the rabbits, his size was as big as his heart and he would end up slobbering the poor bunnies to death while taking care of them. I will share that Scotch did raise a few kittens without smothering them and they would follow him wherever he went on the farm. He also loved to play with the baby birds and so I did fear for their safety until I looked out my kitchen window as I did the breakfast dishes to see Scotch (all 80 pounds of him) backing up as a little, baby bird hopped towards him repeatedly.

In short (pun intended), size matters, but not always for the reasons we think. 

During this “flu season” we have experienced many changes in thought and practice and there are many of us that still aren’t sure what exactly is going on. This has led to folks being cautious about where they go and who will be there. And because of this, attendance numbers in churches across the nation have been affected, some even drastically so, all in order to preserve the life that we cherish.

As a pastor, there have been days in my ministry where I have preached to hundreds and then there have been other days where only two sat in front of me. But no matter the number listening, I continued to proclaim the Gospel because that is what I am called to do. 

In the last line of the passage from Matthew, we hear Jesus telling his disciples how important numbers are. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Note that Jesus doesn’t tell them that if they get ten thousand people into a stadium, he won’t even bother getting dressed for the occasion. He simply states that where there are two or three, two or three hundred, two or three thousand, or two or three whatever, in His name, he will be there with them. In other words, we don’t need a crowd, necessarily, but we do need listening ears and hearts.

We gather (albeit in different ways right now) together with Jesus and his mission as our focus, and that focus is reconciliation. At the beginning of this text, Jesus is talking about reconciling, not so much with God at this point, but with each other. And part of that reconciliation is accomplished through holding each other accountable as Christians. If we see someone we love making a bad decision or doing something flat-out wrong, we are to go to them and talk with them. Not with an accusatory tone, but with love and respect for them as fellow children of God. If they do not respond to that love, then Jesus explains the next steps that we are to take. That also applies if we are the ones messing up. We must listen when someone comes to us and holds us accountable.

It is in this way that we become reconciled with God and with our neighbors. And when that reconciliation has occurred, we are then in the right frame of mind and meeting with each other in Jesus’ name, ready to take on his mission here on earth of telling everyone about his mercy, grace, and love.

The words in this passage serve the purpose of reminding us that we belong to God and that we have an intentional reason for being when and where we are. It recognizes that despite, and sometimes because of, the temptation to sin that we all experience, conflict is inevitable. And these instructions to talk with each other, gather together in God’s name, and to hold each other accountable continue to emphasize the responsibility of community members to not specify penalties, but instead focus on the goal of reconciliation.

Also, take note here that it is the person who has been wronged that is to take the initiative towards reconciliation. And through listening and regaining, the wrong-doer is supposed to embrace agreement on the offense; acknowledge their fault, if you will. And they must then ask for forgiveness. 

Honestly, it doesn’t always work out this way. Sometimes the offender does not even realize that they have offended anyone. But in the end, we are all supposed to follow the Shepherd’s example. Love one another just as Jesus has loved us all.

Amen.

Closing Hymn:  Bread of the World   #624

1. Bread of the world in mercy broken,
wine of the soul in mercy shed,
by whom the words of life were spoken,
and in whose death our sins are dead:

2. Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
look on the tears by sinners shed;
and be thy feast to us the token
that by thy grace our souls are fed.

Communion Service for September 6, 2020

All are invited; the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the lowest and the least; sinners and saints together in communion. Come find your place here where there are no strangers or foreigners, only brothers and sisters in the sight of God. And we thank God for His invitation!

We give thanks because Jesus showed us the way, we give thanks because Jesus is the Way. Jesus was a gift from God for the world. He was called Immanuel, “God with us”. He came to save us from our sins. Jesus lived a life of thankfulness and gave his life as a sacrifice for many. We give thanks that he is our Savior, Christ the Lord. And we give thanks for the guidance we receive from Christ!

We eat because on the night before Jesus died, he ate with his friends.  He gave them bread and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” At that same meal he took a cup of wine and said, “Drink this cup. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” We are thankful to eat that which Christ Himself has provided!

We remember Jesus’ birth and his presence as God with us. We remember Jesus’ life and his love. We remember Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. We remember the resurrection and the promise of life. We remember that we are waiting in hope to see Jesus again. And we give thanks!

Let us pray: Most Holy God, thank you for this bread and wine, and for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Creator of hope, fill us with your Spirit today that we might have the wisdom to understand the mystery of this Table, and the depth and height and breadth and length of your love for us. Through this meal, strengthen us to be followers of Jesus, a community of peace in a broken world.

The sharing of the elements: We now consume the elements that Christ has provided us: First the bread, a symbol of His body – given for us. Second the unfermented wine, a symbol of His blood – shed for us so that our sins would be forgiven.

Closing prayer: Jesus, you truly are Immanuel “God with us”. In this and every season, may the meal we've shared together nourish us to be your body and blood in the world, your kingdom come, your will done on earth as it is in heaven. With the angels in heaven we join in singing your praises, Glory to God in the highest. Amen.