The Celebration of the Gospel

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 21, 2014
8:15 & 10:30 am

Those who gathered much had nothing over,
and those who gathered little had no shortage;
they gathered as much as each of them needed.
— Exodus 16.18

_______ We Gather as The Body of Christ_______

GREETING

PRELUDE   8:15: At The Name Of Jesus    Tune: ZUNDEL, arr: Douglas E. Wagner
10:30: Steal Away     Sandra Eithun (Bells of St. Matthew’s)

[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]

* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Light of the sun, rain of the sky: we thank you.
All:    Earth’s warm embrace, abundance of food: we rejoice in you.
Plentiful love, and deep, deep forgiveness: we praise you.
Creator of all, provider of all, forgiver and healer of all, we give thanks.
God of mercy and grace, Christ of compassion, Spirit of generosity,
we worship in gratitude and joy. Alleluia!

* SONG     8:15: Give Thanks   Black hymnal #2030
10:30: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah   Blue hymnal #127

(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME

___________ We Attend to the Word___________

(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG   Ornament Of Peace
Bernard Wayne Sanders (Heather Sugioka, Oboe)

PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of truth, in the wilderness you fed your people with manna. Feed us now with your Word: sustain us with your grace and strengthen us for the work ahead and the journey toward justice. Amen.

Today’s readings speak about the unexpected abundance of God’s gifts to us.

OLD TESTAMENT     from Exodus 16.1-21
[So that the people will not starve in the desert, God provides a miraculous, mysterious food they call manna (a word that sounds like “Whats-it?” or, actually, “Whos-it?” in Hebrew) that sustains them throughout their entire 40 years in the wilderness.]

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord,

“At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.’ ” The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. The house of Israel called it manna.

PSALTER   Psalm 107 (1-9, 33-43)
[We celebrate God’s abundant provision, as in the wilderness wanderings.]

O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good;
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those God redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and God delivered them from their distress;
God led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for God ‘s steadfast love,
for God ‘s wonderful works to humankind.
For God satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry God fills with good things.
God turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
God turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
And there God lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
God they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
By God ‘s blessing they multiply greatly,
and God does not let their cattle decrease.
When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
God pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but raises up the needy out of distress,
and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

NEW TESTAMENT    Romans 8.18-27
[Paul describes all Creation as groaning in childbirth, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s desire among us.]

All of creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  Nothing in the world can fulfill its own destiny by itself; it’s doomed to failure. This is no one’s fault, it was made that way by God, in confidence that the whole world will be set free from its slavery to decay, and brought into the glorious freedom of being God’s children.

So the whole creation has been groaning forever in pain, like the pain of childbirth. And so do we, who have the first fruits of the Spirit: we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our lives.  This hope opens the door for us. Of course hope that is seen is no hope at all. How can we hope for what we already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

GOSPEL   Matthew 20.1-16
[Jesus tells a parable: an employer hires workers in early morning, midday, afternoon, and at the end of the day and then pays them all exactly the same amount—a day’s living wage— no matter how long they worked.]

The Reign of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.’

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

SERMON

SONG   Nothing Can Trouble   Black hymnal #2054

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor:   The grace of God be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us confess our sin to God with one another.
God of love, you who provide us everything we need,
we set our whole selves before you:
our thoughts and deeds, our wants— our lives.
We release them into your mercy.
By the grace of Christ, give us faith to let go
of all of which you would have us let go.
We receive your love alone.
May that be for us enough.
SILENT PRAYER …   THE WORD OF GRACE

RESPONSE   Alleluia   Black hymnal #201

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
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. Amen.

PASSING THE PEACE

______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____

OFFERING OUR GIFTS    Andante in E Minor   Alexandre Boëly

* OFFERING SONG

We give Thee but Thine own, whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from Thee.
May we Thy bounties thus as stewards true receive,
And gladly, as Thou blessest us, to Thee our first fruits give.

PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Grateful for your steadfast generosity, trusting that you always provide, we let go of all we possess, and share according to your will, for the sake of the healing of the world, in the name of Christ. Amen.

THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

* SONG   Sent Out In Jesus’ Name   Black hymnal #2184

* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.

POSTLUDE   Gavotte    Samuel Wesley

[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candle in the corners.]