The Celebration of the Gospel
July 14, 2019 — Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
But a Samaritan while traveling came near him;
and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
—Luke 10.33
________ We Gather as the Body of Christ______
GREETING
PRELUDE – Open My Eyes – Tune: SCOTT, arr: Bob Burroughs
[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: Holy One, you provide for us in ways we never know.
All: Alleluia! We praise you!
Loving Christ, you heal us, accompany us and set us on our feet when we have fallen.
Alleluia! We thank you!
Holy Spirit, you empower us with gratitude and compassion, with humility and courage.
Alleluia! Shape us by your grace, that we may bear your love into this world.
* SONG – God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale – Blue hymnal # 122
___________ We Attend to the Word________
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor: The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we open ourselves in honesty to God.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see what is in us that is loving, and what is not loving.
God, we recall when we have been in harmony with you, or with life, and we give thanks. [silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, and we seek your grace. [silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.
SILENT PRAYER … THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE – In the Lord I’ll be Ever Thankful – Black hymnal #2195
PRAYER
God, in a world driven by fear and greed, you set a plumb line in the midst of your people by which you determine justice and discern what is good. Speak your Word to us, that though the world resist and our hearts grow faint we may see clearly, act justly, and live faithfully by your grace. Amen.
HEBREW BIBLE – Amos 7.7-17
[The prophet envisions God’s Word like a plumb line, a builder’s weight on a string, showing a perfect vertical: God wants justice to be clear. Amos announces doom for Israel because they oppress the poor, but the king and his priest don’t want to hear it. Amos preaches just the same.]
This is what the Sovereign God showed me: God was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, holding a plumb line. And God said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then God said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said, “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’ ” And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the national temple.”
Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Holy One took me from following the flock, and God said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ “Now therefore hear the word of the Sovereign God. You say, “Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore thus says God: “Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’ ”
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* PSALTER – Psalm 82
[Like many of the Psalms and words of the prophets, a cry for justice for the poor and oppressed.]
Sung response: Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.
God presides over the divine council;
in the midst of the “gods” Yahweh holds judgment:
“How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the corrupt?
Defend the lowly and the vulnerable;
maintain the right of the oppressed and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the poor;
deliver them from the violence of the mighty.”
We have neither knowledge nor understanding,
we walk around in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I say to the powerful, “You are gods, godlike offspring, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
and fall like any ruler.”
Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
for all the nations belong to you!
Response…
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GOSPEL – Luke 10.25-37
[Someone questions Jesus about the way to salvation. Reflecting on the commandment to love our neighbor, he asks “Who is my neighbor?” In response Jesus tells the story of a merciful Samaritan. The hero of the story turns out to be a hated enemy, not “one of us.” Our neighbor— even our savior— is the very one we want to distance ourselves from.]
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Holy One your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
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SERMON – Who is my neighbor?
SONG – Angels in Disguise – Steve G-H
For the angels in all disguises who have loved us in so many ways,
we have come to expect your surprises; we have come to sing your praise.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive.
We have asked for your Word’s revealing without listening to all that you say,
and the ones who would bring us your healing we have pridefully turned away.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive
When we dare to be unprotected from a foe of Samaritan cast
when we welcome the ones we rejected, then we meet you, God, at last.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive.
Have we enemies? Love them dearly, for the pones we reject or despise
are the ones we will some day see clearly as your angels in disguise.
God, you have loved us more than we believed.
Help us to be humble; help us to receive.
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.
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – Träumerei – Robert Schumann, arr: Lee Evans
* OFFERING PRAYER – Colossians 1.1-14
Since the day we heard of your love, we have not ceased praying for you,
that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will,
in deep spiritual wisdom and understanding.
May we lead lives worthy of Christ,
to God’s great delight, as we bear fruit in every good work
and as we grow in the knowledge of God.
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from God’s glorious power,
and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience,
while joyfully giving thanks to the Holy One,
who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
God has rescued us from the power of darkness
and transferred us into the Realm of the Beloved,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Amen and alleluia!
* OFFERING SONG – Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow – Blue hymnal #94
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – Sent Forth by God’s Blessing – Blue hymnal #664
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE We stand and sing to our 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 – Voluntary In F – George Blake