For
Sunday, November 19, 2017, Sixth Sunday in the Season of Creation, Readings: Deuteronomy 26:1a, 2, 4, 8-11;
Psalm 116:10-17, Bishop John E. Hines*, Matthew 7:7-11
Psalm 116:10-17, Bishop John E. Hines*, Matthew 7:7-11
An explanation of the Season of Creation can be found here:
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground...and you shall put it in a basket...You shall...bow down before the Lord your God... Then you...shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
[Deuteronomy 26:1a, 2a, 10b, 11b]
How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me? ...I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people...I Lord I am your servant... [Psalm 116:10, 12, 14a]
I hope for a witnessing community of unquestioned integrity...For the essential question is not, 'How shall the...Church grow?' but rather, 'How can the...Church be faithful?' For that is the heritage...worth passing on to our children and grandchildren. [Presiding Bishop John E. Hines*]
Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8]
We use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used will follow the prayers.
Week 6's Theme is: Our Role as Stewards
[Deuteronomy 26:1a, 2a, 10b, 11b]
How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me? ...I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people...I Lord I am your servant... [Psalm 116:10, 12, 14a]
I hope for a witnessing community of unquestioned integrity...For the essential question is not, 'How shall the...Church grow?' but rather, 'How can the...Church be faithful?' For that is the heritage...worth passing on to our children and grandchildren. [Presiding Bishop John E. Hines*]
Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8]
It's TRUE, my grandmother always said so but I didn't believe it until I learned from experience: The days may be long, but the years are short. Time passes so swiftly now that we hardly have time to catch our breath before it's suddenly summer, then autumn, then Christmas, then another year going and coming. So much that we planned to accomplish in a given time period lies unfinished or even un-started. And some of us, younger and older, have confronted our own mortality this year, or that of those we love, in many and unexpected ways. It is time to take a moment and reflect upon what we have, and what we do, and how we connect them to our claim to faith in God.
As mentioned in recent weeks, the overarching theme of this year's Season of Creation is Environmental Justice. I think we sometimes only think of environment as grass, oceans, water and air quality and the like. In reality all of Creation is our environment. A dictionary definition of environment is: 1 - the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu; 2 - Ecology: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time; and 3 - the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population. [dictionary.com] Therefore everything we do, or do not do, impacts the entire complex of Creation/Environment, justly or unjustly. It seems to follow then, that all we do out of true faith in God is environmental justice in action.
When strengthened and multiplied in a welcoming and spiritually-centered church community, faith with many hands will accomplish more together than separately. We are each called to unite in fostering the mission and ministry of Christ as we are able. Let us give to God by giving to our church in ways that extend the work of God today, tomorrow, and as the foundation and inspiration for those who come later. Let us look at each other and see ourselves as a community of faith and remember, even when we are apart from one another, we are still a part of the whole Body of Christ. Let us be a witnessing community of unquestioned integrity* that keeps from worrying over temporal issues and gives generously in thanksgiving for the continuing presence of God now and for the future. Let us celebrate all the bounty of the Lord and ask for guidance to bring justice to every part of God's Creation, search for the wisdom to keep us on track, and knock on God's holy door, humble of heart, as Faithful Stewards of all facets of Creation.
As mentioned in recent weeks, the overarching theme of this year's Season of Creation is Environmental Justice. I think we sometimes only think of environment as grass, oceans, water and air quality and the like. In reality all of Creation is our environment. A dictionary definition of environment is: 1 - the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu; 2 - Ecology: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time; and 3 - the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population. [dictionary.com] Therefore everything we do, or do not do, impacts the entire complex of Creation/Environment, justly or unjustly. It seems to follow then, that all we do out of true faith in God is environmental justice in action.
When strengthened and multiplied in a welcoming and spiritually-centered church community, faith with many hands will accomplish more together than separately. We are each called to unite in fostering the mission and ministry of Christ as we are able. Let us give to God by giving to our church in ways that extend the work of God today, tomorrow, and as the foundation and inspiration for those who come later. Let us look at each other and see ourselves as a community of faith and remember, even when we are apart from one another, we are still a part of the whole Body of Christ. Let us be a witnessing community of unquestioned integrity* that keeps from worrying over temporal issues and gives generously in thanksgiving for the continuing presence of God now and for the future. Let us celebrate all the bounty of the Lord and ask for guidance to bring justice to every part of God's Creation, search for the wisdom to keep us on track, and knock on God's holy door, humble of heart, as Faithful Stewards of all facets of Creation.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE,
PRAY
Leader: ~ Loving, Generous Creator, today we celebrate
together, in wonder and with praise, the full bounty of life You have given to each of us. Let us offer in thanksgiving, the useful skills we have or are willing
to learn, our time in prayer and meaningful service each and every day, and a
conscious, regular, and intentional gift of funds or other resources as we are
able, to expand the mission and ministry of Christ’s Community of Faith.
O
Lord our God
RESPONSE: We pledge to be Your faithful stewards
~
Loving, Generous Creator,
we strive to be faithful to Your call and live unstained by the externals of
this world. We must also stand up to require the unequivocal integrity of the
political leaders of this Planet, this Country, and this Community, and expect
them to fulfill their duty to prosper Your Creation for everyone. We pray especially for:
O
Lord our God
We pledge to be Your faithful stewards
~ Loving, Generous Creator, renew the strength and
hope of those who are suffering in body, mind, or spirit, and give rest to all
who minister to their needs. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
O
Lord our God
We pledge to be Your faithful stewards
~
Loving, Generous Creator,
it soothes
our hearts to know
that those who have left us here, are joyously welcomed into the glory of Your
heaven, exulting in new life for all eternity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord our God
We pledge to be Your faithful stewards
~
Loving, Generous Creator, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
O
Lord our God
We pledge to be Your faithful stewards
~
Loving, Generous Creator,
for the faithful Shepherds of Your Church, who keep us on a spiritual track in daily life, and
guide us in living the mission of Christ on earth, we give You great and
unending thanks. We
pray especially for:
O
Lord our God
We pledge to be Your faithful stewards
The
Celebrant adds: O God Most High, awaken our souls to know
that to search for Your presence in
our every waking moment, is to knock on the holy door of eternity, opened to us by Your love. Let us demonstrate our faithfulness by paying forward, to continue
the mission of Christ within this community of faith, that will spread beyond
and into the whole of Creation. We ask
through the love of Jesus, our Redeemer Christ, and for the Wisdom of the Holy
Spirit, who together with You are One God, now and forever. AMEN.
*Reading #2: A READING FROM PRESIDING BISHOP JOHN E. HINES: What I hope for has little to do with growth
in communicant strength, though I would rejoice at a multitude of conversions
possessing integrity. This has little to do with bigger budgets, nothing to do
with maintaining a respected place with the carriage-trade clientele of our
society. I hope for a witnessing community of unquestioned integrity. It may -
in the future, this Church of ours - be an even smaller Church because of its
witness; less powerful, and less influential - as a secular society gauges power
and influence. For the essential question is not, “How shall the Episcopal
Church grow?” - but rather, “How can the Episcopal Church be faithful?” For
that is the heritage worth sacrificing for - worth passing on to our children
and grandchildren. God forbid that they should come to a time and place
unashamed of the Gospel, but ashamed of us.
~ Kenneth
Kesselus, John E. Hines, from Farewell
Sermon in Granite on Fire, Episcopal Theological Seminary of the
Southwest, Austin, 1995.
Bishop Hines served as the 22nd Presiding
Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1965-1973
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