PLEASE NOTE:
CHURCH SERVICES RESUMED IN THE SANCTUARY.
MASKS ARE REQUIRED AND SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES APPLIES
It's a beautiful spring day this way. Hope the same is true for wherever you are. One thing is sure, God is with you, too. Be blessed by God and worship with us.
Third Sunday after Pentecost
A Service of the Word
June 13, 2021 ª 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: It is good to give thanks to God!
Come to make music to our Creator.
Many: God knows our troubles and remembers our need.
Our petitions are answered, and our hearts’ desires fulfilled.
One: Declare God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.
Seek God’s help in the sanctuary.
Many: We know that God will help the anointed ones.
Our pride is in God alone.
One: Listen to the voice of God, speaking to us again.
How great is our God, our rock and defender!
ALL: God will respond when we call.
We will bear fruit for God as long as life endures.
OPENING HYMN: Come, O Fount of Every Blessing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - A cappella-
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
Good and Gracious God, we open our hearts to your beauty and blessing again this morning. We're grateful for the sun that shines, for the rain that waters the earth, for the days that sprout new life. We give you thanks for the people of our hearts and for the gift of diversity in our society of many colors and many shades of being.
We turn to you, God of all worlds, knowing we can depend on you when earthly rulers stumble and fall. When relationships are strained and broken, when we are faced with difficult challenges, when there is trouble is our midst, we know we can rely on your blessings. It is good to sing your praises, even when we do not feel like singing. It is good to declare your faithfulness when we have been unfaithful. It is good to give thanks, for when we do, we are reminded of the multitude of blessings we so often take for granted. Lead us in this time of worship and teach us, O God. It is in Jesus Name we gather, and we pray. Amen.
CHILDREN'S TIME: The Mustard Seed
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS AND CONCERNS
A TIME OF PRAYER:
Loving God, whose works are greater than our wildest imagination and most sophisticated study, plant the seed of your Word among us today, and let each of us welcome the good news you would plant within us. Inspire in us deeper thinking and more open receptiveness. May our lives be the fertile ground in which your love bursts into life to nourish all whom we meet.
We pray for our world in need. For peace, in the hearts of all, in our heart. We pray for cooperation, understanding, and deep commitment to a world without war or violence. We pray for listening ears that give time for the other to voice that which, without your love and patience, could divide us.
We pray for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and for all who feel they are but scraping by. Bless them with angels in their path who look to their needs, and bless them with the resolve they need to bring about the change in their lives which will surround them with blessing rather than with suffering.
We pray for the many who look after the welfare of others, for those in the medical profession who bring healing and care, for those in armed services who bring security and stand for peace, for those in public service who protect and safeguard our lives. Bless them, O God, look after them and strengthen them.
Bless our families and friends, we pray, and keep them safe. And gracious and loving God, do bless us each one. Help us, heal us, and guide us in your love.
We remember, Dear Lord, in spoken prayer and in silence those we know to be most in need of your healing touch. Bless those on our prayer list, and those whose concerns we hold in our hearts. We ask these things in Jesus' Name who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father who art in heaven...."
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
1 Samuel 15.34 - 16.13; Psalm 20; 2 Corinthians 5.6-10, 10-14; Mark 4.26-34
SERMON: “But the Lord Look to the Heart”
Given the odd mix of readings today, there were lots of ways to take this reflection.
As a gardener it's not easy to skip over the fact that, contrary to what scripture says, the mustard seed is not the smallest of seeds and that it really doesn't ever grow into "the greatest of all shrubs" so that birds can nest in its branches. Although a small acorn would likely have make for a more accurate metaphor, the lesson isn't about the size of the seed or the bush. As many of us learned even in our Sunday School days, the lesson is about the kin-dom of God, and of how the small seeds of kindness and compassion, of Jesus' love and forgiveness can blossom into an oak of righteousness and peace. It's a good lesson, but I'll only brush on that.
Paul's words that we walk by faith and not by sight are ripe too, with good lessons for us, especially as he applies them to the way we are to regard others with the newness of vision in Christ. I will return to that teaching, as it certainly is good for us in our time, but that's not quite where I'm going.
And there is the odd lesson of Saul who lost the throne seemingly because he showed mercy and generosity. You see, Saul's orders from God were to utterly destroy the Amalekites, including all their possessions. But Saul disobeyed: he spared their king which certainly seems to us as a compassionate act (and so good in God's eyes, we would thing) and Saul allowed his soldiers to keep the best of their livestock which also seems like a good and sound move, based in generosity and sound judgment. Yet that's not what God had in mind. But that's not the lesson I'm taking hold of. And the larger lesson, of anointing young David, I'm pretty much skipping all together.
Like Samuel's review of Jesse's sons, I'm opting for the little jewel hidden among the others. It's found in that small half verse of 1 Samuel 16.7: “The LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
"But the Lord looks on the heart" is the smallest of the seeds here. Okay, so like the mustard seed, it might not be the smallest, but it is small. And upon good consideration, it certainly can grow into a nest-worthy tree. At first brush, "but the Lord looks on the heart" could be received as good news for the one who's not liking the way she looks in the mirror. The extra lines, the graying hair, the odd collection of fatty deposits. And then frets about outward appearance and thinks diet, hair dye, make-up, but before doing all that, simply takes comfort in "the Lord looks on the heart." And with a big breath and a sigh, walks away. But the lesson is not about how we perceive ourselves, but about how we are called to perceive and receive others.
We do well to teach our children that "You can't judge a book by its cover," but we all still do it. We know what a Dr. Seuss book looks like, what a romance novel looks like, or a dictionary, for that matter. It doesn't take us long to size them up. Of course, the saying isn't about books per se, but about people. We know the respectable look and the not, the look of a wealthy, well-classed person, and the not. We may even think we know the look of the trustworthy one and the not.
We profile others. We make judgments, sometimes conscience ones, sometimes more subtle ones. We take a read on others based on what we see, and that read is biased by our experience, our inexperience, and our prejudices. It would be nice to think that we're above all that, beyond all that, better than all that, but I'm not so sure. The regular wave of news stories about hate crimes, attacks and mistreatment of others, of people of color, of those of Asian descent, or Muslims, Jews, or gays or lesbians, all speak of the fact that many have yet to learn that "you can't judge a book by its cover."
The lesson seems so basic, that one would think it needn't be taught any more. I'd love to think that. After all, we have had a non-white President of our nation, and people of a variety of tints of being and orientation serve in Congress and in government at large. Yet apparently there are still many pockets of prejudice that still fester and grow like a bad seed in good soil. We still, apparently, have work to do.
I do take comfort in the fact that we've done well here, here in Riverhead, here in our church. Our Riverhead is a blended society, and it's not uncommon for neighbors and blocks to be wonderfully diverse. In spite of what it looks like here in our sanctuary on any given Sunday, I know that many of us have blended families, white, black, Latino, Asian, gay and straight. Yet the struggle is not over. We have the responsibility to continue to teach and to model a truly open and affirming environment for all. We have the responsibility to uncover and lift up the lesson buried in the small half verse, "but the Lord looks on the heart" and to add to it, "and so must we."
As our nation celebrates Pride Sunday, as our nation continues to confront and suffer through racism and other -isms that divide and separate us, we do well to return to the basic lesson of focusing not on outward appearances but on the heart. We do well to remain mindful of our hidden pockets and not so hidden pockets of -isms and do what we can to educate ourselves and others for the sake of a better, more holy society for all. Everything old has yet to pass away, but with our help the old can and will be replaced by the new vision of a new creation where all can live as one.
HYMN: Be Now My Vision BE THOU MY VISION YouTube
BENEDICTION:
May the Lord our God bless you with a heart that grows ever bigger with love. May God bless you with renewed awareness of God's graces. And may God bless you with compassion and peace to be shared by all. Be blessed by God and go in peace. Amen and amen.
