8th Sunday after Pentecost - Year A - Worship Service - 12:00 PM Service -- Pastor Naomi Carriker

We gather each Sunday at 11:00 am for worship by singing hymns, hearing readings from the bible, praying together and a celebration of Holy Communion. Communion is the spiritual bread our bodies need to live. All are invited to join us at the Lord's table to be fed by his heavenly food, There are no strangers in God’s house, and if you choose to worship with us, we would be honored by your presence.

Introduction

It is an age-old question: why is there evil in the world? In the parable of the wheat and the weeds Jesus suggests that both grow together until the harvest. With Paul, we long for the day that all creation will be set free from bondage and suffering. Having both weeds and wheat within us, we humbly place our hope in the promises of God, and from the Lord’s table we go forth to bear the fruit of justice and mercy.

Prayer of the Day

Faithful God, most merciful judge, you care for your children with firmness and compassion. By your Spirit nurture us who live in your kingdom, that we may be rooted in the way of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

First Reading: 

Isaiah 44:6-8 There are no other gods besides God: the word of the Lord does not fail to come to pass. We can trust in God, through whom Israel—and we—are redeemed.

Psalm: 86:11-17

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth. (Ps. 86:11)

Second Reading:  

Romans 8:12-25 For Paul, true spirituality means that we experience the reality of the Spirit, which enables us to pray as God’s children, keeps us in solidarity with creation, and gives us unseen hope that God will liberate us and creation from bondage to death and decay.

Gospel:  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Jesus tells a parable about the coexistence of good and evil in this world. God’s judgment will remove all evildoers and causes of sin, but not until the end of human history.

24  [Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field,

25  but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away.

26  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.

27  And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’

28  He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

29  But he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.

30  Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”  

36  Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

37  He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

38  the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,

39  and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

40  Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

41  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,

42  and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

After the Sermon, Holy Communion will be offered. Come as you are, the gift of the Table of the Lord has been prepared as Jesus has requested and now we are invited to the meal. Come to the table like Peter, with m ore enthusiasm than resolve and like James and John, disappointed and the priorities of God’s reign. Come to the table like Martha, hosting and leading with confidence like Mary, full of love and grief. Come to the table like Judas, disillusioned and rebellious and like Mary Magdalene, faithful till the end. Come to the table, because it is God who invites us and it’s God’s will that those who want to should meet God here.

Blessing for the day (Our blessing is an adaptation of a Franciscan Prayer)

May God bless us with discomfort at a Easy answers, half truths and superficial leaderships so that we may live out God’s will deep in our heartland in our world.

May god bless with anger at injustice, oppression and exploration and the environments that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger and war so that we may reach out with hands and hearts to help them, walk with them and turn their pain into hope and joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. To bring justice, peace, hope and love to all children, the poor and all others in any need.

God be your comfort, your strength;

God be your hope and support;

God be your light and your way; and the blessing of God Creator, Redeemer and Giver of Life, remain with you now and forever.