August 2nd 2020
Younger Saints: The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah
“Let all who are hungry come and eat!” from the Passover Haggadah.
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!” Isaiah 55:1
Did the Little Red Hen’s friends deserve to be fed?
Did the crowds around Jesus deserve to be fed?
Part of being faithful to God is feeding all who are hungry and giving water to all who are thirsty. Even if they don’t deserve it. In that kindness we live out God’s love on earth.
Let’s pray:
God, a lot of things aren’t fair. Help us remember you care for us even when we don’t deserve it. So we should show love to each other in the same way. We pray this in the name of Christ who cared for everyone. Amen.
Announcements
– Facebook prayer requests
– Here next week for service
– Our turn in the Towne Crier for August.
Younger Saints
Centering
inspired by Isaiah 55: 1-11. It was written by lutherjulia, and posted on RevGalBlogPals. Please say back “My Home is in the Lord” after each statement.
Homecoming
(inspired by Isaiah 55: 1-11)
Home is a place of rest.
My home is in the Lord.
Home is a sense of peace.
My home is in the Lord.
Home is a generous welcome.
My home is in the Lord.
Home is refuge from fear.
My home is in the Lord.
Home is an open table.
My home is in the Lord.
Home is an end to eternal longing.
My home is in the Lord.
God of all places and people,
you are not bound by walls,
contained by addresses,
or limited by borders and barriers.
Open our eyes to see ourselves at home in you,
wherever we are and whatever our experiences.
Teach us to recognize our neighbors
as our fellow travelers and co-habitants,
alive together in You through Jesus Christ.
Our home is in you. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
In our first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, listen for the words that are in our monthly communion liturgy. We draw much of our rich language and prayers from this very first call from God through the Prophet to us.
In our second reading Jesus has just heard his prophet, John the Baptist, is now murdered by Herod and his family. They had a feast and as a birthday gift beheaded the one Jesus was turning to as support. We catch up with a sorrowful Jesus now answering God’s call without John to lean on.
These are the words about God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
SERMON No credit, no problem!
Money is a weird concept at times. You can’t eat it. You can’t drink it. Having money itself is maybe momentary happiness because its shiny… but tin foil and a glass of water are shiny. And yet, for love of money, all kinds of evil are done; and for lack of money, all kinds of evil are done. Lives are saved or lost because of money considerations rather than, say, if the person is good, moral, ready to die, or able to be cured.
Money drives our country. We are racked right now in Ohio with our Speaker of the House and his allies being outed for accepting a $60 million bribe in return for charging you several billions a year in taxes for the very company paying their bribes. For love of money, evil was done.
Money is driving our world. For the sake of a better profit, corporations move jobs to places in China and India where they can pay less wages to workers, not pay for environmental degradation, and not have to pay for worker protections. For the love of money, evil is done.
And money considerations are what drive our COVID-19 response. It costs money to close down facilities and cuts into profits. It costs money to have fewer people on airplanes. Fewer people in stores. It costs money to have people stay home. It takes away from productivity, and thereby costs money, if parents stay home to be with their kids if their kids are not in physical school. Working families need money to pay for their, our, basic survival. So many *must* go back to work to continue to eat and live and be clothed. Some countries have resolved this by paying people to stay home; by stopping foreclosures and evictions; by providing free basics like food, water, and health care.
But we, for the love of money, have opened the Ohio Expo Center to process all the eviction court cases. For the love of money our affluent are demanding families choose between the safety of themselves and their children, or being homeless, jobless, and then… likely losing their kids from being too poor to care for them properly. For love of money, much evil is done.
Money. What even is this thing controlling our lives?
Physically its nothing. Paper and plastic and cotton and digital data. It represents, however, lives. Souls. Time spent at a task. Time spent growing something, making something, doing something. Even if that doing is simply owning the tools of production — renting out land or equipment. Owning a building. Owning a company. Or being the child of someone who passed you much money.
Today, like Jesus’ time, the wealth disparity is insanely huge. But the numbers today are larger than they were then. Wealth is more concentrated now than it was 2,000 years ago.
For the first time in history, someone is set to be a trillionaire. To own one trillion dollars. That means this person could give 999 people a billion dollars a piece and still be a billionaire. Those 999 people could EACH give 999 people a million dollars and still be a millionaire. In other words, this person is set to be a millionaire 1 million times over.
The average income for a year of full time work here in Ohio is $56,111. Let’s imagine this as ½ a grain of rice. This is how much a family has a year in Ohio. Then the one becoming a trillionaire makes 56 lbs of rice a year. THAT’S the level of wealth disparity we’re talking about.
And you will pay percentage more on your half-grain of rice than the trillionaire will on their 56lbs.
When the Prophet called all who thirst, all who have no money, the Prophet let us know God is calling all who are alive – and all with worthless money. All fighting over smaller and smaller grains of rice. God calls to those with no credit. Bad credit. God looked at the wealth of the world and said I don’t care – everyone deserves food. Deserves water. Deserved shelter. Deserves love.
Even the birds of the air and wild animals have these. Humans ought to too.
And God specifically called to those who are poor… for the poor, the ones with just a sliver of a sliver of rice, and the ones who have no wealth at all and are deep in debt… they are the most vulnerable and most in need of protection.
Disproportionally the people dying of COVID are the poor. Disproportionally the poor are black, immigrant, inner city and outer rural. Disproportionally the affluent are white, native born, and live in suburbs and medium populated rural areas. The poor are who are the essential workers — the people actually producing the things we need and services we need rather than doing the owning and possessing. The essential workers are the ones who cannot stay home. And then, these working poor are exposed and infected. The lack of health care for the under-employed, multiple-part-time-job workers means many more health conditions. And so… COVID is that much more deadly.
COVID-19 is what is letting us see the disparity in our country and in our world. It is letting us see how systemic issues — issues in our systems — are making Money our god instead of THE True God.
The True God calls all who have no money… come and buy without cash and eat your fill. All who are thirsty — all living souls — animal and human and plant — come and be sustained. Come and feast on the best food with me. Given away for free.
Our generous God is not valuing your life on how productive you are. Or on how good your credit it. Our benevolent God isn’t even asking if you are “worthy” of assistance. God doesn’t ask if you’re here “illegally.” God just gives. To all nations to all life.
God, known to us by Jesus, gives to all the crowds out of compassion. Not because they deserved it. Not because they were good people. Not because they hadn’t done a thing to get them in this mess. Not because they were fellow Israelites. Jesus doesn’t separate them. Refuses to send them away. Just sees them, has compassion, and feeds them and cures them.
This is the way we’re asked to think about money. A tool to be shared. And like any tool, especially a powerful tool like money or religion, great evil and great good can be done with it. It is power.
Herod chooses to use his power for himself. To please himself and his family. To have an exclusive banquet for the people used to finery. To use this power to kill a prophet of God.
Jesus chooses to use his power for others. To comfort others and strangers. To have an inclusive picnic for people used to being powerless. Jesus use this power to be a prophet of God.
We have power. Different amounts. Different kinds. While I’m usually shy on financial power, I have networking power. Mental power. Spiritual power. To really answer God’s call to come to the table I must be sure I am divesting this power. I am putting it into others. I am sharing.
Could we follow the same? Could we follow our rabbi? Our teacher? Our lord and God? The call is to take the power we have and offer it at the table to each other so none are wanting and none have too much. Could we set on this table offerings of money and skills; prayers and hope; power and connections; offerings of what we have so others may take as they need?
I believe we can. I believe we do. And I encourage you to continue to bless each other with your assistance. When we all assist each other, all share, we have more than enough to go around. We even have more than the group as a whole needs! There are baskets left over.
Right now we’re all hurting in different ways. Spiritually hungry. Physically hungry. Hungry for health. For human connection. For phone calls and to end this loneliness. We’re hungry for strong, inspiring, faithful leaders. We’re hungry for justice. God offers to feed us to full and bursting — but not in private kingdom parties. No, God offers us each other, led by Jesus, at a picnic open for all.
Where there’s rice for everyone. Bread for everyone. Enough we all are filled… because we are sharing with one another and God multiples our generosity hundreds of times over.
Come to the table today with what you have. With who you are. With your sins and your mercies. With your faults and blessings. With your money and your debt. With your talents and your needs. Come, offer to your brothers and sisters and God yourself — and receive more than you ever imagined.
Let us commune together in remembrance of Jesus, the Way of unity, and in celebration of the world to come that we are living into day by day.
Amen.
COMMUNION
Invitation
The Holy One asks: Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and to what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all. Listen now, my people, and come to me. Come to me and you will have life!
Where two or three gather in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
And we are gathered, St. Michael’s, physically and temporally different, but gathered spiritually at the same time in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
This table is open to all who confess Jesus as the Christ and seek to follow Christ’s way. Come to this sacred table not because you must, but because you may. Come not because you are fulfilled, but because in your emptiness you stand in need of God’s mercy and assurance. Come not to express an opinion but to seek a presence and to pray for a spirit. Come to this table, then, sisters and brothers, as you are. Partake and share. It is spread for you and me that we might again know that God has come to us, shared our common lot, and invited us to join the people of God’s new age.
Let us come now to this holy meal. Before we partake, let us confess our sins to God.
Prayer of Confession
God of all mercy, we confess before you and each other that we have been unfaithful to you. We lack love for our neighbors, we waste opportunities to do good and we look the other way when you cry out to us in the suffering of our sisters and brothers in need. We are sincerely sorry for our sins, both those we commit deliberately and those that overtake us. We ask your forgiveness and pray for strength that we may follow in your way and love all your people with that perfect love which casts out all fear; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Hear these comforting words: If you repent and believe in God’s mercy, your sins are forgiven. Trust in God’s promises and begin anew your life with God and all people in the name of Jesus Christ.
Join me in our Communion Prayer
Pastor: God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to God.
Pastor: Let us give thanks to God Most High.
People: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Pastor: Holy God, we praise and bless you for creation and the gift of life and for your abiding love which brings us close to you, the source of all blessing. We thank you for revealing your will for us in the giving of the law and in the preaching of the prophets.
We thank you especially that in the fullness of time you sent Jesus, born of Mary, to live in our midst, to share in our suffering, and to accept the pain of death at the hands of those whom Jesus loved.
We rejoice that in a perfect victory over the grave you raised Christ with power to become sovereign of your realm.
We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to gather your church by which your work may be done in the world and through which we share the gift of eternal life.
With the faithful in every place and time we praise with joy your holy name:
All: Holy, holy, holy God of love and majesty the whole universe speaks of your glory, O God Most High. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of our God. Hosanna in the highest!
Pastor: We remember that on that night of betrayal and desertion,
Jesus took bread, gave you thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples saying: “This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, Jesus also took the cup, after supper, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
God, consecrate, therefore, by your Holy Spirit, these gifts of bread and the vine, and bless us that as we receive them at this table, we may offer you our faith and praise, we may be united with Christ and with one another, and we may continue faithful in all things.
All: In the strength Christ gives us, we offer ourselves to you, eternal God, and give thanks that you have called us to serve you. Amen.
Pastor: Though the broken bread, we participate in the body of Christ.
Through the cup of blessing, we participate in a new life Christ gives us.
Come now, for all things are ready.
The body of Christ, the bread of life. Eat.
The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. Drink.
Our Savior Jesus Christ keep and preserve you to everlasting life. Let us pray:
Prayer of Thanksgiving
All: Life-giving God, we give you thanks for the gift of our Savior’s presence in the simplicity and splendor of this holy meal. Unite us with all who are fed by the life of Christ that we may faithfully proclaim the Good News of your love and that your church may be a rainbow of hope in an uncertain world; Through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen
Benediction:
Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness, be of good courage, hold fast to that which is good, render to no one evil for evil, strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the afflicted, honor all people, love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Pastor Whitney Bruno Sermons 