Sixth Sunday after Pentecost/Communion THEME: The Word Made Flesh Order of Worship Gathering to Sing Praise Congregational Selection We will use the United Methodist hymnal Prayer and Meditation UMH 407 Close to Thee (Janet) Can we sing this after the prayer? Just verse one and the refrain. (Absolutely!) Scripture Lessons John 1: 14-16 and 1 John 1: 1-4 (MSG) Pastor intro: As we move into July, our theme each Sunday will be The Word made flesh. This is a core belief of the Christian faith! That Jesus is God is Jesus. That Spirit is God is Jesus is Spirit. It s hard to explain this thing called incarnation, but I think the gospel of John does a pretty good job. Listen. The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. 15 John pointed him out and called, This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word. 16-18 We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. And now let s hear from 1 John, a letter written around 95-110 AD to combat docetism - the belief that Jesus did not come in the flesh, but only as a spirit, Let s listen:
1-2 From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. 3-4 We saw it, we heard it, and now we re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! Special Music Laura and Bradley Smith The Relevant Word God s Tangible Word of Life Theme: The embodied word of God (Jesus) calls for an embodied (lived) faith. The Word isn t the bible but is in fact the Christ both human and divine. In Jesus God spoke and embodied word identified as love. Love is not abstract but comes through speech, action and presence. SLIDE ONE When I was growing up, I d often ask the leaders of my church and my teachers, when do I capitalize the word WORD? Have you ever wondered that? Here in the book of John, it says The Word became flesh and blood. Meaning Jesus right? But what about the bible? People call that God s Word? Is that capitalized? Well just was we who use the English language often do, we take words from other cultures and languages and try to make them fit what WE know a word to mean. But the word used in the Greek the language of the New Testament does not have only one meaning!
In fact, listen to some of the meanings of LOGOS ground, plea, opinion, expectation, word, speech, account, reason, proportion, discourse. And in philosophy, the logos is the logic behind an argument. This has frustrated scholars and theologians for centuries. Early translators from Greek, such as Jerome in the 4th century AD, were frustrated by the inadequacy of any single Latin word to convey the Logos expressed in the Gospel of John. So what did the writer s of John s gospel and the letter of 1 John want to convey? Both the Gospel of John and the letter of 1 John were written during the same time period (90-110 AD) although the letter was written to put a dispute to rest in the community. And many during that time were arguing about Jesus status on earth. Most believed that he was human. But some said that he was just a spirit. Others believed that God, being a spirit, could not have ever even created the physical world. And that the Christ descended upon the man Jesus at his baptism, helped him throughout his ministry, but then left him at the crucifixion. Still others said that there was no way that Jesus could have revealed GOD if he was human! I m sure glad that the ancient scholars got all of this stuff sorted out aren t you? They believe that the writer might have been the same person the Apostle John, one of the 12, who wrote all of this to refute these teachings.
Knowing this then...what was this writer, of both documents, was trying to convey about Jesus? The incarnation that great mystery that says that Jesus was both divine and human. At the same time. The gospel emphasizes Jesus divinity, and the letter emphasizes his humanity. But they were both writing to help folks see that God came to earth in the flesh! That God was revealed fully in Jesus that he was God s very word revealed! And what was that word of God? Love. Wholly and fully love. LOVE = God = word = Jesus = Word = LOVE Jesus is the logos! The Word of God (LOVE) made flesh! But if we spend too much time on the grammar equation, we miss the whole point. That LOVE is embodied. That God is flesh and blood and humanness, not just spirituality. That God s love is embodied in community, in Jesus, working in us. And the purpose of this embodied love? Ahhhhhh. Here s where Christianity differs from other faiths. We believe that WE are to be God s embodied love and light in the world. Carrying on the work of Jesus as we too embody love. Many faiths believe that Jesus was human, and even enlightened. Their faith says its purpose is to become enlightened like Jesus
was with God. It s an individual endeavor then to seek and find enlightenment. The Christian faith proclaims that because God s love was revealed in a human, that we, as humans, are called to embody this same love, in community in the world. God s word became tangible! Real. Fleshy. It s not some individual spiritual experience! But it becomes Koinonia a mutual relationship of sharing lives and love and light with one another and with others. God became flesh and blood and moved into our neighborhoods. We then are called to move God s love into these places with our flesh and blood. Called to a new life of love, this embodied love, that helps us to reorient our nature to that of God s nature and disposition of love towards others. It s truly amazing when you think about it! That we can be revealers of God s nature, which is wholly love! We don t hear much about this love in the world these days. We hear much more about embodying hate and lies. About discrimination and fear. All of which are NOT GOD S revelation in Jesus for the world!
But stories like the 15 year old girl who assisted the blind and deaf person on the airplane love in action. Or people coming to the aid of a soccer team trapped in Thailand. Or local ladies sewing quilts to comfort those injured on the job in public law enforcement service. Or some Newberg women who are working with men and women in prison to help them get established when they are released into the world. LOVE EMBODIED! In relationship. Let s talk about what that looks like: Turn to someone near to you and name ONE way that you see God s love being embodied in your neighborhood.
One way we can embody love right now is to be love in action in justice. On the second Sunday of each month, people of faith will gather at the Detention Center in Sheridan to worship and pray...the first one will be July 8 at 4 p.m. You can also send Donations to UNIDOS to provide the detainees money to use in the commissary. Later, if we can get names of the people being held, we ll write letters to them that embody our love. Volunteers are needed to be trained so that the events won t fall on just a few. We need someone to work a first aid table. We need shuttles for people walking from the high school to the detention. It s a service of solidarity. This is the fellowship of faith. Drawing people closer to God and to one another. And love embodied as we work for justice for those unable to work for it on their own. Interested? See me after worship. The next question is for all of us to meditate on... What is God s desire for your embodied God love? For ours as a community of faith? Let s take a moment and pray. Oh God we confess that we would sometimes rather just seek enlightenment and call it a day. But Jesus came to show us love in the flesh. Help us to hear your call about how you want us to live out your love. Help us be willing to risk and experiment with love - with those who get on our last nerve, or those who we are afraid of, or those who we don t really know. So many people Lord, need to know you. And you have called us to reveal YOUR love and light. May we go and do simply this. Amen. A Communion Liturgy for the Whole People of God - by Alydia Smith
The Great Thanksgiving God is with us! We are not alone! Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to God. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love, you are beyond complete knowledge, above perfect description. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Source of Life, Living Word, and Bond of Love, you are creative and self-giving, generously moving. In all the near and distant corners of the universe. nothing exists that does not find its source in you. Even when we turn away from you, you are with us; your presence never fails us, your gifts of hope and new life transform us. We praise you for Jesus Christ, eternal as your love, our bond to one another. We rejoice with all your people of every time and place, and with angels and archangels, to proclaim the glory of your name: Sanctus and Benedictus (Worship & Song 3171- a) Yes, I will lead the communion selections. - Joan Leader: Holy, holy, holy Lord. God of power and might, Leader: heaven and earth are full of your glory. Leader: Hosanna in the highest.
Leader: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. It is Jesus, God incarnate, the Risen Christ, who joins us together as a community of broken but hopeful believers: loving what he loved living what he taught, and striving to be his faithful servants in our time and place. In this meal we remember Jesus, his promises, and the price he paid for who he was, what he said, and what he did. On the night before Jesus died, he took a loaf of bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, Take and eat; whenever you do this, remember me. After supper, Jesus took the cup, and poured, saying, This is the new covenant, remember me. We do remember. We remember his life of love, his friendship, his teaching, his dying, and his rising to life again. In sharing this meal, we live out the mystery of our faith: Memorial Acclamation (Worship & Song 3171-b) Joan Leader: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Holy Mystery, God the Spirit, we call on you to transform these familiar things, as you continually transform the world around us.
Bless this bread and this cup, the wheat and the grape, the farmer and the harvest, the seed and the sower. So that in the sharing of these simple elements in community, we may taste and see your goodness, so that we might catch a glimpse of what it is to be in communion with you and with one another. Through Christ, in Christ, and with Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, God most holy, now and forever. Great Amen (Worship & Song 3171-c) Leader: Amen. Amen. Amen. Joan Breaking the Bread, Pouring the Cup The body of Christ, the bread of life. The lifeblood of Christ, the cup of blessing. The gifts of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God! Sharing the Meal Today the children of our church will serve you. Please gather in a circle around the pew side you are sitting in. If you cannot stand, you will be served at your seat. You will be given a piece of bread, and then asked to dip the bread into a glass of juice. Please remain standing in the circle until all have been served and the final prayer is prayed together.
Prayer after Communion Thank you, O Christ, for this feast of life. We are fed by your love; we are strengthened by your life. We are sent forth into this world to live into the visions God has laid on our hearts. We are now commissioned to: feed as we have been fed, forgive as we have been forgiven, love as we have been loved. Thanks be to God. Amen. Gifts and Offerings Invitation by the pastor to the offering, and asking the ushers to collect. We will sing together, then Pastor will pray after all is collected. UMH 419 I Am Thine, O Lord vs. 1, 2, 4 Closing Songs W&S 3040 You Are My All in All (Janet) Praise Team Blessing and Sending Greeting our neighbors as we go- Pastor will have them turn to their neighbor and greet them with the peace of Christ saying, The peace of Christ be with you. Then we will sing together after the blessing: UMH 666 Shalom to You Will sing this all of July and August and then everyone will leave.