Fifteenth after Pentecost

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; a greatness no one can fathom! We encourage you to pray over the words that follow, and follow the links within the liturgy. Prayers in this service are adapted from Celebrate God’s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Heather!

PRELUDE: “Put Your Hand in the Hand” (MacLellan)

OPENING PRAYER

Creative God, you who breathe life into dust
and bring new life out of death:
we come as your Easter people,
raised up with Christ in resurrection hope.
Though our steps may be halting, we remain
travellers on a road bound for home.
You walk with us each day,
and you fill our journey with hope!
We thank you for this great gift;
may our whole lives express our gratitude.
We pray in the name of our risen Saviour. Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE: “Sing praise to God”

Sing praise to God, who has shaped and sustains all creation!
Sing praise, my soul, in profound and complete adoration!
Gladsome rejoice –
organ and trumpet and voice –
joining God’s great congregation.

Praise God, our guardian, who lovingly offers correction,
who, as on eagle’s wings, saves us from sinful dejection.
Have you observed,
how we are always preserved
by God’s parental affection?

Sing praise to God, with sincere thanks for all your successes.
Merciful God ever loves to encourage and bless us.
Only conceive
what godly strength can achieve:
strength that would touch and caress us.

Sing praise, my soul, the great name of your high God commending.
All that have life and breath join you, their notes sweetly blending.
God is your light!
Soul, ever keep this in sight:
amen, amen never ending.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

O God,
you have searched the depths we cannot know,
and touched what we cannot bear to name;
may we so wait,
trusting your compassion,
and assured of your mercy.
Create in us new hearts,
and a renewed sense of your presence,
In Jesus we ask, Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

God will give us what we need:
strength for today,
hope for tomorrow,
and forgiveness
for all that is past.
Amen.

SPECIAL MUSIC: “What wondrous love is this” (Walker’s Southern Harmony)

FIRST READING: Psalm 103

Bless God, my soul,
and all my being, bless God’s holy name.
Bless God, my soul,
and forget not all God has done for you.
Bless God, who forgives all your sin,
who heals you in all your infirmities,
who redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and love,
who fills your life with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s,
who works righteousness
and justice for all who are wronged.

O God, you showed your ways to Moses,
your deeds to the children of Israel.
You are compassionate and merciful,
slow to anger and extravagant in love.
You will not always accuse
nor do you keep your anger for ever.
You have not dealt with us according to our sins
nor punished us according to our wickedness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is your steadfast love toward those who fear you.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far have you put away our sins from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so you have compassion for those who fear you.
*As a mother comforts her child,
so you comfort us, O God.
For you know how we were made.
You remember that we are dust. Bless God, O my soul.

SECOND READING: Romans 14.7-12

7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

HYMN: “You servants of God, your Saviour proclaim”

You servants of God, your Saviour proclaim,
and publish abroad that wonderful name;
the name all victorious of Jesus extol,
whose kingdom is glorious and rules over all.

God rules from on high, almighty to save,
whose Word still is nigh, a presence we have.
The great congregation God’s triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus our King.

Salvation to God, who sits on the throne!
Let all cry aloud, and honour the Son!
The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
bow down in deep reverence and worship the Lamb.

Then let us adore and give as is right,
all glory and power, all wisdom and might,
all honour and blessing with angels above,
and thanks never ceasing and infinite love.

REFLECTION

Everything comes back to George Bailey.

A conversation about affordable housing? “The money’s not here. Your money’s in Joe’s house…right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin’s house, and a hundred others.”

A conversation with evil rich guys? “Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about…they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this town…but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle.”

Or how to “get the girl” as they say in movies: “What is it you want, Mary? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon.”

And I think it’s a fairly straight line from George’s promise to lasso the moon to the many ways love is expressed, particularly in books for children. “I Love to the Moon and Back” (Tim Warnes) is the first and obvious example, along with “Guess How Much I Love You?” (Sam McBratney) Even the Munsch classic follows this lead, which (of course) you now have to say with me:

I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.

Unlike Robert Munsch, I can’t condone breaking into your grown children’s homes and rocking them in the wee hours, but it does add to a lovely story. So we go from a lasso around the moon to loving from “the moon and back” (to quote Big Nutbrown Hare), pausing for a little nocturnal singing on the way. Yet even before George Bailey and Robert Munsch and all the other writers we love, there was Psalm 103:

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

So the poet reaches for a spatial image when trying to describe the greatness of God’s love and mercy. In a pre-scientific age, these immense distances—the east from the west—were ill-defined and a ready shorthand for a vastness that could not be measured.

But there is more here. The poet is making an intentional connection between the love of God and the natural world: the size of the sky, the dimensions of the known world, the depths of the sea. We know that we’re never far removed from our ancient forebears, as we too experience awe as we look to the heavens or ponder the far horizon.

So back to our passage. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth,” the psalmist says, “so great is his love for those who fear him.” Already we have a problem. Fear of the Lord takes us to all sorts of uncomfortable places, where we are inclined to push back on a relationship based on fear. We are ready to love God in return for the love God has for us, but to introduce fear doesn’t seem right. So we look for a way forward.

A lazy theologian might step in at this moment and suggest we simply substitute the word “awe” for “fear” and it’s problem solved. We all know awe, from the mountain vista to the wonder of a newborn. ‘So great is his love for those in awe of him,’ simply feels better, and is certainly one way to solve the problem.

Maybe I’m being too harsh on lazy theologians, but wouldn’t the poet say awe if she meant awe? Fear and awe may live on the same street, but they are clearly not the same thing. So it’s back to the drawing board.

And to do this, I want to take you on a rollercoaster ride. Why do people take a rollercoaster ride? I expect they take the ride to experience fear. Safe fear, or controlled fear to be sure, but fear nonetheless. The rollercoaster is a sort of simulated danger, lighting up parts of our imagination and leaving us with the kind of euphoria you get when you survive a brush with danger. A cynic might say this is fake danger, but your brain may not know the difference, and the result is often the same.

Please don’t go to lunch and say “pastor told us that our relationship with God is like a rollercoaster ride.” Because there is more. There is the difference between fear and fear. We all know fear. Fear for the future, fear for the safety of those we love, fear for our planetary home, fear of human carelessness and fear of human stupidity. Fear of the things we can’t control and fear that we’ll mishandle the things we can control. I could go on.

This is the very real fear we experience through life on earth, and it’s also the precise type of fear that God seeks to save us from:

“The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps 27)
“I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” (Ps 23)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, do not let them be afraid.” (John 14)
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1)

The last example might be the most instructive. An angel speaks to Mary and says “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” But Mary is rightly terrified. This is the other fear, the natural fear that follows the unexpected, the tremendous, the truly startling. It was more to do with the exhilaration of the rollercoaster than fear of harm, in whatever form it may take. An encounter with the Living God ought to be fearful, in the best sense, or it might not be an encounter at all.

On Boxing Day, 1958, Pope John decided to visit a prison, only the second time a pope left the safety of the Vatican in 88 years (the first time was the day before). In his characteristic style he said to the prisoners, “You could not leave to see me, so I have come to see you.” At one moment a murderer broke through the cordon and threw himself at the pope’s feet. “Tell me, Holy Father, is there hope for even me?” And the pope embraced him. I tell this story, because it’s a story filled with fear. I expect the pope was fearful, surrounded by hardened criminals. His staff were fearful, freaking out, in fact. And the man who stepped forward was terrified, that God would not forgive. It’s in this light the poet speaks:

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

God’s love for us is best expressed in forgiveness—the unexpected, the tremendous, and the truly startling. A thief is forgiven on the cross, St. Paul is thrown to the ground, a reprieve comes before the first stone is cast. Compassion can be truly unsettling when the world demands judgment, retribution, and revenge. But God has another way.

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” St. Paul wrote, maybe reflecting on his own story. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.” When we love and forgive others, we have the same capacity to unsettle or amaze. When we imagine that everyone is a child of God, and treat them with compassion, we have the same capacity to unsettle and amaze. With apologies to Robert Munsch, I’m going to suggest that each of us, whether deserved or not deserved, is held by the God who says:

I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.

Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Let us pray, brothers and sisters,
for the holy church of God throughout the world,
that God may guide it and gather it together
so that we may worship God in peace and tranquility.

God of power and love,
you have shown your compassion in Jesus Christ.
Guide the work of the church.
Help it to persevere in faith
and to proclaim your name to people everywhere.
Let us pray for all who serve the church
with the gifts God gives them.

God of power and love,
your Spirit guides the church and makes it holy.
Strengthen and sustain all who serve.
Keep them in health and safety
and help each of us to do faithfully
the work to which you have called us.

Let us pray for all who do not know God,
that the light of the Holy Spirit
may awaken them to faith.
God of power and love,
may all your children everywhere
know your goodness.
Help us, your church,
to become more perfect witnesses of your grace
so that all may see you in us.

Let us pray for all in positions of power
in government and society
that God may guide their hearts and minds
so all may live in peace and justice.

God of power and love,
defender of the poor and oppressed,
call to account the rulers of this world,
so that people everywhere may enjoy
justice, peace, and freedom
and a fair share of the goodness of creation.
Let us prayer all who are sick or dying,
all who are homeless or in prison,
and for all who suffer from hunger or violence.

God of power and love,
strength of the weary,
hope of the despairing,
hear the cries of your suffering children
and give us the courage to be agents of your love for them.
We pray in the name of Christ our Saviour. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

HYMN: “All my hope is firmly grounded”

All my hope is firmly grounded
in our great and living Lord;
who, whenever I most need him,
never fails to keep his word.
God I must wholly trust,
God the ever good and just.

Tell me, who can trust our nature,
human, weak, and insecure?
Which of all the airy castles
can the hurricane endure?
Built on sand, naught can stand
by our earthly wisdom planned.

But in every time and season,
out of love’s abundant store,
God sustains the whole creation,
fount of life forevermore.
We who share earth and air
count on God’s unfailing care.

Thank, O thank, our great Creator,
through God’s only Son this day;
God alone, the heavenly potter,
made us out of earth and clay.
Quick to heed, strong in deed,
God shall all the people feed.

BLESSING

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way,
and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless
until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.
—1 Thessalonians 5:23

God be with you till we meet again;
loving counsels guide, uphold you,
with a shepherd’s care enfold you;
God be with you till we meet again.