{"id":2017,"date":"2021-07-17T17:34:11","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T17:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/?p=2017"},"modified":"2021-07-17T17:34:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T17:34:11","slug":"eighth-after-pentecost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/17\/eighth-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"Eighth after Pentecost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2021\"\/><figcaption>Claude Monet, Three Fishing Boats, 1886. Museum of Fine Arts Budapest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Gathered through the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship God with gladness. 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\u2019s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Taye and Heather!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>PRELUDE: \u201cGentle Breeze\u201d (Bender)<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Gentle-Breeze-JoAnne-Bender.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>OPENING PRAYER:<\/p>\n\n\n<p>We praise you, God<br \/>\nthat you come to us:<br \/>\nThe Good Shepherd<br \/>\nThe Gate for the Sheep<br \/>\nand The Lamb of God\u2014<br \/>\nwho takes away the sin of the world.<br \/>\nFind us in your pasture, God,<br \/>\nand may we ever dwell in your gates,<br \/>\nand find our rest in you.<br \/>\nAmen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN OF PRAISE: \u201cWhen morning gilds the skies\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/when-morning-gilds.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>When morning gilds the skies,<br \/>my heart awakening cries:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<br \/>When evening shadows fall,<br \/>this rings my curfew call:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>To God, the Word on high,<br \/>the hosts of angels cry:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<br \/>Let mortals, too, upraise<br \/>their voice in hymns of praise:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Let all of humankind<br \/>in this their concord find:&nbsp;<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<br \/>Let all the earth around<br \/>ring joyous with the sound:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Be this, while life is mine,<br \/>my canticle divine:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<br \/>Be this th\u2019eternal song,<br \/>through all the ages long:<br \/>may Jesus Christ be praised!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>PRAYER OF CONFESSION<\/p>\n\n\n<p>God of mercy,<br \/>\nOnce we were no people,<br \/>\nand now we are your people.<br \/>\nStill, we forget.<br \/>\nWe forget that we belong to you,<br \/>\nand that you feed us, <br \/>\nyou walk beside us,<br \/>\nand encourage us to rest.<br \/>\nWe forget that you made us in your image,<br \/>\na little less than angels<br \/>\nin the household of heaven.<br \/>\nHelp us remember,<br \/>\nwho we are,<br \/>\nand to Whom we belong,<br \/>\nIn Jesus\u2019 name we ask. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>ASSURANCE OF PARDON<\/p>\n\n\n<p>God will give us what we need:<br \/>strength for today,<br \/>hope for tomorrow,<br \/>and forgiveness<br \/>for all that is past.<br \/>Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>SPECIAL MUSIC: \u201cLeaning on the Everlasting Arms\u201d (Hoffman\/Showalter)<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Leaning-on-the-everlasting.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>FIRST READING: Psalm 23<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.<br \/>      He makes me lie down in green pastures,<br \/> <strong>he leads me beside quiet waters,<br \/>      he refreshes my soul.<\/strong><br \/> He guides me along the right paths<br \/>     for his name\u2019s sake.<br \/> <strong>Even though I walk<br \/>     through the darkest valley,<\/strong><br \/> I will fear no evil,<br \/>     for you are with me;<br \/> <strong>your rod and your staff,<br \/>     they comfort me.<\/strong><br \/> You prepare a table before me<br \/>     in the presence of my enemies.<br \/> <strong>You anoint my head with oil;<br \/>     my cup overflows.<\/strong><br \/> Surely your goodness and love will follow me<br \/>     all the days of my life,<br \/> <strong>and I will dwell in the house of the Lord<br \/>     forever.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p>SECOND READING: Mark 6.30-34, 53-56<\/p>\n\n\n<p>30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, \u201cCome with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went\u2014into villages, towns or countryside\u2014they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN: \u201cTake time to be holy\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/taketime.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Take time to be holy, speak oft with your Lord;<br \/>abide in him always, and feed on his word.<br \/>Make friends of God\u2019s children, help those who are weak,<br \/>forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Take time to be holy, let him be your guide,<br \/>and run not before him, whatever betide.<br \/>In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,<br \/>and, looking to Jesus, still trust in his word.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Take time to be holy, be calm in your soul,<br \/>each thought and each motive beneath his control.<br \/>Thus led by his spirit to fountains of love,<br \/>you soon shall be fitted for service above.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2023\"\/><figcaption>Claude Monet, The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, 1867. The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection, 1933.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>REFLECTION<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/july18sermon.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Suddenly everyone\u2019s going into space.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Well, when I say everyone, I mean everyone who\u2019s a billionaire and can fund their own celestial science project.  Sir Richard Branson seems to have won the race to create a space tourism industry, but others disagree.  He only went up 50 miles, and everyone knows space is 60 miles up, right?  Quietly, some ask the awkward \u201ccouldn\u2019t this money be better spent on problems here on earth\u201d question, but that betrays the spirit of the age.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>All of this put me in mind of the last time too few people held too much weath, and that would be during the Gilded Age.  Generally the period began in the 1870s and ushered in rapid economic growth, industrialization, and massive wealth inequality.  The names of the leading men of the age are still familiar to us, so dramatic was their share of the wealth.  Rockefeller, Carnegie, Guggenheim, and Vanderbilt are perhaps the best known, some for the scale of their wealth and some for charitable causes they supported.  The library across the street was funded by the Carnegie Co. of New York, an example of something the Gilded Age gave us\u2014our own little piece of all that excess wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Something else the Gilded Age gave us was stress.  Yes, stress existed before 1870, but the race to become wealthy in this new age created a new kind of pressure.  The myth that if you worked hard enough you could become the next Rockefeller tormented the minds of many, and the result was a new ailment, the nervous breakdown.  And with a new ailment comes a new cure, or perhaps we might say a new old cure, and that would be rest.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>S. Weir Mitchell, a neurologist based in Philadelphia, created the rest cure, &#8220;a regimen of forced bed rest, restricted diet, and a combination of massage and electrical muscle stimulation in place of exercise.&#8221;*  He is also known for his theories on women\u2019s health, particularly the idea of \u201chysteria,\u201d and in doing so caused great harm.  Yet on the rest cure, his influence was short-lived, to be replaced by another nineteenth century innovation, the work cure.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The work cure was definitely a product of the age.  A new theory replaced the idea that troubled people were somehow depleted, suggesting instead that people are like streetcars, meaning they need only draw on &#8220;sources of power beyond themselves.&#8221;  Like the crisis that follows when the 501 gets disconnected from the overhead wires, you just need to reconnect and get going.  I expect this is where the foolish advice to &#8220;keep busy&#8221; comes from, something we still hear today.  Eventually, the work cure was discredited too, but vestiges remain in the popular imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Jesus said \u201cCome with me to a quiet place and get some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>It sounds familiar because it is, but it also sounds familiar because of a more famous passage in Matthew 11 where Jesus says to the crowd \u201cCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.\u201d  Looking closely, these two statements are somewhat different, and require a look.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>The first cure is finding rest in a quiet place.  This is advice Jesus lives and shares throughout the Gospels.  He knows the power of solitude, the need to retreat from the crowds and their demands\u2014and be alone.  He makes time to be alone with God, which is a remarkable thing considering his utterly unique relationship with the Most High.  Still, he takes the time, and commends taking time to others, to find a quiet place and get some rest.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>The second cure is finding rest in Jesus. \u201cCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.\u201d  The reason we share this quote at funerals is precisely because Jesus is the ultimate source of comfort.  We support one another, we try to find the words, we might give a little advice, but ultimate rest is found in the arms of Jesus. \u201cTake my yoke upon you and learn from me,\u201d he said, \u201cfor I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Since I\u2019m the third generation off the farm, I needed to look up yoke to recall exactly what it looked like.  Essentially it\u2019s a cross-beam, laid over two animals, often oxen, connecting them and allowing the farmer to control both animals.  These \u201cbeasts of burden\u201d work together to pull a plough, under the direction of the ploughman.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>So a couple of things here.  The first is the promise that Jesus\u2019 yoke is easy and his burden is light.  When you choose to follow in the Way of Jesus, you are literally yoked to him and expected to do work.  Preach and teach, forgive others, seek the Kingdom where it may be found; visit the sick, feed the hungry, encourage the despairing.  \u201cLove and serve others,\u201d our creed says in summary, while you \u201cseek justice and resist evil.\u201d  So we\u2019re yoked, but the yoke is easy.  And the yoke is easy precisely because we\u2019re yoked to Jesus, the source of all rest.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s the first promise, yoked to the source of rest.  The second part of the promise is implied in the design of the yoke.  We are yoked together, not alone, but yoked to fellow travellers.  We find greater rest when we share our burdens with each other, when we remember that we never pull alone.  Everything that a life of faith demands is best met when we look to each other, and understand that discipleship is always a shared task.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>In another time and another place, great wealth existed alongside great poverty.  The time was the late Roman period, and the place was North Africa, called the \u201ccrown jewel\u201d of the Roman Empire.  North Africa was the wealthiest province, produced the most grain, and generated many other exports including ceramics and olives (and olive oil).  All this made North Africa the place to acquire wealth and pursue your dreams.  At the same time, great poverty existed with an underclass of labourers, slaves, and ex-slaves doing the bulk of the work.  And into this setting stepped Augustine of Hippo, later St. Augustine, ministering to everyone in the busy port city of Hippo Regius.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>You can imagine the pace of life in Hippo, the restlessness that surrounded everyone.  The wealthy seeking more wealth, the poor seeking basic needs each day, the sick seeking relief.  The early church stood in the centre of all this activity and tried to reach everyone.  And finally, it took Augustine, with wisdom from God, to find the words, words that echo Mark 6 and Matthew 11 and offer a word to all the seekers of Hippo.  He said, \u201cYou have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n<p>However restless you feel today, and whatever burden you face, may you find rest in God, in this and every age.  Amen.   <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">*https:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2010\/05\/cures<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/image-3-1024x604.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2024\"\/><figcaption>Henrique Pous\u00e3o, Boats-Capri, 1882. National Museum Soares dos Reis, Porto, Portugal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Shepherd God,<br \/>\nYou lead us to the stillness of this moment,<br \/>\nyou make it sacred, and we shelter here.<br \/>\nComfort us, God, as we shelter in your love.<br \/>\nRemind us that we are your children,<br \/>\nand that you lead us in your way.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Comfort us in the midst of fear:<br \/>\nfear of things lost and never to return,<br \/>\nfear of sorrow,<br \/>\nand fear of the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Encourage us to pray for others:<br \/>\npraying for the most vulnerable,<br \/>\npraying for those who suffer,<br \/>\npraying for all in need.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Guide us through the valley of shadows,<br \/>\nwith your staff to protect us,<br \/>\nand your Spirit to lead us home.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Surround us this day with goodness,<br \/>\nSet a place at table, <br \/>\nthat you may be our companion and guide,<br \/>\nand we may be companion and guide to others.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Dwell with us, God, this day,<br \/>\nand remind us that we never walk alone.<br \/>\nStrengthen us to care for others,<br \/>\nFollowing the compassionate example of your child, <br \/>\nJesus the Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>THE LORD\u2019S PRAYER<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Our Father who art in heaven,<br \/>hallowed be thy name.<br \/>Thy kingdom come,<br \/>Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<br \/>Give us this day our daily bread;<br \/>and forgive us our trespasses<br \/>as we forgive those who trespass against us;<br \/>and lead us not into temptation<br \/>but deliver us from evil.<br \/>For thine is the kingdom,<br \/>and the power, and the glory,<br \/>for ever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN: \u201cI heard the voice of Jesus say\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/iheardthevoice.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>I heard the voice of Jesus say,<br \/>\u201cCome unto me and rest;<br \/>lay down, O weary one, lay down<br \/>your head upon my breast.\u201d<br \/>I came to Jesus as I was,<br \/>weary and worn and sad;<br \/>I found in him a resting place,<br \/>and he has made me glad.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>I heard the voice of Jesus say,<br \/>\u201cBehold, I freely give<br \/>the living water; thirsty one,<br \/>stoop down and drink, and live.\u201d<br \/>I came to Jesus, and I drank<br \/>of that life-giving stream;<br \/>my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,<br \/>and now I live in him.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>I heard the voice of Jesus say,<br \/>\u201cI am this dark world\u2019s Light;<br \/>look unto me, your morn shall rise,<br \/>and all your days be bright.\u201d<br \/>I looked to Jesus and I found<br \/>in him my Star, my Sun;<br \/>and in that light of life I\u2019ll walk,<br \/>\u2019til trav\u2019ling days are done.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>BLESSING<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way,<br \/>and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless<br \/>until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.<br \/>\u20141 Thessalonians 5:23<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/meetagainredux.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>God be with you till we meet again;<br \/>loving counsels guide, uphold you,<br \/>with a shepherd\u2019s care enfold you;<br \/>God be with you till we meet again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/8099\/8655876653_4d786ee528_c.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gathered through the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship God with gladness. 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\u2019s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Taye and Heather! PRELUDE: \u201cGentle Breeze\u201d (Bender) OPENING PRAYER: We &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/17\/eighth-after-pentecost\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Eighth after Pentecost<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}