Let us worship!

It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!

Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped

--Psalm 99, verse 1-3, 9

A prayer to center you

O God who created all—

ALL things in your own imagine,

You who calls us into community,

despite our differences—

You who works through love, compassion, hope and caring,

You who knit us together as your people-

No matter where or how you planted us.

We come to you this hour seeking your hope and your encouragement,

Your wisdom and your grace.

Work through us, your people.

Help us to see the beauty in all people and to form the caring space to which you have called us.

May your Spirit move around us and within us

and may your Holy word whisper peace to our hearts.

Amen

Holy Scripture

Romans Chapter 15, verses 1 through 6

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection:

There is no arguing that we live in a very divided world. It is easy to look at the differences-fall into an us and them mentality. Everyone is quick to draw the political lines, fight to the death for their side, and in so doing shut down to listening to the other. We all can grab on to our own views and stances and dig in so deep that our ears and hearts are shut off to those around us. We build walls to separate. We seek the differences and divide. We work against the other, even if it means we harm ourselves in the long run. The ends of the spectrum keep moving further and further away. The middle growing in space yet dropping in population. A divided world.

God created us to live in a different type of world. Not a world of division or hate—not a world where we berate one another of our differences—not a world where we are isolated and separate.

No! God created us to live in community. God blessed us with diversity to challenge us to think more broadly (more God like). God created us live together as neighbors, strong and weak, liberal and conservative, wealthy and poor, as neighbors each to one another. God calls us each work toward harmony not division. God calls the strong to carry the burden of the weak. God calls us into dialogue with both sides of the political aisle to enlighten the other and find growth through common wisdom. God calls those with means to share in love with those who are struggling.

Diversity is a blessing from God, yet somewhere the worldly way has made us seek out uniformity—to find comfort in sameness instead of beauty in the difference. When we shut ourselves off from the other, when we refuse to hear the nuggets of wisdom the ‘other’ might hold, when we don’t allow ourselves to learn and grow from those around us, we miss the beauty and wholeness God created.

We live in the mountains. I love the mountains! The beauty of the rise and fall landscape. The lush greenness that flourishes. The cool winds and four seasons. A rolling stream in the mountains is my personal bit of heaven. Trees and valleys and farmland is my comfort zone. I see God’s beauty everywhere! We normally vacation somewhere close in the mountains where we can hike and ride our bikes. With little kids, it was nice to not be in the car long. Honestly, I am the worst car rider so I like to stay close by.

However, this year, after a few years of little to no travel, we decided to mix it up. So, last week my family went to the beach for a vacation. We piled in the car and headed East for over six hours in the car. Through the mountains, across some flatland and finally we hit the coast. My kids had only been to the beach one other time, and the youngest (and most picky) did not love the sand, so we did not spend much time on the actual beaches. But this time, with everyone being older, we hit the seaside with new eyes and new hope. What we found? Beauty! It surrounded us. The blue-green of the ocean, the white of the sand, the peaceful sounds of the ocean waves. A new beauty stretched out before us. As we watched the beautiful sunrises (well, an hour or so after sunrise—it is summer) and sunsets, as we enjoyed the beach breeze and the lapping of the waves, we still held the beauty of the mountains in our hearts, but we stood in awe of the beauty of the beach. Different but beautiful.

My oldest lit up at the sights, sounds and feel of the ocean. Her body physically relaxed and joy spread across her face. I asked her which she like better, the ocean or the mountains. She still said the mountains but the beach will do as well. The beauty of the beach helped her expand and grow in appreciation for the diversity of the world God created.

If we had never gone to the beach--if we had never pushed ourselves out of our own comfort zone--if we had never allowed ourselves to open up to the different and the new, we never would have been able to see, enjoy and grow in the knowledge of this new beauty of God’s creation. Loving the beach did not make us love the mountains any less. Our trip to the beach just helped us appreciate the wonders of the ocean and all of God’s creative and created differences.

If we open ourselves up to the different and new, if we push ourselves to experience the uncomfortable, if we challenge ourselves with the whole of God’s great creation, we might just find new beauty, depth and hope in the whole of God’s creation.

God created mountains, oceans, plains, and deserts to reflect the diversity and totality of God’s wonder. God created different genders, ethnicities, skin colors and personalities to display the great diversity of God’s own being. And God placed beauty in it all. We live in a world created by God’s hand, reflecting the beauty of a gracious and loving God, if we will just set aside the ways of the world that call for division, we could more wholly see the beauty the God created for us in God’s own image.

If we could set aside the division amongst us and look for the beauty in diversity, maybe we could get a small glimpse of God’s kingdom here on Earth. If we could work toward the good of our neighbor instead of simply the good for ourselves, maybe we could manifest a little bit of God’s kingdom right before our very eyes. If we could set aside ego and self to work towards harmony in the God hope of God’s promises, perhaps we might see a little bit of Jesus before us.

And in seeing that kingdom here on earth we might just see the beauty of a loving God begin to flourish and lift our voices in glory to a beautiful, diverse God who created us for joy and praise.

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thinking it through….

-When have you found beauty in unexpected places? How did this help you grow?

-What is an area of ideology in which you could challenge yourself?

-What would that look like?

-How would facing that growth area make you feel?

The Word in Action

Think of an issue that you feel strongly about but might not be fully educated on. Do some research. See what you can learn about the other side. Your opinion does not have to change, but at least you might understand the other side a little better.

Prayer of sending

As we go from this time,

God,

guide our hands to do your work,

open our hearts to our neighbors

and our minds to your ways.

May your Spirit guide our steps on the journey

and may we see glimpses of your kingdom come to life before us and through us.

Amen

Going out.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let all God’s people say: AMEN

Worship June 12, 2022