Worship for April 23, 2021
Let us worship!
For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise,
this our hymn of grateful praise.
A prayer to center you
Holy God, creator of all,
we come before you this day and this hour to give our thanks and praise.
We come to you open hearted, seeking your will and your guidance. Speak to us through this time that we may see your path. Strengthen us in this time that we may step forward, bound by the love of your community, to speak your truth in the world around us.
Amen
Holy Words from John 10:11-18
11 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 A hired man will run when he sees a wolf coming and will leave the sheep, for they aren’t his and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf leaps on them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired man runs because he is hired and has no real concern for the sheep.
14 “I am the Good Shepherd and know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, in another fold. I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice; and there will be one flock with one Shepherd.
17 “The Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may have it back again. 18 No one can kill me without my consent—I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right and power to lay it down when I want to and also the right and power to take it again. For the Father has given me this right.
Reflection:
Over the last 11 months I have found myself without a church home for the first time in my life. As long as I can remember, I have had church building to call home base, a group of people who called me their own. I grew up in the downtown Cumberland Presbyterian church in Greeneville, Tennessee. This is where my parents started attending shortly after my older sister came into the world and where I attended since birth. It is also where I was baptized at 13 and confirmed as a member. It is the congregation that I was a part of when I graduated from high school when they sent me off with great love and fan fair into the big ol’ world.
When I headed off to college, I was lucky enough be put in contact with with a young couple who had just moved to a little church about 40 minutes away from my new college town—Bartow Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The pastor and his wife invited me to attend worship and into their home. Where I stayed for the next many years. I am not sure they knew what they were getting into when they did so. I merged in to this loving congregation thanks to their hospitality. After one worship service, I knew I had found a new church home. They took me in, supported me, and loved me throughout all of college. And since Seminary was not too far away although in another direction, they loved me through my seminary years as well. They supported me through so much in my young adult life and loved me fiercely.
Once I graduated from seminary, I was already married. We moved back to East Tennessee to be near family and for my husband’s job. I found myself back at the downtown Greeneville church that I had grown up in but this time I was a pastor on staff. From birth on, I have always had a church a home. Therefore, throughout my life I have done very little ‘church shopping’.
In May of last year when I stepped down from my position at the church in the middle of worldwide pandemic, I found myself without a church home for the first time ever. On odd and weird state to be in for sure, especially in the midst of shutdowns and uneasy social circumstances. This has given me time to step back from the congregational aspect of church life and look at the wider picture of Christianity.
Over the past year I have been invited into many different churches to fill the pulpit. Different church, from different denominations have opened their doors to me and allowed me to glance inside. What gift that has been. I have been fascinated to see how each church body has its own personality, its own different styles of worship, each with unique traditions and practices. It has been enlightening to see how distinctive each congregation can be-even within the same denominations. What a blessing. There seems to be a church for everyone. From the practices of high church with all the bells and whistles to the small church where 2 or 3 are gathered and even to the starting of this on-line worshiping community I have seen firsthand how church can look very different from place to place. But the one thing they all have in common is their love and sincere desire to worship a risen Christ. There is one flock, with one Shepard, no matter how different their styles of worship may be. Stepping back from one specific congregation has allowed me to see the large herd of sheep if you will and how they are interconnected or should be atleast.
Too often congregations forget this interconnected nature which todays Scripture reminds us of. Too often we get locked away behind our own walls and see only our congregations without looking around to see our brothers and sisters in faith that beside us. We forget that we are all on the same team…God’s team. We are all working for the same common cause, to share the love of Christ with those around us. In my time working in churches I have too often seen the fight over people. Pastor’s expressing frustration over the growth of other churches. Disappointment that their church is not the one to captivate the new member. Instead of the churches and pastors supporting one another to further the glory of God.
Jesus knows his sheep and those sheep are not just those gathered in one spot, no Jesus has other sheep too, those inside the Church and those outside, that are also his sheep. They heed his voice as well. There is one flock with one Shepherd, Christ alone.
We can bicker over theology or practice. We can fight over people and attendance. We can place our focus on soothing our own egos. Or, we can focus on what Christ calls to do; love one another, support one another, and bring people to the Shepard. We can celebrate that our church is flourishing in one way and another church is flourishing down the street. We are the same flock. We can reach out to people through an online worshiping community and celebrate supporting others in this unique way while also celebrating that brick and mortar churches are reopening their doors to those who wish to come inside. The joy of worship and faith sharing is not about our own ego, it is to be about sharing the love of God with those who need it. We may each have our own flock that we are a part of but each flock is part of the larger flock with the one great shepherd at the head, each of us called to simple love one another with the love of Christ. Amen
Action Challenge.
Reach across church walls this week!
Have a conversation with someone from a different congregation this week. Try to find something that both belief systems have in common. What is a way that you could work together to spread the word of Christ and strengthen the herd?
Prayer of Sending
Holy God,
We are one body and one flock, followers of you.
Help us to lay down our prejudices and to love those around us for your glory. You are the Good Shepherd who has looked over us and all of your sheep. Help us to others as members of the same body. Let us connect through love and hope that we may strength your larger church here on Earth.
Amen
Going out.
Breathe in God’s mercy.
Breathe out God’s mercy for other.
May the love shown on the cross, the power of the resurrection, and the presence of the Living Lord, be with you always.
And the blessing of the Eternal God, Creator and Sustainer, Risen Lord and Savior, Giver of holiness and love, be upon you now and evermore.
Let all God’s people say: AMEN
