Worship for the week of February 12, 2023 (Copy)
Let us worship!
Happy are those who walk in the way of the Lord,
Who seek God with their whole heart!
—Psalm 119:1-2
A prayer to center you
God of the fields
and all creation
As we come to this time quiet the noise of the outside world.
Quiet the whispers of false profits
Quiet our desires to listen only to our own voice.
Open our hearts to your ways.
Open our minds to you glory.
Open our faith to your calling.
May your Spirit draw near as we turn to your word
that we may see your glories of your kingdom budding around us.
Amen
Scripture to Ponder
1 Corinthians
Chapter 3,
verses 1 through 9
3And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?
5What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Reflection:
I have been attending a monthly long series at a local university. Each year the local school puts on series called “The Theologian in Residence”. People come from all different church backgrounds to listen to visiting professor present a topic. This year there have been close to a hundred and fifty participants. Clergy and lay people alike attend the lecture series. As we all gather in this room, from all different faith backgrounds and traditions, it is interesting to listen to where everyone is in relationship to the topic. This year’s topic just happens to be Satan—which seems to hit button with many, but really does not seem to matter what the topic is, people tend to get their feathers ruffled. I find this fascinating.
These people have come there to listen to scholarly study of the guest lecturer, yet many have come simply to argue their own points, their own understandings. That old saying, ‘somethings never’ change seems to be true. Paul, in this letter to the Corinthians, seems to be trying to settle the people of Corinth as they argue over who’s teachings were right.
Paul reminds us that in no uncertain terms that it is neither group that is right, but God alone!
Paul and his wonderful words that ring true throughout time.
We live in world where everyone wants to be right. Every church wants the most number of people in their pews. Everyone is shouting how correct their own doctrine is without listening to anything around them, without looking to see the larger picture of how God might be working in the world.
Paul reminds us that it is neither Apollos or Paul who we are called to serve, but God. It is God who sent the faith leaders to serve in different places for different purposes. It is God that gives the growth! It is God who uses individuals to bring others to a better understanding of God. For we are all servants of God, and should be working together for God’s glory.
Too often we are so busy wanting to be right that we cut off communication, we cut off understanding. We close our ears to the whispers of the spirit that might be speaking through those around us. Too often we want to dig our feet deep in the ground where we are standing, for ego, or pride, but when we do that we do not allow God to work within us. We do not allow God to use the servants he has placed along our own journey to challenge us, develop us, and help us to grow in maturity and in faith.
We are all still growing in our faith. We must open ourselves to the voices of those around us. We might not agree with everything that someone is saying, but we should listen to see if there are nuggets of growth in the teachings of those around us. We should listen to see if there is a seed within what someone is saying that might take root and grow with in us. We must see if the water that is being provide will allow us to grow and develop in our faith. It is God alone who gives the growth. We must open ourselves to the growing however. We must work together to see the kingdom unfold.
As I looked around the room of over 150 faithful Christians who gathered on Friday morning to hear the lecture on a contraversal topic of faith, I wondered what it would look like if all those people and their congregations came together to better serve our homeless population. I wondered what it would look like if we could set our docturnal differences aside and came together to build up God’s kingdom, not just our own congregations. I wondered how many we could feed and clothe; how many we people we could comfort and provide for is we set aside our own defenses and allowed God to plant and water and build within us.
I wonder!
The Word in Action…
What beliefs could you challenge to allow for growth?
Is there a voice around you that you have been shutting out?
What is something you can do this week to be a better servant of God?
Prayer of sending
As we go from this time,
God,
Rekindle our spirits by the grace of your Holy Spirit within us.
Help us to find the peace, love and joy that you call us each to.
Guide our hands to do your work,
Open our hearts to our neighbors
and our minds to your ways.
May your Spirit guide each step on the journey
and may we see glimpses of your kingdom come to life before us and through us.
Amen
Going out.
Be faithful in a little, that you may also be found faithful in much.
Be faithful in much, that you may be entrusted with the true riches that come from above.
Go to be faithful children of light,
And come to know the deep grace, hope and peace of the one who is truly faithful at all times.
Let all God’s people say: AMEN
