Worship June 4, 2021
Let us worship!
Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”
Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
and say it again: “Thank you!”
Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.
When I walk into the thick of trouble,
keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
With one hand
strike my foes,
With your other hand
save me.
Finish what you started in me, God.
Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.
--From Psalm 138, 1-3, 7-8
A prayer to center you
Holy God,
You molded us into our own beings, uniquely made, each in your own image.
You created us as your vessels, to shine your light through our imperfections.
Pour out your light upon us, that we may shine in your glory.
Use us to be your vessels of hope and love, even when darkness encroaches.
Give us strength to endure and courage to live in the face of the realities that surround us.
Let us live into hope of the promise of eternal life with you.
These things we pray in your sons Holy name,
Amen
Holy Words from 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
Reflection:
I did an interview with a friend a few months back for a pod cast, The Cumberland Road. I went into the conversation expecting to just talk about my faith journey in general and where I saw God moving the church during these strange times. But the first question the person doing the interview asked me was about my experience with cancer because he had never really heard that part of my story.
It took me a little bit by surprise. That is part of my journey that I had not thought about much lately. It has been almost 20 years since I was diagnosed and while I still deal with the some of the issues from treatment in many ways it has become a distant memory to me. But as I answered his question about my cancer journey, it reminded me of the many blessing I gained from that time and how that hardship really shaped me into the person, and pastor, I am today.
I never really wanted to define myself by my cancer diagnosis. So I sometimes try to distance myself from it, maybe a little too much. There were many faith lessons I learned through that part of my journey that truly strengthened me and my faith. And in not wanting to “go around preaching about ourselves” I may have been missing a chance to preach about Jesus. So today I am going to talk about that part of my journey a little and I hope you hear the word of God through it.
One question I often received when I was undergoing treatment and thereafter, when it was still obvious from my lack of hair that I was cancer survivor, was “don’t you ever ask ‘why you?” My answer to that was always, “No, I only ask myself why not me.” God gave me all the resources that I need to fight and face cancer. I was the daughter of a doctor, which meant I had live in caregiver who knew how to face most issues. While his roll as a dad sometimes interfered with his ability to work to the highest degree (like bringing the dog with him to the hospital when I was first diagnosed, leaving him having to figure out what to do with the dog while he went into the out of town hospital), when something went wrong, which it was bound to do, we had easy access to care. Like the night his pharmacist friend rushed fluids over to the house because I couldn’t stop throwing up. The fluids but an end to it immediately. Why not me? How much easier was it on me to go through these journey than for someone with less support! Why not me?
But maybe the answer to the question, far on this side of it, is: me because of what I can learn through the process to help others.
I was young when I was diagnosed—still 22. I was in seminary. Let me tell you, what I learned going through a critical illness gave me more knowledge about real life than anything in seminary could have. I came out of seminary knowing what it was to hear the words of a life changing diagnosis, the fear, chaos, confusion, and uncertainty. I came away from my cancer journey understanding the medical field and the way they work with much more confidence than most people in their twenties. I learned what it meant for a person of faith to have face the reality of hardship and to face their humanity in really ways real fast. I received life experiences that prepared me to enter into ministry with perspectives I could have gained no other way. Why me? To make me stronger, wiser and better. To make me a better vessel to with which to have the light of God shine through.
God stood by my through my deepest pain. God saw me through the most difficult times. God used my journey to help strengthen me for the road that I am not know. I can testify to the fact that God stood beside through the hardest of journeys. God has used me since to help others walk down similar roads. In my brokenness God made me stronger.
In Japan there is an art called Kintsugi. It is 400 year old practice of taking broken pottery and fixing it in a way that highlights the brokenness. They use gold to cover the repairs. In so doing the embrace the broken, the flawed and imperfect to create an even stronger, more resilient, more beautiful vessel. Every break is unique. Every broken spot beautiful.
God made us each unique vessels, mold us with God’s own hands. We all face our own suffering, our own troubles, our own challenges, but we are never abandoned by God. We all have times when we get knocked down, but we will not be destroyed. God gives us the hope to overcome. God gives us the promise of new life through Jesus.
We all have our scars, some can be seen, come cannot. We all have our broken places that we have had to meld back together. But we are made who we are by those scars—made unique through them. It is through those cracks and scars, that we let God’s light shine through us and become stronger, more resilient and more beautiful.
There is a country song by Rascal Flatts that I just love, “Bless the Broken Road.” My favorite verse is this,
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart
They were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.
It is the broken road that leads us to where we are meant to be. Things are not always easy. We face trouble and tribulation. But God walks with us through every struggle, every pressure, every broken place and if we let God, we will use those imperfections to become beautiful. Use the cracks in our fragile selves to let the great treasure we find in God shine forth. So let us go forth trusting in God to see us through. Let us trust that in our troubles we will not be crushed, when we are feeling worn down, may we know we are never abandoned, when we get knocked down, may we trust that we are not destroyed, because our hope lies in Christ who promises eternal life for us.
Amen
Thinking it through...
Do you have scar somewhere on your body?
What does that scar remind you of?
Every scar I have reminds me of something that happened. Some of them are like a good fishing story, they get bigger with every telling. All of those scars however, make up who I am—the story of me.
What do you scars tell about you? Embrace those parts of you, the good, the bad and the ugly. They make up who you are…and you are beautiful!
Bless the Broken Road
Rascal Flatts
I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushin' through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart
They were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Yes, He did
I think about the years I spent just passin' through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there, you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is comin' true
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart
They were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Yeah, yeah
And now I'm just a rollin' home into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Ooh, ooh, ooh, mm, mm, mm
Prayer of Sending
God of strength,
Creator and sustainer,
Spirit of strength and courage,
Help us accept our broken places and to know that we are made stronger through them.
Help us to see how we can help others through sharing our story, our strength and our faith.
Use our brokenness for your glory and help us to cling to our hope in life eternal with you.
Amen
Going out.
Go out into the world, seeking the light of Christ Jesus and may you see all around you the love, compassion, joy, generosity, and hope in the Kingdom of God.
and in all that you do, may the love of Christ Jesus uphold you,
the peace of God sustain you and may the Holy Spirit guide you each step of the way
Let all God’s people say: AMEN
