Evening Prayer for September 8, 2021

 Evening Prayer (Vespers)

You may wish to light a candle and place it before you as you begin.

 OPENING DIALOGUE

Gracious God, to proclaim your Word is a holy action.
May we be open to your Spirit at this moment,
that we may be moved to boldly live our faith,
each and every day. Amen.

 

HYMN: Open your ears, O faithful people

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdUsQN4L4Bs  

 READINGS

First Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7a

A reading from: Isaiah

Say to those who are panicking:
    “Be strong! Don’t fear!
    Here’s your God,
        coming with vengeance;
        with divine retribution
    God will come to save you.”

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf will be cleared.
⁶ Then the lame will leap like the deer,
    and the tongue of the speechless will sing.
Waters will spring up in the desert,
    and streams in the wilderness.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground, fountains of water.
The jackals’ habitat, a pasture;  
    grass will become reeds and rushes. 

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

A reading from: Mark

³¹ After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities. ³² Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing. ³³ Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up.” ³⁵ At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly.

³⁶ Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news. ³⁷ People were overcome with wonder, saying, “He does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can’t speak.”

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

 

REFLECTION:

Here are my responses to the prompts. What are yours?

 

What strikes you in this Gospel reading?  

Jesus sighed deeply  

Why does it strike you?

Essentially, Jesus breathes on the man, or into him. It is like Jesus breathed in deeply to be filled with God’s Spirit, then breathed out on the man while he was touching him.

But then, what of the mud and the spittle? Aren’t they, too, filled with God’s Spirit? Perhaps this is a reminder that everything is of and from God.  

Or, perhaps the mud and spit are for show, for the people who are watching. I notice in this image the eyes of the man behind Jesus. He is paying close attention! What is he thinking?

What is God saying to you through this text?

Breathe deeply, to draw in Spirit. Pray and breathe often. Pay attention, because we never know when the Spirit will show up, or how!

 

SCRIPTURE DIALOGUE

Christ’s followers eagerly shared everything in common.
May we be empowered and inspired to do the same!

PRAYERS

In Christ Jesus we meet the God who knows our weakness and bears the wounds of the world. Therefore, let us be bold as we pray, trusting that God draws near to those in any kind of need.

Individual prayers are offered silently or aloud.

Into your wide embrace, O God, we place all our prayers, spoken and unspoken, trusting that you will receive them into your heart of mercy, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

HYMN: Healer of our every ill

YouTube link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g446Nicwe2E

BLESSING

As you leave this place,
remember to walk in God’s ways.
Remember to dwell in the goodness of God.
Remember to be faithful.
May peace be upon you + this day and always. Amen.

 

Scripture from Common English Bible © 2012

Liturgy from ELW Annual Liturgy License 26504

And Abingdon Worship Annual 2021

New perspectives

 James 2:1-17; Mark 7:24-37

I had been in Northwood, Iowa, for just a few weeks on internship. Pastor Paul wanted me to start preaching and Matthew’s version of this story of the Gentile woman was the text for my first sermon. 

As I preached, I noticed a man taking notes. I had seen others take notes during sermons, so I didn’t think any more about it. At the door, shaking hands at the end of the service, the note-taking man introduced himself as Bill. Could he talk with me in my office in a few minutes? Sure, I said.

So, in my office, Bill pulled a notepad out of his pocket and flipped a few pages. He began, “I noticed when you read the Gospel, you made Jesus sound angry. You might want to change that at the second service. You know, Jesus was always kind. He was never angry.”

I thanked him for his comment, and we had a conversation about Jesus. I reminded him about the time he overturned the tables of the money changers. He certainly was angry that day. Or when Peter tried to tell Jesus he would not be betrayed and Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan.” Yes, there were times when Jesus was angry.

Bill had never thought of Jesus this way. My words gave him a new perspective.

So, in this Gospel story, it is likely that Jesus spoke sharply to the woman. Jesus was a man of his own culture, a Jewish man who had grown up knowing that his people were the Jews. Yes, he welcomed others, but those times seemed to be his choice. He was in control.

At this point, Jesus is tired. He has been walking and teaching and healing for months, with little down time. He left Jewish territory for Gentile territory hoping he could escape the crowds and get some rest. Like a mother who tells her children, “Mommy is not home,” Jesus just needs some time alone, alone with God.

Even hiding behind the closed door of the house they were in, people, Gentile people, come to find him. He is not able to escape, even here. So, I can imagine his frustration when this woman kneels before him and begs him to heal her daughter. In his fatigue, he is not able to hide his frustration. He seeks an excuse.

“It’s not time yet, for me to heal your people. For now, I have come only to the Jewish people. Your time will come later. Now, go away!”

“Please,” she begs.

Jesus counters, “It’s not right to take the food off someone’s table and give it to the dogs.”

The word Jesus uses is not a polite word. But the woman will use it to her advantage. “But even the dogs get the table scraps!”

Suddenly, Jesus has a new perspective on this woman. She is so certain he can heal her daughter, she is willing to be called a bad name. In fact, she is so sharp, she uses the word against him in her reply. Without Jesus even seeing or touching the daughter, she is healed.

… The reading from James is also about new perspectives. Just because someone is wealthy doesn’t mean God has blessed them more and that poorer people are blessed less. God loves everyone the same, so wealthy people shouldn’t receive special treatment. On the other hand, poorer people should be assured that God loves them.  

For the people of James’ community, this was startling news. It is still startling news to many people today, wealthy and poor alike. Many people believe that if you have lots of stuff, God has blessed you, and if you don’t have lots of stuff, you must have done something wrong. In fact, James says, it is the wealthy people who are making the poor people suffer. That is a new perspective for many people.

Don’t we all need a new perspective? For example, as I drive around, I notice cars. Now, I like my car, but I wish it had more features, like my previous car did. I miss the larger console and the cubby holes my old car had.

So, I look with envy at the larger cars on the road with me, and wonder if I would like that car, and if I could afford it. But then, I notice that another car has some bumps and dents, there are children in it, and the windows are down, probably because the air conditioning isn’t working. Then, I get a new perspective on my current car.

Covid-19 has forced us to have a new perspective on lots of things. We never thought it was THAT important to have worship available on a phone or computer. We never even thought we would LIKE watching worship from home while the pastor did her thing in an empty sanctuary.

And, we never thought about how important it is to be able to have face-to-face conversations with other people, until it was unsafe to have them. Some people never imagined they would be asking for rent relief, and a box of free food, and an unemployment check. But, now we DO know. And we have a new perspective about giving and receiving help in a time of crisis.

What will we do in response? James cites a portion of the Shema, a prayer every Jew knows by heart. “Hear, O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Then, James challenges us to not just pray for hurting people, but to put our money where our mouth is: loving our neighbor as we love ourselves!

Today, hungry people in our communities need to know they are still important to God and to us who believe in God. People about to lose their homes need to know we are willing to help them, through our contributions to Interfaith. People who used to work for large companies with big salaries need to know that they still have value, even though their new job pays a lot less, if they can find one at all.

Photo credit: Woodcut, Christ of the Breadlines, by Fritz Eichenberg (1951) 

It doesn’t matter to God how much money we have, how we worship, what language we speak, or where we call home. When we love God, we express that faith by welcoming everyone into the community, by taking time out to be with God, and by sharing what we have with others as an expression of God’s love for us. Amen