A Prayer Service for the Beginning of Day, (September 9, 2020)

 Though the fig tree does not blossom,

and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

and the fields yield no food; 

though the flock is cut off from the fold

and there is no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will exult in the God of

my

salvation.

 GOD, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of

a

deer, and makes me tread upon

the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

I hope you all had a restful Labor Day weekend. I spent time in the garden and cooking in the kitchen. They seemed like good social-distancing activities! We wonder when we will have the coronavirus contained and we can safely come back together as congregation within our building. I have faith that one day it will happen, but, O Lord, how long? 

Today’s gospel message speaks of how a famished Jesus’ wants to find the fig tree—a tree producing luscious, succulent figs like the picture above shows. When he finds a tree that does not produce any figs, his reaction is astonishing! Today we focus on the importance of faith?

DIALOGUE

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Alleluia.

PSALMODY

Give glory to God, our light and our life.
Oh, come, let us worship him.
Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth; the heights of the hills are also his.
The sea is his, for he made it; and his hands have molded the dry land.
Oh, come, let us bow down and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Give glory to God, our light and our life. 
Oh, come, let us worship him.

Psalm 119:65-72

You have dealt well with your servant,
O LORD, according to your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
  You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.
The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
Their hearts are fat and gross,
but I delight in your law.
It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
  The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

HYMN
My Faith Looks Up to Thee 

1. My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away,
oh, let me from this day
be wholly thine!

2. May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire;
as thou hast died for me,
oh, may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire!

3. While life's dark maze I tread
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow's tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.

4. When ends life's transient dream,
when death's cold, sullen stream
shall o'er me roll;
blest Savior, then, in love
fear and distrust remove;
oh, bear me safe above,
a ransomed soul!

Text: Ray Palmer, 1808-1887

READINGS
Leviticus 16:1-5, 20-28

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died. The LORD said to Moses:

Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on. He shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.

Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting, and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people. The fat of the sin offering he shall turn into smoke on the altar. The one who sets the goat free for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward may come into the camp. The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be consumed in fire. The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward may come into the camp. 

Silence for meditation.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.

GOSPEL
Matthew 21:18-22

In the morning, when [Jesus] returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” 

Silence for meditation.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.

MESSAGE
Mean-spirited or Gracefilled?

Did you know that this story of the withering of the fig tree provides the only example of a negative miracle in the Gospels? In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus seems a bit mean-spirited or even petulant to me. Doesn’t he to you? I had to ask myself, What’s going on here?  

Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. He knows the fate that awaits him. When they get there Jesus asks two of his disciples to fetch a colt and a donkey. When they do, Jesus enters Jerusalem riding as the people strew cloaks and branches along the road while shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Jesus then crosses the threshold of the temple to find the money-changers and merchants buying and selling within the temple. Furious, Jesus overturns their tables. Leaving the temple, he heals the blind and the lame and when the chief priests and the scribes see the amazing things he does, and hear the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they are angry.  Jesus rebukes them and then leaves the city to go to Bethany. There he spends the night. At this point, he is feeling angry and tired. The next morning he returns to Jerusalem and is hungry. He sees a fig tree, but it hasn’t produced any fruit. So, it seems to me Jesus has had quite a trying time in the last 24 hours. Finding only leaves and no fruit, Jesus curses the fig tree causing it to immediately wither.

The astonished disciples wonder, “How Jesus get the fig tree wither at once?”  Jesus answers them and turns this incident in to teachable moment. He says to his disciples, “If you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you have to ability to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you can say to a mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’  and it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” 

What is Jesus implying? Does he mean his words to be taken literally or figuratively? Does Jesus mean we can get whatever we ask for in prayer? If we don’t get what we want, does it mean there is something wrong with our faith? Does it mean that only the greatest heroes of the faith can move mountains? I don’t think so! What it does mean is that Jesus is addressing the arrogance of the priest and the scribes. The withered tree implicitly represents the judgment of God’s unfruitful people, but explicitly symbolizes the power of prayer. Jesus infers that those frequenting the sanctuary, while doing temple business and engaging in religious activities, are lacking in the vital faith in God that is a essential to effective prayer. He instructs his disciples to pray with the condition: Thy will be done! Jesus tells them that when you pray have faith in God and in God’s will for your life. Furthermore, when you pray, pray with love in your heart. 

We may not always get what we want in prayer. But it doesn’t mean there is something wrong with us, we are not powerful enough, or we lack perfect faith. Our God and our Lord Jesus is not mean-spirited towards us, but rather grace-filled. He loves us. God knows what is in our best interest. And so, in this passage a grace-filled Jesus speaks with words of love to his disciples and to us. 

In Christ, 
Pastor Harkness

THE GOSPEL CANTICLE

Refrain:

In the tender compassion of our God the Dawn from on high shall break upon us.

Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel,
you have come to your people and set them free.
You have raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of your servant David. Refrain

Through your holy prophets, you promised of old
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us;
you promised to show mercy to our forebears
and to remember your holy covenant. Refrain

This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship you without fear,
holy and righteous before you, all the days of our life. Refrain

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
to give God's people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins. Refrain

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Refrain

PRAYERS

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray,
Mighty God of mercy, we thank you for the resurrection dawn, bringing the glory of our risen Lord who makes every day new.
Especially we thank you—
for the sustaining goodness of your creation . . .
for the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness . . .
for the gifts of relationship with others . . .
for the communion of faith in your church . . .

Merciful God of might, renew this weary world, heal the hurts of all your children, and bring about your peace for all in Christ Jesus, the living Lord.
Especially we pray—
for those who govern nations of the world especially our president . . .
for the people of our country, for the restoration of peace, and for justice . . .
for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare . . .
for all who work for peace and international harmony . . .
for all who strive to save the earth from carelessness and destruction . . .
for the church of Jesus Christ in every land . . .

Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor be overcome in adversity. In all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

BENEDICTION

Almighty God, the Father,  ☩  the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us. Amen

HYMN
We Walk by Faith

1. We walk by faith and not by sight;
with gracious words draw near,
O Christ, who spoke as none e'er spoke:
"My peace be with you here."

2. We may not touch your hands and side,
nor follow where you trod;
but in your promise we rejoice,
and cry, "My Lord and God!"

3. Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;
and may our faith abound
to call on you when you are near
and seek where you are found:

4. For you, O resurrected Lord,
are found in means divine:
beneath the water and the word,
beneath the bread and wine.

5. And when our life of faith is done,
in realms of clearer light
we may behold you as you are, 
with full and endless sight.

Text: Henry Alford, 1810-1871, alt.

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