15 th Sunday after Pentecost~~ September 4-5, 2021
September 6, 2021
Please be advised-due to a rise of Covid infection in our community and country, masks will be required for everyone entering our building beginning Monday, August 2 until further notice. Thanks for complying with this directive! Be safe!
15 th Sunday after Pentecost~~ September 4-5, 2021
The Prayer of the Day Gracious God, throughout the ages you transform sickness into health and death into life. Open us to the power of your presence, and make us a people ready to proclaim your promises to the whole world, through Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord. Amen.
Gospel : Mark 7:24-37 In Mark’s gospel, encounters with women usually signify turning points in Jesus’ ministry. Here, a conversation with a Syrophoenician woman marks the beginning of his mission to the Gentiles.
24[Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
HOMILY : The Jesus in today’s Gospel is kind of grumpy. Not the typical image of Jesus we usually have of being welcoming, loving, forgiving, and all around a nice and sweet and loving guy. But by the time we encounter him in the Gentile region of Tyre, there is no doubt that Jesus was exhausted and in need of some down time. And yet, he could not escape being noticed because a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit somehow finds out that he is in town, seeks Jesus out, bows down at his feet and begs him to cast the demon out of her daughter. To which Jesus responds by saying, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ~~~We can only speculate possible explanations as to why he was so dismissive, not the least of which is that Jesus was just being consistent about his intended mission. After all, Mark’s Gospel makes clear that his ministry was to the Jews and as the text so plainly points out, the woman is a Gentile of Syro-phoenician origin. But instead of being offended or even discouraged by Jesus’ harsh reaction, the woman presses on. She accepts his disparaging characterization and even uses Jesus’ own words against him by saying, “Fine, you can call me a dog, but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from the table.” WOW! ~~~And since we are polite, well-mannered, 21st-century Christians, we don’t really umderstand this Jesus. We don’t like that he doesn’t just heal the woman’s daughter when she asks. And we definitely don’t like that he doesn’t live up to our expectations of who we think Jesus should be. But if we are able to step back from our politeness, our expectations, and our children’s Bible version of Jesus, we might be able to see that this passage isn’t about him rejecting the woman’s desperate request but rather, recognizing her DESPERATE BELIEF. ~~~Let’s start with the DESPERATE part. No doubt the woman is at the end of her rope. Her young daughter is plagued with something no doctor can fix. She doesn’t just have a fever. She’s not suffering from some disease. An unclean spirit, a demon, is residing in the innocent body of her beloved child. Desperate is probably an understatement for what she is feeling. Yet in the depths of her helplessness, this woman, this mother, hears a story about a man from Galilee who not only makes the lame walk and the blind see, but casts demons out into the darkness where they belong. Normally she would chalk such tales up to the bored chatter of country folk, but these accounts were different. This Jesus was different. Many were saying it was all too good to be true, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe it was so good that it had to be true.
~~~That’s where the whole BELIEF part comes in. It didn’t take long for the woman’s curiosity to turn into hope and her hope to turn into expectation and her expectation to turn into belief. She began to believe that the stories about Jesus were true. She began to believe that Jesus was more than just an ordinary man. She began to believe in Jesus. And it was this DESPERATE BELIEF that drove the woman to call in every favor she had and use every trick in her bag just to find out where Jesus would be when he got into town. It was this DESPERATE BELIEF that gave the woman the courage to fall down at the rabbi’s feet and beg him for a miracle. It was this DESPERATE BELIEF that gave the woman the determination to argue for a crumb when she was denied bread. And it was this DESPERATE BELIEF, it is this DESPERATE BELIEF, that we, as Christians, call faith.
~~~If the Syrophoenician woman teaches us anything in this passage, if Jesus teaches us anything in this passage, it is that faith is NOT about what Jesus does, but about who Jesus is. Because faith is not about getting what we ask for, but getting the one we are asking. Faith is not about our needs, our wants, and our plan, but his needs, his wants, and his plan. When it comes down to it, our faith is not about us at all. Our faith is about him, our Savior, our Messiah, our Lord, Jesus Christ ~~~But here is the best part. While we don’t know the where, the when or the how, we do know, we do believe the who, the what and the why. Because as Christians we know, we believe that THE WHO is Jesus Christ. As Christians we know, we believe that THE WHAT is a life marked by forgiveness, salvation, hope, healing, and grace. And as Christians we know, we believe, that THE WHY is that God loves us more than we could have ever hoped for or imagined. So while the life of faith doesn’t always happen in the way we would expect, we, as Christians, continue to desperately believe not necessarily because we want to but because we have to. ~~~After all, Jesus is the only one we can rely on even in the midst of our deepest sadness. Jesus is the only one we can hope in even when it seems all hope is lost. And Jesus is the only one we would seek out, fall at his feet, and beg for even just for a meager crumb. Because Jesus is the only one who can take our desperate belief and call it faith. This Jesus who bids the little ones to come to him AND who casts out demons. This is the Jesus who preaches to the masses AND who goes to the mountains alone to pray. This is the Jesus who died on a cross AND who rose again three days later. And this is the Jesus who carries my faith AND carries your faith AND carries all of our faith. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Rooted in Christ and sustained by the Spirit, we offer our prayers for the church, the world, and all of creation. A brief silence.
Holy One, you bring your people together in worship. Enliven your church. Guide all who seek to share your love through word and deed. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You provide water for thirsty ground and sunshine to feed hungry plants. Inspire all people to show care for the world you have made. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You show no partiality. Increase justice in all nations. Encourage leaders and governments to work with one another for the good of our common world. Unite us in seeking the health, safety, and dignity of all. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You accompany those who are most in need. Shelter all fleeing violence or persecution, protect any who are in danger, and sustain them through uncertain and unstable times, esp… and be with those we now name aloud or in the silence of our hearts, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You support the work of your disciples. Continue to nurture the leadership and ministries of this congregation . Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You embrace all who have died in the faith and brought them into your glorious presence. We thank you for their example and rejoice in their lives. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We lift these and all our prayers to you, O God, confident in the promise of your saving love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
The blessing of the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us, keep us from harm, and fill us with courage. Amen.
Let us go out into the world in peace, sharing the Good News of Jesus and his love, as together we are led by the Spirit to serve God and share Christ’s love with all! Thanks be to God!
HOPE HAPPENINGS We welcome all who worship with us today. Please complete one of the visitor cards at our guest table. If you would like to make Hope your church home, please speak to Pastor Jen. Everyone is welcome at Hope Lutheran Church.
Next Week’s Readings: Isaiah 50 4-9a; Psalm 116: 1-9; James 3:1-12; Mark 8: 27-38
The July thru September Word in Season Devotionals are available on the narthex table.
LAY SERVANTS FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Altar Guild: Delores Hall and Gail Zahs Week of August 29, 2021
Usher: Karl Kaukis Total Attendance 50
Counters: Pr. Cheryll & Karl Kaukis Total Offering $968
PRAYER LIST
Please call the church office or email Pr. Jen with any prayer requests you may have so they may be shared with the congregation.
Please continue to hold in prayer:
Cyndi for healing
Evelyn Dickerson for healing
Moe & Louis for healing
Jeanie & William for healing
Jan for healing
Vanessa for healing
Maxine Linn (Mark Packer’s Mother)
Susan Cole
Richard Massey and Rick for healing
Doreen Parkinson for healing
John for healing
Herb Sixbury for healing
Doris Puerner for healing
Helen for healing after surgery
Dawn Seibert for healing
Carol for healing, hope, and God’s will.
Laura Everill, daughter of Phyllis and Tom Agness, for healing.
John Greene, Millie’s husband, for strength and healing & healing for all their family
Cheryl Burke who is in need of healing
Larry and Barbara Brady, as they focus on healing.
Pastor Pat for healing
Gini for healing
NEW AT HOPE
UNDIES & SCHOOL SUPPLIES Between now and Sunday Sept. 12, Gods Work Our Hands Sunday, let’s collect underwear and school supplies for our local students. Our collection will be blessed the weekend of Sept. 11 and 12 and then shared with or community. Help us as we make a difference in Jesus’ name.
KINDNESS KORNER Following along with Book Club suggestions, this week’s act of kindness.
Be intentional in listening to someone, not thinking about how you will respond but listening deeply to understand their heart.
Laura Everill, daughter of Phyllis and Tom Agness is healing after surgery and could use prayers and good wishes from our Hope family. Her address is Laura Everill, Room 601, Ashton Creek, 4111 Park Place Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46845. Her email address is leverill@comcast.net.
SAVE THE DATE – Hope Lutheran Bazaar scheduled for December 4, 2021.If you know of any vendors that would like to rent space, please contact Fran Kostrowsky.
HOPE LOVE PANTRY – The pantry could use tuna, crackers, pastas, tomato sauce, peanut butter, shampoo, boxed milk (dollar tree has best price), juices and canned fruits. Thank you for your continued support and donations. This is our opportunity to serve God and share Christ’s love with all.
Book Donations: If you have book you would like to share, please bring them to Hope for our Little Free Library. Adult and children’s books are much appreciated. Thank you!
HYMN REQUESTS If there are any hymns that you would like to hear at worship, please submit the names to Pastor Jen at hopeluthern1@comcast.net. If our licensing agreement permits, look forward to hearing them soon.
HOPES AND DREAMS FOR HOPE – If you have a suggestion for a Hope or Dream for Hope Lutheran Church, Pastor Jen and your council would love to hear it. Please feel free to place any Hope or Dream in the mailbox in the hallway leading to the Fellowship Hall. All requests will be kept confidential, and you will receive a timely response.
A celebration of Life for Rose Linnell will be held at the El Jobean Community League on Sept. 11 at 11am with a luncheon to follow. Rose was a charter member.
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