October 6, 2024 -Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost - Season of Creation

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎This bulletin includes the order of service as well as the readings for The Season of Creation. The items in bold italics are intended for audience response.

Prelude – Sounds from Nature

Opening Hymn

Opening Acclamation

Blessed be our God, Creator of all.
And blessed be God’s creation, now and always.

A Prayer for Joy in God’s Creation

O heavenly Creator, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song of Praise

O give thanks to our God who is good:
Whose love endures forever.
You sun and moon, you stars of the northern sky:
Give to our God your thanks and praise.
Sunrise and sunset, night and day:
Give to our God your thanks and praise.
All mountains and valleys, grassland, glacier, avalanche, mist and snow:
Give to our God your thanks and praise.
You oak and pine, hickory and maple, mosses and ferns:
Give to our God your thanks and praise.
Whales and whitefish, seal and crab, peeper and salamander, frog and turtle:
Give to our God your thanks and praise.
Rabbit and cattle, moths and dogs, robin and sparrow, hummingbird and hawk:
Give to our God your thanks and praise.
You people of all nations, all who inhabit this gift of earth:
We give to our God your thanks and praise.
All you simple saints and disciples, who follow God’s way:
We give to our God our thanks and praise.
We give to our God our thanks and praise.

The Collect of the Day

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Ministry of the Word

Old Testament
Job 1:1; 2:1-10

A reading from the book of Job.

Job was a man who lived in Uz. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion.

One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan also showed up. God singled out Satan, saying, “And what have you been up to?” Satan answered God, “Oh, going here and there, checking things out.” Then God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him, is there—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn’t work.”

Satan answered, “A human would do anything to save his life. But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health? He’d curse you to your face, that’s what.”

God said, “All right. Go ahead—you can do what you like with him. But mind you, don’t kill him.”

Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.

His wife said, “Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!”

He told her, “You’re talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?”

Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 26

We follow the responsive recitation method for the Psalm, where the leader alternates verses with the congregation. The items in bold italics are intended for audience response.

Clear my name, God;
I’ve kept an honest shop.
I’ve thrown in my lot with you, God, and
I’m not budging.

Examine me, God, from head to foot,
order your battery of tests.
Make sure I’m fit
inside and out

So I never lose
sight of your love,
But keep in step with you,
never missing a beat.

I don’t hang out with tricksters,
I don’t pal around with thugs;
I hate that pack of gangsters,
I don’t deal with double-dealers.

I scrub my hands with purest soap,
    then join hands with the others in the great circle,
    dancing around your altar, God,
Singing God-songs at the top of my lungs,
    telling God-stories.

God, I love living with you;
    your house glows with your glory.
When it’s time for spring cleaning,
    don’t sweep me out with the quacks and crooks,
Men with bags of dirty tricks,
    women with purses stuffed with bribe-money.

You know I’ve been aboveboard with you;
now be aboveboard with me.
I’m on the level with you, God;
I bless you every chance I get.

Epistle

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

A reading from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews.

Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says – powerful words! The Son Is Higher than Angels far higher than any angel in rank and rule.

God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. It says in Scripture, What is man and woman that you bother with them; why take a second look their way? You made them not quite as high as angels, bright with Eden’s dawn light; Then you put them in charge of your entire handcrafted world. What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place. It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn’t hesitate to treat them as family, Saying, I’ll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know about you; I’ll join them in worship and praise to you.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Third Reading
Mark 10:2-16

The third reading is from Mark

From there he went to the area of Judea across the Jordan. A crowd of people, as was so often the case, went along, and he, as he so often did, taught them. Pharisees came up, intending to give him a hard time. They asked, “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife?”

Jesus said, “What did Moses command?”

They answered, “Moses gave permission to fill out a certificate of dismissal and divorce her.”

Jesus said, “Moses wrote this command only as a concession to your hardhearted ways. In the original creation, God made male and female to be together. Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman—no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”

When they were back home, the disciples brought it up again. Jesus gave it to them straight: “A man who divorces his wife so he can marry someone else commits adultery against her. And a woman who divorces her husband so she can marry someone else commits adultery.”

* * *

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Sermon

An Environmental Creed

Now let us recite a creed, an affirmation of our faith:

We believe that the world belongs to God, the Creator, the One and Triune God, Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer, who in holy mercy has revealed God’s own self to humanity in the universe and in Jesus Christ.

We believe that God the Creator sustains and loves all creatures, that each human being is a unique and integral part of the community of life on Earth and has a special responsibility to care for life in all its forms. We believe God wants us to live in a way that preserves Earth’s natural life processes and respects all species and their habitats.

We believe that God wills that every human being has the right to a healthy environment and access to the fruits of the earth. We believe we have a duty to work to make these rights a reality for present and future generations, and for all life. As we follow Christ, we realize that we are trapped in structures that spread injustice, violence, waste, and destruction. We also believe that Jesus is the Truth, and that Christ’s truth will set us free.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who can empower us beyond the paralyzing idea that no one can make a difference. The Spirit causes us to persist in the conviction that justice can be done, peace can be established, the Earth can be protected and defended.

And that we are empowered to do so. Amen.

The Prayers of the People

The Leader and People pray responsively. During the silence after each bidding, the people offer their own prayers, either silently or aloud.

As we gather in the Season of Creation, let us pray for all communities of faith everywhere, the world, and all of God’s creation.

Creator, you made the world beautiful and sustain it with your love. We pray for the Earth and all its creatures. Help us to care for the land, water, and air, and to live in harmony with all living things.