Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, August 13, 2023)

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

The Saturday evening news is filled with bad news. Two mass stabbing In South Korea two weeks apart. Wildfires raging out of control on the island of Maui. 80% of the town of Lahaina destroyed. 89 people killed. Hundreds unaccounted for. At least two churches, one Episcopal and the other United Methodist, gone up in flames. A Buddhist temple also burned to the ground. A three-year-old Venezuelan girl collapsed and died on a bus the Republican governor of Texas uses to ship migrants to out of state cities with Democratic administrations. A surge of deaths of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in small, overcrowded boats in stormy weather.

In the midst of all this bad news, Christians are called not only to be the hands and feet of Jesus but also to tell others about Jesus. We are called to be the bearers of Good News.

WE GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness:
let the whole earth stand in awe. Psalm 96:9

Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Perry’s “O God Beyond All Praising.”

1 O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.

2 The flower of earthly splendor
in time must surely die,
its fragile bloom surrender
to you the Lord most high;
but hidden from all nature
the eternal seed is sown -
though small in mortal stature,
to heaven's garden grown:
for Christ the Man from heaven
from death has set us free,
and we through him are given
the final victory!

3 Then hear, O gracious Savior,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we'll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you. Ruth 2:4

Let us pray.

Silence

Grant to us, Lord, we beseech you,
the spirit to think and do always such things as are right,
that we, who cannot do anything good without you,
may by you be enabled to live according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Nicholas Decius’ “All Glory Be to God on High.”

1 All glory be to God on high,
and peace on earth from heaven,
and God’s good will unfailingly
be to all people given.
We bless, we worship you,
we raise for your great glory
thanks and praise,
O God, Almighty Father.

2 O Lamb of God, Lord Jesus Christ,
whom God the Father gave us,
who for the world was sacrificed
up on the cross to save us;
and, as you sit at God’s right hand
and we for judgement
there must stand,
have mercy, Lord, upon us.

3 You only are the Holy One,
who came for our salvation,
and only you are God’s true Son,
who was before creation.
You, only, Christ, as Lord we own,
and with the Spirit, you alone
share in the Father’s glory.

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

Thank you, Father, for making yourself know to us
and showing us the way of salvation
through faith in your Son.
We ask you now to teach and encourage us
through your word,
so that we may be ready to serve you;
for the glory of our Lord Jesus Crist. Amen.

A reading from the Old Testament (Genesis 37: 1-28)

So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.

This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.

Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”

His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”

This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.

Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.”

“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.

“Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.

When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”

“Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.

When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

Silence

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’ “Surely it is God Wo Saves Me.”

Surely it is God who saves me;
I shall trust and have no fear.
For the Lord defends and shields me
and his saving help is near.
So rejoice as you draw water
from salvation's healing spring;
in the day of your deliverance
thank the Lord, his mercies sing.

Make God's deeds known to the peoples:
tell out his exalted Name.
Praise the Lord, who has done great things;
all his works God's might proclaim.
Zion, lift your voice in singing;
for with you has come to dwell,
in your very midst the great and
Holy One of Israel.

A reading from the New Testament (Romans 10:5–15)

For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says,

“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.”*

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Silence

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

Called to Be Bearers of Good News

Our Old Testament reading is the opening chapter in the story of Joseph, which is also the story of how the people of Israel became slaves in Egypt. It is a chapter in the ongoing story of how God fulfilled his promises to Abraham. You can read the entire story of Joseph in the Old Testament, in the Book of Genesis, Chapters 37, 39, 40-50, and the Book of Exodus, Chapter 1. The Book of Genesis is the first book in the Bible and the Book of Exodus is the second book in the Bible.

If you are not familiar with God’s promises to Abraham, they are a promise of land, a promise of numerous descendants, a promise of blessing for him and his descendants, and a promise of blessing through him for all nations. You can read about God’s covenant with Abraham, then called Abram, in Chapter 15 of the Book of Genesis.

Christians believe that God fulfilled the last three promises through Jesus. The descendants of Abraham are those who, like Abraham, trust God. According to Jesus, they follow Abraham’s example (John 8:39). They believe God’s words. In his trust in God and in his belief in God’s words, Abraham is the forebear of all who have faith in Jesus.

This leads us to our New Testament reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans. In this passage the apostle Paul makes two important points.

The first point is that If we openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. For it is by believing in our heart that we are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring our faith that we are saved. Among the ways that we openly declare the Lordship of Jesus and our faith is baptism if we were not baptized at a young age and by our profession of faith before the assembled church and te receiving of the church’s prayers and the laying on of hands if we were baptized at an early age. This declaration, however, is not a onetime thing. It is ongoing. We continue to declare Jesus’ Lordship and our faith in the way we live and the actions we take. They provide evidence that Jesus is truly Lord in our deepest thoughts and convictions and our faith is a living one. We demonstrate through our life ad deeds as well as our words that we are truly disciples of Jesus, “followers of the Lamb,” to borrow a phrase from an old Shaker song.

The second point is stated in these words:

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

Paul goes on to write, “…faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17 NLT). It is the good news about Jesus, about who is, what he did, what he taught—the whole message of the gospel—which plants the seed of faith in us, quickens that seed and causes it to grow and to mature and to bear fruit.

Now it is tempting to think that Paul is talking about preaching and preachers, ordained elders and deacons, licensed local pastors, and the like. What he is saying certainly does apply to them. However, it also applies to all believers. We are all called to witness to Jesus in both our words and our deeds. While some people may come to faith after hearing a single sermon or talk, most people come to faith after hearing the Good News about Jesus piecemeal, in different ways at different times over an extended period of time. They may have a series of spiritual conversations with a friend, a neighbor, a colleague, or a fellow student. They may hear the Good News in bits and pieces from several different people. God’s grace does not work exactly in the same way in everyone.

The implication for us is that we as believers need to be prepared to have spiritual conversations with those who are not yet believers. This will entail actively listening to their beliefs and convictions, refraining from passing judgment on them, and not attempting to pressure them into accepting our beliefs and convictions. It will mean cultivating a relationship of genuine friendship with them, a relationship whose continuance is not tied to their acceptance of our beliefs and convictions. Ultimately it is God’s grace that will bring them to faith. God may use us to plant a seed, to water a seed someone else has planted, or to reap the fruit of someone else’s labors.

As well as being prepared to have spiritual conversations with non-believers, we also need to be prepared to disciple a new believer, to instruct them in the basics of discipleship, to sponsor them for baptism if they have not been baptized, to sponsor them for confirmation if they have been baptized, and to encourage and support them on their faith journey.

What Paul is saying applies to the parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, grand aunts and uncles, and other relations to baptized and unbaptized children. Children are not going to come to faith unless someone shares the Good New with them and models for them what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus. Those who have a close relationship with a child will have a greater influence on that child than a pastor or a children’s ministry staff member or volunteer. They are in a better position to share and show the love of Jesus to the child than anyone else.

The quotation with which Paul concludes our New Testament reading comes from the Book of Isaiah.

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
the good news of peace and salvation,
the news that the God of Israel reigns! (Isaiah 52:7 NLT)

Whether they are old or young, well-off, or poor; have white, brown, or black skin; speak in English, Spanish, or some other language; are highly educated or have no education at all. the feet of all who bear the Good News about Jesus are beautiful. Beautiful indeed!

WE RESPOND

Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley Smith’s “’How Shall They Hear’ Who Have Not Heard.”

‘How shall they hear,' who have not heard
news of a Lord who loved and came;
nor known his reconciling word,
nor learned to trust a Saviour's Name?

To all the world,' to every place,
neighbours and friends and far-off lands,
preach the good news of saving grace;
go while the great commission stands.

Whom shall I send?' Who hears the call,
constant in prayer, through toil and pain,
telling of one who died for all,
to bring a lost world home again?

Lord, here am I:' your fire impart
to this poor cold self-centred soul;
touch but my lips, my hands, my heart,
and make a world for Christ my goal.

Spirit of love, within us move:
Spirit of truth, in power come down!
So shall they hear and find and prove
Christ is their life, their joy, their crown.

WE PRAY FOR GOD’S WORLD

Let us pray for all people and for the Church throughout the world.

Father, we pray for the universal Church;
that we all may be one in Christ.

Grant that every member of the Church may truly and
humbly serve you;
that your Name may be glorified by everyone.

We pray for all Christian pastors;
that they may be faithful ministers of your word and
sacraments.

We pray for the spread of the gospel;
that people everywhere may come to know and love you.

We pray for all who govern and exercise authority in the
nations of the world;
that there may be peace and justice among all.

Give us strength to do your will in all that we undertake;
that we may be blessed in all our works.

Have compassion on those who suffer or are in grief or
trouble;
that they may he delivered from their distress.

We praise you for all your saints who have entered into
joy;
may we also share in your heavenly kingdom.

Let us pray for our own needs and those of others.

Silence

Those present may add their own petitions.

Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who taught us to pray,

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,
for ever and ever. Amen.

WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

Draw your Church together, O God,
into one great company of disciples,
together following our Lord Jesus Christ
into every walk of life,
together serving him in his mission to the world,
and together witnessing to his love
on every continent and island.
This we ask through Christ our Redeemer
Amen.

May God almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless and keep us this day and always. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Rusty Edward’s “We All Are One in Mission.”

1 We all are one in mission,
We all are one in call,
Our varied gifts united
By Christ, the Lord of all.
A single, great commission
Compels us from above
To plan and work together
That all may know Christ's love.

2 We all are called for service
To witness in God's name.
Our ministries are diff'rent,
Our purpose is the same:
To touch the lives of others
By God's surprising grace
So ev'ry folk and nation
May feel God's warm embrace.

*3 We all behold one vision,
A stark reality:
The steward of salvation
Was nailed upon a tree.
Yet resurrected Justice
Gives rise that we may share
Free reconciliation
And hope amid despair.

4 Now let us be united
And let our song be heard.
Now let us be a vessel
For God's redeeming Word.
We all are one in mission,
We all are one in call,
Our varied gifts united
By Christ, the Lord of all.

*Omitted in the video.

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.