The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Pentecost 11 2020 Printable PDF
THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
August 16, 2020
ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, FALLS CHURCH, VA
SERVICE OF WORD AND PRAYER
✠ ✠ ✠
PRELUDE O Gracious Lord, with Love Draw Near Setting: Richard Proulx
WELCOME
ENTRANCE HYMN #599 O Gracious Lord, with Love Draw Near
(Melody available on PDF)
1 O gracious Lord, with love draw near
To these, Your children gathered here;
The Spirit’s gift in them renew:
The gift of faith that clings to You.
2 Sustain the work You have begun
In these united to Your Son,
For in that pure baptismal flood
They have been cleansed by Jesus’ blood.
3 Deliver them from ev’ry wile,
From all that would their hearts beguile,
From worldly ways and Satan’s lies,
That they may not Your Word despise.
4 Lord, keep them firm in their intent
To You, Your Word and Sacrament.
O make them bold, their faith to share
And make them strong, each cross to bear.
5 O Father, grant that by Your grace
They may Your will each day embrace;
With fruits of faith their lives now bless,
Till they at death Your name confess.
6 Then robed in white before Your throne,
Your holy saints, by You foreknown—
Predestined, called, and justified,
Shall, crowned in light, be glorified.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
In the name of the Father, and of the ✠ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
God of all mercy and consolation, come to the aid of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that, attentive to your Word, we may confess our sins, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
(Silence for reflection and self-examination)
Gracious God,
have mercy on us. In your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things done and left undone. Uphold us by your Spirit so that we may live and serve you in newness of life, to the honor and glory of your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
KYRIE
In peace let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
For the gift of divine peace and of pardon, with all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
For the holy Christian church, here and scattered throughout the world, and for the proclamation of the Gospel and the calling of all to faith, let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort and defend us, gracious Lord.
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
HYMN OF PRAISE
To you on high be glory and peace to all the earth;
Goodwill from God in heaven proclaimed at Jesus’ birth!
We praise and bless You, Father; Your holy name, we sing –
Our thanks for Your great glory, Lord God our heavenly King.
To you, O sole begotten, the Father’s Son, we pray;
O Lamb of God, our Savior, You take our sins away.
Have mercy on us, Jesus; receive our heartfelt cry,
Where You in power are seated at God’s right hand on high.
For You alone are holy; You only are the Lord.
Forever and forever, be worshiped and adored;
You with the Holy Spirit alone are Lord Most High,
In God the Father’s glory. “Amen!” our glad reply.
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting Father,
You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
FIRST LESSON Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed. . . .
“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
The Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Glory be 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.
SECOND LESSON Matthew 15:21–28
Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
ALLELUIA VERSE
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
SERMON TEXT Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear friends in Christ:
Today as we continue our sermon series on the Book of Romans, we’ve come to the 11th chapter. In American Christianity, Romans 11 has been torn apart. Bits and pieces of it are scattered all over the landscape. These pieces are found in publications and postings about the end times and the restoration of Israel. They’re joined to prophecies from Daniel, visions from Ezekiel, and images from Revelation. They show up in doomsday predictions and headlines about war in the Holy Land. They get mentioned in arguments about politics and power.
Knowing this, you may now be skeptical of our lectionary’s decision to choose just bits and pieces of this chapter for our reading! Are we, too, guilty of picking out only the parts that suit us?
Romans 11 is a very lengthy and detailed chapter. Examining it all at once would be quite a chore. Even more, we tend to get distracted and bogged down by these details. You’ve heard the saying: “you can’t see the forest for the trees?” Something like this happens often in examinations of Romans 11. A person is easily drawn in and confused by the many messages here.
As a further challenge, some of these messages seem contradictory. For instance, as Paul discusses the status of Israel in God’s plan of salvation, he at some points speaks of the hardening of Israel – voicing claims that God has rejected his people. Yet at other points, Paul speaks of the salvation of Israel, their election and how beloved they are for the sake of their forefathers.
When read up close and out of context, Paul’s words can become quite confusing. They have led some theologians to argue that Paul lays here a foundation for anti-Jewish sentiment in the church. At the same time, they have led other theologians to argue for a future day when God will restore the Jewish people as a prelude to the return of Christ.
Even more troubling, however, is the picture these verses can give of God. God can seem unfaithful – one time calling a people to be his own and then rejecting them only to call another. If that’s the case, then what is to keep God from rejecting the church? Can God be trusted when he makes promises?
To catch Paul’s messages, one must step back and look at the full picture. In doing so, the points he makes become clear.
First, Paul wants all to know that God remains faithful to his promises. God has not rejected Israel. After all, Paul himself is an Israelite. If God rejected Israel, then Paul would be condemned too.
Instead, God has initiated his greater vision for Israel. It is a vision in which Jew and Gentile are brought together, in Christ, to live as one people united in God’s mission.
God has shown his continuing faithfulness to Israel by fulfilling his promise of giving a new revelation and establishing a new covenant. God has not rejected Israel but furthered Israel in his plan – the plan to make known his salvation to all nations, as accomplished by his Son, the Messiah.
Paul himself embodies this plan of God in his own journey. He has been brought to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and is now being used by God to reach the Gentiles.
Paul now, in fact, understands his primary mission as reaching the Gentiles. By this time, he has stirred up enough anger among the Jewish leaders that he knows his effectiveness among the Jews is minimal. It’s better that he sticks to engaging with Gentiles.
And yet, he continues to have a heart for his people. And as he thinks of them, he realizes that his chief way of reaching them may now be by moving them to jealousy, as they see how many Gentiles are coming to the faith.
A second message in this chapter, therefore, is the simple message that some Jews will accept Jesus as Messiah and some won’t. That’s just the way it will be. Just like it is with the Gentiles.
Those Jews that accept Jesus as Messiah show evidence of God’s election. As Paul says in the text: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Those that don’t accept Jesus give proof of their own hardening – like many of their forefathers in the past.
As Paul makes this point, he notes the irony that the original rejection of Jesus as Messiah brought about the reconciliation of the world – a very good thing indeed! And to this he adds the thought that their acceptance now would also bring about a very good thing – life from the dead.
Paul says all of this because he doesn’t want the church to forget about the Jews. The Jews remain chosen by God. And this leads to a third point: the church is part of God’s mission to his chosen people.
God promised that he would bring salvation through Israel, through a descendent of David, and that this salvation would reach to the ends of the earth. When some of those people rejected their Messiah, did God then reject his plan? No. God continued to be merciful. He is always merciful. And he goes forward with his plans. God therefore brought forth the new Israel, the church.
Now, faced with Israel’s present disobedience, will God forget his mercy? Of course not. Just as the Gentiles were once disobedient and now received mercy, Paul sees a day when the Jews who are now disobedient will be led to repentance and receive God’s mercy. As he says: “God has consigned all to disobedience, in order that he might have mercy upon all.” This echoes what Paul had said earlier in the book: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:23-24).
Paul thus lives by hope – by a vision of God’s salvation gathering Jews and Gentiles together in one body, one church, one new Israel, that holds one faith in one God, through Jesus Christ who forgives all. As Paul steps back from the details, he sees the big picture… and it is a vision of mercy on the part of God, under the cross of Christ.
Our Lord has given us a beautiful vision. To live by this vision, however, calls for strength and courage in our world. Our vision of unity under the Gospel is different than many other banners put forward.
People will seek unity. They know they need other people. But they often seek it in the wrong places.
Many will seek their primary unity with the people of their nation. They will take pride in the ideals and land which unite them and find good in serving their immediate neighbors. And while this unity is good in many ways, it is also based on borders and competing interests with others in the world. A proud patriotism can easily lead to an extreme nationalism, with others becoming enemies not friends.
Others will seek unity within their political vision. They will promote various ideas about big government or limited government; this party or that party; these policies or those policies.
Others will seek unity in their economic vision – whether capitalistic or socialistic. And still others will seek unity in their language or their favorite pastimes or the color of their skin.
Competing views of unity are one challenge. And then there’s the challenge of our American way.
Our American culture prides itself on freedom of religion. People can believe what they want to believe. This is a fundamental right in our country and the Christian religion supports this freedom because we don’t compel others to believe in a certain way.
But we do preach what we believe to be true. And we don’t believe all worldviews contain the same truth or the same vision of unity under God’s Word.
Proclaiming the Gospel today is hard for many reasons. Some people believe that religious differences are the source of our problems and they make outlandish claims, such as religion being at the heart of every great conflict. These people believe that if all religions would just get along, there would be peace in the land.
Other people believe that Christianity itself is the source of our problems. They may have specific ideas on why this is the case, or just assume that because it’s the dominant religion in our problem-ridden society it must be a flawed.
There is a growing expectation in our land that religious voices must be kept quiet. To practice your own faith is one thing but to speak about your faith, as if it might be a help to someone else… well that is crossing a line. It’s considered argumentative, disrespectful of others, stirring up conflict, and in some people’s view even participating in hate speech.
But if we don’t speak up, then what other vision of unity will prevail? What other kind of hope will people find?
As we hear these words from Paul today, let us each consider the conversations to which God is calling us in our lives. What strange and difficult things is God calling you to say? It may be something bold, or it may be something quiet. It may be large, like a life-long conversation with your father, or it may be small, like a brief conversation with a stranger on the bus. But it will be God’s word at work through his people. And that’s what we need.
Paul reveals to us that we are a people who live by the proclaimed good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. This good news means that God is here, today, for you, forgiving your sin. And God is here, today, for others, seeking to bring them to faith as well. He will not stop. He will not remain silent. He will continue to work through his people in powerful ways. He will work through you, and through Spirit-led moments with all his people, to fulfill his vision of bringing all nations into one body, the new Israel, under the Lordship of Christ.
May God lead us, then, as we participate in that vision. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY #861 Christ Be My Leader
1 Christ be my Leader by night as by day;
Safe through the darkness, for He is the way.
Gladly I follow, my future His care,
Darkness is daylight when Jesus is there.
2 Christ be my Teacher in age as in youth,
Drifting or doubting, for He is the truth.
Grant me to trust Him; though shifting as sand,
Doubt cannot daunt me; in Jesus I stand.
3 Christ be my Savior in calm as in strife;
Death cannot hold me, for He is the life.
Nor darkness nor doubting nor sin and its stain
Can touch my salvation: with Jesus I reign.
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING Christ Be My Leader Setting: Steven Wente
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
Let us pray to the Lord for all that we need and on behalf of all people, that He may bestow upon us the riches of His grace and that we may receive His gifts with faith and thanksgiving in our hearts. Brief silence
For true unity in the faith; for the preservation of pure doctrine; for harmony in the lives of our congregation, district and Synod; and for charitable hearts that put the best construction on what we see and hear, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For those outside the kingdom; for missionaries near and far; for the ministries and agencies of our Church whereby the Gospel is spoken to those who have not heard; and for those who hear, that they may be brought to faith, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For all families, for husbands and wives to live in faithfulness to each other, for all mothers with child, for all children, and for those who bring them to Baptism and nurture them in the faith, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For our president; the Congress; our governor; all elected and appointed leaders; all judges and magistrates; the members of the armed forces; and our police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel in their duties to protect and serve us, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For peace in our land in our world; for racial reconciliation; for the care of the poor and the hungry; for safe schools and effective education; and for justice among us, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the healing of the sick, the relief of the suffering, the comfort of the grieving and the peace of the dying, [especially _____________,] and for those who care for them in their afflictions, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For all honest work and occupations, for our good use of the fruits of our labors, for generosity for those in need, and for the tithes and offerings that accompany our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For our remembrance of the saints and in thanksgiving for their faithful witness, that at last we may be joined with them in Your eternal presence, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
Lord God, giver of all that is good, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your grace, that we may endure the changes and chances of this mortal life and be found worthy when our Savior comes to bring to completion all things; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE 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.
BENEDICTION
The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make His face shine on us
and be gracious to us.
The Lord look upon us with favor and ✠ give us peace.
SENDING HYMN #832 Jesus Shall Reign
1 Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does its successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2 To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With ev’ry morning sacrifice.
3 People and realms of ev’ry tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.
4 Blessings abound where’er He reigns:
The pris’ners leap, unloose their chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all who suffer want are blest.
5 Let ev’ry creature rise and bring
Honors peculiar to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Trumpet Tune by Tomaso Albinoni
Altar Flowers: “In memory of my recently passed, cherished Dad, Claude Klemm.” By Kim and Gary F.
Acknowledgments
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