For the week of June 22 – 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: Most holy and eternal God, You dwell in the heights of heaven, yet You walk among those who refuse to see You. Hold out Your hand to those who rebel against You, and free us from the chains that bind us, that we may be healed by Christ and proclaim His saving deeds to all the world. Amen. (Lectionary Prayers)
Opening Hymn: #534 Be Still My Soul
- Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to your God to order and provide; in every change God faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. - Be still, my soul: your God will undertake to guide the future, as in ages past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
the Christ who ruled them while He dwelt below. - Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
Psalm 22:25-28 (CEB)
25 I offer praise in the great congregation
because of You;
I will fulfill my promises
in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
Let all who seek the Lord praise Him!
I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
will remember and come back to the Lord;
every family among all the nations will worship You.
28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
He rules all nations.
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Pastor Ron has retired from ministry – but he continues to minister by leading 2 Bible study groups. Pastor Ron works with Pastor Becky to select different topics for those of us who are delving into scriptures. If Tuesday mornings or evenings are not good times, borrow one of the many Bible study resources from the church library and study on your own or with a group of friends.
Offering prayer: Gracious and transforming God, You clothe us in grace and love. Receive these gifts as signs of our desire to live into Christ’s vision of Your beloved community. Baptized into Your peace and justice, may we shed old divisions and embrace the unity You intend for all people. Use these offerings to build bridges, mend hearts, and proclaim that in Christ, all are one—equal, cherished, and free. May our giving reflect the boundless love You pour into us. We pray this in the name of the one who makes us whole. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation: #382 Have Thine Own Way, Lord
- Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still. - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Savior today!
Wash me just now, Lord, wash me just now, as in Thy presence humbly I bow. - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine! - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway. Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
Scripture: Luke 8:26-39
26 Jesus and His disciples sailed to the Gerasenes’ land, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a certain man met Him. The man was from the city and was possessed by demons. For a long time, he had lived among the tombs, naked and homeless. 28 When he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down before Him. Then he shouted, “What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, don’t torture me!” 29 He said this because Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken possession of him, so he would be bound with leg irons and chains and placed under guard. But he would break his restraints, and the demon would force him into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had entered him. 31 They pleaded with him not to order them to go back into the abyss.[a] 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission, 33 and the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who tended the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. 35 People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully dressed and completely sane. They were filled with awe. 36 Those people who had actually seen what had happened told them how the demon-possessed man had been delivered. 37 Then everyone gathered from the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their area because they were overcome with fear. So He got into the boat and returned across the lake. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged to come along with Jesus as one of His disciples. Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell the story of what God has done for you.” So he went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.
Affirm your faith by reciting the 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 Pontus Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. (UM Hymnal #881)
Message: Pastor Becky Cuddeback
Healing comes in community.
Healing stories of Jesus are troublesome for us. Healing stories in general can be troubling for us, mostly because they require something from us. Because no one heals in isolation. Jesus activates the healing of the demon possessed man. He drives out the affliction, enables the man to return to his community. He actually instructs him to return and tell the story of what God has done. The man is to bear witness.
But the community he is to return to has already asked Jesus to leave. Scripture says they are overcome with fear. Yet fear of what? What is so scary about someone being healed? We, the Church, love a good testimony. Many times they are the highlight of revival meetings. We love a story that tells how one was once lost but now is found. AA and other support groups use healing testimonies constantly as encouragement. They're meant to gird the afflicted and to constantly support steps toward healing.
Yet healing comes with a cost and sometimes the community doesn't want to absorb that cost. We see this in all aspects of healing. When it comes to cancer. A cure would annihilate the profits of Big Pharma. Because there's more money to be made in treatment than in curing. When we look at alcoholism, if an alcoholic quits drinking it has ripple effects. The local supplier loses sales and if enough folks in a given place abstain from alcohol the business becomes unprofitable. We can talk about the economic implications all day and we know that there's big money in addiction or the state wouldn't be involved in liquor sales and lotteries. Nor are they easily persuaded to allow private citizens or organizations to participate in lotteries or independent sales. There are licensing and paperwork needed to apply to get access to the revenue … and don’t forget the permit fee. Cigarettes and tobacco have their own taxes as well. If it were a matter of wellness, revenue wouldn't be an issue.
Exclusion is another cost of healing. We may have to change the way we do things in order for others to be included in community with us. We, as possessors of assurance, as ones steeped and fostered and nurtured in faith, we have to be the flexible ones moving toward those who are to be included. Inclusion means removing all barriers, whether they be physical, emotional or spiritual, that keep other folks out, that keep others from healing. Folks beginning their journeys toward healing should not be forced to fit into our boxes of what it means to be part of the community.
Holding the idea of superiority is a cost to healing. We love to feel good about ourselves and truly there is no sin in living into our God-given identities. But if our identity is based on the idea that at least we are not an alcoholic or a gambler or a hoarder or insert any other characteristic that gives us a perceived superiority, we have to shed the notion that we are better than someone else. For the man Jesus met, it was demons, and we don't know what that looked like for him. But we have to be able to empathize with him. Because it could have been, or could yet be us. Being a community of God that nurtures healing, the community that sustains healing means we don't act or see ourselves as better than another.
To be the community Jesus returns people to for healing we must give up, purge ourselves of indifference. We can no longer claim ignorance. In order for people to maintain their healing, they must be surrounded by people who care. To be people that care means that we have to educate ourselves about the needs of those who are healing. What are the best ways to encourage each other? What are the best ways to employ our gifts and graces collectively for the good of all? Because once we answer that question, we'll begin to see our community grow. For example, do you have the gift of listening? Can you make sense of medication schedules and food interferences and reactions? Do you have a passion for organization or for construction? All of our gifts will need to be deployed for us to be the community that Jesus sends people back to foster their healing.
Over the coming weeks, I really want us to reflect on what it means to be a community for healing. What would we look like? What will we be doing? What will we be studying and mobilizing around? Where will we be spending our time? Who will we be talking to?
But I might have gotten ahead of myself. Before we can decide any of that, first we have to decide: Do we want Jesus to stay or do we ask Him to go? Amen.
Closing Hymn: #389 Freely, Freely
- God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name, I’ve been born again in Jesus’ name,
and in Jesus’s name I come to you, to share His love as He told me to.
Refrain: He said, “Freely, freely you have received, freely, freely give.
Go in My name and because you believe, others will know that I live.
- All power is given in Jesus’ name, in earth and heaven in Jesus’ name,
and in Jesus’ name I come to you, to share His power as He told me to.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
