September 30, 2007

26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Preparation for Worship

And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table.

Luke 16:20

The Bible is both personal and political…

This twofold affirmation means something simple and basic.

The Bible is personal.

     It is about our relationship to God as persons. This relationship is the path of personal

     transformation - the way of return from exile, sight to the blind, liberation from bondage;

     it is the way to new beginnings, the way of life centered in God…

The Bible is political.

     It is about God’s passion for a different kind of world – one in which people have enough,

     not as the result of charity but as the fruit of justice, and in which nations do not war

     against one another anymore.

Marcus Borg

We continue our exploration of the parables recorded by Luke. Parables serve as more than illustrations of ethics, theology, and folk wisdom, but are instead a form of “subversive speech” in which the world is turned upside down and a different kind of reality is portrayed. The particular parable we focus on in today’s worship is known as the rich man and Lazarus. It is a startling parable in the stark portrayal of the responsibility of those who have much to share with those who have little. The very act of seeing and recognition plays a central role in the parable and our liturgy reflects this emphasis. The Prayer for Illumination this morning is “Open My Eyes That I May See” and our anthem retells the story of Lazarus in song. The hymn following the sermon reminds us of the connection between service to the poor and God’s presence as we sing “When a poor one who has nothing shares with strangers, When the thirsty water give unto us all, When the crippled in their weakness strengthen others, Then we know that God goes that road with us, Then we know that God goes that road with us.”

     In our worship this morning we also have a baptism. In the Presbyterian Church, a baptism is less about our response to God than God’s claim on us as children of the covenant. We believe that grace comes to us long before we see or recognize the forgiving love of God. In baptizing a child, we affirm God’s continual presence in this child’s life even before he or she can affirm this grace. The parents make promises on behalf of this child that they will know God’s love in their home, and the congregation vows to be a community where the child will know God. In this way, all members of the congregation become sponsors for the one being baptized.  Finally, in our congregational response, we remember our own baptisms and the mysterious truth that God holds us all “in the palm of his hand.” Our final hymn sends us out in mission “Where cross the crowded ways of life.”