Liturgy
As we gather now in community,
for some of us, our earliest language was shame.
For some of us, we learned to hide ourselves.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
We pray for courage to live unmasked,
to risk being fully seen as we are,
to recognize and honor the glory in the mirror.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
We pray for strength to find healing for ourselves,
to bring healing to others.
We pray for grace to live with ourselves,
as we are, holy images of God.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Show us your kindness, so we can be Kindness.
Show us your love, so we can be Love.
Show us your grace, so we can be Grace.
In the name of our loving God,
friend Jesus,
and breath of life,
Amen.
(Sarah Berson)
Scripture Reading
We invite you to hear from the reading of Luke 13: 10-13.
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had
crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was
quite unable to stand up straight.
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said,
“Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”
13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately
she stood up straight and began praising God.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Good News of Christ. Praise be to you, O Christ!
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.
Sermon and Reflection
Sermon Podcast 9.1.19 – Freeing Faith
Is our faith making us less or more free?
How can we engage the space between our acting and our being?
What parched areas of our life might need watering this week?
Benediction
You, who have been set free, go now.
Go, just as you are, a person who
God has called holy.
Welcome, welcome, welcome your holiness
with open hands, no matter what form it
happens to take in any particular moment.
God is delighting in you, wants to be part of you,
and invites you to feel the full freedom of God’s love.
Go, trusting that the freedom to be just who
you are, is truth and beautiful and whole.
We pray in the name
of the Father,
of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
(Sarah Berson)
Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.
[Photo by John Watson @ Flickr]