Liturgy

Let us prepare our hearts for God’s holy work
We ready ourselves for Divine disruption

As the earth longs to flourish and the people dream of rest
God has promised to show us the way

Setting down our egos, taking up our faith
We seek the seeds of transformation

Wisdom is here, alive and among us.
Let us receive her truth.

God of rebirth, renewal, and restoration
We acknowledge how easy it is to get stuck in our ways.

While we wish for radical change in the world
We still struggle to discern what change is needed from us.

We turn to you for guidance.
Release us from that which holds us back
in mind, body, and spirit,
that we might move together in the directions of freedom.

We pray in the name
of God the Creator,
of Christ the Redeemer,
and of the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Life.
Amen.

(M Jade Kaiser, Enfleshed Liturgy)

Scripture

We invite you to hear from the gospel of Matthew 13:1-9.

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away.

7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 If you have ears, hear!”

The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Homily and Reflection

Homily Podcast – Reimagining Growth 7.16.2023

How might consenting to God’s abundance facilitate your growth?

Where have you experienced growth even in rocky and thorny seasons?

What are some ways we can be active beyond ourselves?

Benediction

The wisdom of the Lord is like a garden,
healthy, flourishing and colorful.
Created intentionally to grow
what is glorious and good.

You were planted in good soil,
meant for your best,
and given everything that you needed.

For God so loved the soil that the Divine came just
to spend the evenings in the garden with us.
Beloved, do not fear the gardener.

Do not fear the shears that prune you, nor the bits
and pieces that wither and fall away. Do not even
be afraid of death and decomposition, for even in
death lives the very substance of life and resurrection.

We are planted in the rich soil that tells us the story
of Christ in our growing and withering. Beneath the
earth is black and white, but the garden lives in full color.

Go, and live in the name of
God the Generous Gardener,
Christ the Sower of Parables,
and Spirit, who expands us
beyond ourselves
Amen.

Go in peace, and live the church.
May you find community and belonging.
See you throughout the week.
(Naomi Jackson)

[Photo by Ed Leszcynskl]