Welcome to the season after Pentecost...
In our gathering for worship today we enter “Ordinary time” or the season after Pentecost. A period of the year where we might benefit from putting the messages of the beginning of the Church year into the renewal of our life of faith. Our worship began with the reminder that God provides all we need and will help remove the distractions we experience if we let God do so. Our lesson from first Samuel is the story of God’s call on Samuel’s life to be a prophet for God. The Psalmist sang a song reassuring us that God knows us intimately and cares for all creation. Our Epistle from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians reminds us that our strength and real power comes from our relationship with God through Jesus. The gospel from Mark recounts two times when Jesus “violates” the Sabbath but not to destroy the grace given, rather to bring health and wholeness to others. Part of our mission as believers is to admit the tension we feel as we live in community. Our job is not to make sure everyone follows the rules, rather we are called to relate to others and gather them to a community focused on being witnesses of God’s health and wholeness available for all.
I invite your comments,
Les+
Readings: 1 Samuel 3:1-20; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; 2 Corinthians 4:5-12; Mark 2:22-3:6
https://audiomack.com/fatherles-2/song/pentecost-2-sermon
