Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings
1 Kings 19:15–16, 19–21
Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
Galatians 5:1, 13–25
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Luke 9:51–62
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they ented a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Reflection
"Following Jesus is not a part-time job. It is not something we fit into our crammed schedules. It is not one obligation among several others in our hurried, multitasking lives. Following Jesus involves a radical reorientation and redirecting of ourselves, our obligations, and our loyalties. Following Jesus is not the key to having it all but involves leaving it all behind. Following Jesus is not even the top priority in our lives but is a way of living and relating to others that permeates every aspect of our lives including vocation, family, finances, and relaxation. Jesus' journey to Jerusalem in obedience to God's salvific goals patterns the way for those who follow him, those who remove themselves from the center of their existence and pick up their cross on a daily basis. Whether the analogy is plowing or perhaps driving a car on a busy interstate highway, the point is the same. One cannot move forward by setting one's focus backwards. Following Jesus means looking forward. And what do we see in such a forward-looking vision? We see Jesus who is leading the way to his own death; Jesus who is drawing us out of ourselves and even beyond ourselves to ventures we cannot fully plan or always anticipate. In this text James and John thought that loyal following meant destroying those who did not respond positively to Jesus and his mission. Jesus, however, operates with the big picture of God's salvific plan for all humanity so that raining fire on the Samaritans would only have burned up a future field for the mission of the gospel. Thus following Jesus does not mean that we can always calculate where we are going on the expedition of faith or even when we are going to get there. Rather, it entails trusting that Jesus is leading to places, people, and ways that God's grace, gifts, and salvation will blossom through our journey of discipleship" (Dr. Richard P. Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg).
Announcements from Bulletin of June 27, 2010
This year's Summer Sunday Book Series begins today at 10:45 for both Incarnate Word and 3rd Presbyterian members in the Auditorium by the stage area. Today's book will be The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle, led by John Wilkinson.
The Bereavement Group will meet at 11 am in the Conference Room with Pastor Doug.
Outdoor Worship - Please join us next Sunday, July 4th, for an outdoor service of Holy Communion at 8:15 am. You are invited to bring blankets or lawn chairs and gather on the lawn. In the event of bad weather, we will worship in the Sanctuary.
As the LYO continues to prepare for its mission trip to Luther Place in Washington, D.C., you are invited to donate granola bars, toiletry items and new packages of white sox which the youth will hand out to those in need. Look for specially marked boxes at the sanctuary entrances and in the auditorium. If you would like to donate money, please make checks payable to "Incarnate Word" and put "LYO Homeless Donations" on the memo line. We will be collecting these items through Sunday, July 11 at which time we will ask God's blessings upon our youth and those who will be recipients of your generosity.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be coming to Incarnate Word! Both kids and adults of all ages are invited to perform, help with scenery or costumes. We will rehearse throughout the summer months following worship on Sundays and will present the musical as part of the worship service on Sunday, September 12th (Rally Day). Please see Michael Unger or Pastor Joanne if you would like to be part of this exciting project.
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