Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
Jesus said, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel:
The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8,9
We confess our sins against God and others.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
THE GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect
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.
Old Testament Genesis 22:1-14
God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Psalm 13 Usquequo, Domine?
1 How long, O Lord?
will you forget me for ever? *
how long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,
and grief in my heart, day after day? *
how long shall my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; *
give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
4 Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him," *
and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.
5 But I put my trust in your mercy; *
my heart is joyful because of your saving help.
6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly; *
I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High.
The Epistle Romans 6:12-23
Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Gospel Matthew 10:40-42
Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
The Sermon Fr. Gaetz
There are many stories in the Bible that are unpleasant and a number of them are even frightening, but this week’s passage from Genesis is deeply disturbing. We are horrified at the notion of human sacrifice and even more so when it involves a child. But here we are. Abraham and his son climbing the mountain to carry out the unthinkable task. He has been told by God to sacrifice his son, his only son. The text makes it all the more painful by reminding us that this was his son whom he loved. You can feel the tension in the air. The anguish in the old man’s mind as they plod along ever closer to that awful place where God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. And the boy. Is he filled with apprehension? Does he have an inkling of what’s up? Does he sense danger? Is he feeling betrayed by his father or by God? The tension is almost too much and then the horrible moment comes. Abraham reaches for the knife…
But wait, there is something else going on here… This child is the child of promise. God has made a promise that there would be a son and that son would not only bring joy to Abraham’s old age but would be the foundation of a mighty nation. A great people that will be a blessing to the whole world. What’s God up to? Is he playing a sadistic game? Has he given only to take away? Is this some power trip that the author of Genesis calls a “test?” Like the story of Job, was God wandering around in heaven and said to himself “just for the fun of it, let’s see how far we can push this old guy before he breaks?”
I don’t think so. Apart from the need to see this story through the eyes of ancient society, there is something far more critical and, dare I say, instructive going on here.
Let’s try this. Let’s begin by asking just who this Isaac, this son, is. I think this story is teaching a lesson. A universal lesson, here “on the mountain of the Lord will provide.” You see, it is so easy to forget that the fundamental truth of our faith is that God WILL provide. Isaac does not belong to Abraham any more than any of our richest possessions do. All that we are and all that is belongs to God. He created it and he sustains it. I am tempted to launch into a stewardship sermon here but there is something extremely relevant to us in our day and society that is even more important. The lesson God wanted to teach Abraham, and us, is that the purpose of all that God lavishes upon us is NOT for our benefit but to be used for the benefit of God’s kingdom. And here’s where it gets really personal for me. I have three children and from time to time I forget that they have lives. I get disgruntled when they don’t seem to have time for me or forget to in include me in things. I forget that the blessing that they are is not entirely about me. It’s really about what God has for them to do way beyond me. He has a bigger picture and needs me to let go and let him nurture that bigger picture. Abraham is being asked to turn everything over to God and God’s greater design. Trusting that “God will indeed provide.” We parents really have only one job and that is to prepare our children to seek out God’s direction for their lives. There are piles of jokes about parents (especially mothers – sorry, moms) driving their children to fulfill their (the parent’s) dreams. “My son the lawyer.” “My daughter the doctor.” And there are a lot of miserable lawyers and unhappy doctor who might have been better suited to be … so many other things. We should not be living our lives through our children but for them as part of God’s plan of redemption of the world. Isaac did go on to be a link in the chain of God’s blessing through Jacob then Joseph… all the way to Jesus and then to us.
OK, sorry to focus in on parenting but after all these weeks of being shut in my world has become quite small. You’ll forgive me, or better yet, finish out this sermon by applying it to those places in your life where you forget to trust that “God WILL provide.”
Amen.
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end..
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
THE PRAYERS
Beloved in the Lord, let us draw near to the Lord’s throne of grace and pray as He has commanded us, trusting in the Lord to hear the prayers of His people and answer our petitions according to His mercy.
Brief silence
O most merciful God, Lord of heaven and earth, we pray You to so rule and govern Your Church and may all her bishops, priests and deacons be preserved in the pure doctrine of Your saving Word, defended against all adversity, and protected from all adversaries, that thereby faith may be strengthened and love increased in us.
Brief silence
Grant health, wisdom and integrity to all in authority over us, especially to the president of the United States, the governor of this state, the Congress, all legislative bodies, and all judges and magistrates. Endow them with Your Spirit and with respect for Your Word, that they would serve Your good pleasure for the maintenance of righteousness and the punishment of wickedness so that we all may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty. According to Your gracious will, turn the hearts of our enemies and make them to walk with us in humility and peace.
Brief silence
Grant to those in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death or any other adversity the healthful Spirit of Your grace for healing, strength, comfort and relief. Bless especially those who suffer for the sake of Your name and Your Word. Hear us on behalf of those we name in our hearts. Give them courage to stand firm in their afflictions and patience until the day of Your deliverance.
Brief silence
Preserve us from pestilence and every evil. Give to us favorable weather and cause the fruits of the earth to prosper, that we may enjoy them in due season and offer You praise and thanksgiving for all Your goodness to us. Lend Your blessing to all honorable vocations and honest industry, that we may serve where our skills and abilities may be of good use. Bless the arts and music, that we may please You and be encouraged by all that is good, right, true and beautiful.
Brief silence
All these things for which You would have us ask of You, we pray You to grant to us for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we are bold to call You Father and in whose name we pray, trusting in Your mercy and confident that You will give answer to our prayers; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
So now we pray with confidence to the Father the words our Lord Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
God, the Source of glory,
God, the Word of life,
God, the Spirit of truth + bless us all,
now and forever.
Amen.
We go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; to be of good courage;
To hold fast to that which is good; to render to no one evil for evil;
To strengthen the fainthearted; to support the weak;
help the afflicted; to honor all people.
To love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.