Sunday 2nd July

Opening Prayer
Loving and Sustaining God,
You call us to obedience,
to follow you in all things;
to give up the things we cling to,
and to give ourselves wholeheartedly to your purposes.

We confess that we don’t always find this easy to do.
We confess that it is often very difficult to let go of the things we love.
But we also know that you never ask more of us than what is possible,
and that you stand ready, at all times, to sustain us,
and to provide everything we need.

Give us courage to faithfully follow your leading,
even when we cannot see the outcome,
even when the path you call us to seems impossible to comprehend.

Help us to trust you in all things,
to let go of everything that would stand in the way
of whole-hearted obedience to you. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

adapted from an anonymous prayer published on re:Worship:
https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/06/prayer-of-commitment-genesis-22.html

Today's Bible Readings
Read them here

Devotion time
by John de Laar, published on ‘Sacredise’ https://sacredise.com/proper-8a/

READINGS:
Genesis 22:1-14: Abraham takes his son Isaac out to sacrifice him to the Lord, but God stops him and provides a ram for the offering instead.

OR Jeremiah 28:5-9: Jeremiah challenges Hananiah (who has claimed to be a prophet and has prophesied the end of the Babylonian captivity), saying that he will only be known to be a true prophet if his predictions come to pass.

Psalm 13: A psalm of lament in which the psalmist cries out to God, but also affirms his trust in God’s goodness and love.
OR Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18: A psalm of praise for God’s unfailing love, and of celebration for those who, in worship, enjoy God’s presence and protection.

Romans 6:12-23: Paul encourages the Roman Christians to turn from sinful living and to obey God in order to find life and righteousness, and he reminds them that, while sin leads to death, God’s gift in Christ is life.

Matthew 10:40-42: Jesus teaches that those who receive prophets and righteous people will be rewarded, as will those who care for the followers of Christ.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
There are so many seemingly disparate themes that emerge from this week’s Lectionary – the role and test of a prophet (and the reward for receiving a prophet), the sacrifice of Isaac, Paul’s call for believers to turn from evil and embrace righteousness, and the Psalmist’s celebration of God’s unfailing love. What seems to emerge as a common thread, however, is God’s care, presence and protection that is always available to God’s people. In Genesis, Isaac is saved from sacrifice by God’s provision of another sacrifice. In Jeremiah, a simple test of the prophet is given – whether his words reflect God’s (gracious, saving) activity or not, as seen by whether what is prophesied actually happens. In Paul’s letter followers of Christ are called to embrace the life that is found in righteousness, and this is further clarified by Jesus’ teaching that receiving, welcoming, and providing hospitality for even the least is how ‘righteousness’ is lived and expressed. In resonance with this, both Psalms – one of celebration and one of lament – reflect a trust in God’s goodness, and the life and goodness that God brings to those who trust and follow God. Ultimately, then, the word ‘hospitality’ may be a simple summary of this week’s theme – God’s hospitality for us, and ours for one another in God’s name, which is the ‘definition’ of righteousness.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: On a global scale, hospitality hardly makes sense. In what ways can hospitality be exercised across borders, or to whole nations? Yet, the readings this week offer some fascinating insights that can help us to live as globally hospitable Christ-followers. First, there is the challenge of intervening on behalf of those who, like Isaac, are sacrificed on the altars of ignorance, legalism and fear-based religion. People of faith have allowed too much rhetoric which denounces other religions on the basis of a few extremists. This applies to all of the major religions. Secondly, there is the call to speak truth to those who would proclaim that the world as it is is fine, and we will all be fine with no need for change. It is a tough hospitality to call attention to the realities that threaten us and that seek to make the poor and marginalised part of the conversation. Like Jeremiah, we may indeed find ourselves at odds with those who claim to be prophets, but who avoid the tough realities we must face for justice and peace to come. Finally, there is the simple hospitality of receiving – accepting, serving and including – all people. While we may never meet some of those we are called to receive, we offer hospitality simply by refusing to stereotype, to pre-judge and to reject others in our words and attitudes. We offer hospitality by refusing to harbour any belief in our own exceptionalism, or to embrace any sense of being better than others. We offer hospitality by always being willing to listen, understand and welcome the stranger. When each of does this in our attitudes toward people in other countries, other religions, and other race groups, the righteousness (right-standing) of us with one another, and with God is fostered, and the holiness of hospitality is spread across the earth. In the end, this hospitality will offer us both healing and connection, and will enable us to know the life that God longs for us all to share in Christ.

LOCAL APPLICATION: On a local level, hospitality is both easy to understand and difficult to implement. Opening our homes to ‘receive’ prophets and righteous people seems easy – we can trust them, and there is always some blessing or ‘reward’ that we experience. But opening our homes and our lives to the ‘least’ can be a different story. They may seem untrustworthy or threatening. There is no benefit from showing hospitality to these – only cost. Yet, if we are to recognise that hospitality is, as Matthew Fox suggests, a synonym for holiness, we cannot avoid the call to hospitality. This can, however take many forms. We may be called to stand alongside one who is being ‘sacrificed’ on the altar of discrimination or prejudice. We may be called to stand against those who, while claiming to speak in God’s name, proclaim things that contradict the grace and love of Christ. We may be called to grieve with those who feel abandoned by God and join in their lament. We may be called to celebrate with those who feel close to God and who enjoy a sense of blessedness. We may be called to change how we live – to reject the sins of pride, self-protection and rejection – to which we are enslaved and which hurt others, and to embrace righteousness – the love and grace of Christ – which makes others feel welcomed and included. As individual Christ-followers and as communities of faith, we do well to ask ourselves how we can become more hospitable – how we can reject the selfish, self-protective sin that so easily enslaves us, and how we can embrace the righteousness of receiving prophets and the least equally in Christ’s name.

Song Reflection
Mighty to Save