The Work of Believing

The Work of Believing is our worship theme for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 5, 2012. Our focus scripture is John 6:24-35.

This Sunday is the second of five consecutive Sundays in which the Lectionary creates the opportunity to fully explore chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. Last week we explored John’s story of Jesus feeding a huge crowd, and we focused on the responsibility of his followers to feed the world, even when money seems in short supply. Now in the remaining weeks we will explore John’s Christology as Jesus teaches about himself and the meaning of the sign that he has performed.

In our passage, Jesus begins by telling those who seek him that they are coming for the wrong reason. They are after another meal. But Jesus wants them to see God’s hand at work in his ministry. “Do not work for food that perishes,” Jesus teaches them. “Work for the food that will give you eternal life, which is what I will give you if you let me.” “Fine,” the crowd replies, “what is the work that God wants us to do?”  “Just this,” Jesus says, “believe in the one whom God has sent you.”

The crowd then asks for another sign. They say that Moses fed their ancestors day after day with manna from heaven. Their implication is that a one day meal, however amazing, does not really compare to Moses. But Jesus responds with his own perspective. It was not Moses, but God, who gave their ancestors manna. Now God is blessing them with an even more important gift: bread which will sustain not just physical life, but bread which will give eternal life to the world. The crowd is interested, but still doesn’t quite understand what Jesus is saying to them. “Sir,” they say, “give us this bread always (as if they think Jesus will need to remain with them to insure their supply).”

For the crowd, eating must happen day after day. Therefore the work of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and preparing the food must also go on day after day. But Jesus is after a state of mind and soul. “Believe that God cares for you and is coming to you in my person and ministry,” Jesus says. Belief is not a physical labor to be repeated day after day. It may need to be renewed day after day, especially given the challenges of life. But it is not something to do. It is a perspective, an understanding, a vision of how things are that changes everything about how we approach life. If God loves us eternally and if we can depend on that love, then the problems, necessities, and potential tragedies of life diminish in size and importance. Our priorities change. New possibilities to create love and justice and peace are unleashed.

Here is a Call to Worship based on Psalm 78 as well as an accompanying liturgy for Holy Communion based on God’s provision for us in bread that endures. And here is also a Call to Worship based on Ephesians 4:2-13. Please feel free to use or adapt anything helpful to you.

**Call to Worship   From Psalm 78

L: Listen, sisters and brothers, let us remember the things of old,

    deep memories that we have heard from our ancestors.

P: Let us not hide them from our children!

    Let us tell the coming generation of God’s glorious deeds,

    and the wonders God has done.

L: God brought our people out of slavery in Egypt.

    God divided the sea and walked them through it.

    By day God led them with a cloud, and at night by a pillar of fire.

P: In the wilderness, God split rocks open

    to give our people water as if from a gushing stream.

L: Yet still our people refused to trust God! They tested God in their heart

     by demanding the food they craved. They challenged God, saying,

     “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?”

P: In the face of their hard hearts God commanded the skies above.

    God opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna

    for them to eat.

L: Mortals ate the bread of angels. God gave them all they could hold!

All: Let us praise the God who saves us! Let us teach our children

    not to be like that stubborn and rebellious generation.

    Let us praise God’s generosity and love!                     

We Gather at Christ’s Table to be Fed by Him

**Communion Hymn #507    “Break Now the Bread of Life”   Lathbury

Invitation

Unison Communion Prayer

Bountiful God, your gifts astonish us:

          You created the heavens and the earth.

          You blew the breath of life into plants and animals.

          Your Spirit called humans to arise in your image.

          You gave us our lives and the lives of those we love.

          You fashioned the air we breathe,

the rain that falls,

the sun that lights our day,

and the soil that nourishes our crops.

In prophets and apostles you taught a life of justice and love.

In Jesus Christ you fed us with the Bread of Life,

setting us free from the powers of sin and death.

And in Christ you offer us Eternal Life here and now,

Life lived new because we are citizens of heaven.

Now let Christ feed us at his table with the true bread from heaven.

 Forgive our sins, cleanse our hearts, open our souls,

and bless this bread and cup that they might be for us

a means of grace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Words of Institution

Receiving the Elements

Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving

          Gracious God, thank you for feeding us at Christ’s table with Living Bread. Send us forth now into the world to be his ministers. Help us remember that we are citizens of heaven and that Christ is with us wherever we go. Send us out filled with courage, hope, love, and your desire for justice. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

We Go Forth To Do Christ’s Ministry

**Hymn of Faith        “Come, Know My Joy, the Maker Says”        Kingsfold

 

**Call to Worship (from Ephesians 4:2-13)

          L: Sisters and brothers, let us hear again God’s call to faith

               and be renewed in our ministry as a church of Jesus Christ!

          P: God calls us to live lives of humility and gentleness,

               to be patient and bear with one another in love.

          L: God calls us to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

          P: For there is one body and one Spirit and one hope of our calling.

          L: And there is one God, our Creator, who is above all, through all, and in all.

          P: Through Christ our God gives us gifts: that some will be apostles;

               some prophets; some evangelists; some pastors and teachers.

          L: So that together we equip one another for ministry and build Christ’s body.

       All: Until we come to unity of faith, to knowledge of the Son of God,

              to maturity, and to the full stature of Christ!