God’s Two-Edged
Sword
is our worship theme for the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, October 14,
2012. Our focus scripture is Hebrews 4:12-16.
In
chapters 3 and 4, the author of Hebrews presses his readers not to miss the
opportunity that God is presenting to them to enter into God’s rest of eternal
life. He believes that his ancestors missed this chance back in the days when
they wandered in the wilderness and rebelled against God at Meribah. The author
of Hebrews cites Psalm 95, saying that God was angered by their rebellion and
vowed to give that generation no rest. Rather, they wandered until they died
because not one of them was fit to enter the Promised Land. Yet the author does
not believe that God’s promise of rest has ended. In Jesus’ death and
resurrection, he believes that God is opening the door again and he wants to be
sure that his readers keep their faith in Jesus until the end of the journey.
Coming
to the end of the chapter, he then says that God’s Word is like a two-edged
sword, laying open our lives so that nothing is hidden from God or from
ourselves. Yet despite the threatening sound of this, he goes on to say that we
have a sympathetic priest and teacher. For Jesus experienced all the
difficulties that we experience, except that he resisted the temptation to sin.
Yet he knows how we are tempted, and he is ready to come to our aid and give us
the mercy we need. Indeed, in an essay on this passage Bryan Whitfield uses the
ministry of Harriet Tubman, the famed “Black Moses”, to help us understand what
the author of Hebrews wants us to know about Jesus. Tubman, a slave who had
made it to freedom in the north, returned some 19 times to the south to lead
other slaves to freedom at great risk to herself. She used the knowledge she
gained on her own journey to help others. Jesus, who knew exactly the
challenges of the lives we lead, has blazed a trail to the highest heaven and
opened a path for us to follow.
Here
are several Calls to Worship based on the passage from Hebrews and the two
Psalms of the day. Please use or adapt anything helpful to you.
Call to Worship From
Hebrews 4:12-16
L: Sisters and brothers, we gather this day to hear and learn
from God’s Living Word!
P: For God’s Word
is alive and active,
sharper
than any two-edged sword.
L: It cuts through our spirits and souls,
through our joints and marrow,
until it discovers the desires and intentions of our
hearts.
P: Before God,
none can hide.
All
are naked and exposed to the eyes of the One
who
requires us to tell the truth of our lives.
L: Yet we have a great High Priest who has soared to the heights of
heaven,
and he is Jesus, the Son of God!
Let us therefore hold fast to our faith in him.
P: For he
understands our weaknesses.
He
faced all our temptations, yet without giving in to sin.
L: Let us go boldly to his throne of grace.
There we will receive mercy and grace to match our
every need.
P: In the shelter
of Christ’s mercy and grace,
let
us dare to hear and explore
the
truth of God’s Living Word for our lives.
All: Let us
worship God!
Call
to Worship (From
a paraphrase of Psalm 90 by Basil E. Bridge)
L: O Lord, you are the refuge of each
generation,
you reigned before the universe
began.
P: A thousand years in your sight are
but a passing day, our transient glory but the
fading of a flower.
L: O holy Lord, forgive our self-deceiving,
our secret sins are clear before
your face.
P: Time rushes on. Teach us to count
our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
L: Satisfy us with your steadfast love
that we may rejoice and be glad
all our days.
All: Look upon us with kindness and peace,
work out your timeless purpose
through our hands. Amen.
Call
to Worship From
Psalm 22
L: My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so
far from helping me?
P: My God, I cry out
by day, but you do not answer;
and by night
as well, but find no rest.
L: Yet you are holy,
praised by the people of Israel.
Our ancestors put their trust in you, and you rescued them.
P: But as for me,
I am a worm and not human,
scorned by others
and despised by the people.
L: All who see
me mock me;
they wag
their tongues at me and shake their heads.
P: They say,
“Trust in the Lord; let the Lord deliver;
let God
rescue the one in whom God so delights."
L: You are the
one who knew me from the womb;
you kept me
safe on my mother's breast.
P: From the day
of my birth I have been in your care.
Since my
mother bore me you have been my God.
L: Do not be far
from me, for trouble is near,
and there is
no one to help.
P: My enemies are
all around me;
they circle
like wild bulls.
L: They are like
lions, roaring and attacking.
Their jaws
are wide open.
P: I am poured
out like water; my bones ache.
my heart
within my breast is like melting wax.
L: My mouth is dried up;
my tongue
sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you have
left me to die in the dust.
P: They pierce my
hands and feet.
They divide my garments;
they cast lots for my clothing.
L: Be not far from me, O God;
you are my strength; come quickly to my aid.
P: Save me
from the lion's mouth,
rescue me
from the wild bulls.
L: I will tell of your name to
my brothers and sisters;
in the midst
of the congregation I will praise you.
P: Praise
the Lord, all who fear God;
stand in awe
and give God glory.
L: For God does not despise
those in need; neither does God hide from them;
when they
cry, God hears them.
All: All the ends of the earth
shall
remember and turn to God.
All shall proclaim
God’s salvation
to people of
future generations.
