Worship resources for 8/28

August 28, 2022 Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost Luke 14: 1, 7-14 COMMENTARY At the end of Flannery O’Connor’s story “Revelation,” Mrs. Turpin, a stately, self-righteous Christian woman, has a vision that turns her world, and her prejudiced assumptions, upside down. A fiery streak in the dusk sky transforms into a bridge from earth to heaven. Climbing the bridge, a “vast horde of souls were rumbling to heaven” — souls Mrs. Turpin had earlier judged beneath her. Poor White folks climb to heaven, clean for the first time in their lives. Black laborers dressed in white robes proceed to salvation and behind them a bunch of “freaks” and “lunatics.” At the end of the heavenly procession Mrs. Turpin recognizes herself and her people, marching with dignity behind the others, “accountable as they had always been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior.” Confused, Mrs. Turpin sees the “shocked and altered faces” of her people as, last in line to heaven, their esteemed virtues burn away in the light of the setting sun. The kingdom of God has its own social and spiritual order. To presume our place in that order is not only unwise but unfaithful. At the beginning of Luke 14, Jesus gives a lesson on guest etiquette with broader theological and ethical meaning. In the New Testament, the “banquet” is a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven and the coming reign of God. When we are invited to this banquet, we should not presume a seat of honor. As Paul reminds us in Philippians 2, we are to emulate Jesus, who “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave … he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8). You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. An order of worship for August 28, 2022. This liturgy is free to use. Final partnership instructions — a Uniform Standard Lesson for August 28, 2022, by Richard Boyce. At the table — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale Entertaining angels unawares — a poem for Pentecost 12C by Scott Barton IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... How come it's not over yet? Rev. Elana Keppel Levy reflects on living with chronic pain. Who is God when the pain doesn’t go away? She turns to the Bible for some advice. Dear Mr. Buechner Pastor and writer Kathleen Long Bostrom pens a final letter to the beloved theologian Frederick Buechner, who responded to her previous notes and played an important role in her sense of call. Buechner passed away on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. Back-to-school blessing for the 2022-23 school year A prayer by Teri McDowell Ott.  Uvalde shooting survivors receive scholarships to attend local Catholic school About 80 Robb Elementary families are attempting to transfer their children to Sacred Heart Catholic School, according to the nonprofit Catholic Extension. — RNS New ‘covenant agreement’ to provide more affordable seminary options for Young Adult Volunteers A Memorandum of Understanding deepens the partnership between YAVs and Wesley Theological Seminary. — PNS Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age Philip J. Reed reviews Andrew Root's new book. Did you hear? The Rev. Bill Carter’s Presbybop Jazz Quintet is celebrating the release of “The Dancing Calvinist.”

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