Worship Guide - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Worship with 1 Click

You can choose to watch all of this Sunday's worship service in a series of linked videos, one after the other by clicking this link. Just press the button that says "PLAY ALL" and sit back and relax. Otherwise, proceed as normal through the sections.

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Telling the difference between good and evil is sometimes no simple thing. Consider the characters that inhabit today’s readings. In Matthew a thief and a merchant. Fish both desired and rejected. Yeast in a batch that is properly without leaven. A weed masquerading as a plant. Shady, subversive, corrupting characters all, yet Jesus offers them up, and, along with the disciples we are sure: “Yes, we understand.”
 
We remember the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for … you just might get it.”

"A Choice" - Lauren Wright Pittman, Liturgical Artist. Used by permission

​Solomon asks for what is most appropriate and right for the moment. You don’t find longevity or wealth or vengeance on his shopping list. Just wisdom, or something like it. A “discerning heart,” if we’re being literal. We should be so discerning and fortunate. We certainly want to be!

Wisdom is more fleeting than we might think, though. Like baptism, it takes a lifetime to achieve. Perhaps that is why it is so valuable! Finding our way amidst masquerading either/or realities is harder than we might think. Remembering that we belong together when we are so torn apart is no small feat. Poking around the edges of Solomon’s story we discover just how difficult and important this is. And perhaps around our own stories as well. The poking, the prodding, the searching, the sorting. These just may lead to that pearl of great price.

Open yourself up. Listen for that Spirit of truth. Be transformed. Enter into worship.

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Connections with Andrea

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Prelude

If you have prayers you would like to share, please do so here. These will be shared by email to our St Andrew prayer list so that we pray for what you hold by name. This information is not shared online in a searchable form.

Gathering Song

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​God,
you have given us a dream of your world made whole,
a heavenly governance that is near in heart and close at hand,
and it is ours to choose each day.
May our smallest acts of courtesy,
when transformed by your love,
grow abundantly into a realm of flourishing for all.
Amen.

Hymn of Praise

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Reflection, Confession, Forgiveness

Send a text to a couple of people. Make a call. Who comes to mind for you? Wish them well. More than that, wish them the peace that comes with justice. Then click below.

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Consider the Word

Enlightening God,
the unfolding of your Word gives light
and provides wisdom to all who seek your truth.
Train our minds and hearts with the presence of your Holy Spirit,
so that the mystery of your heavenly administration
is reflected here on earth.
Amen.
 
1 Kings 3:5-12 † Psalm 119:126-136 † Romans 8:26-39 † Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52*
*In the season after Pentecost (also known as Ordinary Time, or "Proper" Sundays, the first reading can follow one of two tracks—either a semi-continuous track that stays with a story over a number of Sundays or a paired track that companions more closely the gospel reading. This summer we are mostly using the paired readings

Psalm Response

Reflection

A printed version of this meditation can be found here.

Respond in Song

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Respond in Thanksgiving and Action

If you haven’t already, set the elements—some bread, some juice or wine—in the room where you worship in these days with our faith community. Bring them with joy. Parade them as the holy offerings and mysteriously extravagant gifts of life they are. Give thanks for God’s provision!

​If a joy or a concern has come to mind, please share it with the assembly here so you do not carry it alone. These will be shared by email to our St Andrew prayer list so that we pray for what you hold by name. This information is emailed to a curated group, not shared or posted online in a searchable form.

As we respond to God's grace and new life, consider those ways you can express gratitude, thanksgiving and blessing. And remember that we continue to keep our financial commitments to our mission partners and staff. Thank you for remembering to send in your financial pledges and offerings

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Sending Song

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Blessing and Charge