November 13, 2022
Nomofomo
Ask Us Anything - This Tuesday, November 15th, 7 - 8:30 pm - Taylor Down Under on the JMU Campus
Do you have questions about life, faith and the meaning of it all? If so, you’re not alone! Many of us wrestle with big questions and long for a chance to ask them in a safe, shame-free space. Ask Us Anything will offer safe space to ask your questions and hear from three area clergy persons from various faith traditions. Georgia Metz (she/her), Pastor of Shalom Mennonite; Pastor Alex Zuber (he/him), Associate Pastor of Muhlenberg Lutheran; and our very own Pastor Amanda (she/her), will work together to cultivate a safe, welcoming, and shame-free space to wrestle with big questions - not claiming to have “answers,” but doing their best to offer thoughtful and authentic responses to your questions. A virtual option will be offered, but we encourage you to come and join us in person if possible. We hope to see you there!We need jeans for the Trinity Clothes Closet!
Requests for care and/or prayer can always be sent via e-mail to cares@riseharrisonburg.org, texted to 833-803-0868, or submitted online via our RISE Cares form.
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Opening Song
Brent Holl
“Sweet, Sweet Spirit”
~Doris Akers
There's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it's the Spirit of the Lord;
There are sweet expressions on each face,
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.
CHORUS:
Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived,
When we shall leave this place.
There are blessings you cannot receive
Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;
You're the one to profit when you say,
"I am going to walk with Jesus all the way."
CHORUS
If you say He saved you from your sin,
Now you're weak, you're bound and cannot enter in,
You can make it right if you will yield,
You'll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we feel.
CHORUS
Theological Reflection
Amanda Miller Garber
Chris Zepp
There are certain scriptures that tend to make people angry, and this is one of them. Sometimes we prefer a different Jesus than the one we actually meet in scripture - one who didn’t tell stories like this. What Jesus do most folks prefer - or do you prefer?
Matthew 20:1-16
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After he agreed with the workers to pay them a denarion, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 “Then he went out around nine in the morning and saw others standing around the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I’ll pay you whatever is right.’ 5 And they went.
“Again around noon and then at three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. 6 Around five in the afternoon he went and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you just standing around here doing nothing all day long?’
7 “‘Because nobody has hired us,’ they replied.
“He responded, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and moving on finally to the first.’ 9 When those who were hired at five in the afternoon came, each one received a denarion. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarion. 11 When they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 ‘These who were hired last worked one hour, and they received the same pay as we did even though we had to work the whole day in the hot sun.’
13 “But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I did you no wrong. Didn’t I agree to pay you a denarion? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I want to give to this one who was hired last the same as I give to you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you resentful because I’m generous?’ 16 So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.”
What’s your initial reaction to this story? Why?
What is Jesus’s point here? What are we supposed to learn from this?
What does it tell us about God? Where is the good news in this story?
TEXT YOUR questions to 833-803-0868
COMMUNION
SONG
Brent Holl
“You’ve Gotta Walk That Lonesome Valley”
~Woody Guthrie
You’ve gotta walk that lonesome valley,
You’ve gotta walk it by yourself,
Nobody here can walk it for you,
You’ve gotta walk it by yourself.
Some folks say John was a Baptist,
Some folks say he was a Jew,
But your holy scripture tells you
That he was a preacher too.
Daniel was a Bible hero,
Was a prophet brave and true,
In a den of hungry lions
Proved what faith can do for you.
There's a road that leads to glory
Through a valley far away,
Jesus asked us to walk it with him
He will show us the way.
We’ve gotta walk that lonesome valley
We’ve gotta walk it by ourselves
Nobody else can walk it for us
We’ve gotta walk it by ourselves.
Final BLESSING
JK Ancell
“A Closing Blessing for Grumbling Employees"
~Adam King
May we come to know that love and mercy
are not the same as wages and income
And that gifts from the Spirit
are freely offered by God
to absolutely everyone.
May we embrace this truth -
the very moment we believe
that we must earn God’s favor
is the moment
we’ve missed the mark,
And that the times we rest
in the goodness of God’s grace
are the moments we can begin to truly
love our neighbor.
May we joyfully celebrate the person
who is brought back to life
by exorbitant love
and the “unfair logic” of God’s kin-dom.
For we are that person.
And May we become people who,
like our Creator,
wastefully give away love
to any and all we encounter.
This day, and every day.
Go in peace to Mend God’s Creation, Together.
Amen.