Call To Worship

Jesus Christ summons us

to answer GOd's call of mercy.

Christ gathers us and gives us power

to be healed and to heal,

to be forgiven and to forgive,

to be freed from sin and to set others free,

to tell one another and the world:

God's presence is at hand.

Hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Prayer for Illumination

God of wonder, summon us to Sarah's joy, Abraham's wonder, and Paul's confident hope through the word of God and work of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Scripture

Genesis 18:1-15

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he sat at the entrance of his tent in the day’s heat.    He looked up and suddenly saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from his tent entrance to greet them and bowed deeply.    He said, “Sirs, if you would be so kind, don’t just pass by your servant.  Let a little water be brought so you may wash your feet and refresh yourselves under the tree.  Let me offer you a little bread so you will feel stronger, and after that you may leave your servant and go on your way—since you have visited your servant.”

They responded, “Fine. Do just as you have said.”

So Abraham hurried to Sarah at his tent and said, “Hurry! Knead three seahs[ a ] of the finest flour and make some baked goods!”    Abraham ran to the cattle, took a healthy young calf, and gave it to a young servant, who prepared it quickly.    Then Abraham took butter, milk, and the calf that had been prepared, put the food in front of them, and stood under the tree near them as they ate.

They said to him, “Where’s your wife Sarah?”

And he said, “Right here in the tent.”

Then one of the men said, “I will definitely return to you about this time next year. Then your wife Sarah will have a son!”

Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.    Now Abraham and Sarah were both very old. Sarah was no longer menstruating.    So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, I’m no longer able to have children and my husband’s old.

The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Me give birth? At my age?’ Is anything too difficult for the Lord? When I return to you about this time next year, Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah lied and said, “I didn’t laugh,” because she was frightened.

But he said, “No, you laughed.”

"The Breath of Laughter", a sermon by Rev. Pat Raube of Union Presbyterian Church of Endicott, NY, reminds us that laughter can come in many forms and that the story of Abraham and Sarah is: "a story about everybody whose life has taken an unexpected turn. It’s a story about everyone who thought they knew what their life was going to look like and then was very surprised."

Prayers of the People

Eternal, birthing God, you bring all things visible and invisible into being.

We pray for the earth you created. Your Spirit brooded over creation like a mother bird.

Heal what we have burned and broken; renew what we have ravaged; and lead your people to be good shepherds of your world's life.

We pray for all people of the earth. From the beginning you have created us to live in love with you. Bring your peace, justice, and compassion to every household, village, city, and nation. Bind up the wounds of racial hatred; break the bows of poverty, disease, hunger, and disparity. Provide safe homes and safe workplaces, safe health-care and safe nations, where life is received with joy.

We pray you bring the fullness of age you promise. Holy Trinity, giver of love, life, and future, we cannot dream what you see; we cannot imagine what you can do. Help us to be patient and faithful as we look forward to the new life you began and will complete through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

The liturgy for this service was taken or adapted from Feasting on the Word: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2: Proper 10. Reprinted by permission of Westminster John Knox Press, 2014.