Minister: Mary Barrett Speers
Music: YouTube selections suggested by Mary Speers
As you go through the program each week, please be sure to click on the video links to view each selection. Lyrics sheets and photos will also be included in each week’s post.
TRUSTEE TIDBITS:
MUSICAL SELECTION: “Will You Come and Follow Me”
MINISTER’S MESSAGE:
Lesson: Matthew 14:22-33 NRSV
The story of what happens right after the Feeding of the Five Thousand…
Immediately [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
HYMN 529- UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL: “How Firm a Foundation”
Greetings in Christ, sisters and brothers of the Union Church of Meredith Neck!
I was looking forward to the first time ever leading worship with you, so when Karen suggested to all of us that we send you a brief version of what we might have done in person, here is a kind of synopsis of where I would have gone with this week’s Gospel lesson.
It goes like this:
“Take heart,” says Jesus, “It is I.”
Back in the ‘fifties, before helicopter parents were a Thing, we children learned how to swim the way our parents had: in the lake, without much fuss, at a very young age. There was no beach at our dock: the rocky shore sloped right down into several feet of water. At first, they’d buckle us into those all-the-way-around, clammy Michelin Man life jackets (Remember? They were cotton stuffed with kapok, so they never dried out? Mine was red), and just toss us in.
I couldn’t move my arms much in that bulky life jacket, but I’d bob around like a cork, with all the adults smiling indulgently from the dock. They all seemed so relaxed about it, I wasn’t worried, so I quickly learned that if I pumped my legs (I’d only just learned to walk), I could propel myself toward them and be fished out. What I remember most was that I couldn’t wait to get out of that bulky life jacket, and actually swim unencumbered like the grownups.
The next thing I remember is my father, standing on the big rock just below the surface (the one you always had to make sure not to hit with the motorboat), calling us to jump into the water. "Just jump!" he’d holler. “You can do it!” We’d stand on the dock, until we got up the courage to jump in. He’d watch us splashing in the water, struggling valiantly toward him as he cheered us on. But if our struggles turned into foundering, he was always there, ready to reach out and pull us into the strong, warm safety of his arms.
The stained-glass window you’re looking at (see above) is in another Union Church, a church I served for ten years in Brooklyn, New York. The neighborhood is near the harbor, and the inscription, which you can’t read in the photo, says that it was given, appropriately enough, in memory of a ship captain. It was a favorite of mine, and I learned it was also a favorite of Peggy Howland, who had been, in 1958, the first woman ordained to Word and Sacrament by what was then the Brooklyn-Nassau Presbytery—only the twelfth woman so ordained in the whole Presbyterian Church.
When, as sometimes happened, an airliner taking off from JFK Airport went down in nearby Jamaica Bay, Peggy had a friend aboard, and as she sat in the chancel in worship that day, she gazed at that same window, humming to herself, as a prayer, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save…” Fortunately, it turned out that her friend was fine. But this very image of Jesus, pulling Peter out of the water was what gave her the strength, and the hope, and the faith, to pray.
“Take heart,” says Jesus, “It is I.”
Beloved Professor William Barclay says about this story, “In the hour of the disciples’ need, Jesus came to them. When the wind was contrary and life was a struggle, Jesus was there to help. No sooner had a need arisen than Jesus was there to help and to save.
“In life,” Barclay goes on, “the wind is often contrary. There are times when we are up against it and life is a desperate struggle with ourselves, with our circumstances, with our temptations, with our sorrows, and with our decisions. At such a time, no one need struggle alone, for Jesus comes to us across the storms of life, with hand stretched out to save, and with his calm, clear voice bidding us to take heart and have no fear.
“It does not really matter how we take this incident; it is in any event far more than the story of what Jesus once did in a storm in far-off Palestine: it is the sign and the symbol of what he always does for his people, when the wind is contrary and we are in danger of being overwhelmed by the storms of life.”
So, whatever your circumstances, whatever your struggles; whatever contrary winds, whatever restless waves, whatever stormy seas you or your loved ones may be battling these days, well…
“Take heart,” says Jesus, “I am here.”
Will you pray with me?
“Lord, we pray not for tranquility, nor that our tribulations might cease; rather, we pray for your spirit and your love, that you give us strength and grace to overcome adversity, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Amen.
Blessings to you. I look forward to meeting you in person next summer.
Attributions:
~Quote from William Barclay’s The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, from his Daily Study Bible series, pages 123-24 in the 2001 paperback edition from Westminster/John Knox Press.
~Prayer is modified slightly from #531 in the UM hymnal: it’s an English translation of a prayer of Girolamo Savonarola, 15c Italy
ANTHEM: “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” (Navy Hymn)
OFFERTORY: While our doors may be shut and the offertory plate cannot be passed, the work of the Lord is never closed. We continue to invite those who are able to make donations to our historic church. You may do so by mailing a check-- made out to the Union Church of Meredith Neck-- to the Union Church c/o Bev Lapham, PO Box 1748, Meredith, NH 03253. Your donation will help with both the work of the Lord and the maintenance of the building and grounds.
PRAYER CHAIN:
A button has been added at the top of the Union Church Facebook page that will allow you to request to visit the group page for the Union Church Prayer Chain group, where you can then request to join. Once your request is approved you will be able to begin viewing and commenting on existing posts, as well as adding prayer requests of your own. And once you are a member, you can invite others who are Facebook friends of yours to join the group by clicking the “+Invite” button to the right of the group name, just below the cover photo.
We are hopeful that this group will satisfy the need for a community setting— albeit a virtual one— in which members of our little community can request and receive spiritual support from one another as we continue to self-isolate for everyone’s safety.