Salty

Sunday, February 5, 2023
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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Jesus tells his followers; You are the light of the world! You are the salt of the earth!” Have you ever been called “salty”? Is it a compliment? What does it mean, for Jesus’ first followers, and for us?

Join us for worship this morning, including sharing the Lord’s Supper, in our beautiful sanctuary or here, online, if you are at home or on the road. You are invited! We will listen alongside those who gathered on the mountain to take in Jesus’ wisdom for us.

Salty

5th Sunday After Epiphany

Psalm 112; Matthew 5:13-20

Union Presbyterian Church

February 5, 2023

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Kevin Kelley Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Prelude     "Here I Am, Lord” Tower Ringers

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube  

Call to Worship Kevin Kelley

We are called to the work of God, to the work of Jesus.

We are called to spread God’s love in this world.

We can do this work, as we are, because of the Holy Spirit.

By God’s grace, we are salt.

We purify, we cleanse, we bind, we bring out the best in people.

By God’s grace, we are light.

We allow things to be seen as they are. We point to holiness.

By God’s grace, we follow the commandments and the law.

We love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves.

By God’s grace, we are salt. We are light. God transforms us and uses us.

Let us worship our God, so full of transformative grace.

Hymn  #649 W & R “Gather Us In,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Here in this place, the new light is streaming;

Shadows of doubt are vanished away.

See in this space our fears and our dreamings,

Brought here to you in the light of this day.

Gather us in, the lost and forsaken;

Gather us in, our spirits inflame.

Call to us now, and we shall awaken;

We shall arise at the sound of our name.

We are the young, our lives are a mystery;

We are the old, who yearn for your face.

We have been sung throughout all of history,

Called to be light to the whole human race.

Gather us in, the rich and the haughty;

Gather us in, the proud and the strong;

Give us a heart so meek and so lowly;

Give us the courage to enter the song.

Here we receive new life in the waters;

Here we receive the bread of new birth;

Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,

Call us anew to be salt for the earth.

Give us to drink the wine of compassion;

Give us to eat the bread that is you;

Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion

Lives that are holy and hearts that are true.

Not just in buildings, small and confining,

Not in some heaven, light years away,

Here in this place the new light is shining;

Now is God present, and now is the day.

Gather us in and hold us forever;

Gather us in and make us your own;

Gather us in, all peoples together,

Fire of love in our flesh and our bone.

Call to New Life

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace  

Almighty God, you have called us to bring out the best in the world around us, to be bold in our faith, to share your love with those around us. We have failed your command. We choose conflict. We choose laziness. We choose excuses. Forgive us for rejecting the identity that you offer us freely, for rejecting the work of your Holy Spirit in our hearts. Heal us, loving God. Make us whole, Mighty God. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Words of Assurance  

Let our spirits be content,

Let our mouths praise God with joyful lips:

For the love of God is from everlasting to everlasting.

The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love.

We will bless the Lord as long as we live.

We will rest in the knowledge that God loves us,

claims us, and never leaves us.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Sharing of the Peace   

May the peace of God be with you. 

And also with you. 

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace. 

Scripture Psalm 112 

Hallelujah!

Happy are they who fear the Lord

and have great delight in the divine commandments!

Their descendants will be mighty in the land;

the generation of the upright will be blessed.

Wealth and riches will be in their house,

and their righteousness will last forever.

Light shines in the darkness for the upright;

the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.

It is good for them to be generous in lending

and to manage their affairs with justice.

For they will never be shaken;

the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance.

They will not be afraid of any evil rumors;

their heart is right; they put their trust in the Lord.

Their heart is established and will not shrink,

until they see their desire upon their enemies.

They have given freely to the poor,

and their righteousness stands fast for ever;

they will hold up their head with honor.

The wicked will see it and be angry;

they will gnash their teeth and pine away;

the desires of the wicked will perish.

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube

Music: “This Little Light of Mine,” Nolan Williams, Jr.

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Scripture Matthew 5:13-20 

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:

Thanks be to God!

Meditation “Salty”

Affirmation of Faith From the Confession of Belhar, South Africa

We believe that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ; that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells; that God’s life-giving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and therefore also of irreconciliation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God’s life-giving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world.

Anthem “You Are the Salt and Light,” Pepper Choplin

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.

You are the salt, the salt of the earth.

You are the light, the light of the world.

Go to the world and give it flavor.

Go with the light and let it shine.

You are the salt, the salt of the earth.

You are the light, the light of the world.

But what good is the salt if it loses its flavor?

What good is the light until it shines.

One tiny bit, just a bit of salt

Can change all the flavor and

Take the bitterness away.

A tiny point of light can pierce through the darkness

To shine, to shine with a guiding ray.

Go, live as the salt, the salt of the earth.

Go, live as the light, the light of the world.

You are the salt, so share all the flavor.

You are the light, so let it shine.

You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world,

So let it shine.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper/ Prayers of the People

The Invitation

… O taste and see that the Lord is good!

Happy are all who find refuge in God!

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

The Great Thanksgiving

It is indeed right, for you made us, and before us, the world we inhabit, and before the world, you made the eternal home in which, through Christ, we have a place.

All that is spectacular, all that is plain, has its origin in you; all that is lovely, all who are loving, point to you as their fulfillment.

And grateful as we are for the world we know and the universe beyond our knowing, we particularly praise you, whom eternity cannot contain, for coming to earth and entering time in Jesus.

For his life which informs our living, for his compassion which changes our hearts, for his clear speaking which contradicts our harmless generalities, for his disturbing presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying, his rising to life breathing forgiveness, we praise you and worship him.

Here, too, our gratitude rises for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who even yet, even now, confronts us with your claims and attracts us with your goodness. Therefore we gladly join our voices to the song of the church on earth and in heaven:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

And now, lest we believe that our praise alone fulfills your purpose, we fall silent and remember him who came because words weren’t enough.

Setting our wisdom, our will, and our words aside, emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in our hands, we yearn for the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving which Christ alone can offer. (Silence)

Merciful God, send now, in your kindness, your Holy Spirit to settle on this bread and this fruit of the vine, and fill them with the fullness of Jesus.

And let that same Spirit rest upon us, converting us from the patterns of this passing world, until we conform to the shape of him whose food we now share. Amen.

The Words of Institution

Among friends, gathered around a table, Jesus took bread, broke it, and said, “This is my body, broken for you.”

Here is Jesus’ body, broken for the lost and the lonely, and for all those who long for the nourishment found at this table.

This is bread from heaven, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

He who was buried but rose from the dead is now present in this bread.

Later he took a cup of wine, and said, “This is the new relationship with God, made possible because of my death. Take it, all of you, to remember me.”

Here is Jesus’ blood, poured out for the broken and breaking, and for all those who thirst for the living water.

Here is the cup of salvation; let us drink it and call upon the name of the Lord.

He whose wounded hands were offered to the unbelieving now reaches out in this cup.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Communion

Music during Communion: Tower Ringers

“One Bread, One Body,” Martha Lynn Thompson

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.    

Prayer After Communion

In gratitude, deep gratitude, for this moment, this meal, this community, near and far, we give ourselves to you. Help us now to live as changed people, because we have shared the Living Bread and cannot remain the same. Ask much of us, expect much from us, enable much by us, encourage much through us. In this way, Lord, may we live to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of heaven. Amen.

Hymn  “Bring Forth the Kingdom,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.

You are salt for the earth, O people:

Salt for the Kingdom of God!

Share the flavor of life, O people:

Life in the Kingdom of God!

Bring forth the Kingdom of mercy,

Bring forth the Kingdom of peace;

Bring forth the Kingdom of justice,

Bring forth the City of God!

You are a light on the hill, O people:

Light for the City of God!

Shine so holy and bright, O people:

Shine for the Kingdom of God!

Bring forth the Kingdom of mercy,

Bring forth the Kingdom of peace;

Bring forth the Kingdom of justice,

Bring forth the City of God!

You are a seed of the Word, O people:

Bring forth the Kingdom of God!

Seeds of mercy and seeds of justice,

Grow in the Kingdom of God!

Bring forth the Kingdom of mercy,

Bring forth the Kingdom of peace;

Bring forth the Kingdom of justice,

Bring forth the City of God!

We are a blest and a pilgrim people:

Bound for the Kingdom of God!

Love our journey and love our homeland:

Love is the Kingdom of God!

Bring forth the Kingdom of mercy,

Bring forth the Kingdom of peace;

Bring forth the Kingdom of justice,

Bring forth the City of God!

Benediction (Responsive) From Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals,

by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

May the peace of Christ go with you: wherever he will send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.

Postlude  Chris Bartlette 

“Here I Am Lord / Take My Life and Let It Be,” Joel Raney

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.

“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal.

“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal

Portions of the Liturgy adapted from Rose Schrott Taylor, Liturgy for February 5, 20-23, The Presbyterian Outlook.

The Lord’s Supper liturgy adapted from A Wee Worship Book, the Iona Community, Scotland.