Please join us for our morning worship service beginning at 10AM. You may view the church calendar to see what other events are coming up.

Worship is the central most important act we do together as a church. Everything else we do as individuals and as a church body emanates from our honor of God that we collectively mark each Sunday in the service of worship. We come to give thanks and praise and to be challenged in our daily walk with the Lord.

Sunday School will resume on the Sunday after Labor Day.

The Sabbath is a Gift    Luke 13:10-17

Have you ever identified stress points in your life? What are those symptoms that start to appear when we are operating on overload? We’re in the grocery store and you duck behind the next counter or zip to the next isle because you don’t feel like talking with a person you recognize? You avoid eye contact. You are curt in a conversation with someone you love. You sense a edge of cynicism in your thoughts. Your body language exposes your hidden anxiety? Sooner or later something has to give to regain perspective.

Today’s gospel lesson is about the Gift of the Sabbath in our lives. On this day God urges us to look beyond our own interests. This is God’s day. It is God’s gift to us.

As we’ve worked through the gospel of Luke in our lectionary texts—we’ve found that Luke
has a keen eye for the outcasts of society. He also clearly focuses upon the lot of women in 1st century Palestine. Luke had a compassion for those whom society pushed aside and that compassion came to him through the eyes of Jesus. This specific story is unique to Luke.

Picture with me this poor woman. She perhaps was so bent over that she was constantly looking at the ground–not even able to meet people eye to eye. In addition to her physical burden—she carried the weight of societal judgment. In her day—physical infirmity was often equated with sin. Even if she couldn’t see the eyes of those looking at her she probably felt their stare. This was coupled with the fact that she was a woman in 1st century Palestine. This nameless woman’s identity was bound by her gender and infirmity. It was a heavy heavy load. She had carried it for eighteen years and he was duly humbled by her condition.

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Vacation Bible School is coming soon!  August 2nd thru 6th!  Attached here are some forms that you need to pass into the Camp Directors.  If you have questions, please email sccvbs@yahoo.com or contact the office to leave a message.  Documents need to be in by July 18th.

Mail forms to:

Vacation Bible School
c/o Salem Covenant Church
215 East Mountain St.
Worcester, MA 01606

Hope to see you there!

Under 18 Counselor Form

Camper registration form

Camper/Counselor Physician Form

Luke 9: 51-62

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. ⁵⁴When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’^{* 55}But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶Then^* they went on to another village.

Would-Be Followers of Jesus

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ ⁵⁹To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ ⁶⁰But Jesus^* said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ ⁶¹Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ ⁶²Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Looking Forward

In our global society—we are living in a day when our consciousness of world problems seems to be overwhelming. In recent years we seem to be bouncing from one crisis to another. Our country has been facing two prolonged wars that have overshadowed in time all of our previous conflicts. Louisiana and the southern coast are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina five years ago, which then, was the costliest natural disaster in our nations history. Now the oil spill in the Gulf threatens to dwarf that disaster with implications for generations to come. At the end of 2008 our economy collapsed following reckless and unsustainable lending practices in the housing market not to mention Wall Street’s greed. The economic crisis has had global affects most recently with the collapse of Greece’s economy and its affect on Europe. Even now unemployment is high and our economy is attempting to recover but with no certainty for sustainability.  We as human beings hunger for good news. We need a renewed perspective on all that we are facing.

Almost two decades ago (1991) a wonderful story of the human dilemma was portrayed in the movie, Grand Canyon. A story that focuses on the individual lives of East LA residents, it explores race relations, poverty, and the overwhelming problems of life that affect us all. One of the central characters was an East Los Angeles tow truck driver, who every year, would make a sojourn to the Grand Canyon in order to gain a wider perspective on life. When he was able to see his life from the larger expanse of creation, he regained a new perspective on himself, enabling him to respond to the challenges of a pervasive hopelessness in his impoverished community as well as the challenges of his own personal problems.

As spiritual beings and followers of Christ we do not live our lives in a vacuum. The problems of the world affect us all. This, coupled with our family lives and daily issues we face as individuals, make these challenging days for us. When we come to worship we bring with us the cares of the world and concerns for our lives. We seek a renewed perspective on our faith and how we are called to live.  This morning, the good news of Jesus’ words come to us reminding us that Jesus’ call upon our lives is attainable if we keep our eyes focused upon him.

Jesus’ words, however, are not easy to hear. We see in our gospel text this morning that following Jesus in no easy task. It is clear that there is a cost to follow him. This raises for us a question we confront every day: what is the cost in our lives for following Jesus?

This story marks an important turning point in the ministry of Christ. He is setting his eyes on Jerusalem when three would-be disciples approach Jesus.

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Luke 7:11-17

¹¹Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. ¹²As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. ¹³When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” ¹⁷This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

A Miracle of Compassion

Today we encounter the remarkable miracle of Jesus as he raises from the dead, the son of the widow of Nain. We do not read this story or any of the other gospel stories as passive bystanders. These stories become a part of our story. They are a part of the collective stories of believers through the generations who give witness to Jesus. Perhaps our first tendency is to read this story and then stand back and with the crowds marvel at Jesus’ power to even raise the dead.

But there is an obvious paradox as we fit this parable into our lives. When we confront some calamity like illness in our lives it is most natural for us to pray for healing. Sometimes we give witness to miraculous healing. But we often do not see healing as we envision it.

That is not to say that we shouldn’t pray for healing in our lives or in the lives of those we love.

But it reveals to us that there is something else at work in this miracle that goes deeper than the physical raising of someone who died to life again.

There are few things more poignant than to see a mother or father weeping for their child. Whether we see it in pictures from Afghanistan or Iraq or in our local newspapers, grief cuts to the core of our being because we feel our own mortality. It is always in the shadows. Lest we think that being young is in our favor it has been noted that more people have died before the age of 50 than after the age of 50. Every pain we feel, every twinge that is strange, every close encounter on the highway as we are driving—we are constantly reminded that we are mortal beings who will one day die.

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Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

²Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;

⁴what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

⁵Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,

⁷all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

⁸the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Introduction to Trinity Sunday

Today is the one Sunday in the entire church year when we celebrate a doctrine rather than an event. The doctrine we proclaim is a Mystery. There is no other way to express it. We proclaim the mystery of God’s revelation. For those who want a black and white religion with easily defined answers—the doctrine of the Trinity poses a huge problem because we are acknowledging that our attempts to understand God are feeble at best and what understanding we have is only because of divine grace.

When we gather to worship—we do so in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we gather at the font for baptism—we baptize in the name for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We pray at weddings in the same triune formula. When we gather at the grave we commit our loved ones to the ground in the name of The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

So as we approach the mystery of God’s revelation we understand that we stand on holy ground.

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The psalmist captures for us this morning this mystery and does so by raising an ancient question.

Who Are We that God is Mindful of Us?

The image in the bulletin insert this morning is an image captured by the Hubble Telescope as it discovers and reveals to us the mystery of space. It captures in a moment in time—the sense of wonder and awe of the psalmist (Psalm when he asked a question of the ages: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

Our knowledge of the universe is expanding at lightning speed. A few decades ago it was thought that there were two galaxies for each person alive. Lately, since the Hubble Space Telescope has explored the heavens, scientists have revised those figures and now estimate there are nine galaxies for every human alive on the face of the earth. To put that in perspective, each galaxy harbors an average of 100 billion suns. In our galaxy alone, the Milky Way, there are 69 suns for every person alive. (Homiletics, K.D. Herron, 5/30/10, p.80) The more we know—the more we see—the greater the wonder and awe of both the seen and the unknown.

When the words of the psalmist were penned, what was known of the universe was based on the observation of the human eye. At the same time, however, the human mind was ablaze with wonder and awe.

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The Language of Faith Acts 2:1-21 (John 14:8-27)

Whenever we think of Pentecost—our minds turn to the story of the disciples as they gathered to worship. Jesus had told them to wait. And as they were waiting, suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

The apostle John tells a parallel story of how when Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The word breath and spirit (pneuma) are synonymous as they are used in the Greek language. The very Spirit of God is our spiritual breath—our lifeline as believers. When we gasp for breath in our times of doubt—it is the Spirit of God that gives to us life and hope.

Jesus said the spirit of God is like the wind—it comes and goes as it pleases. It is not bound by doctrine or dogma. It is not inhibited by tradition. It is not controlled by the powers of this world.

Human barriers do not hinder it.

The Feast of Pentecost was celebrated in the Jewish faith marking the day when Moses came down from the mountain with the law of God. So on this already holy day—the Spirit of God came upon the early believers as Jesus had promised. It was one of those moments that was hard to explain or describe. Luke paints the picture in divine colors with tongues of flame. Those who gathered spoke in the tongues of nations. We know how language can be a barrier to us if we visit a foreign culture but this was different. Language was not a barrier but rather a symbol that united those who had gathered. God gave to them a language of faith that broke barriers and opened doors.

It was far greater than simply the language of different cultures.

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John 17:20-26

²⁰”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Love is the Last Word

I was reading this week of two men who sat next to each other on a plane. After exchanging names, one asked with real passion, “So, do you go to church?” “Funny you should mention that,” the man replied, “we were just talking about church yesterday.” He went on to explain that the previous year, he and his family had let themselves get totally over-extended. Between work, social commitments, and the activities of their two children – one in elementary school, one in junior high – they were exhausted by Christmas. They were determined that this year would be different. So after going to church as usual the day before, they held a “family council” over lunch to review all of their commitments in light of how each helped them be the kind of individuals and family they wanted to be. After an hour and a half of conversation, they made their decisions. And church was one of the things they had decided to stop doing. Girl Scouts remained, but church was out. “It’s just not that meaningful,” the man explained. “We go each week and finally realized we’re not getting anything out of it. It doesn’t connect with the rest of our lives, let alone help us lead those lives. So we’re done.” (WorkingPreacher.org., 5/9/10)

In this day and age of split loyalties and competing demands, church membership is often viewed more as a comfort than a commitment. It begs the larger question: how important is the life we share as a church? What is it that binds us together as a church community? Certainly relationships are a factor. Perhaps it is common experiences like shared grief. Maybe it is just habit for some. But the common thread in all of our experiences is the story of God and his creation. Every time we gather for worship—whether in some small rural community or some great cathedral—we are engaging the story of God with his people. If church attendance is secondary or we say or conclude that it is just not that meaningful, what then are we saying about our relationship with God?

Some time ago I heard an interview with someone from the orthodox tradition of Christianity who was engaged in a conversation about churches in general and the trends in churches of our day and the cult of personality that so often drives church communities. He stated that in his tradition, the life of the church does not ebb and flow with the priest but the liturgy. Some priests would come and stumble there way through the liturgy but it was never about the pastor. It was the liturgy—the spoken word that held the congregation together.

We are of a different tradition than the orthodox branch of Christianity but I think we can still grasp what this parishioner was saying. In our tradition as Covenanters—we talk about the centrality of God’s Word. (In reality we are talking about the same thing even though we may express it differently.) Another way of saying it that might be common ground in our traditions is to talk about story. We are held together as a church, not by singular leaders whose strengths and weaknesses ebb and flow in the life of the church but by the Story. Every Sunday that we gather we hear the story of God and find ourselves in it. It is through the Story that the Holy Spirit knits our lives together.

The power of story is that we hear it through the filter of our own lives. It can touch each one of us differently but it is the Spirit who uses the same story to knit our lives together. Yet so many people in the 21^st century place the church at best, on the periphery of their lives.

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On Tuesday, June 8, the Salem Super Seniors will be joining Zion Lutheran Fellowship Club for a luncheon at Blackstone Valley High School’s “Three Seasons Restaurant” in Upton. Lunch is at 11:00 a.m. Carpooling is available. For more information, speak to Julia Johnson or call the church office.

On Saturday, May 8, Salem will send a team to work on Habitat’s current home project in Millbury. If you would like more information, please speak with Pastor Frykholm.