FIRST LESSON Matthew 14:13-21
THE SECOND LESSON Genesis 32:22-31
SERMON "The Blessing of Wrestling"
WORSHIP NOTES
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. At Westminster, we observe this liturgical season by measuring time after Pentecost. The Pentecost season began June 12 and will continue until Rally Day in September, when Westminster will observe the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. The liturgical color for this season is red.
Throughout the Pentecost season, the lectionary passages read in worship will include some familiar Bible stories from the Old Testament. In today's passage, we read of Jacob's experience wrestling with God and consider what it means for us to wrestle with the questions of our faith. The music through which we worship today is chosen to express our faithfulness and perseverance in the face of that which is unknown, unexplained, unresolved, and unanswered.
The gathering hymn, "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise," expresses praise to God whom we cannot see, but that we know is ever present with us. The response hymn, "Christ of the Upward Way," reflects our prayer that we might have the faith necessary to respond to God's grace by following closely in the path of Christ. Finally, our sending hymn, "Fight the Good Fight" speaks of what it means to persevere as persons of faith.
The postlude this morning is the final movement of an organ suite by French composer, Leon Boellmann (1862-1897). During his short professional life, Boellmann was a teacher, composer, performer, and student of famed organist Eugene Gigout. As one listens to the development of this toccata, one can imagine the wrestling between Jacob (in the higher pitches) and God (in the lower pedal notes). As in today's scripture passage from Genesis, this musical struggle does not resolve as much as it simply ends with a blessing, which is represented by a final chord in a major key.
