THE FIRST LESSON Matthew 16:21-28
THE SECOND LESSON Exodus 3:1-15
SERMON "Taking Off Your Shoes"
WORSHIP NOTES
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this, the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. At Westminster, we observe this liturgical season by measuring time after Pentecost. The Pentecost season began on June 12 and will continue until Rally Day on September 11, 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 Moses' encounter with the burning bush at which God is revealed to be the great "I AM." Our worship today explores our understanding of who God is and challenges us to look beyond the bounds of our limited human vocabulary and understanding in defining and naming God. It is the same indescribable God who challenges us to take up the cross and follow in the way of Christ. As we seek to respond to the call of the great I AM, we must be willing to share our own burdens with Jesus in order to take up the cross as faithful disciples.
In worship today, we introduce a hymn by Dr. Brian Wren (b. 1936) called "Bring Many Names." This hymn has been included in several denominational hymnals, including those of the United Methodist and United Church of Christ. In his book, What Language Shall I Borrow?, Wren writes about the care with which we should name God:
"Naming God truthfully is important, since to name God untruthfully is to delude ourselves and worship an idol. Naming God truthfully is especially important if language shapes and angles thinking and behavior, since untruthful God-language will then hinder our encounter with God and our knowledge of God."
The hymn text itself was first conceived by Wren in 1968 and has undergone several revisions over the ensuing decades. Although each verse of the text describes particular traits, the hymn uses only one name consistently throughout: God.
