Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. This Sunday we will focus on Luke 13:10-17 when Jesus heals the bent over woman. Let us take time to pray for healing for ourselves and others.
If you would like a home visit, conversation, or home communion, please call me at 573-437-2779 (church) or 57 3-832-2475 (cell).
Announcements:
- Items for the Dental Kits for the Festival of Sharing are being collected. Look for the box in the back of the sanctuary.
- The Mission and Stewardship Committee will meet on Monday, August 22 at 1pm.
- Wednesday Confirmation Class resumes on Wednesday, August 24, 2022
- Choir Practice resumes on August 31 at 6:30pm.
- No Confirmation Class or Sunday, School on Sunday, September 4 (Labor Day Weekend)
- Fun Church Picnic on Sunday, September11 at 4pm in Luster Park
- We need to pick a date for Apple Butter Making. Would Saturday, September 17 or 24 work best for you? Let Rodney, Pastor Stephanie or the Church Office know.
- We are still collecting items for the “Christmas in July” for the Advent Tea in November. If you need an ornament and/or help shopping, give me a call.
Prayers and Blessings,
Pastor Stephanie DeLong
Scripture Lessons: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, Hebrews 12:18-29, Luke 13:10-17
Sermon: Do You Feel Overlooked?
On the sabbath, she came into the synagogue to listen to Jesus. She had heard so much about him. Wherever Jesus went things happened. People were healed. Storms were calmed. Crowds were fed. There were the debates with the pharisees and more. She wanted to see and hear for herself. So, on the sabbath she came to the synagogue.
She did not expect to be noticed. For 18 years she had been bent over by a spirit that crippled her. So long that the people in her community had stopped paying attention to her. Oh, her friends would occasionally shake their heads and cluck in sympathy, but for the most part she and her bent over body blended into the landscape of the familiar. A spot to listen and observe was all she sought. She was used to being overlooked.
But when she entered the synagogue, Jesus looked over at her. He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” And then much to her amazement he placed his hands on her and straightened her up. (Luke13:12-13) For the first time in 18 years she could look up and over and around. She had been seen! She had been healed! In the shear joy of the moment, she began praising God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
As she looked around, she hoped that all who were gathered in the synagogue would rejoice and praise God with her. The overlooked had been looked upon and healed. Jesus had seen her and healed her. What a marvelous moment!
But the synagogue leader did not rejoice. This man who had overlooked her for years was angry. How dare Jesus interrupt the carefully planned synagogue sabbath with healing! The leader let Jesus know just how he felt. And the woman in her joy felt overlooked again.
Have you ever felt overlooked? Are you suffering from an ailment that has kept you bent over for years? Do those who insist on getting their way trampled on your joys? Do you feel that no one notices you or listens to what you have to say? I think that we have all been there a time or two.
The good news is that Jesus sees you. Jesus cares about you. Jesus will lay his hands on you and fix what is wrong. And when this happens it is time to sing praises to God. It does not matter, if you sing alone. It does not matter, if others ignore your joy. Sing those praises to God.
As for those sticklers for the law, as for those who ignore you, as for those who get self-righteous over small details: Let Jesus handle them. Let Jesus argue with them. Let Jesus teach them the truth. Because Jesus does not overlook them either. He understands that they need to be healed too.
As for those who hurt, as for those who are overlooked, as for those who rejoice in God: Just keep on keeping on with your daily lives, seeking God and singing your praises. Because God sees and loves you.
Prayer: God, thank you for seeing and loving us. Heal us when we hurt. Teach us when we get angry over unimportant details and fail to rejoice with others. May we praise you today and every day. Amen.
Prayer list: All who have been on our list in the past and Elizabeth, Cheryl, Dave, David, Ken and Evelyn, Jason, Paulette, Jaqueline, Friends of Shelby, Bobby, Kevin, Jim, Darryl (doing better!), Marilee, Beverly, Jim, Jenny, Dixon’s daughter, Barbara, Melvin, Mitchell, Patty, Mahala and for peace in troubled and war-torn places.
Everyone returning to school: teachers, students, bus drivers, food service workers, custodians, administrators and more.
