Get Your Feet Wet! 21st Century Liturgy for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Gathering Meditation: "Get Your Feet Wet!"
(Based on Joshua 3:13-17)

We all know that miracles come from God, but sometimes we forget that there are times when God asks us to participate in the miraculous. The Red Sea parted after Moses raised his staff as God commanded (Exodus 14:16, 21).The Jordan River, the dividing line between the Wilderness and the Promised Land, did not part until the priests placed their feet in the water as God commanded. Not until the priests placed their feet in the water . . .

The Bible speaks nothing of clergy and laity. It speaks of the priesthood of all people of God (1 Peter 2:5, 9). Even without the rigors of denominational ordination, all are priests called to stand as a bridge between God and people who long for God.We who love God are called to get our feet wet so that others might experience a miracle.I have seen these people -- taking risks for others. I have seen them, suffering inconvenience, serving others. Where have you last seen them? They are among us, refusing to be silent, refusing to pretend that they didn't see injustice, taking the road less traveled, as God commands.

The call to us today is to remember that we are all priests. This text hints that some miracles require our participation. Do you dareget your feet wet?

Call to Worship
(Based on Matthew 23:2-3, 1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Leader: Thanks be to God for the good news of the gospel! Through this truth, we are being transformed into the image of God.

People: We lay aside everything that weighs us down and turn our attention toward the God who has redeemed us (Hebrews 12:1).

Leader: Put away old ways to be clothed with the new self, created in the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:10).

People: We put away old destructive ways to be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3:12).

Leader: We refuse to live like the Pharisees who did not practice what they taught.

People: We give thanks for God's transforming grace at work among us. Thanks be to God for the good news of the gospel!