 
Good Labor Day Weekend Sunday from the
Chapel on the Hill.
Thank you for joining us again today by
way of our church's YouTube channel
our church Facebook page.
Now let us respond to the goodness of
this summer
Sunday that we have been given as we
join together in the spirit of
celebration
and worship. In joy,
we greet this Labor Day weekend, O God,
thankful for the work we have been able
to do,
thankful for the lives we have to live,
and thankful for the ties of love that
bind us together.
As we meditate, pray,
enjoy stirring music, and hear
uplifting words, may we become a little
wiser,
a little stronger, a little closer to
becoming the persons we can be.
In the spirit of the Christ we pray.
Amen. And now, Suzanne has a special
message
for our children.
Good morning! I miss you.
But I hope you're having a wonderful day.
I'd like to talk this morning about
wonderful days.
Let's imagine a day like this:
the sun is shining,
the sky is blue and filled with white,
fluffy clouds,
the birds are singing,
the flowers are blooming (look how happy
they are),
even the house looks happy.
And if we go inside this house and
they're cooking breakfast,
maybe we will smell pancakes
and maple syrup. That's starting to look
like a pretty wonderful day, isn't it?
And if we go into the next room, maybe we
will see
something like this.
Uh-oh, that is not
a happy boy. He is not
having a wonderful day. I wonder what
he's so mad about? Maybe he doesn't like pancakes. Or maybe
he wanted to watch
TV and his mother said, “No, it's a
beautiful day.
You need to go outside.” Or maybe he just
woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Now I am not going to ask you if you
have been
angry like that because we have all
been angry like that. Sometimes,
anger is a good thing. We have a special
name for it.
It's called righteous indignation.
And that's the kind of anger we feel if
we see other people
being treated poorly. And it's good to be
angry about that.
We should be angry if other people are
not being treated
fairly and with kindness. However
this is not that kind of anger.
This is what I call grumpy-angry,
and it can ruin a perfectly wonderful
day.
And chances are, it can ruin other
people's
perfectly wonderful day, as well.
Have you ever noticed in your house, if
somebody is grumpy-angry,
it doesn't take long before other people
in the house
are grumpy-angry, too?
So what can we do about this? Well, the
first thing you can do is
take a big breath and just relax.
And then try to figure out why you're
angry. I know I can get angry if I get
really tired
or really hungry or if I'm worried about
something.
So if you're feeling those things what
can you do?
Well if you're hungry, you can eat
something—something healthy.
If you're tired, you can try to get some
more sleep.
And if you're worried, it's always a good
idea to talk to other people
about what's on your mind. I know I
always feel better
if I share my worries with somebody else.
And if we do these things, we might
discover
that we can have a perfectly wonderful
day
whether the sun is shining or it's
pouring down rain.
Thank you for joining me. And I hope you
have
a perfectly wonderful week.
 
Our first reading is from the book of
Psalms.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all
generations. Before the mountains were
born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting
to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust, saying,
“Return
to dust, you mortals.” A thousand years in
your sight are like a day that had just
gone by, or like a watch in the night.
Our days may come to 70 years or 80,
if our strength endures; yet the best of
them
are but trouble and sorrow, for they
quickly pass,
and we fly away. Teach us
to number our days, that we may gain a
heart of wisdom.
Satisfy us in the morning with your
unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad
all of our days. May the favor of the
Lord
our God rest on us; establish
the work of our hands for us—yes
establish the work of our hands.
And our second reading is from the book
of Joshua.
While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw
a man
standing in front of him, holding a sword.
Joshua went up to him and said, “Are you
one of our soldiers,
or the enemy?” “Neither,”
the man answered. “I am here as the
commander of the Lord's army.”
Joshua threw himself on the ground in
worship and said,
“I am your servant, sir. What do you want
me to do?”
And the commander of the Lord's army
told him,
“Take your sandals off; you are standing
on holy ground.”
And Joshua did as he was told.
In gratitude for the work
that we have been able to do,
the financial security our work has
provided for us,
and the good life our work has enabled
for us,
I would encourage us to express that
gratitude
as we continue to give our offerings
to the ongoing work and financial
stability of this United Church we all
love.
Thank you. I again invite you to join
me in a time of prayer and meditation.
Divine Spirit in the silence of our
hearts,
each of us greets this day
with different concerns, different needs,
and different expectations of what we
hope to gain
from this time together.
All of us, likely, hope for a time of
Sabbath rest—
a time apart from the strains and
struggles of the world
and all the bad news that bombards us
daily.
A time of peace in the midst of life's
storms.
A time of greater clarity as we search
for answers to the problems and
questions of life that beset us.
And may it be so.
But may we also find a way to experience
some Sabbath rest
in our daily lives, Monday through
Saturday.
May we be able to make some time for
study,
spiritual reflection, meditation,
prayer, and especially gratitude.
In short, may we be able to get in tune
with our souls and
our souls in tune with the rhythms of
life
in a way that makes for greater peace
and spiritual contentment
each day. Today we would also
pause to express our deep gratitude for
those who labor
on our behalf. The labor of
so many people, in so many diverse
occupations, helps make our lives what
they
are. So, for all those who work
and touch our lives each week,
we offer words of thanks.
Finally, we would connect ourselves in
spirit
to the suffering of our nation and wider
world,
and those of our church family and
extended church
family who also look for peace,
rest, renewed health,
and clarity for whatever situation
besets them this day.
In the spirit of faith, hope,
and love, we offer these spoken prayers
and now the silent meditations of our
hearts, for ourselves
and for those we love.
Amen.
I have a confession to make.
I committed an error in judgment,
and I am here to share it with you today.
I have already confessed it to the
parties offended,
but perhaps in sharing with you my
error, you can learn from my mistake.
A few weeks ago, a couple of members of
our United Church
gave us a paper bag containing a variety
of home-grown tomatoes from their garden.
One of those tomatoes was a purple
tomato
that I love, especially on
hamburgers. So I tucked that one
prized, purple tomato that I love away
in the refrigerator, saving it for the
next time
we cooked hamburgers.
Well, we never got around to having
hamburgers,
and when I came across that tomato in
the refrigerator a few weeks later,
it was rotten. We had missed
our chance. I had squandered
a wonderful gift and blessing.
You have heard the saying, “There is no
better time than the present.”
Well, such reminded me of a story I heard
years ago.
Regardless of whether the story is 100%
factual, it is true in essence
nonetheless.
The story goes that a mother and
grandmother
had kept her good wedding china
packed safely away in a box.
When a family member asked her about the special
wedding china, she said, “Oh, I’m saving
that
for a special occasion.”
Years passed, and the special
occasion never came.
When the mother and grandmother passed
away,
while going through her things, her
family found the special
wedding china, safely boxed away
in the attic. How many
special occasions had passed over the
years
when the mother and grandmother could
have enjoyed
using that special china?
How many opportunities slipped by to
celebrate with those she loved
that beautiful gift?
If we have learned anything these past
six months,
we should have learned the importance of
the present
moment and making the most of
and celebrating each day and each moment
as they come to us. We should have
learned how precious
time is, especially time spent with those
we love
that we may have in the past
taken for granted.
The writer of the beloved 90th Psalm
wisely encourages us to number our days,
to be always aware of the brevity of
life and
how quickly life passes, that we may
gain a heart of wisdom about how to live
to the fullest
the lives we have been given.
He goes on to encourage that we sing for
joy
and be glad all our days.
Or as another psalm puts it, to “wake
the dawn with our song.” (Ps 108:2, NLT)
And in the end of the 90th Psalm,
the writer draws a connection between
living in the moment
and finding joy in each day
to the work that we do:
combined with numbering our days and
being glad
all our days is offering a prayer that
God bless
and establish the work of our hands.
I must offer a second confession:
I have not always heeded the psalmist's
suggestion. There were times in the past
when, rather than living in the moment
and finding joy in the day at hand,
I was jumping ahead to the future:
to the time when I could drive
and have my teenage freedom,
to the time when I would graduate from
college,
to the time when I would be an ordained
minister, to the time when I would
graduate from seminary,
to the day when that first book would be
published, and
so on.
Could it be, as experienced by Joshua
in that story of old, that every day
we could find ourselves standing on
holy ground? That
every encounter with the beauties of the
natural world;
every interaction with our partner or
spouse,
friend, or other family member;
every story time shared with a child
or grandchild; every conversation over
coffee;
every meal that we share with another;
every opportunity we have to connect in
a time of worship
such as this—could it be that it
is holy ground?
Our daughter used to have a plaque
hanging in her kitchen
bearing a saying that has been
attributed to a number of different
people.
The plaque read: “Yesterday
is history. Tomorrow
is a mystery. Today
is a gift. . .that's why they call it
the present.”
By the way, as a side note,
several years ago, Mary Lou and I decided
that
each meal should be special
and we should have special dishes to eat
from
to enjoy them. Now, we don't use the best
china for everyday eating;
we do use it occasionally.
But we decided to replace the plain
white
dishes we were using every day with
something that was more festive and
colorful.
The first set we bought was the Blue
Willow
pattern. Then we added a set of Christmas
cardinal dishes for winter days.
And then we added a butterfly meadow set
for spring and summer that features
wildflowers, butterflies,
and dragonflies.
It is a little thing, but it adds a bit
of joy
to each meal and each day.
What are other ways that we might
cherish and bring joy to each day
and celebrate each moment?
True wisdom is learning to number,
appreciate, make the most of,
and find joy in each day
that we are given. And it is figuring out
a way to be grateful for
and find joy in the work of our hands
that we are given to do.
So, what is the most
important time of your life?
It is today.
May it be so. Amen.
As we have joined together in this time
of worship,
let us now go forth into the week
to celebrate and find joy in each day
and to work and serve in whatever ways
we can.
And may the blessing of God be with us
all. Amen.
 
 
 
 
 
