Here’s a call to worship written as a reflection on Matthew 18:15-20, the gospel reading for September 4, 2011 (Proper 18A). It was written by Katherine Hawker, and posted on her Outside the Box website.
"Truly I tell you," says Jesus,
"whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
"whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
May we be bound with love.
To bind, to be bound, to be bound with
So many competing demands and expectations
Aging partners and parents
Unplanned expenses
Demands at work and home and school and church
So many competing demands and expectations
Aging partners and parents
Unplanned expenses
Demands at work and home and school and church
May we be bound with love.
Bound now, bound forever
Bound with whom and for what?
Bound with whom and for what?
May we be bound with love.
What shall we carry with us into eternity?
Our gold?
Our politics?
Our relationships?
Which?
For with this choice
We will be bound in heaven.
Our gold?
Our politics?
Our relationships?
Which?
For with this choice
We will be bound in heaven.
May we be bound with love.
— Copyright © Katherine Hawker
For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for September 4, 2011 (the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 18A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
For more calls to worship, click on Calls to worship in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see this Call to Worship index.
