14 June 2026 - Third Sunday after Pentecost – Year A

The Faith Action Programme would like to thank Phill Mellstrom, Worship Development Worker for the Faith Action Programme, for his thoughts on the third Sunday after Pentecost.

Introduction

The readings this week see us visiting Abraham and Sarah as the Lord appears to them by the oaks of Mamre, in a passage from Genesis that flows through the story of Abraham and Sarah's calling and journey. In the Psalms we are reminded that God moves towards us – inclining an ear to us to hear our voice (in Psalm 116) and in Psalm 100, which is a liturgical psalm, we are invited to join with creation in thanks and praise as we gather, enter God's presence and remember together. The Exodus reading looks at God's covenant with Israel made at Sinai, with the people answering as one, "Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do"! In our Romans text we are reminded of God's love for us amid affliction and that through Jesus we have obtained access to grace and peace with God. The Gospel reading in Matthew centres around the sending of the twelve and their commission to go and do as Jesus does, echoing the sentiment from Exodus.

Throughout the readings there is intriguing imagery that can help us to be creative in our worship; phrases that allow us to ask questions together and uncover the gifts within these texts. There are also patterns and principles that can be understood that will help us as we live out our call to be the priesthood of all believers and those who make God and God's love visible and real in the world. Despite how challenging things feel right now, we have a God who is faithful through the generations, who journeys with us and empowers and gifts us to heal, to make peace and to build a kingdom like no other.

Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7)

In the text we read "the Lord appeared" and as Abraham looks up to see ‘the Lord', three men are standing there. We have recently worshipped together on Trinity Sunday, and this image of God as three visitors (beautifully rendered in Rublev's icon, which I always find helpful in worship) is a wonderful and intriguing image to hold in our worship together today. This quote from Cole Arthur Riley piqued my interest too:

"...Some theologies say it is not an individual but a collective people who bear the image of God. I quite like this, because it means we need a diversity of people to reflect God more fully. Anything less and the image becomes pixelated and grainy, still beautiful but lacking clarity. If God really is three parts in one like they say, it means that God's wholeness is in a multitude."

Cole Arthur Riley

Sarah is key in this story and not just a foil for the story of Abraham to deepen. She is integral to the lineage of God and although she is called out for laughing and perhaps treated harshly by the passage (certainly not given the grace of the laughing Abraham), there is much to learn from her humanity, and it is profound that the name of Abraham's eventual heir is Laughter. God cares for those who laugh: not just those who can find joy, but those who scoff, as we see in the story – God honoured Sarah and in response, Sarah declares, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears will laugh with me" (v.6).

It is perhaps worth considering how this episode sits within the longer and deeper story of Abraham and Sarah. There is a song in God Welcomes All (no. 25 – see Musical suggestions) that sets this story as not just about Abraham, but aptly naming the women who are central figures in the drama.

It is also worth noting the phrase – "is anything too wonderful for the Lord?" (v.4) – which provides a rich well to draw from in preaching and praying as we might consider how God acts and fulfils promises and shows God's faithfulness in unexpected and sometimes utterly unbelievable ways. What is our response to God's incredible work being filled with unexpected things? Do we recognise that joy and laughter is a full and rich part of that work? There is a tendency to want things now, or ASAP, which is related to the cultures around how we can access information and entertainment (on demand) and many of the news and social feeds that drive a frenetic pace of consumption – how might this passage, that shows God's promises and faithfulness coming to fruition over long periods of time, speak to our lived experience and that of our faith community?

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

God inclines towards us and listens. The opening words of this psalm bring reassurance and encouragement to us. We do not speak out into a void. There is a God who hears us, who journeys with us, and who fulfils promises to hold our prayers and hear our cries. As we set this within the context of the other readings from today, we find a deepening sense of God's care and faithfulness towards us.

In lifting up the cup of salvation, the Psalmist invites us to join in a public thanksgiving to God and also links us to the grace within the Romans passage that sees us at peace with God, and able to hope in sharing the glory of God.

Exodus 19:2-8a

This passage gives insight into who God has been for the Israelites, who God will be for them and what that lived reality is in the present moment. It is in these spaces that the Israelites can see their identity – chosen, saved, treasured, etc. God saves Israel at the Red Sea and is recognised as saviour, and as God lifts them as an eagle, drawing Israel closer to Godself; in doing so God also identifies as the one who journeys with, and the one who is in covenant with the people for their future.

"You shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation," says God to the Israelites (v.6). This is not a right, allowing privilege or entitlement, rather it is God bringing a people – who have been separated by exile from who they have been – back to a place of identifying themselves in God, as God's people, and those who are treasured.

When we read this story and identify ourselves as God's own, as the beloved, it is essential to note the individual and communal responsibility and vocation to live into the calling of those who are to ‘show' God in the world and witness to God through their living. This is not an identity guarded by exclusivity, but an identity that is driven outward by generosity and a call from God to, as it is put in Psalm 116:18 – "pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all God's people".

Psalm 100

We are to join with all the Earth all to worship and praise God. What a thing to imagine, being in sync and harmony with all people and all creation in bringing glory and honour to God! What might that look like in real terms?

In verse 3 – "know" is an embodied knowing that is intimate and full. It goes beyond intellect and is deepened within our very being. Perhaps this affords the opportunity to explore how we have ‘known God' with us.

In verse 4 the movement of the verse gives us an active liturgy to participate in. Go through God's open gates – God has made this possible by inclining towards and lifting Israel as an eagle. With great thanksgiving – all that we are and have comes from the God who has, is and will be with them forever. Enter God's courts with praise – the holy place, the intimate dwelling with God is where God wants them to reside. Give thanks to God and bless God's name. Continue to worship God, and to live and move in God's presence.

The psalm also picks up the sense of God being ever-faithful – the laying out of who God was in the past and who God is in the here and now (reflecting similar ideas from the Exodus narrative). We are drawn from joining with all of creation and the vast beauty of this notion of giving our God praise, into a closeness of being the sheep of God's flock. Reminiscent of the Exodus passage where God lifts Isreal to Godself, we must not set ourselves above and become lofty, or exclusive, or self-important, rather we must serve with gladness.

In such fleeting times, when things change often for the worse with such pace, it is good to hear that the Lord is good and that God's love endures forever. The word steadfast is perhaps not always associated with the intimacy that we have seen in the other passages. This God, who lifts Israel close to Godself, desires their closeness, and is willing to show them fidelity and loyalty forever.

With each of these different aspects of the psalm we are encouraged to know God deeply and worship God fully in every aspect of our lives and in every context as we go about our life and work, whether in pasture, in temple and in high courts/places of power. How might all of this influence our worship on this day?

Romans 5:1-8

Peace, how do we pursue it? How do we possibly achieve peace in these times? Of course, peace is not just the absence of war/conflict and violence, but that which surpasses all understanding and provides a stillness and assuredness (and so much more) that makes no sense given the circumstances and contexts we see all around us – yet, shalom can be real.

Peace is not the only reference for this passage of scripture. In considering this gracious reconciliation, Paul draws out how we who are loved by God get to go beyond justification and come into the very peace of God. It is not an easy peace, nor an easy hope. It is often hard won and the truth that grace bears fruit through suffering is not something we particularly want to hear, let alone live into being. Access to this peace and hope is through grace, and not something we must produce ourselves; but rather God, in Jesus, inclines towards us and opens up Godself to us. In grace God lifts us like an eagle, that we might persevere and perhaps even boast as we live in hope and share this hope with others.

Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

A few ideas came to mind in relation to this passage. When reading, I was struck by the end of the passage, which points towards persecution and betrayal within families and communities. How does this tie in to what we have read elsewhere around perseverance and hope and the peace of God? While following Jesus involves risk (something that we don't often want to acknowledge) and our discipleship does come with a cost, we can stand in the hope that God is with us.

Healing and liberation are visible signs of God's presence and Kingdom. While exorcism may seem like a disconnected or outdated notion to some, it should certainly be alive in our thinking as we consider what it means to be liberated from power that is exercised over us to bind, ensnare and oppress, keeping us from fulness of life. Any act that brings peace and love into the midst of these scenarios and context might be considered the work of exorcism.

We have a list of the Disciples' names in this passage that can serve to remind us that we are not called as perfect and fully formed. Rather, we see Peter – who denied Jesus three times, we see Judas – who betrayed Jesus, we see tax collectors and others who fluctuated between the spaces of Kingdom and empire. This also points us to the idea of identity that is present in some of the other readings. Our shared identity and the identity of this movement of followers of Jesus, is borne out of its missional impetus and the sending of God. It is when we go into the world, as peacemakers and healers in the name of God, that we are recognised as disciples and the Church is seen for who it is meant to be rather than obscured by the walls of our buildings.

In this mission discourse we are reminded to accept hospitality as the Disciples did in their sent-ness – and as we see in the story of the three guests that Abraham and Sarah entertain. As we enter into mission, it is not just about what we bring to the endeavour, but those we encounter as we proclaim the Kingdom of heaven is near, and tend to the work of making that real.

Sermon ideas

The Gospel reading of Matthew points us outward in mission. The God who called you, is the God who is sending you. The God who knows you intimately is asking you to know God and to show God in every space and place that you inhabit. Psalm 100 is also a reminder to know God deeply and worship God fully in every aspect of our lives and in every context as we go about our life and work (whether in pasture, in temple and in high courts/places of power). How might all of this influence our worship and our prayers on this day?

In our journey with God, how do we really ‘know' God – in this embodied, deep and intimate sense? Perhaps the themes from Psalm 100 invites us into sharing stories of our experience of and encounter with God and to consider what that means for others as we go, just as the 12 were sent to build God's kingdom and care for and tend to others.

We might consider together:

• How have we ‘known' God's presence, or guiding?
• As we look back, where do we sense God's fingerprints on our lives?
• As we gather to worship – what are the things that alert us to God's presence, and make this act of worship come alive?
• How are you encouraged by the story in Matthew 10, of Jesus extending the Father's work of building a kingdom of justice and peace by using identifiable people with quirks and flaws?
• As we take solace in the reconciliation to God that brings us into peace with God – how might we sit with the challenge that perseverance produces fruit and – in meaningful and tangible ways, we encounter God's grace in the difficulty?

*What does it mean for discipleship to be costly?

If we consider discipleship as belonging to a comfortable community that experiences nothing but grace and joy, we miss the point. Our discipleship is not a self-help or self-improvement programme that focusses on the individual becoming all that they can be. Rather, it is something much more profound. Our discipleship is not for us. We must learn what it means to live well in this world as we seek justice and peace and journey as co-workers and fellow pilgrims. The injustice and oppression of others needs to be tended to, and in my discipleship I must, with humility, understand my role in changing the system, in correcting the injustice and faithfully working to reconcile and bring peace. We work together towards prophecies being fulfilled, such as Isaiah's call to end war and provide enough sustenance for all people. We journey on the trajectory towards the ‘no more tears' claim of Revelation, when suffering is no more and we live in fulness and peace in the presence of God forever.

• What does hope look like for your community?

Are there issues that have been at the forefront of your community life that the Church can respond to in grace and mercy? Might this be the opportunity to be the peacemakers we are called to be, or to be the ones who accept hospitality and learn to ‘be' with those in the community accompanying them on their journeys?

Prayers

Call to worship
Make a joyful noise all the Earth
WE COME INTO YOUR PRESENCE WITH SINGING

You are the God who made us and we are Yours
WE ARE YOUR PEOPLE, THE SHEEP OF YOUR PASTURE

God bids you enter with thanksgiving and praise
WE GIVE THANKS AND BLESS YOUR HOLY NAME

The LORD is good and faithful to all generations
YOUR LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER AND EVER

We bring our worship to You now…
(this may lead into a sung version of Psalm 100 – see the Musical suggestions section)

Prayer of confession
Loving God,
Incline Your ear toward us now and hear our prayers.

You meet us in our need and in our sin – in those times when we have made bad decisions or ignored Your prompting and guiding and failed to work for love and for peace.

When we have declined Your invitation to bring peace, or to comfort, or to act in justice and mercy
FORGIVE US, WE PRAY

When we have knowingly put ourselves before others because it was more comfortable,
ignoring situations where our agency may well have been what was needed
FORGIVE US, WE PRAY

When we have written ourselves off because we thought we were too old, or that what we have done previously ruled us out of taking part in Your kingdom
FORGIVE US, WE PRAY

When our thoughts, beliefs or prejudices led us to act in ways that got in the way of peace and love flourishing
FORGIVE US, WE PRAY

Lord in Your mercy, we ask not only for Your forgiveness,
but that You empower us to be Your people –
sent to heal, to proclaim Your love and mercy,
created to live in unity with You, with each other and with all creation.

Lord have mercy
CHRIST HAVE MERCY
Lord have mercy.

Prayer of thanksgiving
God of peace,
We thank You for Your Son Jesus,
Who in living, dying and rising again – was victorious over sin and death,
making a way for us to be reconciled with You, with ourselves and each other,
and with all of creation.

With one voice
WE GIVE YOU GLORY AND HONOUR

God of grace,
we give You thanks that You listen to our cries.
You incline towards us and lift us as an eagle to Yourself,
that we might be known and treasured as Your children.

With one voice
WE GIVE YOU GLORY AND HONOUR

God of hope,
You poured out Your love into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit.
In our weakness and in our strength,
in our living and in our dying,
in our coming in and going out
You are with us.

With one voice
WE GIVE YOU GLORY AND HONOUR

To God the Father,
God the Son,
And God the Holy Spirit,
be glory and praise, now and forever.
AMEN

Prayers for others
O God, that we might boast of peace and hope,
that we might make such a noise about Your gracious love,
shouting at the top of our lungs about Your great hope.

But we have learned, in challenging times such as these,
that such peace is fragile,
that hope is hard won
and that joy can seem like too much of a stretch.

Loving and Living God,
may Your peace, may Your love, may Your hope,
find each of us exactly where we are.
May it be real in the hearts and homes of all those in our communities
and in the faraway places of the world,
those places we do not think of enough,
or try to block out and ignore because it seems like too much.

May Your desire for each and every person to know You and to live in Your love
inspire us to work together for that reality
and to pray together,
with the words that Jesus Christ Your son and our Saviour taught us:
OUR FATHER…

Sending/Blessing
May the God of hope journey with you in sun and rain
May the God of grace guide you both day and night
May the God of peace make your hands work tirelessly for the kingdom
May the God of love be made real to all through your life and work.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786225573/god-welcomes-all

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

• GWA 25 – "God of Sarah praise" – set to God of Abraham Praise, this song sets the whole story, including the key female figures within the narrative.
• GWA 13 – "Worship the Lord with joyful songs of praise" – a contemporary setting of Psalm 100 that is accessible and uplifting.
• GWA 44 – "Come People of the Risen King"
• GWA 59 – "Listen for God Who Speaks Within Our Hearts"
• GWA 79 – "Were I the Perfect Child of God"
• GWA 171 – "Kwake Yesu Nasimama"

• CH4 63 – "All people on the earth do dwell" – Psalm 100
• CH4 162 – "The God of Abraham praise" – try GWA 25 instead.
• CH4 405 – "We sing the praise of him who died" – linked to the Romans passage.
• CH4 536 – "May the mind of Christ my Saviour"
• CH4 263 – "God of freedom, God of justice"
• CH4 595 – "O Breath of Life, come sweeping through us"

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

• Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
• Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
• In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
• While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
• Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
• Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

• How inclusive was the worship?
  Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
  Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
• How was the balance between passive and active participation?
• How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
  What helped this?
  What hindered this?
• How cohesive was the worship?
  Did it function well as a whole?
  How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
• How balanced was the worship?
  What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
• How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
  Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
  How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
  How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
• What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

Useful links

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.