June 22, 2025 – Second Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 7

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous
1 Kings 19:1–4 (5–7), 8–15a
Elijah meets God—not in wind, earthquake, or fire—but in silence. 

Psalms 42 and 43
My soul longs for you, O God; where are you? My hope is in you.  

Complementary
Isaiah 65:1–9
The Lord says: I will repay their iniquity, but I will not destroy them.

Psalm 22:19–28
The Lord did not despise or forsake me; I will praise the Lord.

Galatians 3:23–29
In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female.

Luke 8:26–39
Jesus casts out a man’s demons and they enter a herd of swine.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

When we long for your presence,
you are there with us, O source of comfort.
When we face dangers and perils,
you are there for us, O source of strength.
When we need to do justice,
you are there within us, O source of courage.
So we come with songs and praises, 
that all the ends of the earth 
and all the families of the nations
may know of your love.
Let us praise God!

Prayer of the Day

God, our lives are full of so much
that keeps us distracted,
full of activities and TV commercials,
full of background noises and disruptions, 
full of strong winds and fires,
full of alienation and loss. 
You come to us even in the midst of it,
and in the silence, 
in the stillness,
you ask us to eat and rest,
to recover our strength and gain some clarity.
Give us the strength to stand up,
to go into the wilderness, and to do the work 
of blessing others,
of feeding others,
of giving others rest. 
Today we ask that you come in the silence
or in the noise of our anxious hearts.
Whisper to us a word of hope
and instill in us a word of justice,
that this hurting world
might experience the joy of salvation. Amen. 

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Thanksgiving for Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
In confession, we tell the truth
about ourselves and our broken world,
and the God of all Truth,
who knows our limitations
and loves our imperfections,
has already forgiven us
and will always forgive us.
Trusting in God’s infinite mercy,
let us dare to tell the truth in prayer together.

God of Grace,
we have harmed your children
whom you love.
Because we do not understand them,
we segregate them,
we reject them,
we demonize them,
and we hurt them.
Forgive us, in your infinite love,
and teach us to welcome
all of your children
until our hospitality
is as wide as your mercy.
Help us to understand others
as we wish to be understood.
Guide us to love one another
as you love us.

Lifting water from the font:
This is the truth:
You are not the labels others place on you.
You are more than the boxes you check.
You are not the side of the aisle
on which you stand,
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
You belong to Christ, and Christ alone.
Believe the good news of the gospel:
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Faithful God, how blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Sanctify us by your Word and Spirit
so that we may glorify you
in the company of the faithful;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings: 
At the crossroads wisdom calls. 
Proverbs 8:1–2

After the readings: 
The wisdom of God for all people; 
the call of God for all who live. 
Thanks be to God.
Proverbs 8:4

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
How majestic is the name 
of the Lord our God! Amen.
Psalm 8:1

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33