flour, water, salt, yeast
WORSHIP IN AUGUST: FLOUR, WATER, SALT, YEAST
Four simple ingredients, combined with care and experience, kneading and heat, create the staple food that is at the center of worship in August:
BREAD
Since ancient times, human beings have related to the divine through this basic necessity of our diets. Manna rains down from heaven on the hungry people of Israel. God provides bread for Elijah’s long journey. Christ is the bread of life, feeding the world with Christ’s own body. What is your relationship to bread, and what feelings do you associate with it? Maybe you’re a baker, or one of the many people who took up bread baking as a pandemic-time practice. You might have treasured memories of the smell of a fresh loaf, or the taste of a first communion. Maybe bread is more complicated for you, because of its gluten content, or because food is a topic loaded with baggage. During the month of August, we’ll devote four Sundays to contemplating bread, complex in its simplicity and worthy of a closer look.
In the middle of August, we’ll take a short break from “Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast” to celebrate the commemoration of Mary, Mother of Our Lord. For Lutherans, August 15 is the primary feast day of Mary. For other Christians throughout the world, this day is called the Feast of the Assumption. Find out (don’t assume!) what the assumption is all about on Sunday, August 15, when we will give thanks to God for Mary, the “God-bearer” and her theology and witness.
August 1 Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 | The Lord gives manna in the wilderness
Psalm 78:23-29 | “God rained down manna from heaven; so mortals ate the bread of angels.”
Ephesians 4:1-16 | Maintain the unity of the faith
John 6:24-35 | Christ the bread of life
August 8 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:4-8 | Elijah given bread for his journey
Psalm 34:1-8 | “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Ephesians 4:25--5:2 | Put away evil, live in love
John 6:35, 41-51 | Christ, the bread of life
August 15 | Mary, Mother of Our Lord | Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 61:7-11 | God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations
Psalm 34:1-9 | “Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord.”
Galatians 4:4-7 | We are no longer slaves, but children
Luke 1:46-55 | Mary exults in the Lord
August 22 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Proverbs 9:1-6 | Invited to dine at wisdom’s feast
Psalm 34:9-14 | “Those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.”
Ephesians 5:15-20 | Filled with the Spirit, sing thanks to God
John 6:51-58 | Christ the true food and drink
August 29 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 | Joshua calls all Israel to serve the Lord
Psalm 34:15-22 | “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous.”
Ephesians 6:10-20 | Put on the armor of God
John 6:56-69 | The bread of eternal life