Previously…on the mountain of Transfiguration and then out in the wilderness of temptation…there was an abstract sense to things…not quite connected to our experience.
But today the wilderness is very real and familiar.
Jesus is in Jerusalem…the holy city…
But not in the royal courtyards or temple.
He is in…among the crowds…on the streets…in the core of human activity.
He is where the people are…he is where we are.
He is…indeed…in the middle of humankind’s messiness and chaotic existence…where true wilderness is found.
The Lord be with you.
Today…Jesus has moved from mountain to desert to city street.
He has come to Jerusalem…the holy city of Israel.
Jesus makes his way down a crowded street…bustling with marketplace activity.
People jostling and bumping him.
There are beggars on one side.
Vendors and hawkers on the other.
People are bartering and milling about.
Some clump together on street corners to listen to religious zealots.
While other groups stand together talking and gossiping.
As Jesus ambles invisible…a group of Pharisees notice and call out to him.
Go away or you’ll be killed…they warn.
Jesus responds back telling the Pharisees to run back to Herod…the Fox…and tell him that he is not afraid.
In the middle of this bustling and oblivious crowd…
It can be hard to believe that all of this began as a promise made between God and Abraham.
As Abraham complained to God that he had no heirs…no offspring…
God made a promise: That Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
A promise made out in the same desert that Jesus has just wandered.
And now these promised descendants have now become this very chaotic nation gathered in Jerusalem.
And this chaotic group…in the core of human activity…human chaos and messiness…
Does not even notice that Jesus is the same God who made that covenant with Abraham and Sarah.
The God…who walked with their ancestors in the desert…
Is now standing among them…
Word made flesh…Messiah come to save.
And so…Jesus laments… Jesus laments for God’s people.
Just as God looked up into the starry night sky with Abraham and imagined descendants for Abraham…
Jesus looks around Jerusalem with the same tender compassion and care.
Jesus wants to gather these lost and desperate masses together…
Just like a mother hen gathering her chicks.
And yet…God’s people are unwilling.
Unwilling to be gathered…unwilling even to see.
To see the Word made flesh walking among them.
Unwillingness is central to the human condition.
It is central to how we are in the world.
Unwillingness to be moved…unwillingness to obey…unwillingness to be distracted.
And with all creation…humanity is the best at choosing ourselves first.
The unwillingness of creation towards God is powerful.
We are unwilling to have a God other than ourselves…
And therefore…unwilling to be loved by the creator of the universe.
As God moves to love us…to be close to us…we push back…
We say no…we want to be our own God…we want to be in control.
Today…the people of Jerusalem are unwilling.
They are unwilling to see God present before them.
Unwilling to see God casting out demons and performing cures among them.
And their unwillingness will eventually lead them to nail Jesus to the cross.
For us…unwillingness my come upon us in different ways.
Our unwillingness to care just a little more for those around us.
Our unwillingness to be comforted or consoled.
Our unwillingness to be vulnerable to a community.
Our unwillingness to see possibilities and hope for the future.
Our unwillingness leads us always to the wilderness.
Our unwillingness leads to death.
It is for this unwillingness that Jesus laments.
Jesus laments over Jerusalem and he sees where their unwillingness will lead them.
It will not be long until the people of the holy city are getting ready to lay down their coats and palm branches on the road.
They will shout: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
The blessing shouted for David and Solomon and for every king of Israel.
As Jesus rides in on a donkey…the people want a King…the people want a conqueror.
They want the Romans ousted and they want to be powerful as they once were.
But the shouts of…Blessed isHe…will turn to shouts of…crucify him.
Jesus knows how the unwillingness of humanity will respond to God.
Jesus knows that it will be until the third day that people might begin to see.
And even then…it will not come easily.
Our unwillingness will torture and execute God like a criminal…
Even so…Jesus longs to gather us in…
To gather all people in as mother hen gathers in her chicks.
Even as a mother hen protects her children in the face of the fox.
Jesus laments over Jerusalem…longing to protect her from harm…to protect us from ourselves.
Jesus laments in Somalia and Mali and Haiti and Lebanon and South Sudan and Syria and Myanmar and Gaza…and everywhere else.
And even there…even amid the harshest examples of human unwillingness.
God is gathering us up.
Gathering us beneath his wings to protect us with tender care…
To love us away from sin and death.
And even as our unwillingness will lead Jesus to the cross…nailing his hands and feet.
With the final blows of our rejection of God.
It will be beneath these outstretched arms…
Beneath these wings of Christ that we are gathered.
Gathered as one creation…gathered as God’s unwilling children.
And beneath this cross…God begins the work of three days.
The work that is completed…that is revealed to the world on that easter morning.
If given a choice…most of us are not going to choose a path in life that is filled with difficulty (we raise our children teaching them to avoid it).
But spiritual depth and growth happen as we respond to the trials…troubles…temptations…
Testing and fear that arise in life.
For many of us…it is in those times of challenge that we truly learn dependence on God.
In such times we find that God graciously provides for our needs in all of life’s seasons.
The Lord be with you…
So…as we begin our forty-day Lenten journey…we intentionally take time for reflection and repentance.
We do this by following the example of Jesus.
And…as we meet up with Jesus today…
We find he was led by the Spirit in the wilderness…where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
This is interesting…the Spirit does not just drop Jesus off in the wilderness to fend for himself.
The Spirit continues to abide with him and enables him to grow stronger through this wilderness season.
As the devil tempts Jesus…he is in a state of utter mental and physical desperation.
He has not eaten in weeks.
He is hallucinating.
He is thirsty and tired.
He is feeling empty and powerless.
He feels as though he is about to die.
He feels vulnerable and alone…gaunt and weak.
He feels scared.
But…he responds to these temptations rooted in the foundation of scripture and faith.
First…Jesus is tempted with food…and Jesus says: one does not live by bread alone.
Then…Jesus is tempted with power over all the kingdoms of the world.
And Jesus answers: I worship God…not power.
And finally…the devil tempts him to prove who he is by throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.
And Jesus refuses saying that we should not be in the business of trying to test God…or make God prove anything to us.
Now…you and I are not Jesus.
We are far more vulnerable to being tempted by evil when we are weak and tired and hungry and alone…and most of all…fearful.
And…fear creates anxiety.
Our culture is ridden with fear and anxiety and stress.
Studies show that when people are under stressful conditions:
The anxiety of losing wealth or status…
The anxiety of illness…or worry over the decline of the middle class.
The anxiety of poverty…or the fear of terrorism or war…
People are less likely to love the stranger.
In other words…when you and I are in the wilderness of perceived powerlessness…
We adopt xenophobic…prejudiced and intolerant…tendencies to fear those different than us.
We adopt tendencies to scapegoat…to blame…to become more tribalistic…
And surround ourselves with people we perceive to share the same values and the same characteristics.
So…it should come as no surprise that we are most apt to be tempted by power when we are feeling powerless.
We are tempted to believe we can control terrorism and violence through religious persecution.
We are tempted to believe that our comfort level and safety is more secure…
If we move to a geographical place where there is little racial…ethnic and economic diversity.
We are tempted to believe that we can control an insecure economy by hoarding our own wealth…
And by excluding and demonizing various groups of people like immigrants…welfare recipients…or any considered “other.”
That is…we are less likely to welcome the stranger when we are afraid.
We are most vulnerable to being tempted by evil when we see the world in terms of scarcity…
Rather than abundance.
When we see people in the world as objects to be feared and despised…
Rather than as God’s own beloved.
And so…we exploit the worst stereotypes we can think of about each other…
So that we can no longer see one another.
So that we can no longer see God in one another.
And yet…Jesus reminds us:
It is written…Worship the Lord your God…and serve only him.
Which means simply:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart…with all your mind and with all your soul…and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
OK then…we all face fear.
But…we are asked to abide and live by the law of Love…
To transform fear into beauty.
I think that is one of the reasons why we come to church.
So that we can use our fear to make something beautiful together.
We as a Faith community do this through Good Gifts…and DayStar Life Center…World Hunger…Disaster relief…Lutheran Social Services…I could go on and on with this list…
That is how we use our fear to make something beautiful.
We also use our fear to make something beautiful when we apply God’s grace to our very selves.
We need to begin our Lenten journey knowing we are beloved children of God.
Because voices other than God’s voice try to tell us our worth.
Because the voices of professional advancement try to tell us our worth.
Because the voices of various ranking systems in society try to tell us our worth.
Because the voices in our own head try to tell us our worth.
And when these other voices do that…may we again remember our baptism.
Remember that we have renounced the Devil and all his empty promises.
Remember that we are marked with the cross of Christ.
Remember that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Remember that we belong to God.
Because nothing…nothing else gets to tell us who we are.
Lent gives us a time to live into this baptismal identity we have been given.
A time to come clean about those things that tempt us.
Lent can be a time when we flip the script on some of the harmful…inherited stories of our very own lives.
This Lenten journey is a time when we can allow ourselves to be honest and vulnerable.
It is a time when we can consider the way we try to hide our pain and our fear and the brokenness that shapes our being.
Lent is a time when we find the freedom to confess the messiness of our lives.
Jesus’ receptivity to God’s grace shows us the way to turn toward God…
Rather than away from God during our trials and temptations.
And in turning to the grace of God…
We will encounter a faithful God who leads us through the wilderness to new life.
There’s no way to avoid it—this is a difficult text.
I place it in the category of:
Things I Wish Jesus Never Said.
We know what Jesus asks of us.
We know what the Bible says.
But we often will say or think:
Who could really live this way?
Well…Jesus…of course…but he
was perfect…you know.
He was sinless…he is the Son of God…it’s easy for him.
Loving our enemies? Are you serious?
No way…not today…not with what I’ve experienced…
Not with what I’ve seen…not with what’s been done to me.
The Lord be with you.
The English playwright…G. K. Chesterton famously said:
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult…and left
”
But…you see…Jesus expected his disciples to live this way.
Love your enemies Jesus said…do good to those who hate you.
He also called us to forgive those we hate…or who hate us.
It is tough to preach on this text…because it’s complicated:
Theologically…psychologically and emotionally.
And it is prone to misunderstanding and abuse.
We must be careful that we hear the spirit of the text.
Bless those who curse you Jesus says…pray for those who abuse you.
Forgive and you will be forgiven…give and it will be given to you.
A disciple of Jesus loves the enemy and offers forgiveness.
But here’s the thing: Jesus doesn’t say…when…or how soon.
And I am grateful for this because I believe that sometimes Christians forgive too soon.
That’s called cheap grace.
I have known Christians who think they need to go straight from wrong to forgiveness…right away.
But there’s a problem with this.
Why? Because forgiving too soon preempts our ability to be angry.
It hinders us from honoring the hurt.
Recognizing the wrong that was done…
And acknowledging how we feel.
Dissociating the wrong from the feelings associated with it is not
We often rush to forgiveness because we think it is the “Christian” thing to do…
And because we really do not want to sit with our hurt.
Sometimes we move too quickly through the forgiveness process…
And then we discover later that we are still harboring resentment and anger…
Because the wound is still there.
We need to remember that anger can be a gift in that it “locates our wound/hurt.
Anger helps us defend ourselves and energizes us to correct what needs to be corrected.
This is especially true regarding abuse.
In an abusive situation we need to honor our anger first.
Anger at abuse and injustice is an expression of our integrity and our human dignity.
The only way we can move beyond hate…alienation and separation is to learn to love more deeply.
And…in God’s good time…and with God’s help—extend forgiveness.
We need to get to that place of
forgiveness when the timing is right.
When it becomes clear that we cannot do anything about the one who hates us or wronged us.
There comes a time when we must let it go…we must practice forgiveness.
Anne Lammott…in her memoir…Traveling Mercies…says:
Withholding forgiveness is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.
Retaliation or holding onto anger about the harm done to us does not actually combat evil…it feeds it.
If we are not careful…we can absorb the worst of our enemy…
And start to become them.
So…forgiveness then…is a way of wielding bolt-cutters…
And snapping the chains that link us.
By this we are saying: What you did was so not okay…I refuse to be connected to it anymore.
Forgiving is being a freedom fighter.
Free people are not controlled by the past.
Free people laugh more than others.
Free people see beauty where others do not.
Free people are not easily offended.
Free people are unafraid to speak truth to stupid.
Free people are not chained to resentments.
If you love those who love you…what credit is that to you? Love your enemies…do good…and lend…and
expect nothing in return.
In Jesus’ time…in the Greco-Roman world…reciprocity was the norm.
This was the rule: I give so that you will give back to me…quid pro quo.
Here…in our gospel…Jesus’ questions this way of acting.
Jesus expects us to go beyond mere reciprocity.
He commands us to stop the vicious cycle of reciprocity…of wanting to get even.
Jesus was going against the norm…going against the grain.
And expects the same from us today.
Because that’s what God’s love always does.
It’s not rational or reasonable…it is something else.
Like so much in Jesus’ teaching…it comes down to love.
Understanding the risk and the
cost of love.
The difficulty and the joy of love.
Henri Nouwen…the Roman Catholic priest…theologian and writer…reminds us:
Forgiveness is the name of love
practiced among people who love poorly.
Jesus is always moving us toward mercy.
Jesus is always moving us toward greater compassion.
Jesus expects us to be people of mercy…people of compassion.
But often…it’s just too much for us.
We know the cost…we know what is required of us to love this way.
And so…we need to be taught and guided by the Spirit.
We need to be gifted with the means to love more deeply…love more boldly…love more courageously…
Until we discover that the one needing to be forgiven…
The one who is our enemy…is also…worthy of God’s love…just like you and me.
So then…this is what God has done in the face of our misbehavior.
God has loved his enemies.
God has been good to those who hate him.
God has blessed those who curse him.
God has been kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
We have seen it on the cross of Jesus.
Someone struck Jesus on the cheek…and his other cheek was available.
Someone took away his coat…and he did not withhold his shirt.
Someone took away all his goods…and Jesus did not ask for them again.
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
our creator, our protector, our wellspring of life.
Amen.
Trusting that God receives our words and the meditations of our hearts, let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Merciful God,
you speak blessing and compassion into the world.
Forgive us for the ways we act
with judgment, cruelty, or indifference.
We ignore the needs of our neighbors.
We resist your call to oppose injustice.
We give in to scarcity and fear.
We assume the worst about one another.
Cleanse us from our faultsand release us from their grasp.
Show us your loving kindness.
Restore our hearts and repair your world,that we may live in Christ’s ways.
Amen.
God proclaims these words of assurance:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name. You are mine.”
In ☩ Christ, we are forgiven.
In the Spirit, we are made free.
Refreshed by the waters of mercy, live anew as beloved children of God.
Amen.
Gathering Hymn:
Let the Whole Creation Cry
Prayer of the Day
Most holy God, the earth is filled with your glory, and before you angels and saints stand in awe. Enlarge our vision to see your power at work in the world, and by your grace make us heralds of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8 9-13
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm: 138
1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise. 2I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast love and faithfulness; for you have glorified your name and your word above all things. 3 When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me. 4All the rulers of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they have heard the words of your mouth. 5 They will sing of the ways of the Lord,
that great is the glory of the Lord. 6The Lord is high, yet cares for the lowly, perceiving the haughty from afar. 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me. 8You will make good your purpose for me; O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works of your hands.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. 3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Jesus says, Follow me, and I will make you fish for people. Alleluia. (Matt. 4:19)
The Holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to You O Lord
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
1
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to You O Christ
This week I admired Peter’s faith.
Why? Because he was honest.
…he said to Simon: “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered: “Master… we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.
Here is what I mean: If he was cleaning his nets…he was done. He was almost home for the night…
Putting on his sweatpants and pouring himself a drink.
He was DONE.
And…he was exhausted.
Exhausted by prolonged effort met only with failure.
We have been fishing all night and caught nothing: he says to Jesus.
The Lord be with you
Well…think of the times you have been totally exhausted.
Here is one of many that I will share.
It had been a busy day at the church along with home and hospital visits.
And it was one of those rare evenings when I was home.
And so…Susan and I…following supper…gathered ourselves in the family room…
Both of us with a glass of wine…
To watch a movie.
And then midway through the movie my beeper went off.
No cell phones…yet…back then.
The caller was the dispatcher from the local State Police barracks…
The dispatcher asked me to come to a particular location a few miles out of town to Baker Act (302) an individual who was threatening himself and others with a handgun.
At that time…in my ministry…I was one of two country delegates that worked with ER doctors at our local hospital…
To process and evaluate petitioners who found it necessary to involuntarily commit those who were a danger to themselves or others.
So…I went and returned several hours later…exhausted.
You know the feeling.
So…Peter is totally exhausted…and this is what Jesus says to Peter:
“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered: “Master…we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.
I am exhausted and if I am honest…I do not want to go into the deep…thank you very much.
I want to stay near the comfort of the shore.
I just finished cleaning my nets and am ready for my pajamas and Netflix.
I want to stay close to the shore Jesus…
Because I know that in the Hebrew scriptures…
The Deep is where chaos and the unknown reside.
So…that long ago Sunday evening I was Peter.
Somewhere between exhaustion and the deep.
Trying to still have faith while…
I am worn out…weary…and drained.
So here…today…in this place between exhaustion and the deep…
Coffee mug faith is not going to cut it for Peter.
Faith that is just a cheerful outlook sprinkled on top of an already good life.
Maybe it helped Peter in the past.
But now it is useless.
For it to be of any real help…
Faith cannot be the decorations and furniture.
It must be the load bearing structure that can withstand floods and fires and plane crashes and global pandemics.
Because here’s the thing.
Faith does not go away first when a crisis happens.
It is what is left after a crisis happens.
When the power of positive thinking fails us.
When the insurance companies and governmental agencies have failed us.
When our attempts to change ourselves and others have failed us.
When our vision for what our lives would look like has failed us.
When our bodies and dreams have failed us.
Simple faith remains.
Peter teaches us that.
Because Peter’s faith is the kind that is honest about exhaustion and failure.
Honest about what life really feels like and then still says…AND YET.
Jesus said to Peter: “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered: “Master…we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. And yet…if you say so…I will let down the nets.”
Peter was indeed in the space between exhaustion and the deep.
And facing the deep can be terrifying.
The Greek word for the deep…BATHOS…shows up somewhere else.
It shows up in Romans 8:
For I am convinced that neither death…nor life…nor angels…nor rulers…nor things present…nor things to come…nor powers…nor height…nor (bathos) the deep…nor anything else in all creation…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So…Peter can admit he was exhausted and did not wish to go out into the deep.
And yet he came to know that even here…
He would not be separated from the protective love of God.
It does not fit on a coffee mug…but it does not need to.
The movie is about a meteor which is moments away from destroying the earth.
The characters are in the deepest part of the deep.
And when putting faith in political solutions and big tech has failed them…
They face their last moments by gathering for a thanksgiving style meal.
A fishing net-straining feast of gladness and gratitude.
But they know something else is needed.
And that something is prayer.
Amid the world quite literally ending…
No one was practicing self-improvement…or attempting to “manifest” some kind of excellence…
What they did was…they prayed.
The skate-board punk character proceeds to pray.
The world was about to be destroyed AND YET he prayed.
“Dearest Father and Almighty Creator…we ask for your grace tonight…despite our pride…your forgiveness…despite our doubt. Most of all…Lord…we ask for your love to soothe us through these dark times. May we face whatever is to come in your divine will with courage and open hearts of acceptance.”
Peter was exhausted.
AND YET…despite his pride…there is grace in the deep.
Despite his doubt…there is forgiveness in the deep.
Not to mention…yes…a whole lot of fish.
So…with the simple…AND YET faith of Peter we can say:
Song of the Day:
Will You Come and Follow Me
Prayers of Intercession
With the Spirit of Christ shining upon us, let us boldly pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
God of surprising abundance, you call your people to enter deeply into the world. Equip us to respond to your call, gather up what we have, and offer it to all. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
God of creation, provide protection from the elements and other hazards to all whose work brings them outside: for fishers, ranchers, line workers, and construction crews. Guide us to live carefully alongside the wonders of the land and waters. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Open the hearts of all leaders, especially those who serve in the armed forces, that they respond to their commission with wisdom and patience. Ensure that all who serve are kept safe in body, mind, and spirit. We pray for an end to all war and armed conflict. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Fill with your compassionate presence all who are suffering from addiction, mental illness, injury, or illness of any kind especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan, Lisa (Bob & Doris’s daughter. Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Vicki Salzgeber, John Satino (June’s son’s dad), David Wilfong (Esther Gustason’s son-in-law), Clinton Nelson, Clementine, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Betty Hurley, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender, the family of Andrea Shultz, Don Bevers Draw helpers to their side so that they find relief from their burdens. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Call our faith communities to do marvelous things. Bless the labor and efforts of this congregation, that we may be a sign of your presence in the world. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Spirit of peace…we pray for neighboring congregations and ministry sites especially: Church of God – Pastor Troy…SDA – Pastor Ralph…Bay Point Christian – Pastor Randall…St. Barts – Father Ethan… Blessed Trinity…St. Matthew…DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Nurture our shared commitment to embody Jesus’ love. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We thank you for those who have courageously gone before us in the faith. May we too show a deep trust in you throughout our lives. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We entrust our prayers to you, O God, in the sure and certain hope that your promise is revealed among the people.
Amen.
Pray with me:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
our creator, our protector, our wellspring of life.
Amen.
Trusting that God receives our words and the meditations of our hearts, let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Merciful God,
you speak blessing and compassion into the world.
Forgive us for the ways we actwith judgment, cruelty, or indifference.
We ignore the needs of our neighbors.
We resist your call to oppose injustice.
We give in to scarcity and fear.
We assume the worst about one another.
Cleanse us from our faultsand release us from their grasp.
Show us your loving-kindness.
Restore our hearts and repair your world,that we may live in Christ’s ways.
Amen.
God proclaims these words of assurance:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name. You are mine.”
In ☩ Christ, we are forgiven.
In the Spirit, we are made free.
Refreshed by the waters of mercy,
live anew as beloved children of God.
Amen.
Gathering Song:
Lord Let My Heart Be Good Soil
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.” 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm: 71:1-6
1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame. 2In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; incline your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe;
you are my crag and my stronghold. 4Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor. 5 For you are my hope, O Lord God,
my confidence since I was young. 6I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my mother’s womb you have been my strength; my praise shall be always of you.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. You shall go to all to whom I send you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Alleluia. (Jer. 1:7, 8)
The Holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you O Lord
Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
21 Then Jesus began to say to all in the synagogue in Nazareth, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ
The story we just heard last Sunday from Luke is of Jesus’ first sermon.
Actually…it is the first thing he says in Luke’s Gospel.
Jesus had just come back from the Wilderness where he had been tempted by Satan for 40 days.
And returning to his hometown he entered the temple where he chose to read these words of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind…to let the oppressed go free…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And then?
He rolled up the scroll…gave it back to the attendant…and sat down.
The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And then he began to say to them (the beginning of today’s gospel):
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
His first sermon.
The Lord be with you.
This week as I considered this text…
I thought about what it would be like for us were Jesus to come here one Sunday and pick up a scroll that said Isaiah on it.
He would have walked in from 40 days of battling his demons in the back country.
Being tempted by Satan.
“I’ll give you everything and it will be so easy” said that voice that would not leave him alone.
“You could have authority and power and Twitter followers and stock options and influence…
I will give you everything if you just worship me and not God”
But Jesus knew false promises when he heard them.
And after 40 days of fasting and isolation and facing the darkness… Jesus had some things to say.
Jesus was ready to preach.
So…I wondered what it would be like?
If he came into our sanctuary to preach that first sermon.
His jeans loose from 6 weeks without eating.
His face thin…but bright.
He holds himself without apology.
Inhabiting his own unique shape in the world so completely that it creates a kind of aura around him.
And when he opens his mouth to speak…
It is as though there is something both common and melodic about his voice.
A voice that is as familiar as the sound of our own heartbeats.
A song we had forgotten and yet still know by heart.
Our Lord would say something like:
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to bring gifts of fine wine and rich food to those who exist only on fast food…
Because it is the only food in walking distance from their neighborhoods.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to bring living water to the people of Flint Michigan and Rwanda and Haiti and Camp Lejeune.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to tell the janitors that the CEO’s have distributed all their own bonuses and stock options to them.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to restore the dignity of the 99%.
And to restore the dignity of the 1%.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to endow us with a sense of worth that has nothing to do with wealth or status.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to remove the feeling of worthlessness from the depressed.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to bring rest to the sleep-deprived parents of babies.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to remove all desire for the kind of cheap goods that only can come from child labor and sweat shops.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to give a sense of belonging to the alienated.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to forgive the sinner.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to remove all resentments from those who cannot let go of the past.
And then I imagine me shifting my weight around in my pew…
When I realize his sermon is going over 12 minutes and realizing that Jesus might not know how we do things here.
And then I imagine him looking at me.
And giving me the most loving “get over yourself” look ever.
And then he smiles and breaks out into laughter.
And then we all laugh and walk up to him and hug him as he hugs us during the sharing of peace.
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to illuminate to us the ways that human sin tears at the fabric of all humanity
The Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to allow us to see who we really are.
To again glimpse the image of God in ourselves and others.
To again see that thing that has always been there but is so obscured and made blurry by years of competing messages.
To give us a glimpse of heaven in the here and now.
To show us that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
To show us what it looks like to love what God loves.
To allow us to see ourselves as God sees us.
The Spirit of the Lord has sent him to bring freedom to the oppressed.
The over worked…the under-appreciated…the last chosen…the unlovely.
The despised and unseen…the overly proud.
And that is what our ears might hear were Jesus right here and say:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind.
To let the oppressed go free…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And then he sits down.
And the eyes of our congregation are fixed upon him.
No one moves.
And then he says:
Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus fought with the devil…saw all the easy answers and false promises for what it is.
And yes…the first thing he says in the gospel of Luke is that quotation from Isaiah.
But the first of his own words was the word “today”.
Today this has been fulfilled in your hearing.
This moment.
And so…I imagine our minds and hearts and eyes open.
I imagine the brows becoming un-furrowed.
The doubts seeming less important.
The critical mind that judges and assesses every single thing in our lives silenced.
The resentments let go of and the good news…and vision and freedom of God fulfilled in our hearing.
Not fulfilled in our believing…not fulfilled in our acting…not fulfilled in our striving.
Simply fulfilled in our hearing.
Today this scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing.
May it be so.
Song of the Day:
He Comes to Us as One Unknown
Prayers of Intercession
With the Spirit of Christ shining upon us, let us boldly pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
God of eternal wisdom, we pray for your church, which is being transformed by your word. Bless the church with your wisdom and guidance. Let us notice and take part in the new thing you are doing. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Your creation sustains us and all living creatures. Grant us humility to acknowledge the ways we bring harm to the earth. Grant us courage to make effective change so that all lands and living things prosper. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Embolden leaders of nations, corporations, and all in authority, that they lovingly tend those in their charge. Help them to respond to all who cry out in need. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Provide for those whose hunger runs deep due to isolation, loneliness, or illness. Especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan, Lisa (Bob & Doris’s daughter. Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Vicki Salzgeber, John Satino (June’s son’s dad), David Wilfong (Esther Gustason’s son-in-law), Clinton Nelson, Clementine, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Betty Hurley, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender, the family of Andrea Shultz, Don Bevers. Send your Spirit so that all are filled with your presence. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We pray for the young people in our congregations. May their voices be celebrated. Give youth a place of honor and value among us. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Spirit of peace…we pray for neighboring congregations and ministry sites especially: Church of God – Pastor Troy…SDA – Pastor Ralph…Bay Point Christian – Pastor Randall…St. Barts – Father Ethan… Blessed Trinity…St. Matthew…DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Nurture our shared commitment to embody Jesus’ love. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We remember those who have gone before us. Let their faithful example continue to bear witness to us all. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We entrust our prayers to you, O God, in the sure and certain hope that your promise is revealed among the people.
Amen.
Pray with me:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
