Month: January 2016

SNOW DAY WORSHIP RESOURCE

Good Morning, here is an extended worship resource for those stuck at home. You may use the call and response found below for Responsive Prayer at the appropriate time.

Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, Psalm 19, I Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21.

RESPONSIVE PRAYER:

Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal,

have mercy on us.

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yous, now and forever. Amen.

 

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

O Lord, I cry to you for help.

In the morning my prayer comes before you.

Let my mouth be full of your praise

and your glory all the day long.

Every day will I bless you,

and praise your name forever and ever.

Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness, O God of our salvation,

O hope of all the ends of the earth and of the seas that are far away.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me, bless God’s holy name.

You redeemed my like for the grave,

and crown me with mercy and steadfast love.

Hear my prayer,

and let my cry come before you, O Lord.

 

…Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Prayers for Morning and Daily Work

 

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

 

Almighty God bless us, defend us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What was the point?

Pastor Jay’s sermon from the Second Sunday after the Epiphany based on: Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 36:5-10, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

What was the point of this sign? All that struggle with his mom, all the hauling of water by the servants, all that conversation with the wine steward and the only thing that comes of it is that Jesus’ disciples believe in him. Seems like a lot of work for what was achieved. So, what’s the point?

I would argue we should read between the lines. Who were this couple? Somehow they knew Jesus…or at least his mother…so he got invited. But who were they? And there we see it: they were no one. Well, they were no one special. The first sign Jesus does is not for the Pharisees and the scribes. The first sign Jesus does isn’t for the Roman establishment. The first sign Jesus does isn’t for the crowds of people. The first sign Jesus does is to help an unknown couple from a forgettable town have a wedding to remember.

And there we see a recurring theme: Jesus comes for the unknown, the forgotten and the forgettable. Those are who Jesus comes for. And I think we have lost how radical that was. The society of Jesus’ time was waiting for a Messiah, they were yearning for a Messiah, they were praying and watching for a Messiah. And the Messiah comes among them and is easily missed. Because he doesn’t come with armies and laws. He doesn’t come and overthrow anyone. He comes among the least and the unknown and says: you matter to. God’s love and mercy are for you, too. And that was radical. That is radical. And that is awesome news.

But still, if only his disciples—the people already following him—are the only ones who come to belief in the end, surely it doesn’t matter. Jesus basically preached to the choir. What’s so great about that.

But my sisters and brothers that is precisely the point. Jesus came in ways no one expected and no one noticed until there was a whole Jesus movement. Because even though the wine steward and the bridegroom have no idea how the best wine got to the party, the servants do. And eventually everyone is going to know just what happened. And they are going to know that this miraculous party was sponsored by someone who took no credit, who didn’t even really do anything. I mean this sign takes place almost without Jesus saying anything let alone standing up in the middle of the party and announcing just how beneficent he was going to be to provide more wine. And news like that gets out. It might take a while but it gets there. And, as we know, it got out. Just how different this Jesus was, how different this Jesus is, from everything we expect.

That’s the point of this sign: the love of God—the same love that saved an unknown couple from utter embarrassment when they ran out of wine—comes to each of us, whether or not we expect it, whether or not we even realize, that love is there embracing and surrounding us, in the least likely and most unexpected ways. Frankly the love of God comes to us often in ways we will never recognize until well after Jesus has left the party…only once we take a minute and ask just how this blessing, that smile, those kind words on a bad day got to us. Then we realize the love of God.

But once we realize it is our joy to share that good news…in whatever ways we have. To let everyone know of the abundant love and mercy of our God. The wine steward, the bridegroom, most of the guests, had no idea what had happened…but the servants did. The disciples did. And somehow, even when most folks had no idea the work of God in their midst, here we are two thousand years later and we know the story and we know exactly how God was at work in the midst of that small town wedding for an unknown couple in a forgettable town.

And that is the subversive and overlooked way of God: love in the least likely places, overlooked, and left without thanks. But it comes again in abundance and provides just what we need when we need it. Because that is the work and love of God: care for the unknown and forgettable, love for the everyday and mundane, providence for the unexpecting and forgettable whether or not we even know to ask for it…and whether or not anything except the littlest outcomes come from it. The love of God leaves us changed every time. But perhaps no one but each of us realizes, knows, experiences that moment of God’s love. Perhaps what is the most miraculous of signs for us is completely unnoticed by most of the party. And yet God comes and loves us and provides for us nonetheless. And that is radical. And that is good news.

My sisters and brothers, let us share those moments with each other and with the world. Let us tell of the ways and times and places that God comes among us. Let us join in the work of God being for the world a sign of Christ’s love for all people.

And for that, thanks be to God. Amen.