Week of April 25th

Prayer of the Day
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep. By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete in everything good that we may do your will, and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight, though Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.


Readings

Acts 9:36-43

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.


Revelation 7:9-17

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”


John 10:22-30

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Reflection

Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he was also a good sheep. He was the Good Shepherd because he knew what it was to be a sheep, what a sheep does, what a sheep needs, what a sheep fears, what a sheep wants. He is able to speak both sides of the psalm, he is the subject of all of the verbs in the psalm. Jesus is the shepherd who is out in front, leading the way and Jesus is the sheep, in the middle of things with us.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The one sent by God to tend to and reclaim the flock.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he knows his sheep and his sheep know him. Jesus’ sheep know him because they hear his voice.

Barbara Brown Taylor, one of America’s top preachers, puts it this way: “Some days we are as firm in our faith as apostles and some days we are like lost sheep, which means that we belong to the flock not because we are certain of God but because God is certain of us, and no one is able to snatch us out of God’s hands.

This Week's Schedule

Friday, April 23 - Wellness Center 10:00 am
Saturday, April 24 - Third Presbyterian Dining Room Ministry, IW Auditorium
Sunday, April 25
9:30 am Holy Communion
10:45 am Sunday School intergenerational scavanger hunt
11:00 am Congregational Meeting for roof and drainage repair authorization
11:30 am "The Lost Gospels" by the Rev. Dr. Ted Weeden

God's "Yes"

You are the God who is simple, direct, clear with us and for us.
You have committed yourself to us.
You have said yes to us in creation,
yes to us in our birth,
yes to us in our baptism,
yes to us in our awakening this day.

But we are of another kind,
more accustomed to “perhaps, maybe, we’ll see,’
left in wonderment and ambiguity.

We live our lives not back to your yes,
but out of our endless “perhaps.”


So we pray for your mercy this day that we may live yes back to you,
yes with our time,
yes with our money,
yes with our sexuality,
yes with our strength and with our weakness,
yes to our neighbor,
yes and no long “perhaps.”

In the name of your enfleshed yes to us,
even Jesus who is our yes into your future. Amen.


From Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, Walter Brueggemann

Week of April 18th

Prayer of the Day
Eternal and all-merciful God, with all the angels and all the saints we laud your majesty and might. By the resurrection of your Son, show yourself to us and inspire us to follow Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Readings

Acts 9:1-6

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”


Revelation 5:11-14

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

John 21:1-19

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”


Reflection

"Humans do not live for themselves alone in these mortal bodies to work for their bodies alone, but they live also for all of humanity on earth; rather, they live only for others and not for themselves. They cannot ever in this life be idle and without works toward their neighbors.

People, however, need none of these things for their righteousness and salvation. Therefore they should be guided in all their works by this thought and comtemplate this one thing alone, that they may serve and benefit others in all that they do, considering nothing except the need and the advantage of their neighbors.

This is what makes caring for the body a Christian work, that through its health and comfort we may be able to work, to acquire, and lay by funds with which to aid those who are in need, that in this way the strong member may serve the weaker, and we may be children of God, each caring for and working for the other, bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. This is a truly Christian life. Here faith is truly active through love" ~ Martin Luther LW 31, 364-65.



Looking Ahead

Thursday, April 15 6 pm SPIRIT
6:30 pm New Members' Class
6:30 pm Youth Choir

Friday, April 16 10:00 am Wellness Center
Sunday, April 18 9:30 am Service of Holy Communion
Building Our Future Capital Campaign Kick-off
10:45 am Sunday School
11:00 am Adult Forum - Rev. Dr. Ted Weeden "Lost Gospels"
3:30 pm Nile Lutheran Service

Week of April 11th

Prayer of the Day

O God of life, you reach out to us amid our fears with the wounded hands of your risen Son. By your Spirit's breath revive our faith in your mercy, and strengthen us to be the body of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.


Readings for Sunday, April 11, 2010

Acts 5:27-32

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”


Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.


Reflection

"Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.

Jesus is God’s wounded healer: through his wounds we are healed. Jesus’ suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others." ~ Henri Nouen, The Wounded Healer


This week's calendar:

Wednesday, April 7 - 7:30 pm Senior Choir
Thursday, April 8 - 6:00 pm SPIRIT
Friday, April 9 - 10:00 am Wellness Center for Adults
Saturday, April 10 - 9:00 am Third Presbyterian Dining Room Ministry in Auditorium/Kitchen
Sunday, April 11 - 9:30 am Service of Holy Communion
11:00 am Gathering Space Presentation in Auditorium
11:00 am Adult Forum, Rev. Dr. Ted Weeden
7:00 pm Vespers/Second Sunday Music Series

An Easter Evening Reflection...

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Words exclaimed in our worship this morning. But these words of Easter Resurrection hold true long after the pews of our sanctuary have emptied and we have returned to our daily lives of hopes and dreams; heart aches and disappointments. For the risen Christ not only appears to unsuspecting disciples in front of an empty tomb, but he also walks with the brokenhearted on a dusty road to Emmaus at the end of that first Easter day.

As the pastor/poet Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, “He comes to the disappointed, the doubtful, the disconsolate. He comes to those who don’t know their Bibles, who don’t recognize him even when they are walking beside him. He comes to those who have given up and are headed home, which makes this whole story about the blessedness of being broken.”

It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus would meet his friends on the road to Emmaus, the road of broken dreams. That’s what he did throughout his life: meeting broken people and helping them to put the pieces back together again. That’s what he always did, and if this story is to be believed, that’s what he still does.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Doug

Pastor Doug's Good Friday Reflection

"Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing". These are the words pleading from Jesus' lips once his hands and feet have been nailed to the Cross in that place called "The Skull". His concern is not for himself, but for those who are killing him. "Please, God. They don't know what they're doing". Who are they? Roman soldiers for sure. Luke tells us that some religious officials are there "scoffing" at him. But there are others as well. The crowds. Unlike the soldiers who are gambling for his clothing, as ragged as they are, or the religious officials who are tempting God to save him, "if he is the Messiah, the chosen one of God", the people are standing at the foot of the cross in stunned silence. People so caught between their love of God and their fear of Rome that they don't know what to do. His friends. Where are his friends? Luke tells us they are all standing at a distance watching. Just watching. Standing far enough away from their teacher to be safe, who is after all, beyond help.

So who is responsible for Jesus' death? Judas? The religious officials? Pilate? Herod? The Roman Soldiers? His disciples? In the original Greek language, Luke puts their actions in the passive voice. The Divine passive voice. Meaning: God is the prime actor in the story. In other words, God's plan is in action. Not theirs. Not ours.

Tragically the Christian Church has not spent much time pondering these questions. From the very beginning, the answer has been easy: The Jews. The Jews betrayed, condemned and handed him over to be killed. These are the people in need of God's forgiveness, or so at least the legend goes. But because of this legend, the Jewish people have had their history marred by Good Friday. Today, Good Friday, has long been a frightening day for many of the Jewish faith and for good reason. If you read Jewish history, the litany of violence is astounding.

1096 - The First Crusade is launched with the slaughter of Jews in the Rhineland
1190 - Jews are massacred in England
1233 - In Inquisition offers Jews a choice: Become Christian or die
1290 - Jews are expelled from England
1348 - Jews are burned in Switzerland for "causing" the Black Death
1394 - Jews are expelled from France
1492 - Jews are expelled from Spain
1648 - Jewish ghetto is created in Venice
1881 - Attacks on Jews become an institution in Russia
1938 - Krystallnacht is launched in Nazi Germany
1939-1945 - 6 million Jews die in Europe, including 1.5 million children

Any way you do the math, Jesus' death has been avenged millions of times over by Christians who have twisted the gospel of loving your enemies and doing good to those who persecute you into a 2000 year long nightmare of racism and revenge. Ironically many of those on the losing end of Christian persecution have turned to the Bible: Psalm 22 in particular: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

Tragically, we have crucified Jesus over and over again, or at least stood far away from his Cross at a safe distance. "Father forgive them". Who was Jesus pleading for? Us. But he has given us the benefit of the doubt by assuming that we have no idea what we are doing.

How often have we killed Jesus in our attempts to defend him? Just look at history for that answer. If God answered Jesus' prayer on the Cross, which we can assume he did, then that is the end of it. No more blaming, scapegoating or getting even. Jesus died to put an end to that. He volunteered to be the last victim, so that his followers would never make victims out of anyone again. He even gave us a prayer to pray if we should ever find our own hands nailed down: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing".

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Doug