Worship Resources for March 20th, 2022—Third Sunday in Lent

Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

Narrative Lectionary: Peter’s Denial, John 18:12-27 (Psalm 17:1-7)

For this third Sunday in Lent, we begin with the prophet Isaiah’s call to the people who have returned from exile. In 55:1-9, the prophet reminded the people not to return to their daily lives, but instead, to seek God in their daily life and needs: to seek God for the rich food, to remember the covenant God made with their ancestor David. When the people called upon God, other nations would draw to them, people who did not know God. May the unrighteous and wicked return to God, the prophet declares, for the ways of the people, the thoughts of the people, have not been God’s ways and thoughts; God’s ways are beyond what the people have understood thus far.

The psalmist seeks God in Psalm 63:1-8. Like someone lost in the desert without water, the psalmist needs God. They praise God because God’s “steadfast love is better than life.” The psalm invokes the body, needing God to live, a deep hunger that can only be satisfied by God, for they know God has been their help and refuge in times of trouble. The psalmist blesses and sings for joy, because God is the one their soul clings to.

Paul warned the church in Corinth that if they thought they were standing, they’d better watch out that they don’t fall in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. Paul was concerned that the church was doing what their ancestors did in the desert—thinking they were God’s people but turning from God’s ways. Paul reminded them to learn from their ancestors who have been set as example, to not assume belonging to the body means one can do anything they wanted to. The church was being tested, Paul declared, and God would not let them be tested beyond their strength, but they must endure and be faithful to God, because the wicked ways of the world were creeping into the way of life in their congregation.

Luke 13:1-9 is a strange passage because we are missing the historical context. At some point, Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, massacred some Galileans, and had their blood mixed in with the sacrifices he made to the Roman gods. Throughout history and in various cultures, when something terrible and tragic happens, there are some who interpret that as God’s divine judgment, that the victims must have done something to deserve it. We have seen this with preachers declaring God’s judgment after hurricanes and tornadoes and other disasters. Jesus said that these Galileans were not worse than anyone else, but that death awaits anyone who doesn’t turn to God. In a similar vein, Jesus spoke about a disaster where a tower in Siloam fell and killed eighteen people. It wasn’t their fault it happened, but death awaits us all. Repenting and turning to God is the only thing that can save us from death having the final word. The second part of this passage is a parable of a fig tree. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus is the one who curses the fig tree when he observes it has born no fruit, but in Luke, Jesus tells a parable of a man who planted a fig tree, but it never produced fruit, even after three years. He ordered the gardener to cut it down. However, the gardener pleads to give it one more chance. He will clear around the roots and fertilize it. The owner relents to give it one more chance, but if it doesn’t bear fruit, it will be cut down. Jesus warns the crowds this is their last chance. They have not listened to the prophets before them. They worry and fret about things they have no control over (such as Pilate and the tower that fell) instead of doing the one thing they can control: repenting and turning back to God’s ways.

The Narrative Lectionary continues the events of Holy Week with Peter’s Denial in John 18:12-27. In John’s account, Jesus was taken before Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest. Peter and another disciple had followed along, but the other disciple (known as the beloved disciple) went into the courtyard first. When Peter was brought inside, the woman who guarded the gate to the courtyard recognized Peter as one of Jesus’ disciples, but Peter denied it. After being questioned by Annas about his teaching, Jesus was struck across the face by one of the police. Then Jesus was bound and taken to Caiaphas, the high priest. Peter, meanwhile, was questioned again about being one of the disciples, but denied it. Peter denied it a third time, even though the person questioning him was a relative of the slave whose ear Peter had cut off and was certain it was him. Then the rooster crowed.

Psalm 17:1-7 is a prayer for vindication from a writer who has avoided the ways of the violent. The psalmist knows they have stayed true and are innocent before God. They call upon God to answer their prayer, knowing they have remained faithful to God, and God will be faithful to them.

Lent is the season when we remember God’s ways and turn back to God. We remember the stories of our ancestors and learn from their lives how God has always remained faithful, even when we have gone astray. We hear the words of the prophets and the teachers in the early church that those who remained true to God knew the fullness of God’s love in their lifetime. Jesus teaches us that our lives without God are dead ends, but we do not need to use the fear of punishment to justify faith. It was not the Galileans fault, or those who died at Siloam. Without God, our lives may come to an end without much hope or meaning. With God, our lives are full, and we know that death does not have the final word.

Call to Worship (from Isaiah 55:1-2, 6)
Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters!
You that have no money,
Come, for there is plenty!
Listen carefully to God,
And delight in rich food that satisfies.
Seek the Lord while God may be found,
Call upon God who draws near.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Almighty One, we confess that the world’s ways lead us astray. We search for bread and wine that never satisfies us, worldly desires that give into worldly measures of success. You call us to Your ways, but we chase the shiny things of this world that have no value in Your realm. May we listen for Your voice and for the true things of this world that matter: the love we have for one another, the way we care for each other and the earth You made, the pursuit of justice in order to establish peace. May we be fed by Your word and satisfied by the wellspring of everlasting life. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
God’s desire for us is greater than any desire we have for the things of the world. God will not stop pursuing you until you turn back. God knows your heart and that you long to be one with God. You are God’s beloved child. You are forgiven, loved, and restored. Amen.

Prayer
Holy One, when we look at the world, our heart breaks. We have failed to care for the earth. We have failed to pursue peace and have allowed violence to run rampant. Most of all, we have allowed others to co-opt Your name and Your words to justify hate. Forgive us all for not speaking up, for not calling out those who have harmed others in Your name. Move us to pursue Your call to justice, especially for the most vulnerable among us, for they know You, and they are Your beloved children. Help us to protect them, to pursue justice, and proclaim Your reign is one of love and never of hate. Amen.

Worship Resources for March 13th, 2022—Second Sunday of Lent

Worship Resources for March 13th, 2022—Second Sunday of Lent

Revised Common Lectionary: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)

Narrative Lectionary: Jesus Washes Feet, John 13:1-17 (Psalm 51:7-12)

Abram was distressed before God because he and Sarai were old and had no children. In Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, God hears Abram’s complaint that a servant in his household is to be their heir, but God takes Abram outside and shows him the stars, that Abram’s descendants will be just as numerous, just as uncountable. God promised Abram that it someone born of his family would inherit from him. Abram believed God, the same God who brought him and Sarai from their father’s home to this new land. Abram offered a sacrifice, and God established a covenant with Abram, to give the land to Abram and Sarai’s descendants.

The psalmist sings of their trust in God in Psalm 27, that they have nothing to fear, even in the midst of enemies. The psalmist knows God will hide them from evil and deliver them, for they have made their home with God. The psalm turns to a plea for God to answer the psalmist’s prayers, that they might remain steadfast. Some have turned away from the psalmist, speaking falsehoods, and others have forsaken them, but the psalmist remains true to God and trusts that God will deliver them, reminding others to take courage and know that God will answer.

Paul writes of being citizens of God’s kingdom in Philippians 3:17-4:1. Those who live for this world are enemies of Christ, where they live by the belly, their greed, and their mind is set on worldly things. But those who are expecting Jesus as their Savior wait for the transformation of their humiliation to glory. Paul calls upon the family of the church in Philippi to stand firm, to join with him in imitating Christ.

The first selection for the Gospel reading is Luke 13:31-35. As Jesus drew closer to Jerusalem, he was warned not to go there. This passage reminds us that many of the Pharisees were not Jesus’ enemies as they are often portrayed. Many taught similar lessons and saw Jesus as another rabbi of their tradition, and warned him that Herod was against him. However, Jesus would not be deterred by the puppet ruler under Rome and told the Pharisees to tell Herod he must continue his ministry. Jesus quipped it was impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem was where all the worldly power was. Jesus longed to gather the people like a hen gathers her chicks, but the people of the city would behave as the city always had—longing for God, but unwilling to let go of the world’s ways of power and greed.

The second selection is the Transfiguration, also the lectionary reading two weeks ago. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain with him to pray. While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah spoke with him, and in Luke’s version, they are speaking about Jesus’ soon-to-be departure in Jerusalem. Peter, James, and John are tired, but they behold this scene, and as Moses and Elijah are leaving, Peter speaks up. Peter tells Jesus it’s good they were present, and they want to make three dwellings, one for each of them. The Common English Bible uses the word “shrine” instead of dwelling, indication a sort of worship for Elijah, Moses, and Jesus. Then a cloud suddenly overshadowed them all and the disciples were terrified. A voice came from the cloud telling them to listen to the Son, the Chosen One. When the cloud lifted, Jesus was alone, and they didn’t say anything. In verses 37-43a, it is the next day when they come down the mountain, and a man begs Jesus to heal his son of a spirit. The other disciples could not cast the demon out. Jesus tells the man to bring his son to him, but not before declaring this is a faithless and perverse generation and complains about putting up with them. Jesus rebukes the spirit and gives the boy back to his father, and everyone was amazed.

The Narrative Lectionary turns to the events of Holy Week in John’s account, beginning with foot washing in 13:1-17. Jesus takes on the role of servant, serving the disciples by washing their feet. When Peter protested, Jesus insisted that he must wash their feet to prepare them for the journey ahead. Just before this chapter, Mary (Martha’s sister) washed his feet, preparing him for the journey to Jerusalem and the cross, serving him, and Jesus followed her example. Peter thought he understood at that point and tried to get Jesus to wash his hands and head. Jesus said that one who was bathed was clean except for their feet—just the dirt and grime of the day. This wasn’t baptism, this wasn’t an act of purifying or cleansing—it was simply an act of kindness and serving, and Jesus called them to serve one another with kindness as he had served them.

Psalm 57 is about a cleansing that purifies. A psalm attributed to David, the psalmist desires to be cleansed from the blot of sin, knowing they have gone wrong, and desires a new and clean heart before God, to be set right.

In this Lenten season, as we journey with Jesus to the cross, we are reminded that this world resorts to violence every time to solve its conflicts. It resorts to power and dominion over others. The way of Christ calls us into community, into hope, into serving one another with kindness. It calls us to gather with Christ and others, to seek a different way instead of the violence of the world. It calls us to look to the ancestors of our faith and their trust in God when the world seemed against them. The way of Christ reminds us that the regimes of this world rise and fall, but the reign of God’s love, the beloved community of faith, endures forever.

Call to Worship (Psalm 27:1, 13-14)
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
I believe I shall see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
Be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Holy One, we confess that in our fear, we turn to the ways of this world over Your ways time and again. We turn to leaders who promise power and domination over others, instead of Your commandment to love one another, to bless one another, to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We seek comfort in the familiarity even when it oppresses us, because we know it oppresses our enemies, too. Forgive us for our violence, for the harm we inflict upon ourselves and others generation after generation. Help us to break the cycle and to turn to You and Your ways. Help us to lay down our way of violence and pursue peace. Call us into Your ways of love and justice, a way of hope and healing, so that we might end humanity’s destructive and evil ways. In the name of Christ, who laid down his life for us and went to the cross, we pray. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
Jesus has traveled our path, worn our shoes, rode the same tracks. Jesus’ own heart beat and bled for the world. Jesus cried out in grief and anguish, pain and loss, and still deeply loves us. We are loved by a God who knows our pain and suffering and struggle. Bring it all to Jesus, for he knows what it’s like, and loves us, and calls us to love one another. Amen.

Prayer
God of Creation, as the days lengthen in the Northern hemisphere, we see signs of You all around. The snow is melting, the ice releasing its grasp. Shoots are breaking forth from the cold earth and buds are preparing to open. Even in the midst of war and grief, Your life still takes hold, and has deep roots. May we be open to You. May we nourish the roots of Your life in us, knowing that You have made us into a new creation, a new life that takes hold in us. Everything old has passed away, everything has become new, as the Apostle Paul once wrote. May it be so in us. May something new take hold of us this season and not let us go, so that we might live more fully into Your life that you dreamed for us, a new life that begins now and lasts for eternity. In Your name we pray, Great Creator. Amen.

Worship Resources for March 6th, 2022—First Sunday of Lent

Revised Common Lectionary: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13

Narrative Lectionary: Jesus Raises Lazarus, John 11:1-44 (Psalm 104:27-30)

You can find resources for Lent, including a preaching/worship series called Sojourning based on the Gospel readings for the Revised Common Lectionary, and past series, candle lighting liturgies, and more here.

We begin Lent with a reminder from Moses in Deuteronomy 26:1-11. As part of his final discourse to the people, knowing he would not enter the land promised to them before his death, Moses called upon the people to take the first fruits of the land as an offering to God. Before the priests with their offerings, the people remembered that their ancestors, Sarah and Abraham, were wandering Aramaeans, a people without a home. God brought them to a new land, and then to Egypt, where they became a great nation. God is the one who brought them out of their oppression in Egypt with strength and power. Moses called the people to celebrate all God had accomplished, to celebrate with the priests as well as the foreign peoples among them God’s abundance and bounty.

While Psalm 91 is quoted by the devil in both Luke and Matthew as part of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, it is a psalm of blessing and protection for those who turn to God. Those who turn to God have the assurance that God will deliver them from their enemies and do not need to fear death or danger. Those who love God will know God’s deliverance and salvation.

Romans 10:8b-13 is a section often taken out of context. Paul was writing to the church in Rome, to show that both those of Jewish and those of Gentile backgrounds were one in Christ. God hears the prayers and confessions of all. It is faith that saves us in Christ Jesus, not heritage or tradition. This verse is often taken out of context and interpreted in a literal way by some Christians that this confession, by these words, is what is needed for salvation. Instead, Paul was explaining that it is faith that save us, faith in Christ, faith that God raised Jesus from the dead and there is nothing that God cannot do.

In Luke’s account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness in 4:1-13, the same three temptations are found in Matthew, but the last two are reversed. In Luke’s account, the final temptation is the one in which the devil quotes scripture, Psalm 91, back to Jesus, after Jesus answered the devil’s first two temptations with scripture. The devil twists the scripture to question and sow seeds of doubt into Jesus about whether he was the Son of God. The devil’s twisting of Psalm 91 ignores that the psalmist speaks of those who are faithful in love to God will not face harm. Instead, the devil tries to tempt Jesus into believing he has to prove who he is. There is no one else around, so one must assume that perhaps Jesus was facing some self-doubt. But Jesus is triumphant, quoting scripture back and knowing that it is not up to himself to prove who he is as the Son of God. God knows. Jesus knows and trusts in God the Creator. The devil departs him until an opportune time.

The Narrative Lectionary continues in John, focusing on the story of Jesus raising Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha in John 11. Lazarus fell ill, but Jesus was delayed in visiting him until after he’d already passed. The disciples warned him about going to Judea because they knew the leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but when Jesus finally insisted on going, Thomas boldly proclaimed that they should go to die with Jesus. This an interesting first encounter for readers with the one later known as “Doubting Thomas,” in his boldness of faith early on. When Jesus arrived, he first encountered Martha, who confronted him, saying her brother would not have died if he had been there. However, she also proclaimed her faith, that she knew God would give Jesus whatever he asked. Jesus asked her if she believed in the resurrection, and then told her that he was the resurrection and the life, and Martha declared her belief. Martha went back and called for her sister Mary. Mary, however, went to Jesus, knelt at his feet and wept, stating that if he had been there, her brother wouldn’t have died. She doesn’t make any declarations of faith. And Jesus begins to weep. It is by her grief that he also grieves, and is moved to order the others to roll back the stone and call Lazarus out from death.

These brief verses from Psalm 104:27-30 compliment the John passage in that God is the one whose spirit renews life after death. God holds life and death in all of creation.

Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation seems out of balance at first. We are more accustomed to Matthew, where the final temptation is the devil tempting Jesus to worship him and have the world. In Luke, the final temptation instead is self doubt. That one isn’t worthy of God’s love. Even Jesus wondered. Perhaps in his time in the wilderness, God was silent. The final temptation is to demand that God answer, to demand that God act in the way we want God to. Jesus prevails in trusting in God even in the silence. In the Narrative Lectionary, faith may have assured Martha and Jesus that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, but it was a very human emotion—grief—that moved Jesus to act right then and there. A reminder that God takes notice of us, as God did in Exodus 2:25 of the people crying out under their oppression. God hears us when we grieve, when we cry out against injustice, and is moved to act. Both of these lectionaries remind us that what we want isn’t necessarily what is best for us, but when we cry out in hopelessness, despair, crying out from oppression and injustice—God hears us. God knows. And God will act.

Call to Worship (from Isaiah 40:6-11)
A voice says, “Cry out!”
“What shall I cry?”
The grass withers, the flowers fade,
But the word of our God will stand forever.
Lift up your voice with strength,
Our God comes with power and might.
For God is our shepherd, carrying the lambs,
And God will carry us through.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Holy One, we come to You in this season of Lent crying out to You. We cry out because of war and injustice. We cry out because of violence and oppression. We cry out because the world’s ways and the world’s leaders have failed us again. We cry out for You to save us, O God. We confess that we have been led astray by the world’s power and might. We confess that we have been led astray by worldly understandings of security and strength. We confess that we have sometimes been on the side of the oppressor, and at times have turned away from the cries of others. We confess we have failed to recognize Your children in the world, Your face in one another. Forgive us. Call us into accountability. Call us into the work of reparation and restoration. Guide us into the work of justice, reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing. In the name of Christ, who went to the cross and laid down his life for us, we pray. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
God will continue to lead us out of the wilderness of oppression into the place of hope and healing. God will continue to teach us the way of repentance and forgiveness, if we are open to God’s instruction. God’s wisdom is with us: in the scriptures, the sages of old, the lessons from the past, and in our hope for the future, if we believe it, if we cling to it. Live into God’s ways. Be slow to judge and quick to forgive. Know God’s forgiveness in your life, and go forth to help repair and restore the world. You are forgiven, loved, and restored. Amen.

Prayer
Almighty God, You made this earth for all of Your children and Your creatures. You breathed life into all living things, and called human beings to care for it. We have failed time and again and resorted to violence instead of listening and healing. Our wilderness temptations are all around us and we fail all the time. O God, You still love us. You still create new life. You still work on us to forgive one another and pursue justice. O God, may it not be too late for us to change our ways. May it not be too late for humanity to resolve to do better, to repent of our power and greed and violence. May it not be too late for us. Be with us, O God, a flame fighting the wind and shadows. Burn bright in us, O God, and save us. Amen.

A Prayer for Ukraine

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.”
Revelation 7:9-12

O God of all nations, we come before You, crying out for an end to violence. We confess that we have put our trust in worldly leaders, worldly understandings of power, dominance, and greed. We confess that we resort to violence instead of Your ways. Forgive us for turning to the ways of the world that we human beings created, instead of embracing the earth You made for all of us.

Guide us in our thoughts and prayers to act for peace. Help us to “depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14). Remind us that violence is not Your intention for us. Your intention is an abundant life.

We pray for all the nation’s leaders, that they will seek Your wisdom and guidance and work to end this violence, this war. We pray that we might seek You in the face of one another, especially in the faces of those we call enemies, and strive to end war forever.

Our ways are not Your ways, O God. Guide us away from the path of humanity to use violence and domination and fear, and into Your ways of love, justice, and peace. In the name of the Prince of Peace we pray. Amen.

Worship Resources for February 27th, 2022—Transfiguration Sunday

Revised Common Lectionary: Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:26-36 (37-43a)

Narrative Lectionary: The Man Born Blind, John 9:1-41 (Psalm 27:1-4)

On Transfiguration Sunday, we read the story of how Moses came down from Mount Sinai and his face shown in Exodus 34:29-35. Even his brother Aaron was afraid to come near him, for Moses’ skin shone bright because he was talking to God. However, Moses spoke to the people, teaching them what God had commanded them, and afterward he wore a veil when he was among the people. He would take the veil off when in the presence of God, but keep the veil on when he returned from the mountain to tell the people what God had spoken to them.

Psalm 99 is a call to worship of the people, a song praising God in the holy throne room. God is the mighty king, the lover of justice, and the earth quakes under God’s reign. The psalm calls Moses and Aaron the priests of God, for God spoke to them in the pillar of cloud and they kept the commandments of God. God answered their prayers and was forgiving, but God also executes justice. The psalmist concludes by calling the people to worship God at God’s holy mountain. Mountains were seen in ancient cultures as places where heaven and earth met, where the divine and human could encounter one another.

The Epistle reading shifts to 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, where Paul recalls the passage from Exodus about Moses wearing a veil. Paul uses the veil as a metaphor for the people of his day when they heard the word of God through the covenant. According to Paul, for the believers in Christ, the veil is removed, and they can see the image of God as if it is reflected in a mirror by the Holy Spirit within one another. In this same manner, Paul urges the believers to be truthful, to not hide behind a veil, but to be steadfast and bold. True believers don’t use deception or misuse God’s word; instead, they publicly commit themselves to the truth.

In Luke’s account of the transfiguration, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain with him to pray. While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah spoke with him, and in Luke’s version, they are speaking about Jesus’ soon-to-be departure in Jerusalem. Peter, James, and John are tired, but they behold this scene, and as Moses and Elijah are leaving, Peter speaks up. Peter tells Jesus it’s good they were present, and they want to make three dwellings, one for each of them. The Common English Bible uses the word “shrine” instead of dwelling, indication a sort of worship for Elijah, Moses, and Jesus. Then a cloud suddenly overshadowed them all and the disciples were terrified. A voice came from the cloud telling them to listen to the Son, the Chosen One. When the cloud lifted, Jesus was alone, and they didn’t say anything. In verses 37-43a, it is the next day when they come down the mountain, and a man begs Jesus to heal his son of a spirit. The other disciples could not cast the demon out. Jesus tells the man to bring his son to him, but not before declaring this is a faithless and perverse generation and complains about putting up with them. Jesus rebukes the spirit and gives the boy back to his father, and everyone was amazed.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on the story of Jesus healing a blind man in John 9:1-41. The disciples see a man born blind, and ask Jesus who sinned. There was a common understanding that disabilities were caused by sin, though there was debate at that time as to who was responsible for that sin. We must tread carefully in these stories of healing. Jesus is quick to declare that no one sinned. However, some interpret this story that God made people disabled so that they could become inspirational stories (miracle healings), and that is not true. Healing is not the same as curing. When Jesus heals this man, who used to beg (because in that day, if you were blind or had other disabilities, you could not work, you could only beg to survive), he no longer has to beg. He is no longer known as the blind beggar—”Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” (vs. 8). Now, he is one who testifies to Jesus. Jesus uses the metaphor of this man’s blindness with the Pharisees later, who cannot see that this is the work of God. However, we must be careful in using these metaphors. They are in our Scripture, but it doesn’t mean that using the term “spiritual blindness” is the best way for us to convey ignorance of God’s ways and God’s healing. There are other ways we can speak without using ablelist terms. But this story still has a powerful point: the man who was once unable to participate in society, because of the restrictions that society placed on those who were blind, is now able to participate. That’s the healing moment, not that he is no longer blind. Jesus has freed him from those restrictions.

Psalm 27:1-4 declares that God is our salvation and light, our strength, and we have no reason to fear. Instead, the psalmist declares they will seek God, and the only thing they desire is to live with God all the days of their life, to be in God’s presence in the temple.

The Transfiguration is a mystery. Just like with Moses, the physical description of Jesus on the mountain just doesn’t cut it for our human understanding. Our words fail us. Something happened, enough that Peter wanted to worship Jesus differently and perhaps worship Moses and Elijah, but God declared that instead they needed to listen to Jesus. When Jesus called out, “You faithless and perverse generation, how long must I put up with you?” I’m sure that was not comforting to the father who came with his possessed son, yet Jesus healed him. There are misunderstandings between what the disciples experienced and what we read today, perhaps some religious or cultural nuance that has been lost. What we can say is this: somehow, human beings continue to try to understand God and Jesus in our terms, but we fail, and when we fail, we fail one another. Instead, we ought to listen to God, to the teaching through prophets and Jesus, and follow their ways. Rather than trying to figure out right worship, perhaps it’s more about right listening and living with one another.

Call to Worship (1 Corinthians 15:51-52a, 56)
Listen, I will tell you a mystery!
We will not all die, but we will all be changed.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
At the last trumpet blast.
The trumpet will sound,
And the dead will rise.
We will be changed,
Death will be swallowed up in victory.
Come, worship our God,
The God of Mystery, the God of Life.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Ancient and Holy One, we confess that we have fallen into the same patterns as our ancestors. We have sought to worship an ideal instead of worshiping You. We have worried about practicing right religion instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves and practicing justice. We have put much weight on the words we say and less on how we live out Your teaching. Forgive us. Call us back to the teachings of the prophets. Call us back to the way of life in Jesus Christ. Call us back to love and forgive one another, to work for healing and restoration. Call us into Your way, Your truth, and Your life, in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
God is ancient and new. God is from the beginning and what will be. There is so much mystery, but so much love for you. Out of all we do not know, we do know this: God loves us enough he sent Jesus to us, who laid down his life for us, calling us to do the same for one another. God loves us enough that he asks us to love one another, for by loving one another, we love God. Know this and live.

Prayer
God of our ancestors, You drew closer to us in the mountains, where we built our temples to worship You, believing we were touching heaven. You drew closer to us in ritual and practice, where we attempted to show You our devotion and care. You came to us in community, calling us together, and lived as one of us in Jesus Christ. We are continually breaking through boundaries that we have made, or believed were there, and finding the Mystery goes deeper, to the root of the universe, to all You have made. We find You in our hearts, in one another, and the more we love one another, the more fully we know You. Remind us always that love is at the heart of it all—despite all mysteries and all knowledge and all faith, if we do not have love, we are nothing. Help us to always hold on to love, to treasure it as a priceless gift, and also, to give it freely. Amen.

Worship Resources for February 20th—Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Revised Common Lectionary: Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38

Narrative Lectionary: Living Water, John 7:37-52 (Psalm 147:1-11)

The Hebrew Scripture selection turns to the story of Joseph reuniting with his brothers in Genesis 45:3-11, 15. Though Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery and abandoned him, Joseph did not see what happened to him as a grudge in need of payback. Instead, he saw where God had been with him, and how God continued to help his family despite what his brothers had done. God was with Joseph and helped him become important enough to Pharaoh that Joseph was able to provide for his family and the whole land during the famine. Joseph told his brothers to bring their father to him, so that he might care for them all in Egypt during the time of famine.

Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm, reminding the reader/listener that following in God’s ways is the path to righteousness. While the wicked prosper temporarily because they follow the ways of the world, they will come to their end, withering like herbs, and fading like grass. Instead, the psalmist instructs the reader/listener to trust in God’s ways. God will act for justice for those who are righteous—they will know God’s vindication. The psalmist cautions the reader/listener to step back from anger and holding grudges, for those who stay true to God will inherit what is theirs. God is the refuge and salvation of the righteous, and God will deliver them from evil.

The Epistle readings following 1 Corinthians come to an end this season after Epiphany with 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50. Paul, addressing the largest concern he had for the church in Corinth, instructs on the resurrection of the dead, for some believed there was no resurrection. Asking how the dead will be raised is a foolish question, according to Paul, for a seed grows only after what gives the seed has died. What is planted is perishable, but what grows is imperishable. If there is a physical body, Paul argues, there is also a spiritual body. What dies is physical, but what rises is spiritual. We are made of dust and spirit, and both are bodies. Paul argues that flesh and blood will not inherit the reign of God, only what is imperishable will. This is an argument still playing out in theological studies today, for it is not a binary either-or argument, but a both-and. Jesus, fully human, died and rose, with his body and his scars. Verse 51, which is not included in this section, shows us that this is a mystery.

Jesus’ instructions continue in Luke 6:27-38, picking up from the teachings of last week’s lesson to the crowd and the disciples. Jesus instructs the disciples on how they ought to live in God’s ways of love, which include loving one’s enemies. Walter Wink has famously argued that Jesus is teaching nonviolent resistance—not a passive accepting of abuse, but an active resistance that would embarrass and force the one committing the wrong to recognize the humanity of the victim. Loving those who love us is the easy part, Jesus argues, but loving those who do not love us is much more difficult, because it is how God loves all people, even those who do not love God. Instead, seek the humanity of others. It goes beyond treating others how you want to be treated, but rather, treating others the way God treats us all.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on Jesus’ teaching in John 7:37-52. Jesus has once again gone to Jerusalem (in the synoptic Gospels, Jesus only goes to Jerusalem once, the last week of his life). On the last day of a Jewish festival, Jesus stood up among the crowds and shouted to them that all who were thirsty should come to him, for living water would flow from him. The Holy Spirit would come to those who believed in Jesus. The crowds were divided on who he was. Some thought he was the Messiah, others a prophet, and still others thought he couldn’t be because of where he came from. Some wanted to arrest Jesus, and some religious leaders were upset when the guards refused to arrest him because they’d never heard anyone speak like him. Nicodemus stood up for Jesus among the religious leaders, who thought they were all of the same mind about Jesus. None of them could believe a prophet could come from Galilee, from the countryside.

Psalm 147:1-11 is a song of praise to God, praising God for rebuilding Jerusalem and delivering the exiles. God is amazing, knowing all the stars created, and this same God helps the poor and overturns the wicked. God is the God of all creation, caring for even baby ravens when they are hungry, causing green grass to grow on the mountains and rain to fall. God isn’t interested in the strength of armies and warriors, but in people who honor and love God.

Living into God’s ways isn’t easy. The scriptures teach us of how tempting the ways of the world are. When someone takes from us, take back. When someone strikes us, strike back. We go around the world with chips on our shoulders. But the ways of Wisdom, the way of Jesus, is to see one another the way God sees us—that all of us are flawed, all of us experience brokenness, and all of us need mending and healing. This isn’t an excuse to let abusers off the hook. Those who have abused must be held accountable. Instead, this is an inner transformation for ourselves, that we don’t have to let the violence and harm that has happened to us define who we are. We can choose differently for our own hearts and lives. The powers of the world want us to conform, to respect those with worldly power and authority, but the faithful listen to God, and do the work of justice, healing, and restoration. For God is with us, always, and will deliver the faithful.

Call to Worship (Psalm 147:1-3, 7)
Praise God!
It is good to sing praise to our God.
God is gracious,
And a song of praise is fitting.
God gathers the outcasts,
God heals the brokenhearted.
Sing to God with thanksgiving,
Make melody to our God.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
God of Justice and Mercy, we confess that we have misconstrued justice for punishment. We want others to feel deeply the way we have felt deeply. We want others to hurt the way we’ve been hurt. We’ve been pushed around and pushed down by the ways of the world, and we want to punch back. O God, help us to unclench our fist. Help us to loosen our jaw. Help us to lower our shoulders. Remind us to breathe. Breathe in Your Spirit, breathe out Your peace. Help us to remember that all of us have fallen short and yet You love us so much. Remind us that our woundedness is not who we are. Bind our broken hearts, mend our wounds. Call us to love one another. Remind us that setting boundaries to reduce harm is good, for ourselves and others. Teach us how to reach out in repentance, to do the work of justice and reparation, to restore the world for Your reign, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
Psalm 37:4 teaches us to delight in God, and God will give us the desires of our heart. You are not your wounds. You are not your bruises. You are not your scars. You will be healed. You will find wholeness. You will find justice, and you will find peace, if you seek it and pursue it. Jesus calls us into a life of repentance and forgiveness for where we’ve gone wrong, and to forgive one another as God has forgiven us, whenever possible. Take courage, and know God is with you in this journey of forgiveness, restoration, and healing. Go and love one another with the love of God. Amen.

Prayer
Honorable God, You are not interested in worldly wealth or success. You disdain the strength of warriors and armies and politicians. Instead, You look into our hearts and perceive our thoughts. You know who we truly are, and the veils we show the world. Help us to be our true selves, O God. Help us to know where we have gone astray and to repent and turn back to You. Help us to truly live for Your reign on earth as it is in heaven, and not to keep the status quo. Remind us that life is not about our own security and self-satisfaction, but the redemption of all, the love You have for us through Your Son Jesus Christ. For Jesus laid down his life for us, emptied himself, served his disciples, and taught us to become last of all and servant of all. You are not a God who requires gold and sacrifices, but rather the love of our neighbor, and You know the truth of who we really are. Help us to repent and turn back to You. Amen.

Worship Resources for February 13th, 2022—Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Revised Common Lectionary: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26

Narrative Lectionary: Bread of Life, John 6:35-59 (Psalm 34:1-10)

The prophet Jeremiah leans on the wisdom tradition in 17:5-10. For those who put their trust in worldly ways, human leadership and power and strength, and turn away from God, they will be like plants trying to grow in the desert, not knowing where their water comes from. But for those who trust in God, they are like trees planted by water. They will bear fruit and not be afraid of times of drought. The human heart leads people astray, but allowing God into our hearts and minds shows us our true selves and our intentions.

Psalm 1 uses similar imagery as Jeremiah. Those who live into God’s ways, who ponder and meditate God’s law and teaching—they are like streams planted by the water, whose leaves do not wither. They bring forth much fruit. The wicked are blown about by the wind of the world’s ways. Those who know God and God’s ways will flourish; those who reject God for the ways of the world will not gather with the righteous; they will perish.

The Epistle selection continues in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. Here, Paul addresses another controversy in the church in Corinth, that some do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. In last week’s selection right before this, Paul laid out his credentials, that he was the last of all because of his prior persecution, yet through God’s grace he testified to the Gospel of Jesus. Now, Paul argues that if one proclaims Jesus is raised, then it must be a physical resurrection. If Christ wasn’t actually raised from the dead, then no one is raised from the dead and they are hypocrites. Those who have died remain dead, and they have not been forgiven of their sins. If it’s only a hope and not the truth for them, Paul argues that they are truly foolish and deserving of pity. However, the truth is that Christ was raised from the dead, the first fruit of God’s harvest.

Mirroring the Sermon on the Mount, in Luke’s account, Jesus gathers with the crowd in a level place to teach in Luke 6:17-26. The crowd gathered for healing, and power came out of Jesus and healed them all. Jesus then teaches his disciples what we call the Beatitudes: blessing the poor and hungry, those who mourn and those who are persecuted, for they will receive everything in the reign of God. However, in Luke’s account, there are woes that Jesus teaches afterward: woe to those who are rich and full, woe to those who rejoice and for those who are well-liked, for you will be poor, you will be hungry, you will mourn, and you will be persecuted. This is what happened to the false prophets—they had the praise of the people and the wealth and the power, and they were their own downfall.

The Narrative Lectionary turns to Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life in John 6:35-59. This was the Revised Common Lectionary series last August. In John’s account, this takes place after he fed the five thousand, and Jesus knows they are searching for him because of the miracle he performed. Instead of wanting him to create more bread, Jesus wants the crowds to understand that he is the bread of life. Those who believe will know that in Jesus they have eternal life. An important note: John’s gospel often uses the term “the Jews” in English translations. The Common English Bible uses the “Jewish opposition.” The writer of John and the community of the gospel were all Jewish followers of Jesus, so we need to understand that these were internal conflicts within a greater community and not “Jesus vs. the community” that it has often been interpreted as. Some of the leaders opposed Jesus, and in John’s account, they had serious issue with Jesus’ claim of being God’s son (which Jesus doesn’t explicitly say in the other Gospels, that is said about him instead). These leaders are also not unknown to Jesus—they know Mary and Joseph and they remember Jesus as a boy, which is why they have doubts about his claims. Jesus instead claims they do not know God, because they do not know him. He is the bread of life. When the leaders argue how can they eat his flesh, Jesus knows they have misunderstood but continues with the metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, because he is the one who came down from heaven. Jesus teaches that unless the believers take on his life, accept his death and resurrection, they will not know God.

The companion scripture is Psalm 34:1-10. The psalmist praises God, calling for those suffering to listen and rejoice, for God has answered their prayers. The psalmist declares in verse 8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” It is another beatitude: those who know God and trust in God will find their safety and refuge. Something that tastes good reminds us to give thanks and to be content—a sensory way of knowing God that is not often used.

Through both lectionaries, Wisdom’s way prevails. Knowing God means keeping to God’s ways and commandments, and through them, a full life is to be found. And even when we suffer and struggle in this life, we ought to take heart, for the reign of God is for us. It is when we turn to the world’s ways for satisfaction and contentment that we must be wary, for when we neglect those in need around us to make sure we have enough first, we have put ourselves first, and often conflate our needs with our desires. The ways of the world never satisfy, and we consume more and more—but the way of God teaches us that we are to love one another. Jesus calls us to turn to him for all our needs, to know that in Christ we will be fulfilled, for the bread of this world will never satisfy us. We only have to look to the scriptures, to our ancestors in the faith, to see that those who sought their own gain met their folly. Those who sought God’s ways, though their lives were not easy, knew God was with them for all time.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 1)
For those who follow God’s ways,
They are like trees planted by water.
They bring forth fruit in due season,
And they never wither or fail.
Delight in God’s teachings,
Meditate on the Scriptures, day and night.
God watches over the righteous,
Life is found in living God’s ways.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Wise God, we confess that we have succumbed to the ways of this world. We have sought worldly pleasure and comfort. We have put ourselves first—not to care for ourselves, but because we worry about falling behind the world. We believe the messages of consumerism and wealth that drive us to have more at the cost of others going without. Forgive us for our foolishness. Call us back to Your ways. Remind us to study the Scriptures, listen to Your teachings, ponder the Spirit moving in our lives and in our world. Test our hearts that we might know You and trust in Your will for our lives and not what the world wants. Call us into Your ways of justice, for You hear the cries of the marginalized and oppressed, and we do well to listen and pay attention. Call us to repent, to turn back to You, and live into Your reign on earth as it is in heaven. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
God is all compassionate loving-kindness. God is nurturing and caring. God picks us up when we fall and holds us close. God loves you madly. You are forgiven of your sins. Go and do the work Christ has called you to do, to love your neighbor as yourself, to do justice, practice loving-kindness, and walk humbly with God. Amen.

Prayer
Spirit of Life, turn us away from day-to-day living and remind us that we are eternal people. Guide us to the places of rest and respite. Remind us that we are not machines who consume and produce, but living, holy beings in need of tender love and care. Guide us into the ways of healing and wholeness that require justice work and lead us into Your peace. Spirit of Life, breathe on us, move us, and show us the way, the truth, and the life, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Worship Resources for February 6th—Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Revised Common Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13); Psalm 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Narrative Lectionary: Healing Stories, John 4:46-54 (5:1-18), (Psalm 40:1-5)

The selection for the Hebrew scriptures is another call story: this time of the prophet Isaiah, as God spoke to him in Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13). Isaiah beheld a vision of the heavenly throne room in the year of King Uzziah’s death—a time of turmoil in Israel. The vision of the eternal throne emphasizes stability in a time of instability; however, in witnessing God in all God’s glory, with smoke pouring forth, quaking and trembling, and the six-winged seraphs calling out, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” Isaiah didn’t feel very holy or worthy at all. One of the seraphs touched a coal to his lips, purifying him with fire, and declared that his sin was gone. When God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah told God to send him. In verses 9-13, God instructed Isaiah on what a prophet’s job is: to speak to the people though they will not listen to him, though if they turn back to God they will be healed. This will happen until the people are taken away in exile, until everything is burned down to a stump, where the seed can grow again.

Psalm 138 is a song of praise, for God has answered the psalmist’s prayers. They live in a world of polytheism, but before all other gods, they sing the praise of their God, and call upon all kings to worship God. The psalmist is assured of God’s presence even during trouble, and praises God for God’s deliverance. The psalmist knows that God will fulfill God’s purpose for them, and that God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Following the section on spiritual gifts, Paul now turns back to the good news of the Gospel, bringing together his focus for the letter to the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. The word that Paul testifies to is this: Christ died, was buried, and rose on the third day, all in accordance with the scriptures as Paul interpreted them. Resurrected, Christ appeared the disciples, including Peter, and many others, but lastly to him. Paul, who persecuted the church, who was the lowest of all, became an apostle—not so he could brag about it, but so that all might believe in the Gospel.

Jesus calls the first disciples in Luke 5:1-11. In Luke’s account, Jesus already has crowds following him and he went into Simon’s boat, asking him to pull out from shore so he could teach the crowds. After he spoke, he told Simon to put out his net. Simon told Jesus he’d been fishing all night and caught nothing, but he would do it again. This time, Simon and his workers caught so many fish the nets began to break. Simon fell at Jesus’ knees, confessing he was a sinner and calling Jesus “Lord.” James and John were also there, amazed at the catch. Jesus told them to not be afraid, for they would be catching people from then on. The three left everything and followed Jesus.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on Jesus’ healing stories in John 4:46-54, with the option of continuing through 5:1-18. Jesus returned to Cana, where he turned the water into wine at a wedding. Jesus knows that the people won’t believe unless they see miraculous signs. When a royal official asks Jesus if he will come see his son before he dies, Jesus tells the official to go home, for his son still lived. Before the official returned home, his own servants came to tell him that his son was alive and that the fever left him, the moment he was talking with Jesus. He and his entire household believed.

In chapter 5, Jesus returns to Jerusalem for a festival (in John’s account he goes to Jerusalem on multiple occasions; in the synoptic gospels he only enters Jerusalem once before his death). Near the Sheep Gate on the city wall, there was a pool called Bethsaida where those who were sick and disabled gathered. Jesus spoke to a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years, asking him if he wanted to get well. He told Jesus that there was no one who could put him in the water when it was stirred up and that others went ahead of him (some later versions of John’s account have additional verses explaining why people believed in the healing property of the water when it was stirred). Jesus instead told him to stand up, pick up his mat and walk. Some of the religious leaders were upset that the man was walking with his mat, because on the Sabbath that was considered work (it is important to note that this is John’s telling of this story, perhaps some local interpretation, and there was no law in the Torah that would consider that work. Some of the religious leaders argued about Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath, but Jesus said that God, his Abba, was working, so he was working, too. This declaration of equality with God angered some even further.

Psalm 40:1-5 is a song of praise to God for healing and rescue from death. God has given the psalmist a new song to sing, and many people will hear and be amazed. God has done so many wonderful things that no one can compare to God. There are too many wonderful things to talk about that they cannot even be counted.

Sometimes in progressive Christianity we shy away from sin language, but the truth is that all of us have sinned. If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). However, sin does not mean we are unworthy. Sin means we need to acknowledge our wrongdoing or shortcomings and turn back to God, who accepts us and loves us. Isaiah didn’t think he was worthy because his whole people had failed to follow God, and he knew he himself had failed to follow in all of God’s ways. But the seraph touched a coal to his lips, a symbol of purification, and declared he was now free from sin. Paul believed he was the least worthy to share the good news, but by the grace of God, he had been called from his former life of persecution into one of sharing the Gospel. Peter, in Luke’s account, told Jesus to go away because he was a sinner. He wasn’t good enough. In John’s account in the Narrative lectionary, the man couldn’t reach the pool to be healed, to be restored, but Jesus declared he was restored. We can’t justify ourselves or heal ourselves, but we can believe in Jesus, and know that we are loved as we are, accepted as we are, and turn to the work of justice. We are worthy because God calls us by name and continues to call us. God knows we have the capacity to change our hearts and lives. This is the work of repentance.

Call to Worship (Psalm 40)
I waited patiently for the Lord,
God inclined, and heard my cry.
God drew me up from the pit,
And set my feet upon a rock.
God makes my steps secure,
And puts a new song in my mouth.
Many will come to know,
And put their trust in our God.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Forgiving God, we confess that we have fallen short. We have deceived ourselves into the ways of this world that make us believe worldly success and wealth is a sign of blessing while we continue to live in sinful ways. We continue to oppress and marginalize others and take wealth for ourselves. We fail to take notice of those who hurt from our ways of life. We fail to make reparations for generations of excess wealth while others suffer. Call us into accountability, O God, so that we might be forgiven. Call us to return what we have gained by the ways of the world at the cost of others. Call us to repair what has been broken, the ways that have propped up privilege and power while others are trampled underfoot. Call us into the work of restoration, so that we may then know Your forgiveness, grace, and healing. No matter what, O God, may we know Your great love for all of us, because it is Your love that calls us into this work of resurrection life. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
The deep, deep love of Jesus for us never ends. Jesus went to the cross for us and lives again, so that we might know new life now, not only life to come. This new life calls us into accountability and restoration. Live into the new life offered by Christ: forgive one another, restore one another, work for justice together and remember God’s grace is abundant. Love one another as God has loved you, and it will go well with you. Amen.

Prayer
God of Stillness, still our hearts. Quiet our minds. Slow our breathing. Help us to find our pulse, the rhythm of life. In the midst of turmoil and chaos, we are reminded there is no work-life balance, but we can find Your rhythm when we listen to our heart. Help us to slow down. May the fears that edge our minds be eased. May the struggle in our gut still and calm. May the challenges we face fade back, while we find Your rhythm in our life. You are still here. You have always been here and always will be. You are with us, now, in this moment. Help us to be still. (pause) Help us to be still. (pause) Help us to be still, and know that You are God. Amen.

New Lenten Series for 2022: Sojourning

I’ve created a new series this year based off of the Revised Common Lectionary readings from Luke, called Sojourning. The series is based on preparing for a journey, like a road trip or a hike, and mirrors the journey of our lives and experiencing Christ now, not just waiting for the end of our lives. The reign of God is at hand.

Lenten Series 2022 Sojourning

Worship Resources for January 30th, 2022—Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Revised Common Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13; Luke 4:21-30

Narrative Lectionary: The Woman at the Well, John 4:1-42 (Psalm 42:1-3)

Jeremiah described God’s call for him to prophesy when he was only a boy in 1:4-10. God told Jeremiah that God knew him from the time he was conceived to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah, similar to Moses, told God he didn’t know how to speak. In this case, Jeremiah was still young. God, however, told Jeremiah not to be afraid, not to say he was just a boy—he was God’s prophet. God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and told him he would give him the words to speak and gave him authority over the nations—words that would tear down and destroy as well as plant and grow.

Psalm 71:1-6 is a psalm of deliverance, a plea for God to rescue the psalmist from their current distress. They know that God has been their foundation since before they were born, and will continue to be their rock. They trust in God and believe in the assurance of God’s presence with them.

The Epistle reading continues in 1 Corinthians, with perhaps one of the most well-known passages of Christian Scriptures due to its use in weddings. Paul, however, was speaking of spiritual gifts and addressing the conflict within the church in Corinth, where some believed certain gifts were greater than others along with certain teachings. This chapter is the penultimate section on spiritual gifts—without love, we are nothing. Love is the greatest, and what we should be striving for above all things, for God is love.

The Gospel lesson continues from last week in Luke 4:21-30. Jesus, coming out of the wilderness, began his preaching ministry and returned to his hometown of Nazareth, where he read from the scroll of Isaiah and declared that day the scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. The scroll, from Isaiah 61:1-2, stated that the Spirit of the Lord was upon the prophet, to bring good news to the poor, bind up the broken-hearted, release to the prisoners, and other good news to all who are marginalized. At first, Jesus’ neighbors in his hometown liked what he said. They knew him, he was Joseph’s son, and he said good news to them. However, when Jesus responded that no prophet is truly accepted in their hometown, and how Elijah and Elisha were sent to foreigners instead of the people of Israel during difficult times, Jesus’ neighbors grew angry and wanted to throw him off the cliff. They didn’t like that Jesus suggested the good news fulfilled in their hearing wasn’t necessarily for them, but for others. This wasn’t the sort of message they wanted in their synagogue. They wanted to hear words of comfort, not words of challenge. They wanted good news for themselves, not to be told that at times, good news is for other people, too.

The Narrative Lectionary focuses on the Woman at the Well in John 4:1-42. Jesus crossed a number of societal and cultural barriers by staying at the well of Jacob in a Samaritan area, where he encountered a Samaritan woman, alone, and asked her for a drink of water. This was scandalous. Samaritans were the descendants of Israelites who had worshiped in Samaria and never reunited with the people of Judah after the exile. However, Jesus told her that if she knew who he was, she would ask him for his living water, the water of eternal life. When she asked to have that water so she may never be thirsty again, Jesus told her to go call for her husband and come back—which would have been appropriate culturally. She responded that she had no husband, and Jesus comments that she didn’t lie—she’s been married five times before, and she was living with a man who wasn’t her husband. Even more scandalous! However, Jesus didn’t judge her. Instead, she questioned him further about worship, and while Jesus upheld the worship by his own cultural group, he also told her that the day would come when true worshippers would know God in spirit and in truth. She finally seemed to understand that the water she was thirsty for was not the water of everyday life, but the water of eternal life. She told everyone in her hometown about this man who knew everything about her, and wondered if he might be the Messiah. The disciples were alarmed that Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman alone, but then they questioned Jesus about food in a similar way that Jesus and the Samaritan woman discussed water. Jesus taught them that his food was doing the will of God. The Samaritans of that town came to believe in Jesus and that he was the Messiah, first from the woman’s testimony, and then from their own encounter with him.

Psalm 42:1-3 poetically uses the metaphor of a deer longing for flowing streams—this is how our soul longs, thirsts for the living God. For the psalmist, their tears have been their food day and night, while they are taunted by others wondering where God is. Their yearning for God’s presence and deliverance is like thirst and hunger—we need God, for without God we are nothing.

Prophets had a terrible job of delivering news to people who usually didn’t want to hear it. The only truly successful prophet was Jonah, who delivered his news and the people repented and turned to God. One of the few times that people actually listened before it was too late. Sometimes the people were faithful for a while, like with Moses, but kept turning away from God because they didn’t like what God said to them through Moses. Poor Jeremiah started out his career as a boy, and later ended up in the stocks and was almost killed. In the Disney movie Encanto, Bruno could see the future, but it wasn’t what his mother wanted to hear because it didn’t sound like everything would be perfect. She tore her family apart, believing she was the one who could keep it together if everything turned out how she thought it should. If we don’t hear exactly what we want to, often we human beings get finicky with God and decide it must be the prophet or the teacher who is wrong, instead of listening and discerning to change our ways.

Sometimes, instead, it’s the outsiders, the outcasts, the people different from us who show us the way of God. Jesus referred to the widow at Zarephath, who was so desperate and ready to die that Elijah’s words, even though they seem foolish, are enough that she is willing to try. However, Naaman the Syrian didn’t believe the prophet Elisha at first, because it wasn’t a flashy miracle. Elisha told Naaman to just bathe in the Jordan seven times and he’d be healed of his leprosy. Naaman finally did it after his servant urged him to. In John’s account, it is the Samaritan Woman at the well, an outsider, an outcast, who isn’t judged but is searching for something greater in life. She is seen by Jesus for who she is—someone who has been put down by society—and Jesus offers her something more meaningful. And we remember that we began this season with the Magi from the east, pointing the way to something greater than the worldly kingdoms people knew.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 46)
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in time of trouble.
Though the earth should change,
We will not fear.
Though mountains tremble and waters foam,
God is in our midst.
We shall not be moved;
God is with us as the morning dawns.

Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
God of Past, Present, and Future, You sent us prophets throughout the years to speak the truth to us, but we have conveniently ignored what we didn’t want to hear. We turn to anger when confronted with changing our ways, and violence when we are challenged. Forgive us, O God, for our stubbornness and short-sightedness. We give You thanks, O God, for the prophets You have sent and continue to send us: prophets who speak to us about the reality of climate change, prophets who cry out against the continued injustice of Jim Crow and restricted voting, prophets who clamor for change against a police and prison system that perpetuates violence and racism. Call upon us to listen, O God, to repent, and to change our ways. In the name of Christ, the one who laid down his life for us, we pray. Amen.

Blessing/Assurance
Every day, every hour, every moment is a chance for renewal, for this is a new time for us. Every moment is an opportunity to turn to God and follow God’s ways. Take this moment now to change one thing about your life. Take this moment now to forgive one person whom you have held a grudge, and may you know God’s forgiveness in this moment for you when you have done wrong. Take this moment to feel God’s love in your very breath. Breathe in God’s spirit, and breathe out God’s grace, love, and forgiveness. Amen.

Prayer
Living Water, fill us with Your Loving Spirit. May we not be overwhelmed by the world, but press forward, steady on, knowing that Your Living Water will never stop flowing. As the river of life is endless, so we are endless. Death has no hold on us, for the Living Water has shown us the Way, the Truth, and the Life Eternal. Buoy us when the world seeks to consume us, O God, and may we experience Your ever-flowing love in You, Wellspring of Life. Amen.