Click here to download printable PDF for February 12, 2023 Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the way of the Lord. Happy are those who keep the Lord’s decrees, who seek the Lord with their whole heart. *Hymn 366 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling Prayer of Confession Almighty God, you gave the law to guide our lives. May we never shrink from your commandments, but, as we are taught by your Son, Jesus, strive to fulfill the law in perfect love, aware of our occasions of hard-heartedness and sin. Forgive us and set us free to live in the fullness of your love. Amen. *Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness God is love. Those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them. Friends, God’s word is true and completely reliable. We are loved, forgiven, and freed. Alleluia! Amen. First Reading 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Morning Message Our old and trusty Scottish friend, William Barclay, says there is no commandment or speech of Jesus that has caused so much discussion and debate as his commandment to love our enemies. I can certainly relate to that. Loving those who hate me, hurt me, or worse, mistreat my loved ones, will not inspire any tender affection here. How about you? Barclay suggests we unpack this speech before we react to or try to follow it. So, let’s go to Greek class for a few moments. In Greek, as you likely know, there are multiple words for “love.” Eros, is passionate love, the intimate physical expression of love between two people. Philia, is the love for our nearest and dearest, our family, children, our closest friends. Sometimes we call it “brotherly love.” When you cross the 17th St. Bridge coming from Chesapeake to Huntington, if you look to the buildings below on the right you will find the Philadelphia Baptist Church. A church where brotherly and sisterly love is, hopefully, valued and demonstrated. Agape is maybe the most complicated type of love to describe. It is the active feeling of benevolence toward the other person. It means that no matter what that person does to us we will never allow ourselves to desire anything but that person’s highest good; and we will deliberately go out of our way to show kindness and fairness to him or her. This is a tall order and does not always come naturally. You may be inclined on a windy day to chase down your friendly neighbors trash can that has blown down the street. But, ask yourself if you would do that for your grumpy or mean neighbor. Some of you would regardless. I would argue that there are indeed some people we just shouldn’t engage because to do so would cause someone harm. There’s nothing wrong with exercising discretion. The love we bear for our nearest and dearest is something we cannot help. Our language describes the mystery of this by saying things like, “we fall in love.” It is attributed to a force beyond ourselves. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day this week. The aisles at my most frequented shopping places are just loaded with colorful lush bouquets of flowers and chocolate- covered delights. Valentine’s Day is a feast for the senses. And memories. At what moment did you “fall in love” with that special person in your life? Did you resist that feeling? Could you? I could not. I fell in love with the graduate assistant to the Director of Choirs at Marshall. A concert was scheduled right before the end of the semester. Unfortunately, due to unexpected precipitation, the Mud River flooded our neighborhood and I couldn’t get out to participate in the concert. When I called the grad assistant to report this, he offered to come and pick me up. I don’t know how he would have accomplished that, but, he was willing to try. And for 40-plus years, he has been my problem-solver, and a good one. Only one of the reasons I love him. But this love Jesus is calling for, a love for our enemies, is not so much a matter of the heart as it is a matter of the will. It is something which, only by the grace and help of God, we intentionally do. Barclay points us to some important characteristics of what he calls the Christian ethic, which is the foundation for the agape form of love: First, the Christian ethic is positive. It does not exist by not doing things, but by doing things intentionally. Jesus gave us the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We can find that same rule in other languages and cultures, but it is often set out in a negative statement. For instance, Hillel, one of the most revered Jewish Rabbis, was once asked to teach a man the law while he stood on one leg. Hillel answered like this, so goes the legend, “What is hateful to thee, do not to another. That is the whole law and all else is explanation.” Philo, the Jewish teacher of Alexandria, explained it this way: “What you hate to suffer, do not do to anyone else.” Isocrates, the great Greek orator, said, “What things make you angry when you suffer them at the hands of others, do not you do to other people.” You can see what we mean then about this ethic not to just avoid wrong-doing, but to intentionally do what is good. It is not just to stay out of trouble, but to invest some energy into doing something good even when you know it won’t be reciprocated or appreciated. Who does that? Who, seriously, is capable of living with that kind of dissonance? Public servants, for sure. Teachers do this every day. Treating students equally, seeking to educate and enrich young lives while working through the many challenges with which they are presented. There are countless people in this community and beyond who get up every day and ask what they can do to make someone’s life better. You can learn a lot about people in crowds. People who keep their cool while others around them become impatient or rude. I’m not always successful at this, but, I try to remind myself that we’re all just doing our best, in good circumstances and not-so-good ones. Who watches “Blue Bloods?” It’s one of my favorite shows, though I missed the earliest shows. I thought, based on the name, that it was about a family of aristocrats, like “Dynasty.” But, I had missed the word play. In this case, “Blue Bloods” is about the life and times of the Reagan family of New York City, who are bound together not just by their Irish Catholic faith and ancestry, but by their common calling to serve the citizens of New York in various aspects of law enforcement. New York City is sometimes called the capital of the world. And indeed, it seems so. Soaring to the top of the Empire State Building, we dream of humankind’s greatest achievements. Peering into the tunnels that lie beneath the city, we can witness the worst of human depravity. It is a city full of life and creativity and opportunity, filled with color and sound and masses of people. It is a city of great need, her citizens coping with poverty and homelessness and crime. It is a city of immigrants. It is a city of many faiths. It is city that has survived the greatest of tragedies. It is a city in love with itself. And at war with itself. Every day. And in this bustling and beautiful metropolis the Reagan family lives and moves and has its being. It includes the patriarch, Henry, the retired Police Commissioner, his son, Frank, the current PC and patriarch- in- training. Two sons and a daughter- in- law serve as police officers. A third died in the line of duty. The only daughter is a lawyer in the District Attorney’s office. At least one grandson has joined the family business. And it’s a messy business, often unfair to the ones in blue, often cruel to their loved ones. What are these people made of? We get a clue in the scenes set around the family dinner table, an event which happens every Sunday as regularly as Mass. It is there we hear of the triumphs and tragedies of keeping the good people of New York safe and fully functioning, even at risk to their own safety and well-being. It gets complicated, yet they seem to thrive in it and love it all the more. The Reagans don’t shrink from debate. They can be loud and lively, sometimes even angry and obnoxious. Stabbing a pork chop, one asks, “Which rules are non-negotiable? Whose interest do we serve?” And with that question, we are drawn into the most compelling of questions: “Which has the higher value: civic law or God’s law? Justice or mercy?” They can be in conflict. Scripture tells us that God sends the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. God breathes life into all of us, those who are faithful and those who give not a care toward God, the saint and the sinner, the one who grieves God’s heart and the one who brings him joy. God always pursues us. His love never ends. So that’s the standard Jesus points us toward. None of us measures up to it this side of heaven. That last curious verse gives us a glimpse of what is to come, a future hope, a blessing so rich and full we cannot yet imagine it. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. We lift up that hope each time we gather around the table, the big one set with china and crystal and the one set simply with bread and wine. All of us God’s grateful, un-finished, imperfect kids, asking God to “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord. May it be so for all of us. Amen. *Affirmation of Faith Apostles’ Creed p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings *Hymn 607 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication *Hymn 692 Spirit, Open My Heart *Blessing Go now, with your trust in the Lord. Do not be influenced by the ways of cynics and scoffers, but delight in the Lord’s company, day and night. And may God raise you to new life with Christ. May Christ Jesus heal you of all that troubles you. And may the Holy Spirit nourish you from the deep well and keep you faithful and fruitful in all you do. Amen. *Postlude Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship Psalm 147 How good it is to sing praises to our God. For God is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. God heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. God is our Lord, and abundant in power. God’s understanding is beyond measure. *Hymn 744 Arise, Your Light Is Come! Call to Confession Isaiah exclaims, “Have you not seen? Have you not heard? “The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. God does not faint or grow weary,” but comes to us to renew our strength and restore us to right relationship with God and others. Prayer O God, our creator, redeemer, and sustainer, we confess our feelings of anxiety and uncertainty brought on by a continuing pandemic, extreme weather events, acts of senseless violence, and other threats. We look for help, but, sometimes it seems you are far away. Remind us that you are present to us, and to all your vulnerable children, to comfort and to bless in times of suffering and need. Renew our strength and restore our joy that we might mount up with wings like eagles to carry out each day’s purpose. Amen. *Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Pardon The God who fashioned the stars and the moon has come close to each of us with mercy and love. Hear the good news of the gospel: We are forgiven and freed to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint. Know you are forgiven and be at peace. Old Testament Reading Isaiah 58:1-12 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Matthew 5:13-20 The Morning Message Today we continue to explore the Sermon on the Mount, according to the Gospel of Matthew, that we began last week. Again, the words are beautiful and familiar and we may know certain phrases by heart. The hazard of that can be that they are so familiar we barely hear them anymore. But, sometimes we will hear or experience them in a new way which adds to our understanding. So, that’s where I hope to lead us this morning. Because I had some unplanned moments of clarity related to this text, regarding salt and light, this week. We’ll get to that shortly. One of my favorite authors is Ruth Everhart. Ruth is a Presbyterian minister, my age in fact, who grew up in the Reformed Church, one of our Formula of Agreement Churches, in the Midwest. Her father was a pastor, too. Ruth went to a church-related college and was a good and happy student until the night a serial rapist broke into the home she shared with several other female students and brutally assaulted them. Ruth wrote a book about her recovery from that experience called, Ruined, which was named “book of the year” by Christianity Today. That experience has led her to be an advocate for the rights of women and girls, particularly on issues involving sexual assault and its fallout. She participated in the Women’s March of 2017 in Washington, DC. She wrote a reflection of that day which I would like to share with you: During an election cycle we citizens become familiar with stump speeches. These are the points that candidates repeat at every campaign stop. If the speakers are particularly adept, the refrains they use will echo even after they have moved on to the next stop. Indeed, certain phrases become associated with a particular face and voice and agenda, so that even fragments of the speech will call to mind the candidate’s entire platform. The Sermon On the Mount is Jesus’ stump speech, if you will, and the Beatitudes are nine refrains that echo long after Jesus has moved on. Picture the “blessed are” statements on placards, borne aloft in the sea of faces around Jesus. These fragments form the context about salt and light-which seem simple enough to be campaign slogans, but are followed up with the confounding exhortation about righteousness: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Righteousness and blessing are the bookends to the Salt and Light passage. “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” Not, “You will be the salt of the earth or you will be the light of the world.” You are now, and here, salt and light. Who is Jesus addressing? Who is the salt of the earth? Those who are humble, those who mourn, those who are meek, and those who thirst after doing what is right. Salt creates thirst, does it not? The righteous are blessed to thirst after doing what is right. They are salty and so they thirst. And who is Jesus calling the light of the world? Those who are merciful, those who are pure in heart, those who are peacemakers, and those who receive abuse for standing up for what is right. Righteousness is a form of light, is it not? The righteous are blessed to show forth purity and peace as they stand up for what is right. They shed light through their actions. Remember Ruth Everhart penned these words in 2017, but, they are still relevant, I think. She continues: Stump speeches may seem a sour topic right now, a far cry from the gospel and its good news. Our nation is in the midst of a particularly contentious political season, one shedding more heat than light. You might even say we’re embroiled in this season. Perhaps the word “embroiled” tickles my fancy because something embroiled begs for seasoning, it begs for salt. And surely it makes us thirsty to do what is right. Perhaps the most difficult part of this passage is that it cycles us back to righteousness, which we understand in the abstract, but struggle with in the particulars. Any disciple worth her salt knows that righteousness is the goal. It forms our telos-that thing we drive toward. But how will keeping the Pharisaic law drive us toward righteousness? Jesus does not elaborate. The answer must be found in salt and light, these elemental things that are so multifaceted. Even though they are simple, there is nothing innocuous about either element. Salt preserves. Salt flavors. But salt can also sting and burn and abrade. Light dispels darkness. Light sheds illumination. But light can also blind, either temporarily or permanently. Christians want to be salt and light, but we struggle to know how and when, and to what extent. Take, for example, our recent political theater…which brought on the Women’s March in Washington, with sister marches around the country, and indeed the globe. For some marchers, this was a way to be salt and light, while for others, the marchers were nothing but abrasive. So, should we spend more time talking about being salt and light, or more time marching and clarifying the messages we carry? Which is easier for our churches to do? Which is a more direct response to the times we find ourselves in? Would Jesus have marched? Would Jesus have blessed the marchers? (Let’s think metaphorically about marches and marching. It could be a protest or intervention of some other type. The important part is to be moved to action.) How does the gospel improve the flavor of our life together-as followers of Jesus, as congregations, as a nation? What if we weren’t afraid of the sting of salt? What if we spent less time arguing about the design of our lampstands- as really, so much Christian talk amounts to-and spent more time shedding light on the darkness that surrounds us? If you intend to be salty, well-lit disciple, be advised to re-read Jesus’ stump speech. The waving placards of “Blessed are” might seem quite inspiring until you realize Jesus actually means business. This righteousness is not for the faint of heart. What Jesus has in mind might be stinging, blinding righteousness! I mentioned that I heard, or experienced, this text in a new way recently. Most of you are aware that I’ve been waiting to have cataract surgery. It was scheduled, then cancelled because the doctor got sick. It’s back on the calendar for April. Anyway, because so much time has lapsed between evaluations, I had to go through that process again last week. For such an exam, the doctor requires his patients to go without eye makeup for 48 hours. I’ve talked about this before. I’m vain. I don’t like this rule. So, after my eyes had been dilated and examined and dates set for surgery, I went out into the morning sunlight. It was not a particularly bright day, but, I could barely open my eyes without sunglasses. Never-the-less, because I had to run some errands before going home, I pulled out my make-up bag and applied some eyeliner and mascara to make myself more presentable. Or, I tried to anyway. Like I said, I could barely see when I took off my sunglasses. I ran those errands and made it home a couple of hours later. When I walked into the bathroom, the face looking back at me from the mirror looked like someone had applied magic marker to my eyes then I had fallen asleep with my face in a pillow. Pretty frightful. Light can be enormously revealing and it isn’t always pretty. In fact, light can reveal a world of pain and injustice. But, the only way to overcome what is unsightly, what is disturbing, what is not right, is to throw on the light. And then there is the matter of salt. We bought a new set of knives awhile back. I was using one to slice an orange and underestimated how much pressure I had to exert. They are very sharp. I sliced my finger as well as the orange. And for three days, it burned and stung whenever it came into contact with an abrasive substance, usually salt or something acidic like the orange. And again, the only way to avoid the pain, was to cover it up, prevent contact with offenders. And I find I do a lot of that. Avoid those things which abrade. And that cuts both ways, right? Something hurts, gets under our skin, maybe even tears us apart, and we need to act, to do something to set it right. Maybe we march or run for office or intervene in an abusive situation. We are salt when we are moved to act. Friday night was cold and dark. Puppies need to be walked frequently, cold and dark, or not. So, on one of our trips outside, I was shivering and hoping Maeve would make it snappy. I wanted to go back inside. The back porch light was on, but it doesn’t provide quite enough light. I’ve been stumbling around for a month now whenever I walk the dog. She apparently can see just fine. But, instead of dragging me around, Maeve suddenly plopped herself down on the cold, hard ground and started barking. She was looking up toward the mall, which means, she was looking to the north west and barking her head off at a single star overhead. It wasn’t a threatening “This is my yard. Go away” kind of bark. It was a “Wanna play?” kind of bark. Pretty fascinating to see her discover something about the universe in which she lives and moves and has her being. I turned her around so that she would see a whole constellation behind her and the moon waxing full. She ignored my efforts and went back to her conversation with the single star, the solitary light that stood out in the inky sky. I was a yogi for years. One of my favorite moments in a yoga session was at the end of the hour when we would clasp our hands in front of our hearts, lean slightly forward and say, “Namaste,” which I have understood to be, “The divine light in me salutes the divine light in you.” Namaste, friends. May you be salt. May you be light. May you live in God’s divine light. Today and always. *Hymn 314 Christ, Be Our Light verses 1, 2, and 3 *Affirmation of Faith Apostles’ Creed p.35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Holy and gracious God, we give thanks for all the blessings of this life: for comfortable homes, nourishing food, medical care when we are sick; for work to do and strength and ability to do it; for the gift of good neighbors and the love of our families. Loving God, fill those who suffer, struggle, or live in fear, with peace and reassurance. Comfort those who weep, heal the broken and shattered, and welcome the lost. Renew in us the joy of your salvation and restore in us a willing spirit. We pray as Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father…Amen. Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 607 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication Blessed are you, O God. Through your goodness, we have been blessed with the gifts of time, talent, and treasure. Use us, and what we have gathered, to strengthen your kingdom on earth and benefit those who have need in body, mind, or circumstance. We offer our gifts through Jesus Christ, who died that we might live. Amen. *Hymn 314 Christ, Be Our Light Verses 4 and 5 *Blessing Go now, and follow Christ wherever he leads you. By the grace of God, be all you have been called to be, and cast wide the net of God’s love. Remind one another of the good news, and hold fast to your saving faith. In peace, go out to love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen. *Postlude Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship Be still and know that God is. God was, also, in the beginning. And when all human striving has ceased, God will be. From everlasting to everlasting, God is who God will be, worthy of our worship and praise. Opening Prayer O God, source of all goodness and beauty, your grace comes fresh every morning. At the dawn of each new day you greet us with light and possibility. We thank you for the ever-present love that satisfies our needs and illumines our paths. May we be reminded today of your words of life, commit them to our hearts, and live as joyful witnesses to the gospel of love. Amen. *Hymn 475 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing *Prayer of Confession Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our failure to be what you created us to be. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love. By your loving mercy, help us to live in your light and abide in your ways, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness God decided, through a message some considered foolish, to save those who believe. Through our life in Christ Jesus, we have been put right with God, and set free to be God’s holy people. Sisters and brothers, your sins are forgiven; be at peace. First Reading Micah 6:1-8 Moments With Our Young Disciples Second Reading Matthew 5:1-12 Morning Message The Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Monterey is one of the most breath-taking sights in America. Miles of ocean landscape, so different from what we Atlantic beach vacationers are familiar with, hundreds of sunbathing seals along the shoreline, acres of asparagus and strawberry farms, the chilly spring air warmed by a sun rising to reveal an ocean painted in brilliant gold leaf. Capping off a week touring the San Francisco area, we had boarded the bus with forty students and their parents early on a Sunday morning, the last full day of our trip. The hotel sent us off with a grab and go breakfast of a muffin and some fruit. I had been asked to offer the group a brief time of worship when the opportunity presented itself, so, I carried my small copy of the Book of Worship. I pictured all of us gathering on a rocky beach landscape, wildly crashing water offering a cold baptismal spray. It promised to be an extraordinary day. An experience right off the bucket list for many. Maybe even some of you. And…I missed it. Those of you who have suffered from migraines will recognize what was going on when I say an aura wrapped its evil arms around me and started squeezing one side of my head before it started jumping on my stomach. On what should have been counted as a day of glorious blessing, I was miserable. It had the potential for creating misery for those around me. I just tried to keep my eyes closed and pray for relief. In Hebrew there is a beautiful word that calls up moments of blessing. Chesed. (hesed). It is a way of describing moments in life when one realizes that God is present and has made God’s love and care known in small inconspicuous ways. I had an Old Testament professor who explained that chesed for him meant hot coffee in the morning and making a sufficient enough salary to keep his daughters in Gap jeans. The blessed life according to Grant. It is to the blessed life Jesus points in this passage. And for many years, I had the wrong idea about it. I struggled with it. I would read blessed are the poor, the hungry, the hated and hurt, and know the end of the sentence is going to be something like, “but, when you die and go to heaven, you won’t suffer these things,” it felt insincere, empty, and decidedly, not helpful. Well, scripture does testify to heaven as a glorious place, free from any pain, disease, sorrow, or separation. The trouble is, there is often a lot of life between then and now. And the now-ness is overwhelming at times. Moments of chesed-ness are few and far between. And for so many, near and far away, life is just that hard. Every day. Unrelenting misery. No evidence of blessing. We caught a glimpse of this Friday. News reports were warning that a police body cam videotape would be broadcast that day of the recent police action in Memphis, Tennessee. I had the dreadful feeling that the last horrible moments of a man’s life were being used to whet the public’s appetite for violence and death. Jesus said to the suffering, “You are blessed, even though you suffer. Your reward is great in heaven.” I’m not sure how that plays in Memphis this morning. And I think if we want the gospel message to be palatable to doubters, we have to acknowledge that there are messages that are hard to understand, but it doesn’t mean the Christian faith is defective. It does mean that life is flawed and we have a helper, an advocate, a friend to bear with us in our trials. The language of the Beatitudes is beautiful, but it isn’t a lovely Christian poem about the virtuous life or something we could do in counted cross stitch to hang on the wall. No. The Beatitudes, as delivered by Jesus, were words of hope for a world in transition. In his day, they were radical. The audience to whom Jesus spoke was living in a land occupied by Roman oppressors. Those in power were elite imperialists who had no use or care for the common folk. The people who followed Jesus were drawn to him because they were hungry for a new way to live, and for a realm of justice and relief from harsh and rigid rule. The Beatitudes offered hope and comfort in an age when there was little of either. What Jesus is doing is describing a vision of how this world can be if God is at its heart. And, if God is at the heart of our world, then God is in the hearts of God’s people, and that’s you and me. Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor, says, “I think Jesus should have asked the crowd to stand on their heads when he taught them the Beatitudes, because that is what he was doing. He was turning the known world upside down, so that those who had been fighting for breath at the bottom of the human heap suddenly found themselves closest to heaven, while those who thought they were on top of things found themselves flat on their backs looking up.” In 1964, the artist, Sister Mary Corita was asked to submit a piece of art to the New York World’s Fair. The piece she created was filled with vibrant color. With it came this statement: “On a mountain, Christ said these words, the Beatitudes. Ever since then men have said these words to each other each time with different gestures. Said yes, this is how it should be. This is the way to be happy.” And then she used the bold colors of yellow, and orange, and cobalt, and magenta, and added the words of the world’s peacemakers: Anne Frank, Dag Hammarskjold, Albert Einstein, and John F. Kennedy among others. How can we make our part of the world look more like the vision Jesus described? And, does it mean we have to show up with our paintboxes, our toolboxes? I think it does. Over the years I’ve worked with teams commissioned to help conflicted churches. Getting from conflict to resolution is never easy. Conflict never ended on the day we delivered our report. No. What we uncovered had to be dealt with, corrected. And they couldn’t do it without support and tangible guidance. The congregation had to re-imagine the vision of God’s kingdom in that place. And when so much has happened, when trust is broken, and friendships destroyed, that vision is illusive. In Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible, he offers this interpretation of the Beatitudes: “You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding. You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic Meal. You’re blessed when the tears flow freely. For joy comes in the morning.” Our friend Barbara Brown Taylor gets the last word this morning with these thoughts: “Upside down, you begin to see God’s blessed ones in places it would never have occurred to you to look. You begin to see that the poor in spirit, the meek and those who mourn are not people you can help, but people who can help you, if you will let them, and that their hunger and thirst for God are not voids to be filled but appetites to be envied. Upside down, you begin to see that the peacemakers are not flower children but physicians, prescribing God’s own tranquility…Upside down, you begin to see that those who have been bruised for their faith are not the sad ones but the happy ones because they have found something worth being bruised for, and that those who are merciful are just handing out what they have already received in abundance. The world looks funny upside down, but maybe that is just how it looks when you have got your feet planted in heaven.” I thought my pain would never end that day in California. I knew I was ruining it for Ed. But when we stopped for lunch, the tour guide/bus driver, said, “Come on. I know just what you need. It’s not far. He led us to a restaurant on Cannery Row. You could dine in or outside where your view would be pretty spectacular. He ordered for me…an order of golden fried fish and chips and a giant Coke. He said I was to eat up and then I could chase it with a pot of tea. Caffeine and protein. That and another dose of TylenoI, I started to feel better. But I slept through the rest of the day, and missed the drive through Carmel-By-the-Sea looking for Mayor Paul Newman. I missed the Spanish missions and Pebble Beach. But, that was ok. I was better thanks to our bus-driving healer. A blessing. Chesed. Yesterday, my neighbor called with news that her husband was in the hospital. No one wants to be hospitalized, but, they were being well-cared-for. Her pastor had been notified. Everyone was attentive and reassuring that her husband’s problem would be addressed immediately. And, thanks to cell phones, they could be in touch with their daughter and other out-of-town family members. I was watching their house. She made it home before dark, which is an important factor at our age. Her husband has a kidney stone. His doctors were outlining a plan to retrieve it. All would be well. So, friends, blessed are we…the one who writes the sermons and those who tolerate them. Those with headaches and kidney stones and those who bring remedies. Communities in trouble and those whose courage and vision will lead them out. To God be the glory. Amen. *Hymn *Affirmation of Faith Apostles’ Creed p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings including Cents-ability Offering Offertory *Hymn 607 Doxology *Hymn 187 Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us *Blessing Go out into the world, walk with integrity. do what is right. Speak the truth with courage. And may God bless you with divine mercy. May Christ Jesus open your eyes to see God. And may the Holy Spirit lead you in righteousness and peace. Amen. *Postlude Prelude
*Call to Worship Mark 1:15 The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the good news. *Hymn 611 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee Prayer of Confession Loving God, through your Son you have called us to repent of our sin, to believe the good news, and to celebrate the coming of your kingdom. Like Christ’s first apostles, may we hear his call to discipleship, and, forsaking old ways, proclaim the gospel of new life to a broken world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me as I Am Assurance of Pardon Whenever a people humble themselves, turn from their evil ways, and put their hope and trust in divine mercy, God sees and forgives their sin, and enfolds them in the strength and love of Christ. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. Your sins are forgiven. Be at peace. Amen. First Reading Isaiah 9:1-4 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Matthew 4:12-23 The Morning Message Epiphany 3 Isaiah 9:1-4 Matthew 4:12-23 Come and Follow Does the name H. W. Brands mean anything to you? Me either, until yesterday. H. W. Brands is a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. When I sat down with my first cup of tea yesterday morning, he was speaking before an audience at the Gerald Ford Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was carried by C-Span. His subject was Watergate…appropriate for the Ford Library, right? But, he led into the presentation with a story about call, which is the theme we’ve been exploring in the lectionary for a few weeks. Jesus is putting his team together. He is calling his disciples, the people who will become his closest companions, the ones with whom he would share his most important objectives. The ones who would witness his agony first hand. In 1972, Brands was 19 and a freshman in college. Today he teaches a freshman history class at 10am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Many times it is the very first college class, in the very first week of a most-important time of his students’ lives. He always asks what brought them to college and asks about their hopes and expectations. Brands says, all these many years and a head full of gray hair later, his 21st century students have some of the same concerns he and his classmates had in 1972. He voted in his first Presidential election in 1972. Many of his students will do the same while in college. While that serves as a milestone in his own life, another factor was even more important. Because… what was on the minds of every male student, and the minds of his parents in 1972? The draft. Selective Service. Deferment would end while Brands was in college. Conscription was still in place via the lottery. Brands says while walking across campus in warmer weather, you could often hear shouts of relief or cries of dismay coming from the open dormitory windows as young men opened that envelope from Selective Service. We can imagine then, the conversations with parents and girlfriends, employers, and others that would flow from this welcome or un-welcome call to leave everything behind in order to answer the call to serve in the armed forces of this nation. Bishop Kevin Strickland says it has always struck him that the disciples whom Jesus called left their homes and families and livelihoods and followed without question. At least, we don’t hear much about hesitation or attempts by those left behind to change their minds. In none of the gospels does a family member or co-worker text the new recruit with a “Have you lost your mind?” That’s what my brother texted to me when he heard we had acquired a puppy. He may have sent that message in texting shorthand though. But, the gospels tell us that Jesus simply says, “Follow me.” Apparently he didn’t worry about qualifications or pedigrees, he simply called and dealt with the benefits and consequences. Indeed, they were sometimes hard to teach, like our new puppy. Sometimes they tried to change his mind about his plans. They squabbled about who was the greatest. One of them betrayed him. And they all fell asleep when Jesus was in his deepest moments of agony at the end of his life. Jesus didn’t make it easy for them. He settled in the land near the “Galilee of the Gentiles.” He chose to be with people who weren’t just like him, and to live among people who were ostracized and alienated. Maybe some of the disciples resisted being thrown into this messy situation. Maybe they needed sensitivity training. But there was no time for that. They would learn by doing. OJT. On the job training. We can imagine they would suffer some failures along the way. One of the most formative events in the life of Jesus were those forty days in the wilderness, in need of food and water, he wrestled with the devil. He emerged from the wilderness sure of who he was and what he was called to do…to proclaim that the good news of the Kingdom of God had arrived. He came from the wilderness ready to teach in the synagogues. He came ready to lay hands on the sick, restore families, confront heresies, correct injustices, and establish God’s priorities for life in the beloved community. The Greek word “to follow” literally means “to come behind.” When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he is saying, “Come behind me.” The command is to re-order one’s life so that in everything we look to Jesus for our example. When we were kids and played Simon Says or Follow the Leader, or Red Light-Green Light, we tried to make one another to do something silly or daring so that players are eliminated when they fail to meet a challenge. But, that isn’t the way Jesus plays the game. When he says, “Follow me,” he is not interested in eliminating people. His purpose is to add people, to sweep more people into this realm of God and make them heirs of the abundance of good news. The first class I took in seminary was New Testament Studies. I was excited but not sure I was cut out for graduate school. I was thirty-something and had been out of the classroom for a long time. I had three kids at home. One each in preschool, elementary, and middle school, with lots of needs. I wasn’t at all sure I was up to the tasks this course of study would take. It was expensive and we certainly weren’t wealthy. When I took my seat that first day, I noticed that the room was filled with all ages of students. So, I relaxed a bit. And when the professor, who was also the seminary president, began the class, he didn’t pass out a syllabus, at least not right way. The first thing he did was to teach us a song. Actually, two songs. The one I remember most goes like this: You, you are my wholeness.* You are my completeness. My soul, my thirsty soul, can rest in the depths of your love. In you I find forgiveness. In you, I find release. It’s a wonder you take all the blunders I make and so graciously offer me peace. In you I find true friendship. Yes, your love is so free of demand. Though I must hurt you so, you keep letting me go to discover the person I am. Like a Father, you long to protect me. yet I know I must learn on my own. Well, I’ve made my own choice to follow your voice guiding me back to my home. You, you are my wholeness. You are my completeness. My soul, my thirsty soul, can rest in the depths of your love. The professor spoke with a thick German accent. It was one of the things that endeared him to the seminary community. As the days unfolded, we learned more of his life story. It included themes of oppression and sadness, of fear and brokenness, of courage in the face of danger, of the cold hard truth that where you are born and to whom you are born are a matter of life and death in many places of the world. His citizenship was very important to him, his citizenship in the U.S. and citizenship in God’s realm. He had chosen to follow Jesus. Jesus understood abundance and scarcity, hunger and thirst. Jesus knew about oppression and freedom. Jesus understood bigotry and discrimination and rejection. Jesus knew about health and wellness and being separated from family and loved ones, sometimes forever. Jesus knew that, though it may be hard to achieve, life on this earth can be a reflection of the kingdom of heaven. And that was his purpose. To open the hearts and minds of students and church folk to the greatest story ever told that they might claim it as he had, as their life’s purpose. For all the challenges he had faced, he set them aside to follow Jesus, in whom he found wholeness, freedom, and peace. You, you are my wholeness. You are my completeness. My soul, my thirsty soul can rest in the depths of your love. *Ray Salmond and Mike Mulder *Affirmation of Faith Apostles’ Creed p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 606 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication *Hymn 175 Seek Ye First *Blessing Go now, follow where Christ calls you and proclaim the message God gives you. Wait in hope for God. Avoid becoming bound up in the business of the world, but live in readiness for the Kingdom. And may God be your haven and your glory; may Christ Jesus give you courage for his mission; and may the Spirit enfold you in love. Amen. *Postlude *Call to Worship Amos 5
We are called to seek good and not evil, that we may live; and so that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with us. We are called to hate evil and love good, and establish justice. Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. We seek to be a people that embodies God’s justice. By the power of God at work within us, may it be so. *Hymn 307 God of Grace and God of Glory Prayer of the Day Almighty God, You sent Jesus to proclaim your kingdom and to teach with authority. Anoint us with your Spirit, that we too may bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captive; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Old Testament Reading 1 Samuel 3:1-10 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading John 1:43-51 The Morning Message 1968. It was both a good and bad year. My sister was born in 1968. We moved into a beautiful new home. The year saw violent demonstrations in many major cities in the US and across the globe. The focus of the US protests was the Vietnam War. It was also the year that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy were both assassinated. That was also the year I started junior high school. I went to Lincoln. Walked to and from every day. It wasn’t a problem. It was exciting. For years, I had watched the pretty junior high girls in my neighborhood walk to school in their Bass Weejuns and hose. I had finally arrived, wearing penny loafers and hose. And when I walked those new shoes through the doors of that school, my worldview would change. I would be in a community that included African American students. I had a lot to learn. The first lesson was about fear. Words of truth and hope, learned in Sunday School, ran through my head and heart. “Perfect love casts out fear.” And this…we may not love perfectly, but Jesus does and I could follow his example. So, my experience included both failure and success, but I count it all helpful. A lot has changed since then, thank goodness, but we have not yet completely healed the divisions caused by racism, or really, any “otherness.” This week commemorates both the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King and Holocaust Remembrance. It lifts up the ministry of MLK and activism of the American Civil Rights Movement and recalls the heinous attempt to annihilate the Jewish citizens, men, women, and children, of Europe. Six million Jews died during this most cruel regime. And I know we don’t like to think or talk about these things, we certainly don’t want to identify with them, for to do that is to make ourselves vulnerable to pain. But, I believe what makes us human is our ability to do just that…to have empathy-to feel what others feel. As I was reading the paper yesterday morning, I noticed two articles in particular. Both of them were describing social justice issues to be on the West Virginia Legislature’s agenda this session. They addressed the needs of vulnerable and voiceless people in West Virginia. People in desperate need of our empathy. One article focused on the foster care system and its inability to adequately serve the children and young people enrolled in it. The other issue was about the reality of human trafficking in our state and region. We really don’t hear much about this in our community, but, we were warned when vacationing in another city not long ago to be alert and cautious for our own safety, and to be aware of any signs that someone may be a victim of trafficking. These issues do not immediately seem to be related to MLK or the Holocaust, until we consider that those who are mistreated or trafficked are most often those who are already vulnerable, powerless, and non-white. I plan to follow any actions related to these concerns as the legislature meets over the next few months. Just a few years ago, our country was all churned up with discomfort and unrest. It seemed to come about following the death of George Floyd. Complicating things were the problems, frustrations, and grief of a world ravaged by Covid. The tone of so many conversations was , “Ain’t it awful that…” You can fill in the blanks. So many seemed angry and accusatory, full of suspicion and mistrust. I craved order and security, and peace. Maybe you did, too. Two years ago, just when I nearly gave in to pessimism and cynicism, a young woman appeared. And standing out in her yellow coat before thousands of people at the inauguration of President Biden, Amanda Gorman reminded me, and maybe some of you, that there is hope and there can be change for this country and maybe the world. Change had indeed already come to her. She was living, shining proof. Ms. Gorman is the first Youth Poet Laureate ever in the United States. She was born in Los Angeles and raised by a single mother, a sixth grade teacher. She was academically gifted and won a scholarship to Harvard University. She is both a poet and an activist, as is her twin sister, Gabrielle. But it wasn’t always an easy path for her. Amanda has an auditory processing disorder and is hyper-sensitive to sound. She spent years in speech therapy. She says her disability is also her gift, because being intensely focused on auditory and vocal processes made her really good at reading and writing. When she stood at the podium on Inauguration Day, we didn’t see all the struggles of her young life. But, we witnessed her poise, confidence, intelligence, skill, presence, artistry, and grace. We witnessed a young woman claiming her call. It’s a call that is still forming, but, we know she will be equipped to embrace it. When young Samuel was called by God, he didn’t even recognize God’s voice. Eli had to steer him in the right direction. We still read Samuel’s story and acknowledge the role he played in salvation history. When Jesus called the fishermen, he was calling them into a life of uncertainty and risk. But, they followed anyway, learned by Jesus’ side, and helped birth the early church. Their lives still influence us today. Hear me clearly as I make the next statement. The citizens of our land have been blessed by good leaders and harmed by others. Many people looked to the advocacy and spiritual work of Martin Luther King to bring about change for the vulnerable, the poor, the minority citizens of the US. Some saw this not as progress, but saw it as unwelcome revolution. Reasonable minds can disagree. Some time ago, the Office of General Assembly published a study guide for “Presbyterians in Times of Disagreement.” It recognizes that Presbyterians, and all Christians, are called upon to pay attention to changes in church and culture that tend to divide rather than unite reasonable people of faith. The document offers strategies for moving from impasse and hostility to a rational and mutually acceptable outcome even at times of strident debate and polarization. Such things give me hope that one day we will be ready to make peace in our land. So, with a new year’s hope, from a fresh mind and in a positive spirit, I offer you the words today of Amanda Gorman for the New Year: May this be the day We come together Mourning , we come to mend, Withered, we come to weather, Torn, we come to tend, Battered, we come to better, Tethered by this year of yearning, We are learning That though we aren’t ready for this, We have been readied by it. We steadily vow that no matter How we are weighed down, We must always pave a way forward. This hope is our door, our portal, Even if we never get back to normal. Some day we can venture beyond it, To leave the known and take first steps. So let us not return to normal, But reach toward what is next. What was cursed, we will cure, What was plagued, we will prove pure, Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree, Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we forsee. Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awke. Those moments we missed, Are now these moments we make, The moments we meet, And our hearts, all together beaten, Now altogether beat. Come look up with kindness yet. For even solace can be sourced from sorrow. We remember not just for the sake of yesterday, But to take on tomorrow. We heed this old spirit, In a new days’ lyric, In our hearts we hear it, For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. Be bold, sang Time this year, Be bold, sang time. For when you honor yesterday, Tomorrow ye will find. Know what we’ve fought, Need not be forgot for none. It defines us, binds us as one, Come over, join this day just begun,. For wherever we come together, We will forever overcome. May that be our hope and our intention in the year ahead. Amen. *Affirmation of Faith (from A Brief Statement of Faith) We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Alleluia. Amen. *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Holy One, as we have called for your justice to roll down like waters, we are painfully aware that many in our nation and in the wider world have never or rarely known justice and righteousness. As we pause to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we admit that the issues of racism are far from resolved. Most of us will never know the hurts and offences and even violence our brothers and sisters have suffered their whole lives long. Our experiences have been very different. Save us from contributing to their pain and all the offenses born of discrimination and the de-valuing of others. Help us to walk some miles in their shoes that we might be your faithful children seeking understanding. We pray for that day when we are all truly at peace with the differences in color, race, culture, gender, orientation, and any human attribute that can be used as a weapon against another. Forgive us for our failures and fill us with strength and conviction to live after the manner of Jesus Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve, We make our prayer and petitions in Jesus’ name, saying, Our Father…Amen. Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 607 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication Gracious God, we are so aware of the abundance of gifts you have provided. We know, too, the great joy of sharing those gifts with others. As we offer our tithes and offerings this day, prompt us to commit more than dollars, but also those gifts you have written on our hearts- gifts meant to announce peace and understanding to the world. In the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus, Amen. *Hymn 644 Give Thanks, O Christian People *Blessing Go now. Listen for the voice of the Lord and follow wherever it leads. Do not be dominated by anything. Allow no room within yourself for deceit, but offer yourself as a temple for the Holy Spirit. And may God be with you and speak through you; may Christ Jesus be one with you and raise you to new life; and may the Holy Spirit dwell in you richly. Amen. *Postlude Prelude
*Call to Worship Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Nations shall come to your light and rulers to the brightness of your rising. *Hymn 143 Angels From the Realms of Glory Prayer Eternal God, A thousand years in your sight are like a watch in the night. as you have led us in days past, so guide us now and always, that our hearts may learn to choose your will, and new resolves be strengthened. Forgive what we have done that denies our devotion to you. and forgive us for failing to do kindness in your name. Set us free to love and serve you in this new year, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen. *Hymn Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness Romans 8:34 Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. The old life is gone and a new life has begun. This is our peace. Amen. Old Testament Reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Matthew 2:13-23 The Morning Message Her first Madame Alexander doll. A soft-bodied creation, the right size for almost one-year-old Freya to hold and cuddle. A Lego village with at least 800 pieces. A telescope, safely packed in a box the size of a small piano. They all sit in our living room this morning because they didn’t make it to their Christmas destinations. The weather and illness and blended family arrangements have played havoc with our plans to visit children and grandchildren. We’re trying to let it go…we will see them soon. And we’ve learned over time to be content with what is. And we have many pleasures of the season to enjoy and are most thankful for the blessings which have come our way. So, thank you for the beautiful Christmas Eve service. All of you willing to change your own plans long enough to come here and read scripture and sing and light candles. To attest to our faith in God’s only Son, Jesus, and claim his light as our own. All day long on the 23rd and 24th, I received texts and calls from church and neighbors and family reporting various problems being encountered due to the severe winter weather. On Christmas Eve I joked that some of you deserved extra credit for coming out on such a frightfully cold night, knowing you would be returning to a cold house or a cold house with frozen water pipes or a cold house with frozen water pipes and no electricity. But, for those moments together, all was calm, all was bright. In the moments following Jesus’ birth, all was calm, all was bright. The gospel writers have told us that Mary swaddled and fed her newborn son with tender care and Joseph guarded their safety. Stabled beasts and grazing sheep filled the place with pungent warmth. Lowing cattle and cooing doves sang lullabies to the newborn babe, a straw-filled manger for his bed. And all was calm. All was bright. But, not for long. Just a few days after singing Silent Night, the glow of candlelight on our faces, we come to Matthew’s story of terror and furtive flight. The world into which Jesus is born is full of brokenness. The stain of human sin is all over the world God created and called “good.” Real life involves pain and suffering. Not one of us is spared. Evil is real and every generation faces a Herod or two. Back in December of 2013, the world watched with horror the atrocities taking place in Syria. The war produced record numbers of refugees…people fleeing for their lives. According to Unicef, one Syrian baby was born in a refugee camp every hour. The weather was bitterly cold and an outbreak of polio further threatened everyone. The need for medical care, food, clothing, and shelter overwhelmed relief organizations. More than one million Syrian children in that year were declared refugees. Children. Children whose grandparents might have given them presents in some other year. Children whose parents and grandparents may have taught them to sing carols or entrusted little hands to place the Christ child in the family nativity set. When all was calm and all was bright. Rachel wept for the children of Israel. Who is weeping now? Pastor Sharon Blezard says in a sense, we are all refugees…aliens in a foreign land, a place that is not our ultimate home. Years ago, at the Beverly Hills Church, one of the beloved members instructed me that the song he wanted sung at his funeral was “This World is Not My Home.” I assured him that this world had benefitted by his presence and not to plan on leaving it anytime soon. He complied but we did eventually have to let him go to that other world, to the tune of his requested song. The truth is, he had it right. We, who call ourselves Christian, are citizens of that other realm as surely as we are citizens of this one. We dwell in tension between discipleship and culture, faith and fantasy…the temporal and the eternal. Such is the story of faith. Jesus escaped the death Herod sought for him. Thank you, God. But, the powers of the Roman Empire and the powerful religious leaders of his day would seek to destroy Jesus for the duration of his brief life. Sharon Blezard reminds us that most of us have some insulation against the harshness of life. We have family, or work, or a faith community to support us. Jesus, as far as we know, never married. Although his mother, Mary, seems to have been present for the entirety of his life, we hear precious little of a relationship with Joseph, the man who raised him, taught him the faith and a trade. We don’t think Jesus had any children and we know he owned no property and depended on the hospitality of others food room and board. Jesus, we are told, had no place to lay his head. And yet, this infant king we celebrate, who grew in wisdom and stature, full of grace and truth, was God incarnate. The Savior of the world, Emmanuel, God-with-us, walking around in skin and bones. He modeled a way of life that lifted up the refugees and dispossessed, the needy, the un-loved and the un-lovely, all to usher in the reign of peace. Jesus established the kingdom of heaven right here on the earth…laid out for us the possibility that all un-holy terrors of might and fright may be vanquished by selfless love and sacrifice. So, on this first Sunday after Christmas, as we sit among the season’s beauty, we acknowledge the reality of sin, and the plight of today’s refugees at all the borders of safety and security. Cry for the children…and their mothers and fathers. Lament harsh and cruel treatment of the vulnerable. Decry and protest it. But don’t stop there. Then bow your knee, your head, and your heart, and hold out your hand. God will fill you with purpose and power and praise for the Word made flesh, who came that we might live, not only for Christmas and its innumerable blessings, but for its Christ. *Hymn 147 The First Nowell, verses 1 and 2 *Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings *Hymn 607 Doxology Offertory *Prayer of Dedication *Hymn The First Nowell, verses 5 and 6 *Blessing Go now, and bear witness to the light so others might believe. Since you are chosen in Christ, live before him in love, holy and blameless. Live with hope in Christ, for the praise of his glory. And may God fill the earth with peace; may Christ give you grace upon grace from his fullness; and may the Holy Spirit, the pledge of your inheritance, lead you on straight paths where you will not stumble. Amen. Laughingbird.net *Postlude Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship Shout for joy The whole earth, and everything within. Rejoice! For Light has come into the world. The mountains sing, the seas resound to the praise of your name. Salvation once promised is here on earth. The angels’ song rings in the air, a child has been born, Hallelujah! The Savior of the world is here. *Hymn 132 Good Christian Friends, Rejoice! *Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed p. 35 Prayer Robert Louis Stevenson Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise ones. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts. May this Christmas morning make us happy to be your children, and this Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. Scripture Reading John 1:1-18 p. 1613 Time With Our Young Disciples Celebrating the Sacrament of Communion Invitation to the Table Words of Institution Great Prayer of Thanksgiving Distribution of the Elements Prayer after Communion Empower us by your Spirit, O God, to be Christ’s presence in the world even as Jesus was God-with-us. Give us courage to speak his truth, to seek his justice, and to love with his love. Keep us faithful in your service until Christ comes in final victory and we shall feast with all your saints in the joy of your eternal realm. Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen. *Hymn 145 What Child Is This? Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Christmas Doxology *Prayer of Dedication Reading and Ringing “Ring Out, Wild Bells!” Alfred Lord Tennyson Everyone is invited to choose a bell, or more than one, and come to the Main Street entrance of the church. Bundle up! *Blessing Go now, and be enthusiastic agents of Christ’s hope, peace, joy, and love this day and always. Amen. Prelude Placing the Christ Child in the Manger
Lighting of the Christ Candle The Seay Family *Call to Worship O sing to the Lord a new song! Tell of God’s salvation from day to day. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. God is to be feared above all gods. Worship the Lord in holy array; tremble before God all the earth. Honor and majesty are before God; strength and beauty are in God’s sanctuary. *O Come, All Ye Faithful O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant; O come, ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of angels. O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest! O come, let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! Lesson One Genesis 3:8-15, 17-19 p. 4 The Dennison Family Carol O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Lesson Two Genesis 22:15-18 p. 30 Carol The First Noel Lesson Three Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 p. 1028 The Moore Family Carol It Came Upon the Midnight Clear Lesson Four Isaiah 11:1-4a, 6-9 p. 1032 Carol O Little Town of Bethlehem Lesson Five Luke 1:26-35 p. 1557 Steve and Karen Gold Carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Lesson Six Luke 2:1-7 p. 1560 Carol Away in a Manger Lesson Seven Luke 2:8-16 p. 1560 The True Family Carol Joy to the World Lesson Eight Matthew 2:1-11 p. 1469 Carol Gentle Mary Laid Her Child Lesson Nine John 1:1-14 p.1613 Carol In the Bleak Midwinter Robin McComas and Cinda Harkless Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer Lighting Our Candles from the Christ Candle The God who said, “Let there be light,” has caused that light to shine upon us in the birth of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Blessed by his life of love and grace, we light our candles so that light may be borne out into the world. *Silent Night Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright. ‘Round yon virgin Mother and Child! Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing, “Alleluia! Christ the Savior is born. Christ the Savior is born!” Silent night, holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Silent night, holy night! Wondrous star, lend thy light; With the angels let us sing Alleluia to our King; Christ the Savior is born; Christ the Savior is born. *Blessing May the blessings of the Newborn King be yours this night and always. *Postlude Prelude
Lighting the Advent Wreath, the Candle of Love The True Family *Hymn 133 O Come, All Ye Faithful Prayer God of grace, You chose the Virgin Mary, full of grace, to be the mother of our Lord and Savior. Though we have sinned and failed both you and our neighbors, we place ourselves before you in penitence, that you may fill us with your grace. Like Mary, may we rejoice in your salvation, and in all things, embrace your will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. This is our Good News. This is our peace. Alleluia! Amen. First Reading Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Morning Message “We are all called to be Mothers of God, for God is always waiting to be born.” These are the words of Meister Eckart, 13th century philosopher. Theologian Nancy Rockwell says, “She enters our Decembers with an angel, gloriously winged, who honors her. The moment is spellbinding. We are entranced by the arrival of this woman, Mary, on the stage of Christmas and in the story of God.” I’ve spent considerable time lately looking at images of Mary-paintings, sculptures, old and archived, new and freshly created in photographs, digital art, and in a gazillion pictures on Pinterest. I’ve researched the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters, the Met’s museum of medieval art. I was looking for a special sculpture I saw while visiting the Cloisters years ago. It was mounted on a wall. I was surprised by it and stood before it for a long time. Baby Jesus, plump and content, in the arms of his young, laughing mother. There is an endless inventory of human interpretations of the central female figure of the Christian faith, the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, the one that some like to call, “the God-bearer.” The images come in all forms and shapes: Marys representing the world’s races and cultures. I have a collection of nativity sets. I didn’t unpack all of them this year. There were no little ones visiting this year, no one whose eyes might light up in wonder. No one, asking with their eyes, if it’s ok to touch. But, I did unpack a few. I’m always on alert for new ones or old ones that show up in new places. One day I was browsing the Habitat for Humanity Restore and spied a tiny nativity. I recognized the small unfired clay figures, hand-painted, and distinctively Peruvian. I have a few of the same type at home. I love the simple form and the expressions on the tiny faces. They were a mix of uncertainty and mirth. And that’s one definition of joy for me: uncertainty and mirth. Surprise. Kind of like a bride and groom on their wedding day-excited, eager, a little uncomfortable in their formal clothes, expectations high, taking a courageous step into a season, a lifetime we hope, that is largely unknown. A step that is motivated and empowered and energized by love. Surprised by Joy: the Shape of My Early Life, is the title of C. S. Lewis’s autobiography. Lewis’s purpose in writing this book was not primarily historical. It was to identify and describe the events surrounding his accidental discovery of, and consequent search for, the phenomenon he labled, “Joy.” “Joy” was his best translation of the German word, sehnsucht, or longing, in English. This joy was so intensely good and so ecstatic it could not be explained in words. He just knew it when it happened. He says he was struck with what he called “stabs of joy” throughout his life. Lewis eventually discovers the true nature of joy, born of the unconditional love of God. This discovery leads to an overwhelming conversion experience from atheism to Christianity. Lewis writes that this sense of joy is like a signpost to those lost in the woods, pointing the way, and that its appearance is not as important “when we have found the road and are passing signposts every few miles.” Lewis’s life was consumed by learning, though he did participate in civic endeavors. He also served in the armed forces as a young man. His mother gave him a love of reading. She taught him Latin at a young age. He was devastated by her death when he was only nine years old. In his late teens, he shed the Christianity in which he had been raised, studied widely, and declared himself to be an atheist. But, still, there was something unresolved troubling him. He continued his quest for joy. He called it the “inconsolable longing for the real Desirable.” As a child, his joy came though reading, writing, and drawing. In his youth, he discovered Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Norse mythology. As he matured, he realized that pleasure did not equate with joy, neither physical nor aesthetic, nor music, poetry, or intellectual gratification. Lewis studied in public and private schools, eventually studying with a private teacher in preparation for Oxford. His teacher, Mr. Kirkpatrick, was an atheist, a rationalist, and a logician. Under his tutelage, Lewis read great works in their original languages. It was a dear friend, Arthur, who urged him to read books written in English. He read the Brontes, Jane Austin, Donne, Milton, Spenser, Yeats, and others, including George MacDonald. He began to revise some of his worldviews. Ultimately, George MacDonald, the Scottish author and theologian, gave him glimpses of something other than the material world, the world that is neither seen nor felt but stirs in the human heart. “Unde hoc mihi.” Unfamiliar with that phrase? Me, too. It’s Latin. I had to look it up and found this meaning: “And whence is this to me?” Or, “And why is this granted to me?” These are the very words exclaimed by Elizabeth upon Mary’s arrival at her home. Surprised by joy. As Mary was surprised, honored, and yet terrified, not quite believing that God should come to her, conceive his Son through her, bear a Savior into the world through her body and through her humility. She asks, “And why is this granted to me?” Lewis writes, “As I was reading, two-thirds into George MacDonald’s autobiography, these words leapt out: “Unde hoc mihi?” And why is this granted to me? In the depth of my intellect, all this was given to me without asking, even without consent.” Just like Elizabeth. Just like Mary. Lewis describes this moment, this epiphany, as “holiness.” He was converted from atheism to belief in God. Lewis said he was the “ most reluctant convert in all England.” He hated authority, he had a deep need for independence, and was unsure of the one he called, “the Transcendental Interferer.” To accept the Incarnation brought God near. He wasn’t so sure he wanted God all that close. But when Lewis finally came to faith, he said he submitted to divine humility, the Incarnation, Emmauel. God with us. Born in humility and love. I learned of Lewis’s story first in the beautiful and stirring movie, “Shadowlands.” Here was a man whose life had been devoted to intellectual pursuits. A bachelor of many years. If he had once believed in God, he had set that belief aside, probably a result of his mother’s death. Like many of us, Lewis may have concluded that getting close to others involved way too much risk, too much pain. But, when God pried his heart open, he found the earthly example of God’s love for us: the love of another. In Lewis’s case, it was Joy Davidman, an American author, whom he married. Their time together was much too short, but, for a time, Clive Staples Lewis knew and lived and celebrated love. C.S. Lewis is often quoted in Christian circles. He was known for his prolific writing in defense of the faith, and, of course, the Narnia stories enjoyed by all ages. The words are beautiful and poignant. I looked for an appropriate quote for this day, the fourth Sunday in Advent, the Sunday of Love: Here is what I found: “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” The Last Battle” (1956) May you all find that stable this year. Merry Christmas. Amen. *Affirmation of Faith From A Brief Statement of Faith We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God, preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick, and building up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Special Presentation Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn Christmas Doxology (insert) *Prayer of Dedication In gratitude for grace given, we offer our thanks and praise. For this season and all its blessings. For life and health and family and friends, we give you thanks. For the witness of this congregation thru the generations. for the love and support of one another, for the privilege of reaching out to others in Jesus’ name, for the work of our denomination in the Christmas Joy Offering, and the ministry of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, in relieving suffering near and far. In all these things, we lift our voices, prepare our homes, welcome loved ones, and show kindness to those in need. In the name of Jesus, coming to us as a helpless babe, who died that we might live. Amen. *Hymn 119 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! *Blessing Go now, and celebrate God’s love all your days. Give to Christ Jesus the obedience of faith, offering yourself as the servant of the Lord and allowing God’s Word to be fulfilled in you. And may the only wise God establish you forever. May the mysteries of Christ be conceived within you. And may the Holy Spirit strengthen and encircle you. Amen. *Hymn 92 While We Are Waiting, Come verse 1 While we are waiting, come. While we are waiting, come. Jesus, our Lord, Emmanuel. While we are waiting, come. *Postlude |
PastorCinda Harkless Archives
July 2024
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