Don't Just Stand There, Easter 7, May 28, 2017

Seventh Week of Easter (Year A)

Sunday, May 28, 2017

We may grieve—and rightly so—the changes and leave-takings that come with being in community. This relationship stuff is risky business. Yet Jesus’ ascension reminds us there is something deeper at work in such times, something that not only carries us through the changes but also uses them to transform us and to bless the body of Christ. In the midst of every loss and change, the presence of Christ persists, shaping his community anew and calling us to blessing and joy.

– Jan Richardson, the Painted Prayerbook

Theme: Don't Just Stand There

Reflection: “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

No wonder Jesus didn’t answer his disciples’ question directly. What could he have said in the few minutes before he was lifted up into a cloud, disappearing before their eyes?

Who knows how long his disciples stood there, staring at the sky where their Savior ascended, the way preschoolers forlornly watch lost helium balloons disappear. Wondering what this Holy Spirit, the Advocate Jesus had promised them, would look like. Hoping it would be moments, rather than months or years, before this promised Helper would show up. Trying to decide if they should wait there and watch for a while, just in case.

Transitions can be painful. Goodbyes are tough on our hearts. It’s easy to get stuck in denial, looking up, down, inside or back … anywhere but forward. I imagine the disciples speechless, filled with disbelief, their faces saying what their voices could not: “Did he just leave us again?”

Suddenly, two men in white robes stood with them: “What are you doing, guys? Are you just going to stand here? You have work to do.”

Each of today’s lessons describes a time of disbelief for God’s people. The Ascension, the Exodus, the persecution of the early Church, the Last Supper. Times that felt raw in the moment, but were thresholds, liminal times for God’s people. The Eternal acting, then deliberately distant for a time. Leaving us wondering why our loving, empowering Lord would draw back from us.

We are in the midst of Ascensiontide. It is the seventh and final Sunday of Easter, and the final echo of “Christ Is Risen – He Is Risen Indeed” sounds in worship today. Christ has ascended and soon we’ll be surprised again by the Spirit’s arrival on Pentecost.

Truth be told, never is God nearer to us than in our threshold times. Silent, perhaps. Quietly watching us take our next steps. Will we sit back and let the powers of this world – doubt, fear, evil and death – have the next move? Or do we know it’s our turn to run with joy, hope and courage, spreading this Good News of love and light everywhere God leads us?

Will we be the ones that realize the disciples’ final question should have been, “Lord, is this the time you’ve prepared us for – the time when, by your power, WE will restore the Kingdom?”

The Seventh Sunday after Easter … Let’s just call it “the Sunday of GO!”

READY? (Yes! God will restore, support, strengthen and establish you!)

SET? (Yes! Why are you still looking up at heaven? the angels asked. Get moving!)

GO!!!

Now run! … wherever God is calling you. Don’t delay – the Holy Spirit will catch up to you before you know it!

(You always are welcome to respond with your thoughts and reflections in the comments section at the bottom of this post.) 

Faith App:  Rise and Shine -- carry a bit of Jesus’ ascension with you as you rise to whatever God is calling you to do, and shine with love and light, glorifying our Lord.

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing! ELW 393

You Servants of God, ELW 825

Lord, You Give the Great Commission, ELW 579

Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds, ELW 367

Rise, O Church, like Christ Arisen, ELW 548

We Know That Christ Is Raised, ELW 449

I Come with Joy, ELW 482

God of Grace, and God of Glory, ELW 705

Same Power, Jeremy Camp

Magnify, We Are Messengers

Be Glorified, Chris Tomlin

Cast My Cares, Finding Favour

Everything Glorious, David Crowder Band

LESSONS

Acts 1:6-14 Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 Sing to God … lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds.

1Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed.

John 17:1-11 Jesus said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.”

Summary of the Lessons: We can’t stand around, looking up into heaven, waiting. God has given us work to do in the world, work that we were suited and made to do. Ready or not, it is time to get busy. Jesus has rejoined his Father in glory. We are now the body of Christ in the world, living to glorify Jesus with our very lives and actions.

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

L:  Christ is Risen!

C: He Is Risen Indeed!

L:  Lift God’s name on high, all you people!

C:  Those opposing the Eternal One scatter in fear.

L:  The Lord’s power drives away pretenders,

C:  But the people of God celebrate with great joy!

L:  Sing out in praise to the ruler of the heavens!

C:  The Lord is dwelling among us, and justice prevails.

L:  Orphans and widows now welcomed into families;

C:  Those in prison and poverty find freedom at last.

L:  You led Israel from captivity into the wilderness,

C:  Earthquakes and floods announcing your arrival.

L:  You showered the earth, healing what was barren; 

C:  Your gift to the people – a heritage and homeland.

L:  Sing to God – join in rich harmony, people of Earth.

C:  Praise the Majestic One who has a voice of thunder;

L:  Praise the Holy One, filled with strength and glory.

C:  Grant us power to restore your kingdom in this place.

CONFESSION

L:  Lord, we confess our self-reliance when things go well;

C:  We fail to stay in prayer, and take credit for success;

L:  But blame you quickly for our pain and misfortune.

C:  Let God rise up, as we humble ourselves to you.

L:  Lord, we admit our challenges feel far more important,

C:  Than protecting God’s homeless and helpless ones;

L:  Looking away is much easier than getting involved.

C:  Let Jesus rise up, and may our love make us one.

L:  Lord, we confess we keep our eyes fixed on heaven,

C:  Our hopes pinned on your promise of everlasting life;

L:  Ignoring our call to share your kingdom with all people.

C:  Let the Spirit rise in us, so our lives bring you glory.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … you’ve given us the power and strength to carry on our Lord’s work. But we’re really good at looking inward and upward, instead of outward to love all your people as you loved them. Help us to stay alert to the ways your Spirit is calling us to continue the work of Jesus the Christ: loving, teaching and caring for your people. Make us one with each other, healing our divisions, so we can work together to glorify you.

Here is Good News: Today’s readings are full of promises. Listen to just one of them: the God of all grace will restore, support, strengthen and establish you. God will prepare you and give you what you need for the work you are called to do. Cast all your anxieties on the Eternal One, who cares for you and gives you what you need. You are forgiven and lifted up, released for the good work God has called you to do in the body of Christ.

In the name …

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  Empowering God … we thank you for revealing yourself to us, equipping us and entrusting us to continue your work in this world. You’ve provided your people with different gifts to support, strengthen, establish and restore your Church in this place and to the ends of the earth. Help us to be one body, united in the name of Jesus the Christ, so our service and love for all people glorifies you.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the unity in this meal, this body of Christ joined together at this table to be fed and reconciled to each other and you.  Send us now from this place, overflowing with your glory, so we will reflect you in acts of mercy, love and justice, in our community and to the ends of the earth.  Amen. 

SENDING

L:  One more time: Christ is Risen!

C:  He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

L:  We are Christ’s body in the world –

C:  Revealing God’s love everywhere we go!

L: Go now, continuing Jesus’ work, to love and to serve the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God!

First Reading Acts 1:6-14 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The disciples spent 40 days of preparation after the resurrection, choosing another apostle, hearing more wisdom, and joining into one body ready to spread the Good News. Jesus had told them he could remain only for a little while.

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹ They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³ When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Second Reading 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The early Church, throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, had years of persecution from the local established traditions – including Jews, pagans, polytheists and others. The writer of 1 Peter encouraged them to endure.

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel John 17:1-11 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Parts of the High Priestly Prayer in John 17 are read on the final Sunday of Easter in three consecutive years. In a section not read this year, Jesus prays not just for these disciples, but also for future believers, including us!

17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

⁶ “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸ for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Divine Intimacy, Easter 6, May 21, 2017

Sixth Week of Easter (Year A)

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Coming to faith is analogous to falling in love. One cannot fall in love in the abstract. Love comes through an encounter with another person. The same is true of faith. If faith is a relationship with the living Christ and the living God who sent him, then faith can only come through an encounter with them. And the Spirit is the one who makes this presence known.

– Craig R. Koester, Luther Seminary

Theme: Divine Intimacy

Reflection:  For most of my life, my job description could be summed up in one word – Advocate.

As a reporter, my richest story lines involved advocacy. By telling the narratives of deaths on an unsafe road, insufficient affordable housing, kids’ services that were missing the mark, or families financially abusing their elders, attention was focused on services for these populations.

I didn’t see my transition into social services coming, but looking back, I was being prepared for it for 15 years at the newspaper. I learned how to research, how to question policies and practices, which people and agencies were ground-breakers, and who were the underserved people of the community.

Jesus told the disciples that his Father would send another Advocate. Jesus, the initial Advocate, came alongside the poor and powerless, the disenfranchised and despairing, the hurting and hopeless. He taught his disciples to become advocates too. And the Spirit, abiding with and in us, encourages us to be advocates, too.

Did I say encourages us?

The Spirit, she shoves us. Drags us, sometimes kicking and screaming, into our roles as advocates. She’s one fierce, determined wind.

Your Spirit-blown advocacy doesn’t look like mine. We all were differently created and gifted for the Spirit to act on us.

My aunt is moved by animal advocacy. She transports dogs for a rescue organization. Another friend raises money to ensure local students have meals over the weekend. Another is empowered to work with veterans, still others with disabled children and adults.

Paul understood this. Can you hear the Spirit blowing through “he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though indeed he is not far from each one of us.”

The life and breath of some people at my church arrives in worship and music, and to others in service and hospitality. But Spirit is not far from each of them.

The writer of the Epistle was filled with the gift of encouragement to Christians being persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. Keep doing what you are doing, the writer urges, and let your lives be a Spirit-led testimony of our Lord. And Jesus promised that the disciples would soon receive the gift of the Spirit, following his resurrection and ascension. If they had any clue what that Pentecost day would look like, and how it would turn their lives upside down, they would have run and not looked back, but on this night, Jesus’ promise of another Advocate was reassuring.

Today’s lessons not only announce the imminent arrival of the Spirit, they also dispel the separation some believers picture between us and the three persons of the Trinity. This is no unknown God, Paul says, “indeed, he is not far from each one of us.”

The Psalmist praises God who truly listens and acts on our prayers. In 1 Peter, the writer says Christ suffered “in order to bring you to God.” A marvelous picture of reconciliation – closing the gap between God and us. And in Jesus’ words, John weaves Source, Son and Spirit together with us. You know the Spirit, Jesus says, “because he [sic] abides with you, and he will be in you.” Then, Jesus connects the rest of the Godhead with us: “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

God doesn’t dwell at a distance “light-years away,” as Marty Haugen wrote in a favorite opening hymn, “Gather Us In.” No, God is abiding “here in this place,” every place Spirit blows us to advocate and celebrate, worship and love.

(You always are welcome to respond with your thoughts and reflections in the comments section at the bottom of the blog post.) 

Faith App:  When you come alongside someone as an advocate, speaking truth and sharing love, the Spirit is abiding with you. Reveal God to the world, one person at a time, as you do what the Spirit leads you to do.

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

Gather Us In, ELW 532

Come Down, O Love Divine, ELW 804

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus, ELW 392 (vs. 2 would make a great hymn of praise or closing verse)

Come, Thou Almighty King, ELW 408

Go, My Children, with My Blessing, ELW 543

God Is Here, ELW 526

Come, Ye Disconsolate, ELW 607

Rise, O Church, like Christ Arisen, ELW 548

We Know That Christ Is Raised, ELW 449

More Than You Think I Am, Danny Gokey

You Are I Am, Mercy Me

Here With Me, MercyMe

In the Secret, Sonicflood

Show Me Your Glory, Third Day

LESSONS

Acts 17:22-31 The God who made the world and everything in it … does not live in shrines.

Psalm 66:8-20 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of God’s praise be heard.

1 Peter 3:13-22 Jesus went through it all – was put to death and then made alive – to bring us to God.

John 14:15-21 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me.

Summary of the Lessons: God is not in shrines or buildings. Not some unknown god in some heaven far away, but close to each one of us, in a personal relationship. We were made to seek God, to continue on the path to searching and finding God revealing Godself to us, and loving and revealing God’s love to others. Once we are in relationship, we can’t help but love.

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 66:8-20

L:  Christ Is Risen!

C:  He Is Risen, Indeed!

L:  Bless the one true God, O people of the earth,

C:  Shout for joy -- let your praises rise to the sky!

L:  To the One keeping us safe on the high road;

C:  Eternal Friend, beside us from first step to last.

L:  In the refiner’s fire you’ve tested us, O God;

C:  We fell into traps and struggled with our loads.

L:  People ran us down, even crushed our spirits,

C:  Fires and floods raged, but you pulled us through.

L:  When I was desperate, I made promises galore,

C:  Now that you rescued me, I’m keeping my word.

L:  My dearest possessions, the finest of my livestock,

C:  I bring them to your altar, in dedication to you.

L:  Here’s what’s been done for me, listen to my account,

C:  Almighty God heard my heartfelt cries, came to my aid.

L:  I expected to be ignored, or even rejected for my sin,

C:  But, unbelievable as it sounds, God drew nearer to me.

CONFESSION

L:  We bring our words of worship and songs of praise,

C:  To this holy sanctuary where we’ve heard you abide,

L:  But you’ve left our shrines, preferring our living temples.

C:  Forgive us, Lord, and reveal yourself to our searching eyes.

L:  We live at arm’s distance, disguising our fears,

C:  Hiding our questions, our burdens and cries,

L:  But Easter replaces our hopelessness with hope,

C:  Center us, Lord, and settle gently in our anxious hearts.

L:  We are God’s children, offspring of a common past,

C:  Shared world and desires shaped by the Divine,

L:  But fractured and flawed, from households to humankind.

C:  Restore us, Lord, and send healing to our broken lives.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … we confess that we struggle with the mystery of who you are. We search and grope to see you and know you. Our words are inadequate to explain that the One who gives us life and breath, the Maker of the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, also can listen to our cries and dwell within us. Allow us to live the questions, revealing yourself to us as we continue this journey.

Hear this Good News: If we had to explain God perfectly to be accepted as God’s children, none of us would pass the test. Fortunately, faith is our hope in a God too great to explain, and so basic even children can grasp “God is Love.” Today, just rest in God who abides with and in you. Don’t overthink it – simply feel and know it from your heart. You are God’s beloved child, forgiven and set free to love like God loves.

In the name of God the Creator, God our brother Jesus, and God the Spirit who comes alongside us.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  God so near us … we pray with thanksgiving for your promise to be with us always. You’ve never left us orphaned; you have been and will be with us forever as our Creator, as our brother Jesus, and as the Spirit of truth. Keep revealing yourself to us as we seek to know you, groping to find you, only to discover you are as near as our breath, steadfast as our heartbeats.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for your constant presence in this bread, the intimate relationship in this cup.  Here at this table, your Spirit of truth surrounds us in our community of faith, our commitment to justice and compassion for our community and world. Send us out, not orphaned, but one with your Spirit, to come alongside others and show them your love. Amen. 

SENDING

L:  Do not fear as the world fears,

C:  Be bold – the Spirit lives in you!

L:  You are full of truth, full of grace,

C:  Share the Spirit everywhere you go!

L: Go now, filled with hope, to love and to serve the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God!

First Reading Acts 17:22-31 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: This is one of Paul’s only talks to an all Gentile audience. In Athens, Paul plays on the Greek shrines to gods, their attention to all things new and different, and their belief in their higher intelligence as he tries to get their attention.

²² Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. ²³ For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. ²⁶ From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷ so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,

‘For we too are his offspring.’

²⁹ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. ³⁰ While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Second Reading 1 Peter 3:13-22 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Following Christ in the late first century has no resemblance to following Christ today. Followers of the Way were apt to be criticized, bullied and tortured by the Roman occupation force, their families, and the Jews around them. Hold onto your hope, the writer says.

¹³ Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, ¹⁵ but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; ¹⁶ yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. ²¹ And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Gospel John 14:15-21 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Continuing with his farewell to his disciples, Jesus promises the disciples they will have a future together. Yes, he said, he will die. Yes, he will return to his Father. But never again will they (or we) be left alone.

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷ This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹ In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”