Episodios
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This is a special musical presentation of True Light! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with a solo by Christopher Lewis at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
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¿Faltan episodios?
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We are doing many things in our worship service today. Each one is a different celebration. It is important in our community of faith to recognize those things that we can celebrate. Celebrations can also remind us of what we can be thankful for.
We give thanks to God for our music staff and all that they do celebrate the gifts of all those who are called to participate in our music program. This is what the community of faith is about, sharing our gifts to the glory of God. Music can bring us closer to God in Jesus Christ. Music also proclaims the good news. Many times, in rehearsal Deb has said to preach what we are singing.
Music is an offering to God. We practice and practice and then we offer in worship to the best of our ability, the gifts we have been given. It is not considered a performance. Here is a good place to bring the Holy Spirit in as we rely on the Holy Spirit in our offering, to bring the message clearly home.
I believe we also have many singing with us today in the heavenly choir. Especially today, we can remember Walter and his many years that he sang in the choir. Many of you will also remember others who have participated in our music program who are in heaven continuing to worship and praise our triune God.
Today we also recognize our graduates. People who have been working on their education and continue to do so. We celebrate their gifts today and the gifts that God has given them to share with us and our neighbor. Once again the Holy Spirit is alive and active in their lives. We pray that as they continue their journey in the pursuit of education and experience that the Holy Spirit would continually remind them of Jesusâ love for them and that this community of faith is here to continue supporting them.
Today we also celebrate the Affirmation of Baptism of 3 of our youth. We go back and forth on calling it confirmation or affirmation of baptism. It is all the same as the confirmands are confirming their relationship with Jesus Christ and affirming this relationship that began at baptism. In class we have studied this year the sacraments, Reformation, Advent & Christmas, the Old Testament and the New Testament. We did a retreat at Stony Lake, where we did all of the Holy Week services.
I canât forget to mention one of their favorite things to do, worship notes. Thank you for doing them as it helps me to see if what I have said in my sermons came across. Thankfully it seems that I have been getting the message across as what I read in their notes is what I said.
This past week we met with Calvin, Raymond, and Jasper and they shared with Pam, myself and their parents how they relate to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your sharing your faith with us. They also shared the Bible verse that they chose for today and told us why. Thank you.
This is what is important, to see if the material we learned relates to their lives. The sharing they did was an opportunity for them to put their faith into words. Jesus calls each one of us to share our faith wherever we are on our faith journey. We hope that they will continue to share their faith and gifts here in our community in our ministries.
Yes, today is Pentecost where we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. We also call it the birthday of the Christian church. The story of Pentecost truly describes the church that Jesus was teaching about.
Jewish people gathered from all over to celebrate the giving of the Torah (the ten commandments, the law) to Moses. God picked this time as it was a scheduled celebration. Yet there were so many people who had come from different cultures and spoke different languages. How was this going to work? Jesus had prayed for the church to be one.
Too often we have equated oneness with thinking and feeling exactly the same way. Sometimes when this doesnât happen we can feel uncomfortable, anxious and often defensive. The beauty of being diverse and inclusive is that we are all different in some way. It is hard for some to believe that this is Godâs doing not ours.
What happened on that Pentecost Day is that everyone understood in their own language the message and work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit allowed them to do this. She was bringing them all together even though there were so many differences.
Here is the model of the church that Jesus was preaching and teaching about. A place where peoplesâ differences are celebrated, respected and it invites the opportunity to learn from each other. We can grow into more whole people and see more of what God wants us to see. This is still the church that God is looking for.
This is our challenge to live and share this message within these doors and out in our community with our neighbor.
As we have gathered here today to celebrate the gifts here in this place at this time with each other and to glorify God. We are challenged to share them with our neighbor while celebrating, respecting and desiring to learn from their gifts and continue growing into the church that God envisioned on that Pentecost Day.
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This is a special musical presentation of Rain Down! by the Singing Sinners at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
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Today we are celebrating the Ascension of our Lord. This actually happened on Thursday, 40 days after Easter. It is when Jesus officially, physically, goes back home. Luke feels it is important enough to share it in his Gospel briefly and then in more detail in Acts.
For the Gospel writer John, it was also important, as it was always death, resurrection and ascension. Although John only said it was going to happen, but never told the story, we only find the actual account in Luke-Acts.
When people leave us, to stay overnight for the first time, to go off to live elsewhere from what has been called home, we donât really know when or whether we will see them again. It normally gives us pause. We may linger after that good-bye or see you later. It may take us a bit to resume and continue on. Sometimes it gets easier.
Then there is that time that we lose a loved one. It could be a friend, parent, sibling or partner/spouse. It hurts as we come to realize that we will not see them again until we go to join them. It can take time to move forward, at first it may be slow. Even after we get moving forward, there will be days or so that we stop and process before we can move forward again.
Even though leaving is part of life it is not easy. Moving forward and at what speed looks and feels different for everyone. The leaving/grieving process requires giving others and ourselves space. One needs to experience it, before we can move forward. Without acknowledging the feelings and giving ourselves permission we may always come back to the same place.
In turning to our Ascension Sunday stories, we are reminded that Jesus had told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem after the resurrection. He told them to wait for what God had promised. Jesus reminded them that he had been baptized by John the Baptist with water, but within a few days he will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
We know what is coming and that is the Holy Spirit, Pentecost. This happens 50 days after Jesusâ resurrection. The disciples did not know what they would be experiencing. Thus, Jesus was saying just wait and you will get what you need to be my witnesses.
Now I must say the disciples had a little bit different experience in Jesus leaving. While they were meeting together, they were wondering if Jesus was going to retore the kingdom of Israel. In other words, bring restoration back that God would be reigning. Jesus says, it is not for you to know when this will happen. Iâm sure this caused great anxiety.
Jesus goes on to tell them that they will be his witnesses to Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. He is alluding to Jews and Gentles, that is everyone. This is the disciples commission to continue the work that he had begun with them.
Having said this, he was lifted up into a cloud before their eyes and taken from their sight. I can almost safely say that none of our loved ones left us in that way. What could they do but continue looking up. Is this it? Is he gone forever? Does this mean that we are on our own now? What was going to happen to and/or for them in Jerusalem?
It was normal for them to be lingering and taking some space to be in that moment. There are times that all of us need someone to say donât forget that I am here for you and with you. Two messengers dressed in white stood beside them and asked, âYou Galileans, why are you standing here looking into the skies? Jesus, who has been taken from you, this same Jesus will return, in the same way you watched him go up into heaven.â
Iâm not sure how quickly any of us could have moved forward from there. First Jesus goes up into the air, then these two messengers dressed in white say Jesus will return in the same way. It is a great deal to process. There was at least some precedent for going up into the air as this is what Elijah did. Also, we are not sure what happened to Moses.
Moving forward is not easy as many of us have and are experiencing. Faith Lutheran Church is working on moving forward. The transition team is in the process of writing the Ministry Site Profile. Many of you have been waiting to hear this.
As a community of faith, we have paused in some respects to examine who we are, who is our neighbor, and what God is calling us to do. On the other hand, ministry has not stopped as the Holy Spirit has still been moving and we have continued witnessing. Taking time and space in the midst of doing ministry is not easy.
Sitting can often seem like wasting time, but it can also be a time of refocusing and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us. When we give ourselves permission to stop and rest in Jesus, we often see and hear more than we want to. At that point human nature often says get up and get moving.
It is often hard to see and hear what God is calling us to do. Whatever it is will require change. This is true for us as individuals and as a community of faith.
We are challenged then to trust the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will speak to us in many different ways, scripture, others, or events.
This is where I have the difficult part, to know when to sit and when to move. Most often our human nature relies on anxiety to know these things. This is not usually the Holy Spiritâs timing, it is ours. When we rely on our timing, we will not be the effective witnesses that we are called to be.
The disciples did not technically have the Holy Spirit yet to be the effective witnesses that they were called to be. We do have the Holy Spirit. Our challenge on this Ascension Sunday is to take the time to rest in the Spirit and deal with our anxiety to discern when to move forward and when to sit.
I believe this is true for every thing in our lives as individuals and as a community of faith. Discernment is not really a one human person determination. It takes listening to those who can be objective and taking it back to the Spirit to check it out. I believe just as the disciples had the two messengers, we do also. They come in different forms at different times.
Look and listen for these messengers. When we find times that we are in discernment or asking questions or maybe running to fast, stop and sit with the Spirit. The Spirit will eventually tell us when it is time to move forward.
We will experience times of anxiety when there is leaving and grieving in our individual lives, it happens in communities of faith. When something makes us uncomfortable, I challenge us to sit with the Holy Spirit. Look and listen for the messengers that God in Jesus Christ will send to us.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, the only way that we can be effective witnesses is to trust the Spirit and listen for her discernment.
Let us pray, Gracious God, we thank you for sending Jesus to earth to model for us how to live out our lives in you, loving you and our neighbor. As we live out our lives we find out that there will be times of leaving/grieving. You provide your presence in so many ways to help us through these times which involve change.
May you Holy Spirit help us to stop and rest in you when we are anxious and uncomfortable in life. Help us to know your time table as to sitting and moving forward. In Jesus name, Amen. -
This is a special musical presentation of Shout Amen! by the Singing Sinners at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
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Even after the cutting and pruning we talked about last week, Jesus still comes back to love. The cutting and pruning is about letting Jesus clean up our lives in order that we can be more intimate, have a stronger connection with him. In todayâs lesson, Jesus uses the example of the love that he has with God. From the Inclusive Bible we hear âAs my Abba has loved me,. So have I loved you. Live on in my love.â
What kind of love is this? It is of course the agape or sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated his entire life on earth. God loves Jesus sacrificially, Jesus loves us sacrificially and now Jesus says continue on in this sacrificial love. So Jesus says continue to do what I have commanded you to do, just as I have kept Godâs commands to love another as I have loved you.
In reality, I donât know if I want to love the same people that Jesus loves. Can you relate to this? People and that includes you and me, can put others down, and this is when we are living out all the isms that we can think of. In reality not one of is the same. At Faith we believe that God created all people equal, and everyone is worthy of Godâs love. Our welcoming statement says this.
We, at Faith Lutheran Church, welcome you as a child of God. As Paul said in his letter to the Galatians, âfor in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.â (Galatians 3:26) We strive to be a place where everyone is welcomed and affirmed.
No matter your age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, marital status, faith background, political leanings, or mental or physical ability â you are welcome as you are. As children of God, we are all one in Christ Jesus and rely on the unconditional nature of Godâs love and grace to be our help and guide.
But what if someone doesnât think and feel the way that we do? This is where I have to step back and realize that everyone is on a different journey. As much as I may have a problem with loving them, Jesus still does. This is where the cutting and pruning comes into play. As a human being and as a gay man I know that there are people who believe that I am going to hell and donât believe that I should have the same rights as heterosexual people.
Jesus still commands me to love them. But why should I have to love them, could I just let Jesus love them? Unfortunately, that is not what Jesus is commanding me to do. As he is not physically here, he is asking me to continue in his love. But is Jesus really asking me to open myself up to hate, ridicule and discrimination?
No, I donât believe so. I do believe that he is commanding me to find a way to love the person. For me, that is about showing respect. It is a slippery slope to love in this way, but there may be a way of showing respect and setting boundary lines for ourselves.
One of the first things that shows respect is to listen. We need to understand where a person is coming from before we can respond. It may be important to repeat back what a person has told us, not only to make sure that we understand but that they hear the words that they have spoken.
Use I statements when responding. The point is not to criticize or put them down, but to share where we are at and above all our experience. These may be all ways that you already use to connect with people. I remind you of this as we often encounter people who do the opposite and our command is to show a different way of connecting with people.
This is not easy, and we may be exhausted after one encounter. I do not believe Jesus wants us to get hurt. It is important to remember that we may not receive love back, but that Jesus loves us no matter what the other person may say or do. If you receive some love and respect back, the connection may be able to continue.
It is important to remember that Jesus loves us and we are commanded to love one another, regardless. We are not promised love in return from others. It is when we abide, reside, dwell in Jesusâ sacrificial love that we can even begin to love one another.
When we abide in his love, Jesus says that we will experience joy. Having a difficult conversation may not always end in joyfulness. The Greek word for joy is charis, which is also the same root Greek word for grace. Godâs grace can never be taken away from us, it is always there. Godâs grace is something to always receive.
It is Godâs grace that calls us to connect with all people. We have been chosen to love one another to connect with others and that means outside of this beloved community. It may only be out of love and respect for another that does not see life the way we do, that allows us to share our story as long as we listen to them.
We have been studying the New Testament in confirmation. The Jesus community that the early church leaders were trying to grow were running into many of the same issues that we still have today. The hierarchical system in the Roman government put white rich males at the top, other white men underneath and women and children at the bottom. Jesusâ community says all are equal and important and all had gifts to support the community.
We continue to see this Roman hierarchal type system today and leaders who promote it. Paul was also trying to teach that all people were welcome Jews and Gentiles alike as stated in our welcoming statement. There were no prerequisites other than responding to Godâs love and forgiveness.
Empires were built by conquering enemies and enslaving them. They then imposed high taxes to control people. Their allegiance was above all to one man, Ceaser. Do we not still see this in our world today? There are countries that are doing this right now. This structure looks tempting to other leaders also.
Jesusâ community is commanded to build the community by loving and sharing the good news that has been experienced through Jesusâ death and resurrection. I am not suggesting that we go and tell people in other religions that this is the only way to God. It doesnât mean though, that we canât share our story as a Christian and be willing to hear and accept their story in how they relate to God. We actually have the opportunity to learn something from them they may strengthen our relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
I ran across a quote in my sermon folder for this Sundayâs texts by Peder Eider. âGod abides and makes in us a life of love thatâs dangerous.â He passed away on April 26 and was 56 years old. Peder was a Christian worship artist, a singer-songwriter for 25+ years, recording 18 full albums, and touring internationally. Peder also worked for many years in youth ministry. He has performed at many Lutheran churches and camps.
âGod abides and makes in us a life of love thatâs dangerous.â
To live out Jesusâ command to love one another as he has loved us, is in a sense dangerous. It is very counter cultural. Thankfully we are not called to this alone, we have Jesus residing in us, we have the Holy Spirit guiding and encouraging us as well as each other within the Jesusâ community. May we remind each other:
âThis is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down oneâs life for oneâs friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.â John 15:12-14 NRSV
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Easter 5 B â 04 28 2024
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for his departure. This part of the Farewell Discourses. Jesus knows he will be going home, and he wants his disciples to be prepared. This is a pastoral moment, reminding them that they will not be alone, as he says âI am the vine and you are the branches.Vine and branches â connected to each other. They are intertwined to the point that you have to work hard to tell one from the other. Jesus and his disciples are best friends. This sounds so good until Verse 2 comes along. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
Notice Jesus says that if the disciples are bearing no fruit, the branch is totally removed. It is those who are bearing fruit that will be pruned in order to bear more fruit. The disciples have already been bearing fruit, thus Jesus wants them to continue.
This is true, in order for new buds to form there needs to be trimming or cutting off. How many flowers do you have to cut off once they have bloomed and begin to wilt, before new ones can form and grow? Just like the Easter flowers that I have at home.
Jesus actually says that any branch that does not bear fruit needs to be cut off. Wait a minute does this mean that Jesus is letting his disciples know that as they continue without him that they will be expected to continue changing? I believe so. At this time, they donât know what those changes will look like. Throughout their life with Jesus, what they have been taught and had been doing has come into question.
His disciples had questioned him as he continued to reframe their faith. Jesus was letting them know that he wouldnât be there physically ready to answer the way that he had been. At the same time, he was reassuring them that he would not be leaving them alone.
You see Jesus says, this cutting off or pruning is not what cleanses you, but it is the word that he has spoken to them that cleanses. He says I know that you are scared of this pruning or cutting off, but it is not about your salvation, rather it is about bearing fruit. When you abide in me and I in you an d do the cutting or pruning, you will bear fruit, people will see me in you.
Cutting and pruning means change and I doubt the disciples were looking forward to it, but yet what had they been doing since they began to follow Jesus. Jesus had been reframing the law that they had learned. Jesus had been teaching that in order to love one another, meant that one would need to change their way of thinking and their actions.
The disciples had been doing it, but did not always find it easy. It often went against the culture and governmentâs laws. They were often in a difficult spot and as we move into the early church, sometimes they were jailed or stoned.
There are times in our lives that we are challenged to make changes that are not easy. Jesus is letting his disciples know that without cutting or pruning or making changes that they would not remain connected to him and would not be bearing more fruit. When we are not connected to him we began to die and lose the strength that we receive from him.
This cutting or pruning is not something that we do by ourselves. Jesus doesnât say, âIâm going to sit and watch you stumble through fear while you see the change that could be made or make attempts to do it as Jesus knows that not one of us can make changes on our own. Jesus says apart from him, we can do nothing.
Unfortunately, my call here is to stir the pot and ask questions, as well as make suggestions on how to do things differently. This may make you feel uncomfortable. Although, my job is not to force you to do something.
There have been a number of events recently that people just expect to happen the way that they have always been done. If I donât know how they have been done, they may not happen the same way. The seven last words of the church are âWeâve never done it that way before.
Each one of us and this includes me gets used to something always happening the same way and it make us feel comfortable. We know what to expect. When someone suggests or actually does something differently we may squirm in uncomfortableness.
A friend of mine is a pastor at a church where they said they are church of the future because they have a church in the round and have chairs that they can move around. That is no longer new, thus it is not the future. They also said that they are open to change, but when the pastor moved something in the worship space, people were up in arms and said thatâs not what we are comfortable with, and it really had to go back the way it was.
Change is often more difficult in churches, especially when you have been attending the same church for a while. Itâs a place where you just want to come and breathe a sigh of relief that you can come and worship or attend an event and you know what to expect. How ever it was done in prior years is what you have come to expect.
I can tell you that change is not easy as I have made many changes over the past few years. It is even harder to be the one who is called to suggest changes. I do not like to see people uncomfortable, but we learn in our training that entering into someone elseâs uncomfortableness is not healthy for me or them. It is important for me to acknowledge it. I find joy in seeing light bulbs go on and changes are made to bring more health or as Jesus says bear fruit.
What allows us to make changes are staying connected to Jesus. The Greek word for abide is meno which means residing or dwelling in. Jesus dwells within us and this is connection. Jesus told his disciples how many times not to be afraid. When the pot stirrer is working and questioning and making suggestions, I challenge you to go and talk to Jesus about it.
So often when we begin feeling uncomfortable, we try and handle it on our own and this is when we get disconnected from Jesus. Jesus can speak through others, but we must be careful who we talk to. If we go and talk to someone who cannot listen objectively, then Jesus has a more difficult time speaking to you.
A healthy listener is not someone who tells you what you want to hear or tells you what to do. A healthy listener will help you discover options and as a result may help you find the one that is the healthiest, not always the easiest for you. Life is not easy, and we get tired. Change takes time and energy and there is only so much that we can handle at one time.
Hear the good news today, we are not alone when we are challenged to make changes. Jesus says that he is the true vine and we are the branches. Jesus abides, dwells, resides in each one of us. When we run from change, from pruning or cutting, Jesus says that we begin to lose our connection with him as we are trying to manage life on our own.
Jesus says recognize that I abide, reside, dwell in us as well as my words, when we recognize this, God is glorified, and we will bear more fruit as we allow Jesus to do the cutting and pruning This is how others will see Jesus in us and people will know that we are Jesusâ disciples.
Let us pray: Loving God thank you for sending Jesus to abide with us. Your cutting and pruning, making changes is not easy for us. Even though we see its necessity, we still want to run from it or try and ignore it. May your Holy Spirit help us to see what needs to change in our lives and life of our church in order for us to bear more fruit and that others will see that we are your disciples. In Jesus name, Amen
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Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, âThus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:45-48
But what had to happen in order for the disciplesâ minds to be opened? Jesus had first addressed them with âPeace be with youâ. This peace in Hebrew is shalom. Shalom is more than just no stress or anxiety. It is about a well-being from the inside out. Jesus was sharing his peace with them and inviting them into it.
As a community of faith, we experience anxiety especially in times of transition and change. We have been getting to know each other. There was an initial meeting by zoom with the council. My live introduction to you was the weekend of the Green Team Sunday last April. I had met some of the leadership on that Saturday night. I was introduced to the congregation, and I believe I read a lesson and participated in the distribution of Holy Communion.
Oh yes, I sang with the choir. After the service was a congregational meeting. While the congregation voted I waited in the library. I waited and waited, and it may have been Addie who went by on her way out and gave me a thumbs up. Thus, it was a positive vote. I thought it was okay then to go back out to meet those who were going out to lunch with me.
There was a bit of anxiety until I had the thumbs up. This is all normal. We can say Godâs will be done, but as humans there can always be doubt or anxiety. We have taken this time of transition on together and are making great progress.
The transition team has reviewed the demographics provided for us by Pastor David Sprang from our synod staff. Thanks to Rich, we are able to see those demographics scrolling in the narthex. We have also been formulating our gifts from our âConversation With the Congregationâ. This past week a few members of the Transition Team met with Katie Love to hear more specifically about the needs of our community. At our next team meeting we will formulate goals to present to you on Sunday, May 5.
This takes a great deal of work, but our transition team is working hard through this process. We continue to learn, and many connections are being made as our system here is beginning to reform. This will mean changes, but it is still a work in process. This can create anxiety, and this is normal. Without some anxiety or doubt, we donât ask the questions in which to learn about ourselves and Godâs will.
Letâs see what Jesus used to calm the anxieties of the disciples. We already mentioned the shalom peace that he offered to them. They thought Jesus was a ghost and he said look at my hands and my feet. Touch me and see, if you need to, as a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.
Jesus could see that they were still not sure, even though there was some joy expressed. Thus, he asked them for a piece of fish that was prepared over a fire. They had had many meals with Jesus. One that they probably remembered was the feeding of the 5,000 men, besides women and children where there was 5 loaves and 2 fish.
Also, the story before our Gospel lesson this morning, is the Walk to Emmaus where Jesus broke bread at the end of the day and their hearts were burning as they had experienced Jesusâ presence. They knew in that familiar meal, that this was Jesus, their risen Messiah. It is in the familiar that that they and we find peace in the midst of anxiety.
Consider what we do here on Sunday morning. We hear the Word and receive the sacrament, Jesus. This is where we can find peace. It is familiar. It is one place where we encounter Jesus through Word, Sacrament, music and each other. This is why if there are too many things different in worship we feel a little uncomfortable. Iâm not saying it isnât healthy for us to do new things, but too many at one time and our uncomfortableness can become a hinderance in having open minds to understand the scriptures.
Jesus also reminded the disciples of what they had learned from their Jewish faith through the law given to Moses, the prophets, the Psalms and what Jesus, himself had taught them. He said, thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and the repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Jesus tells them that they are witnesses of these things.
Again, Jesus was bringing the familiar stories back to their memories. He was pointing out that what he said would happen to him had happened. Then in a sense we have Lukeâs Great commission. Now it is the discipleâs call to proclaim in Jesusâ name repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations beginning with Jerusalem.
They are called to be witnesses or a record of these things that they have learned, seen and experienced. This does not mean that they wonât have anxiety and doubts, but that their minds will be more open to understand the scriptures in the light of the resurrected Jesus. Jesus had been reframing the law given to Moses and the prophets in all of his teaching.
The Greek word for understand is soon-ee'-ay-mee which means to bring together, which for the disciples meant everything that they learned in their Jewish faith and what Jesus had been teaching them. It is about seeing how all of it connects. This could only begin to happen when they could trust Jesus.
That is when anxiety decreases, when we realize that there is a person whom we can trust. Is that not the reason we come here on Sunday to be reminded of how much God loves all people? Even though we may have heard the Biblical stories before through our three year lectionary cycle, when our minds are open we can hear something different every time.
This is the process that the transition team is going through and which you have been invited into and have participated. Remember I just said that connections were being made as we processed through Who we are, in other words how God has gifted us; and Who our neighbor is by reviewing demographics and meeting with Katie, and now we are working on What is God calling us to do.
The more open that we are, the more that God in Jesus Christ can reveal to us. There is an energy here that the Holy Spirit is creating to move forward. It can be exciting and yet create anxiety all at the same time. The key is for us, as it was for the disciples, is whom we place our trust.
We come back again to where is our mind and heart are focused. Today we gather to sing praises, hear the Word and share in the sacrament. I always believe that Jesus has something for us to hear every time that we gather together. How much we hear is based on letting go of those things that bring us anxiety. Jesus greets us today with âPeace be with youâ. He offers us shalom, inviting us to rest in him.
We are challenged, as the disciples were to go out and be witnesses to that which we have heard and experienced here. Being witnesses is tapping into the source which is in within us.
Then he opened our minds to understand the scriptures, and he says to us, âYou have heard the message that was written, that the Messiah was to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins was to be proclaimed in his name to our neighbors, beginning in Okemos, Williamston andâŠ.. Jesus says to us today you are my witnesses.
Let us pray: Great God you have called us to be witnesses here in this place and neighborhood. May your Spirit continue to help us rest in your peace that our anxiety and doubt may be in the background that our minds may be open to understand your scriptures and your direction for us. You give us what we need to do your ministry here in this place, in our neighborhood. May your Spirit continually help us to tap into the tools and the energy that you provide for us to be your witnesses. In Jesusâ name, Amen -
This is a special musical presentation of Gaelic Alleluia by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
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This is a special musical presentation of Run, Mary, Run by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
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In a few of the churches that I have served for a period of times during worship, people were given an opportunity to share God moments. God moments were where they had seen God at work in the past week. Another way we can ask the question is to ask, âWhere have you seen Jesus this past week?â
Often, what we hear and see news today it is often negative, it doesnât help through the day. It may make us angry, sad or depressed. We know the news does not always give us the good news. Although, at the end of a broadcast and sometimes only on Fridays, they do share a good news story.
As Christians, it is important for us to stay connected to Jesus and one hour a week does not do it. We are bombarded with so many different things even in a day. There are family issues, work issues, school issues, health issues, whatever group we may belong to will have some issues or negativity.
In this Easter season, in order to experience and be connected to our risen Savior, I challenge us to ask this question at the end of every day, âWhere have I seen Jesus today?â What a positive and healthy way of connecting with Jesus at the end of the day.
It may be much easier to hand all of those things that have stressed us out during the day over to Jesus. By asking this question, the answer can remind us that we were not alone during the day. Jesus was there walking beside us and in us. Could this be where the peace comes in?
In our gospel lesson today, we find the disciples locked in a room for fear of the Jewish authorities. Just as we made it clear on Good Friday, it was the Jewish authorities who enforce they what they feel was Godâs law. We canât lump everyone into a category.
In the Gospel of John, the disciples had heard that Jesus had risen from Mary Magdelene. Peter and the other disciple, who may have been John, ran to the tomb and saw what Mary Magdelene had seen. It says the other disciple believed and they went back home.
Since they had not seen Jesus, they still didnât know how the Jewish authorities were going to respond to this. They could be out looking for the disciples. Jesus knew that they needed to have some tangible evidence that he had risen. Thus, he appeared to them through the locked doors.
Jesus first words were, âPeace be with youâ. He then showed them his hands and side. At that point the disciples believed it was Jesus and they rejoiced. Jesus said to the again, âPeace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I send youâ. He breathed on them and said to them, âReceive the Holy Spirit.â In a sense this is Johnâs account of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, the part of the trinity that would live within them and empower and guide them in continuing Jesus work on earth. There was one disciple missing, Thomas. We donât know exactly what he was out doing, but even if he was fearful, it didnât stop him from going outside the doors.
When Thomas returned, the disciples told him, âWe have seen the Lord!â. Thomas said, âunless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believeâ. He has often received the nickname , âthe doubterâ. But was he really any different than the other disciples? He had even gone outside the locked room.
Jesus came back at that point and offered to let Thomas touch his hands and side and said do not doubt, but believe. Thomas made a statement of faith, âMy Lord and my God!â. The other disciples rejoiced, but had still not left the room. Jesus did not have to come back, he could have relied on the other disciples, but Jesus knew that Thomas needed this reconnection.
Thomas is not any different than any other follower of Jesus. It was and is hard to believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. It is hard to believe that Jesus takes the time to love each person on this earth. It really is a divine thing and definitely not humanly possible.
It is when we doubt that we begin to ask questions and can begin to learn and grow. We can learn things by rote, but then they are only facts and often do not sink in as reality for fus. What do we usually say, âThe only stupid question, is the one that is not askedâ. Jesus knew his disciples were questioning his resurrection, thus he came to them and was commissioning them to continue his work.
He knew they were fearful and would not be able to continue his work unless he reassured them that he had risen and was still there for him. They need his peace to break down the walls of fear. It was in their reconnection with Jesus that the walls of fear began to be broken down and they once again experienced his peace.
We are no different. There are days that we struggle to experience Jesus and receive his peace. Sometimes we need to look for Jesus activity in our world. Jesus does and will come to us as we seek him. Jesus knew his disciples were seeking him and his peace to begin to break down their walls of fear.
Our Lutheran theology says that we cannot even come to Jesus on our own. Lutherâs explanation to the first article of the Apostleâs Creed says that â I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith.
Thus, I believe the Holy Spirit is prompting us to ask questions and draw us closer to Jesus. The Holy Spirit can help us break down our walls of fear in order to experience Jesus and his peace. Thankfully we are not on our own. Jesus model for us was to let go and realize that it is not all about us.
As followers of the resurrected Christ, I challenge each of us to find or continue finding a few minutes every morning to remember who we are and whose we are. In reality, remembering our baptism at the beginning of worship during the Easter season, helps us remember who we are and whose we are.
I have chosen a few verse from next weekâs Gospel lesson for us to recite every morning or at some point during the day.
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, âThus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:45-48 NRSVU Please detach this from your bulletin to use this week.
Then at the end of the day ask the question âWhere did I see Jesus at work?â I would be happy to hear them. Please e-mail them to me. The Holy Spirit will be with us to encourage us and help us to see Jesus at work. This is what will bring Jesusâ peace to our lives. Doing these things will help us stay connected to Jesus and not get bogged down in the crap of our world.
Let us pray, Gracious God you are always wanting to connect with us. You came down to earth through your son Jesus. He continues to model for us how to connect. Today we were reminded that your Holy Spirit is always with us to help us be connected to you. We thank you for this as we cannot do it on our own. May your Spirit prompt us to read the Bible verse at least at the beginning of the day and to help us reflect at the end of the day where we have seen you at work in us and others. In Jesus name, Amen.
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Where are you finding and hearing âgood newsâ today? We are hearing it here today through the Word, music and Sacrament. But what about out in our world today? There are some days that we really need to strain to find it and hear good news.
As our country gets heated up between now and November, we need to keep straining to find and hear the good news. We here at Faith Lutheran will continue to provide Godâs word, Godâs presence here in this beloved community. We will continue to hear Godâs Word read and sung and experienced in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Today and through the Easter season we will be remembering our baptism, which reminds us that we are Godâs children, loved and saved through grace.
Good news is often experienced in the daily things that we do. It provides us with a structure that brings comfort and support. The women in our Gospel lesson today are experiencing grief, confusion and uncertainty. They are trying to move forward by doing what is normally done that is to take care of a body that is dead. This body happens to be their friend and teacher. There was no embalming fluid in those days, thus they would in a sense anointing the body with perfumes and spices and redressing the body.
In their conversation on the way to the tomb, they wondered who would help them roll away the stone that had sealed the tomb. When they arrived, the stone had been rolled away. They probably were wondering who did this and what did this mean? Did someone do their job? Did someone take away the body?
I can imagine they wondered if they should enter the tomb as they did not know who had rolled away the stone. Who or what would they would find? Maybe they approached hesitantly and slowly peeked in. None the less they needed to know what the story was. When they entered, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side.
We can only imagine that they were alarmed. Was this an angel? The women were probably vacillating between terror and amazement. It stopped them in their tracks. They said nothing, but the young man seemed to know what they wanted to ask and how they were feeling.
He told them not to be alarmed, that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they were looking for, who had been crucified, had risen. He showed them the place where Jesus had been laying and said, see, he is not here. The young man told them to go and tell Jesusâ disciples and Peter that Jesus had gone ahead of them to Galilee.
He reminded them that Jesus had told them that is where he would be. Jesus had started his ministry in Galilee and did the majority of his healings and teaching there. It sounds like he was back at work again. At the beginning of Mark, we hear this is the beginning of the Gospel or good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now we come to the end of the Gospel of Mark and might want to hear how the good news was still being told, how it would continue.
But, after we hear of the womenâs experience, we might wonder if they would be running to tell the disciples and Peter what they had experienced, and that Jesus was back to Galilee, in order to continue sharing the good news. Mark tells us that they ran out of the tomb as terror and amazement had seized them. They said nothing as they were afraid. Usually when we hear that people are afraid it is not usually good news.
Even after they heard the good news that Jesus had risen they were afraid and according to Mark didnât say anything to anyone. So, after I read the Gospel lesson today and proclaimed it as the Gospel or good news you responded with Praise to you, O Christ. It seems that we both agreed that this was good news. When it ends with, âfor they were afraidâ, it doesnât really sound like good news, does it?
The good news was in the lesson, it was stated by the young man in the white robe, âDo not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look there is the place that they laid him. So yes, we did here the good news, but often the last words of something are what rings in our ears, for they were afraid. In the Greek it literally says they were afraid for⊠as if the sentence was not finished.
The women were struggling with what do with this news, it sounded good, but was it really true. If it was true, it was definitely good news. Mark doesnât really say how the good news carried on, and thus leaves it open ended. What can we learn from the women experience? What is Mark trying to telling us about the furtherance of the good news?
The women heard the news and were quaking with fear. They had already experienced a trauma, the loss of Jesus, their friend and teacher in the most painful way possible. Now they are confronted with this news that Jesus had risen. How is this possible? Would anyone believe them? Do we not struggle with how to share this good news that we hear and experience here?
It says that they were seized by amazement and fear. In the Greek the word amazement is ekstasis, ecstasy. It literally means throwing the mind out of a normal state. This is what the women were experiencing. Should they be afraid or just go with it? When we go through difficult times in our lives such as the death of a loved one. Is this not what we experience? So many feelings all at one time. Yet to move forward in our lives, donât we learn that we need to work through these feelings and begin to let some of them go? It is when we give these feelings of uncertainty to our risen savior that we begin to feel whole again and are able to see, experience and be the good news for others.
Mark gave the responsibility to the reader, all of his disciples. You see Jesus continues to share the good news through others, you and me. Most of us who have experienced the death of a loved one, hear and experience the good news through the love and support of others.
Today we are challenged to continue sharing and being the good news to others. I know we do hear it in our beloved community, and we have our Micro Food Pantry, our Parish House, our Caring committee, the fact that we welcome and affirm all people and there are other ways that we invite others into experience the good news that we have here. But, we are called to tell the good news, the resurrection story everywhere.
I believe that God is calling each one of us in our schools, work, groups that we participate in to be and share the good news. The good news is in each one of us. What we experience here in this place through Word, Sacrament, music and each other is what we are gifted with and are challenged to share with others outside of these doors.
Stop straining to hear and see the good news, it is within in us and around us in this beloved community.
Our world needs to hear and experience this good news, the love that Jesus has shared with us through his death and resurrection. We are the continuing story of sharing the good news of his love.
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Manudy Thursday â 03/28/2024
Tonight, I am going to wash at least one foot symbolizing Jesus washing his disciplesâ feet. Thus, it is important for us to understand at least partially why Jesus may have washed his disciplesâ feet. This is not a practice at all churches on this night. Many people say, âI donât want people seeing my feetâ.
I had never done it until I went to Ishpeming a few years ago. Tonight, I will invite anyone who wants to come up. Jesusâ disciples were not too sure about Jesus washing their feet either as it was not really appropriate for a Teacher, their leader to wash their feet. It was the custom to wash oneâs feet when coming into a home as they normally wore sandals, and their feet were dirty. In some homes there were servants who did this.
This whole scene took place before the Passover, Jesus knew his hour had come to soon depart from this world and go back to his father. There was a lot going on in that room and only Jesus knew all of it. He knew Judas was going to hand him over to the Roman authorities. The other disciples thought they were just having a nice meal with their teacher. I wonder if they may have thought more was going on when Jesus took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself, poured water into a basin and began to wash their feet?
Most of them were quiet and maybe in shock, except Peter. It seems Peter was always filled with anxiety and had to say something. So, when Jesus came to Peter, Peter asked him, âLord, are you going to wash my feet?â Jesus said, âYou do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.â At first Peter spoke what the other disciples may have been thinking, âLord, you will never wash my feet.â Jesus answered, âUnless I wash you, you will have no share or part of me.â
Jesus knew that Peter did not understand.
The only other time that the word wash is used in the Gospel of John is in the story of the healing of the blind man. He washed in the pool of Siloam and his sight was restored. This gave the man more of an ability to see Jesus, to recognize who Jesus was and is. Thus, this is not really about sin, doing wrong as we often define it. In John, sin is about not believing.
Remember Judas is reclining at this table and Jesus washed his feet too, even though Jesus knew that Judas would be handing him over to the Roman authorities. Jesus stated that not everyone was clean and of course he was speaking about Judas. Judasâ uncleanness is about not believing. Could Jesus washing of his disciplesâ feet be about being better able to see who Jesus was and is?
Jesus put his outer robe back on and returned to the table. He still had more to teach them, to help them understand what he had done. Think about it, Jesus says, if I am your Lord and teacher and have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anotherâs feet. He said, âI have set you an example.â
I wonder if they had ever washed each otherâs feet, let alone the one who is not clean. Donât you think they were wondering which person was unclean? They had been travelling with Jesus for a few years now and one of them may have chosen not to follow Jesus, to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
I go back to the question, âDo you know what I have done for you? In the paraphrase of the Bible, the Message we hear Jesus saying, âI am only pointing out the obvious, A servant is not ranked above the master; an employee doesnât give orders to the employer. If you understand what I am telling you, act like itâand live a blessed life.â
So then, Jesus may be asking us tonight, who is your master?, who is your employer? If Jesus is our master, how are we carrying out this example that Jesus has set in the humbleness of washing their feet. It was totally out of the norm for Jesus, their leader to wash his discipleâs feet including the one who would hand him over. This washing of the feet was Jesusâ example of loving one another.
In a sense it is not a brand new commandment, as the ten commandments have been broken down to two, love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. Maybe one thing that is new is that here was God in Jesus Christ carrying out this loving act of washing their feet in person. The disciples probably did not realize until later that God had washed their feet.
Of course, I am not God, but tonight we wash feet to remind us that God humbled Godself to come to earth for each person out of love. Acts of love in reality are about washing feet. This symbolic act reminds us what Jesus is asking of us, as to how to live in community, loving one another, washing each otherâs feet. As we love one another, we are better able to see Jesus in each other.
But it doesnât only mean the people in this beloved community, but in the world. For God so loved, that God came to earth in human form, in Jesus. God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn it, but to love it. Unfortunately, we see a great deal of condemnation and not love. If Jesus did not come into the world to condemn, then that is not we are commanded to do. We are reminded tonight by Jesusâ example that we are called to love one another as we are loved.
This is a bit overwhelming as there are people we do not want to love. In the months to come we are going to be challenged more and more by Christians to condemn others and we may feel condemnation ourselves.
Tonight, we are reminded of Jesusâ example of how to love. It doesnât mean being a doormat, but it does mean speaking the truth in love. He has shown us what this sacrificial, humbling love is about and he says to each us, if you try and follow my example by washing othersâ feet, people will know that you are my disciples, and the world will be loved.
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This is a special musical presentation of Hosanna, Hosanna! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
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