skip to main |
skip to sidebar
We are all dying, and today we face that so that we never forget it in the days to come; in that truth we discover the deeper truth of God’s life and grace that, in the cross, raises us now and always into God’s eternal love.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Ash Wednesday
text: 2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
So, how quickly will you wash off the cross of ashes from your forehead?
It’s always the question, isn’t it? Will you be where you don’t want people looking at it? Do you care? Our children always had an eagerness to get washed off pretty soon after church.
I’m not sure it matters. But this does: how quickly will you forget that you had a cross of ashes on your forehead? How soon will “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” be shunted to the attic of your brain, not to be thought again?
Our world is terrified of that truth. So terrorists have power over whole nations: we’re afraid to die and they threaten us with death. So billions of dollars of profit are made by companies all over the world promising pills or creams or foods or clothes or cars they say will make us young, invincible.
Yet we come here today and have burnt ashes drawn in the shape of a torture device on our foreheads. How strange is that? We come here today to be told we are dust, we are going to die. We don’t think like the world.
Unless we wash this out of our minds as quickly as off our foreheads as soon as we get home. Our challenge is to understand and embed in our hearts and lives what it is we do today, why that cross, those words, need to stay with us as if they were permanently visible not only to us but even to others.
The world considers such talk of death morbid. It’s really the opposite.
Living in a culture and society where every single person will die one day, every one, yet where our emotional, financial, physical, and mental energy is expended in vast amounts to deny that reality, that’s morbid. If you’re on the Titanic and it’s going down, it’s not morbid to recognize something’s amiss.
For us, there is joy and hope in what we do today. To look at a little child with a cross of ashes on her forehead next to an octogenarian with the same is to see that both share a humanity, a life, that is finite. That’s truth. But to look at those two together is also to see in that cross shape that this life they share is grace and light.
Placing a cross of ashes on ourselves doesn’t make us mortal, it reminds us we are. Facing or not facing our mortality isn’t an option, whether we die young or old, of natural causes or violent tragedy. We are going to die. There is great freedom accepting this truth. Then we can learn how to live with it.
Paul talks of reconciliation with God: our acceptance of our mortality is also reconciliation with truth.
Whether or not the Triune God came to the world in Christ Jesus and ended the power of death, death has always been reality. It’s part of God’s creative process: things live and die and return to the earth to feed other things that live and die. Denying this only leads to anxiety, frustration, fear. Today we reconcile ourselves to the truth that we are mortal, we die, and we accept that. We began in dust, we return to dust.
Yet we belong to the Triune God, creator of all that is, who knows what to do with dust and ashes, who creates life out of dust and ashes from the beginning. In the reconciliation Paul talks about, this God did enter our deadly existence, took on our reality, dust to dust. Ashes to ashes. When Jesus was born he was born into our death, well before the cross.
But our great mystery is the cross, the shape of the ashes on our forehead. In willingly taking on an evil death, God somehow killed death. That’s what we realize at the empty tomb: our truth is still there, we die. But it is all changed now. Jesus takes our mortality, our sin and brokenness and death, and dies with it. When he rises from death, he brings us, too, joining us to the immortality of the Triune God.
We still die. But we die as people joined to the eternal life of the Triune God forever, so death isn’t an end but a beginning.
That’s our joy today. Knowing the whole truth, we can live.
We are marked with a cross of ashes in the same place we received a cross of oil at the font, the same place we mark a cross of water each time we remind ourselves of our baptism.
This cross marks our whole lives, not just our foreheads: in ashes, for we are dying. In oil, for we belong to the Triune God. In water, for we are washed and made new. And everything’s different.
Paul describes the suffering and difficulty the believers have faced: afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, sleepless nights . . . it’s a long list. Yet in this reconciliation in Christ’s death and resurrection, we live that list very differently. We face the same pains and tragedies anyone does. But we face them as people willing to accept them, as people who know these are not the final truth about us. They have no power over us.
We are seen as impostors, then, Paul says, as people who live as if there is a greater truth others can’t see. And there is, so we are not false but true.
We are unknown to the world, Paul says, confusing, odd, because we live both in the truth of our mortality and in the truth of God’s eternal love. But we’re well known to God.
We look as if we have nothing, yet we have everything; we face sorrow head on but are rejoicing.
And we are dying, we claim it, accept it, but we are really alive in God now and always.
The cross is always on our forehead, on our bodies, on our lives.
There’s a story, I don’t know if it’s true, that some church used lighter fluid to burn palms for their ashes, and the petroleum residue gave slight burns to the people’s skin, so that even after they washed there was a bright red cross for a day or so.
We won’t have that bright red mark after we wash. But the cross on us is just as indelible. It reminds us that our journey of faith travels through suffering and hardships, even to death, with God’s grace and hand supporting us, giving us life. Our cross reminds us that the cross of Christ transforms our deadly truth, so we find hope in despair, light in darkness, life in death.
This cannot be washed off of us, thanks be to God. The waters of baptism have covered us forever in this life in the midst of death, this green shoot out of our ashes.
So we rejoice, and hope, and live.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
We cannot often see the true child of God within ourselves; our companions on the journey witness to what they see as together we all are being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Transfiguration of Our Lord, year B
texts: Mark 9:2-9; 2 Kings 2:1-12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
It was a really bad week for Simon Peter.
“Six days later,” Mark says today. Well, six days ago Peter declared his Master, Jesus, was the Messiah. Moments later, having told his Master that Messiahs can’t suffer and die, Peter was called Satan, a stumbling block.
He must have felt sick that week. One of the inner circle, a leader of the twelve, we imagine him keeping scarce at the back of the group, avoiding eye contact with Jesus. How do you recover from such a blow? What kind of a person did Peter think he was in those painful, sad days?
Now, six days later, as Peter woke on this day, his Lord called to him, and James, and John. Just like always. “Come with me.” Tell me: what does Peter feel about himself now? Elated to be included again, as if nothing had happened? There must still have been fear and doubt. His confused speech up on the mountain later that day showed he was still unsure, still misunderstanding Jesus’ mission.
The real question is less what Peter thinks of himself, and more what Jesus thinks of him. Peter’s misery, self-doubt, sense of failure are only his point of view. Yes, Jesus rebuked him when he tried to block him from the path that Jesus must walk. Apparently that didn’t mean Jesus despised or rejected him. Jesus saw his true value and worth; so he kept coming back to Peter, calling him to lead.
This day reveals true identities.
Jesus is shown in his divine glory; his truth as Son of God is witnessed by three disciples. Peter’s true identity is leader of the twelve, a rock Jesus trusts. At this point, convinced he’s a failure as a disciple, Peter doesn’t see it, but Jesus does. So when Jesus needs his three leaders with him on the mountain, of course he brings Peter.
Jesus isn’t changed on this mountain, his true identity is revealed. So is Peter’s. Peter needed Jesus to see him for who he truly was. It may also be why Elisha, knowing his master was leaving with the Lord, needed to stay with Elijah, so he could have assurance he was the true successor. We need others to see us for who we truly are when we can’t.
What is the truth about Peter, then? Elisha? You, me? Who knows it?
We often worry about how we fail, convinced we’re not good enough, that others are better. Is this our truth? Many times we feel as if others judge us, don’t think well of us. We’re never too far from that child within that remembers such fear from our school days, fear we’re the only one who doesn’t fit. We can pretend – and we do – that we don’t have problems, but most of us know that dark night of self-doubt and sense of failure. Is this our truth? Peter’s experience of those six days is familiar to many.
Yet Jesus saw the truth about Peter when he couldn’t. Elijah saw the truth about Elisha when he couldn’t. Who sees the truth about us? Our answer emerges on this mountain, both who we truly are and how we see that truth ourselves.
It all has to do with who is with us.
We need sisters and brothers in faith to look at us and see the child of God we are, to see what God sees.
Jesus knows he’s headed to the cross, but today he goes up a mountain, shows his true glory, and speaks with the two great leaders of Israel, Elijah and Moses. Jesus needed this, strength and encouragement from the great prophet and the great law-giver for the path to the cross that is ahead.
So why bring three relatively incompetent disciples along? Not so they can tell others, he makes that clear. Not until the resurrection, he says, but even then they don’t do much with it. After the resurrection this is pretty unimportant. A mountain light show is nothing compared to the Lord rising from the dead. The early preaching Luke records and the earliest writing we have from Paul, don’t mention this day on the mountain, only the cross and empty tomb.
What if Jesus just needed these three as companions, to see the truth about him? The truth about who he is, before his path takes him to a place that doesn’t look at all like God’s glory? He’s preparing Peter and the others to face the truth of the cross by giving them a glimpse of his true glory. Now, whenever they look at Jesus, no matter how awful it gets, they can remember who he really is.
That seems to be our role as companions to each other in this journey of faith. We look at each other and no matter what we see outwardly, we look deeper and see a blessed child of God. Then we witness to that, so it can be known.
This is how Jesus helps us when we think poorly of ourselves in our darkest hours: we are given each other to see the real truth. So when any of us despairs because we’re sure we’re not good enough, not cutting it, someone here can look at that one and remind them they see a glorious child of God.
You see, we are being transformed into people who look like Christ Jesus.
That’s the promise Paul makes in the verses a little before our second reading today, words the Cantorei are singing for us. Yet, just as with Jesus’ transfiguration, it’s not really that we are being changed.
We already are people who look like Christ Jesus, people who in baptism are made into the image of God. At least, we look like that to the Triune God who loves us. God sees the fullness of who we are, of what we are becoming, as Jesus looked at Peter and saw a great leader, a special disciple, essential to spreading the Good News.
Our job is to remind each other of this, to look for this image of God in each other, even if it’s not easy to see outwardly. Jesus had every reason to look at Peter’s failings, his cowardice, his confusion, but he looked deeper to the real truth.
So we look at each other. Beyond the failings, beyond the sin and brokenness, we look into the eyes of our sisters and brothers and see the image of Christ. We as a community look at each other with the eyes of God, the loving eyes of the One who died for us and now lives. We share these loving eyes of God and call out this joy we see in each other.
As we are transformed into Christ, more and more people will be able to see this in us.
God sees us this way fully, but of course none of us show this to the world fully yet. As we learn to see Christ in each other, we begin to expect it in each other, and even start to see hope ourselves that it is our real truth, not that other that binds us. When this happens, our truth of being the image of Christ will become more and more obviously visible on the outside. God’s forgiveness truly heals us and changes us into better people, people like Christ, and we learn to see this.
The more we see, the more it becomes real to us. The more it becomes real to us, the more the rest of the world can see it.
Paul says God shines in our hearts to give us knowledge of the glory of God in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. That same divine light shines in our hearts to help us see this transformation and glory in each other.
We might feel like Peter many days. But thanks be to God, who gives us companions in our journey of faith here, with God’s light in their eyes and God’s love in their hearts, people who see us for who we truly are, until, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, that’s exactly what we see in ourselves, and it becomes our visible witness we live in the world.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Accent on Worship
Extra Time
I was talking to someone about our Eucharist February 2 on the feast of the Presentation. He said, “I don’t do the extra ones, only Sundays.” This is not uncommon. We had 35 at that Eucharist, far from our usual Sunday crowd. But the comment was intriguing.
Sunday is Transfiguration, so we are on the cusp of our season of “extra” liturgies. Ash Wednesday is next week, Eucharist at noon and 7:00 p.m. Noon Eucharist and 7:00 p.m. Vespers for the next five Wednesdays after. In the six days between the two liturgies on Passion Sunday and the two liturgies on Easter Sunday we will have eight additional liturgies.
I love this time of “extras,” Lent through Holy Week. That’s the truth I want to share. I was standing at the altar on that Monday, Feb. 2, having just veiled the elements after sharing Christ’s Body and Blood as a people of God, and I was filled with a sense of joy and peace, and the thought, “There is nowhere else I’d rather be right now than right here, with these people, having Eucharist.” This sense comes to me almost every time at our “extra” liturgies.
It wasn’t that on February 2 I absolutely felt a need to celebrate Jesus’ presentation in the Temple, to hear Simeon’s song, though that is worthy. The joy was that a group of us were able to gather together once more before the altar, pray, listen, sing, eat, rejoice, and be together in the love of God. That we took time in the middle of our lives to come together around Word and Table, that this was where we needed to be. That’s why I love the “extras.”
They’re coming fast and thick starting next week, these “extras,” thanks be to God. Thank you, too, for being a place where we can come together any time of the week for the grace of God’s presence, and the blessing of our life together as Christ’s Body. Most days there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Joseph
Sunday Readings
February 15, 2015: Transfiguration of Our Lord
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
______________________
February 22, 2015: First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
I Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
Sunday’s Adult Forum
February 15, 2015:
“Bach’s Cantata 23, The Opening of an Era,” an audio/visual presentation by Art Halbardier, in anticipation of the Cantata Vespers Sunday afternoon by Mount Olive Cantorei, soloists and orchestra.
Bach Vespers This Sunday
Sunday, February 15, 4:00 pm
Bach Vespers, with Cantata 23, Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn
Mount Olive Cantorei and Bach Ensemble; David Cherwien, Conductor
This event is sponsored by Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts.
Thursday Evening Study Returns February 26
Starting February 26 the Thursday evening study will begin meeting again in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Not strictly a Bible study this time, Pr. Crippen will lead a five week series studying “The Use of the Means of Grace,” our church’s 1991 statement on our sacramental practices. Presiding Bishop Eaton has asked all congregations to study and discuss this.
As always, there will be a light supper. If anyone wishes to provide the first week’s meal, please let Pr. Crippen know.
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting February 14, the Book Discussion Group will read Wise Blood, by Flannery O’Connor. For their meeting on March 14, they will read The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.
Attention, Mount Olive Worship Assistants!
The Servant Schedule for the second quarter of 2015 (April-June) will be published at the beginning of March 2015. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 15, 2015.
Please email your requests to me at peggyrf70@gmail.com. Thanks!
- Peggy Hoeft
Lent Begins.
Ash Wednesday, February 18
Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes at Noon & 7:00 p.m
All are welcome.
An Evening with Donald Jackson
Concordia University St. Paul invites all to a rare U.S. speaking engagement by Donald Jackson, renowned British calligrapher, illuminator, and artistic director of The Saint John's Bible. This event will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2015, from 7:00 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. at Buetow Music Auditorium, Concordia University St. Paul, 1282 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104.
This event is free and seating will be on a first come first served basis.
Choral Music Fans, Take Note!
The St. Olaf Choir (Northfield, MN) will present a concert at Orchestra Hall (1111 Nicollet Mall)
this Sunday, Feb. 15, at 3:00 p.m. Ticket information is available at www.orchestrahall.com
The Concordia Choir (Moorhead, MN) will present a concert at Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 Roselawn Ave. W., Roseville, on Sunday, March 7 at 7:30 pm. Ticket information is available at concordiatickets.com, or at the door.
Vestry Listening Sessions
This Sunday, Feb. 15, will be our first Listening session, an opportunity for the congregation to discuss the Vision Expression statements introduced earlier this month. This week’s focus will be on Evangelism.
Following both the first and second liturgies, Andrew Andersen (Director of Evangelism) will be available in the East and West Assembly rooms to hear your ideas on his committee’s work.
Grab your coffee and join the small group to talk. Each session will last 30-45 minutes, and you may move in and out as you wish.
Common Hope Vision Team 2016
Many thanks to all who helped with Taste of Guatemala last Sunday. Keep learning about the two ways that you can become more involved in our partnership with Common Hope: sponsorship of a student and joining a vision team. Brochures on both are available.
Would you like to learn more about a Mount Olive Vision Team to visit Common Hope in Guatemala in 2016? We will be an intergenerational team of 10-12 people, high school age or older. Common Hope will ask what skills/talents our team brings and design our visit to use our gifts. We will learn and prepare. We will be gone for eight days.
Cost: $800 plus airfare. Fund raising is possible. Mount Olive Global Mission Committee is committed to supporting the $4,000 program donation.
These dates are being considered: winter, possibly Jan.24-31, 2016; early summer, possibly June 19-26, 2016; and late summer, possibly July 31-Aug 7, 2016. We would like to decide by Easter.
Get your input registered! Fill out a yellow interest form and leave it in the church office or with an usher, talk to a member of the committee (Lisa Ruff, Mark Pipkorn, Paul Schadewald, Mike Edwins) or contact Judy Hinck at judyhinck@gmail.com or 612-824-4918. Do it today!
Granlund Exhibit at Mount Olive
Mount Olive will host an exhibit of sculptures by the famed artist, Paul Granlund, beginning in mid-February and going through mid-April. The exhibit is sponsored by Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts program.
Paul Granlund wanted his sculptures to be viewed and enjoyed from all angles and even touched. The exhibit will be on display in the Chapel Lounge and assembly areas. We encourage members to invite guests to visit.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper – Bring Your Palms!
The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper will be held this Tuesday, February 17, from 6 to 6:45 pm. Everyone is invited for an evening of pancakes and fun! At 6:45 pm we will observe the burning of the palms for the Ash Wednesday ashes.
Bring your dried palms from last Palm Sunday and leave them in the basket in the narthex. They will be burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday liturgies.
JRLC Day On the Hill
Calling ALL people of faith! Consider participating in the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) Day on the Hill on March 10, from 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the RiverCentre in St. Paul and the State Capital. This year's theme is Dignity in Democracy.
Use your gift of citizenship to speak out for the needs of the most vulnerable in Minnesota and make a difference. The keynote speaker is Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Vice President for Catholic Relief Services. There will also be Issue Briefings and District Table strategy sessions before we shuttle via buses to the Capitol to meet with our elected officials. The Social Justice issues and background papers that people of faith will be invited to advocate for on March 10 can be found by visiting JRLC online at: http://www.jrlc.org/advocacy/legislative-goals.
Register by Feb. 20 at www.jrlc.org/register-day-on-the-hill and the cost is $30, which includes breakfast, lunch and resources (after Feb. 20 the cost is $40). There is a flyer posted at the church for you to look at also.
As an extra bonus to the day, arrangements have been made for the group from Mount Olive to meet with Mount Olive member, Senator John Marty in his office at the State Capitol. Contact Connie Marty if you want to be included in this opportunity: conniejmarty@gmail.com; 651-633-8934.
Brochures with more information about the event and important ways to contact your representatives are placed on the cabinet in the West Assembly area.
National Lutheran Choir Winter Concert
NLC’s Winter Concert, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” will be presented February 28 and March 1, 2015.
So much of the world’s powerful choral music has emerged from peoples caged and hemmed-in by oppression. These works endure over centuries and across oceans to shine light on the human condition and pronounce the power of hope, and that is what you’ll experience during these special performances: hope.
• Saturday, February 28, 2015 – 7pm
Zion Lutheran Church, 1601 Fourth Avenue, Anoka
• Sunday, March 1, 2015 – 4pm
Woodlake Lutheran Church, 7525 Oliver Avenue South, Minneapolis
Tickets: $25 Adult - $23 Senior - $10 Student - 17 and under FREE.
To purchase tickets or for more information about these concerts, please call (888) 747-4589 or visit www.nlca.com.
News from the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In effort to share in the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: Yourself.
The message that has been most prominent throughout this week is the value and importance taking care of ourselves in order to take care of one another. Through many avenues, God has been gently nudging me (and others I believe) to stop, slow down, and take time to nourish my own spirit so that I even more capable of showing grace and love to others. Our benefits provider, Portico, is promoting the discipline of stillness. My friend recommended a podcast from Thich Nhat Hanh, a zen Buddhist monk and peace activist speaking on awareness and being present. Last night I read a TED interview titled, “Want to be happy? Slow down” with monk Matthieu Ricard and journalist Pico Iyer. Matthieu said, “Stillness is to avoid the chaotic aspect of the mind, and then you can deal with thoughts and emotions, or sometimes you just sit or rest in that pure awareness. That’s a place of immense peace.” We, too, are members of this neighborhood that need care and give care – what better to offer than our own peace so that we can notice beauty or hurt or joy or need around us.
There is so much cool stuff happening in this area and in Minneapolis -so much to try to do and be. But the messages that I’m hearing right now are ones to be calm, be patient, be quiet, so that we can actually hear and respond when we are called. Peace to you and your mind.
(For info on these articles or TED Talks, feel free to email neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org or call at 612.827.5919 x14).
Getting to Know Our Neighbors
Part of sharing in community is understanding one another through language, culture, or experience. As we explore our community and get to know our neighbors, let's continue with some helpful language lessons.
English: ‘Excuse me’
Spanish: ‘Permiso’ (Pear-mee-soh)
Review: ‘Have a nice day’ Spanish: ‘Tenga un buen dia’ (Ten-gah oon bu-eyn dee-yah)
Go out and be fearlessly friendly folks!
Opportunities to BE involved:
Invite friends and neighbors for pancakes and service on Shrove Tuesday!
Pancakes are a GREAT way to invite someone to share a meal and a meaningful (brief) service. Also, be mindful this week and take any opportunities for stillness as if it were food for your brain.
When we are overwhelmed by the problems of the world we turn to Jesus for strength and guidance; then he sends us back out to be a part of God’s healing for the world.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, year B
texts: Mark 1:29-39; Isaiah 40:21-31
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Even allowing for Mark’s tendency to exaggerate, it must have been overwhelming.
Jesus heals a man in a synagogue. That night, at Simon Peter’s house, “the whole city was gathered around the door.” Of course there was a crowd. Once people realize there’s help available somewhere, they line up for it. Word gets out in mysterious and potent ways. Maybe all 1,500 people in Capernaum weren’t there, but it felt like it. Even Jesus was overwhelmed. After he “cured many who were sick” and cast out “many” demons, they finally got the door closed, got to bed. But in the early pre-dawn darkness, Jesus slipped out, went to a place with no people, and prayed.
What do you do when there are so many who need help, and they’ve come to you? If you’re Jesus, you help. You heal. You cast out demons. But when you can, you get away, to pray, to find open space, to clear your head and heart. To be filled up inside after pouring out so much.
But what do you do if you’re not the Son of God? What do you do when you are so overwhelmed by the needs of the world around you and you don’t think you can do anything? It’s one thing to be tired out from healing and exorcism. It’s entirely different to wake up the next morning, find the crowd gathering outside the door, and realize the only one who knows what to do has left in the middle of the night.
Our home in this story is that moment with Simon and the others at daybreak.
Of course they leave to find Jesus, hunt for him. They can’t do anything for these sick people, these hurting friends and neighbors. They know their neighbors know they don’t have that ability. These crowds grew up with boneheaded Simon; they won’t see him as a healer. So Simon and the others think, “Why try and fail when we can get Jesus, the one person who could take care of things?
Turning for help is actually also why Jesus is gone at the moment.
In need, overwhelmed, Jesus turned to the Father.
This time of prayer in a deserted place is powerful witness. We don’t understand the mystery of prayer within the life of the Trinity, but living as one of us there were many times when Jesus needed prayer.
In prayer he quiets himself, receives wisdom and encouragement, is restored by the Holy Spirit. In this moment the Triune God is once more dancing in that inner divine life, Father, Son, and Spirit moving in and among each other. After the night he had, Jesus deeply needed this communion in God.
Then he was ready to go on. When the disciples find him, he announces they’re heading for another town, to proclaim the Good News, what he came to do. He is sent to declare that God has come to be with the people of the world, bringing a rule and reign of life and love and grace. Renewed by his communion in prayer, Jesus is ready to face the overwhelming crowds again.
Now Simon and the others need to learn this pattern. So do we.
When the world’s need overwhelms us, we come here, looking for our Lord, for strength and wisdom.
Mark’s exaggeration seems apt in our time. The problems and pain of today are overwhelming, as if the whole city, the whole world, has come for help. There is more healing and restoring needed here than we can handle. If we help one person, here, or in our jobs or neighborhoods, it seems there are twenty more needing help, and there are systems that keep making more in need. We’re afraid to open the door for fear of being overrun by what we’ll see outside.
So we follow the lead of Simon Peter and the others. We come here looking for our Lord, because Jesus knows what to do when we don’t. But we also follow Jesus’ lead. We come for prayer, quiet, peace. To be filled up after pouring out. To commune with the Triune God, to be strengthened, restored.
But after restoring us, Jesus always says, “Now, here’s the plan.”
Jesus’ job isn’t to do our work. It’s to make us ready and send us out.
The disciples have no idea what to do with the needs of the crowd, so they run into the wild to find Jesus, to hand off the job, comforted they’re not in charge. But not too much later they, too, will be sent out in pairs to actually preach, actually heal, actually cast out demons. That’s Jesus’ work, to prepare the disciples, to prepare us, for our ministry in his name in the world. To change us so we can actually do it.
We come here looking for Jesus, and are restored, but we know he’s going to train us and send us back into the world. He won’t let us stay inside or hide behind his power and might, as if there’s nothing we can do.
He will send us as he sent the first ones, transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, given new hearts, new strength, to know what to do with the overwhelming needs of this world. Christ’s risen life will fill our hearts to be Christ ourselves.
What do you do if you’re not the Son of God but there are so many who need help, and they’ve come to you?
You realize you are in fact a child of God, so you do what Jesus does. You help. You heal. You even drive out demons and fear. In Christ Jesus we see Isaiah’s promise come to pass, that the everlasting God who stretched out the heavens like a curtain, to whom we are like tiny grasshoppers, actually cares about us, puny as we are, and has come to lift up the lowly, strengthen the fainthearted, renew the hearts of the world. Even uproot death with resurrection life.
The only way the rest of the world will know this is if we, by our lives, our ministry, open the door of the house and go into the crowd ourselves. When we need rest, strength, the support of our Lord, we come here for life. We pray. We hear the plan for what’s next.
Then we open our doors and go back into the street. But we don’t go alone. We are filled with Christ’s grace and healing, and our risen Christ goes with us fully. We stand, then, as Christ in the face of evil and death, doing what we can. As it always has been from Simon until now, we become God’s healing, renewing, life-giving presence in this world. And we are not overwhelmed.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
Accent on Worship
Why assemble for liturgy?
In two short weeks we embark on our Lenten journey. In addition to our regular assemblies for Holy Eucharist on Sundays, we add Evening Prayer on Wednesdays, and during Holy Week (March 29-April 5) there are daily assemblies for prayer, and of course the Three Days (Triduum) with their intense focus.
Why?
Of course there are the almost obvious reasons we know and have rehearsed: Because God is central to our lives. As a community of faith, we gather regularly. As we do, we expect to participate in praise, prayer, to be challenged by God’s Word, strengthened by the meal, and sent. The season of Lent is a time where we renew our lives in Christ – recommitting to our Baptismal identity as God’s chosen. The word “discipline” gets used for the season as if a negative. I like to link the word “disciple” to that word – and ask, “What does it mean to be a disciple?”
The Wednesday Evening Prayer services are an opportunity to be reminded mid-week whose we are, to rejuvenate our efforts and focus (discipline?) of the season. Holy Week is a time when we reverse the norm: Rather than being mostly in the world and here one day, we are mostly HERE every day around this central story of Christ’s death and resurrection.
But consider the following aspect. Your presence may be what SOMEONE ELSE needs. By your being there, someone else may be drawn into participation where they may not otherwise. What do people see in our participation when they decide to be among the assembly – perhaps for the first time? Smaller gatherings especially need folks willing to carry a bit of extra weight to insure we don’t sound like an uninterested group of mumbling worshipers.
The smaller the gathering, the more stepping out with more full responses is needed! “Amen” or “Thanks be to God” – speak up!!! Sing out!! Most are a little uncomfortable singing in public, the smaller the gathering the more exposed it may feel – but if there are those here singing out (even if a few, or even one: YOU!), it’s much easier for others to enter in. Maybe they can’t sing for whatever reason – then we need to sing FOR them.
I have had too many experiences being a part of assemblies where people are afraid to sing out or speak out. It’s difficult for me to enter in, and frankly, that situation is a bit unfortunate. Smaller shouldn’t mean softer responses and singing. Just fewer in number.
Be brave. Be here. Sing and speak out. Don’t mumble.
After all – many are watching - including God. Let your inner glow be known!
-Cantor David Cherwien
Sunday Readings
February 8, 2015: 5th Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11
I Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
______________________
February 15, 2015: Transfiguration of Our Lord
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
Sunday's Adult Forum: February 8, 2015
"A Taste of Guatemala: Celebrating our Partnership with Common Hope,” sponsored by the
Mount Olive Missions Committee
End of Life Planning: Join the Conversation
• This Saturday, February 7: 9-Noon at Mount Olive – Mount Olive members Kathy Thurston and Rob Ruff will present perspectives and direction on end- of -life planning including the POLST and Honoring Choices Advance Directive.
This workshop is a follow-up to last Sunday’s Adult Forum (2/1) presentation by Pastor Crippen on this topic. The presentation was recorded by Paul Nixdorf and can be viewed at: http://youtu.be/npRfQf8TTJg
Registration for Saturday is not required, but if you know you are coming, a call or email to the church office or Marilyn Gebauer (612-306-8872, gebauevm@bitstream.net) helps us have enough handouts available. Friends and family welcome.
Feel free to stay for lunch. The Community Meal will be served at noon in the lower level.
More Helping Hands Are Needed to Feed the Homeless
Members of Mount Olive provide the evening meal at Our Saviour's Shelter the second Sunday of every month. This important ministry meets a real need right in our own neighborhood. You can serve in these ways:
Food preparation - We'll cook the meal in our kitchen Sunday afternoon.
Food transportation - We will bring the food eight blocks north to the shelter.
Serving - We'll meet the residents as we serve the meal to them.
You can find the sign-up sheet for 2015 in the East Assembly Room, near the Sunday coffee. Come and be part of this chance to help. Questions? See Elaine Halbardier or Connie Olson.
Common Hope and Taste of Guatemala at Mount Olive to be Held This Sunday, February 8
What is Mount Olive's support of Common Hope in Guatemala all about? We learned about this organization through Lisa and Mark Ruff and their family, and we were impressed with the focus on education and community development. We could see that we could learn much and could contribute much. Here's an introduction for you.
Common Hope promotes hope and opportunity in Guatemala, partnering with children, families, and communities who want to participate in a process of develop-ment to improve their lives through education, health care, and housing. Serving Guatemala since 1986.
• We EDUCATE children and help them graduate from primary and secondary school, and some continue on to college.
• We PARTNER with local schools to help them reach new standards of excellence.
• We TREAT illnesses and TEACH parents how to prevent them so that their families live healthier lives.
• We help parents BUILD houses so that their families have clean, dry, and safe places to live.
Keep Us in the Loop!
Have you moved? Are you moving? Dump your land line or get a new phone number or email address?
Please be sure to let us know so that we can update your information and keep YOU in the loop!
It’s an Open House!
All are cordially invited to an open house at the new home of Art and Dorothy Gaard.
The open house will be held this Sunday, February 8, from 2-4 pm at 502 Lynnhurst Ave. E., Apt 407, St. Paul, MN 55104.
The Gaards will celebrate their “126th anniversary” ( 63 years for Art and 63 years for Dorothy). The afternoon will also include a house blessing.
Call the Gaards (651-457-5736) with any questions you may have about parking or finding their new home.
Granlund Exhibit at Mount Olive
Mount Olive will host an exhibit of sculptures by the famed artist, Paul Granlund, beginning in mid-February and going through mid-April. The exhibit is sponsored by Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts program.
Paul Granlund wanted his sculptures to be viewed and enjoyed from all angles and even touched. The exhibit will be on display in the Chapel Lounge and assembly areas. We encourage members to invite guests to visit.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper – Bring Your Palms!
The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper will be held on Tuesday, February 17, from 6 to 6:45 pm. Everyone is invited for an evening of pancakes and fun! At 6:45 pm we will observe the burning of the palms for the Ash Wednesday ashes.
Bring your dried palms from last Palm Sunday and leave them in the basket in the narthex. They will be burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday liturgies.
An Evening with Donald Jackson
Concordia University St. Paul invites all to a rare U.S. speaking engagement by Donald Jackson, renowned British calligrapher, illuminator, and artistic director of The Saint John's Bible. This event will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2015, from 7:00 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. at Buetow Music Auditorium, Concordia University St. Paul, 1282 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104.
This event is free and seating will be on a first come first served basis.
Lent Begins
Ash Wednesday, February 18
Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes at Noon & 7:00 p.m.
All are welcome.
Book Discussion Group’s Upcoming Reads
For their meeting February 14, the Book Discussion Group will read Wise Blood, by Flannery O’Connor. For their meeting on March 14, they will read The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.
A Reminder About Parking at Church
All who come to Mount Olive (for Sunday worship particularly) are asked to reserve the handicapped parking places in the north lot for those who need them (and there are several who do need them!) Also, please remember that the spaces with diagonal stripes near the sidewalk are to be left open so that those who park in the adjacent spot can actually get out of their cars to come in to church.
Thanks for doing what you can to make things as easy as possible for everyone who comes to Mount Olive.
Bach Vespers at Mount Olive
Sunday, February 15, 4:00 pm
Bach Vespers, with Cantata 23, Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn
Mount Olive Cantorei and Bach Ensemble; David Cherwien, Conductor
This event is sponsored by Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts.
Vision Expression
Vestry members will host Listening Sessions on five consecutive Sundays, beginning on Feb. 15. These events are designed to be an opportunity to give and receive feedback on the Vision Expression document which was presented after liturgy on Sunday, January 25. Copies of this document are available in the church office.
Watch for these sessions and attend as many as you wish.
On March 22, we will have a larger congregational update for everyone.
News from the Neighborhood
Anna Kingman
In effort to share in the relationships being built through our interaction in the neighborhood, we will hear from the people who find support, relief, and help through Mount Olive.
Profiles: Writings from Rodney
I introduced you to Rodney a few weeks ago and many more have had the pleasure of meeting him at church. Rodney has a very interesting, difficult story, but throughout his trials he has developed a talent and interest in writing. He believes this is a gift from God as a method to share with others. Here is a short excerpt from #84, Fare for Fair, of a collection of 128 writings. Full copies of some writings may be found on the new cabinet on the south wall of the West Assembly area.
“The heart has the ability to heal, endure, satisfy, gratify, love overcome, ease pain, bear with, care, share, see, touch, smell, here, taste, delight, desire, retrieve, forgive, calm, war, sense, determine, change, pretend, understand, and smile just to name the minimal. The abilities of the heart know no bounds and are without measure. Yes, who can search the heart of man? God, and whomever he elects to gift that ability to. Everything imaginable and even that which is unimaginable lies within the heart…”
Opportunities to BE involved: Tuesday Night Tutoring – it’s a blast!
We have a weekly Tuesday night tutoring program from 7:00pm-8:30pm. There are great kids involved and we try to keep it to a one-to-one ratio to really build relationships and be mentors to these young students. It’s an hour of tutoring and a group activity with a snack and will be the highlight of your week!
If you are able or interested in helping for an evening or learning more please contact Anna at: neighborhood@mountolivechurch.org.
Getting to Know Our Neighbors
Part of sharing in community is understanding one another through language, culture, or experience. As we explore our community and get to know our neighbors, let's continue with some helpful language lessons.
English: ‘Have a nice day’ Spanish: ‘Tenga un buen dia’ (Ten-gah oon bu-eyn dee-yah)
Review: ‘Welcome’ Spanish: ‘Bienvenidos’ (bee-en-ven-ee-dos)
Go out and be fearlessly friendly folks!
Mittens and Scarves and Hats – Oh, My!
As long as the weather stays cold, warm clothes are still needed!
Please continue to donate mittens, scarves, coats, hats, and gloves to the box near the coat room. They will be given away at the Community Meals as the cold weather demands.
Thank you!
We wait for the Lord’s healing grace in this world because God’s good time is not our time, because things take time to be done the right way; but we wait where we know we’re going to see what we’re promised.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Presentation of Our Lord
texts: Luke 2:22-40; Malachi 3:1-4
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
In Spanish, the same word means “wait” and “hope.”
The context gives the meaning. I learned this in my clinic’s waiting area (with help from Anna afterward). The sign said, “If you have been waiting more than 15 minutes, please inform the front desk.” Below, in Spanish, for waiting it said, “ha estado esperando,” which literally could be “a state of hope.” Here it clearly meant “waiting.”
Tonight’s readings make that sign amusing. People are waiting for the day of the Lord’s coming in Malachi and Luke, waiting for a long time. Far more than 15 minutes. So how long do we wait for God before we need to inform someone? Whom do we inform?
The Spanish are right: waiting and hoping are two sides of one thing. In our hurry-up, fast food, get-it-to-me-now culture, we associate waiting with boredom, frustration, irritation, even lack of hope. Can we imagine a Simeon today, waiting his whole life to see God’s promised Christ, ready to die when he does? We don’t know what the prophet Anna is waiting for, but it’s been about 63 years. 15 minutes is nothing compared to Christian waiting for God’s healing and restoring of all things.
Maybe we also should glue waiting and hoping together.
It’s a modern convention to separate them. Our ancestors fully lived this.
The Presentation is February 2, forty days after Christmas; the purification rites for the mother happened forty days after childbirth. But in Ireland and Britain it held further significance as a cross-quarter day. The year was divided into so-called quarter days, Christmas Day, the Annunciation (March 25), St. John the Baptist/Midsummer Day (June 24), and St. Michael’s Day (September 29). These Christian festivals, importantly, are very close to the solar turning points, the winter and summer solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes.
Roughly half-way between these days were other important festivals marking time. Presentation is the cross-quarter day between Christmas and Annunciation. Each of these eight days held significance to our Christian ancestors who had things that needed to be done by those dates for life and livelihood, to survive. It’s not accidental that in the Middle Ages in Europe the Presentation was a day for predicting the length of winter ahead (and without a rodent’s help). They relied on weather and the land to live; half-way between the longest night and the longest day they dreamed when spring would come and food would be abundant.
There is evidence that this Christian celebration was also one of those festivals overlaid upon pagan celebrations of this mid-point that also were part of a culture dependent on the earth for life. This has long been a day of waiting and hoping for the future to come.
Our Church Year is our way of joining our waiting with hoping.
Our culture has lost this sense of life in the year and dependence on God’s creation which paid close attention to the creation. Our marking points in the year are based on our entertainment schedules, from awards season to sports championship times, or our political calendar.
But we Christians walk this Church Year. We’ve gathered tonight for Eucharist to mark 40 days since our celebration of our Lord’s birth. We may not have as desperate a need for good weather coming, but it’s good and right that we intentionally choose this calendar as our way of knowing where we are in our waiting.
That’s the whole point of a calendar, to mark the waiting. From the classic film and cartoon stereotype of someone x-ing out days in anticipation, to our need to tell how many days until Christmas, marking time helps us wait.
So we mark our year, moving through the story of God’s grace coming into the world and into our lives, to help us in our waiting and remind us of our hope in God.
We notice from Malachi, Simeon and Anna that our place of waiting is also important.
All three center the place of waiting on the Temple of the Lord. That’s where Malachi says the coming will be, that’s where Simeon goes when the Spirit lets him know the child has come, and that’s where Anna spent over six decades praying, fasting, waiting.
We join our waiting with our hoping when we come into this holy place and seek God in God’s house. In this place we know we will hear words of grace and hope, words of promise that will be kept. In this place we know we will be fed and strengthened. In this place the Triune God has promised to be, so like those saints of old, we gather here to wait for the Lord.
But this coming of the Lord is clearly not meant to stay in this place.
Malachi speaks of the purifying of all the people of God; the coming might start in worship but will restore the whole nation. Simeon takes it even further, declaring that this child he is holding will be a light to all the nations of the world, as well as the glory of his own people, Israel.
So it is with our waiting and hoping in this place: we take it into the world, fully expecting to see God’s healing coming to all things, fully believing in the possibility that the light of God will make a difference in the world’s darkness. Bearing the light ourselves infuses our waiting with hope, because living in the rich blessing of God becomes abundant and joyful when we share it and see what happens in the world.
Yet our hoping is in turn wrapped up in our waiting: God’s fullness comes in God’s good time, not instantly.
Sometimes we’re tempted to despair at this, but this story of Jesus and Simeon shows God’s promises will be kept, even if they take time. Simeon waits his whole life, and finally sees. At the end of this story, though, Jesus is still just a little child; growing, filling up with wisdom, but still a little child. He is not Christ for the world yet. There is still the path to the cross and resurrection. Some things take time.
We know this if we cook. There are things that cannot be rushed, even in a microwave world with instant meals. If you want a good oatmeal, you need to toast steel cut oats, and then boil them for about a half an hour. Chili really only tastes best on the second day.
With the Triune God it’s the same. To get what God is hoping for – literally the restoration of the hearts of humanity which will restore this planet – God needs to play the long game, bringing healing through the Son one community of faith at a time. God’s grace will make all things new, but the way God needs it to work, it will take time.
So we return to our sense of marking time in the Church Year. While we wait for God’s good time, we walk through the year’s story of God’s grace, to be filled with hope in our waiting. And so we can recognize signs of healing and grace when we see them, like Simeon and Anna did.
It’s been longer than 15 minutes. Things take time with God.
But on this night we once more meet Simeon and Anna we are reminded of the hope we have in this child they celebrated and for whom they praised God. On this night we once more bless candles for our year’s worship we are reminded of the light which shines in our darkness and one day will fill all things.
We wait. But we wait with hope. Because God is faithful, and God’s promises are being kept. It will take time. But that we have, until all things truly are made new.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
In the community of the Church, Christ comes to us and brings healing and life, through the grace we are with each other, and even directly in healing hearts and minds; let’s let this news get out so more and more can know!
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, year B
text: Mark 1:21-28
Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
That must have been some day in the synagogue.
Into the place of prayer and learning came a man possessed of an unclean spirit. Challenging the young rabbi who was teaching there, he shouted all sorts of things at him, including calling him the Holy One of God. Then the rabbi, Jesus, commanded the spirit to be silent, and drove it out. It was quite a day in the synagogue. The conversations over dinner afterward must have been animated.
Many of us know exactly what it was like. A couple years ago this happened in our worship. A woman came in from the streets, and during the offering walked to the front. She splashed herself with water from the font, which was on the chancel steps. Then she began bathing her head in the font. A couple members stood with her, and let her do this for a while, until the offering was concluded. When they then tried to help her move to a seat, she became agitated, shouting, kicking, falling to the floor. She eventually was helped out, continuing to scream and kick. We also had a Gospel reading concerned with possession that day; many were struck by the connection. Conversations at our dinner tables that noon were also pretty animated.
We could have used Jesus’ authority, his power to heal, that day. That poor sister left here and was taken to a psychiatric ward, but there was no immediate healing we’re aware of. Does this story in Capernaum offer any hope for us today, or is it irrelevant to our modern concerns and reality?
To start with, we aren’t sure about this talk of spirits, if it’s even something we can believe.
When we look at the stories of Jesus’ healing, some of the things ascribed to “demons” or “unclean spirits” look an awful lot like things we describe medically today. Epilepsy, depression, addiction, anxiety, even schizophrenia and others. We can see how people of Jesus’ day would call these demons. We even use that word at times. These afflictions are real, and many struggle with them.
But there is this: even without a clinical diagnosis we can feel as if there are thoughts bothering us that come from outside. It’s human reality that we all can have these negative voices in our heads telling us we’re not good enough, raising our anxieties, causing us to fear, lots of unhelpful messages. When they become so strong we can’t cope, we seek diagnosis and help from doctors. But in a very real sense these can feel like outsiders, even if we don’t call them “unclean spirits.” They may very well be spirits. They may not. But we can’t easily rid ourselves of them.
Every single one of us is at one place or another in need of spiritual and mental healing. There really isn’t any such thing as normal. That’s our connection to this story.
Our problem is that Jesus was able to heal this man with a word, immediately. That isn’t something we often see today. But it’s what we wish we could experience.
The good news is, we already know part of Christ’s answer to this problem. It’s why we’re here.
When that woman went to the font, she was not alone. From the one, then two who initially stood with her, to the health professionals who came forward to help, to those who helped her in the lounge area after she left, this community surrounded her, even in the anxiety she raised in us. Afterward, every single person I heard ask or speak of this was concerned about her, how she was, hoping and praying she would be OK. Some tried to visit her in the hospital, but weren’t permitted. She experienced a community in Christ who wanted to love her.
That’s what we all come here to find as well. That community of faith is part of the authoritative teaching that so astonished the synagogue. Mark doesn’t tell us here what Jesus taught. Matthew, however, inserts three chapters of Jesus’ teaching between Mark’s verses 21 and 22 (the first and second verses we heard today); we call these chapters the “Sermon on the Mount.”
Powerfully, in those teachings Jesus describes a new community of faith based on trusting God to provide all things, and setting aside anxiety. A community that prays for and loves enemies, instead of seeking revenge. A community shaped by humility and peacemaking, that looks out for the meek and lowly. A community that considers anger and hate as destructive as murder. A community so shaped to love, people would refrain from worship if they had something outstanding against another, and go and repair what was broken first.
That’s what Jesus taught with authority. That’s the gift of community he gives to his followers, and it’s central to the healing he offers us today.
When we see each other with the same concern and compassion we had for that woman who came among us, pray for each other in the same love, we find the power of Christ’s healing.
When we understand that each of us is broken, each has pain and suffering, be it spiritual, mental, or physical, and that our greatest gift is that we are with each other to love each other through it, we find the power, the authority, of Christ’s healing.
In Christ we are made into a community that doesn’t fear depression or anxiety, addiction or post-traumatic stress, any more than we fear headaches, so we can help each other face such pain. In Christ we are made into a community that doesn’t fear cancer anymore than we fear a broken leg, so we can help each other in our fears. In Christ we are made into a community that isn’t afraid of spiritual emptiness or heavy guilt, but sees them as other things, like all the rest, that we can support each other in and bring to our God for healing.
That’s the authority, the power Jesus has as Son of God: he declares what it is to be together as his Church, what it looks like, and empowers us to do it. And so gives us healing.
But deeper healing is also possible through the authority and power of Christ Jesus.
What happened to the man in the synagogue is also happening today, even if we don’t see it as dramatically. It might take decades, but God is constantly working in us to bring wholeness. We might not see the completion of it in this life, but God is constantly working in us to heal. Opening our eyes to see that all of us are broken and struggling opens our eyes to the ways in which God brings healing. People do get better. Sometimes we need the perspective of thirty, forty years, but we can see it if we look. Healing of the spirit and heart does come. We even have therapies and medicines that can help mental illness in powerful ways.
Even if the thing we think is the main problem doesn’t get healed as we hope, we still find healing from the grace of God, so we cope better, so we see the joy of abundance from God even in our pain. That’s healing, too. Because Jesus has risen from the dead, even the final illness, death itself, cannot harm us, which changes how we live in this life and see everything.
Best of all, in Word and Sacrament we worship the Triune God who loves and forgives and restores us, and are fed and blessed to find abundant rich life no matter our circumstances, a healing we receive each and every time we gather together.
“What is this?” they asked in Capernaum. “A new teaching – with authority,” they answered.
This is why we gather each week, why we hope in this life: the Triune God has come into this world as one of us in Jesus the Christ, with the authority and power to heal all that ails us, everything. In this community we are given each other to help in our journey of faith, to pray in times of need, to love us through whatever we’re facing, and in this community we are healed.
Like those first believers in Capernaum, this is astonishing to us. But we’ve seen it. We know it is so. And so we are sent to proclaim this Good News to everyone we can, to embody Christ’s healing in this community, to welcome others always into it, so that more and more can know the same hope and healing we know.
It’s too astonishing, to good, to keep to ourselves.
In the name of Jesus. Amen
|
