Tuesday, March 26, 2013

On the Loose!



On the Loose! is our worship theme for Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013. Our focus scripture is John 20:1-18.

In John’s account of the Easter story Mary Magdalene rises early on the day after the Sabbath and goes to the tomb. John does not tell us that she goes with spices to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial. Nor does she have company. Perhaps she is so tied to Jesus that she just wants to be near him in the same way that we feel drawn to visit the tomb of a loved one who has died. We don’t expect to see the one we love, but there is a comfort in just being close to where their body is laid.

When she reaches the tomb, Mary sees immediately that the stone that was covering the entrance has been rolled away. She thinks grave robbers are to blame and goes running to Peter and the beloved disciple to sound an alarm. In turn they run to investigate, and eventually go back – Peter puzzled, the beloved disciple beginning to believe that grave robbers may not be the culprits.

Meanwhile, Mary returns to the tomb with the men, and lingers there, weeping in her sorrow, feeling the most bereft she has ever felt. As she cries she looks into the tomb and sees two angels, sitting at the head and feet of where Jesus was laid. “Why are you weeping?” they ask.  “Because they have taken my Lord,” she replies, “And I don’t know where they have laid him.” Then looking around she sees Jesus, but so powerful is her conviction that he is dead that she thinks he is the gardener. He asks why she is crying, but she is focused on her primary concern.  “Sir,” she pleads, “if you have carried him away, please show me where you have laid him and I will take him.”

A word from Jesus is all that is necessary for her to recognize him. “Mary,” he says. And recognizing him, and seeing him alive, she does what any loved one would do, she hugs him. But Jesus interrupts her. Having endured the unbelievable cruelty of those who crucified him, we expect him to hug her back and enjoy the love and care of one who is truly on his side. Yet not being contained by death, he is not contained by life either. “Mary,” he says, “do not cling to me, for I must go and see my Father – my God and your God. But instead, go and tell the others of my ascension.” And so Mary tears herself away from Jesus and does what he says to do. She goes to the disciples and tells them, “I have seen the Lord.”

In this and the other resurrection appearances told by John, Jesus cannot be pinned down. Mary cannot hold him. Later that night, presumably after his ascension, Jesus returns to the upper room and appears to all the disciples except Thomas who is not there. A week later Jesus appears to Thomas. Then some time later he appears on a beach by the Sea of Galilee when the disciples have gone fishing. In each experience Jesus appears at his own initiative. On each occasion he has some specific and life-changing point to make. In the upper room he breathes Holy Spirit into his followers. A week later he convinces the skeptical Thomas of the reality of his resurrection. On the beach he gets things straight with Peter who has denied him, and gives Peter his mission for the rest of his life. And so his appearances continue in one way or another to this very day.

Jesus is on the loose. It is impossible for us to predict when he will show up or how exactly he will change the lives of those to whom he appears. The risen Christ changes the Apostle Paul from a persecutor of Christians to the greatest builder of churches in history. He sets Mother Theresa on her mission to the poor. He strengthens Martin Luther King, Jr. at a crucial turning point in the civil rights movement. Only one thing is for certain. There is nothing that can hold him down. He is always out in front, beckoning us to follow him and to create his love and justice and peace.

Here is a Call to Worship from Psalm 118 using wording from Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Please use or adapt anything that is helpful to you.




Call to Worship    From Psalm 118  (most wording from The Message)

L: The Lord is so good! God’s love never ends!
P: God’s my strength and my salvation.
L: Hemmed in by my enemies, I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall,
    when God grabbed and held me.
P: It’s so amazing! I didn’t die. I lived!
    And now I’m telling the world what God did.

L: God tested me, he pushed me hard,
    but he didn’t hand me over to Death.
P: Open the gates to God’s wonderful city!
    I’ll walk right through and thank God!

L: Thank you, God, for rescuing me;
    you’ve truly become my salvation!
P: The stone the masons discarded as flawed
    is now the capstone!

L: This is God’s work.
    We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
P: This is the very day God acted—
    let’s celebrate and be festive!
All: Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
    Oh yes, God—a free and full life!
   

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Things That Make for Peace


The Things That Make for Peace is our worship theme for Palm Sunday, March 24, 2013. Our focus scripture is Luke 19:28-48.

This year in Lent we are exploring the lectionary passages with an eye out to discover foundations of peace. In this passage Luke tells the familiar tale of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The basic elements are all there. Jesus sends disciples to secure the colt of a donkey. He rides it into Jerusalem with his disciples praising him. When he reaches the city Jesus goes to the temple and throws out the money-changers. The powers that be don’t like it, but they have to move carefully for fear of alienating the crowds who hang on his every word.

Although the plot is familiar, Luke adds elements to his tale that set it apart from the other gospels. As Jesus and the crowd that gathers begin their descent from the Mount of Olives, all his disciples sing out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Once before in Luke’s telling a vast assembly has sung praises at the appearance of Jesus. It is of course the great chorus of angels who sing to the shepherds “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!” The child of promise has become the man of the hour, and the destiny of Jerusalem hangs in the balance as Jesus approaches the city.

Yet Jesus sees what awaits him in Jerusalem with laser clarity and even sees what will result. Back on the second Sunday of Lent we saw Jesus in 13:34 grieving over the city, saying “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Now he pauses to weep over the city, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

In Luke’s telling, Jesus’ love for Jerusalem is evident. He goes there to create a chance for the people he loves to accept God’s gift of the kingdom of heaven. Throughout his ministry Jesus creates the conditions of the kingdom all around him. In 7:22-23 he tells John’s followers, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” There is a life of creative love which includes everyone regardless of class, race, or religion. If the people can see this life, they can receive it and the kingdom can dawn. But by now Jesus does not believe it will happen. Instead he sees ahead 60 years to the time when the Romans destroy the city and its great temple, tearing down its walls so that the only remaining structure is the wailing wall that exists to this day.

Yet that life of creative, inclusive love beckons us still. If we could just see the things that make for peace. If we could just give up our fears and the greedy selfishness and drive to power that they propel. If we had faith in Jesus the size of a mustard seed. If…

Here are two Calls to Worship based on Psalm 24 and Psalm 118:1-2, 19-28. Please use or adapt anything helpful to you.

Call to Worship   “The Rightful King Appears   (from Psalm 24)

L: The earth is God’s creation. Everything in it belongs to God!
P: Who, then, may climb God’s holy mountain?
     Who may stand in God’s holy house?
L: Those with pure hearts and clean hands.
     Those who won’t worship idols, who don’t lie to themselves.
P: God will bless them. They will enter God’s presence.
L: Open up, ancient doors! Open up, Holy Gates!
P: Your rightful King is coming! Your Mighty God awaits!
L: Open up, ancient doors! Open up, Holy Gates!
P: Prepare the way for the King of Glory!
     Prepare the way for the God of all the angels!
All: God is here! Let us worship God!


Call to Worship    From Psalm 118:1-2, 19-28

L: Hosanna in the highest!
     Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
P: Open the gates of justice!
     Let us enter and offer the Lord our thanks!
L: This gate leads to the presence of the Lord!
    Those who do right shall enter!
P: Praise God for answering our prayers
     and paving the way to salvation!
L: The stone that the builders tossed aside has become the cornerstone!
P: This is the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see!
L: This day, the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
P: Start the celebration! March with palm branches up to the altar!
L: The Lord is our God! Let us offer God thanks and praise!
All: Hosanna in the highest!
       Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!