Easter 7 May 23-24, 2020
Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! We continue to find ourselves in strange times with pandemic and a cacophony of information being shared with us from all sides. Here’s the thing-at Hope, we try to do what God is calling us to do to the best of our ability. From the outset, I told you that my goal as your pastor was to try to make decisions with the idea of safety and health for all and a co-equal priority of integrity in worship. This remains at the heart of the decisions made. Thus, several options for worship are available at Hope. This email for those who feel it best to worship at home during this time of sheltering in place is one option-and I strongly encourage anyone who feels unsafe otherwise to exercise this option. We are also offering a Sunday morning 8:30am worship opportunity at Hope in the parking lot for those who prefer to be outside, which is the best overall option to worship together while maintaining proper ventilation and physical distancing. Then there’s Saturday at 5:30pm and Sunday at 10am in the Sanctuary-fans will be flying and doors and windows open for ventilation in the building. Masks are being required as a means of preventing spread of germs to the best of our ability. We wear masks out of love for our neighbors. If you don’t have one, a mask will be provided for you at the door thanks to the generosity of some of our ladies who share the gift of sewing with us. We have discussed creating an online platform for worship as well. I have had some feedback that some would like it, but many others have said that many of our members wouldn’t bother. Please let me know your thoughts-my email is hopeluthern1@comcast.net. If we have enough of those interested in sharing in online worship, it would be well worth the expense. My brothers and sisters, we are doing our best to be faithful and safe, following CDC and ELCA denominational protocols. While I know some feel wearing a mask is a sign of fear, I can only share with you that at least from this office as your pastor, it is not about fear, but about love for neighbor in trying our very to protect those around us. I respect differing views, but as the person who feels the weight of every life coming through the doors of this building, please know that the only option is to show an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of all as well as maintaining the integrity of the worship we share. I ask your prayers for me and for our leadership at Hope and I pray that we might all be united in faith as we continue to be led by the Spirit to serve God and share Christ’s love
with all. In Christ’s love, Pr. Jen+
SEASON OF EASTER WORSHIP -SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER MAY 23-24, 2020
You may have a bowl and a pitcher or glass filled with water to pour to remember the flowing and forgiving waters of Baptism.
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
All may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at baptism. Alleluia! Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are raised with him to new life. We join in thanks for the gift of baptism. Water may be poured into the bowl. We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning you created us in your image and planted us in a well-watered garden. In the desert you promised pools of water for the parched, and you gave us water from the rock. When we did not know the way, you sent the Good Shepherd to lead us to still waters. At the cross, you watered us from Jesus’ wounded side, and on this day, you shower us again with the water of life. We praise you for your salvation through water, for the water in this font, and for all water everywhere. Bathe us in your forgiveness, grace, and love. Satisfy the thirsty, and give us the life only you can give. To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
**You may make the sign of the cross with this water or wash your hands to remember your Baptism and your call to life in Christ.
PRAYER OF THE DAY Let us pray. O God of glory, your Son Jesus Christ suffered for us and ascended to your right hand. Unite us with Christ and each other in suffering and in joy, that all the world may be drawn into your bountiful presence, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
GOSPEL: John 17:1-11
On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prays to his heavenly Father, asking that those who continue his work in this world will live in unity. 1 After Jesus had spoken these words [to his disciples], he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. 6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am
coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
HOMILY: ~~~In every musical – and in many movies – there seems to be a moment when two or more main characters, are separated, but both still on stage or screen. In a musical, they may sing a song together. In a movie, the screen is likely split between them, showing what each is doing. It’s typically not a happy moment. It often happens after a separation of some kind between the characters. It often signifies an emotional rift as well as a physical one. In these scenes, the characters are together but separate.
~~~2020 has given us all our very own split screen moments — too many to count. COVID-19 has forced us all to maintain physical distance, canceling our face to face worship, shifting to the parking lot, keeping us apart, away from our churches and away from the Eucharist. What, then, does Jesus’ prayer for us all to be one mean here, for us, in our times? How can we “be one” when we have to settle for online services, phone calls, and emails, even parking lot worship or physical distancing with masks rather than the hugs, sacraments, and in-person love to which we are so accustomed?
~~~The church throughout history has had its share of split screen moments. The 1918 flu pandemic most recently forced churches closed in many of the same ways that we have had to close in 2020. The HIV-AIDS pandemic gave people a healthy fear of disease and of one another, too, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. Long before that, plagues would occasionally rip through the population, forcing separations and leaving sickness and death in their wake. In turbulent times, it is helpful to remember that we are not the first to walk the road before us. We are not the first church people to experience the split screen caused by disease.
~~~In this Gospel passage, Jesus is preparing to die. He has spent a long time talking to the disciples and attempting to prepare them, as he shared dinner with them and laid aside his robe like a servant, the night before he would lay down his life for his friends. Now, it seems, he is preparing both himself and his disciples for his death, as he prays for them.
~~~Most of us understand what it is like to be with a person as they prepare to die. We know that truths are spoken then. We know how to say goodbye. The farewell discourse is more relatable in its Holy Week context than it perhaps is here, in the Easter lectionary, after the Ascension.
~~~Perhaps one thing this pandemic has done for us is to point out that we don’t often know how to be separate but still united. Now, as we read this passage in light of the Ascension, we realize that that is exactly what Jesus is preparing them for — to remain united with him, and with each other, even when he is not physically present. Later in this chapter of John, Jesus will say, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is
truth.”
~~~Crisis teaches us truths. This is true of the disciples at the time of Jesus’ death, and it is true of us here in 2020. In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is the Word made flesh, the truth made flesh. In Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the disciples learn that the worst thing is never the last thing, but that in Christ, all things are made new. In our own time, perhaps, we are learning similar things.
~~~When Christ ascended, the disciples looked around at each other, and the sky, such that the angels standing by asked them, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” (Acts 1:11). It is okay not to know what to do next. It is okay to be still. It is okay to put one foot in front of the other and muddle through. And it is okay to be taken aback by physical separation from those we love and whose presence comforts
us and lifts us up.
~~~We are learning, or have learned, to be with one another, united in Christ, even when we are not physically present. During our time of split screen moments we have united around the Word and our mutual love for Christ and for one another. We have done nothing perfectly, but we have allowed the crisis to teach us. We have been sanctified, we have been holy, by the truth and held together in love by Christ.
~~~~This might also serve to teach us other things, such as how we are united in Christ with people we have never met: Christians around the world continue to gather, and Christ’s prayer is that we be one with them. Christ is holding us together with people all around the world. Even though we cannot be physically present with Christians in other nations, we can be united with them in Christ, just as we have been
united even in our own separations within our congregations.
~~~~We are also united with the saints throughout history: Christian heroes from all walks of life and throughout the ages are united with us, too, though we have never been able to be physically present with them. Let our separation during the pandemic always remind us that physical separation is no obstacle to Christ, who holds us all together in love. We live by faith over fear-the masks we wear and the physical
distancing we practice are not out of fear but are out of our LOVE for others in Jesus’ name.
~~~Perhaps, then, this pandemic can teach us more than how to better wash our hands. Perhaps it can do more than be a moment of split screen sadness for all of us. Perhaps it can truly teach us to be one in Christ with people with whom we may never be physically present in this life. Perhaps it can serve as a reminder that regardless, we are all one in Christ, and Christ is with us, now and always. In Christ, neither death, nor life, nor pandemics, nor wars can ever separate us. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession On this seventh Sunday of Easter, we gather in our homes or together as one, praying for the church, the world, and all who are in need. In this time of troubling separation, we pray to you, triune God, for the unity of your churches. Bind us together in the truth of your gospel. Make us witnesses of your mysterious might. As you blessed the early disciples for their unfolding ministry, bless those who lead and serve our local congregation. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Nurture the life of your creation. Support those who explore the mysteries of your universe. We praise you for all the scientists who have enriched our understanding of creation. Help all online teachers to instruct our children in the ways of nature. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. As we prepare for Memorial Day, we pray for peace around the world. Protect all soldiers, and assure them of your never-failing strength. Shield the vulnerable who live in paths of
violence. We pray especially for the people of Afghanistan and Syria. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Come to the aid of all who suffer. We pray for those who are laden with grief, overwhelmed by anxiety, or struggling without medical care. Uphold all health-care workers who attend to coronavirus patients. Comfort all families and friends who cannot embrace their loved ones at the time of death. We give into your care all the sick, especially those we name here before you …. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Grant your oneness to humankind, so marked by isolation and division. Bring harmony to families, rival gangs, distraught citizens, racial groupings, and members of our legislatures. Give to each individual a wholeness that is birthed in you. Make us one, as you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are one. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Make us steadfast in the faith, and graciously receive our personal petitions:… Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. To know you is to have eternal life. We praise you for the lives of all who have died in the faith and who now live in you. At the end, bring us with all your saints into your presence. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. With bold confidence in your love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God of our past, our present, and our future, we place all for whom we pray into your circle of love, now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING: May the One who brought forth Jesus from the dead raise us to new life, fill us with hope, and turn our mourning into dancing. Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us now and forever. Amen.
DISMISSAL: Christ is risen, just as he said. Together, let us go to share this Good News, led by the Spirit, to serve God and share Christ’s love with all people. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please call the church office or email Pr. Jen with any prayer requests you may have so they may be shared with the congregation.
Please continue to hold in prayer:
Laura Everill, daughter of Phyllis and Tom Agness, residing in a healthcare facility
Walter Crowley, husband of Kathryn and father of Ginger Toomire recovering from pneumonia
Pr Cheryll, Karl, and Nick Kaukis who mourn the death of Chris, beloved son and brother
Wayne Boyd, brother of Barbara Musgraves, who faces surgery and is in need of healing
Joyce, Elaine Dougan’s sister in law, facing brain cancer surgery
Arthur, husband of Joanne St. Amand, in need of God’s healing presence
Al D’Agostino, brother-in-law of Al Beicht, facing cancer surgery
John Greene, Millie’s husband, recovering from surgery
Fred Schaible, Eileen’s husband and Pr. Jen’s dad, in hospice care
Florence, Bob Kostrowskky’s aunt in New Jersey who is in need of God’s healing love
Suzette, Katie McClay’s friend who is recovering after colon cancer surgery,
Norm Balint, Roberta’s husband, who is recovering from catheterization and two stents
Colleen, Fran Kostrowsky’s cousin who is recovering from a broken hip in rehab
Doris Puerner, resting at home but still not feeling well and seeking answers to pain
Lois, Lorraine Maass’ friend, who is in need of God’s healing presence
Those who are in need or ill in any way, those who are lonely, those who are frightened,
those who grieve, those caring for those who are ill
NEW DATES FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT BOOK!!!!
LUNCH BUNCH: Wednesdays, beginning May 27, please join us from 11-12:30 for the Hope Lunch Bunch. Bring your own lunch and share some time with your Hope family for conversation and sharing, prayer, and maybe a game or two all the while practicing physical distancing. All are welcome in the Fellowship Hall. Bring your lunch, your mask, and a desire to spend time among friends.
BIBLES AND BAGELS (or muffins or ….???) Please join us Mondays beginning June 1 from 10-11am for Bible Study and sharing in the Fellowship Hall. Physical Distancing and sharing in Scripture and discussion are blessings we can share together!! All are welcome!!
***** Email Pr. Jen your favorite hymn names -hymns that lift you up-so that they may be included in worship as licensing permits at hopeluthern1@comcast.net !!!!
Leave a Reply