Easter 6-May 16-17, 2020
Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
We keep talking about this time as a time of uncertainty. There are so many mixed
messages being shared and seen. I am well aware that one of the local churches down
the street has opened their doors for worship in the building-and yet, our Bishop is still
warning against moving inside to protect the safety and well-being of folks and the ever-
present threat of lawsuits and insurance cancelling for those who move too quickly to
that option. We see beaches opening and then closing again because people are not
maintaining physical distance for safety. We see and hear conflicting information
through the media and from our leaders-it certainly is a crazy time.
I need you to know that as a congregation and a leadership team, we are constantly
reviewing information we have, directives from the Office of the Bishop and the
Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, and watching the examples around us in order to try to
make careful and wise decisions. Please know these decisions weigh heavily on the
hearts and in the minds of our congregation leaders and we pray for the Spirit’s guidance
to do what is best for the sake of all concerned. Please also know that safety and health
are a top priority, while at the same time trying to maintain the integrity of our worship
life and faith journey. As leaders, we strive to listen well, aim to be teachable, and work
to be nimble and flexible so that we can move forward in faith in the safest and most
Spirit-guided way. Exercising an over-abundance of caution, while maintaining integrity
as a worshiping community of God’s people are our goals. Any insights or thoughts you
may have, I humbly ask that you pleas share them so that we might be best served as the
Spirit speaks in and through each one of us.
One thing is for certain-Christ is risen and Christ is in charge. While the entire world is
holding its breath and waiting for this virus to pass, and people are suffering silently and
alone in so many ways, please know that because of Christ and his call to us to be a
family, we are not alone. The troubles of this world continue in spite of sheltering in
place-illness, death, depression, financial woes, job insecurity, and all the rest-these are
still present among us whether inflicted by the pandemic or not. Please continue to share
your concerns, your prayers, your needs with your brothers and sisters at Hope-it is a
privilege to pray for you and with you. And remember three things: God is with you.
God is still with you. God will ALWAYS be with you.
We are a family. Christ is risen, and Christ is in charge. In the midst of all that is
uncertain in this world, these are truths that hold fast and endure. Christ is risen indeed!
Alleluia! My love is with you and my prayers are for you-Pr. Jen+
SEASON OF EASTER WORSHIP -SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER MAY 16-17, 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. Almighty and ever-living God, you hold together all
things in heaven and on earth. In your great mercy receive the prayers of all your children, and
give to all the world the Spirit of your truth and peace, 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 14:15-21
In final words to his disciples on the night of his arrest, Jesus encourages obedience to his
commandments and speaks of the Spirit, who will be with them forever.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask
the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,
because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer
see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I
am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them
are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them
and reveal myself to them.”
HOMILY:
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! A missionary named Herbert Jackson
was a given car when he arrived on the mission field. It had one problem-it would not
start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the
local school near his home. and received permission to take a few children out of class
and had them give his car push to get it started each morning. As he traveled the area
he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious
procedure … for 2 years. At the end of two years, he needed to return to the states due
to health problems and a new missionary came to replace him. Of course, the car
stayed with the new missionary, so Jackson began to explain his arrangement for
getting the car started. As he did so, the new man began looking under the hood.
“Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a
twist, stepped into the car, turned the key and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine
roared to life. For 2 years, the only trouble with that car was a loose connection. The
power was there all the time. Yet he was not connected to the power.
~~~~At first reading, the words of Jesus in this passage from John are not very
inspiring. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” It is that little word
“if.” How often do humans talk about love as conditional?? If you loved me, you
would…. Fill in the blank….visit more, call more, obey me, listen to me, stop doing
that, give me money or a phone or a car….humans turn love into a conditional thing.
And yet, from God, we often expect something different. The source of all power,
forgiveness, love offers them to us freely and unconditionally-that’s the very
definition of God’s grace-it is God’s love, freely given.
~~~~But what is stunning about today’s gospel passage is that it seems to vary from
the unconditional love Jesus has been demonstrating in every gospel reading we have
had since Easter Sunday. In John 20, to the brokenhearted Mary Magdalene, Jesus
simply spoke her name. In John’s “Shepherd Discourse” like the sheep hearing his
voice, Mary recognized him with joy. When the disciples were hiding behind locked
doors in fear, Jesus simply stood there among them, sorrowful that they were unable
to trust the good news brought to them by the women that morning, but not wasting
any time with recriminations or scenes of righteous indignation. In the “Doubting
Thomas” passage, Jesus never said anything along the lines of & “If you’d really loved
me you would know me without my having to get undressed and show you my scars.”
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus, in the guise of a stranger, patiently did what he had so
often done with his friends and disciples while walking along the road: he talked to
them about the meanings of scripture. Keeping his disguise, he deliberately recreated
a very particular memory for them while they were at table together: he took, blessed,
broke, and shared bread. Once they recognized him, Jesus did not stay around to say,
“Well it took you long enough.” He discretely vanished, leaving them to rejoice.
~~~These post-Resurrection appearances strongly suggest that the risen Jesus loved
his disciples unconditionally. Yet suddenly in today's reading, going back to a time
immediately before his arrest in Gethsemane, we have the big “if.” There may be
absolute, unconditional love for us on God's side of things, but on our side, Jesus
poses a condition: if you love me, you will obey my commandments.
~~~The clue, of course, lies not so much in the “if” but in that word “obey”. We need
to decide precisely what commandments John wants us to understand at this point.
Are we to understand the whole tradition of commandments, from Sinai and the Big
10 on down, or are we to infer the new commandment that Jesus was handing over to
his friends in John 13:34: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another
even as I have loved you” Which Commandment is Jesus expecting us to obey??
~~~It may be, of course, that the distinction is beside the point. The Ten
Commandments in the Sinai covenant tradition can be seen as a gift that describes a
life for humans individually and socially -ways we might love God by loving others
that is consistent with the life God wants for us. Rather than assuming that Jesus
requires a formal kind of obedience, we do better to think of God's commandments,
right from the start, guiding and guarding us in learning how to love him and each
other. It is therefore not so much “if you love me, you will obey,” but “in loving me,
you are obeying.” That’s the love Jesus hopes to see in us-a love he has modeled
again and again-and in sharing that love, we are letting the power of God shine
through us as we obey his call to love. We are allowing the Spirit to lead us in love-as
we talk about in our purpose statement that we are led by the Spirit to serve God and
share Christ’s love with all. The Spirit gives us power to live lives of love, as we
obey Jesus’ command to us to love him by loving each other~~+shaped lives of love.
~~~When we follow this guide and guard, we are taking in the Spirit of Truth. This Spirit is
what helps us to see and respond to God's life in Christ in ourselves and each other. The
reference to the Holy Spirit that Jesus is sending, of course, reminds us that Ascension is
around the corner-this Thurs- and Pentecost is looming. He is reminding us that he will
ascend to the right hand of God, but that he has promised his Holy Spirit to be with us-an
event that is celebrated at the Pentecost when the disciples were filled with that same Spirit.
By assuring us of the continuity of God's presence in our lives, Jesus is also assuring us of
the ongoing availability of God's absolute and unconditional love—FOR US—IN US—
THROUGH US—for the sake of the world-a connection to the power of God’s love that
can never~ not ever be broken
~~~In the wonderful, treasured words of St. Paul, we may therefore be sure that nothing,
“neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come … will
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” Jesus calls us to tap
into the Spirit who leads us to love, allowing us to obey Jesus’ command to us to love him
by loving others. And my friends-they will know we are Christians, Christ-followers- by
our love-by HIS love. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia! Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Still worshiping from our homes or in the parking lot, but with our hearts bonded into one,
let us pray for all who are in need.
Abiding God, come into all the homes around the globe from which your people offer their
prayer. Bless Christian leaders as they guide the church through this pandemic. Show
our pastors and our church councils the way forward. Grant your grace also to the devout
in other religions of the world, and show your kindness to all who search for you, whether
within or outside the church. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Creating God, revitalize the health of oceans, rivers, lakes, springs, glaciers, and other
bodies of water that give life to your creatures. Form us unto a baptized body that
protects the waters and all creation on which we rely. Lord in your mercy, hear our
prayer.
Righteous God, instill in all the leaders of nations a desire for justice and the will to serve
the oppressed. Guide our nation’s governors in their difficult pathway between the threat
of disease and the dangers of scarcity and isolation. Bring our legislators into agreement
about how to assist those in need. Give us patience in facing our current predicament.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Compassionate God, visit all who are in great need, those who suffer from the
coronavirus, those living in loneliness and fear, those without jobs, and those who mourn
their dead. Uphold those whose futures have been taken away from them. We pray for
health care workers and for the residents in care homes, prisons, and refugee camps.
For the countless persons who carry heavy burdens on their back and for all whom we
name…. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Eternal God, your kingdom is here now, and it has no end. We remember the saints who
have gone before us. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
With bold confidence in your love, merciful God, we place all for whom we pray into your
eternal care, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 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.
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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
John Greene, Millie’s husband, recovering from surgery
Fred Schaible, Eileen’s husband and Pr. Jen’s dad, in hospice care
Those recovering from storm damage
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
A NEW THING!!! On Thursday, THIS THURSDAY, May 21, the church throughout the
world celebrates The Ascension of our Lord. For the first time at Hope Lutheran Church,
we will celebrate Ascension Day with a brief liturgy in the parking lot at 6:30pm. Ascension
is one of the principle feasts of the church year along with Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.
Please join us as we celebrate the 40 th day of the Easter season, Ascension Day, and look
toward the Feast of Pentecost, which literally means the 50 th day. See you in the parking
lot!!!
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