If you missed the liturgy for the first week, you can find it here. The liturgy for the second week is here. This week’s liturgy reflects the story of the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at a well. While Nicodemus came to Jesus at night (John 3:1-17), this woman meets Jesus in broad daylight. And she immediately confesses to her neighbors that she has met Messiah.
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If you missed the liturgy for last week, you can find it here. This week’s liturgy draws on the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night (John 3:1-17). What is he searching for? Why does he think Jesus might have answers for him? And does he ever find what he’s seeking?
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Many Christian churches use an Advent wreath to mark the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Each week, another candle is lit, and some Advent wreaths include a fifth candle in the center, lighting the “Christ Candle” on Christmas Eve.
I grew up in a non-liturgical church. We didn’t celebrate the seasons of the church year – at least not the way our mainline sisters and brothers did. Sure, we had Easter and Christmas, but Lent and Advent? Pentecost? Ordinary time? I had no clue.
Coming into a congregation that observed these sacred seasons shifted my perspective. I grew to love the rhythm of the church year: the waiting, the working, the worship. So when, a few years ago, someone asked if we could do a “reverse Advent wreath” for Lent, I took it as an invitation.
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Here in Minnesota, churches are scrambling to move Ash Wednesday worship online or a week later, because a huge winter storm is promising to dump a couple of feet of snow on us just as we should be imposing ashes on each other.
Several years ago, I put together an Ash Wednesday service designed to include children in the liturgy. It draws on the Jewish custom of having the youngest children ask Four Questions at the Seder meal, giving adults the opportunity to teach about Passover. In this case, the children’s questions spark the Invitation to Table, and move through the Great Thanksgiving. If a snowstorm (or other unforeseen obstacle) prevents you from participating in an Ash Wednesday service with your local congregation, you might adapt this one to use at home.
Remember that sacred practices are meant to draw us into the holy season of Lent. They should not become obstacles in themselves as you come nearer to Christ.
A Service for ASH WEDNESDAY
GATHER
CALL TO WORSHIP
One: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.
All: God’s mercy endures forever.
One: We come from many families
to worship God as one family of God.
All: Remembering our covenant, we come in faithfulness.
One: We come to mark the beginning of the season of Lent.
All: We come to remember through ashes and prayer.
One: We come to break bread together.
All: We come to receive the cup in Christ’s name.
One: Come then, let us renew ourselves as we worship together.
All: Let us worship God!
Sing Sunday’s Palms Are Wednesday’s Ashes
(The Faith We Sing, #2138)
WORD
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Joel 2:12-13
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.
NEW TESTAMENT READING: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2
We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
GOSPEL READING: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
HYMN: Behold the Lamb of God (CCLI Song # 265260)
ASHES AND TABLE
THANKSGIVING OVER THE ASHES
Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, so we may remember that only by your gracious gift are we given everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
CONFESSION AND PARDON
One: For all the times we fail to do what we know is right,
All: We are sorry, Lord.
One: For all the times we do what we know is wrong,
All: We are sorry, Lord.
One: For all the times we fail to love each other,
All: We are sorry, Lord.
One: For all the times we fail to love you,
All: We are sorry, Lord.
Forgive us, and give us clean hearts.
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
Children: Who can come to this table?
One: Jesus invites all who trust him to come to this table.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
One: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to the Lord.
One: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to five our thanks and praise.
Children: Why do we give thanks at this table?
One: We give thanks for God’s creation, for making us in God’s image. We give thanks because God never gave up on us even though we were not faithful to God. We give thanks because when it was time, God sent Jesus to show God’s love for us.
Children: How do we praise God for this?
One: With all the faithful people of every time and place in the world we sing this song of God’s glory.
UMH #517 (stanza one) Holy, Holy, Holy
THE LORD’S PRAYER
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
Children: What do we remember at this table?
One: We remember Jesus, God’s child:
All: Jesus healed the sick and restored sight to the blind; Jesus welcomed strangers and ate with outcasts. Dying on the cross, Jesus saved us from our sin, Risen from the dead, Jesus gives us new life.
Children: Why do we eat bread at this table?
One: Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it
and gave it to his friends.
Children: Why do we drink juice at this table?
One: Jesus gave them the cup as the promise that our sins are forgiven. He said, “This is my blood, poured out for you.”
Children: But this is just everyday bread and juice!
One: Let us pray that the everyday bread and juice will become holy. Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit on these your gifts of bread and cup that the bread we break and the cup we bless may bring us closer to Jesus and Jesus closer to us. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread – Pouring of the Cup
Imposition of Ashes and Distribution of Elements
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.
Repent and believe the gospel.
Receive Christ’s body, broken for you, and Christ’s blood, shed for you.
SENDING
UMH #292 What Wondrous Love Is This?
Benediction
Each year, churches look for ways to deepen faith during the season of Lent. Quite often, this means reading a book together, or adding a midweek worship service. For some, however, these practices are simply “more of the same,” and do not lead to deeper faith. Sometimes we need to engage all of our senses to discover God’s direction as we learn to follow Christ.
So this year, some folks have signed up to explore with me how our five senses are reflected in scripture. We will also consider how spiritual practices engaging those senses can bring us to a deeper understanding of God’s love for us, as we seek to live a more Christ-like life. Each week, we will focus on one of the five senses. We will read about and discuss a miracle of Jesus related to that sense, and I will introduce to a spiritual practice to try during the following week. REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED. But stay tuned for future offerings like this.
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O Holy Mystery,
infinite, almighty, encompassing the universe,
you came to us as human infant,
God made flesh, glory tucked between your tiny toes;
Love latching onto life –
vulnerable and helpless,
and yet our only help.
Now, in the quiet aftermath of all our frantic striving
to celebrate your birth with our best,
the very best of our best,
we kneel before you,
exhausted,
spent.
Whether we were ready or not, you came.
Whether we are ready or not,
come once again, Lord Jesus.
Latch onto our lives.
Fill us with the mystery of your love,
God made flesh.
Amen.
12/19/2022
We’re coming down to the wire, God. This is the point in Advent where, if I haven’t done it by now, it isn’t going to happen. Those dreams I had of creating the perfect Christmas for my family, my church, myself …. they were lovely, weren’t they, Lord?
But maybe they weren’t the dream you’ve been dreaming all along.
Like the dream you gave Joseph.
Your dream disrupted Joseph’s dreams of the perfect marriage, the perfect family, the perfect life …
Yet Joseph didn’t argue with you (the way I would).
As far as we know, Joseph stayed silent (the way I would not).
Joseph simply obeyed. Mary may have said, “Let it be with me according to your word,” but Joseph quietly acted, even if he didn’t completely understand what you were about to do.
And you chose Joseph, of all the possible people in Nazareth, to be the one who would teach Jesus how to be human.
So, Lord, help us to discern your dreams for us, and make us willing to obey you, just as Joseph did.
Give us courage to abandon our old dreams, dreams that focus on what we want for ourselves, instead of what you want for us. For we know that what you want for us is far greater than anything we can imagine.
Help us to embrace the new dreams you put into our hearts and minds, dreams for peace, for justice, for lifting up the lowly and filling the hungry with good things, dreams for sharing the good news that You are with us, Emmanuel, and you will save us from our sins when we turn to you.
And then, Lord, teach us how to be human, too. Just as Joseph taught Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Amen.
This sermon was preached for Winthrop Evangelical Covenant Church on October 23, 2022, as part of a series on Understanding the New Testament. A video of this message is available here.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s an honor to be with you today, as you continue your journey through scripture to discover God’s great plan of redemption. God is on a mission to redeem the world, and God is fulfilling that mission through the church, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, to recap the last few weeks, or bring you up to date if you are joining us now for the first time, we know that:
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Pentecost C
June 5, 2022
NOTE: This is my final sermon before retiring from active ministry. I’ve preached Acts 2:1-21 other years, and you can find another message on this passage here. But this one is different, because it is also my farewell to a specific congregation, as well as to formal ministry.
The Greek word used in the New Testament to describe the Holy Spirit is “parakletos” – which translates best as Advocate or Comforter. But parakletos means more than that.
It literally means “one who comes alongside.” Certainly, there is an understanding that this means to come alongside us to comfort us in our confusion and despair, or to come alongside us as an Advocate would in a court of law. But every year when I read this description of Pentecost, I’m struck by how the Holy Spirit coming alongside these gathered disciples is anything but comfortable.
We’re talking about a loud rush of violent wind sweeping in and filling the house where the disciples are praying together. This does not sound comforting, does it? And at some point, the sound of their many voices, each speaking in a different language, gets loud enough that people outside the house can hear it, and they start to gather around, wondering what it means.
And suddenly, that violent rushing wind propels them outdoors, where people from every nation can identify their own languages being spoken. When Peter stands up to explain what is happening, he addresses “all who live in Jerusalem,” so we get the sense that the wind and flames inside the house have now spilled out into the streets.
The Holy Spirit is on the move. Suddenly, the word “Pentecost” means more than a Jewish festival 50 days after Passover. Now, it means an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that signals the beginning of Christ’s church. The Kingdom of God is no longer confined to the heavenly realms – or within the walls of a building.
The Kingdom of God is not just “at hand” or “near.” The Kingdom of God is here. It is now. It is moving.
The Holy Spirit is more than Comforter, more than Advocate. The Holy Spirit comes alongside to strengthen us and give us courage for the daunting work of proclaiming Christ to a world that doesn’t always want to hear this good news. And, sometimes, the Holy Spirit gives us the swift kick we need to get up, and get moving out of our comfort zones, out of the building, into the places God wants us.
You are experiencing this, as a church. Like those early disciples, you are becoming apostles. How does that happen? When does following turn into being sent?
Last week we heard Jesus give his final instructions to the disciples as they watched him disappear into the clouds. We saw them return to Jerusalem with joy, praising God, and we looked on as they gathered once more in a room together, praying to receive what Jesus had promised them, power from on high. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit blows them out into the city to share the Good News, and the church is born.
Somewhere in there, they’ve been transformed from frightened followers to bold announcers of the gospel. Somewhere in there, they’ve changed from apprentice craftsmen to master builders in God’s kingdom here on earth. They’ve joined Jesus in the work of healing and driving out demons and preaching Christ. They are no longer disciples, but apostles; no longer following behind, but being sent out ahead. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit propels them out into the streets of Jerusalem in a blaze of glory.
The Holy Spirit is still at work, despite repeated human efforts to quench it. The Holy Spirit will not be tamed. God’s Spirit cannot be limited by our feeble attempts to control it, to keep it within polite boundaries. Just as the Holy Spirit propelled those first apostles into the streets of Jerusalem, it propels you into the streets of Willmar, Minnesota, to share the good news that Jesus is Lord, and the kingdom he came to inaugurate is present among us now.
Over the past two years, you have walked with me, as I have walked with you, learning and teaching each other what it means to follow Jesus, and to be sent by him. We may have disagreed on some things. We certainly rejoiced over others.
I know I have grown deeper in faith and stronger in love of God and neighbor, and I hope many of you can say the same. And while, for this season together, you have given me the authority to serve as your pastor, I have sought to be faithful to the authority God placed on my life when calling me into ministry.
In a couple of weeks, you will welcome a new pastor, and I know you will place your trust in her as your spiritual leader. This is as it should be. You are ready for a new chapter in the story of Willmar United Methodist Church, and I am confident God plans to make it a good one!
But here’s the thing: the core of the good news of the Kingdom of God is found right here, among you all, in the people who choose to follow Jesus, loving God with all your hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and loving your neighbors as Christ has loved you.
You are the gospel. You are the good news. You are the ones going out in a blaze of Pentecost glory. You are the ones who are being sent, propelled by the Holy Spirit into the world around you, to speak in ways others can hear, and to love as Jesus has loved you. As you approach this Table today, know that you are receiving nourishment for the journey. Christ gives himself to you. Christ goes with you, even as the Holy Spirit sends you forth.
So, one last time, let me offer this invitation to you …
“Come to this sacred table, not because you must, but because you may. Come to testify not that you are righteous, but that you sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ, and desire to be his true disciples. Come not because you are strong, but because you are weak; not because you have any claim on the grace of God, but because in your frailty and sin you stand in constant need of his mercy and help. Come, not to express an opinion, but to seek his presence and pray for his Spirit. Come, that we may be one in Christ Jesus.” – Covenant Book of Worship, p. 112
Dark.
Not dusk,
no moon or stars, as on a clear night;
No.
This dark was thick, oppressively thick;
All the goodness that ever existed
had been sucked out of the world.
Nothing.
Empty.
Dark.
And we were
suddenly,
completely
alone.
Dark.
It was so….
Dark.
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.– Latin 12th c.; German, Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676)
Translated, James W. Alexander (1804-1859)
A pastor sings 