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Call to Worship Mark Miller and Amy Robinson
One: In the midst of my life, this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Many: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end; One: they are new every morning; great is God’s faithfulness. Many: “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in God.” One: The Lord is good to those who wait, to the soul that seeks. Many: It is good that we should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty” Barbara Chalfant 1 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity! 2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be. 3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye of sinfulness thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee perfect in power, in love, and purity. 4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity! Call to Confession Maureen Wright Prayer of Confession Mark Miller Merciful God, in the midst of the turmoil of our lives and our world, we live as people of fear and anxiety. We focus too often on the negative things in life and lose hope. We forget that you have promised us refuge in the storms of our lives. We turn inward and trust in our own efforts and find ourselves frustrated. We seek to protect ourselves, forgetting that you have called us to care for one another. Forgive us, O God, help us to live as a people who trust the promise of your steadfast love which empowers us to be people of hope, care and compassion. Enable us to see your light in our midst and live in its light. Amen. Assurance of Pardon Maureen Wright One: Hear the promise of the Lord: See, your salvation has come! You are a holy people, redeemed by God, sought out, not forsaken. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Many: Thanks be to God. Prayer for Illumination Susan Sharp Campbell Scripture Psalm 57 Nellie Howard Children’s Time Sarah Specht Sermon Nellie Howard Hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour” Barbara Chalfant 1 I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; no tender voice like thine can peace afford. I need thee, O I need thee, every hour I need thee! O bless me now, my Savior-- I come to thee! 2 I need thee every hour; stay thou near by; temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. I need thee, O I need thee, every hour I need thee! O bless me now, my Savior-- I come to thee! 3 I need thee every hour; teach me thy will, and thy rich promises in me fulfill. I need thee, O I need thee, every hour I need thee! O bless me now, my Savior-- I come to thee! 4 I need thee every hour, Most Holy One; O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son. I need thee, O I need thee, every hour I need thee! O bless me now, my Savior-- I come to thee! Prayers of the People Ed Thompson Offering Invitation to the Offering Rocky Poole Offertory Susan Sharp Campbell Prayer of Dedication Rocky Poole Hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” Barbara Chalfant Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-- Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-- Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-- Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! Charge and Benediction Nellie Howard Resources used: The Call to Worship is adapted from Lamentations 3:21-26. The Call to Confession and Assurance of Pardon are from Call to Worship, volume 54. The Prayer for Illumination is from Call to Worship, volume 49. The Invitation to the Offering is from and the Prayer of Dedication is adapted from Call to Worship, volume 48. Prelude
Call to Worship Mark 1:15 The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the good news. Hymn Seek Ye First Text and Music: Karen Lafferty, 1971 Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and its righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Allelu, alleluia! Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you. Allelu, alleluia! You shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Allelu, alleluia! Prayer of Confession Loving God, through your Son you have called us to repent of our sin, to believe the good news, and to celebrate the coming of your kingdom. Like Christ’s first apostles, may we hear his call to discipleship, and, forsaking old ways, proclaim the gospel of new life to a broken world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Response Take, O Take Me as I Am Text and Music: John Bell, 1995 Take, O take me as I am; summon out what I shall be; set your seal upon my heart and live in me. Repeat. Assurance of Pardon Whenever a people humble themselves, turn from their evil ways, and put their hope and trust in divine mercy, God sees and forgives their sin, and enfolds them in the strength and love of Christ. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. Your sins are forgiven. Be at peace. Amen. Scripture Readings Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Mark 1:14-20 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Conversion of Nineveh 3The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ 3So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ 5And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. Mark 1:14-20The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ Jesus Calls the First Disciples16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. The Morning Message A Call and a Charge Amanda Gorman. I had never heard that name before Wednesday. I’m guessing you hadn’t either. But, I know who she is now. A poet. A preacher. A prophet. Twenty two years old, this slip of a young woman stood before four Presidents and at least three vice presidents, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, the first youth Poet Laureate to address a Presidential Inauguration ceremony in history. In a bright yellow coat, a red band around a crown of braids, she owned the moment- erect, poised, and powerful. No trace of the speech impairment she had overcome. No nerves shook voice or limb. Her message, The Hill We Climb. It was as music to me. Chosen by Jill Biden for the task, Amanda’s assignment was to compose and deliver a poem about national unity. That was the inauguration theme: “America United.” According to The New York Times, Gorman set out to write a poem that would inspire hope and foster a sense of collective purpose, at a moment when Americans are reeling from a deadly pandemic, political violence and partisan division. She said about it, “I had this huge thing, probably one of the most important things I’ll ever do in my career. It was like, if I try to climb this mountain all at once, I’m just going to pass out.” So she wrote a few lines every day and was about half-way through when rioters stormed the halls of congress January 6. She said she stayed awake way into the night, adding verses about the apocalyptic scene that unfolded at the Capitol that day: We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it, Would destroy our country if it meant delaying our democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, It can never be permanently defeated. Amanda has said of her work, “In my poem, I’m not going to gloss over what we’ve seen over the past few weeks, and I dare say, the past few years. But what I really aspire to do in the poem is to be able to use my words to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal. It’s doing that in a way that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.” And that, my friends, is the call and charge of a prophet. Jonah was a prophet. Not a very good one. We know his story. God tapped Jonah to go to Ninevah, a cruel, hard-hearted, sinful city in Assyria. He was to preach obedience to God and repentance. Turning from sin and turning toward God. Well Jonah voted no on that assignment. He ran as far and as fast as he could to get away from God. That never works out well. Jonah boarded a ship on its ways to Tarshish. A big storm blew up, threatening certain death. Jonah was thrown overboard to appease the gods of the sea and save the others from their fate. Only he didn’t die, though he might have wished he had. Jonah was swallowed up by a big fish, maybe a whale. He apparently fussed and fumed for three days in the belly of the fish, wrestled with God and reformed his ways. Jonah decided to obey God and go on to Ninevah to deliver God’s message and the fish spewed him out on land. Jonah was an effective speaker. The spirit apparently moved through Jonah’s words and the people repented of their sinful ways and God saved them after all. Score, right? Not for Jonah. You see, he had a secret hidden in his heart: he hated the Ninevites. They weren’t Hebrews. The worshiped a foreign god. They were not of his race. They were a stiff-necked and brutal bunch of people. They deserved to be destroyed. We can hear Jonah saying, “It isn’t right. It isn’t fair. They aren’t my people. How can they be God’s people?” And that is the question of the day and may be the existential question we all must answer. In our scripture texts last week and this week, we read stories of call. Jesus calls his disciples, the ones who will join his work, with whom he will have the closest relationships, the ones who will carry the ministry on after Jesus’ death. As far as I can tell, Jesus is just focusing on call, assembling the team. He hasn’t had a staff meeting yet. We aren’t told much more about their assignment other than Jesus will teach them to fish for people. The gospel message has yet to unfold. When it does, it is hopeful and expansive and full of renewal, reconciliation, regeneration. Life. Life for everyone. And, like Jonah before them, they will surely engage with people they may judge to be unworthy of the good news, unworthy of God’s grace, unworthy of being healed, reformed, reunited with their families. Unworthy, undeserving of a better life. Why? Well, there’s nothing new under the sun. Refer to Jonah: Jesus will minister to sinners of the highest order. Stubborn, stiff-necked, foreign, female, of mixed race, the handicapped, people who prayed to the unknown god. In other words, if they aren’t my people, they can’t be God’s people. Why bother? Because the gifts and benefits of faith cannot be reduced to a finite few. Because we can’t claim good news for ourselves, and in some misguided attempt to keep it, exclude others from it. Last week I spoke to the great ends of the church. They speak to a fellowship of Christian faith that seeks the best for all people, that lifts us all. If we were to summarize them, I would have us look back to the prophet Micah, who asked just what it is that will satisfy God: With what shall I come before the Lord? And bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8) When Amanda Gorman stood before the nation Wednesday, I was struck with her words that had both weight and wings. A young black woman, raised by a single mother, who had excelled in school and graduated from Harvard, who is a witness to life and a prophet to the living. A prophecy that is to be fulfilled. For we aren’t there yet. Addressing the forces that have battered this nation of late, she writes, When day comes, we ask ourselves, Where can we find light In this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We have braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace. In the norms and notions of what is just Isn’t always justice… …and yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow, we do it. Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed A nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. What unfinished work awaits within you? (https://thehill.com/homenews/news/535052-read-transcript-of-amanda-gormans-inaugural-poem) Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer God, our Savior, Healer, and Friend, we give you all thanks and praise, for you are our rock, our stronghold, our refuge, and our glory. You created the earth and its inhabitants, and called them to put their trust in you. Through your prophets you revealed your mercy to those who turn from evil, humbling themselves and following your ways. When the time was fulfilled, your kingdom drew near to us in your child, Jesus of Nazareth. He came proclaiming the good news and called on all to repent and embrace you as you have embraced us. Jesus died a sinless death for our sakes. But you raised him from the dead and turned our mourning into joy. In this long year of illness and isolation, anxiety, and need, we are reminded that weeping lasts for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Believing in your goodness and grace, we cling to that promise, and devote ourselves again to your ways. Jesus taught us how to see and hear and feel the needs of the world, and gifted and empowered us to transform the world beginning with ourselves. We thank you for the peaceful transition of power this past week as one president left office and another was inaugurated. For all that represents, we have hope, and ask your blessing upon this land. We pray for those in our community of faith who have needs and concerns, for the sick, the troubled, the lonely, the poor and dispossessed, students and school employees who returned to school this week, and all those who serve in harm’s way for the safety of others. We pray for ourselves… With hearts lifted up to you, we offer our prayers in Jesus’ name and after his example, saying, Our Father…Amen. Blessing Go now, follow where Christ calls you and proclaim the message God gives you. Wait in hope for God. Avoid becoming bound up in the business of the world, but live in readiness for the Kingdom. And may God be your haven and your glory; may Christ Jesus give you courage for his mission; and may the Spirit enfold you in love. Amen. Postlude Call to Worship Amos 5
We are called to seek good and not evil, that we may live, and so that the Lord, the God of hosts will be with us. We are called to hate evil and love good, and establish justice. Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. We seek to be a people that embodies God’s justice. By the power of God at work within us, may it be so. Hymn Live Into Hope Text: Jane Parker Huber, 1976 Music: Musica Sacra, c. 1778 Live into hope of captives freed, of sight re-gained, the end of greed. The oppressed shall be the first to see the year of God’s own jubilee. Live into hope! The blind shall see with insight and with clarity, removing shades of pride and fear, a vision of our God brought near. Live into hope of liberty, the right to speak, the right to be, the right to have one’s daily bread, to hear God’s word and thus be fed. Prayer of the Day Almighty God, You sent Jesus to proclaim your kingdom and to teach with authority. Anoint us with your Spirit, that we too may bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Scripture Readings 1 Samuel 3:1-10; John 1:43-51 The Morning Message Today we read two beautiful stories of call. In our Old Testament reading, the young boy Samuel is awakened repeatedly by a voice he mistakes for Eli, the elderly priest Samuel serves in the temple. But the voice does not belong to Eli. It is the very voice of God. Samuel was called to be a prophet. My Old Testament teacher in seminary said that any time we hear the word “prophet” in the Scriptures, we should substitute the word “preacher.” So Samuel’s great work was preaching. He is considered an important figure in all three of the world’s major religions- Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. In the gospel text, it is Jesus himself who recruits his disciples. In this account, he calls two men, Philip and Nathanael, to leave their families, homes, and jobs to accompany him, an itinerant rabbi. That brought the disciple count to four, as earlier, Andrew and Simon Peter had joined Jesus. It is fitting that we should focus on these two texts today, because we have just completed the process of calling men and women to serve Christ and his church as elders. You may remember that we held an election of officers many months ago. Due to the pandemic, we did not have an opportunity to come together in worship, and the five people called to serve had not yet been ordained and installed. So, last Sunday, before our monthly session meeting, and in full observance of Covid safety precautions, we ordained and installed Kevin Dennison, Merritt True, and Jon-Tyler Roach as Ruling Elders. We also installed Nancy McIntosh and John R. Thomas to active service on the session. We have included the brief video for today’s worship service and seek your prayers as we go about our work. As we consider the life and faith of our congregation, the session adheres to the tradition and practice of generations of Presbyterians before us, as found in the Great Ends of the Church: the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind. the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God. the maintenance of divine worship. the preservation of the truth. the promotion of social righteousness. the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. As we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and anticipate the inauguration of a new President of the United States, let us all think on these things, and consider them Christ’s call to all of us in 2021. Affirmation of Faith (from A Brief Statement of Faith) We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal. With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Alleluia. Amen. Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Holy One, as we have called for your justice to roll down like waters, we are painfully aware that many in our nation and in the wider world have never or rarely known justice and righteousness. As we pause to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we admit that the issues of racism are far from resolved. Most of us will never know the hurts and offences and even violence our brothers and sisters have suffered their whole lives long. Our experiences have been very different. Save us from contributing to their pain and all the offenses born of discrimination and the de-valuing of others. Help us to walk some miles in their shoes that we might be your faithful children seeking understanding. We pray for that day when we are all truly at peace with the differences in race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and any human attribute that can be used as a weapon against another. Forgive us for our failures and fill us with strength and conviction to live after the manner of Jesus Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve, God, we know you help us in times of trouble. We continue to pray for the global community working through the pandemic. Remind us to do our part to prevent illness and to help those who suffer from this disease. We are thankful for the vaccine that is now making its way into our community and offering hope of protection against the ravages of Covid. Make us advocates that all our neighbors, here and around the world, will benefit from the promises of modern medicine. Loving God, you know the concerns and needs on our hearts, the family, friends and others who are in need of a sense of your presence and care. You know the blessings and occasions for praise. We lift them to you now. We praise you for those who have been called by the voice of this church as elders to serve on the session. Inspire and empower Kevin Dennison, Jon-Tyler Roach, Merritt True, Nancy McIntosh, and John R. Thomas as they lead the congregation and provide for their spiritual welfare. May their time of service be a blessing to them and to all of us. We make our prayers in Jesus’ name and in the way he taught us saying, Our Father…Amen. Blessing Go now. Listen for the voice of the Lord and follow wherever it leads. Do not be dominated by anything. Allow no room within yourself for deceit, but offer yourself as a temple for the Holy Spirit. And may God be with you and speak through you; may Christ Jesus be one with you and raise you to new life. and may the Holy Spirit dwell in you richly. Amen. Postlude Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 29:2-4 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due God’s name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Hymn Baptized in Water Gaelic melody; Text: Michael J. Saward, 1981 1 Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit, cleansed by the blood of Christ our King. Heirs of salvation, trusting the promise, faithfully now God’s praises we sing. 2 Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit, dead in the tomb with Christ our King. One with his rising, freed and forgiven, thankfully now God’s praises we sing. 3 Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit, marked with the sign of Christ our King; born of the Spirit, we are God’s children; joyfully now God’s praises we sing. Prayer of Confession Lord, have mercy on us. Remember the promises you made to us in our baptism, forgive our sinful ways and heal our brokenness. Set us free from all that enslaves, and raise us to new life in Jesus Christ, that we may be your faithful servants, showing forth healing love to the world, to the glory of your holy name. Amen. Assurance of Pardon Hear the good news! In baptism you were buried with Christ. In baptism you were also raised to new life with him, through faith in the power of God who raised Christ from the dead. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life is gone and a new life has begun. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel: your sins are forgiven. Be at peace. Amen. Scripture Reading Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 The Morning Message Swimming With the Jellyfish Like many of us in high school and college, Sally Haynes had a part time summer job. She was part of an outreach ministry at North Carolina’s Outer Banks. That sounds pretty cushy until you learn her job was to clean bath-houses. On a slow summer afternoon, she walked over to the small sailboat franchise the ministry helped run. Since there were no customers, the manager thought it would be ok for Sally and two of the other boys to take one of the boats out for a brief sail. Sally says she lazily lounged while the guys steered the little boat. And everything was fine- blue sky, sparkling water, warm sun. And then, the wind took a mighty swing at their sail and the boat capsized, dumping the boys out. And so there they were. She says she heard the yelps of the boys as soon as they hit the water. They had landed in a school of jellyfish. But, luckily for her, she had landed on the sail. There she sat, on the water, but protected by the sail. No jellyfish around. The boys started shouting to her, “Sally, get off the sail so we can turn the boat rightside-up!” Sally says she would like to say that as soon as she heard the painful cries of her friends, she bravely leapt off the sail and into the threatening water, but that wasn’t her first instinct. Her first instinct was to stay put and be spared the stings that would surely come when she left her billowy nest. The boys’ cries grew louder. The menacing tentacles stung them repeatedly. But Sally knew the moment she crawled off the sail and into the water, she, too, would be stung. I’ve never been stung by a jellyfish, but I know that no one signs up for that. But if she didn’t move, they would never right the boat and it would be a long, painful, dangerous swim to the shore for all of them. So, resigned to her fate, she slipped into the water and was indeed immediately and repeatedly stung. They righted the boat and hurried back to shore to dress their wounds. How quickly things had gone wrong. While things had been fine, beautiful even, on the surface, the water itself held many dangers. Sally is now a United Methodist minister and has had a long time to reflect on this experience. Now she understands that what happened that summer day was absolutely consistent with Scripture. From the very beginning of salvation history, way back in Genesis, water is the fathomless deep which God created and must divide to make space for the sky to appear. Water must be pushed aside to allow for the emergence of dry land. The deeps are full of power and mystery. They are where Leviathon and other legends live. And when God brings his people out of slavery, it’s once again through the deep, chaotic sea, the hand of God reaching down to part the waters so his children may cross unharmed. The prophet Isaiah compares God’s love to water’s dangers: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” We can’t help but think of those verses when trouble strikes, especially trouble involving water. Hurricanes, floods, tsunamis and other treacherous weather events have devastated everything from small villages to entire countries, killing generations of God’s people. My mother was a baby when the 1937 flood hit Huntington. Her father packed up her mother and her brother and sister and sent them on the train to Milton, where they would stay with grandparents until it was safe to come home. These events define communities for sure. Recovery may be slow and frustrating. The words of Scripture may or may not offer reassurance. But, we have learned that wherever there is suffering, God is there, and that’s when we, who are called by Christ’s name, jump into the schools of jellyfish with those dumped out of the boat. Water is necessary to sustain life- for cleansing, for heating and cooling, for growing anything, for transport. And yet, as necessary as it is, water contains the potential of chaos and danger and lurking monsters. And that is exactly where God sends Jesus at his baptism. Up to this point in the gospel story, Jesus has led a mostly private life. But, his baptism stands as a symbol of transition to a very public ministry. One that will have him teaching, healing, and feeding, calling people to turn away from sin and toward God, to love their neighbors as themselves, to welcome the stranger, help the hurting, and support the weak. And how does God mark the occasion? God sends Jesus down into the water, where danger and jellyfish are primed to attack. The jellyfish that surround Jesus taunt, ridicule, hail him king in one breath and yell “crucify him!” the next. Stings come from the death of his dear friend, Lazarus, the betrayal of another. Jesus is plunged into the water to be assaulted time and again. The maternal instinct in me wonders why this was necessary. I was hyper-vigilant with our kids. Made them all neurotic, I was so worried about their safety. I wonder how, why, God could send his only Son to earth if this was to be his life and fate. Maybe it’s because this is the very image of our life and fate, too. Sailing, on the surface, is lovely and peaceful. But, we aren’t always on the surface, are we? Life isn’t always lived in the smooth and lovely and safe places. Life often swamps our boat, and the sea is deep and dark. Life happens during sleepless nights and hectic days. Life happens in the family we love and the family who gets under our skin. Life happens when the mail brings bills we have to juggle, diagnoses we are never ready to hear, losses that cleave our hearts in two. But…here’s what gives me hope: When life throws us into water that’s over our heads, and it will, the baptism of Jesus reminds us of this important truth: we aren’t the first ones in. Jesus has already gone ahead of us. He has suffered, he has been hurt and rejected, he has been falsely accused, he has been tired and hungry and thirsty, he has been hauled into court, thrown in jail, separated from his mother, and crucified. And then…God raised him from the dead, and in his resurrection is the promise of ours. We are plunged into the waters of baptism and raised to newness of life. At our funeral services, we are reminded that, in death, our baptism is complete. Scripture promises us that if we are baptized into a death like his, we will be raised in glory like Jesus before us. Let that be a comfort to you. Remind yourself that you are baptized. I thought of this recently when a concern was turning over and over in my mind. Martin Luther was said to have reassured himself in troubled moments by stating those three words: “I am baptized.” It worked. I was comforted that yes, indeed, I am baptized, grafted into the body of Christ, welcomed into the family of faith, and marked as Christ’s own forever. Washed, cleansed, made new, set apart for a life of faith, hope, and love. When the dreaded call comes, or the relationship fractures, or the news out of Washington strikes terror in all of us, remember that Jesus went down into the water before us and came out again, and so, indeed, shall we. So shall we. Renewal of Baptism Through baptism we enter the covenant God has established. In that covenant God gives us new life. We are guarded from evil and nurtured by the love of God and God’s people. In embracing that covenant, we choose whom we will serve, by turning from evil and turning to Jesus Christ. I ask you, therefore, to reject sin, to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, and to confess the faith of the church, the faith in which we baptize. Renunciations Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world? I do. Do you turn to Jesus Christ, accept him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love? I do. Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple,obeying his Word and showing his love? I will with God’s help. Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, The holy catholic church: the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. Thanksgiving Over the Water Eternal and gracious God, we give you thanks. In countless ways you have revealed yourself in ages past, and have blessed us with signs of your grace. We praise you for sending Jesus your Son, who for us was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, and was anointed as the Christ by your Holy Spirit, who teaches us and leads us into all truth, filling us with a variety of gifts that we might proclaim the gospel to all nations and serve you as a royal priesthood. Pour out your Spirit upon us And upon this water, That this font may be your womb of new birth. May all who pass through these waters be delivered from death to life, From bondage to freedom, From sin to righteousness. Bind them to the household of faith, Guard them from all evil. Strengthen them to serve you with joy Until the day you make all things new. To you be all praise, honor, and glory; Through Jesus Christ our Savior, Who with you and the Holy Spirit, Lives and reigns forever. Amen. Remember your baptism and be thankful. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer O Lord, uphold all who have renewed their vows today by your Holy Spirit. Daily increase in them your gifts of grace: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence. We turn our hearts and minds to those known to us, and to those known only by you, in need or distress. Come alongside them so that they may be comforted by your presence, compassion, and love. Encourage all of us to maintain safe health practices and to help make those available for all your children near and far away. We give you thanks for those who are on the road to health and wholeness and all who practice the healing arts even at risk to their own safety. As we begin a new year, so, too, do many organizations, endeavors, and government services. Give all who work for the public good be strengthened in their work and guided by honesty and integrity. Charge and Blessing Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Go now in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen. Postlude Prelude
Call to Worship Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Nations shall come to your light and rulers to the brightness of your rising. Hymn The First Nowel,* verses 1 and 2 The first Nowell, the angel did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay, in fields where they lay keeping their sheep, on a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Born is the King of Israel. They looked up and saw a star shining in the east beyond them far; and to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued both day and night. Refrain Prayer Eternal God, A thousand years in your sight are like a watch in the night. as you have led us in days past, so guide us now and always, that our hearts may learn to choose your will, and new resolves be strengthened, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen. Scripture Reading John 1:1-18 The Morning Message For this first Sunday in the New Year, I find a timely message by our old Scottish friend and scholar, William Barclay. This is his how he introduces the Gospel of John, the book from which our Scripture text comes today: *“For many Christian people the Gospel according to St. John is the most precious book in the New Testament. It is the book on which above all they feed their minds, and nourish their hearts, and in which they rest their souls.” Often, in the stained glass windows that grace so many churches, we find the gospel writers are represented in symbol by the figures of the four beasts whom the writer of Revelation saw around the throne of God. A common symbol for Mark is a man. The gospel of Mark is the first gospel. It is the plainest and most straightforward of the gospels. The lion stands for Matthew, the most Jewish of the gospels. The author of Matthew saw Jesus as the Messiah and the Lion of Judah. The ox stands for Luke, because the ox is the animal of service and sacrifice, and Luke saw Jesus as the great servant and universal sacrifice for all humankind. “The eagle stands for John, because of all living creatures, the eagle alone can look straight into the sun and not be dazzled, and John, of all the New Testament writers, has the most penetrating gaze into the eternal mysteries and the eternal truths, and into the very mind of God. It is true that there are many people who find themselves closer to God and to Jesus Christ in John than in any other book in the world.”* And, if we ever needed to start the year seeking a closer relationship with God, or seeking the mind of God, or asking for God’s help, it is now, at the beginning of 2021, the year that follows a very eventful 2020. I don’t know about you, but, we have eaten our way through the holiday season. We may have added to the Covid 15. We need no more rich food. But what we do need now is an extra helping of something that will not add pounds, but will add value to our lives, and that is hope. Hope that the grave problems we encountered in the year just past, will be relieved, solved, conquered. We hope with all our hearts that some behaviors and prejudices, the hatred and violence erupting in these United States, the mistrust and division, will come to a definitive end. My sister accompanied our mother to a doctor’s appointment this week. As they left, the receptionist said, “We will see you in three weeks.” To which, my sister replied, “Oh, you’re very optimistic!” Because there have been a lot of doctor’s appointments recently. Three weeks seems like an eternity. Optimism and hope. Is there a difference? Does it matter? Drew Rick-Miller says the difference between hope and optimism is this: “Hope, theologically speaking, is that “God will make a way where there is no way.” Optimism asserts that “things will get better and better.” Could optimism be about this age, to use New Testament terminology, and hope refer to the age to come? If we take this view, then our present world, at its best, evokes optimism. Faith in Christ leads us to hope. And “hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5 and 8:12-25) Presbyterian pastor and scholar Rev. Dr. Greg Cootsona offers some thoughts: When we look at 2020, a year marked by the exposure of racism in America, political division, the demonization of science, and the deadly COVID pandemic-can we have either optimism or hope? He says we can. As followers of Christ, we know that through Jesus, “the true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9) And as we look around, we can see where many of those beams shine. Cootsona is a member of the organization Science for the Church. He offers to us a glimpse of “places I’ve seen Christ’s light shining through science in an often dark 2020.” On December 8, the world witnessed the first vaccinations against COVID in the United Kingdom, and last week, we had our first vaccinations in the United States. There, a light, a glimpse of hope. On December 21, some of you may have observed what Rice University astronomer Patrick Hardigan has called the “Christmas Star.” Saturn and Jupiter aligned more closely than they have been in 800 years- so close they appeared as one gigantic and stunning star, although they were really 450 million miles apart. Cootsona recently participated in a forum about race, science, and faith, One of the speakers posited by initiating meaningful, intentional relationships, and I understand that to mean cross-culturally, sparks ignite that create “pockets of possibility.” Relationships can lead to real change. One of my favorite authors, Jan Karon, says that when opportunity knocks, it often comes dressed in overalls and looks like work. But, this work is the way of Christ and where we see the reign of God today. And that gives us hope that we really can change the world. One morning this week, I saw an interview between a television reporter and a resident of an assisted living community. The man being interviewed was scheduled to receive the COVID vaccination that day, as all the residents were. He spoke at length about Peggy, his wife of forty years. They have been separated for seven months in different areas of the facility. Seven long, trying months. But, he said, that day, he felt hopeful, that they were re-discovering hope. The vaccine and the efforts of all along the way in getting that vaccine to the public, gave him hope that change was possible. He and his beloved Peggy may be reunited. You could hear the emotion in his voice. His wife has Parkinson’s disease. She needs a lot of help every day, help he wanted to give, because that’s what you do when you love someone for a lifetime. That day, he saw the possibility that their relationship could be restored. But he was careful to say that his positive attitude, his optimism and hope, were a direct result of the quality of the relationships found in that seniors community. The residents and staff pulled together for a common goal and supported one another through this year-long crisis. This winsome man’s testimony was beamed to millions of people, many who may well have been strengthened by his words. I saw a glimpse of Christ’s light a few days ago when good news came that a cancer scare for one of my family members was just that, a scare. Today I am thanking God for medical procedures and equipment that reveal disease. And for medical professionals who take care to know their patients, and in whom patients place their trust. Maybe you have witnessed Christ’s light shining in your life recently. Maybe Christ’s light shines through you. Maybe through you some people can see God. I know I do. *The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, first published by The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1955. Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Almighty and everlasting God, we come before you on this first Sunday of the New Year, asking you to illumine our hearts with the radiance of Christ’s presence, that our lives may show forth his love in this weary world. Forgive our sins, intentionally committed, and unintentional hurts we may have caused, and help us live as your forgiven and freed children. Teach us to befriend the lost, to serve the poor, to reconcile our enemies, and to love our neighbors. We lift to you our most urgent needs, for ourselves and others, that hearts and minds in distress may be comforted, that bodies weakened by disease of any kind might be strengthened and made whole, that any fears may be relieved by the clarifying light of your Son. Give us such hope and purpose in this New Year, that we count every day’s labor as love and each day’s beauty as blessing. Keep us faithful in your service until Christ comes again in glory. In his name and after his manner, we pray, Our Father…Amen.” Hymn The First Nowell, verses 5 and 6 Then entered in, those wise men three, full reverently upon their knee. And offered there, in his presence, their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. Refrain Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our heavenly Lord, that hath made heaven and earth of naught, and with his blood our life hath bought. Refrain Blessing Go now, and bear witness to the light so others might believe. Since you are chosen in Christ, live before him in love, holy and blameless. Live with hope in Christ, for the praise of his glory. And may God fill the earth with peace; may Christ give you grace upon grace from his fullness; and may the Holy Spirit, the pledge of your inheritance, lead you on straight paths where you will not stumble. Amen. Laughingbird.net Postlude *Nowell is the English form of the French, “noel,” a shout of joy formerly used at Christmas. It may have Latin and French roots related to “born,” (natus/ne), as well as to “news,” (nova/ nouvelle). Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal, 2013. |
PastorCinda Harkless Archives
July 2024
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