Worship Opportunities

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November 3/All Saints Sunday

No More Tears

Isaiah 25:6-9 & Revelation 21:1-6

The Festival of All Saints, celebrated on November 1 or on the first Sunday in November, is a day of remembrance for the saints with its New Testament meaning of all Christian people of every time and space.  As part of our celebration, we will encounter the prophet Isaiah’s image of the great banquet on the mountain, a time when “the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.

November 10/Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Her Two-Cents Worth

Mark 12:38-44

The story of the widow giving all that she has demonstrates not only her total trust in God, but also offers a glimpse into what Jesus is all about—giving the whole of his life for the redemption of the world.

November 17/Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Mark 13:1-8

How does one survive the devastation of an aggressive cancer diagnosis or other disease, or the destruction of life, property, and livelihood in a human-made or natural disaster?  Looking toward the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, something that would occur during the Jewish Revolt in 70 A.D., Jesus reminds us that our focus should not be on the signs of forthcoming events themselves but rather on the One who is to come—the One who enables us to look up after such devastation and claim the certainty of God’s blessing.  Indeed, the center will hold and—much to our surprise—we will discover that we have much faithful work to do.

November 24/Reign of Christ Sunday

100% Chance of Reign

John 18:33-37

On this day that the Church has traditionally celebrated as the Festival of the Reign of Christ, we acknowledge that we bow only to Jesus the Christ.  As the body of Christ himself, our allegiance cannot be to any other person, principality, or power that clamors for authority over us.  Today, we challenge ourselves to look beyond what we think to the truth found in God as embodied by Jesus.  The truth that Jesus embodies is found in God, who is love and grace.

Advent is an in-between time.  Not just a season squeezed in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Advent is about what was and what is to be, about what has already happened and what has yet to occur.  It’s a time of anticipation, expectancy.  To engage the Christian journey with expectancy at its most basic level is to be a resident of two worlds.  We live faithfully in the here and now, with all the joys and sorrows, victories and setbacks of life.  We love, laugh, get tired, make mistakes, hurt, rejoice, and grieve along the journey through this wonderful creation and re-creation given us by God.  And we live with anticipation in the life to come, having entered into the near end of the eternal journey through the waters of baptism and belief, faith, and practice.  We are in between the coming of Christ and his coming again, living the “now” with hopeful expectancy that empowers us and sustains us.

December 1/First Sunday of Advent

Focusing on the Figs

Luke 21:25-36

In our text, Jesus did not say, “When the fig tree loses its leaves, you will know that winter is coming.”  Describing an anticipated kingdom, he spoke of summer and new life, not winter barrenness and death.  We miss that subtle detail when we focus only on what is passing away, being torn down, and being lost.  Advent is a time to notice the “fig trees” around us—the new life that is sprouting and coming into bloom.  This expectant season calls to our attention the Lord who will return in a glorious appearing—who is already bringing us signs of peace, community, hope, and fulfillment.

December 8/Second Sunday of Advent

The Great Leveling

Luke 3:1-6

St. Anselm once wrote: “In your self-centeredness you have not yet considered the seriousness of sin and, thus, have not received the boundless forgiveness of God.”  Ultimately, repentance is a profound change in the way we see reality.  It’s not blubbering or self-loathing.  Repentance is insight and wisdom.  John the Baptist, the hard-charging, bare-fisted prophet who appears on the margins of society, invites us into the hard questions of faith—questions that prepare our hearts to make room for the Christ who is coming at Christmas and the one who will come again at the completion of all things.  

December 15/Third Sunday of Advent

What Then Should We Do?

Luke 3:7-18

Vipers, axes, and winnowing forks are not images that we often see on our Christmas trees or other seasonal décor that adorns our homes and public spaces at this time of year.  We much prefer placid manger scenes, sparkling stars, and singing angels.  Yet, before we get to the manger, one must confront the danger—the danger of living our lives in bubbles of quiet and convenience that domesticate the new and radical reality inaugurated in the Christ event.  Before we can bow before the One who comes to us in flesh and bone and wrapped in swaddling clothes, we must gather in humility at the Jordan and see our own faces among those who asked the Baptizer the crucial question, “What then should we do?”

December 22/Fourth Sunday of Advent

Can They Hear Us Singing?

Luke 1:39-55

Christians have historically been uncomfortable with Mary’s Magnificat.  When Luther translated the Bible into German, he left the Magnificat in Latin because the German princes took a dim view of the mighty being brought low.  Thomas Cranmer did similarly when he translated the old Roman Latin missals into English, leaving the Magnificat in Latin because the royals did not care for its imagery.  And yet, when Mary learns that she will bear the One who will “fill the hungry with good things and send the rich empty away,” she sings with vibrant and holy wonder.  Mary’s song of hope is our song as well.  Do we notice people around us signing God’s song?  How about us?  Can they hear us singing, too?

December 29/First Sunday after Christmas

The Sounds of Silence

Luke 2:39-52

The second chapter of Luke tells us all we know about Jesus as a child.  After Mary and Joseph take their infant to the temple in Jerusalem for his dedication, we have a brief story about Mary and Joseph taking the boy Jesus to the Passover festival in Jerusalem where he amazes the scribes and religious leaders with his wisdom.  Following this is silence.  The text shares that “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.”  During the silent years, Jesus grows up.  As if in a split second, he jumps from age twelve to age thirty.  Those silent years have much to say about how God works.  They remind us that God has embraced and made holy every moment of ordinary, everyday life.  Behind the silence, God slowly works within the silence.  Standing upon the precipice of a new year, this is good news for all!

January 5/Epiphany Sunday

From the Outside In

Matthew 2:1-12

The word epiphany means “manifestation,” or “unveiling.”  The Festival of the Epiphany celebrates God making divine glory known to all the world in Jesus.  The arrival of the Magi, the ultimate outsiders, reveals that from the very beginning of his life, Jesus came for all people.  In our own journeys of faith, how were we drawn to Christ?  What was it about the light of Christ that has brought us to this place and time?  Epiphany asks these questions because they help us to see just how far we’ve come and how God has led us each step of the way.