Musings for April 29

Sunday, April 29, 2012
Fourth Sunday of Easter

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Gary Lazenby

INTRODUCTION
The image of the Good Shepherd shows us how the risen Christ brings us to life. It is the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep, one of mutual knowledge and love, that gives the shepherd authority. The shepherd's willingness to lay down his life for the sheep shows his love. First John illustrates what it means to lay down our lives for one another by the example of sharing our wealth with any sister or brother in need.

Catherine of Siena, theologian, died 1380
This theologian was the first woman among Roman Catholics to receive the title "Doctor [teacher] of the Church." Catherine was a Dominican sister known for her mystical visions as well as her work on behalf of people who were poor and imprisoned.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O Lord Christ, good shepherd of the sheep, you seek the lost and guide us into your fold.
Feed us, and we shall be satisfied; heal us, and we shall be whole. Make us one with you, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Reading

Acts 4:5–12

Peter and John had been arrested the previous day because they were proclaiming the news of the resurrection to the people. In today's reading, Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit so that he is able to proclaim salvation in Jesus' name to the religious authorities.

⁵The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus is
'the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.'
¹²There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. (Ps. 23:1)

¹The LORD ^| is my shepherd;

I shall not ^| be in want.

²The LORD makes me lie down ^| in green pastures

and leads me be- ^| side still waters.

³You restore my ^| soul, O LORD,

and guide me along right pathways ^| for your name's sake.

⁴Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I shall ^| fear no evil;

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they ^| comfort me. R

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence ^| of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is ^| running over.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days ^| of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the ^| LORD forever. R

Second Reading

1 John 3:16–24

Jesus’ death on our behalf is the clearest demonstration of divine love. This is the very love we share with others, not just through our words but especially through our deeds. In sharing such love we fulfill God’s commandments.

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
¹⁸Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. ¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; ²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
²³And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Gospel

John 10:11–18

In language that recalls the twenty-third psalm, Jesus describes himself as the shepherd who cares for his sheep. He is willing to die for them, and he is able to overcome death for them.

¹¹I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away — and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."

Reflection

John’s chapter 10 is a familiar passage to many of us. The imagery of a shepherd caring for his sheep is one we have both heard and seen many times. You may have seen pictures of Jesus holding a little lamb. Jesus is the fulfillment of the familiar words in Psalm 23. Jesus is the good shepherd and so we shall not want. It is hard for me to imagine that a shepherd knows all of his sheep by name. Can you tell one sheep from another? When I was principal, I was once challenged by a third grader. I said hello to her by name in the hall. She immediately stopped in her tracks and said, “ How do you know my name. I don’t get into trouble!” I did not want to only focus on those who needed adult support. I wanted to recognize all. That is the point of this Gospel. Jesus knows all of us – by name. So when you pray, you will be known personally. He knows you and loves you. He will protect you as a shepherd protects his sheep.

As a side note: There are times that I do not know the names of my grandchildren. That does not mean that I do not love them.

Let Us Pray

• For those of your flock and follow your voice
• For those who do not hear your voice
• For those who do not hear your voice and cannot discern your call
• For those who are wounded and confused. They have lost sight of you and strayed form you.
• To help us who seek to follow you. Let us be your fellow shepherds.

Quotes

”It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them.”

Tiberius, Roman Emperor, 14 AD to 37 AD

Musings for Easter 3

Sunday, April 22, 2012
Third Sunday of Easter

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Deb Johnson

Day of the Creation (Día de la Creación) (LLC)
This observance invites us to notice and give God thanks for the wonders of the created universe. As stewards of that creation, we are also challenged to be careful in our use of it.

Acts 3: 12 - 19
¹²When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? ¹³The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. ¹⁴But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, ¹⁵and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
¹⁷And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. ¹⁹Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.

Psalm 4

¹Answer me when I call, O God, defender ^|of my cause;

you set me free when I was in distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

²"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory;

how long will you love illusions and seek after lies?"

³Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful;

the LORD will hear me when I call.

⁴Tremble, then, and do not sin;

speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

⁵Offer the appointed sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD.

⁶Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?"

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

⁷You have put gladness in my heart,

more than when grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace, I will lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me rest secure.

I John 3: 1 – 7
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
⁴Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Luke 24: 36b – 48

^36b"Peace be with you." ³⁷They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." ⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

REFLECTION

Reflect on these phrases:

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.

Peace be with you.

God fulfilled what he had foretold.

In peace, I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me rest secure.

These lessons are filled with promises … and as I read them again there is a wave a calm that washes over me. How can I doubt the risen Christ? How can I doubt the love God has for you and for me.

After all the pageantry of Easter (the music, the word, the sacrament, the flowers, the worship) I feel the comfort of the love of God. I know that the Lord does wonders for us. I know that I am a child of God. I know that God fulfilled what was foretold. Tonight, I will lie down and sleep, for the Lord makes me rest secure.

May peace be with you.

LET US PRAY

For those this night who lay down in fear

For those who this day are called

For the children who are marked as a Child of God and those to partake of the sacrament of holy communion

For the creation and all its glory

For peace in our hearts.

Easter Musings

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION

This year may be the one in which John's resurrection account is likely to be chosen over Mark's, perhaps because Mark's gospel ends so abruptly, with astonishment and fear rather than joyful proclamation. Yet Mark may speak to our experience more directly than the other gospels. Corinthians and Acts fill out the story by telling of appearances of the risen Christ. Peter says we "ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead." And so do we, in a foretaste of the mountaintop feast where death will be no more.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW)

O God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death.

Make us die every day to sin, that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

FIRST READING

Acts 10:34–43

Peter crosses the immense religious and social boundary that separates Jews from Gentiles in order to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, so that God’s forgiveness in Jesus’ name would reach out to the Gentiles just as it had to Jews.

³⁴Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all. ³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

PSALM (ELW)

Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps. 118:24)

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for the ^| LORD is good;

God's mercy en- ^| dures forever.

²Let Israel ^| now declare,

"God's mercy en- ^| dures forever."

¹⁴The LORD is my strength ^| and my song,

and has become ^| my salvation.

¹⁵Shouts of rejoicing and salvation echo in the tents ^| of the righteous:

"The right hand of the ^| LORD acts valiantly!

¹⁶The right hand of the LORD ^| is exalted!

The right hand of the ^| LORD acts valiantly!"

¹⁷I shall not ^| die, but live,

and declare the works ^| of the LORD. R

¹⁸The LORD indeed pun- ^| ished me sorely,

but did not hand me o- ^| ver to death.

¹⁹Open for me the ^| gates of righteousness;

I will enter them and give thanks ^| to the LORD.

²⁰"This is the gate ^| of the LORD;

here the righ- ^| teous may enter."

²¹I give thanks to you, for you have ^| answered me

and you have become ^| my salvation. R

²²The stone that the build- ^| ers rejected

has become the chief ^| cornerstone.

²³By the LORD has ^| this been done;

it is marvelous ^| in our eyes.

²⁴This is the day that the ^| LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be ^| glad in it. R

SECOND READING

1 Corinthians 15:1–11

The core of the Christian faith and Paul’s preaching is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the crucified and risen Christ appeared to the earliest of his followers, so we experience the presence of the risen Lord in the preaching of this faith.

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, ²through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you — unless you have come to believe in vain.

³For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them — though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

GOSPEL

Mark 16:1–8

The resurrection of Jesus is announced, and the response is one of terror and amazement.

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" ⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." ⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Shorter Ending of Mark

[[And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.]]

The Longer Ending of Mark

Reflection

Terror and amazement had seized them. I suppose I would have had the same reaction had I been there. They expected the tomb to still contain the body of Christ. They wondered on the way how the stone would be rolled away. They also had to thinking the 'what next' question. Now that Jesus' ministry was over and it had not panned out, what were the next steps? They were in for a surprise!

The stone was moved and a young man in white awaited them. Their entire world was about to change in ways they could not imagine.

So it is with the resurrection and our lives. Our world has changed, been turned upside-down as the promise made so long ago is fulfilled in the death and resurrection of God's only son. We live not in the past but in God's future which is filled with promise and hope. Hope is a constant companion and death no longer is the end of the story, rather it is a new beginning. How we live in that hope and allow the resurrection to inform and change our lives is what our story is about. It's time to write the next chapter as we live into our new and wonder-filled life.

Let us pray for:

· Those who live in fear

· Children who seek homes and love

· Eyes able to see Christ, especially in our enemies

· A desire to share our resurrection story

· Thankful hearts and lives

Quote

Our Lord has written the story of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime. Martin Luther