One Little Word

Lessons:
Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b (30)
Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21
John 14:8-17 [25-27]

Prayer of the Day:
God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of earth. By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

^14:8 Philip said to [Jesus], “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷ This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

^14:25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

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John 14:8-27. New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

My Peace I Give to You

Landon

Three of our Saint Peter Eighth Graders, Matthew, Maddie and Landon, will celebrate the end of their catechetical studies this Sunday, and begin their lives as adult members of this church. It’s going to be a big day for me. I have been teaching catechism since the Fall of 1981: 32 years of studying and serving and worshipping and playing with these Middle School students. And for the past six years, one of my sons has always been in the class: Brady from the Fall of 2007 to the Spring of 2010, and Landon from the Fall of 2010 until now. I will lay my hands on Landon’s head this Sunday and speak these familiar words:

We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give us new birth, wash us from sin, and raise us to eternal life. Stir up in Landon the gift of your Holy Spirit: 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, both now and forever. Amen. Read the rest of this entry »

Lessons:
Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97 (12)
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
St. John 17:20-26

Prayer of the Day:
O God, form the minds of your faithful people into your one will.  Make us love what you command and desire what you promise, that, amid all the changes of this world, our hearts may be fixed where true joy is found, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

^17:20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

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St. John 17:20-26 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

As We Are One

Unity

We experience it now and then. I’m thinking about New York Yankee fans singing “Sweet Caroline” in Yankee Stadium. I’m thinking about members of congress singing “God Bless America” (together!) on the steps of the capital in 2011. I’m thinking about Bronco fans pouring out into the street after Elway & Co. defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the ‘99 Superbowl. I’m thinking about sailors in Times Square at the end of World War II. I’m thinking about Democrats celebrating in November of 2012, or Republicans in November of 2004.

The interesting thing, though, is that this kind of unity is only experienced as over and against someone else. Yankee and Red Sox fans (and both sides of the aisle in congress) against those who would harm this nation. Bronco fans against Falcon fans. The Allied Forces against the Axis Nations. Democrats against Republicans. As the old saw goes, “Nothing unites us more than a common enemy.”

That’s not what Jesus is describing in this week’s Gospel lesson, though. Read the rest of this entry »

Lessons:
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47 (5) or Psalm 93 (2)
Ephesians 1:15-23
St. Luke 24:44-53

Prayer of the Day:
Almighty God, your blessed Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things. Mercifully give us faith to trust that, as he promised, he abides with us on earth to the end of time, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

^1:1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ² until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴ While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹ They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

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Acts 1:1-11 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Lessons:
Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67 (4)
Revelation 21:10, 22–22:5
St. John 14:23-29 or St. John 5:1-9

Prayer of the Day:
Bountiful God, you gather your people into your realm, and you promise us food from your tree of life.  Nourish us with your word, that empowered by your Spirit we may love one another and the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

[^14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”]
²³ Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
²⁵ “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”

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St. John 14:[22] 23-29New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

May the Peace of the Lord Be with You

May the peace of the Lord be with you;
With your friends and your family too.
Let it be, let it grow, and everywhere you go,
May the peace of the Lord follow you.

[“The Peace of the Lord” – by Gary Ault ]

Our Catechism students know the words of this song by heart. As each Sunday Evening Workshop comes to a close we join hands, sing this song of blessing, and then invite our adult leaders to individually bless every student, marking the sign of the cross on their foreheads and reminding them both of God’s powerful love for them, and of how much we care about them. In a world that seems to visit one curse after another on these young members of our community, this is our regular attempt to bless them with the power and presence of God. Read the rest of this entry »