One Little Word

With Eyes Fixed on God

Lessons:
    Isaiah 35:4-7a
    Psalm 146
    James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17
    St. Mark 7:24-37
    Semicontinuous Series
        Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
        Psalm 125

Prayer of the Day:
    Gracious God, throughout the ages you transform sickness into health and death into life. Open us to the power of your presence, and make us a people ready to proclaim your promises to the whole world, through Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord. Amen.

^35:4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” ⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; ⁶ then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; ⁷ the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;

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Isaiah 35:4-7a 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.

Isaiah, the son of Amoz, was a prophet to Judah and Jerusalem from 742 bc until 701 bc, or perhaps as late as 687 bc. That is the time when Judah’s northern neighbor, Israel, was defeated by Assyria, and became a vassal state. During that time, Judah lived uneasily in the shadow of powerful military forces. As the powers of the world swirled around Judah, Isaiah called them to remember that it is God who is ultimately in control. They should not fear the Assyrians or the Babylonians or the Egyptians. God is in charge of history: those other entities are minor players.

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The Traditions of the Elders

Lessons:
    Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
    Psalm 15
    James 1:17-27
    St. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
    Semicontinuous Series:
        Song of Solomon 2:8-13
        Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9

Prayer of the Day:
    O God our strength, without you we are weak and wayward creatures. Protect us from all dangers that attack us from the outside, and cleanse us from all evil that arises from within ourselves, that we may be preserved through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^7:1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ² they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. ³ (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; ⁴ and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many  other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” ⁶ He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;  ⁷ in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’  ⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
²¹ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²² adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

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St. Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 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.

“Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders?” That was the question directed to Jesus by the Pharisees and some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem to spend time with Jesus. It was not a point of curiosity – it was a direct attack on Jesus’ ministry, theology, and life.

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Offended

Lessons:
   Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
    Psalm 34:15-22
    Ephesians 6:10-20
    St. John 6:56-69
    Semicontinuous Series:
       1 Kings 8:[1, 6, 10-11] 22-30, 41-43
        Psalm 84

Prayer of the Day:
    Holy God, your word feeds your people with life that is eternal. Direct our choices and preserve us in your truth, that, renouncing what is false and evil, we may live in you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^6:56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.  ⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³ It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. ⁶⁵ And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”  ⁶⁶ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”^  

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St. John 6:56-69 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.

I have this vision of a faithful, Lutheran congregation. They gather for worship on Sunday morning. They confess their sins, and sing a song of gratitude to God. They gather their hearts with the Kyrie, and trusting in God’s grace they offer up a hymn of praise. After a few words with the children, and a couple of lessons from the Bible (maybe even a psalm that was intoned by Ancient Israel), the gathered assembly is ready to hear a passage read from one of the four Gospel accounts at the beginning of the New Testament. So they stand, and together they sing:

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Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood

Lessons:
   Proverbs 9:1-6
    Psalm 34:9-14
    Ephesians 5:15-20
    St. John 6:51-58
    Semicontinuous Series:
        1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
        Psalm 111

Prayer of the Day:
    Ever-loving God, your Son gives himself as living bread for the life of the world. Fill us with such a knowledge of his presence that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life to serve you continually, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”  ⁵² The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; ⁵⁵ for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

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St. John 6:51-58 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.

They are disturbing words, actually. “Eat my flesh. Drink my blood.” No wonder some outsiders in the first century called these followers of Jesus cannibals. No wonder Jesus’ own listeners found themselves confused. No wonder the religious authorities of the day were offended. (verse 52: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”) No wonder countless affiliations of Christians today have a hard time agreeing on exactly what happens when believers gather to share the Sacrament of Holy Communion. They are disturbing words. The route to eternal life includes eating the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth, and drinking his blood.

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Lessons:
   1 Kings 19:4-8
    Psalm 34:1-8
    Ephesians 4:25-5:2
    St. John 6:35, 41-51
    Semicontinuous Series:
        2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
        Psalm 130

Prayer of the Day:
    Gracious God, your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Give us this bread always, that he may live in us and we in him, and that, strengthened by this food, we may live as his body in the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
⁴¹ Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. ⁴⁶ Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven.     

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St. John 6:35, 41-51 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.

There are some experiences that leave a person exhausted and drained – and there are others that seem to fill one’s spirit. For me, those experiences are varied. I find myself tested by intricate and repetitive tasks, meetings that go longer than they should, conflict that isn’t easily resolved, and obligations that seem to have little meaning. On the other hand I am fed by connecting with people in a significant way, discovering new insights and new directions, a weekend of camping with my family, a concert put on by one of my favorite bands, an evening of picking bluegrass tunes with friends, hiking into a remote part of the country. After these kinds of experiences I find that, at least for a time, I am often walking on air. They are experiences that feed me. And the more of them I have, the more strength and endurance I have to offer to those moments that are more difficult for me.

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