The Sixth Sunday after
Epiphany
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn
#806 O God, My
Faithful God |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And also with
you. Psalm: Psalm 119:
1-8 Happy are
those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Happy are
those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. You have
commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your
statutes! Then I
shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will
praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances. I will
observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me. |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. O God, the strength of all who hope
in you, because we are weak mortal we accomplish nothing good without you.
Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do, and give us grace
and power to do them, through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior and Lord.
Amen. |
Reading:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
A reading from Deuteronomy
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and
adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking
in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you
shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you
in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away
and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve
them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live
long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I
call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you
life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your
descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and
holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you
may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
A reading from the first letter to the Corinthians
And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual
people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you
with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you
are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there
is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving
according to human inclinations? For when one says, “I belong to Paul,”
and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to
believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God
gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the
one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to
the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are
God’s field, God’s building.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
Alleluia! You are the light
of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Alleluia! (Matt. 4:14)
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:21-37
A reading from the Gospel of Matthew
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not
murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to
you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to
judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable
to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of
fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember
that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your
gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or
sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with
your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser
may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown
into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid
the last penny.
‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit
adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye
causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose
one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And
if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is
better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into
hell.
‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a
certificate of divorce.” But I say to you that anyone who divorces his
wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and
whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You
shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the
Lord.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is
the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your
head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “Yes,
Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn
#612 Healer of
our Every Ill
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
Gracious God, both life and death are before us. Hear
our prayers this day for the world, the church, and for all people according to
their needs and grant us your blessing.
You
constantly bless us. Continue to bless all who suffer from broken relationships,
we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Strengthen
us in our dealings with those who anger or disappoint us, we pray... Lord, in
your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Grant that
we may see and do all things in the light of your grace, we pray... Lord, in
your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Comfort and
bless all who have suffered from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Watch over
all who work for rescue and safety there, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
War is the
ultimate in anger and bitterness. Grant peace to Ukraine, Russia, Iran, and
Afghanistan, and to all who suffer the terrors and dangers of war anywhere, we
pray… Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Remember all
who struggle with the COVID-19 virus, the seasonal “flu”, and the RSV virus as
well as who work for healing in any way, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
We rejoice and are glad in our calling to follow Jesus. Continue to bless all our retired pastors not serving congregations - Jim Garey, Tom Ristine, Glenn Sellick, Bob Zimmerman, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We ask your comfort to be with the family of Peter Hendel whom you have called to yourself. As we assure them of your care, grant us the strength to stand with them at this time, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Hear the prayers
of our hearts for those we care for and for those who have asked for our
prayers … * … we pray… Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer. {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Rose Gotzmeister,
Rick Cerna}
In all our
prayers, let us be your servants, working together for your kingdom. Grant always
what is best for us as we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Hymn #804 Come Down, O Love Divine
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let
us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
Our
Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against
us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For
thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the
glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Closing prayer
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our
way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken
us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory forever. Amen.
Benediction & Sending
May the Lord
bless us and keep us.
May the
Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the Lord
look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Hymn
#592 Just As I
Am
Go in peace. Serve
the Lord. Thanks be to God.
W
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Upcoming Services for February: (All services begin at 11:00am) February
19 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Epiphany
VII) February
22 YouTube (Ash Wednesday) February
26 YouTube (Lent I) March 5 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Lent II)
& Annual General Congregational
Meeting |
You have heard that it was said…
·
Jesus starts his statements in today’s Gospel
with this phrase and follows it with But I say to you that… The previous verses of Matthew’s Gospel relay that
Jesus is respecting the Law and telling his followers to do the same: For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth
pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the
law until all is accomplished. (Matt. 5:18) What we
hear today appears to some to contradict what was just said.
·
The words of
the Gospel need no defense from the likes of me. Some explanation might be
necessary. Jesus is not actually saying the opposite of the moral teachings we
hear on murder, adultery, divorce, or oath-taking. He is speaking to the hearts
of his listeners, inviting them (and us) to take a good look at our own
character and motivations. Our actions flow from our innermost hearts. Keeping
the letter of the Law without any internal change, motivation, or
transformation might keep a person out of trouble, but that could exactly be
the height of hypocrisy. It could be said that Jesus was “closing the
loopholes.” If the intent carries the sin whether or not the action follows, a
real conversion is needed.
·
By way of
illustration, my family and I sometimes watch the reruns of a TV show called “Canada’s
Worst Driver.” In this show, 7 or 8 people go to a ‘driver rehabilitation
centre’ at some remote site to relearn how to drive a vehicle. These drivers were
atrocious! They hit other cars without remorse, drive distracted while talking
on their mobile phone (the show is a few years old.), race on the street, apply
make-up, eat and text or read while steering with their knees. One or two came
to the centre saying they were perfect drivers, all while racking up a bushel
of traffic tickets and huge insurance bills. One such driver was kicked off the
show since he refused to change, even in the face of his history and the test
of his skill behind the wheel. The show couldn’t take his license (it belonged
to the Province anyway) but they cut his car key in half and he left unrepentant…
and arrogant. The others often learned how to drive carefully, with the rest of
the road in mind. They had changed far more than just their behavior.
·
Jesus is not telling his followers how to
drive, but how to live. The exact following of rules does not lead to real life.
The compassion and care behind each point of the law is what leads to
life. That is what Jesus is pointing out. The command is “You shall not
murder”, but anger, cursing, insults, and bitterness – the things that often
lead to murder – are to be repented from. A whole change of heart is required.
The “loopholes” are closed.
·
Going to the next step, we ask what bring
about the change. It is the grace of God and the awareness of that grace in our
lives. From that rebirth in grace, our hearts can be changed and the actions
that flow from them can be changed. Compassion and trust in the human community
are to be upheld. The things behind murder and all the rest of the problems
Jesus points out can be changed into compassion by God’s grace.
·
I have to admit that this section of the
Gospel is hard to listen to and it actually gets harder once we immerse
ourselves in it. It takes more than simple behavior to keep the Law; a complete
change of heart is what is needed. Can we do it? Not by ourselves! That’s where
grace and forgiveness come in. I hope none of us ever forgets the need and the
presence of grace and forgiveness in our lives in Christ Jesus. That is what
will make all the difference.
You have heard
that it was said… but I say to you…
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