The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn #520 Dearest Jesus, At Your Word |
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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 15 O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved. |
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The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. Holy God, you confound the world’s wisdom in giving your kingdom to the lowly and the pure in heart. Give us such a hunger and thirst for justice, and perseverance in striving for peace, that in our words and deeds the world may see the life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior and Lord. Amen. |
Reading: Micah 6:1-8
A reading from the prophet Micah
Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
The Word of the Lord
Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
A reading from the first letter to the Corinthians
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Verse:
Alleluia! Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. Alleluia! (Matt. 5:12)
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
A reading from the Gospel of Matthew
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (added at the end of the document)
Hymn #728 Blest Are They
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
God of all nations and peoples, you call the poor in spirit blessed. Hear our prayers this day for the world, the church, and for all people according to their needs and grant us your blessing.
Comfort all who mourn and satisfy all who hunger and thirst for righteousness, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Uphold the merciful and all who depend on you as all of us look to receiving your mercy, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Bring your kingdom of peace and justice to its fullness, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Purify our hearts as we continue to follow Jesus, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
You call all peacemakers blessed, so 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.
Grant healing, peace, and grace to all those struggling with the COVID-19 virus, the seasonal “flu”, and the RSV virus and to all 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 who serve in the name of your Son, especially National Bishop Susan Johnson, the bishop's associates, and the ELCIC support staff, 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 things, good God, help us to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Grant then what is best for us as we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Hymn #781 Children of the Heavenly Father
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 #551 The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve
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 5 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Epiphany V) February 12 YouTube (Epiphany VI) February 19 Holy Communion at St. John’s (Epiphany VII) February 22 YouTube (Ash Wednesday) February 26 YouTube (Lent I) |
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified
· There are Sundays when there is a wealth of things to preach on, an embarrassment of riches as it were.… This, however, is Good news all around for us!
· Look at what the prophet Micah says -- what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. So much could be said about this.
· Now take Paul’s letter -- For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. That sounds like a real basis for hope to me.
· And then there’s Matthew’s Gospel and his telling of the Beatitudes -- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Only Luke and Matthew have a telling of the Beatitudes given by Jesus and they are not exactly the same. They do tell us that the Gospel teachings of the Beatitudes contrast human nature with Christian principles. We know right off that what we call “the Beatitudes” are not how people often work and live.
· All three readings turn everything upside-down. It is not strength or morality that saves, nor it is it ritual purity or proper worship. It is not human wisdom or wealth or power that saves. Any of these things might be good, yet any of these things could be corrupted. “Might makes right.” the human saying goes. Forming a “pure” nation could lead to the persecution, exile, or even the liquidation of any minority you might think of. We all know that this has happened in history, ancient and recent.
· Wisdom and secret knowledge might lead to attitudes of entitlement and superiority. Such things can be a garden of elitism, leading to the dismissal of anyone not part of the “in group.” And that sort of group usually only gets smaller and even more exclusive.
· Wisdom, signs, morality, knowledge, ritual purity, and power are all well and good. They mean a lot to human society. However, they are not grace. It is grace and the action of God that saves. Our cooperation is not a requirement for grace to be given to us. If grace requires our cooperation, it is not grace. Once grace is there, then we get on with the walking humbly with our God, with being poor in spirit, and with accepting the foolishness of God. All of that is based on grace.
· The sign of God’s grace among us will always be the cross and Christ crucified. That sign turns everything upside-down. Because of that, it is the sign of God’s grace among us. Were we to depend on our own actions, they could lead to boasting or corruption. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)
· What Jesus did in his crucifixion takes us beyond boasting, self-reliance, or self-sufficiency. All we are before God is a matter of grace. In that grace, there is no room for arrogance or corrupt motives. It is all a gift from God. It is grace that blesses the poor and the peacemaker. It is grace that lets us know what the Lord requires of us. It is grace that brings true wisdom out of foolishness and real strength out of weakness.
· We are what we are by the grace of God. And even our actions to help others and raise them up, what can we say but “Thank
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