Worship
for the Lord’s Day
February
14, 2021
A Note before we begin
this day’s worship:
As we continue to monitor our area’s virus positivity rates,
which after several weeks of coming down following Christmas started to rise
again, but are now going back down. We
are currently at 6.4% positivity rate.
We remain on-line only but our sessions meet again on Feb 23rd. We’re hoping to re-open for worship on Palm
Sunday or Easter Sunday. We’ll let you
know, so stayed tuned.
Let’s begin:
Call to Worship
Almighty God, giver of
life, Your light shines in our lives and Your glory is revealed through Your
Son, Jesus Christ. Reveal His glory to
us as You did to Peter, James, and John, that we may be filled with His power
and our mouths may proclaim His presence forevermore. AMEN.
Hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Prayer of Confession
Holy and Mighty God of
yesterday, today, and tomorrow, do not be silent, but speak, that we may
hear. Speak justice, that we may correct
our lawlessness. Speak righteousness, that
we may know Your ways. Speak compassion,
that we may know Your mercy. Speak
abundance, that we may serve others.
Speak understanding, that we may be peacemakers. Speak glory, that we may know Your Son. Speak, and we will listen. You promise forgiveness of sins and fullness
of grace when we speak our shortcomings.
So, this day, we speak of mistakes we have made. We speak of abandoning Your ways. We speak of failures to show compassion and
mercy. We speak of our need for
forgiveness. Holy and Mighty God of
yesterday, today, and tomorrow, hear our prayer and lead us into fullness of
life. AMEN
Words of Assurance
God will not keep
silent, but will gather us in with the tender words: “You are forgiven”. Thanks be to God! AMEN
Affirmation of Faith – from A Brief Statement
of Faith.
We trust in Jesus
Christ, fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the
reign of God:
preaching good news to
the poor and release to the captives,
teaching by word and
deed and blessing children,
healing the sick and
binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to
repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for
blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depths of
human pain
and giving his life for
the sins of the world.
God raised this Jesus
from the dead,
vindicating his sinless
life,
breaking the power of
sin and evil,
delivering us from
death to life eternal.
With believers in every
time and place,
we rejoice that nothing
in life or in death
can separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Alleluia. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Lord of infinite mercy, we would make a Broadway production
of this Transfiguration event because we would not take the time to understand
its significance for our lives. We are
in such a hurry to memorialize everything that the power and meaning of the event
become pale or altered in our memories.
Help us look at Jesus with new eyes, those eyes that see Him in light of
the witness of the ages; that see Jesus as the One who comes to set people
free, to heal, to bring hope and peace.
Make us ready to become faithful disciples, rather than remaining
dazzled by the mountaintop experience.
Give us strength and courage this day to witness to Jesus’ love by the
many deeds of mercy and justice we can offer in His name.
This day, we offer up in prayer…..
Lord, we also offer up ourselves, imperfect, but willing to
serve.
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. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.
AMEN.
Hymn Just As I Am
Scripture Readings
Old Testament: 2 Kings
2:1-12
Now when the Lord was
about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on
their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah
said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha
said, “As the Lord lives,
and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to
Bethel. 3The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha,
and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master
away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.” 4Elijah
said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to
Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not
leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5The
company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him,
“Do you know that today the Lord will
take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be
silent.” 6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent
me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you
yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7Fifty
men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them,
as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8Then
Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was
parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry
ground.
9When they had crossed, Elijah
said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.”
Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10He
responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken
from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11As they
continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated
the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12Elisha
kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its
horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and
tore them in two pieces.
New Testament: Mark
9:2-9
2Six days later, Jesus took with
him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by
themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his
clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And
there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then
Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three
dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6He did
not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a
cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my
Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8Suddenly
when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
9As they were coming down the
mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after
the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Sermon – Today
is Transfiguration Sunday and we typical read the story from the account
of Jesus being transfigured before his closest disciples on the
mountaintop. And that is the story that
I normally preach on, every year for the past 31 years. I decided to challenge myself and preach on
the Old Testament Story instead.
From
Elijah to Elisha; A Double Measure
(Based on 2 Kings 2:1-12)
Each one of us bears the echoes of great people in our
lives. Each one of us bears the mark of
someone who touched us in a powerful way.
It might be a mother or father, a grandparent, or an aunt or uncle. It could be a neighbor who took you under his
or her wing, or a teacher, a mentor that saw something in you that they helped
nurture and positively influence. If
you’re really blessed, you might even receive more than one such fellow
traveler. The blessings of such people walking with us on our journey cannot be
underestimated.
Such people come as mentors and partners. They come willing to give of themselves, and
they come eager for you to grow into who you are meant to become. For me there were many such people for I have
been most dearly and richly blessed by family and friend mentors along the
way. I think of my Grandmother who
mentored me in gardening and in understanding the concept of forgiveness. I think of my mother who taught me
unconditional love and perseverance; my father who taught me loyalty and
sacrifice; my sister whom I admire for her intelligence and bravery; and I
think of my early Christian mentors like Linda Jaberg and Chris Glaser who
taught me the importance of justice and equality. And there are so many others…
I’m gratefully blessed that most of those mentors are still here
with me, but as I’ve gotten older, more and more of them will leave to
experience their own rewards in heaven.
But, if I could ask for one more thing from them, I think I might agree
with Elisha from our Old Testament story and want a double measure of their
spirit.
In 2 Kings, Elisha must bid his master and mentor farewell. And rather than ask for more time; rather
than one more lesson or story; rather than some insight into all the learning,
Elisha asked Elijah for a double measure of his spirit.
Think with me for a moment.
What would it mean in your own life to receive a double measure of the
spirit of your mentor, your best friend, or teacher? What would it mean to receive a double dose
of that spirit of helpfulness, caring, attentiveness, and affection? Think how much it meant for you to have
received that spirit of genuine love and concern from them already, and then
multiply it times two.
For my own part, it’s difficult to imagine what that would look
like. Some, I think, might feel
indulgent or even selfish and want more, saying, “Open the gates; I can use all
the help I can get!” What would you say? How would you feel? What would happen with this flood of
abundance that would come your way in a double measure of their spirit, freely
given to you?
Although we didn’t read the rest of the story in our passage
today, do you know what Elisha did? He
picked up the mantle of Elijah. He
stepped into his master’s shoes. He took
that double measure of the spirit and went on to his own journey of greatness
and service to the Lord and the people.
For those of us who have had the benefit of great teachers and friends
like Elijah was to Elisha, the question comes to us as to what we have done
with the great gifts we’ve received. And
more so, what will we yet do with the gift of spirit, double measure or not
that we have received as pure grace? Are
we to go on and try to fill the shoes of our benefactors? Are we to take the gift and use it on our own
unique journey? Or are we take that gift
and offer it to someone in the same way it was offered to us? What do you think?
Perhaps the best answer is found in trying to do all three.
Perhaps some of us receive the call to fill the shoes of our mentors. How many of us have chosen our work because
of someone else who did that work? Who
inspired us? How many teachers are
teachers today because of a teacher they once had? How many people saw someone who was admirable
doing admirable work, and were influenced by that? Elisha moved on to take up the mantle of
Elijah because of what he saw Elijah doing, and because he knew who Elijah was
as a person.
It could be, of course, that we might take the beneficence and
gifts offered to us and use them in our own unique way as we move through our
life’s journey. Rev Guy Ames tells the
story about another pastor friend of his who once came to him rather astonished
because one of his youth group members had gone on to be a great mathematics
professor. “What’s so astonishing about
that?” he asked. “Well for one,” said his friend, “he says I was an
inspiration, and for two, I know nothing of mathematics so how could I have
possibly been an inspiration?”
Obviously, the young student had his own gifts in mathematics, but used
his spiritual clarity and depth of faith given by this colleague of Rev. Ames’
and claimed it in his own way.
Finally, of course, we can receive these gifts and then turn
around and offer them back to others again.
We can make it a point to open ourselves up to others, to mentor and
guide them. We can be the heroes we had
when we were younger. We can give the
gift of self, a double dose of our spirit to those who are starting their
journey or even to those long struggling in a journey of their own. Perhaps the best way to honor those who gave
themselves to us is to turn and give ourselves to others. Of course, all three of these responses
intermingle and join in our lives as we respond to the goodness of others around
us.
Think about the story between Elijah and Elisha. Elijah is heading for the river. He keeps telling Elisha to stay behind, but
Elisha refuses time after time. Finally,
when they are at the river, Elijah asks Elisha if there is anything he can do,
and since Elisha knows that he can’t ask the prophet to stay with him, he asks
for a double measure of his spirit.
Think of the connection between these two. Imagine the power of the mentor and student
relationship. Picture yourself as mentor
and guide and imagine someone so struck, so moved by you that at your parting
all they want is a double measure of your spirit. Friends, I challenge you to consider your
role as a mentor in other people’s lives.
For it is not only our own personal spirits that we pass on in these
wonderful relationships, we pass on the powerful gift of God in our lives.
As we teach and model patience, as we teach and model love, as
we teach and model compassion, as we teach and model the ability to laugh and
sing, we pass on the Spirit of the living God!
As we do this, person by person, the world is healed a little more each
day.
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
Hymn Abide With Me
Benediction
Get ready to serve the
Lord. Go in peace and joy, sharing the
good news of Jesus’ transforming love and power for all. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment