Sixth Sunday of Easter

I invite you to stand as you're able. Allelujah. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Allelujah. Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the lamb. >> Amen. >> Let us give thanks for the gifts of baptism. Merciful God, you are the one who was, who is, and who is to come. You lead us beside still waters. We thank you for the waters of creation, morning dew, gentle rain, roaring waves. We thank you for the waters that nourish us, for Dutch Buffalo Creek, Cold Water Creek, and the Rocky River. Blessed are you. >> You guide us, >> and our cup overflows. Break down barriers that divide us. Fill us with the breath of peace. Blessed are you. >> Guide us with the water of life. >> Holy one. We thank you for the gifts and grace of baptism and for making us a new creation. We join with saints and angels giving you honor and praise now and forever. Amen. I wonder how bright of light. How wonderful how beautiful the sight of mercy and awesome purity father with me. And I love thee to all the mighty as the Lord. Heat. Heat. Heat. 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. Earthj to the exalted. us worthy of life for he was save for us. Jesus is worthy to receive honor and mighty blessings that we can be forever. Where am I? Let us pray. Almighty and everliving God, you hold together all things in heaven and on earth. In your great mercy, receive the prayers of all your children and give to all the world the spirit of your truth and peace. through Jesus Christ our savior and lord who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit one god now and forever. Amen. You may be seated. And at this time I invite our youngest disciples to come forward. Good morning. Good morning. How are y'all doing this morning? >> It's a great day, isn't it? >> Yeah. >> Why is it a great day? >> Cuz it's Mother's Day. >> That's exactly right. Cuz it's Mother's Day. Yes. So, you got to say happy Mother's Day to your mom's. Okay. That's very important today. Yes. Well, I have a question for you this morning. Okay. Have you ever been somewhere, you know, very grand or or or big? Think of like on a mountain or maybe at the beach, like in front of the ocean or maybe in a stadium, and you felt really small in comparison to this thing right in front of you. Can you think of a time like that? Yeah. >> Yeah. All right. That's good. I appreciate that. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, you might you might be just feeling small because of the vastness of of God's creation or maybe because of uh great art and architecture. And today in our first reading, we kind of hear of a similar situation where Paul finds himself in Athens. And Athens was the the the cultural headquarters at the time, the spiritual headquarters, the philosophical headquarters. There's so much going on there. And Paul comes and he starts to talk about Jesus in a place that doesn't know Jesus very well at that time. And then in our gospel text today, we have a story where Jesus is preparing to go to the cross. And before he does so, he lets his disciples know that they will never be abandoned. They may not see Jesus right in front of them face to face anymore, but they know that Jesus is with them because of the Holy Spirit. And so for you and me, we may not see Jesus walking around right in front of us, but because of his Holy Spirit, we know that God is with us all the time. God is watching us and God is protecting us and God loves each and every one of you all the time. Even if you can't see him right in front of you. So let us pray. Dear God, >> Dear God, >> thank you for the gift of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. >> And the power of the Holy Spirit >> the power of the Holy Spirit >> to let us know >> to let us know >> that we're never alone. >> never alone >> and we're always loved. >> We're always loved. >> In Jesus name we pray. >> Amen. >> Amen. >> Thank you so much. Now, don't forget happy Mother's Day when you get back. The First reading is from Acts the 17th chapter. Paul stood in front of the Arapocus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you all you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription to an unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The L God who made the world and everything in it. He who is Lord of heaven and earth does not live in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed everything, since he himself gives all mortals life and breath in all things. From one one ancestor he made all peoples to inhabit the whole earth. And he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live so that they would search for the God and perhaps fumble about him for him and find him though indeed he is not far from each of us each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said. For we too are his offspring. Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art, an imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he appointed. And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Christ is risen. This is the word of life. >> Hallelujah. >> Thanks be to God. >> We will read a portion of Psalm 66 responsively. Blessed our God, O peoples. Let the sound of his praise be heard. >> For you, oh God, have tested us. You have tried us as silver is tired tried. >> You brought us into laid burdens on our backs. >> You let people ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water. Yet you have brought us out to the apacious place. >> I will come into your house with burnt offerings. I will pay you my vows. those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. >> I will offer to you with the sacrifice of lambs. I will make an offering of bulls and goats. >> Come and hear all of you who fear God and I will tell what he has done for me. I cried aloud to him with my tongue. >> If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. >> God has listened. He has heard the words of my prayers. >> Blessed be God who has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me. The second reading is from the first chapter third chapter of first Peter. Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for what for doing what is right, you are blessed. You do not fear what they fear and they do not be intimidated. but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect. Maintain a good conscience so that when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good your for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all the righteous for the unrighteous in order to bring you to God. He has put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when Christ waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight lives were saved through the water, and baptism, which This pre prefigured now saves you not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good consciousness through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. Christ is risen. This is the word of God. Hallelujah. Thanks be to God. >> Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. >> The Holy Gospel according to John. >> Glory to you, Lord. >> Jesus said to the disciples, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to be with you forever." 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. I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my father and you in me and I in you. They who have my comm they who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me and those who love me will be loved by my father and I will love them and reveal myself to them. The gospel of the Lord. >> Praise to you Christ. >> In the name of God who is father, son, and holy spirit. Amen. Well, last fall I had the great pleasure of leading a tour to uh Greece and Turkey with with several folks who are here this morning. We uh we had a great time following the footsteps of the Apostle Paul across those places. And in fact, we actually stood at the very place and recited uh the the first reading that we have today where where Paul spoke those words to the Athenians. And it's kind of difficult to describe or to put it into words, but Athens is just such a vast city. Just, you know, everywhere you look in every direction, the city is is is there. It is uh it's it's incredible. It's uh a place with so much history. It's been kind of ground zero for for philosophy and for art and for architecture. And even now, thousands of years later, it still feels just as impressive as it once was. Powerful uh in so many ways. And standing there and reading Paul's very words in the place where he first spoke them, I I tried to imagine what it must have been like for him entering this city, this vast city where no one really would be agreeing with him. And he was facing all sorts of other intellectual forces. and he saw just the the sheer power and the beauty of this place with the shrines and temples with the the marble walkways. And tucked among them, he saw of course this the altar dedicated to the unknown god. And while we were there, I got a kick out of this concept as well because the Athenians built shrines and temples for for all sorts of gods, you know, the god of the sun or the wind or whatever it may be. And then as a kind of spiritual insurance policy, just in case we haven't covered ourselves with all of these other gods in our temples and shrines, we need one for the unknown god. What if we missed one? You know, what if there is still something out there that we can't quite see or understand? What if what if that one is the one? We need to be protected there. And so I think there's something about this though which is even though it sounds kind of funny that maybe is still somewhat recognizable in our own lives in our daily lives and I'm not talking about construction of a altar or a shrine or temple. I'm talking about certain ways we we maybe want that same sense of reassurance that we're doing the right thing that maybe that our our lives matter that our vocations matter. We want the confidence that that we're not alone in the universe and we want to believe very much of course that's why so many of us are gathered here that that we we believe in something that is stronger than death that is stronger than grief that is stronger than uncertainty that's stronger than fear and so much of our lives especially as we encounter difficulties and we experience hard things so much of our lives I believe is a search for a search for stability a search for meaning, a search for for place. And Paul stands in the middle of all of that, in the middle of all these very human searches for stability. And Paul doesn't insult the people to to whom he preaches. Paul doesn't say they're crazy. Paul appreciates their their their desire to to worship a god. Paul appreciates their intellect. Paul appreciates their curiosity and he says with boldness, "What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you." Paul does not mock them. Paul does not shame them for their searching. Paul alerts them to the truth that has propelled his ministry that propels his ministry that allows him to speak at this incredible place on this hilltop with all of these philosophers and debaters and everyone else and to say with boldness the truth that he experiences through the power of Jesus Christ that you're not going to find God confined to some memorial even though if it's one for an unknown God at God, our God is not hidden behind one more temple that we just haven't quite figured out yet through the Holy Spirit. That God, that God dwells in each and every one of us. Our God dwells within us. He's not far from each of us. Paul says, "For in him we live and move and have our being." We still need to remind ourselves of something right there, though. Not far. Not far. If you ask me, that may be the most important thing that some of us, I believe, need to hear this morning. Not far. Because there are seasons of life that get messy, that get difficult. There are moments when perhaps grief fogs our vision and God seems absent from all of it. There are moments when the future maybe it's it's uh it's tomorrow or next week. Maybe even that just seems unclear or unbearable or or just you're afraid. You don't know what's happening. There are moments when things are unclear and when life changes suddenly because of who knows whether it's a loss or a diagnosis or some other event where things just aren't clicking, aren't aren't clear, aren't stable as they once were. And in those moments, people begin searching everywhere for reassurance. We search for certainty. We search for control. We search for something capable of calming the fear that maybe we've been left behind. Maybe our prayers aren't being answered. Maybe maybe life is not working out the way it's supposed to be. And in that we should remind ourselves of this of what Paul says this morning. He is not far from each of us. Each one of us. And better yet than in our gospel text, Jesus says to his very understandably frightened disciples, this is the night before the cross, who have followed him all over the place, who have seen him heal, seen him teach, seen him disrupt the religious elites of the day. And they know what's coming. And he says very clearly, I will not leave you orphaned. This is the same God that Paul preaches about in Athens. The same God who gives Paul the boldness to do so. It's not a distant God, not an abstract idea, not a force hidden behind the stars somewhere. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is the God who comes near. The God who refuses to abandon his people. A person. a person for us. Christianity is not ultimately the story of humanity that kind of figures it out, right? That pinpoints the exact God that's climbing upward toward God. It is the story of God descending into frightened, imperfect, worrisome, anxious people. The story of the God descending into that, into the muck and mess of our lives. And the God who shows up as a person as Jesus and says I am here who says do not be afraid who says peace be with you. This is the gift of the incarnation. This is the joy of Easter that we are continuing to celebrate. And of course through this we get to experience the promise of the Holy Spirit. And week after week that promise continues here among us here among God's people gathered together in God's house. Christ comes near. We gather around ordinary things that carry extraordinary grace. Things like water, things like bread that outside mean very little. But when you are here, well, they mean a lot, but uh they don't have the the same kind of significance because those plain things through which God keeps showing up, those are the plain things God keeps showing up for God's people here. Luther reminds us that God does not ask us to to climb up to ascend toward some sort of spiritual achievement. Doesn't matter how many degrees we have. Doesn't matter what kind of emotional certainty we seem to possess. God comes to us concretely and externally through promises that are attached to tangible things. Those are a lot of words. But God comes to us so we can understand God's presence when we extend our hands and we say amen. God comes to us in bread. God comes to us in the water of the font. God comes to us in wine. Things that we know about in the world. And then God makes those things holy through God's very promises. Luther continues to remind us about how plain things bear the majesty of God. The altar to the unknown God, I think, is now replaced by a table where the known God shares a meal with all of us. For the known God feeds his children. And maybe that should matter especially for us on this wonderful day. We celebrate parents. We celebrate mothers. It should matter to us here at St. John's because for 281 years God's people who gather here at St. John's have lived through wars, have lived through uncertainty, have lived through economic hardship, cultural change, all sorts of things. There were surely moments when people here wondered what would happen next. Moments when the future felt unclear. moments when the church itself must have seemed fragile and generation after generation thanks be to God each could testify that he is not far from each of us or if you read some history about our church and there's a great one from 1900 several different pastor accounts a verse comes up quite a bit and it's the verse from 1 Samuel who uh talks about when Samuel took a stone and named it Ebenezer, which means the stone of help. And then in the great King James language, we see those words, hitherto hath the Lord helped us. He is not far from each and every one of us. In him we live and we move and we have our being. Last fall, it was incredible to to read our first text this morning in Acts to to be at that very place where Paul proclaimed this good news, this undeniable truth for us. And despite being Athens being this incredible architectural and intellectual capital, something hit me there. I believe I did share it with a few of you. The interesting thing is we're we're now touring these temples. We're touring whole cities where there are all sorts of shrines and temples that are for other gods. And the amazing thing is most of these are in ruins now. These grand things, these things that would surely intimidate someone like Paul. Most of these temples, they're they're crumbled. some of covered by by land and faded through through all sorts of time and erosion and all of this. The empires that built them have long faded during that time and since philosophies have rose and and and fell. But the gospel, the gospel that we continue to proclaim today, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thing that is very much still standing, still being proclaimed. Nearly 2,000 later years later, members of St. John's, we stood up there together. We stood on Mars Hill. It was incredible. And this morning, members of St. John's, friends of St. John's here again and again. We we gather around the same promise that propelled Paul. The God who made heaven and earth, that God, our God, is not far away. The risen Christ has not abandoned his people. The spirit, the Holy Spirit still abides and nothing, nothing in all of creation, nothing will separate us from the love of God made known to us through Jesus Christ. Amen. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, you have me to me. You have brought me to your set like a mother who All my life mech. behind and I am in your Heat. Heat. Heat. With the whole church we confess our faith. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. for us and for our salvation. He came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontious Pilot. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy, Catholic, and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. Risen Christ, you do not leave us orphaned, but come to us still. Trusting in your presence, we pray for the church, the world, and all in need. For the church that we may speak of you with humility and courage, as Paul did among those who did not yet know you, that your spirit would guide our witness in a world searching for truth. Hear us, oh God. >> Your mercy is great. For all who struggle to believe, for those who still feel distant from you, for those asking hard questions, and for those who have never heard your name in a way that brings life, that your presence would be known to them even now. Hear us, oh God. >> Your mercy is great. for the whole creation, for rain to nourish the earth, for crops, animals, and ecosystems in need of renewal, that your sustaining hand would restore and protect what you have made. Hear us, oh God. >> For the nations and their leaders in a world marked by tension and uncertainty, grant wisdom, restraint, and a desire for peace. Shape leaders to seek justice and the flourishing of all people. Hear us, oh God. >> Your mercy is great. >> For those who suffer for doing what is right. For those who are misunderstood, oppo oppressed or burdened because of the faith or or integrity that they may find strength in Christ who suffers with us and brings life through every trial. Hear us, oh God. >> Your mercy is great. for those who are afraid or alone. For the sick, the grieving, the anxious, that the promise of your spirit, the advocate, our helper, our comforter, would surround them with peace. Hear us, oh God. Your mercy is great. for this congregation as we continue to grow and discern your call. For those stepping into new roles and for those yet to come, that your spirit would lead us forward, reminding us that we are never left on our own. Hear us, oh God. >> For graduates and those entering new seasons that they may go forth with confidence, trusting not in themselves alone, but in your abiding presence. Hear us, oh God. Your mercy is great. for those we now name before you now either silently or aloud. Hear us, oh God. >> For the saints who have gone before us that held in your eternal life, they remind us that nothing, not even death, separates us from your love. Hear us, oh God. >> Your mercy is great. Into your hands, oh God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. And then may the peace of that risen Lord be with you all. >> And also with you. Daddy, don't What is it? That's mama. world. Praise God. Praise him all. Heat. Heat. Let us pray together. Merciful God, accept the fruits of our labor gathered to give you glory. You have set a table before us, a glimpse of that great day when we will hunger and thirst no more. Nourish us with the body and blood of Jesus that goodness and mercy may follow us and bless the world you love. In the name of Jesus. Amen. >> The Lord be with you. >> And also with you. >> Lift up your hearts. >> We lift them to the L. >> Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. >> It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is indeed right, our duty and our joy that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, for the glorious resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ, the true pascal lamb, who gave himself to take away our sin, who in dying has destroyed death and in rising has brought us to eternal life. And so with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection, with earth and sea and all their creatures, and with angels and archangels, cherubam and saraphim, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. Heat. Heat. Holy living and loving God, we praise you for creating the heavens and the earth. We bless you for bringing Noah and his family through the waters of the flood, for freeing your people Israel from the bonds of slavery, and for sending your son to be our redeemer. We give you thanks for Jesus who living among us healed the sick, fed the hungry and with a love stronger than death gave his life for others. In the night in which he was handed over, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat. This is my body given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. And again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people, for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. Remembering therefore his lifegiving death and glorious resurrection, we await your promised life for all this dying world. Breathe your spirit on us and on this bread and cup. Carry us in your arms from death to life that we may live as your chosen ones, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Through him all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church both now and forever. Amen. And now, as our savior Christ taught us, we are bold to say, 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. come to the table of new life and receive the risen Lord. You may be seated. Christ. Body of Christ. What is this? Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Christ. body. Christ Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Christ. body. Christ Christ. And now may the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace. Amen. Let us pray together. Holy God, through this meal, you have made your home among us and are making all things new. Send us now to speak peace to anxious hearts, to love our enemies, and to bring your healing to the nations. In the name of Jesus, amen. And now, may Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen. Oh, sing to the Lord. Oh, sing God a new song. Sing to the Lord. Oh, sing a new song. Oh, sing to the Lord. Oh, sing God a new song. Sing to our God. Sing to our God. For God is the Lord and God has done. God is the Lord. And God has done God is the Lord and God has done. Sing to our God. Sing to our God. Our God and blow all the trumpets to our God. And blow all the trumpets to our God. And blow all the trumpets to our God. Sing to our God. Oh shout to our God. U to our God. Who gave us the spirit shout to our God? Who gave us the spit? Sing to our God. Sing to our God. For Jesus is born. Hallelujah. For Jesus is hallelujah. For Jesus is born. Hallelujah. To our God. to our God. >> Thanks be to God. >> Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Oh, heat, heat.