1 day ago

**Sunday, January 23, 2022**

*Luke 4:14-21*

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee,

and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.

He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,

he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.

He stood up to read,

and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of God is upon me,

because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and

recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the Jubilee year of the God's favor."

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

Then he began to say to them,

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

*Prayer*

Jesus of Nazareth,

Teacher of Galilee,

fill us with the power of the Spirit.

Centre us in your gospel message.

Bring good news

we need it in this time of

international showdowns and widespread cyber attacks,

volcanic eruptions and tsunami surges.

Proclaim release

from the unyielding parade of case counts and

front-line staffing shortages and

care home outbreaks.

Recover your people

from the history and trauma of

inequality and violence,

environmental disaster,

hostage taking and mass shootings.

Free us

to serve with courage and vision.

Let your prophetic witness be our mission, our purpose, our priority,

and not just a watered-down version,

or a spiritualized softening of these responsibilities,

or a glossed-over editing of the gospel’s demands.

Ground us in your mandate and agenda with the poor, the captive, the downtrodden, and oppressed.

Fulfill this scripture in our hearing, in our living, and in our ministries.

This is who you are Jesus.

Let this be who we are, too.

We need to hear the challenge, and the blessing,

of this plumb line and measure of what it is to be your people.

May we be anointed, too.

May the Spirit of God be upon us.



Photo by Taylor Wilcox on Unsplash ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

**Sunday, January 16, 2022**

*John 2: 1-11*

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee,

and the mother of Jesus was there.

Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him,

"They have no wine."

And Jesus said to her,

"Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?

My hour has not yet come."

His mother said to the servants,

"Do whatever he tells you."

Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification,

each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

Jesus said to them,

"Fill the jars with water."

And they filled them up to the brim.

He said to them,

"Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward."

So they took it.

When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and

did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew),

the steward called the bridegroom

and said to him,

"Everyone serves the good wine first, and

then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk.

But you have kept the good wine until now."

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory;

and his disciples believed in him.

*Prayer*

Incarnate One,

the wine has given out,

and the jars are empty.

We live in a time of

persistent pivoting and stretched health care,

amassing troops and blockaded aid,

environmental gloom and heavy rains,

“Me Too” and murder trials.

Please, dear Jesus, do not say to us

that your hour has not come,

that all of this is of no concern to you.

We do not need divine reluctance.

The world and your people are

weary and worn-out,

tired and tempted,

sad and sorrowful.

We do not presume that you are

a Galilean magician,

a miracle ATM,

or an ancient present-bearing Santa,

but please, dear Jesus,

fill us to the brim,

turn water into wine.

We need

to remember the extravagant abundance of creation,

to celebrate the outstanding blessing of life,

to rejoice with gratitude for the gifts you offer us.

We hope that your astonishing divine generosity will turn,

war into peace,

inequality into respect,

cruelty into compassion,

despair into justice.

Give us a sign.

Reveal your glory.

Help us to keep the party going.

Let’s have the feast be joy.

May the banquet be welcome and hospitality.



Marriage at Cana - Paolo Veronsese ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

**Sunday, January 9, 2022**

**Baptism of Jesus**



*Isaiah 43:1-7*

But now thus says God,

the one who created you, O Jacob,

the one who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and

through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and

the flame shall not consume you.

For I am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you,

I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.

Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you;

I will say to the north, "Give them up," and

to the south, "Do not withhold;

bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth--

everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

*Prayer*

Holy One, creating and saving,

you form and liberate us.

We are, indeed, passing through troubled waters, and

drowning in polarities and paralysis.

We are walking through the fires of have and have-not inequity, and

burning with anger and angst.

We need to hear the prophet’s hopeful and comforting promises once again,

that we would not be overwhelmed,

that we would not be afraid,

that we would not be indifferent.

Holy One, creating and saving,

you form and liberate us.

In all our faults and failings,

call us by name once more –

Ramona, Gwynne, Ann, Thorsten, Ronke, Dionata, Olyvya, Hyerim, Damber, Ted –

that we would hear in a new way,

that we are known and valued,

loved and treasured.

Holy One, creating and saving,

you form and liberate us.

We are a ragtag people.

Lots of us are seated in pews 2 metres apart and masked,

or watching YouTube in our jammies,

or zooming onto a screen of tiny squares.

Reassure us, --

St. Matthew’s Episcopal, First Methodist, Knox Presbyterian, Trinity United, Redeemer Lutheran –

that we are yours.

Remind us who we are and whose we are.

Bring your offspring from east and west.

Speak to your children from north and south.

Gather your people from the ends of the earth, and

reveal your presence,

disclose your way,

offer your love, in ways that

startle us,

open us,

and embolden us.

Photo by Sunguk Kim on Unsplash ... See MoreSee Less