The Christian
faith all boils down to two words. DO and DONE. Today we will sese that God’s
love does not depend on what we do. But on what Jesus did. His death and
resurrection was the ultimate act of obedience. He proved His authority by
following through on His promises. When others make promises they cannot keep
we can be thankful that Jesus will always keep His word. The Gospel reminds us
that our faith relies on His work alone.
Holy God,
faithful and unchanging: enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly
worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
HYMN #60 “My Faith
Looks Up to Thee”
Confession/Absolution:
LORD - we pray to you also for the
forgiveness of our sins. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father.
In Your compassion forgive us our sins.
Known and unknown. Things done. And left undone. And so uphold us by Your
Spirit.
That we may live and serve you in newness of
life.
To the honor and glory of Your Name. Through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you. Forgive you
all your sins.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. And may He
strengthen you in all goodness.
And by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you
in eternal life. Amen.
Mark 2:23-32
One Sabbath Jesus
was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they
began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are
they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
He answered,
“Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and
in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God
and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he
also gave some to his companions.”
Then he said to
them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man
is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
HYMN #61 “My Hope
Is Built On Nothing Less”
Sometimes the
people who make our laws get a little carried away and pass some very silly
laws. I did some research and found some examples of some of the silliest laws
I have ever heard of.
In Fairbanks,
Alaska, it is illegal to serve alcohol to a moose. I wonder if it is legal to
serve alcohol to a bear?
There is a city
in Arizona where it is illegal to drive a car in reverse. So, how are you
supposed to get out of your parking space at the mall?
There is a town
in Minnesota where a woman can be arrested for impersonating Santa Claus.
Hmm...I wonder if they can impersonate Mrs. Claus?
In Oklahoma,
people who make ugly faces at dogs can be arrested and put in jail or fined. I
wonder if a bulldog can get thrown in the pound for making ugly faces at
people?
In Nicholas
County, West Virginia, a preacher is not allowed to tell jokes from the pulpit.
Uh-oh, I hope they don't think this MESSAGE is a joke!
In Morrisville,
Pennsylvania, women need a permit to wear makeup. Oh my! And who are the makeup
police?
I think you will
all agree that those are some pretty silly laws. But this is nothing new. Even
back in the day when Jesus lived, they had some pretty silly laws.
There was a group
of religious leaders called the Pharisees who were keepers of the law of Moses
and they believed that keeping the law was everything.
They also
believed that their own understanding and teaching about the law was the only
correct teaching.
Jesus was quite
often opposed by the Pharisees and was accused of breaking the laws of Moses,
especially the laws regarding the Sabbath.
Today's lesson
tells us about two times that the Pharisees accused Jesus and his followers of
violating the Sabbath.
Jesus said:
"The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to
meet the requirements of the Sabbath."
Another time,
Jesus went into the synagogue and noticed that there was a man who had a
deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, some of them were looking for a reason
to accuse Jesus. So they watched to see if he would heal the man on the
Sabbath. If so, they would accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath.
Jesus said to the
man with the deformed hand, "Come and stand in front of everyone."
Then he turned toward his enemies and asked, "Does the law permit good
deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil?" The Pharisees
refused to answer him.
Jesus looked at
them and was saddened at the hardness of their hearts. Then he said to the man,
"Hold out your hand." He held out his hand and Jesus healed him.
Immediately they left to go and meet with Herod to plot how to destroy Jesus.
The third
commandments says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." Can you imagine a law so silly that you could
not do a good thing like healing someone because it was the Sabbath?
Surely that was
not what God meant. Each day is an opportunity for us to Love God and serve our
neighbor. There should never be a law that keeps us from loving God by serving
our neighbor. As St. Paul explains; “and if there is any other commandment,
all are summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ Love does no harm to a
neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” – Romans 13:9a-10
The Collect for Purity Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen
In peace let us pray to the LORD. Today we pray…
For all people in their daily life and work.
We pray -For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone.
We pray -For this community at Lincolnshire, the nation, and the world.
We pray -For all who work for justice, freedom, and peace.
We pray -For the just and proper use of your creation.
We pray -For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.
We pray -For all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble.
We pray -For those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and the needy.
We pray -For the peace and unity of the Church of God.
We pray -For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.
We pray -For all who serve God in his Church.
We pray -For the special needs and concerns at this place... we ask you to hear us,
Lord.
We pray -For your mercy is great. We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this
life... We will exalt you, O God our King; And praise your Name for ever and
ever.
LORD, let your loving-kindness be upon them,
who put their trust in you.
Direct us, O Lord, in all our actions by
Your gracious favor, and further us with Your continual help that in all our
works, begun, continued, and ended in Your name, we may glorify Your holy name
and finally by Your mercy receive eternal life.
Visit, O Lord, the homes in which Your
people dwell, and keep all harm and danger far from them.
Grant that we may dwell together in peace
under Your protection, sharing eternally in Your blessings.
Lord God, You
showed Your glory and led many to faith by the works of Your Son. As He brought
gladness and healing to His people, grant us these same gifts, and lead us also
to perfect faith in Him.
Almighty God, you
sent your Son to proclaim your kingdom and to teach with authority. Anoint us
with the power of your Spirit, that we, too, may bring good news to the
afflicted, bind upon the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives.
Faithful God,
whose mercies are new to us every morning, we humbly pray that You would look
upon us in mercy and renew us by Your Holy Spirit.
Keep safe our
going out and our coming in, and let Your blessing remain with us throughout
this day. Preserve us in Your righteousness and grant us a portion in that
eternal life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Luther’s Morning Prayer
We thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept us from all harm and danger; and we pray that You would keep us this day also from sin and every evil, that all our doing and life may please You. For into Your hands we commend ourselves, our body and soul, and all things. Let your Holy Spirit be with us, that the evil foe have no power over us.
As our Savior Christ has taught, we are bold to pray:
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.
Go and live a
deeper life in Christ. A more holy communion with one another. And a greater
love for the world.
The Blessing of God;
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you all.
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