When Two or Three Can’t Gather: Church in the COVID-19 Era

Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost

**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.

**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.

**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in our houses of worship but together we can worship in our own homes.

Introduction to the day

Conflict is a part of relationships and life in community. Jesus’ words in today's gospel are often used in situations having to do with church discipline and Paul reminds us that love is the fulfilling of the law. We gather in the name of Christ, assured that he is present among us with gifts of peace and reconciliation.

Confession and Forgiveness

Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, who forgives all our sin, whose mercy endures forever. Amen.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom 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 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Most merciful God,

we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the God, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thanksgiving for Baptism

Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, the fountain of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation. Amen.

Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God's mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.

We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight.

Through the waters of the flood you delivered Noah and his family. Through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom.

At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy Spirit. By water and your Word you claim us as daughters and sons, making us heirs of your promise and servants of all.

We praise you for the gift of water that sustains life, and above all we praise you for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ.

Shower us with your Spirit, and renew our lives with your forgiveness, grace, and love. To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Gathering Song – Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (ELW #807)

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Greeting

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.

Canticle of Praise (p. 213)

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Prayer of the Day

Let us pray.

O Lord God, enliven and preserve your church with your perpetual mercy. Without your help, we mortals will fail; remove far from us everything that is harmful, and lead us toward all that gives life and salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

A reading from the Book of Exodus                                                                     12:1-14

Israel remembered its deliverance from slavery in Egypt by celebrating the festival of Passover. This festival featured the Passover lamb, whose blood was used as a sign to protect God’s people from the threat of death. The early church described the Lord’s supper using imagery from the Passover, especially in portraying Jesus as the lamb who delivers God’s people from sin and death.

¹The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ²This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. ³Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. ⁴If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. ⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. ⁷They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. ¹²For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. ¹³The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

  ¹⁴This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 149

Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song,

    his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel be glad in its Maker;

    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

Let them praise his name with dancing,

    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;

    he adorns the humble with victory.

Let the faithful exult in glory;

    let them sing for joy on their couches.

Let the high praises of God be in their throats

    and two-edged swords in their hands,

to execute vengeance on the nations

    and punishment on the peoples,

to bind their kings with fetters

    and their nobles with chains of iron,

to execute on them the judgment decreed.

    This is glory for all his faithful ones.

Praise the Lord!

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans                                               13:8-14

The obligation of Christians is to love one another and so fulfill the heart and goal of the law. Clothes make the person as we “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and live today in light of the future God has in store for us.

⁸Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

  ¹¹Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹²the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; ¹³let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation (p. 216)

            Listen Here

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The holy gospel according to Matthew                                                                18:15-20

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus offers practical advice to his disciples on how individuals—and the church as a whole—should go about restoring relationships when one member has sinned against another.

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹⁵“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. ¹⁶But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” 

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

In Matthew 18:20, Christ tell us that “for where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

But what happens when those two or three can’t gather together? Does that mean that Jesus, and therefore God, is not among them?

The word, “church,” means fellowship, a gathering, a grouping.

The church is a community of loving people. The church is a community of people who love you, know your name, and are concerned about you. Is it not important for you that as a member of a church, that people know your name? That they know what you struggle with? Isn’t that at the heart of a church? Where you are known and loved as a friend?

We want to be wanted. We want to be loved. We want people to treat us as friends. The church is a fellowship. The church is a community. The church is family.

As this pandemic marches on with seemingly no end, there is a growing feeling of loneliness and isolation as church families are not able to worship together, a feeling of loss as prayers and hymns are silenced and the Eucharist tabled (pun intended), or at the very least, much different than what we are used to experiencing.

Discussions are taking place around virtual Eucharist and about what “real church” looks like now that we are worshiping online, at home but also “together”.

Do the empty church buildings mean that Christianity is coming to a halt, that Jesus is no longer present in our lives? Is “church’ cancelled because two or three can no longer gather?

The younger, tech-savvy generation, whom we have struggled to get in a pew on a Sunday morning, are listening online when and where they choose.

The aging generation who can no longer attend worship services in person due to health and mobility issues are now able to tune in via YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

Those who are searching for a place to worship, but who’s social and general anxiety don’t allow them to step through the door of a place full of strangers, are, through the joys of technology, able to church-surf without the pressure of going from place to place.

Those who have been harmed by the Church, yet long for connection with God, can do so from the safety and comfort of their homes.

“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there.” These words seem particularly poignant in our COVID-19 pandemic reality. A word for our present experience where many are gathered in twos or threes, as families, as cohort units, as bubbles. A word of promise, for this time, that Jesus is with us, “I am there.”

Indeed, empty church buildings do not mean that Christianity is coming to a halt, or that Jesus is no longer present in our lives. Rather, the increasing number of online viewers indicate a new way of evangelizing and a growing need for faith and spirituality in a world suffering together.

As we roll into September, parishes are contemplating opening their doors once again and schools are welcoming the return of students. There is a sense of life returning to “normal”.

But in the background, there lies fear and anxiety about what will come next.

What is going to happen once hundreds of children head back to school and daycares?

Earlier in today’s passage from Matthew, Jesus says, essentially, that being a member of the church means you have a responsibility.

We, as the church, have a responsibility to set an example for the community.

We need to show the world that our faith is strong despite not being able to worship in our buildings.

We need to support our communities by keeping the vulnerable safe through the use of masks, social distancing, and staying home unless necessary.

This pandemic is not finished with us yet and we need to support our communities through an extremely anxious time. Parents, teachers, students, everyone is scared for what September will bring.

Jesus promises us that he is present, that his presence is real for us, when we are gathered in his name. It is just an important for our communities to know that we are present for them.

Pray for the students as they head into school days that will be very different from what they know.

Pray for the teachers as they figure out how to teach while keeping everyone safe.

Pray for the parents to have courage as each day brings new anxieties.

May Jesus walk with them all during the upcoming days, guiding them and giving them the strength they need to make it through, one day at a time.

Amen. 

Hymn of the Day – Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying (ELW #752)

            Listen Here

Creed

Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we say the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

Prayers of Intercession

Drawn together in the compassion of God, we pray for the church, the world, and all those in need.

Silence

Unite your church, O God. Grant us the gifts of repentance and reconciliation. Bless the cooperative work of churches in this community. Strengthen ecumenical partnerships; guide the work of the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Protect your creation, O God. Teach us ways that do not harm what you have entrusted to our care. Renew and enliven places suffering from drought, flood, storms, or pollution. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Turn nations and leaders from ways that lead to death. Shape new paths toward peace and cooperation, teaching us to recognize one another as neighbors. Guide legislators, civil servants, judges, and police toward laws that protect the well-being of all. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Tend to all in need of your compassion. Hear the cries of those awaiting justice and those yearning for forgiveness. Give community to the lonely and neighbors to the outcast. Shelter all who are vulnerable in body, mind, or spirit. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Sustain us in our work, O God, and give work to those who need it. Shape societies to ensure fair treatment for all who labor. Help us to love our neighbors in and through our work. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

We remember with thanksgiving those who have died in faith. As you equipped them, equip us with your protection and power, until with them we see your salvation. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

All these things and whatever else you see that we need, we entrust to your mercy; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Peace

The peace of Christ be with you always.

And also with you.

Offering

**Although not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.

Let us pray.

Salvation belongs to our God

and to Christ the Lamb forever and ever.

Great and wonderful are your deeds,

O God of the universe;

just and true are your ways,

O Ruler of all the nations.

Who can fail to honor you, Lord,

and sing the glory of your name?

Salvation belongs to our God

and to Christ the Lamb forever and ever.

For you alone are the Holy One,

and blessed is the one

whose name is the Word of God.

All praise and thanks to you, holy God!

Salvation belongs to our God

and to Christ the Lamb forever and ever.

Amen.

Thanksgiving for the Word

Let us pray.

Praise and thanks to you, holy God, for by your Word you made all things: you spoke light into darkness, called forth beauty from chaos, and brought life into being. For your Word of life, O God, we give you thanks and praise.

By your Word you called your people Israel to tell of your wonderful gifts: freedom from captivity, water on the desert journey, a pathway home from exile, wisdom for life with you. For your Word of life, O God, we give you thanks and praise.

Through Jesus, your Word made flesh, you speak to us and call us to witness: forgiveness through the cross, life to those entombed by death, the way of your self-giving love. For your Word of life, O God, we give you thanks and praise.

Send your Spirit of truth, O God; rekindle your gifts within us: renew our faith, increase our hope, and deepen our love, for the sake of a world in need. Faithful to your Word, O God, draw near to all who call on you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer

Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those

who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and forever. Amen.

 

Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy.

The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.

Amen.

Sending Song – Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart (ELW #800)

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Dismissal

Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God.

Take Up Your Cross: A Lament for Christ’s Presence

Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost

**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.

**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.

**This is for personal use at home as the church is unable to gather in our houses of worship but together we can worship in our own homes.

Introduction to the day

The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the incurable wound of his suffering yet finds in God’s words the delight of his heart. When Peter doesn’t grasp Jesus’ words about suffering, Jesus tells the disciples they will find their lives in losing them. Such sacrificial love is described by Paul when he urges us to associate with the lowly and not repay evil with evil. In worship we gather as a community that we might offer ourselves for the sake of our suffering world.

Gathering Song – Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty (ELW #413)

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Confession and Forgiveness

Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, who forgives all our sin, whose mercy endures forever.

Amen.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom 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 Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Most merciful God,

we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.

Amen.

Thanksgiving for Baptism

Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, the fountain of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation.

Amen.

Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God's mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.

We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight.

Through the waters of the flood you delivered Noah and his family. Through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom.

At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy Spirit. By water and your Word you claim us as daughters and sons, making us heirs of your promise and servants of all.

We praise you for the gift of water that sustains life, and above all we praise you for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ. Shower us with your Spirit, and renew our lives with your forgiveness, grace, and love.

To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

Greeting

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.

Canticle of Praise

            Listen Here

Prayer of the Day

Let us pray.

O God, we thank you for your Son, who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world. Humble us by his example, point us to the path of obedience, and give us strength to follow your commands, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

A reading from the Book of Exodus                                                                     3:1-15

Moses experienced the call of God when God appeared to him in a bush that burned but was not consumed. When Moses expressed his unworthiness, God promised to be with him. When Moses objected that people would demand to know God’s name, God revealed his personal name, Yahweh (I am who I am), or the Lord. Israel discovered God’s true identity when God took them out of Egypt.

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,

    make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him;

    tell of all his wonderful works.

Glory in his holy name;

    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Seek the Lord and his strength;

    seek his presence continually.

Remember the wonderful works he has done,

    his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,

O offspring of his servant Abraham,

    children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

Then Israel came to Egypt;

    Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.

And the Lord made his people very fruitful,

    and made them stronger than their foes,

whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,

    to deal craftily with his servants.

He sent his servant Moses,

    and Aaron whom he had chosen.

that they might keep his statutes

    and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord!

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans                                               12:9-21

Paul presents benchmarks for faithful relationships with Christians and non-Christians. Love is the unflagging standard of our behavior. When we encounter evil, we do not resort to its tactics but seek to overcome it with good. While Christians cannot control the actions and attitudes of others, we seek to live at peace with all people.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

            Listen Here

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

The holy gospel according to Matthew                                                                16:21-28

Glory to you, O Lord.

After Peter confesses that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16), Jesus reveals the ultimate purpose of his ministry. These words prove hard to accept, even for a disciple whom Jesus has called a “rock.”

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” 

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Guest speaker - David Lose, senior pastor at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Typically, the focus today would be on the heartbreak of the rebuke Jesus levels at Peter. Then a connection would be made between Peter’s disappointment and our own, as we, too, often want a strong God, even a warrior God, who will come in to save us from our problems. Those desires make it hard to accept, let alone celebrate, Jesus coming to us in vulnerability, suffering, and death. Until, that is, we realize that it is exactly in our own vulnerability, suffering, and death that we most need God and where Jesus promises to meet us in the cross. And, once again, that’s not a bad interpretation.

But this week, and in light of everything, we are instead drawn to the verses often passed over: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (16:24-25).

These verses often elicit two distinct reactions. Some folks embrace Jesus’ words, feeling themselves both called and capable to make decisions that reflect their Christian commitment, even to the point of sacrifice. For them, these words are an invitation.

Other Christians, however, struggle to find joy in these words. Some may be aware of their own limitations and so doubt their ability to embrace the cross, while others experience this as a request to denigrate themselves and can point to too many examples in culture where specific persons or groups have been told by their oppressors to “bear their cross.” Not all struggle and suffering, they will remind us, is sacrificial or beneficial, and so they are understandably leery of any blanket statements that legitimate unholy oppression. For both these latter groups, Jesus’ words are a burden, whether imposed on them by Christ or by others.

There may, however, be a third way to interpret these words, which is simply to recognize a) that suffering happens and b) whether you choose it, embrace it, or resist it, Christ is present with you in it.

Sometimes we are so keenly aware of Jesus’ words of his impending suffering and death that we assume it was all part of some plan (presumably God’s plan). But what if, instead, God’s plan was to send Jesus to bear a word of redemption and grace and love and the cross happened as a result? (See John 3:19.)

That is, it’s not that the only way by which God could conceive of redeeming humanity was for God’s son to be violently put to death, but rather that God in Jesus came amongst us bearing a vital message of love and acceptance even though Jesus knew that humanity’s likely response would be to reject the message and kill the messenger.

In this sense, the cross was not Jesus’ goal, but rather the outcome of Jesus’ fidelity in the face of unfaithful people. He didn’t choose the cross but rather trusted God to work even through the extreme of the cross for the sake of the world God loves so much.

Similarly, the cross isn’t something we choose, but rather it is something that finds us. Sometimes what is redemptive in our suffering is obvious – the sacrifices we make for our family members and friends, foregoing individual “rights” during a pandemic for the sake of community health – and sometimes it’s hard to tell if there is anything good at all, let alone redemptive, in the suffering we see and experience. And yet Christ identifies with all of our suffering, took it all on himself in his suffering, and promises to meet us in ours.

What does “take up your cross and deny yourself” look like in this case? Perhaps it’s following Jesus’ lead and, to the best of our ability, to make decisions and act in a way that reflects God’s love for us and all people, God’s acceptance of us and all people, God’s desire for abundant life for us and all people.

“Deny yourself” is not the same as “forget all about yourself” and certainly is not “debase yourself.” By linking “and all people” to “us,” we realize God is in it for everyone, not just us and that is, I think, what denying yourself looks like – seeing that you and I are part of something larger, in recognizing that there is, in fact, no meaningful “you” or “I” apart from “us.”

Suffering doesn’t need to be – and, quite honestly, should be not be – spiritualized. And it should not be justified. And it should regularly be resisted, particularly as we are moved to resist the actions and systems that we undertake or in which we are involved that increase the suffering of others. But trust me, suffering – chosen and sacrificial or unbidden and at times even unholy – will find us. And Jesus will be there.

Where or how are you suffering today? Are you able to name it? Are you tired, hurting, fearful, insecure, anxious, in pain, or distressed?

Name these things honestly, in the sense of biblical lament, in order to hear again God’s promise in Christ be in it with us, to see in our hardships a kindred experience to Christ’s cross, and to count more fully on Christ’s presence and power to see us through.

We literally cannot save our own lives, and our attempts to do so often take a toll on ourselves and others. But as we surrender that impulse and hear and trust God’s promise, we discover that those things which seek to take our lives are no match for the crucified and resurrected Christ and we discover new life even amid them.

There is so much suffering going on right now. Whether related to COVID, racial injustice, economic hardship, emotional despair, or more.

In all these things, not just Christ’s cross is present, but Christ himself – holding us, lamenting with us, encouraging us, and promising us the strength to endure, to flourish, and to help others do the same.

Amen.

Hymn of the Day – Will You Come and Follow Me (ELW #798)

            Listen Here

Affirmation of Faith

Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we say the Apostles’ Creed:

Prayers of Intercession

Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.

Silence

God of faithfulness, you bid your people to follow Jesus. Set the mind of your church on divine things. Grant us trust in you, that we lose our lives for the sake of Christ and thereby discover joy in life through him. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of wonder, the earth is yours and all that is in it. Heal your creation and give us eyes to see the world as you do. As the seasons change, pattern the rhythm of our lives in harmony with all creation. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of all nations, you call us to live peaceably with all. Give us ears to hear one another, even those we name as enemies. Fill all leaders with mercy and understanding, that they advocate and genuinely care for those who are poor and most vulnerable in their communities. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of salvation, you promise to deliver us. Give those who suffer a strong sense of your presence and love. Accompany those who are uncertain, raise the spirits of those who are despairing, and heal the sick. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of community, you call us to rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer. Make our congregation a workshop of your love. When we quarrel, bring reconciliation. Help us overcome evil with good. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

God of all grace, you give us everlasting life. In love we recall your holy ones who now live in your undying light. In our remembering, give us a foretaste of the feast to come. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

In the certain hope that nothing can separate us from your love, we offer these prayers to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Peace

The peace of Christ be with you always.

And also with you.

Offering

**Although not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking place.

Let us pray.

Salvation belongs to our God

and to Christ the Lamb forever and ever.

Great and wonderful are your deeds,

O God of the universe;

just and true are your ways,

O Ruler of all the nations.

Who can fail to honor you, Lord,

and sing the glory of your name?

Salvation belongs to our God

and to Christ the Lamb forever and ever.

For you alone are the Holy One,

and blessed is the one

whose name is the Word of God.

All praise and thanks to you, holy God!

Salvation belongs to our God

and to Christ the Lamb forever and ever.

Thanksgiving for the Word

Let us pray.

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.

Lord’s Prayer

Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those

who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours,

now and forever. Amen.

Sending Song – By Our Love performed by For King And Country

            Listen Here

Dismissal

Go in peace to share the good news.

Thanks be to God.

A Review of the Book "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" by Heather Morris

Title: The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Author: Heather Morris
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Year: 2018
254 pages

Anyone who knows me is aware of my interest in anything to do with the Shoah, or what is more commonly known as the Holocaust. It has always amazed me that people could do such horrific things to other human beings.

What has been extremely fascinating is discovering how many Jewish people were involved in day-to-day activities at the concentration camps. How do you help the very people who are killing your neighbours and kin?

"The Tattooist of Auschwitz" is the amazing story of Lale Sokolov, told from the perspective of a man who was taken from his home and forced to work for the Germans, tattooing fellow Jews who passed muster and were able to work in the labour camps.

Sokolov tells about how he was loaded onto a cattle car with dozens of other people, dressed up in a suit and tie in the hopes of making an impression on whomever was waiting for him at the other end of the line. Once he arrived, nothing was as he expected nor did his life go anything like he had hoped. In order to keep the rest of his family safe, he had to follow his orders and do everything he was told.

From an outsiders view, one can see how Sokolov's agreement to be the tattooist can be surprising, but really he was doing everything he could to save the lives of his family.

During the two and a half years spent imprisoned at Auschwitz, Sokolov saw unbelievable horrors and did his best to help his fellow inmates, putting his own life at risk. Somehow, through all of that, he even managed to fall in love, using that love to help him get through the worst of his days.

I can honestly say that after reading this book, I am incredibly amazed at how anyone could survive such conditions. I see now why some people did what they had to in order to survive and in order to protect their families.

Morris was able to wonderfully capture all of the emotions that were experienced by Sokolov and the others around him - confusion, pain, fear, defeat, and so much more. The story flowed very well but was hard to read in the sense that the reader will come away with a new, or perhaps deeper, understanding of the impact that Nazi Germany had on entire groups of people, especially on the millions of Jewish people that went through the work camps.

I very much recommend this book to everyone, not just those with an interest in Nazi Germany or World War II. "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" is a story out of history, a love story, and a story about human endurance.

Getting My Joey

 

My blog was created as a means for me to open up to everyone and give honest accounts of my life and my experiences. Those who know me, know that my goal is to be an open book, especially for anyone who has questions about my transition, being transgender, or being an Anglican priest. This particular blog post is about something very private and personal, and goes into some details that not everyone might want to read. Specific body parts are mentioned and I am putting myself into a vulnerable position by allowing you into this part of my life. As well, it is written from my perspective as a transgender male. If you decide that you don’t want to read any further, I will not be insulted. My next church post will be up tomorrow and I have two book reviews that will be out soon. If you read on, thank you, and don’t be afraid to message me with any questions you might have.

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Being transgender is hard on the mind, the body, and the spirit. Feeling like you are living in the wrong body can be excruciatingly painful, and many struggle with having wrong, missing, or extra body parts. Visual reminders of our physical inadequacies completely and utterly sucks. This all can be summed up in a term called gender dysphoria.

Everyone has their own unique ways of dealing with their dysphoria. For transgender men, some will exercise in order to try and change their muscular structure to look more masculine, others will buy a binder that will hide their chest, a few will practice speaking with a lower voice, and the list goes on. There are many ways that people will change their appearance in order to make themselves look on the outside the way they feel on the inside.

Those who can afford to do so may also go on testosterone and put themselves through a second puberty in order to achieve physical changes such as a lower voice, more hair (hopefully on the face but you don’t always get what you hope for), muscle building, and fat redistribution. Name changes and requests to be referred to with male pronouns are extremely common and a fair majority of us will get a double mastectomy, otherwise known as top surgery, to remove our breasts, although not everyone has the funds to do that, either. In Manitoba, these surgeries are covered by Manitoba health if you are referred by a psychiatrist and if you submit to a psychiatric evaluation. You need to repeat this process for each surgery, further accentuating the fact that your body and your ‘self’ is “wrong”. Elsewhere in the world (including the United States), people are required to raise the funds privately for any medications, evaluations, and surgeries.

While it sounds like we are putting our bodies through hell, it is well worth it. To hear the changes in your voice and to feel the changes in your body, it increases your confidence tenfold. It is an amazing feeling to start seeing in the mirror what you have always seen in your mind’s eye.

One of the struggles that you hear most often from transgender men is the fact that we lack one of the most identifiable male body parts - a penis. There are a couple of surgeries that can help, but they are expensive, painful, and very few doctors are successfully able to perform these surgeries. Therefore, as with binders being used to hide the chest, packers are used to give the image of a bulge in the pants, with some packers being more functional than others.

A simple packer is basically silicone shaped into balls and a penis. It’s meant to be put into your underwear, thus providing a bulge in your pants. Simply having the feeling of something there can help, even if a bulge isn’t fully visible. (We all know that not all men’s packages can be seen through their pants.) Keeping this hunk of silicone in your underwear is not exactly the easiest thing to do. What do you do with your packer when you pull your underwear down to go to the bathroom? How do you keep it from moving around in your pants? What if it falls out??

I don’t remember how I got introduced to the company, but someone pointed me in the direction of Get Your Joey, a Winnipeg, Manitoba based company that has created a pouch for the packer that pins to your underwear. (www.getyourjoey.com)

Get Your Joey began through a friendship between a transgender man and an ally, Ro Walker Mills and Kalyn Falk, respectively. I sat down with Kalyn to discuss an issue I was having with their product, which I will bring up shortly, and I was fascinated to hear that the product began with a sock.

Whether it is because of the lack of funds or the lack of product, sometimes problems require creative solutions. When Ro wanted a way to hold his packer in his underwear and decided to put a hole in a sock and pin it to his waist band. When Kalyn discovered his holey sock and found out what it was for, she began to work with him on a better way than using a sock. And thus the Joey was born. Fun fact, Ro and Kalyn chose the name Joey because they wanted something that represents carrying a pouch and what else comes to mind than a kangaroo!

Being a local company, there is a small crew of employees who hand sew and create all of the Joeys being ordered. They have an amazing amount of patterns to choose from and there are various sizes available based on body and packer size.

As I mentioned, I have no idea how I found Get Your Joey, but I did and I ordered a couple of different patterns and sizes. They were shipped very discreetly, in an unmarked package. Get Your Joey prides itself on providing their product safely, especially taking into consideration that some people are living in areas or homes where it would not be safe for others to discover they are transgender. When Get Your Joey sends their product out, the only marking on the package is GYJ, which really is meaningless to anyone except the recipient.

I was very excited to be able to wear my packer in my really cool Joey! But I ran into quite a few problems. First, I couldn’t get the packer to sit where it should in my underwear, so instead of having a natural looking bulge, I had a giant lump in my abdomen. Not only that but the pin holding the Joey to my waistband kept popping, especially when I would go to pull up my underwear after using the bathroom. There’s nothing quite like sitting in a stall trying to put your packer and Joey back into place, knowing someone is waiting for you to get out!

I was discussing the matter with my partner, Cass, and we came to the realization is that I am just too big in the belly to use the Joey. (To be clear, that’s not what was said to me, but more that the Joey was designed by and for smaller men.) There is too much space along my abdomen for the Joey to sit in a natural spot. I tried pinning it lower below the waistband but the material of my underwear just wasn’t strong enough to hold the weight of the packer. So I gave up wearing my packer. For the most part, I am at peace with what I am lacking in my pants, but there are days where I would try again (with or without the Joey) because I wanted to feel and see that bulge, and would once again be disappointed that it wasn’t working for me. It was quite deflating.

I was heading to visit Kalyn for a separate reason but Cass convinced me to bring up the issue I was having with the Joey, giving voice to the placement, pin, and weight problems that I experienced. Kalyn explained to us that “Get Your Joey aims to be body positive and had worked on a few solutions for a variety of body types, but the designs were clumsy and unhelpful…We were frustrated at not being able to provide an elegant solution because the whole point of our company is to make transgender people feel seen and celebrated.”

While Kalyn explained how the Joeys were created, sewn, and put together, Cass asked the question that could change everything for bigger guys like me, “why can’t you add more material to the top so that the Joey is longer?”

Her suggestion “of a longer length and getting rid of the top fold opened up new possibilities for ease of wear,” said Kalyn and as I write this blog, she is excitedly working on a couple of prototypes for me to try out and take for a spin. I eagerly await for their arrival knowing that, finally, there is a chance that I can properly and confidently wear a packer.

I know this may seem like too much information for some people, and for others perhaps this answers questions that you’ve always wanted to know but would never ask. I have always been an open book about my life and this is no exception. I hope if nothing else that this post helps educate and inform people in a new way. Stay tuned for a follow-up blog once I test out the prototypes.