Seventh Sunday After Epiphany
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany Coronavirus
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
02-20-2022 10:00AM Worship
THE GREETING AND OPENING VERSES
L Blessed be the holy Trinity, (+) one God,
who creates us and forms us, who redeems us and calls us, who unites us and sends us.
C Amen.
L Once upon a time, Saul became Paul – A deadly enemy of the early Christians became one of the faith’s great missionaries, and the one who had persecuted believers and breathed out murderous threats wrote:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
C But surely this is only for those who love us, those who are kind to us, or those that we like!
Can I get an AMEN to that?
L Paul wrote: “Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
C But, of course, NOT when people have done us “ugly”!
Am I right about this?
L Paul wrote: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
C But let’s get REAL! The truth is that revenge is not only sweet, it’s also right there in the Bible.
What about all that “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” stuff?
And what about American “stand your ground” laws against those who seek to hate and harm us?
L And Paul wrote: “Love never fails.”
C But, seriously, you look stupid trying it. And it takes too much effort. And it won’t always work.
And it doesn’t seem fair. So THERE!
L Church people, take a moment and think. Who is on your secret “unlovable” list? Who is that individual or those persons that you need to give an honest, Spirit-powered effort to love?
C (A moment of silent reflection.) God knows, Jesus understands, that it’s so easy to want to get even, strike back, or at least keep our distance because of the way we have been hurt or hated.
L But today – if we are listening with our ears, our hearts, our minds, our tongues, our hands, and our feet – Jesus is telling us and commanding us to do good to those who do bad to us… to walk the way of the Gospel, the way of peace. While we were yet sinners, Jesus demonstrated his own sacrificial love for each of us all the way to his cross and his grave. In humility and gratitude, open yourselves, that God may equip you to love, to forgive, and to give. Amen!
OPENING SONG: “AT CALVARY” Tan #246
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Let us pray.
God of abundant mercy, you alone can turn evil into good, sorrow into rejoicing, and death into
everlasting life. Teach us your way of grace – to meet hatred with kindness, to answer curses with blessing, to love without holding back, to give without thought of return – all in the name and spirit of Jesus.
Help me to try loving others as much as YOU love me. So be it, Amen.
FIRST READING: GENESIS 45:3-11, 15 [Joseph shows mercy to brothers who had sold him into slavery.]
45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.
45:5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
45:6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
45:7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
45:8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
45:9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.
45:10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
45:11 I will provide for you there–since there are five more years of famine to come–so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’
45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
BLACK HISTORY MOMENT: “The Unheard-of Famous Black Historians” Juanita Williams
SECOND READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-38, 42-50 [It does matter that we seek to live faithfully and to love fervently because we trust in Christ’s resurrection victory as our power and our promise!]
15:35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
15:36 Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
15:37 And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
15:38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
15:42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
15:44 It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
15:45 Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
15:46 But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual.
15:47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
15:48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
15:50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Always remember Jesus, Jesus.
Always remember Jesus, Jesus.
Always keep Him on your mind.”
THE GOSPEL: LUKE 6:27-38 [Jesus’ words turn the world around… and they can turn us around too. Be merciful. Do not judge. Practice love…. then practice some more.]
6:27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
6:32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
6:34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;
6:38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION
A CREEDAL STATEMENT FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH:
We believe that God has been present with us in our past. In the challenges and triumphs of our individual and collective narratives, God has been there, God has seen us through, and God has done some mighty good things. God calls us to retell both the pleasant and the unpleasant, our whole story, lest we forget whose we are and where we have come from and how we got through.
We believe that God is present with us here and now as we seek to hold onto our identity as God’s children and our purpose as God’s anointed. We are called to be bearers of light, makers of justice and peace, and heralds of the good news to all the world. No matter this world’s trials, tribulations, and temptations, we will not give in, we will not give up, we will not worry about failure. We are somebody, created by God, saved by Jesus, and guided by the Spirit… with something to share, special gifts for service, compassion to offer, a story to live. We don’t believe God brought us this far just to leave us.
We believe that God will be with us as we go forward to shape our story in the days ahead. We will seek to stay in the path of faithful living and fervent loving that Jesus has demonstrated and commanded. We will hold onto the promise that, no matter what, everything is gonna be alright… that, one day, hatred and sin and suffering will cease… and that, now and forever, we are held in the loving arms of our God. Amen.
OFFERING [Christians, let us measure out and offer love to others exactly as much as God has shared love with us – abundantly and willingly!]
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE”
- This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine… (3X)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
- Ev’rywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine… (3X)
- Jesus gave it to me, I’m gonna let it shine… (3X)
OFFERING PRAYER:
O Lord our God, You have anointed us to bring good news and to proclaim liberty, to bind up the brokenhearted and to liberate the oppressed. Help us to shine forth always and in all ways with the bright glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.
MUSIC SELECTION: “WE’VE COME THIS FAR BY FAITH” Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS… We pray that the joy and light of JESUS CHRIST will touch all lives!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SONG SELECTION Black History Month Choir
THE BENEDICTION