Second Sunday of Lent 28 February 2021 Knox Bayfield Rev Dolson
Church Signs: My job is to make the grace of an invisible God, visible, wherever I am. Attributed to Thomas Merton (1915-1968) American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, social activist
The Lord be with you … and also with you.
Scripture readers: A variety of voices enrich our worship service. Do you enjoying reading for others? Contact Rev Lisa to volunteer
We are thankful to Jean Walker, organist, for her efforts in performing the hymns for the YouTube video. Remember to go to the end of the printed material for the lyrics to the hymns. This worship service is on our website https://pccweb.ca/knoxbayfieldpc/ and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYgIPqvkMsDNal0b1gCiPg
The book study, Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week is underway. Join in the discussion Tuesday at 2 pm! All are welcome. Contact Rev Lisa 519dash572dash8529 for details.
Mission Moment … Hygiene Kits Protect Families in Nicaragua
“As a family, we try to take all the necessary measures, like covering our nose when sneezing, avoiding shaking hands or going places where there might be large crowds. For many of the families in our community, it’s not possible to acquire protection materials like face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer or cleaning materials due to rising prices in the market. We are so thankful for all of you and the help you bring to our community.” Like many in Nicaragua, María struggles to access proper protection materials and cleaning products due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presbyterian World Service & Development, through local partners, is helping people like María and her whole community, receive hygiene and sanitation items, ensuring they are prepared to safely face the pandemic.
Your contributions to the church and its ongoing work are appreciated. Your regular offerings allow the church to continue its good work. The Knox Session and Finance committee are diligent in their efforts to minimize expenses and meet financial commitments. Our updated Knox Bayfield financial reports indicate January income $4,265 and expenses in $5,618 with a year-to-date deficit of $1,353.
Call to Worship
We gather, across space and time, longing for what is real and true.
We gather to worship God, who is worthy of all glory and praise.
Hymn# 645 Follow me the Master said
Call to Confession and Assurance of Pardon
Loving God, you save all who seek refuge in you. We pray that we may
walk always in your light, take courage in your faithfulness, & rejoice in your astounding goodness to us.
Merciful God, we confess that we have set our minds on earthly things.
We have let our desire for security restrain our commitment to serve the poor. We have let our fear of danger limit our ability to love our enemies. We have let our love of things dull our generosity to the needy.
We allow our craving for acceptance to prevent honesty about our sins.
Yet, you know the desires of our heart and nothing is hidden from you.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, may we bravely acknowledge who we are to you and to one another. May we seek to be the people you intend us to be as the body of Christ for the world. We pray in the name of Christ Amen
Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. By grace, we are forgiven and set free to find new life in Christ. Thanks be to God!
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. And also with you.
Hymn #353 Hail our once rejected Jesus
Prayer For Illumination
Holy Spirit, open our hearts to receive your Word, reveal to us the good news, and enable us to trust in the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Readings
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:23-31; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38
May God bless our understanding of this, God’s holy word.
Second Sunday of Lent
This is the second week of Lent. The journey to the cross has just begun. Here in Huron County, the sidewalks are becoming wider as the snow melts. We can begin to imagine the promise of spring as the sun regains its warmth. We know that Holy Week and the joy of Easter Sunday will arrive but not for many weeks. In this time of Lent we are encouraged to reflect. Reflection calls us to be still, to shift perspective, to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to the Spirit of God. Our scripture readings focus on shifts that took place within Abraham and Sarah, Jesus, and the disciples.
The reading from Genesis tells of God’s never-ending covenant with Abram and Sarai. A covenant that shifted how they saw their world, how they journeyed into the world, and how they saw themselves. The promise God made to Abraham and Sarah remains with us today. God is our God, and we are God’s people. This is a covenant that has not been broken. In Jesus we discover new ways of understanding the covenant.
In today’s gospel reading Jesus began to teach the disciples what their near future would hold. It is a story that many of us are familiar with. Yet that very familiarity may prevent us from hearing the deeper message. Jesus speaks of how he will be rejected, will suffer greatly, will be killed, and rise again. Imagine trying to process that information and the emotional response that would arise within the disciples. Even after hearing it time and again, a strong emotional reaction occurs for us.. Peter reacted strongly to the prospect of a suffering and dying messiah. His response was to argue with Jesus. Jesus went on to teach that followers must also take up the cross, must lose themselves for the sake of the gospel, and must be prepared to lose their life. We continue to struggle with this teaching, with the immensity of this message.
Martin Luther provides insight with a contrasting perspective between what he called the theology of glory and the theology of the cross. In very brief summary, the theology of glory looks back on the scripture with events determined by the will of God. The theology of the cross sees the revelation of God in the weakness, or vulnerability, of suffering and death. The theology of glory confirms what people want in God; the theology of the cross seems to contradict what people imagine God should be. Luther asserts the theology of glory “looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened” . The theology of the cross “comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross” . For Luther, to know God truly is to know God in Christ, which means to know God is hidden within suffering. God’s self-revelation comes under the form of the cross, and thus appears as foolishness and weakness to a world that looks for wisdom and strength in its god .
We are often confronted with this uncomfortable truth- that God’s mercy is given to all. God shows us strength in vulnerability. God’s wisdom is discovered within parables and paradox. God comes to life with a brutal death. Jesus said, those who want to save their life will lose it. It is in letting go of our own expectations, when we embrace the ways of Christ that we are able to live fully.
Jesus taught about the betrayal, denial, suffering, death, and resurrection. The disciples discover there is a much greater risk in being a follower of the Way. They were told of his cross and that his followers would need to take up their own cross to follow him. They would lose their lives in order to gain them. One question that lingers, especially during Lent, is “What does it mean to be a faithful disciple of Jesus?” What does it mean to carry our cross?
Frederick Buechner, an American Presbyterian minister and author, writes that Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness asking himself the question of what it meant to be Jesus the Messiah and that during Lent we ask what it means to be Christian.
The gospel of Mark shares the disciples struggle to understand what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah and what it means to follow him. The prevalent belief was that the Messiah would deliver the Jews from oppression. The idea of a suffering and dying Messiah was difficult to comprehend. Peter, who just proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, rebuked him. Peter could not take in what Jesus was teaching. He was unable to shift his perspective, he was blinded by his conviction of how and who the Messiah would be. This sounds so familiar. How often do we presume to know what will or will not be the best way to proceed? How often are we caught short in our understanding of the Ways of Christ? We can be blinded by ways of seeing and it can be difficult to see differently. Have you felt the nudge to see from a different perspective? Are you able to allow the different viewpoint time to settle, to become more familiar? In part, spiritual practices allow us to shift into a different perspective. An enduring spiritual practice involves reflecting on God’s presence in your daily activities and discerning God’s direction for you. This daily reflection, known as the Daily Examen, was developed by Ignatius of Loyola over 400 years ago. The daily examen involves setting time aside each day to reflect on two questions:
First … at what moments did you sense God’s presence today?
Secondly … when did it feel like God was far away?
Then, after spending some time reflecting on the questions, lift up one aspect from your day in prayer. It is helpful to keep a journal of your reflections. During and after Lent you can further reflect on your journey.
Abraham and Sarah discover their trust in God while not knowing for sure how things will turn out. Their trust led them to leave their homeland and family on a journey into the unknown. The scriptures describe the couple with their strengths and their challenges. They, like all of us, were flawed and made poor decisions at times. Yet they remained faithful to God. Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “In years to come, three distinct religions will spring from this trust, claiming Abraham as their grandfather in faith. Their grandmothers will be different, but not their covenant with God. God will be their God, and they will be God’s people.” She goes on to write, “Like his forebear in faith, Jesus walked toward God’s promise with steady trust, leading God to give him a new name too: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” How are you being called to shift into fuller life with Christ? Praise be to God.
Hymn # 211 Take up your cross
The Offering Of Our Life And Labour To The Lord
Quote: Stewardship . . . describes the vocation that God intended and intends for the human creature in the midst of God’s good creation.
Douglas John Hall (1928 – ), Professor of Theology, author
What will it profit us to gain the whole world and forfeit our life? With all humility we make our offering to God, trusting not in worldly gain, but in God’s sustaining grace.
Blessing Of Gifts & Prayers Of The People
Psalm 22, Romans 4, Mark 8
Join me in prayer:
Holy God, you blessed Abraham and Sarah with your promise to make them the ancestors of many nations. In Jesus Christ you opened your covenant to everyone who lives by faith in you. God, Jesus your Son called disciples to follow his way
of sacrificial love. We pray for all who lead your church with humility, those who take up their cross and live for the sake of the gospel.
We pray for peace among the nations and for integrity within governments. May your will be done on earth as in heaven.
God, you hear the cry of the poor, the afflicted, and the oppressed. You hear the lament and deep sighs of those who suffer illness of mind or body. May they find relief from suffering.There are many within our church family in need of your special care at this time. We lift up Ron, Sandy, Rudy, Peggy, Betty Lou, Jane, Bonnie, Jessie, Marlene, Rob, Courtney and Kyla, and Grace’s daughter Lisa. We lift up all those who prefer to remain un-named as they face immense challenges of health and finances.
O holy One, we pray for clarity, passion, and true fellowship to awake us to your presence. We desire to hear your voice of love, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to see you clearly. Lead us to serve others faithfully as disciples of Jesus Christ, who taught his disciples to pray…Our Father who art in heaven, hallow’ed 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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn # 634 Will you come and follow me
Benediction[1]
Rom. 15:13
Go into your week with your ears pitched to the sound of God’s voice calling your name. Go into your week with your eyes peeled for the face of Jesus in unexpected places. Go into your week with your soul poised to receive the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Peace. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Postlude #623 Holy Holy Holy
Questions for Reflection
Jesus asks his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. How do you practice self-denial for the sake of the gospel? Is every instance of self-denial an act of obedience to Jesus? Can some forms of self-denial foster oppression?
Morning Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me walk with you this day. If you lead me where I fear to go,
give me courage and keep me true, that I may bear my cross without shame
and live in the promise of life eternal. Amen.
Evening Prayer
Jesus, if I stray, show me my fault, forgive my sin, and set me rightly on your path. Keep me on the way of the cross, and lead me to the eternal joy of Easter. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Romans 4:25; Mark 8:34
God, your Son Jesus Christ bore the cross for our salvation and was raised from the dead for the redemption of the world. Give us the courage to take up our cross
and follow him, that through his grace we may accept the cost of faithful discipleship and receive the joy of everlasting life with Christ, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Scripture readings next week
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
623 Holy, holy, holy Words: traditional Music: F Schubert
Refrain: Holy, holy, holy, God almighty, Lord!
Holy, holy, holy, everywhere adored!
God without beginning, God eternal One
reigns and rules forever all beneath the sun [Refrain]
Power and love and wonder circling round God’s throne
Praise our God most holy, Lord of Life alone [Refrain]
645 Follow me the master said
“Follow me,” the Master said, we will follow Jesus.
By his word and Spirit led, we will follow Jesus.
Still for us he lives to plead, at the throne does intercede,
offers help in time of need; we will follow Jesus.
Should the world and sin oppose, we will follow Jesus.
He is greater than our foes; we will follow Jesus.
On his promise we depend; he will hear us and defend,
help and keep us to the end; we will follow Jesus.
Though the way may dark appear, we will follow Jesus.
He will make our pathway clear; we will follow Jesus.
In our daily round of care, as we plead with God in prayer,
with the cross which we must bear, we will follow Jesus.
Ever keep that end in view; we will follow Jesus.
All his promises are true; we will follow Jesus.
When this earthly course is run, and the Master says, “ Well done!”
life eternal we have won; we will follow Jesus.
353 Hail our once rejected Jesus
Hail our once rejected Jesus! Hail, our Galilean King!
Once you suffered to release us, all God’s saving grace to bring.
Faithful servant, holy Saviour, once you bore our sin and shame
By your merits we find favour; life is given through your name
Lamb of God, for us appointed, all our sin on you was laid
By Almighty Love anointed, full atonement you have made
Now your people are forgiven through the virtue of your blood
Opened is the gate of heaven; you are now our peace with God
Jesus, heavenly hosts adore you, where in glory you abide
Every knee shall bow before you, reigning at your Father’s side
There for sinners you are pleading there our place you now prepare
Always for us interceding till in glory we appear
211 Take up your cross
Take up your cross, the Saviour said, If my disciple you would be;
Deny your self, the world forsake, And humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross; let not its weight fill frightened spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear your spirit up, And brace your heart, and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross, nor heed the shame, Nor let your foolish pride rebel:
For you the Saviour bore the cross, To save your soul from death and hell.
Take up your cross, then, in Christ’s strength, And every danger calmly brave;
‘twill guide you to a heavenly home, And lead to victory o’er the grave.
Take up your cross and follow Christ, Nor think till death to lay it down,
For only those who bear the cross May hope to wear the glorious crown.
634 Will you come and follow me
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown; will you let my name be known;
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you love the “you” you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
[1] http://carolpenner.typepad.com/leadinginworship/prayers-benediction/