January 22, Epiphany 4

Lighting the Christ Candle

Welcome and Announcements

Thank you for joining us in worship, may you be blessed to the Glory of God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Called to Worship:

As Jesus began his earthly ministry, he said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”

Through the Holy Spirit, we too have been anointed to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

May we bring good news to the poor, as ministers of Christ Jesus.

We worship God as his devoted people, opening ourselves to his Word and his calling.

 

Hymn: 769 Lord of light, whose name and splendour

 

Prayer of Adoration

Creator God, in praise and adoration our spirits dance before you today. You have created this wondrous universe and all the magnificent things within it. We rejoice that we live in freedom in this place of beauty.

In Jesus you come among us, to bring light and freedom, calling and purpose. Let our spirits soar!

Let our hearts sing boldly of your wondrous love as we celebrate your love and presence with us…

In boldness and confidence of your mercy, we come before you in confession, saying,

 

Unison Prayer of Confession:

Merciful God, we remember that Your Son was tempted in the desert as we are, and yet He won the victory over sin. And now, because of His victory, we have hope that we too can be victorious over the temptations we face in life. There are times when we feel weak, and we do things that we should not have done, and there are times when we leave undone many things we should have done. We have failed to love You with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Show us your mercy, so that we may hear Jesus calling.

 

Assurance of Pardon

Our God of light and love hears us when we cry aloud. We have nothing to fear. Know that this God of light wraps us in comforting arms, lifts us from the darkness of our guilt and sin, and forgives us once and for all. Know that we will dwell in safety in God’s house, now and forevermore.

The Peace

The Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

 

Hymn: 763 To show by touch and word

Scripture Lessons:

Psalm 27: 4-9 responsive Matthew 4: 12-23

 

Sermon: Tested, Tried, Called

Today we encounter Jesus in a time of transition. Since his baptism it has not been easy. He has been tried and tested. He has been tempted and challenged. He has proven himself worthy, even though God has already declared him worthy.

Sometimes, we just need to take a step back, and look at what happens during the time Jesus is present on earth, from the perspective that he, like us, is human.

Jesus the Son of God, who is God, did not need the testing and the trials. Jesus the human did. He needed to see what he was capable of; he needed that affirmation that God walked with him and gave him all the strength he needed to fulfill the calling that he had been given.

The time of testing in the wilderness that preceded our reading, proved, not only that God was with him always, but also that God

could and had established that Jesus was beyond temptation and the control of Satan. The sinlessness of Jesus was established when he would not deny God, when he would not take power into his own hands and when he would not choose the easy route to wealth, power and privilege. His privilege, power and wealth came from faithfulness and trust and nothing else.

That’s a good thing, because the first thing that would happen was to test that trust. Discovering that John was in prison, Jesus prepared to take up his ministry. It seems like such calm acceptance, but we have to wonder if he was alarmed or grieved by what he found.

The first thing Jesus does upon hearing the news is to depart to Capernaum. At first glance we could wonder if he was running away from the dangers of Herod’s court and the jealousy and hatred that had sealed John’s fate. After all Jesus took up the message that John had been preaching, a message that Herod clearly abhorred and wanted to stop.

In reality, he left and went to Capernaum to enter the bigger danger. Here he took up the message of repentance and baptism; but more than that, he challenged the oppressive authority of Rome. Herod was powerless and only ruled with the permission and oversight of the Roman occupiers, Jesus however was not powerless against Rome.

This is a time of great darkness for Israel. Jesus was called to lead the people into the light, not of political freedom, but the true freedom that comes from walking in faithfulness and trust with

God. This was the source of his power, and would be the source of power for the disciples and all the followers who would come through the ages, including us.

Jesus focused on the every day challenges of the people. He met their needs, for food, for health, for guidance and wisdom and ultimately new life. Every conversation, every miracle was a lesson that God cared, and that God would walk with the people through the ordinary passages of life.

The ”powers” of the world that were obvious in the Roman occupation were proven to be powerless over those who believe. Jesus demonstrated the power of life. Life in the everyday. Life in the spiritual realm. Life in the eternal realm. Trust and faithfulness would be the gifts of God to all people as they navigated the way of life, even in hostile and dangerous days. The darkness of oppression does not need to be accepted as normal.

Jesus established the connection between repentance and the advance of the kingdom of God. Everyone he encountered was called to become an agent of transformation.

For each person that transformation had to begin from within. Transformation requires significant change that is internal rather than external.

We can all get a makeover. A haircut, some new clothes, and to all appearances we could look different; but if our hearts have not changed, we are simply those white sepulchers of which Jesus spoke. All flash no substance.

The problem is transformation is hard work. We work to overcome the barriers that hold us back. We work to change the way we live our life. We work to grow in spiritual strength and understanding. The time or times of transformation we have in life, is like the testing in the wilderness that Jesus encountered. Jesus in his humanness was able to undergo the testing and to emerge a changed person who was able to fulfill the calling of God. If the human Jesus can, so can we!

We see those elements of transformation in the disciples when Jesus calls them.

They give up wealth and security to follow. They give up family to follow. They also give up the obligations they had to Rome who demanded that they produce a certain amount of fish for the needs of the Roman army. Breaking those “contracts” could have been risky.

They, like Jesus leave security, for danger. This is the beginning of their transformation. They will continue to grow in trust and in faith as they travel with Jesus and see how he brings security, peace, hope and new life to all the people he touches along the way.

How Jesus does that is so simple. His mere presence is what he gives to the people. He asks them what they need. He listens to them. He listens to more than their words; he listens to their hearts.

This past week I have reflected on the question, “What does your soul want to say to God?”

That is a dangerous question.

It requires us crossing the threshold of the door way of what is comfortable and enter into a vast unknown. It brings us to a pilgrimage.

We often think that a pilgrimage is a walk to a place of spiritual enlightenment; but it is much more than that. A pilgrimage can happen just as easily in a time of rest that brings an inward journey.

Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness praying and fasting. At the end of that pilgrimage, he was tested and tried. Then in response to the transformation of the pilgrimage time he moved to Capernaum and took up the calling of God.

The disciples took up the pilgrimage as a journey. They walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus and were taught by Jesus on the way. But we note that they did not know the destination. It wasn’t laid out before them. It required them to grow in trust and in faith, as they were transformed from the inside out, and yet they never knew where the journey would take them. That is risky living.

Along the way they learned the lessons of transformation.

They learned to discern, listening for God’s voice as they moved so frequently from fear to an invitation to rest in Jesus.

They learned the value of preparation when they found they were unable to give the gifts of healing they had seen Jesus give. Jesus told them that to grow in those gifts required prayer and even fasting.

But they also learned in that moment that they had human limits. To truly fulfill the calling they needed to move outside of human limits and with humility acknowledge that it is only through God working in them that anything is possible.

They learned that it took times of resting and prayer. Not to get ready for doing a job, but just to learn how to listen for God speaking within. They learned the value of simply being present with God.

And they learned that they could not do anything alone. Jesus sent them out in pairs, but when they came back the learned that they all had each other. The support of the other disciples was a vital part of being followers of Jesus.

They would learn to rely on one another in almost all circumstances. Most of all on that day when they laid his body in a tomb, they retreated to an upper room and learned what the strength of their community would really mean.

There they battled fear to grow in faith. They relied on one another for support. They gained the insight they needed in order to be able to see Jesus when he arrived among them.

As I reflect on all the lessons in the journey of life, I am beginning to understand that all of life is an invitation to transformation.

Every time we encounter our own need of repentance, it will call us into transformation and change. We will discover a new direction, and a new way of life.

The disciples offer a demonstration of that life altering change, as they embarked upon their calling. They didn’t always demonstrate great success, but they always demonstrated that they could learn, and that they would try, but most of all, that they could trust God to work through them and use their humanness to great advantage.

We, like them, don’t need to be qualified, we only need to be willing and faithful. We will be tried and tested, but when we take up the call—God will do the rest.

Amen.

 

Prayer of Response: Unison

If we met you, Jesus Christ, we might not think that you were on a mission.

Your talk would be of common and curious things: salt, dough, lost coins, paying taxes, hosting a meal, wise virgins and foolish house-builders.

We would not know you were on a mission, we would think you were making sense of life, lighting up the ordinary, identifying the truth.

When next you look with compassion on the world and need mission done in your way—Lord send us. Amen.

Present on Earth, copyright 2002 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow, G2 3DH, Scotland p. 31

 

 

Hymn: 753 You walk along our shoreline

Offering Doxology Offertory Prayer

O God, we have seen your glory, felt the touch of your love, and felt your presence with us. With joyful hearts, we offer you our gifts. Having heard your call, we offer you our lives and our service. Amen.

Gathering Prayer Requests Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

Holy and Gracious God, we give you thanks for family, friends, life, love—for all the blessings of love, grace and forgiveness that you have bestowed upon us. God of our Mothers and Fathers, your desire for us leads the way, may we have the ears to hear the cries of this world—responding with Your hope that overflows within us. Compassionate On

into all the needs around us. Help us to care with Your heart. Joys and Thanksgivings

 

Prayers for those who need help and healing

 

Prayers for a world filled with conflict

 

May Your love, Your grace, Your compassion, and Your mercy, carry us away, this day and lead us with love to be Your hands and heart in the world.

Together we pray as your son taught us, saying: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by 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 debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever. Amen

 

Hymn: 761 Who’s gonna tell the story

Charge and Benediction

Go forth bathed in the light and love of God. Go forth to join with Jesus to proclaim the good news of this love and light.

Go forth empowered by the Spirit to live the Way with courage, conviction, and joy.

Sung Blessing Go now in peace