Service of the Wordstjohnluthchurchmineola.org/uploads/3/4/5/3/... · Web view5/24/2020 · We praise you for your salvation through water, for the water in this font, and for

SERVICE OF THE WORD – COVID-19 Suspension

St. John Lutheran Church (ELCA)Mineola, IA

Pastor Luke Kuenzli

Order of Service and Worship TextsFor Virtual Worship

Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran WorshipService of the Word and Holy Communion Setting 4

May 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic

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This SUNDAY: May 24, 202010:30am Virtual Worship

CANCELLED for the time being: please pay attention to church website, Facebook page,

and/or word-of-mouth network for updates!Quilting, Bible StudyPreschool, ChoirSunday School, ConfirmationSunday in-person WorshipsGlenwood HS Baccalaureate (Mills Co. Ministerial Association)Relay for Life (Mills County)

Glenwood HS Virtual Graduation will be next Sunday, May 31. We will also recognize our congregation’s four graduates on that date in our virtual worship service.

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St. John Lutheran ChurchMineola, Iowa Phone (712) 526-2268Website: stjohnluthchurchmineola.orgPastor Luke Kuenzli

May 24, 2020 10:30am7th Sunday of Easter

We are called to glorify God,

grow in faith, and build community.

Mission Statement


GatheringWelcome/Announcements

As we begin, please prepare by finding a bowl (small or large) and placing some water into the bowl; or you may pour water into the bowl at the same time as Pastor Luke.

THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISMAlleluia! Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are raised with him to new life.Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.

Water may be poured into the font as the presiding minister gives thanks.

We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning you created us in your image and planted us in a well-watered garden.

In the desert you promised pools of water for the parched, and you gave us water from the rock.

When we did not know the way, you sent the Good Shepherd to lead us to still waters. At the cross, you watered us from Jesus’ wounded side, and on this day, you shower us again with the water of life.

We praise you for your salvation through water, for the water in this font, and for all water everywhere.

Bathe us in your forgiveness, grace, and love. Satisfy the thirsty, and give us the life only you can give.

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

Take a moment to dip your hands in the water and make the sign of your cross on your family members’ or your own forehead, a sign that Christ is with us even in the midst of suffering, anxiety, and uncertainty. You may say “Remember your baptism into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection” if you are marking others who have been baptized with the sign of the cross; or “rejoice in God’s grace, poured out for all people in Jesus” if you are marking those who

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have not been baptized.GATHERING SONG “Son of God, Eternal Savior”

(public domain)

Son of God, eternal Savior, source of life and truth and grace,Word made flesh, whose birth among us hallows all our human race,you our head, who, throned in glory, for your own will ever plead:

Fill us with your love and pity, heal our wrong, and help our need.

As you, Lord, have lived for others, so may we for others live.Freely have your gifts been granted; freely may your servants give.

Yours the gold and you’re the silver, yours the wealth of land and sea;we but stewards of your bounty held in solemn trust will be.

Come, O Christ, and reign among us, King of love and Prince of peace;hush the storm of strife and passion, bid its cruel discords cease.

By your patient years of toiling, by your silent hours of pain,quench our fevered thirst of pleasure, stem our selfish greed of gain.

Son of God, eternal Savior, source of life and truth and grace,Word made flesh, whose birth among us hallows all our human race:

by your praying, by your willing that your people should be one,grant, oh grant our hope’s fruition: here on earth your will be done.

GREETINGThe 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.

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KYRIE (Holy Communion Setting 4)

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SONG OF PRAISE (Holy Communion Setting 4)

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PRAYER OF THE DAY Let us pray. A brief silence is kept before the prayer.O God of glory, your Son Jesus Christ suffered for us and ascended to your right hand. Unite us with Christ and each other in suffering and in joy, that all the world may be drawn into your bountiful presence, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

WORDFirst Reading: Acts 1:6-14

6When [the apostles] had come together, they asked [Jesus], “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

...Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God!

Psalm: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-351Let God arise, and let God’s enemies be scattered; let those who hate God flee.2As smoke is driven away, so you should drive them away;

as the wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; let them also be merry and joyful.

4Sing to God, sing praises to God’s name; exalt the one who rides the clouds;I AM is that name, rejoice before God!

5In your holy habitation, O God, you are a father to orphans, defender of widows;

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6you give the solitary a home and bring forth prisoners into freedom;but the rebels shall live in desert places.

7O God, when you went forth before your people, when you marched through the wilderness,

8the earth quaked, and the skies poured down rain, at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9You sent a bountiful rain, O God;you restored your inheritance when it languished.

10Your people found their home in it;in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor.

32Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord.33You ride in the heavens, O God, in the ancient heavens;

you send forth your voice, your mighty voice.34Ascribe power to God,

whose majesty is over Israel; whose strength is in the skies.35How wonderful you are in your holy places, O God of Israel,

giving strength and power to your people! Blessed be God!

Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14,5:6-1112Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 5:6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. ...Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God!

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Gospel Acclamation (Holy Communion Setting 4)

Announcement of the GospelThe Holy Gospel, according to John 17:1-11. Glory to You, O Lord!

The Gospel is Proclaimed1After Jesus had spoken these words [to his disciples], he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. 6“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”

…the gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, O Christ!

SERMON Pastor Luke Kuenzli

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Over the last several weeks, we have been reading from “Peter’s” first letter

to the Church of Asia Minor in the late first century. Scholars do not, by the way,

agree that it was actually Simon Peter who wrote this, though that is the

longstanding tradition. Rather, they think it was someone formally trained in

philosophy and rhetoric – which the Galilean fisherman Simon Peter… well, he

wasn’t trained in such a way, and he had also already died by the time scholars

believe this was written around the year 81…

But it really doesn’t matter who wrote it, to me. What I appreciate is that

they wrote it and that it was written it the midst of trying circumstances. It has been

a spot-on commentary of our daily lives under COVID. “Peter” (we’ll call the

author that since we don’t have a better name) talks about suffering, and in

particular about unjust, unfair, undeserved suffering. He talks about lives changed,

lives lost, and ultimately lives transformed by faith. He speaks of discipline and

grace and joy in the midst of crisis.

The crisis to which “Peter” was referring was not, of course, a plague of

coronavirus that was infecting and killing the people of Asia Minor. It was

religious persecution under the Roman Emperor Domitian. The people to whom

this letter of comfort and support was written were in hard-to-pronounce places

such as Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia – names you’ll hear again

next week as we celebrate Pentecost. These are places outside of Jesus’ homeland

of Judea, beyond neighboring Samaria, where Jesus also did a bit of ministry…

These places are the beginnings of “the ends of the earth,” to use language

borrowed from the Ascension story in Acts 1.

The early Christians in these places – maybe Hebrew believers in Jesus who

had resettled in foreign lands during the diaspora, or maybe gentile converts who

found meaning in the message of Jesus’ love – they were suffering, dying,

uncertain of their future. They were unable to gather in any numbers, but had to

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keep their worship small for their own safety, or risk being found, arrested, and put

to trial and death. In the midst of their very real fear, the author of this letter

encouraged the believers to remain steadfast. Listen again to these words:7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

Does this not describe our present reality? Many are anxious, especially as

more and more businesses and recreations re-open. There are some Christians who

are having a hard time finding God’s love in the midst of this craziness, and others

who are seeing this as an opportunity to flaunt their faith. “I have faith that God

will protect me! I won’t get sick because Jesus is on my side and there are angels

watching over me!” Such persons claim to be “casting all their anxiety on him.”

But I wonder where their discipline and alertness is.

The Christians in Asia Minor didn’t go about publicly saying “I follow

Jesus! I don’t need to be cautious!” They gathered discretely, passed letters and

messages such as this one secretly, invited only trusted individuals to hear their

testimony. They kept their eyes open for signs of danger to themselves and their

families, they took all reasonable precautions to keep their growing movement

alive and safe. Did some get arrested? Yes. Were some put to horrendous deaths?

History tells us they were. But the Church continued to live and breathe and thrive

because they were as careful as possible.

This disease that has changed our lives and our nation and our church is like

a roaring lion, or maybe a better metaphor would be a lion stalking silently through

the grass. We can’t see or hear it sneaking up on us because it is being widely

transmitted asymptomatically. But nevertheless, it threatens to devour us. And so

does the devil, attacking our support networks with infighting and division, making

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the coronavirus a divisive political issue instead one around which we can unite as

good neighbors. As “Peter” suggests, we must resist that impulse, remain steadfast

in our faith, and acknowledge that this pandemic isn’t just about what is happening

in our community, our county, our corner of Southwest Iowa. No, our brothers and

sisters all over the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

And in fact, they may be ahead of us in their journey through this crisis. We

in rural Southwest Iowa are just now beginning to see more widespread

coronavirus. We will probably have a long, low curve of illness, as opposed to

urban centers with higher population density. They tend to have steeper inclines,

with more rapid drops after the “peak” of the disease has been reached. But if we

who are experiencing fewer cases don’t “discipline ourselves and keep alert,” we

will be the vectors by which the spread continues even further into the future in our

region and state and globally as more travel resumes again in the summer.

“Peter” urges discipline and attentiveness to the dangers of persecution faced

by early Christians. The CDC and Iowa DPH and Mills County Public Health and

our own congregation council are urging attentiveness and discipline with respect

to the precautions advised to minimize the spread of Covid-19. But they, and we,

are not working under any illusions. We know that we can’t and won’t stop this

virus, just as “Peter” knew that the Christians in Asia Minor couldn’t protect

themselves completely from Emperor Domition’s decrees and the zeal of his

followers to hunt down Christians. He was honest in his assessment that there

would be suffering – and that it wasn’t fair, and that it would be cause for grief and

doubt and fear.

We know that lives are being lost, illness is infecting people in our own

community, albeit not on the scale that we see in New York City. Our state had a

new single-day high on Thursday, with 421 new cases and 19 more deaths in the

space of 24 hours. We know we can’t stop this disease right now, but we can do

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everything humanly possible to slow it down, to resist this devil that is Covid-19.

We can remain alert, and discipline ourselves to maintain social distancing.

I know that you’re tired of it. I am, too. I know that you are hungering for

communion. I am, too (I haven’t had the Lord’s Supper since we closed, either,

even though I suppose I could, since I’m in no danger of infecting myself. But I

won’t, not without you...). I know that you are longing for the connection and

socialization you are accustomed to experiencing when we are together for

worship. I am, too. But I’m not willing to put your health at risk to satisfy my

personal desires. That isn’t showing you love or compassion or care. I know

you’ve been frustrated at times with the poor internet connection for these virtual

worships. Believe, I have been frustrated, too. But we can’t do anything about it

right now. Our internet service provider is trying to keep their technicians and

consumers safe, so their technicians are unable to enter businesses and homes right

now. We can’t improve our connection without them being in the building, so

we’re at an impasse.

But I know you, St. John Lutheran Church members. I know you, friends

and family members who have been tuning in from afar – if not in person, then by

association. I know that you are people of faith. And we know that faith is a gift

that sustains the weary; our connection is not only to one another, but to the God

who is a father to orphans, a defender of widows; who gives the solitary a home

and brings forth prisoners into freedom. Our God is the one who claims us; because we belong to

Jesus, we belong to God and Jesus is glorified in us! And the Holy Father protects us in Jesus’ name, so

that we may be one, as Christ is one with the Father. And we know that “after we

have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to his

eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish us.”

“A little while.” In the grand scheme of things, a few months, or even a year,

is just that. A little while. For now, we could say that “it isn’t for us to know the

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times” that the Father has set. All that we need to know is what we already know.

That God loves us and does not abandon us; that Christ will return in glory to

restore to us our community of faith – though in truth, our community of faith

remains as steadfast and as true, as thankful and as generous, as loving and as

prayerful, as supportive and as comforting as it ever has been.

And would you believe it, our community of faith has been made broader,

wider, deeper, larger because of the ways we can connect virtually… For the first

time in the history of St. John Lutheran Church in Mineola, IA, we are taking our

message not just to our Glenwood area, but to Mills County and the Midwest and

to the East and West Coasts. It might not be all Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the

earth, but it’s a start. We’re sharing the comfort and support of the good news with

people suffering unfairly in all sorts of hard to pronounce places like San Diego

and Cincinnati and Phoenix. A bit harder to pronounce than “Glen-wood,”

anyway…

And it’s not me, the pastor, making this happen. No, it’s you making it

happen as you share links to our worship service livestreams and recordings. As

you tell friends and family, as you help those who don’t use internet and computers

much to get connected. It’s you, because without a congregation to serve, I

wouldn’t be doing online worship services at all! Our connection to God’s love

through one another is making possible the wider and deeper and broader

connections happening in this world of coronavirus. I’m not doing this on behalf of

the world, but on behalf of this congregation… but the message goes wider than

the intended audience.

Jesus wasn’t praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of his disciples.

“Peter” wasn’t writing for us, but for 1st-century Christians in Asia Minor. Their

words are meaningful, though, and they give us hope as 21st-century Christians in

Mineola and Glenwood and Silver City and Council Bluffs and elsewhere. Our

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lives, our nation, our church might feel different now than they did in February.

They are different. But we don’t need to be divided by our isolation. Not when we

are one in Christ, brought together in our suffering through his suffering for us.

Amen.

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HYMN OF THE DAY “In Christ There Is No East or West” ELW #650(public domain)

In Christ there is no east or west, in him no south or north,but one community of love throughout the whole wide earth.

In Christ shall true hearts ev’rywhere their high communion find;his service is the golden cord close binding humankind.

Join hands, disciples of the faith, whate’er your race may be.All children of the living God are surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both east and west, in him meet south and north;all Christly souls are one in him throughout the whole wide earth.

NICENE CREEDWe believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made,of one Being with the Father;through him all things were made.For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Maryand became truly human.For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;he suffered death and was buried.On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures;he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the

Father.He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,who proceeds from the Father and the Son,who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,who has spoken through the prophets.We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.We look for the resurrection of the dead,

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and the life of the world to come. Amen.PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Each portion of the prayers ends with these or similar words.Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

The presiding minister concludes the prayers with these or similar words.Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray,trusting in your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

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PEACE The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.Please take a moment to greet your family members who are with you, or to send a greeting via text message to someone you are thinking of today.

ThanksgivingOFFERING

While we cannot take up a physical offering through our virtual worship, I would encourage you to continue the practice of giving. Even though we cannot meet in person and our church building is closed to the public, we do have continued commitments to ministries beyond our congregation’s walls, such as the MCMA food pantry, the Mills County Storehouse, Bethany Lutheran Home, the Western Iowa Synod, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as well as commitments to our congregation’s employees and expenses such as utilities.

OFFERTORY SONG “Now Thank We All Our God” public domain

Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices,who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;

who, from our mothers’ arms, has blest us on our waywith countless gifts of love. And still is ours today.

Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us,

and keep us all in grace, and guide us when perplexed,and free us from all harm in this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,the Son, and Spirit blest, who reigns in highest heaven,

the one eternal God, whom earth and heav’n adore;for thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

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THANKSGIVING FOR THE WORDThe presiding minister leads one of the following or another appropriate prayer.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.

THE LORD’S PRAYEROur Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,thy kingdom come,thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread;and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

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forever and ever. Amen.

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Sending

BLESSINGMay the One who brought forth Jesus from the deadraise you to new life, fill you with hope,and turn your mourning into dancing.

Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit,bless you now and forever. Amen.

SENDING SONG “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” ELW#656(public domain)

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;the unity of heart and mind is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne we pour our ardent prayers;our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.

We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear,and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.

From sorrow, toil, and pin, and sin we shall be free;and perfect love and friendship reign through all eternity.

DISMISSALChrist is risen, just as he said. Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia! Thanks be to God. Alleluia!

From Evangelical Lutheran Worship copyright © 2006. All rights reserved. And/or from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.

Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #46263.

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Service of the Wordstjohnluthchurchmineola.org/uploads/3/4/5/3/... · Web view5/24/2020 · We praise you for your salvation through water, for the water in this font, and for