Are we sympathetic to people who face temptation, or are we harsh in our judgment of them? Today I want to think about how this
I saw the handwritten sign on a sheet of paper taped to one of the windows: “Closed for Epiphany.” Maybe they were closed for the Christian holiday of Epiphany. But what if they were closed because they were having an epiphany?Epiphany with a capital “E” is the name of the Christian holiday celebrating the arrival of the wise men at the birth of Jesus. Epiphany with a small “e” is a word meaning a revelation from God, an encounter with God, or an insight.
Today I want us to think about our bodies. Every body has brought their bodies to worship this morning. We are embodied; God made us this way. But our bodies are not something we talk about very often in church, except in “Prayers of the People” when we ask God to heal our sick bodies. We use our bodies all the time but they tend to be the medium not the message of our lives. I think there is a good news message in our bodies, in our embodied bodies, if only we have ears to hear. What is that good news?
God’s glory is all around us, but we can’t always see it. I then compare that to electricity…and I use various electrical appliances to show that electricity is real. I then talk about the ways we see God’s power around us.
Water is also in us, in our own bodies. We have water in our eyes, which comes out as tears, we have water in our mouths, we can spit, our brains in our skulls float in water…we need water to live. We have to drink water every day to stay healthy. Did you know that around 60% of our body is made up of water. Water is in us, most of our body is made of water. Our blood is mostly water, and it moves all around our body giving us life.We need water! we can’t live without it, we can’t live without it moving in our bodies, just as the earth can’t live without water moving….
We have the means to give,
we have the reason to give,
and there are many waiting for us to give.
Yet often, our hands hold back,
and we hoard what we have for ourselves.
God of grace,
help us live and give in your kingdom of love,
where there are no enemies,
only brothers and sisters,
and kindness is the air we breathe.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Balaam and his donkey are an example of God intervening in our cruelty to animals. Christians were at the forefront of bringing attention to cruelty to animals in the 1800s, Legislations about cruelty to animals came BEFORE legislation about cruelty to children! I wonder how the gospel has good news in our interactions with animals today.
I was surprised to realize that in the verse that Handel used, Job was not talking about a Redeemer who would help him after death. No…Job is looking for redemption in this life. Handel’s aria uses the words of the King James Version, and Handel’s lyrics go, “Though worms destroy this body…” I have always taken that to mean, “after we die…” But Job had some horrible skin disease, and the problem he actually had was that he had open sores with maggots in them!
I think Jesus, being human, needed years to prepare for the test he would face on the cross. What kind of moral muscles did it take for him to not respond with anger when Judas came with the soldiers? To call this traitor, “Friend”? What did it take for Jesus not to fly into a rage when they shackled him, when they mocked him? I think he had to go through many small tests to train for that important task. Over and over in his ministry he was tested, by situations, by people, even by his own disciples.
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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