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Pioneer Presbyterian Church
Fifth Sunday of Easter
10:00
a.m.
May 15, 2022
Prelude
Welcome and announcements
Choral Introit
Prayer of the Day
*Call to Worship from Psalm 148
\
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from
the heavens; praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all
you shining stars!
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes, and all rulers of the
earth!
Young men
and women alike, old and young together!
Let us praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above
earth and heaven. Praise the Lord!
*Hymn of
Praise “Praise
the Lord! God’s Glories Show” Glory
#33
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of mercy,
your command to love one another across all differences opens us to
new horizons. Yet
our fears and hesitancy, together with the judgments we make
against others,
hinder your reconciling work among us. Forgive our disobedience,
we pray. Grant us
courage and a true repentance that leads to renewed life for
all your good
creation. We pray in the name of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
God’s promises are trustworthy and true:
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
We rejoice in the good news! Now God, give
us grace to live for you, and to be
people
who are known for our love.
Passing the Peace
The peace of the Lord Jesus
Christ be always with you!
And also with you!
Let us share the peace of
Christ with each other.
Glory be to the Father
Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and the Holy Ghost; as it was
in the beginning,
is and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
Time with Children
Choir Anthem
Gospel Reading: John 13:31-38
Pew Bible Page 938
Message: “The Mark
of the Christian” Pastor
Daryl R. Wilson
Last Sunday afternoon, I celebrated the day by calling a person who’s very special to me. Maybe you did the same thing—or you received a call from someone special. When you live at a distance from loved ones, it’s important to reconnect with them from time to time. I’m glad we have certain days during the year that remind us to reach out and simply say, “I love you and I’m glad you’re a part of my life.” For many people it’s a Mother’s Day tradition. For me, May 8th is special, because on that date in 1997, my dear friend Fred Davis was grievously injured—first dragged beneath, and then crushed by his own church bus. The paramedics who arrived on scene urged witnesses to call Fred’s wife right away because he had no chance of survival. “Maybe she can get here before he dies,” they said. But against all odds, after four months in the ICU and eight weeks in rehab, Fred not only survived, but returned to pastoral ministry. And so, every May 8th I say a prayer of thanks for his life and I call him to rejoice and remember. But we don’t talk about the unspeakable pain he endured or the abilities he lost in the accident. We celebrate the simple goodness of being alive.
Yet
here we are on the fifth Sunday after the resurrection, a time for rejoicing with
trumpet fanfares and loud “Alleluias” to burst the devil’s eardrums, and what
happens? The Lectionary whisks us back to the darkest night of Jesus’ life! We’ve
been on such a high the past few weeks. Why return to this scene where Judas
has just gone out to betray the Lord and Jesus is about to announce that Peter will
deny him three times? This feels like spiritual abuse. What was the Lectionary
Committee smoking when they chose this Gospel lesson for today?
On
the other hand, maybe they made a wise choice. Maybe the Holy Spirit guided
them. How can we tell? Because our Easter joy grows even deeper when we
remember what our Lord suffered for us before his glorious resurrection.
Sacrifice and the strange glory of the cross come first, before the triumph of
Sunday morning. Which means that even today, on the victorious side of Christ’s
crucifixion and resurrection, we shouldn’t forget the deep darkness against
which the light of the empty tomb shines even more brilliantly.
Of course, today’s Gospel lesson is about more than sorrow
and betrayal. It’s here we learn what sets the followers of Jesus apart from
others. Jesus tells his friends in the upper room that there’s one attribute in
particular that’s meant to make us recognizable to the world, one
characteristic leading people who see us to say, “Ah, those people are
followers of Jesus.” You know what that sign is, right? We all know that Jesus
says the mark of the Christian is to be sincere, self-giving love for each
other, starting in the family of God and radiating outward into the world.
Who knows how the disciples heard those words on that
Thursday evening so long ago? They didn’t know at the time all that Jesus’
love would entail, or the monumental cost attached to his gift. They’d
understand more by Friday evening. Now that they (and we) have been to the
cross, the acoustics have changed. Today, when Jesus tells us to love one
another as he has loved us (pay attention to that tiny
word “as”—a transformative little verb particle if ever there were one!), those
words echo in our hearts and minds in a new way. The Jesus kind of love is much
more than a pleasant feeling or sweet sentiment or the surface level cordiality
that characterizes so many human relationships, even among Christians. The
Jesus kind of love that’s the mark of the Christian isn’t sweet or sentimental
at all; it’s a hard-headed, resolute, full-throttle, hold-back-nothing decision
to live for the sake of others, no matter the cost, and, if it should come to
it, to die for them as well. That’s the glory that Jesus speaks of and that
John sees in the cross—the unexpected glory of a suffering God who gives
himself away for the sake of others, indeed, for the salvation of the world.
And Jesus says, “that’s the way I want you to live; that’s how folks everywhere and for all time will know you belong to
me.”
“I give you a new commandment, that you
love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
As we saw, that little word “as”
packs a punch in this context. The Greek word is kathos. Professor Dale Bruner, my favorite
Bible teacher and commentator, says this word carries with it the idea that the
love that must fill the hearts and lives of the disciples is not merely a love
that imitates Jesus but that actually wells up from the overflow of
Christ’s love. That is, the love of Jesus himself needs to be IN you if
you’re going to live off its riches. This love is so unique, so powerful, and
so utterly mind-blowing that it’s not something you could ever concoct on your
own. You must receive it as a gift.
Theologian Laura Smit of Calvin University
in Michigan says that very often when people—sometimes even theologians—speak
of God’s attributes, we take a human concept like love and, when applying it to
God, simply magnify it. In other words, we love, but God L-O-V-E-S, and
the difference is in degree but not in essence. We suppose that by adding an
exponent to human love we’ll have a clear picture of God’s love. But what if God’s
love isn’t an enlarged version of human love at all? What if, while bearing some
resemblance to human love, the God-kind is an attribute with a wholly different
quality than ours?
Indeed, the love Jesus gives us and
in turn commands us to display before a watching world is far more than a
souped-up version of human love. His love is unique, divine, unconditional, and
overflowing, qualities we simply can’t conjure for ourselves, no matter how
much we want to, no matter how hard we try. No, if this Jesus-kind of love is
to be found in us, to grow in us, and to flow from us, then our Lord himself
must place it in our hearts.
Therefore, the reason we see deficits
of love in the Church may be that we tend to get off-center. Sometimes we get
so focused on policing the boundaries of faith that we lose touch with the
Center. At other times we’re so caught up in doing the Lord’s work (or so
focused on institutional maintenance) that we lose an intimate connection with
Jesus, the Lord of the Church. Listen, it’s tough enough to generate the kinds
of cozy feelings and warm fuzzies for one another that form the typical human concept
of being a “loving community.” With Jesus as our Teacher and guide, we’re
entering unexplored territory. He exemplifies and leads us toward a quality of
love that’s wholly atypical of the world. If we’re willing, even in fits
and starts, to risk our comfort and defy our fears, our union with Christ will draw
us into the sort of intimacy shared between the members of the Godhead—the Holy
Trinity—where a whole new kind of self-forgetting, sacrificial love engulfs us.
Or, to put it another way, if our churches are lacking in love, is it because we’re
not trying hard enough or because Jesus isn’t fully welcome to do his
transforming work in us and among us? And if we’re not experiencing his
transforming presence, is it because he isn’t willing, or because we aren’t
ready? Maybe we’re too busy with other things.
I have no formula for experiencing
the presence of Jesus and becoming enveloped in his love. But there’s something
to be said for living into that experience by doing what Jesus would do. It’s
as if in the doing, in the acting, there’s a becoming. Do what Jesus would do,
even if your heart isn’t fully in it at first, and he’s likely to meet you in
unexpected ways and unexpected places. And then your whole heart and life will
be changed. Francis of Assisi had this sort of transformative experience.
Francis came from a merchant family
of some means, but not great wealth. He worked beside his father in the cloth
trade, and fought for Assisi in its war with nearby Perugia, where he was
captured and held prisoner for over a year before being ransomed back to his
hometown. This ordeal cast Francis into a long struggle to find meaning and
direction in life. He tried religious devotion such as worship, prayer, and
fasting, the very sort of activities we associate with being close to God, but
those things only seemed to lead him deeper into the morass.
In the winter of 1206, Francis was
wandering alone in the woods during a snowstorm, singing songs to God in his garbled
French. Suddenly, he was assaulted by two robbers. Angry that he had no money,
the men beat Francis and left him for dead in the snow. Battered and freezing,
Francis made his way to a nearby monastery, where the monks cared for him for
several days. Frustrated, lonely, and uncertain of what purpose God had for his
life, Francis then headed back toward Assisi, where at least he could enjoy the
comforts of home.
Somewhere on his journey, he
encountered a group of lepers. Lepers had always repulsed and horrified
Francis. Their deformities offended his sense of beauty. But somehow, this
time, he sensed that God had ordained the meeting, and so Francis chose to stay
with the lepers and care for them. Here’s what historian Augustine Thompson
says in his recent biography of Francis:
“His
experience with [the lepers] was a dramatic personal reorientation that brought forth spiritual fruit. As Francis
showed mercy to these outcasts, he came to experience God’s own gift of mercy
for himself. As he cleansed the lepers’ bodies, dressed their wounds, and
treated them as human beings, not as refuse to be fled from in horror, his
perceptions changed. What was ugly and repulsive now caused him delight and
joy, not only spiritually, but also viscerally and physically. Francis’
aesthetic sense, so central to his personality, had been transformed, even
inverted. The startled veteran sensed himself, by God’s grace and no power of
his own, remade into a different man. Just as suddenly, the sins that had been
tormenting him seemed to melt away, and Francis experienced a kind of spiritual
rebirth and healing. Not long after this encounter, later accounts tell us,
Francis was walking down a road and met one of these same lepers. He embraced
the man in his arms and kissed him.
This sort of immersion into the life and love of Jesus
is our goal in the journey of life. Our aim is to honor Jesus by loving one
another—and finally, loving the whole world—as Jesus has loved us. To become
that sort of people, we need an infusion of a depth and quality of love that’s beyond
natural human experience. We need to meet the Lord for ourselves and experience
what it means to be the beloved of God. Out of the overflow of that richness we
can begin to live into love ourselves, and practice acting out that same love
toward others. And then the world will see and know that we’re followers of
Jesus. They’ll look for him, but as Jesus says in verse 33, they’ll not find
him, except for the Jesus they see in us when we love one another as he
has loved us.
*Hymn of Response: “We Are One in the Spirit”
Glory
#300
Prayers of the People and
the Lord’s Prayer
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 and
the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Call to the Offering
*Grateful Response:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host; Praise
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Prayer of Dedication
*Closing Hymn: “Jesu,
Jesu, Fill us with Your Love” Glory #203
*Charge and
Benediction
*Choral
Response
*Please stand as you choose
LOOKING AHEAD
*Please ensure
your group’s activity is current on the office calendar.
*Sandy Cargill will continue to take pictures following service for the membership
board.
*Remember the
Deacon’s Book Drive as they work to build Pioneer’s book library.
*Our new email
address is: pioneerpresbyterianburnsor@gmail.com
*Update your address books!
5/15 1:00 p.m. Prayer
Shawl
5/17 7:00 p.m. Great Figures
Bible Study
5/17 10:30 a.m. Women’s
Spirituality
5/18 5:30 p.m. Choir
Practice
5/20 Noon Deacon’s
No-Host luncheon @ Juniper Cookhouse
PRAYER CARE:
For the people of
Ukraine, Larry Koskela (shingles), Somer
Bauer undergoing cancer treatments, Darlene Wingfield, Mary and Ray Swarthout,
George and Joyce Sahlberg, Margaret Dunbar dealing with declining health issues,
continued prayers for baby Hagen and
parents Alex and Tucker Burckard, and for Gretchen Oswald for healing from cancer
surgery. Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends and family near and far.
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LECTIONARY
For 5/22/22
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Pioneer Presbyterian Church
Fourth Sunday of Easter
10:00
a.m.
May 8,
2022
Prelude
Welcome and announcements
Choral Introit
Prayer of the Day
Sally Hendry
*Call to Worship Revelation 7:9-12
\
After this I looked,
and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, from all tribes
and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the
Lamb, robed in white,
with palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a
loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to
our God who is seated on
the throne, and to the Lamb!”
And all the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living
creatures, and they fell on their faces
before the throne and worshiped God, singing:
“Amen! Blessing and
glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and
might be to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
*Hymn of
Praise “You
Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim”
Glory
#299
Call to Confession
Linda Kaesemeyer
Prayer of Confession
Holy God, we confess that we have
strayed from your paths of right relationship and
peace. By choice
and by neglect, we have dishonored you, diminished ourselves, and
damaged your good
creation. We are humbly sorry for our sins, and we repent from
our hurtful ways.
Have mercy on us, we pray, and grant us grace to forgive ourselves
and others, that
we may live in freedom and joy. We ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Friends, God’s mercy flows as a healing stream,
cleansing us from sin and making us whole.
We rejoice in the good news: In Jesus
Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!
Passing the Peace
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with
you!
And also with you!
Let us
share the peace of Christ with each other.
Glory be to the Father
Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in
the
beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Pioneer Presbyterian Women Awards
Presentation
Time with Children
Choir Anthem
Scripture Lesson: Acts 9:32-43 Cherry Day
Message: “The Holiness of Love” Pastor
Daryl R. Wilson
*Hymn of Response: “For All the Faithful Women” Glory #324
Prayers of the People and
the Lord’s Prayer
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 and
the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Call to the Offering
*Grateful Response:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host; Praise
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Prayer of Dedication
*Closing Hymn: “Now the Green Blade Rises” Glory #247
*Charge and
Benediction
*Choral
Response
*Please stand as you choose
LOOKING AHEAD
*Please ensure your groups activities current on the office
calendar.
*Sandy
Cargill will continue to take pictures following the service for the membership
board.
*Remember the
Deacon’s book drive as they work to build Pioneer’s church library. The drop box
is located in the Fireside room.
*Our new email
address is: pioneerpresbyterianburnsor@gmail.com
*Update your address books
5/10 6:00 p.m. Session
5/10 No
Great Figures Bible Study this week
5/12 8:30 a.m. Men’s
Prayer Group
PRAYER CARE:
For the people of Ukraine; Larry Koskela
recovering from shingles; For Jan Oswald who will be having surgery this
Tuesday; Tina Bossout with early-onset Alzheimer’s; Somer Bauer undergoing
cancer treatments; Darlene Wingfield, Mary and Ray Swarthout, George and Joyce
Sahlberg, and Margaret Dunbar dealing with declining health issues. Continued
prayers for baby Hagen and parents Alex and Tucker, and for Gretchen Oswald
awaiting results from her cancer surgery. Our thoughts and prayers are with our
friends and family near and far.
LECTIONARY FOR 5/15/22
Fifth Sunday
of Easter
Acts
11:1–18 Psalm 148 Revelation 21:1–6 John 13:31–35
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