Items for the week of Sunday, November 8th

This past Sunday, November 8^th was the 24^th Sunday after Pentecost

We heard the following scripture readings, introduction, and prayer of the day during the Sunday morning worship service:

Introduction

Today the prophet Amos calls for justice to roll down like waters. Paul urges us to encourage one another with the promised coming of the Lord. Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Surrounded by the faithful of every time and place, we celebrate Christ’s coming in our midst in the word of life and the feast of victory—the marriage feast of the Lamb.

Prayer of the Day

O God of justice and love, you illumine our way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, and awaken us to the needs of others, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Amos 5:18-24 Let justice roll down like waters
Psalm 70 You are my helper and my deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry. (Ps. 70:5)
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 The promise of the resurrection
Matthew 25:1-13 The story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids

The Message

If you would like a transcript of the message, please let the office know.

Devotion for the week from Augsburg Fortress

The Challenge of Waiting

For many of us, waiting is not a pleasant experience. Whether our waiting is mundane, like waiting in a long line at the grocery store checkout counter, or profound, like waiting for a medical diagnosis or for a new stage of life to begin, we often feel anxious or uneasy, impatient or frustrated, longing for the wait to be over. Over the course of our lives, we get plenty of experience with waiting but might never learn to be patient, even amid the frustration.

As uncomfortable as waiting may be, it is a necessary aspect of the life of faith. We live in the days between Christ’s coming at his birth and his return, that longed-for day of hope and promises fulfilled. Seasons of our liturgical life train us in the art of holy waiting. We wait during Advent for Christ’s birth, longing for the joy of his arrival as a child in Bethlehem. We wait during Lent for the bright joy of resurrection, abstaining from “alleluias” and quieting ourselves with prayer and fasting. Just as the young women in today’s parable had to continue their daily living until the bridegroom returned (all of them, even the wise ones, went to sleep that night!), in all seasons we go about our lives faithfully, even as we wait with eager longing.

Many generations after the telling of this parable, how are we living as people prepared for the coming of Christ? How are we opening our daily lives to the possibilities that Christ will come among us at any moment? We are invited to live with eager expectation, watchful for the grace and love of God through Jesus Christ, which meets us when we least expect it.