Items for the week of Sunday, May 3rd

This past Sunday, May 3^rd, was the Fifth Sunday of Easter

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

Introduction

As we continue to celebrate the fifty days of Easter, today’s gospel includes Jesus’ promise that he goes to prepare a place for his followers in his Father’s house. Our baptism commissions us to share Jesus’ mission in the world. As 1 Peter reminds us, we are a holy people, called to proclaim the one who called us out of darkness into light. In words and deeds we bear witness to the risen Christ—our way, our truth, our life.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Give us grace to love one another, to follow in the way of his commandments, and to share his risen life with all the world, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Scripture for the Day

Acts 7:55-60 The martyrdom of Stephen
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. (Ps. 31:5)
1 Peter 2:2-10 God’s people chosen to proclaim God’s mighty acts
John 14:1-14 Christ the way, truth, and life

The Message by Matt

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I would like to teach everyone two prayers today. They may stretch your ideas of what prayer can be. You can participate in these prayers as deeply as you are comfortable doing.

I grew up in the Quaker church, in a small town in central Iowa. There are a lot of things that make Quakers, or the Society of Friends, a unique denomination. One of the most striking is open worship, which is a practice of waiting on the Holy Spirit to guide the act of worship in real time. Not unlike meditation, time is set aside in the worship service for the congregation to sit silently and wait upon the Spirit’s guidance. Sometimes people speak, or sing, or share stories of hope and grace. Sometimes it is just silent. At all times, it is worship. There is something special about waiting in silence with a worshipping community, just listening for the still small voice of God.

In the 15th century, Julian of Norwich, whom we commemorate this week as a renewer of the church, created a prayer called the “body prayer,” which I would like to teach you now. There are no words to this prayer: it is a series of four postures and intentions. When I learned about it this week, I was struck with how similar it felt to the open worship I grew up with in the Quaker church.

● AWAIT (hands at waist, cupped up to receive): Await God’s presence, however it may come to you.

● ALLOW (reach up, hands open): Allow a sense of God’s presence) to come …or not…and be what it is.

● ACCEPT (hands at heart, cupped towards body): Accept as a gift whatever comes or does not come. Accept that you don’t know everything, that you are not in charge.

● ATTEND (hands outstretched, ready to be responsive): Attend to what you are called to, willing to be present and be God’s love in the world, however God calls you to.¹

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks tenderly to anxious disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1, NRSVue). These words come at a moment of uncertainty and fear. And into that fear, Jesus offers not just comfort, but direction: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Jesus is not simply pointing out a path: he is the way. A living relationship that draws us into the heart of God. And we walk that way through prayer.

Jesus promises, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (John 14:14). Prayer, however, is not about getting what we want: it is about being formed by God’s love. In prayer, we bring our worries, our hopes, our questions. And we discover that we are not alone. God meets us with presence and peace.

We see this clearly in Acts, as Stephen faces death. Even as stones fall around him, he prays: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59-60). In that moment of suffering, Stephen is held in God’s love. Prayer becomes his anchor, and even his final words reflect grace.

This is the way of Christ—a life rooted in prayer, sustained by love, even in hardship. But prayer does not end with us. It shapes us into a community. In 1 Peter we hear: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood… God’s own people” (1 Peter 2:9). We are gathered not just for ourselves, but to proclaim God’s love through how we live. And that love is meant to be shared.

If Jesus is the way, then his way is love in action. It looks like caring for neighbors, showing compassion, and standing with those in need. It means listening, serving, and seeking justice. These are not separate from prayer: they flow from it.

Because when we encounter Christ’s love, we are changed. We begin to see others as God sees them: beloved, worthy of care. And we begin to live differently.

Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do” (John 14:12). Through us, Christ’s love continues to move into the world.

This is the gate to new life that Jesus opens. A life grounded in prayer, shaped by love, and lived in community. Not a life without trouble, but a life where we are never alone. So when our hearts are troubled, we return to his promise. We pray. We trust. And we follow.

Here is the second prayer I would like to teach you today. It has been embraced by the Holden community, which is the same source as the Holden Evening Prayer service that we have used during Advent and Lent over the years. It is beautiful in its simplicity, trusting that God will guide us through the journeys God has set before us.

O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.²

Today, we are invited to a simple but profound practice: to deepen our life of prayer.

Not as a duty, but as a relationship.
Not as a performance, but as a conversation.
Not as a last resort, but as a daily path.

And from that place of prayer, we are sent to love, to serve, to embody the grace we have received.

Because the world around us is still filled with troubled hearts.

People are searching for meaning, for belonging, for hope.

And in Christ, we have something real to share: not just words, but a way of life rooted in love.

So may we walk that way.
May we pray with open hearts.
May we encounter the love of God in Christ and carry that love into our community.

For Jesus is the way.
He is opening the gate.
And he is leading us into new life.

Thanks be to God.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

¹Body prayer – Julian of Norwich. Cascadia Living Wisdom. (n.d.).

https://www.cascadialivingwisdom.com/body-prayer-julian-of-norwich

²Jones, J. (2022, May 23). A prayer for guidance. Living Lutheran.

https://www.livinglutheran.org/a-prayer-for-guidance

Devotion for the week

Love, Love, Love

That’s what it’s all about! Jesus loves.

Jesus’ love is a constant in scripture. From his humble birth to his teachings, parables, healing miracles, feeding of the multitudes, power over creation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus loves.

Some people wanted the Messiah to take a much different approach. They thought their savior would come as a strong military leader, but Jesus did not start a violent overthrow of the Roman Empire. He just could not and would not do anything in conflict with love. He gave himself up and loved until the very end. In his last breath on the cross, he forgave everyone involved in crucifying him. This is the depth of the amazing love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus.

Stephen, “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), strove to live as Jesus lived and to love as Jesus loved. As he was being stoned to death, Stephen shouted, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:60).

Following Jesus was not easy for Stephen and other early Christians. It is not easy today. But in today’s gospel reading, Jesus assures his followers—then and now—of three things. First, the great doors to a place with God will be open to us, in a house with many rooms. Second, he is the way, truth, and life, and by knowing him, we come to know God the Father. Third, we can ask him for anything. These are promises of Jesus’ continuing care for us, for people of every time and place, and for all creation.