Author Archives: stjohn

Third Sunday in Lent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Exodus 20:1-17
• Psalm
  • Psalm 19
• Second reading
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
• Gospel
  • John 2:13-22

The first reading from Exodus 20:1-17
Then God spoke all these words

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work–you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Second reading from 1 Corinthians
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Gospel reading from John
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”

His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

The Jews then said to him “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Sermon
Our first reading from Exodus this Sunday, consisting of the Ten Commandments, is the Law handed down through Moses to his people. The second reading from 1 Corinthians speaks of the wisdom of God. The gospel reading from John is tells the story of Jesus’ protesting the Jews’ use of a temple of God. The CDC, a government agency, has issued guidelines as to whose work is essential, and these include the clergy. But 43 states did not include clergy as essential workers. In New York City, Orthodox Jews were opposed to vaccinations against measles. Over vaccinations would it not be better to talk with rabbis than to bash them? In ancient times slavery was accepted. Freed slaves aquired slaves themselves. Our values in our church have changed. God determines them. In our reading of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we are told that the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided to save those who believe. Here at St John, Pastor Stevenson feels he does not have much of a forum from which to speak or write, but feels empowered to do so. People thought the world to be flat, but scholars in Greece knew it was a globe and Columbus knew it was a globe. We can push back and help others to push back to hear the wisdom of God.

# # #

Second Sunday in Lent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

/

• First reading
  • Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
• Psalm
  • Psalm 22:23-31
• Second reading
  • Romans 4:13-25
• Gospel
  • Mark 8:31-38 or Mark 9:2-9

First Gospel reading from Mark 8:31-38
Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Sermon
Pastor Stevensen told us about some trouble he had last week in a robotics course he teaches at USNH, first with his own robot, than with that of a student who asked for help. Pastor felt that it was expected of him to help this student. People make promises. In the Bible, God promised Abraham that Abraham’s descendents would populate their own land, even though he and his wife Sarah were very old. How could that happen? What does that mean? Paul’s reflection on that promise is perhaps better understood. In Romans 4 Paul writes that “against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.” How do we be accessible to these promises? How do we be free? According to Luther, trust Him and live a spiritual life. Did Pastor’s stident trust him to call? Like the student, we can trust God’s promises. He keeps them. He makes it happen. From Abraham on, the history culminates in God’s Son. In Isaiah 55, Isaiah, in speaking for God, reflects on God’s Word and promises. Now in Lent, the church relives Christ’s path to Jerusalem and the cross. What sustains the church are His promises. We are sure and certain. We can trust.

*Note: This Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ project took nearly ten years to complete. When it was done, it chronicled the entire life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament in a series of 350 watercolors. To research the project Tissot traveled to Egypt, Syria, and Palestine in 1886–87, and again in 1890.

First Sunday in Lent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Genesis 9:8-17
• Psalm
  • Psalm 25:1-10
• Second reading
  • 1 Peter 3:18-22
• Gospel
  • Mark 1:9-15

The Gospel Reading from Mark
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Sermon
Pastor Stevenson looks for relationships to connect the readings in the lectionary each Sunday. The Bible is a long story. Mark in a succinct way makes a connection. There is another. The key is in the readings in 1 Peter and Mark. In Genesis, God saves Noah from the flood. The question then arises: When things have since gone wrong, why did He not again just crush everything and make a fresh start? Is it that God establishes His Creation, promises to save it, and to do that, works from the inside out. In Mark, God is working against the world. Succinctly, Jesus is baptized by John, tempted by Satan, proclaimed the Messiah and rejected by the Hebrews. God has sustained His Creation, promised to keep the world going, entered Himself into it as His own Son, and continued to a climax in the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Luther wrote that we do not know why things are, just how things are. God is at work in the world and continues in the form of the Holy Spirit to keep our faith at the beginning of this Lenten season.

*Note: Ivan Kramskoi was a Russian artist who focused on portraying the complex humanity of his subjects. The poet and cultural critic, Rainer Maria Rilke, was profoundly affected upon seeing Kramskoi’s painting of Christ in the Wilderness. “The painting portrayed a lonely Jesus sitting on a stone in a desert, lost in melancholy meditation.[from: Rilke’s Russia: A Cultural Encounter, Anna A. Tavis. Northwestern University Press, 1997. p. 77.

Transfiguration Sunday

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • 2 Kings 2:1-12
• Psalm
  • Psalm 50:1-6
• Second reading
  • 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
• Gospel
  • Mark 9:2-9

The gospel reading from Mark:
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Sermon
Pastor Stevensen and the chancel are clothed in white this Transfiguration Sunday. This Sunday comes just before Lent, which has six.. Lent is the journey along which we walk to experience the final journey of Jesus. Below the mountain on which Jesus and three of his disciples stand is darkness, the “valley of the shadow of death” in which Jesus is accused and betrayed and suffers and dies. This Sunday we are shown a glimpse of what comes after that.. Isaiah wrote of those who “walk in the darkness.” This applies to His disciples and to Jesus himself. Transfiguration Sunday illuminates us so that we can continue into the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus’ clothes have become as white as heaven itself. Before Lent the church challenges us to confront mortality. The beginning of the gospel of John is then about John the Baptist who came to witness the light, the true light. We see a glimpse of Easter and sing the words of a hymn, “Thine is the glory, risen con-qu’ring Son. Endless is the vic-t’ry Thou o’er death has won.”

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Isaiah 40:21-31
• Psalm
  • Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
• Second reading
  • 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
• Gospel
  • Mark 1:29-39

The gospel reading from Mark
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”

And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Deuteronomy 18:15-20
• Psalm
  • Psalm 111
• Second reading
  • 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
• Gospel
  • Mark 1:21-28

The Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.”

Then the LORD replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.

Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak–that prophet shall die.”

The Gospel reading from Mark
Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching–with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Sermon (spoken on February 7)
Pastor Stevensen found an exciting connection between the Old Testament and Gospel readings this week:

Deuteronomy 18 includes three speeches of Moses to the Israelites, which are important to Christians as well as Jews. In one speech he says to his people “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people.” Moses is near departure and God will raise up a prophet to give guidance. In our liturgical church, we read these verses in Deuteronomy every three years and know that this prophet will be Jesus, the final prophet, the one about whom God speaks.

The gospel Mark moves along in historical events. The scene in the reading this week is a synagogue. The emphasis is on authority. Jesus is teaching, And he is “casting out demons”. Some say that these demons are mental illness, but they are missing the point. Significant is that the demons cry out, recognize Jesus, but Jesus casts them out. Jesus is hiding his identity and does not want the word “Messiah” shouted out, just yet. He will go on to do miracle healing. God has a plan and Mark writes it down. Jesus must go to Jerusalem, die on the cross, and rise from the dead. Our faith is in Him and the way of the cross, witnessed by Peter and recorded by Mark.

# # #

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Jonah 3:1-5, 10
• Psalm
  • Psalm 62:5-12
• Second reading
  • 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
• Gospel
  • Mark 1:14-20

The gospel reading from Mark:
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea–for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Sermon
For this week and those following, our lectionaries have changed in substance, The gospel of John has been more abstract and philosophical. That from Mark will be more historical in nature and more directly relevant to our daily lives. In this week’s reading from Mark, Jesus calls fishermen to follow him and become fishers of men. He first calls Simon, who later will be known as Peter, and Simon’s brother Andrew. Jesus will eventually call twelve, the same number as there are tribes of Israel, to be his disciples to support his ministry. We are called too, to support His ministry, but there are lots of jobs, some abstract, some small, Pastor Stevensen tells us. He once received a letter from a National Guardsman who is studying at a seminary to become a military chaplain. This man has children, works hard, and is paid below the poverty level and cannot afford to buy insurance. A seminary board member accepts a call and pays the Guardsman’s insurance premiums. Our young people go home from school to a culture of television and homework which is seemingly opposed to bible reading and church worship. In this culture,, like the board member supporting a National ‘Guardsman who wants to be a military chaplain, we are called to important tasks.

# # #

Second Sunday after Epiphany

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • 1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
• Psalm
  • Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
• Second reading
  • 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
• Gospel
  • John 1:43-51

Gospel reading from John
Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”

Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”

And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Divinity Library, Jean and Alexander Heard Library

Sermon
From three kinds of sources to select sermon material – lectionary, other writings and congregational needs, any of which could be used with the reading from John, Pastor Stevensen decided to talk on needs of the congregation.. We all suffer losses in our lives. And our nation is suffering in these tumultuous times. In the last verse in the reading from John, Jesus says to Nathanael” I tell you the truth. You shall see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This echoes Genesis 28 in which Jacob sees a ladder on which angels descend and ascend from heaven. So where do we go from here? The question really is from where do we come? To Nathanael Jesus said “You shall see heaven open.” Putting this all together we conclude that the place to see Jesus Christ is where heaven and earth meet. In the Jewish temple the closest place to God is in the holiest of holy inner chambers. The true meeting place is Jesus Christ himself. So Nathanael must have seen Heaven open. For the climatic events in Jesus’ life, the heaven must have opened. What does this all mean for us today? In Romans 6:5 the apostle Paul wrote “If we have been united with Christ in his death, we also will be united with Him into his resurrection.” When Jesus was baptized, God joined with him. So are we joined with the life of Jesus.

# # #

Baptism of Jesus

THE READINGS FOR THIS COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Genesis 1:1-5
• Psalm
  • Psalm 29
• Second reading
  • Acts 19:1-7
• Gospel
  • Mark 1:4-11

The gospel reading from Mark
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Sermon
Events happen through the church year. At these times a sermon can be more personal. The bible is rich in history, including that of the life of Jesus. This Sunday such an event is the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. But why was Jesus baptized? One of two answers is that baptism is related to sin and redemption. But why Jesus? Pastor Stevensen tells us in his sermon that the baptism of Jesus relates to the unity of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove, John heard God speaking, and it was the Son who was baptized. The doctrine of the Trinity has been challenged. The concept of the Trinity can challenge us. One example of the three working is in the creation (God), redemption (Son) and sanctification (Holy Spirit), but this diminishes the idea of the three working together. The Holy Sprit was present at the Creation. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have always worked together and always will, to our benefit,

# # #

Second Sunday after Christmas

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12
• Psalm
  • Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21
• Second reading
  • Ephesians 1:3-14
• Gospel
  • John 1:(1-9), 10-18

The gospel reading from John
In th e beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Sermon
According to John, in the beginning was Word and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us. We believe God from God, Light from Light, in one being with the Father. This is our dogmatic claim.. Pastor Stevensen tells us that the Koran of Islam rejects any belief that God was made man. Why do we believe such dogma? Why fight the fight? Conventionally, the more we know about something, the more we trust it. Mark begins his gospel with the baptism of Jesus, Matthew begins with the birth of Jesus.. Neither mentions the Virgin Birth. But any thought that Jesus is an adopted Son of God has been labeled as heresy. That he was just a guy is not accepted. John dispels reason for disagreement and writes that Jesus has always been and will always be the Son.. The actual birth is not important. There is much more to it. John’s story is not historical anecdote.. It is the Word of God. It is powerful. It offers new life in the Son. It can transform life. Its truths bring forth life eternal.

# # #