The traditional Christian church calendar is comprised of seven seasons beginning with the Advent season. We are in the third of the seven seasons identified as the “Time after Epiphany.” Epiphany is the last day of the Christmas season and traditionally marks the time Jesus is revealed as a special teacher of the message of peace.
Brief Order For Confession and Forgiveness
Music to accompany this worship is on Spotify at:
Entrance Hymn
Oh Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High
Kyrie
Hymn of Praise
Prayer of the Day
O Lord Jesus, make us instruments of your peace, that where there is hatred, we may sow love, where there is injury, pardon, and where there is despair, hope. Grant, O divine master, that we may seek to console, to understand, and to love in your name, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The First Lesson
Genesis 43:3-11, 15
3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, “You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food;
5 but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, “You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6 Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”
7 They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, “Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, “Bring your brother down’?”
8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and let us be on our way, so that we may live and not die—you and we and also our little ones.
9 I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.
10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man—a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds.
15 So the men took the present, and they took double the money with them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
Psalm
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40 (11)
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
The Second Lesson
1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
36 Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
45 Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual.
47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
The Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Love your enemies, and you will be children of | the Most High;
forgive, and you will | be forgiven. Alleluia. (Luke 6:35, 37
The Gospel
Luke 6:27-38
27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;
38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
The Sermon
Is peace freely given or contingent upon doing your will?
The Hymn of the Day
O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth
The Creed
The Peace
Peace Like a River
The Prayers
The Offering
Communion
The Lord’s Prayer
Communion Hymns
Lord Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word
Communal Blessing
Dismissal
The Bible readings are from the New Revised Standard Version. I wish to thank the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, ELCA, and its predecessor bodies for all their teaching throughout the years. I’ve used the Lectionary published on the ELCA website at elca.org in preparation for this worship.