Pastor Ruth L. Foss
http://www.suncookumc.org
Suncook United Methodist Church
May 30, 2010
Memorial Day
Peace with Justice Day
Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 52:1-2 New Century Translation
Luke 4:14-21 New Living Translation
Matthew 3:3-14 NIV Translation
“Blessed Are the Peacemakers”
The Lord be with you. . .
And also with you. . .
Let us pray…
Our loving Triune God, we that you for this day that we may come into your temple and worship you. We that you for the freedoms that were fought for us so long ago and those who fought for those freedoms. We thank you for those ancient words that have been handed down from generation to generation. We pray for your Spirit to be with us as we worship you and hear the word you have for us this day. Speak Lord. . .your children are listening. . .
Good Morning…tomorrow is such a special day for us as American’s, it is the day that we remember those people in our lives that made a difference. We remember loved ones, we remember those who fought for our freedom and we also remember those who continue to fight for our freedom. We remember those who, without them, we would have no church, those who gave us a legacy of freedom, and those who fought to set us free.
Today is also a special day for us as United Methodist. It is peace with justice Sunday. You see. . .in 1980, the General Conference created a church wide peace with justice program that was assigned to the General Board of Church and Society. This special Sunday was established more than a half a century ago to build recognition and support to the work of the United Nations.
You know. . .all this freedom and peace talk has gotten me thinking. . .it has made me think about Jesus. What did Jesus come for? What was His new and radical way of living? The people of His time were looking for a Messiah. . .someone who would fight for them against the Roman Empire. In Luke. . .Jesus sounded almost like He would be that type of Messiah. It is found in Luke 4:14-21 and it reads: (and I’m reading from the New Living Translation)
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
Jesus told them that the Scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing. . .The Messiah would not only bring Good News to the poor (Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven) but also the Messiah would set the captives free, (Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.) the blind would see and the oppressed would go free (Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.). The favor of the Lord was upon Him (Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God).
Now God heard the cries of His people, God’s favor was on the anointed one, God would work through the Messiah, but. . .this Messiah was not going to be a fighter, this Messiah was going to be a lover. . .a lover of even His enemies. What a new and radical way to bring about peace (Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons(and daughters) of God.)
I have been hearing a lot about No. and So. Korea and their problems in the news. These people are the same but they are fighting against each other (and have been for years). So. Korea even had an “anti-No. Korea” rally on Thursday of last week. You see. . .no. Korea is being blamed for the torpedoing of a So. Korea warship that sank back in March this year that killed 46 sailors. Of course No. Korea denies they did this act of war. And this is fight of No. and So. Korea right now is over their western sea border. There have been 3 bloody battles over this sea border. They are now saying that if any So. Korean ships “intrude” on No. Korean waters there will be immediate physical strikes.
No. Korea is even thinking about banning So. Korean personal and vehicles from entering a joint industrial park which is the last remaining major inter-Korean reconciliation project. When will the madness end? This is supposed to be a place of healing and now one of the parties may be banned from trying to receive that healing and oneness that can come from this industrial park.
I think Wayne Dyer was right when he said:
"All blame is a waste of time. No matter
how much fault you find with another,
and regardless of how much you
blame him, it will not change you"
- Wayne Dyer
The US has even jumped on board with So. Korea as they announced that they will conduct a joint anti-submarine exercise. Professor Yang, who is a scholar with the University of No. Korean Studies in Seoul, has even said that “the power struggles between the 2 Korea’s could result in some of the most terrible things to happen since the Korean War.” When will this stop!?
This Memorial Day we need to remember those who fought for freedom, we need to remember those who have gone before us, we also need to remember those radical individuals that touched the human race. . .individuals like Gandhi, Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus of Nazareth. It’s not working the way we are doing it. Maybe it’s time we tried a new and radical way of life. . .it couldn’t hurt but it could be the change that would unite humanity. . .
Let us pray. . .
Almighty God, who through your prophets foretold a day when swords will be beaten into plowshares and who in Jesus Christ made peace through the blood of the cross, pour out your Spirit on all people everywhere so that we may be delivered from hate, hostility, and self-seeking, and find our peace in your will. In your mercy, make us instruments of your peace, that your name may be hallowed, your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(--from Liturgy and Psalms (Reformed Church in America, 1968), for the Nations of the World)
AMEN
Luke 4:14-21
Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
Isaiah 56:1-2
Psalm 95:1-7 (Call to Worship)
Worship Theme: “Peace be with you . . . ”
and sermon, “Blessed Are the Peacemakers”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
https://twitter.com/PastorRuthFoss
http://www.facebook.com/pastorruthfoss
http://www.ahandmaidenofthelord.blogspot.com
http://pastorruth.posterous.com/
A Handmaiden of the Lord
http://www.suncookumc.org
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.suncookumc.org
http://facebook.com/groups/136632035559/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suncook-United-Methodist-Church/102221356487965
Suncook, NH
May 30, 2010
Trinity Sunday
Peace with Justice Sunday
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,620+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
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