Theme: Land; Jesus in the Heart of the Earth

Pastor’s Notes for 2nd Sunday in Creation, A Date: 9/7/14 Theme: Land; Jesus in the heart of the earth Bible Ref’s: Genesis 3:14-19 and/or 4:8-16, or Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Psalm 139:7-12 or Psalm 145:1- 10; Romans 5:12-17; and Matthew 12:38-40 or Matthew 4:12-17.

Prayer of the Day God, our Creator, whose glory fills all things, help us to discern your presence among us and our kin in creation, especially in the soil, in the fields, and on the land. Help us to empathize with your land creatures who are suffering. Lift our spirits to rejoice with the land, the flowers of the field, and the creatures of the countryside. We ask this in the name of Christ, who reconciles and renews all things in creation. Amen.

Brief Sermon Outline: “The Land of Promise” Focus Stmnt: Jesus embodied Israel’s ancient stories, bringing all things into a new land of promise.

1. On our prayer hike yesterday at the Wellstone Memorial, we read some poetry & quotations from Kate Paul (many of you know she grew up in Forbes & now operates Owl Forest Farm CSA). Her latest book describes her return to the land of her childhood. And the way she talks about the land of her childhood is wonderful. 2. All of creation, of course, has a story; our planet earth has a story. And the book of Genesis helps us to think more deeply about this land, this earth that we live on—not so much the how, but the who and the why of creation. And for us contemplative creatures, Genesis is our grounding story, a story of how we fit into the scheme of things: our deep relatedness/connectedness to all things. 3. You will recall that when God caused dry land to appear in Genesis 1, the land “brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it.” 4. All this helped define the “goodness” of the land. And if you read carefully, after God created every living creature, God said “to every beast of the earth, & to every bird of the air, & to everything that creeps on the earth [that includes humans], everything that has the breath of life, I’ve given every green plant for food.” Which is to say the land’s “goodness” was defined not only by its diversity & abundance of vegetation but also by its promise of sustenance, its purpose to sustain life on earth. 5. Humanity’s attachment to the land is brought even closer in Genesis 2, where God creates Adam out of clay. Adamah is the Hebrew word for “earth.” So God creates this little earth-ling, puts him into the garden, & tells him what his job is: to tend & keep it; to serve & preserve this plot of land. 6. When humans forget this primary calling (this purpose of humanity to care for the earth), then bad things happen, the earth’s goodness is degraded, it’s promise of sustenance is diminished and life suffers. The story of the Exodus is an archetypal story of the earth & all its creatures returning to the promised land, returning to God’s good intentions for abundant life and sustainability on earth, and humans’ responsibility to serve and preserve the earth, to help the land to fulfill its promise. 7. We really need to rediscover the deep stories of scripture: the creation stories, the Exodus thru the wilderness to the promised land; the stories of judges/prophets/kings; the catastrophe of the Exile. 8. These are stories that ground us deeply into the story of earth; and they bring us into this deeper appreciation for the Incarnation—God’s becoming a part of earth, to suffer, die and rise from death to redeem humankind, to renew creation, and to reconcile all things born of Earth and the Spirit. 9. I’m SO excited to have Bp Aitken here to help kindle a fire of love for the scriptures among us. And what better time than Rally Sunday to make a fresh commitment to reading the Bible more often, joining a small group Bible study or starting one up yourself. If you want to be in a Bible study, come talk to me, we’ll find a time that works. Come to Confirmation classes on Wednesday nights. 10. In a few weeks, Friday, Sept. 26, we’ll be carpooling to First Lutheran in Duluth to learn about the oral culture of the 1st century, and how we can better interpret these stories that ground our faith. 11. After John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus withdrew to Galilee, to a land where 700 yrs prior, the first 2 tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel (Zebulun, Naphtali) were deported by the Assyrians. This was the beginning of God’s judgment coming down for the peoples’ failure to love God and neighbor, for humanity’s failure to live up to God’s image for them, to serve & preserve the earth. 12. So Matthew was encouraging his audience to think historically, to think more deeply re: who this Jesus was (the territories he was traversing, the lands he was inhabiting, the aliens & outcasts he was befriending)—Jesus was embodying the ancient stories of Israel, playing them out, restoring the Davidic kingdom but on a much grander scale, bringing all things into a new land of promise— proclaiming in word/deed that in their land, in their lives, the kingdom of heaven was coming near. 13. “Repent,” Jesus says to those who would listen… ”Return to the ground of your being. Return to the land of promise I made for you. Reclaim your godly image as caretakers of the earth. For I have come “Jesus says “that you may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) 14. And so we repent—turning to the Lord our God & obeying his commandments—no longer to save ourselves (which only led to heartbreak and despair), but out of thanksgiving for God’s everlasting promises fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—“the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15) whose gospel story it’s now our joy/privilege to proclaim. Amen.

Hymn of the Day: “We Plow the Fields and Scatter” (LBW #362)

Children’s Sermon

Pastor: Good morning, kids. Today is the first day of Sunday school. It’s an exciting time because we get to learn new things about God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), we get to read and talk about Bible stories, and actually do fun things that teach us about God’s love.

Now, this is also the second Sunday in the Season of Creation. Did you see all the art that people were sharing out in the narthex? Lots of creative things out there. Last week was forest Sunday; we saw some pictures and paintings of the forest, and some poems re: trees.

Today, our theme is “land.” And to help us think about the blessings of land, we have some objects to put on our giant flannel board. Land provides many blessings for all God’s creatures. When we forget to take care of the land, then the land gets polluted & sick, and so do the creatures living on it.

Our job is to take care of all the earth, which is what Jesus did in his life and ministry. God loved the world so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to save the world from sin and heal the earth. So God wants us to continue Jesus’ work caring for the earth and all its creatures.

Let’s pray: Loving God, we thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to save the world from sin, and for giving us a job to do in loving the world as Jesus did. We especially thank you, today, for the blessings of the land (the gardens, farms and ranches that give us food; the mines that give us iron, copper and gold; firm ground to build houses and buildings on; parks and conservation areas that provide food and shelter for wildlife). Thank you for the blessings of the land, and teach us how to care for it, so that its blessings would continue to flow in abundance. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. The Word

(Deuteronomy 8:1-10) This entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and increase, and go in and occupy the land that the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember the long way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. 3 He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the LORD your God disciplines you. 6 Therefore keep the commandments of the LORD your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. 10 You shall eat your fill and bless the LORD your God for the good land that he has given you.

(Psalm 145:1-10) 1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. 10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.

(Matthew 4:12-17) Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Sermon Notes “Bible 101” An after-worship seminar led by Bishop Thomas Aitken Northeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA

Haiku is a Japanese poetry form. A haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and create a picture in the reader's mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than itself.

Traditionally, haiku is written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. After reading these examples and reflecting on your experience in the outdoors, take time to pray…

Pray that the Spirit would help you discern God’s vibrant presence in creation; that you might be sensitized to the cries of a distressed creation from the land, lakes and sky; that God would re-create you in God’s own image to serve and preserve the earth and its rich biodiversity, engaging Christ’s mission of reconciling all things to God. Then try creating some inspired haiku poetry of your own.