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welcome to worship on this sunday january 31st as we are still in the season of epiphany this time in which christ reveals himself to us leads us and calls us into his shared work of mission and ministry we will hear today the story of christ entering into the synagogue on the sabbath and healing a man with a withered hand and in doing though this christ has broken some of those rules that the people of israel held up for what was permissible to do on the sabbath but christ in this moment is acting in love and so as part of this epiphany season we are asking some leading questions as we enter into worship and those questions we want to kind of have before us today are these how do we hide behind our priorities in life do we sometimes hide behind those priorities rather than looking out on acting with the sense of compassion to those around us and secondly as we hear about this radical act of love that christ participates in have you ever been on the receiving end of that type of love and following up to that question how might rlc be being called to live into christ's love now in this place and in this space and then we invite you to join us on our blog for epiphany you can join us online to read a little bit more about the sermon and the text before us today and then respond to those questions we'd love to have that communication with you and then also as we're closing off our epiphany season we are looking forward to lent and the lenten season uh this year we will be hearing from voices from all walks of life and the theme is lift every voice and we'd love to have you join us for our online ash wednesday service and all of the following wednesday lenten services as well and we want to invite you to a couple of things that will be taking place first on sunday february 14th the sunday before ash wednesday we are offering a drive through communion that will take place at our lower level and you can just drive in with your family receive communion say a prayer with the pastors as we prepare for this lenten season and then also we're putting together ash wednesday kids and those kits will include ashes for your own participation in the imposition of ashes in your home as well as communion elements go online see when those pickup and dates are and we'll have a kit ready for you so that you may participate more fully in our online ash wednesday service and then who can forget about soup suppers connie and the hospitality crew are busy in the kitchen and every wednesday during lent they'll be offering an order to go sort of soup to go for you and your family again go online register for those events and also participate with us throughout the season of lent as we hear and listen as we lift up all the voices that we can hear to better discern where christ is calling us again welcome to worship [Music] praise [Music] is [Music] god [Music] creations enter this holy time to hear again god's words of forgiveness and acceptance enter this holy space to receive god's mercy enter this holy company to experience god's assurance of belonging and in these next moments set aside the lists of the day set aside the worries of the world our loving god desires to have you know god's deep abundant love in the name of our creator redeemer and sustainer of life welcome to worship hey kevin how are you i'm good how are you two today julie i'm great i didn't expect to see you in the library say did you forget that situation worked out with you and your mom and candy bars before dinner oh yeah i did she was basically told me that she was the boss it's all good though what are you reading this what yeah i have a project at school and i that i'm doing a little research for it i was told to look up some strange laws that have been put in place in the united states oh did you find any yes there are some strange laws in here for example did you know that in iowa it was a law that one-armed piano players must perform for free and in wyoming you can't take a picture of a rabbit during the month of june no way way if you keep your donkey in a bathtub in georgia you might be arrested and in harper woods michigan it's illegal to paint a sparrow and then sell it as a parakeet oh my gosh kevin that is crazy i know are there laws in the bible that are a bit crazy that i could add to my research let me think um i think so there's a story in luke that is a kind of a similar situation to what you're talking about i think there was a law that was written for good that god wrote in fact it was one of his commandments that we read about in the book of exodus and it wasn't crazy like what you're talking about but it kind of got to be crazy in fact it got to be even ridiculous how people were enforcing it and it didn't become this way because of something god did or god said but it was man that got involved and tried to improve on god's law well what was it well it was the sabbath you see the sabbath was intended to be the seventh day of the week which would be saturday and if you think back when god created the world during creation he worked really really hard for six days creating all the amazing things that we have and then on the seventh day he rested so he thought it would be a great if all of these people would also take a day set it aside and rest so um it was a great principle and in fact it's the the commandment to remember the sabbath and keep it holy so what made it strange julie well when jesus came along he was going along the countryside and going into synagogues and he was teaching and he was preaching and he was healing and sometimes he would heal on the sabbath well the pharisees who were the keepers of the law and the strict enforcers got angry in fact they said he was breaking the law and they got mad you see jesus came to show others the original intent of the law he didn't mean to break any laws but he wanted to show people what god meant by that law wow you know jesus teaches them and teaches us about not being real legalistic with that law jesus and his disciples went against the grain of the sabbath day but they didn't break the law per se they did what god intended see jesus was saying that god's law never intended to exclude people from the basic needs like eating or healing god wants us to take time to rest and worship him not so that it prevents us though from being kind and generous to others he wants us to honor the sabbath but also to be kind makes sense to me hey can i use that story for my research as well of course imagine if jesus never came to show us the true meaning of these laws we would be so messed up that's true thank god for jesus say kevin do you want to pray with me i'd like to pray with you julie let's pray dear god thank you for sending your son jesus to us help us to be kind and love one another and as jesus teaches us to do help us to take time to worship you and time to rest in jesus name we pray amen thanks for the help with my homework julie i gotta go see you see you later my friend our lesson today comes from the gospel of luke the sixth chapter one sabbath while jesus was going through the grain fields his disciples plucked some heads of grain rubbed them on their hands and ate them but some of the pharisees said why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath jesus answered have you not read what david did when he and his companions were hungry he entered the house of david god and took and ate the bread of the presents which is not lawful for any but the priest to eat and he gave some to his companions then he said to them the son of man is lord of the sabbath on another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught and there was a man there whose right hand was withered the scribes and the pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath so that when they might find an accusation against him even though he knew what they were thinking he said to the man who had the withered hand come and stand here he got up and stood there then jesus said to them i ask you is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath to save life or to destroy it after looking around at all of them he said to him stretch out your hand he did so and his hand was restored but they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to jesus now during those days he went out to the mountains to pray and he spent the night in prayer to god and when day came he called his disciples and chose 12 of them whom he also named apostles simon who who he named peter and his brother andrew and james and john and philip and bartholomew and matthew and thomas and james the son of alpheus and simon who he also called the zealot and judas son of james and judas iscariot who became a traitor word of god word of life thanks be to god grace and peace to you in the name of our lord and our savior jesus the christ many years ago i was an exchange student my senior year of high school in denmark and while i was there i was traveling in copenhagen with my friends or family i can't really even remember but i had some minor injury that demanded that i go to the emergency room and so i walked into that emergency room i went to the nursing station gave them my name described a few of the symptoms i was having and then went to sit and their emergency rooms are not unlike ours in that you just sit there and wait for your name to be called well as i was sitting there i watched out of the corner of my eye as a young man walked in those doors and he shuffled over to the nursing station and he gave his name and talked to the nurse and i'm sure she put his name down and then he turned around and here i was with this minor minor injury and i gassed when i saw this man turn around because there he was a towel wrapped around his arm and you could see the blood stains that were starting to appear on the outside of that towel and he just kind of shuffled over and sat in a seat not too far from me well emergency waiting rooms are not the fastest place to be waiting and eventually that nurse came out and called my name and i kind of looked at her and i pointed to the man who was obviously injured and said i think he should go first to which she said to me nope you're the next name on the list rules are rules he's going to wait his turn now i don't even remember what sort of injury brought me into that room that day but i will never forget that man rules are rules we've all said those words have we not or at least we've had someone else say those words to us because rules are there for a reason right they give us a sense of order out of the chaos and we all know people who are sticklers for the rules you may be one of them as well well in our text today jesus is encountering a group of pharisees and scribes who are indeed sticklers for the rules we hear this being spoken in the middle of our text just read here today where jesus has entered the synagogue in order to preach and we are told that as he enters into the synagogue there is also a man that is there with a withered right hand and read what it says in our text it says the scribes and the pharisees watch him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath so that they might find an accusation against him did you hear that can you kind of feel the tension jesus is walking into the synagogue to teach and to lead and worship and you have these pharisees and scribes the rules are the rules sort of people who are keeping a keen eye on jesus to see if he is going to break any of the rules of the laws of the sabbath so that they can immediately pounce on him we are told in our same text just previous to this passage that the disciples had already broken the rules of the sabbath when they plucked some grains of wheat in order to eat on that day and christ had known he had done this and he had even defended them in their action so here they are waiting to see if he will break the rules as well again rules are necessary they create order they give us a sense of stability as a people as a community and in many ways rules can help us and encourage us to live and to grow and to thrive together and the rules for the sabbath these laws of the sabbath for the people of israel they were important they ordered their life it ordered their way of worship it ordered the way they considered themselves to be children of god it created for them a keen sense of identity now remember when you were younger and maybe for some of our younger members you're in that age right now when you and your best friends would get together and create a club now usually this was some kind of crazy club it didn't really have any meaning except it meant you belonged in something together and what was one of the first things you did when you created this club you created the rules and those rules might tell the people who could be in the club and who couldn't it might have a rule about when you're going to meet or what is needed during those meetings whatever it is it was to create a sense of identity and belonging and the laws of the sabbath they're not like club rules by any means these are important rules that the people follow but again it brought together a sense of identity for them and they were not to be taken lightly so let's enter into the story again here are the pharisees and i want you to imagine jesus has walked into the synagogue he sees the man with the withered hand as he walks on by and then he sees the pharisees and the scribes now the pharisees and the scribes are not actually at the synagogue that day to participate in worship or or to listen to what jesus has to say they are there to catch jesus they are there to see if he does anything wrong they're not there on a truth-finding mission but a fault finding mission now jesus knows this and jesus doesn't steer away from the conflict in fact he kind of makes a beeline right into it and so he sees that man with a withered hand sitting in the synagogue and he says to him come and stand here and stretch out your hand come and stand here now for us who regularly sit in worship that seems like a pretty nice invitation come and stand here stand beside me so i can heal your hand but in the synagogue the action of the man standing indicates something is happening here you see in those days when the rabbi or the teacher came in to teach they would sit it was a place of privilege but anybody who was welcome to speak up or interact with the teacher during that during that time of worship would stand and so the pharisees and the scribes would be standing and christ would be sinning if he was to be teaching but anybody who was considered an outsider or not able to participate in that way would sit along the edges of the synagogue so that would be where for example the women and the children would sit on the edges or if there was a visitor a gentile visitor they would also sit on the edges of the synagogue this is where the man with the withered hand is he is not allowed to stand or participate because of this withered hand that he has and so when christ extends that invitation come and stand there are already rules that are being broken he is inviting someone who is literally on the outsides of the synagogue community into and on par to an equal relationship with those who are the pharisees and the scribes the elders of the community i can imagine that man kind of shaking in his shoes as he takes this place that he has never held before a place of privilege of standing in the synagogue this epiphany season we too are being asked in many ways to look for that man who is on the edges or maybe the woman or the child and one of our mission and vision statements and our values it reads that we as a people who are of god are called to see god's grace in all and to regard god's creation with love and charity dignity and respect that is exactly what christ is doing to that man he doesn't see him as a man with a withered hand he he sees him first and foremost out of love and he bestows upon him dignity and charity and respect by welcoming him in to this community by making sure that he is seen you see the pharisees they they knew they knew the old testament they knew it back and forth and they knew those tenants that we are to love god and to love neighbor and they could speak about that love even see the potential for that love but on that day in the synagogue they were unable to see that man that was directly in front of them so caught up were they in the protocol or the structure or their own rules that they had about what could and couldn't happen that they completely miss out on this opportunity to act with love to see the man as a man in need and instead of just someone who is sitting along the sidelines and what's interesting is as soon as christ reaches out and and heals this man they do not react with love themselves they react with fury so caught up were they in what they thought were the necessary rules the way things were supposed to happen they forget and they fail to see that jesus's rule of love supersedes the rule of law and so today we are being asked to also get our priorities straight in this epiphany season as christ reveals to us that love supersedes law what does that mean for us as a people and to again ask those questions we asked at the beginning of worship how do we hide behind the priorities of our own life that we hide behind those duties instead of acting with compassion to those around us and again that question have you ever experienced that radical love that the man in the synagogue experienced that day then to ask this as a community as a people united by grace and faith how might this radical love be for us as a people of god calling us in this place and in the space as roseville lutheran church radical love of christ is what is revealed to us in this story the radical inclusion of all of those who might otherwise be along the edges the pharisees on that day had no care in the world for the man with the withered hand but for jesus that was the only one he saw and so our prayer for us this day is that we may also see more clearly that we may also be led into those areas of our life where we are called to live with christ's rule of love thanks be to god amen on behalf of all of us here at roseville lutheran church we want to thank you for the multitude of ways in which you enrich and support and provide gifts for our shared mission and ministry you know as we look out at this year of pandemic and quarantine there have been many creative ways in which the staff have responded to the needs and the education of the people of god and one of those ways is showing through in the confirmation curriculum that we have just started this past january we have about over 45 9th graders that are currently working with artist in residence local poet and artist joe davis joe has been meeting with these kids and developing their faith statements and those faith statements will be shared with their family and with their friends as they enter into this rite of confirmation this is just one of the many ways in which your gifts have supported these unique opportunities to share the word of christ to gather together even in online formats and to enter into wonderful conversations about what christ means to us and who we are to him so again thank you for the multitude of ways in which you support this mission and ministry we are a part of oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] streams we reach the grass [Music] oh [Music] generous god the culmination of creation was the gift of rest deliver us from our busy impulses deliver us from constant demands that wear us thin deliver us from routines that dull joy give rest to those who labor hard give rest to parents exhausted each day give rest to those struggling to find food in this harsh world [Music] give rest to frayed nerves in our politicized nation give rest to the land stripped and worn from use [Music] god of justice since days of old you gave laws to assure that sojourner and poor are fed turn our craven impulses that take and hoard into deeds that nurturing guard transform dishonest criticism into encouraging love show us ways to create an equitable fair society where all can realize the fullness of their potential pandemic sweeps the world and cases mount [Music] by your mercy deliver us from this disease and restore life guide our governments to efficiently and quickly deliver vaccines inspire each person to acts that protect the health of others [Music] preserve businesses and the arts at the bedrock of our economy help us all to do our part to overcome the challenge of this pandemic as new leaders assume office across this nation give them wisdom and opportunity and resources and good will to serve well take they take on impossible problems full knowing that only by your grace shall they prevail and give us all patience and good sense as we work together to rebuild this world and let us be mindful of your grace that we make love the overriding law and every encounter and endeavor for all our disagreements for all our differences and disappointments at the end of it all we hold together in love mutual respect and in gratitude for one another and let us now pray as our lord taught us our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever amen our worship ends for now but god's love follows you wherever you go as the days grow busy again may you from time to time time find rest in god's delight in you and whatever criticisms or harsh words may come your way make your first response that from love go now in peace serve the lord thanks be to god [Music] oh [Music] fill us with [Music] is [Music] is [Music] in me [Music] oh [Music] you