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Maundy Thursday—April 14, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Exodus 12:1–14 | Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19 | 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 | John 13:1–17, 31b–35
Summary: Tonight’s reading frames the Easter story and our whole faith. Jesus and the disciples have gathered for the Passover meal, and Jesus already anticipates his death and knows that Judas will betray him. Jesus takes on the role of servant to wash their feet and thereby lives out authentic love. Even Judas gets his feet washed! This moment shows us who God is. God loves us enough to put aside disappointment, betrayal, hopelessness, and apathy and love us. And at the end God in Jesus commands us to love one another. If anything will reform and remake us, it is this.
Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday—April 10, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Bree Lloyd
Lessons: Luke 19:28–40 | Isaiah 50:4–9a | Psalm 31:9–16 | Luke 22:14—23:56
Summary: In a world of distorted facts, words spoken truthfully matter. The words that Christ speaks in his ministry will cost his life. We need to hear words that really have meaning. God comes in words where what is spoken and what is lived are the same. This week we follow the Word that is Christ, bear witness to the cost, and live free to follow.
Fifth Sunday in Lent—April 3, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Isaiah 43:16–21 | Psalm 126 | Philippians 3:4b–14 | John 12:1–8
Summary: Our Gospel lesson is full of death. Lazarus has been raised and is eating with Jesus, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, and Mary anoints Jesus’ feet in anticipation of his death. All remind us that Jesus’ journey leads to the cross. We cannot escape the reality of the cross, no matter how much we try. But death is not the end. Isaiah announces that God is making a new way. God reminds us that death will not have the last word. The incense we use on Lenten Wednesdays and during Holy Week, like the perfume from Mary’s anointing, reminds us that the resurrection is not a one-day event. Resurrection lives on in us, in the church, and in all creation; and it becomes who we are.
Fourth Sunday in Lent—March 27, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Joshua 5:9–12 | Psalm 32 | 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 | Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32
Summary: How we understand this familiar story of the Prodigal Son depends on whether we identify with the younger son, the father, or the older son. We may identify with each one at different times in our lives. In the end, this story is part of a series of responses to the accusation that Jesus is wrong to associate with undesirables and does not love the law. The Pharisees believe that the Gospel is unfair, and Jesus responds with a story where the father does the unexpected and runs to welcome back the son who has squandered his inheritance in dissolute living. For Jesus, fairness is not the issue; the Gospel is mercy and grace. God sees each of us—younger son, father, older son, or bystander—and welcomes us each into God’s love and remains steadfastly with us.
Third Sunday in Lent—March 20, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Bree Lloyd
Lessons: Isaiah 55:1–9 | Psalm 63:1–8 | 1 Corinthians 10:1–13 | Luke 13:1–9
Summary: Being mortal means that we cope with the limits of our biology, and in Lent we recognize those limits. In our Gospel, Jesus rejects the theology that we get what we deserve and calls us to repentance. In the parable about the fig tree, Jesus asks us to wait a bit and lay manure to allow the tree to bear fruit. As we feel more and more portents of the last days, our lives are surrounded by grace as trees bloom and bear fruit, and we ask how we will live our lives.
Second Sunday in Lent—March 13, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18 | Psalm 27 | Philippians 3:17–4:1 | Luke 13:31–35
Summary: In our Gospel, the Pharisees warn Jesus that Herod is out to kill him, and he replies that he is doing his work and will be on his way. Jesus could have done what most of us would do and gone home, but he is on the way to Jerusalem. It will not be an easy way, but Jesus goes willingly and takes the disciples and all of us with him. The way is what it means to be Christina. It is never easy, but God continues to be with us. Together we make our way to the cross and our Risen Savior.
First Sunday in Lent—March 6, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Deuteronomy 26:1–11 | Psalm 91:1–2, 9–16 | Romans 10:8b–13 | Luke 4:1–13
Summary: Lent is a time when we reflect on the way we have fallen short of what God expects of us. It is a journey we take with Jesus into the wilderness, where he is tempted by the devil, and back to community. Our first temptation is not to take journey because it is too much trouble or hard to persevere. But Jesus continues to Gethsemane and the cross, and Jesus keeps bringing us along, saying “I love you” and “I will be with you.” I pray that we can journey with Jesus and be transformed to begin the transformation of the world.
Ash Wednesday—March 2, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Isaiah 58:1–12 | Psalm 51:1–17 | 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10 | Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
Summary: Lent this year seems particularly poignant and Ash Wednesday particularly appropriate. We have lost community over the last two years, and now we watch one nation invade another. Why does human vanity and greed always lead to war? In our Gospel, Jesus tells us not to store up treasure on earth…, for where your treasure is, there also your heart will be. If your treasure belongs to someone else, you will stop at nothing to get it. In Lent, we reflect on our wants, desires, and treasure and have a chance to reorder who we are, how we are, and whose we are. In the end, this is not about power and principalities and treasure but real, living, and loving people.