Leviticus
25:35-46 –
“If
your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall
support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live
with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your
brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor
give him your food for profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
“If
your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not
make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a
sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall
go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and
return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I
brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall
not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God. As for your male and
female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among
the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who
sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your
land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after
you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over
your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another
ruthlessly.
Psalm
27 –
The
Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the
stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When
evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who
stumble and fall.
Though
an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against
me, yet I will be confident.
One
thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
For
he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under
the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
And
now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer
in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the
Lord.
Hear,
O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
You
have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Hide
not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been
my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
For
my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.
Teach
me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
Give
me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against
me, and they breathe out violence.
I
believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living!
Wait
for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Luke
4:14-21
And
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him
went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified by all.
And
he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he
went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the
scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found
the place where it was written,
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim
the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And
he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the
eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today
this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
We
seldom get to a church so close, so ten miles or so seemed like next door. The
welcome made it feel that way too, as we were welcomed by a number of people
and most invited us to stay after for lunch.
There
was good signage and restroom locations were noted in the bulletin. The
bulletin also included an order of worship along with much-appreciated
information on Communion. I was very happy to see a large cross draped with
purple, and I respected the worship leaders’ gathering for prayer before the
service.
I
was concerned about the lack of young people and children, but they filtered in
as the service started. It was good to see the animation of the congregation
during the singing and the joy from the music leaders.
I
could only understand a word or two from the message as the speaker was from
Kenya. I would catch a phrase very clearly then a few minutes not understanding
anything. I wondered if Jan might be able to get more from the sermon because
of her mission trips to Malawi.
I
enjoyed the young man Jason who spoke on an upcoming mission opportunity
working with teen moms and tending to their children. He spoke loudly and
clearly and I don’t believe he used a microphone. It is a mission he is passionate
about and it comes across in his voice.
We
were able to talk a little more in depth with some people after the service,
including a pastor who has done missionary work in Brazil. This is an area dear
to my heart ever since one of our daughters’ service at an orphanage there.
Seems to be an emphasis on mission from those we talked to.
We
were greeted genuinely and often, first by a handful of people prior to the
service and by twice as many afterward. Probably 6-8 invited us to join the
monthly fellowship lunch following worship.
The
directional signage was excellent.
The
projection screen was used for the Scripture, liturgy, and music, making the
order of worship easy to follow.
When
the children were called forward, there was a brief prayer before they were
dismissed for children’s church.
The
woman who gave the message today is from Kenya, but I don’t know her identity.
My ears still tune in to voices from Africa, but between the slight echo (which
was not an issue at all otherwise) and my lack of preparedness, my ear did not
decipher her words so quickly. Consequently I regrettably missed a good deal of
what she had to say although what I did catch was right on.
She
mentioned that many things are hard to truly understand without first-hand
experience (amen to that!), and that to treat someone as a slave is to undo
what God did in the Exodus. She spoke to the importance of treating people with
dignity; she pointed out that poverty makes people vulnerable and our duty is
to relieve them of their vulnerability. Also that some are poor in spirit and
some in material things, and some are poor in both, and that the kindness we show
to those in need originates with God.
In
post-worship conversations we learned much about the missional activity within
the Anglican Church and I was grateful for the folks who were happy to talk
with us about the topic.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray You will continue to encourage this church in mission. Please bless
their efforts and send them in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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