Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Toledo, Ohio
A congregation of the Northwestern Ohio Synod
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Fifth Sunday Easter
Introduction & Welcome
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Easter initiates a new day. It anticipates a new heaven and a new earth. The risen Christ is making all things new. In the mystery of holy baptism God has made new people of us. Today Jesus invites us to see everyone in a new light—through the lens of love.
Thanksgiving for Baptism
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
In the waters of baptism,
we have passed over from death to life with Jesus Christ,
and we are a new creation.
For this saving mystery, and for this water, let us bless God,
who was, who is, and who is to come.
We thank you, God, for your river of life,
flowing freely from your throne:
through the earth,
through the city,
through every living thing.
You rescued Noah and his family from the flood;
You opened wide the sea for the Israelites.
Now in these waters you flood us with mercy,
and our sin is drowned forever.
You open the gate of righteousness
and we pass safely through.
In Jesus Christ, you calm and trouble the waters.
You nourish us and enclose us in safety.
You call us forth and send us out.
In lush and barren places, you are with us.
You have become our salvation.
Now breathe upon this water
and awaken your church once more.
Claim us again as your beloved and holy people.
Quench our thirst; cleanse our hearts; wipe away every tear.
To you, our Beginning and our End,
our Shepherd and Lamb,
be honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving,
now and forever.
Amen.
Prayer of the Day
O Lord God, you teach us that without love, our actions gain nothing. Pour into our hearts your most excellent gift of love, that, made alive by your Spirit, we may know goodness and peace, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
First Reading: Acts 11:1-18
In defense of his earlier baptism of non-Jewish believers, Peter demonstrates to the members of the Jerusalem church that God’s intention to love Gentiles as well as Jews is revealed in Jesus’ testimony. In this way the mission to the Gentiles is officially authorized.
1Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 4Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 6As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Psalm: Psalm 148
The splendor of the Lord is over earth and heaven. (Ps. 148:13)
1Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise God in the heights.
2Praise the Lord, all you angels;
sing praise, all you hosts of heaven.
3Praise the Lord, sun and moon;
sing praise, all you shining stars.
4Praise the Lord, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5Let them praise the name of the Lord,
who commanded, and they were created,
6who made them stand fast forever and ever,
giving them a law that shall not pass away.
7Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps;
8fire and hail, snow and fog,
tempestuous wind, doing God’s will;
9mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;
10wild beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds;
11sovereigns of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world;
12young men and maidens,
old and young together.
13Let them praise the name of the Lord,
whose name only is exalted, whose splendor is over earth and heaven.
14The Lord has raised up strength for the people and praise for all faithful servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near the Lord. Hallelujah!
Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-6
John’s vision shows us that in the resurrection the new age has dawned; God dwells with us already. Yet we wait for the time when the tears that cloud our vision will be wiped away. Then we will see the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem.
1I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
5And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.”
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Everyone will know that you are my disciples* if you have love for one another. Alleluia. (John 13:35)
Gospel: John 13:31-35
After washing the disciples’ feet, predicting his betrayal, and then revealing his betrayer, Jesus speaks of his glorification on the cross. This deep complicated love of Jesus, even to death on the cross, will be the distinctive mark of Jesus’ community.
31When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Meditation by Vicar Dave
Jesus commanded us to love one another. Not just that, but we are to love one another as he has loved us! How did Jesus love us? He gave up His life and died a torturous death for our sake, so that we might have eternal life with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit in paradise! That’s a pretty big bill to fill. There are very few of us who could honestly say that we would give up our life for the sake of another. But other than that, how do you think we’re doing at loving one another? I’m afraid I’d have to say that we’re not doing all that good.
Think about Ireland, a little place that I tend to identify with. There’s a song I’ve heard sung by some of the Irish bands about “the Orange & the Green”. In case you don’t know, the colors refer to two different groups, the Orange being the Protestants, and the Green being the Catholics. Well, this Protestant boy falls in love with and marries a Catholic girl. The trouble comes when they have a child, and their respective families start arguing over how the child should be raised. It’s a bit of a lighthearted song poking fun at the disputes between the two groups in that small country. In truth, these groups have been at each other’s throats since the English took over the island centuries ago. Having been raised in the US, I had a hard time understanding this as a child. After all, both groups are Christians. I was born to a Protestant mother and a Catholic father, and my families got along. But the Irish aren’t the only folks to have this problem. During the reformation and after, Catholic and Protestant armies fought across Europe. It had more to do with politics and power than faith, but even so, Christ commanded us to love one another. He even told us to love our enemies! How is the rest of the world supposed to know that we are the disciples of Jesus when we can’t even love each other?
In this nation, we could have written a song titled “the Red and the Blue”. Since the founding of this country, there have been essentially two groups that argue about how the government should be run. In the beginning, one group wanted a strong, central government while the other thought that power should be diffused among the several states. After all, someone living in Georgia didn’t want some guy from Boston telling him how he should live his life. That’s how we ended up with some of the states allowing slavery and some of them not. Passions were so high about the issue of slavery that our Civil War was the bloodiest conflict ever held at that time. Talk about not loving each other. Slavery itself was another example of how we failed to follow Christ’s command to love one another. The aftereffects of that evil institution are still felt today. Politics today have gotten so bitter that some families have stopped talking to each other. How is that obeying Christ’s command to love one another?
In our first reading today, we have another example of some folks who called themselves Christians, failing at this last commandment of Jesus. The Christians in Jerusalem had a hard time understanding why Peter would go to the Gentiles and baptize them. How could Peter do this thing? These folks were not Jewish, they weren’t even circumcised. They were different than the good people of the church in Jerusalem. Had they remembered that Christ came for everyone, and that He ministered to Gentiles during His life on Earth, not just the Jews, they might have realized that Christ’s command to love one another meant everyone. Not just people who worship like you do, or people who look like your do, or even people who think the way that you do. In fact, given His earlier statement telling us to love our enemies, I believe that Christ would have wanted us to especially love those who are different from ourselves.
As we go out into the world this week, remember that Christ commanded us to love one another. He didn’t put any qualifiers on it. He told us to love one another. Let’s find ways to express that love so that the rest of the world will see and know that we are Christ’s disciples!
Prayers of Intercession
Set free from captivity to sin and death, we pray to the God of resurrection for the church, people in need, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
Loving God, Bless Daniel and Elizabeth, our bishops, Howard, our outgoing pastor and Brenda, the pastor you’ve sent to us. Lead us to follow your Spirit, rather than our own prejudices or desires, as the church cares for one another. Open us to perceive your gifts in those we least expect. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Inspire us to praise you through the beauty and majesty of the natural world around us such as Lake Erie and all the metro-parks in our area. Urge us toward more deliberate care of the world you have made. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Humble the rulers of nations before your splendor. Turn their thoughts away from war and direct them to the people who need their attention most and turn them from the temptation to hoard wealth or power. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Hasten to dwell among those who are in pain or distress especially those whom we remember on our prayer list and prayer board as well as those we bring before you now. As Christ enters our deepest suffering, remain with those experiencing despair and great need. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Place holy love at the center of all our relationships and communities. By your love heal us, convict us, and renew us. Bring an end to racism and other prejudices in our churches and communities. Let everyone know your goodness by the love we show one another. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Give us a place in the diverse company of your beloved saints. Teach us the value of each person’s identity and bless us with a shared identity as your children, kindred of Christ. God, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
In your mercy, O God, respond to these prayers, and renew us by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
Together, let us profess our faith using the words of the Apostles Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.* On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
And now, as our Savior, Christ is teaching us, we boldly pray:
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.
Blessing
God, the Author of life,
Christ, the living Cornerstone,
and the life-giving Spirit of adoption,
☩ bless you now and forever.
Amen.
Dismissal
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Go in peace. Tell what God has done.
Thanks be to God.
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