November 24 -- Christ the King Sunday

This week we journeyed through the past year, the Year of Luke, with readings, hymns and these notes...

Advent 

• Out of something so tiny and dead (stump)...Bethlehem, stable

• Colors blue for hope; symbols: wreath, blue, simplicity, less, “Big Dipper”

• Preparation, yes, but even more a celebration of the peace, hope, and life that comes with Christ’s arrival.  Our preparation is clearing a path...John the Baptist

• New Year’s Day -- church’s gift: puts us just a little out of sync
• I may be the only one (?), but this really feels like a New Year’s Eve to me, next Sunday Advent New Year’s Season.  Gift.  

Christmas

• Christmas = light come into the world.  Light shining in the darkness & darkness has not overcome it.  

• Quiet time, contrary to culture, silent night

• Colors white for light, symbols: stars (panel), creche

• Preparation, yes, but even more a celebration of the peace that comes with Christ’s arrival

• New Year’s Day -- church’s gift: puts us just a little out of sync

Epiphany (a day, not a season)

• This tiny quiet entrance of God (Christmas), is made known on a global scale!

• Greek:  epi - on, to  +  phanein - showing  = manifestation

• Colors white -- traditionally a celebratory, go-to color, light

• Symbol: Magi, stars, 3 gifts

• Marks the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th 

Lent

• In our brokenness we get lost, Lent is an honest journey through the wilderness, back to Christ, back to the waters of our baptism

• Color purple for repentant, reflective and paradoxically royalty -- forgiveness

• At the end of 40 days of Lent comes Holy Week, and we have this reading that K is about to share, but first a few comments:

• This is actually the assigned reading for today, Christ the King Sunday...if we weren’t doing something different

• Reading about Jesus on the cross: tortured and yet still forgiving sins: today, you will be with me in paradise

• Jesus says this to you too, friends.  Despite all that we’ve done, God still gives us a place at the “welcome table”!  (What if we sang that on Good Friday? It would be appropriate.)

• Welcoming sets the tone for all the lesson’s from this year of Luke that are to come...

• Panel...Lent journey.  Holy Week.  What do you see?

• This is quintessentially Luther-an -- cross at center.

Easter

• Climactic conclusion of the Great Three Days.  At the heart of the Christian story.   

• Colors white, symbols:  butterflies (panel), eggs & rabbits (? - careful, appropriation fertility), empty tomb, empty cross

• Unlike Epiphany or Pentecost, Easter is a whole season, not just one day -- Seven Sundays

• Unique features of Luke’s resurrection story: women, Emmaeus, breaking of bread -- there’s that welcome table again!

Pentecost

• Spirit is given as gift to the disciples -- to you and me

• Color red; Symbol fire, languages, Ezekiel’s bones, birthday cake :)

• panel --  new insight: “Christ the vine, not consumed, for we carry on”?

• That same spirit, wind, breath that Jesus had, now fills the church

• birthday of the church -- Acts 2: shared what they had, were together in prayer and worship, and went out to care for the poor -- early church.  Luther, btw, tried to return the church to this -- for him: Sacraments, Education, Care for the poor

Green Time

What themes to you hear?

* Compassion, mercy, justice pouring out extravagant

* With Jesus, everything changes.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE -- For what are we thankful?  For what shall we ask God?