Easter 3 - Jubilate - 2025. Mikron - A Little While

Bethany Lutheran Church

Mother's Day

Sunday at 10 AM

Bible Lectures Tuesday and Thursday

Springdale, Arkansas

Pastor Gregory Jackson

Note - the hymn lyrics are linked to the Bethany Lutheran Hymn Blog for the hymn number; the tune is linked on the hymn's name. 

The Hymn #345     Jesus Lover of My Soul

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Make a joyful noise (Jubilate) unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.

Psalm. Say unto God, How terrible art Thou in Thy works: through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Almighty God, who showest to them that be in error the light of Thy truth to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness, grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual  

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The Lord hath sent redemption unto His people. Hallelujah!

V. It behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead: and thus to enter into His glory. Hallelujah!

     

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #651      Be Still My Soul

A Little While - Micron

Communion Hymn #250      Holy God We Praise Thy Name

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #514        God Moves in a Mysterious Way

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness dost suffer Thy children to come under Thy chastening rod here on earth, that we may be like unto Thine only-begotten Son in suffering and hereafter in glory: We beseech Thee, comfort us in temptations and afflictions by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not fall into despair, but that we may continually trust in Thy Son's promise, that our trials will endure but a little while, and will then be followed by eternal joy; that we thus, in patient hope, may overcome all evil, and at last obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

 

KJV 1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

 

KJV John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

 

Mikron - A Little While

KJV John 16:16 A little while,  μικρον and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

This is a one-word sermon, so concise that one little word - mikron -  is repeated seven times. If we pay attention to what Jesus is saying - concise and yet a lifetime of wisdom - we will change our entire perspective. I could say a microscope or a telescope. One is very short, the other reaches out millions and billions of miles. Micro is tiny and scope means "exam closely." Tele means a long distance yet it provides a close examination. I used to stop traffic on a state highway when I got my very large telescope out in the front yard. People parked their cars to look, so they could look at craters within craters on the moon. Jupiter, Saturn? yes yes!

This passage has three vital lessons - parallels. 

1. The first involves Jesus Himself, who will undergo the worst of all punishments from Rome and the Jewish opponents. 
2. The second is the disciples going through the same kind of torture, the agony of losing their Savior in a horrible and drastic way - the cross. Childbirth is often no better and is always the cause of great concern. 
3. The third is the experience of the disciples, which begins with Stephen (ordained to serve under the disciples) being stoned to death by the Jewish mob yet seeing Heaven opened up.

KJV Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

At a district meeting (LCA), a Harvard PhD seminary professor told the LCA pastors that Christianity grew by the sword. Nobody objected until I said, "You are completely wrong." He said, "Why are you saying that? I must have been taught that." I said, "You went to Harvard. That's why." Yale had a beautiful and serious, separate Day Missions Library. 

Day Missions Library, Yale Divinity.
Main YDS section - National Council of Churches, RSV editing.

This passage from John's Gospel is so clear that we miss the lesson about us. If we apply this to our own lives, we can see and experience what Jesus is saying about Himself, the disciples, and us. It is so simple that people skip past the message, and yet the early arrangers of worship though this was a very important study.  Great turmoil, discouragement, and release from the pain and sorrows - Jesus, the disciples, and the Christian believers - all participate together.

The lesson from Jesus is easy to remember (but often forgotten). We can dwell on the difficulties but they will be taken away. The Psalms especially are good at providing spiritual wisdom for our lives. The ending of Proverbs about the ideal wife and mother is just as true today and it was long ago.

What About the Anger And Guilt Dredged from the Past?

Some episodes can be extremely hurtful and discouraging, but what if they are the road to peace and calm? Even a step to all that one could hope?

The Good Shepherd is all of that - protecting us and guiding us to the still waters, driving away evil, resentment, and useless anger. We can say, "I know for a fact that the Savior will resolve this, the opposite of clenching our teeth or getting even or shunning as a punishment."

Prayers and Announcements

• Medical treatment - Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Sarah Buck, Kermit Way.
• Roses were distributed locally today - most of the cul de sac, BibleJohn, and two helpers from the area.
• Tuesday and Thursday 10 AM - Reformation Seminary, Acts
• New posts are Zoom linked, then added to the YouTube on the masthead, and also posted on the Worship and Reformation Seminary blog pages. All new YouTubes are linked on the Ichabod masthead.

Happy Mother's Day

 

Having Trouble Sleeping at Night? Bored To Tears of Laughter? Glad You Read Ichabod?

 

Verbatim below - but color-enhanced for laughter.

In key action, the council received the final report and recommendations of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC). In response to its recommendations, the council:

• Authorized its Executive Committee to consult with the Strategy Toward Authentic Diversity advisory team to review its purpose and to create an ELCA handbook that includes recommendations for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) standards for congregations.
• Directed the Office of the Secretary to explore collaborating with ELCA full communion partners, as neutral parties, to develop processes independent of the churchwide organization to resolve conflicts within this church.
• Requested that the Committee on Appeals develop resources to help synods identify candidates for synod consultation committees who demonstrate competency in working with people of varied ethnic backgrounds.
• Voted to establish a task force on interdependence and purpose to assess the ELCA’s statements of purpose, current governance structures and how those structures have or may have perpetuated systemic inequities, and to recommend changes to the current synod structure.
• Authorized the Executive Committee to create a financial coordinating task force to review existing ELCA financial management resources; explore greater collaboration and shared financial processes among the financial functions of the three expressions of the church (congregations, synods and the churchwide organization); and encourage greater collaboration among the separately incorporated financial ministries (the ELCA Foundation, the Mission Investment Fund and Portico Benefit Services).
• Encouraged rostered ministers, congregations and synods to identify and share existing resources on congregational management and governance.
• Affirmed the vocation of ministers of Word and Service and encouraged congregations and synods to educate their members about the role of these ministers and the varied contexts in which they serve.
• Adopted a continuing resolution that establishes the ELCA Association of Synod Vice Presidents.

Recommendations for the 2025 Churchwide Assembly

The council also recommended that the 2025 Churchwide Assembly:

• Adopt the proposed social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All and its proposed implementing resolutions. Creation of the social statement was authorized by the 2019 Churchwide Assembly.
• Adopt proposed editorial changes to the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust in response to the memorial “Reconsideration of Social Statement on Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” which was approved by the 2022 Churchwide Assembly.
• Approve the following triennial budget proposals: (1) a current fund-spending authorization of $61,500,000 for 2026; (2) a current fund-income proposal of $56,915,000 for 2027 and $56,320,000 for 2028; (3) an ELCA World Hunger spending authorization of $21,550,000 for 2026; and (4) an ELCA World Hunger income proposal of $21,300,000 for 2027 and $21,050,000 for 2028.
• Authorize the Church Council to revise the spending authorizations after periodic [downward] review of revised income estimates.
• Adopt additional bylaw amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA” to allow for exchange of deacons with certain full communion partners and to establish additional standards for rostered ministers.
• Receive the 2024 Lutheran-Orthodox “Common Statement on the Filioque.” “The Filioque” refers to the words “and the Son,” which divided the Eastern and Western churches when they were added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in 1054 (“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified”). This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, a unique opportunity for reconciliation between Eastern and Western Christianity.

Read a full list of actions taken at the meeting.

Mother's Day advice

Wonderment Or Utter Foolishness?

 

 "How did we get here?"

I am in a double-bind, trying to understand Alberta as well as Kitchener-Waterloo. Everything seems to be on the tipping point, like the train-wreck photograph. The Alberta issue is one of possible separation from Canada, due to its enormous petroleum potential. In contrast, Kitchener-Waterloo is gutting its own churches and converting them to something else.

"The St. Peter's project is an innovative and important increase in affordable housing for our community," said Chair Redman.

"Thank you to our partners, including St. Peter's Church, Indwell, the Ontario Government and the City of Kitchener for ensuring that we can deliver shovel-ready projects as part of Regional Council's affordable housing plan," she said.

The project will see the church's under used classrooms and programming space turned into one bedroom and studio apartments.

'Sledgehammers are now swinging'

Pastor Mark Ehlebracht says the upgrades to the inside of the church building have already started.

"The sledgehammers are now swinging. We're essentially carving the church building proper out like an apple," said Ehlebracht. 

• This pastor is making room for 41 new affordable units inside his church

"The sanctuary and other parts of the church building are getting retooled to be optimized and used as multi-use community gathering spaces. So of course we're still have a place to worship, but we'll also have a place for community groups to gather."

Pastor Ehlebracht says along with the Region's funding, the church has collected up to $2 million in donations from local contributions. He says the total project cost is estimated to be around $18 and $20 million. 

People should be able to move in for Spring or Summer 2024.

Here is more of the same.

St. Mark Place (nota bene) Waterloo is the sister church of St. Peter. St. Mark turned its church into the same thing being finished at St. Peter.

Using existing church structure and building an additional floor onto the church hall. Sanctuary to be preserved as multi-use/community space.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter 3 - Jubilate - "This parable of the woman is a strong and stubborn argument against free will, that it is entirely powerless and without strength in the things pertaining to the salvation of our souls. The Gospel shows very plainly that divine strength and grace are needed. Man's free will is entirely too weak and insignificant to accomplish anything here."

 

Luther's Sermons - John 16:16-23.
Jubilate. Third Sunday after Easter

C. This Sermon Of Comfort Is Illustrated By A Parable.

20. With this parable be also shows that our own works are nothing, for here we see that if all women came to the help of this woman in travail, they would accomplish nothing. Here free will is at its end and is unable to accomplish anything, or to give any advice. It is not in the power of the woman to be delivered of the child, but she feels that it is wholly in the hand and power of God. When he helps and works, then something is accomplished, but where he does not help, all is lost, even if the whole world were present. In this God shows to the woman her power, her ability and her strength. Before this, she could dance and leap; she rejoiced and was happy, but now she sees how God must do all. Hereby we perceive that God is our Father, who also must deliver us from the womb and bring us forth to life.

21. Christ says here to his disciples, So it will also go with you. The woman is here in such a state of mind that she is fearful of great danger, and yet she knows that the whole work lies in the hands of God; in him she trusts; upon him it is she depends; he also helps her and accomplishes the work, which the whole world could not do, and she thinks of nothing but the time that shall follow, when she shall again rejoice; and her heart feels and says, A dangerous hour is at hand, but afterwards it will be well. Courage and' the heart press through all obstacles. Thus it will also be with you, when you are in sorrow and adversity, and when you become new creatures. Only quietly wait and permit God to work. He will accomplish everything without your assistance.

22. This parable of the woman is a strong and stubborn argument against free will, that it is entirely powerless and without strength in the things pertaining to the salvation of our souls. The Gospel shows very plainly that divine strength and grace are needed. Man's free will is entirely too weak and insignificant to accomplish anything here. But we have established our own orders and regulations instead of the Gospel and through these we want to free ourselves from sin, from death, from hell, and from all misfortune and finally be saved thereby. A great mistake.

23. Here you see in this example, that if a man is to be born the mother must become first as though she were dead; that is, she must be in a condition as though she were already dead, she thinks it is now all over with her. Thus it shall be also with us. If we want to become godly, we must be as dead, and despair of all our works, yea, never think that we shall be able to accomplish anything. Here no monastic life, no priest-craft and no works will be able to help; but wait thou patiently and permit God to do with you according to his will. He shall accomplish it; permit him to work, We shall accomplish nothing ourselves, but at times we shall feel death and hell. This the ungodly shall also feel, but they do not believe that God is present in it and wants to help them. Just as the woman here accomplishes nothing, she only feels pain, distress and misery; but she cannot help herself out of this state.

24. But when delivered of the child she remembers no more her sorrow and pain, but is as though she had become alive again. She could not before even think that her sorrow and pain should have an end so soon. Thus it is also with us in the trials of sin, of death, and of hell; then we are as though we were dead; yea, we are in the midst of death, and Christ has forsaken us. He has gone a little while from us. Then we are in great pain and cannot help ourselves; but when Christ returns, and makes himself known to us, our hearts are full of joy, even though the whole world be to the contrary.

25. This no one can realize unless he has once been encompassed by death. He who has once been delivered from death must then rejoice; not that such a person cannot again fall and be sorrowful at times, but since this joy is at hand he worries about nothing. He also fears nothing, no matter by what dangers he may be surrounded. This joy can indeed be interrupted, for when I fall again into sin, then I fear even a driven leaf. Lev 26, 36. Why? Because Christ has departed a little while from me and has forsaken me; but I will not despair, for this joy will return again. I must not then continue and cling to the pope, nor endeavor to help myself by works; but I must quietly wait until Christ comes again. He remains but a little while without. When he then looks again upon the heart and appears and shines into it, the joy returns. Then shall I be able to meet every misfortune and terror.

26. All this is said and written that we may be conscious of our weakness and inability, and that as far as our works are concerned all is nothing, all is utterly lost. But this joy is almighty and eternal when we are dead; but now in this life it is mixed. Now I fall and then I rise again, and it cannot be eternal, because flesh and blood are still with me. Therefore Christ says to his disciples:

"And ye now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."

27. All this David has described in a psalm in a most masterly and beautiful manner, when he says in Psalm 30, 1-8: "I will extol thee, 0 Jehovah, for thou hast raised me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 0 Jehovah, my God: I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me. 0 Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise unto Jehovah, 0 ye saints of his, and give thanks to his holy memorial name for his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime; weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled. I cried to Thee, 0 Jehovah; and unto Jehovah I made supplication." Where is now the man who just said: "I shall never be moved?" Well, he replies, when thou, Jehovah, of thy favor didst make my mountains to stand strong, then I spoke thus. "But when thou didst hide thy face, I was troubled," I fell. If Christ were continually with us, I really believe we would never be afraid; but since he occasionally departs from us we must therefore at times be afraid.

28. In this Psalm is beautifully portrayed to us how to recognize and experience a good conscience, for here David considers the whole world as a drop, and is not the least afraid of it, even though it should storm and rage against him, for he has the Lord with him. He has made his mountain to stand strong, but when he fell and the Lord hid his face from him, then he was afraid. Then were heart, courage, and mountain gone. Then was he afraid of a driven leaf, who before was not afraid of the whole world, as he also says in another psalm unto the Lord: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalm 23:4. Likewise in Psalm 3:6 he says: "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me round about." Passages like these can be multiplied in the Psalms, all of which show how an upright good conscience stands, namely; when God is with it, it is courageous and brave, but when God has departed, it is fearful and terrified.