My Name is I Am
by Vicar Lisa Rygiel
In the poem “My Name Is I Am,” by Helen Mallicoat, the author wisely points out that God does not live in the past, nor in the future, but is right now with us, saying, “My name is not I WAS… My name is not I WILL BE.”
Similarly, in our upcoming reading from Isaiah we hear, “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (43:18-19).
We don’t always recognize the new thing because we’re placing ourselves in the past or in our future worries. However, as Mallicoat and Isaiah point out, God is here with us in the now, doing a new thing.
I AM
I was regretting the past
And fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
“My name is I Am.” He paused.
I waited. He continued,
When you live in the past
With its mistakes and regrets,
It is hard. I am not there,
My name is not I WAS”.
When you live in the future
With its problems and fears,
It is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.
When you live in this moment,
It is not hard. I am here.
My name is I AM.
May you be comforted by Helen's words that God is always present with you.
April 6 -- 10 a.m. Sunday Worship with Communion
Announcements
Flowers: During the six Sundays of Lent, simplicity is the order of the day. During Lent we use only green foliage to reflect the Lenten season of austerity and simple reflection.
E-formation – Fifth Sunday of Lent, April 6, 2025
Today’s readings resound with expectation of Easter: God is coming to do a new thing; enemies will be drowned; there will be water in our deserts; we will be handed the prize that we cannot hope to win on our own. On Sunday morning, we gather as the body of that crucified and risen Lord. On Monday, we return to serve the poor, who will still be here around us.
John 12:1-8
Nearing the end of Lent, we join Jesus and his friends at table. John’s account was crafted about six decades after the death of Jesus and means to proclaim the resurrection faith of first-century believers. The meal that Jesus’ followers share always points to his death. Like Mark, John sometimes describes women as those who best understood the meaning of Christ’s ministry. Yet the poor remain with us, and we are now to serve their needs as the way to honor the very body of our Lord.
Isaiah 43:16-21
The poem from Isaiah is set parallel to John’s account of the anointing woman both for its references to water, since the excerpt reiterates Lent’s baptismal emphasis, and for the idea of “a new thing”: the honor that the story grants to a bold woman exemplifies the new thing that the early church saw as brought into existence by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians have seen this poem’s references to water as suggestive of baptism.
Philippians 3:4b-14
We are not Mary of Bethany, nor have we the religious pedigree of Paul, yet with both we know Christ and the meaning of his death and resurrection. Although Paul trusts in Christ for salvation, he also strains forward, pressing on, to be in Christ.
Zion's Lutheran Church
A Reconciling in Christ Community
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