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I Lift Up My Eyes…

By Vicar Lisa

One of our lectionary readings for this upcoming Sunday is Psalm 123. Judy Johnson, a Parish Pastor, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and also Associate to the Bishop for the Western Iowa Synod, put together the devotional for Luther Seminary for July 2, 2024, based on that reading. The passage is as follows:

“To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.  Have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.  Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud."

She goes on to write:

How did we get here? Why is it that things are going wrong and falling apart? How long, O Lord? These are the cries and the questions of the human heart, when faced with suffering—our own or someone else’s. These questions are present, implicitly or explicitly, in many of the psalms of lament. Not today. This short psalm invites us to move from “fiddling” with suffering and the endless theological questions it can raise, to a place of stillness in the presence of God. The suffering is real. And while our minds imagine that hope and comfort will come only when we get answers to our questions, our heart knows: real comfort and hope is found in the presence of our God. So I wonder: why does my mind divert me from the true source of all that my soul is thirsting for?

What a great question! Why do we allow our minds to be diverted away from where true comfort may be found and instead focus on the suffering, scorn, and contempt. Why do we fiddle with our pain? Why don’t we allow ourselves to find that place of stillness in the presence of God? Does it give us a sense that we are doing something in our brooding? Does it make us feel like we have some control over things beyond our control? I can’t answer those questions for you, but I think that is why I do it.

Instead, let us pray to God:

God of mercy, when our souls are weary and troubled, when we want to dwell on the things that pain us, when we repeat messages of scorn and contempt over and over again to ourselves, please whisper to us and set us straight. You tell us in Isaiah 41:10 to "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you..." Give us the ability to let go and let you strengthen and help us. AMEN

Serving 7th Sunday After Pentecost -- July 7

10 a.m. Worship with Communion

Announcements

  • Fellowship Times: Join us after worship for our First Sunday Potluck. We also will have our second open cottage meeting discussion.
  • 5-Loaves Thanks: We are grateful to everyone who helped prepare and delivery 5-Loaves meals this weekend. We provided 274 meals to 124 individuals and families.
  • Bible Study: Our Wednesday weekday study is on summer hiatus. Check the bulletins, e-formations, and newsletters for updates.
  • Connections Newsletter: The July edition of Zion’s Connections newsletter was sent via email on July 1. An electronic version also is available on our website athttps://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2024/07/01/19/21/06/1a81f4cb-e9c2-4ae3-9cd9-fee44c826ae3/July%202024%20Newsletter.pdf. Copies also are available in the back of the Sanctuary and in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Flowers: There are days available to sponsor flowers. Select the date in the flower book in the sanctuary, write your name and the commemoration. A minimum donation of $35 is encouraged.
  • Prayer List Updates: We are updating the prayer lists for the summer. If you have changes for the current list or requests for additions, please let Vicar Lisa, Julie Wersal, or Jo Moss know.

E-formation – 7th Sunday after Pentecost, July 7, 2024

In the gospel reading for this coming Sunday, we hear about the ministry of Jesus and about the work of his chosen Twelve as they also preach and heal. Now we are those witnesses sent to testify to Christ and to bring healing to others.

Mark 6:1-13

History has recorded surprising little about the life of Jesus. Written in about 70 ce, Mark 6, our earliest biographical information about Jesus, calls him a carpenter or builder. (Matthew changes this to “carpenter’s son.”) That Jesus’ mother but no father is named has led to various interpretations, including the suggestion of illegitimacy. Much church history has in some way explained away Jesus’ siblings, so as to keep Mary ever virgin. The passage contains two movements: (1) his fellow Galileans’ skepticism over Jesus’ authority leads to their rejection of him, which foreshadows his final rejection; and (2) Jesus’ preaching in his hometown synagogue leads to the Twelve commissioned as traveling evangelists. Mark indicates that Jesus’ followers are to carry on the ministry of Jesus by preaching repentance, exorcizing, and healing.

Ezekiel 2:1-5

Ezekiel was probably a sixth-century priest living in captivity in Babylon. The book bearing his name includes historical data, poetic pronouncements, and accounts of visions. Like other Old Testament prophets, Ezekiel preaches that Israel’s unfaithfulness led to the divine punishment of the destruction of the temple and the people’s deportation. In this passage, Ezekiel’s being called “mortal” contrasts with the utter holiness of God. In spite of the people’s disobedience, God continues to send prophets who preach the word.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Although Paul has personally had divine visions, he gives higher spiritual value to his weaknesses, which highlight the power of Christ. Perhaps the vision Paul alludes to was what Luke, ever the talented storyteller, presented in narrative form in Acts 9. The “third heaven” designates a distant layer of the cosmos, which, according to first-century cosmology, encircled the earth.

Zion's Lutheran Church

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