Announcements and E-formation -- March 27, 2024

Receiving and Hanging On

By Vicar Lisa Rygiel

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – “²³For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

In the passage above, Paul refers to the institution of the Lord’s supper, but the pattern of receiving and handing on applies to so much more in Christian faith and practice.  We hand on the faith, hope, love, and understanding we have received. 

Jesus’ first disciples learn this in the last supper according to John. As John 13 begins, Jesus’ “hour” has arrived. At the meal Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and commands them to pass on the loving service to others: “You also should do as I have done to you.” Jesus also hands on to his disciples what he has first received from God: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (John 15:9).

Jesus does not just command servant love, nor does he merely exemplify it. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus enables is followers to love. Jesus’ example of servant love in washing his disciples’ feet literally grounds them for all that is to come and all that disciples are called to do.

This potent image helps us interpret Jesus’ giving of himself in death, and it undergirds the community of loving service formed in Christ. As Peter discovers, Jesus’ disciples must first receive from Jesus to have a “share” with him (John 13:8). Then disciples are called to follow him in giving themselves away—not just for the sake of serving, but also for the sake of being drawn into relationship with Jesus and with God. Through that relationship we are drawn into the community of disciples, where we receive and hand on Christ’s meal and the gift of servant love.

Serving This Sunday, Easter Sunday -- March 31, 2024

10 a.m. Worship with Communion

Announcements

• Flowers: Sign up to help sponsor flowers using the flower book at the back of the sanctuary. Include your name and any commemoration you would like to see included in the bulletin. A minimum donation of $35 is encouraged and donation envelopes are in the flower book.
• Portals of Prayer: Copies of the Spring Portals of Prayer are available in the back of the Sanctuary and in the Fellowship Hall, where a few large print editions also are available.
• First Sunday Potluck: The next potluck will be Sunday, April 7. An overview of the Reconciling in Christ journey will be given. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Holy Week: Wednesday Soup Supper — 6 p.m., March 27

Good Friday Worship — 7 p.m., March 29

Easter Sunday — 10 a.m., March 31

(Fellowship Brunch, New Member Reception Follows)

E-formation – Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024

What does it mean to be Christian? Christians are those who share their faith in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to transform themselves and the world. Each Sunday we gather to praise the resurrection, but Easter is our annual blow-out celebration. This year we hear the gospel from Mark, and we sing, and we sing, and we sing.

The Readings in the Bible

Mark 16:1-8

This oldest extant ending of our earliest gospel proclaims the empty tomb and sends the witnesses back to the assembled community in Galilee to see the risen Christ. Mark’s gospel is a ring composition, in which the climax of the book is in the center, rather than at the conclusion. Thus, this ending circles the reader around back to the beginning, where yet again the baptized will experience the secret of Christ alive among the faithful.

Acts 10:34-43

In the Acts of the Apostles, the second part of Luke’s two-volume work, the evangelist extended the power of the Holy Spirit, who was first encountered in the angel’s announcement to Zechariah (Luke 1), to the apostles’ preaching of the cross and resurrection, first in Jerusalem (Acts 2–8), then in Judea and Samaria (Acts 8–9), then to the Gentiles (Acts 10–15), and finally to the ends of the earth (Acts 15–28). Luke’s narrative demonstrates how, with the blessing of the Spirit, the church expanded throughout the Greco-Roman world, especially through the efforts of first Peter and then Paul. Acts describes the church in a positive light. Its twenty-eight sermons and speeches convey Luke’s message to his readers in the late 80s ce. In chapter 10, the story of Peter’s testifying to the Roman centurion Cornelius, Luke included a summary of the Christian proclamation, concluding with his customary emphasis on the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

This passage from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth, written in about 54 ce, is the earliest written account extant of Christ’s resurrection appearances. By “in accordance with the scriptures,” Paul means the Hebrew Scriptures, which he interpreted as anticipating the death and resurrection of Christ. For example, “the third day” resonates from Hosea 6 as the time of salvation. Paul’s list of Christ’s resurrection appearances differs noticeably from the narratives included in the later gospels, and Paul includes Christ’s appearance to himself (see Gal. 1:15-16). For Paul, the resurrection is a sign of God’s grace.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785