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Why Do We…

By Pastor Lisa Rygiel

We continue this week with another excerpt from the ELCA book entitled Forgive Us and Transform Us for the Life of the World. This week’s topic explores Why Do We, as a Church, Use Inclusive and Expansive Language and Imagery for God?

When you picture God, what do you imagine? Often our hearts and minds immediately picture an old white man with a beard. Though God as an old white man may be a popular image, Scripture tells us much, much more. Taking heed of the rich imagery of Scripture gives us more than one picture. The many images of God in Scripture help us and other people in faith. All these images evangelize us!

In Scripture, God is a father, a mother, a rock, a hen, a hiding place, and so much more.

Some of these scriptural images may make us uncomfortable. But those same images might be comforting for other people because they communicate God’s love differently from the image of a bearded white man. Scripture helps us proclaim and know who God is with both masculine and feminine language and images.

When we Christians focus on the three persons of the Trinity as only masculine, we miss out on the richness of Scripture and the Christian tradition in proclaiming who God is.

It’s important to dig into Scripture to try to understand how God is trying to call to us, to make God known to us — and to discern if sometimes we are ignoring that message due to our own human biases. Here is one example:

In Luke 15:3-10, we encounter two images of God — one a shepherd searching for a lost sheep and the other a woman looking for a lost coin. Typically, we hear the story of the shepherd a lot — and in our churches’ art, we often see images of Jesus as a shepherd. We don’t often hear the story of the woman with the lost coin — also known as “the Good Householder” — or see her in our stained-glass windows. Although nowadays, many of us can’t relate viscerally to a shepherd, most of us have lost something important and know joy when we find it, just like the woman finding the coin.

Does God’s love for you feel different between the two stories? Imagine a church with stained-glass windows on either side of the altar — one with the shepherd and sheep, the other with the woman and coin, equal in size. What message does that send to the people of all genders who worship there?

Why Does This Matter for the Church?

Scripture has all kinds of words and images for God. God reaches out to you and your neighbors through these words and images. Not every word or image will speak to everyone — that is why Scripture has so many, and why it’s important to use them.

Using lots of words and images to proclaim God’s love matters for the church because it matters for faith. Different words and images can feed people who are new to the church, people who are healing from being hurt by the church, and people who have been in the church their whole lives.

For more on this topic, read Mary J. Streufert, Language for God: A Lutheran Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2022).

Nov. 30, 1st Sunday of Advent
10 a.m. Sunday Worship

Announcements

  • Fifth Sunday Offering: Whenever there are five Sundays in a month (like this November), Zion’s traditionally collects a special offering for various causes and ministries. On Sunday, our 5th Sunday Offering will benefit Trinidad’s Coalition for the Unhoused. Please consider donating to this program, particularly at a time when there is so much need.
  • Hanging of the Greens: Next Sunday, November 30, is the first Sunday of Advent. As in years past, we will be decorating the Sanctuary in stages with the hanging of the greens and decorating the tree with Chrismon ornaments. If you can lend a hand, we will be erecting the tree and hanging lights after service.
  • Advent Soup Suppers: We will begin our Advent soup suppers Wednesday night, December 3 at 6 pm. Sign-up sheets are in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Fellowship Time: Join us after worship for coffee and conversation. All are welcome.
  • The Way Ministry: At 1 p.m. each Sunday, Zion’s welcomes the Way ministry to our fenced lower yard as they offer food and worship to the unhoused and others in need.
  • Children’s Choir: Children’s Choir is at 3 p.m. each Sunday, through Nov. 30, in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Yoga: At 5:30 p.m. Friday, join Cora Gardiner for yoga in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Thanksgiving: Our annual community Thanksgiving Dinner is this week! Show up on Wednesday morning to start bagging rolls, dishing out cranberry sauce, and moving things around. We still need help with food preparation, packaging, serving, delivery, set-up, and clean-up. We also need delivery drivers, kitchen help, servers, and people to set up and clean up, among other tasks. Monetary donations are welcome. If you have questions, contact Norine Hazen.
  • FNB Santa Gift Tree: For the 19th year, the First National Bank is sponsoring its senior citizen Letters to Santa Gift Tree. The bank asked seniors to write a letter to Santa sharing their holiday wish list. Requests of up to $25 may include utility bills, food, or personal items. Again, this year, Zion’s will help the bank in support of this program. The request letters will be available at worship on Sunday, Nov. 30, and wrapped gifts should be returned to the bank’s main lobby no later than Monday, Dec. 15. For more details, see Jo Moss.
  • Winter Coat Drive: Again, Zion’s is partnering with The Way to provide coats, socks, mittens, knit hats, scarves, blankets, etc. to those who need them most. During November, you can bring new or lightly used items to the Fellowship Hall. Place the donations on the stage and they will be collected and given to Pastor Clay & Mary Mason to redistribute to those in need of additional winter warmth.
  • Toys for Tots: Terri Watson again will be the Marine Corp representative for Toys for Tots in Las Animas County. She has placed a collection box in the Fellowship Hall for new, unwrapped toys. Monetary donations also are welcome. The donations deadline is Dec. 8. Terri says that baby toys (infant to 3 yoa) are particularly needed.
  • Thank you: Thank you to everyone who assisted with moving the remaining boxes out of Peggy Gustafson’s home. The family is grateful for your assistance.
  • A Celebration of Life: We will be having a celebration of life service for Peggy Gustafson at 11 a.m. on Nov. 29 with a luncheon in the fellowship hall to follow. Julie Wersal needs assistance with some of the food items as well as with the luncheon itself and the cleanup. If you can help, please let her know.

E-formation

This coming Sunday is the first week of Advent, the beginning of a liturgical year during which we will hear from the gospel of Matthew. In Sunday’s readings, the coming of Christ means the hope of justice, peace, and honorable living. Come to worship, to pray for such a world as this.

Matthew 24:36-44

Advent begins the liturgical year, and in this Year A, the gospel readings from Matthew complement the festival gospels taken from John. At this beginning we contemplate the end: the arrival of the divine judge means the end of the earth as we know it. In Advent, we are called to ready our lives to receive our disorienting God. The arrival of God, like a flood, always surprises us.

Isaiah 2:1-5

In Advent the church both anticipates and celebrates the presence of God in Jesus Christ, who is himself, like Jerusalem in the oracle, the locus of divine justice and peace for the world.

Romans 13:11-14

At the start of Advent, the church hears Paul’s wake-up call, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. In the darkness of winter, we awake to the light of Christ. God is like the coming dawn.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785