Matthew 4:1-11 | Jesus found himself in the wilderness for 40 days and nights after his baptism. In that barren wasteland, Jesus was stripped of all modern comforts and was withheld even very basic needs. But, in that space, Jesus is emptied of all else that surrounds him, leading him to find what he needs most. For us, as we journey into the wilderness this Lent, the path ahead might not sound very appealing. But as we venture into the desert, we too, just might find what our hearts, our lives, and our world needs most: the very breath of God, providing for us, and protecting us.
Author: Pastor Aleese Kenitzer
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News and Events
Lent 2020:
Every Wednesday 6-8:00 p.m.
6:00-6:30 meal
6:30-7:00 evening prayer worship service
7:00-8:00 small group
Ecumenical Prayer and Lunch
Looking for an opportunity to gather with others from the Muscatine community? Or, looking for a mid-day pause for prayer? The Muscatine Ministerial Association has organized a series of midweek prayer and lunch events at area churches. See the schedule on the bulletin board in the narthex.
MCSA Needs Lunch Servers
Requesting help serving lunch on Thursdays starting February 27. Food will be provided and prepared; they simply need volunteers to serve. Volunteers arrive by noon, serve from 12:15-12:45, and wrap up by 1:00. This is not something new, but they are finding they need help to continue this service. Sign up in the narthex if you are able to help. Pastor Aleese can answer any questions.
Allen Family Meal Assistance
Thank you to all who provided meals for the Allens. A sign-up sheet is in the narthex for the upcoming weeks. Kathy or Pastor can answer any questions.
On Ash Wednesday, once again we were invited by the prophet Joel to “return to the Lord your God with all your heart, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel 2:12-13). Along with the whole Christian church, we will be invited into the three traditional practices of Lent: prayer, fasting, and giving. For 40 days, we will be encouraged to recommit ourselves to our walk with Jesus; and in so doing, we will be encouraged to recommit ourselves to walk with each other.
But isn’t this invitation something that we should always be taking up as disciples of Christ? Are we not to daily re-turn to God with all our heart? Are we not to daily commit ourselves to journeying with Christ, and following his lead for our lives and for our world? And finally, are we not to daily commit ourselves to walking with our brothers and sisters in Christ as people of the same community?
It’s true; we ARE to engage in this kind of lifestyle and that IS who we are called to be as baptized children of God. So, yes. This “should” be something that is a part of our everyday walk of discipleship – not just something during Lent.
But, I don’t know about you, sometimes I need a bit of a “reset” to get back on track. Recently, when taking out my hairdryer one night at home, I found it wasn’t working. Turning it off and then on again, I thought it would work. Nope. Trying another appliance in the same outlet, that appliance seemed to work. I was confused. Sighing to myself, I figured that I just needed
to bite the bullet and get a new hairdryer. But then it dawned on me: press the reset button. (Admittedly, I’m embarrassed to think that it took me that long to figure that out!) And lo and behold, once I pressed the reset button, everything worked as it was supposed to again.
In the same way, I wonder if the season of Lent can act as the same “reset” button for us. I have a feeling that many of us “know” that we are to journey with Jesus, and to be attentive to the work of the Spirit within us. And we “know” that we are to journey with others, giving ourselves in community. But we’ve messed up. And in the midst of all that life can throw at us, sometimes we need a “reset” to get back on track. Not because we’re wholly broken, and not because there is no hope left. But we simply need to create (or re-create!) some practices that draw us closer to Christ and to those around us.
So simply, this Lent, that’s the invitation. Re-turn. Re-set. And come back. Not for punishment, but to find true and abundant life. For all of us, we’re coming from a different point on our journey. But this season, ALL of us are heading in the same direction: toward the cross and resurrection of Christ—the only place where we will experience true and abundant life.
So, this Lent, return. Take a look at what we are doing as a congregation, and challenge yourself to recommit yourself to journeying with Christ and with those around you. And as you do so, be on watch. For it may just be on this journey that you might discover Christ’s promise of love – for you, and for the world.
From Pastor Aleese
Matthew 17:1-9 | In our Gospel, we hear of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on top of a mount as he is transformed before them. Today, we might not experience flashing lights and a grand display of God’s power, but there are still places that God shows up to us in powerful ways. So then what? We could be thankful for those moments and then just “move on.” But what Jesus asks of us? It’s to hold those encounters close, to allow it to transform us, and to be open to how it shapes our journey ahead as his people.
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Sermon: Jesus and Traffic Lights
Matthew 5: 21-37 | In this portion of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he points to the challenges of living life together with others. Just as messy as it is for us to live together with others today, it was the same back then. But even amidst the risk, and the demands that life together places upon us, Jesus points to community as the place where we find true and abundant life.
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Sermon: Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13-20 | Jesus tells us that we are salt and that we are light. That is what we have been created to be, just as much as we have been created to be beloved, and to be called “blessed” in the kingdom of God. So then, what might it look like for us to be that salt and light? And what might it look like for us to get off the shelf and make a difference in the world today?
As I sit down to write this article, we are five days away from caucus day in Iowa. Within the past few weeks, many candidates have frequented Muscatine: from Biden showing up at the Riverfront, Yang making an appearance at MCC, Klobuchar milling around with patrons at Boonie’s, and Warren speaking at West Middle School.
But in listening to the various candidates, and in overhearing the almost constant political rhetoric that fills our airwaves and internet streams, I’ve begun to wonder: what it means to truly follow someone…and why do we choose to follow in the first place?
Thinking ahead to caucus night, there will be some who will adamantly align themselves with one candidate over another. In all, it could be for many reasons. Perhaps it’s because they’ve been captured by the vision of that leader. Perhaps it’s because they’ve been given something to believe in. Or perhaps because they’ve been given a hope of a different tomorrow. Whatever it is, for those who intentionally choose to follow a specific leader, it’s typically the result of some sort of promise, hope, or dream that has been offered.
So if that’s what drives us to get up and follow political candidates, what makes us get up and follow Jesus?
It might seem like an odd comparison. But in truth, as we enter into this portion of Epiphany, we’ll hear in worship Jesus give his “platform speech.” Beginning on Feb. 2, we’ll hear Jesus begin his Sermon on the Mount as he speaks what has commonly become known as “the Beatitudes.” Then, in the weeks to come, we’ll continue to hear Jesus spell out a vision—not a plan, but a vision—of what life in the kingdom of God looks like. And from that vision that Jesus teaches, we, too, might just find ourselves caught up in a hope of a different tomorrow.
So, returning to our original question: what makes us get up and follow Jesus? Well, perhaps, we are drawn to Jesus much like we are drawn to other leaders of our time. Because like the many presidential candidates, Jesus is also offering us a renewed vision; Jesus is also giving us something to believe in; and Jesus is also offering us a hope of a better tomorrow.
But the difference? The difference is that God, alone, has the power to fulfill those promises that have been given to you, to the world, and to all creation. And time and time again, our God has proven to his people that God IS faithful and that God WILL keep his promises. So much so that our God will not stop chasing after you, and all his people, to join him as disciples in God’s ever-expanding kingdom. So what makes us get up and follow Jesus? Simply, it’s God’s promise that has been offered TO US…regardless of our response. With that promise extended to us, it is God’s desire for us to take his hand, accept his invitation, live in this kingdom, and become fellow servants of God’s good news.
Looking to the leaders of our time, it might be nice to think that any one candidate will be able to set the world “right” again. But if we’re honest, we know that no one person will be able to do that. And in truth, we don’t need that. Because as people of faith, we already have our Savior: Jesus Christ. And following his lead, we have already been given what we need to live in God’s kingdom, even as we await it’s fulfillment.
So as we live together in this kingdom of God right here and right now, I encourage us all to first and foremost look to Jesus as the one who has the power to fulfill his promises. And then, having looked to Christ as the only one worth following with our whole lives, we can consider who around us has the capability to help lead us closer to God’s vision of wholeness in the world today. To be sure, we won’t all agree on “who” might be the best leader, and we won’t all agree on the “best” way to move society forward. But perhaps, as people of faith, that isn’t the main point. Instead, perhaps simply living together as people who follow Christ—first and foremost—will give us what we, and all the world, are really looking for.
Micah 6:1-8 | Discipleship can sometimes seem like a lengthy laundry list of things to “do.” But what the Lord really requires of us? It’s for us to recall his promises, intentionally walk with him, and to let that walk transform how we live in the world. It is there, that walking with Christ, we might just find ourselves moved to pursue justice and loving kindness, not out of obligation, but as partners with God in his mission today.
John 1:29-42 | As Jesus begins his ministry in the Gospel of John, he asks his disciples, “what are you looking for?” In our lives and in our world, we seek a variety of things, but it is only in coming to see – and experience – Christ’s abiding love that we find true and abundant life.
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Sermon: What’s in a name?
Matthew 3:13-17, Isaiah 42:1-9 | Names often point to who we are, or where we’ve come from. Of all the names that we might attach to ourselves, or that others might attach to us, it is solely in our name as “beloved” of God that we find our identity and our purpose. As Christ was publicly affirmed and commissioned in his baptism, we, too, now, are affirmed in our identity and sent to live into this name that we have been given.