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November 10, 2024. Veterans Sunday 10:00 AM

GATHERING FOR WORSHIP

We greet our friends and neighbors quietly and allow the music of the prelude to lead us into a worshipful place in our hearts and minds.

Prelude A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Martin Luther, arr. Victor Labenske

Welcome and Announcements

Choral Introit

Call to Worship (Psalm 33)

Leader: The LORD loves righteousness and justice;

People: the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Leader: Let all the earth fear the LORD;

People: let all the people of the world revere him.

Leader: The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes  of his heart through all generations.

People: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.

*Opening Hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Unison Prayer of Invocation

Dear Lord, Today we honor our veterans: worthy men and women  who gave their best when they were called upon to serve and protect  their country. We pray that you will bless them for their unselfish service  in the continual struggle to preserve our freedoms, our safety, and our  country's heritage, for all of us. Amen

SHARING GOD’S WORD

Scripture Reading Luke 4:16-21

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

Musical Interlude

THE COMMUNITY AT PRAYER

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Call to Prayer   Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my  face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.

Pastoral Prayer

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

*Hymn of Preparation O Beautiful for Spacious Skies

SERMON So Glad You Came Rev. Gary Ritts

THE SERVICE OF OFFERING

Collection and Offertory

*The Doxology (#46)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him, all creatures here below; praise Him above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

* Unison Prayer of Dedication

We present to you now this offering of thanks: thanks for our freedom; thanks for our peace; thanks for our prosperity and security.  On this Veterans’ Weekend, we thank you, especially, for the women and  men who gave of themselves in times of war to help to ensure the bless ings that we enjoy. Bless these offerings and each one of us in your call to  greater service. Amen.

WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

*Hymn of Parting God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand

*Benediction (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Now to him who, by the power at work within us is able to accomplish  abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the  church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

All: We go in peace to love and serve the Lord, In the name of Christ. Amen.

Congregational Response Go Now in Peace

Go now in peace. Never be afraid. God will go with you each hour of every day. Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in love, and show you believe.

Reach out to others so all the world can see. God will be there, watching from above. Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.

POSTLUDE Salute to the Armed Forces

arr. Marcia Wells

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SO GLAD YOU CAME

From a people caught in the midst of slavery and right in the middle of the pain and heartache of the Civil War come these words:
"Gonna lay down my burden . . Down by the riverside, down by the riverside . .
"Gonna lay down my sword and shield, Down by the riverside, down by the riverside . .
"Ain’t gonna study war no more, Ain’t gonna study war no more."

Tomorrow is our holiday honoring our Veterans. The controversial subject of war and the various conflicts of recent days, lingers in the back of all of our minds.
I’m sure there are varying opinions right here in this room, of the necessity and value of going to war, and even in the various reasons behind the actions, arises a further question: is it a defensive action or an offensive one; for some that will make a difference.  To defend ourselves is one thing, but to go into a country and impose our agenda is quite another.
The pulpit, in my mind, is not the place to tout the arguments for or against war.  First of all, the Bible is unclear and, secondly, persons of faith will not agree; and, in the end, there is, I believe a unifying, higher, Biblical agenda for which we are all called to fight and give our lives.

The Bible offers mixed reviews
As found in the Book of Ecclesiastes:  “To everything there is a season: . . a time for war and a time for peace.”
The Old Testament is filled with images of war and conflicts among nations & cultures.  War is glorified and seen as a tool wielded by God to reward and to punish.
In the New Testament, Jesus does speak about coming, not to bring peace, but a sword; but he’s not talking about international conflict as about spiritual and ideological differences among family and with religious leaders.

There have always been conflicting attitudes around the subject of war.
Those of us finding ourselves in high school and college during the 60's witnessed a tremendous backlash against the War in Vietnam.  Some tremendously graphic movies painted some horrible pictures:  The Deer Hunter, King of Hearts, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Hamburger Hill.  17 movies, all toll, that painted the horrors of the Vietnam War.
The news media was eager to give us mostly the atrocities and the casualties on a daily basis and still does.
As it seemed to me, the reporting of WWII put a more positive spin on it: from liberated countries to concentration camp survivors often shown expressing gratitude; as well as the men returning being hailed and celebrated as heroes - so glad you came.

Of late, the tide has turned a different direction, where now we recognize, not so much the rightness of the war, but the courage and honor these soldiers deserve and the sacrifice they have made.
Taking a stand, one way or another, is cultural, but there is a broader view.  From the book, Breakfast with Buddha, author Roland Merullo, the plot is a simple one: a middle-aged man, Otto Ringling, is tricked into driving Volya Rinpoche, his sister's spiritual guru, across the country. The book is about that journey.
At one point, Otto asks :  “. . from a  spiritual perspective, what is the right response to something like the terrorist attacks?  Is it ever right to go to war?  In self-defense?  In another’s defense?”
A long silence, then, Rinpoche responds, “Jesus let people nail him in his hands and feet.  He did not fight them.”
“OK, but that was Jesus.  What if your children are being attacked?”
“You should protect your children.”
“So what is the moral stance on war?”
“You should try not to war.”
“And if you can’t avoid it or think it might prevent further killing in the future?”
“You should try not to kill to stop killing.  Try.  It is very hard.  Sometimes I think it is not possible for many people.  Only to try is important.  Even not to have violence in your thoughts is important.”
“Not easy,” I said.
He made a one syllable laugh, something without much humor in it.  “This is not a world for easy.”

We, as Christians, are called to look deeper.  The bottom line, the common denominator must be the goals of our faith: love God, love neighbor as self; compassion & justice.
Scripture:
Deuteronomy:  what is required of a nation:
“To fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord.”
seek justice, love strangers, provide them food and clothing.
Jesus, in quoting the prophet Isaiah, lifts up a similar message:
“ . . preach good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind set the oppressed free, proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As the song says, “Ain’t gonna study war no more” - Instead, we could study peace and Freedom and justice for all, more stories of resisting all types of violence. And not just study them, but learn how to apply them, what to do to build that Kingdom of God, based on those values.

When Jesus finished reading from Isaiah, he sat down and said to the members of that congregation:  “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
That’s our challenge.  Wherever the conflict, whatever the cause, we must make sure they are glad we came.  And who “they” are is important.
Not the politicians, not the proletariat, not the military regime,
But the poor, the politically captive, the disabled, those unjustly treated.
And this certainly moves beyond any military action.  For all of us, we reach out to others in need, that they may be glad we came.  Once we give of ourselves, we are veterans of the cross, helping to establish the peaceable Kingdom.

If everybody was about building the kingdom of God with love as the only law, there’d be no need for war.  There’d be no cause for war.
We need to just keep plodding forward, teaching peace, praying for peace, practicing peace until such a time when war won’t be necessary.
We may never reach the promised Kingdom here in our lifetime, but we must never stop helping to build it; That they might be glad we came.

Close with a take-away: note the painting, “The Peaceable Kingdom”  This is one of a series of 62 paintings by Quaker artist and minister Edward Hicks that depict Isaiah's messianic prophecy (11:6-9) of a peaceful kingdom on earth.

The painting depicts a scene from Pennsylvania history, where William Penn and the Lenni-Lenape Indians sign the Treaty of Shackamaxon, which was intended to establish peace between the two cultures.

The rest of the painting's imagery is based on the book of Isaiah, which Christians interpret as a prophecy of a peaceful world where all animals and humans live together. The painting's depiction of animals in peace is a metaphor for the Quaker belief in human submission to the Christ Spirit.
The Peaceable Kingdom.

Not easy.

This is not a world for easy.
Only to try is important.