God of Whirlwind?

Though it’s still technically Easter for a few more days, I’d like to move us ahead to the Day of Pentecost, which is this Sunday, May 23.  And I thought a good way to do that was to share the words to a hymn we’ll be singing this Sunday, ELW 400 “God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind.”  I have often found that reading the words to hymns can given them greater meaning.  Here they are:

God of tempest, God of whirlwind, as on Pentecost descend!
Drive us out from sheltered comfort; past these walls your people send!
Sweep us into costly service, there with Christ to bear the cross!

God of blazing, God of burning, all that blocks your purpose, purge!
Through your church, Christ's living Body, let your flaming Spirit surge!
Where deceit conceals injustice, kindle us to speak your truth!
 
God of earthquake, God of thunder, shake us loose from lethargy!
Break the chains of sin asunder, for earth's healing set us free!
Crumble walls that still divide us; make us one in Christ our Lord!
 
God of passion, God unsleeping, stir in us love's restlessness!
Where the people cry in anguish, may we share your heart's distress.
Rouse us from content with evil; claim us for your kingdom's work!

The hymn is a powerful prayer … maybe even a dangerous one!  I love the sense of urgency in this hymn – every phrase ends with an exclamation mark!  And the work of the Spirit in this hymn is moving us from complacency, contentment, division, and deceit to movement, justice, unity, and mission.

This is our prayer on Pentecost.  Not that the Spirit would guide us back to how things used to be – but to lead us into a brave new future, where the good news of Christ is shared in word and deed with all.  Let it be so!

Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Nate

**************************

Our New Safety Plan
With masking mandates changing rapidly, this is our new safety plan.  We will continue to evolve this policy as we learn more.  Remember, these changes rely on many people being vaccinated, so if you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, you are strongly encouraged to do so.  Here’s a summary of our policy right now:
*Masks are no longer required in our facility during the week.  All of our staff is 100% vaccinated.  But we will take our cue from you.  If you choose to wear a mask, our staff will gladly wear a mask when you enter our offices
*Masks are not required at all times on Sundays.  But we ask for mask wearing 1) when singing; and 2) while coming and going for communion.  And you may freely choose to wear a mask any time you would like
*For now, distancing measures will still be in place
*Our fellowship hall is available for anyone who does not feel comfortable with these practices.  Masks are required at all times in our Fellowship Hall on Sundays.
*Be respectful of one another during these changing times

Our Worship Schedule Each Sunday (Summer, too!):

**8:30am – worship in person, or online
**9:30am – worship on KWAD (920AM or 101.7FM)
**10am – worship in person

Bible Camp Pen Pal Program
How exciting to once again be sending kids to Bible Camp.  And we’d love to have to send them letters of encouragement during their week at camp.  If you would be willing to be a Bible camp pen pal, talk to Jil Fiemeyer (jfiemeyer@wadenaimmanuel.org)

We’re Retooling our Prayer List
Remember that we are re-launching our prayer list on June 1.  If you or a loved one is on our prayer list and you would like to continue to be in our Sunday prayers, please email (church@wadenaimmanuel.org) or call (631-2738) the church office.  Or fill out this form: https://www.wadenaimmanuel.org/prayerrequest Names will stay on our prayer list for 4 weeks.  Military prayers will remain on the list for six months, unless a request to remove comes sooner.

Check out our news page to learn more and for other important announcements: https://www.wadenaimmanuel.org/announcements

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Treasure Greater Than Heaven and Earth!

Last week, we started this journey through the catechisms’ (Large and Small) thoughts on baptism.   And we remembered that baptism might seem like a human act – but is really God’s action. Today, we forge ahead with more.   After hearing such wonderful news about God’s action in baptism, about the benefits we receive, including forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life, our next thought might be that of skepticism.   So the Small Catechism leads us to ask, “How can water do such great things?”   The answer: “It is not the water that does these things, but God’s Word with the water and our trust in this Word.   Water by itself is only water, but with the Word of God it is a life-giving water which by grace gives the new birth through the Holy Spirit.” In the Large Catechism, Luther says even more on this topic: “Yes, my friend! Who does not know that water is water, … But how dare you tamper thus with God’s ordinance and rip out his most precious jewel?...
Read more

Who is Worthy to Receive Communion?!!

Today is our third week on the Lord’s Supper/Communion.   So far, we have discovered that this is God’s meal, not the result of human actions or work.   Also, we discussed last week the importance of our faith that the bread and wine actually become Christ’s body and blood. Today, we focus on the question of who is worthy to receive the gifts of communion.   This is a topic of special interest to Luther.   He is especially interested in the idea that one could be too sinful to receive this gift.   For Luther, it is easy to look at your sins and shortcomings and decide you are not worthy to receive such a gift.   God’s goodness contrasts so sharply with our sinfulness, “then because of this, such people will not go to the sacrament and wait until they are prepared, until one week passes into another and one half-year into yet another.   If you choose to fix your eye on how good and pure you are, to wait until nothing torments you, you will never go” (...
Read more

Forgive ... Forgiven

Today, we finish our brief series on forgiveness from the Large Catechism.   And our focus today is the practical application of forgiveness. There are two important parts of forgiveness.   One is the forgiveness we receive from God.   The other is the forgiveness we receive from our neighbors.   And both are essential to our faith and life in the community.   When people come to me with a guilty conscience, I ask them if they would like a word of absolution.   Sometimes, though, I can see that before they are forgiven by God, they need to seek forgiveness from their spouse, child, parent, neighbor, or friend.   Other times, they have been forgiven by the person they’ve wronged, but they cannot forgive themselves.   Other times, still, they have offered the sincerest apology they can and have not been forgiven.   And a strong word of forgiveness from God is needed – and we pray that the one they have wronged will forgive them in time. S...
Read more