Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

Series B, Proper 8 July 4, 2012, Pentecost 05

Lessons for Proper 08

Lamentations 3:22-33 ~ When the temple was destroyed, Jeremiah directed the people to God’s unfailing love.

Psalm 30 (antiphon: v. 10)

2 Corinthians 8:1–9, 13–15 ~ The Macedonians showed their love for God and those suffering in Jerusalem.

Mark 5:21–43 ~ Jesus’ touch reached through death to restore Jairus’ daughter to her family.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: : "How Do I Love Thee? ...

... Let me count the ways," Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote. God re-counts the ways of his love: Jeremiah’s comfort for the Israelites with assurance of God's unfailing love in the face of defeat; Jesus' radical economics of love ("though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. . ."); and Jesus’ touch that healed Jairus' little girl from clutch of death. God's steadfast, abundant, healing touch in and through our lives counts the ways of God's love for all to know.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Almighty Father, loving God, I depend on You for all things. Help me remember that other people depend on me for many things. When I need to know Your love, let me find it in the hearts of those around me, and let me show them Your love in my life. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: Although Jesus was rich in divine majesty, He emptied Himself to become our servant, and by His poverty in death, we have become rich in mercies and grace. Good stewardship results from giving ourselves to the Lord first – for His care and our service – and then helping extend the mission of His kingdom as we are able.

OFFERING PRAYER: Dear Lord, You gave the greatest gifts when You were on the earth!

You gave Jairus back his daughter in a kind of second birth;

And You have given us new life through water and Your Word.

Now through these gifts, bring healing life wherever it is heard.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: God shows His love in so many ways! We see it in Jesus’ touch that rescued Jairus’ daughter from death, in the Lord’s faithfulness and compassion for His people when the Temple was destroyed, and most especially in Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf. God plans to use us as instruments to express His love to the many who do not see His love anywhere else, but often we obscure God’s love with our self-centered lives. Still He rescues us from the clutches of sin and gives us to our neighbors to express His love in our service.