The mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Le Claire is to continue to be a warm and welcoming church that actively shows the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
youtu.be/h6gTWFfNx8M
Feb. 07, 2021
Mission slide
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
We lift our praise to you, O Lord.
Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the
fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:31
He Has Made Me Glad CCLI 11259100
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter His courts with praise
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice for He has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
Words of Praise
Marty: Have you not heard? It has been told from the beginning of time, in the voice of the wind and the splendor of the sky?
Pastor Melody: Our Creator God is from everlasting to everlasting.
M: Lift up your eyes to the witness of the earth.
PM: God’s presence is here, in the plants and the trees.
M: Lift up your eyes to the canvas of the heavens.
PM: God’s praises are proclaimed by the stars above.
M: Lift up your eyes to the love of God.
PM: We lift our voices to sing praises to our Creator God!
There is a Balm in Gilead CCLI 11259100
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
1 Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again. (Refrain)
2 Don't ever feel discouraged,
For Jesus is your friend,
And if you lack for knowledge
He'll not refuse to lend. (Refrain)
3 If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus
And say "He died for all."( Refrain)
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of grace and glory, we come to you in our human frailty. We come faint with exhaustion. We come downtrodden with powerlessness. We come embarrassed by our sinfulness. We come sick with fever or burdened with sorrows. Bind up our wounds, O God. Heal our broken hearts. Forgive our mistakes and poor choices. Release our destructive thoughts. Have mercy on us as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . . Lift us up, that we may walk in your light, forgiven and free, renewed and strengthened, the delight of your eyes. In hope and gratitude, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
L: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Creator of earth and sky,
is the God of grace and glory, embracing us with forgiveness and mercy, strengthening us with hope and courage. Lift up your eyes and see. God’s love abounds in power. Because of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God.
Gloria Patri
Passing the Peace
L: Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let us pass the peace of Christ to one another.
Prayer of Illumination
Open our eyes, our ears and our hearts, that we might hear you word, O God, and respond in love. Amen.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not fa This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Gospel Reading Mark 1:29-39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
L: This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Broken Things, Broken People
God uses broken things; for the world is full of brokenness; broken things and broken people. The Bible tells us; as do our Protestant Creeds; that without God, we are broken, not whole. We are born, sinful and it is only by the grace of God, the forgiveness of Jesus, that we are able to move away from brokenness. In today’s scripture, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is broken; that is, she is ill with a fever. Jesus heals her. And, she is able to go about her business; which was hospitality; serving Jesus and the Disciples. Jesus is the answer. In the healing of brokenness, people hear who Jesus is and what He has done. Later, He heals the brokenness of many, as the lame, the sickly, and those with demons were healed.
Last Sunday, it was difficult to hear how our brokenness, how people’s fear, greed and selfishness, allowed other people to be enslaved and mistreated for generations. But healing and wholeness cannot begin until we see what we have done or what we have left undone by the words and actions of our ancestors; and by our own words and actions. Today, as we acknowledge our brokenness, let us also remember what has happened to the Native Americans. In her book, Waking Up White, author, Debby Irving tells about her early experiences about Native Americans. She grew in a small town in the northeastern United States; a part of the country that takes pride in being among the first white colonists to come to this land. She shares her memories of a mural painted on the library walls. The mural showed “Three feathered and fringed Native Americans standing with four white colonial men on a lush green lakeshore.” The mural stirred her interest in Native Americans. With the help of her mother, she checked out books about their life. Irving writes this, (and I quote,) “Colorful illustrations of teepees clustered close together, horses being ridden bareback, and food being cooked over the campfire added to my romanticized imaginings of the Native American life. Children and grown-ups appeared to live in an intergenerational world in which boundaries between work and play blurred. Whittling, gardening, cooking over the fire, canoeing, and fishing – these were enough for me. I wanted to be an Indian. I collected little plastic Indian figures, teepees, and horses. For Halloween my mother made me an outfit as close to the one in the mural as she could. Eventually, my infatuation let to curiosity. If I had descended from colonists, there must be kids who’d descended from Indians, right? I wondered if there was a place I could go meet them, which is what led me to ask the simple question, “Whatever happened to all the Indians?”
“Oh, those poor Indians,” my mother said, sagging a little as she shook her head with something that looked like sadness. “They drank too much,” she answered. My heart sank. “They were lovely people,” she said, “who became dangerous when they drank liquor. They just couldn’t handle it, and it ruined them.” She went on to tell a tale in vivid detail about children hiding under a staircase, in pitch blackness, trying to escape the ravages of their local friendly Indian on a drunken rampage, ax in hand. They were all murdered.”
“Well, what happened to the Indian?” I asked. She paused, thinking. “You know, I don’t know,” my mother answered sincerely. We both went silent. I don’t question that she believed it. She told me a version of a story as she had heard it from someone else, who also likely believed it (end of quote).”
I imagine most of us had a similar education about Native Americans and the white colonists. Perhaps since then, we’ve heard or learned more, but, it’s gruesome and long ago, so why now, Pastor Melody? Why now? Because we hear Christ and we know we are to make amends; to help heal the pain and injustice that our ancestors caused and we have continued. Hearing and telling the one-sided history puts all the blame on Native Americans. It’s almost if we are saying, “they got what they deserved.” Yet, we know, no one deserves being deceived, exposure to fatal diseases, and being over-powered by guns and warfare.
I bring this up today because, as Presbyterians, we are following the lead of our denomination, and the guidance of the 223rd General Assembly. (REMEMBRANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THIS PLACE PRESBYTERY OF EAST IOWA, 2021) The denomination and our Presbytery are encouraging us to look at the wrong messages we received in the past and to embrace the truth, so that we will see and treat our Native American brothers and sisters like family, instead of like the neighbor’s pet! The Presbytery read this statement before our meeting on January 23: We recognize that we were not the first inhabitants of this place, and we honor the native peoples upon whose land we live today, even as we confess how our predecessors injured and destroyed the basic humanity of these peoples through deceitful treaties, forced re-settlement, hardship and poverty. We remember: The Meskwaki, the People of the Red Earth, a part of the peoples of the Eastern Woodland Culture, who suffered damaging wars with French and English peoples; people who were engaged in exploration and settlement on this land in the early 1700’s. As Euro-American settlement continued in the United States during the 1800’s, the Meskwaki were compelled to migrate south and west into the Iowa tall grass prairies. We remember also: The Sauk people of the Eastern Woodlands culture group in the Ojibwe (O-jib-wee) tribe. Closely allied with the Meskwaki people, the Sauk people resisted French encroachment into their settlements in the Quad Cities area. After a devastating battle in 1730, in Illinois, in which hundreds of warriors were killed and many women and children taken captive by French allies, Meskwaki refugees took shelter with the Sauk, led by Chiefs Keokuk and Black Hawk. At first Keokuk accepted the loss of land as inevitable in the face of the vast numbers of white soldiers and settlers coming west. He tried to negotiate with agents of the federal government to preserve tribal land and his people, and to keep the peace. Having failed to receive promised supplies from the Americans on credit, Black Hawk wanted to fight, saying his people were "forced into war by being deceived".[4] Led by Black Hawk in 1832, the mainly Sac band resisted the continued loss of lands (in western Illinois, and Eastern Iowa.) Their warfare with United States military forces resulted in defeat in the Black Hawk War. In 1841 and 1842, federal agents compelled the native American leaders to sign treaties untranslated from the English legal style in which they were written. These treaties did not promise co-habitation of the lands as orally stated by these agents, but rather stated that ‘the white citizens of the Territory have a right to expect that their community growth will not long be stopped by people, whose wild and savage character render them dangerous neighbors.’ The two tribes were bureaucratically merged and renamed, becoming the Sac and Fox Nation in U.S. government documents. And this large group were compelled to re-settle in Kansas and Nebraska, where smallpox outbreaks further decimated their population. The peoples were ultimately settled in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. Only a small remnant of the Meskawki people was permitted to buy land offered near Tama, Iowa. In 1851 the Iowa state legislature passed an unusual act to allow the Meskawki to buy land and stay in Iowa with the restriction that they stay on this reserved settlement. May we remember by this example, that we should strive to live in peace with one another, recognizing the full humanity of the Other and the indwelling face of God in each person.
This document from the PCUSA, gives us a fuller picture of what happened to the Native Americans. In Waking Up White, Irving writes, “The stereotypes we learned were incomplete. It’s true that alcohol was a factor in the waning of native people. But we are rarely told that it was the white colonists, who purposefully introduced alcohol to Native Americans, using it to weaken, subdue, and coerce them into signing over land and rights. We forget how disease brought by our ancestors infected and killed Indian men, women, and children, in some cases killing 90% of the Native Americans.” This declaration by the PCUSA does not tell us about the “dehumanizing federal programs designed by white men to civilize Indians, separating them from one another and stripping them of the languages, customs, beliefs, and human bonds that had held them together for centuries (Waking Up White).”
“This understanding,” says Iving, “doesn’t help us understand what it might have felt like, for people as attached to their families and homes as we are to ours, to be torn from theirs. We haven’t been asked to imagine what it might be like to lose nine out of ten of our closest friends and family. We might not know that today native people use words like invaders and terrorists and genocide to describe the Pilgrims and their actions.”
Irving writes, “That her mother’s own upbringing had left her lacking the necessary knowledge and life skills to make connections to the present-day world through historical truths and critical analysis.” She continues, “Neither my mother nor I understood that moment as one of many in which she was racializing me. Without ever once mentioning the words “race” or “skin color,” my mother passed along to me the belief that the white people and Native Americans had natural human differences. Without meaning to, my mother gravely misled me. She didn’t do it because she was evil or stupid or had upholding racism on her mind. My mother was warm, compassionate, and bright. She told me the versions of events as she knew them, errors and omissions included. Over the course of my childhood the media confirmed my idea of Indians as “savage” and “dangerous.” I came to see them as drunks who grunted, whooped, yelled, and painted their faces to scare and scalp white people. This understanding further contributed to the idea of white people as the superior race. My mother’s story tells me that Indians were somehow “other,” like a whole separate and inferior species. Indians were drunks, so white folks must not be. Indians were dangerous, so white people must be safe. Indians lacked self-control, so white people must really have their act together. Indians weren’t good enough or tough enough to survive, but white people sure were, even when they drank liquor. Like drops of water into a sponge, moments like these saturated me with the belief that I was of a superior race and wholly disconnected from other races – except as a potential victim.
On top of all of this is another critical point. Nothing we learned encouraged us to dig deeper, to find indigenous people and ask how they told their own history. As a result, I came to view history as something set in stone, printed in books, painted in pictures, and taught by teachers who delivered facts. I took it all at face value, constructing for myself a one-dimensional world in which people were right or wrong, good, or bad, like me or not.” (Waking Up White. Debby Irving. page 3-6).
I know this seems like a long time ago and like something that we don’t need to be thinking about. But, the way we learned the one-sided version of history, has brought us to the place we are today: one of racial division; one of systemic racism. As we have opportunity to hear and confess our past mistakes, our brokenness, we have the opportunity, right and responsibility to teach history from all voices, so that all people are respected and included as equal to one another. Jesus did NOT avoid Simon Peter’s mother-in-law because she was female or because she was sick. Jesus went to her, and, cared for her. Likewise Jesus was fully present to all who came to the door to be healed. The Good News is that God in Jesus came to us in our brokenness. God uses brokenness to make beautiful things. Paul says as much in II Corinthians 12, where he writes, “Three times I asked the Lord to take away the thorn in my flesh. But each time God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul declares, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Yes! God uses brokenness. It takes broken soil to produce a crop; broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. In a little while we will celebrate Holy Communion, where we take bread and juice, reminders of Christ’s broken body; He was broken for us. Now, in Christ we are made whole, so that we may go forward, sharing the full history of our land, the full history of our country and the full love of Christ. Because Christ Jesus has shown us how to be inclusive; how to make amends, how to offer the hand of fellowship. And, because, we are human; we will be broken again. Then, again, God will make something beautiful, from our brokenness. Again and again, in Christ, we will be healed, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is My Father’s World CCLI 11259100
1 This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--
His hand the wonders wrought.
2 This is my Father's world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.
3 This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!
Offering
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication:
Precious Jesus, may these gifts of money and ministry be like wings to the exhausted and strength to the powerless. May these gifts bind up the broken-hearted,
and welcome the outcast. And may our offerings of time, talent, and treasure sing your praises and be a cause of delight throughout your marvelous world. Amen.
Break Thou the Bread of Life CCLI 11259100
1 Break Thou the bread of life,
Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee,
O living Word!
2 Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord,
Now unto me,
As Thou didst bless the bread
By Galilee;
Then shall all bondage cease,
All fetters fall;
And I shall find my peace,
My all in all!
Holy Communion
Introduction: Friends, this is the joyful feast of God. Christ Jesus, the light of the world has gathered his people to commune at this table. From the brokenness of addiction and oppression, trapped in lives of loneliness, struggling with poor health, buried in debt, living under a cloud of grief, we come to share a meal. Called from dark, dank caves, from shacks with no electricity, from homeless shelters, from jail cells, from hospital beds, from refugee camps, we leave our dark place and come to Jesus, our hope and our light. Broken, we come to share a meal, remembering and celebrating Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come, come out of the darkness.
Great Thanksgiving: The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is a right, good, and joyful thing always and everywhere to give you our thanks, O God; for you created all that is and all that ever shall be. On the first day of creation, you said, “Let there be light,” and there was light; and you called the light good. From mountaintops to the deepest valleys, in daylight and in the darkest shadows, you call us to be your people. And so, with all your people on earth and the great cloud of witnesses in heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one
who comes in your holy name.
Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you, O God, and holy is your child, Jesus Christ.
On the night before his death, among his friends, Jesus took bread; after giving thanks, he blessed it & broke it. He gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take, eat. This is my body, broken and given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took a cup & passed it among his friends, saying: “This is the cup of the new covenant, sealed in my blood. Whenever you eat this bread or drink this cup, do this in remembrance of me.”
And so, in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Pray with me: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and juice. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may become one with Christ, who lived and died and rose to eternal life, an eternal blessing for the world. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until we feast together, at the heavenly banquet, in your eternal realm. Light of light, True God of true God, Spirit of holiness, we praise you now, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen.
Holy One, Light of light, God of all creation, long ago you showed yourself in a in creation, in the rainbow and in pillar of fire. Shine in us, around us, and through us, that the world may see your glory in the faces of your people – lives changed in the light of your love. Bless these gifts, this meal of communion to strength us for your glorious work, bringing healing to our broken world. Amen.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness CCLI 11259100
1 Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever will be.
Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (Refrain)
The Prayers of the People
We pray for these, our family and friends,
Thank you God, for this day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. We love you God. Help people who are hungry; people who don’t have a home and people who are sick. Thank you for the people who work to make our country, our state and our town a better place. Thank you for our neighbors, our teachers and the schools. Thank you for the rain, snow and sun. Thank you for clean, clear water, this earth and our clean air. Help us to take care of these gifts. We pray for people who are alone and people who are lonely. Help us to be helpful and friendly. Thank you for our church. We thank you for our families and friends, and these whom we now pray for:
Hear us now as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth, as in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others.
Lead us not into temptation, but, deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, the glory, forever. Amen
How Great Thou Art CCLI 11259100
1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze: [Refrain]
3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin: [Refrain]
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
and there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!" [Refrain]
Charge
Let us go in our brokenness, out into the world, knowing that through Jesus our Lord and Savior, all things are made new. In Christ, we can do all things; we can serve others, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ,
Benediction
Now may the love of God, the peace of Christ and the community of the Holy Spirit be with you, with your family and with all of God’s family. Amen
The mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Le Claire is to continue to be a warm and welcoming church that actively shows the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
youtu.be/h6gTWFfNx8M
Feb. 07, 2021
Mission slide
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
We lift our praise to you, O Lord.
Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the
fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:31
He Has Made Me Glad CCLI 11259100
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter His courts with praise
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice for He has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
Words of Praise
Marty: Have you not heard? It has been told from the beginning of time, in the voice of the wind and the splendor of the sky?
Pastor Melody: Our Creator God is from everlasting to everlasting.
M: Lift up your eyes to the witness of the earth.
PM: God’s presence is here, in the plants and the trees.
M: Lift up your eyes to the canvas of the heavens.
PM: God’s praises are proclaimed by the stars above.
M: Lift up your eyes to the love of God.
PM: We lift our voices to sing praises to our Creator God!
There is a Balm in Gilead CCLI 11259100
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
1 Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again. (Refrain)
2 Don't ever feel discouraged,
For Jesus is your friend,
And if you lack for knowledge
He'll not refuse to lend. (Refrain)
3 If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus
And say "He died for all."( Refrain)
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of grace and glory, we come to you in our human frailty. We come faint with exhaustion. We come downtrodden with powerlessness. We come embarrassed by our sinfulness. We come sick with fever or burdened with sorrows. Bind up our wounds, O God. Heal our broken hearts. Forgive our mistakes and poor choices. Release our destructive thoughts. Have mercy on us as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . . Lift us up, that we may walk in your light, forgiven and free, renewed and strengthened, the delight of your eyes. In hope and gratitude, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
L: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Creator of earth and sky,
is the God of grace and glory, embracing us with forgiveness and mercy, strengthening us with hope and courage. Lift up your eyes and see. God’s love abounds in power. Because of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God.
Gloria Patri
Passing the Peace
L: Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let us pass the peace of Christ to one another.
Prayer of Illumination
Open our eyes, our ears and our hearts, that we might hear you word, O God, and respond in love. Amen.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not fa This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Gospel Reading Mark 1:29-39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
L: This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Broken Things, Broken People
God uses broken things; for the world is full of brokenness; broken things and broken people. The Bible tells us; as do our Protestant Creeds; that without God, we are broken, not whole. We are born, sinful and it is only by the grace of God, the forgiveness of Jesus, that we are able to move away from brokenness. In today’s scripture, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is broken; that is, she is ill with a fever. Jesus heals her. And, she is able to go about her business; which was hospitality; serving Jesus and the Disciples. Jesus is the answer. In the healing of brokenness, people hear who Jesus is and what He has done. Later, He heals the brokenness of many, as the lame, the sickly, and those with demons were healed.
Last Sunday, it was difficult to hear how our brokenness, how people’s fear, greed and selfishness, allowed other people to be enslaved and mistreated for generations. But healing and wholeness cannot begin until we see what we have done or what we have left undone by the words and actions of our ancestors; and by our own words and actions. Today, as we acknowledge our brokenness, let us also remember what has happened to the Native Americans. In her book, Waking Up White, author, Debby Irving tells about her early experiences about Native Americans. She grew in a small town in the northeastern United States; a part of the country that takes pride in being among the first white colonists to come to this land. She shares her memories of a mural painted on the library walls. The mural showed “Three feathered and fringed Native Americans standing with four white colonial men on a lush green lakeshore.” The mural stirred her interest in Native Americans. With the help of her mother, she checked out books about their life. Irving writes this, (and I quote,) “Colorful illustrations of teepees clustered close together, horses being ridden bareback, and food being cooked over the campfire added to my romanticized imaginings of the Native American life. Children and grown-ups appeared to live in an intergenerational world in which boundaries between work and play blurred. Whittling, gardening, cooking over the fire, canoeing, and fishing – these were enough for me. I wanted to be an Indian. I collected little plastic Indian figures, teepees, and horses. For Halloween my mother made me an outfit as close to the one in the mural as she could. Eventually, my infatuation let to curiosity. If I had descended from colonists, there must be kids who’d descended from Indians, right? I wondered if there was a place I could go meet them, which is what led me to ask the simple question, “Whatever happened to all the Indians?”
“Oh, those poor Indians,” my mother said, sagging a little as she shook her head with something that looked like sadness. “They drank too much,” she answered. My heart sank. “They were lovely people,” she said, “who became dangerous when they drank liquor. They just couldn’t handle it, and it ruined them.” She went on to tell a tale in vivid detail about children hiding under a staircase, in pitch blackness, trying to escape the ravages of their local friendly Indian on a drunken rampage, ax in hand. They were all murdered.”
“Well, what happened to the Indian?” I asked. She paused, thinking. “You know, I don’t know,” my mother answered sincerely. We both went silent. I don’t question that she believed it. She told me a version of a story as she had heard it from someone else, who also likely believed it (end of quote).”
I imagine most of us had a similar education about Native Americans and the white colonists. Perhaps since then, we’ve heard or learned more, but, it’s gruesome and long ago, so why now, Pastor Melody? Why now? Because we hear Christ and we know we are to make amends; to help heal the pain and injustice that our ancestors caused and we have continued. Hearing and telling the one-sided history puts all the blame on Native Americans. It’s almost if we are saying, “they got what they deserved.” Yet, we know, no one deserves being deceived, exposure to fatal diseases, and being over-powered by guns and warfare.
I bring this up today because, as Presbyterians, we are following the lead of our denomination, and the guidance of the 223rd General Assembly. (REMEMBRANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THIS PLACE PRESBYTERY OF EAST IOWA, 2021) The denomination and our Presbytery are encouraging us to look at the wrong messages we received in the past and to embrace the truth, so that we will see and treat our Native American brothers and sisters like family, instead of like the neighbor’s pet! The Presbytery read this statement before our meeting on January 23: We recognize that we were not the first inhabitants of this place, and we honor the native peoples upon whose land we live today, even as we confess how our predecessors injured and destroyed the basic humanity of these peoples through deceitful treaties, forced re-settlement, hardship and poverty. We remember: The Meskwaki, the People of the Red Earth, a part of the peoples of the Eastern Woodland Culture, who suffered damaging wars with French and English peoples; people who were engaged in exploration and settlement on this land in the early 1700’s. As Euro-American settlement continued in the United States during the 1800’s, the Meskwaki were compelled to migrate south and west into the Iowa tall grass prairies. We remember also: The Sauk people of the Eastern Woodlands culture group in the Ojibwe (O-jib-wee) tribe. Closely allied with the Meskwaki people, the Sauk people resisted French encroachment into their settlements in the Quad Cities area. After a devastating battle in 1730, in Illinois, in which hundreds of warriors were killed and many women and children taken captive by French allies, Meskwaki refugees took shelter with the Sauk, led by Chiefs Keokuk and Black Hawk. At first Keokuk accepted the loss of land as inevitable in the face of the vast numbers of white soldiers and settlers coming west. He tried to negotiate with agents of the federal government to preserve tribal land and his people, and to keep the peace. Having failed to receive promised supplies from the Americans on credit, Black Hawk wanted to fight, saying his people were "forced into war by being deceived".[4] Led by Black Hawk in 1832, the mainly Sac band resisted the continued loss of lands (in western Illinois, and Eastern Iowa.) Their warfare with United States military forces resulted in defeat in the Black Hawk War. In 1841 and 1842, federal agents compelled the native American leaders to sign treaties untranslated from the English legal style in which they were written. These treaties did not promise co-habitation of the lands as orally stated by these agents, but rather stated that ‘the white citizens of the Territory have a right to expect that their community growth will not long be stopped by people, whose wild and savage character render them dangerous neighbors.’ The two tribes were bureaucratically merged and renamed, becoming the Sac and Fox Nation in U.S. government documents. And this large group were compelled to re-settle in Kansas and Nebraska, where smallpox outbreaks further decimated their population. The peoples were ultimately settled in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. Only a small remnant of the Meskawki people was permitted to buy land offered near Tama, Iowa. In 1851 the Iowa state legislature passed an unusual act to allow the Meskawki to buy land and stay in Iowa with the restriction that they stay on this reserved settlement. May we remember by this example, that we should strive to live in peace with one another, recognizing the full humanity of the Other and the indwelling face of God in each person.
This document from the PCUSA, gives us a fuller picture of what happened to the Native Americans. In Waking Up White, Irving writes, “The stereotypes we learned were incomplete. It’s true that alcohol was a factor in the waning of native people. But we are rarely told that it was the white colonists, who purposefully introduced alcohol to Native Americans, using it to weaken, subdue, and coerce them into signing over land and rights. We forget how disease brought by our ancestors infected and killed Indian men, women, and children, in some cases killing 90% of the Native Americans.” This declaration by the PCUSA does not tell us about the “dehumanizing federal programs designed by white men to civilize Indians, separating them from one another and stripping them of the languages, customs, beliefs, and human bonds that had held them together for centuries (Waking Up White).”
“This understanding,” says Iving, “doesn’t help us understand what it might have felt like, for people as attached to their families and homes as we are to ours, to be torn from theirs. We haven’t been asked to imagine what it might be like to lose nine out of ten of our closest friends and family. We might not know that today native people use words like invaders and terrorists and genocide to describe the Pilgrims and their actions.”
Irving writes, “That her mother’s own upbringing had left her lacking the necessary knowledge and life skills to make connections to the present-day world through historical truths and critical analysis.” She continues, “Neither my mother nor I understood that moment as one of many in which she was racializing me. Without ever once mentioning the words “race” or “skin color,” my mother passed along to me the belief that the white people and Native Americans had natural human differences. Without meaning to, my mother gravely misled me. She didn’t do it because she was evil or stupid or had upholding racism on her mind. My mother was warm, compassionate, and bright. She told me the versions of events as she knew them, errors and omissions included. Over the course of my childhood the media confirmed my idea of Indians as “savage” and “dangerous.” I came to see them as drunks who grunted, whooped, yelled, and painted their faces to scare and scalp white people. This understanding further contributed to the idea of white people as the superior race. My mother’s story tells me that Indians were somehow “other,” like a whole separate and inferior species. Indians were drunks, so white folks must not be. Indians were dangerous, so white people must be safe. Indians lacked self-control, so white people must really have their act together. Indians weren’t good enough or tough enough to survive, but white people sure were, even when they drank liquor. Like drops of water into a sponge, moments like these saturated me with the belief that I was of a superior race and wholly disconnected from other races – except as a potential victim.
On top of all of this is another critical point. Nothing we learned encouraged us to dig deeper, to find indigenous people and ask how they told their own history. As a result, I came to view history as something set in stone, printed in books, painted in pictures, and taught by teachers who delivered facts. I took it all at face value, constructing for myself a one-dimensional world in which people were right or wrong, good, or bad, like me or not.” (Waking Up White. Debby Irving. page 3-6).
I know this seems like a long time ago and like something that we don’t need to be thinking about. But, the way we learned the one-sided version of history, has brought us to the place we are today: one of racial division; one of systemic racism. As we have opportunity to hear and confess our past mistakes, our brokenness, we have the opportunity, right and responsibility to teach history from all voices, so that all people are respected and included as equal to one another. Jesus did NOT avoid Simon Peter’s mother-in-law because she was female or because she was sick. Jesus went to her, and, cared for her. Likewise Jesus was fully present to all who came to the door to be healed. The Good News is that God in Jesus came to us in our brokenness. God uses brokenness to make beautiful things. Paul says as much in II Corinthians 12, where he writes, “Three times I asked the Lord to take away the thorn in my flesh. But each time God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul declares, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Yes! God uses brokenness. It takes broken soil to produce a crop; broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. In a little while we will celebrate Holy Communion, where we take bread and juice, reminders of Christ’s broken body; He was broken for us. Now, in Christ we are made whole, so that we may go forward, sharing the full history of our land, the full history of our country and the full love of Christ. Because Christ Jesus has shown us how to be inclusive; how to make amends, how to offer the hand of fellowship. And, because, we are human; we will be broken again. Then, again, God will make something beautiful, from our brokenness. Again and again, in Christ, we will be healed, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is My Father’s World CCLI 11259100
1 This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--
His hand the wonders wrought.
2 This is my Father's world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.
3 This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!
Offering
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication:
Precious Jesus, may these gifts of money and ministry be like wings to the exhausted and strength to the powerless. May these gifts bind up the broken-hearted,
and welcome the outcast. And may our offerings of time, talent, and treasure sing your praises and be a cause of delight throughout your marvelous world. Amen.
Break Thou the Bread of Life CCLI 11259100
1 Break Thou the bread of life,
Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee,
O living Word!
2 Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord,
Now unto me,
As Thou didst bless the bread
By Galilee;
Then shall all bondage cease,
All fetters fall;
And I shall find my peace,
My all in all!
Holy Communion
Introduction: Friends, this is the joyful feast of God. Christ Jesus, the light of the world has gathered his people to commune at this table. From the brokenness of addiction and oppression, trapped in lives of loneliness, struggling with poor health, buried in debt, living under a cloud of grief, we come to share a meal. Called from dark, dank caves, from shacks with no electricity, from homeless shelters, from jail cells, from hospital beds, from refugee camps, we leave our dark place and come to Jesus, our hope and our light. Broken, we come to share a meal, remembering and celebrating Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come, come out of the darkness.
Great Thanksgiving: The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is a right, good, and joyful thing always and everywhere to give you our thanks, O God; for you created all that is and all that ever shall be. On the first day of creation, you said, “Let there be light,” and there was light; and you called the light good. From mountaintops to the deepest valleys, in daylight and in the darkest shadows, you call us to be your people. And so, with all your people on earth and the great cloud of witnesses in heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one
who comes in your holy name.
Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you, O God, and holy is your child, Jesus Christ.
On the night before his death, among his friends, Jesus took bread; after giving thanks, he blessed it & broke it. He gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take, eat. This is my body, broken and given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took a cup & passed it among his friends, saying: “This is the cup of the new covenant, sealed in my blood. Whenever you eat this bread or drink this cup, do this in remembrance of me.”
And so, in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Pray with me: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and juice. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may become one with Christ, who lived and died and rose to eternal life, an eternal blessing for the world. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until we feast together, at the heavenly banquet, in your eternal realm. Light of light, True God of true God, Spirit of holiness, we praise you now, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen.
Holy One, Light of light, God of all creation, long ago you showed yourself in a in creation, in the rainbow and in pillar of fire. Shine in us, around us, and through us, that the world may see your glory in the faces of your people – lives changed in the light of your love. Bless these gifts, this meal of communion to strength us for your glorious work, bringing healing to our broken world. Amen.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness CCLI 11259100
1 Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever will be.
Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (Refrain)
The Prayers of the People
We pray for these, our family and friends,
Thank you God, for this day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. We love you God. Help people who are hungry; people who don’t have a home and people who are sick. Thank you for the people who work to make our country, our state and our town a better place. Thank you for our neighbors, our teachers and the schools. Thank you for the rain, snow and sun. Thank you for clean, clear water, this earth and our clean air. Help us to take care of these gifts. We pray for people who are alone and people who are lonely. Help us to be helpful and friendly. Thank you for our church. We thank you for our families and friends, and these whom we now pray for:
Hear us now as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth, as in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others.
Lead us not into temptation, but, deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, the glory, forever. Amen
How Great Thou Art CCLI 11259100
1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze: [Refrain]
3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin: [Refrain]
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
and there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!" [Refrain]
Charge
Let us go in our brokenness, out into the world, knowing that through Jesus our Lord and Savior, all things are made new. In Christ, we can do all things; we can serve others, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ,
Benediction
Now may the love of God, the peace of Christ and the community of the Holy Spirit be with you, with your family and with all of God’s family. Amen
youtu.be/h6gTWFfNx8M
Feb. 07, 2021
Mission slide
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
We lift our praise to you, O Lord.
Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the
fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:31
He Has Made Me Glad CCLI 11259100
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter His courts with praise
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice for He has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
Words of Praise
Marty: Have you not heard? It has been told from the beginning of time, in the voice of the wind and the splendor of the sky?
Pastor Melody: Our Creator God is from everlasting to everlasting.
M: Lift up your eyes to the witness of the earth.
PM: God’s presence is here, in the plants and the trees.
M: Lift up your eyes to the canvas of the heavens.
PM: God’s praises are proclaimed by the stars above.
M: Lift up your eyes to the love of God.
PM: We lift our voices to sing praises to our Creator God!
There is a Balm in Gilead CCLI 11259100
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
1 Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again. (Refrain)
2 Don't ever feel discouraged,
For Jesus is your friend,
And if you lack for knowledge
He'll not refuse to lend. (Refrain)
3 If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus
And say "He died for all."( Refrain)
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of grace and glory, we come to you in our human frailty. We come faint with exhaustion. We come downtrodden with powerlessness. We come embarrassed by our sinfulness. We come sick with fever or burdened with sorrows. Bind up our wounds, O God. Heal our broken hearts. Forgive our mistakes and poor choices. Release our destructive thoughts. Have mercy on us as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . . Lift us up, that we may walk in your light, forgiven and free, renewed and strengthened, the delight of your eyes. In hope and gratitude, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
L: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Creator of earth and sky,
is the God of grace and glory, embracing us with forgiveness and mercy, strengthening us with hope and courage. Lift up your eyes and see. God’s love abounds in power. Because of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God.
Gloria Patri
Passing the Peace
L: Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let us pass the peace of Christ to one another.
Prayer of Illumination
Open our eyes, our ears and our hearts, that we might hear you word, O God, and respond in love. Amen.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not fa This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Gospel Reading Mark 1:29-39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
L: This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Broken Things, Broken People
God uses broken things; for the world is full of brokenness; broken things and broken people. The Bible tells us; as do our Protestant Creeds; that without God, we are broken, not whole. We are born, sinful and it is only by the grace of God, the forgiveness of Jesus, that we are able to move away from brokenness. In today’s scripture, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is broken; that is, she is ill with a fever. Jesus heals her. And, she is able to go about her business; which was hospitality; serving Jesus and the Disciples. Jesus is the answer. In the healing of brokenness, people hear who Jesus is and what He has done. Later, He heals the brokenness of many, as the lame, the sickly, and those with demons were healed.
Last Sunday, it was difficult to hear how our brokenness, how people’s fear, greed and selfishness, allowed other people to be enslaved and mistreated for generations. But healing and wholeness cannot begin until we see what we have done or what we have left undone by the words and actions of our ancestors; and by our own words and actions. Today, as we acknowledge our brokenness, let us also remember what has happened to the Native Americans. In her book, Waking Up White, author, Debby Irving tells about her early experiences about Native Americans. She grew in a small town in the northeastern United States; a part of the country that takes pride in being among the first white colonists to come to this land. She shares her memories of a mural painted on the library walls. The mural showed “Three feathered and fringed Native Americans standing with four white colonial men on a lush green lakeshore.” The mural stirred her interest in Native Americans. With the help of her mother, she checked out books about their life. Irving writes this, (and I quote,) “Colorful illustrations of teepees clustered close together, horses being ridden bareback, and food being cooked over the campfire added to my romanticized imaginings of the Native American life. Children and grown-ups appeared to live in an intergenerational world in which boundaries between work and play blurred. Whittling, gardening, cooking over the fire, canoeing, and fishing – these were enough for me. I wanted to be an Indian. I collected little plastic Indian figures, teepees, and horses. For Halloween my mother made me an outfit as close to the one in the mural as she could. Eventually, my infatuation let to curiosity. If I had descended from colonists, there must be kids who’d descended from Indians, right? I wondered if there was a place I could go meet them, which is what led me to ask the simple question, “Whatever happened to all the Indians?”
“Oh, those poor Indians,” my mother said, sagging a little as she shook her head with something that looked like sadness. “They drank too much,” she answered. My heart sank. “They were lovely people,” she said, “who became dangerous when they drank liquor. They just couldn’t handle it, and it ruined them.” She went on to tell a tale in vivid detail about children hiding under a staircase, in pitch blackness, trying to escape the ravages of their local friendly Indian on a drunken rampage, ax in hand. They were all murdered.”
“Well, what happened to the Indian?” I asked. She paused, thinking. “You know, I don’t know,” my mother answered sincerely. We both went silent. I don’t question that she believed it. She told me a version of a story as she had heard it from someone else, who also likely believed it (end of quote).”
I imagine most of us had a similar education about Native Americans and the white colonists. Perhaps since then, we’ve heard or learned more, but, it’s gruesome and long ago, so why now, Pastor Melody? Why now? Because we hear Christ and we know we are to make amends; to help heal the pain and injustice that our ancestors caused and we have continued. Hearing and telling the one-sided history puts all the blame on Native Americans. It’s almost if we are saying, “they got what they deserved.” Yet, we know, no one deserves being deceived, exposure to fatal diseases, and being over-powered by guns and warfare.
I bring this up today because, as Presbyterians, we are following the lead of our denomination, and the guidance of the 223rd General Assembly. (REMEMBRANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THIS PLACE PRESBYTERY OF EAST IOWA, 2021) The denomination and our Presbytery are encouraging us to look at the wrong messages we received in the past and to embrace the truth, so that we will see and treat our Native American brothers and sisters like family, instead of like the neighbor’s pet! The Presbytery read this statement before our meeting on January 23: We recognize that we were not the first inhabitants of this place, and we honor the native peoples upon whose land we live today, even as we confess how our predecessors injured and destroyed the basic humanity of these peoples through deceitful treaties, forced re-settlement, hardship and poverty. We remember: The Meskwaki, the People of the Red Earth, a part of the peoples of the Eastern Woodland Culture, who suffered damaging wars with French and English peoples; people who were engaged in exploration and settlement on this land in the early 1700’s. As Euro-American settlement continued in the United States during the 1800’s, the Meskwaki were compelled to migrate south and west into the Iowa tall grass prairies. We remember also: The Sauk people of the Eastern Woodlands culture group in the Ojibwe (O-jib-wee) tribe. Closely allied with the Meskwaki people, the Sauk people resisted French encroachment into their settlements in the Quad Cities area. After a devastating battle in 1730, in Illinois, in which hundreds of warriors were killed and many women and children taken captive by French allies, Meskwaki refugees took shelter with the Sauk, led by Chiefs Keokuk and Black Hawk. At first Keokuk accepted the loss of land as inevitable in the face of the vast numbers of white soldiers and settlers coming west. He tried to negotiate with agents of the federal government to preserve tribal land and his people, and to keep the peace. Having failed to receive promised supplies from the Americans on credit, Black Hawk wanted to fight, saying his people were "forced into war by being deceived".[4] Led by Black Hawk in 1832, the mainly Sac band resisted the continued loss of lands (in western Illinois, and Eastern Iowa.) Their warfare with United States military forces resulted in defeat in the Black Hawk War. In 1841 and 1842, federal agents compelled the native American leaders to sign treaties untranslated from the English legal style in which they were written. These treaties did not promise co-habitation of the lands as orally stated by these agents, but rather stated that ‘the white citizens of the Territory have a right to expect that their community growth will not long be stopped by people, whose wild and savage character render them dangerous neighbors.’ The two tribes were bureaucratically merged and renamed, becoming the Sac and Fox Nation in U.S. government documents. And this large group were compelled to re-settle in Kansas and Nebraska, where smallpox outbreaks further decimated their population. The peoples were ultimately settled in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. Only a small remnant of the Meskawki people was permitted to buy land offered near Tama, Iowa. In 1851 the Iowa state legislature passed an unusual act to allow the Meskawki to buy land and stay in Iowa with the restriction that they stay on this reserved settlement. May we remember by this example, that we should strive to live in peace with one another, recognizing the full humanity of the Other and the indwelling face of God in each person.
This document from the PCUSA, gives us a fuller picture of what happened to the Native Americans. In Waking Up White, Irving writes, “The stereotypes we learned were incomplete. It’s true that alcohol was a factor in the waning of native people. But we are rarely told that it was the white colonists, who purposefully introduced alcohol to Native Americans, using it to weaken, subdue, and coerce them into signing over land and rights. We forget how disease brought by our ancestors infected and killed Indian men, women, and children, in some cases killing 90% of the Native Americans.” This declaration by the PCUSA does not tell us about the “dehumanizing federal programs designed by white men to civilize Indians, separating them from one another and stripping them of the languages, customs, beliefs, and human bonds that had held them together for centuries (Waking Up White).”
“This understanding,” says Iving, “doesn’t help us understand what it might have felt like, for people as attached to their families and homes as we are to ours, to be torn from theirs. We haven’t been asked to imagine what it might be like to lose nine out of ten of our closest friends and family. We might not know that today native people use words like invaders and terrorists and genocide to describe the Pilgrims and their actions.”
Irving writes, “That her mother’s own upbringing had left her lacking the necessary knowledge and life skills to make connections to the present-day world through historical truths and critical analysis.” She continues, “Neither my mother nor I understood that moment as one of many in which she was racializing me. Without ever once mentioning the words “race” or “skin color,” my mother passed along to me the belief that the white people and Native Americans had natural human differences. Without meaning to, my mother gravely misled me. She didn’t do it because she was evil or stupid or had upholding racism on her mind. My mother was warm, compassionate, and bright. She told me the versions of events as she knew them, errors and omissions included. Over the course of my childhood the media confirmed my idea of Indians as “savage” and “dangerous.” I came to see them as drunks who grunted, whooped, yelled, and painted their faces to scare and scalp white people. This understanding further contributed to the idea of white people as the superior race. My mother’s story tells me that Indians were somehow “other,” like a whole separate and inferior species. Indians were drunks, so white folks must not be. Indians were dangerous, so white people must be safe. Indians lacked self-control, so white people must really have their act together. Indians weren’t good enough or tough enough to survive, but white people sure were, even when they drank liquor. Like drops of water into a sponge, moments like these saturated me with the belief that I was of a superior race and wholly disconnected from other races – except as a potential victim.
On top of all of this is another critical point. Nothing we learned encouraged us to dig deeper, to find indigenous people and ask how they told their own history. As a result, I came to view history as something set in stone, printed in books, painted in pictures, and taught by teachers who delivered facts. I took it all at face value, constructing for myself a one-dimensional world in which people were right or wrong, good, or bad, like me or not.” (Waking Up White. Debby Irving. page 3-6).
I know this seems like a long time ago and like something that we don’t need to be thinking about. But, the way we learned the one-sided version of history, has brought us to the place we are today: one of racial division; one of systemic racism. As we have opportunity to hear and confess our past mistakes, our brokenness, we have the opportunity, right and responsibility to teach history from all voices, so that all people are respected and included as equal to one another. Jesus did NOT avoid Simon Peter’s mother-in-law because she was female or because she was sick. Jesus went to her, and, cared for her. Likewise Jesus was fully present to all who came to the door to be healed. The Good News is that God in Jesus came to us in our brokenness. God uses brokenness to make beautiful things. Paul says as much in II Corinthians 12, where he writes, “Three times I asked the Lord to take away the thorn in my flesh. But each time God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul declares, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Yes! God uses brokenness. It takes broken soil to produce a crop; broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. In a little while we will celebrate Holy Communion, where we take bread and juice, reminders of Christ’s broken body; He was broken for us. Now, in Christ we are made whole, so that we may go forward, sharing the full history of our land, the full history of our country and the full love of Christ. Because Christ Jesus has shown us how to be inclusive; how to make amends, how to offer the hand of fellowship. And, because, we are human; we will be broken again. Then, again, God will make something beautiful, from our brokenness. Again and again, in Christ, we will be healed, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is My Father’s World CCLI 11259100
1 This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--
His hand the wonders wrought.
2 This is my Father's world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.
3 This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!
Offering
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication:
Precious Jesus, may these gifts of money and ministry be like wings to the exhausted and strength to the powerless. May these gifts bind up the broken-hearted,
and welcome the outcast. And may our offerings of time, talent, and treasure sing your praises and be a cause of delight throughout your marvelous world. Amen.
Break Thou the Bread of Life CCLI 11259100
1 Break Thou the bread of life,
Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee,
O living Word!
2 Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord,
Now unto me,
As Thou didst bless the bread
By Galilee;
Then shall all bondage cease,
All fetters fall;
And I shall find my peace,
My all in all!
Holy Communion
Introduction: Friends, this is the joyful feast of God. Christ Jesus, the light of the world has gathered his people to commune at this table. From the brokenness of addiction and oppression, trapped in lives of loneliness, struggling with poor health, buried in debt, living under a cloud of grief, we come to share a meal. Called from dark, dank caves, from shacks with no electricity, from homeless shelters, from jail cells, from hospital beds, from refugee camps, we leave our dark place and come to Jesus, our hope and our light. Broken, we come to share a meal, remembering and celebrating Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come, come out of the darkness.
Great Thanksgiving: The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is a right, good, and joyful thing always and everywhere to give you our thanks, O God; for you created all that is and all that ever shall be. On the first day of creation, you said, “Let there be light,” and there was light; and you called the light good. From mountaintops to the deepest valleys, in daylight and in the darkest shadows, you call us to be your people. And so, with all your people on earth and the great cloud of witnesses in heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one
who comes in your holy name.
Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you, O God, and holy is your child, Jesus Christ.
On the night before his death, among his friends, Jesus took bread; after giving thanks, he blessed it & broke it. He gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take, eat. This is my body, broken and given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took a cup & passed it among his friends, saying: “This is the cup of the new covenant, sealed in my blood. Whenever you eat this bread or drink this cup, do this in remembrance of me.”
And so, in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Pray with me: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and juice. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may become one with Christ, who lived and died and rose to eternal life, an eternal blessing for the world. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until we feast together, at the heavenly banquet, in your eternal realm. Light of light, True God of true God, Spirit of holiness, we praise you now, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen.
Holy One, Light of light, God of all creation, long ago you showed yourself in a in creation, in the rainbow and in pillar of fire. Shine in us, around us, and through us, that the world may see your glory in the faces of your people – lives changed in the light of your love. Bless these gifts, this meal of communion to strength us for your glorious work, bringing healing to our broken world. Amen.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness CCLI 11259100
1 Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever will be.
Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (Refrain)
The Prayers of the People
We pray for these, our family and friends,
Thank you God, for this day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. We love you God. Help people who are hungry; people who don’t have a home and people who are sick. Thank you for the people who work to make our country, our state and our town a better place. Thank you for our neighbors, our teachers and the schools. Thank you for the rain, snow and sun. Thank you for clean, clear water, this earth and our clean air. Help us to take care of these gifts. We pray for people who are alone and people who are lonely. Help us to be helpful and friendly. Thank you for our church. We thank you for our families and friends, and these whom we now pray for:
Hear us now as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth, as in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others.
Lead us not into temptation, but, deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, the glory, forever. Amen
How Great Thou Art CCLI 11259100
1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze: [Refrain]
3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin: [Refrain]
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
and there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!" [Refrain]
Charge
Let us go in our brokenness, out into the world, knowing that through Jesus our Lord and Savior, all things are made new. In Christ, we can do all things; we can serve others, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ,
Benediction
Now may the love of God, the peace of Christ and the community of the Holy Spirit be with you, with your family and with all of God’s family. Amen
The mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Le Claire is to continue to be a warm and welcoming church that actively shows the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
youtu.be/h6gTWFfNx8M
Feb. 07, 2021
Mission slide
GREETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
We lift our praise to you, O Lord.
Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the
fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:31
He Has Made Me Glad CCLI 11259100
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter His courts with praise
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice for He has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
Words of Praise
Marty: Have you not heard? It has been told from the beginning of time, in the voice of the wind and the splendor of the sky?
Pastor Melody: Our Creator God is from everlasting to everlasting.
M: Lift up your eyes to the witness of the earth.
PM: God’s presence is here, in the plants and the trees.
M: Lift up your eyes to the canvas of the heavens.
PM: God’s praises are proclaimed by the stars above.
M: Lift up your eyes to the love of God.
PM: We lift our voices to sing praises to our Creator God!
There is a Balm in Gilead CCLI 11259100
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
1 Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again. (Refrain)
2 Don't ever feel discouraged,
For Jesus is your friend,
And if you lack for knowledge
He'll not refuse to lend. (Refrain)
3 If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus
And say "He died for all."( Refrain)
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of grace and glory, we come to you in our human frailty. We come faint with exhaustion. We come downtrodden with powerlessness. We come embarrassed by our sinfulness. We come sick with fever or burdened with sorrows. Bind up our wounds, O God. Heal our broken hearts. Forgive our mistakes and poor choices. Release our destructive thoughts. Have mercy on us as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . . Lift us up, that we may walk in your light, forgiven and free, renewed and strengthened, the delight of your eyes. In hope and gratitude, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
L: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, Creator of earth and sky,
is the God of grace and glory, embracing us with forgiveness and mercy, strengthening us with hope and courage. Lift up your eyes and see. God’s love abounds in power. Because of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God.
Gloria Patri
Passing the Peace
L: Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let us pass the peace of Christ to one another.
Prayer of Illumination
Open our eyes, our ears and our hearts, that we might hear you word, O God, and respond in love. Amen.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not fa This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Gospel Reading Mark 1:29-39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
L: This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Broken Things, Broken People
God uses broken things; for the world is full of brokenness; broken things and broken people. The Bible tells us; as do our Protestant Creeds; that without God, we are broken, not whole. We are born, sinful and it is only by the grace of God, the forgiveness of Jesus, that we are able to move away from brokenness. In today’s scripture, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is broken; that is, she is ill with a fever. Jesus heals her. And, she is able to go about her business; which was hospitality; serving Jesus and the Disciples. Jesus is the answer. In the healing of brokenness, people hear who Jesus is and what He has done. Later, He heals the brokenness of many, as the lame, the sickly, and those with demons were healed.
Last Sunday, it was difficult to hear how our brokenness, how people’s fear, greed and selfishness, allowed other people to be enslaved and mistreated for generations. But healing and wholeness cannot begin until we see what we have done or what we have left undone by the words and actions of our ancestors; and by our own words and actions. Today, as we acknowledge our brokenness, let us also remember what has happened to the Native Americans. In her book, Waking Up White, author, Debby Irving tells about her early experiences about Native Americans. She grew in a small town in the northeastern United States; a part of the country that takes pride in being among the first white colonists to come to this land. She shares her memories of a mural painted on the library walls. The mural showed “Three feathered and fringed Native Americans standing with four white colonial men on a lush green lakeshore.” The mural stirred her interest in Native Americans. With the help of her mother, she checked out books about their life. Irving writes this, (and I quote,) “Colorful illustrations of teepees clustered close together, horses being ridden bareback, and food being cooked over the campfire added to my romanticized imaginings of the Native American life. Children and grown-ups appeared to live in an intergenerational world in which boundaries between work and play blurred. Whittling, gardening, cooking over the fire, canoeing, and fishing – these were enough for me. I wanted to be an Indian. I collected little plastic Indian figures, teepees, and horses. For Halloween my mother made me an outfit as close to the one in the mural as she could. Eventually, my infatuation let to curiosity. If I had descended from colonists, there must be kids who’d descended from Indians, right? I wondered if there was a place I could go meet them, which is what led me to ask the simple question, “Whatever happened to all the Indians?”
“Oh, those poor Indians,” my mother said, sagging a little as she shook her head with something that looked like sadness. “They drank too much,” she answered. My heart sank. “They were lovely people,” she said, “who became dangerous when they drank liquor. They just couldn’t handle it, and it ruined them.” She went on to tell a tale in vivid detail about children hiding under a staircase, in pitch blackness, trying to escape the ravages of their local friendly Indian on a drunken rampage, ax in hand. They were all murdered.”
“Well, what happened to the Indian?” I asked. She paused, thinking. “You know, I don’t know,” my mother answered sincerely. We both went silent. I don’t question that she believed it. She told me a version of a story as she had heard it from someone else, who also likely believed it (end of quote).”
I imagine most of us had a similar education about Native Americans and the white colonists. Perhaps since then, we’ve heard or learned more, but, it’s gruesome and long ago, so why now, Pastor Melody? Why now? Because we hear Christ and we know we are to make amends; to help heal the pain and injustice that our ancestors caused and we have continued. Hearing and telling the one-sided history puts all the blame on Native Americans. It’s almost if we are saying, “they got what they deserved.” Yet, we know, no one deserves being deceived, exposure to fatal diseases, and being over-powered by guns and warfare.
I bring this up today because, as Presbyterians, we are following the lead of our denomination, and the guidance of the 223rd General Assembly. (REMEMBRANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN THIS PLACE PRESBYTERY OF EAST IOWA, 2021) The denomination and our Presbytery are encouraging us to look at the wrong messages we received in the past and to embrace the truth, so that we will see and treat our Native American brothers and sisters like family, instead of like the neighbor’s pet! The Presbytery read this statement before our meeting on January 23: We recognize that we were not the first inhabitants of this place, and we honor the native peoples upon whose land we live today, even as we confess how our predecessors injured and destroyed the basic humanity of these peoples through deceitful treaties, forced re-settlement, hardship and poverty. We remember: The Meskwaki, the People of the Red Earth, a part of the peoples of the Eastern Woodland Culture, who suffered damaging wars with French and English peoples; people who were engaged in exploration and settlement on this land in the early 1700’s. As Euro-American settlement continued in the United States during the 1800’s, the Meskwaki were compelled to migrate south and west into the Iowa tall grass prairies. We remember also: The Sauk people of the Eastern Woodlands culture group in the Ojibwe (O-jib-wee) tribe. Closely allied with the Meskwaki people, the Sauk people resisted French encroachment into their settlements in the Quad Cities area. After a devastating battle in 1730, in Illinois, in which hundreds of warriors were killed and many women and children taken captive by French allies, Meskwaki refugees took shelter with the Sauk, led by Chiefs Keokuk and Black Hawk. At first Keokuk accepted the loss of land as inevitable in the face of the vast numbers of white soldiers and settlers coming west. He tried to negotiate with agents of the federal government to preserve tribal land and his people, and to keep the peace. Having failed to receive promised supplies from the Americans on credit, Black Hawk wanted to fight, saying his people were "forced into war by being deceived".[4] Led by Black Hawk in 1832, the mainly Sac band resisted the continued loss of lands (in western Illinois, and Eastern Iowa.) Their warfare with United States military forces resulted in defeat in the Black Hawk War. In 1841 and 1842, federal agents compelled the native American leaders to sign treaties untranslated from the English legal style in which they were written. These treaties did not promise co-habitation of the lands as orally stated by these agents, but rather stated that ‘the white citizens of the Territory have a right to expect that their community growth will not long be stopped by people, whose wild and savage character render them dangerous neighbors.’ The two tribes were bureaucratically merged and renamed, becoming the Sac and Fox Nation in U.S. government documents. And this large group were compelled to re-settle in Kansas and Nebraska, where smallpox outbreaks further decimated their population. The peoples were ultimately settled in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. Only a small remnant of the Meskawki people was permitted to buy land offered near Tama, Iowa. In 1851 the Iowa state legislature passed an unusual act to allow the Meskawki to buy land and stay in Iowa with the restriction that they stay on this reserved settlement. May we remember by this example, that we should strive to live in peace with one another, recognizing the full humanity of the Other and the indwelling face of God in each person.
This document from the PCUSA, gives us a fuller picture of what happened to the Native Americans. In Waking Up White, Irving writes, “The stereotypes we learned were incomplete. It’s true that alcohol was a factor in the waning of native people. But we are rarely told that it was the white colonists, who purposefully introduced alcohol to Native Americans, using it to weaken, subdue, and coerce them into signing over land and rights. We forget how disease brought by our ancestors infected and killed Indian men, women, and children, in some cases killing 90% of the Native Americans.” This declaration by the PCUSA does not tell us about the “dehumanizing federal programs designed by white men to civilize Indians, separating them from one another and stripping them of the languages, customs, beliefs, and human bonds that had held them together for centuries (Waking Up White).”
“This understanding,” says Iving, “doesn’t help us understand what it might have felt like, for people as attached to their families and homes as we are to ours, to be torn from theirs. We haven’t been asked to imagine what it might be like to lose nine out of ten of our closest friends and family. We might not know that today native people use words like invaders and terrorists and genocide to describe the Pilgrims and their actions.”
Irving writes, “That her mother’s own upbringing had left her lacking the necessary knowledge and life skills to make connections to the present-day world through historical truths and critical analysis.” She continues, “Neither my mother nor I understood that moment as one of many in which she was racializing me. Without ever once mentioning the words “race” or “skin color,” my mother passed along to me the belief that the white people and Native Americans had natural human differences. Without meaning to, my mother gravely misled me. She didn’t do it because she was evil or stupid or had upholding racism on her mind. My mother was warm, compassionate, and bright. She told me the versions of events as she knew them, errors and omissions included. Over the course of my childhood the media confirmed my idea of Indians as “savage” and “dangerous.” I came to see them as drunks who grunted, whooped, yelled, and painted their faces to scare and scalp white people. This understanding further contributed to the idea of white people as the superior race. My mother’s story tells me that Indians were somehow “other,” like a whole separate and inferior species. Indians were drunks, so white folks must not be. Indians were dangerous, so white people must be safe. Indians lacked self-control, so white people must really have their act together. Indians weren’t good enough or tough enough to survive, but white people sure were, even when they drank liquor. Like drops of water into a sponge, moments like these saturated me with the belief that I was of a superior race and wholly disconnected from other races – except as a potential victim.
On top of all of this is another critical point. Nothing we learned encouraged us to dig deeper, to find indigenous people and ask how they told their own history. As a result, I came to view history as something set in stone, printed in books, painted in pictures, and taught by teachers who delivered facts. I took it all at face value, constructing for myself a one-dimensional world in which people were right or wrong, good, or bad, like me or not.” (Waking Up White. Debby Irving. page 3-6).
I know this seems like a long time ago and like something that we don’t need to be thinking about. But, the way we learned the one-sided version of history, has brought us to the place we are today: one of racial division; one of systemic racism. As we have opportunity to hear and confess our past mistakes, our brokenness, we have the opportunity, right and responsibility to teach history from all voices, so that all people are respected and included as equal to one another. Jesus did NOT avoid Simon Peter’s mother-in-law because she was female or because she was sick. Jesus went to her, and, cared for her. Likewise Jesus was fully present to all who came to the door to be healed. The Good News is that God in Jesus came to us in our brokenness. God uses brokenness to make beautiful things. Paul says as much in II Corinthians 12, where he writes, “Three times I asked the Lord to take away the thorn in my flesh. But each time God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul declares, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Yes! God uses brokenness. It takes broken soil to produce a crop; broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. In a little while we will celebrate Holy Communion, where we take bread and juice, reminders of Christ’s broken body; He was broken for us. Now, in Christ we are made whole, so that we may go forward, sharing the full history of our land, the full history of our country and the full love of Christ. Because Christ Jesus has shown us how to be inclusive; how to make amends, how to offer the hand of fellowship. And, because, we are human; we will be broken again. Then, again, God will make something beautiful, from our brokenness. Again and again, in Christ, we will be healed, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is My Father’s World CCLI 11259100
1 This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--
His hand the wonders wrought.
2 This is my Father's world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.
3 This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!
Offering
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication:
Precious Jesus, may these gifts of money and ministry be like wings to the exhausted and strength to the powerless. May these gifts bind up the broken-hearted,
and welcome the outcast. And may our offerings of time, talent, and treasure sing your praises and be a cause of delight throughout your marvelous world. Amen.
Break Thou the Bread of Life CCLI 11259100
1 Break Thou the bread of life,
Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee,
O living Word!
2 Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord,
Now unto me,
As Thou didst bless the bread
By Galilee;
Then shall all bondage cease,
All fetters fall;
And I shall find my peace,
My all in all!
Holy Communion
Introduction: Friends, this is the joyful feast of God. Christ Jesus, the light of the world has gathered his people to commune at this table. From the brokenness of addiction and oppression, trapped in lives of loneliness, struggling with poor health, buried in debt, living under a cloud of grief, we come to share a meal. Called from dark, dank caves, from shacks with no electricity, from homeless shelters, from jail cells, from hospital beds, from refugee camps, we leave our dark place and come to Jesus, our hope and our light. Broken, we come to share a meal, remembering and celebrating Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come, come out of the darkness.
Great Thanksgiving: The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is a right, good, and joyful thing always and everywhere to give you our thanks, O God; for you created all that is and all that ever shall be. On the first day of creation, you said, “Let there be light,” and there was light; and you called the light good. From mountaintops to the deepest valleys, in daylight and in the darkest shadows, you call us to be your people. And so, with all your people on earth and the great cloud of witnesses in heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy One, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one
who comes in your holy name.
Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you, O God, and holy is your child, Jesus Christ.
On the night before his death, among his friends, Jesus took bread; after giving thanks, he blessed it & broke it. He gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take, eat. This is my body, broken and given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took a cup & passed it among his friends, saying: “This is the cup of the new covenant, sealed in my blood. Whenever you eat this bread or drink this cup, do this in remembrance of me.”
And so, in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Pray with me: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and juice. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may become one with Christ, who lived and died and rose to eternal life, an eternal blessing for the world. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until we feast together, at the heavenly banquet, in your eternal realm. Light of light, True God of true God, Spirit of holiness, we praise you now, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen.
Holy One, Light of light, God of all creation, long ago you showed yourself in a in creation, in the rainbow and in pillar of fire. Shine in us, around us, and through us, that the world may see your glory in the faces of your people – lives changed in the light of your love. Bless these gifts, this meal of communion to strength us for your glorious work, bringing healing to our broken world. Amen.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness CCLI 11259100
1 Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever will be.
Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! (Refrain)
The Prayers of the People
We pray for these, our family and friends,
Thank you God, for this day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. We love you God. Help people who are hungry; people who don’t have a home and people who are sick. Thank you for the people who work to make our country, our state and our town a better place. Thank you for our neighbors, our teachers and the schools. Thank you for the rain, snow and sun. Thank you for clean, clear water, this earth and our clean air. Help us to take care of these gifts. We pray for people who are alone and people who are lonely. Help us to be helpful and friendly. Thank you for our church. We thank you for our families and friends, and these whom we now pray for:
Hear us now as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth, as in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others.
Lead us not into temptation, but, deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, the glory, forever. Amen
How Great Thou Art CCLI 11259100
1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze: [Refrain]
3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin: [Refrain]
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
and there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!" [Refrain]
Charge
Let us go in our brokenness, out into the world, knowing that through Jesus our Lord and Savior, all things are made new. In Christ, we can do all things; we can serve others, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ,
Benediction
Now may the love of God, the peace of Christ and the community of the Holy Spirit be with you, with your family and with all of God’s family. Amen
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