Exaudi - The Sunday after Ascension - Mothers Day

Have a blessed Mothers Day.

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The Hymn #221           Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices              

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Hear (Exaudi), O Lord, when I cry with my voice: Hallelujah!

When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face, 

my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek: 

Hide not Thy face from me. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Psalm. The Lord is my Light and my Salvation: 

whom shall I fear?

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Almighty, everlasting God, make us to have always a devout will toward Thee and 

to serve Thy Majesty with a pure heart; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, 

who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. God reigneth over the heathen: 

God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness. Hallelujah!

V. I will not leave you comfortless: 

I go, and I will come again to you, and your heart shall rejoice. 

Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657            Beautiful Savior

            

The Communion Hymn #314         Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray - 

Henry Eyster Jacobs

The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #370           My Hope Is Built

In Our Prayers

• Randy Anderson is at home; Sarah Buck; Dr. Lito Cruz, his wife and son; Pastor Jim Shrader and his wife Chris; Lori Howell; Kermit; those with stress and metabolic disorders.
• We have ordered 15 Bibles for Bible John, 5 Super Giant Print, 10 Giant Print for prison ministries. All KJV.
• The Letha cul-de-sac was festooned with roses for Mothers Day.

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:  27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.  2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.  3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.  4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Proverbs 31

10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Let Her Own Works Praise Her in the Gates

This is an easy passage to discuss, especially since I have so many years and experiences. But first, I have to confess that I should have praised my mother as much as my fellow students still do. She is praised for being a favorite teacher at Garfield and Coolidge. Looking back in time, I can remember the time I was interviewed for entering kindergarten with her taking part. Apparently I passed. We were in the same building, Garfield Elementary in Moline, which is now broken up into condo units. When I went on, to John Deere Junior High and then Coolidge, I realized she was connected to all the teachers, also true of Moline High. 

I liked the idea of going to Augustana College, within walking distance. Those instructors also knew my mother, who took 10 years to finish college at Augie, teaching one room country schools during that time. She knew the college faculty and they knew me. The first day of English class I met my future wife, Christina, and decided to ask her out and maybe marry me.

My mother had four of us, managed the household, cooked, taught my sister domestic skills, and watched over all our activities. I was also drafted to do household chores, cut the grass, and rake leaves. We went to church every Sunday and went to Sunday School, where my mother also taught. She participated in many school, church, and community activities.

There was nothing else to do on Sunday, because all stores were closed, except the drugstore, which closed at noon on Sunday. Theaters were not open. The only restaurant was closed. Sports were for Friday and Saturday. We watched TV on Sunday and went to bed. 

My mother and father grew up on the family farm, but FDR took care of that. They entered adulthood in their 20s and only knew work, no longer on the farm. They did what they needed to support themselves. 

My mother's family farm waited to get electricity, which was a big deal. I urged her to get a computer, but she said, "I am waiting for the prices to go down." And she did, using an old DOS computer and typing to all her friends and former students. She loved editing with the keyboard instead of erasers. She posted letters all the time, when she lived at our house in Phoenix.

The post-WWII Baby Boomers had the advantage of parents who were trained at home and at church, respecting our Constitutional Republic and the Christian Church. That is no longer true, and I blame the long march of radicalism in the school system and in the denominations. If anyone thinks ELCA is bad, the Waltherian Four are close behind ELCA and working with them using their agenda. That agenda relishes the same categories. Corporations are going along with DEI, pushing other radical trends.

Since the basics of the family have been under attack for the last 50 years or more, it is essential for Christian believers to provide a shelter from the propaganda. The True Vine parable is a good example of that quiet but aggressive media storm. Jesus is the True Vine and the Father is the Gardener, John 15. This is a parable we should know quite well. I spent most of the time yesterday and today, gardening by pruning roses and watering them with rainwater. The spent blooms and deadwood are pruned away - that is primary because flowering energizes the plant. Rainwater has a perfect fertilizer (imagine that!), and pruning wakes up root and stem growth, as well as the buds that grow the flower and the hips (Vitamin C, good for tea). 

KJV John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

This by itself is a perfect description of the Christian life. As long as we stay with Christ, believe in Him, we have access to God's grace (Romans 5:1-2 for synodicals).

The Gospel does not eliminate tribulations, but glorifies in them through faith in the Savior. Faith = righteousness, so the cross must always appear. It is through Justification by Faith that we are purged of our sins and bear fruit. Lacking faith, removing ourselves from the True Vine, means we cannot be fruitful and eventually become deadwood.

The gardener spends a lot of time cutting away the deadwood, because a vine or rosebush will eventually be choked by laziness. As I said more than once, my sister-in-law wanted me to fix her non-blooming roses. I sent the shoppers away and used pruning shears to cut away a large part of the bushes. She burst into tears when she saw the pruned bushes. I reminded her that roses are not a desert plant - they need water too. "Give them water every so often and wait two weeks." The phone rang two weeks later and she cried, "The bushes are packed with blooms!" Much later she trimmed away all the blooms, two weeks ahead of graduation. My brother (the grandson of a gardener, just as I am) said, "What are you doing? Graduation is near!") Two weeks later, the bushes were packed with blooms.

There is not much difference between basic truth and the Scriptures. The essential point is that Jesus teaches us so we can understand it in the simplest way. Mothers suffer in many ways in raising their children. Often it is unknown or treated lightly. Thanking mothers is fruitful, because they bear many burdens. Trials can be from illness or from emotional burdens. Women are often the ones who care the most about others, so they should also be thanked often with many pleasant surprises.

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