The word tenebrae means “darkness” and refers to a worship service in which the progressive extinguishing of candles represents the approaching death of Christ. The Tenebrae service is one of prolonged meditation of the suffering of Christ. The service is divided into seven chief parts. At the end of each part the sanctuary will become darker. At the end of the service, the church will be very dark. No offering will be taken during the service. As you leave in silence you may place your offering in the basket in the back of the church.

Imagine you need heart bypass surgery. When meeting with the surgeon, you ask, “How many of these have you done?” He responds, “You get the honor of being my very first patient!” You probably feel more anxious than honored. With important jobs, we understand it is crucial that the person doing that job is well-qualified.

There is no more important job than sharing the good news of salvation with others. So, you would expect Jesus would only give that job to those most qualified, like the angels. Nope. The least qualified are the first sent. In love, Jesus prepares and equips us to speak on his behalf. How? He draws unworthy sinners into his presence to provide us with the free gift of holiness that we lack. Once cleansed, we jump at the opportunity to be the ones through whom God does the same for others. Here is this week’s epiphany moment. Let this be a crucial epiphany moment! You might think you are unqualified to share the gospel with those Christ brings into your sphere of influence. But the least qualified are the first sent.

Shortly before He ascended, Jesus told His followers they were to engage in meaningful ministry—to work their way through the world, sharing the good news of salvation. Our loving Lord knew that was a big and often intimidating task. So, His next words were a promise. “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). God’s people still need to hear that promise.

For several weeks we have been discussing the reality that the Lord of the Church has called all believers to meaningful ministry. Ministry will come with challenges. It can cause fears to arise: the fear of rejection, the fear of inadequacy, the fear of persecution. So, listen again to your Savior. “I am with you always.” We conclude our series on meaningful ministry empowered by that gracious promise.

Jesus told his disciples that, though he was going to ascend into heaven, he wasn’t going to leave them alone. He was going to send “the Advocate,” a title for the Holy Spirit. But Jesus wasn’t sending the Spirit just to keep us company. Jesus would have the Advocate give us spiritual power so that we might participate in Christ’s saving work. Here is the final resurrection reality. The Spirit gives us the ability to raise the spiritually dead to life.

We see this happen on Pentecost. The festival of Pentecost was held fifty days after the Passover. (Pentecost is Greek for “fifty.”) It was a time to thank God for the harvest. But on that day, through the Church at work, the Holy Spirit gathered another harvest, a harvest of souls. Therefore, Pentecost is the third great festival of the Church, along with the Nativity and the Resurrection. With the Festival of Pentecost, the festival half of the Church Year comes to a close.

Scripture frequently pictures spiritual care in terms of a shepherd watching over sheep. Even folks unfamiliar with shepherding are able to grasp the meaning. Sheep are helpless animals—an easy meal for predators. For sheep to survive they need a shepherd who not only leads them to sources of food, but who also is willing to tangle with a pack of wolves. Jesus is such a shepherd. He proved He is willing to lay down His life for His sheep.

Martin Luther once said, “Where God built a church, there the devil would also build a chapel.” Satan and the other demons hate God. They demonstrate hatred by hurting those that God loves in any way they can. The epiphany Christ wants us to have is this: demons are real, they are plenteous, and they are dangerous. But Christ would also have us see that He is continually undoing the devil’s work. More, through his Word, Christ Jesus gives us the power to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith.

Welcome to worship today at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church.  We exist to glorify God.  We… read more