Palm Sunday/Moana Sunday
Welcome and Introductions
Good morning, friends and members of Jesus Christ! It’s in Jesus’ Name that we gather today, trusting in Jesus’ promise that “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the middle.” On behalf of the members of the First Church of Squantum, a hearty welcome to another of our COVID worship services. I have heard from a number of you how much you are enjoying being able to watch wherever you are—some are watching in their PJs over a cup of coffee, others are watching on their back deck, and still others are enjoying being snuggled up with a loved one or pet. Good for you! These are indeed crazy times, but worship is not about how our times are going, but about the beauty, power and steadfast love of God, about expressing our gratitude to the One who continues to be faithful even in our crazy times. So let us worship God!
Opening Prayer
You have called us together, Lord, called us into virtual community that by Your grace can be more. We ask that You would enter into this time with us, that we might experience for ourselves how much and how deeply we are loved. As we remember Palm Sunday today, may we be reminded of how You long to ride through the gates of our hearts. Hear us then, as we pray together the prayer that Jesus still teaches disciples to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And leave us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Song Moana — How Far I’ll Go
Stewardship Reminder Thanks to those who are continuing to give. Encourage you to take a moment to sign onto our church’s website and use the donate button.
Scripture Luke 5:1–11
Prayer Song Create in Me a Clean Heart
Devotion Becoming the Call We Receive
When you were a kid, was there someone whose phone call you didn’t want to take? I had a friend, who loved to talk, and if he called, I pretended I wasn’t home, because I knew if I got started with him, I wouldn’t ever get off the phone. Once I was mad at my high school girlfriend, and I made my parents answer the phone for me, saying I wasn’t able to come to the phone right now. In the movie, Moana, it’s the ocean calling her to adventure, tenderly teasing her with shells, persistently giving her clues and help on her journey. In our passage for today, Jesus is calling, and he has some odd instructions for Peter, James and John. What’s Jesus call like? Why does Jesus give odd instructions?
Jesus’ call to the disciples starts with something easy. Jesus climbs into Peter’s boat and asks Peter to take him out a little ways, so Jesus could teach from the boat. It’s a pretty smart idea. Have you noticed how far sound carries over water? Jesus uses that idea as a way of miking his voice so people could hear him better. I think Jesus often calls us with something easy—to help someone who needs it, to stand up for a little guy, to remind someone of a neighbor’s or friend’s need. As some of you know, when I finished college I worked a year as a chemist in Southern California. One of the coolest parts was going to the Tustin Presbyterian Church with a couple of my older cousins, George and Maxine. They asked if I wanted to join the choir, and I love to sing, so I said sure. That choir became a lifeline to God’s love for me. Jesus does the same thing with Peter, using things like boating and fishing to draw him in. How is Jesus drawing you in through something you know well or love to do?
But Jesus’ call moves onto something much crazier. Jesus tells Simon Peter to “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Yep it’s crazier—Jesus the carpenter telling Simon the fisherman what to do. Peter says, “We’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.” The thing fishermen do at the end of the day is wash their gear so it’s ready for the next time, and since that’s what Peter was doing, he and his buddies were hanging it up till next time. But something about Jesus called to Peter. Something about who Jesus was or how Jesus said this, changed Peter’s mind. He says, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” There comes a time when Jesus calls us to do something more intense, something out of the normal, calls us to go to someone we don’t really want to see or help someone we don’t really want to help. It’s when we, like Peter, say, “Because you say so, Jesus, I will do it” that’s when we may the really big catches, the ones that change our lives and the lives of others.
Sometimes we receive that catch with joy, but sometimes it comes with “Oh my gosh! What am I doing? How can it be?” Peter falls on his knees and tells Jesus how unworthy he is. Maybe you have had that sense too. Why should Jesus love me? Why should Jesus want me? But He does! We don’t have a choice about whether or not we are loved—that’s God’s choice! The question for us is how we will respond to the gift, to the call, to the catch? When you were a kid or a teen, was there someone who when they called, you would drop everything to talk with them? If they said, “Let’s go!” you would leave everything to go and spend time with them? Today, as Jesus is calling, may your heart leap inside of you. Whether it’s easy or a crazy, if it’s Jesus calling, may our response be, “But because you say so, Jesus, I will do it.” Like Moana who discovers she has become the hero she was called to find, may we too become the call we have received from the Jesus we are learning to serve.
Pastoral Prayer
Song Days of Elijah
Benediction
We gathered in hope today, and now we head into the rest of our lives. We trust that You will go with us, Jesus, and that Your guidance and strength will come when we most need it. May others see Your grace shining through us, and know the power of the new life we are finding in You. Amen.