SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION

Speaker 1 – Worship Leader / Liturgist: Leads the Ascension Sunday greeting, announcements, call to confession, assurance of forgiveness, and congregational prayer. The transcript does not identify this speaker by name.

Speaker 2 – Children’s Message Leader: Leads the children’s message about King Charles, King Jesus, Ascension, and Communion. The transcript does not identify this speaker by name.

Speaker 3 – Congregation / Responsive Words: Heard in responsive liturgy and congregational responses. Some response wording is indistinct in the transcript.

Speaker 4 – Preacher / Scripture Reader: Reads John 2:1–12 and delivers the sermon titled “The Frivolous Miracle.” The sermon later contains the phrase, “It’s a nice story, Peter,” which may identify the preacher as Peter, but a full published name is not supplied in the transcript.

Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist / Benediction Leader: Leads the Great Thanksgiving, Words of Institution, distribution words, and final blessing. This may be the preacher, but the transcript alone does not confirm that.

Speaker 6 – Congregation / Musicians: Responsible for opening and Communion music. The automated transcript is too corrupted to publish reliable lyrics.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Musical portions whose lyrics could not be reliably recovered from the automated transcript are marked as music requiring verification rather than recreated.

[Speaker 6 – Congregation / Musicians]: [Opening worship music — automated transcription is extensively garbled; lyrics require verification from audio or the worship bulletin.]

[Speaker 1 – Worship Leader / Liturgist]: The God of heaven and earth, the risen and ascended Lord Jesus, enthroned in heaven with the earth as his footstool, gathers and greets us in his name this morning, saying to us: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty and present work of God's Holy Spirit. Amen.

Welcome to LaGrave Church on this Ascension Sunday. It is a gift to be in each other's company and in the presence of God as we celebrate and remember that our Lord was raised from the dead. I forgot to ask you to say it; let's try again. Christ is risen!

[Speaker 3 – Congregation / Responsive Words]: He is risen indeed! Amen.

[Speaker 1 – Worship Leader / Liturgist]: That is what we are celebrating, so we cannot forget to say it: our risen and ascended Lord is seated at God's right hand. He has brought us into this place and gives us opportunity to fellowship with one another, to be strengthened by each other's company, to turn our lives and hearts toward him, and to acknowledge his reign today with great joy.

Today is LaGrave's final 10 o'clock hour until the fall. There is opportunity for fellowship, food, and classroom learning today. Everyone is welcome following this service to go down the hall through the narthex, to the right, into the multipurpose room for a Dutch treat and coffee and conversation. Check the bulletin on page seven for other opportunities during the 10 o'clock hour.

Next week, at 10 o'clock, we will be here in worship. One morning service begins next weekend, Memorial Day weekend. If you have been with us in the summer before, you know that parking can be a little challenging. Trinity Health is again opening its lot south of Cherry, between Jefferson and LaGrave. Starting next week, enter that lot on the LaGrave side; last summer it was Jefferson, and this summer it is the LaGrave side. There will be gates open, so we hope to see many of you back throughout the summer at 10 o'clock.

Our call to confession this morning is the psalmist's answer to the question of who may dwell near God. Listen to these words: Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, who casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

This is a high call, so let us go before our Lord, saying together with one voice:

[Speaker 3 – Congregation / Responsive Words]: Most holy God, with your people across time, we fall short of your glory. We forget your goodness and fail to take off our shoes, awed in your presence. We do not respond to your blazing beauty with trust and obedience. We do what we should not, and do not do what we should. Forgive us. Bring us peace through the blood of Jesus, who lived a perfectly holy life on our behalf. In his name we pray. Amen.

[Speaker 1 – Worship Leader / Liturgist]: Friends, remember: at one time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

[Speaker 3 – Congregation / Responsive Words]: Thanks be to God.

[Music / congregational singing — words not reliably recoverable from source transcript.]

[Speaker 2 – Children’s Message Leader]: All right, children, it’s time for the children’s message. Come on forward, come on forward, and we'll have some time to talk together. Oh, no, oh dear. All right, a few more folks. Okay, hello, hello, hello.

So you know that in our country, we live in the United States, right? You knew that. We do not have a king in this country, right? You know that, we don't have a king. But other countries do have kings. England, for example, has a king. And his name is Charles, King Charles, okay? And he has a palace, and he has a throne, he has a crown, he doesn't wear his crown all the time, but he has one. And so he's a king. And in fact, King Charles came to visit the United States just about a month ago [claim preserved as spoken]. And when a king comes to visit a place, what happens? Well, people do nice things for him, right? When he comes to your town, you show him things, and you have a nice dinner, and the king comes to eat, and you eat a fancy meal, right? That's the kind of thing that happens when a king comes to town. Now, I wonder, what would happen if when King Charles is here, he showed up at your house and wanted to eat at your house? Whoa, that would be something pretty impressive, wouldn't it? If the king came and wanted to eat at your house, you probably wouldn't serve him hot dogs and potato chips, right? Oh no, no, mom would probably put on something really nice for dinner. Don't you think if the king came to eat at your house? And she probably put a tablecloth and put it out the nice dishes, right? Don't you think that's what you do? The king comes to your house? It would be pretty important.

Well, you know what? We're going to eat with a king today. Yeah, we're going to eat with King Jesus today. At the communion table, that's what happens every time we have communion. Some of you look surprised, but that is what happens. Jesus is our king. 40 days after he rose from the dead, right, you know that God took him up to heaven. He ascended into heaven, he is seated in heaven; he is on a throne; he is King of everything. And whenever we have communion, it's like King Jesus takes us up to be with him. And we sit at the table with him and he feeds us his food and he tells us that he loves us. And he says, you know, don't worry about things because I am a King, and I am on your side. And someday you're going to come and sit at my table and eat with me forever. That's what happens at the table of the king. It's pretty great. And that's why we're excited and hoping that someday you too will get to sit at the table of the King. [One preceding phrase is unclear in the automated transcript.]

[Speaker 2 – Children’s Message Leader]: Congregation, what is our prayer for these children?

[Speaker 3 – Congregation / Responsive Words]: The Lord be with you. [response wording requires verification]

[Speaker 2 – Children’s Message Leader]: And also with you. Go in peace.

[Speaker 1 – Worship Leader / Prayer Leader]: A couple of congregational updates to let you know about before we go to prayer. One is that Barb Voskel [spelling requires verification] is currently in the hospital after having a pacemaker placed, so we'll pray for her. We will also pray for Bev and Pete Clover. They are grieving Bev's brother, Kenda Ryder [spelling requires verification], who died on May 6th.

Let's pray together. Jesus, you are our king. And so we join our hearts all around the world with your people. People all across history, from the distant past to the great distant future. We join our hearts even between heaven and earth. And together we cry, holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are filled with your glory. King Jesus, you are worthy, deserving of all the love we can give. As you reign over history and nations and rulers and institutions. As you reign over buds and blossoms and creation’s power. As you reign over our neighborhoods and churches and friendships and families and individual lives. We turn our lives toward you because, King Jesus, you have brought our humanity into the holy presence of God. And you are able to do more than all we ask or imagine. In your light and life and joy and delight, we really live too. So we come into your presence and ask you to open our eyes to reshape our hearts and minds to animate our imaginations. To teach our eyes to see what you see. To teach our hearts to be moved where your heart is moved. Help us as we try to act faithfully as your representatives on this earth. Especially when it's hard. Especially when it costs us something. Help us to be kind and strong and faithful as we point toward you as our Lord.

Strengthen, Lord, those who bear your name in difficult places here and abroad. We pray for your blessing on Chris and Becca Hurt [spelling requires verification] and their family. We're thankful for Chris's relative health and we pray for them as they anticipate closing a chapter on their ministry in Thailand. We say thank you for our youngest siblings in this church this week. William and Scotland [spelling requires verification], baptized last weekend. Grace them and their families with your joy. Bless Alden Walters and his family as they celebrate a milestone birthday for him this month and fill them with your joy.

We lift to you those who are in the first shock of grief this week. The DeWinter and Bidler families [spellings require verification], the Patterson family and the friends of Hattie and the Clover family. Sustain them and us as we say goodbye for now to people who are dear to us. Give peace and strength to those among us who are looking ahead to surgeries and procedures this week. For Steve Gibson, Joy Winkle and Jack Finn’s [surname/wording requires verification]. Bring health and strength ahead of surgery and thereafter. Strengthen Barb Voskel [spelling requires verification] as she recovers. Lord, you know each of these people inside and out so grant them straightforward procedures and uncomplicated recoveries. We pray today for pain relief, for Ray Pader [spelling requires verification] and for his family as they seek to support him well. Bring peace and strength to Lori and Dave VanderArk [spelling requires verification] too and help them to know your nearness. Lord, we raise our prayers and our praises expectantly. Thankful for your invitation to approach, for mercy, for grace, for strength in all the things we face. Thank you for being our reigning King and also for being with us always. Amen.

[Musical transition / congregational response — lyrics not reliably recoverable from source transcript.]

[Speaker 4 – Preacher / Scripture Reader]: John 2:1–12. As Kristi said, this is the last Sunday of two services. For that service we always celebrate communion together. We come to the Lord's table. So in this sermon we'll be thinking a little bit about the meaning of the Lord's Supper, the meaning of communion.

This is Jesus' first miracle in the Gospel of John. Listen.

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. And Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, they have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, my hour is not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Well, nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so. And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings out the choice wine first, and then gives the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best till now. What Jesus did here in Cana in Galilee was the first of his signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him. And after this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. This is the word of the Lord.

[Speaker 4 – Preacher]: I already said that this is the first miracle in the Gospel of John, and the reading itself makes that clear.

I would also like to say that for me, and I may be for you too, I've always felt like this miracle was different from every other miracle in the gospel of John. From the time I was young and from the time I first heard it, I always thought that this miracle was not like any of the other miracles in the gospel of John, or any of the other miracles that Jesus does.

What is different about it? Why do I have that sense, and maybe you do too? It just doesn't seem like it has the same weight as the others. It doesn't seem like it's addressing the same kind of serious matter that Jesus' other miracles address. All of Jesus’ other miracles seem to me to come into contact with deep human misery and deep human suffering and real crisis and real trouble. A paralyzed man is unable to walk, his friends bring him to Jesus, he's suffering, it makes him powerless [wording requires verification]. Jesus says, take up your bed and walk, and the man walks. I mean, that is a weighty change. The Father comes to Jesus and says, my son is possessed by an evil spirit. He keeps throwing himself on the ground. I don't know what to do with the boy. Jesus, please help me. Jesus casts the evil spirit out of the man, and his life is completely changed. That's weighty. Later in John Jesus will be standing at the graveside of his dear friend Lazarus, who is dead, and everyone around him is distraught. He's facing death, and he says, Lazarus come out, and Lazarus comes out of the tomb. Jesus conquers death in that moment. He faces death itself. That's clearly very weighty. In every other miracle, Jesus is going against something deep. But now honestly, how serious is the problem in our passage? They ran out of wine at a wedding. I mean, it's not great. We are planning the third of our family weddings. Well, actually my wife is doing way more planning than me, to be honest. We are planning the third of our family wedding coming up in November, right? And when you plan a wedding, those of you who've done this, right, you want everything to be perfect. You want everything to be right. You want the guests to come in and everything to just go. Without a hitch. And you certainly don't want to run out of food, and you don't want to run out of wine. So running out of wine is not great. But honestly, right? I mean, it's not like they haven't had any wine. I'm sure there was lots of wine there to begin with. So everyone's had a chance to have a glass or two by this point. I'm guessing. And if the party comes to an end a little bit earlier than expected, is that so serious? I mean, they're still going to be married. Everyone had a little bit of a good time. No one's in danger here. This is not like blindness. This is certainly not like demon possession. I can't think of another miracle in the gospels like this. And all the other ones, it's something serious here. Jesus rescues a party. And it's the first one. It's the first one, right at the beginning. Jesus does this miracle that seems a little lighter. Why? I think there's a lovely answer at the bottom of that question. I think if we get to the bottom of that question and figure out why Jesus does this seemingly light miracle at the beginning, we'll hear something wonderful about the gospel and something wonderful about His promises to us. And to get at why I think Jesus starts with this miracle, we've got to think of the long sweep of John's writings in the Bible, right?

Okay, so for you Bible knowledge people here, what are the books that are a part of John's tradition? What are John's books in the Bible, right? Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and Revelation, right? Those are the ones in the Johannine tradition, as the scholars say. So John's the first book. It starts with the wedding. Jesus rescuing this wedding. What do we see at the end of the last book, Revelation? What do we see? Another wedding, right? You know this. Revelation 19, verses 5 through 9, the great wedding supper of the Lamb. If you don't know it, you should. It's an incredibly important scene in Christian understanding. And in that scene comes after the fight is over, evil has been conquered, all the tears have been washed away, everything has been made new, and there's a great feast. Jesus is there and He's the groom. We are there, the church, and we are like the bride. We're dressed in fine linen, linen, bright and clean, it says. And people eat and drink, and there's joy, and the angel says, blessed is everyone who's invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.

At the end of all things, there's this joyful picture of a great wedding feast, a joy that goes on and on and on and on. When you see that picture at the end, when you see the wedding at the end, you understand why Jesus might have started out His ministry by rescuing a wedding at the beginning. This wedding at the beginning is meant to be a foreshadowing of this wedding at the end. The joy of this wedding at the beginning, in this little corner of Cana in Galilee, is meant to be a foreshadowing, a foretaste of the everlasting joy that will be ours when all tears are dried and we will be with Jesus forever.

Why is it important for Jesus to start with this foreshadowing like this? Why does He feel the need to signal this glorious end? Well, because His disciples soon enough will be going down into the trenches with Him, right? They're going to be right beside Him when He does all those other miracles where Jesus really does face down deep evil and darkness and death and all those terrible things. They're going to be with Him on this journey into the trenches. In the very next story, Jesus is going to be in the temple, He's going to be turning over the tables, and the Pharisees will become antagonistic toward him [wording requires verification]. Already the conflict begins. So for the disciples, and this miracle is for the disciples, you see that in verse 11, for the disciples, this foretaste of the everlasting joy at the end is just what they need before they go down into that valley, before they go down into that sleepless place, before they face the darkness and the death. Jesus lifts them up and He gives them a picture of that everlasting joy that will be at the end. And I think that's why, because they see that picture, you have verse 11 where it says what Jesus did in Cana, it was the first of His signs, through which He revealed His glory and His disciples believed in Him. It is a foretaste of the end that the disciples needed. I call this sermon the frivolous miracle. There's nothing frivolous about this miracle. This miracle is serious; it is the serious business of heaven. Remember that phrase? That's C.S. Lewis's phrase. He says joy is the serious business of heaven. Yes, Jesus rescues a party, but the joy that He rescues in this place is a taste of the everlasting joy that will be ours in eternity. It is the center of God's purposes.

Can you see this morning that, as we come to this table, what Jesus does for the disciples at the beginning of his ministry is exactly what he does for us at the beginning of our week? This is the beginning of your week. Sunday is the first day of the week. You know that, right? Not Monday. Commerce and industry and productivity put us in a mindset. And when we think of what's the first day when you start your week, we always think Monday, right? Because that's when I start working, because work is the most important thing. No, not in the Christian tradition. Look at your calendar. Sunday is the first day of the week. It is the day we come to this place, and today, the day we come to this table. When we come to this table, it is our foretaste of Revelation 19 and the great wedding feast of the Lamb. When we come to this table, we are tasting a little bit of the everlasting joy that will be ours at the end of all things when we finally get home.

And we need that because tomorrow is Monday. And all of us will go down into the valley and you will face hard things. Some of you will have an appointment with your oncologist. And you will be trying to figure out what do I do about this malignancy that has invaded my body? What can I do to fight it? Some of you will be dealing with relationship stress in your family. Your family, which used to be so harmonious, is suddenly not. And you think about it all the time and you're trying to figure out how do I make it better? Some of you will go down into the valley of chronic pain. Pain that is so bad it's hard for you to feel anything like joy. Some of you will be spending time in a hospice facility sitting beside the bed of someone you love, someone you can't imagine being without. All of us will go down into some sort of valley. But before we go down there we come here and we remind ourselves, or rather Jesus reminds us, that those things do not define us. We belong to Jesus. We are children of the ascended king and at this place he does not just tell us that our end is with him. He literally transports us to that place. He lifts up our hearts. And he brings us to the place where we join the saints and the angels and we taste a little bit of the everlasting joy that will be ours in the end. It's what we all need every day to keep us hopeful and joyful in the face of all our things. That is how communion is always functioned in the life of God's people. This taste at the beginning to remind us of our end.

Earlier this week I was doing some reading and I came across a story of Francis Xavier [surname unclear; verification required]. I don't know if any of you have heard of Francis Xavier [surname unclear; verification required]. I'll tell you about him. He was the last archbishop of the Catholic Church in South Vietnam. So he was the highest positioned official in the Catholic Church from the late 60s to 1975 when South Vietnam fell in the Vietnam War. Well as soon as the South fell in that war, Francis Xavier [surname unclear] was arrested and thrown in prison, put in their re-education camp, right? Where they educate you in the way of communism and you're supposed to leave your faith behind. He was there 13 years. Nine of those years he was in solitary confinement. Nine straight years in solitary confinement and then four years he was with others. How do you survive nine years in solitary confinement in a re-education camp? I'll tell you how. I'll tell you what sustained Francis Xavier [surname unclear]: Communion. He had communion every day. How did he do that? Well he wrote to his friends who he could still communicate with. He needed his weekly medicine. And so what his friends did is they found a cough syrup bottle and they poured communion wine in the cough syrup bottle. And they would send it to his place with medicine for his stomach. So he'd have this communion wine. And then he squirreled away some of the bread that he was given, just little crumbs of it. And then every single day at 3 p.m., which is the time of Jesus' death, right? He put a couple of crumbs in his palm, a few drops of the communion wine, and then his hand would be his chalice. And he'd partake. And when he did, he was lifted out of the confines of his solitary confinement. He was no longer solitary. He was with the saints and the angels. He was at the wedding supper of the Lamb. His camp was designed to break the spirit of prisoners, right? Designed to get them to leave their faith. But when you're every day at the table of the king, even darkness like that is not enough to tear you away. That's a great story. And you think, oh, it's a nice story, Peter, but that's so far from the conditions of my life and what I experience. No, you are wrong. This same miracle happens every week to LaGrave people. In his visits, Chad, our pastor of visitation, goes and visits shut-ins, right? That's our old term, shut-ins. So a lot of what Chad does is he goes to visit people who can no longer make it to church for various reasons. They're not in a prison camp, but I think we all agree that when you reach that stage of life, the walls of your world close in. A little bit, right? Get small. A lot of what Chad does is he gives them communion. They celebrate communion in that place, bread and wine, and when he does, it's as though the walls of their small room fall, like the ceiling is rolled back like a scroll, and they are lifted up. They're no longer alone in their rooms. They're with the saints and the angels at the wedding supper of the Lamb. And they find there the strength to keep going through what they're facing, too.

You see, the miracle happens all the time. You are not in a prison camp, but you will face stuff this week. You're all going down into the valley. So before you do, come to this table, eat this food, and let the walls of your life fall down. Let the ceiling roll back like a scroll. Let yourself be lifted up. And take your seat at the table of the ascended king, and remember, this is your food, and that is your home. Amen.

[Speaker 4 – Preacher]: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this holy food and the encouragement it gives. You know that down in the valley, we sometimes lose track of things in our fears, our worries, and illness [wording requires verification]. But here at this table, we remember your power and your grace, and today we will take refuge in both those things. In your name we pray, Lord Jesus, amen. Amen.

[Music / response before Communion — words not reliably recoverable from source transcript.]

[Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist]: With joy we praise you, gracious God, for you created heaven and earth, made us in your image, and you were patient with us even when we fell into sin. [Congregational sung response / text indistinct.] Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has conquered his foes and ascended into heaven. Amen.

We praise you for sending your spirit who renews our hearts and equips us for service. We praise you for your church, for this land and its leaders [wording requires verification]. We join our voices with all the saints and angels [wording requires verification] in the whole creation to worship the glory of your name. Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. Lord our God, send your Holy Spirit so that this bread and this cup may be for us, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we and all your saints be united with Christ and remain faithful in hope and love. Gather your whole church, O Lord, into the glory of your kingdom.

We pray this in the name of Jesus who taught us 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 debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

[Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist]: Just before he died on the cross on the night when he was betrayed, Jesus took bread and he broke it. And he said, This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. [Communion music — repeated sung words are unclear in the automated transcript.]

[Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist]: This is the body of Christ, a gift from your king given to you at great cost. Take, eat, remember and believe that Christ gave his body for the complete forgiveness of all your sins.

[Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist]: In the same way, after supper, he took the cup and said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. [Communion music — repeated sung words are unclear in the automated transcript.]

[Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist]: Take and drink; this is your medicine for the week to come. Remember that the Lord Jesus gave his blood for the complete forgiveness of all your sins. [Communion music — repeated sung words are unclear in the automated transcript.]

[Speaker 5 – Communion Liturgist / Benediction Leader]: Receive the blessing of your ascended King, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all. [Communion music — repeated sung words are unclear in the automated transcript.]