Christ the King Lutheran Church - Gladwin, Mi.
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  • Home
    • Pictorial Directory
    • Contact Us
    • Links
  • Who are We
    • Mission and Vision
    • Staff and Office Hours
    • Church Council
    • History
    • Newsletter
    • Calendar
  • COVID 19 WORSHIP VIDEOS
    • Lenten Madness Monologues
    • Matins with Noodle
    • For the Kids
    • Bulletins
    • Sermon 9-16-19 The Sheep
    • Maria Skobtsova
    • Isidor
    • Elisha
  • Faith Formation
    • Sunday School
    • Christ the King Youth
    • Camping Ministry
    • Kids Club
    • Confirmation
    • Thursday Adult Bible Study
    • Vacation Bible School
  • Ministries
    • Stephen Ministry
    • God's Work Our Hands
    • Quilting
    • Food Distribution
    • Backpacks for kids
    • Prayer Shawl Ministry
    • Parish Nurse
    • Columbarium
  • Worship
    • Schedule of Worship
    • How we worship
    • Children
    • Choir
  • Special Events
    • Pumpkin Farm
    • Christmas Tea
  • Budget
  • Blog
  • Letter from Pastor
  • Masks
  • sermon
  • Audry
  • Rick McCoy
  • Ballot for Church council
  • Holden Prayer 12-23
  • Dec 20 Children's Program
  • Christmas Eve
  • Lenten Service
  • Ash Wednesday
  • Week One February 25, 2021

Clever Words for the Apocalypse

Gathering at the River

10/29/2019

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Shall we gather at the river? As Christians our faith songs are full of rivers: Shall We Gather at The River, There’s River of Life, As I Went Down to the River to Pray, the list continues. As is often the case, scripture is our inspiration. The Bible is rich in rivers: the four rivers which flow from the Garden of Eden, the River Jordan, source of liberation, healing, and the site of Jesus’ baptism, the river of life which flows through the City of God, and many, many more.

​Of course, as Lutherans, when it comes to rivers we like to keep our rivers in scripture, literature, and firmly in the past. Shall we gather at the river? Maybe not. We’re sprinklers not dunkers when it comes to baptism. We prefer out water to be neatly contained and easily accessible in a nice, solid baptismal font.

But, gather at the river we pilgrims did on Sunday morning. We traveled to a small but swift moving river near Philippi at the possible site of Lydia’s baptism by Paul.
Do we know this story? Maybe, maybe not. In Acts 16, Paul is summoned in a dream to bring the teachings of Jesus to Macedonia. He travels by boat, landing at Neapolis, now Kavala, and then travels overland to the city of Philippi. On the Sabbath, Paul goes to a place of prayer outside the city by, you guessed it, the local river. Paul speaks to the women gathered there, one of whom is Lydia, a dealer of purple cloth and a believer in God. Lydia is inspired by Paul’s words of proclamation. She and her entire household are baptized, maybe even in the river.

​So who exactly is Lydia? A woman of means and some agency. She has a business in the city, selling purple cloth. Her business is profitable enough that she is able to host Paul and his friends in her home during the rest of their stay in Philippi. Her identification as a God Believer or God Fearer suggests that while she believed in the God of Israel she was not Jewish by birth. She is the first European to be baptized and from the church planted in her community, the gospel of Jesus spreads through Greece and beyond. Most importantly, Lydia is baptized making her, above all else, a child of God. She is one of us, and we are one of hers.
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It is not an easy thing to go down to the river to pray. We struggled to hear one another over the roar of the water. The steps were quite steep and we had to be careful as we made our way down to the water dip our hands in remembrance our own baptisms. In fact, I spent more time making sure my fellow pilgrims were able to get up and down the steps to the waters than I did splashing in the water myself. Many required a hand up or a stabilizing arm to participate. Beautiful and holy does not always mean easy and accessible.
And following Lydia’s example, we went down to the river to pray, sing, and share communion.
The Baptistry of Lydia is a beautiful and holy place. It consists of a series of steps built into the side of the riverbank surrounding a cross-shaped stone channel. The water flowing through this channel is used for actual baptisms a couple times during the year. The larger river flows next to the channel. Water rushes quickly through the channel and over the rocks, making it hard to hear anything else.

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Perhaps that is the point, though. Christian community is not about our individual experiences of the divine, but the way we haltingly meet and bear Christ together. Jesus lives in the community into which we have been baptized. A community where we lean on one another for support and grace.
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Such was the community that Lydia and her fellow believers entered that Sabbath Day at the river. Lydia did not go down to the river alone. She was part of a larger community that carried each other and leaned on one another. That is our community too. Lydia is one of us and we are one of hers. Staggering, picking our way carefully down steep steps, offering steadying hands and supportive shoulders, we all go down to the River of Life together.
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    About the Blog

    In this season of plague, flood, fire, hungry cats, and Advent, we invite you to reflect on the words (such clever words!) of the Prophet John in the book of Revelation.
    Join the Liturgisaur on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Advent for devotions based on the first three chapters of Revelation
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      Perhaps you have encountered the #Liturgisaur on Instagram or Facebook.  He is a small, green, pants wearing, one armed dinosaur who makes the rounds in Gladwin County and beyond, highlighting the various ministries of Christ the King Lutheran Church.   
         The word dinosaur is Greek in origin, a combination of the words  δεινός (terrible or clever) and σαύρα (lizard).  You may have heard about how dinosaur means "terrible lizard," but you probably didn't realize that it can also mean "terribly clever lizard."   And the Litrugisaur is quite clever.  
         This Advent you invited to check into this blog for theological reflections (some clever) and insights from the Liturgisaur and his minder, Pastor Emily Olsen.  We will be focusing on the first few chapters of Revelation, or as they call it in Greek, The Apocalypse. 

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Christ the King Lutheran Church
600 S. M 18 
Gladwin, Mi. 48624
989-426-1659
Pastor Emily Olsen
pastor.ctkinggladwin@gmail.com


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