Category Archives: Ephemera

Renewed Hearts

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Introduction

The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the nineteenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him. You can find an archive of these meditations on the Web at http://widesky.biz/blog/ephemera/spirit-driven-task-force-meditations.

Author
Kurt Kechely, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force and a member of its Steering Committee.

Scriptures
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you.” —Ezekiel 36:26

“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” —Ephesians 4:23–24

Meditation
We all need to take time to listen and if we truly listen, our hearts and spirit will be changed. His will is then done rather than ours.

If we all hold on to our own thoughts and our own ways, we are constantly trying to change others to conform to “Man’s” way rather than God’s way.

Reflection
This is a continuation of Rod Koehler’s Reflection from last week as it pertains to this week as well.

  • Take time to sit quietly and breath deep and slowly, rest your eyes.
  • Recognize the blessings that surround us.
  • Like the cool water of a water fall let His peace flow over you and give you restoration.

Prayer
Creator God, I’m thankful that you will renew the spirit of my mind daily to serve you in the holiness of your truth. Take my nothingness and recreate me in the image and beauty of your Son. As you promised to make me alive in Christ, make me more aware of opportunities to serve those whose hearts are broken.  Amen.

Restored in Silence

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Introduction
The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the eighteenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him. You can find an archive of these meditations on the Web at http://widesky.biz/blog/ephemera/spirit-driven-task-force-meditations.

Author
Rod Koehler, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force.

Scripture
“He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” —Psalm 23:2–3

Meditation
I always appreciate and tend to gravitate to the short-to-the-point sayings and passages. You know, the ones that cut to the truth, say what needs to be said, and are easy to recite, like “Do unto others…”, “Be silent and know I am God…”, “The Lord is my shepherd…”, and “…He restores my soul.” Maybe easy to remember and recite, but not always easy to remember and apply when I need them most.

When we are exhausted, depleted, and on the edge of burnout, we need to have our souls restored! But who can restore our souls? Only the One who will lead us beside still water! The Lord is our Shepherd. He alone can fully bring the nourishment and replenishment that we need. Yet why do we sometimes find it so hard to set aside time to be with him? Could it be that we keep our lives so busy that we miss out on the one thing that matters most?

Foolishly, I run trying to cram everything possible into my schedule, miserably I complain about how busy we have become, doggedly I drag myself home too tired to recognize and enjoy the blessings that surround me, and then … sometimes accidentally, … sometimes on purpose, … I stop and breathe. Deep breath, I slow down, and realize the beauty in a moment, a sunset maybe, or I realize that the stars are painfully bright some night and that they have been there all along, as have all the blessings in my life. I just have been too busy, too foolish and miserable and dogged out to see. Those moments, when I am still and silent and know God is there, like cool quiet waters, He restores my soul.

Reflection
Take time to sit quietly and breath deep and slowly, rest your eyes.
Recognize the blessings that surround us.
Like the cool water of a water fall let His peace flow over you and give you restoration.

Prayer
As you have shown me time and time again, dear Father, I know that being with you restores me in a place within my heart that nothing and no one else can reach. Reinvigorate me with your presence and power so that I can serve you refreshed and renewed. Amen.

Delivered and Redeemed

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Introduction
The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the seventeenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him. You can find an archive of these meditations on the Web at http://widesky.biz/blog/ephemera/spirit-driven-task-force-meditations.

Author
Pastor Ron Drury, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force and advisor to its Steering Committee.

Scripture
“I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from  the hand of the ruthless.” —Jeremiah 15:21, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Meditation
God speaks to Jeremiah (sometimes called “the weeping prophet”) in the first lesson for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, to calm and assure this “mouthpiece for God”! Jeremiah is reflecting not on his own pain, but upon the collective concern of the people of Israel. Jerusalem and the Holy Land’s destruction are too much for the prophet and the “chosen people” to bear.

God speaks clearly, concisely, and mercifully to a people who have not always listened … concluding with these words: “I will save you from these wicked people and rescue you from these cruel people” (New Century Version, NCV).

Have you ever felt like Jeremiah or the people of Israel? Have you ever felt like complaining or lamenting (weeping aloud)? Jeremiah models for us how we are, in the grace of God, able to talk frankly with the Almighty! Jeremiah 15:18 says, “I don’t understand why my pain has no end. I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed. Will you be like a brook that goes dry? Will you be like a spring that stops flowing?” (NCV). The New Revised Standard Version is even more direct, “Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed. Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail.” Injury, pain, and wounds seem to be inflicted intentionally and at times unwittingly by a number of people these days. I pray we will all turn back to God and hear again from Holy Scripture, “I will be there to rescue you. I, The LORD, have spoken” (Jeremiah 15:21, CEV).

Focusing on the Father through the saving grace of Jesus empowered via the Holy Spirit is our and every creatures’ only hope! I invite you, like the prophet, to turn to God and find full life! Jeremiah 15:19 (CEV) proclaims:

“Then The LORD told me: Stop talking like a fool! If you turn back to me and speak my message, I will let you be my prophet once again. I hope the people of Judah will accept what you say. But you can ignore their threats.”

Reflection
Praise God that the loving LORD knows everything about us and still loves us completely! What does God being “Sovereign” mean to you? What does it mean that the Almighty is aware of and involved in every aspect of your daily living? Where is Jesus asking you to sojourn, as you faithfully follow the Savior of the universe?How can we collectively better listen to God’s Word?

Prayer
Listening LORD of all, empower us through the Spirit to hear together your call to turn back to you and away from our complaining, to faithfully follow Jesus. Amen.

Finding Contentment

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This is the seventh in a series of reflections offered as part of my service with the Stewardship Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., where Anne and I are members.

Late in his ministry, St. Paul wrote to Timothy, one of his missionary companions. He gave Timothy counsel for how to serve the Church in Ephesus. After warning about the dangers of false teaching, St. Paul described the wholesome place of possessions in the life of faith. He wrote:

Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it (1 Timothy 6:6–7, New American Bible).

The term “contentment” is a translation of a Greek word, autarkeia. This is a concept from Greek philosophy that lifts up freedom from material goods as a virtuous way to live. The gist of Paul’s thought is that we, as Christians, are freed to focus our lives on Jesus Christ when the spotlight shines on Him and not on our things. That is how we can know true contentment, both in the sense we usually make of it, and in the technical meaning of virtuous freedom from possessions.

St. Paul reminded Timothy that humans are born with nothing, that we come into the world wholly dependent upon God and our parents, and that we will die with our hands empty and reaching up to God, seeking His eternal embrace. The old quip says, “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” But St. Paul’s wisdom runs just the opposite of that. No one dies with any toys. So why do we plague ourselves in chasing after them? Why do we give ourselves over the worry? Why do we say, “No, thank you,” when God offers us true contentment?

Over the last several weeks (and months and years), paying attention to the news while avoiding the questions about our nation’s, our parish’s, and our personal finances has proven to be an impossible task. The numbers are so large, the systems so complex, the politics so contentious, that succumbing to fatalism—there’s nothing we can do—and to despair—there’s nothing God can do—can seem to be the only reasonable paths to follow.

But living where worry controls us, or where doubt consumes us, is to live without faith in the God who gives us “religion with contentment.” We may come into the world with nothing, but God our Father is the one who gives us life in Jesus Christ, so we may thrive by their Spirit. The day will come when we will die with our hands empty, but with our hearts full of faith in the Father who promises us life in the Spirit, won for us through the death and resurrection of His Son.

This Good News helps us to see that money and possessions and things are just tools God gives to us to use to bring Him glory along the way. They are not worthy of our worship; they will not save us. As St. Paul wrote,

For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains (1 Timothy 6:10, NAB).

In our personal and corporate prayers, we can ask God to give us contentment in our religion, so that we may know the gain He desires for us and may trust Him to provide for us in all circumstances.

David M. Frye, Stewardship Ministry

Laying Down Our Lives

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Introduction
The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the sixteenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him. You can find an archive of these meditations on the Web at http://widesky.biz/blog/ephemera/spirit-driven-task-force-meditations.

Author
David Frye, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force and its Steering Committee.

Scripture
“The way we came to know love was that [Jesus Christ] laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” —1 John 3:16, New American Bible

Meditation
Our church year calendar reminds us to remember the lives of our forebears in the faith. Tomorrow, August 14, we remember Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr. He was a Polish Franciscan, ordained in 1919, who taught church history. He later established a friary near Warsaw, Poland. When the Germans invaded that country in 1939, the friary became a sanctuary for three thousand Poles and fifteen hundred Jews. Father Maximilian remained outspoken, overseeing a newspaper that encouraged the faithful to persevere in their beliefs.

In mid 1941, the Nazis shut down the friary and sent Father Maximilian and four of his followers to Auschwitz. According to the accounts:

…[Father Kolbe] surreptitiously carried on his priestly work, hearing confessions and celebrating Mass with bread and wine that were smuggled in. In July a man from Kolbe’s bunker escaped. Ten were selected at random from the remaining men, among whom was Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek, a married man with a family. Father Maximilian offered to take the man’s place. The commander, who had more use for a young man than an older one in weak health, accepted the offer. The ten were placed in a large cell and left there to starve. After two weeks, only two were alive and only Kolbe was fully conscious. The two were killed with injections of carbolic acid on August 14, 1941 (Philip H. Pfatteicher, New Book of Festivals and Commemorations, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008, p. 395).

When my devotions bring my attention to accounts like this one, I find myself filled with a mixture of feelings: awe, humility, fear, attraction, thankfulness, and wonder. The witness of ones who discover that God has blessed them with the faith to make the supreme sacrifice, to follow so closely in the footsteps of our Lord that they carry their crosses and “lay down their lives,” leads me to contemplate how God is calling me to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

There’s nothing special about the time in which Father Maximilian or any other martyr has lived and died for the faith; our time, our place, our world confronts us with challenges that may differ in degree, but not in their nature. When we give up our efforts to save ourselves, to preserve our comfort at all costs, and instead, surrender ourselves to the love of Jesus Christ, then we will run up against the occasions in which shouldering our crosses, suffering for our Christ, and sacrificing for our community offer the only way forward in faith.

Father Maximilian didn’t need to depend upon his own strength, his own inner resources, to give him what he needed in his time of trial. He was fortified by a lifetime of trusting in God by faith. He in the community of the Church, immersed himself in God’s history, listened to His Word, and received the Sacrament. Today God offers us the same blessings. We have a community of faith, access to the riches of God’s history, times to hear His Word, and gatherings to celebrate Holy Communion.

Through all of these blessings, we can come to know love in that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, so that we may lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Reflection
Where in your life is God calling you to follow Jesus Christ? What cross does He give you to bear? Where might you have the opportunity to sacrifice yourself for another? What does it look like for our congregation to lay down its life for our brothers and sisters? How might sacrificing ourselves bring glory to God and life to His people?

Prayer
Gracious God our Father, remind us by the example of your servant Maximilian that we too may hear your calling to lay down our lives for others. Strengthen us, by your Holy Spirit, so that we may find the courage to sacrifice our comfort and to walk in the way of the cross, following our Lord Jesus Christ, who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Waiting and Acting for the Kingdom

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Introduction

The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the fifteenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him.

Author

David Frye, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force and its Steering Committee.

Scripture

“Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who … was awaiting the kingdom of God.” —Luke 23:50–51, New American Bible

Meditation

Today, August 1, our calendar of commemorations leads us to remember the life and faith of Joseph of Arimathea. He was the “virtuous and righteous … member of the council,” who offered his own tomb as the resting place for the body of Jesus.

Luke’s Gospel tells us that while Joseph was a member of the council that had brought about Jesus’s arrest, Joseph “had not consented to their plan of action.” In fact, Luke tells us that Joseph “was awaiting the kingdom of God.”

For Joseph, that attitude—that posture of waiting for the kingdom—turned to action when he offered what he had as a gift to our Lord, when he took a public stand that placed his position and reputation at risk.

We don’t really know what went through the mind and the heart of Joseph as made his decision to serve our Lord. But we can guess. We can feel his worry, his doubts, his fears, his wondering what would be the outcome of his decision.

For Joseph, or for you and me to live in ways that people see as “virtuous and righteous,” is not to live as though we do not face threats because of the actions we take in faith. Instead, to practice virtue and righteousness is to take those stands, even the unpopular ones, the ones that place us at risk, knowing that our lives rest in the hands of our Lord.

Joseph himself handled the body of our Lord, taking it down from the cross, wrapping it in a linen cloth, and then placing it in his tomb. He knew that death was real, that forces in the world could bring down even the most holy and blessed one among us.

And yet, because of his faith, Joseph did not turn aside from what he felt called to do. He turned his waiting for the kingdom into working for the king.

What are the ways in which we wait for the kingdom of God? What are the powers that threaten us? What actions does God our Father call us to take to serve our Lord, no matter what the risk to our safety, our comfort, our wellbeing?

When the Spirit guides us to answer these questions, then we will find a clear path to take. Our actions will show all who see us that we follow Joseph in waiting for the kingdom of God by practicing virtue and by living in righteousness.

Prayer

Gracious Father, stir up your gift of faith in us, so that like Joseph of Arimathea, we may wait for the coming of your Son’s kingdom, taking actions that reflect the Holy Spirit’s gifts of virtue and righteousness; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Desire of Our Hearts

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Introduction

The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the fourteenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him.

Author

Susan Hansen, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force and its Steering Committee.

Scripture

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” —Matthew 13:44, New International Version

Meditation

How do we seek God and His Kingdom? Do we seek Him wholeheartedly? With joyful abandon? With intention and purpose? In the humility of being one redeemed by God? Willing to bear the cost as He redeems others?

Or do we come to worship as Sunday’s morning obligation? Rushed and distracted? Tired and defeated? Passively participating? Offer no more of a tithe than just enough? Blind to our egos and to God’s grace? Seeking self-fulfillment?

Do we enter joyfully into communion with God who is with us and in us? Do we seek expecting to meet the risen Christ? What a priceless gift God promises us! Our wealth and worth comes from receiving His gift of the Holy Spirit and is compounded as we open our hearts and minds to His wisdom, grace and purpose.

Here are a few additional Scripture passages to ponder this week as we meditate upon the parable of God’s kingdom as treasure hidden in a field.

  • Proverbs 2:3–5
  • Jeremiah 29:13
  • Matthew 6:21
  • Luke 2:17–19 and 2:49–51
  • Colossians 1:27
  • Colossians 2:2.

Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, may your selfless love be the desire of our hearts. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Good and Pleasant Unity

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Introduction

The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the thirteenth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him.

Rod Koehler, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force, shared this week’s meditation, written by Pastor Kenneth L. Samuel.

Scripture

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity!” —Psalm 133:1

Meditation

How often do we think of human unity as some utopian dream with no hope of actual realization? In the current climate of partisan bickering, class warfare, and religious rivalry, social unity increasingly appears to be a distant mirage. Could it be that our dream of unity is unrealized and unrealistic because it is based on assumptions or uniformity? God must love diversity; that’s why God made so much of it. It is precisely our rich variations of expression and perspective that give our world the wonderful distinctions of color, texture, taste and contrast that keep us listening to and learning from one another. Variety is indeed the spice of life.

Can we recognize difference without labeling the “other” deficient? Can we be assertive about what we believe without being abrasive toward those who follow a different path? Do we possess enough of God’s grace to recognize human oneness in the midst of human pluralism? How good and pleasant it is when even the starkest differences among us do not prevent us from dwelling together in unity. Unity of humanity and oneness of creation are still the aims of a vast universe steeped in great diversity. Uniformity is a vain wish. Unity is a sacred goal.

Prayer

Dear God, you said that unity among us is good and pleasant. Now help us to affirm your declaration by our commitment to realizing unity despite dis-uniformity in our communities today. Amen.

Overflowing in a Wealth of Generosity

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This is the sixth in a series of reflections offered as part of my service with the Stewardship Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., where Anne and I are members.

In his ministry, St. Paul often shared news of one congregation with the members of another. So, in his writings to the people in Corinth, he told them about the ministry of their fellow Christians in Macedonia. He said,

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part (2 Corinthians 8:1–2, New Revised Standard Version).

In this short passage, Paul points to several truths that speak as much to us today as they did to our ancestors in Corinth. First, the grace of God is a gift. Paul said that grace was granted to the Macedonians. Nobody but God can give that gift of grace. Second, this gift comes during times of affliction. God wisely blesses his people in their time of need. Third, grace leads to generosity flowing both from joy and from poverty. Grace is not a gift that awaits times of abundance to yield fruit in the lives of Christians. Rather, it creates abundance out of extreme poverty in the midst of lives energized by the joy that comes from God’s grace itself.

So, for us, this means that when we are afflicted—whether with extreme poverty or perhaps only with uncomfortable and inconvenient need—God’s grace can bring forth a “wealth of generosity” that flows from our joy in the midst of our need. The wonderful and amazing thing is that God’s grace takes away our excuses. We might be tempted to say we cannot give because economic times are tough, because resources are tight, because our needs closer to home are more urgent, and so on. But St. Paul lifts up the Macedonians and reminds us of how the grace of God works his divine wonders in their lives for the sake of others. Is our poverty more extreme than theirs? Are our afflictions more burdensome than theirs? Does God withhold his grace from us? The answers to these questions all call out with a resounding “No.”

We can pray that God will stir up in us the gift of his grace, so that his servants will say to one another, “We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the church in Hickman; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part!”

A Word of Promise

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Introduction

The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission.

This is the twelfth of a series of weekly meditations with the aim to inspire reflection and encourage conversation among the members of the task force as we journey together in obedience to our Lord’s calling to serve him.

David Frye, a member of the Spirit Driven Task Force, wrote this week’s meditation.

Scripture

For just from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to him who sows
and bread to him who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10–11, New American Bible)

Meditation

With these words, Isaiah serves as the mouthpiece of the LORD. The prophet gives voice to God’s promise and pledge. Isaiah says to the people of Israel—and to us who overhear the LORD’s conversation with them—that His word works His will in the lives of His people, as surely as rain and snow fall from the clouds and bring nourishing waters to the earth and all that grows upon it.

For all who treasure the best of what sprouts from the roots of our Lutheran heritage, this assurance comes as a comforting reminder, recalling for us an echo of Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”:

God’s Word forever shall abide,
No thanks to foes, who fear it;
For God himself fights by our side
With weapons of the Spirit. (Lutheran Book of Worship, #229)

The message is the same. No matter what may stand against God, we can trust that His Word made flesh, the one we know as Jesus Christ, will carry out the Father’s will by the power of their Holy Spirit. Right there is the ultimate source of our comfort and courage in the face of the many challenges scattered throughout our life together at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

When God chooses to work His will in the life of His people, nothing stands against Him. He shall overcome our stubbornness, our pride, our sloth, and our self-centeredness. He shall overwhelm the adversities embodied in hard economic times, busy schedules, competing claims for attention, denominational distress, and cultural collapse.

We can be sure that God’s work will change us. We’ll find that idols and monuments to our own desires will be worn away, eroded by the raining down of God’s Word, by the forces that freeze and thaw and crack into rubble the rocks we have piled up, one upon another after our designs. In their place, the LORD will lay down the foundation of His Word and raise upon it a people who love and serve only Him. After all, we know that God keeps His promises, as He has said to us:

So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11, NAB)

Prayer

LORD God, give us the ears to hear Your Word and to follow its direction for living as Your people. Speak to us, so that we may find our lives rebuilt upon the trustworthy foundation of that Word. Help us to submit every part of our lives, both individually and as a congregation, to Your will, worked out in our midst through your Word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.