March 18, 2007

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Preparation for Worship

Blessed Are They

The quality of mercy is not strain’d

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 

‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God’s

When mercy seasons justice.

William Shakespeare

The forty-day liturgical season of Lent began on Ash Wednesday and continues today on this Fourth Sunday in Lent. The liturgical color for the season is purple. Our Lenten journey is marked by a time of penitence and purposeful reflection.  As such, the worship leaders enter the sanctuary in a meditative spirit as a bell tolls the beginning of the worship service.

     The Lenten season is marked by subtle, but purposeful, changes in elements of our liturgy. These changes are intended to illumine and inspire the ways in which we experience corporate prayer the body of Christ. For example, during the prayer of confession, we shall sing together a “Lamb of God,” or Agnus Dei, hymn. Our response to the Declaration of Forgiveness is a reminder of God’s grace as represented in the text of the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” We will unite our voices in a prayerful responsive psalm to proclaim the Word of God, and we will incorporate a variety of prayer forms into the prayers of the people. Finally, our hymn offerings and service music offer more reflective opportunities through which we can connect to God in prayer.

     Each Lenten Sunday, the scriptural basis for our worship is taken from the Beatitudes presented by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount.  Our worship today focuses on:  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”  To further illustrate the beatitude, the second gospel lesson lifts up the parable of the lost sheep. Our hymns and service music today illumine the parable of the lost sheep.  From the hymn, "The King of Love, My Shepherd Is " to the choir's anthem "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need " we sing of God as our shepherd who cares for us, fills us, and leads us safely along.  May God open our hearts and minds to receive his word for us in worship this morning.

We extend a warm Westminster welcome to Erica Liu, Campus Pastor at Pres House, who graciously agreed to fill our pulpit this morning. Erica grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of California and earned a BA in Mass Communications from UC Berkeley and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.  Erica and her husband Mark moved to Madison just a few years ago to lead the ministry at Pres House on the UW-Madison campus. They are the proud parents of daughter Emma and expect another addition to their family later this spring. Welcome Erica!