Preparing for Worship - May 29, 2022

The Scriptures this Sunday speak of the unity that is ours as we are connected to the Lord and His Word. The Psalm is Psalm 133, a psalm of David that people sang together as they went up to Jerusalem for festivals and worship of their Lord together in unity. The blessings of the Lord are pictured by the anointing oil poured on Aaron, so that he could bring these blessings to people, and by the dew that came down from Mt. Hermon and watered the land of Israel (an image that predicts in Zechariah 8:11-13, God’s saving work in Christ, so that His people can then be a blessing to others).

In the Gospel lesson, John 17:20-26, Jesus prays that His disciples would remain unified in Him and His Word and share that Word with others, so that others too might believe. This is a prayer also for us, who have become united in Christ and with one another through faith in His Word and the anointing power of baptism. (See also 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Galatians 3:26-27.) Jesus also prays that we stay in faith and become “perfectly one” as we worship Him one day in the glory and perfection of heaven.

We have another picture of that heavenly home given by revelation to John in the Second Lesson, Revelation 22:1-6, (7-11), 12-20. All believers will have the tree of life and the water of life, in the presence of the Lord God and Jesus, the Lamb, Who rescued us all. We will have the Light and Truth of the Lord with us forever. In the meantime, while still on earth, we are called to “Come” and be strengthened by God’s grace and receive the free gifts of God, given to us without price, through the “trustworthy and true” Words of Scripture.

The First Lesson, from Acts 1:12-26, shows the early believers, gathered together and asking the Lord to guide them in choosing a disciple to replace Judas. He must be a man who had seen the ministry of Jesus and was a witness to His resurrection and would help them share the Good News of the Savior, from Pentecost (celebrated next Sunday) and beyond. Matthias was the person the Lord led them to choose.