Spreading the Gospel

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Church of the Advent. One of the reasons I love and am thankful for the lectionary, which is the reading plan that we follow, which determines the texts that we look at on Sunday by and large.

One of the reasons I love this is because if we follow it, we end up looking at and preaching on very difficult passages, passages that might otherwise we might be very tempted to avoid.

And yet, because we follow the lectionary, we encounter these passages, and we have an opportunity to mine their riches, to wrestle with them and with God.

You know, the church fathers believed that God actually intentionally puts things in Scripture that are hard to understand, stumbling blocks, because there is tremendous value that comes from wrestling with difficult texts.

So we're thankful that we get to do that this morning. The passage that we're going to be looking at is 1 Timothy chapter 2.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

We're going to look at the whole chapter. Part of it's printed in your bulletin, but we're going to be looking at the whole chapter.

It's probably one of the most hotly debated passages in the entire Bible. The mere mention of this raises the tension in the room.

And I think people begin to brace themselves for disagreement or maybe even division.

Ironically, I think this is the exact opposite of what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words.

He has in mind the opposite.

Paul's heart in this passage is clearly not to divide.

It's actually to call the church together, to come together as a community of prayer and holiness and gospel witness.

So I want us to look at this passage with that in mind.

You know, regarding the role of women in the church, there is a strong biblical case to be made on both sides.

This is one of several issues in our church and in our denomination where we believe faithful Christians can disagree.

So when we get to that part of this text, which is what it's most well known for,

I'm going to give you my best take on what I believe is happening in this passage.

For anyone who wants to ask questions or dig deeper, we're actually talking about this right now, this issue in our adult ed class.

And we had a great time this morning and we'll be together again next Sunday.

So if you want to follow up and talk more about this, come to that class.

That's the perfect place to have that conversation.

So I'm going to tell you what I think is happening here, but I also don't want us to lose the forest for the trees.

Because I actually think this passage has a lot to say to everyone in this room,

regardless of where you fall on that particular question and issue.

So let's pray and look at God's word together.

Our Lord and Heavenly Father, we thank you for blessing us with your word.

And we thank you that every syllable, every punctuation mark, or every jot and tittle in this Bible is here for our nourishment and our edification.

Lord, we cannot live, as your word itself says, without it.

And we pray that through your word this morning, you would give us life and that you would give us yourself.

We pray that you would prepare us to come to your table through your word.

Lord, we pray this in your son's holy name.

Amen.

So I actually believe that the key to understanding the entire letter of 1 Timothy is found in Acts chapter 19.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

And the story of how the church that Timothy leads was originally started.

The context really matters.

The city of Ephesus was dominated by the Temple of Artemis.

First century Ephesus was dominated.

It was dominated architecturally.

It was dominated culturally.

It was known in the broader empire for the Temple to Artemis.

That temple was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

And the cult of Artemis worship had a massive influence over the culture of that city.

In Acts chapter 19, we see that Paul's ministry in Ephesus was very successful.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

As a result, a large number of Artemis worshipers had converted to Christianity.

So many people had converted, in fact, that it had impacted the local economy.

The craftsmen who made idols connected to Artemis worship were in danger of going out of business.

They were losing tons of money because all of these Artemis worshipers were becoming Christians.

And there was a growing fear that if this continued, the cult of Artemis would lose its influence as the source of the city's fame.

And that the city's fame would be diminished.

And so people are so upset about this, the crowds come out and they begin to riot in the streets.

And for hours and hours they chant together,

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.

There we go.

I thought I was going to be all smooth doing that.

So they're out there and they're chanting and they're rioting,

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.

And this tells us something about the makeup of this church.

This church most likely had a mixture of people.

It had some Jewish people.

And it also had a very large number of former Artemis worshipers.

And if you read the whole letter,

it's clear that all of the challenges that Timothy faces,

I believe, are related to that influence.

And it's clear that the main issue that Paul is dealing with in this letter to Timothy

is the problem of false teaching.

That false teaching is running rampant.

Gordon Fee, one of the great New Testament scholars of our day,

says that nearly every verse in the letter relates in some way to false teaching.

In other words, I'll put it this way.

Timothy's main challenge is to help people disentangle their Christian beliefs,

their Christian doctrine and practice,

from all of these other ideas that are being propagated by false teachers

and these influences in the culture.

So we see evidence of Jewish influences.

So Paul references people wasting time on endless genealogies

or forbidding certain kinds of food.

But we also see evidence of pagan influences

likely from the cult of Artemis.

So Paul references people being led astray by myths

and devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

So I believe the key to understanding this letter

starts by appreciating the significant influence

of the cult of Artemis on this church.

Timothy has to figure out, how do I disciple and catechize converts

who have grown up in a city dominated by the cult of Artemis?

So at the end of chapter 1, Paul commissions Timothy to fight the good fight

by upholding sound doctrine and godly character,

and that brings us to the beginning of chapter 2.

And the main concern of chapter 2 is not the ordination of women.

The main concern of chapter 2 in its entirety is the spread of the gospel.

It's the spread of the gospel.

Two things, that we pray for the spread of the gospel

and that we do nothing to hinder the spread of the gospel.

So I want to look at those two parts.

First of all, verses 1 through 7, that we pray for it.

Paul says essentially, pray for all people in every way you can,

especially for our leaders, so that we can live a peaceful life.

Now why is this so important?

Why is it important to pray for our leaders?

Well, so that the gospel can spread unhindered to all people.

Because he says, God desires all people to be saved.

Everyone.

So it says here, God our Savior, verse 4,

wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,

the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

Now this would be challenging to modern Western ears

because we don't like the idea of exclusivity

and people have a hard time with the truth and the reality

that Christ is the only way to salvation and to be reconciled to God.

It also would have been challenging to first century ears in Ephesus,

but for very different reasons.

We know from archaeological evidence that in Ephesus,

when people use titles like God or like Savior or like Lord,

they weren't talking about the God of the Bible.

They were talking about Artemis.

Artemis was God.

Artemis was Queen.

Artemis was Savior.

Artemis was Lord.

And the five most common titles used for Artemis include these titles.

First, Queen, Lord, Savior, and God.

So I actually don't think it's a coincidence that Paul makes a point

at the end of chapter 1 of referring to God as the King of the Ages,

Jesus, immortal, invisible, the only God.

And then he goes on in chapter 2,

there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men,

the man, Jesus Christ.

He is in everywhere saying,

our God is far superior to your God.

Artemis and the other gods in the Greco-Roman pantheon

demanded continual sacrifices.

And Artemis was known for being very petty

and very impatient if she was neglected to worship she believed she was due.

She was known to be vengeful

if you didn't offer the proper sacrifices

and the proper devotion.

Paul is saying, on the other hand,

our Lord, the God we worship, Jesus Christ,

he was the one who was willing to offer himself as a sacrifice for us

to give himself as a ransom for all.

So the point, I believe, that Paul is making is this,

that God's desire is for all people to come to know that truth,

that Christ alone is worthy of our worship and devotion.

Christ alone is worthy.

So Paul is calling us in these first seven verses,

pray for all people to know this.

Even the kings, even the emperor, everybody.

There wasn't a Christian ruler anywhere in the world at this time.

So he's not just saying pray for Christians,

pray for everyone.

At this time, you know who is the emperor?

Nero.

A man known for his cruelty and persecution of Christians.

Paul says, pray that Nero would come to know the truth of Jesus.

Pray for all leaders.

By the way, every time we do the prayers of the people

and we pray for all the needs of the world and all of our leaders,

regardless of whether we voted for them,

we're obeying this command, right?

So here Paul addresses first the need to pray for this,

and then he goes on to say,

and in the way you live and conduct your life as a church

when you gather for worship,

don't do anything to hinder the spread of the gospel.

Sometimes we need to get out of our own way as Christians.

So this is what I believe verses 8 to 15 are all about.

So apparently first, there's a problem with men getting angry

and fighting with one another.

That doesn't seem like too much of a stretch.

There's ongoing conflict, and Paul says that hinders the gospel.

When people outside the watching world,

when they see us fighting,

when they see unresolved conflict,

and when that is impeding our worship,

that hinders the gospel.

So Paul says, therefore, I want the men everywhere to pray,

lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

That's to pray like this.

It's the Iran's posture.

It's the way that Jews prayed.

The Christians inherited that practice from the Jews.

Then for the rest of the chapter, Paul addresses women.

Now, why do women get so much attention?

Well, I think the answer is pretty obvious.

Because simply having women in church alongside men

created massive confusion for everyone,

Jews and Greeks alike.

For the Jewish converts,

they were used to women being segregated out during worship.

And women were not allowed to study the Scripture.

But that's happening in the church.

What do we do with that?

For the former Artemis worshipers,

they were used to the women being the ones who were up front.

In Artemis worship, the women lead in every way.

There were some male priests,

but they often occupied subservient lesser roles.

The primary spiritual leaders,

the people you would see up front leading in the rituals and services,

were the women.

And so they come into the church,

and it's a mostly male-led movement.

What do we do with that?

So everybody's looking at these women,

and even the women themselves are not quite sure,

how is this supposed to work?

So you see a lot of attention being given in the New Testament letters

to women's conduct in the church.

So they're trying to figure this out.

And so, you know, imagine being Timothy.

Your job is to figure out how do we integrate women

from all of these diverse Jewish and pagan backgrounds

to worship together as one church family.

And it gets very practical.

The first thing he addresses is their attire.

Apparently, women were dressing in ways that were causing problems.

What's the issue?

Well, they were wearing very elaborate hairstyles

and jewelry and things like that.

And if we look at the culture of Ephesus,

we recognize that for women,

particularly high-status women,

the way they wore their hair and their attire

was a way of signaling wealth and status.

So wealthy, high-status women had multiple braids.

They had plated hair,

often interwoven with gold threads and pearls and jeweled pins.

And by the way, this is particularly true

among Artemis worshipers.

They would decorate and adorn Artemis,

and the priestesses would dress in very elaborate ways

with elaborate hairstyles.

And so this was strongly associated with that.

And so Paul is saying when you do that

and when you come into church like that,

you're hindering the gospel.

It's causing distractions.

The church is a place where we don't assert status.

The church is a place where we don't put our wealth on display.

Right?

Leave the Rolex at home.

Right?

The church is the place where social hierarchies

are turned upside down.

The greatest among us are those who serve.

So dressing in ways that signal your superiority

is a denial of the gospel.

So he calls women,

adorn yourselves with modesty and self-control

and good works.

Don't hinder the gospel.

And then we come to the issues of behavior.

This brings us to the passage

that has caused so much controversy.

Paul goes on to say,

a woman should learn in quietness and full submission.

I do not permit a woman to teach

or to assume authority over a man.

She must be quiet,

for Adam was formed first,

then Eve,

and Adam was not the one deceived.

It was the woman who was deceived

and became a sinner.

But women will be saved,

or depending on if you look at the Greek,

but she, woman,

woman or women,

but women will be saved through childbearing

if they continue in faith,

love, and holiness with propriety.

Now one way of reading this

is to see this as Paul laying down

a principle of male headship

that is rooted in the order of creation.

Men are called to teach and lead in the church,

and women are called to a posture of quiet submission.

That is a well-established

and widely shared way of reading this text.

In my opinion,

it does leave some questions unanswered.

If women are truly meant to be quiet in the church,

how do we make sense of passages

like 1 Corinthians 11,

where Paul seems to assume

that women will be praying and prophesying

as part of public worship?

How do we make sense of the numerous women

named throughout the New Testament

who seem to occupy prominent leadership roles

in the church?

So as you might expect,

I do have a different take

on this part of the text.

For starters,

the word translated here in the NIV

as assume authority

is notoriously hard to translate.

It is not the typical word

that Paul uses for authority,

which is exousia.

It is the word authentine.

And depending on what version

of the Bible you have in your hand,

it's going to be translated differently

with very different implications.

So the NIV says assume authority.

The ESV and the NASB

translate it as exercise authority.

The Latin Vulgate and the New English Bible

translate it as domineer.

The Geneva Bible and the King James Bible

say usurp control.

So you can imagine

why there might be some disagreement

because one person's looking at their Bible,

another person's looking at their Bible,

and you're going to go

in two very different directions

depending on the translation.

The confusion comes in part

from the fact that this is the only time

this Greek word ever shows up

in the Bible.

And the meaning of this word

seems to have changed over time.

The same thing happens in English.

If you look at the way

certain words were used

two, three hundred years ago,

sometimes they almost mean the opposite

of what they mean today.

And the meaning of this word

clearly shifted.

Prior to Paul,

it seems to have had

very negative connotations.

This word root was associated

with murder and violence.

Fast forward several hundred years

after Paul was writing

and it came to mean

simply another synonym

for exercising authority.

It's very hard to know

exactly what Paul had in mind

when he used this word

in the first century.

But what we do know

is that any time an author like Paul

uses a very unique word

that is not the normal word he uses,

it seems to imply

he has a unique situation in mind.

So some people think

this is a general prohibition

against women teaching

or exercising any form

of authority in the church,

while other people think

that Paul is only forbidding women

from doing a certain kind of thing,

namely teaching in a way

that asserts or presumes

or usurps authority.

authority.

What you think about that

is shaped in part

by how you read the next verse.

For Adam was formed first,

then Eve,

and Adam was not the one deceived,

it was the woman who was deceived

and became a sinner.

Again, is Paul referring

to a timeless principle

rooted in creation

or something else?

And here is where I believe,

and I would submit to you,

that the influence

of the Artemis cult

helps us understand

what Paul may have in mind.

The origin story of Artemis

was massively influential

in the Ephesian culture.

Historical evidence shows us

that her origin story,

her birth story,

was regularly celebrated

through feasts, sacrifices,

festivals, contests,

music, acting, magic,

sacred games,

and birthday processionals.

It was rehearsed again

and again and again.

As the story goes,

Artemis was the daughter

of Zeus and Leto,

and her twin brother

was Apollo.

And when it came time

for the twins to be born,

Artemis was born first.

I told you that one of the five

most prominent titles

for Artemis is

she is first,

because she was born first.

It then took hours

for Apollo to be born.

It was an extremely

arduous, painful birth experience

for her mother.

And Artemis

had to help Apollo be born.

So she became the midwife

to help Apollo

come into the world

and saw her mother suffer

for hours and hours and hours.

So,

because she was born first

and because she was the one

who had to help Apollo come out,

that meant,

in the mind of the

first century followers,

that she was the stronger one.

So she's first

and she's stronger.

Therefore,

this justified the fact

that the Artemis cult

was led entirely by women,

because women were seen

as being spiritually superior,

as Artemis was.

So,

women lead in the temple

because Artemis was born first

and then Apollo.

And because this birth experience

was so awful,

the myth goes

that Artemis never wanted

children of her own.

She essentially said,

well,

I don't ever want to have

to go through that.

And so she refused to marry,

she remains a virgin goddess,

and then she demands

that her followers

do the same.

So serious women

who follow Artemis

would also renounce marriage

and abstain from having children.

By the way,

later in 1 Timothy,

Paul refers

and actually devotes

a large section

of his letter

in 1 Timothy

to women

who have been led astray

by the teaching of demons

and have therefore

refused to get married.

He's like,

we have all these women

who have refused

to get married.

And then he has to give

extensive instructions

on how to deal

with the apparently

large number

of unmarried women.

And it's not just

older unmarried women,

it's younger unmarried women.

And he's like,

how do we deal

with all of these

young unmarried widows?

He has to address that.

I think this is probably

the reason.

Also,

as a result

of the birth experience,

Artemis became

the goddess

of midwifery.

So women

who got pregnant

and they were approaching

their delivery date,

they would pray

to Artemis.

They would go

and they would buy spells.

They would buy charms

blessed by Artemis.

And these were charms

and spells

of protection.

And what were they

praying for?

They were praying

that Artemis,

that God,

would save them

through childbearing,

deliver them safely

through childbearing.

Right?

And so they were used to,

culturally,

women were used

to trusting in Artemis

to deliver them safely

through childbearing.

So imagine you are

a young woman,

you have come out

of the cult you grew up in

of Artemis worship,

you are getting to know

this new sect

called Christianity,

the followers of the way,

you're learning

what it means

to follow Jesus,

you're going to church

and your delivery date

is fast approaching.

And you're terrified

of a situation

like a breech child,

right?

C-sections wouldn't

be invented

for another 1,500 years

or so.

So you're terrified

that if anything goes wrong,

you could be in

for a long, slow,

horrible, painful death.

Childbirth was no joke,

it's no joke now,

it was definitely

no joke then.

And so you're trying

to figure out

who do I trust,

who do I rely on?

You know that Artemis

is easily offended,

you know that Artemis

is vindictive,

you know that Artemis

with her arrows

is just as likely

to euthanize you

during childbirth

as she is to save you

through childbirth.

And you do not want

to get on Artemis'

bad side.

And you go to your pastor

and you say,

what do I do?

Because I'm really afraid

that Artemis

will get revenge on me

if I don't trust her

like I did

with my first two children.

What do I do

now that I follow Jesus?

Right?

This would have been

a very real scenario

that people had to navigate.

So here's the way

I believe we are meant

to read this passage.

And I offer this

knowing that there are

some people who disagree

with humility

and respect for you.

As we said already,

apparently the presence

of women caused

a lot of disruption.

The Jews would have

been put off

by the fact that the women

are sitting right next to them

and that they're studying

the word alongside them.

The former Artemis

worshipers and Greeks

would probably have been

confused about the fact

that women weren't up front

leading.

Why is this movement

largely led by men?

And there may even

have been women

who came from the Artemis cult

who had previously served

as priestesses.

And they assumed

that in this religious context

they would be welcomed

to go up front and lead.

So Paul is having

to address this very

mixed audience.

And so he says this,

and I'm paraphrasing,

you should let,

and in fact if you want

to translate it,

the best translation is

I am not permitting.

Right?

So we'll get there.

He says first of all,

let women learn,

let women learn God's word

and when women learn

God's word

they should do so quietly

with a posture of submission

to God's word.

So he's saying to the Jews,

no, let women learn.

And when they do it

they should do it

with a posture of quietness

and they should submit

themselves fully

to what they're learning.

But then he says essentially this,

but hey,

just because I'm allowing women

to study scripture

don't assume

I'm not necessarily permitting

or I'm not necessarily allowing

women to teach in ways

that assume authority

simply because they're women.

So now he has

the Greeks in mind.

He's saying,

yes the women are here learning

but that doesn't necessarily mean

that we're putting them

up front right away.

Because,

he goes on to say,

unlike the origin story

of Artemis being born first,

in the Christian origin story,

let me remind you,

Adam was created first,

not Eve.

And let me remind you again,

Eve was the one

who was deceived.

So don't assume

that women should be up front

just because they're women.

Women are not necessarily

more qualified to lead

simply because they're women.

Their posture,

because they're new to this faith,

should be one of quietness

and submitting themselves

and learning God's word.

Because that's one thing

that all of these women

had in common.

The Jewish women

and the Greek converts,

all of them were,

for the first time ever,

being allowed to study God's word.

So most of them

were unlearned

and most of them

needed to devote themselves

to learning God's word

before you could even

answer the question

of whether or not

they should lead.

And so their posture

needs to be one

of submitting themselves

to the word.

And yet,

I believe Paul goes on to say,

he says,

Eve was the one

who was deceived,

but I believe he goes on to say,

but let us not remember,

or let us not only remember Eve

for the sin.

Eve's legacy is not limited

to her role in the fall.

She,

through all the women

descended from her,

also participates

in the redemption

of the world

through the gift

of childbirth,

which is an allusion,

I believe,

to the ultimate child

who was born.

Paul is alluding to

the means through which

God brings salvation

to the world,

namely the birth

of Jesus Christ

into the world

to save it.

Once again,

reminding us

that God in every way

is superior to Artemis.

You no longer

have to rely

on Artemis

to save you

or deliver you

through childbearing.

We worship a God

who is able

to bring about salvation

for the whole world

through childbirth.

He alone

is worthy

of our trust.

He alone

is worthy

of our worship.

As I said before,

if you want

to ask questions

or go deeper,

come to the adult ed class

next week

at 9 a.m.,

I do believe

that regardless

of how we read

this last section,

there are overarching themes

that do apply

to all of us.

So let me ask us all

to reflect on this.

Are we committed

and passionate

about the spread

of the gospel?

Are we passionate

to see the gospel

go to all people?

Are we committed

and passionate

about living lives

that glorify

and lift up

the name of Christ

above all other gods?

I think that's

the ultimate point

of this chapter.

So let me ask you this.

Do you,

do we,

pray for all people

to come to know Jesus?

Do you spend time

in your day,

do you spend time

on your own

praying for all

the people you know

in your life

who don't know Christ,

praying that they

would come to know Christ?

Pray for all people.

And then we should

constantly be asking

ourselves this question.

Do we hinder

the spread of the gospel

in how we live,

in how we treat

one another?

You know,

when people outside

the church

are looking at the church,

our behavior,

our conduct,

the way we love

or fail to love

one another

is probably

the most powerful

apologetic

for the truth

of the gospel

that people see.

So when people

around us

and people

in the broader culture

are only willing

to be friends

with those who disagree,

with those who agree

with them politically

and they're only willing

to associate

with people

who agree with them

politically,

when that's the reality

in the world,

but then when those people

look into the church

and they see that

in the church community,

we're the kind of people

who build strong bonds

of friendship

and love

and service

that transcend

political division.

When people see that,

we are holding Christ up

as superior

to the political God

that is worshipped

in so many other temples

in the city.

Whatever the 21st century

equivalent of Artemis may be,

right,

that's one example.

When we are doing that,

people say,

there's something out there

more important

than my political affiliation.

There's something

that creates a foundation

for a relationship

that is deeper

and stronger

than our political affiliation.

They're seeing

there's a superior God

out there.

There's a superior way

to order our lives.

When other people

want to make more money

so that they can spend

more money

so that they can get

nicer and nicer things,

and that's the motivation

for all that they do,

and then they look

into the Christian community

and they see Christians

equally ambitious,

striving to earn more money

so that they can give

more money away,

you're seeing something else

put on display there,

right?

The watching world

is seeing a different ethic,

a different relationship

to money.

Like our gospel reading

said this morning,

you cannot worship

both God and wealth,

and they're seeing

these are people

who don't worship wealth.

These are people

who worship something greater,

something better,

something truer,

something more beautiful.

They have a God

that is far greater

than the God

I've been worshiping,

right?

This, I believe,

is the central concern here.

And you know,

there may be

some theological issues

that good,

Bible-believing,

faithful Christians

disagree on.

There may be

some issues like that,

and that is frustrating.

Frankly,

I think some of these issues

may not be fully resolved

until Jesus comes again.

But I believe

that the way

we love one another,

I believe the way

that we treat one another

across those lines

of disagreement,

I believe that

that is a powerful

apologetic for the gospel,

arguably even more so

than our ability

to agree

on every doctrinal issue.

And praise be

to the Lord Jesus,

when it comes

to disagreement,

the gospel

is not an issue

we disagree on.

So because of the gospel,

right,

because we agree on that,

right,

regardless of what side

of the various issues

you occupy.

Our primary commitment,

our primary commitment

is to love one another

and treat one another

with mutual respects.

And I say that to people

on every side

of the issue.

And I will say

what I've already said,

I'll say it one more time.

I have changed my position

on this particular issue.

One of the things

I most hate

is when a person

changes their mind

and then immediately

proceeds to denigrate

those who hold

to the prior position.

I will not tolerate that

for the sake

of the gospel.

So if there's ever

a hint of that

in anything I say

or do,

I want you to let me know.

And if there's ever

a hint of that

anywhere in our community,

we need to put an end to it.

Because our primary concern

is that we don't

hinder the gospel.

It is that when people

see the way we

love one another

and serve one another

and they see the unity

in our community,

it compels them to ask,

what makes all

this possible?

And the answer

is the gospel,

which we believe

is the best possible news

meant for all people.

So let us pray

and live in ways

that make that happen.

Let's pray.

Our Lord in heaven,

we thank you.

We praise you.

We lift your name

on high.

And we pray

that in everything

we pray

and everything we do,

Lord, we pray

that your gospel

would go forth.

Lord, we pray

that the hope of Jesus,

that the name of Christ

would be exalted

above every other name.

And we know

that that will happen,

that one day

this city will be known.

One day this city

will be known

as part of the New Jerusalem

where your name

is lifted above

every other name,

where you are

the source of light

and life,

Lord, and you alone.

And until that day,

Lord, may we be

faithful witnesses

of your gospel.

And we pray this

in Jesus' holy name.

Amen.