Reformed and freed

This is my manuscript for the Reformation Sunday services. The actual sermon was pretty much like this.

 

Today we commemorate the Reformation of the church. We remember it’s beginning from October 31, 1517, when Father Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, nailed his 95 Thesis to the front door of the Wittenberg Castle Cathedral. Copies of those theses have been included in your bulletins, as well as attached to the doors of our church. I didn’t think it was a good idea to put them on the doors at St. Mary’s.

If you read through Luther’s 95 Thesis, you will see that they have to do with the forgiveness of sins, and abuses he believed the priests in Germany were taking in requiring penance and selling indulgences, granting forgiveness for sins that you had not yet committed or purchasing the forgiveness of sins of those who have died. Luther was concerned that the act of forgiving sins was focused too much on the priest granting people forgiveness, and what the person did to earn that forgiveness, whether through acts of contrition, penance or contribution.

In the lesson from the Gospel of John that is appointed for Reformation Sunday, Jesus tells the Jews who believe in him, those who are following him, that they follow his teachings, staying true to “his word,” then they “will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8.31, 32] He tells them that, “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” [John 8.34] As slaves, we do not have a place in the household. As sinners, we do not have a place in heaven. A slave cannot free him or herself. A slave can only be freed by someone else.

That is part of the Gospel message that we don’t like. We don’t want to be told we cannot do something. We don’t want to hear that we are not self-reliant. We want to be able to do as we want. If we get ourselves into a problem, we want to get ourselves out of it.

OK, I have sinned against God. So if I do enough good things, I can earn God’s grace. Or if I am TRULY sorry, I can get God to forgive me. Or maybe, if I donate enough, if I give of myself enough, God will be merciful to me. While the stewardship and finance committees may prefer that I don’t rule out that third option, those don’t work.

Jesus tells those who believe in him (that includes us) that it is the Son who can free us from our slavery to sin. “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” [John 8.36] That is also what Paul writes to the church in Rome in his letter. He tells them that the law, the expectations that God has for God’s people, based upon the various covenants calls for us all to be accountable. The  Law confronts our behavior; it tells us what is expected of us by God. The Law also holds a mirror up to our behavior, and shows us who we truly and really are. The Law shows us how sinful we are. It reveals that we cannot be justified in what we have done, not on our own. But the Law also points us toward the Gospel, the good news that is Jesus Christ.

The Gospel proclaims that it is the Son of God who sets us free. It is the Son of God who gives us the gift of grace. We receive this gift not because of anything that we could or have done, but “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood.” [Romans 3.24-25] The Son has made us free, but at the cost of his blood, his life. Christ’s faithfulness to God sets us free, forgives us of our sins. It is not our faith, or our works that does so.

Outside of the Holy City of Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, the Son of God was nailed to a cross in an act of faithfulness to God. Because he was righteous, those who believe in him will be found righteous. Because he was sinless, those who believe in him shall be found sinless. Because he was raised from the dead, those who believe in him will be raised in a day that is surely coming.

On the doors of a church in Germany almost 500 years ago, a priest nailed a list of complaints in an act of hoping to call the church to turn from its errant ways. He wanted the church to stop relying on human actions, those of the priest and the penitent, to have sins forgiven. He wanted the church to remember that the sins were already forgiven. Not by works, but by faith. By the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

Luther wanted people to be free from focusing on trying to earn their forgiveness through penance and the purchase of indulgences. Luther wanted people to be freed from trying to live up to the Law to earn God’s love. He wanted people to realize we are freed BY God’s love, and that living up to the Law is our reaction to that freeing love, not an attempt to earn it.

Yet Another Sermon I Wish I'd Have Thought To Have Given

And here is the sermon I wish I would have given.

From the Sarcastic Lutheran.

Pictures of God, Especially Some On A Not So Good Day

This is the manuscript I wrote for my sermon for Sunday, October 9, on Matthew's Parable of the Wedding Banquet and the Underdressed Guest, but also touching on the other lessons for the day (Isaiah,  Psalm 23, and Phillipians 4.) The final product resembled this, but I cut parts of the opening.

On my computer, my screen saver is called “Best Pics.” It is a random slideshow of around 200 pictures that I have selected. Most of the pictures are from my time at Seminary, because I got a digital camera from the people I worked with as a going away gift. (Which says something – but that’s a different topic.) Now, I have a really good camera on my cell phone, so I can take picture almost anytime.

In the slideshow, there are pictures of me at various events and locations, and pictures that I took. I’ve scanned in some pictures that were taken by cameras with actual film.

Some people have their collection of pictures displayed on the walls and tables of their homes, or tucked away in photo albums. Mine is on my computer.

So there is a picture of me with my parents at my high school graduation, and one from when I graduated from Alma College. There are a few of the plays I was in high school and a couple from when our football team played some exhibition games in Finland. I have pictures of the fraternity house I lived in burning to the ground. There is a picture of my dad holding me as a baby.

From Gettysburg, I have a lot of pictures of the town and the monuments. I would often go for a walk in the morning and was able to take some, what I think, pretty good pictures. There are also a lot of pictures of birthday celebrations. The person whose birthday it was picked the restaurant, and everyone would go. So there are a lot of pictures at a Japanese steakhouse & sushi restaurant. I have a lot of pictures of people sticking their tongues out – must be something the pipeliners, those who went to seminary right out of college were doing.

Some pictures I downloaded off of Facebook after being tagged – identified in a picture someone else took and posted.  A few picture are self-inflicted; I took them while holding the camera away and trying to get myself and someone else in the picture. (Like this.) Those usually didn’t turn out.

There are some from my graduation from Gettysburg, some from my ordination, some of the boxes as I was loading and unloading to move out here, and some of my installation. I realize I don’t have too many from my time out here.

But pictures, snapshots tell us a lot about a person. They show where they have been, what they did, who they were with. Not all pictures are accurate. Photoshopping (not that I have done that) can do amazing things. They can be posed or spontaneous. They can catch your good side or your bad side.

Today, the nice people who created the Revised Common Lectionary have given us four pictures of God. And they are four very different perspectives.

The prophet Isaiah, using an old camera, maybe one of the ones that you held down around your belly button and everything was upside down, shows us a picture of God victorious.

The fortified city of aliens lies in ruins. God has been a place for the poor and needy to come. Isaiah shows us the mountain upon which God will “swallow up death forever.” Then God “will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people” will be taken away forever.

That’s a nice picture. That one will have a prominent spot on the wall.

The apostle Paul takes a nice picture of God for the church in Philippi. Well, really, the picture isn’t so much of God, but of what God does. And can do. And has done. You know, it’s more like a picture of the refrigerator in God’s house. C’mon, give me a minute to explain.

You know how on your refrigerator you have a lot of stuff stuck to it? I’m not the only one, am I?

You have some pictures of friends on there – that’s Euodia and Syntyche, probably posed with Paul, while Clement takes the picture.

There is a to do list – Paul reminds them to turn that over to God. There are reminders: to Rejoice, actually, a couple of those, and to be gentle. Also, remember, the Lord is near.

And there are encouraging notes to keep doing what is good and what they have learned.

It’s a collection of reminders – a nice scrap booking display or collage.

Then there’s the prize portrait; the one given the most prominent place – the Twenty-third Psalm. I bet some of you actually have this up on a wall in your house, anyone? You may have stumbled when we read this together because you have the King James Version memorized. There is something comforting about “maketh,” “leadeth” and “preparest.”

It is a picture of a God that we can trust, a God that will take care of us. It is a photo of a God who will be there for us after a tough day with a plate of hot homemade chocolate chip cookies and a cold glass of milk – that will restoreth MY soul.

It is a portrait of a God who keeps us safe, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear NO evil, for thou art with me.”

It is an image who gives us what we need. In the middle of all of our problems; a table is prepared, we are anointed and our “cup runneth over.” We always have a home because we “will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

That is the picture we want to have of God; non-judgmental, caring, providing for us, protecting us. That’s the picture we treasure.

Then there is Matthew 22. This isn’t a picture of God that we really like. This isn’t God’s ‘best side.’ It’s a bad hair day. This is the picture that threats are made over – if you show that picture to anyone …

I have one of those. It’s from just before my aunt’s wedding in the late ‘70’s. My dad gave my aunt away, so he is has a white tuxedo coat on, and a shirt with powder blue ruffles, my mom has on a nice white dress while sporting a very nice beehive hairdo. Then there is me – dark blue leisure suit jacket, with a light blue shirt with a HUGE collar, pewter zodiac medallion and a pair of blue plaid polyester bell-bottoms. Not just regular bell-bottoms, but the elephant bell bottoms that covered acres of space. Not my favorite picture.

That leads me to today’s Gospel lesson. Picking up from where we have been the past two week, Jesus is having a ‘conversation’ with the chief priests and elders. They challenged his authority, now he is returning the favor. He tells them a series of parables. Two weeks ago, he accused them of being hypocrites by the parable of the two sons. Last week, he called them bad leaders in the parable of the evil tenants.

But today’s lesson, what is known as the parable of the wedding banquet isn’t about them. It is about what the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is like. Actually, the way Jesus speaks, it is what the kingdom has become like. He uses the past tense and passive voice. (This is a picture of me as a language nerd.) The kingdom, which we have heard repeatedly in Matthew’s Gospel, has come near, and has been changed, has become something different. It was changed by an outside force. We will come back to that.

The king is having a wedding banquet for his son. This is often connected to the description of the wedding between Christ and the Church in Revelation 19. As is the custom of the Ancient Near East, invitations have been sent far in advance – Save the date. The RSVP’s have been returned promptly. Now as the day draws near, the king sends out servants to remind the people invited to come.

Now, it is easy to see through the allusions that the king represents God, the Father; and the invited ones are the leaders of the Chosen People, Israel. They are the chief priests and elders; the ones that have asked Jesus where his authority comes from. The servants who are first sent out are the prophets.

But the prophets are ignored. More servants are sent out. (By the way, have I shared with you that the word ‘apostles’ means the sent out ones?  Now, I have.) This group of sent out ones bring the message that the food is on the table, and the food is good. This second invitation is an act of extraordinary generosity and hospitality.

Now, up to this point, this is a pretty good picture of the king/God. He is very hospitable and welcoming. This one may go near the Psalm 23 picture.

But those who have been invited can’t be bothered to come. They make light of the event, or go about their daily business. The king has invited them to a banquet; they said they would come, but now they cannot be bothered. Some of the guests go even farther. They “mistreat” the messengers, and kill some of them.

This is not just being impolite. This is insurrection. They are killing the king’s representatives.

But when the king hears how his messengers have been treated, he gets angry. Really angry. He sends his troops to kill those who mistreated the ones he sent out, and to burn their city.

This is widely seen as a description of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Roman troops. The early Christian church believed that the destruction of Jerusalem, including the leveling of the Temple Mount was divine retribution for the actions of the chief priests and elders in the arrest and assassination of Jesus.

The belief that God would use “alien” armies to punish the Chosen People was long held. The invasions and conquering of ancient Israel and Judea by Assyria, Babylon and Persia were seen as God’s tough love. So for the early Christian Church to view the destruction of Jerusalem in that light makes sense. And since Matthew’s Gospel was written to a mixed community of Jews who came to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, as well as Gentile believers, it makes sense that the vengeance of the king would be included. Luke’s Gospel has a similar parable, but the host is a rich man, not a king, whose servant is ignored, not mistreated and killed, and therefore the violence is not met out.

So this picture isn’t THAT bad. We’ve all had our ‘cranky’ moments. And God, I mean the king, is acting out in retaliation. While he was insulted by the guests blowing off the banquet, it was that his servants were mistreated and killed that set him off. Some Old Testament wrath of God was enacted on those who deserved it. This picture can along with the Isaiah pictures.

But the banquet must go on. So the king sends out more servants. This time they are to go to the intersections and main streets of the kingdom. They are to “invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” And they do so, “both good and bad.”

Now it gets interesting. The original invited guests “were not worthy.” That’s the chief priests and elders. They were invited to be a part of the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, and when the Messiah is right there in front of them, they ask him, “Who told you that you could do that stuff?”

They don’t recognize the Son of God because he isn’t what they were expecting the Messiah to be. As I’ve said before, they wanted Rambo in a robe and they got the Prince of Peace.

So now the sent out ones (apostles) invite EVERYONE to the feast. All are now welcome, whether they are good or bad. Whether they are Jew or Gentile, slave or free, man or woman, sinner or saint. All are invited into the kingdom of heaven.

Once again, this is a picture that can go right next to the shepherd of Psalm 23. God is even MORE generous. Everyone is welcome; everyone can partake of the feast.

Here is our happy ending. ‘And they all lived happily forever and ever. Amen.’ That’s a message that is easy to preach – you are all invited, you are all welcome. ‘Come on down!’

But wait, there is more. As the king comes into the banquet hall, he sees someone not dressed appropriately; he does not have on a wedding robe.

A wedding robe was a white tunic worn on special occasions, such as a wedding banquet. While it was not as nice as a leisure suit with plaid bell-bottoms, it was what was expected to be worn. To not wear a wedding robe would be an insult to the host. As we have learned, this host does not handle insults well.

The king comes up to the improperly attired guest and says, “Friend.” This term is only use one other time in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus responds to Judas, who has just betrayed him with a kiss. It is a term used when you are addressing someone who you do not care to address by name. The king asks how the guest got in without a wedding robe.

Here is where I have struggled with this parable. How was the guest to know? Was he told when he was invited? Was he expected to just know? And since the king just had the city destroyed and burned, where was he to get such a robe? Some commentators and experts say that such robes would have been handed out as you came to the banquet. Others say that the gown represents a baptismal robe. Still others say that it symbolizes that our sins are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, another reference to Revelation. This is one of the times I wish the disciples would have asked Jesus to explain the parable.

I don’t understand how, if everyone is invited, good AND bad, how someone can be excluded, thrown out into “outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” because they didn’t dress up.

But if we look at what Jesus is trying to explain to the chief priests and elders, and to his disciples, and to us, it becomes clearer.

The original guests refused to obey the king’s invitation. They said they would, but did not – just like the second son. They were chosen, but then rejected, abused and ignored the ones sent by the king – like the wicked tenants. So the king sent out others to invite everyone, and they came to the banquet. These are the other tenants that the chief priests and elders said “will give him the produce at the harvest time.” These are the ones who said they would not go and work in the vineyard, but then did.

With an exception. Those who came to the banquet and accepted the invitation have been transformed. They are bearing good fruit. They are doing good works.

This is where my Lutheran background and instruction makes this difficult for me. We believe we are saved by faith, not works. We are afraid of anything that comes close to works righteousness – the belief that we can earn our salvation by doing the right thing or enough right things.

But producing good fruit is not works righteousness. Producing good fruit is righteous works. It is not done to earn salvation; it is done because salvation has been given. We cannot be good enough to earn grace. We can’t do enough good to win grace. Grace is a gift, not a reward.

Our good works, our good fruit, are a reaction and response to God’s grace, not actions or causes of that grace. We cannot redeem grace because we help and visit and provide and care and love others. Grace redeems us so that we can help and visit and provide and care and love others.

Grace is free, but it is not cheap. It is transformative, unless we resist. It requires us to repent, to radically reorient ourselves toward God and God’s will. Being forgiven, receiving God’s grace is not an invitation to sit on our butts doing nothing. God’s grace, literally a gift from God, is freeing. It frees us from bondage to sin to live in service to God and to others.

God wants us to come to the banquet, not as we were, but as we are, transformed by the invitation, changed by being unchained. We should be humbled, stunned by the invitation, honored to be included.

In the hymn we will sing in just a moment, a song of praise and thanksgiving, a celebration of the invitation to the banquet, to have supper with our Lord, we will close by singing, “Give us grace to live for others, serving all, both friends and strangers, seeking justice, love and mercy, ‘til you come in final glory.”

We are invited to be transformed. Blessed to be a blessing. To serve and not to be served. Changed so we can help change the world.

Get the picture? Amen.

You Know You're Gonna Live Through The Rain

Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith (live)

I Don't Want Justice, I Want What's Mine!

For some reason, I've started writing my sermons as manuscripts, and then making outlines out of them.This week (for Sunday, September 18), I'm trying something REALLLLLLLLY different. My sermon took the form of six one-person monologues. The text is the Parable of the Vineyard Workers, (Matthew 20.1-16)

Worker Who Was There All Day

(The person is on the phone, and waves to the congregation.)

Hey yeah, c’mon in. I’m on hold. Did you hear? Did you hear what happened today? I’m calling the Labor Relations Board. About the vineyard and how unjust that man is?

The landowner that’s who. You DID hear what happened?

I get up early, like I always do, and go down to the marketplace to wait for the managers to come and hire people. The owner shows up … yeah, the big guy. He picks me and a bunch of other guys. We’re out there by 6 am, and we are working all day. And you know how hot it was out there today.

Hold on, sorry, still on hold.  So every few hours some more guys keep coming into the vineyard, and we go a lot of stuff done. So it’s the end of the day and the owner tells his manager to pay the new guys first. So these guys who were only there for an hour come back celebrating ‘cause they got paid a denarii. Yeah, for an hour’s work! So, me and the guys who’ve been there all day are getting excited.

Why? Well, if they got a denarii for an hour, we should get a handful of denarii for being out there all day.

What did he say when he hired us? He said we’d get the usual daily wage. He told some others he would make it right. Plus, I’ve been there before. I go there all the time. I’m a faithful worker. So the manager is paying people in the opposite order of when they came, and we hear the guys who came later in the morning grumbling.

Hold on. Hello? Still on hold. So I get up there with the guys and we get a denarii. A denarii!

Yeah, that’s what we normally get for working all day, but that’s what the guys who were only there an hour got. So I yell over to the owner, “Hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know?" He said he decided to give the same to everyone, first or last. Can you believe that?

Yeah, we agreed to the regular wage, but the others got the same amount for less work. That’s not fair! I’m gonna turn him in to the Labor Board.

You sound like him; he said he can pay what he wants. He asked if I was jealous because he was generous.

What do you mean, “Are you jealous?” Hey … Hold on. Hello, hello!! “Calls will be answered in the order of who has the most need”?

(The first character is based upon one of the early workers from the parable.)

Upset High Perks Traveler

(The character is ringing a bell you would find at a hotel/resort front desk)

Hello. HELLO!! Are you in charge here? Can you fix this? Can. You. Fix. This?

Fix what? Do you know who I am? Do. You. Know. Who. I. Am?

Am I a preferred member? Hello! I’m so important I don’t need a card. You KNOW who I am.

What is the problem? Are you serious? You don’t know what is going on?

There are people who have NEVER been here before. NEVER. They don’t know where anything is. And they are getting the same free breakfast buffet I always get.

I am a loyal member. I ONLY come here. I ALWAYS come here. And they get the same things I get.

I couldn’t get a putt-putt tee time because THEY already took them all.

I thought membership got you rewards.

What do you mean, membership is its own reward?

Just? JUST? You are saying treating everyone the same is just? I don’t care about justice. It’s not fair! I want to be treated better!

If this is the way I’m going to be treated, I don’t know if I want to be here.

Happy Worker

(Speaks to his wife and is carrying bags of groceries)

Hello, honey? Honey, I’m HOOOOOOOMMMMMEE! How did the day go? Let me tell you how today went? You won’t believe it.

I got up early, like I always do, and went down to the marketplace to wait for the managers to come and hire people. The owner shows up … yeah, the big guy. He picked a bunch of guys. I wasn’t one of them.

How did I get the groceries? I’ll tell you. So, you know a lot of those guys don’t like me. Yeah, well, when the owner came, they rushed up front and I got forced to the back when came time to be hired. So he took a crew and left.

But he came back a few other times. I missed him a couple of times because I went to some shops to see if they had any work. And once, I heard some of the guys he took saying bad things about me. You know, I’m always the last one picked, ever since dodge ball in school.

But today, it’s around 5 o’clock, and I’m trying to figure out where to get some food for you and the kids, and the owner comes back.

He asked why we were standing there. I told him no one hired us. Then he told us to go into his vineyard. I figured we’d get paid at least enough of some food.

An hour later, they call us in to get paid. I’m wondering how much we’ll get, and the manager pays us first. And we get a denarii. A whole denarii!! I know. I couldn’t believe it either!

I could not believe how generous the landowner was. So I went to the market and now we have bread for the day. Now we can feed our family.

The owner was willing to pay us for following him. He was so generous. He showed so much grace. It was amazing.

 (Obviously based on one of the 5 o'clock workers)

Detective Canaan - Ninevah CSI

(Yes, this is based on the Miami CSI character)

I’m Detective Canaan, Ninevah CSI. I’m investigating the disappearance of the preacher and prophet Jonah. We’re not sure what happened to him. Some think he ran off. Some think he may have committed suicide – he said he wanted to die. Don’t know what happened. <Puts on glasses> It’s as if he was swallowed up.

Have you seen him? You saw him sitting under the bush? It looks like something ate it, maybe a worm. We’ll take some samples. You say he was angry? Angry that the bush was destroyed. AND he was angry that all of Ninevah wasn’t destroyed? He was upset that God didn’t do what he wanted? <Puts on glasses> So, it appears he wanted to be the big fish.

So, he wanted us destroyed, huh? I realize that Ninevah is the capital of Israel’s biggest enemy, but we are people too. You heard him preach? He said we were evil. But we are trying to do better. We’re repenting. We’re trying.

You say that wasn’t good enough for him? He came out here and pouted. He wanted to see God smite us, destroy us, huh?

Jonah never forgave us, but God did. He couldn’t or wouldn’t let go.

You say he was so upset with God he would rather die than see us forgiven. <Puts on glasses> I guess he didn’t want God to choose other people.

Upset Person in Heaven

(A man, wearing a halo, stalking St. Peter in Heaven)

Excuse me, are you Peter? St. Peter?

Good. Glad to meet you. Hey, are you in charge here?

Well, yeah. I realize … you know … but you’re in charge of who gets in, right? Peter, Simon Peter, right? Yeah, what’s going on? How did some of these people get in here?

What do I mean? C’mon. Like … well, him and her and … them?

How in the … world did you let them in?

This is heaven. This is our eternal reward. And you let in these … sinners?

Yeah, I know about forgiveness. But what about all these Johnny-come-latelies? I can’t believe you let them in, but then you treat them the same as me.

What do I mean? I mean, come on. I am a Christian through and through. A cradle to grave Christian. Always in church. I even sat up FRONT.

You know I was a good giver. I even gave enough for those special projects.

Well, yeah, I made sure my name was listed.  But I gave a lot, a lot more than THOSE people.

Wait. Don’t say that I’m not understanding; that I’m not tolerant. I’ve always been accepting of everyone, even those people. I was welcoming. I nodded at them. I tolerated them.

I was willing to do different things. We did some new things. But I didn’t want them to change the way we’ve always done things at my church.

Not my church? Oh, yeah.

But I’m a lifelong faithful follower. And these people who lived bad lives, these imperfect people, get treated the same as I do?

What do you mean that salvation is its own reward?

Preacher

(Goes back into the pulpit -- I almost never preach from the pulpit.)

To sum up this week’s lessons,

We get upset because we think someone is getting more than they deserve. If someone gets the same discount we do, and they don’t have the coupon we clipped, or the membership card we have, we are angry.

We are upset because the salvation, the forgiveness, the grace and mercy we covet, that we feel we earned, is being given to those who don’t deserve it.

We are upset because we see God pouring out mercy to those we feel are unworthy, and fail to notice that our cup is overflowing.

We forget, we have not earned a single thing in the eyes of God, except for God’s righteous anger and condemnation.

Salvation, forgiveness, grace & mercy are gifts given freely and generously by God. Not because of who we are; but because of whose we are.

We covet God’s power to forgive and not forgive. We think we should decide who is in and who is out of God’s kingdom, because we know all about others and their wicked ways. We should draw the line of who is in, and who is out.

But when we draw that line, we find ourselves on the out side, and Jesus is with those on the other side. We forget about our faults.

Or we know our own faults & failures ALL too well. We draw the line with us on the outside, never realizing Jesus is on that side, our side.

Jesus was killed for preaching this message.

We are forgiven not because we earned it, but because Christ died for us.

Good and right living is its own reward.

Serving others is its own reward.

Forgiving and forgiveness is its own reward.

We focus on what we have to do to be saved. Our focus should be on the fact that we ARE saved, so what are we going to do?

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The landowner is calling you into the vineyard. Invite some friends. There is a lot of work to do.

Remember, grace isn’t earned; it is given. A gift from God. And it is amazing.

The Hymn of the Day is Amazing Grace.

Forgiveness is Dei -- On A Day When Forgiving Is Extra Difficult

 This is the manuscript I wrote on Saturday to create an outline from which to preach from on Sunday, September 11, 2011. I didn't stick to it. (I never do.) I've added in some of what I remember saying at the two services. Some of this I used, some I didn't but it all went into the stew, and each congregation got a different mix of veggies and meat in service today.

Peter asks Jesus how often you must forgive someone who has sinned against you. This comes from the passage just before this, last week’s Gospel lesson, about what you are to do if someone sins against you. For those of you who weren’t here, let me recap:

You are to talk to the person face to face so they understand what they did and how it affected you.

If that doesn’t work, then you are to take a couple of friends with you and talk to the person again, again so they understand how what they did has wronged you.

Should that not work, then bring the matter, and the person, before the congregation, again presenting how their actions have been detrimental to you.

If the person should still not realize and admit what they did was wrong, then treat them like a Gentile, a tax collector or a Chicago Bear (you should’ve been here).

BUT, when you look at how Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors, (he didn’t deal with Bears) you see that he reached out to them and ministered to them. He lifted them up as examples of those who had great faith and healed those they asked him to heal. All of this followed Jesus telling about the shepherd who had one of 100 sheep wander off and left the 99 alone to search for the lost one. Jesus said it was not his father’s will that anyone be lost.

Peter realizes that when you have been sinned against that you can’t just try once with the transgressor. So he wants to set a limit on how much trying you have to do. Now, I don’t know if Peter knew what the rabbinic recommendation was, but I do. It was three times. You were to forgive three times. If that wasn’t sufficient, tough. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Done.

Let’s say Peter knew that Jewish tradition. He also knew Jesus usually raised the bar (as well as the dead), went the extra mile and turned the other cheek. So if three times was the norm, well seven is more than twice three, and it was considered a perfect number, so he went with seven. Forgive someone seven times.

BUZZZZZZZ! I’m sorry, that’s wrong, thanks for playing. Not only was Jesus not accepting 7, but Peter wasn’t close. Now depending upon which translation of the Bible you prefer, the correct answer is either 77 times or 7 TIMES 70. The exact number really doesn’t matter. The answer to how many times you are to forgive someone who sins against you is that you keep forgiving. If you are counting, you are not forgiving. If you are keeping track of how many times you have forgiven someone, you are still keeping track of what they did. The Greek word for forgiveness is literally to “let go.” If you forgive someone, you let go of what happened. So if you keep score, you are still sore about being wronged.

Now, Jesus knows the disciples, and knows that they do not understand what he is getting at, so he tells them a parable. The other disciples probably look at Peter, going, “Great. A parable. Now we’ll NEVER understand.” The disciples are always asking Jesus to explain the parable he just used to describe what the reign of God, the kingdom of God, is like.

But this one is pretty straightforward. We just may not like it.

A king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. [Mt 18.23b-24] What is a talent? Not ability, like singing. A talent is a measure of silver. One talent was equal to what a laborer would make in fifteen years. So think of how much you make in a year, and multiply it by fifteen. Sorry about the math. Then put four zeroes at the end of that. That is the amount that this slave owes his king. He owes what it would take him 150,000 years to pay back. Not surprisingly, the slave tells the king that he can’t pay that amount. So the king is going to have the slave, the slave’s wife, their children and everything they own sold to pay off the debt. But the slave begs the king not to do that, and to be patient and give him the chance to pay it off. So what does the king do? He is SO moved by the slave that he forgives the entire debt. The whole thing. Wiped out. Zeroed. Net balance, nada, zip, zero, zilch. That is some quality groveling.

But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii. [Mt 18.28] What is a denarii? A denarii is not an automobile. It is a silver coin and what a laborer would make for working one day. If you work at a job where you are paid hourly, or are on salary, you can figure out what your daily wages are. Take that and put two zeroes at the end, and that is what slave #2 owes slave #1. In case you want to compare the levels of indebtedness, it took about 5,475 denarii to equal one talent. If you worked every day for 15 years, saving each denarii

Then slave #1 seized slave #2 by the throat and demanded payment on what he was owed. Slave #2 begged and pleaded for patience and the opportunity to repay what was owed. Slave #1 refused and had slave #2 thrown in prison. The other slaves saw what happened and told the king. The king was NOT happy and summoned slave #1, chewed him out and handed him over to be tortured until he paid his original debt.

Now, this is where the parable gets a little tricky. I mean, this is a parable that I understand, and kind of agree with. Slave #1 is a … well, my best description of him would be a word I don’t want to use in front of kids, nor when all dressed up in the sanctuary. Let’s go with jerk. That the king decides to go after him and punish him makes me feel good; he got what he had coming.

You would expect that if you owed a life crushing debt, owed more than you could make in around 3,000 lifetimes, and it was forgiven, don’t you think that might put you in a generous mood? Slave #1 got a free pass, one he did NOT deserve, but then puts the hammer to Slave #2 for a debt that really could be repaid. There was NO way that Slave #1 could pay his debt. But Slave #2 had a chance. It’s 100 days wages. But Slave #1 didn’t give him a chance. Because of his actions, the king unforgave the debt that the jerk, I mean slave #1, owed to him. You can’t do that, can you? Can you take back forgiveness? And more importantly, since Jesus is using this parable to describe the kingdom of heaven that would mean the king is representing God the Father. So, can God take back forgiveness? If so, what does that mean?

It gets worse. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart. [Mt 18.35]

If we do not forgive others from our hearts, God the Father will hand us over to be tortured until we pay off what we owe?  This appearing in Matthew’s Gospel shouldn’t be a surprise. Each of the four gospels has its own unique perspectives, its own voice. It is as if there were four eyewitnesses to an accident. Each will tell a slightly different version of what happened, based upon their perspective. In Matthew’s gospel, many parables have an “or else” component. Weeds are separated from wheat and thrown into the fire. The worker who complained about his wages is fired. The son who didn’t go into the fields is banished from the kingdom, and those who did not see Jesus in the hungry, thirsty, naked or imprisoned were sent to eternal punishment.

Some Biblical scholars think Jesus is engaging in hyperbole, exaggerating to make a point. No one could accumulate the amount of debt that Slave #1 does. The amount he owes, 10,000 talents, is the same amount the Roman Empire demanded in tribute from all of Israel when they conquered Israel. The king does not act in a forgiving way, at least the second time. Nor did the rest of the slaves. While that is true, not forgiving someone can be considered to be a sin, because it is not acting out of love toward that person. But specifically because this teaching is hard; because forgiving is difficult, I think this teaching is true and important.

All of this talk of forgiving debts reminds me of something. Does anyone remember learning a version of the Lord’s Prayer that talked of “forgiving our debts as we forgave our debtors.”? Anyone else recall that? Would it surprise you to know that version comes from Matthew’s Gospel? The one we use in worship, with “forgive our sins,” or “forgive our trespasses,” comes from Luke’s gospel.

But Matthew’s version of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples uses debts. We ask God to let go of what we owe. That’s not the only difference, and here is where the grammar lesson comes in. Matthew’s version of that petition is: “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” “As we HAVE FORGIVEN our debtors.” Aorist, or past tense. Completed action. We are asking God to follow our example and let go of what we owe, because we have already let go of what we are owed.

Wait, it gets worse. After teaching his disciples how to pray, in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus adds: For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [Mt 6.14-15] How would our lives be different if we use Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer rather than Luke’s? 

This seems to be too tough. And the characters in the parable don't seem to be too forgiving. The king forgives once, then takes it back. Where are the other 76 or 489 times? And the other slaves, well, they're just a bunch of tattle tails. Where is their mercy and forgiveness. Then there is this king, who, if this parable is supposed to be about the kingdom of heaven, the king must represent God, the Father. Well, he sure gets angry. He's not at all like God is depicted in today's Psalm:

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse,nor will he keep his anger for ever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. [Psalm 103:8-10]

Well. At least Matthew’s consistent. He reports Jesus saying that we ill be judged as we judge others [7.1-2] and we’ve heard twice since I’ve been here that whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever we bind on earth will be bound on heaven. So if we forgive someone, if we let it go, it will be let go in heaven. But not for their account, but for ours. If we let go of a wrong, or a bunch of wrongs, done against us, we will have our wrongs let go of in heaven.

If we forgive, if we let go of the denarii worth of wrongs done against us, our heavenly king will let go of the talents load of wrongs we have done. It seems like a great deal. But letting go of those wrongs are hard. Because each of those wrongs, each of those sins against us, have left a scar. That scar may be mental, emotional or physical. Each of those wrongs has caused us pain.  When we forgive, what are we to do with that pain and rage? Let it go.

We know we are sinners. We know we have sinned. We know what we have done has hurt people. And we beg for mercy and forgiveness. It may be from those we wronged. It may not. But we hope that God will forgive us. Even when we can’t forgive ourselves.

Another theme running through Matthew is Jesus telling the disciples that the kingdom of heaven does not work as this world does, but it works in its own ways. One of the ways that it works is that we are to live in forgiveness, live in letting it go.

Jesus is telling us, commanding us, to let it go. For our sins to be forgiven, we must already forgive those who have sinned against us. And that is hard, hard work. Those wrongs done against us, done to us are personal. Those insults and assaults have been against us. They were done to us. They have hurt our pride, our bodies and our very souls.

The key to this parable, and this whole section of Matthew is in showing mercy. The king showed mercy, until it was thrown back at him. Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” [Mt 12.7] The mercy we give should reflect the mercy we get. Or to quote the Beatles, “The love you take is equal to the love you make.” Jesus tells us to let it go. It is not easy. Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness is a challenge. Forgiveness is a challenge that we must take on. Earlier I quoted Jesus saying, it was not his father’s will that anyone be lost. (Actually didn't use the Beatles quote -- but I love the Beatles, so I left it in here.)

By forgiving others, it allows them to be reconciled and brought back into the community. By forgiving others, it allows us to be reconciled to others and be in community with them. Forgiveness is not for the sake of the other, but for our own sake. Holding on to the pain and shame, the bruise and the blues effects me, not the one who wounded me. Letting go helps me heal. Forgiveness is hard. But if you recall our vocabulary lesson from a couple of weeks ago, forgiveness is dei … it is necessary.

That brings me to the number that casts a shadow over this lesson … 9/11. Ten years later, watching those pictures still hurt. 

Before coming to church this morning, I turned on TV and watched a bit of the Memorial Service from where the Twin Towers were. There was a young man who read his father's name; his father was a stock broker in one of the towers. The young man said he was trying to teach his younger brother about their father, and he hopes that he's doing a good job.

What if Peter asked, “If someone, a person or a group, kills innocent people, why do I have to forgive, even once?” Why does that young man, or anyone who lost a loved one on 9/11 have to forgive even once? Why does anyone who lost a loved one in the wars we fought after 9/11 have to forgive, even once? Why does anyone who has suffered through the ethnic cleansings in Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East have to forgive even once?   Why does anyone who has suffered through genocide have to forgive? Why does anyone who has suffered through the holocaust of the Nazi concentration camps have to forgive even once? Why do those who have survived individual attacks of domestic abuse, of child abuse and neglect have to forgive? Why does anyone suffering with prejudice and bullying have to forgive? 

Because it is the right thing to do. This is a hard lesson. If we hold onto that pain, hurt and shame, with our fist clenched around it, with our knuckles turning white from that grip, with our fingernails cutting into our palms, if we hold on, we are tied to the past. We claim that pain as ours and forget who has claimed us as theirs. We keep that hurt and wrong as the focus of our life and our identity and forget the identity we were given at the font. We hang onto that wrong with our heart and mind and body and our soul, and forget what we are to use those for.

Forgiveness allows us to move beyond the spiral of escalating recriminations. If they did this to me, then I can- I must- do that to them. Then they have to “even the score.” And so on. Forgiveness moves from a cycle of violence to a cycle of love. Forgiving the sin, letting go of a debt is refusing to let the past control the future. When we let go of how we were wronged, we let go of our feelings of being a victim, of bitterness and of revenge.

Forgiveness is letting go of our own justification. We justify our actions, of holding onto that pain, rather than trust in our being justified through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Where can we attain this forgiveness for those who have sinned against us?

The parable in this lesson speaks of how one person, Slave #1, has an unpayable debt. He owes 10,000 talents, an amount that you could not pay off in 150,000 years. That debt is not forgiven. But he who was forgiven much does not extend forgiveness to someone who owed him comparatively little. And so his initial debt, all of those talents, while not forgiven, was satisfied, at the cost of his life; he spent the rest of his life imprisoned and tortured.

Our debt to God, what we – collectively all of the people of all of the world in all time – is so vast that it could only be paid by the life of one person; the life of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Our debt has been forgiven. We have been let go, let go so that we can forgive and let others go. 

This version of my sermon has a LOT of materials drawn from other resources. I wish I could claim that I came up with a lot of it. It is an amalgam of influences and resources. Some of which, most of which I list below:

 Working Preacher - Karl Jacobson, David Lose, and the Sermon Brainwave podcast.

Text Week, Alyce McKenzie twice,  Nadia Bolz-Weber, Gracia Grindal,   In-Yong Lee, Neill Chappell

I'm sorry if I borrowed from someone without credit. 

Random Reading Material - Post-Labor Day

Spanning the world wide web to bring you a constant variety of stories and posts ... the thrill of something useful ... and the agony of #EpicFail.

From Living Lutheran, by way of the ELCA Southeastern Synod Blog:
Do We Love To Tell The Story? - Do we tell about how our congregation is tied into the work of the greater church and the work going on outside our doors and community?

From Skating in the Garden ... :
What the Church Can Learn From Gordon Ramsey - Ramsey may be the only chef on TV that I won't watch (besides the Barefoot Contessa) and it's for the same reason; they are both asses. He is verbally, she is for another reason. The way Ramsey talks to people who are holding sharp objects just seems headed for a bad end. But "Skating" uses him to make a great point. He is always saying that a restaurant won't be successful until they are giving customers what they want. She goes onto to make the connection that if we don't have enough young people in the church, it is because they don't like what we are trying to serve them. Hmmm.

From Faithful Yet Changing:
Holy Food For the Thirsty - The always wise Bles5ed raises the question if the font MUST ALWAYS come before the table.

From Religion Clause:
Religion Clause: Senator Objects To Army's Suspension of "Just War" Instruction: Just because the course used religious materials and teachings doesn't mean that it violates the First Amendment. (IMHO - It is removing the course that violates the First amendment.)

So Honey Please, Don't You Fret, 'Cause You Ain't Seen NOTHING Yet!

This video reeks of awesomeness! Sam of Sam & Dave backed by a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.



Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band with Sam Moore - Hold On / Soul Man from the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert

The Story of a Young Man from the Land of Cars Who Went to the Land of Milk, Cheese and Butter

Here is the manuscript version of my sermon from today (September 4) based upon the Matthew 18:15-20 text.)

Once upon a time, there was a young man who came from the land of cars, who decided to wander about. He went from the land of cars to the land of where a great battle was fought, then he went and lived on a mountain in the South for a while, then wound up in the land of milk, cheese and butter. And he enjoyed himself in the land of milk, cheese and butter. The people in the land of milk, cheese and butter were nice to the young man from the land of cars. They even let him be their leader one day a week. But then they found out something about the young man from the land of cars. He didn’t pay honor and tribute to the rulers of the land of milk, cheese and butter. He did not bow in reverence when their name was called. “The Green Bay Packers.” He did not ritually wear the Green and the Gold. He did not tremble at the name of Rodgers; he was not in awe of the golden locks of the Hawk or the Matthews. 

He would not partake in the wearing of cheese upon his head. There were rumors that he did not bow at the whispered name “Lombardi.” He did not even consider the Frozen Tundra to be sacred. He kept his allegiance to the silly colors of Honolulu Blue and Silver, and the weaklings who represented the land of cars.

So the people of the land of milk, cheese and butter wondered what should they do to the young man from the land of cars. He seemed to be not that bad, except for the whole not honoring and wearing of the Green and Gold. So they talked and thought and prayed on what they should do with the young man from the land of cars. Some wanted to shun and ignore him. Some wanted to force him to repent and convert. The use of something called “lutefisk” was threatened. Then they decided what to do.

They threw stones at him and then burned him at the stake as a heretic. As a final insult, they buried him with a pig’s skin – in the colors of Green and Gold. The End.

Thank God that is just an imaginary tale. I’d hate to be that young man from the land of cars.

Today’s lesson from the Gospel of Matthew gives us a guide for how to deal with those who won’t conform or who have sinned against us. Let’s look at what Jesus is telling his disciples: “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” [Mt 18.15]

So, to use this imaginary story as an example, one of the residents of the land of milk, cheese and butter should go to the young man from the land of cars, taking him aside so that it is just the two of them, and say, “Hey, your beliefs aren’t what our’s are. You should change – REPENT!!”

Now, I do not want to get into an argument over whether not giving your allegiance to the Green and Gold can be considered sinning against someone. But let’s use that as our example.

Jesus says to take your brother or sister – a fellow believer, a member of the church – take them aside and between just you and them, tell them where they have wronged you. Show them the errors of their ways. Just the two of you.

Please note, it doesn’t say to: Tell all of your friends, neighbors, relatives, casual acquaintances, the people in line with you at the Quik Mart, whomever friends or follows you on Facebook or Twitter about how weird this person from the land of cars is for liking “Honolulu Blue.” No – you are NOT to talk about them behind their back. You are not to spread rumors or gossip about them. This is not the time to have a gripe fest. If someone has wronged you, sinned against you, take it up with them, face-to-face, person-to-person.

“If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.” [Mt 18.15b] If you get the young man from the land of cars to see the light, and he partakes in the wearing of the cheese upon his head – GREAT! Maybe he will get on the season ticket waiting list at whatever number is beyond infinity.

That person may not have realized they did something wrong. They may have thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. Or maybe they knew they were wrong, but couldn’t bring themselves to make the first move and apologize. But because you went to them, one on one, they did not have to be embarrassed in front of everyone.

“But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” [Mt 18.16] So the young man from the land of cars refuses to wear the cheese on his head and continues to pay respect to the Honolulu Blue and Silver, what do you do? Stone and burn him!! Grill ‘em like a brat!! No.

If he won’t listen to you, take a friend or two along with you to talk to him again. These should be mutual friends, people who care for both of you. They should listen to what you have to say about what has happened. They may be able to show the young man from the land of cars where he was wrong. They may be able to find a compromise, a middle ground between you. Maybe he wears cheese on his head on certain festival days. Maybe you don’t laugh at the sad people who honor the Honolulu Blue and Silver, and you encourage them for the effort they put forth. Or maybe, just maybe, your friends tell you that the other hasn’t sinned against you.

Sometimes, we feel wronged, we feel slighted when we really weren’t. But we feel that we were wronged and we hold that grudge, that slight, and it gets under our skin. Then that becomes a sore point, and may infect other areas of our relationship.

But if the other person did something wrong, the others can hear from both sides and be able to say, if nothing else, that you tried to mend fences.

“If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” [Mt 18.17] The young man from the land of cars won’t listen to you and your friends. Now what. You take this to the whole church, and explain to the entire assembly what has gone on. Maybe when he hears from everyone that what he is doing is wrong, maybe then the young man form the land of cars will honor the Green and Gold and wear the cheese upon his head. Or maybe he won’t.

You have taken multiple opportunities to show the young man from the land of cars that he has wronged you. You talked to him face to face. You brought others to hear from each of you, and they gave their opinions and recommendations. You came before the community of believers and stated your case and they weighed in on your side. And yet the young man from the land of cars still clings to his Honolulu Blue and Silver. Now what do you do?

Burn him at the stake! Cook him like kielbasa! No. Stone him! No. Then what.

Treat him as a non-believer or one who has fallen away. Treat him like someone who follows the boys from Texas who wear stars on their heads, or the blue and orange ones who growl and smell like bears, or the ones who wear black and who work with steel. Treat him like one of those outcasts, unclean and unworthy.

But how did Jesus treat the Gentile and the tax collector? Well according to Matthew, Jesus said the Centurion had faith greater than anyone in Israel before his son was healed, and Jesus said the Canaanite’s woman was great before her son was healed. He also healed cast out demons from the man near Gadarene and sent them into a herd of swine; that man told many about what Jesus did. He also healed lepers and those who were paralyzed.

And as for tax collectors, Jesus made one of them a disciple. His name was Matthew. This passage is in the Gospel that bears his name.

So how did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors? He reached out to them. While they weren’t his primary mission, they weren’t his core audience; he still helped and healed them. He included them in his ministry.

So how should the young man from the land of cars who won’t wear the cheese upon his head, or even the grizzly followers of those from the City of Wind be treated?

Often this passage is used as a way to kick people out. It is the only Bible passage specifically referenced in the ELCA Constitution. It is there as a guide to how to discipline a member.

It was very nice of Jesus to give us the process and procedure that we can use to draw the line between those who are with us and those who aren’t. Because Jesus was all about pushing people away.

But he wasn’t. Jesus drew people to him; he was inclusive. That’s one of the things that got him in hot water with the Pharisees. They wanted to define who was in and who was out, and Jesus kept hanging out with those they labeled as unclean and unworthy.

So this passage seems out of character and out of context. Let’s look at what surrounds it. Following these verses, Peter asks how many times you should forgive someone. A pretty good text for the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, so I’ll save that for next week. The header for the passage preceding this is “The Parable of the Lost Sheep.” [Mt 18.10-14]

In that parable, Jesus tells about a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to go after one that has gone astray. THEN, he talks about how to deal with someone who has sinned against you. Right before he said, “If another member of the church sins against you …” he said, “It is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones be lost.” [Mt 18.15a, 14]

Does that change how you view how to treat those who done something wrong to you? Because the shepherd rejoices when he finds the one that has gone astray; more so than he does over the 99 that never wander off.

Sunday, September 18 is National Back to Church Sunday. There is a bit of information about it in the bulletin. I would encourage you to invite a family member or friend who has wandered off, away from church, to come to worship with us that Sunday or any Sunday. If you know someone who feels like they were chased away, invite them. If you know someone who has wronged you, ask them to come. If you have wronged someone, please invite them.

So if some has wronged you, and won’t admit to it, or apologize, or even admit they’ve done something wrong, even if they won’t make amends after they’ve been confronted by friends and by the entire worshipping community, even to that point, they are not alone. While they may no longer be a part of the community, they are still part of God’s community. They are still a child of God, and God still loves them.

We are to reach out to them. Minister to them. Pray for them. Care for them.

Even love them, enough to invite them to come to be with us.

We still love them. We may not like them a lot, but we still have Christian love for them. I want to re-read verse 17, but from a different translation, The Message: “If he still won’t listen (to the church), you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love" [Mt 18.17 The Message]

Now, that’s the first time I used the word “forgive” during my message. We will talk more about forgiveness next week. Jesus says we are to talk to the one who has sinned against us, wronged us, and show them the error of their ways. But it is to seek their repentance.

When someone has sinned against us, it may have been in some different ways. Some of those ways may have truly hurt us, abused us, changed us. No deed can be undone, and some things you can’t get over.

I’m not asking you to forgive them – that’s next week’s topic – I’m asking, and Jesus is telling, they are still a child of God. But while they have sinned against you, we have all sinned against God. We throw ourselves at the foot of the Cross, begging for mercy, groveling for grace, hoping to be forgiven.

While you are at the foot of the Cross, remember to leave room for other sinners, even those who have sinned against you.

Let's See How Long This Will Last

I'm going to try to make this blog functional again. The key part that was missing ... my motivation.

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
PREVIOUSLY ON PREPARE YE: Since the beginning of March, when I had my last "real" post, (The In Between Times) I did get the call, and was assigned to a synod in the northwest part of Wisconsin (you can figure it out if you try really hard), flew out to meet the Bishop and his staff, received profiles for a two-point parish (two churches that work together to call a pastor and do other ministries). When I was preparing to come out to meet with the call committee, my mother had a heart attack. Instead of coming for the interview, I went back home to Michigan. I wound up spending the last two weeks of my Senior year with my mom in the hospital or recovering at home. She was bound and determined to come out to Gettysburg for my graduation, and made sure her doctors knew that. We drove out and she saw me graduate. We went back to Michigan where she had a defibrillator implanted in her. Sometime in that process, I made it out to Wisconsin and met with the call committee. They voted to recommend for me to be called, and in July, the congregations voted (with 2 abstentions) to call me. I moved out of Gettysburg on the hottest day of the summer (to that point) and moved here in Wisconsin (on one of the hottest days of the summer).
Mom has come with me for an extended visit so we get to spend some time together.

I have been the pastor at the 2 churches here since the beginning of August. Time has gone very quickly and very slowly at the same time. It doesn't seem like a month, but it also seems that I've been here longer.

The biggest adjustment is the size of the community. There are just over a thousand people in the town. Coming from a city of 50+ thousand, it has been different. I'm trying to get used to it, but there are a few things that are taking a bit more time. Not having the choice between several (insert business here) is something I'm coming to grips with.

I hope to post on a more regular schedule. It amazes me when I get an email with viewing stats that show there are 5 or 6 visitors each day. Thanks for checking in.