Prepare Ye

Reformed and freed

2011-10-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-12T11:46:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-12T11:44:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-23T09:33:00.000-04:00

Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith (live)

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

2011-09-18T13:35:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-09T15:47:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-09-04T22:08:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-04T13:37:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-03T17:37:00.000-04:00

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.

Go - Go - Goal USA!!! What A Day!!

2011-07-10T17:51:00.000-04:00

OK, that was the call for the Donovan goal last year versus Algeria, (see below), but the Rapione to Wambach last second thriller was the 2nd most exciting thing to happen to me today.

Today's goal in the 122nd minute.

A year ago, in stoppage time.

OBTW, I have been called to be the pastor to a two church combination in Wisconsin.

Imagine What Is Behind That Wall

2011-06-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

Just a copy of Today's Prayer (June 27) from the Church of Scotland's Pray Now site. I love the Prayer Activity.

Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...
1 Peter 1:3

Prayer

There!
There, between the moment I call ‘now’,
and the moment that comes next,
sits hope,
between the days whose weight has borne down on us,
in lack of movement, lack of change,
the lumpen oppression of the ‘aye been’
and the sheer terrorism of ‘and what’s going to change?’ –
there hope sits.
For Hope is the possibility that should not be,
that to this eternal, hopeless ‘now’
linked by steel chains to what was, and what shall be,
‘same old same old ...’
there is a beyond.
Whether we recognise it or not, Lord,
hope is the mark of your sovereignty, and our liberation.
Hope is your gift.
There,
between the faith that is trust,
and the love that is self-giving,
sits hope:
this trust, with only God for ground,
that things shall be different, and all things shall be new.
this knowing we are loved, that lets us love;
this knowing-without-seeing of what God is like;
not fully, but in part.
enough ... to be getting on with...

Prayer activity

Sit in front of a wall in your home, or wherever you are, on the other side of which there is a space – a room, or a corridor – which you know well enough to visualise clearly. The important thing is the wall, and the known space on the other side of it. It is good if the wall is as plain as possible, but not absolutely necessary.
Now sit before it, and still yourself. Look at the wall. Take in its features. Dwell on its solidity. Touch it, if you wish, and feel its reality, its actuality. Visualise what is on the other side of the wall. Do so in detail. Look again at the wall, and grasp the fact that there is something beyond this. You may wish now to use one of the scripture passages above. How do they relate to the realisation that there is a ‘beyond’ to the human situations they invoke?
Blessing O Lord, this day keep us without sin.
Have mercy on us, O Lord: have mercy on us.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us:
as we have hoped in you.
O Lord, in you have I hoped:
let me never be confounded.
(Te Deum)

#Rapture Fail

2011-05-22T23:16:00.002-04:00

U2 - Until The End Of The World on May 21, 2011 at Denver's Invesco Field.
Bono dedicated the song to Harold Camping after Camping's prediction of the Rapture had come and gone.

One of my life lessons this past year, and one of the reason's I have not posted here a great deal is because I am realizing that my initial reaction to situations I disagree with should be at least tempered, if not ignored. I have found that my ability to respond gracefully is a "growing edge."

Politically and theologically, I tend to be liberal and progressive. People who think the opposite of what I think tend to cause my stress level to shoot up. I can feel the muscles in my neck and shoulder tense up. My initial response is to lash out and try to inflict the same discomfort in them as I feel. Now, I don't believe that anyone at Fox News, or in the Fundamentalist Church gives a rat's behind what I think, but it doesn't mean I don't want to fire back.

So when 6pm came and went yesterday with no one coming or going, Camping and his followers became easy targets.
Fortunately, my friends are much more grace filled than I, and fortunately they refer me to wiser people. One of them is Timothy Dalrymple and his blog Philosophical Fragments. His post today about Camping and his followers is the approach I should have had all along.

Christ commands us to pray for our enemies. Just because someone does not agree with me does not make them my enemy. But it also does not mean that they are not one of God's beloved and worthy of my respect and honor.

The In Between Times

2011-03-04T00:45:00.000-05:00

So, the last real post was Wednesday (the 23rd of February) when I put up the Tom Petty video, "The Waiting Is The Hardest Part." At that point, I, and my fellow Seniors at The LTS, were waiting on our seminary rep to get back from Chicago to find out what of the 9 ELCA regions we would get assigned to. (BTW, here is a great view of what happens from the Bishop's perspective)
People in 2 of the regions were told their bishops were going to meet on that Thursday and they should know what synod they were assigned to shortly thereafter. But for some reason that I haven't felt the need to pick at, many of them didn't find out until Monday, and some on Wednesday. That earned them a weekend of hell that I can only appreciate.
Today, bishops of several other regions are meeting for the Council of Bishops.
Today, they were to meet to decide which people who are assigned to their region will be assigned to what synod.
Of the synods who were meeting today, all of my fellow students at The LTS have received their calls, except ... for those in my region. So, I and another student here are treating our cell phones like a baby treats its binky. And we wait, happy and celebrating those who have some idea where their ministry will play out, and where they will be.

Now, I'm hoping I'll get a call tomorrow, and in the scheme of things, what is a day?
Today, those extra hours are draining.

Let Me Comment On This

2011-02-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

While I'm waiting to learn my synod assignment, I thought I'd share some wise advice. Of course it isn't mine.

Here at the LTS, we had our Seminary Weekend, and prospective seminarians came to visit the campus. My apartment was one of the ones shown. (Made me clean things up.) One of the visitors noticed that I had all of the New Interpreter's Bible Commentaries for the New Testament, and asked if they were required. I told him they were not required, but many were recommended by our NT professors. That got me thinking about what some of the other seminary professors may be recommending.

So, a few minutes later, (thanks Google) here are links to recommended commentaries by some professors at some ELCA Seminaries. (For those of you of a my conservative/literalistic perspective- this can be a don't buy list.)

Trinity Lutheran Luther Seminary LTS Gettysburg NT OT

If the other schools have a suggested commentary list, put it it the comments, and I'll edit this post.

Don't It Feel Like Tonight Will Never Be Again

2011-02-23T17:36:00.001-05:00

In around 30 to 90 minutes, the ELCA Region to which I, and others at The LTS, will be revealed.
To quote Mr. Petty, "The Waiting Is The Hardest Part."

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - The Waiting

They're Giving None Away

2011-02-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite prayer resources is the Church of Scotland's Pray Now site.
Here is their devotion for February 17.

Money

Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’ -- Mark 12:43–4

Prayer

We got our money’s worth
that night in a garden, Lord,
when silver changed hands as quickly
as a kiss condemned.
For you saved us from squandering our souls.

We got our money’s worth
that day on a hillside
when we gambled with your innocence
and landed a bargain.
For you reclaimed our torn and shabby lives.

We got our money’s worth
that morning we cursed our empty nets
and the hardship they hauled home
while you bought our breakfast and our freedom.
For you rescued us from a world of no rewards.

You invest so much in us, Lord,
often with little return.
Our money still betrays
the weak and condemned.
Our economy still hinders
the prospects of the poor.
Our need to have
is a shameful give-away.
And the table of the rich still groans
as loudly as the stomachs of the destitute.

Real treasure, you tell us,
grows not in saving, but in sharing,
not in hoarding, but in hand-outs,
not in storing, but in restoring,
not in the stockpile, but in the single sacrifice
made priceless through love.

Thank you, Lord, not for what we have, but what we may give.
Not for what we have earned, but what we owe.
Not for what we might gain, but for what we have to lose.
Thank you, Lord, for what it is worth.

Pink Floyd - Money (from Live 8)

What Does A -t-o-w-n-, err STATE That's Been To Hell And Back Know?

2011-02-07T19:17:00.001-05:00

I loved the Chrysler commercial from yesterday's Super Bowl.

Because it was a pep talk, get your butts out there and win this thing halftime, fire 'em up speech for Detroit, for Michigan and for those who've been suffering with the American auto industry.

I watched the Super Bowl with a dozen of my closest friends in my apartment yesterday, and those who aren't from Michigan didn't get it. They don't understand the pain and rejection that Michigan feels from the rest of the country. Michigan was built by the Big Three, and while they haven't put out the best of products, they don't deserve to be the butt of jokes.

That ad was a statement. A statement that things are different. It'll probably be laughed at, and be the butt of some late night comedians monologue. But it warmed my heart, and that of a lot of people who are tired of being ignored and made fun of because the industry of their state has had a long run of rough times.

VO: I got a question for you.
What does this city know about luxury, huh?
What does a town that's been to Hell and back know about the finer things in life?
Well I'll tell ya.
More than most.
You see, it's the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.
Add hard work and conviction
And the knowhow that runs generations deep in every last one of us
That's who we are.
That's our story.
Now, it's probably not the one you've been reading in the papers.
The one being written by folks who've never even been here, who don't know what we're capable of.
Because when it comes to luxury, it's as much about where it's from...as ho it's for.
Now, we're from America. But this isn't New York City.
Or the Windy City. Or Sin City. And we're certainly no one's Emerald City.
Eminem: This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.

Frozen Turkey Evangelism

2011-02-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is a great post about what evangelism is/isn't/could be/should be.

The example that is used is of a church that gives turkeys to the homeless for Thanksgiving, forgetting that the homeless don't have ovens in which to cook the turkeys. Too often we focus our efforts on what we think people need rather than actually asking what people need or what the ramifications of our actions, the unintended consequences.

Thoughts On Last Night's Super Bowl

2011-02-07T09:08:00.000-05:00

A couple of thoughts on last night's Super Bowl.

One of the commentators on ESPN asked where the Steelers rush was. It was on the other side of the Packers OLine. Other than a few times the Steelers got to Rogers, the Packers OLine did a great job. I especially want to single out Bryan Bulaga, the rookie out of Iowa. Beyond a couple of plays early in the first quarter, LaMarr Woodley was invisible. When Wood did get pressure, Bulaga wasn't blocking him. I coached against Woodley when he was in high school. I couldn't figure out how to get him blocked. I watched when he was playing for Michigan, and no one figured how to block him. Bryan Bulaga did. Congrats young man.

The Steeler running game was almost unstoppable when they were running the Power O. But because that play requires a lead blocker, either a FB or the TE blocking the EMOL (end man on line), when the Steelers wanted to go 4 wide, they took their best running play off of the table.

Does This Mean There Are Monday Morning Pastors?

2011-02-02T11:11:00.000-05:00

I want to commend this article to people: it compares some of the pressures faced by parish pastors and quarterbacks. As a former football coach, these connections were easy to make. I think it provides a different perspective for people who may be familiar with one or the other vocations, and I hope it may be thought provoking for both communities.

The website, Faith & Leadership, is produced by the Duke Divinity School. It is a worthwhile read and I suggest everyone find ways to read it, either bookmarking it or subscribing to the feeds in any of the ways that make reading it accessible to you.

If It Is Good Enough For A Revolution ...

2011-01-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

The use of social media in the church has seemed to be embraced like lukewarm water.
While some people and churches have embraced Facebook, blogs and websites, others avoid it, citing it as yet another change to be afraid of.

But if Twitter and Facebook can be devices that can overthrow governments, imagine how powerful it could be to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be completely wrong.

My Heart Is Sore, My Tears A'flow, We Saw Him Go

2011-01-28T00:29:00.000-05:00

Today is the third anniversary of my father's death.
With all that is going on, with assignment, and graduation and the call process looming, I miss him so much.

No matter what was going on, he would listen to me, and then tell me what I needed to hear. Not what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to hear. When I needed reassurance, he gave it. When I needed a kick in the ass, he'd do it.

The last real conversation I had with him was the day before the car accident that eventually took his life. I had received the class reports for the fall semester and read them to him. He told me how very proud of me that he was. When I was told of the accident that he and my mother were in, I was told not to come home, it wasn't that serious. But when he took a turn for the worse, I drove back to Saginaw overnight. I stopped by the hospital when I got in at 4 am, and got into see him. He was in a great deal of pain, and was struggling. But he knew I was there. He squeezed my hand in response to questions I asked him. But when I held his hand as he breathed his last, I knew his struggle was over. His viewing at the funeral home and his funeral were displays of love for the many people he touched in his life.

I hope I can be half the man he was.

The Chieftans w/ Sting - Mo Ghile Mear (My Gallant Darling)

Chorus:
'Se/ mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear
'Se/ mo Chaesar Gile Mear
Suan na/ se/an ni/ bhfuaireas fe/in
O/ chuaigh i gce/in mo Ghile Mear

Grief and pain are all I know
My heart is sore
My tears a'flow
We saw him go ....
No word we know of him...
Chorus

A proud and gallant cavalier
A high man's scion of gentle mien
A fiery blade engaged to reap
He'd break the bravest in the field
Chorus

Come sing his praise as sweet harps play
And proudly toast his noble frame
With spirit and with mind aflame
So wish him strength and length of day
Chorus

And It's You When I Look In The Mirror, And It's You That Makes It Hard To Let Go

2011-01-27T00:16:00.002-05:00

Tough, you think you've got the stuff
You're telling me and anyone
You're hard enough

You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go in alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

We fight all the time
You and I... that's alright
We're the same soul
I don't need... I don't need to hear you say
That if we weren't so alike
You'd like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

(This is it)
I know that we don't talk
I'm sick of it all
Can, you, hear, me, when, I, sing
You're the reason I sing
You're the reason why the opera is in me

Well hey now, still gotta let ya know
A house doesn't make a home
Don't leave me here alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
Sometimes you can't make it
Best you can do is to fake it
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

Bono wrote this song as he was reconciling with his father, and as his father was dying.
U2 performed this song for the first time at the funeral of Bono's father.

As I approach the third anniversary of my father's death, and the announcement of assignments and, eventually, graduation, this song mixes the pain and the joy.

I Will Bow To The Shining Sea And Celebrate God's Grace On Thee

2011-01-24T22:35:00.002-05:00

Today was the first day of the Senior Seminar at The LTS.
We got to hear about the call process and hear call stories from some recent grads.

I was not nervous or apprehensive about the process before lunch today.
Everything was out of my hands until the Assignment meeting in 30 days. I have no control over what region I'm assigned to.
Once assigned to a region, I have to wait for a Synod Bishop to call me to that synod. Again, I have no control over that.

After the meeting, I'm very nervous.
Tomorrow's meeting ... even more fun.

Kid Rock - Born Free

Calling of the First Sent Out Ones (Apostles)

2011-01-19T21:05:00.001-05:00

This week the lectionary gives us a second helping of Jesus' calling of the 12.

Last week, John tells of John the Testifier/Baptizer pointing out Jesus to some of his followers, who then dump him like trash by the side of the road. This week, we hear the Matthew/Mark story of Jesus calling fishermen to be fishers of men.

The calling of the apostles, depending upon which Gospel you read, comes down to Jesus telling his disciples to:
"Come and See." "Follow me." "Try the other side."

I think that's good advice.

A First Call Story

2011-01-18T22:23:00.001-05:00

For all of my friends in the ministry or trying to get into the ministry, I offer a cautionary tale:

You take your first call in a town about two or three hours away from your home town. Things are going well in your first few months. You are getting settled in; you like the congregation and the congregation likes you. You develop friendships with your colleagues at other churches in the community.

On the third month anniversary of your arrival at your new call, a woman, who is not a member of your congregation, is arrested. It is on an illegitimate charge. Five days later, on the day the woman is convicted of the charge, you are elected to be the leader of a new community group that will lead a community boycott in response to the arrest. That night you give an unscripted speech to a community assembly larger than any group you have ever spoken to before.

On the eve of your fifth month in your call, your home is bombed.
After a year, the protest is successful, and the city's policy is changed.

One month after that, you are elected the leader of a regional group that will advocate the same type of action and change that occurred in your city throughout the region and the country.

Five and a half years after you receive your first call, you are arrested and jailed in another town in the state where your call was. While in jail, you write a letter to members of the clergy in that town.

Four and a half months after your arrest, you lead a march to Washington. In front of a large group, you give a speech - no, a sermon. It is very well received.

Thirteen years, seven months and three days after you take your first call, an assassin martyrs you with a single rifle shot to the neck.

--- >>> <<< ---
We are called to proclaim the Gospel.
We have no idea to where, to what, we are called.

Lord, give me strength to go where you call, and once there, to do Your will.

U2 - MLK

They Took Your Life, They Could Not Take Your Pride

2011-01-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

I just spent a week in Atlanta and Birmingham learning more about Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, especially how the Christian vocation of so many of its leaders played into how the movement was formed.

Right now, I'm too tired from the trip, and can't adequately process what I've learned, realized and how it is changing my views on ministry.

There are some Scriptural passages I will never hear the same way again.

There are some attitudes I cannot tolerate.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

U2 - Pride (in the Name of Love)

(GW)3

2011-01-12T15:58:00.003-05:00

Testing out an idea ... We are called to 1) Proclaim God's Word, 2) Do God's work and 3) Serve God's will. Is that the right order? Is that right?

The First Temptation of Christ

2011-01-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

I supplied today (1/9/11) for my friend Norma while she spends time following in Paul's footsteps (Epiphanies and Revelation). I've gone from preaching from a manuscript to using an outline. I tried preaching from a manuscript for my Preaching and Technology class (see the A Sower Went Out to Sow notes) and felt uncomfortable. So, I'm posting my form of my outline for my pinch hitting sermon on Matthew's telling of the Baptism of Jesus.

I warned Vicar Norma I may the wrong person to fill in for this Sunday
   Every ELCA Senior had to write a sermon and provide exegetical work for their Approval using this week’s text
   In addition, I did an Independent Study analyzing the four Gospel stories of Jesus’ baptism
   I’ve spent lot of time past 7 months looking at Jesus’ baptism
Matthew’s telling has some unique details
   This is the only Gospel that raises the question – WHY?
      Why would someone who is without sin be baptized for repentance and the forgiveness of sins?
   John the Baptizer recognizes Jesus’ superiority and ‘would have prevented him’
      Jesus responds ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’
      Jesus does not argue with John, He does not rebuke him
   Jesus tells him to baptize me
      The reason is ‘to fulfill all righteousness’
         That is the source of a lot of study and debate
   Righteousness is fulfilling God’s will; doing what God wants
      It is a theme of Jesus’ ministry in Matt’s Gospel
        Joseph acts in righteousness by not rejecting Mary
        In Sermon on Mount, Jesus will say
            ‘those who hunger and; thirst for righteousness … will be filled.’ And
            ‘those who are persecuted for it … will receive the kingdom of God’
      It is obeying letter of law by following spirit of Law
         It is an inward feeling with an outward expression
         It is knowing what right thing to do and then going todo it.
Jesus’ baptism, as told by Matthew, presents another perspective
   It is Jesus’ first temptation
      Because John realizes Jesus’ superiority, he acquiesces instead wanting Jesus to baptize him
   THAT is the temptation
      John isn’t plotting & planning as Satan is
      John just doing what makes sense – Jesus is superior to him
      Jesus easily say, “You’re right, you need baptized by me.”
          You need be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire
          Jesus could have taken winnowing stick and judged wicked humanity
       Had he baptized John, with ALL of Judea watching, Jesus could have been Messiah that Israel was waiting for
          But Jesus rejects John’s adulation and tells John to baptize him
             ‘Let it be so now’ is an imperative, it is a command
             It is not quite “JUST DO IT!” - But it is just as effective
    Jesus rejects John’s adulation and grabs our hand
       Because by being baptized as we are, He joined his fate to ours and ours to his
          He IS Immanuel - God WITH Us
       Because although he was without sin, he was baptized in repentance
         Turning from his wants and the expectations of John and Israel and turning TO the will of God
   He was baptized ‘to fulfill all righteousness’
      Obey the letter of the law by following the spirit of the law guided by Holy Spirit
      The Holy Spirit guides us to share the love of God through us to others
This is the model we can take with us from this lesson
   Each day, we feel that nudge to do what’s right - An urge, a voice, a feeling to go and do
   If it was an imperative for Jesus to be baptized ‘to fulfill’ and its promises mean
   In our baptism, we are washed free FROM our sins
      We are freed FOR other things, for doing God’s work
   By doing God’s will each day we can act ‘to fulfill all righteousness’

Words Have Meanings, So Too Do Pictures

2011-01-08T20:53:00.000-05:00

My prayers are with the victims of the shooting (assassination?) in Arizona, as well as all of their friends, families and others who are effected by this tragedy. With the volume and venom turned up in political discourse. Will those who have decided to call others "un-American" dial down their comments.

Representative Giffords was one of SarahPac's Targets.

Maybe referring to a political rival as a target, and using cross hairs to identify them is not a good idea.

See What Has Been Sowed

2011-01-08T20:17:00.000-05:00

I established another blog for a January term class on Preaching and Technology that I have taken here at The LTS.

I am importing the posts from that blog (A Sower Went Out To Sow) over here.

I don't think I'll use the Sower blog, but I'm going to keep it around just in case.

I hope these posts may be useful or entertaining.

Following Those On A Trip

2011-01-08T19:45:00.001-05:00

A number of my classmates, as well as others from around the PA area are on a trip to the areas of Greece and Turkey that are referred to Paul's letters and the book of Revelation.

Follow them through Norma's blog at Epiphanies and Revelation.

So, Y'wanna see what got sowed?

2011-01-07T22:43:00.001-05:00

Here is my sermon for the Preaching & Technology class. For the setting of this sermon, I placed myself in Nebraska by this July.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus talks about sowing seeds, and reaping bountiful yields from some places and absolutely nothing from other places. This gives me a perfect opportunity to show off my lack of knowledge of agribusiness and farming. That’s what you get when you call a city boy from Michigan out to the farmlands of Nebraska.

Jesus talks about the bounty of crops planted in good soil, with yields of thirty, sixty, even one hundred times the yield of what was planted. Having done some research into crop yields, these are not the types of yields that would allow farmers of today to stay in business. From what I have been able to figure out, it is the sower, the subject of this parable, who did not do such a good job.

For example, the sower sows seeds on four types of ground. Some of the seeds he sowed and scattered wound up on the path, where birds came to eat the seeds. Now, even a city boy knows that planting seeds in the road is a bad idea. I can’t imagine you will get much of a yield from scattering seeds across I-80.

Some of the seeds were sowed and scattered on rocky ground. The roots were not able to take hold, and the plants died in the hot summer sun due to a lack of water. Now, even a city boy has learned that you must prepare the soil, getting rid of rocks and other impediments.

Some of the seeds were sowed and scattered among thorns. The thorns choked the life out of the plants, and the plants died. Now, even a city boy has learned that you must prepare the soil, getting rids of thorns and weeds and other plants that will diminish your yield.

But some of the seeds were sowed and scattered among good soil. Those seeds grew and flourished and brought forth grain. Some of them yielded over a hundredfold of what was planted, while other results may vary, with some having yields of sixty or thirty times what was sown.

From my vast knowledge and experience with farming and agribusiness, it seems to me the sower is at fault here. The sower has been wasteful in his resources, scattering seeds in places where the seeds, the poor seeds never had a chance. Every seed is a vital precious resource, and cannot be wasted. The sower should be brought in, reprimanded and relieved of his duties; either reassigned or possibly his vocation lies along another career path.

But that’s the problem with parables. They never mean quite what they seem to mean, including in one like this where Jesus explains the parable. The types of soil are those who have heard the word of the kingdom of God, but in whom it has not taken hold. There is a way to look at parables that I find helpful. In every parable Jesus tells, there will be someone or something representing Jesus, and there will be someone or something representing us. We already know that we are the various types of soil, because Jesus gives the disciples the answer beginning in verse 19. Jesus also says that the seeds are the “word of the kingdom of God.” Jesus and his Gospel message are the seeds.

There are four types of soil, hard pathways, rocky ground, ground surrounded by thorns and good soil which produce bountiful yields. But what type of soil are we?

Are we the hard path? Have we “hear(d) the word of the kingdom and (did) not understand it,” [Matt 13.19] then had it snatched away? This is someone who has been exposed to the Gospel, but did not understand how it applied to her or him, or did not think it applied to them. Those people had the Gospel plucked from their hands, no from their hearts, because they did not take it in. I think we all have had a time when we did not understand or appreciate the love of God, or a time when we did not think it could apply to us, because we are sinners, and we do things we should not, or say things we should not. Our sin has hardened us to the seed of the reign of God, and before its roots can break through that hardening, the evil one, Satan, grabs the seed and took it and flew away, leaving us on the path alone.

Maybe we are the rocky ground. <Slide 7 We have “hear(d) the word and immediately receive(d) it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.” This person has heard the Gospel, has felt the Gospel, the love of Christ in their lives. But it did not take root. Something happened and it endured only for a while. When their faith in God ran into difficulty, someone doubted them, questioned them, made fun of them, or didn’t accept them, their fresh faith failed them. It had not grown roots, it did not have a firm foundation, and it fell under the heat of being exposed to the light. I think we all know of a time like that in our lives. We were full of the love of Christ; we had that mountain top experience. Maybe we worked on a service project. Maybe we were at a retreat or a Bible study. We were full of the Holy Spirit and we did something foolish; we told somebody else. We might have even done something crazy like inviting someone to church. And they looked at us – didn’t have to say a word, but they just looked at us. “Oh, you’re one of those Christians,” and under the white-hot gaze of judgment, we denied our faith and vowed never to do something that foolish again.

Maybe we are among thorns. <Slide 8> We have “hear(d) the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke(d) the word.”[Matt 13.22] This person has heard and felt God’s love, and it has grown within them, but they got too busy. The cares of the world and the lure of wealth came calling, and the word fell by the wayside. I think we all know of a time like that in our lives. You have to work extra hours at your job or more things are going on at home. You are being pulled in ten directions all at once; the kids have this event to go to, work has been a mess this week, you and your spouse can’t seem to agree on anything except that the other one is wrong, and Sunday’s really the only day you have off. Or you used to take time every evening to have family prayer time, to sit and talk to one another, but now dinner consists of people microwaving something when the walk in the door, and family time is spent checking each other’s Facebook messages and texting to get a ride somewhere. Or maybe it has been a long time since you just stopped and took a deep breath and had a conversation with the Lord our God.

But maybe, we are good soil. That is a label I think many of us hope we can accept. “This is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields.” [Matt 13.23] We have heard the Word of God; we understand it (as best as we can) and we have born fruit, or whatever crop we are. I think we have had times when we have felt God’s love. We have realized that the word of the reign of God is for us, sinners that we are, and we have unhardened our hearts. We have withstood the blistering heat of judgment by others and have grown deep roots. We have faced the pressures and demands of the world and remembered the command to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and mind and soul. We have born fruit, some of us a hundred fold, some sixty fold and some thirty fold.

Anyone else feeling a little uneasy at claiming to be good soil? Because as much as we want to grab that label, I don’t know if we pass that inspection. There are times I feel like the hard path, the rocky ground and surrounded by thorns. But sometimes, I think that I am the good soil, and I can bear good fruit, fruit that in its thirty, sixty or hundred times bounty may create seeds of their own. When we realize that we can be good soil, when we share the love and grace given to us by Jesus Christ, we can share that good news by what we do, what we say, how we live and who we are. We can be a living, walking, talking proclamation that the seed that was sown, that seed that was trampled on, tortured, and killed for our transgressions did not die a death that was final. Rather, that seed rose from the ground, ascended into heaven and has borne the best fruit, the fruit of eternal life for all who believe in him.

So how do we stay good soil, and how do we help others turn from being paths, rocks or surrounded by thorns and become good soil. Fortunately, we can play more than one role in a parable. While we are the soil, we are also the ones who can prepare the soil. Good soil rarely happens on it’s own. The good soil of the farms in this area did not get that way on their own. They took a lot of work to get to be good soil. They take a lot of work to stay as good soil. It is the same with our faith.

We can help one another, and our neighbors, turn from the path to being good soil. We can pull the weeds that choke the faith from them and ourselves. We can remove and break up the rocks and prepare the soil, supporting those whose faith does not yet have deep roots. We can all probably look at someone who pulled weeds, or broke up the rocks, got us off of the path we were on, watered, fed and nourished us. We can do that for others and for ourselves. We can nurture and feed our faith and the faith of our family, friends and neighbors by sustaining it, by watering it, tending to it and fertilizing it. But most importantly, we can value our faith and our relationship to the Lord our God, our Savior and Redeemer, simply paying attention to our faith.

Before I close, there is one more person in the parable, the one for whom the parable is named. Who is the sower? Who is the one who haphazardly scattered “the word of the kingdom of God?” Who is it who sent Jesus into the world? It is God, the Creator, who is the sower. God is not the reckless, bound for unemployment, sower I may have claimed earlier, but actually is much wiser than we can realize. God sowed the seeds of the word of the reign of God in all kinds of soils. But as verse 19 reveals what kind of soil the word has been sewn into; the word of the reign of God is sown into our hearts. It is our hearts that become hard, or rocky or surrounded by thorns. But it is also our hearts that can become good soil from which the Gospel can grow and flourish.

Like the statue of “The Sower” on top of the Nebraska State Capital, God stands on high sowing and scattering the seeds of the Gospel into the hearts of everyone in the world. We can help to make our hearts, and the hearts of those we encounter, into good soil. So, go & sow & tend to the fields.

Hope You Remember Me

2011-01-07T22:15:00.007-05:00

Is This Thing Still On?

After almost a year of inactivity, a jump start, and a few prompts from loyal readers, I've decided to see if this thing still works. Posts may be infrequent -- like that's a change -- but I'll try to catch back up.

Somewhere Out There - Our Lady Peace

Hope you remember me
When you’re homesick and need a change
I miss you’re purple hair

This is a repeat "du jour" clip, but it's from one of the previous "blogging vacations" I've taken.

Sermon Outline - DRAFT

2011-01-04T22:21:00.001-05:00

DISCLAIMER: The resemblance of this outline to the finished sermon is purely coincidental.

Sermon Setting - I have decided to place this sermon at a congregation in Nebraska.
Text - The main text is Matthew 13.1-23 (I have decided to include the verses omitted (10-17) by the Lectionary. The other lessons are Genesis 25.19-34, Psalm 119.105-112 & Romans 8.1-11.

Sermon Outline
Farm Yields
   The yields mentioned by Jesus are good for the time, but not for modern agribusiness
   Attributable to the poor sowing practices in the parable
      Never sow on the path, nor on rocky ground, nor in thorns
A way to read a parable
   Someone/something will represent Jesus
   Someone/something will represent us
The seeds = the word of the kingdom of God
Jesus unpacks that in the explanation to the disciples
Seeds = Jesus & his Gospel
So who are we?
The sower?
     If so, then the soil represents areas where we take/spread/throw the Good News
       Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and when it doesn't, it isn't our fault
     But what if we aren't the sower
       The sower is the one who sowed the seed/sent the seed
        The sower is God
So that means we are the soil
But what type of soil are we?
      Hard pathways / Rocky ground / Surrounded by thorns / Good soil
Go back to the middle part of the lesson - where Jesus explains why he speaks in parables
      Those who have will be given more (good soil)
      Those who have nothing will lose what they have (path)
Those who listen but do not understand (thorny ground)
      Those whose hearts have grown dull (rocky ground)
So, what do we do?

Commentaries - of a mind divided

2011-01-04T14:29:00.001-05:00

I'm reviewing some of the commentaries previously listed.

One author says that the parable is all about the seeds.
Another author says that the parable is (obviously) about the soil.
A third says that the parable is about the sower.

And they all write for the same source. Thank you New Proclamation dot Com!!

Internet Resources for this text

2011-01-04T13:31:00.001-05:00

This has been updated and tweaked a few times.

From Working Preacher dot Com

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching_print.aspx?commentary_id=106

Sources from from Text WeekText Week

A sermon preached on this parable (but from Luke's telling ) by Martin Luther

http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/mlsower.htm

Exegetical notes from Seattle's Grace Lutheran Church

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_the_sower_and_the_seeds_GA.htm

Exegetical notes from CrossMarks

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt13x1.htm

An article by John Dominic Crossan in the Journal of Biblical Literature through EBSCO ATLA

An article by Stanley Toussaint in the Bibliotheca Sacra through EBSCO ATLA
The Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary's Exegetical Study of the Lectionary has some great insights.
I am also looking at the commentaries available through New Proclamation dot com.

Commentaries (actual books) that I have reviewed include:
Matthew and the Margins by Warren Carter
The Gospel of Matthew by RT France (from the New Int'l Commentary of the New Testament series)
Matthew by Douglas Hare (from the Interpretation series)
Kingdom, Grace, Judgment by Robert Farrar Capon (a parables commentary)
The Parables of Jesus, a Commentary by Arland Hultgren

Online Resources I'm Using for this Sermon

2011-01-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

From Working Preacher dot Com
   http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching_print.aspx?commentary_id=106

Sources from from Text Week
   A sermon preached on this parable (but from Luke's telling ) by Martin Luther
   http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/mlsower.htm
Exegetical notes from Seattle's Grace Lutheran Church
           http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_the_sower_and_the_seeds_GA.htm
Exegetical notes from CrossMarks
          http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt13x1.htm

Reflection on Readings

2011-01-04T08:55:00.001-05:00

Some questions I have from the assigned readings for the class:

1) How do you reference commentaries in a sermon? For this sermon, I have read 5 commentaries that I have, plus another 5 or 6 articles online on this text. I have gained some insights on the text from these. Since these ideas were not mine, how do I cite them? The article ETHICS AND THE USE OF SERMON RESOURCES: from the October 2007 issue of The Clergy Journal is focused on the "borrowing" of whole passages or entire sermons from online sermon resources. But how do we credit others for that spark that jump starts a sermon.

2) The set of articles arguing a pro-PowerPoint and anti-PowerPoint perspectives put up false, straw men type arguments. The anti article feels that anything beyond the preacher's voice is distracting. I would assume he is in favor of removing children as well. However, the PowerPoint proponent actually agrees with him in terms of using text. The pro argument is to find visuals that compliment the sermon's message, and minimizes the use of text in the presentation.

3) The Witte paper lifts up technology and multimedia as tools to help the preacher gain credibility for their proclamation. I disagree with that nuanced position, but agree with the sentiment. I agree that multimedia can help make the connection between preacher and congregation, and improve the reception between the intended message and the received message. I disagree with the author's nuancing of the ethos of the preacher; I believe congregations are still looking to their pastors for Biblical authority and leadership, even while maintaining a suspicion of anyone in a position of authority.

Matthew's Version of the Parable

2011-01-03T13:46:00.001-05:00

Here is the NRSV version of Matthew's telling of the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-9, 18-23)

13.1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Texts and Initial thoughts

2011-01-03T10:49:00.001-05:00

I have chosen the texts for July 10, 2011, the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year A, this year also known as the 4th Sunday After Pentecost. I picked this text because I will hopefully have a place to preach this text, and that I may be called somewhere by then.

The lessons for that Sunday include: Genesis 25:19-34, Psalm 119.105-112, Romans 8:1-11 and Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.

The Genesis text includes birth of Jacob and Esau, and Jacob stealing Esau's birthright.

The Psalm includes " Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. " and " I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. "

The Romans text includes "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." and "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. "

The Gospel from Matthew is the parable of the sower who went out to sow.

Gee, based on the title of this blog, I wonder which one I think I'm leaning on focusing on?

One Of You Will Betray Me, So Argue About Which One Of You Is The Greatest

2010-04-02T14:27:00.004-04:00

January 7, 2011 - Found this post that had never been posted. Better late than never - maybe.

This is my sermon for Maundy Thursday. The texts was Luke 22.14-32. I chose this because we virtually never get to hear Luke's telling of the Last Supper. I try to point out what is unique about the good Doctor's version, and what I think it means to us all.

Luke’s telling of the Last Supper reminds me of a cover version of a song. A cover song is when someone other than the original performer sings a song, usually in a different arrangement. Sometimes, the tempo is different, the instruments are different and the new performer re-interprets the song.
We are more familiar with the telling of the Last Supper that Matthew and Mark give us, or what Paul tells in the first Corinthian letter. Luke’s telling of the story is familiar, but there are some differences that jump out to us. Two cups of wine? Judas is never identified as the one who will betray Jesus? Jesus tells the Apostles that one of them will betray him, but then the Apostles argue over who is the greatest? There is much to this telling that is familiar. But the differences stand out. If any of you watch ‘American Idol,’ you have seen a contestant do a version of a familiar song, but it is just, well, different. When it comes time for the judges to give their feedback, they will say, “Well, that was different.”
I want to look at some of the ‘different’ parts of Luke’s telling of the gathering around the table as Jesus and his Apostles had the Passover meal. Luke includes Jesus’ statement about wanting to eat Passover with his disciples and knowing this was Passover explains why there are two cups of wine. During the Passover meal, four cups of wine are blessed and shared. Looking at just the sharing of the bread and the second cup, especially with the words Christ speaks about them, makes this more familiar with the other versions of this meal.
But after announcing the new covenant to be established in his blood, Jesus announces one of the Apostles will betray him. In Luke’s telling, they ask one another who it could be. They do not ask Jesus who it is, and he does not tell them. Judas is not singled out. Rather, the Apostles ‘ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.’ [Luke 22.23-24] They question one another, “Is it you? Are you going to betray our Lord?” Then they quickly dissolve into an argument over which one of them is the best. “It could not be me. I am the most faithful follower of our Master. It must be you, you are not as faithful as I am.”
In Luke’s telling of the Gospel of Christ, the twelve disciples are identified early on. They witness numerous miracles: healings, exorcisms, feedings and the raising of the dead. They heard incredible teachings and a variety of parables. They were sent out as part of the seventy by Jesus, to go out and heal, cast out demons and teach. They have seen, heard and done great things. Surely, it could not be them who would betray Jesus.
Jesus told them he would be handed over to the authorities, to the unbelievers, to be killed, but that he would be raised on the third day. They never assumed one of them, one of the ones whom had been with him from Galilee, one of the ones whom he empowered and sent out, one of the Twelve, would betray him. Each of them knew it could not be themselves. They were devout. They were loved the Lord. How could it be me? I would never betray the Lord.
Jesus never resolves their dilemma. He instead tells them he will give authority to those who have been with him throughout his ministry. But he commands them to lead as servants. He does not want them to lead as benefactors in Roman society do, arbitrarily giving how much and to whom as they decide. Instead, they are to use their authority to be of service.
Jesus specifically warns Peter that all of the Apostles are going to be tested. They will be thrashed and sifted like wheat; beaten, shaken and subject to pressure. Jesus has prayed they will be strong and not fail, but he tells Peter he will need to be strong for all of them, especially when he turns back. Because Jesus knows Peter will deny him. He also knows Peter will be the first to be tested, and Peter will fail. But Peter will turn back to his brothers, and be accepted. There are no conditions put on his return. Peter will be tested and will fail and will be accepted by the other apostles. In fact, he will be a support for them as they endure their own tests.
Why is no one is identified as the one who betrays Jesus? Could it be that all of the Apostles, all of the ones gathered around that table betray Jesus? While Judas specifically plots to hand Jesus over to the Temple authorities, all of the Apostles betray Jesus in one way or another. They deny him and abandon him, leaving him to the fate prescribed for him. They value their own lives over his.
It is like that for us as well. We all are tested in our faith. We are all challenged by life and we are all challenged by death. We know we could never betray, never deny Jesus, but then we hide our faith in our words and deeds. We allow a multitude of events, opportunities and situations to come between God and ourselves. We know God is capable of great things. We have experienced them in our lives. But we have failed God. We have not returned God’s love with our own. We take God for granted. We value our own lives more than his. We all betray God in one way or another.
The purpose of the meal they consumed is important. It is the meal of Passover, commemorating when God spared the people of Israel from a plague of death being brought against their captors in Egypt. God spared the Israelites because they were marked with the blood of an unblemished, innocent lamb, sacrificed to spare them from death.
In the new covenant Jesus promises to the Apostles, the forgiveness of sins is sealed with his blood. The blood of the unblemished Lamb sacrificed to free everyone from the bonds of sin and death. The meal we celebrate in remembrance of that night, of that act, of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is for all. It is for all for the forgiveness of sins. It is for all who have betrayed Jesus, including us. Because we have been forgiven and our debt is paid. It is for all who have sinned and continue to sin.
Maundy Thursday is supposed to hurt. It reminds us we have betrayed our Lord.
Good Friday is supposed to hurt. It reminds us we are the ones Jesus is nailed to a cross for. We are the ones he dies for.
These days of Holy Week remind us of the love given for us in the body of the Son of God and the love poured out for us in the blood of the Lamb. These days show us the cost of our sin and disobedience.
But while we know the end of the story, while we know the victory Sunday brings, today and tomorrow, we should remember the cost.

Everybody Hurts, But You Are Not Alone

2010-03-07T09:37:00.005-05:00

Everybody Hurts - The Corrs from The Corrs Unplugged. The song was written and originally performed by REM, (the video is AWESOME, but you can't embed it.) but this version is pretty darn good as well.

Everybody Hurts - Written by REM (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone

Everybody Hurts, Sometime

2010-03-07T09:31:00.002-05:00

This is my sermon text for Sunday, March 7. You can look up the lessons. The Gospel is from Luke and is about people questioning Jesus regarding some recent events. The Epistle's last line (from the Lectionary) is cited here.

When I entered her hospital room, she did not look up. That was fine with me, because, I really did not want to be there either.
It was my third week at the Hershey Medical Center, and I was not having a good time. One of the steps we must go through during our pursuit of becoming a pastor is something called CPE.
CPE stands for Clinical Pastoral Education. Most students do as I did, and spend the summer between your first and second years of seminary as a chaplain at a hospital, or nursing home, or some other facility. You are under the supervision of a trained chaplain, and you get to experience hands on pastoral situations.
You visit with patients and their families and talk with them. It is one of the times seminarians fear and dread, because throughout your time in CPE, as well as before and after, you realize that you are going to be confronting your emotions as you hopefully help the people you meet. You cannot help but be drawn into their pain and suffering. Part of the process is learning how to deal with feeling their pain, but not letting it overwhelm you. That was the part I did not do well with.
I did not want to be there because I had my own emotional baggage to deal with. At the end of January of that year, my parents were in a car accident. I went back to Saginaw from Gettysburg and a couple of days after I got home, my dad died from his injuries. I stayed home for a few weeks, and when I returned to Gettysburg, I was way behind.
When I got back to campus, all of my classmates were applying to CPE sites and were finding out where they would be. For me, the thought of spending the summer in a hospital made me physically ill. But I was encouraged to do CPE that summer and allow it to help me deal with my grief. There were no CPE sites in the Saginaw area, so I applied to some around Gettysburg, and was lucky to be accepted at Hershey. It is the premier hospital in central Pennsylvania; it is a top trauma center and the location of the Penn State Medical School.
I had ten days off between the end of the semester and the beginning of CPE, so I was heading home to Saginaw to spend it with my mother. But before I got home, she was hospitalized with double pneumonia. She had stopped taking care of herself. She got better and was discharged. We had a couple of days together at home before I drove back to Gettysburg at the last minute, and began CPE the day after Memorial Day.
Three weeks later, I was knocking on the door of this lady’s room. I volunteered to see patients in both the cardiology and trauma departments. So each day, I would visit with people who came to Hershey because they were brought in through the cardiology & trauma departments. So I was seeing a lot of people who were in car accidents. I thought if this is going to help me deal with my grief from my dad’s death from a car accident, I might as well dive in the deep end. All I knew about the lady I was about to meet was that she was in her 60’s, and had been admitted over the weekend.
I knocked on the door, introduced myself, and asked if I could visit. She had her left leg in a spiral brace, and was hooked up to what I later came to realize was a normal amount of monitors and IVs, but at the time, looked like the entire hospital’s storeroom was placed in her room. In talking to her, I soon discovered that she had been in a car accident, but it was back in January. She was readmitted because her leg broke again from the severity of the damage done to it in the accident.
While she was in the hospital, she suffered a massive heart attack and had open-heart surgery. I was just stunned. I summed up what she had told me (this is one of the techniques we had been taught, to repeat what we had heard so as to present the patient’s situation back to them). She said that is what had happened to her, but then included that she had just retired from her job days before the accident, had 6 surgeries on her leg prior to this one, and had had a mini-stroke.
This entire time, as we were talking, she had been looking down. But then, she looked me directly in the eye, and said, “I just don’t understand why. Why is this all happening to me? Why has God let this happen?”
When she looked me in the eyes and asked me, “Why?” I was hoping for divine intervention. I was the on call chaplain on that day, so if there was a trauma call, or a patient coded (went into cardiac arrest) my pager would go off. I hate to admit this, but before I answered her, I prayed for the pager to go off. I would not have been that upset if I was the one who coded. Anything, but having to answer that question. Because that was the question I had for God. “Why?”
I left a good job that I enjoyed to go into the ministry. I left behind family and friends to go into the ministry. I chose to follow Christ and go into the ministry. And what do I get in return? My dad is dead, and my mom is sick and not taking care of herself. “I just don’t understand why. Why is this all happening to me? Why has God let this happen?”
A friend, a dear and close friend, sent me a long email when I returned to Gettysburg to start CPE. We were not able to meet up when I was home, because I was at the hospital a lot, and so we were keeping in touch with calls & emails. He sent me an email with the verse from 1st Corinthians, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” [1Corinthians 10.13]
I had heard this verse before. I wrote back that I don’t want God to think that much of me. Because I felt I was being tested beyond my strength. I felt I was being given too big of a burden to carry. I thought I deserve better. We ALL deserve better. I was angry with my friend for sending me that message, but even more so, I was angry with God.
I think many of us have an issue with God because God is not consistent. If God was always a vengeful God, if God was a hard taskmaster; that could be ok. If God said here are the rules, this is what you need to do, do good and you will be rewarded, do bad or evil, and you will face my wrath – if that was our relationship with God, I think many of us would be all right with that. We would know where we stood.
“Hey, did you hear what happened to the Johnsons?”
“Yeah, he got that promotion at work and a big raise.”
“Of course, they do all of that charity work, so God had to reward them.”
“But did you hear about the Smiths?”
“Yeah, it’s a shame, but if you work on the Sabbath, and your kids talk back to you, you gotta expect some smiting.”
“But a plague of frogs?”
“Rules are rules.”
But that’s not how things are. The wicked prosper. The good suffer. Not all the time. But we don’t get what we deserve. But we know that God is a loving God. God cares for us. God suffers with us. That’s a hard concept to understand. We all suffer. We all have our own baggage to deal with. It may be our health, or the health issues of another. It may be loss and grief. It may be disappointment. It can be any of a hundred feelings of our own.
But there is the empathy for the suffering of others. We feel for the victims of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. We feel for the victims of war and violence. We feel for the victims of crime, injustice and poverty. We see all of this suffering. “I just don’t understand why. Why is this all happening? Why has God let this happen?”

That is what the people are asking Jesus. Herod defiled the Galilean travelers and their sacrifices by mixing their blood with the blood of their sacrifices. Eighteen people were crushed when a tower collapsed. By the way the question is framed, the victims of these events seem to have been good people. Where is their protection? Where is the love of God? How can God love us and let bad things happen to us? “I just don’t understand why. Why is this all happening? Why has God let this happen?”
We live in a world that is broken and we are the ones who broke it. Because of our sinful nature, we have damaged the world. We have damaged the very fabric of creation. The world does not operate as it should. The world could have been a perfect place. God could have created humanity so that we could only love, honor and praise God. We could have been in a world where nothing bad could happen because we had no choice in the world.
But God does not want our love, honor and praise because we had no choice. God wants our love, honor and praise because we choose to, because we want to, because we need to. So God gave us free will. We can choose to love, honor and praise God, or not. What we do is up to us. It is our choice, and sometimes we do not choose wisely. When we choose to act contrary to the will of God, when we choose to sin, we break the world.
Because the world is broken, it does not operate as it should. Bad things happen. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to people. Towers fall and crush people. Earthquakes occur. People get sick and ill. There are car accidents. Bad things happen because our world is broken, and we are among those who have broken it. Some people believe that tragedies occur to those who deserve it, that this is their punishment. The people of Haiti practiced voodoo and the devastation from Katrina came because of the wickedness of the people who lived there. Some people think they got what they deserved.
Let me ask, do you really want God to give you what you deserve? On the Day of Judgment, do you really want God to give you justice? Do you think you can pay for your sins?
In truth, we deserve much, much worse than we receive because we are broken people living in a broken world we have helped to break. We are flawed and fallen.
When I look back at the email my friend sent, and the verse from 1st Corinthians, I realize I looked at the message, and not the support. ‘No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.’ [1Corinthians 10.13] I focused in the middle that God will not test you beyond your strength. But what I missed was the beginning and the end of that verse.
‘No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.’
Everyone suffers. Everyone suffers because everyone is broken. The testing, the temptations, the problems of this life occur to everyone. The sun shines on the good and the bad. The rain falls on sinners and saints, and the snow comes for everyone. Our suffering is worse, because it is ours. I am not trying to say that you should not feel pain, or grief, or loss or any other emotion because of our suffering. But we all have our share of suffering. We all feel pain. Everybody hurts.
‘But with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.’ While everybody hurts, God hurts right along with us. God wants to be loved, honored and praised by us. But God wants that to be our choice. When we choose unwisely, God suffers with us, and our choices. When bad things happen to us, God suffers along with us. But, in the midst of our suffering, we see others suffering. While we are dealing with the trials and tribulations of our lives, we see others who are in trouble, and we reach out to them. In so doing, we chose to love, honor and praise God.
The way out of the testing, the way we may be able to endure it is through one another. We may be able to endure the testing by helping one another. We can take up part of their burden, and they may take a portion of ours. We may simply be there so that they are not going through their problems by themselves. We can help to lighten their load with a conversation, a smile, a hug, holding their hand, saying a prayer, by just being there.
What did I tell the lady in Hershey hospital?
I was fortunate. I found myself saying basically what I just said. The words just came to me. I told her this wasn’t a punishment, or a test, but it was just life. We talked about all of the people in her life, and beyond her circle of family and friends, who had reached out to her. People picked up the phone, stopped by, wrote a note, or remembered her in prayer.
When we suffer, when we hurt, when the tragedies of life come to us, we are not alone. We are surrounded by those who know us and love us, by those who feel our pain. At the front of the line is God, who feels our pain, and will dry our tears, and whom will never leave us.

Not Worthy To Take The Call

2010-02-17T21:49:00.002-05:00

I'm cleaning out the closet of unused sermons. This one is from February 7, the 5th Sunday of Epiphany. It was written in outline form and I've quickly put it into sentence-like things. Please excuse missing punctuation or incomplete thoughts. The texts are here.

This week’s lessons are about answering the call of God
In the play, and movie, Fiddler on the Roof, the main character, Tevye, says in prayer, “God, I know. I know. We are your chosen people. But, once in awhile, can't you choose someone else?" A common thought of people who are called by God is “Here I am Lord. Send someone else.” Many people are called. Many people hear the call. Not all are willing to answer that call. Because that call is terrifying.
The prophet Isaiah has a vision of God sitting on a throne. God is SO large that just the hem of God’s robe fills the Temple. The throne is surrounded by Seraphim. These are not the cute, cuddly baby angels we have come to think of, I don’t know why people have such pretty pictures of angels. Anytime they appear, their first words are “Do not be afraid.” Seraphim are flying serpents, also known as fiery serpents. They have six wings. In the presence, and in praise of the Lord, our God, they cover their faces with two wings and their feet with two wings. It is in response to these verses that I have adopted a practice during Communion. At the end of the preface (and so with all the choirs of heaven and earth … we join together to sing: ). Since I don’t have wings to hide my face, when we sing the Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) I bow in reverence.
But Isaiah realizes he is not fit to see what he has seen. He is not worthy of being in the presence of the Lord. He is ‘I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips’ [Isaiah 6.5] But a seraph places a burning coal on his tongue and he is made clean. And when God needs a messenger, Isaiah says, ‘Here am I; send me!’ [Isaiah 6.8]
Jesus, at the beginning of his ministry, just after he had been run out of his home town, goes to the lake of Gennesaret. There is such a crowd surrounding him, he gets in Simon Peter’s boat and teaches from there. After teaching, Jesus tells Simon to go out and put down his nets. Simon, despite being a professional, despite having been out all night decides to do as Jesus tells him. And he is rewarded by almost having his ship sunk. They catch SO many fish that the nets are beginning to tear and the load threatens to sink the ship. Peter is awestruck by this and recognizes the special nature of Jesus. He falls to his knees. He calls him ‘Lord’. He admits his sinful nature. He tells Jesus to go away. But when called, he ‘left everything and followed Jesus.’ [Luke 5.11]
Both Isaiah and Peter react the same way. They are awestruck by the power and majesty of God. Whether it is God the Father or God the Son, they admit and confess their sinful nature. They admit they are not worthy. But when they are called, they answer the call. Their responses are completely understandable and correct. We should be in awe and fear of God. We are not worthy. We are sinful creatures.
But we are the subjects of the Lord our God, and we should strive to always honor and obey, praise and serve God, We are not worthy. But we have been made worthy by the blood of the Lamb. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made us worthy. This is what Paul is telling the Corinthian church. Paul give them one of the early proclamations of faith, the message he proclaimed to them.
‘That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.’ [1 Corinthians 15.3-4]
This proclamation, this sharing of the Good News, this Gospel is a call. It is a call to all baptized Christians, no matter how unworthy they feel they are. Paul says, ‘For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.’ [1 Corinthians 15.9] Paul hunted and persecuted and caused the death of members of the early Church. But the level of his unworthiness did not matter, because he was found worthy in the eyes of God. ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.’ [1 Corinthians 15.10]
God has accepted Paul, unfit as he was.
God has accepted Peter, the sinful man that he was.
God has accepted Isaiah, the unclean man that he was.
We stand before God and declare our selves guilty. Christ stands in our way and says, not so fast. God has use for us just as we are. As Paul writes, ‘I am what I am.’ [1 Corinthians 15.10]
It is there where God uses us. God uses us in the brokenness of our world, of our selves to help and serve those around us who are broken. God does not want us to try to save the world. That is God’s job. God wants us to be an example of God’s grace, mercy and love, and to share the message of mercy with those we encounter each and every day of our lives.

Renew A Right Spirit Within Me

2010-02-17T21:28:00.001-05:00

Truth in posting disclosure - This was to be my sermon/message for Ash Wednesday, but we got snowed out again. Figured I'd share this with my half-dozens of readers for your amusement.

After I was confirmed, when I was a teenager, I did not like the worship services when we received Communion. It was ironic that after two years of classes, of studying and of education, now that I was able to receive the body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, I did not like those services. I could not figure out why. I thought maybe it was because I did not feel worthy of receiving communion, that I wasn’t “good enough.” But that wasn’t it. Maybe I was afraid I would make a mistake, and go forward when I should not, or that I would drop or spill something. But that wasn’t it.
It was not until I returned back to St. John after having spent way too long away from the church. Our family’s “assigned seats” were on the far right of the sanctuary as you looked from the back, right across the aisle from where the organist was. After I had been back and attending worship for a while, I asked our organist, Heidi, why we never sang, “Create in me a clean heart.” She told me that it wasn’t an option for when you have communion in either of the settings out of the green hymnal.
That’s when I realized why I did not like the communion services. I missed that hymn. When I was growing up, we used the red book, the Service Book and Hymnal, and we always sang “Create in me” every week, whether we received communion or not. I always enjoyed that hymn, both its melody and its message. I think while singing it was the first time I realized a song, a hymn, could be a prayer. I missed, and still miss, that hymn.
It is actually a partial paraphrase of the Psalm that we read at the beginning of this service. Psalm 51 is one of the seven penitential Psalms written by the Psalter, and it is one of the few that speaks specifically about the sins of the individual, and not the sins of the community or of the people of Israel. It has been used as the source of liturgical writings, Christian doctrine and theological understandings. It has been lifted up an eloquent example of intense self-awareness and a deep understanding of the relationship between God and humanity.
It begins by acknowledging and recognizing that the forgiveness of sin is dependant upon the grace of God. ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.’ [Psalm 51.1] The Psalter begins by asking God for mercy, and appeals to God’s love and mercy. It is not just acknowledging sin and straying from God’s ways. It is not just guilty and sorrow. It is laying claim that the Psalter, that I, that we, cannot be good enough for God, but that God is good and gracious enough for us. The Psalter puts their trust in the marvelous possibilities of God’s grace. Our confession of sin is in reality a response to God’s grace.
One of the things I have enjoyed in my studies at the Seminary is in learning enough about the original languages the Scriptures were written in to realize our translations don’t always carry the intent of the writers through into English. The little nuances don’t get picked up. I would like to share some subtlies with you. The words that are used in the Psalm to describe our failures have different meanings in the original Hebrew, and really describe what our sins truly are. “Transgressions” come from the word that means rebellion. “Iniquity” is literally translated as being bent out of shape. “Sin” in Hebrew means to miss the target. But the words where the Psalter asks for forgiveness also have different meanings in Hebrew. “Blot out” is the same word used to describe wiping a dirty dish. “Wash” could probably be better described as scrub, and “clean” is the word used for doing laundry down at the river. The word “create” even has special meaning, because it always has God as the subject, that God is the creative force and the result of the activity is always something entirely new.
So for this season of Lent, I would offer the suggestion to you that our theme for the 40 days be the words of that hymn, and the Psalm from whence it comes. Our worship services on Sundays will be from the SBH, the red book, and our offertory will be “Create in me.” Our Sunrise service on Easter Sunday will have the offertory of “Create in me.”
I would offer up the suggestion that while you may have decided to give up something for Lent, a favorite food or a habit you want to break, I propose you take up something as well. Pray this hymn. Pray this Psalm. Ask God to “Make a freshly laundered heart in me.” “Scrub me clean of my missing the goal and rebellion.” “Bring me into your happiness and heart.” “Wipe me clean and return me to my proper shape and direction.” “Open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Pray that the grace of God, which passes all understanding, be with you always.
Pray that your mouth, lips, tongue, life and actions may proclaim God’s glory and praise His name.
Pray for a clean heart and a renewed right Spirit.

Mountain Top Experiences

2010-02-17T21:18:00.001-05:00

Just to ‘fess up, this was originally my sermon for Transfiguration Sunday, February 14. The Gospel lesson for that day was Luke 9:28-43.
Jesus went up to the mountain and was transformed. That is an experience that I understand. No, I did not have a revelation or epiphany during the weeks when I have been snowed in at the Garden.
I’m actually referring to the last weekend of January when I went to Eagle Eyrie camp for the Virginia Synod’s Winter Celebration event. Now as someone from Michigan, who is actually used to getting this much snow, we celebrated winter that weekend, twelve to sixteen inches of winter. Winter Celebration is one of several youth events put on by the Virginia Synod as faith building, sustaining, nurturing events for youth. I strongly encourage the youth to go to these events, and I encourage adults to go as chaperones or as small group leaders. There is something about getting away from your everyday life, going up a mountain, (the camp where most of the events are held, Eagle Eyrie Virginia Baptist Conference Center is on a mountain just outside of Lynchburg) and spending a few days talking about God. It gives you a chance to unwind, distress and change your focus from what you think is important to what is important to God, which is you.
Now on our travels there, we manage to get there before and leave after the first of our recent gifts of snow. But we got to trek up and down the camp in the foot plus of powder they received. We got to hear powerful stories of how God has been there in the ‘unlikely events’ of the lives of the high school seniors who planned the details of this event. We were able to discuss how their stories and the Scriptural lessons they referred to spoke to us, how they reminded us of something in our lives, or in the lives of friends and families. We realized that our faith is a journey, sometimes it is strong and steadfast and sometimes it is a struggle and a tussle. We accepted that our faith is summed up in the first words of each petition of the Apostles or Nicene Creeds, “I believe” or “We believe.” Our faith is both intensely private and personal, but also public, communal and global; it is both internal reflection and an outward direction.
That weekend served to give me a “booster shot.” It helped to remind me that my plans for my future are simply my hopes and how they may relate to God’s plans may be only a coincidence. It reassured me of some things I needed reassuring with.
But one of the things I had to deal with after this wonderful weekend was coming back to the real world. That’s when my fun started. As we were getting ready to leave after Steven’s dad had picked him up, my battery died. They gave my car a jump, and I started the drive up to the Garden. While the road up the mountain was a little slick, I was driving carefully and the roads were pretty clear. Then I began the trek up my driveway. Now, the house I’m using is at the top of a hill in the middle of the Garden and has a gravel driveway. It is almost ½ a mile long, and is almost all up hill. And that Sunday night, it was covered with 7 inches of fine, undisturbed snow. Even in four-wheel drive, my Blazer got stuck right at the base of the driveway. And so with that, I was brought down from my mountain top experience and back into the real world.
Today’s Gospel lesson reminded me of that. Just days after the feeding of the 5,000, just days after Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah, just days after Jesus tells his disciples that the Son of Man will be killed and be raised from the dead on the third day, Jesus takes Peter, John and James with him to a mountain top to pray. While on that mountaintop, they are met by others. Elijah and Moses appear, and Jesus appearance is changed. His face changes and his clothes become a brilliant white. While the three disciples are in awe, the three men talk of Jesus’ exodus. Imagine the impact of hearing that word if you were among the original hearers of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus, the man you have been hearing so much about, the man who you have been told is the promised Messiah, the Christ, is visited by Moses and Elijah. They talk about his exodus, his departure, and his journey to the Promised Land, his leaving of this world. Right here, with this story, you realize that the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion and death of Jesus was not something planned by men. Jesus death was planned by God. Jesus came to Earth to die, to die for the Sin of the world, for my sins, your sins, for the sins of all. But he also came to Earth, became a man so that he could be raised three days later, to show that God, not Death, has the final word. Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, the Messiah, the Christ was born to die and to be raised.
Now if you think that by what the original listeners heard with the verses earlier in chapter 9, the events of the days preceding the trip up the mountain, and what realizations were starting to sink into them about the nature of Jesus and his life and ministry, think about what must be going around in the minds of the disciples. Our teacher, who has called us to follow him, who has sent us out, whom we have seen do wondrous, miraculous things, is talking to Moses and Elijah. They are talking about ‘his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.’ [Luke 9.31] Jesus had told them he was going to be killed, and then be raised. Peter came to understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah. All of this is going through their minds. What does it all mean? How can this be, that our Messiah is going to go to Jerusalem and be killed by the leaders of our religion, of our faith? Then there is this ‘be raised on the third day.’ [Luke 9.22] What does that mean? So I fully understand Peter’s reaction, “Hey, let’s just stay here. We can build some houses, It’s good that we stay here.”
I understand Peter’s reaction. Because, I didn’t want the Winter Celebration weekend to end. I wanted to keep going. All of the kids in my group were sharing of themselves (which is a major accomplishment – not because of anything I did – but because the topic and stories spoke to them) and our faith was being fed. We were growing, growing in our faith, growing together; why would we want to leave. ‘It is good for us to be here.’
But they had to come down off the mountain, and we had to come home from the event. Then real life comes back in our face. I had to walk almost ½ a mile uphill in all of that snow. Jesus came down from the mountain and has a great crowd rush to him and surround him. Immediately, a man is begging for his help, wanting him to save his son from a demon. Then Jesus, who has explained to his disciples what is happening and what is to happen, only to find that they don’t get it; then, Jesus, who has performed miracle after miracle, healing after healing, and finds that there are still more begging for help; then, Jesus vents. ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?’ [Luke 9.41]
Have you had that type of day? Things are going good, things are going well. You’ve had a great morning at work or at home. You are getting things done, and you are doing them well. You are sailing through the day. You are unstoppable. You are en fuego. Then at lunch, you spill spaghetti sauce on your white shirt, your ink pen leaks, the customer from heck walks in. And your wonderful day, your mountain top experience re-enters the real world.
The glory of God changes a person. The glory of God changes you. Being in the actual presence of God physically changes you. Moses’ face shone so brightly that he wore a veil so as to not frighten the Israelites. When we experience God, whether it is here in worship, or whether it is in private prayer and meditation, whether it is through the actions of another, or even through our own actions, guided by the Holy Spirit, when we experience God, we are transformed and transfigured. We may not be changed visibly, but we are changes spiritually. When we encounter the glory of God, we are forever changed. We are not pliable enough to snap back to our original state. When we are pulled or moved or torn, we remain that way. A mind that is exposed to new and different things, that grows in knowledge can not return to its prior dimensions. A heart that expands to love and show love never returns to its previous size. A soul opened to receive the eternal and infinite grace of God can never go back to the way it was before.
Whenever we have that mountaintop experience, when the goodness, the grace and the glory of God is put right in our face, when we realize what an awesome God we serve, when we begin to glimpse the kingdom and reign of God, when we come to understand what the Creeds say that we believe, when what it means for God's only Son, to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. On the third day he rose again; and he ascended into heaven. Whenever that happens, we think ‘It is good for us to be here,’ and we want to stay. But we must come down from the mountaintop, we must come out from behind the veil as Paul writes, we must return to the real world.
But we re-enter the world transformed. We re-enter the world forever changed. And our work is to transform and be forever changing. We have been transformed so we can transform others. We have been changed so that we can change others. We have been blessed so we can be a blessing to others. As Paul writes, ‘And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. ... Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.’ [2 Corinthians 3:18-4:1, 3:12]

Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meeeeeeeeeep Meep-Meep

2010-02-10T14:13:00.003-05:00

My favorite piece of classical music and one of my favorite Muppets all in one.
Beethoven's Ode to Joy as done by Beeker.

I Call Bull$hit

2010-02-08T17:11:00.003-05:00

Today, (February 8, 2010) the day after the Super Bowl, there are several writers who are writing apologies or rationales for Peyton Manning walking off at the end of the game without acknowledging any of the victorious Saints.

And I call BULLSHIT.

They say shaking hands after a loss is disingenuous. They say walking off isn't a sign of poor sportsmanship.

And I call BULLSHIT.

Whether it was LaBron James, Bill Belachuck or my beloved Detroit Pistons Bad Boys, it is classless, poor sportsmanship and just lame to go running into the tunnel at the end of the game. It is a poor example for younger players and it shows outright cowardice.

You stand in the arena and do battle. When the contest is over, you congratulate the other person or team because IT IS JUST A GAME. Losing hurts. Losing sucks. But someone is going to lose when you play a game.

When it's your time to be on the fuzzy side of the lollipop, suck it up and go over an congratulate the winner.

Show some class.

Now, Let's Go Get'em!!!

2010-01-26T00:57:00.002-05:00

Will you fight?
No, we will run and live.
Shame on you. This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're going to let it be the worst. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of you. Well, I'm not going home. We've come too far! And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. A day may come when the courage of men fails... but it is not THIS day. The line must be drawn HERE. This far, no further! I'm not saying it's going to be easy. You're going to work harder than you ever worked before. But that's fine, we'll just get tougher with it! If a person grits his teeth and shows real determination, failure is not an option. That's how winning is done! Believe me when I say we can break this army here, and win just one for the Gipper. But I say to you what every warrior has known since the beginning of time: you've got to get mad. I mean plum mad dog mean. If you would be free men, then you must fight to fulfill that promise! Let us cut out their living guts one inch at a time, and they will know what we can do! AaOOOOO! Let no man forget how menacing we are. We are lions! You're like a big bear, man! This is YOUR time! Seize the day, never surrender, victory or death... that's the Chicago Way! Who's with me? Clap! Clap! Don't let Tink die! Clap! Alright! Let's fly! And gentlemen in England now abed shall know my name is the Lord when I tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our Independence Day!

I Can See The Day When My Hair's Full Gray And I Finally Disappear

2010-01-17T13:12:00.004-05:00

While on our trip to Myrtle Beach, we spend some time at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, feeding my inner parrot-head. So as a way to fight the winter blahs, I may be highlighting some of Jimmy's songs.

Hey, consider yourself lucky that you aren't being forced to listen to my iPod mixes.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers - One Particular Harbour

Do Whatever He Tells You

2010-01-17T12:52:00.004-05:00

I spent part of this week in Myrtle Beach with my mother. She has been visiting me here in the Garden since before Thanksgiving. I promised her that if she came down here, she would be out of the cold and snow. Boy, did I screw that one up. So we went to Myrtle Beach, and while it was cold for them, it was a great respite for us.
This is a combination of different versions of the sermon I gave today (January 17). It was not the sermon I thought I would give when we headed to Myrtle Beach. I was mentally writing a sermon on gifts. That shows up in here. I thought about the greatness of the proclamation of the Isaiah text. That shows up in here. I decided against preaching about the bossiness of the mother of Jesus, at least while my mom was in attendance. But it shows up in here. I don't know what I think of this sermon. I'm conflicted with faith in the face of the death in Haiti. That shows up big time in here.

‘You save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God!’ [Psalm 36.6-7]
In this week, where the devastation from Haiti is so heartbreaking, it feels strange to say those words. In a tiny island country, it is estimated that between 45,000 and 50,000 people are dead. This death and destruction and devastation was not because of the severity of the earthquake. An earthquake of almost the same magnitude hit the San Francisco-Oakland-Bay Area in 1989. The World Series Earthquake, which hit while teams from San Francisco and Oakland were playing in the World Series, was a 7.1 magnitude quake. Sixty-three people died, 37 hundred were injured and several thousands were temporarily homeless. A similar earthquake, in a similarly populated area, but this time in a poor, underdeveloped country has a death toll greater by what could be a thousand fold. This is a natural disaster compounded and made horrific by the poverty of the country.
Haiti has long been the recipient of humanitarian need and assistance. One of my classmates, one of my best friends, spent two weeks there this summer, helping to teach children. She came back unable to adequately explain the poverty and conditions she encountered there. Earlier this month, the ELCA seminaries all offered J-Term classes, a two or three week period where to you take one intensive course. One course, offered by Trinity Seminary in Columbus, but open to all students was an immersion experience in Haiti. About 25 seminary students, and a few family members, went to Haiti, to learn and to serve. They were there when the earthquake struck. Ben Larson, a 25-year-old senior at Wartburg Seminary, was killed when the building he was staying in collapsed during the earthquake. His wife and cousin who were staying in the same building were able to escape the collapsed building safely. It appears all other students and staff who were in Haiti were uninjured. You have heard of the death, the devastation and the destruction.
On our drive back from Myrtle Beach, we listened to news coverage over the radio. A reporter broke down as he was describing families bringing the injured to hospitals or where they thought doctors were and just dropping their children, their spouses, their loved ones off, trusting they would be taken care of. Another reporter described people going to the city morgue. The bodies are brought to the morgue by front loaders, and dropped where they find room. The dead fill the morgue and wrap around the building like people queued up for a sale. Relatives search amongst the dead, hoping to find a loved one, often carrying a newly purchased casket. They hope to find their loved ones, hope to give them a burial, rather than having their remains commended to a mass grave. Other families, realizing they cannot offer that service to the victims are simply dragging the bodies of the dead into the street, away from the living and what little life they have left. Aid and support are trying to get to Haiti, but there is only one airport, and the port was damaged by the quake. Planes bound for Port-au-Prince enter a holding pattern virtually as soon as they take off from Florida or get near the island. Relief is being choked by not being able to get into Haiti and then not being able to get out of the airport and through the blocked and broken roads to get to those who are in desperate need.
‘You save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! … We feast upon the abundance of your house.’ [Psalm 36.6-7, 8]
At the celebration after the wedding in Cana that Jesus attended with his mother and his disciples, there was a need. It was a need for wine to continue the celebration. Had people known that the wine had run out, shame and embarrassment would have come to the groom and his family. But Jesus, with his mother’s cajoling, intervened, turning between 120 and 180 gallons of water into the finest wine. Throughout the four Gospels, when Jesus reacts, he creates abundance. When people are healed, when people are set free of demons, they do not just go back to their lives. They proclaim the greatness of Jesus, often despite his telling them not to do so. Jesus heals, cures and saves, but often does so in anonymity, wanting to continue his ministry. But their salvation has come in abundance.
That is God’s way, to provide blessings in unexpected and copious ways. In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul is admonishing them over disputes they are having over the various gifts they have received through the Holy Spirit. The Corinthians were holding in high regard those people who were able to speak in tongues. They felt this was the highest gift that one could receive; to be able to speak in an alien language. One thing I find strange was that they did not hold the ability to understand those speeches and utterances in a high regard. Prophecy, healing, working of miracles were also not as highly regarded as the gift to speak in tongues. Gifts and abilities that Jesus had demonstrated, gifts and abilities that have been recorded as being done by several of those chosen by God were not held in as high esteem as the ability to speak in tongues.
I often wonder about my own gifts for ministry. When I started this journey, it was not because I felt I had something special or unique to offer the church. It was because some of the nice little old ladies of my home church saw something in me, and told me I should go to a seminary. As I thought and prayed about it, and searched for a reason to tell them I could not, I saw some things I did could prove useful in serving the church. When I got to the Gettysburg Seminary and met my classmates, I was in awe of their gifts and how strongly they held their call. In my time there, and my time here, I have become more comfortable with gifts that I have. I can see how I can serve the church. I see some of my gifts and how they apply to ministry. I hear of other gifts people see in me, that I do not see in myself, and trust what they see will help me to serve God and the people entrusted to me.
But I realize that all of those gifts; mine, my classmates, yours, everyone’s, come from the Holy Spirit. These gifts are given to us by God to serve God and our fellow people. We cannot use these gifts without the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. ‘All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.’ [1 Corinthians 12.11] God works in and through each of us in different ways. We can all do different things in response to the destruction we see in our lives, whether it is within ourselves, our homes or on television, such as in Haiti. One gift, given to us all is the gift of prayer. We can always talk to our Lord, asking and interceding on our own behalf or on behalf of others. We can ask for guidance and protection. We can ask for forgiveness and mercy. We can ask for help and hope.
One gift I hope to develop is described in our reading from Isaiah. Scholars debate over this passage, whether the words are to be attributed to God speaking to the Prophet Isaiah, or Isaiah speaking to God. If it is God who is speaking, it is a promise that God will redeem Israel. God is promising to ‘not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest.’ [Isaiah 62.1] God will be active in the lives of the Chosen people, be they Israel or the followers of Christ or the world as a whole.
If it is the prophet speaking, he is testifying to how awesome, merciful and great God is. He will continue to proclaim God’s mercy and faithfulness. He will proclaim that ‘the nations shall see your vindication.’ [Isaiah 62.2] On the Day of Judgment, we will be justified, not by our works or our faith, but because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, who was faithful to God. He was faithful even unto death, a humiliating death on a cross. ‘You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.’ [Isaiah 62.2] Our sins will be forgiven. We will no longer be called “liar,” “thief,” “cheater,” “betrayer,” or any other name. But we will be called “beloved” and “child of God” and other names given to us by God. ‘You shall no more be termed Forsaken.’ [Isaiah 62.4] We will no longer feel pain or sorrow, hurt or loss. But we will be in the presence of God and amongst the communion of saints who have gone before us and will come after us to live in the love of our Lord. ‘So shall your God rejoice over you.’ [Isaiah 62.5]
God will redeem those who belong to God. That is the message from Isaiah, whether it is God promising to do it or if it is the prophet proclaiming it. I lean towards reading this as the prophet’s proclamation, and I hope that is a gift that I can use in my ministry, both now and in the future. I want to continually proclaim God’s mercy and promise of salvation. For Zion’s sake, for God’s sake and for our sake, ‘I will not keep silent, and … I will not rest.’ [Isaiah 62.1] I want to proclaim in words and deeds how great God’s love and compassion is.
The proclamation from Isaiah applies to the people of Haiti, and to us. It is not in this life that we shall be saved. It is not now when we shall fully feel the love of God. But it is in the world that is to come; the world revealed in the resurrection, when Christ's time has come, that we shall no longer be termed forsaken. It is in the life given to us by His dying that we shall be vindicated. But until that day, we live in a fallen and flawed world, filled with broken and battered people, surrounded by sin and suffering.
Why did the devastation in Haiti occur? In response to the great tsunami that struck Asia in 2004, theologian David Bentley Hart wrote, “we are to be guided by the full character of what is revealed of God in Christ. For, after all, if it is from Christ that we are to learn how God relates himself to sin, suffering, evil, and death, it would seem that he provides us little evidence of anything other than a regal, relentless, and miraculous enmity: sin he forgives, suffering he heals, evil he casts out, and death he conquers. And absolutely nowhere does Christ act as if any of these things are part of the eternal work or purposes of God.”
Why did the devastation in Haiti occur? I don’t know. I do not believe it was God’s will. I struggle to reconcile the concept of a God who arbitrarily kills tens of thousands who are struggling in poverty with the Bible’s picture of a caring, compassionate and merciful God. But I firmly and devoutly believe that God’s will is being done through our response to the destruction and death. The Apostle Paul had the audacity, just years after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus to refer to the struggling formative church as the “Body of Christ.” If this is the case, we need to act as Christ would, out of love and providing in abundance.
We need to use all of the gifts given to us by God, both the spiritual and physical gifts we have. We need to use these gifts each and every day. If you have helped the Haitian relief efforts financially, God bless you. If you want to do so, I have some information on some ways you can. If you have been praying for the people of Haiti and those who are going there to tend to them, God bless you. If you have been praying for the people of this area and of your family, God bless you. If you have been doing God’s work in any of a hundred of thousands of ways, God bless you. You may have even been doing God’s work without realizing that you were so doing. That is the way of the Holy Spirit. ‘Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’ [1 Corinthians 12. 4-7]
There are a multitude of things we can do each and every day when we are faced with the brokenness of this world and the brokenness of the people in the world. I ask all of you to act prayerfully for the common good. The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. But since we are the Body of Christ, we need to act and react under his command. We should, as his mother said, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ [John 2.5]

Dealing with Daily Threshing

2010-01-11T11:03:00.002-05:00

This is my manuscript for the sermon I was going to preach on Sunday celebrating the Baptism of Jesus. Church was canceled in the Garden due to drifting and I wasn't sure of the roads to head down the mountain. The texts were Isaiah 43:1-7, Acts 8:14-17 and Luke 3:15-22.

I had to look up what threshing was, because, well, to be honest, we don’t do a lot of wheat farming in Saginaw, Michigan. In the threshing rooms, the grains of wheat are place on the ground and then pounded until they break open. The stalks of wheat are beaten by sticks and rods. Metal bars and chains are used to pound the stalks. They are trampled upon by cattle and other animals. They are crushed under rollers exerting tremendous pressure. It is then that the valuable seeds are separated from the useless husks and stalks that surrounded and hid them. It is a way of breaking open the shells to get at the important things inside. A winnowing fork or fan is then used to toss the broken mixture into the air. The lighter chaff would blow away, while the heavier seed would fall to the ground. This process has been around since the beginning of when ever humanity began harvesting grain. It is incredibly violent, literally beating, stomping upon and crushing the grain until it fractures and the useful grain is separated from the rest of the stalk, which is useless, except as fuel to be burned.
Today’s Gospel lesson is a continuation of a lesson we read just before Christmas when I talked about “Luke: The Movie.” John the Baptizer has begun his ministry and has drawn quite a crowd. John warmly welcomes them by calling them a ‘brood of vipers.’ John warns the crowd, full of sinners and society’s rejects that they must radically reorient themselves toward God; they must repent of their ways.
The one who comes after John, the one who he is unfit to untie his sandal, “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” [Luke 3.16] John has baptized them in water, forgiving their sins and calling them to repent. John is warning them that they need to turn to God, or they risk being separated like chaff from wheat. Tradition has it that on the Day of Judgment, we shall be separated like chaff from the wheat, and Jesus, as our Judge will “gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." [Luke 3.17] We will endure threshing, being beaten and broken, stomped upon and crushed. Those who are pious and faithful and worthy will be gathered into the grainery, but those who are unrepentant, and sinful will be separated by Christ’s winnowing fork, and shall burn in unquenchable fire.
John is calling on the people of Israel, and the people of all times and places, to repent, to reorient themselves to God in their daily lives. In the part of this passage from the Gospel lesson assigned in December, John tells the people to be fair, treat others with respect, share, don’t take more than your share, care for others. By doing so, they show the love God has for them by showing that love for one another. What they had done in the past is the past. But by reorienting themselves, they show their brokenness. Using that brokenness, God breaks into their world, and into their hearts and into their minds.
The passage from Isaiah just cries out how much God loves us. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” [Isaiah 43.1-3] “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” [Isaiah 43.4] God loved them and was going to be there for them.
God tells Israel, who was languishing in exile in Babylon, that it is going to be all right. They had been through a horrible experience. They had done wrong and God allowed them to be punished. But it is going to be all right. “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. … You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” [Isaiah 43.3, 4] What has gone on in the past is the past. Yet even in the past, even in their sinful and sorrowful ways, despite their disobedience and disrespect, beyond their turning away and falling aside, God held them as precious … and honored … and loved.
God did not fall back into love with Israel because they were becoming obedient. God never fell out of love with them. God did not find them precious because they repented and reoriented themselves. God saw them as precious and loved them in spite of their brokenness. Because through that brokenness, God breaks into their world, and into their hearts and into their minds.
When he was baptized, Jesus received the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit would help him endure his own thrashing process. The Spirit sustained and supported him when he went into the wilderness to face temptation. The Spirit is a gift that enabled the Apostles to preach and proclaim properly. The Spirit is a gift given by God that comes to God’s people as a blessing and empowerment. The Spirit is given to those who have the work of God to do.
This is why I read the next verse in Luke’s Gospel; “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.” [Luke 3.33] Everything up to this point in Luke’s Gospel (Luke: The Movie) has been preparatory. Now that Jesus has been baptized, now that Jesus has received the Holy Spirit, now that Jesus has received God’s blessing and love, now Jesus can begin his work. But God said that Jesus was loved before he began his work. It is not because of his work, his ministry that Jesus is God’s Beloved. It is not because of what Jesus will do that God is well pleased. God is well pleased with Jesus, who is God’s Beloved, because that is God. God does not love us because of what we have done, or will do, or have stopped doing, or never did. That puts conditions on God’s love. God’s love is unconditional; we are precious and honored and loved strictly because we are God’s. That is the Lord, our God, the Holy One of Israel, Our Savior.
In our baptism, by receiving the Holy Spirit, we are sustained and strengthened for the thrashing that life is going to give us. The things we deal with daily, the circumstances of our lives, are our threshing floor. Daily we are beaten, trampled and crushed. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can endure when we are beaten by rods, sticks and chains. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can tolerate being trampled upon. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can bear up under the tremendous pressure that is applied to our lives. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can understand what it means to hear: “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. … You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” [Isaiah 43.3, 4]” Then we can realize that everything is going to be all right.
I don’t think that on the threshing floor of the Day of Judgment that some of us are wheat and some of us are chaff. I think we are all wheat, and that life is beating down upon us continually, breaking our shell, breaking us down. We are all wheat which will be gathered into God’s grainery. It is only through dying that a seed can grow and sprout and flourish. While life has beaten us and broken us, it is through that brokenness that God can break into our world and into our hearts and our minds. God loves us and uses us, to do God’s work and to shape us to do God’s purpose. We are all wheat because while life beats us down and breaks us, it is through that brokenness God breaks into our world, and into our hearts and into our minds. Without God breaking into our world through the person of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we would lie broken on life’s threshing room floor. Without the Holy Spirit strengthening us, we could not tolerate the beatings, trampling and crushing given to us by life. With out the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we would lie on the floor amongst the chaff of our sins and failures. But because the Spirit can guide, lead and give us strength, and because Christ’s life, death and resurrection can deliver us from the things that surround us and keep us from being the pure creatures we were meant to be, we will be saved and brought to everlasting life.
God has told us that God loves us, that we are precious in the eyes of the Creator.
In our baptism, we receive and are strengthened and guided by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christ suffered and died for our sins, and will ultimately separate us from Sin and Death.
“For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. … You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” [Isaiah 43.3, 4] Knowing this, we begin and continue our work.

I've Seen More Battles Lost Than I Have Battles Won

2010-01-09T12:56:00.002-05:00

Suzanne Vega - The Soldier and the Queen / World Before Columbus

Hey Joe, It's Me. Can You Help Me Out?

2010-01-09T12:45:00.004-05:00

This was my sermon for our Advent mid-week service on December 23rd. Please excuse the choppiness, I used an outline which I have tried to flesh out for this.

The West Wing is one of my favorite shows. I especially love a scene between Leo McGary, the White House Chief of Staff, and Josh Lyman, his deputy. Josh has been dealing very poorly with having been shot, and is forced to see a therapist. Leo waits until late in the evening for Josh to get out of his appointment, and then tells him this story. "This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'"

Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It seems strange to talk about Jesus’ words from the cross on the day before Christmas Eve. But Psalm 22 is a great way to close the season of Advent. It is an model prayer. It is used to demonstrate how we can turn to God no matter how deep / dire the straights we find ourselves. In Christ’s time, his cry of “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani” would not just have heard as a quotation of the opening words of the Psalm, but would have been a reference of the entire Psalm and the journey from rejection to redemption. So we can see the Psalter’s journey from despair to rejoicing in this Psalm as modeling Christ’s journey during the Passion from the despair of the torture and crucifixion of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to the resurrection on Easter Sunday.
By quoting the Psalm, Christ joins with the multitudes who are afflicted and becomes one with them in their suffering. He shows/says his total identification and unity with those who suffer. He gives his followers permission to pray this, and similar prayers, asking, begging God for help.
Psalm 22 is a model prayer for us because it is a prayer for help, for mercy. The Psalter says that God has moved or stayed away from him. But at Christmas, with the birth and incarnation of Christ, we have Immanuel = God with us. The Psalter is not asking for release from one situation or problem, but from all of the problems of their life. This problems are generic enough to be universal and applicable to everyone at some point(s) in their life.
Structurally, the Psalm is the combination of a number of separate prayers and parts. It begins with a prayer for help (v 1 – 21). The Prayer is in two cycles (v 1-11 & v 12-19), each concludes with “be not far.” The first cycle has two laments over the troubles of the Psalter. Verses 1-2, What does it mean to cry out to “My God”? It is then followed by assertions of the faith & confidence in God. Verses 3-5 – Explains how the Psalter can cry out to “My God,” God has been there for the Psalter’s ancestors. It sets up a community where “My God” is at the center and shows there is a relationship between the Psalter/Prayer and “My God.”
Verses 6-8 are the Lament of the Psalter. They are derided and mocked, treated as the lowest of animals. "I am a worm." Verses 9-10 – Asserts their confidence in God. God has delivered them, protected them when they were vulnerable and incapable of protecting themselves. This language is so appropriate, on the eve of Christmas Eve, because it reminds of the protection and vulnerability of the newborn Christ. While the Psalter/Prayer testifies to their trust and faith in God, they are also complaining, My ancestors were saved by you God. What about me? The Psalter/Prayer has experienced the delight of the Lord, but now is not even valued as a person anymore. Their faith is being stretched. They know of God’s goodness, but wonders where is God now? They are distanced from God’s love & protection.
The Second cycle also has two laments. In Verses 12-15, the Psalter/Prayer describes themselves as surrounded or encircled, troubles have moved into the space vacated by God. The afflictions show as signs of troubles with the Psalter/Prayer’s body. Verses 16-18 repeats the surrounded plea. These detail the surrounding animal/ bestial forces, and how close death is. The opposition/enemy stare/gloat & taunt. The second cycle concludes with another petition, this in threefold repetition (save me from the hunter/lion/wild bulls), intensifying and stressing the dire straights of the Psalter. The evil is omnipresent & universal It’s everywhere!
The Psalm concludes with a song of praise (v 22 - 31) which is also comprised of two parts. Verses 22-26 are a hymn in the first person where the focus is on the congregation who celebrate with the Psalter . It assumes the person who has/will be saved goes to the assembly to join/be joined with those who are also seeking deliverance. It has a summons to praise (V 22-23) for all of those who are chosen of God. It’s not just friends & families; it is a nation/spiritual identity and a reason for the praise (v 24-26). God remembers/favors the poor, hungry and marginalized. God loves them when humanity has decided not to. Verses 27-31 widens the circle of praise from the congregation to humanity and all nations (v 27-8) “All the families of nations shall bow before God.” It also includes the dead and the dying (v 29) and all people, even those not yet born (V 30-31) Finally it gives the reason for all the acclaim (V31) “saying to them, ‘The Lord has acted!’" God’s righteousness /deliverance shall be THE sign to the nations that God has acted. They shall all remember and turn to the Lord. For the dead to praise God means that something immense has happened. Death does not have the final word any longer.
This prayer/psalm confronts a reality that moves from the perceived absence of God to the actions of God in our lives, to death and into salvation. The Psalter moves from being mocked and rejected because of depending on God to being in a community that celebrates and lives out that dependence. The Psalter/Prayer is not lowly because he is afflicted with a desire to worship/commune with God. The desire to worship/commune with God has caused them to be treated as lowly and the deliverance comes because they are treated as lowly. The worship/service of God has cost them their status, the most precious thing they own. The Psalter/Prayer has given/turned it all over to God.
God knew we, humanity, were in a hole, and the walls were so deep we could never get out. God became human, and jumped in the hole with us. God, through Jesus Christ, became our way out of that hole.
Now remember, this is Psalm/Prayer Christ references/recites from the Cross. It is not complaining/condemning God for not acting. It is praising God for the journey that Christ has been on. While we may say from the cradle to the grave, it has been from the manger to the cross. Christ sacrificed and gave everything to become human and was rejected, denied, accused, abused, tortured and crucified. Yet from the cross, he praises God, because he knows “My God, My God, you have NEVER forsaken me.” And we too, can boldly pray this prayer because My God, your God, OUR God, has and will have NEVER forsake us. That in giving all to God, including all trust in God, we shall be restored. And we can proclaim, as the Advent season draws to an end, we shall proclaim God's deliverance to a people yet unborn, through a baby whom is yet to be born, saying to them, "The Lord has acted!"

Previously on LOST: What?

2010-01-09T12:25:00.001-05:00

How Do You Start Your Gospel?

2010-01-03T23:15:00.002-05:00

This is the manuscript I wrote for January 3; to preach on John 1.1-18. I delivered an abbreviated version of the sermon because we had a very sparsely attended service and the sanctuary was very cold. When the lector reads the lessons while wearing gloves, I can take a hint.

I love this piece of Scripture.
Of all of the Gospels, the Gospel according to John is my favorite. It is different from the three Synoptic Gospels. It tells a different version of the story of the life and ministry and it does so in the beginning.
Let’s assume you are called upon by the Holy Spirit to write the gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. How would you start? Now up to this time, no one has ever written a ‘gospel.’ People have written narratives of the life or events surrounding a person. But no one has written an account of a person who is the Savior of humanity. So if you are called upon to do it, how do you start? You have the blank papyrus scroll and a fresh quill in your hand. How do you start to write YOUR Gospel about Jesus Christ?
Matthew decided to list the family tree of Jesus, from Abraham through David and onto Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Christ.
Mark jumps right into the story and introduces John the Baptizer who is preparing the way, and the scene, for Jesus.
Luke explains what he is doing and begins his narrative with angelic pronouncements of impending miraculous births.
John goes in a different direction, and I want to talk about what he wrote, verse by verse. John goes back to the beginning. Not the beginning of the life of Jesus, but THE beginning. John begins at the beginning of everything. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” [John 1.1-2] The Word, or logos is a concept rich in both the Roman and Jewish tradition. The idea of a power of wisdom and knowledge that runs throughout the universe or cosmos was understood by both traditions. John puts the Word with God from the beginning. The Word is a part of God from the beginning.
“All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” [John 1.3-4] In the story of Creation at the beginning of Genesis, God spoke everything into being. “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” [Genesis 1.3]
All of Creation was spoken into existence; and the Word brought it into being. Everything that has lived, is living or will ever live, came into existence by and through the Word. “Without him not one thing came into being.” [John 1.3] Everything has been touched by the Divine Power of the Word, from women and men to the bacteria at the bottom of a swamp. From the cattle to the grass they eat, everything was made by and through God.
“The life was the light of all people.” [John 1.3-4] The life that we have, the life that has come into us through the Word of God is the light of all people. A light that shines in and on and through all people, touched and formed by God. All precious in God’s sight and all loved by God. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand or overcome it.”[John 1.5] The light of God, the love of God shines into the darkness. It goes where it has not been. It goes where it is not expected. It goes where it is not known. It goes where it is not wanted.
You can be in a dark room. You can turn off all of the lights. Yet there is still light coming in. You can draw the blinds. You can bury your head in pillows, pull the blanket up over your head and put on a sleep mask. Yet there is still light coming in. Even out here in Burke’s Garden, away from streetlights, traffic lights and the lights of the city, you cannot find total darkness, you have to seek it. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”[John 1.5] You cannot avoid the light; you can run, you can hide, but the light will find you. You do not seek out the light. The light seeks you out. “And the darkness will not overcome it.”
Darkness, the absence of light, did not understand the light. The darkness, the distancing from God, the power of Sin and Death, did not and could not understand why the light and life and love of God would pour forth from God and into Creation. The darkness, the powers that draw us to be fallen and flawed, did not and could not and will not overcome or defeat the light. It has been so since the beginning. Ever since the Word of God went out from God’s lips, declaring “Let there be light,” and forced the dark forces back, the Light has been victorious over those dark forces. Evil, Sin and Death cannot understand the ways of God. Evil, Sin and Death cannot defeat the power of God. Thus says John. That is how John decided to begin his proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. He chose to spoil the ending. In the end, and actually, in the beginning, the bad guys are going to lose. That, my friends, is Good News.
I am going to skip the verses that talk about John the Baptizer, although he does not get that title in John’s Gospel, for just a few minutes. I want to stay on the subject of the light. “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” [John 1.9-11] The light of God, which is the life of all people; the light which is the life of all Creation; the light which created all existence through the Word of God, was coming into the world. The power of creation, the power of life, the power of God, God god’s self was coming into the world. That which was, is and always shall be came into the world, which came by and through the Word.
Skipping down a couple of verses, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”[John 1.14] The power of creation became a person and lived among people. How exciting and terrifying is that thought? The power of God Almighty is in the world, taking part in the world just as you and I do. The Word was with God, the Word was God, and now the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
But the world, which was spoken into being by the Word of God; the world that was brought to life by the Light of God did not know him. How horrifying and heartbreaking is that thought? The power of God Almighty is in the world, taking part in the world just as you and I do, and we don’t know or recognize him. The power of all creation is here and we do not realize it. Wait, it gets worse. The Word of God, the Light of Life went to ”what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.“ This is not good. Again, John spoils the ending of his gospel. Those who are God’s own, God’s chosen, will reject God-with-us. Immanuel has come to Israel, and they do not accept him.
But Israel are not the only ones to whom the Word and the Light have come. “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” [John 1.12-13] While Israel, as a nation rejected him, some received and accepted him, and whether they are Jew or Gentile, those who believed in his name, who believed that God is with us; they became children of God. They became God’s children, not by birthright, or because of their will, but because it was God’s will.
“We have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. … From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” [John 1.14b, 16] In the Ancient Near East, during the time of Christ, an only son was irreplaceable. An only son was a one of a kind experience, to be valued and treasured because that son was the only way in which the name of the father would live on. It is only through the actions of the only son that glory and honor can be brought to the name of the father. And in the case of Jesus Christ, what honor and glory that would be.
The word ‘grace’ or charis appears only four times in John’s Gospel. All four uses are in this passage. John establishes the theme of grace, the grace of God, in the prologue and then never mentions it by name again. Instead the remainder of his Gospel is ripe with illustrations of grace. We have seen God’s glory and we have received God’s grace. The witness John speaks of is what he, as a first-hand eyewitness saw and received. This glory and grace is shared by each succeeding generation and community that accepts and receives the Word.
Jesus brings glory to God the father by doing God’s will. The prophet Isaiah wrote “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” [Isaiah 55.11] God sent the Word into the world to become flesh, to live, to teach, to save, to suffer and to die. The Word did not return to God empty, but returned after it had done God’s will. That meant even dying on a cross and being raised again. By submitting to his death on a cross, Jesus has brings glory to God. By becoming incarnate, God has proven God’s active role in the lives of humanity. Rather than being a passive, disinterested God that so many people believe, God has jumped into the deep end of the pool with humanity, to be one with and amongst us.
“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.” [John 1.18] The tradition of the Jewish people teaches that a physical encounter with God, or the Power of God, is very, very dangerous. Moses had his face transformed from being in the presence of God to such a degree that he had to wear a veil. Anyone who touched the Ark of the Covenant died. God was only to be personally encountered by the high priests, and only then behind several curtains in the Holiest of Holies within the Temple in Jerusalem. Their tradition taught that no one had ever seen the face of God and lived. If you have not met someone, the best way to understand who he or she is and what he or she is like is if someone tells you what he or she has done. If I want you to know about one of my friends, I will tell you about some of the things they have done and said. That way, you will have a picture of them. So, in order to know God, we must know what God has done. Beyond trying to know God through creation, beyond trying to worship God by following the law given by Moses, we can best understand God by what God has done. That is, the Word of God and the Light of Life has come down to us, and become a person, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Christ. Jesus is the Son of God, the Word made flesh, and it is through him we can best attempt to understand God.
Now to get back to John, not the writer, but the Testifier. In John’s Gospel, the person we know as John the Baptizer is never referred to with that title. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. … John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' "” [John 1.6-8, 15] In those 3.5 verses, the responsibility of John is laid out. He was sent from God to witness and testify to the light. He came to testified to the light. He testified about the light. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptizer is better called John the Testifier.
This is our role as those who have received and believed in Jesus the Christ, the Word made Flesh. We are to testify to the Light. We are to make known the works and word of the Living God. We are men and women, sent from God. We come to witness to the light so that all might believe. We can do so by sharing the Gospel, the Good News. We write our own Gospel each and every day of our lives, by what we do, and say and act. We may get to share the story of Christ with people from time to time. But we get to share the love of Christ every day. We are sent out by the Word of God into the world, and we must not and cannot return empty, but must accomplish the purpose for which we were sent. Our living Gospel, the Gospel according to you or me or any of us is not written on blank papyrus with a fresh quill. Our Gospel is written in what we say, how we act, what we do or do not do. With God’s blessings, we must make ourselves a Gospel worth reading.

Where Are The Strong? And Who Are The Trusted?

2010-01-03T23:10:00.003-05:00

As I walk through this wicked world, searching for light in the darkness of insanity, I ask myself: is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, there's one thing I wanna know: what's so funny 'bout peace, love & understanding?

Elvis Costello & the Imposters - What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?

Hope to post more regularly.

THAT DAY Is Surely Coming

2009-11-01T14:23:00.004-05:00

This is my text for the All Saints Day service in the Garden. I focused mostly on the Isaiah (25.6-9 ) and Revelation (21.1-6 ) texts, and only briefly touched on the Gospel (John 11.32-44 - the story of Lazarus).

Last Sunday, during our celebration of the Reformation of the Church, we heard the words God said to the prophet Jeremiah, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. … I will be their God, and they shall be my people. … I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” [Jeremiah 31.31, 33, 34] Today, as we remember the great cloud of witnesses and saints who have gone before us, as we remember our loved ones who have died, we must also remember the promises God has given to us and to them. First among those promises is that death does not have the final word. God does.

“It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’” [Isaiah 25.9] Both Isaiah and John the Revelator have seen visions of that day which is surely coming. They have both seen a new home being made for all people. They see a new home being made on a mountain, a new Jerusalem being brought down out of the heavens. Isaiah sees a feast being prepared, “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.” [Isaiah 25.6] This is a royal feast, the type of banquet served to the finest guests on the grandest occasions. That day which is surely coming is an occasion befitting of that type of banquet.

Today, we remember our loved ones who have passed away. When we talk about those who have passed away, it is not only the people who have passed from our lives, but their memories and experiences. When people die, we lose not just the actual person, but we also lose what they did for us, the roles they played in our lives. When people pass away, they leave our current lives, but not our memories. We find we mourn not just the person, but what they meant to us. We miss the experiences we shared, these common bonds. We miss the stories, whether the stories were ones they told or ones told about them. We miss the opportunity to have more stories and more experiences with those who have passed away.

But in John’s Revelation, the term ‘passed away’ takes on a different meaning. In the Revelation, it is “the first things” that have passed away. Those first things include the first earth and first heaven. “Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” [Revelation 21.4] God is preparing a banquet because death has been defeated. We no longer have to worry about loved ones passing away because death itself has passed away. Removing death from the world brings about a new world.

As death and the first things have passed away, we shall weep no more. Loss, of any kind, is an emotional experience. It does not matter if that loss is a game, your keys, an opportunity, a relationship or a loved one. Any loss leads to a sense of unbalance, that something is wrong, missing or incomplete. When that feeling is strong enough, it brings tears. What feeling of loss can be stronger than the loss when a loved one dies? You know you will not see them again.

When Jesus comes to Bethany because his friend Lazarus was ill, he meets Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary falls to her knees at his feet and cries. Her brother has been dead for four days. The man who she calls “Lord” has just arrived. She knows if Jesus would have been there, her brother would still be alive. Jesus sees this woman whom he knows, on the ground before him crying over the loss of her brother, and it moved him greatly. Our Lord sees the crowd of mourners who have come with Mary to greet him, and sees them crying over the loss of Lazarus, and his spirit is deeply disturbed. The Son of God knows his friend, “he whom you love” [John 11.3] has died, passed away from this life, and he begins to weep. The Son of Man is moved by the sense of loss of the sisters, Mary and Martha, the community and his own loss, and he begins to cry. To remedy that pain and loss, Jesus commands Lazarus to come out of the tomb.

God knows the pain of loss we feel. But the pain stems from our broken covenantal relationship with God. God does not want us to hurt or suffer. That is not the relationship and communion God wanted for us. So on that day that is surely coming, God will wipe away the tears from every eye and every face. In the kingdom that is to come, we shall weep no more. Because when the first things, the first earth and the first heaven pass away, the brokenness of our relation with God will pass away as well. The Sin that is the cause of the fracture and fallenness and failing will be destroyed. “He will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.” [Isaiah 25.8] That day is surely coming when God will destroy the Sin that is at the heart of our broken relationship with God. God will vanquish the evil barrier of Sin that separates us from being in right covenantal relationship. The first things will pass away. The first things, the original sin, when humanity fell from grace by disobeying God, shall pass away. Our own first failures, of creating false idols of money, wealth, power and worshiping things that draw us away from God, rather than worshiping the One who has given everything to us will pass away. No longer will we worship what we think we can make and create for ourselves. Instead, we will worship the Creator who has made everything for us. Isaiah says, “The disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth.” [Isaiah 25.8]

God will restore us to our right covenantal relationship because the first things, our faults and failures, will pass away. “He will swallow up death forever.” [Isaiah 25.8] and “death will be no more;” [Revelation 21.4] In this new city on a mountain, this new Jerusalem, the new creation is defined by what has passed away. The powers that oppose God and diminish our lives, those of Sin and Death, are no more. The visions and writings of Isaiah and John tell of a time, that day is surely coming, when evil will be defeated forever, and humanity will be set free from the bonds of sin. Death is defeated when the dead are all bodily resurrected. So the loss we feel when some one we love passes away, those feelings, the mourning, crying and pain, will themselves pass away. Because the separation, the loss of our communion with God, will be no more. “It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God. … This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’” [Isaiah 25.9] On that day, nothing will separate God from God’s people – not physical distance, emotional anguish or physical pain.

“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.’” [Revelation 21.5-6] The one on the throne, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior is making everything new. Through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, he has given us righteousness and restored us to a right covenant relationship and communion with God. In our baptism, we are joined to Christ in a life like his. We are claimed as a child of God, baptized in the name of the Triune God and sealed with the sign of the cross; forever. We are joined into a life of service and suffering with Christ so that we can be joined into a death like his. Not a death on a cross, but a death that is NOT final. Because death does not have the final word. The final word belongs to God. We shall be raised again in these bodies. We shall dwell in communion with God. The right covenantal relationship shall be reformed and restored. The banquet prepared in Isaiah’s vision is foreshadowed by the meal we are all invited to participate in, the meal provided by Jesus Christ. The last supper our Lord had before his death is a foretaste of the meal that is to come in the Kingdom that is coming. He who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Word made flesh has brought God’s plan of salvation to fruition. In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. [John 1.1] That word IS trustworthy and true. Our God is trustworthy and true. “It will be said on that day, ‘This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’” [Isaiah 25.9]

Through The Too Many Miles And Too Little Smiles

2009-11-01T14:13:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since a real post. I am enjoying my vicar-ing here in the Garden. It is keeping me busy. I've avoided any real comments on the 800 lb. gorilla in the ELCA, because I would have to force myself to be pastoral. And when posting here, I don't feel like forcing myself to do that.

I will avoid name calling and leave that to those who favor Law over Gospel, fear over love.

But I'm not talking about that. :D

Here's an old song about old friends.

Harry Chapin - Taxi
Edited to put in a version that did not autoplay.

It Will Burn Lord, But I Am Ready.

2009-10-25T07:56:00.002-04:00

Another great devotional from Pray Now. (this devotional)

Elemental - Fire

The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along
the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so they might travel
by day and by night. Exodus13.21

Prayer

It will burn, child.
Swift and sharp
as the slice of shimmering steel.

It will burn, child.
Scorching and shocking
as words spat in heated haste.

It will burn, child.
Stinging and scabbing
as fresh scars smart with rage.

And so we learn, Lord, to fear the fire
should it hurt and harm us;
damage and deny us;
wound and waste us.

Then you come, guiding God,
shimmering and flickering and shouting
Yes, child, it will burn, but see me.
Yes, child, it will burn, but follow me.
Yes, child, it will burn, but it is for you.

Bring me bare foot, Lord,
to feel your heat sear and seal my soul.
Lead me with a love that crackles with life,
that demands and dances;
pains and purifies;
brings newness from the scorched earth
of my lukewarm life.

It will burn, Lord.
But I am ready.

Blessing

Come, Lord with flaming fearlessness,
Come, Lord, with blazing boldness.
Come, Lord, to burnish and bless
lives dulled, hopes doused and hearts grown cold.
Come to comfort and cleanse
that we might be ready to serve you once again
in the way and through the love of Christ Jesus. AMEN

Are You Freakin' Nuts?

2009-09-18T12:29:00.002-04:00

So I' m checking my Facebook account, and see a message from my good friend (& future Bishop) Faithful Yet Changing who has a message to pray for Glen Beck. And my response is the title of this post, "Are You Freakin' Nuts??" Politically, I score just left of center, but that is because I hold a couple of far right positions which balance out some of my far left positions. But in the past year or so, I have found myself leaning farther and farther left, mostly in response to the morons (and I apologize to all of the real morons for lumping them in with this group) at Fixed Noise, like Beck, O'Riley & Hannity. The venom they spout comes from either ignoring facts or not being able to understand them or being so deluded that they actually believe the crap they spread.

I only clicked on the link because it is Future Bishop Faithful Yet Changing's birthday, and I was hoping this was going to be a joke, kind of like being Rick rolled. But it wasn't. It was an honest attempt to change his mind on the need for health care reform. There is a whole series of these going to several right wing (lack of) ideologues and opinion pushers. I doubt they will work; but never underestimate the power of shame.

Because it hit me. We, as Christians, are called not only to pray for those we love and those who love us, but also for those whom we don't love, and who do not love us. And while I do not like Glen Beck and the rest of his den of vipers and the venom they spew, I need to learn to love them and pray for them. So I will pray for them, and learn to love them. And I ask you to pray for them as well.

And, like the goalie from Slapshot said, I go to the box by myself for two minutes and I feel shame.

All Made Up And Nowhere To Go

2009-09-17T21:18:00.002-04:00

Police - So Lonely

The Gift of Taking Up Your Cross

2009-09-17T14:07:00.002-04:00

My sermon notes from September 13th.

This lesson from Mark’s Gospel [Mark 8.27-38] literally changed my life.
Three years ago, I was struggling with a bunch of decisions, one that really came down to one decision. I was wondering if I was being called to leave my home, family and friends in Saginaw, Michigan and pursue the ministry. I had a number of people from my church tell me I should go into the ministry. They saw gifts and talents in me that I did not see, and some that I still do not see in myself. Because of their insistence, I felt I owed it to them to look into the process of candidacy with the ELCA and attending seminary. I was looking into the process so I could find that roadblock and report back to them and say, “You know, I would follow that call, but I can’t because of _insert reason here_. But I could not find that reason. In fact, the more I looked into it, the more it felt like the right thing to do. At the same time, the job that I enjoyed was not as enjoyable as it once was. The budget had been cut and I was called on to do the same programs but with a lot fewer resources. I was conflicted. Do I follow what I think I am being drawn toward, or do I stay and struggle with my job and my family? Am I just looking for a way out? All of these thoughts were weighing on me as I went to church one Sunday and sat in the pew. I really wasn’t paying attention; I was praying for God to give me guidance, direction, a sign. Then I stood for the reading of the Gospel, and Pastor Paulette read, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” My decision was made. Eleven months later, I was taking classes at the Seminary in Gettysburg. Three years later, I am here.
Our church uses a three-year lectionary to determine the lessons for each Sunday. A global committee of churches created the Revised Common Lectionary 26 years ago. Each of the three years is focused primarily on one Gospel, with the Gospel of John broken up and scattered through each of the years. We are in year B, Mark’s year, and at the beginning of Advent we start year C, which will focus on Luke’s Gospel. So while, the specific passage that gave me the motivation to start my pursuit of the ministry comes around this time every three years, Christ’s call to take up our cross and follow him appears in Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels, and the cost of that discipleship, to save one’s life you must first lose it, appears in all four Gospels. So any message that all four writers of the Gospels included must be really important.
I have always equated taking up your cross with the saying of having a cross to bear. Bearing your cross always seemed to be a burden, a suffering you had to endure. For Christ is was. I’m sure we have seen various movies or TV shows depicting the life of Christ. I want you to think about one of the movies you have seen, and re-watch it in your mind. In those, we usually see him carrying his cross on his way to Calvary. Depending on which depiction you may be thinking of, that image may be more or less graphic. Can you see Jesus struggling with the heavy wooden cross, trying to drag it through the streets of Jerusalem after having been beaten and tortured? Several times along the way, Jesus falls, the weight of the cross is too heavy for him to bear, and he collapses. The weight of the cross is too heavy. When he reaches the top of Calvary, and he is nailed to that cross, it takes a squad of Roman soldiers to lift that heavy cross into an upright position. That cross was heavy, and to take it up, Christ denied himself. On that cross, for our sake, to save our lives, he lost his. That cross was heavy, because it was weighed down with all of our transgressions and sins. It was burdened with our faults and failings.
Jesus knew what he had to do. He explained it to his disciples. “Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” He knew the great suffering was on our account. He knew the rejection was not just by the elders, priests and scribes, but also by his own disciples, and his followers, even by us. We know of Jesus’ divine nature, and that through him we are forgiven and saved. But we, like Peter, have set our minds “not on divine things but on human things.” When we focus on what we want, we want our will to be done, not God’s will. We put things between God and ourselves, and violate the first and greatest commandment. We are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” [Mark 12.30] Anything that gets in the way of that is “setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” When we want our will to be done, and not what is God’s will, we put our mind on human things. At the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that “Thy will be done.” That is setting our mind on divine things. We need to deny what keeps us from being closer to God. We should do what would be pleasing to God in the circumstances of our lives.
People may wonder, why would I follow Christ? After all, he just told the disciples that he is going to his death. Now, he wants them, and me to follow him. Does Jesus want me to die?? I want to let you in on a secret. You are going to die. We all are. No one gets out of this world alive. If you are thinking that way, that Jesus wants me to follow him to death, you missed out on part of what he said. But that’s all right, so did Peter and the disciples.
“Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed.” [Mark 8.31] But that’s not where the story ends. Yes, Jesus will be rejected and suffer, and die. ” We are going to die any way, by following Christ, that death may involve more suffering and be more painful. Yet, if the story ended there, the words and deeds of a great teacher and philosopher would be valued, and would continue down through time to us today. But that’s not all of what Jesus told them, “and after three days rise again.” They focused on the suffering and death, and not on the resurrection. But by following Christ, death is not the final part of the story. God gave us God’s only begotten son, who, for our salvation, came down from heaven and was made man. Jesus Christ, the God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, became a human being because by being joined in human flesh with us he was able to bring salvation from God to us. Jesus was joined to a life like ours, a life of pain, suffering, loss and death. But we are also joined into a life like his. A mortal life that will end in death, but before that, a life of service, of helping, caring and loving others, and an eternal life with forgiveness and salvation and without pain. Why would we want to follow Jesus, especially to the cross? Because it is in his death on the cross, our lives were saved, forever and ever. We should never be ashamed of him and his words because in them we have been given the gift of eternal life.
So for Jesus, taking up his cross was a horrible burden, but one he did out of love for us. For us, taking up our cross should be a joy; one we do out of love for him. Now when I say we take up our cross, I am not saying we are following him to his death. We have already met him there. When we are baptized, the pastor says these words, or ones similar to them: “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” We meet Christ at the foot of the cross, where he has bared the burden of our sins, transgressions and iniquities. We meet Christ at the foot of the cross, where we have been forgiven for those sins, transgressions and iniquities. We meet Christ at the foot of the cross, where we are joined in a death with him, we may have life eternal through him. We do not need to bear our cross up to Calvary; Christ has done that already. We need to bear our cross, the cross of our baptism, the cross of our calling into the world. We need to take that cross into the world and follow him. Follow his teachings, his example, his ministry and his love and take them into the world. You don’t have to do as I did and go to the seminary, unless that’s where you feel called, but you can follow Christ with the cross of baptism and share your life with the world. When we take this cross into the world and follow Christ, it is a gift, not a burden. A gift that we have been freely given and not a gift we have earned. We can take this gift, and share it with our family, friends, community and the world.
Now, I would like to have you gather into groups of two or three, turn to each other and using your thumb or forefinger, make the sign of the cross on each other’s forehead and say, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”

Stay Safe Tonight ... Because You Can Only Take So Much

2009-09-11T11:57:00.003-04:00

Eight years after, and I still remember
.... hearing the news in my office.
.... watching the events in the lounge.
.... going to practice and going through the motions.
.... going home to really watch what had happened.
.... crying myself to sleep.

U2 - Peace On Earth/Walk On from the Tribute to Heroes broadcast

My Take On That Whole Faith & Works Thing From James

2009-09-08T21:48:00.002-04:00

This is my manuscript I worked from for last Sunday's (September 6) sermon. As usual, I went off on a bit of a tangent. The Gospel lesson was Mark 7.24-37, and the Second Lesson was James 2:1-17.

Today’s Gospel lesson picks up where last week’s has left off; Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees and scribes about cleanliness. Jesus told them “(T)here is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. … All … evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” [Mark 7.15, 23]
After that argument, he leaves and heads northwest, away from the Galilean Sea to the coastal area of Tyre. This is not just a short trip to a nearby town; it is over a thirty-mile walk across the mountains. As I have found out in my month here, getting over the mountains is not an easy task, and I am driving. Jesus was going away from where he had been doing his ministry into an area not populated by many Jews. Tyre was more of a Greek community. He may have been going there to get away from the pressures of his ministry. He wanted to be left alone. He finds a house and did not want to be noticed. One of my classmates who I talked to about this week’s lessons called this Jesus’ Calgon moment, “Calgon, take me away!” But it did not work.
It must be like the busy executive who has been working long hours on a project takes off to a cabin by a lake, but then the cell phone goes off. Or after a long hard day’s work, you go off to your quiet spot, to read a book watch TV or just relax, and someone comes in wanting your attention or help. It is no surprise that Jesus barks at her. He wants to be left alone, and on top of it, she is not a Jew. She is Syrophenician. According to the First Century historian Josephus, the Phenicians were bitter enemies of the Jews. She is not one of the “Chosen People.” But even on the coast of the Mediterranean, even among the Greeks, Syrophencians and other Gentiles, the details of Jesus’ power has spread. So this woman comes, desperate to save her little daughter. She seeks out this man, who is not of her people and not of the high standing classes. She seeks out this stranger of whom she has heard stories that he can perform miracles. She seeks out a man who is the last chance she has to save her daughter.
But Jesus, not wanting to be disturbed, rejects her and calls her a dog. This statement by Jesus is one of the most challenging of his statements. Our savior, the Messiah, calls her (and all Gentiles) dogs, and that it is not right to take him away from the children, the chosen ones of Israel. It is hard to hear words that harsh and hurtful come from the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Love. But look closely at what he says. “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." [Mark 7.27] He is not rejecting her begging for help; he is setting up an order to his ministry. First, he will feed the children, the chosen of Israel. If Jesus was only going to be the Messiah for Israel, then why would he go anywhere outside of Israel, especially a community several days journey across the mountains? If He was only coming to those already called by God, why go to Tyre? If he was going to minister only to those who were clean, why leave the synagogues?
But this woman shows her resolution and her faith in Jesus. She isn’t asking to be given the children’s food; she isn’t asking for a seat at the table, she is just looking for the scraps and crumbs that fall from the table. Because of the persistence of her faith, Jesus does as she wished, and banishes the demon from her daughter.
But let’s look again at what Jesus said to the woman, this time through the culture of the times. “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." First, being invited to a meal in Jesus’ time was a very big deal. It was a sign of inclusion. Inviting someone to dine in your house, at your table, was a sign of acceptance. That is why the Pharisees and scribes had so many problems with Jesus. He dined with the worst people in society, the poor, the unclean, the outcast and the sinners. By having a meal with them, Jesus was accepting them, just as they were, into his family. Also, in those times in the Ancient Near East, a dog was not a man’s best friend. Most dogs lived in wild packs that foraged for food. Some families would keep dogs as protectors and pets. The children fed these dogs, from the crumbs from their plates. The children back then did, as children still do today, feed the dogs with food from their plate. Now if the children are Israel, the chosen of God, and the dogs are Gentiles, what does that mean? God came first to Israel and then, through the works of Israel, to the rest of the world.
She has not merited the crumbs of grace from Jesus because of her religion; she is not a Jews. She has not merited the crumbs of grace from Christ because of her piety and good actions; we know nothing of what she has done. She has merited the crumbs of grace from God because of her faith, and the words she says to Jesus showing she believes he is the only hope for her daughter.
In last week’s Gospel, the debate with the Pharisees and scribes was over following the Law and its relationship to God. The Pharisees taught that only by following the Law would one be able to be in a right relationship with God. When they accused Jesus of ignoring and rejecting the Law because his disciples did not wash their hands before they ate, Jesus rejected their claim. “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” [Mark 7.8] Because they are focused on living by the letter of the Law, they have lost the love that is at the center of the spirit of the Law. He tells them they have made “void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on.” [Mark 7.13]
James makes the same point in the passage we heard from his letter today when he talks about the way we show hospitality toward people. The person who is dressed well will be treated better than the one in rags, even though the one in rags needs our attention more. James states “Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?“ [James 2.5] One of my professors at the Seminary has said Jesus came to the “lost, last, least, little and lifeless.” Whenever Jesus does something for someone, when he heals, welcomes, cures or saves them, they fall into one of those categories. These are the people James is calling upon us to serve, because these people are our neighbors as well. Refusing to do so is showing partiality. James says that fulfilling the Law is an all or nothing proposition. You need a perfect score. Fulfilling 99.99% means you have failed in 0.01%. In a pass or fail environment, we have all failed. We cannot, despite our best efforts and intentions, fulfill the Law. We will, and do, sin. But Christ, on the cross, has paid for our failings. Our sins have been forgiven, but not because of what we have done and not by our works and efforts to fulfill the Law. Our sins have been forgiven because of the one who fulfilled the Law by his faithfulness, even to a painful death on the cross.
The works James calls us to do are a sign, or response, to our faith in our savior, Jesus Christ, and are not an attempt to earn our salvation. This difference is at the core of the dispute Martin Luther had with the Roman Catholic church, and the issue he had with James’ letter. The Roman church believed by the good works we do, the penance for our sins, we could atone for our transgressions and merit our salvation. This passage in James is at the heart of their reasoning. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? … So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” [James 2.14, 17] We believe that by his life, death and resurrection, Jesus has caused our sins to be wiped clean. Further, there is nothing we can do that can atone for our sins. Once a sin has been committed, it is there forever. All of the good we do cannot remove that stain against God. Only the blood of the Lamb of God can remove that mark.
But just because we cannot earn salvation, since it has already been earned for us on the cross at Calvary, does not mean we do not have work to do. Our good works, toward our loved ones, toward our neighbor, and toward the lost, last, least, little and lifeless are a response to our faith. They come from our faith. They are a reaction to our faith. In our high school physics classes, we heard Newton’s Third Law, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” It is similar to faith. For the action of the gift of faith being given into us by the Holy Spirit, we have an opposite reaction coming from us; those are our good works towards others. It has been said works are the fruit of the tree of faith. They are a response to our salvation, not a cause of it. What if now, in our times the children are Christians, the church is the body of Christ, and the dogs are lost, last, least, little and lifeless, what does that mean? God has come to us and given us the gift of grace and salvation and then, through the works of the body of Christ, through us, to the rest of the world.
We are called to do works of faith to the lost, last, least, little and lifeless. The places where we need to go and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ are often the places to which we least want to go. The people to whom we need to share the Gospel with are often the people with whom we may not want to interact. But when we shy away from those places and people, we, as James tells us, “show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” [James 2.9] We must be welcoming to the rich and the poor. We must reach out to the clean and unclean. We must help the friend and the foe. It is not for our salvation, but is that we may share the message of salvation with others, not just by proclaiming our faith on our lips, but so we can proclaim our faith with our hands, our hearts and our lives. We must do God’s work with our hands. AMEN.

If You Want To Read Something Interesting ...

2009-09-08T21:40:00.002-04:00

Please check out a new blog by one of my classmates who is also on internship, Faithful Yet Changing.

Out Of The Lines Sermonizing

2009-09-04T10:35:00.002-04:00

This is the outline from which I worked to deliver my August 16th Sermon. Please excuse the partial sentances and phrases, but this was my script for the day. The Gospel was John 6.51-58.

I enjoy watching TV, especially High Definition TV, because you can see so much more. I also enjoy detective shows and mysteries.
When I started at LTSG, went for 2 weeks of Summer Greek.
Learn about the original language the New Testament was written in.
Also learn to look at the little details
Realize each version of the Bible has “translator choices”
Make the Bible easily read or try and include all of the nuances of original language
Discover some subtle differences
It’s like seeing TV in high def for the first time and playing CSI detective
Today’s Gospel lesson continues what is known as Jesus’ “Bread discourse”
Entire chapter goes from the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water through Jesus saying he is the bread from heaven, the bread of eternal life into today’s lesson where Jesus tells the disciples and the crowd following him that in order to have eternal life they will have to eat his flesh and drink his blood
Proves to be a “deal breaker” for several following Jesus, and was a point of contention for the Apostles,
But that’s next week lesson
Much of the scholarship on this passage focuses on it’s Eucharistic overtones
This is as close to describing communion as John comes
There is no Last Supper in John’s Gospel /Before he is arrested Jesus washes the feet of the disciples
There is a connection between this text and communion
Post-Reformation, some churches use this lesson (all of John 6) as the Gospel when they have Communion
But there is a detachment, while Jesus equates his flesh (never using the word “body”) to bread, there is no connection between his blood and wine (wine is never mentioned)
We make the connection because of the other 3 Gospels
Also, bread is a metaphor for all of the things that sustain us
In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for our daily bread
But I want to share some what I have discovered in reviewing this lesson & several commentaries on the lesson
First, there is a shift in how Jesus refers to himself through these 8 verses
Living bread (bread that is alive) my flesh bread that brings life
This is where he loses the crowd “eat my flesh”
Whenever a crowd doubts/ disbelieves Jesus, John refers to them as Jews
Jesus then goes a step further “drink my blood”
We get the connection to communion because we have heard this reference in church
Also read it in Matthew, Mark and John
But what if we only had John’s Gospel?
We would have nothing to connect blood to wine
Each Gospel is unique in its own way and should be looked at on its own, not reading in what happens in others
Let John interpret John
For John, it is not enough for you to see a sign (not a miracle/John doesn’t have miracles)
Must also understand the reason behind the sign
This discourse explains the two signs (feeding & walking on water)
How would we understand what Jesus is saying?
Harkens back to the beginning of John’s Gospel (1.14) where “the Word became flesh, and lived among us.”
John’s readers/listeners would pick this up, but the crowd (Jews) would not understand
What does flesh & blood mean to John and his audience?
In Jewish culture of the time, flesh & blood emphasize the entire person, their lives and their character
Jesus also raises the stakes by saying if you do not eat his flesh and drink his blood you have no life in you (6.53)
Earlier in today’s lesson (6.51) Jesus said, “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.”
Earlier in this chapter (v40 & 47) eternal life comes to those who believe
What does “have no life in you” mean?
Is it eternal life? Or life itself?
Does Jesus mean that our belief equates, or must lead to, our eating his flesh?
Remember back to John 1 “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life,* and the life was the light of all people.”
But Jesus says eating his flesh/drinking his blood will provide eternal life and resurrection on the last day because he is the TRUE food and drink (V 54 &55)
This equates eating his flesh with believing which leads to life eternal
To further complicate things, there is a word change in the Greek in v54
The word translated as “eat” there is not the same word used elsewhere, (trogo) it is better translated as “Gnaw”
How would it change your perception if Jesus said to have eternal life you must gnaw on my flesh?
Jesus explains what happens when someone eats and drinks of him
“They abide in me and I in them” (v 56)
This is a special intermingling of the divine with the human
Just as when we eat something, it becomes a part of us/ You are what you eat
More than that, we abide in Christ
When we ingest Jesus into us, when we accept Jesus into our lives
Not only is he in us, be more so (because it is listed first in the position of emphasis) we abide in Jesus.
This occurs because Jesus is the true food and drink, the source of all life
What does all of this mean?
We find ourselves drawn to the central act of Christian worship, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
To eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus is an intentional act by which you partake in the life of Jesus Christ.
You invite Jesus into you, make Him a part of you and your life
You have Jesus abide in you
To eat his flesh and drink his blood you accept Jesus Christ into you and your life
And you do not just snack on his life and message
You gnaw on it, like a dog gnaws on a bone
Trying to suck every last bit of marrow from inside
Working to drain it of the last bit of taste and flavor
Growling & bearing your teeth at anyone would try to take it from you
Eating and drink the body and blood of Jesus is a metaphor for believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
That He has come down from heaven to be the salvation for humanity
It is in communion with God through Christ that we attain to the full stature of our humanity.
Not just Holy Communion, but the communion of relationship
For John, the Eucharist is a participating in the life of Christ and not a remembrance of his suffering and death
It is a celebration of life
The gift of life through Christ, the Word made flesh
The gift of life eternal through Christ, whose flesh is living bread
It is not a remembrance, but a union
Christ feeds us. Christ dwells in us, and we dwell in him
We are made in the image of God. Christ is the image of the invisible God. In Jesus we see both God as he is, and us as we are meant to be.
We find God revealed in the person of Jesus and find Jesus revealed to be the source of life and salvation
Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we are drawn into that right relationship which we should enjoy with God.
We are made one with Christ through our part in the Church, his body.
Later in John’s Gospel, Christ says “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
We bear fruit in response to God drawing us to Him, and Christ abiding in us.
In Communion (both the Sacrament and relationship) we live in him and he lives in us.
Because of that, we will live forever in the presence and in communion with God.

Call For The Time Out

2009-09-04T10:25:00.002-04:00

From Pray Now by the Church of Scotland

God rested on the seventh day. - Genesis 2:2

Prayer
God,
I'm wabbit,* I'm weary, I'm worn out.
Often it feels as if I'm running on half empty.
Harassed because it seems I've never enough time to do everything.
Frustrated with my lack of energy to do things as well as I'd like, or within the timescales I, or others, have set.
Meltdown and breakdown,  exasperation and exhaustion,  sometimes feel just one more step, one more task, away.
 And yet, I know, God, you want it other wise  for me, for my neighbors, for our world. 
When I pause to listen to my body, to nature, to you,  there is a rhythm which jolts us from frenetic  twenty-first-century living.  A rhythm where rest and relaxation,  fallow periods and holidays are built in.  Not add-ons or extras to be earned.
Forgive me God, when I abuse your creation
- pushing myself and others too hard. 
Help me to follow Jesus' example, to learn to do nothing regularly, to practice the art of resting mind, body and spirit.  For you love each one of us for what we are,  and not for what we strive to do.  

* A Scots word meaning tired out.

Prayer activity
Put a date and time in your diary to take some time for yourself to do nothing but
be in a place you find relaxing by yourself.

Even Simon Would Say They Passed The Audition

2009-09-03T19:06:00.002-04:00

The Beatles - Get Back & Don't Let Me Down
The Rooftop Concert

Apologies on not posting more often. It's not that I haven't had time, but that I haven't had anything I've wanted to share.

Things are ok here in the Garden, and the loneliness has hit me some.
I'm going to spend Labor Day back in the 'burg and maybe reconnecting with friends will lift this ennui.

And In No Particular Order, Now- We Are Drawn

2009-08-26T09:07:00.003-04:00

Here is the first sermon I gave in the Garden, for August 9th.
I first want to thank God and everyone involved for this opportunity to serve God here in this wonderful setting of Burke’s Garden and Bluefield. I realize what a unique and precious opportunity this is, and I ask for the help of God and of everyone to serve this community to the best of my ability.

Today’s Gospel lesson begins with Christ saying, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” This continues the discourse we have heard in previous weeks about bread; the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and the manna from heaven. Now, he explains that he is the bread of heaven, come down to sustain and provide salvation for humanity. Christ has come to draw people to God and, through Him, to salvation. The word used meaning to draw is the same word used when Jesus commands those who are fishing to pull in their nets once they have captured their haul. It carries with it a connotation of pulling one in against their will. A meaning of capture in spite of resistance. It is being drawn, coming to God, not by your will, but by the will of the Divine.

I understand that completely. If you knew me seven or eight years ago, the thought of me going to a seminary to prepare to go into the ministry is not one of the first things you would have expected me to be doing in a few years. First of all, I was not attending church on a regular basis. Due to some conflicts at my home church, St. John Lutheran in Saginaw, Michigan, I had stopped attending worship there on a regular basis. I was “church shopping,” going to other churches trying to see if there was something there that would connect with me. I still believed, but I wasn’t active in my relationship with God.

That changed on a February weekend in Toledo, Ohio. I had been coaching high school football in Saginaw, and the school at which I was coaching hired a new head coach. The new coach wanted his staff to get together and bond. So he had all of us got to a clinic in Toledo. I was going to be coaching the offensive line; the big guys who open holes for the runners and who protect the quarterback. There was an offensive line coach from a major college who was coming to the clinic, and I really wanted to hear his presentation. Before I went to his presentation, I wandered through the vendor area, looking at the different products that companies were showcasing to coaches. I wanted to go to the Riddell booth, to see some new equipment. But there was a long line to get into the Riddell booth; they were also giving some stuff away. While I waited and inched forward, I noticed I was standing in front of the booth for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes when I was going to college in Alma. Actually, the weekly meetings were about my only “church” attendance while I was in college. So I was familiar with the group, and was looking at the materials they had on their table. That’s when the young lady who was staffing the booth struck up a conversation with me. We chatted about the FCA and our experiences with it; she was going to the University of Toledo. After a while, the line began to move and it was my turn to go into the Riddell booth. But before I left her area, she reached underneath the table, and handed me a book. It was the FCA’s printing of the New Testament, and included profiles and testimonies of various athletes and coaches. She gave it to me and said, “I think you need to read this.” I was taken back by the boldness of her statement, but I took the book, thanked her and put the book into my bag. The time was approaching for the presentation I wanted to hear, and so I went to the assigned room. There, I found a sign taped to the door saying that the coach’s flight had been delayed, and his presentation would be rescheduled for later in the day. Disappointed, I looked at the clinic schedule and did not see any presentation I wanted to go and see. So I sat down and went through the bag of materials I was dragging around. Then I pulled out the New Testament I had just been given, and I flipped through it, and I began to read it. I had read the Bible before, but now, it was speaking to me. Paul’s exhortations to the fledgling churches, and the testimonies of the Gospel writers spoke to me. The story of God’s love for me became personal. That Sunday, after we drove back Saturday night, I went to church and have hardly missed a Sunday since, because through a new coach, a pretty and persistent co-ed and a delayed flight, God was drawing me closer.

After I had been attending worship on a regular basis, I asked Pastor Paulette words any pastor longs to hear, “Is there some thing I can get involved with here at the church?” Soon, I was on three committees and helping to lead worship. After one service where I was the assisting minister, one of the nice older ladies of the congregation came up to me and said she thought I should become a pastor. The ministry was nowhere on my radar. I enjoyed my job working for the Saginaw Public Schools. I ran a lot of programs that provided opportunities for kids and that I enjoyed being in charge of. A few months later, I was elected to be the Church Council’s Vice-President. That meant I needed to write an article for the monthly newsletter. After the first article came out, another one of the older ladies came up to me and said she enjoyed the article, and asked if I had ever thought of going to seminary. Then I found out there was a scheduling mix-up, and the Sunday set aside for the Church Council to lead worship conflicted with the cruise the Council President had purchased, and so I needed to prepare a sermon in a couple of weeks. I was able to put a sermon together. After the service, a whole group of the older ladies came up and said I really should think about going into the ministry. Since there was now a group, I decided to look into the process to find out a reason why I couldn’t go into the ministry, and I could get them off my back. I went to the websites of the ELCA and different seminaries to find out more about the process. I realized it was possible, but it would require me quitting my job, and moving away from family and friends. But the more I learned, the more it seemed not only possible, but also felt like the right thing to do. I talked to my parents. I’m an only child, and at the time, my father had just turned 75 and my mother a few years behind. They had both had a variety of health issues and I would go to their home regularly to help with things around the house. After several conversations, they said this was something they felt I was being led toward and not to let my worries or concerns about them get in the way of what I was being drawn to do. I met with my pastor and she explained the candidacy process to me and listened as I shared my concerns. At the same time, issues at work were leading to my job being less rewarding and less secure. All of this weighed on me one Sunday when I went to worship. I sat in the pew, not focusing on the service, but lost in my own thoughts and prayers, asking God “What do you want me to do? Is this really the path you want me to take?” I wasn’t really asking for a sign, but just something to let me know that this was not just something coming from inside of me. And as I stood to hear the Gospel, it came that day from Matthew, chapter 16. “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” And through some wonderful ladies, my pastor, my parents and the Gospel, God was drawing me closer.

While this is part of my story, we all have our own encounters when people did things that helped to draw us closer to God. We all have people who gave us directions, nudges, pushes and shoves that have helped us hear God’s call for us. We may have acted, knowingly or unknowingly as an agent to move someone toward Christ. It may have been something we said or did. We may have done it intentionally or have absolutely no recollection of the event.

We may feel like Elijah from today’s first lesson, that we “are no better than our ancestors” and we are worthless. But God has a purpose for us, just as there was a purpose for Elijah. God sent an angel to provide for Elijah so he could carry on his mission. God has sent messengers for each and every one of us to direct us so we can carry on our mission. But more importantly, God sent us His Son, Jesus Christ to be the living bread of salvation for us. God sent Jesus so we may be drawn to him, so that we may believe in him and so that we may live forever.

All we can do is be open to the will of God. We may be used to help draw people closer to God. We can invite them to church. We can be willing to sit with them and listen to them and their concerns. We may not be able to help them, but we may be able to share their pain and problems. We can point out something we see in someone, a gift or an ability, and praise them and recognize their talents. The reinforcement you give them may be the nudge they need to boost their confidence. We may be being drawn closer to God by other people. They may come to us to help carry our burdens or recognize our gifts. They may be opening our eyes to new perspectives, opportunities and situatio

We must be open to what God wants of us. After all, when we pray the prayer Jesus taught the Twelve, we ask for God’s will to be done. Why can’t it be done through us?

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the living bread from heaven, that he gave his flesh for the life of the world; because of our belief and faith in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God who came down, lived, was tortured, died and rose again for us; because we have been drawn to God by Christ, our sins are forgiven and we will rise again upon the last day. As the Psalter wrote, “

I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.

O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” AMEN.

Go Hard Or Go Home

2009-08-26T08:51:00.002-04:00

This is the text I worked off of to give my sermon on August 23rd. I deviated from it somewhat when I gave it in the Garden and again at my supervisor's church.

The texts for the day were:Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20 and John 6:56-69.
<Pray for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Pray that I may declare it boldly. AMEN.

When I coached football, we had a saying we told our players during the most challenging parts of practice, “Go hard or go home.” It meant we coaches wanted all they could give. When the players came to practice we wanted their total focus and maximum effort. If they were not willing to do that, then they were not being helpful to the team; they should go home. I had one player I coached ask me one day after I had been on him because I knew he was not giving his maximum effort what more wanted. I told him, “All I want is all you’ve got.” From the Gospel, for the past 6 weeks, we have heard Jesus talk about bread. Jesus has told us that in order to have eternal life, we must believe in him and eat, no, gnaw on his body and drink his blood. We must take him into us; we must abide in him and he in us. We must abide in his teachings, commands and ministry. Jesus knows this is not easy. His disciples grumble, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" They realize this is much more difficult than what they what they thought when they first began to follow Jesus. But Jesus does not take it easy on them; he challenges them, “"Does this offend you?” But rather than telling them that if they aren’t ready to “go hard” they should “go home,” he asks what If I go home? If the disciples, the ones who have seen it all and heard it all, cannot believe and accept this teaching, what happens when Jesus returns to the Father? When Jesus challenges them to “Go hard or go home,” many of his followers decide it is too hard, and they do go home. Jesus loses many followers, but he knew this was going to happen. Not everyone will decide to walk the path, or stay on the path, Christ calls us to on which to walk with him. Some will never believe and some will come to believe at a later time. But “no one can come to Christ unless it is granted by the Father.” God knows the challenges we face. As the Psalmist says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.” There will be problems in our lives. This isn’t going to be easy. But if we put our trust and faith in God, we will not be punished. We shall be forgiven. Our lives will be redeemed. We will have life eternal with God. Following Christ, being a Christian is not an easy thing. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But it is worth it. Paul advises us on how to deal with these difficulties. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God.” We are beset with troubles both within and without of the church. We are plagued with problems both inside and outside of our homes and families. We are deluged daily with despair over the care and concern of those struggling with sickness and health issues. We are flooded with feelings of anxiety over financial worries. We face doubt over our daily lives and responsibilities and how the future will play out. “This life is difficult; who can accept it?" We can; we can because we take solace in the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” The decision to serve God is a just that, a decision. This is a decision we make with every thought, word and deed we perform. It is a decision we make with what we have done and by what we have left undone. It is a decision we make by what we hold to be most important to us.
This is what Joshua called on the tribes of Israel to understand. Joshua knows they have fallen from the ways of God. They have decided to put other things foremost in their lives. Joshua tells the tribes that he and his household have decided to serve the Lord. The assembly tells him they will do so as well. After the lesson, Joshua challenges Israel to be sincere and thoughtful in committing to following God. Joshua reminded them they may be tempted to follow other gods and put other things before their relationship and communion with God. The decision of why we do what we do reflects whom we serve. Joshua called the people of Israel to join with him in the service of God. Jesus calls us to him in service of God. However, our human free will allows us to resist and fight these calls. “This service is difficult; who can accept it?" We can, if we choose each day whom we will serve. Paul encourages us to prepare for battle with the dark and evil forces that distract and distance us from God. We are to put on the whole armor of God and the breastplate of righteousness. This language comes from the book of Isaiah (59:16-17) and was used to describe the coming Messiah. By Paul suggesting we wear the armor and breastplate, he calls upon us to take up and continue the ministry of the Messiah. We are capable of doing this if we have faith in Christ and have him abide in us and we in him. We are capable off doing this if we call upon God by “Pray(ing) in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.” What will you decide to do? Jesus Christ gives us the choice to leave if we feel this is too difficult. "’This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that we are complaining about it, says to us, ‘Does this offend you?’” He knows his teaching is hard, but it is not as hard as is the path ahead for him.
Does eating the flesh of Jesus Christ offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does doing the work of Jesus Christ offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was tortured for us offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was crucified for our sins offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus is dead on our behalf offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
Does knowing Jesus was so we may live forever offend you? Is this too hard? Go hard or go home.
If hear we are to take Christ into ourselves is too difficult, how can we bear witnessing his torture, death and being raised for our sins? Does this knowledge offend you? Or does it challenge you to go hard or go home? Peter answers for the disciples, and for us. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Please look at the second sentence Peter says, which is verse 69. “We have come to believe and know.” This shows a progress in the disciples’ belief. They have come to believe; that means that had not believed, but now they believe and will continue to believe. What exactly prompted them into belief we are not told; but now they believe and they know. Also notice the order of the words; word order is very important. Knowledge cannot precede faith; the confidence of truth can only come from faith. Also, coming to believe implies the disciples did not reach their belief on their own, but came to it with help from outside themselves. They have been drawn and called to their belief and knowledge. We are drawn to God. We are called by God. We come to believe by the will of God. Peter also acknowledges Jesus as “the Holy One of God,” with Holy One meaning the anointed one, the chosen one, the Messiah. When I was challenging that player, I didn’t intend to paraphrase the greatest commandment. Now I definitely did not think that I was the Lord, our God. But I wanted “all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.” (Mark 12.30) It is what God wants from us. It is not enough that we believe in our minds, but we must believe in our bodies. It is not enough to confess on our tongues, but we must act with our hands. It is not enough to have faith in our hearts, but we must respond with our souls. “Go hard or go home.” Each and every day, we must decide to whom or what we will give “all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.” It is a decision we must make each day. You must decide each day to accept this hard lesson. You must decide each day to abide in Christ and him in you. You must decide each day to put on the full armor of God. You must decide each day to pray in the Spirit at all times. You must decide each day to cry out to the Lord. You must decide each day to choose whom you will serve. As for me, I choose to serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.

There was actually another sermon I prepared for the day. I'll share it at another time.

What Do You Do When You Don't Have To Do Anything.

2009-08-18T23:50:00.002-04:00

At the Church Wide Assembly, Bishop Hanson said the following as part of his report:
"Now that by God’s grace through faith on account of Christ we are free—free from bondage to sin, death, and the devil—what are we going to do? Now that we don’t have to do anything to earn God’s favor, what are we going to do? Listen to Luther’s response in Freedom of a Christian:

I will therefore give myself as Christ to my neighbor, just as Christ offered himself; I will do nothing in this life except what I see is necessary, profitable and salutary to my neighbor, since through faith I have an abundance of all good things in Christ."

Some form of this statement is going to work itself into a number of my sermons. It states something I've been wrestling with so much better than I could get my head around.

btw, there is A LOT of comments I want to make about the discussion of the Sexuality statement and resolutions at the CWA, but I will hold my tongue rather than type something rash, save for one statement.

If your objection to the Sexuality report and resolutions is because most of the rest of the Christian bodies and denominations are not with us, I really think you need to at least pay REAL close attention on Reformation Day or secondly, realize you are going against the very nature of the Lutheran tradition.

Since A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words, Can This Count As A Bunch Of Posts?

2009-08-17T15:47:00.005-04:00

This isn't going to be a full blown post, but things are going well here in the Garden. I'm settled in, completed my first solo service (preaching and presiding) and did not commit any major trespass. Well, the sermon did go 18+ minutes. But people said they learned a lot. (Key word = Lot)

So here are some photos of the Garden. I'll post the sermon when I convert it from outline form.

This is my "2nd office." It is my deck just outside of where I've put my office. You can see why I move outside when the weather allows.
This is a view of the church's cemetery from my deck.

God, do not forget us who are lonely.

2009-08-16T08:23:00.002-04:00

I'm in the Garden, and have been since the 1st, sorry I haven't blogged, but it's been a busy two weeks.
I'll blog properly, but I wanted to share this from the Church of Scotland's Pray Now series.

Sometimes,
I go to that place called Lonely
I go there by myself or with companions
and stay a long while or just for a short time.
It's a place that aches with abandonment
A place where even the tears have run dry.
And I long to know God
Will I ever find you there?

No one talks about visiting this place
It carries a stigma
hidden in many disguises.

The child in the playground that no one plays with
The awkward teenager - too big, too small, too fat, too tall
The clubber dancing wildly fearing the day's end
The person with learning disabilities that has never known a friend
The single person left out by couples who dine
The parent longing for adult conversation
The widow/er grieving a companionship of love
The old person at home or in a home, wondering if this is
all that's to show for life well lived.

Sometimes,
I go to that place called Lonely
A place where I
Long to seek you God.
Where I ache
for
Someone.
Some.
One.

God, when we most need it
Come close to us who are lonely,
with the voice of a stranger
the care of a neighbor
the smile of a child
the conversation of a friend.
God, when we most need it
Do not forget us who are lonely.

Another Tribute To the Apollo 11 Anniversary

2009-07-25T15:32:00.002-04:00

from the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Sorry about the commercial :(

Come On And Come To Me Now

2009-07-24T14:26:00.004-04:00

I've been talking to a friend who has a big decision to make in the near future.
They are having to decide how much of a bad situation they are willing to put up with.
I'm struggling with my advice because I don't know how much of my experience and how I would deal with the situation is coloring my advice. I guess my CPExperience helps me to recognize my issues and make me aware of them. But I am still struggling with what to do and what to say (or not say.)

I hope just being there to listen helps.

So if you're mad, get mad

Don't hold it all inside

Come on and talk to me now

Hey, what you got to hide?

I get angry too

Well I'm a lot like you

When you're standing at the crossroads

And don't know which path to choose

Let me come along 'cause even if you're wrong

Crissy Hynde & the Pretenders - I'll Stand By You (live)

Last One Out Should Turn Off The Lights

2009-07-21T12:49:00.004-04:00

It is eerily quiet on the grounds of The LTS. There are only a few people on campus doing their CPE, all of the Seniors have left and gone off to their calls and careers. Then the people of my class, the Middlers/Interns have been taking off, moving to their internship sites for a year. I'm one of the last ones left here, planning on moving to the Garden next week to start in August.

I'm dealing with the hidden dilemma of the Seminary process, packing and moving. This is one of the dirty little secrets of the call process they don't tell you about. Well, for those of my readers who are in the discernment process, let me clue you in on this. From the time you leave your home, sweet home until your first call, you will probably move at least 4 times, possibly as many as 6 times in 4 years. Here is the breakdown:

1) From home onto campus - Depending on if you are a pipeliner, pseudo-pipeliner or second career person, this will entail either moving some stuff, gathering some stuff or getting rid of a lot of stuff.
2) From campus to your CPE site - This may mean moving home, moving into an apartment/dorm room/convent for the summer, but it entails boxing, taping, packing and hauling.
3) Back to campus OR moving to another place on campus - Middler year move, either upgrading the facilities, apartment/house sharing or coming back from Chaplaincy. How does this move make you feel?
4) Off on internship - So you're going to spend a year in ________. Will you be in a house, apartment or parsonage? What goes to the domicile and what goes to the church? What book goes where? How many clerical shirts do I need? (from one of my classmates - Ask this question BEFORE you buy - just a thought) What do you need in terms of cooking stuff?
5) Back from internship - After spending a year in the Real World (or at least what passes for the Real World from a church perspective), you come back to campus. What did you accumulate on internship that you don't need on campus? Where did you put those books you didn't want to take internship, but that you'll need now that you're back in academia?
6) First call - Hopefully, the process goes fast enough that you can go from apartment to parsonage (or the equivalent) and don't have to make an intermediate move to home (wherever that is after 4 years).

Other than rambling on (and avoiding packing for a while) what is the purpose of this? Hopefully, a prospective seminarian will read this and pack lightly when the come to their Seminary for Summer Greek or the equivalent. Secondly, family & friends of seminarians will understand why we covet big sturdy boxes almost as much as commentaries. Thirdly, no one asks a pastor fresh from seminary to help them move, or at least they understand the shakes if they do ask. UNLESS, they are asking for advice only, I think I may earn my M. Move with my M.Div. Fourthly, to stimulate the economy - invest in packing tape and rental trucks.

Well, I'm off to tackle the bedroom.

Preview of the Garden

2009-07-20T13:02:00.012-04:00

After chatting with a friend back in Michigan, I realized I never posted the pictures I took when I visited my internship site here on my blog. Oopsies. So, better late than never.

<-- This is a picture of me in front of the Garden's Lutheran Church, and this is a picture of the inside of the church looking from just inside the door. -->

Below it is a view from the alter looking back. You can see the pulpit and the church does have a balcony. -->

<-- This is the "extra building" at the Garden's church. Since there is no running water, the bathroom facilities have to be outdoors. That means outhouses for those who haven't put the delicately worded statement together.

<-- This is the view from the porch of the house I will be staying in, as is this view. --->

I plan to post more photos when I get down to the Garden, which will be at the end of this month. The Garden is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and I'm planning on taking pictures as I go out and about in God's Thumbprint (on of the nicknames for the Garden.)

One Small Step

2009-07-20T12:55:00.004-04:00

Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. The videos I wanted to post here I already posted when Walter Cronkite died. So here is an alternative view of the moon landing which may be more familiar to most people.

and the video that followed it ...

The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
(Yes kids, MTV actually used to play music videos. Really. I'm not kidding. Seriously.)

--- EDIT ----
I was waiting to see what Google would do with their logo to commemorate the anniversary. It didn't pop up until late in the day (probably to coincide with the time of the first moon walk) but I think it's kinda cool.

BTW, if you think the various Google holiday logos are neat, as I do, here is a website that catalogs all of them.