Please... Wash Up!!!!

Aug. 30, 2015                              
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 20-23

Story: A pastor was asked to dinner by one of his parishioners, who he knew was an unkempt housekeeper. When he sat down at the table, he noticed the dishes were the dirtiest he had ever seen in his life. “Were these dishes ever washed?” he asked, running his fingers over the grit and grime. She replied, “They’re as clean as soap and water could get them.” He felt a bit apprehensive, but blessed the food anyway and started eating. This is really delicious he told her. While thinking… “despite the dirty dishes.” When dinner was over, the hostess took the dishes outside and yelled, to her dogs “Here Soap! Here Water!”

I love this image… I imagine Snoopy is saying to PigPen… “Please Wash Up before you go to church.”

Prayer

This is a challenging story in many ways… and the lectionary does this to us. Many of us don’t like the challenging stories in the gospels or the bible for that matter. We tend to run into them as we approach the end of the church year. Not that we have to be at the end of the year to be challenged. Here is one such story and whether we like it or not we often resemble the heart of the Pharisee’s rather than the heart of Jesus.

So… as we look at our story today it appears the word is getting out about how this guy named Jesus is teaching and healing people contrary to the Law of Moses. The religious leaders have sent out surrogates to follow and keep tabs on this Jesus. These religious types want to know what he is teaching and doing and for them to report back to Jerusalem. These reports are infuriating them so they decide to go and see this Jesus to get a firsthand look at what Jesus is saying and doing. And… much to their pleasure they see a violation right away…. Jesus’ friends don’t wash before they eat. I would imagine this is what they said… Violation of code 375-2a & 2b… 
Thou shalt not eat before washing hands.

Must use soap & water for 5 minutes.

So they ask Jesus why they’re not obeying the Law of Moses. Really what they’re asking is… why are you disobeying the rules and the traditions.

This reminds me of my parent’s rules in our home. Perhaps you and your parents had similar rules. Of course when I became a parent I had mostly the same rules as my parents, and I remember as a kid testing those rules and the authority of my parents. And I experienced my kids testing my authority.

What Jesus is challenging in this story are the cultural and religious traditions of Jewish life. These were interwoven into Jewish life and the Pharisee’s were the authority figures that upheld these traditions. And the Pharisee’s were the arbiters of those rules… in fact… in addition to the 10 commandments there are some 750 other rules that help you keep the commandments.  

Similarly… we also have traditions and rules concerning our practices and traditions and authority figures to keep them in place.

As you can begin to tell… this story isn’t just about washing hands before one eats, but about the traditions and authority behind the practices. And how we know this is in the rest of the story that wasn’t read. The lectionary omitted this part of the story and the crux of the story.

Jesus rebuffs the Pharisee’s by saying… “Didn’t Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God. You won’t let those people help their parents. And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things that are just as bad.”

Jesus throws the rules right back at them when he says, “You want to talk about the law… well let’s talk about how you’re not following the law.” Jesus is challenging the religious elites of their fondness for the traditions & the rules only to look the other way when it benefits them.

Jesus scolds the Pharisee’s saying, “You praise me with your words, but you never really think about me.”

The NRSV is more pointed… “You people honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me.”

What about us… What about You? Are you just giving Jesus lip service?

Are our traditions & rules more important than the mission of connecting others with the love of God?

Lutheran Theologian David Lose suggests, “Jesus is challenging them as to how their traditions contribute to them fulfilling their mission. I mean, maybe we don’t seem at first blush quite as fussy about tradition as Jesus’ opponents did, but what if you were to suggest tinkering with some of our own traditions? Perhaps changing worship in order to make worship more understandable and accessible to a younger generation? Or what if you were to cancel all committees in favor of a more nimble way of governing the congregation? Or what if you were to suggest getting rid of pews to make the sanctuary space more flexible? Or what if each fourth Sunday folks didn’t come to church at all but rather were engaged in community service throughout your community? Or are you just giving lip service to Jesus?”

Lose continues… “We love our traditions. I love our traditions. They have helped to mediate the faith to us in countless ways. But what if they’re not doing that for the emerging generation? What if we’ve come close to worshiping the traditions instead of the God they were supposed to point to? And what if Jesus is calling us to put our mission – whether to care for our aging parents, feeding the hungry, opening our doors to the homeless, making our building available for community groups, sharing the Gospel with folks much of the church rejects, partnering with the community to care for more of God’s children, whatever – what if Jesus is calling us to put our mission ahead of even our most cherished traditions? What then?

So… here’s the good news my friends… hearts can be remade and reshaped. Jesus invites us into a heart relationship. Jesus invites us to the table of grace and forgiveness…. And Jesus invites us to engage in the heart practices of Prayer, Worship, Learning, Serving, Relationships, and Generosity.

These are the practices and traditions that invite us to draw closer to our loving God.

These are the practices Jesus was proclaiming to the people of his day.

These are the practices Jesus is proclaiming to us today.

Series: Wandering Pilgrims... "I have a Plan"

Aug. 23, 2015    
Jer. 29:8-14, Jn. 15:9-17

Story… 2 old-school farmers were talking when one says, “I think I’m going to buy one of those new tractors.” The other responds, “Not me… I’m going to stay with my tried and true horses.” They stare at the tractor when the 2^nd farmer says, “Don’t shoot your horse till you know how to drive the tractor.”

“If you want to make God laugh… tell Him your plans.” Or as it states in Prov. 16:9 “We make our own plans, but the Lord decides where we will go.”

Prayer:

We’ve come to the point in the transition process where folks start murmuring and complaining…. Are you murmuring?   I’ve heard some! This happens in the wilderness… We’re imperfect people and we often easily lose faith & trust in the one who brings us out of bondage. We know we must take some risks, get out of our boats and trust God. We also know we can’t do this alone… we need each other. My friends… we all know what needs to happen… this isn’t rocket science and we all know what needs to take place. Each of us is called to participate in what God is calling us to be about.

So… Today, we conclude our series by reflecting on God’s plan for us…. “I Have A Plan”

If you know anything about Bart Simpson you know he is one who always has a plan… a plan for getting into trouble and a plan for getting out of trouble.

If we’re honest… many of us resemble Bart in more ways than we care to admit. We are always making plans for something whether good or ill and when they don’t work out then we’re planning an exit strategy. This is nothing new for us humans… our Israelite friend’s do the same more times than I’m sure they’d like to admit.

You may recall our 1^st week’s reflection when the Israelites escaped Egypt enthusiastically, then 15 days in there complaining, they build idols, they fight with each other etc… Ex 14:15… God says to Moses, “Why do you keep complaining, tell the Israelites to move forward.” They do… but they shortly forget that God is walking with them and they still find reason to complain once again. The end result… 40 years in the wilderness. For the Israelites… it becomes a patterned of faith and trust and disobedience that gets repeated over and over.

This leads us to Jeremiah and another failing on the part of the Israelites. Jeremiah is called by God to preach to the Israelites and to tell them to turn back to God. God calls him even before he’s born. God calls him as a young man… he’s 14-16 yrs old.

God calls a boy to proclaim the good news.

A boy who has no experience.

A boy who has difficulties speaking

A boy who is going to tell a nation they’ve turned away from God and a boy who is going to tell them to turn back to God.

Be honest… How many of you would listen to a 14 yr old boy like this?

He’s called to tell them bad news… their very existence is in jeopardy. Jerusalem and the Temple are going to be destroyed.

They are going to be carted off to Babylon for 70 years. Most of them will never return. The people beat him, put him in a hole, and carry him off to a foreign land…. How would you like that job?

Yet… God says in Vs 11… “I have a plan”…. “I will bless you with a future.” Like Moses, who only saw the Promised Land from a distance… Jeremiah has to trust God with the future as well. The Israelites thought they had the plan… they thought they knew best. They thought they had right answers & didn’t need guidance from God. They didn’t want to hear about God’s plan for their lives.

So… what is God’s plan for us? Let’s look at what God tells us… 

“I have Plans to Care for You”

Vs 11… God says, “I have plans to care for you”….”Look at the times I have provided for you…. If you turn to me… trust me.”

They knew the stories of God’s provision. They knew the stories when God protected them. They knew God wouldn’t abandon them…God hasn’t forgotten them. In the book titled, “The Land Between” a story that reflects the wilderness journeys of the Israelites and compares those journeys with the stories of people the author knows.

Author Jeff Manion makes this analogy, “The Israelites do not seem to have changed over the course of two years in the wilderness… I have the sensation of listening to an old-fashion record player with the needle stuck in a groove, repeating the same fragment of song over and over”… Manion continues, “the intention of God is to dislodge the Israelites from the rut of their lethal, faith-destroying groove… all the while…God is at work rescuing them.” 

Look around you my friends… what do you see? What rut needs dislodging?

Has not God cared for you in the wildernesses of life?

During life struggles do you turn away? Do you hole up? How do you deal with the wilderness?

When finances have been tough… and out of nowhere money shows up at the right moment. When the encouragement of a friend soothed an ache. Recently a friend w/ medical issues was wondering how they were going to meet a $5000 deductable… and somebody or bodies covered it. When I trusted God… God provided.  My friends…God cares deeply for us my friends despite our propensity to turn away.

God tells us I have “Plans to give you a Future”

I believe this is the most difficult truth for us to deal with. We look around and we may not see too bright a future. All we seem to see is what is wrong… what we don’t have. And that is the problem… when all we see is scarcity we will never see a future no matter the plan. The Israelites only saw what they we lacking… God told them they had a future… God said, Vs 10… “in 70 years I will bring you back to Jerusalem.” I’m not sure they saw it because they didn’t have faith & trust.

I know I haven’t always looked at that way. Being an transition pastor wasn’t the way I saw my future….I thought I would be in a church that was open to change, doing some cool stuff… growing…. I’d stay there for 10 years or better. I would be wonderful.

But that’s not what happened. All of the places I’ve been have been short term calls. They’ve all been congregations in the midst of transitions, and I’ve played a role in having them move forward. And it seems I’m pretty good at doing this. But it wasn’t my plan… However it’s been God’s plan.

You see… Jesus tells his friends, “I have chosen you to be sent out to produce fruit.

Jesus says in John 14… “If you have faith in me you will do the same things I am doing… in fact, you will do even greater things than I.”

Do you believe this?

Do you trust God with your future?

God says, Jer. vs 14… “If you come looking for me, you will find me.” Some translations say, “If you turn back to me”… “If you seek me with all your heart.” Are we trusting God with our future? Or are we trusting in temporary fixes? The Israelites were seeking temporary fixes… much of the time that’s our solution too.

God tells us I have “Plans to Bring You Back”

I believe the most significant and most challenging Vs in the story, especially as it reads in “The Message Bible”  is Vs 13…

“If you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed… I’ll turn things around and I’’ bring you back.”

Most of us most certainly bounce back from the difficulties we face. Hope is centered in the opportunity that the times and circumstances will change. Hopefully… we learn something from the wilderness. Hopefully through the wilderness we have learned to trust God more fully. The good news… God is always inviting us back though we stumble.

The challenge is…are we serious about God leading us? Are we serious about God’s Plan For Us?

Close:

Story… Max Lucado tells the story of a man who had been a closet slob most of his life. He just couldn't comprehend the logic of neatness. Why make up a bed if you're going to sleep in it again tonight? Why put the lid on the toothpaste tube if you're going to take it off again in the morning? The man admitted to being compulsive about being messy.

Then he got married. His wife was patient. She said she didn't mind his habits ... if he didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Since he did mind, he began to change. He said he enrolled in a 12-step program for slobs. A physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to the smell of Pine Sol. By the time his in-laws arrived for a visit, he was a new man.

But then came the moment of truth. His wife went out of town for a week. At first he reverted to the old man. He figured he could be a slob for six days and clean on the seventh. But something strange happened. He could no longer relax with dirty dishes in the sink or towels flung around the bathroom or clothes on the floor or sheets piled up like a mountain on the bed.

What happened? Simple. He had been exposed to a higher standard of living. That's what Jesus does.
-- Max Lucado, “In the Grip of Grace” (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1996), 116-117. 

This is what God’s plan can do for us.

"Get Out of the Boat"

August 9, 2015                                                                      

Acts 4:5-12, Matt. 14:22-33

Story: A man was hired to paint lines on a newly resurfaced portion of interstate highway. The first day he painted 109 miles, and his supervisor, impressed by such an effort, told him he would recommend a promotion and pay raise if he kept up that pace. But the next day he was able to paint only five miles. On the following day he did only one mile and when he reported in at quitting time he was fired. It isn't my fault, he muttered as he walked away shaking his head. I kept getting farther away from the can.

J. Walter Cross of Bradenton, Florida

Prayer

We continue in our series Wandering Pilgrims. Last week we reflected about the wandering and waiting, and wilderness times we often feel in life. Jesus tells us there will be times like this throughout life and within our church lives as well. This is a normal experience in life and often these times are important times of learning and I hope we learn some things along this journey.

Today we will reflect on a reason we often find ourselves in wandering wilderness times. Furthermore, today’s focus could be an opportunity to end the wandering times… if we are willing to…  “Get Out of the Boat”

I want to tell you an amazing thing I can do… I can walk on water… YES… I can walk on water and you can too.

In college I had a classmate named Joseph… he was from Kenya, and he over-heard our professor commending me for going to college as an older person…. The prof likened it to walking on water…Joseph… the said, “by the end of your time here you will have the opportunity to walk on water…” Come January… Joseph walked on water.

Often during wilderness times we feel little hope. Quite often, we have a woe is me attitude. We typically feel worthless and helpless, and unable to do anything. We often only see our limitations and not the opportunities. The same is true for churches.

Many times our church loses focus on the main thing being the main thing, thus becoming self-serving and self-centered. In a sense… “Getting Out of the Boat” is a kick in the behind that opens our eyes to a needed perspective change. So… if you want to walk on water, then you need “Get Out of the Boat.”

Our bible story today is a familiar one. Peter takes a risk and we often see it as a failure… a failure of faith. Jesus says, “You of little faith.” However, this story isn’t only about Peter, but also about the other 11 who make no attempts to do anything.

So… in reality this is  a story about Fear and Trust.

Let’s look at these two attributes

 “FEAR”

John Ortberg in his book “If you want to walk on water, you got to get out of the boat” says,

 “There are 366 “FEAR NOT’S” in the bible, one for everyday of the year including 1 for Leap Year.”

Why do we fear so much? Why are we so afraid to do things? When we were younger we didn’t think too much about doing things… we just did them. Many times they worked out, and sometimes they didn’t, but generally we would continue to try things.

Many of us live in a constant tension between fear & trust.

Maybe you experienced this as a parent or child… your child is on a platform and you call out to her to jump… I will catch you… trust me… I’m your father or mother… I will catch you… I love you and I won’t let you drop. How many times did we jump? How many times did our kids jump?

Yet… fear still grips us and Fear paralyzes us… fear stops us from experiencing the joy of accomplishment.

We do this in the church as well. When churches stop trying out of fear or of failing, or the fear of not having enough money, enough people, enough leaders, etc. we lose. Sometimes we fear succeeding… new people will come… things will change… things will be different... it won’t be Lutheran. When we fear too much… fear will always win the day.

Fear however, can be a good thing… when a small child touches a hot stove… the fear of being burned is good. However, most of the time we fear for no reason at all. Jesus tells Peter, “Don’t be afraid… Don’t worry I’m here.”

I wonder how much ministry DOES NOT happen because of fear.

I wonder how much ministry DOES NOT happen because of the Fear Limitations we place on ministry... Not Enough Money… Never did it that way… is it Lutheran… I’m too old… etc.

 “TRUST”

Jesus says to the 12, “Surely you don’t have much faith.” Some translations say, “You of little faith” or “you don’t believe because you have no faith.”

Futurist Leonard Sweet in his book “I Am A Follower” the Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus, says; “Church culture has fashioned such an addiction to safety and security. If we cannot plot a future path with visible surety then we cannot imagine God would call us or lead us down it. But the way of the cross is one of trust, and it is trust that leads us to obedience in following the Master wherever he leads. The path may be uncertain, but for the trusting pilgrim, the One we follow will never steer us wrong.” (pg. 125)

You See… if we must first quantify what we do we will never do anything. And if we don’t trust in God to lead us, then there’s no sense in being Church. Because… when we lack in trust, and are fearful… it will kill the church. It will kill your faith… and in all likelihood… kill you too.

You See… Trust says “JUMP”….. Fear says “NO”

Why does Peter walk on water initially?

Why does a church stop growing?...

When Jesus calls Peter to come out of the boat…. He believes Peter can walk on water… and at that point Peter believes and trusts Jesus he really can walk on water too. Peter believes and trusts he can do what his rabbi is doing. Then Peter begins to fear and sink… Jesus still believes he can do it. Contrary to how we read the story, Peter hasn’t lost faith in Jesus. Peter loses faith that he could do what his rabbi is doing. Peter and the others have lost faith in themselves…. The others didn’t even try.

Rob Bell in his book “Velvet Elvis” says, “If the Rabbi calls you to be his disciple, then he believes you can actually be like him… what frustrates Jesus most is when his disciples lose faith in themselves.”

Closing:

Are you willing to have faith and trust in Jesus?

Are you willing to take a risk to get out of the boat and walk on water?

Are you willing to jump in trust?

The church needs you!

Jesus Needs you!

Our faith needs you!

Jesus believes you can do this!!!!

Jesus believes we can do this!!!!

DO YOU????

The Jesus Clinic

July 19, 2015                   

Mark 6:53-56

Prayer

One could get the sense from our story today that Jesus is a “Rock Star”… “After Jesus gets out of the boat people recognize him and they run to him bringing their sick & hurting family & friends.” Jesus has become so popular, people just want to see, then touch, and then healed from whatever ails them.

Think of some celebrity you admire. Say... Elvis... The Beatles... The Stones... look at how people go into a frenzy just to see them. They... especially the girls.... scrape and claw their way to the front just to get a glimpse. I remember back in 1972 the President of the United States came to Saginaw, Mi. He was coming to the airport, TriCity Airport, and thousands of people flocked to the airport just to see the President. Mind you... it was Richard Nixon and at that time he was pretty popular because of ending the Vietnam War. It was amazing just seeing the President of the United States. 

It seems Jesus has become this popular and wherever he goes he has to set up clinics just to be able to help people… and whenever he thinks he has time for a respite… more people make their way to him. It seems Jesus and his friends can’t catch a break….a time to catch their breath… and take some much needed time off.

The context of this story is that Jesus and his friends are coming off of a rather intense few days. Jesus has instructed his friends to go out on and evangelistic mission of which they are successful… they feed 5000 people… and they witness a rather interesting phenomenon… all the while trying to get some time off. And this is where our part of the story starts… they get into a boat and as soon as they reach shore… the Rock Star Jesus gets noticed. And without any time off or rest… “The Jesus Clinic”  is open for business and people flock to him.

I don’t know about you… but this would tick me off.

Your encroaching on my day off…

My long weekend with friends…

My vacation…

What about you… how would you feel?

I mean… can’t people wait till I get back?

Jesus however… doesn’t do this.

Jesus… without hesitation recognizes the need and meets them… engages them… reaches out to them. Jesus doesn’t do… perhaps what most of would do.

Our story doesn’t say what he does with the masses.

Our story doesn’t say that he healed, or cured, or touches anyone.

Our story doesn’t say he did any teaching or counseling, or feeding.

However… if I’m allowed to imagine for a moment… I imagine Jesus gathered them… did some teaching…touched those needing touching…and I would imagine Jesus even cured & healed at least a few.

I like what our synod bishop Don Kreiss said concerning this story in his message at the National Youth Gathering;

“Jesus… seeing the crowd and feeling compassion for them because “they were like sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus offers himself to them. Not as a spiritual leader, not as the Son of David, not as the long-awaited Messiah, but as a teacher. And he taught them “many things,” even though he doesn’t offer us a hint of what those things are. Here we see Jesus meet people lost and searching, and his first impulse was to teach them.”

I’m wondering if that’s our need today as well?

Is this what we’re looking for as we gather?

So… our questions today are… What is our need?.... And… How can the church help us/you/me live more abundant lives?

I’m not sure what your need is… but I’m pretty sure our need as Good Shepherd LC is to learn to share at a simple and basic way the story of God’s love and grace in our little corner of the world. You may ask… How do we do this?

I suspect you already know how to do this… because some of you are already doing it!

One way we are already doing this at least on a corporate level is by opening the doors of our facility to recovery groups in our community. Our facility provides a safe place for people struggling with addiction to gather and find support. In just the short amount of time that I’ve been here many of the people who come have shared how appreciative they are to have such a place to get support.

Another way some of you are doing this is by participating in the Beacon of Hope Food Pantry. A couple of weeks ago I saw firsthand how some of you helped & shared the story of God’s love & grace with people in need.

Another is a handful of you who participate in the STAGE Youth Ministry helping the few young people here at Good Shepherd get to know the story of God’s love & grace.

Bishop Kreiss went on to say… “While we can complain all we want, the truth is that Christianity has become one spiritual choice among many, and there is no reason to expect that our children will automatically make the same choices we did. What we can be sure of, however, is that without knowing the story of God’s love for the world and for us, fewer and fewer of our children will see any point to being part of the church.”

If we aren’t willing as a faith community to demonstrate with our lives by sharing God’s love & grace in our community… how are our kids going to learn the story?

Too many of us are sitting on the sidelines… waiting for that new young pastor to arrive… waiting for someone else because I’ve done my part… or any other excuses we can give….My friends... many more of us need to get in the game?

That’s why it’s important that 29,000 young people are in Detroit and believe me… they are going to make a huge impact that we must be ready for as the Lutheran church in Royal Oak.

If 29,000 young people can share God’s Love & Grace and impact a large city… I’m pretty sure 100-150 of us at Good Shepherd can make just as an impressive of an impact right here in Royal Oak.

In Closing....As Jesus climbed out of the boat he recognized there would be no time off… No long weekend with friends…. The vacation not starting at least for that day… that the rest he and his friends surly needed would have to wait.

He instead opens the doors to the Jesus clinic and does some teaching… some healing… some curing… some hugging… and some sharing of the story of God’s love & grace.

BYSTANDER SALVATION

June 28, 2015

Mark 5:21-43

PRAYER

I like stories like our gospel reading where 2 people from opposite spectrum's of life shed light on the complexities of life.

All of us at various times of life have struggles that impact our us in various ways. None of us “have it all together” all the time.

In fact, I’ll bet that some of you sitting here this morning if pushed would admit you “do not have it all together” this morning. Some of you may have been arguing with your spouse and or children as you drove up to the door, and once entering, put on your church “Have It All Together” face, and smile… and encountering the first person you see saying, Good morning Joe or Sue, or whomever “How’s it going?” and you respond, “Just fine… How Are You?” All the while your gut is churning from the events of just a few minutes ago. The truth is… we don’t have it all together all the time… and its OK… this is the place for you because all of us are bystanders desperate for salvation and healing.

Today our bible story is about 2 people who don’t have it all together. We could say that they are bystanders in the sea of people surrounding Jesus.

The first person in our story…Jarius is a religious leader in the church (i.e. synagogue). That might make him a Pharisee… if this surprises you some Pharisee’s were open to what Jesus was saying… Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramethia to mention a couple. But… Jairus is a desperate man…. His daughter is dying.

I can understand his concern… there isn’t one of us here that would not do anything within our power to save our children. Jairus comes begging to Jesus for help in keeping his daughter alive. He has heard or perhaps has seen Jesus heal others and he pleads with Jesus to just touch his daughter so that she may live. Each of us can relate with Jairus as we’ve sat by a dying loved one hoping that somehow God would keep them alive.

The other person is a woman who has been experiencing a terrible medical issue… she has been bleeding uncontrollably for some 12 years without much relief. Doctors can’t seem to fix the problem and she’s in lots of pain from the bleeding and from the doctor’s unresponsive treatments. She is likely an outcast… undoubtedly an unclean woman in addition to her aliment, which makes her all that much more unclean. Some scholar’s think she may be a prostitute… no matter her place in society… she is desperate for healing. She see’s Jesus in the crowd and takes a risk to go to him… she believes if she just touches Jesus clothes this will make the difference and she’ll be made whole.

Both characters in our story are desperate for help.

Both are desperate for someone to do something to make the hurt go away.

Both are desperate for Jesus to touch them.

And both find healing in Jesus.

So… what might God be saying to us today?

First, let’s admit that none of us have it all together all the time. As I said earlier… this is OK… life can be complicated. Some of the complications are our own doing because of mistakes. Some are caused by others and out of our control. Some of life’s complications come as a result of no fault of our own, things just happen and we happen to be in the way… dumb luck. However… we do have a choice in life. And we will choose something.

We have a choice when we find ourselves here…. Jeff Manion in his book, “The Land Between” says, “We may choose to withdraw emotionally and silently into depression. We may choose seething rage… volcanic anger boiling just beneath the surface of our lives. We may choose retail therapy, numbing over our disappointments by stuffing an already full closet. We may allow revenge fantasies to consume our days… but one thing is true… we will choose something.” ( Jeff Manion, “The Land Between, Zondervan, 2010, Pg 54)

Which would you choose? We can choose bitterness or we could choose to take our disappointment and turn it into something good. We don’t always have it together, but I believe the faith community is the place where we gather together, as Luther would say, “Warts and All” to be touched by God and to receive forgiveness and grace.

Secondly, I’m wondering if the faith community can be a place for safe vulnerability. We tend to avoid at all cost vulnerability. We would rather have people see us as having it all together. We don’t want others to see us exposed, desperate, and vulnerable. The 2 people in our story throw that all out the window… they take the risk… they go for it. Looking at this from hindsight and 2000 yrs, we would say, “well of course” Jesus will heal them. These two people didn’t have our perspective… they saw Jesus as one of many healers, and they hoped Jesus would be the one who could bring healing to their predicament. I wonder if we looked at our faith community as a place of healing. Could we as parts of the body of Christ bring healing? Could those who are struggling come and be touched, loved, embraced with the love of God and find healing and hope? For those of us struggling, could we become a bit open to being vulnerable so that we as the body of Christ could touch you with God’s grace so healing could take place?

Thirdly, healing takes place when we are open to being touched. There is something about touching and healing and Marks Gospel talks frequently about touching, feeling, and proclaiming… so much so that they are intimately connected. Of course there are many people who are not touchy feely people, and there are those who expect healing to take place right now on the spot. We do get the impression from the gospel stories of Jesus’ healings that they took place immediately. I would caution us about having this perspective. Yes… Jesus healed on the spot, but sometimes… healing took place over time. We see this with Jairus… as he is told after he encounters Jesus that she died, yet she lived… Jesus said she was just sleeping. Also with Lazarus… being dead for some 4 days before being brought back to life. So… it might be with your healing… over time.

Let me be clear… there is appropriate touching and inappropriate touching and we need to maintain safe boundaries,

But, we can see the positive effects for the touch of holding ones hand while praying… the touch of a listening ear… the welcoming embrace of “I’m glad to see you today.” While our touch may not fully restore those who are suffering, it is a step towards the embrace of God’s healing and grace.

Closing:

I’d like to go back to Jeff Manion and “The Land Between” with his closing thoughts… “I do not wish tragedy on my friends, and on my better days, I do not wish it on my enemies. But I am utterly convinced that God has used our family’s tragedy with all its difficult transitions to shape the person I have become. Perhaps this is the benefit of hindsight and healing. After all, I am looking back now through the lens of a man past his mid-forties and not as a grieving seventh grader. And the hands of time have granted healing. I remember my loss from time to time, but it is not a heavy weight I bear daily.

God has been gracious. Something really awful happened to us, but God did not abandon us to sorrow. I hope with all my heart that I can trust God when new heartache crashes into our lives. I hope that God’s mercy in the past will give sustaining faith for the future.” (Jeff Manion, “The Land Between, Zondervan, 2010, Pg 197-199)

The Storms of Life

June 21, 2015                            

Mark 4:35-41

Prayer

Our story in Mark is much more than a weather event Jesus’ friends are experiencing. To be sure… their boat is being so swamped with water they are fearful for their very lives. In fact… I think they’re positively P.O.’d at Jesus and are screaming at him to do something. They’ve seen him do miraculous things after-all. But… Jesus is just laying in the back of the boat resting his eyes.

But They’re screaming… “Teacher don’t you care?”…. Jesus Don’t You Care?

I remember being out on Saginaw Bay one summer day on a buddies sailboat. The weather was fine when we left the dock, but quickly turned cloudy and very windy turning the 1-2 ft waves into 4-6 ft waves. The boat was being battered by the waves and the wind and I was more than a bit anxious… truth be told… I was very afraid we wouldn’t make it back. We did, but next time I checked the weather reports more intentionally after that.

For Jesus’ friends… they wake him… Jesus see’s their fear and quiets the storm. And now… I think they’re more fearful seeing Jesus do this than they are of the storm. I mean… how did he do that? They just witnessed Jesus doing something quite unbelievable… calming nature. No doubt… a miracle and at the very least a sign of something quite remarkable for sure. Not only were Jesus’ friends fearful of the elements of nature. Now… they’re fearful of being in the presence of the living God. And in their minds, no one else could have done what they’ve just witnessed.

Jesus’ friends just experienced something extraordinary, a miracle that left them speechless. For Mark… Jesus’ friends have seen Jesus do some remarkable things. Jesus has healed people, but they’ve seen people do this. There were faith healers in many towns… and it was not uncommon in Jesus’ day to see faith healers healing people.

However… this was much different… Jesus calmed a storm! Jesus did something that only God could do. And this is an all new experience for Jesus’ friends and they all experienced it and now it’s changed them… and that’s unsettling for them.

I share a story of when I did my clinical work at OSU. Essentially I was a chaplain for 10 weeks one summer. After a long day of being with, praying with, and offering hope to sick people. And being on call this night I received a page from the hospital that the family of a dying woman wanted a chaplain. I went to the ICU room and as the family gathered around the bed I stood at the foot of the bed as they shared their mother’s story. Nurses began disconnecting monitors and as we briefly left the room so the respirator could be removed. When we returned we gathered and I prayed.

It was the first time I had witnessed someone actually dying and as the heart monitor began its slow descent of the heart beat the family bowing their hears, some crying, some holding their mothers hands I looked up as I finished my prayer and saw what appeared to be a person standing at the head of the bead with their hands opened as to receive this woman. I looked around and said to myself… does anyone see what I am seeing? Does anybody see this?I began shaking in fear… is this Jesus or an angel, or …. I was experiencing something I had never experienced. It was a holy moment that changed my life.

The next day after we finished our rounds we (my colleagues) gathered to share what we experienced during the day with our supervisor. I dared not share what had happened the previous evening. No one would believe what I saw. They would certainly think I was crazy or nuts. I thought to myself… Lutherans don’t believe in such things. There’s no way I’m going to share this and I didn’t.

     

As I reflect on this I think I am just as fearful of what I experienced as were Jesus’ friends with their experience. This experienced changed me big time and it made a huge impact on my life. So… I have to believe it had to change Jesus’ friends too.

Leif Engler in his book “Peace Like a River” says, “Miracles bother people, like a sudden unknown pain.” He goes on to say, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed.”

Jesus asked his friends, “Why Are You Afraid?”

I don’t share my story very often. I know that may be silly but I think people will think I’m nuts. I believe that’s why Jesus’ friends are fearful as well… who’s going to believe this? And then there’s the notion that Christians aren’t suppose to be afraid of the disturbances of life because after-all we have God… right! That being Christian somehow makes us immune to such fears. If anything… there’s an extra heaping of struggle placed upon us.

Look at the incident in South Carolina this past week.

I can tell you It’s got me a bit worried…

This is why I think our story in Mark is so relevant for us today. Despite the storms in life Jesus seeks to change us. And this past week we as a nation have experienced a tragedy and something needs to change because these kinds of incidences are becoming much to frequent and devastating. The issues of racism, hate, killing, and the polarization of society need more than just be addressed. We need to do something about it. We’ve been talking about it for generations and yet we can’t talk about the issues. It seems we can’t talk to one another about anything these days. This must change. We must be changed.

The change we experience shouldn’t be in a fearful way, but in a way where we can encounter the living God. Our God is a God who cares about us and a Jesus who experiences our fearfulness and promises to calm the storms of life. Let’s not be afraid any longer.

I believe the storms of life change us for a life God is calling to.

It’s a life where we experience an amazing encounter of God.

It’s kind of like… between a reverential awe and holy terror.

I sort of felt this way during the 3 years it took to discern God’s call of my life into pastoral ministry… way cool ministry experiences and holy terror of making a mid-life change.

In Closing…

It seems to me… if our focus is on the storms surrounding us we will miss the miracle before us.

We will miss where God is at work in the world….

We will miss that God is calling us to the other side of the lake…

And we will miss what it means to imagine differently what it means to be people of faith.

The Growing Season

June 14, 2015                                        
Mark 4:26-29

Story: There’s a story of a crew of 12 park employees who got out of the truck and went up and down the parkway -- every 20 steps or so, six of them dug holes, and then the other six would immediately follow and fill the holes up with dirt again.

After about a half-hour of this, someone who was watching it all couldn't stand it any longer. He went up to one of the workers and asked: Would you mind telling me what you're doing? One of them replied: We're planting trees. The guys with the trees have the day off.

Prayer

Much of Chapter 4 of Mark’s gospel is a parable.

You ask… what is a parable?

It’s a story, often using objects or things designed to illustrate or teach some truth or lesson.

Example: A young boy was walking along the beach and was picking up baby turtles and putting them in the ocean. A older man saw what the boy was doing and said to the boy, “Why are you doing this? You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy responded, “It makes a difference to this one!” Jesus often uses parables as a mirror to life in order for us to gain greater spiritual awareness.

In chapter 4 Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seeds.

Some of the seed was eaten by birds.

Some fell on rocky ground.

And some fell on good soil and took root.

Then Jesus explains the story to his friends and now we hear another seed story about the kingdom of God. You see… Jesus often starts his stories… “The kingdom of God is like…” And we often misunderstand what this is or what it means. In our parable today… Jesus is telling us God’s kingdom is like the soil the seed is planted in.

Over the past couple of months farmers have been preparing their fields and planting the seed. Preparing the ground is an important first step before planting. The ground must be tiled to be loosened… then fertilizer can be applied. Once the soil is loosened and fertilized then the seed can be planted. Then the farmer rests… or so it seems. Everything is done… nothing more to do but watch the plants grow. The rest is up to the seed… the weather… and time. Or we might say… “The rest is up to God.”

While the farmer makes the decisions about when and where and how much to plant in the kingdom it’s really up to God to grow the seed. This is where we find ourselves in the story today. We… the farmer… find ourselves in “The Growing Season.” This is the period of time in which the seed takes root… sprouts… and grows… but there is much more to the growing season than we think.

Now that the planting is done we often think the farmer work is done until harvest time. We’ve spent the Fall… Winter… and Spring  engaged in all kinds of activity. And often we think it’s time to take a break. Its summer after all… it’s time for vacations… picnics…and lazy summer days with a beer in our hand.

   

Well… a smart experienced farmer knows that summer is not a time to relax, but a time for cultivating and caring for the emerging plants, or the weeds take over. Sometimes we think… well it’s in God’s hands… so we’ll let God take care of things. In many ways… we in the church fall into this kind of thinking with our faith and church activities. And yes… God will take care of things… However… we also play a role in growing and caring for the kingdom. That being… we are to cultivate the field! We are to make sure the seed… then the plants… are nourished… pulling the weeds… making sure the plants are adequately watered and cared for as to assure the best possible harvest. You see… we play as an important role in growing the seed as does God.

Yes… not every seed sprouts… but the ones that do need nurturing and that’s our part of the growing season.

 The couple of things this story speaks to me is that we/ the church are not planting many seeds these days nor nurturing the one’s we’ve planted very well. I also think we in the church have grown complacent and comfortable with ourselves to the extent we’ve forgotten how to farm. We have relied too heavily on the professional pastor or hired church worker rather than getting our hands dirty. I believe our story today is inviting us to get our hands back into the soil of the kingdom of God.

So our purpose here is not to debate whether the church is or isn’t doing what it should be… Rather… it’s to hear and take confidence from Jesus’ parable which tells us to continue planting seeds of God’s love and to nurture the plants even if we’re not sure how it will all work out… so that one day the grain will appear.

The parable that follows our story is worth hearing in conclusion because it indicates that the yield from the scattered seed will be significant.

Jesus said… “With what can we compare the kingdom of God…? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown, is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it’s sown it grows to be the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make their nests in its shade.”

If we do our job by planting the seed and nurturing the plant, with confidence and anticipation that growth will happen, and the harvest will come. We need not worry about whether God will do God’s job!

"Spiritual Understanding"

May 31, 2015                                         
John 3:1-17

Story: One of the pillars of the congregation stopped by my office just before worship to tell me he'd been born again.

You've been what? I asked.

Yes… last week I visited my brother-in-law's church, the Running River of Life Tabernacle, and I don't know what it was, but something happened and I'm born again.

You can't be born again, you're a Lutheran. You are the chairman of the board of trustees. He was brimming with joy, but I was sulking. Why?

Because spiritual renewal is wonderful as long as it occurs within acceptable, usually mainline, channels and does not threaten my understanding of God.
-Richard Lischer, Acknowledgment, Christian Century, March 3, 1999, 245.

Prayer

Many of us are looking to deepen our spiritual understanding. We read books…. There are isles in books stores devoted to all things spiritual. We go on retreats…. We seclude ourselves… Just the other day I saw a FB post from Pam Laity of a picture of the lake at their cottage… I suggested a pastoral visit was needed.

People of all strips are so interested in spiritual matters Oprah made millions highlighting a segment on her show… “Caring for Your  Spirit.” I often hear from people that they’re “Spiritual But Not Religious.” Though you might think these are one in the same… they’re really 2 different things in the minds of many people. And… we sort of see this with our bible story from John today.

We see Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, searching for some answers to his spiritual questions. Perhaps he thought he had the religious part of his life down-pat, then this Jesus comes onto the scene and now he has questions. He knew the scriptures….He knew and kept the Law. By all accounts he considered himself a spiritual man. Yet Jesus, brings all he knows about God and spiritual concerns into question. This Jesus intrigues him and Nicodemus is drawn to Jesus. He saw with his own eyes some of Jesus’ miracles. He even acknowledges Jesus must be from God, because he couldn’t do the things he is doing if he were not from God. Then Jesus throws him for a big loop… “You must be born from above” some translations say, “You must be born again”. Not only being baptized with water… but from the Spirit as well. Nicodemus doesn’t get it… yet he senses something more than all the religious understanding and religious gymnastics he is familiar with.

Searching for spirituality is nothing new. Since the beginning of creation humanity has been trying to understand and to be and become like god.

Eugene Peterson states “that current spirituality like that of the ancients has fostered 2 qualities Transcendence and Intimacy. 

          Transcendence: There must be more that extends beyond me.

          Intimacy: A sense that deep within me there is a core being that is inaccessible.

He continues, “This is why we long for Transcendence and Intimacy, but these elements suggest spirituality must be conceived as something we think up and must do. So… humans continue to exhaust themselves all the while missing the point.”

What Peterson is saying, is that people seeking to find spirituality often have the tendency to try and make God into something of their own design they find fashionable.

I would like to share 3 ways we can deepen true spirituality with God.

1. Consider Creation

Jesus describes things of the spirit as “Wind that Blows.” And… Jesus uses creation to describe the presence of God. For Example…“Look at the flowers of the field & the birds of the air.” Look around you… see the beauty… There’s something mysteriously spiritual about creation… not in a pantheistic way… but a transcendence way that’s beyond our grasp. People who’ve been to the Grand Canyon tell me that it’s one of the most spiritual experiences they’ve ever had.

In 2004 I was living in Florida when the state was crisscrossed with 4 Hurricanes. On the last one we decided to stay even though it was forecasted to come right at us. We lived in a condo on the shore of the Indian River across from the space center and at the peak of the storm just before it hit land, at mid-night, and just before we lost power, it was reported at the space center 100 mph winds. At that moment I decided to go out to the river and experience what 100 mph wind was like. It was pitch black and you couldn’t see a thing as I trying to stand amongst the wind. And for a moment the wind became a spiritual event for me. The Hebrew word for wind is “Ruach” meaning “breath of God.” In that moment I was experiencing the breath of God… the wind of the spirit. It was also a pretty dumb thing to do as well.

Think about it for a moment… when we’re out in creation we seem less anxious… more content… less in a hurry… the heart is more open to the awesomeness of God.

 

2. Grow in Relationship with Jesus

Vs 16… “God loved you & me so much he sent his son to make that love known.”

Theologian Mark Powell says, “When we understand our spirituality as a relationship with Jesus our spiritual lives are grounded in a reality external to ourselves.”

In this way…Jesus is a real person… not someone or thing we make up. Jesus actually walked the earth, ate, drank, slept, died… not someone or thing we dream. Jesus was raised from the dead.

When Apostle Paul says,

“As all die in Adam, all will be made alive “in Christ” 1Cor. 15:22

“If anyone is “in Christ” they are a new creation” 2Cor. 5:17

Jesus says this throughout the gospels… “Believe in me” “Stay connected to me” “Have faith in me” “Everyone who has faith in me.” When you are “in Christ” you are connecting to the core of the spiritual experience. When you are “in Christ” you “Love Jesus.”

Which takes us to the 3^rd way… 3. Love Jesus, Follow Jesus

There’s no coincidence that Jesus asks Peter 3 times…“Do You Love Me?”

Paul tells the Gal. 5:22… “to put on good habits to be Loving, Peaceful, Patient, Good to Others, Faithful, and Self-Controlled. Don’t be jealous or conceited or claim to be better than you are.” 

In the end… Paul says, “If you want to change… embrace the Spirit of God and place him in your heart.” When we love Jesus we naturally follow Jesus. We do this by consistently practicing being in Community Prayer… Worshiping…Learning… Serving… Being in Relationships… and Being Generous. When we consistently practice these we begin to follow Jesus and we deepen our spiritual understanding. Essentially… Jesus is telling Nic and his friends if you want spiritual understanding… Love Me… Follow Me!

Closing:

Many of us get God and Jesus… The Spirit however… well… the Spirit is a great mystery to most of us and it often leaves us wondering and skeptical. Much like it did for Nicodemus and Jesus’ friends. Jesus says Vs 15, “Everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.” Faith my friends… is the key to opening the door to spiritual understanding.