Terms Of Endearment

Story: Jim Arends of Trinity Lutheran Church, Spring Grove, Minnesota, tells of an old cartoon that pictures a preacher at the pulpit and a deacon sitting behind him with a grumpy expression on his face. The preacher says, "So until next Sunday, remember that God loves you, I love you and Brother Al here is working on it."

Prayer

To Love One Another… ridiculously easy to understand, and ridiculously hard to do…

It’s interesting that this story from Jesus comes along in the lectionary after the past week of experiencing both hate and love.

-       We’ve lived both of these expressions….

o    The hate of two brothers over against a country who openly embraced them.

o    The love of hundreds who offered help, hope, and love to care for those injured.

Similarly… for us today we hear Jesus’ new command to love one another just as he had loved them. These words are set in the tension of Jesus pointing out Judas’ indiscretions, Peter’s upcoming denial, and Jesus’ crucifixion. In the tensions of darkness, Jesus exclaims to his friends, to love one another… and if you do this people will know you are my disciples.

Today for many… this is a double edged sword. There are people who go out of their way to disassociate with Christianity… to much baggage… and those who go out of their way to hide their Christianity… their ashamed. Nonetheless… in the rampage of last week’s Boston Bombings, the near destruction of West, Texas from a fertilizer plant explosion, and the countless shootings in our surrounding cities… it certainly can be hard to see any love. But… despite all of this… there was love being demonstrated in Boston, Texas, and in our cities as people come to help those in need… People do Love!

Earlier this week where I live a school bus driver saw smoke from a house on his bus route stopped, told the kids to stay on the bus, and he ran to the house knocking on the doors and windows to tell the people, who were asleep their house was on fire. This guy demonstrated love.

We live in the moment of such drama and tension… and we hear the words of Jesus,“I give you a new command, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know you belong to me.” Yet… as simple as this is… we still have difficulty living this out.

How can we Love One Another more Effectively?

First… Love is Self-Sacrificing.

We saw this self-sacrificing in Boston and Texas, and in my community when people rushed in to help those wounded… everyday people who put themselves in the line of fire to help. Those who take the time to help an older person cross the street… pick something up for someone who can’t, or to take someone to the doctor, or store, or to the beauty salon. These are demonstrations of love.

The apostle Paul in Romans 13 encourages them to love others as they love themselves. This kind of self-sacrifice while simple is often times quite challenging for many of us.  Why?  Because it is the hallmark of God & Jesus and it should be the hallmark of the church too. You have the catch-phrase at Cross… “Love Grows Here” but… How deep does “Love Grow Here?”

Second… To Love is to Act.

Loving one another is only as good as our love in action.

1 Cor. 13… the often quoted love chapter at weddings where Paul says, “If I didn’t love others I would be nothing more than a noisy gong”… he also goes on to say, “Love is kind, Love is patient, Love isn’t selfish… etc.”

These are action words…. These are relationship words. Interestingly, the context of this passage, Paul wrote these words to admonish the Corinthian congregation for people behaving badly. We may not do these love actions perfectly, nonetheless they are powerful words that we need to take to heart. I’m thinking of the handful of people from Cross who each month serve to provide meals at our Community Dinners, and those who serve when McRest is here…at the core of those who do this is LOVE.

As Paul emphasized… love without action is just noise. 

Third… To Love is to Forgive.

This is the most difficult love of all. To forgive someone who’s harmed you… to forgive someone you know well who’s hurt and disappointed you. We’ve all experienced this…. And many of us have resented and sought retribution.  In Jesus’ sermon on the mount he tells us to love our enemies… Matt 5. In Luke’s version, 6:32, Jesus says, “If you only love those who love you, will God praise you for that? Even sinners love people who love them.” Think of Jesus’ act of going to the cross… “Father Forgive Them…” Without forgiveness love cannot act nor will love be selfless.

Closing:

Ask congregation to clench their hands to make a fist and feel the tenseness.

Story…

Adolfo Perez Esquivel, in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, said this: "Because of our faith in Christ and in humankind, we must apply our humble efforts to the construction of a more just and humane world. And I want to declare emphatically: SUCH A WORLD IS POSSIBLE.

To create this new society we must present outstretched, friendly hands, without hatred, without rancor - even as we show great determination, never wavering in the defense of truth and justice. Because we know that seeds are not sown with clenched fists.

TO SOW WE MUST OPEN OUR HANDS."

--10 December 1980 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, as quoted in Anne Broyles, Meeting God Through Worship (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), 84.

See You Out On The Road

The Good Kind of Crazy

I read from one of my favorite blogs "In the Meantime" by David Lose in which he has a conversation with one of his friends who thinks she's crazy. Well... I can relate as I've often heard that label and also have fallen victim to it. David shares some insight into being crazy that I like. Below is the link to "In the Meantime" as well as what he writes. Enjoy! 

http://www.davidlose.net/2013/04/the-good-kind-of-crazy/

See You Out on the Road


I saw a friend recently to catch up…on family, work, mutual friends, and the like. When we’re together, we also often brainstorm, especially about the kind of churches we’d like to be a part of (occupational hazard!).

After filling me in on some of the latest and greatest ideas she’s had about the church she leads, she stopped and said, “You know, you’re about the only person I know who doesn’t think I’m crazy when I talk this way.”

“Actually,” I replied, “I think you’re crazy too. But the church needs crazy right now.”
You know what I mean? We’ve been doing things the same way for years and years and, let’s face it, it’s not working. But rather than try something different for fear we get labeled as crazy, we try to keep things as much the same as possible.

I’ve got news for you. Nothing is going to be the same. Not about the way we do church. Not about the way we do seminary. Not the way we communicate or come up with ideas. Not the way we do work or home or just about anything. It’s all changing. And a lot of our folks in leadership don’t see that. They want to fix things when instead we need to go back to the drawing board. Or maybe they know things are changing but just wish we could keep it more or less the same until they retire.

Which is why my friend is perceived as a little crazy. She’s not content with the same old, only better. She wants something new. So she has the youth of her church lead worship and participate in the sermon. She doesn’t do confirmation anymore, but instead finds ways to gather her youth around conversations about faith, life, and life lived faithfully. And this summer they’re not singing hymns at her church, but pop songs. And talking about popular YouTube videos. And other crazy stuff.

So is my friend crazy? Yeah, a little. But it’s not the crazy of expecting everything to stay the same, or wanting to be in control, or thinking we’ve got it all figured out, or that leadership means having all the answer. We know that crazy. It’s the crazy Einstein once identified as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Instead, my friend is the good kind of crazy. The kind of crazy that’s willing to take risks, make mistakes, make people mad once in a while by trying something totally out of the blue. This what I’d call the good kind of crazy.

Why? Because we don’t really know what it’s going to take to make church work anymore. And the only thing crazier than trying out all kinds of new ways of doing things is staying the same.

Moving On

I will be leaving my call as transitional pastor at Cross Lutheran on May 12. It will have been a year and two months that I helped them transition from a 25 year pastorate into calling someone new to lead them. 

It's been a good journey for me and for them. Cross... over-all is a healthy congregation and it has afforded me an opportunity to experience a congregation that seems to have a good grasp about what ministry is about. That being said however... they will have their challenges like all churches have, but if they can work with their new pastoral leader on creating a new vision and mission that enhances their values (which we worked long and hard on over the past year) they will be a growing and meaningful ministry in the future.

So... what does this mean for me? Well... I've made a decision to continue serving as a Transitional/ Interim pastor. I feel good about it and I believe God is calling me to be a leader in this type of pastoral ministry. I also believe as I've stated previously, I believe I'm well suited to serve in this capacity. I also believe it fits my personality best and serves me well with the skill sets I bring to pastoral leadership. I also think the variety of settings helps inspire me in sharing with congregations how God may be leading them into the future. Furthermore, I believe this to be a valuable asset for the church (ELCA) as most of the church needs to transition into being something different if the church is to continue into the future. All churches need new wineskins if they are to be effective in this new century.

So... where are you off too next... you ask? Starting June 1... I will be serving at St Paul Lutheran, Port Huron and helping them transition into new pastoral leadership. I don't know much about them as of yet other than to say they have had about a 15 year pastorate which is pretty long by many standards today. So the work will begin to transition towards calling a new pastoral leader. I hope they are open to working on this transition to learn about themselves as well as discerning their core values. It is work... and it takes time... a good year +... so I hope they are up to it and not just going through some motions to satisfy me or the synod in order to call someone else. This is really an opportunity for them to look at themselves and to look at how they might carry out ministry in the future.

It's important they take some time to reflect on what they've done, take stock of what is working, and to look towards the future. If they are willing to do this, they have a great opportunity to do meaningful ministry in the future. So... I hope they are open to the transition process. It will benefit them in the long run.

I'm excited to be working with another congregation to help them prepare for the future.

See You Out on the Road

Holy Spirit, Breathe on Me

April 7, 2013            

John 20:19-31

Prayer

Today in our gospel reading we have 2 separate stories.

One… is a familiar story of a doubtful Thomas, which is most often preached on the Sunday after Easter. In the doubting Thomas story we often tend to vilify Thomas as a sub-par believer, then transfer that over to those of us who doubt or at the very least have little faith. The truth is… all of Jesus’ friends have been documented as doubting and at varying times were faithless… this is simply Thomas’ turn in the lime-light. Remember Peter’s infamous, “I will never deny you, Jesus” words? Of course Peter is the poster child of doubt.  All of them doubted… All of them could be considered cowards at various times during Jesus’ ministry. One reason why the doubting Thomas story gets more press is because it more than some other stories is a pretty close reflection of us.

The other story… which by the way is probably a more empowering and positive story, but often missed, by what Jesus says before and after the Thomas story. Many scholars believe this is John’s Pentecost story of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

-       Vs 21… Jesus greets his friends in the upper room saying, “I’m sending you, just as the Father has sent me.” Then he breathed on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

-       Then… in Vs 29… Jesus closes by saying, “You have faith because you have seen. The people who have faith without seeing are the ones who are really blessed.”

This isn’t the first time Jesus talks about the coming Spirit. One example In John 16 Jesus talks about sending an “advocate” or “helper” to his disciples. This Spirit will empower them to go out and share the Good News. The empowering Spirit will help them keep the faith, encourage them, help them over-come fears, and to help them participate in God’s on-going work in the world. By breathing on them Jesus is giving his friends God’s “Ruach” literally meaning “God’s Breath”… and this term is used only one other time in the bible found in Gen 2:7 when God breathed life into Adam. This is significant for John because Spirit or Breath means life for John.

How do We See?

Thomas and his friends had to see in order to believe.

-       So the question for us is How Do We See?

-       How do we come to believe?

-       Where has Jesus showed you his hands, feet, and side?

I want to suggest that how we see is by that of the Holy Spirit. What I believe John to be saying is, “The Holy Spirit opens our eyes through the sharing of the Good News by others.” In other words… the Holy Spirit empowers people to believe through the good news, then shares that with another, who shares the good news with others, and they share, and so on and so on… down to us.

Those Empowered with the Holy Spirit

How do we see? By those empowered with the Holy Spirit. As the Good News of Jesus is shared with us the Holy Spirit is breathed upon us thru those who have witnessed to us thus empowering us to share and witness the Good News to others. By doing this we keep the story of Jesus alive… we keep the Holy Spirit active… and God’s workings in the world moving.

In Ted Harrison’s book, “Elvis People: The Cult of the King” Ted states, “The difference between faith in Elvis and faith in Christ is the story keeping the spirit alive and the spirit keeping the story alive. As long as the story of Elvis is promoted and marketed, as long as people remember, then the spirit of Elvis will continue. With Jesus it is the spirit which keeps the story alive. The story would not live without the gift of the Holy Spirit. That Christ is more than a memory. He is a spirit presence with us. And as long as the spirit is with us, the story will continue to live.”
--As quoted in Ted Harrison's, Elvis People: The Cult of the King, (London: HarperCollins, 1992), 182-183.

So… How do you see Jesus?.... How do you have faith?... The Holy Spirit!!

The Holy Spirit breathes life into our dry and dusty lives and gives new life. There’s a story in OT from the prophet Ezekiel about dry bones in a desert. Israel has turn far from God and the prophet speaks about judgment. Even though Israel has dried up and become nothing but bones and dust… Ezekiel preaches Good News that God will breathe new life into the dry bones. 

There’s a story where dryness is deep down in our bones. A dryness that won't go away. A thirst that cannot be quenched. Some try sipping from false streams, the polluted rivers of power, possessions, sex, drugs, alcohol, music, religion, hobbies. Nothing we reach for, nothing within our grasp, can touch this eternal thirst. Who will preach to our bones? Who will breathe life into them?

Can these dry, dead, lifeless bones of ours rise to life? We must know. We must be sure. The answer is yes, these bones will live. In Jesus who died and rose, these bones can live. They live by his Word and his Spirit. Jesus' words are Spirit, and they are life. If God's Word and Spirit can raise a valley of dry, dead bones, imagine what he can do with us Lutherans, with this congregation, with each one of us!
-Web page of Holy Trinity Sermons, Hacienda Heights, Pentecost 1997.

 See You Out on the Road 

The Day Grace Came

Luke 24:1-12
 

 “There’s a story of a little boy who was not happy about going to church on Easter Sunday. His shoes were too tight, his tie pinched his neck, and the weather was way too nice to be cooped up inside a church…. As he sulked in the back seat, his parents heard him mutter; “I don’t know why we have to go to church on Easter anyway, they keep telling the same old story and it always comes out the same in the end.”

Prayer:

Please watch this video by Skit Guys.

-       Mike is a recovering alcoholic and would often go into the worship space to pray and ask    
    God to forgive him. He once told me that he wonders if God could ever forgive him of all the
    bad things he's done.

-       Joann struggled at believing she was worth anything as a person… she was abused by her
     father as a child and as I listened to her she contemplates suicide. She wonders how God
     could love someone like her.

-       Chuck has a degenerative eye disease and has become blind. He struggles to find   
     self-worth. He says, “How can I live and work when I can’t see? One day he ran into another
     person and fell. The other person noticing he was blind and yelled at him saying, “you’re a
     worthless ________ and you shouldn’t be out by your-self.

-       A woman is angry that her young husband dies and leaves her alone. She is angry with
     doctors for not doing more and accused them of making mistakes. She asks God why he let
     this happen. God why would you do this to me? Why do you hate me?

-       Peter was standing by a fire pit and people were coming up to him asking if he belonged
     this guy named Jesus. Peter denied it over and over. Peter believed he didn’t deserve 
     forgiveness because what he did was unforgivable.

In all these stories we hear of struggle and doubt. Peter, Thomas… in fact all of Jesus’ friends struggled with the resurrection… We struggle with how God dispenses his forgiveness and grace. All of us have had regrettable experiences… all of us are broken and yet in our life stories it’s really not about us or them… But about Jesus’ love for us.

In all of these stories these people experienced God’s love and forgiveness and with God’s help are walking a path of redemption and resurrection. You see… It’s what Jesus did on Friday that TAKES the unforgivable and MAKES it forgivable. On Friday grace came and today Easter Sunday we celebrate that Grace and love are possible…. Forgiveness is possible.

Today is Easter and “You Are Loved”

 This is the story of Easter and Forgiveness and Grace…that God has come and love is made possible. Today is Easter and love is present. It is Easter and you are loved in an inconceivable, irrevocable, and uncanny way by a God who created you for His purpose. It is Easter and we are infected with the possibility to love… we are capable of love… we have the capacity to love… a pervasive desire to love. It might not be at the forefront of our psyche… It may not appear to be a driving force in our lives… But I’m here to tell you… IT IS THERE!!!

Love and Forgiveness is here!

It is Easter and you are forgiven and made to love… and my friends… You are good at it!

This is the message today… Easter Sunday… It’s Easter and you are loved and you are forgiven because today is the day that GRACE came.

See You Out On The Road

Heavenly Scent

March 16, 2013 
John 12:1-8

PRAYER:

Our lectionary takes an unexpected break from Luke’s gospel, and we hear from John a story that really has more questions about it than answers.

John’s story still follows the same trajectory of Jesus heading towards Jerusalem as does Luke, but here the deviation has Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life and his sister Mary washing Jesus’ feet with some expensive fragrance.

Then the questions arise.

The First Question: “Is Mary’s act an Act of Devotion or an Act of poor stewardship?

In many ways this act of Mary is a precursor to what Jesus will do in the next chapter… Jesus washes his friend’s feet. Interestingly, when Jesus does this, Judas does not object, Peter does. Ultimately… is Mary’s act an act of discipleship? In Luke 10:38… Jesus is at Mary & Martha’s home for dinner and Martha gets miffed at Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet… and once again Mary is admonished for doing the right thing. In John… Mary is again doing a sacrificial act of devotion. Is Mary demonstrating an unmerited act of love and service? We might do well to pay attention to Mary.

Th e 2^ndQuestion: “What was Mary Thinking?”

This perfume was very expensive and equivalent to about 1 year’s wages for person who did manual labor. It seems ridiculous maybe almost scandalous to waste this very expensive fragrance on some ones feet. These fragrances would have never been used outside of burial rites. So… you can emphasize with Judas who suggests selling it in order to help others. And, if we weren’t told of his motives, we wouldn’t object to this reasonable request. In fact… we often rationalize like this all the time… sit in on a council meeting. We’re not told of Mary’s motives either… is she doing this because she is thankful for Jesus saving her brother from death or an authentic act of devotion to Jesus being Lord and Savior?

The 3^rd Question: “What does Jesus Mean...? “You will always have the Poor?

John ends this story with Jesus saying, “You will always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me.” Is Jesus dismissing the poor? Is Jesus telling us the poor don’t mean much? But one thing for sure… we’re uncomfortable when Jesus says things like this. Jesus tells us in Matt 5… the beatitudes… “Blessed are the poor, for they will inherit the kingdom of heaven.”

What are we to believe?

We know Jesus exaggerates… mostly with the Pharisee’s.

Judas seems to make an attempt to emphasize with the poor.

I’m wondering if the point Jesus is making isn’t about the poor, but of him-self. Jesus has proofed he loves the poor and as he prepares to enter the last week of his life he is pointing towards his death, and this death testifies to God’s abundant love for all, and  Mary picks up on it offering her love and devotion. Jesus’ saying of the poor is not about ones station or circumstance in life, but about his love for us no matter those situations.

I’m wondering if this story isn’t so much about the poor because as Jesus says, “They are always among us in a variety of ways.”

And… it’s not about Mary over against Judas as a moralistic endeavor of how we should be.

But about Jesus Himself in that Jesus needs to be the focus of our devotion, rather than the distractions around us.

  

In the end it’s about Jesus + Nothing

-       We don’t need to do anything.

-       We don’t have to do anything.

-       We just need to be devoted to Jesus.

We shouldn’t fear the questions here and fret why Jesus says what he says because Jesus has demonstrated his love for people both the poor and those with means.

John tends to use symbolic images and language to illustrate his point to his readers. John’s readers understood what Jesus meant.

And it’s OK that we are challenged by his words.

I believe it’s OK to live with the questions… perhaps the questions will elicit conversation throughout the week.   

See You Out on the Road