The Waiting Room... Surprise

Dec. 1, 2013

Luke 1:26-38

I heard a story the other day where I was asked why Mary & Joseph ended up in a stable when Jesus was born…. They had Obama Care... I know that was bad... but I couldn't resist...

Someone once said that there are four ages to life: (1) when you believe in Santa Claus; (2) when you don't believe in Santa Claus; (3) when you are Santa Claus; and (4) when you look like Santa Claus.

Prayer

We start the Advent season with a new sermon series titled; “The Waiting Room. Advent is a time of waiting and Christians have been waiting a long time for Jesus to make his way back to earth. The Jews also have been waiting for an even longer time for the Messiah to show up. I saw the idea for this series in one of our Lutheran resource books and thought this would be a good way to look at the season of Advent.

I decided to tweak what they presented and present this idea of waiting to that of Mary & Joseph being pregnant and the waiting that often comes with pregnancy. So… instead of a waiting room full of sick people as our image… we’ll be using the image of a waiting room with pregnant women.

Well… Advent is the time when the church prepares for the birth of Jesus…  So… why not a series that focuses on waiting for a baby to be born. Now… I have no idea how a woman waits for her baby to be born, so I thought I would come from a guy’s perspective. So we start today with that of….

Surprise”…. Were having a baby…

Over the next 3 weeks we will look at Preparing… Expectations… and Scandal.

So… guys… do you remember when your wives broke the news that they were going to have a baby to you? Were you surprised? I couldn’t believe it… I was bouncing off the walls… I couldn’t believe it. We wanted children, but we just didn’t think it would happen as quickly as it did. So… Surprise!!!

Put yourself in Mary & Joseph’s shoes… they’re engaged to be married… this means they’re not married as of yet. Then Mary get a visit from an angel named Gabriel and he tells her she has been blessed by God and will have a baby. Can you imagine the surprise… then shock… she’s maybe 16 years old and you find out your pregnant… don’t be afraid the angel tell her… RIGHT….I’m not sure how calm you could be.

Now I have to tell Joseph I’m going to have a baby… when we haven’t been together… what’s Joseph going to think… what are our friends going to think? She tells Joseph… Imagine his surprise…. I’m sure he would initially be full of joy until his brain kicked in….

Wait a minute… how can this be? We haven’t…. well you know…

Mary what aren’t you telling me… who have you been with?

Mary… what are people going to think?

Then Joseph get a visit from an angel telling him it’s going to be ok…. Get married… name the child Jesus.

Really Joseph… it’s going to be OK… this really isn’t about you. Surprises… this seems like a strange way to save the world.

How have you been Surprised by God?

Matt… tells us Joseph was a good man… the angel says to Mary, “you are truly blessed… the Lord is with you.” We are left with the impression that these two were blameless and saints… and above all others.

Perhaps they were… but they are human just like you and I and while I would consider all of you good people… we often feel otherwise. I know that I’m not perfect and that I do things I shouldn’t and often regret.

How am I surprised by God?.... That I am LOVED… and that we are LOVED… I believe that’s the surprise for us and what this story is about…and Mary get’s it. Joseph comes around in the end.

Mary says Vs 38… “I am the Lord’s servant… Let it happen as you have said.”

I think women get this and for us guys we come around as well. For guys… it’s not easy for us to feel loved… at least deeply I think. We may go through some motions, but to acknowledge that God loves us, leaves us humbled and surprised. I believe Joseph felt this as well. And we are left surprised by it. That God would love you and me so much that he would send his son to make that love known. And it is this kind of love God wants to impress upon us.

As the Advent season progresses and the waiting continues lets be open to the surprises God has for us.

So… How have you been surprised by God?

The Worlds Largest Christmas Store

I was at the world's largest Christmas store this afternoon and found it rather empty of people. Last year when I was there it was a zoo of wall to wall people and it was difficult to even navigate standing still. Today... while not the most pleasant experience it was nonetheless better than last year.

I say... not a pleasant experience because I don't like to shop. I know.... your thinking I'm a Grinch and a hum bug... I admit it... YES... I...

AM... But how many bulbs... ornaments... Santa's... did I say ornaments... can you look at? All one has to do is walk in the first 50... no 25ft and you've seen all there is, and there's no need to go further. Yet... there is more... much more.

Well... that doesn't happen when your with the wife. So... I tried to make the best of it with at least a resemblance of a smile on my face.

So... as I stood in many places I began thinking how much of this place is a contradiction.  The Bronner Family... who by the way are quite faithful Lutherans and are not ashamed to share their faith no matter where they are, public or private. This is a good thing. But... despite their obvious Christianity millions of people flock to their store to stock up 

on the multitudes of Christmas trinkets to the tunes of millions of dollars a year. They are open seven days a week with the exception of Christmas and Easter, and I think they are closed on Thanksgiving as well. At least they are thinking about the families of their workers. That's a bit facetious.

But it's business and big business to say the least and that's not a bad thing, and I truly believe they are fair to their workers and good to the community of Frankenmuth.

But... the problem I have is not with them, but with me. Because of things that happened to me as a kid at this time of year... Christmas is not the best time of year for me. I have gotten better at masking my displeasure and being more open to the good of the season as the years have gone by... but it is still a challenge for me. Much of time, I try and stay away and out of stores especially with my wife. I don't want to kill the season for her because she truly loves this time of the year and loves giving gifts. I think way to much, but who am I... yes... the Grinch :) 

So... I guess that's why I go to places like Bronner's with my wife. I'm trying to see the good and the generosity of people hearts despite mine being corroded and a bit hard. But it's hard... challenging, and many times quite difficult to work through all this stuff. While I'm better at it now than in previous years it's still difficult. I don't understand why people must spend hundred's, and thousands of dollars all in an effort to make people happy. The gifts all ware off after a couple of weeks and your just further in debt.

So... I visit The World's Largest Christmas Store out of a sense of therapy hoping I will come around some day and begin to like the hustle and bustle of the season and the insaneness of spending boat loads of money on gift giving.

See You Out on the Road

  

                                                                        

Life & Death

Over the past couple of weeks life & death has occupied my thoughts more than it has at any other time in my life. You see... my sister is dying. Outside of my grand parents I have not had anyone within my immediate family come this close to the end of life. While I was close to my grand parents their deaths did not affect me as much as my sister's slow spiraling death has. 

As I visit with her at the hospice center the thoughts of how challenging her life has been run through my mind and I pray she doesn't have to endure any more of this life than she has too. She has not had a normal life... if there is such a thing as a normal life. For 53 years she has struggled with a severe form of epilepsy since she was months old and was give a 50/50 chance of living past 10-12 years of age. Well... since I am writing about it tells you she has beaten the odds. We have been blessed to have her with us for 40+ years than we expected. And that has been a great thing.

So... me and my family wait. We watch as the process slowly envelopes her. She is comfortable and peaceful. She continues to have seizures every couple of minutes as her eyes slowly open and her pupils move left then slowly close. You can tell the past two weeks of no food or water are beginning to take a toll on her body. Yet... her heart beats strong, but her breaths are labored and shallow. My mother talks to her and rubs her arm, and my siblings and I take our turns at her bed side, and we wait.

I find myself in a precarious position. I am a pastor and have been with families as their loved ones face what I'm facing, so I find my self in pastor mode, yet deep down I just want to be the older brother. It seems strange to view this from both sides of the thread. Her pastor and others  from her church come by to offer support and to pray for us as a family. That has been nice, but I don't feel pastored. The people of the church I serve have made themselves available to me and that's been nice and I appreciate it very much. But... something feels very different and I can't seem to put my finger on it. Perhaps... the different feelings pastor's feel is unique to pastor's when a member of their immediate family dies and the role they serve is muddied. 

While this is a new experience for me, it has awakened the sense of mortality within me. I'm 57 years old and the people closest to me are leaning closer towards the end of life than the beginning of it, and it's causing me to be introspective more so than other times in life. I suppose this is a natural thing, but.... well... I guess the time has come.

I'm not afraid of death nor the dying process. I believe God has me gathered onto himself and is holding on to me despite me being me. I trust his presence in my life and I'm not worried about what happens after this present life is over. Just as I'm assured of my sister's life with Jesus, I'm assured Jesus will be welcoming me when the time comes. It's just that the transitions are the agonizing part we must walk through.

See You Out on the Road





 

Invitation or Fear?

Nov. 17, 2013                                  

Luke 21:5-19 

Prayer

The typical Lectionary readings for this time of year are stories of Jesus talking about end times. They are stories or as some may call… prophecies about how the world comes to an end. These stories are often called Apocalyptic Readings ( a big churchy word)… or End Times readings. These stories are set in the context of Jesus’ last week on earth and for Lutheran’s and others who follow a lectionary reading schedule…these readings come in Nov. as the church year comes to an end. So… for today and next week the lectionary focuses on the last days of Jesus’ life as they are often interpreted as the last days of the world.

For us today… the question I want to pose… is this a story from Jesus an Invitation or something to Fear?

Our story starts out where people and Jesus’ friends admiring the temple. Wow this is a great place. Look at those stained glass windows. Look how beautiful the altar and pulpit is… made of fine wood… the craftsmanship… wow isn’t beautiful? Look at the wonderful pipe organ…The pews… the chalice… This is such a beautiful church. Then Jesus says… “Do you see these stones? A time is coming when not one will be left standing.” The people reading Luke’s gospel are probably staring at a destroyed temple because came down in 70AD, and as they read they are likely remembering how the temple must have looked.

Jesus’ friends are curious about how Jesus knows this. Then fear sets in… Jesus tells them… “Don’t be fooled my friends and don’t be afraid because there will be wars & rumors of wars… Governments will be against one another and against each other… there will be earthquakes… typhoons… terrible diseases… and things will fall from the sky… people will hate you and will want to kill you… Wow… sound like the 21^st century… not the 1^st century. And… Jesus calmly tells his friends… “Don’t Worry”…  And Jesus is telling us today not to worry.

So… is this story an Invitation to something or should we be Fearful?

I believe this story from Jesus is an Invitation to deepen our connection to Jesus and I would like to share 3 reasons why I believe this.

 #1… It’s an Invitation to stay connected to Jesus.

As we see in this story our connection to Jesus is not the temple… it is not this church building. I don’t even believe it’s about the things we do in this building as wonderful as that may be. What it’s about is our connection is to Jesus… it’s about having a relationship with him that opens the door to not worrying.

Jesus says… Vs 19… “Don’t worry… be faithful.”

This faithful connection begins at our baptism. That is the moment God grabs hold of us and doesn’t let go.

Though we will want to turn and go the other way… God continues to hold on. No matter what we do or where we go… God is holding one and never letting go. And this connection grows when we are intentional about being is God’s Word… ruminating… chewing on it as Luther often said. When we are intentional and faithful about being in God’s Word we will remain connected to Jesus.

#2… It’s an Invitation to stay connected to one another.

When we gather for worship we as a faith community are connecting with Jesus. When we come to worship and praise God with each other we are connecting with God and each other. Jesus gathered with his friends and others. The early church gathered together.

Acts 2:44ff… “The Lord’s followers met together and shared everything… They met in their homes & broke bread and shared freely.” 

Our relationships are fed and nurtured when we are together. And we need these relationships and we need to find ways to gather so our relationships can grow.

#3… It’s an Invitation to stay Faithful to God.

What does God want from us?... it’s for us to be faithful to Him.

Deut 10:12 says… “People of Israel, what does the Lord your God want from you? The Lord wants you to respect and follow Him, to Love & Serve Him with all your heart & soul, and to obey His teachings.”

We demonstrate this when we are vessels of God’s grace to one another and to others. At the end of the day and in spite of all the circumstances… all the worry… our anxieties and failings… God still loves you.

Closing: We live in anxious times and we feel it in our daily lives. If we let our anxiety and fear be our focus we will miss the opportunity for the invitation to connect with God and our community.

A blog I often read from Lutheran Theologian David Lose shared, “Candy Chang, an artist, designer, and urban planner who, in my opinion, regularly creates art intended to be a public work. In one such project, and deeply affected by the death of a dear friend, she transformed a dilapid-ated house in her neighborhood into a public chalk board where she invited people to respond to the question, “Before I die I want to …”. The answers were, poignant, honest, funny, and insightful. When I shared her work on my blog, one reader asked, “What would it be like to have exterior church walls with such lines as ‘I need someone to pray for ____________ and chalk for people to be able to write their prayers?”

I wonder if this temple would be too good to do something like this? What would happen? Would people be angry? Would doing something like this give us a greater connection to God?

I wonder how doing something like this would change our perspectives about how we invite people to be connected to Jesus, to one another, and to God. Would this be something to fear or is this an opportunity for invitation?

See You Out on the Road

  

Teenage Grand Children

Our daughter and her family were recently over for dinner, of which has been a quite while since the last time they came over. Since it had been a while Kathy decided to make it an entertaining evening by having all of us play the Wii game. So we ate dinner then relaxed and talked for a time, then fired up the Wii.

It turned out the grand kids didn't want to play. BIG SHOCK... after-all they are teenagers. Well... one of them is and technically the other is not quite there yet as she is 12, yet as many of us understand, going on 21.

While playing the Wii game... bowling... Kathy's favorite... the subject of going to the movies came up. Kathy had asked the grand kids if they would like to go see the new Hobbitt movie that is coming in December. It turns out they... the grand kids were invited by friends to go of which their parents weren't aware. It turns out... the grand daughters friend is a boy. This was news to their parents... my daughter and son-in-law, and I just began to chuckle out loud. In my mind the day had finally arrived when my adult child had to reconcile her children growing up... chuckle!!!

They began bantering back and forth about this boy.... the grand son just sat there minding his own business with a smirk, but the conversation wasn't over yet and he would be drawn in in the end. Chuckle.... Chuckle... as I sat and watched this play out. My daughter wasn't overly thrilled by my approach, but it was funny... no hilarious... nonetheless.

I had to take stock of this moment because we missed the baby years and most of the early years of our grand kids lives because they and we lived some 10-12 hours apart. We didn't get to love up on and spoil our grand kids like many get to do. They just simply lived to far away. So... we missed all those firsts that kids get to experience until the other night. So I laugh out loud... chuckled... and generally enjoyed the evening as I watched with glee.

As our grand kids continue to grow and mature it is interesting how as much as things change... they still remain the same. While we missed the early years of our grand children's lives, I am taking stock of the teenage years with a great big smile and remembering all those times I did those teenage antics as well as my daughters. It is these that are the cherished moments of life.

Oh yea... the son-in-law later said... daughter... your mother and I will be having a talk with you when we get home. :))


See You Out on the Road

Remembering All Saints

 Today at worship we remember the saints who have gone to be with God. I invited people to come forward to light a candle in remembrance of their loved one. We had a  person read the name of the loved one and that family member came forward and lit a candle. It was a moving part of our All Saints worship.

I have discovered taking this one day to remember those who've died serves the faith community well. This offers families an opportunity to remember, but also an opportunity to share this remembrance in the community of faith. It's also an opportunity to remember the importance these loved ones had on our lives. How they have impacted our lives. Perhaps, even in death their life has impacted our lives to greater depths. Nevertheless... remembering offers all of us an opportunity that we too will pass on into the heavenly realms of God and be remembered for our contribution to this life. Our hope... that we will be remembered as people of God and for the positive impact we have on our loved ones.

So... lite a candle today for that one special person in your life,

See You Out on the Road




  

Faith or Not to Have Faith

Faith or not to have Faith... that is the question.

What is it about faith? Is faith just a nebulous concoction created by our weaknesses or is faith something to grab hold of during our weaknesses?

I wonder about people who claim to have faith in God, Buda, Allah, Jesus, or anyone of another thousand other religious deities. What about having faith in me... Reverend DAM? What about you? What about Jim, Jane, Bill, Tammy, John, Bob, Dave, Kathy, Mandy, Joann, or anyone else for that matter. Does one have to have some sort of deitized demeanor or special life in order for people to have faith in them?

I wonder if people have faith just because... maybe their parents had faith. Perhaps, your friends demonstrate faith in someone or something, then they invite you to have faith in what they have faith in. Does having faith in yourself count? If you place your faith in the hands of someone, do you have more faith? I'm not trying to be facieses... but I often do wonder about faith and what it means.

I often do see people who say they have faith, but don't demonstrate it very well. I observe people who say, "I walk by faith" but when the time comes to take that leap of faith, they back off. People say they believe in God, Allah, Buda, etc. but do they really... I mean... people say a lot of things they really don't mean. If all the deities in the world are about peace and love as their core belief... why do we have so much war? Jesus says, "Have faith in me, and have faith in the one who sent me (God)." Then why do so many Christians fight over... have wars over the same God? Why are there so many flavors of faith... if we all believe in the same Jesus, God, Allah, Buda, etc.? Think about it... how many different flavors of Christianity are there? thousands and they all agree to disagree? Isn't it all faith in the same God? If your a Christian... when Jesus says, "Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself" why do they separate themselves from one another? 

What if I had faith in me... Reverend DAM... does that make me narcissistic? If I believe I can accomplish something... shouldn't I believe in myself? Should I have faith... in me? Don't we all need to have faith in the self to live a life? 

I wonder about faith. I wonder if it is worth what humanity has placed on it. I wonder if faith is over-rated. I wonder if it is really needed to live ones life. Faith in many ways is a mystery. A mystery that has many definitions and understandings, and interpretations. 

Faith.... what do you think? To have faith or to not have faith....?