Unlikely Sermons

God Knew His Name Luke 16:19-31

2010-09-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Just a note,

many in our town have had some water in their basements after significant rains in the past week. Folks in other towns near by have faced even greater flooding and even greater challenges in the aftermath. Please keep those who have lost so much so quickly to this surprising fall flooding in your prayers.

thanks
John

Your name matters to God.

God's known you everyday every breath even every hair on your head.

Your name matters to God.

Whether you're rich or poor you matter. Who you are to God isn't just a matter of what you can give or do; the truth is you matter each person in this room is of value enough for God to offer a son's life in exchange for your eternal soul.

There's an story told about a seasoned nursing prof who taught a class and at the end of the class was a question that was worth ¼ of the exam. The question was simple. Can you name the person who cleans the nursing department every night. An a student was absolutely incensed with the question. “This isn't a fair question” she turned to the professor on the way out. Why do I need to know her name. The professor replied, “It is because as a nurse there's never an insignificant person on your team.

God feels the same way about each of us.

You came to church today for a reason. The more you talk to people who come to church the more you will learn about all the different reasons people have for being here in this room

tradition
trouble in your life
hunger for a real encounter with God
a desire to give your kids something more
there are other reasons why people come some sinister and some glorious

You and I have a all kinds of reasons to be here.

And now that you're here, for whatever reason it is that you've come, open your ears and listen closely to Jesus' words. We have all kinds of reasons all kinds of agendas that might lead us here into this space today. And Jesus invited people to start looking around them and really seeing what happens in the world.

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,^¹

If you came today wanting to know what God is after, in your life, just to pay attention to Jesus' stories. Jesus made many of his strongest points not by lecturing people about what they were doing wrong; but by telling stories that challenged them to start seeing the world differently. Jesus wasn't vaguely telling people stories with easy happy endings. He was inviting people 2000 years ago, and people today, to see the complex reality of human life. Jesus was concerned with more than just the world in general Jesus was most concerned with the way his hearers cared for the people around them, most especially the ones they walked past on any given day.

Today we listen to Jesus and join him considering the lives of two men who lived and died in very close proximity to one another.. One of the two men has a name, Lazarus. The other man has no name.

Jesus is telling this story in no small part to emphasize the great difference between human society and the world as God would have it be. In our world having a name matters and we know all the big names. Just this past week there was a list of the billionaires in our nation published. We celebrate celebrities. There are whole tv channels and websites dedicated to gossip about the celebrated. But in this story Jesus invites us to consider the life of a man who celebrated while a man who lived just outside his door suffered.

who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²²The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.²

Lazarus the man with a name had no permanent address that he could call his own. He laid in front of of the unnamed man's gate. Lazarus had sores on his body that the dogs would like when the came near. The thing is Jesus tells us the story in the reverse of the way that our culture tells such stories.Lazarus watched the unnamed man live sumptuously just beyond inside the gate of his home. Human culture celebrates wealth. We have no trouble naming the billionaires. But God knows every name of every person.

God knows the people who have water in their basements tonight. He knows the names of those who have gone about their lives and the names of those who have sought out a way to help those in need.

There's real ministry happening in this world that you won't hear about on CNN, or FOXNews. There is real ministry happening, and much of it goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. Ministry happens when any of you bring Christ's great gifts, faith, hope, and love into the world.

In this life the rich man had it all. He'd be the guy with the best of everything. He'd have the biggest house, the best boat, the best cars, everything that he had would be the best. And His neighbor, Lazarus, knew suffering right outside his door. And Jesus says that God saw it all. God saw one man's luxury and one man's pain right next to each other. Jesus said that Abraham, the man who received God's ancient promises welcomed Lazarus home to eternal rest. Abraham, the one God said would become the father of a great nation, more numerous than the stars or the grains of sand on the sea shore, welcomed Lazarus with open arms to eternal life.

Across a great chasm from Lazarus and Abraham the rich man sat in the eternal fire just wishing that somebody would come to cool his tongue with one drop of water. Now he called for Lazarus, the poor man he ignored while they were neighbors, to come across that great chasm to serve him.

What catches me most is that the wealthy man would have walked over or arround the poor hurting Lazarus laying at his gates. Growing up in Minneapolis and going to good old South High just off Cedar Avenue and Lake Street we all figured out ways that made it possible to zip past the poorest places and the most hurting people. It was easy, we just hopped on the freeway and cruised right past the places where we'd see the homeless and the hurting. Now as a pastor in I can see the divisions and distance from other places can sometimes make it easy for us not to see the hurting people who are all around us.

Sometimes just looking left or right, instead of straight ahead, is all that it takes to see what God sees as we drive around the poorest places or through them with our eyes straight ahead like we are in a tunnel.

Slide 7

A few year ago Time magazine published excerpts from several of Mother Theresa's letters. Many of you know who she was, the Saint of Calcutta who spent years caring for the most basic needs of the poor and sick in India. Her private letters that she exchanged with people she sought spiritual counsel from reveal the deep wrestling with God that lay beneath her faith.

Most surprising in the letters that she exchanged with spiritual leaders who tried to help her wrestle with her faith was her description of God's absence. She devoted her life to rescuing the dying homeless people from the gutters of Calcutta in order that their last days might be spent in dignity. Hundred's joined her caring for the poor. And all along people assumed that she must have seen Christ's face day after day; but no, instead she didn't see it for years on end. She knew and shared God's love and yet she experience God as real for years on end.

Jesus invites us to join him in this world and in the next. He invites us to follow when we see him and when we don't. He invites us to walk with him when our faith is strong and when our faith is gone. Jesus cross is the reason we gather here week after week. His life given for each of you bridges every gap and gives every one a chance to start over and to re-prioritize like eternity matters; like there's so much more than just today.

God's vision for us is eternal. He sees beyond one stage of life to every part of our human experience. And his promise to be God for us, revealed in the cross and grave, is good no matter what we've done or where we've been. There are many chasms we can never cross, but for God nothing is impossible. He know's you very well and nothing not hell and not high water will keep him from you.

1The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version, ( Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 16:19-20.

2The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version, ( Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 16:21-23.

Can they do that Mark 9:38-50

2009-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Grace and Peace from God our Father and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Slide 1) John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

Jesus' friends often have a very different visions for the Church and for doing God's will in our world than Jesus has in mind. Jesus friend John met such a situation head on.

John told Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

Let's get the facts straight. Jesus friends saw a man casting out demons in Jesus name. The man they saw exorcising evil spirits was not one of the 12 apostles and he wasn't even “Following them”. This didn't add up in John's mind. This man, who they didn't know, could cast out daemons in Jesus' name. Jesus' friends told their teacher what they'd seen and that they tried to stop it.

Slide 2) Are we on God's side?

I like to assume individually that I'm always on God's side. But I know better. I know that I'm a sinner and that in my sin I have fought with full force against God and God's will. That's what it means to be sinner who is desperate need of a savior. I believe that most Christians want to be on God's side. I believe most of Jesus followers want their church to be faithful to God and God's Word. But we who try to be faithful are all sinners. We, both individually and collectively, fight against God and God's will.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran executed for his roll in a plot to kill Hitler, once said it something like this. If you board the wrong train that's heading in the wrong direction it does you no good to run down the corridor of the train in the opposite direction. At some point you've got to get off the train and start walking in the right direction. Jesus friends have been learning this one lesson over and over for years.

Slide 3) Who is on God's side.

John and the rest of Jesus' friends expected rewards for setting the situation straight. John expected Jesus, at the very least, to give him and the other disciples a pat on the back and maybe say, “That a boy, way to go.” They believed they had stopped someone from misusing Jesus' name. They thought it was worthy of praise. And Jesus told them to leave the man alone.

The differences, which are sometimes quite small and sometimes quite big, between God's plans and our plans come out at surprising times. We see it sometimes in our ministry in everyday lives when we think that we are following God's will and then realize later on, some times much later on, that we aren't following in God's way at all.

Slide 4) Can they do that?

Throughout Christian history there's been a drive, among Jesus' followers, to be the closest to God in every possible way. We want to be Jesus' best followers and to be recognized and acknowledged by God and other people as the very best. If you believe in Jesus and commit your life to following him why wouldn't you want to excel? Why wouldn't you want to excel in following God as no one else ever has before you or will ever do after you?

The drive to be the very best as Jesus' followers has been here from the earliest days of following Jesus. Even before the cross Jesus' friends all wanted to be the best and to be closest to God. Martin Luther King knew about this drive. He called it the “Drum major instinct” Dr. King said,

And there is deep down within all of us an instinct. It's a kind of drum major instinct—a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first. And it is something that runs the whole gamut of life.

And so before we condemn them, let us see that we all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade.

I thought about just reading Dr. King's sermon today instead of writing my own; but it took him nearly 40 minutes to preach and I don't think that most people here today are used to that kind of preaching.

Slide 5) What does Jesus see us doing as his followers?

We as Jesus' followers try to out do one another as Jesus' super-disciples. 50 years back, in Neenah, Wisconsin, a union worker, in a paper-mill in town, always tried to out do the managers in giving to his church. I learned years later how disappointed he was when church offerings were no longer made public. He loved to point out all the union workers who out did management in their giving.

Christians always want to honor God; but somehow our desire to honor God can and does turn inside of us into a desire to be honored too. Instead of just trying to bring honor to God we think that we deserve to be honored by God. Dr. King said God really wants us to be first and that God really wants us to be great. God wants us to be first in service to one another and greatest in our love for Him and for the people of the whole world.

Slide 6) Who is on God's side?

Jesus’ power can't and won't be contained in the boundaries we humans make for God. Jesus love for God the Father and for all of us is so total it won't just exist in the walls of this congregation or in congregations that look, think, believe, or act exactly like us. Jesus was passionate about the whole world. He couldn’t stand by and watch his friends try and limit the use of his name against the forces of his real enemy and our real enemy.

Jesus called them together saying,

“Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.

There's an old story about a man who arrived in heaven after dying. As he was being shown around heaven by Saint Peter and some of the angels he noticed a huge hedge surrounding one part of heaven. The was a quiet please sign placed right along side of the hedge. The man turned to Peter and the Angels and asked, “What's with the big hedge?” Peter turned back to him and smiled, “That's where the Lutherans go, they think that they are all alone up here.” I've heard that old joke with so many other denominations from Baptist and Pentecostal to Missouri Synod and Catholic in the punch line.

You can change the punch line over the years and I still think it really makes the point. We like to assume we are on God's side. And that's a very dangerous assumption. It's dangerous when we are having debates with other believers over sensitive subjects that won't go away. It's dangerous to believe that one group, or one historic denomination alone is faithful to God in the world today.

John didn't get a pat on the back like he expected after telling the man to stop casting our daemons. So what about us. What do we expect God to say about our ministry and the ways we treat other believers; even the ones we disagree with over major issues. Many Christians are debating issues of human sexuality both in public and in private today. How we treat one another in this debate speaks volumes, especially to the vast majority of young people of our nation who are estranged from God's Word and church. They are learning what we believe about the cross, and sin, and redemption by what we do beyond these walls. We need humility today in church regardless of denomination or position on difficult and controversial issues. Coming to God takes humility; treating other people who call Jesus Lords as blood bought brothers and sisters, even when we vehemently disagree, takes humility. We treat God's saving death too casually if we have forgotten that Jesus died for others too.

Slide 7) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 NRSV

The writer of Hebrews gives us a clue about what it's like to come face to face with God when he said, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31 NRSV. The real God is often, as Martin Luther said, a hidden God. He is hidden from us in layers of mystery that we sinners can't comprehend. There are so many dimension to God's work that we shouldn't even pretend to understand. God's not a buddy who is always on our side.

This story about Jesus' friends reveals a dimension to Jesus' work in the world that is tough to accept if you are convinced your church and your church alone is the only right way straight to heaven.

We follow a God who will not be mocked; who sent a Son to die and rise in order that you and I might be saved. If you think that you are doing God a favor by serving him you have forgotten what he has already done for you. Jesus came to save the sick and not to be saved by all of us. When we think our particular church alone is worthy of being called Christian or faithful we have forgotten the Holy God who came to earth. He came as a man who died for us and the world.

500 years ago the pope and the Vatican told each believer in Western Europe what to think and what was true. War and threats of personal violence were used to enforce one particular version of truth. I grew up in a Roman Catholic Church and have chosen to be a Lutheran precisely because of Luther's great belief in the power of Jesus Christ alone to save. I believe that God's Word alone reveals Christ to us and that each individual Christian has a place before God as a member of the priesthood of all believers.

Today, thank God, we have no such institution with coercive power to tell us what to believe and do. Instead we individually are called to come together as the church of God in Christ. We each listen to Scripture and test the Spirit. Our Lutheran heritage only has a future if we as individuals are attentive to God's word. Our Heritage as the church that is built on God's Word is in greatest danger right now because our culture has stopped reading and only debates God's Word. God's Word challenges us, who disagree strongly with what others are saying or doing, to be faithful to God’s Word to be angry, but not to fall into sin in our anger. We are called to ready, sturdy and pray about the word and to give space for others to try and do the same.

Slide 8) Keep Jesus first in your mind and in your life

Us real sinners get overwhelmed by our sins. Our inability to save ourselves proves that we still fight against God and God’s will revealed in scripture. All our struggles to escape sin lead us further in to the mess. Jesus came not for those who have it all together. He came because we need a savior.

I have often wondered what Jesus would do if he walked in to a church (regardless of denomination) today in Minnesota and the rest of the United States.

Would he shake his head or silently weep while watching most congregations get older and most younger people walk away from church (except for a few notable exceptions like weddings and baptisms)? Would he cry over the crimes and sins of clergy and church leaders? Would he get in the face of today’s fathers and mothers who have not told their own children about God’s love for them and for the whole world?

Would Jesus rejoice when congregations send out teams to places like Mississippi or New Orleans to help people get their lives back together after hurricanes while serving in his name? Would he celebrate when families study his Word together and pray together in their homes? Would he come dressed as a pastor or a millionaire or as a homeless person looking for help?

We are a culture of lost sheep and we need to come back to the one true shepherd. We need Jesus today in our lives as moms and dads trying to raise our kids. We need Jesus as brothers and sisters redeemed through Christ's blood. We need to open up his word not to win arguments with other Christians but to come into his presence.

One of my great hopes for Grace and all congregations is that we not be distracted from our primary mission: preaching Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Our primary calling as Jesus followers has not and will not change. We are first to love God with all our hearts and second to love our neighbors as ourselves. No Christian is my enemy, even if I disagree with them, they are my blood bought brother or sister. The Devil would like it very much if we forgot that he is our enemy and that we were fighting against each other rather than him. Give thanks for Jesus who died that all who believe might live.

Leave no room for the Devil Ephesians 4:27

2009-08-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends Grace and Peace from God Our Father and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

slide 1 ...make no room for the Devil.

I've been pondering this verse since Monday and I'd like you to think about this little snippet of scripture too today. This verse comes from a letter to the church in Ephesus. The origins of this letter have been debated by scholars for years; but the point of this letter is especially clear for me today.

This letter is full of directions for the young church in Ephesus about how to live together. I've been thinking this week this advice is good for all of us too. When you became part of a congregation like Grace as a church you became part of something bigger than anyone individual. At our very best the church is always greater than the sum of all our individual gifts. At our very best we see one another as sisters and brothers adopted sons and daughters of God the Father who are together seeking ways to love God and to go into the world to love our neighbors. But the Devil doesn't like that at all. The enemy wants to exploit every crack between us so that he can drive in wedges to separate us from one another.

Slide 2 Basilica in the trees

Much of the time we think that our spirituality is a private and personal matter. Maybe you think this way. Many people in our culture don't believe in the church. When asked most people say they believe in God and many of them pray; but many don't believe in the church. Couples who want to get married in a church come looking to use the facility here, but they have no intention of being part of the church. Many never have been part of the church or have been part of a church only on the periphery. To many people in our culture and to many of us as individuals how you and I connect with God is a private matter between you and me as individuals and with the gods of our own invention.

Slide 3 Chicago

We don't live in a spiritually neutral world and we aren't spiritually neutral either. We're sinners who live in a world with both good and evil forces present and active. As Christians we know that God is real and that he loves us enough to die for us. We learn the hard way about our enemy who is intent on doing as much damage as possible.

Our God loves us enough to die for us; but he has not made us into robots. Through Jesus' blood you are freed from sin. You are free to serve God or the Devil. Jesus cross took away sin but it did not take away your freedom. God wants us to love him freely and openly. And because God wants love that is freely given you and I can choose how we treat God and how we treat one another.

Slide 4 ...and make no room for the Devil

We have an enemy who will exploit our free will. He's looking for any opening he can find. He will drive enormous wedges between us to break up everything that matters by using our freedom against us. We're free to choose church or not. We are free to read scripture or not. We are free to pray or not. We are free to say a kind word to another person or not. We are free to help as sister or brother in need or not. We are free to participate in evil or not. What God wants is for us to seek him out in worship, scripture, service, and prayer. What God wants is for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are free to live as God intends or to choose not to live as God intends.

Many people think connecting with God is easy if you just go on your own. That's what we sinners like to believe. We sinners like connecting with our own individual gods one on one without anyone or anything to challenge us. That's what the Devil wants. He wants us to be isolated, out on islands with gods of our own making, surrounded by our own self-righteousness. The devil's the expert at this. He's been at this for thousands of years.

Slide 5 How do you imagine the devil?

How we imagine the Devil often blinds us to all the ways that evil is at work in the world today.

Our cultures two most favorite decorating holidays, based on total sales of decorations and their effect on the retail economy, are Christmas and Halloween. This nation is infatuated by the polar opposites of good and evil, innocence and guilt that these two days represent. Keep in mind that the image that we have of the Devil at Halloween is only part of our enemy in the world today. The devil most likely wants us to imagine him as a beast with horns, fiery red flesh, a forked tail, and a pitchfork.

If we insist that the Devil incarnate has horns or breaths fire we won't recognize him when he's at work. But if you and I look around the world long enough you identify him in his work. Hell is real and there are people living in hell on earth today..The Devil is at work subtly trying to destroy everything good and true.

Slide 6 kkk robe

The devil needs no pitchfork. He uses our words and our hands. He uses our self-righteousness. When you refuse to forgive the enemy will use that choice to tear-down and destroy. He uses us to do his dirty work. He uses our ancient prejudices and deeply ingrained biases against both other people and against ourselves. He's been at work for thousands of years trying to undermine everything good and true.

In the movie Oh Brother Where art Thou one of the characters, Tommy sold his soul to the Devil. Another character in the movie Pete asked Tommy, “I've always wondered, what's the devil look like?”

The know it all of the group Everett piped in: “Well, there are all manner of lesser imps and demons, Pete, but the great Satan hisself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail, and he carries a hay fork.”

Tommy, the one who sold his soul to learn how to play the guitar said: “Oh, no. No, sir. He's white, as white as you folks, with empty eyes and a big hollow voice.” We imagine evil incarnate looking one way. But the enemy has countless disguises. He can even come under the cover of an angle.

Slide 7: the enemy uses our...

The writer of this letter to the Ephesians knew the truth. The Devil will slither into any tiny fissure in our lives where he can find room. He knows our old weaknesses: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. In church conflict he uses our anger and pride against us every time he can. If one party feels they have been lied to or mistreated the devil cans use that anger.

Slide 8: and make no room for the Devil with list

It's critical to note that Paul warns against falsehood and calls for truth speaking; but he also asked the church to, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,” (Ephesians 4:26)

In our families he uses our anger against another against us. The devil rejoices if a fight is separating you from a sister or brother.

In marriages he will try to twist any misplaced word or mistaken glance for something sinister. He will work to undermine fidelity, love, and affection.

He will try to come between friends. He will use all the old tricks. And we will by our free choice freely fall for them.

At work he will use jealousy and acrimony to rip us apart.

Slide 9 ...make no room for the devil

Last week I attended the 125^th anniversary of my internship congregation. I was there as “Vicar John” from August 1997 to August 1998. It was good to see some old friends and hear stories from the church where I came as a student and left better prepared to be a pastor. I say thanks be to God for all that.

As I reminisced I realized how different that church is today then when I came as a seminary student. A few years after I left there was deep conflict. Many left who were once deeply committed to that church. Attendance fell by more than half. A few 20 somethings (who now live other towns) were there, but one of the young man's parents wouldn't come. It was tough to watch, for him, for me and probably for others who remembered the people who weren't there to celebrate.

Our old enemy rejoices when one Christian attacks another. We Lutherans sing about, “Our old satanic foe has sworn to work us woe” as part of A Mighty Fortress. If we will listen, Paul is boldly telling us the real power of the enemy to split and divide us. God's power is greater than the enemies; but we are often the Devil's unwitting accomplices in conflict.

Slide 10 and be kind...

The enemy uses and manipulates us in all kinds of places (not just the church) to try and pull down the good. Paul's challenge to Christians who are taking up sides against one another is real.

and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:31-5:2)

The old enemy wants us divided; but the Lord of Hosts can use us the most when we are united. We often mistakenly seek out ways to make others “just like us” assuming that uniformity is unity; and God instead makes us one in the Spirit, in the sacraments, and in his love.

For that Amazing Grace I give thanks. AMEN.

A Sermon for Our Saviors Lutheran Church Neenah WI

2009-05-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Good Evening--I am honored to be here tonight for a time of reflection and celebration. I've heard a lot of excitement from Kelly, Kristy, and Karl about what's going on at Our Saviors. You're dreaming right now and I am honored tonight to come and speak with you about dreams. God give us dreams and he puts our faith in action.

The prophet Joel put it this way.

...it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:23

I'm not sure if I'm the young man or the old man any more. My kids tell me that I'm sort of old and the confirmation kids tell me that too. They don't use words to say that though; they just roll their eyes at my old music. But that's not the point. Tonight's about dreams and visions being made real in your lives.
I want ask you to to invite you to take a moment to stand up and stretch. Now if you aren't facing forward I'd encourage you to turn your chairs around so that you'll be more comfortable. Thanks you.

Let's Pray:
Father God we're here tonight to do something bold. We here to step out in faith. Guide us as followers of your son Jesus. Help us see your plan for our faith in action. Let your Spirit blow free and move boldly among us tonight. Open us up to the joy of giving and to the joy of following you in every part of our lives. AMEN.
Our faith in action, our faith in Jesus has always been be full of surprise. The first Easter there was a surprise waiting when some women who'd followed Jesus stepped inside His tomb. A mysterious man arrayed in white met them,

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6 NIV

This announcement was Good News then and it remains Good News today. It is our Christian story, and the mystery of faith as simple as it gets.Our faith in Christ, our salvation and everything that matters rests on this Good News. The women who heard it first were speechless. I've spoken with some women and men about the this speechless part of the story.

Most of the women I speak with can't imagine these 3 women, or any woman for that matter, being completely silent. I'll tread very carefully here. I live with 4 women and it's rarely quiet at our house. Something big happened that stunned these women and left them silent. They were ready for a dead body; not an empty tomb. They were silent and afraid; but they didn't stay silent and afraid for ever. At some point in time joy broke in and overcame their fear.

Fear is a basic involuntary emotional response. We can't prevent it or avoid it; it happens. Maybe you've experienced fear when you heard a dog's bark rapidly getting closer and closer to you as you were walking. Maybe you've winced in fear as you heard breaks and tires squealing behind you as you sat waiting for the light to change at an intersection. The unexpected grabs us. The 3 women at Jesus tomb were caught in a moment of great surprise. The great psycho-analyst Bill Cosby said that if you want to see people as there most true selves you have to see them when they loose their cool.

Resurrection defies easy explanation and comparison. We think that the change of winter into spring is a miracle. But a resurrection is even bigger. We might say wow as the first flowers pop up out of the dead leaves but we're here today because of something bigger. Maybe your a baseball fan and you think its pretty amazing to see your team come back when they've been trailing in a game. But a resurrection is even bigger than your team chewing up a 2 run deficit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. When that happens at timber rattlers game or at Miller Field or at the Metro-dome everybody jump up on their feet to cheer.

Resurrection is so much bigger than anything else in human experience. Resurrection is our reason to jump up and give in order to boldly help God grow the kingdom.We have news to share: Jesus came back and promises new life to all who believe. We have resources, talents, prayers, and strengths to offer up, to give away in order that we might know more fully the the joy of God the Father. We live in a time when sin, death, and the devil often look stronger than faith, hope, and love.

Fear held the women silent; but we know today that they didn't sit on the story. We know that the Joy of the Good News overcame their fear. That's God's work in our world: God's great gift of faith in action breaks through fear.

You all have heard and seen Jesus words, “...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20b Tonight is about stepping out in faith. Tonight is not for talk but for commitment and faith in action.

3 out of the 4 Gospels tell the same story about Jesus' walking out to his friends on a boat out in the middle of Lake Galilee late at night. In all 3 versions of the story Jesus had just taught a huge crowd by the shore of the lake and then fed the thousands who'd come to hear him teach with only 5 small loaves and two fish.
Lets hone in on one account, in the Gospel of Matthew, of the events of that particular night. Matthew said that
Right away [after the crowd had eaten their fill], Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake. But he stayed until he had sent the crowds away. 23Then he went up on a mountain where he could be alone and pray. Later that evening, he was still there.

Jesus left his friends and went up to pray. He sent them out onto the water in the boat to head on to a new place. They'd just seen thousands come to hear him teach. They were there when He healed hurting souls and restored broken bodies. They were there when 5 little loaves and a couple pieces fish turn into a meal for thousands with baskets full to spare.

Sometimes we have what Cath Mode calls God moments. We have those experiences in our lives when we sense God at work. One of the joys I had in my time at Our Saviors was listening as people told me what God was doing in their live and in the lives of other people. We have moments when we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel God at work. We learn from the God moments, from following Jesus in the church that our lives are part of greater plan.

Jesus sent his friends out onto the water. He sends us out onto the sea. We do not know what's next. Neither did the 12 when they went out on the water. Jesus sent them out together. He sends us out together in the church. We aren't to go into the world alone. He sends us out with brothers and sisters. He sends us out as part of a greater body.

A couple years ago I was in Christus Victor Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. When Hurricane Katrina hit Ocean Springs was high ground on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. And Christus Victor was at the highest point of the high ground; a whopping 26 feet about the gulf. And that church opened up everything they had for the people who needed help and for the people who came to help them rebuild in Mississippi.

They gave over their fellowship hall to the forklifts, pallet jacks, and pallets full of food, cleaning kits, and electric generators. The carpet was only 6 months old; but that didn't matter. They gave over their offices to the Red Cross, Church World Service, Luther Disaster Response, FEMA, and other agencies. They gave over their Sunday School Classrooms to the volunteers who came to stay and work. The church got a second name, Camp Victor. They would have opened up their sanctuary too; but that was too damaged by the storm to be of use.

The members of Christus Victor opened up their homes, shared their food, money, and resources because in that moment they were living out their faith as the body of Christ. They don't believe in consequence at Christus Victor anymore. They believe in God's providence. God gave them resources they never knew were there and they gave them away only to find even more coming in right behind. God is good and gracious. He's blessed us abundantly.

The apostle Paul wrote about our life as Christians understanding from the very earliest moments on that the church is, and has always been, a body. He understood that as a body that we need each other. Paul wrote boldly instructing the early church:

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts
are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized
by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were
all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Now the body is not made up of one part but
of many.

Paul's point is too important to loose. He's telling us something that we don't want to ever forget. If we think that faith is only a personal thing we're missing a great joy of living for Christ; for Paul faith started as a personal experience. And when that experience of faith in action moved into every part of his being it became transformative. Faith in action changed Paul. Every single believer has been touched by what God did with Paul's life after God so radically changed him. Paul knew it then and we know it now. We are in the church together with a purpose.

You as Our Saviors today have a purpose. You as Our Saviors together are out on the water. You are out there, just like Peter and Jesus' other friends were out on the water in the middle of Lake Galilee. It was late that night. Matthew wrote,

24By this time the boat was a long way from the shore. It was going against the
wind and was being tossed around by the waves.

There's a lot of wind and lot of waves today. There's a lot of uncertainty. The fear's real; and the kingdom of God is just as real.

One fellow told me that he and his wife were driving on the interstate in Montana and that they'd run out of gas. He could see an overpass aways on, up ahead in the distance, and he knew from the map that there was a town up ahead. He told his wife he was going to get some gas. His wife was in the middle of a good book and didn't seem too worried. So he started walking.

After walking for a while an old car pulled up along side. 3 young men were inside. They asked him if he needed a hand. He got in, unsure if it was the best idea. The car quickly got up to speed. It took a while longer than he expected to get the bridge. It turned out the bridge he saw ahead wasn't as close as it appeared. He was miles away. And there was no gas at that exit that he was going to walk to. The nearest filling station was a few miles further down the road. They pulled up to the filling station; but they had no gas cans. The two young the men in the car took him to a Wal-Mart still even further on down the road to get a gas can.

The young men brought him back to his car. He offered them some money explaining that he was grateful for the help. When he got back to the car his wife looked up from her book and said, “glad you're back.” She didn't realize how far he'd gone to get gas.

Every person has had this kind of experience. We've all found ourselves way out there. We've all had those moments where we have to step out in faith and take a risk.

God isn't inviting us to stay where we think its safe. He's asking us to follow him. Jesus told his friends to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” God calls you and me to follow in the way of the cross. His call comes at unexpected hours. You have a great moment at hand. For years Our Saviors has visited about building and remodeling. And today you're being asked to commit. Today you are being asked to discover the joy that comes from giving away from what God has already given to you.

I've spoken with people who thought they were ready for everything until the past year. One man told me last week that he'd lost $200,000 in a few days time. I didn't tell him; but I sure wish I that I had had that much to begin with. There's uncertainty and anxiety. And the enemy wants us to be paralyzed in fear. And God wants us to see faith in action. Out on the water of lake Galilee Jesus' friends were riding west in a boat. Matthew wrote,

25A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his
disciples. 26When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified
and started screaming.

Fear is real. Doubt is real. The Devil wants fear to be the most real thing we know so that we'll sit paralyzed. The Good News is that Resurrection and are just as real. Jesus' transforming love is real and complete.

27At once, Jesus said to them, "Don't worry! I am Jesus. Don't be afraid."
28Peter replied, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come on!" Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward
him.
Stepping out in faith is risky. Jesus called “Come on [Pete].” Step out of the boat and live with your faith in action.
30But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. 31Right away, Jesus reached out his hand. He helped Peter up and said, "You surely don't have much faith. Why do you doubt?"
32When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind died down. 33The men in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "You really are the Son of God!"
Maybe you think you aren't ready. Or maybe you just have to be ready whether you think its the right time or not. You see today's been set aside by your friends in Christ, your brothers and sisters, to make pledges in support of a building plan. You're being asked to go beyond your regular giving. You being asked to grow by 50% percent a year what you give for the next 3 years. This is not a simple stewardship talk. You are being asked to make something wonderful happen by giving away more than you all ready do. You're being invited tonight to consider with prayer and hope a commitmnet not just to the current ministry of Our Saviors. Your being asked to move forward together being the very best stewards you can.
You're being asked to build an elevator and remove every barrier to people with disabilities who want to worship and celebrate what God is doing with you. You're being asked to be wise and responsible stewards who will upgrade your facility replacing old wiring and plumbing in the kitchen finally bringing it up to code. You're being asked to replace a tired roof and to even dream about growing your facility with a new nursery, new office space, and music space.
This exactly the moment not to talk about money and ministry but to go ahead in faith and act. Maybe you don't think you're prepared today. A church like Our Saviors is relevant today because the people who came before you who committed and put their faith into action. You have an opportunity now to be the very best stewards of your collective gifts. You have the opportunity to go forward together with grace and faith, hope and love.
There's real ministry happening in this congregation that you won't hear about on CNN, NPR, or FOXNews. There is real ministry happening, and much of it goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. Ministry happens when any of you bring Christ's greatest gifts, faith, hope, and love into the world. People who've been caught unprepared need to hear the Good News. Paul said it beautifully in
Philipians 4:5. “The Lord is near.”
Paul's advice isn't pie in the sky. It's an honest word for tonight. Jesus is close enough to hear your prayers. He's near enough to meet you in the Word of God. He's close enough to touch you in worship and to inspire you as you read the Word. Its a very good time to be the church.
The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philipians 4:5-7 NRSV
We are living in an anxious time. Young families with kids are balancing student debt, careers, mortgages, the responsibilities of parenthood, and lust for the things of this world. None of these struggles are new; but as so many have come to a new understanding about the world and money Our Saviors and many other churches have been given a new opportunity for ministry.
Tonight is about the future. Tonight is about a dream and a vision. Your ministries all at some level can grow as you put faith in action. It's time to preach Christ. It's time to be church together.
AMEN.

Good Sheep Bad Sheep? John 10:11-18 Good Shepherd Easter 4B May 3 2009

2009-05-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Grace and Peace to you from God Our Father and Jesus the Christ. AMEN.

Jesus revealed God's radical love for people in the cross. Before his death in all of the gospels he boldly predicted what was coming. He spoke of his death knowing to his friends knowing that it had to come. Reading John this week I hear his word and sense that he knew about the cross and that he knew he wasn't going to be stopped by death from doing the work that the father sent him here to do.

In John 10 Jesus said that a true shepherd was entirely ready to face death for the sake of the sheep. A hired hand would turn and run when the sheep were most in need in order to protect his own skin; but not a Good Shepherd. One who truly cared for the sheep would put his body in harms way in order to defend those he was called his own. The true shepherd wasn't hired to protect the sheep; he claimed them and owned them as his own.

Jesus is letting you know just how valuable you are to God. Jesus said he was the Good Shepherd ready to face danger on behalf of his sheep. Looking back towards Good Friday and Easter we see that Jesus meant it. He wasn't pontificating or just using flowery images. He meant it when he said that he was a good shepherd. He was and is ready to take on the wolves and thieves who threatened his sheep.

The gospels have given us us rich images of God at work in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was unique in history. In John's gospel Jesus' own "I am" statements helps us see who him

Only Jesus could say, “I am”...
I am the Messiah John 4:26
I am the bread of life John 6:48
I am the light of the world John 8:12
I am the door for the sheep John 10:7
I am the good shepherd John 10:11
I am the Son of God John 10:36
I am the resurrection and the life John 11:25
I am the way, the truth, and the life John 14:6
I am in the father and the Father is in me John 14:10
I am the true vine John 15:1
I am not of the world John 17:14
Jesus' simple sentences give us glimpses of God at work in his person. This weeks reading in John 10:11-18 invites us to explore Jesus work as shepherd and to explore what great lengths he's willing to go to in our defense.

Slide 3 What Kind of Sheep are you
In my first couple years as a pastor I remember sharing this text in a sermon. I grew up in Minneapolis and my first real exposure to any sheep; or anybody who cared for them came when I was 23 years old on my internship in Saint James.
In my sermon a couple years later in Kenyon, I asked out loud, “Sheep have reputation for being so dumb, so is it fair for Jesus to call us sheep?” One man in the congregation spoke up laughing at me, "They can't be all that dumb: they can always find their way out of a fence if there's a hole. And they can always get up on top of a stack of bails or building if they have half a chance to get there." Cordette was absolutely right. Jesus wasn't comparing us to dumb animals by calling us sheep. He was revealing both God's view of our nature and the distance that he would go to save us.
Jesus' mission, to be shepherd of our lives, runs head long into our rugged independence and our will to run our own lives. Jesus understood our inclination to be willful and sinful. Our generations' resistance to God and God's will is not all that new. The older I more clearly see that people have always been willfully going away from God, the difference is that each generation has different distractions and temptations that lead us away from the sheepfold.

Cordette convinced me that sheep aren't that dumb; and neither are we. We humans have been given so much by God. We were made to please God. Yet we all can choose to use our gifts destructively. The shepherd who knows his sheep knows our abilities and our temptations.

If Jesus is...
Jesus loves us enough to run headlong into the worst that humans can do to other humans. We live in an age when conversations about sin and human responsibility for sin often happen very publicly. We live in a time when the images and words about the worst things that people can do to other people are part of our public conversation and imagination.

A couple years ago I was part of a group from Zion Lutheran Church in Stewartville that headed down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to help rebuild after Katrina. Even a year and a half later people were still trying to rebuild and reorganize their lives after the storm had done so much damage. 19 people headed south and we were spread out along to coast at projects where we could help.

Five of us spent our week working at a home in Moss Point, MS. The owner was a single mom with 3 kids from 17-21 years old and a grandbaby. Her story was tough. She'd had a freak accident about 6 months before the hurricane and broken her ankle. She was a pipe fitter in a shipyard that rebuilds ships for the US Navy. After her accident she could never return to that work.

Her neighborhood was on the back side of a bayou. 2 or 3 feet of water had covered their entire neighborhood. The wind, rain, and storm surge had come and gone. Every home had damage. In some it was footings and piers that had been moved. In others there was damage to the floor joists and sub-floors because they'd been submerged. In other houses there was damage to the walls and ceilings in side. In a some places the rafters and roofs needed work.

After the storm was gone all kinds of people came into that place some came to do good and others to do harm. Some came selling drugs to numb the pain; others came to steal, and others to good.
This one sign on a house in Moss Point caught my eye.

“You criminal sons of guns broke into my house back in May of 2006 and destroyed my house. You left your finger prints. Also you broke into my daughters house and stole her baby's shoes...

Jesus made a promise; Jesus has pledged to be our shepherd. He is the one with the rod and staff in his hand in the 23rd psalm. He's the one true and faithful Son who is doing the will of his Father. He knows very well that he came to save a people who believe they don't need saving. Jesus knows very well that their are thieves and wolves ready to reach in and do us harm.

Jesus knows when we've been knocked down. He knows that we have value and worth even when the world around us misses our value. Jesus promised to the shepherd and he kept that promise on the cross and he will keep that promise unto the fullness of time.

Easter 2009 Fear and Joy

2009-04-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

The Good News has always been something announced to humanity.

In Mark, a mysterious young man in a white robe was the very first to make the announcement: Jesus is Risen. He told the news to 3 women who came ready to offer their last respects to Jesus. They came to properly anoint and spice Jesus' dead body. There was no time on Friday afternoon to finish the work of preparing the boy. As they made their way to the tomb they worried about moving the stone away that blocked tomb's entrance.

When they arrived the stone had already been rolled away. God was on the move but they didn't recognize what had happened as God's handiwork. When they stepped inside the tomb the mysterious man arrayed in white met them saying,

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was
crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him."
Mark 16:6 NIV

This announcement was Good News then and it remains Good News today. It is our Christian story, and the core mystery of our Christian faith put as simply as it gets. Jesus was crucified. He has risen.

Our faith in Christ, our salvation and everything that matters beyond this earth rests on this Good News. The women who heard it first were speechless. They heard the young man say Jesus was risen; and they saw no body there in the grave. And hearing what they'd heard and seeing what they'd seen they had nothing to say.

A few women and men were talking about this reading here at church on Tuesday at noon. The part of the story that stood out most for us was their silence. As a group they couldn't imagine these 3 women, or any woman for that matter, being completely silent. I better tread very carefully here. The point that Mark is making isn't about the differences between women and men. The point is that something big happened and it so shook up these three that they didn't know what was coming next and they were silent and afraid.

Meeting the man in white and seeing the empty tomb was so totally unexpected that it left these 3 stunned and very much afraid. We don't know how long they were in fear. We are left to guess if it was minutes or hours or even days. We might wonder if some of Jesus' other friends met them them and asked why they were silent.

Mark says the young man in white was the first to proclaim the Good News to these 3 women. He told them the Good News, Jesus was Crucified, He has risen and it caught the women who heard it completely unprepared. They were ready for a dead body; not an empty tomb. They were ready to weep over their friend; but the young man shared news that caught them completely off guard and they were silent and affraid. They didn't stay silent and afraid for ever; but there's no doubt that fear grabbed them and held onto them for a while. We know though, looking at this story, that at some point in time joy broke in and overcame fear.

Fear is a basic involuntary emotional response. We can't prevent it or avoid it; fear happens when the unexpected and inexplicable happens to us and around us. Maybe you've experienced fear when you heard a dog's bark rapidly getting closer and closer to you as you were walking. Maybe you've winced in fear as you heard breaks and tires squealing behind you as you sat waiting for the light to change at an intersection.

The experience of fear happens as the unexpected grabs us. The 3 women who came to the tomb were caught in a moment of great surprise. The great psycho-analyst Bill Cosby said that if you want to see people as there most true selves you have to see them when they loose their cool. These 3 women who came to anoint Jesus body had an intense involuntary experience of fear. They totally lost all cool and composure. This wasn't a moment of pious awe and devotion. Pious awe and devotion wouldn't have silenced them so completely quickly.

Martin Luther once compared Christ's divinity to a fish hook that was hidden by Jesus' humanity. The devil thought he'd won on Good Friday afternoon. He bit down hard on Jesus humanity. He thought he had him, dead. The old enemy rolled around, reveling his old enemy defeated. God let the devil out to play for 3 days, that's a whole lot of line. But on Resurrection morning God set the hook hard. The devil and all his tricks were over. The Devil was caught. Death couldn't contain Jesus. God's Word prevailed.

Resurrection defies easy explanation. It's not comparable to anything else in our human experience. We like to think of the order of the seasons and say that resurrection is sort of comparable to the miracle of spring. But a resurrection is even bigger. We might say wow as we watch the first flowers pop up out of the dead leaves around our homes this weekend but we're here today because of something bigger. As wonderful as spring is it's not comparable to resurrection. Resurrection is even bigger. Jesus rising is bigger than daffodils and tulips.

Maybe your a baseball fan and you think its pretty amazing to see your team come back when they've been trailing in a game. Maybe you think its really something to watch your team chew up a 2 run deficit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Rising from the dead is even bigger. Resurrection isn't part of ordinary human experience. When it first happened it left the 3 who heard the news and saw the empty grave speechless. Resurrection is bigger than anything else in human experience.

The young man in white offered the women no explanation how or why Jesus had Risen. God was on the move; new life exploded where death reigned. The ancient prophecies were fulfilled as the new creation was beginning to take shape in the old world. The old order and the old enemies began to fall that day: sin, death, and the Devil were overcome a Jesus rose up from the grave.

I still can't get over the silence of these three women at the tomb. I live with 4 women and its rarely quiet at our house. Something big happened to keep these 3 silent. We know they didn't hide the Good News forever. The fear in their being must have been powerful. Christians today are still silenced by fear. We have news to share about Jesus who came back from the dead and who promises new life to us. We have news to share with a world where sin, death, and the devil often look stronger than faith, hope, and love. We have news because Jesus wouldn't stay dead and hope in him won't knuckle under to the power of fear.

Some how the joy of Jesus' rising overcame their fear. Joy didn't come immediately for the 3 women. The fear held them in silence; but we know today that they didn't sit on the story. We know that the Joy of the Good News overcame their fear. That's God's work in our world: breaking through fear and every other force that would prevent his will from being done. May the joy of hearing the Good News announced for us break the chains of fear that hold us bound. May the joy of Resurrection enliven us as witnesses to Jesus Christ.

Fear and Joy Easter 2009

2009-04-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6 NIV

This announcement was Good News then and it remains Good News today. It is our Christian story, and the core mystery of our Christian faith put as simply as it gets. Jesus was crucified. He has risen.

Our faith in Christ, our salvation and everything that matters beyond this earth rests on this Good News. The women who heard it first were speechless. They heard the young man say Jesus was risen; and they saw no body there in the grave. And hearing what they'd heard and seeing what they'd seen they had nothing to say.

A few women and men were talking about this reading here at church on Tuesday at noon. The part of the story that stood out most for us was their silence. As a group they couldn't imagine these 3 women, or any woman for that matter, being completely silent. I better tread very carefully here. The point that Mark is making isn't about the differences between women and men. The point is that something big happened and it so shook up these three that they didn't know what was coming next and they were silent and afraid.

Meeting the man in white and seeing the empty tomb was so totally unexpected that it left these 3 stunned and very much afraid. We don't know how long they were in fear. We are left to guess if it was minutes or hours or even days. We might wonder if some of Jesus' other friends met them them and asked why they were silent.

Mark says the young man in white was the first to proclaim the Good News to these 3 women. He told them the Good News, Jesus was Crucified, He has risen and it caught the women who heard it completely unprepared. They were ready for a dead body; not an empty tomb. They were ready to weep over their friend; but the young man shared news that caught them completely off guard and they were silent and affraid. They didn't stay silent and afraid for ever; but there's no doubt that fear grabbed them and held onto them for a while. We know though, looking at this story, that at some point in time joy broke in and overcame fear.

Fear is a basic involuntary emotional response. We can't prevent it or avoid it; fear happens when the unexpected and inexplicable happens to us and around us. Maybe you've experienced fear when you heard a dog's bark rapidly getting closer and closer to you as you were walking. Maybe you've winced in fear as you heard breaks and tires squealing behind you as you sat waiting for the light to change at an intersection.

The experience of fear happens as the unexpected grabs us. The 3 women who came to the tomb were caught in a moment of great surprise. The great psycho-analyst Bill Cosby said that if you want to see people as there most true selves you have to see them when they loose their cool. These 3 women who came to anoint Jesus body had an intense involuntary experience of fear. They totally lost all cool and composure. This wasn't a moment of pious awe and devotion. Pious awe and devotion wouldn't have silenced them so completely quickly.

Resurrection defies easy explanation. It's not comparable to anything else in our human experience. We like to think of the order of the seasons and say that resurrection is sort of comparable to the miracle of spring. But a resurrection is even bigger. We might say wow as we watch the first flowers pop up out of the dead leaves around our homes this weekend but we're here today because of something bigger. As wonderful as spring is it's not comparable to resurrection. Resurrection is even bigger.

Maybe your a baseball fan and you think its pretty amazing to see your team come back when they've been trailing in a game. But a resurrection is even bigger than your team chewing up a 2 run deficit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Resurrection isn't part of ordinary human experience. Its so extraordinary that when it first happened it left the 3 who heard the news and saw the empty grave speechless. Ressurrection is some much bigger than anything else in human experience.

The young man in white offered the women no explanation how or why Jesus had Risen. God was on the move; new life exploded where death reigned. The ancient prophecies were fulfilled as the new creation was beginning to take shape in the old world. The old order and the old enemies began to fall that day: sin, death, and the Devil were overcome a Jesus rose up from the grave.

I still can't get over the silence of these three women at the tomb. We know they didn't hide the Good News forever. The fear in their being must have been powerful. Christians today are still silenced by fear. We have news to share about Jesus who came back from the dead and who promises new life to us. We have news to share with a world where sin, death, and the devil often look stronger than faith, hope, and love. We have news because Jesus wouldn't stay dead and hope in him won't knuckle under to the power of fear.

Some how the joy of Jesus' rising overcame their fear. Joy didn't come immediately for the 3 women. The fear held them in silence; but we know today that they didn't sit on the story. We know that the Joy of the Good News overcame their fear. That's God's work in our world: breaking through fear and every other force that would prevent his will from being done. May the joy of hearing the Good News announced for us break the chains of fear that hold us bound. May the joy of Resurrection enliven us as witnesses to Jesus Christ.

2009-02-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Jesus' ministry begins fast in Mark --
-- Baptism,
temptation in the wilderness.
In just a few days time he was inviting others to follow, having a confrontation with the daemonic and an exorcism right in the middle of the synagogue. All that in the first few days of Jesus' ministry. Today's reading is the next thing that happened after the exorcism. Right after leaving worship, Jesus went to Simon's house and healed his mother in law. And as fast as she was healed she got up serving Jesus and his friends as guests in her home.

The action happens fast, right in the first few paragraphs of the story. In the earliest days in ministry Jesus became known not for what he taught but for who he healed. God's creative and re-creative power were personally visible in Jesus. People today eagerly acknowledge Jesus wisdom; but this dimension of supernatural power that confronts evil and sickness, sin and death is often ignored. Many think that if it's beyond our imagination God can't do it,

but I believe God can.

Do you think in supernatural terms

do you think in terms not only of what we see but of what is unseen.

A story from a pastor in Belize about daemons--

Healing for Jesus was never just been a matter of good health care. Jesus met the Devil head to head and healed. The evil one works corrupting through sin, death, and disease. Jesus came restoring the broken and mending the fallen. First were the daemon possessed. Next was Peter's mother in law. Then came the leper and many others. The Kingdom of God quickly came near. Don Juel and Patrick Keifert observed that next in the story,

When the sun has set (and the Sabbath is past), people who are sick flock to Jesus—confident that he can help (1:32-34). Their faith is rewarded. The story of the leper (1:40-45) provides a concrete and dramatic example of the same message: those who ask will receive. Jesus’ conversation with Peter (1:35-38) indicates that he is not simply a healer—or perhaps more accurately, that his healing is tied to a larger campaign that involves announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand; his mission cannot be reduced to healing. Jesus’ need to press on does not imply indifference to suffering, however. The stories of his encounters with the sick invite confidence—faith—and offer promises to those who ask. Word and World 1998

Jesus was searched out. People came with hope and faith. They came looking for him even when he sought out a quiet place to pray.

Why come for Jesus.

Because of the darkness.

What's in the darkness

it's often hidden but it's the stuff that deprives us from all that God intends for us

isolation

loneliness

temptation

these things aren't seen, but they are very real

and the evil one works in them

The disciples told him that "Everyone is searching for you." Jesus responded to the needs of the people. He didn't send his friends to keep the crowd away. He chose to go find the people preach.

³⁸He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1:38-39 NRSV

Jesus was living with purpose. The kingdom of God was coming near and he was up on his feet ready to spread the story.

Jesus, in his very presence, confronts these forces. He is after the maker of all things seen and not seen. He was in the beginning when everything was called into being.

Mark 1:38-39 (NRSV)
³⁸He answered,
“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

God's timing Epiphany 4b Jan 25 2009 Jonah 3 Mark 1

2009-01-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

The readings we have this week are all about timing. It's a good time, with high sounding speeches during this inauguration week to think some about God's timing as well as our own.

Our first lesson in from Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Some people think that Jonah is just a fish story. But a close reading says that the fish was just a part of the whole story.

Jonah was a prophet sent on a mission from God. He was sent to the people of Nineveh called by God to tell the whole city to repent. There was just one problem. Jonah didn't want to go. Jonah had a good life in Israel. He knew who his friends were and he knew who his enemies were. God wanted Jonah to go to some of Israel's enemies and tell them to repent. Jonah had a good life and he didn't want anyone to upset or challenge his way of living. He wanted the people in Nineveh to get what they had coming.

Jonah decided that he'd travel by sea in the opposite direction He was supposed to be headed overland towards Nineveh in modern day Iraq. Instead he was headed by boat towards Tarshish in modern day Spain. This is the part of the story where the fish comes in. Jonah was in the boat and a storm hit. The others in the ship started praying, each to their own gods, looking for mercy.

The people on board ship drew lots. They wanted fate to tell them which one deserved such wrath. Jonah was the one who came up short. They turned to him demanding to know what he'd done to make heaven so angry. Jonah admitted that God was mad with him. He was the reason for the storm. He told the others in the boat that he was supposed to be serving the Lord God who made the earth and sea. He told them that instead of going where God had sent him he was heading in the opposite direction. Desperate to save themselves the sailors tossed Jonah over the side. They hoping to save their own lives and appease Jonah's angry God by throwing him into the sea.

Time's not out of God's reach. God uses time. Changing what's happening in time to heaven's advantage. At just the right time God sent a great sea creature saving the wayward prophet Jonah.. The fish wasn't in Jonah's plans at all. But God was making a point to Jonah. The time was right to save him and Nineveh. We can fight God all that we want; but God will win. Martin Luther wrote,

In order that the terror of death might be all the greater, not only was Jonah thrown into the sea, where there was no hope for help either from God or man, but when he thought that he must surely die, he was also swallowed alive by a fish, a fish the Lord provided for this very purpose. In this way it came about that, although he was in the midst of death, still he was alive. This is a wonderful account, in which the excellent, most high God has wished us to become very certain that He is the Lord of death and life, that all things are in His hand. Luther's Works, Vol. 19 : Minor Prophets II: Jonah and Habakkuk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1974) page14.

Jonah isn't really about a fish; its about God and a reluctant prophet. All of us can be like Jonah. When we refuse to follow God's call into the world we are just like the reluctant prophet.

God will call again.

¹The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ²“Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”Jonah 3:1-2 (NRSV)

God put Jonah on the spot again. The first time Jonah heard God's Word Jonah ran away. When he heard the Word in the belly of the fish he knew it was time to go. Our reading today picks up as Jonah He walked into Nineveh, found a spot and told the people,

“Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah 3:4 NRSV

If we say Jonah is only a fish story we're overlooking God's call to repentance. Jonah spoke God's word and what he spoke from God to the people in Nineveh saved a great city from wrath.

God's plans matter

Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. He didn't want to help those awful people see right from wrong. He just wanted to run from God's call. We get too comfortable in our churches, our homes, and our lives. We forget that we have God given missions and calls to go beyond our own into the world. God wanted Jonah to go to city and preach. It was not matter to God that Jonah didn't want to go. God was ready to wipe the city out. Jonah was ready to cheer God on in his wrath. Jonah knew that evil that was perpetrated in Nineveh stunk to the highest heaven. Despite his will Jonah was sent on a rescue mission because God wanted to save the people of Nineveh. God didn't care about what one man wanted. God kept Jonah alive in a fish to save others. God can and will do the very same thing with any of us.

We are in God's hand for a reason. Today, just as much as ever, God has value and purposes for our lives and the lives of others. The world where we live in desperately needs God the Father's love and care. We who know the love of the Father are asked to be followers of Jesus. He went out into the world announcing the Good News. You may be asked to follow, just like Jonah was asked. You might say no. You might end up in the middle of a fish and God might ask you to go again.

2000 years ago Jesus went into Galilee,

... proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”Mark 1:14-15 (NRSV)

This Christmas a pastor reminded us that Jesus came to the world on purpose, when the time was right. Bob pointed to Paul who said,

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. Galatians 4:4-5 (NRSV)

Jesus came at the right time to save us. He came to the world as is with the sin and the evil that we do everyday. He came at the time when God's love was desperately needed. He came to people even to those who didn't all accept his ministry and love him. He came to a far from perfect people. Jesus came and gave everything for the people he came to save.

What time is it is for us?

We are Christ's people called to into the world right now. Pastor Rick Warren, in a sermon on January 11, 2009 from a series on change said that America has been wounded and we need healing. Warren named all kinds of isms that hurt and tear us apart separating us from God and one another.

Materialism, hedonism, secularism, racism, factionalism, terrorism, extremism, consumerism, narcissism, cynicism

God needs us to get in the game. We are citizens of this nation and world. In this week of inauguration we have a good moment for the question, “What time is it for us?” Jesus was bold when he started his ministry in Galilee. He told the people of his own neighborhood in Galilee “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the gospel.”

Timing was everything for God. Jesus came at the right time. We are sent to serve in our time. We are sent and sometimes we resist. We are sent and God pushes us forward just like he pushed Jonah forward. God's sends us out in our time and space because this world needs to have hope based in what God can do with us and not in what we can do alone. This world needs to know the love of God. I just hope it doesn't take time in the belly of the whale to convince any of us that now is our time to announce that the kingdom of God has come near to us in the person on Jesus Christ.

Christ the King Ephesians 1:15-23 Matthew 25:31-46

2008-11-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

Today our church, and thousands of other congregations around the world (Lutheran, Catholic, Anglican, Methodists, and still more), are marking Christ the King Sunday. As we celebrate Christ's Reign, our church, like many others, listens in to Matthew's Gospel and to the words from Paul to the church in Ephesus about the reign of Christ. Paul talked at length to the Ephesians about our inheritance as believers.

Paul wrote,

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, (Ephesians 1:11 NRSV)

I like that word, inheritance because its the kind of gift that a king can pass on. It appears in both our second reading and our Gospel lesson today. Inheritance, a gift that is passed on, usually from one generation to the next. If we receive an inheritance from Christ the King that means we are getting the very best. A Christian's inheritance is a legacy that's been passed on to us that is beyond earthly measure and price; we are given everything even life everlasting is given to us by faith. We have not earned it; it's a gift that's been given.

having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, (Ephesians 1:11 NRSV)

God the Father has plans for us. He has hopes and dreams for all who he chooses to call sons and daughters by adoption. There's a popular poem that says, “If God had a refrigerator your picture would be on it. If God had a wallet your picture would be in it.” I'd like add to that poem that there would be more than just pictures of you and people in your family on God's refrigerator and in God's wallet. There would be pictures of all God's adopted sons and daughters. The people of God have an inheritance, you have family, you have brothers and sisters of every nation, tribe, and tongue who call Jesus Lord. We all receive this great inheritance by faith. We all regardless of where we are on this earth receive the gift of faith and life in Christ.

God's plan is to spread the news of Jesus into world. Paul wrote that it was God's will,

¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:12 NRSV)

God's idea isn't to limit the gift just to us; but rather it is to send us out into world with gifts to share with all of God's family. To put it simply we are sent out with an inheritance that we are meant to share in service.

We serve a lot of powers and lesser gods in our day. Wealth, pleasure, popularity, comfort, power, sex, prestige, the list of other gods is endless. 2000 years ago the writer of Matthew chose Jesus' own words to help his hearers imagine themselves in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are called to serve him above all others. Imagine him sitting in judgment on the throne as Christ the King.

In Matthew we hear Jesus very own description of the final judgment. We talk about the last judgment all the time and we don't even realize it. It's in the words of the Apostle's Creed right at the very end of the second article about Jesus. Every week we confess our faith that, “he will come to judge the living and the dead.” And today we hear straight from Jesus himself that his followers will serve him in unexpected ways.

The place of judgment will be huge. All the nations will stretch out before the King. The sheep and the goats will be sorted out. As you imagine the scene remember that the King has set a standard to select sheep from goats...

...the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Matthew 25:34-36 (NRSV)

Those on the right will enter into paradise. The others on the left didn't meet the standard and they will be sent out of paradise into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The part of the story that disturbs me the most is how unaware the righteous were of their service to the king. The surprising thing is we've already met the king. Jesus said,

³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’⁴⁰And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’Matthew 25:37-40 (NRSV)

Jesus standard for entrance into the Kingdom of God isn't hidden away. He's laid it out for all to hear and understand. The part we don't expect is that we've already seen his face in the face of his family. Jesus gives a great inheritance to us that we've never earned and now he asks us to give it away to the members of his family who we meet everyday. Paul prayed rightly for the early church asking,

¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. Ephesians 1:17-19

Pentecost 22 A wedding Feast and a God who is near Matthew 22 Philipians 4

2008-10-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Jesus parable about a wedding feast which the invited guests chose not to attend is rich with images and power.

The first image in my mind is of invitations being sent out by the king on behalf of his son, his beloved child, to the wedding feast of his son and his new bride. Most people know what wedding invitations look like. They arrive in special thick envelopes with beautiful embossed fonts. The envelope is made from high grade paper, it's thick and heavy, rich with texture. There's no plastic window like on the phone or electric bill so that your name and address peek through. Your name is often hand written in fine calligraphy on the outside of the envelope. When you open up the outer envelope you find a special inner envelope to pull out. As you open up the inner envelope you might notice that the invitation is printed on even fancier paper than the envelopes. You might even notice a third enveloped with an RSVP card inside so that you can respond to the invitation. Once you finally get to the actual invitation you might find an extra little sheet of tissue paper meant to help keep the words clear and un-smudged.

Couples who send invitations out for their weddings expect some of the people they invited to come. But in Jesus' parable no one came when the king invited them to his son's wedding feast. The king sent servants out reminding the guests of the feast. But the servants weren't received. Some of the king's servants were ignored as some of the invited guests went back to their business or to their farms. Others were received rudely, some were brutally mistreated. Some of the Kings servants were killed. And the King responded with rage. He sent soldiers in to the city to wipe out the murders.

The king sent out his servants into the streets again with new instructions.

Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. Matthew 22:9-10 NRSV

Many people just came invited in, by surprise, to the wedding feast by the king's servants.

Imagine being invited into a banquet you didn't ever expect you'd ever be invited too. This was a royal party and now everyone, both good and bad had a place at the table, whether they were ready or not. For some reason the king singled out one man who wasn't prepared. Maybe you'd ask, “how could he be ready.” After all this man was out on the street and the kings servants invited him to come. Some people say that this point is where Jesus' story breaks down; but this may very well be the moment in the story that is the most poignant. The King's invitations went first to invited guest who didn't come. Then the invitations to the feast went out to both the good and the bad. The King saw the man at the feast and asked him, “Friend how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” The king ordered his servants to kick the man out of the feast and put him in the the place where people gnashed their teeth and wept.

One fellow told me that he and his wife were driving on the interstate in Montana and that they'd run out of gas. He could see an overpass and he knew there was a town up ahead and he told his wife he was going to get some gas. His wife was in the middle of a good book and didn't seem too worried. So he started walking. After walking for a while an old car pulled up along side. A couple of young men were inside. They asked him if he needed a hand. He got in, unsure if it was the best idea. Turns out the bridge he saw ahead wasn't as close as it appeared. He was miles away. And there was no gas at that exit. The nearest filling station was a few miles further down the road. They had no gas cans so the men in the car took him to the Wal-Mart on down the road to get a gas can. The man said he was grateful for the help. When he got back to the car his wife looked up from her book and said, “glad you're back” not realizing how far he'd gone to get gas.

Every person has had this kind of experience. We've all found ourselves entirely unprepared and unready. Maybe as a kid you came to class and the teacher passed out a test, as you walked in the door, that you weren't expecting or that you'd forgotten was coming. Maybe as a parent you got a call that your child had just gotten sick and that you needed to come right away. This man met the king and he wasn't prepared. He was ushered out of the party into the darkness.

There's an uncomfortable truth here. We'd like to believe that we are always ready to meet God. Real crosses work this way. But maybe we aren't ready to meet the Lord. But Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him. God call to follow in the way of the cross comes into our lives often at unexpected hours. God asks us to get into ministry now.

I've spoken with people who thought they were ready for everything until the past few weeks financial news. One man told me that he'd lost $300,000 in a few days time. There's uncertainty around the coffee tables where seniors, who depend on investments and dividends, visit. There's anxiety in the homes of parent's worried about their mortgages, kids, student loan debt, and jobs. We've been caught, as a global consumer culture, unprepared for this moment. Nobody was ready. We don't have the right plan or the right garment. People know this experience first hand today. In time some may just view today's struggles as a blip; but for many others this is no blip. Maybe your house is on the line. I've spoken to a few who fear their jobs are on the line. It feels, for many, like its the end of the world as they know it.

Maybe we aren't ready. Or maybe we just have to be ready whether we think its the right time or not. You see today's been set aside by our Stewardship Team, to invite people to make pledges in support of ours ministry for the next year. I asked Frank earlier this week if this was the right weekend and he just smiled.

Talking with other Lutheran preachers in the neighborhood this week I know that we aren't alone. October's the month when we Lutheran's often talk about money and budgets and future ministry. Part of me says this isn't the time; but part of me says this exactly the moment to talk about money and ministry. Maybe we don't think we're prepared today and that's why we should think about it.

Over the past 4 and a half years here I've been reminded that we have a mission to Invite, Nurture, Serve, and Send so that all may know Jesus Christ. People in two different generations, the baby-boomers and their kids, are wondering out loud if a church like ours is still relevant. We have a mission right now. We have families in our area who aren't connected to Christ. And if we meet people in the world as it is, not as we think it should be, we will be relevant. Let's stay focused on mission when everything distracts us from serving Christ.

We are the church who co-hosts the food-shelf. We are the church who visits and leads worship in the nursing home. We are the church who's pastors visit in the hospital. We are the church who a few years ago had 8 to 12 5^th and 6^th graders come for Sunday School in a week and now have 50 or more coming on Wednesday evenings for Club 56. We are the church we over 100 students in Sunday School and Bible School. We can be the ones who have hope when everything else on the cultural landscape looks bleak. We are the church who can reach two missing generations.

There's real ministry happening in this congregation that you won't hear about on CNN, NPR, or FOXNews. There is real ministry happening, and much of it goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. Ministry happens when any of us bring Christ's greatest gifts, faith, hope, and love into the world. People who've been caught unprepared need to hear the Good News. Paul said it beautifully in Philipians 4:5. “The Lord is near.” Paul's advice isn't pie in the sky. It's an honest word for us. Jesus is close enough to hear your prayers. He's near enough to meet you in the Word of God. He's close enough to touch you in worship and to inspire you as you read the Word. Its a very good time for all of us to be the church.

The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philipians 4:5-7 NRSV

We are living in an anxious time. Young families with kids are struggling to balance student debt, careers, mortgages, and the responsibilities of parenthood. These struggles aren't new; but the wave of foreclosures is evidence that many are being hit hard right now. Seniors who depend on investment income are worried too about dividends and keeping everything together. As we think about pledging to plan for the budget for next year it's vital that we name this often unspoken reality of fear and anxiety. Our ministries, all at some level, use money. Still its time to preach Christ. It's time to be church together.

AMEN.

Pentecost 20 Two brothers serving or not Matthew 22

2008-09-29T10:23:00.001-07:00

Our Gospel story today is from Monday of the week Jesus' died.

He arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday as the crowd cheered, "Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord." They waved palms and received him as a prophet laying robes and cloaks on the ground preparing the way to meet Jesus.

Jesus' first stop in Jerusalem was the temple. It was the very heart of his people's religious life. Jesus walked in, not in silence, but burning with passion. He drove out the money changers and those who sold doves for sacrifice.

He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.” Matthew 21:13 (NIV)

He kicked over the cages that held the doves and the tables filled with money that the money changers used. Imagine doves and money scattered all over the temple court. It was chaos; holy blessed chaos in the Temple.

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. Matthew 21:14-15 (NIV)

Anger bubbled up among the priests and others responsible for the temple: "Who is Jesus to teach like this?" Jesus boldly challenged them and they way they ran the temple. He was pushing, literally driving away the money changers and dove sellers, challenging the whole lot of them to see the temple as God's house and not a market. He said they were using the temple not as a market place but as a place to relate to God and to care about people.

Maybe you are uncomfortable with this real Jesus. He made people squirm because he saw right through their actions to the motives that lay behind. He does the same with us. We often picture God as loving and accepting of everything we do; but the true God has plans for our lives. The true God yearns for us to make the right choices to follow him with courage and faith. This is the real Jesus who calls us to faith and to live out that faith. This is not a baby you can control; this is the real God who seeks to lead you totally. This is the real God who asks you to put aside everything, even your very self, and follow him. After healing and teaching the crowd in the temple Jesus left and headed out to spend the night in Bethany a village near Jerusalem.

Our story picks up when Jesus returned to the temple and started teaching again on Monday. There was a crowd there just like when he'd arrived in town. They wanted to hear him speak and be healed by Jesus.

...the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Matthew 21:23 NRSV

Jesus wouldn't answer their question unless they would answer one of his: who gave John the Baptist his authority. The chief priests and elders couldn't or wouldn't answer. Jesus responded to the silence of the priests and elders with a story about a father and two sons. The father asked his boys to go work in the vineyard. One son said he wouldn't work and later changed his mind and did go out to help. The other agreed that he would go out to work, but he didn't. Jesus asked them,

Which of the two did the will of his father?”They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. Matthew 21:31-32 NRSV

Jesus understands, better than we think, just how much our lives effect the lives of others. Jesus faced death for his words in the temple. As a person of faith this story speaks volumes. Forget what looks good or sounds good. What matters is what you do not just what you say. He understands that your life's not about you as one person alone.

This is a story I heard from Rick Warren. Imagine if you and I were out in a boat. Maybe you were fishing off one side of the boat and you thought I had started fishing on the other end. You're having a good time, you get a couple of hard bites, you try to get the net out to land that lunker you've got on the line. And then you look over at me. And instead of fishing imagine that I started drilling a hole in the bottom of the boat. Are you going to still be able to fish? No way. What you do with your life effects mine and my life effects yours. God the Father sends us out into the world. He asks us not to live for ourselves but to live with and for others.

Today is Confirmation Sunday. Today you'll be asked what you'll do. Will you commit to a life of faith. You can see it on page 236 in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
“Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy Baptism?
to live among God's faithful people
to hear the word of God and share in the Lord's supper
to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word a deed
to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
The response to this question is,
“I do, and I ask God to Help and Guide Me.”

Jesus tells us plainly that the real deal isn't what you say you'll do; it's what you do. So what's life about, Jesus said that there are two things that matter above all else in this world,

”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

A relationship with God and your relationships with other people are the most important things in this world. Maybe you believe that what you do won't affect anybody else. But as part of the church we learn that we are in this together. The same goes for families; when one member is struggling or sinking in a storm everyone is effected. As a church we are called to uphold one another praying for each other in joyous and awful times. And the same goes for us as citizens. We don't live in isolated compartments. We live interconnected with the people, nation, and world around us.

People like to think that they can make in on their own. They believe that nothing can sink them and that all they have to do is look out for their own. Pastor Rick Warren used the example of the Titantic. It was supposed to be unsinkable because it was built with multiple compartments in the hull. That meant that the ship was supposed to be able to get a hole in the hull and still stay afloat. Water might rush into one compartment but it was supposed to be contained. The crew battened the hatches that connected the compartments and they thought that was enough. But soon the ship started to list and the water started to go over the walls at the top of one compartment quickly filling in the other compartments.

We need each other. God invites us not to live like we are the only ones that matter. He invites us to commit our lives. If we've turned away he always welcomes us back. He invites us to come and join him all other believers working as members of the body Christ. AMEN

Pentecost 17A What you need to be a church.

2008-09-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Growing up people told me all kinds of things that it takes to have a church.

it takes a building

it takes a pastor

it takes a priest

it takes music

it takes an organ

it takes a band

as an kid growing up in a Catholic Church I was told that it takes the official approval of the Pope in Rome and the local Roman Catholic Bishop in order to have a legitimate church. But then I here Jesus say something so bold as,

It only takes 2 or 3.

That's all the people you need, 2or 3 people gathered in Jesus name and he's there in the middle of the meeting. He's there in the middle.

He's right there at the supper table or the breakfast table when people say, “Come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. I was sitting at breakfast a few weeks ago with our girls and I asked them to imagine this prayer and who we are inviting in to sit with us right there at the breakfast table. Gracia asked where his plate and fork were. Faith said doesn't Jesus need a waffle. Jesus says he's there. Jesus the risen one. Jesus the one with holes in his hands and feet from where the spikes pierced him and a whole in his side where the sword went in. Jesus the risen one is right there in the middle of our everyday lives. Where two are three are gathered in his name he's right there.

Human beings, over the centuries, have made some enormous lists of the people and things they believe are required in order to have church and be church. But when I hear Jesus words at the end of our Gospel today and everything that I'd ever heard about all the people required to have a church or the special things that people were supposed to do went out the window.

On my internship I was 30 miles form a town devastated by a tornado. Two church buildings were destroyed. Another had only one standing wall and another was damaged, but still usable. The things we humans might look to and thing of that define a church were gone, but these two congregations were still church. The music was gone, the organ, the altar, the pews, the stained glass, the art. All of it was gone. But they were still church. They were still church a body of people gathered in Jesus name around the Word of God, bread, wine, and the water of Baptism.

We think that we need all kinds of extra things; but for those two congregations what mattered was being alive together. They were grateful to know that the other members of the church were still there. Homes were gone, farms were gone, the school was wiped off the map, businesses were destroyed; but they were still church together gathering in Jesus name.

Today, Rally Sunday, when we rededicate ourselves to worship and to children's ministry is a great day to remember that the church, at its core, starts small, with 2 or 3 gathered in Jesus name.

Church life starts with relationships. (Matthew 22:35-40 NIV)

an expert in the law, tested [Jesus] with this question: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In the first commandment God invites us into relationship with himself. Jesus taught that the second most important thing in this life are relationships with other people. Now the church is one place in our culture where people deal with one another. We live in a world of personal space and cocoons. We live in a world where we can be alone right in the middle of a big city. The church is uniquwe in our world because everyone regardless of age or status can be present in a church. Everyone—young or old—rich or poor—can be part of the church.

The TV lately has been full of election year rhetoric. One group tries to talk about another. One group labels another. There's no conversation. There's just opinion verses opinion. But if you watch Hardball or any other political talk show you aren't seeing Christian community. Jesus doesn't want us to search for ups or downs ins or outs. Jesus invites to think like family. He doesn't want us just to win arguments. He wants us to be church.

Jesus words in Matthew 18:15-17 are instructions for human beings trying to relate to one another in the church that we see on this earth. Some times we do well listening to one another. We live side by side as brothers and sisters. Other times we do terribly. We all have had times when we had a failure to communicate with one another.

Jesus invites us to meet each other face to face. He calls us to name the times we've been wronged. We are not to seek revenge; rather we should seek the ear of the neighbor who has wronged us. It's a painful time in ministry and fellowship when you turn to a brother or sister and tell them they've hurt you or let you down.

Jesus invites his followers not to seek a way to kick another out of fellowship but to restore them to fellowship first. Some will seek forgiveness. Some will grow enraged that they would be confronted. Some will just walk away facing the painful truth of what they have done. Its deeply painful, if you're the one who has been asked to sit down and listen as another shares their grievance with you. It's hard to listen but it your chance to be restored.

Bound together.
Jesus' words about casting someone out of fellowship are haunting. We are to treat the former member as a tax collector and sinner. We are to bind and lose them as members not only of a local church; but as part of the unseen mystical body of Christ. These words are not only about binding and releasing sin, they are about binding and releasing brothers and sisters.

We underestimate the organic and relational nature of the church. The church is Christ's body made up of living breathing believers called together by the Holy Spirit. We gather around the Word of God, water, bread, and wine. The Holy Spirit, people, and these 4 basic elements make up the true church. The church is not buildings or budgets. Pastors serving in established congregations might have buildings or budgets; but they are not and will never be the truly constitutive elements of the church.

The church will never be constrained by physical or monetary limits. Jesus is present when a few, maybe 2 or 3 people, gather in His name. We need no building or money. We need faith, hope, love: Gifts of the Spirit binding us together around the Word and Sacraments.

2008-08-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

The story of Joseph and his brothers from Genesis tells a deep truth about every person. You can't tell what's in the heart. Maybe you know the story. Joseph's brothers were jealous, their father loved him more, and they got even with him. They sold him into slavery. They told their younger brother Joseph was dead. And they went on with their lives not worried about what would happen to Joseph. Times weren't easy for Joseph. He spent years in slavery in Egypt; he ended up in prison. But finally after years Joseph ended up in serving in the house of the Pharoah.

After many years later the tables were turned. Joseph was in a position of power and his brothers who'd sold him came looking for help. They came to Egypt seeking help. He recognized them; but they didn't know it was Joseph. He finally revealed his identity and they brought their elderly father.

When their father died Joseph's brother's were in deep fear. They'd been cared for by their brother as long as their father was alive; but now fear crept in. They worried because they feared what they didn't and couldn't know. What was in Joseph's heart. Would their brother still hold a grudge and now after their father was gone would he get justice. Joseph replied to his brothers not just with words but with action. What they'd meant for evil God had used for good. Now Joseph's heart was clear. He didn't turn his brothers out. He brought them closer in to himself.

The human heart heart is hard to pin down; its a lot like human faith in God. People of faith walk a fine line between what's seen and what's unseen. It's kind of like an old joke I found online about a preacher who was working on his sermon at home.

His son was watching him work hard trying to write a sermon.

"How do you know what to say?" he asked.

"Why, God tells me."

"Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?"

We Christians are always trying to balance God's will with our own, our hearts and minds with God's heart and God's mind. We try and often fail to understand where God is calling us. Jesus has always had a powerful way of cutting through everything and getting beneath people's facades to see what's really inside of us. We have lots on the surface that we think matters. But Jesus is more concerned with your heart and your faith than how good you might appear to be or how religious you might act.

Listening to Jesus interaction with the Pharisees and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 14 allows us, 2000 years later, to hear the presumptions of power or weakness that existed in Jesus' day in Judah and to hear Jesus getting the heart of each person.

The Pharisees assumed they held a unique position in Judah. They were close to God because they followed the law completely and dedicated their lives to following God as the law and tradition revealed. They questioned Jesus from this position of power,

“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” Matthew 15:2 NRSV

Jesus responded to their questions naming their own broken laws. They assumed they were always faithful to God through but Jesus turned the law toward them...

... God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. ⁶So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. Matthew 15:4-6 NRSV

Jesus words went to the very center of their lives and faith. Outwardly following the law was everything for them. But Jesus' would hear it. He used a different standard; what's inside the heart to judge a person. And now turning toward the whole crowd he challenged the Pharisees again. His disciples could tell that the Pharisees were offended. Jesus wasn't deterred by their offense. The unseen human heart is what matters. You can see what a person does, but you can never see what's inside of a human heart.

A new world view begins. In the old world view shaped by law ritual purity mattered; for Jesus purity of heart matters. In the old world view the appearances that other humans saw mattered; in Jesus world view the intentions that God sees matter. Jesus did not end the law; rather he put everything into a different perspective.

The Canaanite Woman presumed no position of privilege in her interaction with Jesus. She just believed he could release her daughter from demons; she begged for help. Jesus was silent. The disciples wanted to shoo her away. He answered her requests and not theirs, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24 NRSV The desperate mother kept begging. She was pushing Jesus begging him to reach out.

He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15:26-28 NRSV

Jesus words about dogs and the children's food stun us. But she was not about to stop. She believed Jesus could heal her daughter. She was ready to hold on in faith trusting that he had the power to set her, body and soul, free. Martin Luther compared her to Jacob wrestling in the night in Genesis 32.

In this manner God is conquered when faith does not leave off, is not wearied, and does not cease but presses and urges on. So it makes its appearance in the Canaanite woman, with whom Jesus was wrestling when He said: “You are a dog, the bread of the sons does not belong to you” (cf. Matt. 15:26). The woman did not yield here but offered opposition, saying: “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” And so she was victorious and heard the excellent word of praise: “O woman, great is your faith!”
Such examples teach us that faith should not yield or cease urging or pressing on even when it is already feeling God’s wrath and not only death and sin. This is the power and strength of the Spirit. Luther's Works, Vol. 6 : Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 31-37, Vol 6:139 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1970).

Jesus boldly invites us to hold on in faith. Now the outsider is truly the model for all people who are distant from God. She teaches us to hold on. She teaches us that the appearance doesn't matter to God, but the faith and the heart count for everything.

Pentecost 12 A Wrestilng in Deserted places Genesis 31, Matthew 14

2008-08-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

We've got 2 great stories from our reading to talk about today. 1 night and 1 day when God intervened directly in people's lives.

God's there in our first story in Genesis and in our second story from Matthew. God's found right in the middle of human affairs and human events.

We start this first story about a man named Jacob who wrestled in the night by remembering his family tree...

Abraham and Sarah

Isaac and Rebecca

Esau and Jacob twin brothers

Jacob was coming home. He'd run away from his brother years before. Now he was on his way to meet and hopefully reconcile with his brother. Many year earlier he'd stolen his brother's blessing from their aged father. Jacob's brother Esau was so enraged that Jacob ran for his life to another country to stay with his uncle Laban. While he was there he work for his uncle for 14 years, taking Laban's two girls as his wives, and growing prosperous.

After many years with Laban he returned hoping to the land promised to Abraham and Sarah as their future homeland to reconcile with Esau. In the night he left his family on one side of the River Jabbock while he stayed alone on the other side. Some guess he sent his family first to meet his brother and make peace for him.

That night, while Jacob was alone, a mysterious individual came and wrestled with him through the night. Neither one would let go. Both kept on striving to win giving no ground through the whole night. As light grew in the sky the unnamed wrestler struck Jacob's hip putting it out of joint. Jacob still refused to let him go.

... he said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.”

Jacob said, “I will let you go if you will bless me.”

²⁷The man said to him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, “Jacob.”

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel This name means “he wrestles with God.” because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won.”

²⁹Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”

But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.

³⁰ So Jacob named that place Peniel This name means “the face of God.”saying, “I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved.”³¹Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place, and Jacob was limping because of his leg. Genesis 32:26-31 NCV.

Scholars have debated for years if Jacob's opponent was an angle or the very divine being. Jacob was a strong man who simply wouldn't let go of his opponent in this fight. Looking back at the story its seems pretty clear that Jacob could have been flattened if his opponent wanted to do it. But his opponent had to allowed him to wrestle all night long. This powerful other who could have laid him out flat; but he didn't, Jacob was allowed to hold on and struggle all night long.

Anyone who's wrestled in their faith can tell you its not easy; but they can also tell you that they weren't crushed as they wrestled. Jacob might have been in what seemed like the struggle of his life that night. He kept on refusing to let go not even knowing the name of the one he held onto through the night.

Jacob's not alone in wrestling in the night unsure even of the name of the one he's wrestling against. There are many women and men who've stayed up late in the night wrestling in prayer trying to understand God's will and God's calling for their lives. There are many who wrestle within themselves looking for certainty and not finding it. Wrestling is part of authentic faith, Jacob struggled not wanting to let go. Faith for all of us means holding on to God's promises no matter what; faith is believing and holding onto the promises of God even when it might seem that the promises don't count anymore.

A lot of guys can probably remember wrestling over a football at lunchtime on the grass in 6^th or 7^th grade. Maybe you remember the way the knees on your pants turned green from being dragged as you just held on refusing to let go even if the other person would just keep on dragging you trying to move forward. Jacob was wrestling physically and spiritually that night. He left with an injured hip as the final proof that his spiritual wrestling was real and true.

Sometimes we underestimate spiritual challenges. But they're just as real as our physical challenges. Jacob walked away from his night of wrestling with an injured hip, changed by the experience, we walk away changed too within our bodies and spirits from wrestling in the night in prayer.

Jesus knew something about wrestling too. Jesus was looking for a place to be alone, a place to pray and seek comfort from God. Tings were going very badly for Jesus. He'd been rejected in his hometown (Matthew 13:53-58) His cousin and forerunner John the Baptist was beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12). Now he wanted to find place to be alone.

Jesus had gone away from the crowds looking for a quiet place. Jesus had good reasons to look for a quiet place. There's a spot along Lake Galilee where nothing grows and no animals can be grazed. That's where Jesus was going, a deserted place, a place with hard inhospitable volcanic soil that's unfit to grow anything.

Jesus was looking for quiet; but the crowds came looking for him. Someone spotted his boat out on the water and started on foot knowing, because the lake wasn't so far across, from east to west, exactly where he'd gone.

Everyone in the crowd had their own reason to come looking for him. Some came believing Jesus would heal, some came wondering what he would teach, some came hoping they could meet him and hear him, some came just because their parents said they should come. Some came seeking revolution and Jesus taught the crowd who'd gathered out in that deserted place for some time. There's no mention in Matthew about what he taught, just that he taught for some time that day.

As the day passed the disciples started worrying about food for the crowd. Jesus replied to their worries, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (Matthew 14:16 NIV) They were flummoxed naming what little they had. We can say the same things in our daily ministry. We don't have enough money, time, people, knowledge, experience, patience, will, or strength. Jesus replied to the disciples doubts instructing them to go ahead and pass out the food to everyone. Craig S. Keener observed,

God is not intimidated by the magnitude of our problem. The disciples saw the size of the need and the littleness of the human resources available; Jesus saw the size of the need and the greatness of God's resources available. Often God calls us to do tasks for him that are technically impossible-barring a miracle. IVP NT Commentary Series Matthews

Jesus miracle didn't start with human faith. It started with the power of God to create and to keep on creating. Jesus' power alone was enough to feed thousands. The disciples faith wasn't needed; but God will to make it happen was. There are plenty of times in the church when we would be wise to remember that Jesus' strength was revealed often in the Gospels when things were going from bad to worse.

God's involved in ordinary everyday life just as much as he is involved in the miracles that catch all of us by surprise. God provides for us. Sometimes its as blatant as 5 loaves and two fish turning into a meal for thousands with baskets full left over to spare. Sometimes the miracle is hidden within creation.

Everett Cook, a retired Pentecostal minister running a street mission, confronted an associate who had a growth on his nose but refused to see a doctor. "God will heal me," the man insisted.

"If you needed a miracle, God would give you one," Everett retorted, "but right now he's given you a doctor and medical insurance. You need to use what he's given you."

The next time they met the man's growth was much bigger, but the man still insisted, "I am healed." The third time they met the growth had spread further, and finally the man was thinking that perhaps he needed to see a doctor.

God performed a miracle when he created the world and set its laws in motion, and we are often wise to start with natural means when those are available. God performs miracles to meet our genuine needs, but he will not perform them merely to entertain us. IVP Matthew Commentary.

People still come to church looking for Jesus.

We are Christ's body after all. We are the place where his Word is preached, we are the people who wrestle trying to understand God's will and trusting that we are walking in his ways even if we can see him.

People come looking for a chance to meet God and looking for a place to belong. People come looking to be changed looking to meet the very God alive in our world. Thank God he comes just as he promised in bread and wine right into our midst.

Pentecost 11 A Parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13

2008-08-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Over the last two weeks the Gospel readings have included some of Jesus' parables.

This week we have five more of Jesus parables to listen to and read over and over. Jesus is inviting us to imagine the kingdom of God through his words. As we listen our imagination catch glimpses of something majestic and awe inspiring that may not see everyday; but that is just as real even if we don't perceive it.

A little over a week ago our family was driving back to a motel in Hot Springs South Dakota after seeing the night lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore. We thought that it was a neat way to end the day. But we were going to see something even more unexpected. As we drove through Cave of the Winds National Park the two cars, about a half mile in front of us on the highway, slowed way down almost, but not completely, stopping. I woke my bride up not sure what was going on and put on the breaks myself. As she looked ahead she spotted a buffalo on the right side of the road next to one of the other cars. It was big and dark, and just as we prepared to pass by the first buffalo we looked to the left and saw two others silhouetted in the moonlight on a small ridge just a few feet from the road.

It was a once in a lifetime glimpse into the majesty of the prairie and great herds of buffalo who roamed there freely years ago. I wish now that we'd had our camera ready to get that once in a lifetime shot of two buffalo silhouetted by the full moon.

We came back through the same way the next day and got pictures in the daylight of buffalo in the very same field where we'd seen them the night before, but it was not the same at all this time. We had a glimpse of something majestic, and now in the day light it all seemed different. The buffalo were still huge and wild, but that moment of awe was gone.

Jesus words to the crowd gathered by Lake Galilee were an invitation to imagine the Kingdom of God. He talked plainly about the kingdom of God and comparing it to everyday ordinary mustard and yeast. Jesus told his listeners what the kingdom of God is like in his own terms. The crowds glimpsed the kingdom through his words. He didn't tell us the physical dimensions of God's kingdom; he told us it can start small like a mustard seeds. He didn't tell us the reach of God's kingdom he compared it to yeast's ability to transform flour and water from paste into bread. Mustard seeds are tiny; but Jesus said likened one to the kingdom of God pointing out the way something so small can grow into something so substantial and life giving.

Jesus talked about yeast's power to transform flour into risen dough for bread. When yeast is added to water and flour the basic ingredients are transformed into something more.

People yearn for moments of awe and wonder. We're spiritual beings who hunger for spiritual experiences. Real faith starts small and grows. We mistake faith for moments of awe and wonder. Faith's not chills running up and down the spine. Faith is believing that God can do what he says. In Matthew 13 Jesus revealed glimpses of God's Kingdom in the poetry of metaphors. He used words that we know are true because we believe. 2000 years later Jesus' words still start faithful imaginations running, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed..." "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast..."

Matthew 13 is really two different sets of parables. The first parables were spoken to a great crowd who came to visit him by the shores of Lake Galilee. The crowd was so great he went out a little way off shore in a boat to speak to them all.

Isaiah 6:8-9

Jesus friends ask him why he spoke in parables and he pointed all of them to Isaiah 6:8-9 about stubborn minds who heard but didn't listen. Then he just went on teaching parables. Martin Luther said that the parables, “...are like pictures of a sort, which show things to ... people as though before their very eyes Martin Luther, vol. 26, Luther's Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4 26:433

The second set of Parables in Matthew 13 were spoken to the disciples behind closed doors. Some people say that Matthew chose these parables of Jesus for his Gospel as words of comfort and hope for the early church who faced turmoil and persecution.

Many commentators believe that Matthew wrote for believers who lived in a painful no mans land as members of the first century church. They were not accepted as Jews and they were not accepted as Romans or Greeks. They were on the outside and still they clung to their faith. I believe Matthew put Jesus words together reminding the early church just how much they mattered to God and just how valuable their faith was not only for them individually but for every member of the church.

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Imagine hearing these words if you've been forced out of your home and kick out of your family because you believe in Jesus Christ. Imagine the promise of treasure beyond any other for a believer who'd given up everything because they now believed that Jesus was the risen Lord.

⁴⁵“ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Jesus knows what's in out hearts and minds. He knows what we value. He knows that we care about money and stuff and now he invites us to consider an earthly possession of great value, a pearl of great price, that would be worth the some total of everything else that we ever had or ever would have. Jesus didn't say this to the crowd; instead he spoke to his friends who would one day risk everything to share the Good News at the ends of the known world.

⁴⁷“ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus spoke these words to believers who would risk everything for his sake sharing the Good News that Jesus had died, risen, and that he would come again. He spoke these words inviting them to imagine the kingdom and those who would be inside and those who would be outside. He start simple, with every things, but his words invite us to see heaven and earth, paradise and hell not in our own terms but in terms that we can barely begin to imagine.

For 2000 years believers have pondered these stories. We've examined facet after facet of the God's kingdom. We look at these stories with wonder and fear as we glimpse our place in Jesus' kingdom through faith.

Pentecost 4a June 8, 2008

2008-06-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

I owe thanks to Nancy in Belize for some wise help with this sermon.

Jesus had a mission. Matthew makes that abundantly clear; Jesus taught, healed, died, and rose because he was on a mission. Matthew's Gospel concludes as Jesus sent his followers out to all nations with a mission based in his own.

Our first reading about Abram introduces us to God's call from day one as a people of faith to go out in trust on a mission.

5000 years ago the call was to go

leave behind the things you know

trust

have faith

2000 years ago Jesus came with a mission and he called his followers to join. Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now Jesus invites us to join him in mission.

Jesus mission of healing meant calling all people back to God including "those people" who the religious would call "sinners." Jesus' mission lead him beyond preaching to the spiritually healthy. He came to heal broken spirits and broken bodies. Jesus ate with the tax collectors, traitors who would shake down their own people to help out the Romans. Jesus ate with publicly known sinners who couldn't hide their shameful actions any longer. When they asked why he replied,

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13.

Jesus had a mission that led him beyond acceptable company. He went to the hurting and sometimes the hurting came to sit with him. If everything is fine, you don't need him, but if you are hurting you can reach for him and be made whole in him again.

So who is at Jesus' table?

The sinners were part of Jesus company. They wanted to be near him. They were part of the crowd who left everything behind to follow Jesus and his friends. These were prostitutes, traitorous tax collectors and others. The “...sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him." Mark 2:15

Jesus mission was to heal. He healed a broken girls body and he healed sick mens' souls. He healed in unexpected places focusing on the health of each person as a whole being. He even healed when a woman suffering from a hemorrhage reached out to touch him. We can debate what caused her suffering. Was it a simple problem that modern medicine could resolve; we don't know. But we know she was hurting and she reached out to Jesus and found healing. Jesus mission led him to meet the contagious, the long suffering, and outraged those who believed they we healthy enough to judge others. Jesus' mission sent him to those people over there who no body else would touch. Jesus' mission led him out of comfort further and further from God.

"The church" has its moments where we try to decide who is in and who is out. But Jesus challenges us. Don't stop her, don't stop him; let them come to me if they are hurting. Jesus was a sinner magnet (thanks Nancy in Belize). He had something that everyone wanted. He came to heal. He knew his mission; he came for the healing of the world. And people in need were drawn to him hoping just to touch him and be healed

Mission is a commonly used phrase in churches today. We have missionaries, we are called to mission work, we have home missions and international missions. A friend said that, "Everything is about mission in the church these days." The challenge is to keep our mission, our work, in line with Christ's mission. We cannot force Christ to do what we would like rather we must shape our lives around his ministry and mission.

The Pharisees didn't like Jesus expanding fellowship. But he had a mission independent of their opinions and authorization. We can't stop Jesus mission; but if we jump on board with him we can and will see healing happen in our own lives and in others.

One woman knew Jesus power and reached out just to grab his garment. One woman wanted that badly to be healed. And she was made whole.

Pentecost Sunday Year A May 11 2008

2008-05-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Corinth trying to help them understand how to be church together. They were debating who was in and out of the church. Paul saw a church that was much bigger than one congregation in one town. He wrote inviting them to see the church as so much bigger than just one person or group of people. We don't choose who is in and out of the church, the Holy Spirit is the one behind the whole church calling, gathering, sanctifying, and enlightening. Paul challenged the Corinthians,

I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 12:3-14 NRSV

What makes a church isn't our human presence alone; what makes a church is Jesus' presence through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul understood this 2000 years ago. And he looked at the church way back then he saw that the Spirit working in very real ways in the church. Why the Holy Spirit works is mysterious; but looking around me today I can see how the Spirit of the Living God is at work the lives of so many lives in this room.

Paul said it this way

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

¹²For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.¹⁴Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many 1 Cor 12:4-14 NRSV

The Holy Spirit is the very real presence of God alive and at work in our world. But if the Holy Spirit doesn't show up in the church we're sunk. In the book of Genesis there's this one story about a city called Babbel.

Eugene Peterson told the story this way in the Message. Genesis 11:1-9. "God Turned Their Language into 'Babble'"

1-2 At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.

3 They said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and fire them well." They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.

4 Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."

5 God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.

6-9 God took one look and said, "One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they'll come up with next—they'll stop at nothing! Come, we'll go down and garble their speech so they won't understand each other." Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That's how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into "babble." From there God scattered them all over the world.

The Holy Spirit is the very real presence of God alive and at work in our world. When the Spirit enters into the church nothing: not sin, not death, not the devil can block God from entering into and transforming every corner of our lives. Our readings this Sunday tell us two distinct occasions when the Spirit came into believers' lives. There are many more stories that could be told about the work of the Holy Spirit both in Scripture and in our own lives; but these two stories speak volumes for all of us about what God is doing.

Jesus is up to something big by passing the Holy Spirit on to us; but there's more to this gift than might be first expected. God's Spirit isn't given in a neatly wrapped package (with gift receipt) at one point or time in history and that's it.

The risen Jesus breathed out and told his friends receive the Holy Spirit. They gathered in a locked room fearing the same people who had killed Jesus. They'd heard the first reports of the resurrection and still feared for their lives. Jesus came and stood among them breathing out and telling them "peace be with you" and "receive the holy spirit (John 20).
The Spirit was seen as fire in tongues on the Apostles' heads in Jerusalem. The believers gathered together in Jerusalem praying and praising God together. Beyond human explanation they began to speak, each one in their own native tongue, and understand one another regardless of where they came from or what language they spoke (Acts 2).

God's on the loose. We can impose no limits on where the Spirit moves in flame, breath, wind, or whatever other form God might choose. One of the most profound mistakes that the church can make is getting in the way of the Holy Spirit. 500 years ago a man named Martin Luther stood at a spiritual crossroad. He was a priest ordained to serve in the church, but he was deeply unsettled in his spirit. What he understood is that God works freely; we make rules and God doesn't care. We set limits based in our attempts to control God and God isn't going to stop moving and changing and challenging.

In Religion After 2000 Andrew Greeley offers a helpful challenge to the church asking two questions that are great for Pentecost.

Why, I wonder, are we so afraid of mystery?

Or to put it another way why are so eager to budget the Holy Spirit's time for Her when on the record She is determined to blow whither she will?

The gift of the Spirit is a promise of future relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God comes to this relationship freely and unfettered by our judgments and ideas about what God can or can't do. Jesus' gift of the Spirit is a mystery that we don't solve or resolve; instead the Spirit is the very real presence of God meeting us together with God's Word over and over. The Holy Spirit meets us not as we humans would choose; but as God would choose. The Spirit comes freely to comfort, chastise, enliven, and move us.

Jesus is giving away a part of the divine self in Pentecost. What happens at Pentecost isn't the grand finale; God's promises to be with us from here on into the future; and as we go into whatever future might be in store we know that we don't go alone.

Jesus what comes next John 17:1-26

2008-05-04T10:10:00.001-07:00

Jesus, what comes next?

Its a great question to ask in our prayers today, Jesus what's next? And as we ask the question what's next its good to remember all that Jesus has done for us and has asked God the father to do for us.

Our Gospel reading today from, John 17, retells Jesus' prayer from the night before he died. Its a chance in one rare moment to listen in to the conversation between God the Son and God the Father. Jesus had just finished supper. And as they sat back after eating Jesus started in on a great discourse with his friends. Jesus words were the words of someone with inside knowledge about the Kingdom of heaven and the will of God the father

Jesus spoke words of comfort to his friends, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me." (John 14:1) And as he comforted them Jesus offered insight into his reason for ministry and what he was leading his friends toward, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) We can debate for years just what this means; and still we'll never figure it out. Jesus was peeling back layer of mystery unveiling still more mysteries about himself and God, "I am in the father and the Father is in me" (John 14:10) and he even explained his friends place in salvation telling them they are the branches and he is "... the true vine" (John 15:1).

As he finished speaking Jesus he looked up to heaven. He spoke to the Father with his friends listening in as he prayed. We listened in to the prayer a few minutes ago ourselves. If you want to read on go ahead. Jesus spoke of what he'd done, said, and taught. He named the dangers we face, even the world's rejection his teaching. Jesus asked that...

he might return to the Glory he shared with the Father before the world was made (John 17:4)

his followers be protected through the power of the Father's Holy Name (John 17:11)
we might be one as he and the Father are one (John 17:11)
we have his joy in us (John 17:13)
we not be taken out of the world but that we be protected from the Evil One (John 17:15)
we be ready to serve God in truth (John 17:17)
others might believe through the teaching of his followers (John 17:20)
we be one so that the world can come to know the Father(John 17:21-23)
we might be with him and see his glory (John 17:24)

Jesus spoke directly to God the Father asking for help for our sake. Listening in reminds us of all God's help is needed to live out our faith every day. We need the Father's protection, unity, joy, hope, truth, teachings, and love to make it. And that's exactly what Jesus asked the father to give us. These great gifts don't grow from with in us; instead Jesus asks that the father bless us with these gifts. We might try to fake it pretending that we have it all together; but all these gifts come not from with in; but from God who gives them freely.

After praying, the Gospel of John tells that, Jesus' next stop was the garden across the Kidron Valley where he would be arrested. This prayer, the night before Jesus died, gives us a moment both of deep insight into the relationship between Jesus and the Father and into all that Jesus asked for us.

So what's next? 2000 years ago it was the cross and then Easter. And even int eh joy of Easter Jesus friends still didn't know what God was going to do next. We heard about it in our first reading today about Jesus' friends looking up to heaven afterhe had been taken up into the clouds.

And the angel looked at them and said, “ They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go.” Acts 1:11 NCV

What's next is living in God's amazing grace until Jesus return. What's next is trusting in the Word made flesh and knowing that he died and rose and will come again. Peter says, Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Remember friends that we don't go into this world alone. The Holy Spirit comes with to move us and to guide us. We need the Father's protection, unity, joy, hope, truth, teachings, and love to make it. And that's exactly what Jesus asked the father to give us. So what's next? I'm really not sure. I pray thy will be done and still haven't received a clear road map. But I trust that God will use each of us.

AMEN

Thomas Sunday John 20:19-31

2008-03-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

Every year, the week after Easter, many churches like ours (which use the Revised Common Lectionary) traditionally read this one story from John's Gospel about Jesus' friend, Thomas. And year after year seminarians, retired pastors, and associate pastors stand up to talk about their belief and unbelief. But the real story isn't about us at all. Its about Jesus breaking into our our stories.

Jesus broke into Thomas' life in an amazing. Maybe this story is so familiar that you don't pay attention to it. I find it hard not to relate to him more and more over time. Its too easy to accuse Thomas of doing something wrong by admitting his doubts. We could beat him up, but real faith involves doubts and outright disbelief in the face of fear and uncertainty. Real faith involves trust in God who we haven't seen but who calls all who believed and haven't seen blessed.

The thing about this story that gets my attention is the emotion that's wrapped up tight with the faith. There's fear, joy, doubt, and hope in this one story.

Fear is real in this story; just like it is our lives.

Jesus' closet friends had seen him dead and buried on Friday. On Sunday morning they'd heard reports from some of the women who'd followed Jesus that he was risen. Peter and another went to check out the tomb and they believed when they stepped in and saw the grave clothes just lying there without a body.

Still, even after these two had seen the empty tomb and after the other 8 heard the Good News, they were so afraid that they locked themselves in when they met together. They feared that the same people, the leaders of their own people, who had killed Jesus, might somehow step in and discover them meeting together and want to kill them too. Even after the 10 met Jesus face to face and heard his greeting of peace they still had the door barred when they met together.

Fear is basic to every human being. It's one of our involuntary reactions to life. We hear a the deep bark of a dog behind us and we fear. We see someone driving fast right towards us and we jump back in fear. Fear isn't a choice; it's an emotion. Fear isn't rational or irrational; but I know one thing for sure; I could sense it walking one night last week. We heard a large dog bark deep. The girls jumped close to me, the dog's ears perked up and he turned back. I stopped in mid step to see what was coming at us. Fear is real.

I sense fear in all kinds of places. There's fear in my daughter who woke up in the night on Thursday as I was writing and called out daddy. She just wanted to be held. There's fear in our nation about economics and war and promises in this year of election. Some might argue that much of what we fear is irrational. But I know that there's fear in all of us whether its irrational or not. Its involuntary; but what we do needs to be product both of our fears and our best judgment.

At our most basic, as creatures, we fear. At our most basic respond to fear either by fighting or in fleeing whatever we're afraid off. Jesus understood this. God knows that he is dealing with people who can be overwhelmed by emotion. He didn't beat down his friends because of their fear. Instead Jesus came to them offering peace and the Holy Spirit in the middle of their fears. Jesus came and as they were fearful they rejoiced. God surprised us in Jesus not by taking away fear and doubt but by meeting us as we are with our fear and doubt.

Maybe, you'll say that your not afraid or that you have no doubts. I don't believe it. People of real faith wrestle with dark nights when the don't know God. Maybe you say that your not afraid of anything. In one of my favorite scenes in Empire Strikes Back a young pilot named Luke Skywalker is talking to an old master, Yoda. The young pilot tells the old master, “I'm not afraid.” And the old master replies, “You will be, You will be.”

Joy is real in this story and in our lives.

Joy in this story came in meeting Jesus. Joy comes from seeing God at work. It comes from meeting him whenever and wherever he chooses to reveal himself.

Ten of Jesus' friends had seen Jesus killed. They had seen Jesus wounded and then they saw him alive. They knew it was him; they knew it was their teacher that they followed for 3 years because they'd seen him and heard him. They rejoiced to be with him. It was a great reunion. Only problem is that Thomas wasn't there to see him

Doubt is real in this story just like it is our lives.

The ten who rejoiced when they met Jesus told Thomas that he was alive.

Their friend responded,

"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

When they met together again Thomas was there. The door was locked once again; fear is real and it paralyzes. Jesus is just as real as the fear and the doubt. The Good News comes to us not in our own heads or hearts. It comes to us in the flesh and blood person who died and who rose and who came to find his friends and to speak a word of peace to them.

It's too easy to beat up on Thomas and doubters. But I believe Thomas was using the brain that God gave him to make choices and to sort through what he'd seen for himself and what he'd heard from his friends. Garrison Keillor wrote.

Skepticism is a stimulant, not to be repressed. It is an antidote to smugness and the great glow of satisfaction one gains from being right. You know the self-righteous -- I've been one myself -- the little extra topspin they put on the truth, their ostentatious modesty, the pleasure they take in being beautifully modulated and cool and correct when others are falling apart. Jesus was rougher on those people than He was on the adulterers and prostitutes.

Jesus came looking for Thomas. He came ready to find him and to meet him with a smile and a word of hope.

Hope is real in this story just as it is in our lives.

Hope doesn't always make sense. Its crazy, some say, to trust in a God we can't see. But if you've met Jesus you'd know that this isn't crazy at all. Its hope that gives us perspective in this world to know that God has more in store for us than just what we've seen. Being a believer is all about seeing the unseen; meeting the undead Jesus and walking with him through whatever might come your way.

Peter wrote about suffering as a reality in the life of believers; but he also wrote about the hope of an inheritance that waits for us in heaven. He said it's imperishable, that it won't spoil or fade away. Jesus comes for us whether we believe or not calling us to be his disciples.

Lent 4A March 2 2008 Eye opening Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

2008-02-28T21:16:00.000-08:00

The story that we just read is all about seeing. We all have different perspectives in life and we all have very real blind spots. John's gospel tells us this great story of a man who was born blind who gained sight. John 9:1-41 details Jesus' ministry to this one man. He and his disciples saw the man sitting. Jesus' disciples asked him a karmic sort of a question, "Who sinned, him or his parents that he was born blind. " There must have been some cause in their minds that would have made him blind. The world, it seems reasonable, works on cause and effect. If a person is blind there must be a cause. But Jesus didn't see a cause. Instead he saw in this man, and in all of us, a chance for the will of God to be made clear.

In John's story about Jesus healing a blind man everybody saw things very differently.

The disciples saw a man who couldn't see and asked, “why?” There must have been some cause in their minds.

Jesus saw a man born blind and saw the opportunity to help. Jesus probably shook his head saying, neither one. "He's blind so that God's work's might be revealed in him." Jesus made a paste with spit and dirt and put it on his eyes. Then he told the man to go wash in the pool. He opened the man's eyes.

The man's neighbors saw that he was healed and they started to debate if he was the same man they'd watched begging in the street year after year or if he was somebody else. Even his own relatives saw with their eyes that he was able to see but they just couldn't believe it. The man told them what happened, about Jesus and the mud of spit and dirt and washing in the pool of Siloam. They brought him to the religious officials.

Up until the opening of the eyes we might have argued that there was only one blind person who needed to be healed in this story. But as I listen to this story; and as I look at my own life and the world around me I see lots of people with working eyes who are blind and in need of a good eye opening like the kind that Jesus gave this man.

The teachers of the law kept asking this man born blind, who now could see, how it happened. He kept on telling them the same story and they kept asking how. Jesus made a paste and put it on my eyes. They debated amongst themselves if this was a miracle from God or from some other power. God says rest on the Sabbath, but this man was healed on the Sabbath. “Who can this man be if he would heal on the holy day?” Some saw signs that Jesus had power from god, some saw other dubious signs that Jesus was not of God but of some other power.

This man who could now see had heard enough of these people making such a fuss and he asked them, “Why do you keep asking to here about my healing, do you want to become Jesus' disciples?” The pharisees were mad now. “You might be his follower; but not us. We follow Moses and not this Jesus. We don't know where he's from.”

There's plenty of blindness to go around in this story. The man who could now see said back to the Pharisees “This is astonishing, I was blind, now I can see, you claim you don't know anything about him, but he was the one who opened my eyes. I know that God listens to those who do his will. If he hadn't been from God he would have been able to help me see. The pharisees and the scribes saw the situation very differently than this man and they kicked him out; they were blind to the power of God at work right around them.

The scribes and Pharisee's expressed their disbelief and disgust that they hadn't authorized such a healing; after all it was the Sabbath. Jesus didn't need their permission to heal and he doesn't need ours either to start making all things new right now. He came to do ministry. The time is right to jump in with him.

We all have blind-spots. Some of them are rather large; and others are quite small. Every driving adult knows about blind-spots. It's not just that spot in the corner of the car that you can't see in the mirrors, or even if you look over your shoulder. Blind-spots are often very close in which makes them all the more dangerous. I've spoken with people who've been in accidents. More than one has told me about hitting another car that they just didn't see. It's frightening to realize just how blind another driver can be to your presence. It's even more frightening to realize that I can be blind to the presence of another driver.

I heard a great story from a pretty regular traveler. He was waiting for a plane in a pretty large airport and a man dressed in a pilot's uniform came past wearing dark glasses and a walking with a seeing eye dog. He turned around and did a quick double take when he realized this man was headed toward his gate. Just as he was about to go ask for another flight he saw the pilot bring the dog to a woman with a white can waiting on the other side of the terminal.

There were absolutely no cars in Jesus day. But there were still plenty of blind spots. It's no different today. We've got lots of blind spots to worry about. It's very dangerous, for Christians, to live like we've got no blind spots. We've all got blind spots. We've all got limits to what we can see and what we don't. The man who was born blind probably had the easiest time admitting that he had blind-spots. It was obvious to everybody; he couldn't see. But there are other blind spots that are equally real even if they're not so immediately visible.

In our time we look for medical or clinical explanations behind blindness, hearing loss, or any other physical challenge or disease. We look to doctors, nurses, researches, lab worker and medical technologists to explain what's going wrong and to help us sort out some course of treatment to return us back to full health.

In Jesus day they didn't have MRI's, CTScan, or even x-rays. When they saw a person born blind they looked for a moral cause of the blindness. They asked him who sinned that this man was born blind; was it him or was it his parents. Jesus probably shook his head saying, “neither one.” Jesus didn't see the disease as the reason to be there a that moment, “He's blind so that God's work's might be revealed in him.”

There are lots of blind-spots in our world. Somebody recently said our congregation, and our denomination are "sinking ships." He asked me if I could see what's happening.

He points to demographics; I think he's right, it's time to pray as a church but not just for numbers it's time to pray for the enlivening eye opening work of the spirit. This brother in Christ pointed to the numerous studies (they can easily be found) to shore up his argument that our church, our Lutheran Church, is just a generation away from death. I say its time to turn to scripture and to start listening to Jesus and to start living like new life and resurrection are real. This brother in Christ pointed to a lack of people at a particular program; I told him that it's time to invite people just as Jesus did, "to come and see." I asked who he invited, sadly I already knew the answer; he'd invited "nobody."

Anxiety and fear are real. They overwhelm and paralyze and blind us. My brother and sister pastors tell me that we're in, "sinking ships"; I say listen to Paul and Jesus. Yes, we are sinking; but Jesus is not. We aren't the only ones with a mission and ministry, Jesus has a mission and ministry in our world.

We need to remember that God's mission is primary to any mission that we might have. He came to heal, preach, forgive, challenge, die, and finally to rise. When we know our part in that mission we catch fire. When we are disconnected from Jesus mission we go dim or worse yet sink in doubt and despair. Paul says that we aren't meant to lament, we are to be light,

"For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8-10, NRSV)

Jesus came into the world brining a new vision and a new hope. The old order of the world is broken. People live in sickness in spirit and body. We need all things to be made new. We need a savior. We need Jesus.

Jesus made a paste with spit and dirt and put it on blind man's eyes. Then he told the man to go wash in the pool. The man's eyes were opened. It doesn't matter what the world thinks or doesn't think about the church or Jesus. It matters that He opened the man's eyes and that he opens yours to see his love that is with you now and always.

Lent 1A Feb 10 2008

2008-02-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

The very first sentence in Matthew 4 has me really troubled. "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." Matthew 4:1 NIV If you were just following along in Matthew's Gospel you'd realize that this story of Jesus' temptation comes immediately after his baptism by John. I imagine Jesus coming out fresh from the water of the Jordan and the Spirit sending him out into the desert to be πειρασθη̂ναι ὑπὸ του̂ διαβόλου (tested/tempted by the Devil). The devil is even given the name πειράζων (tempter) in verse 3. Here in the beginning of his ministry Jesus is being tempted 3 times by the devil.

A very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country. "Is there anything breakable in here?" asked the postal clerk. "Only the Ten Commandments," answered the lady.

We live in an age when evil is real. We live in an age when the devil is at work in many situations trying to tear things apart through temptation. Above all else the Devil fears that we will be full of faith, hope, and love. The diabolical one is so very subtle in his efforts trying to pull us away from God and God's great gifts. Temptations are one of the devil's many tricks. He uses them all to tie us up and keep us from focusing on God's good and gracious will. Sometimes the Devil tempts us to do nothing. Sometimes the evil one finds us so convinced that we are right and our brother or sister is wrong that we refuse to do anything. The evil one is so crafty using either our actions or our inactions against us. Temptation is very real.

There are two very distinct times when I've found temptation to be most real. The first is in the low points. The Devil sought Jesus out in the desert at the end of a 40 day fast. He was sure to be hungry and the temptation of food alone would have been powerful for him. Jesus was alone here waiting to be tempted. The other time in our lives when we get tempted is when we think everything is going right. Jesus was at the height of the temple and he was offered all power if he would only bow down to the devil. The evil one has a habit of creeping in to the best earthly situations and sowing doubt, fear, and hate. Temptations are more that just physical actions that we take. We can even be tempted to turn away from God in many places.

As a kid I was taught to pray, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Maybe you were taught these very same words. When we pray like this we are asking God to keep us safe, right? We are asking God to protect us; but Matthew makes it clear that God left the avenue open for the diabolical one to come and tempt Jesus. So, you might ask, “what's going on here; why is God leaving the door open for temptations to come our way if they can be the opening that allows so much evil to come into our lives?”

There are some in our time who deny that evil even exists. There are others who insist that they have seen evil at work in the lives other people; but that it couldn't exist in their lives. The devil is real and crafty. He's always tugging at us and pulling at us.

An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his IRS agent and his lawyer, both church members, to come to his home. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the preacher held out his hands and motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The preacher grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling. For a time, no one said anything. Both the IRS agent and the attorney were touched and flattered that the old preacher would ask them to be with him during his final moment. They were also puzzled because the preacher had never given any indication that he particularly liked either one of them.

Finally, the lawyer asked, "Preacher, why did you ask the two of us to come?" The old preacher mustered up some strength, then said weakly, "Jesus died between two thieves, and that's how I want to go, too."

Martin Luther wrote about temptation and evil when he was explaining the Lord's Prayer 500 years ago in his Small Catechism, you can find this on page 1164 in the back of the red ELW.

And lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean?

God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins.

And we pray that even though we are so tempted we may still win the final victory.

Luther was clear. God is not the one who tempts us; but Luther leaves out any mention about God stopping or not stopping the Devil. God has never been the one to tempt any one of us. God isn't the one doing the tempting these days for any of us either. But the devil has plenty of advocates who will do the job for him; including me and you.

A pastor parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter. Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES." When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note. "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket, I'll lose my job. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION."

The reality of temptation is all too real these days. Watching the Super-Bowl adds this past weekend, with my old roommate Peter, I was reminded that God isn't the one to tempt us; quite the opposite, we are the one's who tempt each other. This was the first year I can remember paying attention the game more than the adds. The adds draw us in. They make us laugh and guess and even say, “what are they talking about?” Temptation works by drawing us in little by little. But you might say, “What could be evil about new cars, politicians, or a bunch of sales leads; or for that matter what's wrong with anything else that's advertised during a football game. Taken one at a time there's nothing wrong with new cars, politicians, or sales leads. But if we follow every temptation and the directions of every advertisement give us we'll find ourselves turning away from what's good and what's Holy.

We've got to remember that the devil revels in our efforts to tempt each other. The devil has been crafting ways to pull us apart for thousands of years and he's really gotten very good at what he does. He uses us as his diabolical advocates at any turn he can find. And he has no trouble finding opportunity after opportunity to break up what we would call good and holy. The promise of Christ in the cross isn't that we go through life un-tempted; rather the promise is that we will still have the final victory in Christ over all things: sin, death, and the devil.

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean?

We ask in this inclusive prayer that our heavenly Father would save us from every evil to body and soul, and at our last hour would mercifully take us from the troubles of this world to heaven.

Jesus promise is life. We are given choices in this earth and the evil one knows how to make the most of our choices. But God also has choices to make. He can turn away the evil not 1 time or 3 times. God is in the business of pushing the enemy back insuring that we are never out God's reach.

Paul put it this way,

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NRSV

Jesus is our hope and rock in the storm. He is the one to cling to. Call on him when you face temptation. Call on him when you meet evil. Keep it simple, “Jesus this is bigger than me.” or “Jesus help...” That's enough.

AMEN

Ash Wednesday Feb 6 2008 Matthew 6 & Galatians 1

2008-02-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Ash Wednesday is a solemn day in many churches. The human made traditions of Lent begin with a day of remembrance and awe. We come to church clean and leave smudged with ash. We hear these words as the ash is placed on our heads or hands, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." But right at the very same time we hear Jesus' own words about prayer, hypocrisy, and our true treasure as God's people not being on this earth but in heaven.

Jesus' word's about prayer and worship in Matthew open us all up to some real tough questions. Jesus told his hearers not to do anything just for public show. He told them to pray in secret and not to make a spectacle with their words, actions, or appearance. Even before day one of the church at Pentecost Jesus recognized the tension that we live in as his followers. We want to live in Christ; yet we struggle because we want some external sign, some evidence that we can show the whole world to let them know that we are in close with Jesus, that we are in tight with God. But we don't have an external sign for what's going on inside of human spirits, human heads, or human hearts. The ashes today might mean everything about your honoring God or they just might be a motion that you go through tonight. Still we know that our feelings and our decisions alone aren't ever enough to save us.

Even before the cross there was a real tension in Israel about who was in and who was out. Jesus went to the Samaritan people who lived right along side Israel but who were considered unworthy even though they worshiped the same God. He ate and drank with tax collectors, traitors, and prostitutes. He knew that the kingdom of God was bigger than just the people who acted holy. After his death Jesus' followers were sent out by the Spirit far beyond Israel. They met with Ethiopians, Greeks, Romans and many others spreading the message of Jesus to the world. We spread it today welcoming in young people who live in a post-Christian culture that doesn't know God. We spread the promise today not in some far away land, but right here and now in this space, in this town and wherever we work and play.

The Apostle Paul was one of the great missionaries of the early church. He traveled to many places talking about his own life changing experience of Jesus Christ. But he had been a prosecutor of the church first. Before he met Jesus he had been called Saul. He hated Christians. He was the one who held the coats of those who killed Steven. It was this very same man who Jesus gave a new name to: Paul. Jesus sent Paul out as an apostle. He went on many journeys telling about Jesus and visiting churches. He often sent letters to churches he had visited encouraging and challenging them as they learned to live out their faith together. Some of the churches he wrote to were in Galatia. Galatia was a tiny region in the western part of modern day Turkey. In known history this land has been home to the ancient Hittites, Celts, Romans, Greeks, Turks, and more.

It was in this land, where one of the earliest churches got its start, that one of the greatest debates of the early church happened. Paul intended to just pass through Galatia on his journey. But he ended up spending considerable time with them instead because he got sick. Rather than just passing through and talking about Jesus he was got to be a part of the new churches growth and seeing faith transform the people of Galatia into Jesus' followers. Many, if not most of the people in Galatia who came to follow Jesus were not Jews. They were among the first Christians not to come from a Jewish background.

Paul's health restored he traveled on from Galatia. The church he left was young and wrestled from day one, just like all Christians do, with how to best follow in the way of Christ Jesus. And Paul heard about their wrestling. They wanted to be followers of God. When he was there, Paul had told them the Good News. It's right there in the opening of his letter to the Galatians.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 NRSV

For Paul, for Martin Luther 1500 years later and for all of us today this Gospel, this good news is our hope and our freedom and our promise. Jesus gave himself for us. We are set free from our sins. There is nothing more to do but to live today in that freedom. This is the very promise that we cling to at every funeral, baptism, Good Friday, and above all every year at Easter. Jesus has died and he has risen. The bondage of death has been broken for all of us today; right now we are free.

I believe Paul left Galatia hopeful because this new church was experiencing the freedom that come in following and serving Jesus Christ. Paul ventured away from Galatia, but news came to him. The new church was struggling with old rules. Something new was happening the church in Galatia was starting to live under old laws of Moses and not in the new freedom.

The apostle sent a letter to the churches in Galatia that he knew and loved. It was not an easy letter to write. If you've ever had to confront and challenge someone in the church or in your own family you know that its not easy to be the one making these judgments. It can be especially tough when you are challenging people you love and care about as brothers and sister when they are close to you. I finished a letter just like this today. It was incredibly tough for me to write and very hard for the person who got it to receive, but I judged that I must speak at this time. I knew that I could no longer remain silent without eating up myself. Jesus warned us, “judge lest you be judge.” Certain times and circumstance call us not to be silent no more, but to stand up and live in the freedom of Christ: to sin boldly as Luther said to the early church. Sometimes we have to take risks and challenge each other. Even so knowing that We are called to action in it is still tough to be the one to challenge another. I know what it is to confront someone close by, still I can't imagine what it was like to write this letter to brothers and sisters at a distance.

Paul felt the same exact way when he wrote to the church in Galatia. He wrote bluntly not to be mean but to challenge his friends.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ . NRSV.

If you have ever received or written this kind of a letter you know the hard part of being in the body. We are here to support one another; but we are also here to be challenged and to challenge one another.

Our old friend, Gordy on the organ, says it so wonderfully about Zion, “We're in this together.” Paul felt the same way about the church. We are all in this together. We all need to be challenged and to challenge. Paul heard about the church in Galatia. He heard that these people who had never been Jews were being told that they had to take on all the old traditions of Judaism in order to be Christians. Paul was so very upset. He'd come to them promising freedom and now in place of freedom they were being told to follow the rules. He heard that they were choosing to follow rules and laws and he had to write to them. He couldn't be silent any longer. His own conscience wouldn't keep silent. Jesus death made the Galatians and all who believe in Jesus right with God, but they wanted to do something and to show something more for their efforts as proof. They'd heard about the old law and now they wanted to follow it.

Paul was hot. How could they give up freedom. How could they give up all these gifts. For what; for old rules about diet and circumcision. Oh he was so frustrated. He'd come and declared freedom and they'd taken on all these rules. He wrote to them from experience. He knew what it was like to follow the rules and to live as people told him. And he also knew freedom in Christ...

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. ¹⁴ I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. ¹⁵ But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles... Galatians 1:13-16 NRSV.

Sometimes the stakes are to great to sweep things under the rug. Paul knew what the freedom of a Christian meant for himself and the whole world. Paul wanted the church in Galatia to breath free. He wanted them to know Jesus love. But he knew that he could not be silent while they gave up the promise for another Gospel.

This same letter is for each of us today.

What is your freedom? Is it Christ?
What rules do you follow to be right with God?
- Love God and Love your neighbor as Jesus taught;
- or do you follow another set of rules

Paul talked about freedom that he knew first hand and he wanted everyone who believes to know that same freedom. We come today out of tradition for the ashes but God's word calls us to freedom. AMEN.

Epiphany 2a January 20 2007

2008-01-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

Slide 1: After John comes...

All four Gospels tell the story of John the Baptizer. John was the one sent to make way for Jesus. He had everything he needed for ministry living out in the wilderness. He had purpose, a voice, and enough knowledge of what God was doing to tell the world: get ready the Messiah's about to come.

‘ After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel. John 1:30-31 NRSV

Slide 2: Wilderness

John had none of the trappings of institutional religion; but he was ready for ministry. There was no Cathedral or church building out along side the Jordan River. He had no fancy title or degrees. There's no mention of a choir or band that accompanied him at the Jordan when he preached and baptized. He had none of that official stuff. Instead all he had was official suspicion. The king eventually had him arrested. Its obvious he wasn't endorsed or approved for ministry by King Herod or another earthly power. But John had divine purpose and drive; he had mission for God and that's exactly what it took to get him engaged in ministry out there in the wilderness.

Many other people were drawn in by John's message. Crowds came to hear him preach and to be baptized with water. It was surely one of the most moving times in the life of any one who came out to the Jordan for baptism. The crowds would come to let go, to repent. It was probably the most spiritually awake that many of them had ever felt; but most would eventually go back home again. A few stayed close. John's message drew them them in I'm certain they weren't attracted to his wardrobe, the camel skins were probably itchy and my guess is they smelled bad after a couple days. I can't imagine the the diet of locusts and wild honey would have been a real good selling point either.

Despite the challenges of living in the wilderness and calling for people to repent some followed John the Baptist as disciples. I imagine them coming from religious homes. They believed in God and wanted to follow him the very best they could. They were attracted to John and to his message. Leave behind every burden. Let go of all your sins and shames and come out of the villages, towns, and cities out to the wilderness and wade down in the water. Leave all the old stuff behind. Repent so that you'll be ready to meet God. Even Jesus came to meet John at the Jordan and the be baptized.

Slide 3: Agnus Dei

When Jesus was baptized John said he witnessed heaven open up above him. He saw the dove descend; he heard the voice call out, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 NIV) When John saw Jesus he called out, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John's disciples heard his proclamation. They knew John was unique among all men and now John was speaking about somebody else saying that this one man alone was the Lamb of God. They had followed John and sacrificed to live outside of society with him. And now John was pointing to Jesus and telling his disciples not once but twice that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

Slide 4

Two of John's disciples followed behind Jesus. They asked Jesus where he was staying and got an invitation,

³⁹“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

Jesus connected with Andrew 1 to 1 that day. And Andrew went and connected with his brother Simon. Our ministry is to help others meet and follow Christ as disciples 1 to 1 just as Andrew did, and just as Jesus had done for him.

Slide 5

John knew Jesus' reason for coming. He came to be God on earth and he came to be the lamb offered in sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus has all power as God and this same one is the lamb offered to take away the sin of the world. John the Baptist knew Jesus had this two fold mission. He knew it. For 2000 years Christians have been blessed to have this God who meets us both as lamb with feet tied ready for slaughter and as the victor who over comes death.

We imagine God based on our experiences and on what others have told us abut God. I've always different pictures of God in Jesus in my head. Reading about the lamb of God two images popped up. The first is of the lamb, innocent and bound ready for slaughter. This painting helps us imagine Jesus as the vulnerable one waiting to die. As you looked at the lamb remember that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who watches over his sheep. We come to know this God and trust that he stands beside us ready to defend us and guide us through this world into the next.

Slide 6: The Whole Story

Sometimes its hard to admit that we've got limited imaginations when it comes to God. Sometimes we think of Jesus who is bold and provides for our every need. Then we meet Jesus on the cross, a suffering servant the lamb sacrificed to take away our sins. To often we think of Jesus as either either as the suffering servant or as God all powerful. But the real Jesus is both. Te God of power but that Jesus is both always the lamb offered up for the sins of the world and the God with power to save. The great Swedish theologian Gustaf Aulén called Jesus Christus Victor. He spoke of Jesus first work as liberating us from all our struggles with sin, death, and the Devil. Jesus victory over death is the turning point when we see all the power of the universe that he controls. But in that same moment we recognize that he is the lamb with the bound feet offered up in our place.

Slide 7: In Christ you have been made rich in every way

The real Jesus strengthens us in all things including weakness. Paul spoke to the church in Corinth telling them that they had been enriched by Jesus, in every way. He told them

in Christ you have been made rich in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.⁶ Just as our witness about Christ has been guaranteed to you,⁷ so you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again.⁸Jesus will keep you strong until the end

The Holy Bible : New Century Version , Containing the Old and New Testaments., 1 Co 1:5. Dallas, TX: Word Bibles, 1991.

Slide 8: The whole story

Our promise as Christians is that we have God's every gift in Jesus Christ. We have the gift of the one who takes on evil in all its forms. We have the gift of Jesus who defeated death and who calls to us to follow him in this world and into the next because he is the victor. We also have the God who meets us face to face in the deepest and darkest places. He knows them. He's been there. John called out “Behold the Lamb of God.” He is Jesus the vanquished now victorious.

Epiphany Sunday Jan 6 2008 Matthew 2:1-12

2008-01-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

How many of you love Christmas?

How about new years? Maybe we should do a countdown, my girls really love to do this. 10, 9, 8..... happy new year For many people New Years is it. Watch a little football and Christmas is over. But in other cultures the story and the celebration of Christmas are considered incomplete without the full festivities to remember the day when the Magi arrived from the East to meet Jesus. Matthew's story is read in celebrations around the world. It's read widely on Epiphany.

In Latin America it is la Día de los Tres Reyes Magos.
In Eastern Europe it is a day for gift giving.
In North America churches and recent immigrants hold on to Epiphany as a day for celebration. Wal-mart and K-Mart and other national chains market to Hispanics and others who celebrate the arrival of the Magi.

The story has taken on a life of its own in each culture. But in our culture it doesn't seem to get very much attention beyond the church; that's all right because it gives us a real chance to get through the commercial baggage and celebrate the birth of the King.

Lets look at this story and see how it has taken on a life of its own beyond scripture. Look on at Matthew 2:1. How many Magi μάγοι came from the East following a star to visit the new born king of the Jews. Matthew doesn't say three he just says that astronomers came from the east. As a kid maybe you heard that they were named Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior. Matthew doesn't say anything about names but imaginations run fast with a story that's this good to tell.

The plot twists; their first stop in Judah wasn't to see Jesus. They met first with king Herod the man who had the title, king of the Jews. They came bearing gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, χρυσὸν καὶ λίβανον καὶ σμύρναν, to offer the new king of the Jews. Only after meeting Herod and agreeing to return and tell him about the one they found did they head on to meet the future king. Matthew says they fell down and worshiped him, πεσόντες προσεκύνησαν αὐτῳ̂.

Herod wanted the visitors from the East to come back and tell him when and more importantly where they met this would be king of the Jews. He said he wanted to go and worship. No he didn't Herod didn't want to bow down to Jesus or anyone. Herod wanted to eliminate this infant threat to his power. The Romans had granted him, Herod, the title King of the Jews and no one would take it from him. Herod was ready to cut off this threat to his reigh at the root. A angel came in a dream to the Magi telling them to stay away from Herod. They headed back in a different direction staying away from Herod. Joseph learned in a dream that he and his family were to leave Bethlehem to protect Jesus from Herod's wrath.

Artists have imagined the different scenes in the Christmas story for years. Matthew doesn't say the race, nationality, creed or even the number of those who came to meet Jesus and family. He says that they were Magi from the east who followed a star and he tells us what they brought. The possibilities for what we do with the rest of this story are wide open. Each of us can easily interpret this story and provide our answer to the question: Who would come to bow down and worship this child?

Elephant and an African

Horse and a European

Camel and an Asian

The whole world was represented by these kings who came to worship. But who else will come and worship this child born to be king.

This question is part of what drives me to be a pastor today. Many of you know that we have a real challenge is the church today; that's sharing Jesus story with an increasingly complex post-Christendom culture. In Christendom everyone was assumed to be part of the church. Everyone was assumed to know the basic story about who Jesus was and what it means to follow him. Years ago it was assumed that everyone had church family and that everyone, especially in a place like Minnesota that is so dominated by Lutherans and Catholics, had a church and a connection to Jesus.

We are engaged in a marketplace of ideas like never before

Our 7^th grader class, every year that I have been here as a pastor, have included many who come sent by parents for confirmation not even knowing the Lord's Prayer. Sometimes as many as 2 in 3 start out having attended church less than monthly.

Our 8^th graders, just this past week, invited 2 of their classmates who came to our Wednesday night worship service curious if they could come and be part of our church. If you've ever wondered how to be engaged in the post-Christendom world just look at our 7^th and 8^th graders because they are living in it every single day. Jesus came to be light and we are sent to carry that light just as they are doing into the world as it is.

Herod feared this infant. Those who love power more than other people always fear Jesus. In the story we find ourselves and others from different cultures worshiping the same God revealed in Jesus. Danger and darkness are real. Herod was ready to unleash death; but Jesus came to bring light and life. And this is our moment as church to share the light and life that he has brought to each of us.

Advent 4a Dec 23 2007

2007-12-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

Who's dream was it anyway?

Joseph was asleep and he did what people do in a deep sleep. He was dreaming.

A little while before he thought he knew what his dreams were and what was coming next in his life. He was engaged to marry a young woman named Mary. He most likely dreamed of having children, building a home, and getting on with life with her. Joseph's plans took a turn with the news that Mary was pregnant. He knew that the child wasn't his; and he chose to look away from his dreams involving her and start over in a new direction. Matthew said he was an honorable man who chose simply to let it be leaving her behind quietly rather than expose her to shame and possibly death by stoning for adultery. Its painful to loose a dream like Joseph; much of our identity is shaped by our hopes and dreams. Its tough to see those hopes and dreams fall away.

We've all got dreams. We've all got things we want to do and things we worry about in time and these things surface in our dreams. Christmas is a great time to talk about dreams. The dream that Mary had as she accepted Jesus. The dream that Joseph had, and the dreams that our kids have of toys and food and fun. As our lives change our dreams can be very different. I know from first hand experience that dreams of a little kid at Christmas are different from the dreams of a teenager and those dreams are different than a dad and I can't imagine what all will change in my dreams over a lifetime.

A friend of mine is married to a woman he calls, “an Olympic class dreamer.” He says that he sort of dreams, but her dreams have more detail than real life does for him. He said that one morning he woke up about a year ago sore after she punched him hard in the shoulder. He woke up startled. It must have been about 5 am when he blurted out, “Ouch” She said that he'd been such a jerk in her dream that she just had to let him know how mad she was at him. He muttered something back like, “Honey whatever it was I'm sorry now and I'm sure I'll be sorry if you just get back to sleep.” “I knew you'd say that, you just said it in my dream. I'm sorry too.” He rolled over and went back to sleep pretty fast. She just couldn't fall back to sleep as easily that night; her dream had been too vivid to let go of so quickly.

Dreams are part of maybe a third of our lives if we sleep 8 hours a day. They can haunt us and move us. They can motivate and transform us. Joseph was asleep when this one particular dream came along. His day to day life sure wasn't going as planned anymore. He had huge decisions to make that he hadn't planned to ever make. Mary was pregnant and he wasn't the father. He could walk away, he could stay and keep the child knowing the secret, or he could demand justice and see that Mary's blood be spilled because of her sin and the disgrace she'd brought to both of them. What do you do when you have a huge decision to make. How many people say, “let me sleep on it.”

He was going to leave Mary behind and start over. He went to bed to sleep on this huge decision that he had just about made. He chose to divorce her quietly rather than publicly demanding her punishment. And he settled down to sleep.

God has dreams all his own. His dreams are sometimes very different than ours and at other times God uses dreams to communicate his will so very vividly with all of us that we our will and God's will becomes one. Maybe you remember these prophetic words,

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Dreams aren't our reality but they point us to the reality that God is guiding us toward. Martin Luther King is best known for speaking about this dream. It was a dream that moved a nation; because it wasn't his alone indeed this dream was God's. God uses dreams repeatedly and purposefully. Being attentive to God's dreams help us see things through God's eyes and not our own. God uses dreams like Joseph had to show us the world not as it is but as God intends it to be.

In the night an angel appeared in Joseph's dream. The angel began speaking to him calling him by name, “Joseph son of David...” Then came these words of assurance, "fear not..." Sure Joseph had dreams before; but this one dream was different. This one dream wasn't Joseph's own personal property any longer. He shared this dream with God too. Angels, when they appeared in scripture, often started speaking with the words, “fear not.” God's presence has to often been softened in our imaginations. Most people think of angels as chubby little kids who look sweet and innocent. We imagine angels as women or children who are delicate and sweet and soft. We think they scoot around on pillow-soft clouds strumming harps. But the angels of scripture appeared so powerfully and dramatically that they would have inspired fear even if they were encountered in dreams. The angels of God were warriors ready to do battle against evil in all its forms. They came not just to strum little harps they brought messages straight from God to let God's will be known in our world.

The angel said to Joseph, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,” this angel knew exactly what Joseph was planning to do. He knew that Joseph was a good man, a righteous man, who was trying to find a quiet way to protect both himself and Mary from public disgrace. And now he asked Joseph to take on a responsibility that he didn't want. He asked him to take on the possibility of shame that would come from raising a child that wasn't his own. The angel explained plainly something that no one could have imagined, “the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Had anyone else said this I doubt that Joseph would have believed. We know where babies come from. But this dream was giving Joseph a sense of peace that he didn't have as he lay down to sleep ready to quietly end his engagement.

In Christmas we see the story of God unfolding in our everyday life. Joseph and Mary were not extraordinary; the child in her body was God in flesh but everything else was so ordinary. The feelings, fears and hopes were so ordinary until the dream came for Mary and she conceived a child without knowing a man and he came to accept that he was called to love this woman and this child regardless of what the wagging tongues in town might say.

Joseph's meeting with an angel in a dream started his life, and the whole world in turn, on a different course than he expected. The prophet Isaiah said, 14 The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and she will name him Immanuel. 15 He will be eating milk curds and honey when he learns to reject what is evil and to choose what is good. NCV (New Century Version)

Joseph and Mary weren't in this alone. God was going with them into history. He was coming, the angels declared his presence to them, now they both were called to live it out. They had different dreams but both pointed them to what God was up to in this one child Jesus. The dreams were one of God's points of contact in their lives. Even before the dreams they had to word of the prophets to reveal the will of God to them.

The point the angels were making in dreams to Mary and to Joseph, and that Matthew is trying to make for us years later, is that they shared shared in a long standing dream with God. They separately dreamed at night of a child they would call Jesus. The prophets dreamed of the one who we would call Emmanuel; God with us. Christmas is about seeing God's dreams made real in our time.

AMEN

Are you the One Advent 3a 2007

2007-12-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

Jesus, are you the one? Or are we to wait for another.

This was John the Baptist's question when he was sitting imprisoned by Herod the King. Jesus said John was the greatest man ever born of woman. He live boldly declaring the word of God out in the wilderness. People came from Jerusalem and all over Judea to meet him, and be baptized by him as they lay down their sins. News of what he said went from the wilderness into the center of society. Even Kind Herod knew what he said. John got into hot water when he said that it was wrong for Herod to marry his brothers wife and Herod locked him away. Herod loved to hear him talk, but he couldn't let him talk like that in public so he had John put in cell. In that cell even he, John the Baptist, this great man of faith and courage had doubts and hopes that mingled together about Jesus.

John's ministry as, baptizer and forerunner, brought him into the imagination of the people and into the prison of King Herod. Jesus said that he was more than a prophet, he was the one to prepare the way, but now he was the one in a cell sending out his followers to meet Jesus. His words outside of the walls of society had been heard by those in power inside the walls. Herod chose to have John locked away. An old teacher of mine, Jim Nestingen wrote,

John’s fate is linked to his Lord’s. So, having heard him sounding forth in the desert the radical freedom of detachment, we find him now doubly attached―in prison, yet held even more firmly by the One whom he has proclaimed (Matt 11:2-11).

John's fate was real, just one enticing dance by a young woman was all it cost in the end to see the Baptist's head on a silver platter (Matthew 14:1-12). His days in prison were days to question and to hope. John's ministry would end but Jesus' would grow. And with Jesus ministry came a new hope, a hope that is not fulfilled in Christmas but in the Cross and Resurrection of the baby born on Christmas.

Early in life John's faith led him outside of society and moved him to call people to repent. He had faith that moved him at his very core to be bold and to preach like no one else. And even he had questions. The mystery of John's appearance in the wilderness bold and strong dressed in a camels hair fasten at the middle with a belt is contrasted today with him sitting in a cell. You'd remember meeting this man out there in the wilderness with a beard eating locusts and wild honey. But now he sits imprisoned questioning if Jesus is the one.

Maybe you know somebody who has hope and doubts all at the same time. John the Baptist had this question for Jesus, “Are you the one?” A great verse in scripture, Hebrews 11:1 says that, “Faith is being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you do not see.” Faith is hope put into action. Hope comes not because of anything that you've seen, tasted, smelled, or felt with your body. Hope comes from a promise and it depends on the one who made the promise. John had faith, hope, and doubts.

John's own calling as a prophet amazes us today. He lived with boldly with purpose and vision. He wasn't afraid to stand outside of the norm. The normal people sought him out because being normal people wasn't working any more. The gospels leave no doubt that John's call for repentance was heard; but its wasn't universally heeded. Calling for repentance was only part of John's ministry; he was to prepare the way for the one. Imprisoned he wondered if Jesus was the one. It didn't start this way, he was the wild one outside the walls of civilization and now civilization held him in the walls of cell. In that cell he lived on hope.

We've all seen people living on hope; maybe you've been the one living on hope; maybe you are the one right now today who is filled with hope and doubt. Hope is there in the praying dad or mom in the hospital room of the sick child. Hope is real in the marriage counseling session of the troubled couple when one spouse is still praying that it can work. Hope was there when John John the Baptist sent his followers to Jesus with this question. Matthew 11:3, "Art thou the coming one? or are we to wait for another?" 1890 Darby Bible. It's the question Christians have to ask Jesus.

Jesus sent a message back to John.

Matthew 11:4-6

Go, report to John what ye hear and see. ⁵ Blind men see and lame walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear; and dead are raised, and poor have glad tidings preached to them: ⁶ and blessed is whosoever shall not be offended in me. 1890 Darby Bible.

Even John the Baptist, this man who would call so many to repentance needed to hear the good news. Sitting in a prison he needed to hear what God was doing through Jesus. When you live on hope what you see and hear God doing in the world, even if it doesn't change your circumstances, can sustain you. John was sustained in a prison cell by the Good News of Jesus ministry. John's calling was to prepare the way for the one and now in prison John sent out his followers to ask Jesus, "Are you the one?"

Christmas by itself doesn't save us. Jesus came as an infant, but that doesn't save us. He taught and healed, but that doesn't save us. He called for justice and toppled over the money counter's tables in the temple, but that doesn't save us. What saves us is Jesus death on the Cross. At the very center of this church is a reminder of what saves. The cross was an ancient instrument of death. Jesus the baby we celebrate at Christmas grew to a man who would have his arms and feet pierced with spikes before he was hoisted up to die on a blood piece of wood.

John the Baptist's ministry faded away. The crowds came out to be baptized but no more. Now he sat in a cell. He didn't preach to crowds any more. Some committed followers came to see him now and then; but John's public ministry ended as Jesus ministry grew to include more and more of God's people. John's purpose was to prepare the way. Now he asked Jesus, "are you the one?"

“ Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen―the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. Matthew 11:4-5 New Living Translation

Hope began with John's call for repentance; hope grew as Jesus healed and forgave the hurting; hope died for 3 days as the cross claimed Jesus life; but the love of God did not end. Hope grew fresh from the stump in the resurrection not only that we could have freedom through repentance but that that through Christ crucified and risen we might die to sin, death and the devil. John's message, repent, will forever be linked to Jesus life, dying and rising. He came to prepare the way for hope...

Thanksgiving Nov 22 2007

2007-11-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Some years taking time for Thanksgiving makes sense and other years its tough to see what there is to give thanks for at all. If you're in a tough spot, maybe out of a job and having trouble making ends meet its real tough to be full of praise and thanks and you might just want to scream at somebody who tells you that its time to be thankful. But in other years its real easy to know what your thankful for and what you've got in your life that matters. I've been blessed in the past week by some very insightful emails that have given me a good sense of what I and some others have to be thankful for this year.

I give thanks for life...

One email reminded me that the first thing to be thankful for, this year, is life itself. An email came on Sunday night from Kim a member of the church I served in Wisconsin. Kim plays guitar in the band every Sunday and helps out picking the music. Her 20 year old son, Matt, is in a Military Police unit deployed in Iraq. He told her, in a conversation they had through instant messenger one night last week that an IED had popped up between his Humvee and another right in line after his. It was small bomb, he said, by Baghdad standards, but it was pretty big for their section in Iraq. He said, it had been a little while since they'd seen one so close.

Matt told his mom that the bomb must have been kicked up by one of the vehicles in the line and exploded in the space between his and the next. His Battle buddy was in the next vehicle and he was grateful to see his friend again. Matt is Kim's closest family and for her this year she says she gives thanks for her life and his life and every chance that she has to know that he is alive and well.

Another email came from a member who had a cancer diagnosis and then got great results last week from tests after treatment. The family isn't saying much, they don't want people to make a big fuss, but the news was worth cheering about. So I'll give thanks for life this year.

I give thanks for the chance to laugh...

Another email, from a member who's recovering from surgery, reminded me to be thankful for the chance to laugh. Her note read...

A young man received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. The young man tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary. Finally, he was so fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. He shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.

In desperation, he threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, he quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto his outstretched arms and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions.

I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

He was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. He was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, when the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

Two more emails this week reminded me of two things: to be thankful for my blessings and to be thankful for the chance to serve.

The first email came to our office manager on Monday. It was from a couple in our church who have been blessed in their life together and are now looking for some way to share their blessings with others. They wrote that were looking for the name of some family we at the church knew of who they could help out at Christmas. I didn't have to think to hard before I gave them a name of a family who've had a real tough year.

This email reminded me that when we are blessed we have the opportunity to share our blessings. This is an ancient theme that comes from our Jewish roots and reaches out for all of us now in the 21^st century. Its there in the first 5 books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy all carry this theme forward that God has blessed us in order that we might be a blessing to our families, our neighbors and the strangers who live right next to us.

The last email came this afternoon it reads

Friend of Camp Victor,

The following appeared in the Biloxi Sun-Herald newspaper on Tuesday, November 20, 2007. It is a letter to the editor from a grateful Gulf Coast resident. We believe it expresses the unspoken thoughts of so many people here. Happy Thanksgiving.

They came, and we are humbly thankful

When the wind died and the water receded, we were on our knees in prayer and despair — broken people with broken lives but thankful to be here still. Would we ever be able to rise again? So much work; too much work; where to begin?

Then they came out of their broken homes. Hand in hand, they came with chainsaws and trucks and chains and removed the barriers to our streets. Maybe we could, we thought, with help.

Then darkness fell again, so dark, so quiet, only questions and the sound of generators and helicopters. Sounds of life. Did anyone know of our plight? Would help come? They came.

They came by the hundreds, then the thousands. God had heard and we were thankful. They came — firefighters, military, police officers, doctors and nurses, linemen and engineers, truck drivers and preachers. They knew. They came. They all came.

The whole world came and we were thankful. They came and suffered with us. They came and lived in tents, slept on the ground, but they came and we were thankful. They clothed us and fed us. They sheltered us and tended our wounds.

They lifted our hearts and we were thankful. They came with full hearts and open hands. They sweated and cried with us, not knowing where tears ended and sweat began, and we were thankful. They lifted our spirits and helped us to our feet, and we were thankful.

They came — teachers and students and lawyers, craftsmen and laborers with strong backs and hammers and saws and brick and mortar. They came. They built our homes, our schools, our churches, our lives. Praise God, they came. They became us and we became them, as one.

With our wounds deep, our fears and memories fresh, they came. And as we heal, they come, still . . . still. With a full heart, I am thankful, we are thankful. Still. They came.

RITA DUFFUS Gulfport

Psalm 100:4 reads boldly,

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

Let us all say, AMEN.

Resurrection People

2007-11-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

There's a good reason to be here today: to hear the promise of the resurrection.

The first reading today is from the ancient book of Job and it holds this incredible hope of the resurrection out for us to hear and hold onto in this life.

Job 19:25-26 (NRSV) Please read this out loud with me.

²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; ²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God,

This is the promise that we need to tell. This is the hope of Christmas and Easter. This is the promise that we cling to everyday in Jesus. And if you only heard this little part of the promise you've heard enough; “²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; ²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God...”

This promise of life after death means everything, but there's a story behind these words of faith that needs to be told. The man who said these words was called Job. He was a righteous man who feared God. Job, throughout his whole life, had been blessed by God. One day Satan approached God asking for permission to test Job. God agreed but told Satan not to touch Job's body.

Job lost many of the things that matter in this life: His kids, his home, his wealth were all gone. But he still believed in God. So Satan came to God again. The evil one asked permission again to try and separate Job from God. He inflicted Job with sores from head to toe. Job was in pain in body and spirit. Job's own wife said that he should curse God and beg to die. But he refused; he refused to let go of his faith. 3 of his friends came to visit him and they barely recognized him sitting there covered from head to toe in sores. He ended up sitting with these 3 friends in silence for 7 days and night. Finally after waiting for 7 days and night with his friends Job broke the silence cursing the day he was born. Job's friends weren't sure what to do next. He was a patient honorable man who seemed to everyone to be faithful and now he knew suffering and grief.

His friends looked for a reason why. Job looked for hope. His friends wanted to investigate. They wanted to find some fault with Job deep in his character that would explain his pain. But Job didn't want there advice. He was holding onto something even bigger. He was holding onto the promise of eternity. He was holding onto the hope of the resurrection. He was holding onto hope a thousand years before Jesus rose. He clung to it because in the end it was all that he had and in the end it is all that any of us have. He clung to the hope he shared that have been said over and over as families gather at a grave side. Job 19:25-26 “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; ²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God...”

The resurrection story is the one story that Christians all love to tell and hear. Truth is its the one story that we all need to hear over and over. Resurrection is the promise that's kept people of faith alert and full of hope for 2 thousand years. The resurrection promise is good even in times when everything else around you is going down fast. Resurrection doesn't exempt any of us from today's struggles; but it gives all of us hope beyond today's problems. Its a that you will know joy in the company of heaven along with everyone else who believes.

The resurrection is the promise that even after death God still wants you around. But some people don't believe it. They laugh at the Good News as if it was just a crazy idea. 2000 years ago a group called the Sadducee's were very powerful in ancient Israel. They were wealthy. They were key members of the temple and society. They came to Jesus to poke fun at the idea of the resurrection. They made it a joke. They called him “Teacher” and then they launched into this great twisted story before asking a question.

A few years ago I shared the Sadducee's story from Luke 20:27-38 with a woman in her early 90's. She listened carefully as we shared coffee and this story at her kitchen table looking over a neatly kept yard in the middle of a once active farm. The building stood as reminders of a once lively farm that was now home only to Alva and a friendly on German Shepherd.

As the line of husbands unfolded in the Sadducee's story Alva responded almost like this was the juiciest piece of gossip that she'd ever heard. Her imagination ran with the thought of a woman marrying 7 brothers. "Oh my how can that be.." she asked. Alva had caught on to how ridiculous the scene in heaven would have been. 7 brothers sharing one wife. That was the point that the Sadducee's wanted to make. Their imaginations had run wild pressing against the idea of eternal life. And they came up with a story that was too juicy to be credible; but was just realistic enough to illustrate their belief that there was no eternal life.

Then came their question, "Who's husband would she be after death?" The Sadducee's were looking to have some fun with Jesus and all of us who believe in the resurrection of the dead. They wanted him and all of us stumped. And he replied to their story with a answer that stretches beyond our imaginations.

36Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” Luke 20:36-38

Jesus invites us to start thinking beyond today to start realizing that eternity is only glimpsed from here. The Sadducee's questioned what it could be like and Jesus offered them a glimpse. They didn't ask what it would be like; only what it could maybe possibly be like, because they didn't want to hear anything about it. Jesus offered a promise not of what could maybe be but what will really be in the life to come. And this promise is what we can bring into every situation. This promise is a gift reveal in a cross and an empty tomb. The promise is the resurrection of the body to life everlasting. The promise that everyone who dies believing in God is not lost to eternity but is alive in God.

When we leave this church as resurrection people we go out into the world to make a real difference. The Sadducee's, and many like them in our time, are convinced that God is incapable of bringing anything dead back to life. But as resurrection people we know different. As resurrection people we've seen it already.

We've seen the sick restored to health; and its no accident. Its a sign of the power of God who will raise all of us from the dead. Resurrection people will even step into some of the worst places and situation because they know that's the point where God is working. Resurrection's there if you look just down the road in places like Rushford and Stockton. When you work in a place like that first hand you glimpse see the power of the resurrection. Look around and you might catch God at work making all things new. God's at work all around us making all things new. God's at work in your homes and in your marriages and in every relationship that matters. God is in the business of making everything new. The Sadducee's believed that the world is and that's what matters. And we Resurrection people believe that God is and that's what matters.

God's invitation to a Two Way Relationship Pentecost 21c Oct 21 2007

2007-10-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

God's invitation to a Two Way Relationship

Slide 1: Do you know where your God is?

Do you know God from personal experience?

Maybe you were blessed and had a prayer answered letting you see God at work.

Do you know God from a circumstance in your life that just cried out for somebody, anybody to do something. Maybe you saw things change and couldn't explain how it happened.

Do you know God not by what you've seen but by faith that helps you to keep on calling out even when you aren't certain beyond hope that God is really there.

Slide 2:God invites us into a 2 way relationship.

God is calling to us, inviting us into a honest two way relationship. Our relationship with God has some real challenges. We easily miss God's calls. He reaches out for us in scripture and in the Word of God that is manifest when we serve out of love in the name of Jesus Christ. But many times we shut ourselves off from his Word. So God uses the circumstances of this world to get our attention. We look away from injustice and God is still calling for our attention. God reaches out for us in revelation and sometimes when we've shut our ears to his word he uses consequences to get our attention.

Slide 3

Paul in his farewell letter to Timothy wrote from a Roman prison. He sat in chains and told Timothy, a young man who was growing into a strong man of faith to, “...continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” Paul was reminding Timothy that he wasn't alone. The faith growing in Timothy was shared with his mother and grandmother, and Paul and the rest of the church.

Slide 4

Paul wrote on to Timothy, “...from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timohty 3:14-15. NIV God comes to us in many ways. He searches for us wanting not only to connect with us in prayer but to reveal his very heart of love and compassion to each one of us through the Living Word of God. This is a two way relationship, prayer and revelation, a deep connection between God and each of his people.

Slide 5 How do you pray.

Prayer is part of walking with Jesus. Its our link to God and God receives all kinds prayer: formal and corporate prayer like we share with him hear today. And everyday and conversational like, “God watch over her or God help me, I'm struggling. Prayer is our part of communication with God as Father. But its not a one way street. God sometimes starts the conversations and other times replies when we start talking. That's revelation. Prayer to God exists as part of our relationship. Prayer is literally your faith in action. Prayer means that you believe in the God revealed to you and for you in the Word. Prayer means that you believe in that God enough to speak into the darkness knowing through hope, and not certainty, that you will be heard.

Okay, you say prayer keeps you connected to God just as we stay connected when we listen to the Living Word revealed in Jesus. But what if you're desperate. Our reading from Luke today isn't just Jesus generally talking about prayer and our relationship to God when things are okay. The woman Jesus was talking about in the Gospel story was crying out to a judge in desperation.

Slide 6:

Jesus invites us, in this story, to look closely at our relationship with as people dealing with God. Jesus explains the terms of this relationship with very human faces. One face is the face of worry and fear. The other face is of a judge who doesn't care. The face of desperation belongs to a widow who is desperate for justice. We don't know exactly what she needs or wants; that's left to our imagination. Maybe she had been robbed by an unscrupulous banker who made a loan he knew she could never repay and now she risked losing everything. Maybe she'd be swindled. Just let your imagination run but we know that whatever the situation she was crying out for justice. The other face in Jesus story is the face of a judge who seems not to care at all.

There was no way in the story for the widow around this situation. She had to deal with this one judge who didn't care about her, or anybody else. And she had to get that judge move on her case. And he didn't care. But she pesters and pesters until he finally moves on her case. She may have followed him showing up in court everyday. She may have embarrassed him demanding that her case be heard telling people he was a fraud. She may have stood outside his house silently pleading. Jesus tells us to pray like this, day and night, for justice. The issue at hand for the widow is justice. Jesus is inviting us to pray, like this, about what matters.

Slide 7

Parenting two 4 year old girls has given me a little insight into God's communication with us (revelation) and our communication with God (prayer). About a week ago we were having a problem with our dog swiping food from our girls' hands. The puppy would jump up and swipe gram crackers out of their hand right as they sat on the couch about to take a bite. So I put up a sign on the refrigerator, a revelation if you will, of Dad's plan for his daughters. “No eating in the living room.” Our girls are 4 and I know they can read the word no, but everything else is a bit of mystery. They told mom when she came home.

Our daughters have a wonderful ability to ask us for all kinds of things and on occasion they have the ability to do more than just ask, sometimes they even say thanks, with out prompting. As a dad I expect to hear, "Daddy, I'm thirsty. Can I have some water please?" and its always wonderful to hear, "Thanks dad." in response. I can imagine that God the Father hears many of these prayers from us. I'm learning that there aren't always easy answers to their requests. Sometimes the why or the how questions my daughters ask are way out of my league. Sometimes they pester and push hoping to just get what they want, and sometimes they pester to get something they really need.

Slide 8

God hears many kinds of prayers.

Prayers of adoration like in the words of great hymns like Beautiful Savior or Shout to the Lord. Prayers of Confession naming our sins, our pride, or sloth, our lust, failings, anger, and all the other ugly things that we've done and all of the good things that we've left undone before God. God hears prayers of thanksgiving for all that we have and all that he has done. And lets not forget that prayers of supplication come to from each of us asking God to grant us or someone else something.

God hears all kinds of prayers. Some are neatly bookended with words of praise and thanksgiving. Others are pleas, sometimes the pleas that really matter, come in tears and screams that aren't neat and tidy with flowery bookends. Some prayers come from deep in the soul and call to heaven for a reply. A mother with a sick child might wake up in the night and debate with God. A man worried about his business might cry out to God not certain of what is next hoping to see God act. Jesus said that the widow called for justice until it finally came. Jesus calls on us to pray without ceasing when it matters trusting that we will be heard.

Slide 9

God reaches for us again and again. He reaches finding a means that will help him to be heard. And we reach for him trusting that we will be heard.

Martin Luther King said these words in a sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on 3 March 1968.

It will be dark sometimes, and it will be dismal and trying, and tribulations will come. But if you have faith in the God that I’m talking about this morning, it doesn’t matter. (Yes) For you can stand up amid the storms. And I say it to you out of experience this morning, yes, I’ve seen the lightning flash. (Yes, sir) I’ve heard the thunder roll. (Yes) I’ve felt sin-breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul. But I heard the voice of Jesus, saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, (Yes, sir) never to leave me alone. (Thank you, Jesus) No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me. Never to leave me alone. (Glory to God)

God invites you into this two way relationship. He invites you to know his true heart of mercy and love revealed in Jesus who we meet in the Gospels. He invites you to pray without ceases when it matters trusting that you will be heard.

AMEN

Pentecost 18c 2007 a confirmation sermon

2007-09-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
Grace and Peace from God our Father and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Psalm 146:1 Alleluia, Praise the Lord oh my soul.
I've been thinking some about our confirmation class for obvious reasons the last few weeks. I've been thinking what a neat group of people this class has turned into over time. I even found myself thanking God in prayer for having worked with a group like this one who've came not just to learn knowledge about God and church but who've come to serve God and to wrestle with huge questions about faith and God and justice and what it means to be part of the church in a world that belongs to God but that is so often separated from God.

2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

And it hit me sometime in the night on Wednesday into Thursday that I shouldn't just be thanking God for what he's done with this group so far; no what I realized when I saw two members of the class come to help with 7th grade confirmation this Wednesday is that we really have to be thankful for what God is going to do with all of our lives in they days to come. Maybe you think that confirmation day is the last day for church. After the party church is done and the parent's obligations to model faith for their children are over. But the party hasn't begun for any of us yet. God's got much more in store both in this life and in the life to come.

Our Gospel today is all about keeping your eyes open to see where God is leading you. If you ever wanted to really know what God is after, in your life, you just have to pay attention to Jesus' stories. And today we have a story that teaches very clearly what God is asking of us in this life. Jesus made many of his strongest points not by lecturing people about what they were doing wrong; but by telling stories that challenged them to start seeing the world differently. Jesus wasn't vaguely telling people stories with easy happy endings. He was inviting people 2000 years ago, and people today, to see the complex reality of human life. Jesus was concerned with more than just the world in general Jesus was most concerned with the way his hearers cared for the people around them, most especially the ones they walked past on any given day.

Jesus' story starts out talking about two men who lived right next to each other but who had very different lives. The one man owned a great place. The other man, Lazarus, was, physically, his closest neighbor. He lived right outside the gate of the rich man. The one man ate well and lived well. He was dressed in fine purple clothes, the color that the super rich and royalty wore, and fine linen. The other man, Lazarus, lived out in the gutter in front of his gates. He was just hoping for a scrap of bread from the table that would be tossed out for the dogs as part of the trash. The wealthy in those days used a piece of bread as their napkin to wipe their lips and clean their beards. The poor man sat outside the rich man's gate with weeping sores that dogs came by to lick hoping to get a scrap.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

In this life the rich man had it all. He'd be the guy with the best of everything. He'd have the biggest house, the best boat, the best cars, everything that he had would be the best. And His neighbor, Lazarus, knew suffering right outside his door. And Jesus says that God saw it all. God saw one man's luxury and one man's pain right next to each other. Jesus said that Abraham, the man who received God's ancient promises welcomed him home to eternal rest. Abraham, the one God said would become the father of a great nation, more numerous than the stars or the grains of sand on the sea shore, welcomed Lazarus with open arms to eternal life. Across a great chasm from Lazarus and Abraham the rich man sat in the eternal fire just wishing that somebody would come to cool his tongue with one drop of water. Now he called for Lazarus, the poor man he ignored while they were neighbors, to come across that great chasm to serve him.

What catches me most is that the wealthy man would have walked over or arround the poor hurting Lazarus laying at his gates. Growing up in Minneapolis and going to good old South High just off Cedar Avenue and Lake Street we all figured out ways that made it possible to zip past the poorest places and the most hurting people. It was easy, we just hopped on the freeway and cruised right past the places where we'd see the homeless and the hurting. Now as a pastor in a bedroom town I can see that our subdivisions and our distance from other places can sometimes make it easy for us not to see the hurting people who are all around us. Sometimes just looking left or right, instead of straight ahead, is all that it takes to see what God sees as we drive around the poorest places or through them with our eyes straight ahead like we are in a tunnel.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

Jesus story tells us that God's involvement in this world involves us. We are invited to be the hands and feet that serve in God's name. We are invited to be the ones who carry a promise with us. Lazarus and the unnamed rich man were neighbors. They literally lived just next to each other; but to the rich man Lazarus wasn't worth reaching out to help. But now in the afterlife Jesus said that Lazarus and this man were separated by a great chasm. When they were both alive the rich man made this chasm real by going out the side door or stepping over Lazarus every day.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

What matters to God above all is that we act out of love. What God desires most is that we love and honor him freely and that we grow in His love in order that we might be able to care for others. Oh sure your words matter and all your actions matter; but what God is most hoping to see grow in each of us, whether your a tenth grader or your 80 is love for God and honest concern and compassion for the people around us.

But maybe you say the chasms between all of us are too deep. Maybe you look at the world and the evil that you can see all around and you're asking if God even cares. Truth is the world can very ugly; and its dangerous and risky to step out of comfort and meet a hurting person. But Jesus is challenging us to have a different perspective that includes our neighbors, most especially the one's who we'd rather look past. Maybe you've caught a glimpse of God at work; maybe you never have. Maybe you think that the reality of sin is too much for God to overcome. Maybe you once said that you believe in God but now you're not so sure that God's even there or if the church really matters at all.

About a month ago Time magazine published excerpts from several of Mother Theresa's letters. Many of you know who she was, the Saint of Calcutta who spent years caring for the most basic needs of the poor and sick in India. Her private letters that she exchanged with people she sought spiritual counsel from reveal the deep wrestling with God that lay beneath her faith.

Most surprising in the letters that she exchanged with spiritual leaders who tried to help her wrestle with her faith was her description of God's absence. She devoted her life to rescuing the dying homeless people from the gutters of Calcutta in order that their last days might be spent in dignity. Hundred's joined her caring for the poor. And all along people assumed that she must have seen Christ's face day after day; but no, instead she didn't see it for years on end. She knew and shared God's love and yet she experience God as real for years on end.

Jesus invites us to join him in this world and in the next. He invites us to follow when we see him and when we don't. He invites us to walk with him when our faith is strong and when our faith is gone. Jesus cross is the reason we gather here week after week. His life given for each of you bridges every gap and gives every one a chance to start over and to re-prioritize like eternity matters; like there's so much more than just today.

10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Hallelujah, Praise the LORD.

God's vision for us is eternal. He sees beyond one stage of life to every part of our human experience. And his promise to be God for us, revealed in the cross and grave, is good no matter what we've done or where we've been. There are many chasms we can never cross, but for God nothing is impossible

Pentecost 14c Sept 2 2007 Luke 14:1-14

2007-09-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

There is no manuscript for this sermon
just notes

sometimes that's all I have to prepare

There's a rich unfolding of Jesus' plan for the kingdom of God in Luke 14:1-14. The unfolding work of God comes as Jesus gathers with others in the Pharisee's house to eat on the Sabbath.

He sees the guests come and he sees that someone else has come besides the desired guests. In Luke 14:2 the someone else in the story is a man with ὑδρωπικὸς translated by the NIV and NRSV as dropsy. The man lived with edema, with painful swelling in his body because his lymph system didn't work right. Luke says that Jesus looked at his host and the honorable guests asking them if it is right to θεραπευ̂σαι literally to offer therapy, to cure or treat this man on the Sabbath.

The host and guests gave no answer. Jesus healed the man sending him on his way.

Jesus offers us hope that we haven't earned and a promise that we don't deserve. He came to heal and to lift up us in our hurt and to move us to meet the hurting around us as ambassadors of his kingdom.

A week ago Friday five guys from church and headed over to Stockton, MN to help muck out houses. We worked alongside of home owners, their families, and a Mennonite group from Wisconsin ripping out soaked drywall, filling buckets and wheelbarrows with mud and sewage, pulling out ruined carpet, insulation, and furniture. There still much work to be done.

We were strangers in town received warmly by the families we helped. The sheriff took down our names and gave us wrist bands so they knew who we were. They welcomed us in and worked right along side of us.

In Luke Jesus saw the guests come and he saw that someone else has come besides the desired guests. Jesus looked at his host and the honorable guests asking them if it is right to θεραπευ̂σαι literally to offer therapy, to cure or treat this man on the Sabbath.

The host and guests gave no answer. Jesus healed the man sending him on his way.

The lectionary has left the story of the hurting man out of the reading for Sunday. Instead we focus in on Jesus' observations of the people and his vision for hospitality; but in this context we can see eve
The lectionary has left the story of the hurting man out of the reading for Sunday. Instead we focus in on Jesus' observations of the people and his vision for hospitality; but in this context we can see even better how important care for the hurting is in Jesus vision.

Jesus' parable about the wedding guests who took the higher seat, when it was not theirs to take, was bold. He spoke directly to the people in the room and called for humility. His vision of the kingdom was coming clear. The one who assumes the place of highest honor will be brought down so that the humble will be lifted up. He wasn't ambiguous or vague.

Leaving no room to doubt, Jesus gave the particulars of his vision away as he spoke to everyone there about who to invite to a banquet.

¹²Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”Luke 14:12-14 (NIV)

As Jesus moved towards Jerusalem he got bolder. He challenged a legalistic religion with a spirit of mercy. He challenged his hosts to invite those who couldn't pay him back. The same challenge exists for us. He challenges us to look around not for ways to gain advantage; but for ways to help others who are disadvantaged. The reading ends; but Luke's story leads to another parable about a great banquet.

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Luke 14:15 (NIV).

Jesus next parable of the great banquet invites us to see the generosity of God that is ready and poured out. The invitation to the banquet was rejected by the first guests on the list. They refused their invitations and in the parable the host sends out his servants looking not for the ones who rejected his generosity but for everyone, hurting or not, who hadn't been invited at all.

Jesus' invitation to serve is broad. By reading the whole of Luke 14:1-24 we see the magnitude of God's intended generosity. Jesus' vision of inviting the poor and hurting to a banquet is even more challenging when we think that others had rejected such invitations.

Jesus is calling for hospitality. We aren't called just to run to the poor with food; we're to welcome them in and receive them as guests; Jesus' vision is of a world turned upside down and where those who never expected the place of honor are given the highest honor.

Jesus Came to Set the World Ablaze Luke 12:49-56 Pentecost 12C August 19 2007

2007-08-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Slide 1: Image: Pews. Words: Jesus often preached in places without pews or walls.

Jesus didn't lull His audiences into an easy sleep in the pews. When Jesus spoke often times there weren't any pews around for those who came to hear him teach. Luke wrote of a time when He spoke in the market place. Luke says a crowd numbering in the thousands gathered. It was no organized event with ushers, greeters, and clergy present. There was pushing and shoving to get a chance to listen to him; some risked being trampled just to hear him or touch him or be touched by this teacher and healer.

Slide 2: Words: I have a baptism to suffer through, and I feel very troubled until it is over. Do you think I came to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to divide it. Luke 12:50-51 NCV.

The hurting and the downtrodden of Israel heard hope for something better in Jesus' words. Others, especially those who believed they could control God and God's Word, heard him speak and grew enraged at what they heard. When he spoke they said it was blasphemy. Jesus challenged his hearers over and over. He didn't take the course of least offense or least resistance. He came for a reason, for a "baptism that he had to endure." Its tempting to find some way to avoid Jesus' destiny in the cross, but the cross is the real reason for Jesus' intensity in ministry. As he taught Jesus was looking towards Jerusalem, toward the cross where he would be lifted up for the sins of the whole world.

Slide 3: Image: earth. Words: Luke 12:49, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"

Listen to Jesus and it becomes clear that he made a judgment about humanity; he wanted to see us on fire for the sake of the kingdom of God. He doesn't see us and this world as passionless. Rather he wants to see a transforming fire kindled. Jesus says he wants fire. He doesn't speak here of the fires of hell and damnation; rather he speaks about a consuming fire, a passion that doesn't leave everything settled and neat as it is today. He spoke words that still divide and challenge us to see the him coming not to approve of the world as is; rather he came to see the world catch fire with the Spirit of the Living God.

Jesus' bold words in Luke 12:49, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" aren't the words of a weakling. They are the words of a bold man who's mission and a vision would lead to radical transformation for himself and all who follow him. He came to see you and me on fire with the Spirit. Jesus wants to see this fire running through the church out of our hand and out of our control; but not out of God's hands or God's control.

Slide 4: Image: fire starting.

Fire, for the ancients, was an important. They even thought it was a basic element of creation (Bauer Greek English Lexicon). Fire was, in the ancient world, key to clearing out the old and bringing in the new. But fire was, and still is, beyond simple human control. We still fear it's power. We teach our children to keep away from fire fearing that it will harm them. And that's not the only kind of fire that we are afraid of these days. We fear the fire of the Spirit that Jesus wanted kindled when he walked the earth. Eric, a pastor from Jackson Minnesota wrote,

We spend so much time trying to fight fires in a forest when the only thing the forest wants is for the fire to burn. Fire clears the old under brush and allows new seeds to pop open so they can grow.

I think there are too many firefighters in the church. Fire is unpredicable. You never know where it is going to go or what it will do.... [But] the Church desparately wants to say the "fire" is 100% contained and under control.

A few weeks ago I helped my friend burn up the old deck that he'd torn down. The fire from the old cracking cedar planks was amazing. I cut up the deck into 2 foot squares with a sawzall. Then we stacked them up and stuck a few rags at the bottom to get the fire started. It was a great bonfire. After a little time watching the fire my friend's wife pointed to this little windmill that the former owners of the place had used to store garden tools. It was full of mice and she just wanted it gone. My buddy, his wife, another friend, and myself looked at the bobcat that they'd borrowed for the deck and patio project and together we decided we'd lift up the old windmill and put it on the fire.

Jesus' wants to see the fire of the Spirit that burns away the old orders and the old compromises not only within us in the church but in the whole world. He wans to see new life rise from the old in all people. He came, "to bring division, not peace." He came to bring fire that could consume the old and dead and make way for new life. He came not to approve of the way the world works today but to see it completely transformed. Jesus cross and resurrection weren't half-hearted. His death was whole and total, just like ours in baptism; and his rising to new life was whole total just as we shall rise whole and complete with Jesus on the last day. He wants to see fire that consumes the ungodly parts of each of us because he knows the power of God to make all things new.

Slide 5: Image: fire consuming 1 Words: How do you imagine God?
Do you imagine Jesus like this?: boldly challenging assumptions, wanting to see us on fire. Or do you prefer a different image of God from this one revealed in the scripture by Luke.

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work.
As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."
The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

Anybody seen the movie Talladega Nights? In one scene Will Ferrel's character Ricky Bobby insists on praying to, “little baby Jesus.” The rest of the family challenges him to see Jesus differently but he insists that he wants to pray to little baby Jesus, who he says, “doesn't yet even know a word yet but is still omnipotent.”

Slide 6: Image: Fire consuming 2

In our age we like to imagine that God's always on our side. Some one in search of eternal mercy and compassion might imagine God as soft and compassionate. Another desperate for help in this life might imagine God as a judge ready to settle the score once and for all. God's portrayed by some as the baby of Christmas who they can control. Others look at God as a big cosmic grandfather with a great beard, a real Teddy Bear who accepts all and looks past our faults. Others imagine God angry and vengeful ready to swoop in and spare the chosen few but unleash judgment on those left behind in the world. These images that our culture has of God don't contain the whole truth about the God revealed in the person of Jesus in Luke.

The real God, revealed in Jesus, wasn't always cuddly nor was he always vengeful. He spoke about God's judgment and God's compassion. He spoke with vision for a world and a people transformed. The real Jesus talked about repentance and he challenged his hearers not only to name their neighbors sin but their own. He came wanting to see fire. Letting the fire of the Holy Spirit loose in the church is risky. God might very well confront our sins. Letting the Word of God lose in our lives is equally risky because the God who meets us in scripture, like the fire of the Spirit, is only contained at our own peril.

Slide 7: Friend with a garden house
The fire from the deck and the little windmill got pretty big as you can see in the picture. My buddy decided to try and keep it from scorching their tomato plants. We all took turns keeping an eye on the tomato plants because it was just to hot for one person to stay next to the fire all that time. We even learned that a branch hanging way overhead wasn't out of reach. We watched the leaves dry and curl right before our eyes.

Slide 8
Jesus wants to see this same kind of fire in our lives. He wants us to let the Spirit of Living God run free. The writer of Hebrews wrote,

since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

Jesus came not to lull us to sleep but to move us to action. He has a vision of the kingdom of God not as a fairytale but as promise. This is promise made by the king of kings who came to reveal God's passion to the world. He came to set the world on fire.

2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 NRSV .

It's easy to step aside from the fire. It's easy to put God in that box, in that neat whole that you've left for Him. But Jesus came to set the earth ablaze. I pray to see the fire of the Holy Spirit at work in this age and in this church. AMEN

Pentecost 10 C August 5 2007

2007-08-02T15:04:00.001-07:00

Slide 1: What matters?

I called my folks on Wednesday night and got no answer. I called again and all the circuits into Minneapolis were full. I wasn't the only person just checking up on family and friends that night. I called my sister and told her to turn on the television. She was stunned as I was. What we saw as spectators on our television sets defied explanation. The bridge I crossed every day going to High School was gone. My sister used to cross that same bridge everyday on her way to work for 3 years. As we talked my sister said she was scanning the crowd on screen looking to see if our parents were among the on-lookers. Mom called me back at about 8:30. They were fine. They'd gone to the community council meeting; just like they do on every first Wednesday of the month.

Email's from other friends and family have carried the same news. A few close calls; but everybody is okay. Other people have told me similar stories about calling friends and family in Minneapolis. They were just calling to make sure that things were all-right. For most people everything is all-right. Most of the time, in our lives, a disaster is just somebody else's problem, not our own. We can go back to our lives and families and all our own problems and worries thankful that we weren't one of the unlucky few whose lives have been turned upside. We can do that. We can live and let the problems go by. Or we can live differently, on the edge―with people who know fear and loss and grief. You choose to look the other way and go past the problems, or you choose to step in, off the sidelines. Its easy and safe to be a spectator. But God invites you and me to live like eternity and our neighbors matter. God wants us to prioritize our lives not by an earthly standard of comfort, safety, and provision; but by a heavenly standard in which our lives aren't really our own.

Slide 2: Colossians 3:1-2
Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth.

Paul wrote to the early church that every believer was a new creation. He believed God is at work in all of our lives because we have died and risen with Jesus. It was that simple for Paul. In Jesus Paul met the one true God and that meeting left him changed. And Paul believed that every Christian was meant to have the same kind of experience. Paul's first hand experience of God's love and correction shook him to the core. He was a new man with a new life. Part of that new life meant putting aside all that he once thought mattered.

It's not easy to lay down the things that we think are important. But part of following Jesus is learning God's perspectives and living out God's values. We have all sorts of important things in our lives. I know that I have all kinds of things that dominate my thoughts. We all worry about money, work, and all sorts everyday stuff. But these earth bound things are not supposed to be the ultimate end for our lives. What Paul wrote to the church in Collasae gets right to the meat of his faith and his life and what he believes all of us as Christians should live like today.

Slide 3: God's calling...

One of the most uncomfortable parts of being a Christian is the way that God works on us 24 hours a day 7 days a week moving within us to get our lives and our priorities to match heaven's priorities. Some people call this experience conviction. Every believer has experiences of God's challenge to them.

Sometimes conviction comes in the confrontation of somebody who loves you enough to tell you that your behavior is simply wrong and that what you are doing needs to change. Sometimes conviction comes in the news that shakes you out of your comfort and moves you to action. Some say that you and I, the church, have been too easy on this culture. Some complain that we have forgotten Jesus' real teachings and the real need that each of us has to be convicted by God of our sin. Jesus taught people and many walked away convicted. The Jesus we meet in the gospels wasn't concerned about the temporary comfort of his hearers. He wasn't purposefully vague like a politician making promises in the year of election. Jesus was bold. He challenged his hearers to see their lives and their neighbors lives through the eyes of heaven.

God doesn't want us to be comfortable in the here and now; not if our neighbors are living with challenges they can't walk away from. God's not offering you paradise on earth; he's offering you a chance to participate in the coming of the kingdom of God. Its easy to find distractions. Its easy to turn on a television or computer. Its easy to walk away from the problems.

Slide 4: Colossians 3:3-4
3 Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Christ is our life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory. NCV Col 3:1-4. Dallas, TX: Word Bibles, 1991.

There are a lot of things that people worship these days. It's a situation similar to Jesus day when the people worshiped many different gods. They and we worship prosperity. They and we worship wealth. They and we put our status on this earth above our status as children of God.

Slide 5: Luke 13:12-14
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

Jesus' meeting with a man who demanded that Jesus mediate a dispute about an inheritance with his brother challenges us to keep our eyes on what matters. I've been amazed by the families that have broken down over issues of money and trust. As pastor in another congregation I was telephoned by a person who wanted to talk about a sibling. One was concerned about what the other was doing with their parent's home and money. The person I spoke with was 50 something and the the other was 60 something. The one I met with wanted me, a 20 something, to tell a 60 something member of my church to, “Grow up.”

Jesus warned his hearers not to obsess about money and possessions. Be on guard against all kinds of greed. And Jesus told them a story about a successful farmer who had been blessed with a great harvest. He had barns but his harvest was so big he needed bigger barns. So he tore the barns down and built even bigger barns for all his grain and goods. The rich man said to his soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” Luke 12:19

And God met the man that night, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ Luke 12:20 (NRSV). Some people might call this man shrewd or even wise for looking out for himself and for being financially secure. He might be the one selling a wealth building system that will help others be financially secure too. And God called him a fool.

Slide 6: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Holy Bible : King James Version., Heb 10:31. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995.

How's that for conviction? How's that for standing right before God and having God see right through all the facades and pleasantries and look right into your very soul. The writer of Hebrews said, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” These words are haunting and true. We'd to have a god who approves of what we do and how live. But we a living God. We'd like a god who only smiles down upon us. But we have a living God. We'd like a god who answers our prayers and meets our needs. But we have a living God.

God challenges us to let Christ shape our lives. We can obsess about things. We can pile up more and more stuff; but Jesus calls us to stop stockpiling as a substitute for faith. The rich man believed all was well; but he'd forgotten that everything he viewed as so important was temporary.

Pentecost 8c July 22 2007

2007-07-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Slide 1: Paul wrote Collosians 1:21
At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, and the evil things you did were against God. The Holy Bible : New Century Version

The Apostle Paul, in a letter to the church in Collosae, wrote boldly about his relationship with God and about all humanities' relationship with God revealed in Jesus. Paul said, up until meeting Jesus, he was God's enemy. Be honest; that goes for all of us, at some point in time we are God's enemies (Collosians 1:21). Paul is so very right about this. Even after we meet Jesus, we still often kick and scream, fighting hard against God in our sin and pride; but all that is beside the point that Paul is making here. In Jesus we meet the God who overcame human resistance in the cross and who overcomes our sin and pride so that He can do something completely new with us. We are no longer God's enemies. Instead we are the one's who Jesus came to save from meaninglessness and hopeless -- giving us the promise of something greater -- life beyond death.

Slide 2: In Christ the Good News became everything for Paul, Collosians 1:25, “I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,”

Paul's new life in Christ came with a commission. No longer God's enemy, he spread the Good News that God wanted his glory to shine in every person's life. Paul sees Christians as courageous followers of Jesus going into all the world with a message of hope. Gone are the barriers of ethnicity and class. Gone are all the old divisions of Jew and Gentile. Gone is the animosity between God and humanity. God's glory becomes clear in Jesus. Sin could not stop Jesus coming, the cross and death could not stop him from reaching into our lives.

Slide 3: In Christ the Good News becomes everything. Collosians 1:26
“the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.” The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version,

God's glory was hidden from most of the world's people before Jesus. Paul word's to describe the situation (Collosians 1:26 & 2:2) μυστηρίου literally meant God's glory was a mystery, a secret just hidden from view. God's glory was revealed to ancient Israel; but the rest of the world's people knew only God's care for all the world, not God's personal care for them as individuals. In Jesus the glory of God is revealed for people of all ethnicities and creeds. In Jesus the secret is out; God's glory is revealed and God intends for that glory to reflect in each of our lives.

Slide 4: Image: Earth

OK. You might be saying. Sure up in heaven, in the sweet by and by, God intends to do something big and maybe its possible that he could use any of us to show his glory. But look around, you might say, we still live here on this earth. One wise Christian put it to me this way, “Forget the mumbo-jumbo about God's glory shining in us and tell us what it looks like when it happens.” He's so right. We have God who is involved in what happens on this earth and we should start talking about how God is going to do something in real life. We live in an age that knows war, violence, sin, and death. They are constant reminders for all of us that the Kingdom of God is only now coming into being. We, the church need to be courageous and live because eternity matters, neighbors matter, and God matters for us and for the whole world.

The Kingdom of God it hasn't yet been fully realized in anyone's life. Sure, we in this church have heard about God's care for all creation; but we have our eyes open. Evil is real. Sin, death, and the Devil are constant reminders that God's glory is still hidden from many. Even worse many around us have never sat long enough in God's presence to know the peace that comes only from God and from no place in this world.

Slide 5: Christ's mission--Collosians 1:28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. New Revised Standard Version,

Paul wrote to the church who live in the real world. He wrote to a church that wrestles with what it means to follow Christ when there are so many lesser gods to follow. He said that we proclaim Jesus so that people will be ready to meet him, not in the sweet by and by, but right now. Our challenge as Christians is to go into the world faithful and hopeful. We need to act in small ways and enormous ways that let God's love out for all the world. God can and will do incredible things in our lives and for all that God can do for the people around us.

Slide 6: Words: Get to work? Image: mop and broom

In our Gospel story from Luke 10:38-42 two sisters bickered about what to do when Jesus came to their home. One sister, Martha, worried about serving their guests. She was the one with the apron on getting glasses ready and making preparations to serve her guest. Mary, the other sister, sat down with Jesus. The serving sister, Martha, complained. “Come on Jesus, make her help.” Jesus tells her that Mary has chosen better. Mary was sitting with Jesus, taking in his glory. Martha was up fussing.

We live in a world of distractions. Truth is people have always been distracted. Martin Luther Told a story about his dog watching a treat on the table with total concentration saying to his companions at supper,
“Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope.”1

Many people know that we have a new dog at home and Martin is so right. Our little Dog is so focussed on whatever he is doing in the moment. But we are more complex and way more distracted than our dogs.

Slide 7: Image: Church words: Called to service? Called to worship?

Jesus challenged Martha to stop being so busy and to sit down and live in the kingdom. Jesus challenged his hearers over and over in very different situations to pick one good thing from many. In this moment Jesus glory is the greatest thing; but Martha felt the need keep working to host Jesus; she did not feel the freedom to sit down and listen.

A week ago my wife and I stayed with a friend whose life is very busy. She's a stay at home mom with 2 kids at home and 1 on the way. She's very active running a small business on the side and serving in church as a Bible study leader and a key Sunday School volunteer. She and her husband played on the church softball team and are part of a small group.

Our friend told us that she read a book about prayer thinking it would help her pray more; and she found herself praying less. She read another book about getting enthused about the Bible and faith and she said she wanted to read her Bible even less.

Jesus doesn't want us just to be busy. He wants us to be in his presence. If you need to sit with him and weep he will receive you. If you want to come to him singing in thanksgiving and praise he will receive you. If you come tired and just wanting to sit he will receive you. If you come in prayer with a question he might challenge you or comfort you or confront you. If the time is right and you see a neighbor in need he's calling you to serve.

Slide 8 Image: Church Words: Called to Christ

We live in a world of distractions. Truth is people have always been distracted. And Jesus goes with us into this world of distraction. He comes along side us when he hear the Good News and when we share it. He comes along side challenging us to give to our neighbors and to receive in return from God. He comes not because its the right time for us, but this is the right time for God. If you need to just sit with him sit today. If you need to sing with him sing today. If you need to serve with him do it. Jesus came so that the kingdom of God would come near to us.

Pentecost 6C July 8 2007

2007-07-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Slide 1 What moves you:

Jesus came with a message, that the kingdom of God has come near. As his followers our lives are about spreading the message. The hard part is not getting distracted from the main message. 2000 years ago there was plenty of distraction for the church in Galatia. The early church was moved to debate and Paul thought that the debate about circumcision was dividing and distracting.

Slide 2 Divisions

One side of the crowd believed that everybody who wanted to follow Jesus had to be Jew just like Jesus was from birth. For Jesus' own people circumcision was a defining characteristic of faithfulness. For 2000 years the men of Israel had a small part of their bodies removed as a sign of their faithfulness to God. The ancient physical mark of circumcision defined a man as in or out of the nation of Israel. Paul told the church in Galatia that Jesus came to make a new creation. There was no longer circumcised or un-circumcised in Jesus. Just a new creation in Christ. The church in Galatia got off track debating who was in the kingdom of God and who was outside of God's grace.

Slide 3: Paul, In Christ there is a new creation.
Paul jumped into the fracas feet first. He wasn't going to see the church divided between old and new believers. We wouldn't watch new believers in Jesus forced be circumcised first. The rituals weren't as important to Paul as the faith lived out by each one who believed. Paul said that the old categories were over and done. Jesus came to begin a new creation. This is the very best news. In Jesus' day, just like ours, there were all sorts of different ways of dividing and categorizing people. Paul told them, and all of us, that the old marks that separated us are gone.

There's a temptation in the church to separate again from those who are in the kingdom and those who are out. But Jesus came for all.

A preacher decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon.

Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into alcohol.

The second was put in a container of cigarette smoke.

The third was put into chocolate syrup.

The fourth worm was put into good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the preacher Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in alcohol Dead.

The second worm in cigarette smoke Dead .

Third worm in chocolate syrup - Dead .

Fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation - What can you learn from this demonstration?

Maxine was sitting in the back,quickly raised her hand and said, "As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"

Slide 4 Divisions no more: We are a new creation

We seek to divide between in and out, good and bad, worthy and unworthy. Paul said that Christ's coming put an end to divisions. Craig Koester wrote boldly that Christ puts to an end all the differences between:

Jews and Greeks, slave and free, male and female. Jews observed the Mosaic law; Gentiles did not; some laws were for slaves and some for free people; circumcision was for men and other statutes applied to women. But now the old distinctions had given way before a greater unity in Christ. Paul does not even say that in Christ are both Jew and Greek; he says that there is neither Jew nor Greek. Baptism, unlike circumcision, transcends the distinctions between Jew and Gentile, male and female, and gives all people a new identity. Christians are people with a rich heritage, who through Christ share in the inheritance promised to Abraham.http://www.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/9-2_Mental_Health/9-2_Koester.pdf¹

Jesus came so that human categories wouldn't be enough to divide us one group from another. He came to make all of us into a new creation. This is the Good News. Its the news that easily gets overwhelmed in our world by all kinds of other information and by all kinds of human expectations. Think about the information that comes into your life everyday. You turn on the TV or radio and what do you hear. Maybe you read a newspapers or story on the internet. What's it about. Perhaps you had a conversation with friends next door or maybe miles away on the phone. All the technology brings us information and opinion. Some people say that we live in a world that's overloaded with information. There's more and more talking and less and less listening. And the most important things can get lost in all the extra words.

Slide 5 Keep first things first.

Families are struggling in this world to keep first things first. I spoke with a Grandma who worries about her grandson this week. He spends time on the computer and watching TV and he has a hard time helping anybody. His parents took him along to help somebody in the family with a project and she said, “It was like he was under duress.” She worries that he's forgotten to put first things first. She worries that he's gotten two and every gadget and that he's never know want and now he doesn't know how to help another and how to care for his own family.

Lots of families are struggling today to keep first things first in a world full of distraction. .

My wife and I got word from two old friends from Wisconsin this week. The first friends brought good news when the called. They are traveling this way for a wedding and hope to meet. The second call came from other friends. The news was not so good this time. Bob and Ruth Melzer, a couple from our last church were hit while riding their bicycles Sunday afternoon. He died about 6 hours later. She was clinging to life in the same hospital were our girls were born just a block from where they were hit by a drunk driver. Bob and Ruth were wonderful people. I remember stringing lights with him on the float for the July 3^rd parade in Neenah for two years. Bob and Ruth would try anything to help the church. Ruth and Bob painted the Sunday School Area based on different stories that she wanted the kids to know.

Slide 6 What moves you?

News moves us to action. Bad news moves us to console those who grieve and worry. Better news moves us to cheer and the celebrate. There are many things to get excited about in this life. Everything from a great baseball team to a great job could be the reason that you're moved to celebrate. And there are are plenty of other reasons why we might be moved. Tough, tragic news moves us to action just as much, maybe sometimes even more, than the good news that moves us to rejoice. Our faith is about action and trust, our faith is about being moved by the word of God into the world in love for God and in love for our neighbors. Jesus sent 70 people out to spread the good news. At fist glance sending out 70 (or maybe 72) people looks like a reason to celebrate and to rejoice. 70 people went out to announce the good-news to heal the sick and to caste out daemons. But there was plenty of reason to worry. Jesus said that they would be like lambs among wolves.

The true church, the body of Christ, made up of believers in mission is not guaranteed of a future beyond faith. But by faith we know that something bigger and better is coming for us. Jesus plan for the church isn't that we be secure and certain in this life. His plan is so very different. His plan is eternal. He sent his followers out empty handed with limit instruction and training, “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.” Luke 10:4. NRSV. He told them to go; and when they stopped he told the 70 to announce peace at each house. Where they were not accepted he told them to wipe the dust off of their feet in judgment.

Slide 7: We are not the church in residence, we are the church in Mission

Jesus sends the true church out into the world. He wants us to travel light. He wants us to be ready to meet God like a thief in the night who comes without warning. We are encumbered by all sorts of things. Jobs, homes, hobbies, toys, recreation, status can all hold us in place. But Jesus wants us to be ready to move in mission. Jesus plan for each of us in the church is to see incredible things happen. The 70 he sent out witnessed things that they hadn't before imagined. He said to the 70 when they returned, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ¹⁹See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:18-20 NRSV

We have a home and it isn't on this earth. We have a family and we haven't seen every member of it yet. “...rejoice” Jesus said, “that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20 NRSV Rejoice because even when our life on this earth is over something better is still to come.

In our days we can get caught up in living and in Christ we meet God who calls us to live today not like we are here forever but as if we were each on our way. He calls us to live out his love as part of the new creation. AMEN.

1CRAIG KOESTER Opportunity to Do Good: The Letter to the Galatians, Page 188 in Word & World 9/2 (1989) TEXTS IN CONTEXT” Copyright © 1989 by Word & World, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. All rights reserved. Page 183-189 http://www.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/9-2_Mental_Health/9-2_Koester.pdf