September 20, 2020

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 20, 2020

Introduction
Today’s Gospel raises fundamental questions for those who aspire to be disciples of Jesus.  Is God’s grace fair?  How can God offer forgiveness to everyone who repents, even if they are the worst of sinners?  Can a person be ever be beyond the grace of God?  These questions are profound because they are really asking if there are limits of God’s grace.  In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus explores this with the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard,

A word about parables.  Parables are teaching devices. The word ‘parabole’ in Greek means ‘to lay alongside.’  A parable is a story that is ‘to lay alongside’ everyday life and challenge the hearer’s understanding of the present reality.  One cannot hear a parable passively; they are designed to force the hearer to make a choice about a fundamental value.  Barbara Reid in her book, Parables for Preaching — Year B, writes that the purpose of a parable is ‘to persuade the hearer to adopt a particular view of God and life in God’s realm. It’s aim is to convert the hearer.  Parables turn the world upside down by challenging presumptions, reversing expectations, and proposing a different view of life with God.’ 

I believe that the key to this parable is to realize that is about grace, not fairness. Grace is a difficult concept for us to understand because we live in a world where one has to ‘earn their own keep.’  The witness of the Scripture is that God’s grace is never earned; but rather, freely given.  St Paul reminds the Roman Christians that, ‘. . . God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us . . . There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.’ [Romans 5.8 & 8.1].  What the apostle Paul is telling the Romans is that grace is truly a gift from God, undeserved by its recipients. Enjoy our Lord Jesus’ parable and be open to the radical nature of God’s grace. 

Worship Note:   We will again worship outdoors on September 27, October 11, and October 25 [Bethel – 8:30 am & Immanuel – 10:30 am].    We will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion.   Volunteers are need to assist with set before the services.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 20.1-16
[And Jesus said,] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.  3When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.  5When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same.

“6And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?'  7They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'  8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.'

“ 9When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.  10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.  11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'  13But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?  14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.  15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'  16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

“A Perfect Timecard”

Let us pray. My pastoral prayer this morning is based on the explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed given my Martin Luther.
 Dearest Jesus, truly God and truly human, you are my Lord.  At great cost, you have redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature; not with gold and silver, but with your holy and precious blood, your innocent suffering, and your lonely death . . . All this so that I might be your own and live under you in your kingdom and serve you with everlasting righteousness, blessedness, and innocence.  Grant this to me, Lord Jesus, as you are risen from the dead and live and rule eternally.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Every employee looks forward to payday.  That is when one receives their just compensation for services rendered.  Paydays allow us to service our debts, take care of our families, and to indulge ourselves and enjoy our money.  Some of us receive our compensation as salaries while others paid an hourly wage.  Whatever the case, there is an implicit trust between employer and employee that all will be done honestly and fairly — just compensation for time worked.  And, for the most part, this system works. 

Several years ago, I stumbled upon an internet site that dealt exclusively with payroll fraud by both employers and employees. They are Individuals who illegally take advantage of the system.  It made for fascinating reading.

There was one story that I particularly enjoyed.  In Colin County, Texas, the district attorney’s office had to recuse itself from prosecuting six assistant clerks of court for falsifying timecards.  Not only were they were giving out additional hours to ‘special employees,’ they also were compensating themselves for hours worked on the Chief Deputy Clerk’s campaign in the fall of last year.  Even though those accused attempted to justify their actions with claims that ‘it’s only fair’ and ‘we deserve this benefit,’ their actions were blatantly illegal.  They were prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The most common reason given for falsifying pay vouchers is one of fairness.  Employees feel that they deserve more money for the work they are doing. Employers often believe that those who work for them do not deserve what they receive.  These arguments have only been heightened during the pandemic induced financial crisis.  Workers and companies are all concerned about wages and how to make ends meet. 

That is what makes today’s Gospel so interesting.  Jesus takes time cards and turns payroll accounting on its head.  As a matter of fact, the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is truly a payroll clerk’s nightmare.   Instead of being concerned about the labor cost for harvesting the crop, the owner throws common sense to the wind when he does the payroll.   But a word of caution: I don't think we're ready to hear what Jesus has to say about accounting in the Kingdom.  It might make us a bit uncomfortable.

It was harvest time in Palestine, the grapes in the vineyard were ripe,  and they had to be picked as soon as possible.   The cold rains and frost could come at any time and spoil the crop.  So the landowner went to the marketplace early in the morning looking for workers.  In those days, the work day began at 6:00 am and continued until dusk.  The going wage was a denarius a day; barely enough to provide food and shelter for one's family.  Today, at $10/hr, that would be $120 for a day’s work.  

Returning to the marketplace at nine o'clock, then at noon, and again at three o'clock, he found more workers standing idle.  He hired them, saying, ‘Go into the vineyard, and whatever is right, I will give you.’  So they joined the others in the field working under the scorching heat of the Mediterranean sun.  Then, at the eleventh hour, an hour before dusk, he went back to the market place found still others who were not working.  Undoubtedly, they were not the cream of the crop when it came to workers.  They were right when they said that no one would hire them.  They were the deadbeats and losers who no one would have.  But there were still grapes in the vineyard, so the landowner hired them also and told them to go to work.

Had the parable ended there, everything, I think, would have been all right.  We could have walked away from it with the simple message that God seeks workers for the vineyard and that the Master will stop at nothing to bring in the harvest — even to the point of hiring losers to do the job.  Had Jesus stopped there, we would have concluded that God puts a high priority on missions.  We would assume that the point of the parable is that sharing the Gospel of Jesus with the world is of extreme importance. 

But that is not the way parables work.  There is more.  God hires both twelve-hour workers and the ‘johnny-come-lately' one hour workers.  One of our conclusions is that Jesus directs us to willingly accept them as co-workers with us in the Kingdom.  Again, if Jesus would have stopped there, we would have no trouble with the parable.  We all know that more hands mean less work for each of us.  We can live with that.

But much to our chagrin, Jesus continued the story.  As required by Mosaic Law, the workers were paid at the end of the workday.  However, the Master chose to break with convention.  He told his crew manager to bring the workers to him in reverse order; those who worked the least would be the first to receive their wages.   To the surprise of everyone, those who worked only one hour, received a full day’s pay — a denarius (or $120).   And likewise, the others who worked less than a full day.  So, when those who had worked twelve hours in the hot sun came to receive their pay, they expected much more.  After all, fair was fair, everyone knew how this was supposed to work: If one hour earns a $120, twelve hours in the sun should get twelve times as much — $1440.   It was as simple as that.  Their anticipation was unbounded.

You can imagine their surprise when they also received the same $120 as the one-hour workers.  They were outraged.  You can just hear them: ‘Who does he think he is anyway?  He can’t do that; it’s not fair.  We’ll report him to the wage and hour people.  We deserve more than the others.’   So they complained bitterly to the Master, ‛They worked only one hour and you've made them equal to us, who worked twelve hours out in the hot sun.’   The Master replied, ‛Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me to work for a denarius . . . Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?  Or do you begrudge my generosity?'   Jesus added, ‛SO THE LAST WILL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST LAST.' 

What makes this parable so troubling is that those who hear it are forced to conclude that God isn't fair.  I is obvious that God does not play by the rules; or at least by rules we know.  The point of the parable is that God plays by God’s own set of rules – Rules that always makes winners out of losers.  We must remember that this is a parable of grace, not a parable of fairness.  The rules of accounting in the Kingdom are truly an accountant’s nightmare . . . Nothing seems to make sense because God is not predictable.  In God’s ledgers, nobody gets what they deserve.
  
So what exactly are the rules for accounting in the Kingdom?  There are three master rules that govern every transaction . . .   Three simple rules:  First, God doesn’t look at a person’s potential cost/benefit ratio before adding them to the team.  In the words of the parable, the landowner faces a potential disaster.  Timing is everything.   The grapes ripen and will spoil if not harvested immediately.  One never knew when the weather would turn foul and ruin the crop.   Harvesting a vineyard takes labor — hand labor.  And the faster the grapes are pulled from the vines, the better.  The better workers were obviously taken first.  Each ensuing trip to the marketplace brought workers of less ability and desire.  You can just imagine the quality of the one hour workers. A good accountant would tell you that you’d never get your money’s worth out of losers like them.  But the owner does not listen, he hires them anyway.  

What the people of God need to learn is that the task before them is imperative.  We must be about our Lord’s business of bearing witness to the Kingdom of God to anyone who will listen.  The world has a ‘sickness unto death’ and we are the only ones who have the antidote.  And it is our job to share it with the world.  The task is imperative and needs all kinds of workers – Twelve hour workers as well as one hour workers. We all have a contribution to make.  There are no losers in the Kingdom. We all have a job that only we can do.

Second, fairness is not part of the accounting standard for the Kingdom.  Twelve hour workers are always paid the same as one hour workers.  God isn’t into the score keeping that we think gives order to the world.  Phrases like ‘getting what they deserve’ and  ‘What goes around, comes around’ have no place in the Kingdom.  Such thinking presupposes that there is a grand ledger for every person where deeds are scored as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and salvation is awarded on the basis of one’s total score.

But that’s not the way accounting is done in the Kingdom of God.  Grace is not fair; it is loving.  By this I mean that God will do everything to bring in the harvest and this means offering life in the Kingdom to everyone who is in the market place.  God says to each worker, ‘I will you give what is right’ . . . And right for God is life in the Kingdom for sinners . . . sinners who are bought with the precious blood of Jesus!  Not because we deserve it, but because God chooses to give it.  According the parable, God is a Master Payroll Clerk who  is unpredictable.  God is unpredictable because God love us more than life itself.  Despite our desire that everyone, ‘get what they deserve,’ God offers the same gracious gift to everyone.  

   And finally third, when the accounts totaled and the books are closed for each of us, God never looks at them again.  That’s the accountant’s nightmare: All that work . . . All that time keeping score and it makes no difference at all.  God already knows what the books will show . . . God knows that we are sinners . . . And God knows that we deserve death.  That’s why he throws them out: He is a God of life, not a God of death.  He gives us the ‘perfect timecard.’
​
So today, Jesus leaves us with some questions: ‘If God doesn’t look at the ledgers we keep for ourselves and for others, why do we bother to keep them at all?’  Why keep score if we’re already winners?’   Answer if you must, but first get in line because God is handing out the gift of life.  Amen.      

September 13, 2020

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 13, 2020

Introduction
The Gospel for September 13th continues to explore the dynamics of Christian community.  Matthew’s intended readers were struggling with how their community of faith should deal with dramatic differences that were emerging between its members.   

First, some background is in order.  Our best scholarship indicates that Matthew’s Gospel came into its final form sometime between the years 80-90 of the Christian era. This is 50-60 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.   Its style and content place it in the city of Antioch [located in Syria] which is known to have had a large Jewish community.  Antioch was a bustling center of commerce in the Roman Empire that also had a strong Christian community.  As a matter of fact, Acts 11.26 tells us that ‘in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.’ Antioch eventually was to supplant Jerusalem as the center of early Christianity. 

Matthew’s church community was in transition.  In Antioch, there was a strong contingent of Jews who had become followers of Jesus.  They lived by the Torah and saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies found in the writings of the prophets.  However, because of the Apostle Paul’s missionary work, many Gentiles (non-Jews) were also becoming part of the Church.  They had no background in the Jewish scripture and did not understand the Torah [Law].  For them, the Christian experience was simply having faith in Jesus and living that faith in the world.  Therefore, Matthew’s community of faith had natural fault lines that made ‘being one in Christ’ difficult.  The church in Antioch was also beginning to experience ostracism and persecution because they were followers of Jesus. The situation was such that the Christian community in Antioch needed to hear the story of Jesus afresh.  Matthew’s Gospel is the vehicle for telling that story.

Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah and the ‘new Moses’ who brings a new way of being community to God’s people. The Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5-7] describes how that life will look like in the new community of faith.   Later in the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the more practical aspects of life together in the Kingdom.   To this divided community, Jesus turns to the issue of forgiveness – a necessity for the community to survive.    And rightly so, forgiveness is an important part of our faith. The enduring message of the cross is that human sin has been forgiven by a gracious God who sacrificed his Beloved Son so that we might be reconciled to him.  But what I find most interesting is how easy it is to limit forgiveness to something that stands between God and the believer. Even though we pray ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’ in the Lord’s Prayer, forgiving a person who has wronged us is an uncommon happening. We are all aware of how often we hear our family and friends talk about long held grudges that have poisoned relationships with other family members or acquaintances.  As I say in today’s sermon, forgiveness is the ‘coin of the realm’ in Christian community.  We cannot survive and fulfill our ministries without it. 

It might be helpful to think about what it means ‘to forgive’ someone who has sinned against us. For those who are disciples of Jesus, the idea of forgiveness raises a number of questions: Why forgive? Is forgiveness dependent upon the repentance of the miscreant?   What happens when we are unable to forgive others? This short story from rabbinical tradition provides the beginning of an answer.

A Rabbi once asked his students, ‘How can we determine the hour of dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?’

One student answered, ‘Is it when you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep in the distance?’ ‘No,’ the Rabbi answered.

‘Is it when you can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?’ asked a second student. ‘No,’ said the Rabbi.

‘Please tell us the answer, then,’ urged the students. Said the wise teacher, ‘It is when you have enough light to look human beings in the face and recognize them as your brothers and sisters. Until then, the darkness is still with us.’

The words of Jesus remind us that we are not of the world; they remind us that God loves all human beings more than life itself; and they remind us that no one is beyond his redeeming hand — even those whom we think to be our enemies.  When all is said and done, I believe that forgiveness is one of the signs of the Kingdom’s presence among us.   We can forgive because God has first forgiven us . . . We can forgive because, as the Psalmist writes, ‘. . . As far as the east is from the west, so far does the LORD remove our transgressions from us.’ 

Pastoral Notes
Worship: Our next outdoor worship will be on September 27, 2020 at both Bethel and Immanuel.   As before, we will hold our communion service in the parking lot. Thank you to all who come early and help set an altar, chairs, and the sound system.  We continue to socially distance and wear masks.  The leadership of Bethel and Immanuel will keep you posted about worship plans as we move deeper into the fall season.

Sarah Larson:  We offer our congratulations and prayers as Sarah is ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA.   She will be ordained by Bishop Thomas Aitken on September 13th.  Sarah will begin her ministry at Zion Lutheran Church in Milaca, Minnesota in October. 

Call Process:  We continue to move forward with call process for our parish.  The initial draft of the Ministry Site Profile [MSP] for the Bethel-Immanuel Lutheran Parish has been completed and will be sent to the council presidents for presentation to each church council for revision and approval. We hope to have the MSP ready for submittal the Northeastern Minnesota Synod no later than October 1, 2020.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 18.21-35
21Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 
22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.  23For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.  24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;  25and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made.  26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’  27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.  28But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’  29Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.  31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.  32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’  34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.  35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
 
“Forgiveness: A New Way of Doing Business”

Let us pray. [The following prayer is taken from Psalm 51 . . . a psalm of confession.]  

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.  Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, but you take no delight in burnt offerings.  The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion, blot out my offenses.  Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me in your free Spirit.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

I would like to begin by sharing a personal story with you . . . a story about something that happened to me many years ago when I was in the 6th grade.  And, to be honest with you, it’s taken me a long time to deal with what happened to me. 

The first person I can remember hating was Jimmie Hall.  We were both in the sixth grade, but Jimmie was big for his age.  He was a bully and we all lived in fear of him.  Jimmie was the last one to get on the bus in the morning. Wherever he sat, there was trouble.  He took our hats, he ripped up our papers, and he gave us knuckle rubs on the top of our heads.  Every day I prayed that Jimmie would sit with someone else. I even prayed for him.  But one day, in front of everyone on the bus, he hit me in the face and dared me to hit him back. I tried, but I missed.  I was humiliated in front of my friends.  Not only did I get a bloody nose, but from that time onward, I hated Jimmie Hall more than anyone else in all the world.

Strangely enough, Jimmie dropped out of sight during the summer.  I never saw him again. But unfortunately, I had learned something that day that humankind has known from the beginning of time: I learned how to hate.  Since then, there have been many other Jimmie Hall in my life.  His successors have not taken my hat . . . They have not ripped up my papers . . . And they haven't even threatened me physically; but nonetheless, I learned the lesson well . . . The same hatred I learned long ago still lingers within me.  It’s so easy now to hate someone whom you do not like. 

My experiences cannot be unique.  I suspect that each one of you has a Jimmie Hall somewhere in our past. And each Jimmie Hall has many successors for whom our hatred is still very real.  As we get older,  we use words other than hatred to describe our feelings.  The words dislike and not care for seem much more acceptable to us.  Sometimes, we even try to fool ourselves into thinking that hatred is justified, or that it is moral, or that it is necessary for survival.

It’s easy to hate those who are different from us; be it in their politics, reli­gion, skin color, or ethnic origin.  It happens in school . . . It happens at work . . . And most embarrassing of all, it even happens here at church.  When we hate others, Satan never loses.  The evil one always wins because we become what we hate . . . The traits we so despise in others, soon become our traits.  Their belligerence, their close-mind­edness, and their infatuation with evil are soon part of us.

But as followers of Jesus, we have been given the gift of forgiveness.  Every sin that blackens our soul . . . every sin that seeks to separate us from our Father in heaven . . . every such sin has been forgiven.  So complete is our forgiveness that we are promised life after death.

It all started with the Sermon on the Mount.  When his disciples asked Jesus how to pray, he said, "PRAY LIKE THIS: OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.  GIVE US THIS DAY OUR BREAD FOR THE MORROW; AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS; AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL.  AMEN."  
The Lord’s Prayer  is special.  We are to address God as a small child addresses a parent.  We are to trust that it is God’s will to graciously include us in the Kingdom.   And we are to be assured that God will provide for us and protect us from the evil one.  Yet what makes the Lord’s Prayer dangerous, is one simple phrase: ‘FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AS WE FORGIVE THOPSE WHO SIN AGAINST US.’   When we utter these words, we pray that God would deal with our sin just as we deal with the sin of others.   Every time we pray the Lord’s prayer, we link our own salvation to our willingness to forgive others.

The disciples had been with Jesus for a long time.  They knew that forgiveness was a high priority in his Kingdom. They had learned that sinners and outsiders alike must be forgiven and welcomed into the Church.  But the disciples still did not understand the dynamics of forgiveness in their own lives.  With Peter as their representative, they asked a critical question,  ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?’ 
 
Peter and the disciples were concerned about the frequency of forgiveness.  In effect, it is a question of limits.  ‘How often must we forgive others?’  By asking the question, it was evident that their understanding of forgiveness had not changed.  According to rabbinic tradition, it was held that one must forgive another up to three times for the same offense.   When Peter suggested seven times, he thought that he was going well beyond what God could possibly expect. But Jesus did not commend Peter.  Instead, he said,  ‘I DO NOT SAY TO YOU SEVEN TIMES, BUT SEVENTY-SEVEN.   According to Jesus, forgiveness has no limits.

To illustrate his point, Jesus told the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.  It is the story of a servant who incurred a debt of 10,000 talents to the King – Today this would be millions and millions of dollars.  The sum was staggering.  When the man could not repay the debt, the King ordered him put into jail and his family sold into slavery.  But the man fell on his knees and begged for mercy. He pleaded for time and promised to pay the debt in full.  In spite of his ludicrous promise to repay what he owed, the King had pity on him and forgave the entire debt. 

When the servant went out from the King, he saw a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii . . . mere pennies.   He seized him by the throat and demanded payment in full.  When the man asked for more time to repay the debt, the unforgiving servant would not hear of it.  He threw him into prison until he paid it all.

Upon hearing what happened, the King summoned the first servant and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’  And in anger, he delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.  Then Jesus said, ‘SO ALSO, MY HEAVENLY FATHER WILL DO TO EVERY ONE OF YOU, IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER FROM THE YOUR HEART.’

In the parable, God’s inconceivable act of mercy is portrayed so that the listener can only stand in awe and amazement.  We are sinners . . . and the sin which blackens our heart makes us deny both our Father in heaven and his claim upon our lives.  We want nothing to do with him, and as such, we stand under his judgment.

You see, our debt is also large. Yet sin notwithstanding, every time we gather for worship, we begin with a confessional service which asks for his forgiveness.  Monthly, we receive Holy Communion, which again gives the forgiveness of sins.  And in our daily devotions, we confess our sins to God and receive his assurance of forgiveness.  The good news is that God is more willing to forgive than we are to repent.  Like the servant, we are forgiven a debt which we never can repay.  But it is at this point that the gift of forgiveness becomes perilous.

Forgiveness is the coin of the realm in the Kingdom of God.  It is something that must be shared.  There can be no limits as we forgive others, because God himself sets no limits as he forgives us.  The necessity of forgiving others is grounded upon two facts.  First, we all live under the forgiveness of God which given in Baptism and renewed in Holy Communion.  And second, Jesus rose again from the dead to achieve victory, once and for all, over sin.  What this means is that God has forgiven our sin in its entirety.

This means that we must open our hearts and expose the wounds inflicted by our brothers and sisters. It means that we bring them out into the healing light of God's purity and give them over to him . . . It means that we forgive our enemies' sins against us and reclaim them as brothers and sisters. In short, forgiveness means that we are reunited as the whole family of God with neither our sin, nor their sin, standing between us.

These are hard words; and alone, we could not bring ourselves to do them. But the good news today is that we are not alone . . . The good news is that when we speak of forgiveness, we must always speak of Jesus.  When he taught us the Lord's Prayer, Jesus points to himself.  It is he who taught us to say ‘FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE HAVE ALSO FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS.’   And it is he who says, ‘BECAUSE OF ME . . . BECAUSE I AM HERE, THIS IS POSSIBLE.’  And because Jesus became our brother . . . becau­se he paid for this kinship with his life,  God will forgive us.  This same Jesus promises to go with us . . . first to our neighbor . . . for me to Jimmie . . .We go to offer our forgiveness; and then we go to God to claim the forgiveness that is ours.  Amen

September 6, 2020

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 6, 2020

Introduction
Our Gospel readings for the last two weeks have dealt with the implications of following Jesus for individual disciples. However, today’s Gospel shifts the focus from the individual to the corporate dimensions of discipleship.  What does it mean to be ‘Church?’  How do members of a community of faith deal with each other?

Jesus is a realist.  He knows that his disciples are not perfect; but rather, human beings whose lives are overcast by sin. Unfortunately, this brokenness carries into our corporate life as a community of faith. Jesus provides a way of dealing with this brokenness that is consistent with ‘being church together.’
My meditation for this week explores the dynamics of forgiveness in a church setting.

It might be helpful to think about what it means ‘to forgive’ someone what has sinned against us.  Is forgiveness dependent upon the repentance of the miscreant?  While not pretending to write a ‘How to forgive’ handbook, it is helpful to talk about forgiveness in a scriptural and theological context.  For those who are disciples of Jesus, this raises several theological questions: Why forgive? What happens when we are unable to forgive others?

The answers to both questions are intertwined. God commands us to forgive others for our own wellbeing. Our unwillingness to forgive one who has wronged us can lead to something we describe with a very unpleasant word: hatred. We dislike using the word and prefer synonyms that are more comfortable. The words ‘dislike’ and ‘not care for’ seem much more acceptable to us. Sometimes, we even try to fool ourselves into thinking that our hatred is justified, moral, or even necessary for our survival. When we are unwilling to forgive those who wrong us, it is easy for us to dehumanize them, and treat them as the enemies of God.

There is also a personal cost for each us to bear when we are unwilling to forgive others. We have no peace of mind because we become victims of our own hatred; we become what we hate. It is ironic that the traits we so despise in others, soon become our traits. Their belligerence, close-mind­edness, insensitivity, and their infatuation with evil [real or imagined] are soon part of us. The words of Jesus in Matthew are difficult: “YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND HATE YOUR ENEMY.’ BUT I SAY TO YOU, ‘LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU . . .’” For those who would follow Jesus, forgiving one’s enemies is the ultimate test of faith.

In Christ ☩, Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 18.12-20
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

“Litmus Test”

Let us pray. My pastoral prayer this morning was written by St. Francis.  It is his prayer for the Church.  Let us pray. 
                        Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
                                    Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
                                    where there is injury, pardon;
                                    where there is discord, union;
                                    where there is doubt, faith;
                                    where there is despair, hope;
                                    where there is darkness, light;
                                    where there is sadness, joy.
                        Grant that we may not so much seek
                                    to be consoled, as to console;
                                    to be understood, as to understand;
                                    to be loved, as to love.
                        For it is in giving that we receive;
                                    it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
                                    it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
                                    Amen.
Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

I think that every high school chemistry student remembers chem lab and the experiments with litmus paper. For those of you who do not remember your chemistry, all chemical solutions are either acidic or basic. A ‘litmus test’ provides a way of determining what kind of solution you have.  Litmus paper comes in narrow little strips and is either pink or blue in color.  The blue litmus paper turns pink in an acidic solution. The pink litmus paper turns blue in a basic [sometimes called an alkaline] solution.  With some types of litmus paper, it’s even possible to measure the ‘ph’ of a solution — the degree of acidity or alkalinity — by the shade of color the paper turns when it comes into contact with the liquid. 

The so-called ‘litmus test’ would tell you whether you were working with an acid or a base . . . An important fact when you’re mixing chemicals together in the lab.  But the phrase ‘litmus test’ has taken a far broader meaning in popular conversation.  A ‘litmus test’ can be any controversial issue with two opposing points of view that forces a person to declare themselves one way or the other.  The result of such a ‘litmus test’ can tell you a lot about a person or a group of people.  Some of the ‘litmus test’ issues today are:  school vouchers, welfare reform, religion, school funding, and most notably today, one’s preference for president.  You can tell a lot about people by their positions on such issues. 

I would like to suggest this morning that there are also ‘litmus tests’ for Christians. Some are personal, like what happened to Peter and the disciples.   When Jesus asks, ‘WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?’ we have to answer.   There’s no middle ground.  Is Jesus who he says he is or not? You can tell a lot about a person by the way they answer. 

Other ‘litmus tests’ are corporate.  By that I mean they are addressed to the whole Church.  Let me give you an example: Does the Church in America today cater to the comfortable, the powerful, and the wealthy who seek a Jesus who assures them that everything is all right?  Or, does the Church deny itself, take up its cross and follow Jesus in lifting up the plight of the hungry, the poor, and the despised who live on the fringes of life?  Is the Church smug in its success, or is it willing to take a risk for the Gospel?  You can tell a lot about the Church by the way its members answer.

And there are still other ‘litmus tests’ that target individual congregations like Bethel and Immanuel.  In today’s Gospel, the ‘litmus test’ of a community of faith is how it deals with the problem of sin against God, sin against individual members; and our sin against others.  Do we rail against sin and cast sinners out, or are we a ‘hospital for sinners’ who seek the  forgiveness and reconciliation that only Jesus can bring? Like I said, you can learn a lot about a congregation by the way we answer.          

Let’s begin by talking about what the Church is. The Church is, first and foremost, a community of faith.  We gather to worship Jesus, to strengthen each other with faith stories,  to do mission in ways that we cannot do it by ourselves, and to celebrate the sacraments where we encounter God.  ‘True community’ takes place when a group of people love each other as God loves them.  This is unconditional love . . . A love that puts the needs of others before our own needs.

However, as with all communities, there are problems when human beings come together.  Ego, power, and jealousy, get in the way of true community.  Sin is divisive; it can separate us one from another and from God.  Such communities cease to be the church and they become just like any other human organization.  So, I think, the ‘litmus test’ for any Church and those who claim to follow Jesus is how it deals with sin. 

But here is where things get complicated.  Jesus has promised to be there ‘where two or three are gathered in his name.’   And that means we have to take Jesus’ words about sin in the community of faith seriously.   In our churches . . . in any church, those who worship together end up being interconnected with each other, and the sin of one affects everyone.  We are connected through marriage, family, work, friendships, school, and church. And being this close together means that we can hurt each other. And our hurts are very real.  Nonetheless, our temptation is to deal with our pain as the world does: we either ignore it;  or we wait for the opportunity to even the score.  The result is the same: either the injured person or the offender withdraws from the fellowship by default.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays down a much healthier way for the Church to deal with situations where one Christian sins against another.   Sin and brokenness within the Church are community matters.’ Jesus said to his disciples, ‘GO TO THE SINNER, FIRST BY YOURSELF; THEN WITH SEVERAL OTHERS; AND THEN WITH THE AUTHORITY OF THE WHOLE CHURCH.  IF THEY REPENT, YOU HAVE GAINED A BROTHER OR A SISTER. . . . IF NOT, THEY HAVE BECOME AS A GENTILE OR A TAX COLLECTOR TO YOU.  TRULY I TELL YOU, WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH WILL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, AND WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN.   FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE OF YOU ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, I AM THERE AMONG YOU.’
 
Again, let me say very clearly that Jesus is talking to members of his Church.  He is not talking about sin in general; but rather, he is talking about sin in the Church where one member hurts another.  This is not a method for dealing with the sinfulness of non-members.  We do violence to Jesus’ words if we go out into the world and denounce those we judge to be sinners.  Today’s Gospel is for the internal workings of the Church – those who are bound together by their faith in Jesus. 

Today, I think, most of us find Jesus’ words difficult to hear.  Quite honestly, we find it very difficult to call a brother or a sister to repentance.  We are just not into confrontation.  Instead, we would rather talk to someone else . . . to give them our side of the story . . . to seek allies and isolate the one who hurt us. It is much easier to ignore the offending party and hope that they will just go away. ‘After all,’ we say, ‘let them go . . . They are more trouble than they are worth.’  At other times, our motivation is even less honorable.  Perhaps, we do not like the offender and would just as soon not have them as part of our church.  Thus, by leaving them to themselves, we also leave them to the consequences of their sin.

 All would be well and good had Jesus not told the story of the Lost Sheep. All would be fine had Jesus not placed such a high value on his ‘little ones who have gone astray.’  They are of such great value to him that he leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one who is lost.  Contrary to popular wisdom, there is more rejoicing in heaven when one sinner returns to the fold, than for the ninety-nine who were never lost.

Both then and now, the words of Jesus alarm his disciples.  He makes it quite clear that we can no longer evade responsibility for his ‘little ones.’ It is not to be piously delegated to God or to the pastor.  Never once did Jesus suggest an authoritarian approach. In each case, a brother or a sister in the Church is to approach the one who has separated themselves from the flock; not the pastor, not the president of the congregation, not the church council members, but fellow parishio­ners.  According to Jesus, if God is unwilling to lose a single ‘little one,’ someone in the Church must get up and seek them out.  There are no exceptions.

Sin is serious business. It is a condition of human life that works to our eternal destruction.  Life, with all its successes and failures, with all of its actions and experiences, is devoted to either God or self . . . to righteousness or sin.  The New Testament recognizes sin as a brokenness that harms relationships with God and with each other.  To be forgiven, this sin needs to be recognized and healed.  Sin is an exception to the kind of life that God intends for members of the community of faith.  Within the Church, such exceptions are out of harmony with the Gospel and must be addressed so that the brother or sister might not remain lost forever.  

That is what ‘binding and loosing’ of sins is all about.  Humankind is bound by sin.   And because of sin, we are going to die.  As members of the church we are called by God to be partners with him in the ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation. ‘Loosing’ means breaking the bonds of sin that are slowly strangling us.  Forgiving someone who has wronged us not only frees them from their bondage, but it also breaks the hold of that person's sin upon our lives.  That is why forgiveness and reconciliation are so important in the family of faith.  It is a matter of life and death for us all.

Difficult words; but forgiveness is the ‘coin of the realm’ in the Kingdom of God.  Reconciliation must be the order of the day for every Christian who takes their baptismal vows seriously.  The world’s harshest criticism of the Church is that we don’t practice what we preach.  We are on talking about forgiveness and reconciliation, but weak at doing it.  This does not mean that we cannot  disagree, but disagreement becomes sin when we disparage another’s motives, speak ill of them, or repeat half-truths or lies about them.  Sin is hurtful because it adversely affects both the perpetrator and the victim – both are diminished, and both are injured.  

The road to reconciliation is not easy.  Jesus is very specific.  The offended party makes the first overture toward reconciliation. . . . Forgiving as many as seventy times  seven?   Note that Jesus is present . . . ‛WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, TRYING TO WORK OUT THEIR DIFFERENCES, I AM PRESENT . . . I WILL BLESS AND HELP YOUR EFFORTS.'   It seems obvious to me, Jesus wants to keep the community of faith intact . . .  No one is to be lost.

But what of those situations where reconciliation is not possible?  What happens when a person's continued actions are destructive for the community?  Jesus speaks difficult words: they must be separated from the community for a while.  Jesus says that the ‘lost’ are to be treated like ‘Gentiles’ or ‘tax-collectors.’  This sounds harsh, but what Jesus means is that they are to be as a mission field to us. They are to be seen as ‘God's little ones,’  sinners like us who need the comfort of the Gospel.  The ultimate purpose is not to discipline sinners, but to win them over in love.  Church discipline is not a way of dropping people from the church rolls; but rather, it is a way of increasing membership and bringing people to Jesus.
 
But as Lord of the Church, Jesus bids us to seek the ‘little ones’ who are lost. He bids us to offer the good news of forgiveness and the hand of reconcilia­tion.  He bids us to remember that we were once ‘little ones’ he sought out. And he bids us to do whatever is needed to bring the ‘little ones’ home where they belong.

Do we pass the ‘litmus test?’ . . . I do not know; only God knows for sure.  But I do know that Jesus promises to be where ‘two or three are gathered in my name.’  And where Jesus is, there is life and there is forgiveness.  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

August 30, 2020

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 30, 2020

Introduction
I thoroughly enjoy the three-year common lectionary readings that most ELCA pastors and churches follow each year. Important themes are emphasized.  For example, last week’s Gospel from Matthew 16.13-20 tells the story of Jesus’ questions to the disciples on the road to Caesarea Philippi. This week’s Gospel, vv.21-28, continues as Jesus explains the implications for disciples of Peter’s answer to the question: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?’  The earlier verses establish the basis of discipleship [Jesus, the Messiah] and what it means for those who follow Jesus. Jesus is very concrete when he tells them that true discipleship involves self-denial and, quite possibly, suffering and rejection by family and friends.

In previous journeys through the lectionary, I have used a variety of methods to develop homiletical themes around these consecutive Gospel readings.   This year I have chosen to share three brief stories to illustrate the implications of following Jesus as disciples.  The first comes from the Arthurian legends of England; the second from last week’s and today’s Gospels; and the third from our community of faith.  I hope you enjoy this approach and see a clearer picture of Matthew’s understanding of discipleship.    

Pastoral Note
We continue to live under the specter of the coronavirus.  It is still very real and we must continue to be cautious with the use of masks, social distancing, and restrictions on group gatherings.   Our synod’s Covid-19 Response Task Force has met via ZOOM and we will be monitoring infection rates in our geographic area; especially as schools begin to open.  Remember, the church is not a building; but rather, a community of faith that follows Jesus. 
Please note that we will be doing outdoor parking lot worship on August 30, September 13, and September 27 at the usual times: Bethel – 8:30 am and Immanuel – 10:30 am.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 16.21-28
“Once upon a time, there was a . . .”
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, when our world is tumbling down, you alone are the foundation of our lives.  Your constant love bears us up; your insistent call reminds us who we are; and your constant presence gives us life.  But Lord, we are sinners.  We are reluctant disciples whose roots in this world are strong and whose faith is weak.  We fear hardship and sacrifice for your sake.  We reserve ourselves as if some more important task will claim us.  Forgive us and heal our unbelief.  Wash us in your Holy Spirit and make us better disciples.  Strengthen our faith in the One who sent you and open us to his transforming love.  Lord Jesus, give us this day the courage to take up our crosses and follow you.  In your name we pray.  Amen. 
 
Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Once upon a time, long ago in Camelot, there lived a knight of great renown.  He was strong and brave and had no equal in the arts of war.  Whether tournament or battle, the victory was always his. The Master Knight was the king’s champion.  And in all the land, there was none so strong, so noble or so grand as he.

One day, King Arthur challenged his knights to a quest . . .  A holy quest certain to bring peace to their souls and glory to the Lord Jesus.  The king charged them all to seek the Holy Grail – the very cup from which the Lord and his disciples drank the Blessed Sacrament.  The royal champion knew the perils of the road and the difficulty of the quest.  But in his pride, the Master Knight believed that he alone could fulfill the king’s sacred charge.  He would find the Grail and lay the holy treasure before his king.

So, with sharpened sword and polished armor, the mailed knight began his quest. The prayers of king and crowd sped him on his way.  But as he approached the city gate, he saw an aged beggar laying across the road.  His body was  covered with filthy rags, his skin with festered sores.  Accursed by the rich and shunned by the poor,  the beggar lifted his hand to the knight and cried out, “Help me, kind sir, lest I die.”  Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the Master Knight was heard to say, “I have no time,  for the Grail awaits me.  I must serve my Lord.”  He then turned his horse to the forest and disappeared from sight.

The tale of the Master Knight is too long to tell.  Legends tell of the great battles won and dragons slain, but wherever he looked, the Holy Grail was not to be found.  As one year followed the next, the luster of his armor dimmed and his sword became dull.  What once was child’s play for one so great, now became a loathsome task.  The prayers of Camelot mocked the Master Knight.   So great was the hope; yet even greater, his failure.  A broken man, the Master Knight knew that the Grail was not his to find.  There remained but one part of his adventure  . . . the part most dreaded.  He must return to his king.

The way to Camelot was long and hard.  Carrying a staff instead of a sword, wearing sackcloth in place of mail, the Master Knight journeyed home.  With no horse to bear him, he walked in the company of the poor.  He shared their bread, he cared for their sick, and he dressed their wounds.  The one who once laughed at death, now wept when they died.  Older and wiser,  the Master Knight came to Camelot and his king.

When he approached the gate of the city,  he saw an aged beggar laying across the road.  His body was  covered with filthy rags, his skin with festered sores.  Accursed by the rich and shunned by the poor,  the beggar lifted his hand to the knight and cried out, “Help me, kind sir, lest I die.”  “How can this be?” thought the knight, “It's the same man as before.”  Cradling the beggar’s head in his arms, the Master Knight said, “Take my water and my food.  Let me  wash your sores and dress your wounds.  This time, I shall care for you.” 

Then, in a blinding light he saw that it was no longer was the beggar, but the Lord Jesus.  And Jesus said, “MASTER KNIGHT, YOUR QUEST IS ENDED.  IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, LET THEM DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW ME.  FOR WHOEVER WOULD SAVE THEIR LIFE WILL LOSE IT, AND WHOEVER LOSES THEIR LIFE FOR MY SAKE, WILL FIND IT.”  The Master Knight had rest. His quest was fulfilled.  
~ ~ ~
Once upon a time in Galilee, there lived a disciple of great renown.  He was strong and brave and had no equal among the twelve.  The Master Disciple was the Lord Jesus’ champion and in all the land, there was none so grand as he. 

One day the Lord Jesus challenged his disciples with a question: “WHO DO THE PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS?”  And when they answered, he had yet another question.  “BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”    All were vexed except the Master Disciple.  Never once did he doubt.  “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God.”   The Lord said to him, “. . . . ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE POWERS OF DEATH SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.” Then the Lord Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and, on the third day, be raised.

The words of the Lord Jesus put fear into the Master Disciple’s heart.  The Messiah could not suffer . . . He must not suffer . . . He was the Chosen One, the Son of God.  There seemed no purpose to his death.  And if the Messiah should suffer, so might his disciples.  In fear, the Master Disciple took his Lord aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid it Lord, this must never happen to you!”

But the Lord Jesus said, “GET BEHIND ME, SATAN!  YOU ARE A STUMBLING BLOCK TO ME; FOR YOU ARE NOT ON THE SIDE OF GOD, BUT OF HU­MANS.”  The Master Disciple was troubled.  He was strong, but his faith was weak . . . .  Three times in Jerusalem he denied his Lord who loved him more than life itself.

The tale of the Master Disciple is too long to tell.  His Lord was crucified, and, on the third day, he was resurrected by the power of God.  Then, by Galilee's shore, the Lord Jesus asked, “DO YOU LOVE ME?”  And three times, the Master Disciple answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Then the Lord said to him, “FEED MY SHEEP.  TRULY, TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, YOUR GIRDED YOURSELF AND WALKED WHERE YOU WOULD; BUT WHEN YOU ARE OLD, YOU WILL STRETCH OUT YOUR HANDS AND ANOTHER WILL GIRD YOU AND CARRY YOU WHERE YOU DO NOT WISH TO GO.”   Then the Lord disappeared from sight.

When the Master Disciple was old and weary, he went to Rome to comfort the weary and give strength to the persecuted.  Filthy rags covered their bodies and festered sores, their skin.  Accursed by the powerful and shunned by the world, they cried out to the Master Disciple, “Help us, kind sir, lest we perish.”  But as he cradled their heads in his hands, the soldiers took him from their midst to be crucified.  Suddenly, in a blinding light, the Master Disciple saw the Lord Jesus once more and heard him speak, “IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, LET THEM DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW ME.  FOR WHOEVER WOULD SAVE THEIR LIFE WILL LOSE IT, AND WHOEVER LOSES THEIR LIFE FOR MY SAKE, WILL FIND IT.”   The Master Disciple had rest.   That very day, the Stumbling Stone had become the Rock.  His quest had been fulfilled.
~ ~ ~
Once upon a time in Little Falls and Hillman,  there lived a people who would be disciples of Jesus. They were faithful and strong and had no equal in zeal for worship.  In all the land there were none who tried as hard as they.  Then the Lord Jesus began to show them that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and, on the third day, rise again.  The words of the Lord Jesus put fear into the people's hearts.  Their Messiah could not suffer because he was the Chosen One If the Messiah should suffer, so might they.  In fear, the people took their Lord aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid it Lord, this must never happen to you!”

But the Lord Jesus said, “GET BEHIND ME, SATAN!  YOU ARE A STUMBLING BLOCK TO ME; FOR YOU ARE NOT ON THE SIDE OF GOD, BUT OF HUMANS.” When the Lord finished speaking, they saw an aged beggar who lay on the road.  Rags covered his body, and festered sores, his skin.  Accursed by some because he was not one of their own, and shunned by others who had little compassion for weakness, the beggar lifted his hand and said, “Help me, my friend,  lest I perish.”   Then the Lord Jesus spoke   “IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, LET THEM DENY THEMSELVES, TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW ME.”  
​
Unlike the knight . . . Unlike the disciple  . . . this story is not yet done, nor the decision made.  This day, both the beggar and the Lord Jesus still wait for us.  “FOR WHOEVER WOULD SAVE THEIR LIFE WILL LOSE IT, AND WHOEVER LOSES THEIR LIFE FOR JESUS' SAKE, WILL FIND IT.”   Amen.

August 23, 2020

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 23, 2020

Introduction
The story of Jesus and the disciples at Caesarea Philippi is told in all three of the Synoptic Gospels [Mathew, Mark, and Luke].  It is important because Jesus asks his disciples two questions:  Who do people say that the Son of Man is? & Who do you say that I am?  In today’s sermon, I will focus on the second question because it forces the reader to answer. 
  
Matthew’s version of the questions at Caesarea Philippi also has direct implications for church polity.  ‘Church polity’ is a way of describing how we understand the nature of the Church.  The discussions turn on Jesus’ response after Simon Peter professes that Jesus is ‘the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replies, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’  In Greek, Peter’s new name is a word play on ‘petros’ which means ‘rock.’

The medieval Catholic Church understood these words to mean that Peter himself was the foundation upon which the Church would be built.  The leaders of the Church are the direct spiritual descendants of Peter, the first universal bishop of the Church.  This unbroken line of succession continues as bishops and priests are consecrated through the ‘laying on of hands’ from one generation to the next.  Through its bishops and priests, the Church is given the authority to use Office of the Keys for pronouncing God’s forgiveness of sin.

The Reformers took a different approach. Martin Luther and others understood the Church in terms of mission. In the Gospel for today, the Reformation churches argued that Jesus identifies Peter’s ‘rock-like faith’ as the true foundation. This foundation of faith empowers the followers of Jesus to exercise the Office of the Keys in his name, empowering the Church to tell the story of Jesus to the world. 
 
Church history shows that both traditions have shaped church history.  Today’s Roman Catholicism is ‘structural’ in nature because the Church can only exist where clergy are present. The clergy, they suggest, are the direct line to Peter who was understood to be the first bishop with churchwide authority.  The is commemorated by the laying on of hands by local bishops.   The leaders of the Reformation used a ‘functional’ definition that identified the Church as  a group of people whom God has called together for the purpose of spreading the story of Jesus to the world in accordance with the final words in Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Therefore, Lutheran ecclesiology described the church as a community of faith where ‘two or three are gathered’ in the name of Jesus to do the work of God’s Kingdom.

Both understandings of what it means to be Church are helpful.  We must remember that both ideas have positives and negatives.   And because the Church, although called into being by Jesus, is a human organization that is subject to human brokenness.   We must also remember that the Kingdom of God and the Church are not synonymous.  As believers, we are saved, not by our theologies or ecclesiologies, but by our faithfulness to Jesus.

Pastoral Note
It was good to gather for worship outdoors at both Bethel and Immanuel last Sunday.  Our next outdoor services will on the following Sundays, weather permitting:  August 30, September 13, and September 30.   Service times will be Bethel - 8:30 and Immanuel – 10:30. 

Also, it is important for you to know that I have nearly completed the Ministry Site Profile for our Parish that is necessary for our participation in the call process.  I am ‘blending’ your input and that of your church councils in a unified profile that accurately represents the Bethel-Immanuel Lutheran Parish.  When this is done, I will submit to our congregational presidents and to our respective church councils for revision and approval before sending it on to the NE MN Synod office. 

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 16:13–20, 24-26
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  17And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah . . . 24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
 
‘Rumors’
Let us pray. Father of all mercies, God of all consolation, come to the aid of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone.  Send your Holy Spirit upon us this day so that we, like Peter, might come to know Jesus as ‛the Christ, the Son of the Living God.'  Empower us as we attend to your holy Word and grow as a community of faith doing the work of the Kingdom.  We pray in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

When darkness finally came, it was still 90 degrees outside.  There was no getting away from the heat . . . not even at night.  But at least it was quiet and dark . . . No drill sergeant in our faces yelling at us.  When the lights were turned out at the Harmony Church area of Ft. Benning, we could talk to each other if we whispered.   Even at night, the drill sergeants kept a close watch on their new recruits.   

Most often, the conversation was what you'd expect from lonely young men a long way from home.   We talked about our real lives . . . about what was going on at home:    girlfriends . . . family . . . school . . . food.   You know what I mean; anything to remind us who we really were.   But sometimes, we whispered about what was happening to us.  We all had heard the rumors: Sgt. Ross was going to be replaced because he was working us too hard . . . Tomorrow was the big day, we were going out into the field for two weeks . . .  The inspector general was coming because the food was no good and people over in the 3rd Battalion were sick . . . ‛A' Company had to retake their PT. tests because their scores were so low.   Sleep was slow in coming because of the heat and because of our fascination with rumors . . . Rumors that seemed so interesting in the dark of the night, but always proving untrue in the morning.  Deep down, I think, we knew; but every night, we continued to talk .  Maybe that’s what kept us going.
 
Whenever people come together, there are rumors. Rumors are a fact of life.  Sometimes, they are approximations of the truth; but more often than not, rumors are pure speculation embodying someone’ ignorance of what is really happening.  When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California in 1848, everyone had a relative who had heard the story from someone who had heard it from someone else.   The rumors were that everyone got rich and that gold nuggets lay among the rocks just waiting to be scooped up by the basketful.   The facts were that the surface gold was gone in a month and that most the Forty-niners who came to get rich in the goldfields ended up either broke or working for one of the big mining conglomerates.

Like I said, rumors are a part of life; even here in our small communities.  They are way of making conversation, a way of speculating about the future.    Rumors may contain a grain of truth, but it is truth embellished with the speculation of others. Today’s Gospel has an air of mystery about it because of rumors about Jesus.  It seems as if there is a lot of confusion about who Jesus is.  The crowds certainly do not know. The disciples are uncertain.  As Matthew begins, it seems as if everyone had heard a Jesus story:  Reports of healings . . . Strange teachings about God . . . And miracles that defy explanation.  People were wondering what was true and what was not.   Was Jesus just another self-proclaimed miracle worker with Messianic pretensions, or was he who he said he was?  Even after discovering Jesus’ identity, Peter and the disciples are uncertain what it really means for them.  After all, they reasoned, one cannot believe everything they hear.  Sometimes, it’s true; but more often than not, the story has either grown in the telling, or is a blatant fabrication from the start.  One can never be too careful. 

This was the problem Jesus faced in Caesarea Philippi.  Even his disciples did not know what to make of him.   So one day, when they were near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them, ‘WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM?’  It was no accident that Jesus asked his disciples this difficult question while they were in Caesarea Philippi.  Caesarea Philippi was an international city populated by people of many nationalities.  Each culture brought its own religion and archeologists tell us that the hillsides were dotted with little temples and shrines to foreign deities.  There is a touch of irony that Jesus asks his disciples this question when they are surrounded by the false gods of many nations.  

When Jesus asked, ‘WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM?’ his disciples must have been surprised.  After all, Jesus must have heard the same rumors as they did.  Some said ‘John the Baptist,’ because he called the people of God to repentance.  Others said ‘Elijah,’ because it was common knowledge that the prophet must come again before the Messiah comes.  And there were still others who said ‘Jeremiah,’ because Jesus spoke only of God's judgment.  Perhaps, Jesus was all of these; or perhaps, none of these.  Whatever the case, Jesus received exactly what he asked: the opinions of others. The disciples were not theologians.  And as far as they were concerned, the discussion was over.  It was not their place to judge what they heard.  

To their discomfort, however, the discussion was not over. Jesus had yet another question, ‘BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?’  One can only imagine the uneasy silence as the disciples looked from one to another.  To answer was to commit oneself; and to commit oneself was dangerous with Jesus around. But Jesus insisted, ‘WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?’

It soon became obvious that someone must answer. Simon Peter broke the silence. ‘You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.’  and Jesus answered him, ‘BLESSED ARE YOU SIMON SON OF JONAH!  FOR FLESH AND BLOOD HAS NOT REVEALED THIS TO YOU, BUT MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.  AND I TELL YOU, YOU ARE PETER, AND ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE POWERS OF DEATH SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.’ 

It is helpful, I think, to look carefully at Peter’s words because his faith journey is typical of all disciples, past and present.  Without a doubt, Peter was the leader of the twelve. Each Gospel gives him precedence over the other disciples.  Both the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters regard Peter as a ‘leader’ of the early church. But in Matthew’s Gospel, he also fulfills another role.  Peter is the prototype of all believers to come.  His life is a mixture of faith and doubt.  In faith, Peter walks upon the raging sea to meet his Lord; but in doubt, he sinks.  On the road to Caesarea Philippi, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ; but in Jerusalem, he denies that he even knows him.  Matthew holds Peter up as typical of all believers – a curious mixture of strength and weakness when it comes to discipleship. 

To acknowledge Jesus as ‘the Christ, the Son of the Living God’ is to take him seriously.  If there is a criticism of modern believers, it is that we are ‘convenient Christians’ –  Christians who have lost the excitement of their commitment to Jesus;  Christi­ans who always seem to be too busy with the ‘other things’ of life to take a risk because of their faith.  Oh yes, we profess belief in Jesus, but we are unwilling or unable to give him precedence in our lives. 

Why?  I think we've lost our way.   We have done quite well for ourselves.  For the most part we can do just about everything we want to do.  But there just doesn't seem to be time for God and the Church.  We have become consumers who demand, not only quality, but also quantity.   And there’s no end to our appetite for ‘things.’  We have a spiritual hunger, but are skeptical of God and the church. In God’s place we seek ‘some­thing to fulfill’ our need for religious experience that makes no demand on our time or money.  The needs are still there.  We are still lonely; we are still frightened by our own mortality; and we still wonder if our lives have meaning.   Discipleship Lite is not fulfilling because it is not the real thing.  

When Jesus asks, ‘BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?’  he's getting up close and personal. He is asking us to look at our lives; he is asking us to ‘give him a chance;’ he is asking us to acknowledge our spiritual hunger and hopelessness. 

‘BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?’  For some reason that day, Peter screwed up his courage and answered. ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.’  This was no wild guess; Peter did not just happen upon the answer. According to Jesus, it came to Peter from God’s own Holy Spirit. Human agency had nothing to do with it.  Today, the same confession of faith is still possible because God alone is its source.  ‘UPON THIS ROCK, I SHALL BUILD MY CHURCH AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.’  The miracle of God's mercy is that he grants this revelation over and over again to sinners like you and me.  To see Jesus as the Christ is to see ourselves as sinners.  To see Jesus as the Christ is to acknowledge the false gods we serve hoping to gain salvation.  And to see Jesus as the Christ, is to be forgiven and saved.

Peter's gift is also our gift; but with the gift comes a commission.  Alone, a confession of faith is nothing; it needs to be implemented.  And Jesus said to Peter, ‘I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, AND WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, AND WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN  HEAVEN.’  Peter was commissioned to hold the Office of the Keys.  Since we are successors in faith to Peter; since we are the Church, the Office of the Keys is also given to us. Along with Peter, we are given the authority to loose and to bind sin.

On Communion Sundays, we invoke the Office of the Keys as we confess our sins to each other.  And if our repentance is from the heart, the words of absolution will loose the sins that are choking us to death.  Our commission to the Office of the Keys is not something for use only within the community of faith.  Instead, this holy office is an instrument of proclamation. We are commissioned to share the saving story of Jesus Christ with all who will listen.  We are committed to proclaim that there is forgiveness, and wholeness in Jesus.

We must be a community who loves and accepts others without question because Jesus did.  We must speak clearly about the sin and brokenness in our own lives and in the world around us because Jesus did.  We must live in such a way that the love of God shines through us into the darkness of the world because Jesus did.  When the world asks, ‘Who do you say that Jesus is?’ there can be no hesitation.  There is only one answer.  ‘He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God . . . He is the One who died so that we might live.’   

So what does this mean for those who follow Jesus?  Jesus answers, ‘IF ANY WANT TO BECOME MY FOLLOWERS, LET THEM DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.  FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SAVE THEIR LIFE WILL LOSE IT, AND THOSE WHO LOSE THEIR LIFE FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT.’   When we take our crosses to follow him, something strange happens. We discover that we are not alone. Jesus is trying to tell us that his cross is intertwined with ours.  We discover that the One who dies is the One who gives life.  Like Jesus himself, we are to be signs that God is active and in the process of redeeming our broken, sinful, and hurting world.
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Rumors? I don’t think so.   We need only look at the cross and the dying form of the One who loves us to know the Truth our lives depend on.  Amen.

August 16, 2020

Introduction
The lectionary texts for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost invite us to think about boundaries.  The prophet Isaiah writes to a people who have been forced to live in far away Babylon after their nation had been destroyed.  Speaking through the prophet, God promises to restore Israel.   However, this new Israel will include foreigners and outcasts who were previously excluded by the old Israel.  They will gather and worship the God who has drawn them together.  While Isaiah speaks to the nation, the Evangelist Matthew talks on a very personal level.  Jesus instructs the twelve about what life looks like in the Kingdom where all people are welcome; even those who are outsiders.

The Canaanite woman was an outsider whose daughter was ill.   She came to Jesus seeking help, even though she had no legitimate claim on him.  She was a Gentile, he was Jewish; yet he healed her daughter.  New boundaries . . . New rules . . . Everyone welcome.  There are lessons here for our churches today.  I hope you enjoy exploring the Kingdom’s new look using the metaphor of the Hans Christian Anderson’s story of the Ugly Duckling. 
 
Pastoral Notes
 I have several things I would like to share with you. 

• First, remember that we will be having parking lot worship at both congregations on August 16 and August 30 [Bethel at 8:30 am and Immanuel at 10:30 am].  We will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion on both days. 
• Second, both Immanuel and Bethel Lutheran churches have completed their Ministry Site Profiles.  Now that I have received them in the mail, I will put together a composite Profile for each council to modify as needed and then approve.   This composite profile will detail our needs for pastoral ministry.  It will be then be sent to the NE MN Synod to be circulated to potential candidates as they become available for call.   
• And finally, Bishop Aitken has asked me to serve on the NE MN Synod Covid-19 Task Force.   This group includes public health professionals, congregational leaders, and several pastors.  We are to digest available information on the coronavirus and present recommendations to the bishop.   I have accepted the position.   One of the first things I learned is that of the more than 130 congregations in our synod, 15 are currently having in-building worship.  Most others are meeting outside in parking lots using portable sound systems or small FM-transmitters so members can remain in their vehicles and listen to the service on their radios.   I will keep you posted as this task force begins its ZOOM meetings.

In Christ ☩, 
 Pastor Steve

Scripture Lesson -- Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
Thus says the LORD:
            Maintain justice, and do what is right,
            for soon my salvation will come,
            and my deliverance be revealed.
  6And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
            to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
            and to be his servants,
            all who keep the Sabbath, and do not profane it,
            and hold fast my covenant --
  7these I will bring to my holy mountain,
            and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
            their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
            will be accepted on my altar;
            for my house shall be called a house of prayer
            for all peoples.
  8Thus says the Lord GOD,
            who gathers the outcasts of Israel?
            I will gather others to them
            besides those already gathered.
 
Gospel – Matthew 15.21-28
21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.  22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us."  24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."  26He 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.
 
‘Ugly Duckling Theology’

Let us pray.  Dearest Jesus, you know us better than we know ourselves.  You have seen the darkness that is within us.  But despite our brokenness, you continue to love us.   Forgive us for judging others more harshly than we judge ourselves; forgive us for hating others because they are different; forgive us for being disciples ‘of the world,’ rather than disciples ‘in the world;’ but most of all, forgive us for not living in the joy of your gracious love.  Send your Holy Spirit upon us and teach us how be faithful disciples.  In your name we pray, amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

When I was a child, I enjoyed listening to stories that were read to me.  One of my favorites was the story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ by Hans Christian Anderson.  How many of you remember it?

 Once upon a time, there was a mother duck who sat faithfully  on her nest and warmed her eggs.  One day, she could hear the scratching of new life beneath her.  When she looked into her nest, she noticed something strange . . . One egg was different than the others.  Little did she know how different it would be.

Finally, the great day arrived. One by one, little heads broke through the shells.  By the end of the day, five baby ducklings stood by their mother.  But four were beautiful, and one was ugly.  Four were covered with soft yellow down and one with dirty, gray pin feathers.   As the days turned into the weeks, the difference became more apparent.  The one was bigger and clumsier than the rest.   Because of this, the ugly duckling was avoided by the others.  His siblings would have nothing to do with him.  They laughed at him and he became the butt of their jokes.   His size, his scraggily pin feathers, and his mottled color made him the object of their scorn.  The ugly duckling knew that he was different; but he wished that they would accept him for what he was.

The Ugly Duckling is a story of rejection and separation.  Those who should have loved, did not.  Those who should have understood, would not.  As a result, the ugly duckling was left to grow up alone.   All this notwithstanding, the ugly duckling was different.  Somehow, a swan’s egg had found its way into mother duck’s nest.   And when all the eggs were hatched, the baby swan grew up as a duckling – an ‘ugly duckling.’  

Hans Christian Anderson’s story tells how this ungainly creature was mocked by its siblings.  To make matters worse, the forest creatures joined in teasing the unfortunate young swan. You see?  The ducklings were ‘insiders’ and ‘insiders’ always make the rules.  They are ones who tell others what to believe.  They are the ones who are the guardians of what is right and what is wrong.  And they are the ones who decide who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out.’  The story however does have a happy ending: The taunting ends when the ‘ugly duckling’ becomes a beautiful swan and is accepted for whom he really is.

But this more than just a child’s story.  This is a story that talks about something most of us know a good deal about.   Sociologists tell us that from childhood, most of us struggle with peer pressure and lack of acceptance by others.   And, if we dare to be honest, I suspect that we all have painful stories to tell.  We experience rejection in families, in communities, in churches, and even among friends.  Those who should be loving and accepting, oftentimes are not. 

I believe that we are both ‘duck’ and ‘swan’ in real life.   Sometimes, we reject others; and at other times, we are the ones rejected.  Just ask the child who is always picked last in playground games . . . Just ask the son or daughter who is shunned by family members because they do not live up to expectations . . . Or just ask the new person in town who doesn’t seem to fit in with everyone else.  Rejection is very real.  And whatever the situation, there is always pain — excruciating pain.

 It’s not surprising then, that ‘Ugly Duckling Theology’ finds its way into the Church.  ‘Ugly Duckling Theology’ is a way of thinking that has haunted God’s people from their very beginning.  It is a theology that discriminates and draws lines.  It readily identifies those who are regarded as ‘saints’ and those who are ‘sinners.’   It marks the sins of some as being worse than the sins of others.  It is a theology that makes some insiders and others outsiders.  In short, it is a theology that divides rather than unites,  making the all too human distinction between the ‘righteous’ and the ‘unrighteous.’

The irony, of course, is that these same unrelenting standards were applied to Jesus himself. In the beginning of his Gospel, St. John catches the irony of this rejection.  He writes, ‘[Jesus] came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.’  We often talk about ‘going home’ to those we love, but there was no ‘going home’ for Jesus because he was considered to be an ‘outsider.’  His was to be a life of sorrow and rejection that would lead to death on a lonely cross outside Jerusalem.  Then, as now, Jesus is rejected as an ‘outsider’ by the very world that needs him – a world whose people are hopelessly separated from God and from each other.

In today’s Gospel, ‘Ugly Duckling Theology’ came into play when the Canaanite woman approached Jesus seeking help.  But the disciples were certain that Jesus would not help her.  After all, she was a foreigner;  a Canaanite woman who had no legitimate claim upon Jesus.  Everybody knew that she was not part of God’s People. There was a boundary she was on the other side.  But according to Matthew, the woman did not relent.  The more they pushed her away, the louder she screamed. Soon, she had her way, and stood before Jesus.  In a few moments, she went away rejoicing because her daughter was healed.

Had Matthew only outlined the story, we could just walk away and say, ‘How nice of Jesus to heal the woman’s daughter.’  But unfortunately, Matthew also provides the dialog between Jesus and the woman.   As they talk, it seems as if Jesus agrees with his disciples.  We are horrified and embarrassed because this isn't the way he's supposed to act.  It appears as if Jesus has bad manners.

When the woman cried, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon,’ Jesus did not answer.  Instead, he turned to the disciples and said, ‘I WAS SENT ONLY TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.’  But the woman came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, help me!’  And Jesus answered, ‘IT IS NOT FAIR TO TAKE THE CHILDREN'S BREAD AND THROW IT TO THE DOGS.’  Again the woman spoke, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.”  Then Jesus said, ‘O WOMAN, GREAT IS YOUR FAITH! BE IT DONE AS YOU DESIRE.’  And her daughter was healed instantly. 

When we read this, we have all sorts of questions.  Why did Jesus hesitate to do a miracle?  Why did Jesus worry about her nationality when she came seeking help?  And the most baffling question:  Why wasn’t Jesus more compassionate?

After some thought, I realized that to see a recalcitrant Jesus is to miss Matthew’s point.  To do so is to bring modern sensitivities to situation where they are inappropriate.  Matthew is not giving us a window into Jesus’ personality.  Nothing could be further from the point.  Instead, he is making a theological statement about Jesus’ identity.

In the Evangelist Matthew’s church, the relationship of Jew and Gentile was a hotly debated question.  On the one extreme, there were Christians who believed that one must keep the Jewish Law to be a Christian.  On the other extreme, there were many Christians who believed that Christianity existed apart from Judaism altogether.  In other words, is Jesus a ‘Jewish Messiah’ only or is Jesus a Messiah for everyone.   What is at stake, I think, is Jesus’ mission.  To whom will the Kingdom come?  Will it come to the Jews first, and then to the world; or to sinners, regardless of station in life or nationality, who come seeking God.  In other words, does God's grace have boundaries? 

So what are we to make of this uncomfortable story?  I believe that the story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman explores boundaries – Boundaries that are very much a part of our lives today.  We live between the boundary of sin and the boundary of God's grace.

First, the boundary of sin.  We are separated from God, and from each other, by our sin.  And as a result, our world is not what it was created to be.  I have neither the time nor the energy to lecture you on the brokenness our world.  You have only to watch the evening news, or read the morning newspaper, or scan the internet.  Not only do we see it in the media, but we experience it firsthand in our community: personal tragedies like illness and death; economic pressure because of employment changes at the mill; a declining population base, and family troubles that include, alcoholism, violence, estrangement, and separation.  And the list goes on and on. 

I often hear people wondering why all these things are happening now. They wonder why things cannot be more like the ‘good old days.’  Let me suggest an answer.  / / / /

More than once we have been characterized as a ‘lost and disillusioned people.’ People whose dreams have proven false and let them down;  people who, to use Luther’s words, are ‘turned in upon themselves.’   More often than not, we fool ourselves into thinking that we have no hand in our fate; that we are only corks, floating on the raging sea we call ‘life.’  This is sin.  Not only are we the victims, but we are also the perpetrators.  We use buzz words like: ‘self-fulfillment,’  ‘individuality,’  and ‘freedom’ to draw boundaries tightly around ourselves at the expense of our brothers and sisters.  As our nation struggles with the pandemic, this has been illustrated by those who refuse to social distance, wear masks in public, and insist on gathering in large groups despite the risks to the health of others.

Every time we criticize or second guess a brother or sister, we draw a boundary between us and them. And soon our actions echo the words of the disciples as they urged Jesus to have nothing to do with the Canaanite woman.  ‘Get out of here,’ they yelled at her, ‘we don't need you, and Jesus doesn't either.’  This is how sin works. It first separates us from others and then it finally separates us from God.  The boundary of sin is very real, and it means death for us all.
Second, the boundary of God's grace.  Today, in our small community in rural Minnesota, the story of the Canaanite woman challenges the boundaries we so easily draw.  Whatever label we hang on a person, Jesus brushes it aside and meets their needs.  The good news is that God's gracious love for us has no boundaries. In God’s Kingdom, there are no ducks and swans.  All are welcome.  
​
Think again about Hans Christian Anderson’s story.  The ‘ugly duckling’ becomes a beautiful swan.  A beautiful swan who does not reject us in our brokenness.  Dying rejected and alone on the cross, Jesus said, ‘FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.’ And that is good news!
But even more important:  God’s grace is for all people, even sinners like us.  Like the Canaanite woman, we have no claim upon Jesus; like the Canaanite woman, we are sinful and unclean;  and like the Canaanite woman, we also experience the grace of God because, there are no ugly ducklings in the Kingdom. Amen.

August 9, 2020

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 9, 2020

Introduction
As I was thinking about the Scripture Lesson and the Gospel for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, I was struck by sense of isolation that is often part of our lives.  In the Scripture Lesson, the prophet Elijah has defeated King Ahab and Queen Jezebel’s prophets of Baal in a contest to determine who will be the God of Israel.  Despite this victory, Elijah becomes a hunted man as the king and queen seek to kill him.   Elijah flees to the wilderness seeking safety and the protection of God.  He was utterly alone; seemingly abandoned by the God on whose behalf he spoke.  In the Gospel, Jesus sends the disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while he remains alone to pray.  However, the disciples are beset by a storm and fear for their lives.  Both Elijah and the disciples must have cried out to God and asked for help: ‘God, where are you when we need you?’

We can echo this question as we continue to deal with the pandemic and the havoc it has raised in our lives.  I miss my family and my friends. I miss the intimacies that I presumed would always be possible.  I miss worship in the sanctuary on Sundays.  I miss socializing and just going to the store . . . The list is endless.  And what about those who are suffering with the economic fallout from the pandemic?  What about those who have lost loved ones to the disease?  What about the fear that is immobilized us as we mask and social distance from one another?  God, where are you when we need you? 

The good news today is that we are not alone even though it seems that we are.  Yes, it is true that Jesus was not with his disciples; they were alone in the boat. Jesus stayed on the shore to pray.  But even though Jesus was not with them, his disciples were never far from his thoughts.  St. Matthew tells us that he ‛went up the mountain to pray.'  While the disciples were at sea, he was still with them in prayer.  He was aware of the waves . . .  He was aware of the wind . . . And he was aware of their fear; just as he is aware of our fear.   Remember:  Jesus is the Immanuel [God with us].  No matter what we perceive, we are not alone . . . Just as Elijah and the Twelve found when they were beset by troubles that threatened to consume them.  God was present in the midst of their perils and troubles.

Pastoral Note
Our next outdoor worship services will be on August 16 with parking lot worship at Bethel Lutheran [8:30 am] and at Immanuel [10:30].  Note that we will be using an abridged liturgy with no oral responses by the congregation. Your congregational presidents have been very thorough in their planning and they will keep you informed about schedules.   We plan to have bulletins for each service.
​
When will be return to the sanctuary?   That is an open question.  I need to be convinced by the infection data that it is safe to do so.  I am hoping that we will have a clearer picture by the end of September.   We must be patient and practice the protocols that will guarantee our safety.   So be careful.   Continue to mask and socially distance.  May God bless you.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Scripture Lesson – 1 Kings 19.9-18
9At that place Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  10He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."

 11He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;  12and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.  13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  14He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."  15Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.  16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.  17Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.  18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
 
 
 
Gospel – Matthew 14.22-33
22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.  25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.  26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.  27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

 28Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."  29He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.  30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"  31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"  32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

“To Be Alone – God, where are you when we need you?”

Let us pray. – Lord Jesus, we come to you trusting your promise that you will always be with us, even when we feel as if we are alone.  We ask that you would be with us as we seek respite from the pandemic that is moving through our communities.  In our desperate loneliness, we are battered and bruised as the storms of life threaten our faith and our sense of wellbeing.

But Lord, you come to us in the midst of the storm and calm the waters . . . You remind us that even though we are separated from you, you are never separated from us. Let your Holy Spirit banish our fear and strengthen our faith so that we trust that you will be with us always . . . Even to the end of the world.  We pray in your name.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Popular history can be misleading, but sometimes it does not tell you the whole story.  I always assumed that when the Pilgrims landed Plymouth Rock, it was the first English settlement in the New World.  But more careful study told a different story. Some thirty-five years before the Pilgrims, the English founded a colony on Roanoke Island in Virginia. In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh was empowered by Queen Elizabeth I of England to develop cities, to farm the land, and to trade with the native peoples in the name of the Crown.

But life did not go well for the colonists.  There was constant skirmishing with the native Americans and the crops yielded little food.  The colony was in such desperate strait that the leadership decided to send the ship back to Britain under the command of Sir Richard Grenville to purchase more supplies.  But Grenville was delayed in England.  When he did return six years later, he found the buildings of the Roanoke colony gutted by fire; but there was no sign of the people  — The ninety men, seventeen women, and nine children had simply vanished. A closer search revealed that the colonists’ personal belongings were also gone, almost as if they had packed up and left.  Grenville found only a wooden post with the word ‘Roatan’ carved into it.  The colonists had disappeared.

I’ve often wondered what it was like during those last months at Roanoke.  One can only speculate that desperation was rising among the people.  Perhaps there was an epidemic, . . . Perhaps the crops failed . . . Perhaps they were carried away by the native Americans after a fierce battle . . . Or perhaps, they burnt their own settlement and went looking for someplace better to live.  Whatever the case, the colonists must have been very alone at the end.  They must have longed to see an English ship on the horizon.   With each passing month, their hope of ever seeing family and friends again diminished.   The idea of death in a foreign land, seemingly impossible when they left England, was now very real.  As the months turned into years, they could not help but think that they had been abandoned.

The ill-fated colonists of Roanoke Island are not unique in history . . . Others have also felt abandoned by those who should have been concerned for them.  As I listen to the stories of men and women who served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, there is a heaviness in their words.  Many are still embittered because of the war protests at home while they were putting their lives at risk in the field.  Their sense of abandonment is very real.  The American public understood neither the ugliness of war Vietnamese jungles nor the suffering of its soldiers.  And now, veterans from the wars in the Gulf are beginning to experience the same thing . . . A sense of isolation and estrangement as they return to their families, their communities, and their places of employment. To a lesser degree, I think that many people are experiencing the same sort of loneliness and sense of abandonment today.  This time it isn’t a war; but rather, it is the pandemic that we face together . . . A pandemic that seems to be relentless as it burns across our nation and the world. 
 
I think that today’s Gospel speaks about our sense of isolation.  Matthew tells us about a storm on the Sea of Galilee; a storm that put the lives of Jesus’ disciples at risk. 

As the story begins, the disciples were with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  It had been a long and tiring day.  Since early in the morning, the people had been coming . . . They wanted to hear Jesus, they wanted to touch him and they wanted him to heal their sick.  Then Jesus had miraculously fed all five thousand with bread and fish.  But now it was dusk and the crowds were gone.  Both Jesus and the disciples were weary.  So he sent his disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a small boat.  They were to await him on the other side while he stayed behind to pray.

As the disciples sailed across the Sea, a heavy wind came up and slowed their progress.  In the darkness, the winds and the waves broke over their tiny boat.  They struggled to stay afloat. They were tired, they were frightened, and they were at the limit of their endurance.  Suddenly, they saw what appeared to be a ghost walking upon the water and they were terrified.  As the apparition came near to them, it spoke, ‘TAKE HEART, IT IS I; DO NOT BE AFRAID.’   It was the voice of Jesus. 

Matthew continues the story:  Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’  29He said, ‘COME.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.  But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHY DID YOU DOUBT?’  When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ 

I like this story because it raises some very real issues for those who follow Jesus.  At first reading, it’s simply a miracle story; but in the Gospels, miracle stories are more complex than the suspension of the natural order.  In the ancient world, many miracle stories were part of everyday conversation.  But the Church remembers miracle stories because they explore the intersection of the Kingdom of God with our world.  Miracle stories in the Gospels always address a human need, but they also tell us something unique about Jesus and the nature of discipleship.  

When Matthew wrote his Gospel, the followers of Jesus were beginning to face persecution.  It was becoming difficult to continue to follow Jesus.  I think that the early church remembered this story because it spoke to their fears . . . Especially their fear that they had been abandoned by Jesus after his return to the Father.

A sense of abandonment is not unusual. Psychologists tell us that at one time of another, we all feel as if we are alone.  So alone, in fact, that we yearn for the time when we were children and had someone else to protect us. We worry about the future, about work, and about our loved ones.   Living with the uncertainty of ‘What if?’ is both difficult and isolating. 

I learned this in my first parish in Southwestern Minnesota.  I had just finished doing a funeral home service in Morris, Minnesota and had stopped for lunch at a small diner.  Seeing that I was clergy, a man stopped and asked if we could talk for a moment.  Things had been going horribly in his life, and he was wondering where God was in all this.   In a quiet voice, he asked: Can a person lose God?  Then he thought for a minute and changed the words:   ‘No pastor, my real question is:  Can God lose a me?’

Frightening questions . . . Abandoned by God . . . And I don’t think this young man was unique . . . It’s not difficult to lose sight of God. That’s really what happened to Elijah in today’s First Lesson . . . He had lost sight of God . . . He believed that he was alone.  We can understand this . . . Sometimes it’s hard to be a person of faith . . . Sometimes everything seems hopeless . . . Sometimes, it truly seems as if God has abandoned us to our own devices.  We’ve all been there . . . You know what I’m talking about: Worrying about the health and wellbeing loved ones . . . Worrying about our jobs in a changing economy . . . Pouring over a check book wondering how to make ends meet . . .  A sense of frustration . . . A sense of fear . . . A sense of abandonment.   The isolation that is now an all too real part of our lives as we separate ourselves from family, friends, and our old way of life.  In the nearly the six months we have been masking, social distancing, and quarantining ourselves, it seems as if we are so alone and on our own.  I think it is perfectly natural to ask, ‘God, where are you when we need you?’

Even the Church is not immune.  I’ve heard people talking about how hard it is for us to be the people of God this unbelieving world of ours.  So much has changed for those who would be Christian . . . And we talk about how hard it is ‘do ministry’ here in our communities.  We ask over and over again, ‘Why don’t more people come to church?  What are we going to do now?’  We see ourselves as such a small part of Christ’s Church . . . A small part with meager resources.  And sometimes, we think that we have all we can do to just hang on.  We ask, ‘God, where are you when we need you?’   I think that this is the story of all disciples who face storms on the sea of life.  Like the twelve, we fear for our lives as the sea of adversity breaks over us.  We are frightened because Jesus is not with us.  At such times of crisis, we feel as if we are totally alone.

But there is a word of grace and comfort in this little story.  Yes, it is true that Jesus was not with his disciples. They were alone in the boat because Jesus stayed on the shore to pray.  Although he was not with them, they were never far from his thoughts.  Matthew tells us that Jesus ‘went up the mountain to pray.’  While the disciples were at sea, he was still with them in prayer.  He was aware of the waves . . . He was aware of the wind . . . And he was aware of their fear.   In a like manner, our Lord Jesus is with us in times of trial.  Jesus knows our grief, our isolation, and our fear because is one of us.    

The good news today is that Jesus does much more than just remember us.  He has promised to be with us as the trials of life break over us.  Jesus comes to us just as he did to the disciples on that troubled sea.  He comes to each of us in the waters of our Baptism.  Under the sign of water, he claims us forever as his own.  He continues to come to us in his Holy Word and as we gather for worship . . . And he comes to us under the signs of bread and wine as we eat his holy meal.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds those who struggle with their faith that  ‘ . . .  neither death nor life . . . nor things present, nor things to come . . . nor anything else in all of creation can be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

The Gospel story becomes all the more real when we see what happens to Peter.  When he sees Jesus coming toward them on the water, Peter asks if he too can walk on the waves.  At the command of Jesus, Peter stepped over the side and walked on the water.  He did so until he saw the wind and the waves all around him.  Then he began to sink.  

I think that our walk of faith is a lot like Peter’s when Jesus calls us to take the first tentative steps of faith.  Like Peter, we step out over the side of the boat in faith that Jesus will care for us.  As long as we focus our attention only on Jesus, we are safe and secure.  But if like Peter, we let our eyes be diverted by the wind and waves, we will sink into the sea.  When we focus on Jesus, the winds, the waves, and the trials of life take on their proper perspective.  Without Jesus, they are life-threatening . . . With Jesus, we can survive.
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I think that it is really a question of faith.  Is the one who calls us in Baptism able to care for us?  Will Jesus truly be with us in all that we do? Is the ministry to which we have been called here at Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran Churches too great for us?  Are we powerless?  Is the situation hopeless?
 
The good news today is that the disciples were not left alone in the boat  . . . Peter was not left to sink beneath the waves.  The Lord Jesus reached his hand and lifted Peter up . . . And it is the same Lord Jesus who reaches out to us this day.  He reaches out to Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran and offers his hand . . . And with his help, this church will survive . . . Its ministry will prosper . . . And it will remain a faithful witness to the life-giving Gospel of Jesus.   Today, this same Lord Jesus reaches his hand to you and to me because he knows the frailty of our faith and how frightened we are.   Nonetheless, his strong hand seeks us amidst the waves.  And with the touch of his loving hand, we know that we are safe.  Amen.     

August 2, 2020

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – August 2, 2020

Introduction
Today, Jesus continues to describe life in the Kingdom.  Our church is a manifestation of the Kingdom’s presence in our world, even though it is sometimes imperfect.   Several things are striking about the Gospel reading.   First, the common people who come to Jesus hunger for something that is missing in their lives.  Our Lord’s proclamation of the Kingdom addresses the deep-seated hunger of the crowds; so much so that they follow him without regard to their need for food.   Second, Jesus’ compassion for the people over-rides the disciples’ complaint that they do not have enough resources to meet the needs of the people.  But Jesus finds a way – five loaves of bread and two fish.    Read today’s sermon in light of our community’s need, our resources, and our Lord’s promises.   [A personal note about the sermon:  I still do not like or eat beets.]

Outdoor Worship
There will be an outdoor parking lot service this Sunday [August 2 @ 9:30 am] at Bethel Lutheran Church.   There will be a fuller liturgy.  However, we will not sing.  The sermon to be preached then will be this sermon.  Our plans will be to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  Hope to see you there.   Again, although inconvenient, we will wear  masks and practice social distancing.   This service is open to members of both congregations.  Take care and be safe!
In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 14.13-21
13Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.  14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.  15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."  16Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."  17They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."  18And he said, "Bring them here to me."  19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.  21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

“Come, Lord Jesus, Be Thou our Guest”
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, source of all life and giver of all blessings, we come before you this day with stomachs that are full, clothes that are clean, and homes that await us.  We thank you for your gracious gifts, knowing that we neither have earned them as our wage, nor merit them as gifts.  Open our eyes, O Lord, to the world around us, and help us to see the needs of our brothers and sisters.  As you once commanded your disciples to feed the hungry, so now you also command us.  But do not let us despair as we see the multitudes press in upon us.  Give us faith, dear Jesus, to trust that our five loaves and two fishes will be sufficient to meet their needs.  We ask this in your name, amen.  

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

When couples get married, they are often surprised how different their ideas about day-to-day life are.    Each person comes with preconceived ideas of how things will be.  The old expression ‘the devil is in the details’ is especially true in marriage.  For Vicki and me, our first major disagreement was over supper.  My internship in North Dakota was over; we were married on August 15th; and we had just returned from our honeymoon in the Canadian Rockies.  It was the first day of school at Luther Seminary and this would be our first meal at home in our apartment. 

You need to know several things about Vicki and me.  I came from a home where supper was the big meal of the day . . . generous portions of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and, of course, dessert.  Vicki’s family had a different idea about supper.  Lunch was bigger meal . . . Supper was much more moderate.  I also discovered that the Jones family ate a broader range of vegetables than I ever did. 

So the scene was set.  I could smell the roast beef and I thought, ‘This is going to be ok.’  But there was something else I couldn’t put my finger on — a strange odor.   Before I knew it, there were two piping hot beets skittering cross my white plate; leaving trails of red in their wake.   As a thoughtful and sensitive new husband, I said,  ‘I don’t eat beets!  . . . Just look at them: they’re red and they smell . . . I don’t like them and I never want to see them again.’  Well, not good.  I still don’t eat beets, but I’m a lot kinder about it. Ironically, during our quarantine, I discovered that same ‘beety’ smell in the house.  Vicki was cooking beets because she enjoys them. 

Granted, it is a silly story and Vicki and I are well beyond that minor crisis.  But it illustrates how important eating together is.  It’s not the food so much [unless it’s cooked beets], but the fellowship of eating with each other.  It is no accident that the primary sacrament of the church is Holy Communion, which pre-figures the great Messianic banquet at the end of time.

That is why today’s Gospel is so interesting.  It’s the story of people eating together in the presence of Christ.  We know that this is important because the feeding of the 5000 appears in all four of the Gospels.  But as is so often the case, this story pushes us farther than we care to go.  Something unique happened to a group of people who followed Jesus out into the wilderness to hear the good news of the Kingdom.  My goal is to involve you in the story; to help you think theologically.  We are not going to waste our time talking about the historicity of the miracle — whether it’s possible or not.  Such discussions are rarely productive.  So what does the feeding of the 5000 mean for the Church? . . . Or better yet, what does this ancient story of an unexpected picnic mean for us today?    

In the verses that precede our reading, Jesus is informed that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded by King Herod.  His call for repentance made people uneasy; especially the King.  But John would not yield.  King or not, sin was sin, and it would be punished by God.  And for telling the truth, the Baptist paid with his life. 

When he heard the news, Jesus withdrew from the crowds.  He crossed the Sea of Galilee to a lonely place on the other side.  But the crowds would not relent; they followed him around the lake on foot.  Even though it was late in the day, the multitude brought their sick and dying to him . . . They came, half-hoping that Jesus might make them well.  And their hopes were not disappointed, Jesus had compassion on them.  It was an opportunity for ministry.

But the disciples thought otherwise.  Perhaps they were concerned about Jesus himself; perhaps they were tired, and wanted nothing more to do with people; or perhaps, they thought the crowds weren’t worth Jesus’ time.  Whatever the case, the disciples imperiously said to Jesus, ‘This is a lonely place, the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’

But Jesus would not allow this.  Instead, he said to the disciples, ‘THEY NEED NOT GO AWAY; YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.’  The disciples protested because they had only five loaves of bread and two fish.  Such a small amount could not feed so many people.  And Jesus said, ‘BRING THEM HERE TO ME.’ . . . Then he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  After they all ate and were satisfied, they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

This story, I think, is important because it attests to the divinity of Jesus.  Who else but the Son of God could feed the multitude with five loaves and two fish? Note that Matthew has no interest in how Jesus accomplished the miracle; nor do we.  It's all a matter of faith; either we believe, or not. But Matthew recalls the story for another reason as well — A reason that may well prove to be as important as the obvious one.  He seeks to explain the relationship of the Lord Jesus to his Church.  This relationship has three dimensions.

The first dimension is the nature of Jesus himself.  In the feeding of the five thousand, the first thing we notice is Jesus' compassion.  His own grief over John the Baptist’s death notwithstandin­g, Jesus ministered to the crowd.  He set aside his personal sadness to heal the sick who had invaded his retreat.  And when he had finished, he did not send them home as the disciples suggested.  Instead, Jesus fed them with bread and fish until they were satisfied.  [In the Greek, they are fed until they are ‘stuffed full.’]

In a world that doesn't care what happens to us, it is important to know that Jesus does care.  But he cares more than just as a friend . . . He cares as the Lord of the Church.  When he forgives our sins, we are truly forgiven.  When he heals our brokenness, we are truly healed.  And when he feeds us, we are truly satisfied.  Matthew makes this very clear in the language that he uses to tell his story.  They are not the words of a storyteller.  Instead, he uses the same words that are used by the Church to describe the Last Supper.  ‘. . .  [Jesus] took the bread, blessed,  broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples.’  Who, but the Lord of the Church, can satisfy his people's needs in the Sacrament, with an abundance of grace left over.  As the Lord of the Church, he dies so that those who come to him might live.

The second dimension is the people who came to Jesus. They were people who needed help.  Distance and empty stomachs notwithstanding, they came to Jesus because he promised salvation.  Jesus was someone who would help them . . . Someone who would comfort them   . . . Someone who would bind up their wounds . . . Someone to help them.   The people were desperate . . . They were helpless.  So the crowds came to Jesus because they needed something only he could give . . .They needed deliverance from the brokenness that is part of being human.    

I have wondered sometimes if we are not blind to our own needs.  Yes, we live in a world of abundance . . . Yes, we take pride in our strength and that fact they we do not have to depend on anyone else . . . And yes, we are in control of our lives.  But you see, we are not wise enough to know that the same principalities and powers, so real to Paul and to the people who came to Jesus, still oppress us today.  We do not recognize them because they have different names: hatred, pride, sensuality, fear, lust, and greed.  All are symptoms of sin; and left untreated, this disease always ends in death.

Matthew tells the story of the feeding so that we might see ourselves among the crowds coming to Jesus.  He implores us to take a chance . . . to risk the inconvenience, and come to Jesus.  He is our last resort because there is no one else to turn to. The Apostle Paul assures all who come to Jesus that  ‘ . . . neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor 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.’

And finally, the third dimension is the Church as represented by the disciples.  They are a strange bunch.  Although they witnessed Jesus' great works, they still wanted to send the crowds away on an empty stomach.  The disciples were either creatures of little imagination, little compassion, or little faith.  It is almost comic the way they use their own meager supplies as justification to send the people away.  You can just hear them explaining this to Jesus:  ‘After all, how can five loaves and two fish feed such a multitude?  The crowd is simply too big.  They should have planned ahead and brought their own food.’  One can sense their amusement as they say to each other, ‘Doesn't Jesus know anything?  What more can he expect from us?’ All we’ve got is two fish and five barley loaves . . .

But the disciples were in for a surprise.  In Jesus’ eyes, spiritual needs can never be met apart from physical needs.  And he expects his disciples to operate the same way.  They are to both minister to the spiritual needs of the crowd and fill their stomachs.  But what Jesus commands, he also makes possible.  He miraculously multiplied the bread and fish; but it was the disciples who distributed it to the hungry.

Today, we are the disciples of Jesus.  And quite honestly, our resources are not adequate for the tasks set before us.  The world has so many sick, hurting, hungry, and lost people that we don't even know where to start.  Even if we feed some, there always seems to be more who are hungry.  But nonetheless, Jesus words today are clear, ‘GIVE YOUR FIVE THOUSAND SOMETHING TO EAT.’  Jesus has brought this task to us . . . right to our doorstep . . . and there's no way of avoiding what we are called to do..  People are hungry.  

What’s more, Jesus expects us to take him at his word.  Yes, our resources are small, but because we believe that Jesus is present as we do his ministry, the five fish and two loaves will be sufficient for the tasks set before us; be it teaching Sunday School, making quilts, visiting the sick, or extending the hand of friendship to those who are new in our community.  I like the way Eugene Boring put it in The New Interpreters Bible commentary on Matthew’s telling of this story.  He reminds the church that ‘the source of the feeding is God, but the resources are human.  The work of the disciples — the bread of human effort — is honored, used, and magnified by Jesus.’  In other words, God cannot do it without us . . . Nor can we do anything without God.  When a person is hungry or has no suitable place to sleep, it is a mockery of the Gospel to ask whether or not they believe in Jesus.  That will come in good time.  And Jesus says, ‘GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.’

So today Jesus has invited us to a banquet; but it is unlike any picnic we've ever been to.  His instructions are simple, ‘BRING YOUR FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES.’  It is not exactly our idea of a picnic.  And to make matters worse, we don’t even know who else will be there because Jesus has done the inviting.  
Who knows what will happen?  Perhaps the five loaves and two fish will be sufficient. And I suspect that appetites long since departed, will return with a vengeance . . . For the first time in many days, people will smile and talk as they eat . . . Some will even ask for seconds and thirds.  And much to our surprise, mealtime with our neighbors will prove to be an unexpected banquet . . . Something far beyond our expectations.  But that's the way things are in the Kingdom.  Oh, don't forget your five fish, two loaves, and the beets.  Jesus is waiting.   Amen.

July 26, 2020

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – July 26, 2020

Introduction
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus continues to instruct his disciples about the nature of the Kingdom using parables.   Instead of story like parables [last week’s Parable of the Sower and the Soils], Jesus turns to parables that are short, concise, and to the point.  Those who study story and language call these statements ‘apothegms.’  Today, we encounter three such apothegms.   They begin with: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is like . . .’

I believe that parables with extended stories are easier to understand because they draw the listener/reader into a story that changes because of an unconventional or unexpected twist which forces one to make a decision about whether or not they agree or disagree with the point being made.  Story parables often use a ‘literary hook’ to engage the listener/reader.   For example, consider the Parable of the Lost Sons in the fifteenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel.  I can identify with both the younger and elder siblings.  The hook in this story is that that miscreant is graciously received by the Parent while the self-righteous, stay-at-home sibling refuses the gracious invitation to the welcome home party in progress. 

Apothegms are short statements intended to evoke a response.   Listeners/readers must decide immediately whether or not they accept the premise of the parable.   Some of these one liners make a statement about the Kingdom.  Today, Jesus describes the Kingdom as a mustard seed and a woman leavening flour for bread.  Then he changes themes and talks about the Kingdom using the images of a treasure or a pearl of great worth which a person sells everything to possess.  

Both styles of parables are meant to evoke a reaction from those who hear or read them.   Be open to the possibilities.  In the sermon ‘A Little Bit of Luck’ that follows, you will see where these one-liners have led me.

Pastoral Note: We will be having two outdoor worship services at Bethel in their parking lot on the First and Third Sundays in August [8/2 & 8/16] at 9:30am.  These services will be at Bethel Lutheran because of their portable sound system. You will be formally notified when plans are coordinated.
Some or you may be wondering when we will be able to worship in our sanctuaries. I cannot answer that question.   I know that right now I am very reticent about going into a closed building for worship; especially with the current surge in Covid-19 infection rates.  In many states, churches have been identified as places where infections continue to be easily spread. I believe that patience is of the essence for both your and my safety.  Please continue to be safe:  Social distance and wear masks.   May God bless you.

In Christ ☩, Pastor Steve
 
Gospel – Matthew 13:31–33, 44–46, & 51-52
31[Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;  32it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

​33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened . . . 44The 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.  45Again, 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 …51Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Sermon Prayer
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a series of parables that liken the Kingdom to a small mustard seed that grows into the mightiest of shrubs and yeast hidden away in one hundred pounds of dough that will make enough bread to feed a small town.  Jesus then uses the metaphor of a treasure in a field and a pearl of great price to encourage his hearers to seek the Kingdom above all else.  In each parable, Jesus places great emphasis not only on seeking the Kingdom, but also on the joy of finding it.  In Psalm 27, we find a prayer of one such seeker.  Let us pray.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after;
            that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
            to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
            he will conceal me under the cover of his tent,
            he will set me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies round about me;
            and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
            I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
 Hear, O LORD when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
 Thou hast said, “Seek ye my face.”  My heart says to thee,
            “Thy face, LORD, do I seek.”
 Hide not thy face from me.  Cast me not off, forsake me not,
            O God of my salvation!
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the       living!
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage;
            yea, wait for the LORD.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Zvenigorod was a small town in eastern Russia that had few claims to fame.  At best, it was an agricultural center, but nothing more.  Yet, there was one thing that brought people from far and near: the beautiful icon of Christ that hung in the cathedral.  An icon is a picture; and in the Orthodox Church, an icon is regarded as something holy . . . Something that brings those who behold it into the very presence of God.

This icon was very old.  It was the work of Andrei Rublev, an artist who lived nearly 600 years ago in heartland of Russia.  He is considered to be one of the masters of the art form.  Rublev named his new icon ‘The Savior of Zvenigorod.’  But the name didn’t stick.  It soon became known as ‘The Peacemaker’ because the image of Christ brought a sense of comfort and peacefulness to all who saw it.  With a love beyond explanation, the Lord’s eyes pierced the hearts of those who saw the icon.  It was said that all who looked upon the icon of the Savior were touched by God’s own peace. 

Soon, ‘The Peacemaker’ became an object of devotion.  And for nearly 600 years, the loving the loving face of Christ beheld a world broken by sin.  But things changed during the turmoil of World War I and the Russian Revolution.  The icon disappeared and many thought that it had been destroyed.

In 1918, relative peace finally came to the area.  A man named Vasili Kurokov, returned to the ruined buildings of Zvenigorod.  Exploring a barn near the cathedral, he turned over one of the boards used as a step.  His eyes widened in amazement.  Staring up at him was the face of the Savior painted by Rublev.  The missing ‘Peacemaker’ had been found.  A ‘little bit of luck’ or not? Or, was it divine providence?  Who knows?  Whatever the case, the ‘Peacemaker’ returned to where he should be. 

There’s probably a bit of fable in this Russian story; but it has a nice feel to it.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus sets a full smorgasbord of images about the Kingdom before us.  Jesus said, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A MUSTARD SEED . . . .  THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE YEAST . . .  . THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD . . . [AND] THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A MERCHANT IN SEARCH OF FINE PEARLS. . .”  And, more often than not, we pick and choose between the images that appeal to us.  But I don't think that is what our Lord intended.  These parables belong together . . . . and together, they tell us something unique about the very nature of God and his Kingdom.  Let's look at them carefully.

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Kingdom is likened to this smallest of all seeds.  In a short time, the dust-like seeds of the mustard plant give way to a magnificent shrub that even provides shelter for the birds of the air.  Note what happens in the parable: the Kingdom is sown into the world by God, not human agency.  The seed is small and it appears as if nothing is happening.  But like the mustard seed: That which starts out so insignificantly in Bethlehem's stable and seemingly ends so tragically on Calvary's cross, comes to full bloom in Jesus’ resurrection. 

The Parable of the Mustard Seed is about inconspicuous beginnings and magnificent endings. One need only to look at the hidden church that grew secretly in Soviet Russia even though Stalin and those who followed him tried to destroy it.  This parable is about the growth of the Kingdom.  Note that we make no decisions here;  God does it all and the Kingdom grows.  The Kingdom will bloom in its fullness and there is nothing we can do either to hinder it or help it.  The Kingdom of God has already been born among us . . and like the mustard plant, it will reach magnificent proportions.

In the Parable of the Yeast, Jesus suggests another way of looking at the Kingdom.  The yeast is hidden away within three measures of flour and, when the rest of the ingredients are added, it leavens the whole lump of dough.  The key here is the quantity.  The three measures of flour will give over a hundred pounds of dough . . . That's enough bread to feed a multitude of people.  In parabolic terms, it's enough bread for God’s great victory feast when we all celebrate the victory over evil.

Think in the language of the parable.  If Jesus means that the Kingdom of God is the leaven, then the flour is the world.  And when mixed together in an appropriate way, something begins to happen: the dough is transformed into bread.  Just as the flour is no longer just flour, so the world is no longer just the world.  God is at work.  Again, no decisions on our part.  Like Rublev’s icon . . . It is there but hidden from view.  The Kingdom has already been mixed into our world,  and contrary to what we might think, God is at work, right now, transforming our sinful existence into something far better.  And that is good news!  That is grace in action.  

Then Jesus challenges his hearers with a different set of images. ‘THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD . . .  AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A MERCHANT IN SEARCH OF FINE PEARLS . . . ’  In its own way, each parable deals with something found: a treasure and a pearl.  In each instance, there seems to be an element of luck; the laborer unexpectedly found the treasure in the field and the merchant came upon the pearl of great worth.  But there is more here than meets the eye.  This is not about good luck.  These ‘parables of the Kingdom’ reveal the very nature of God.  

In the Parable of the Treasure, Jesus was thinking of a treasure hidden in a jar.  Because of repeated invasions, refugees often hid their valuables in jars and buried them in the earth.  When the armies left, the owners returned to claim their goods.  In Jesus’ parable, a common laborer found just such a treasure.  We miss the point if we debate whether or not he should have told the field’s owner about the treasure.  The laborer did not.  Instead, he went out, sold everything he had, bought the field, and made the treasure his own.

The Parable of the Pearl is similar.  Its only difference is that the merchant is looking for a fine pearl.  He carefully evaluates each one that comes into his hands.  He will know the pearl when he finds it.  Like the laborer, he will sell everything he has to possess it.

Certainly, this is the stuff of good stories, but Jesus does not allow us that pleasure.  The man stumbles upon a treasure . . . The merchant finds a pearl of great worth . . . Both then act decisively on their good luck.  In their joy, they sell everything they have just to possess what they have found.  Jesus’ point is that the Kingdom has a way of surprising us.  God is not predictable; his treasures and his pearls come in many different forms . . . Treasures that have a way of suddenly appearing at our feet and pearls that come our way when we least expect them. 

You see?  There is no escape . . . God will not let us be.  In the first case, those who are just going about their lives and minding their own business, suddenly stumble upon a treasure.  And in the second, those who are searching for something to give their lives meaning, suddenly see a heaven-sent pearl.  Be it treasure or pearl . . . Be it unlooked for or sought out, God encounters us in the person of the living Christ.  Today, these encounters come to us in the witness of others, in the Scripture, in the preaching of the Word, and in the Sacraments. 

The Good News for us is that we have many fields yet to walk through. And in his mercy, God has indiscriminately sprinkled them with hidden treasures.  Pearls of great worth abound because they are the coin of the realm.  And what's more, God wants them to be found.  So much so that they almost seem to get in our way.  But then, what else can we expect from a gracious God who would rather forgive than judge?

Consider the story of long-lost icon.  For many years, Rublev’s ‘Peacemaker’ was missing.  War and famine ravished tiny Zvenigorod.  It appeared that Christ had abandoned his people with the loss of his icon.  But such was not the case.  By chance, a man turned over a rotting board in a broken-down barn and he found the missing image of Christ.  Some said it was luck; but others knew that luck had little to do with it.  Christ wanted to be found.  
​
Today, the icon has been restored.  Those serene eyes proclaim the same powerful message: the living Christ still rules.  Sin and human brokenness cannot destroy him.  His Gospel of peace and redemption will be proclaimed so that everyone might hear it. And thus, it is with our lives.  Although unseen, the living Christ is also among us.  He is the hidden treasure and the great pearl waiting to be found — He is the Christ hidden in the rotting ruins of our lives.  The good news for you and me is that he will be found because he wills it to be so.  Luck plays no part whatsoever.  Christ wants to be found.  Therefore, like the laborer in the field, our joy will be full, if we but open our eyes.  Amen.

July 19, 2020

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 19, 2020

Introduction
As we move into mid-summer, we continue drawing our worship themes from the Gospel of Matthew.  Summer is the time of growth as flowers come to full bloom, trees are covered by vibrant green foliage, and vegetable gardens began to provide food for our tables. It is no accident that this theme is picked up in the Season of Pentecost. Pentecost is regarded as a time of spiritual growth for those who follow Jesus as his disciples.

In the Common Lectionary that we follow, the Gospel reading take the form of parables  that explore the nature of God’s Kingdom and the community of faith.   On this Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus talks about the origin of evil and how his disciples should deal with its effects in the world.   Jesus tells the story of a farmer who seeds his field with ‘good seed’ only to have an enemy sow ‘bad seed’ in the same field at night.

Biblical scholars believe that the parable is rooted in Judean agricultural practice.  Wheat, or a similar grain, is originally planted in the field.  An enemy then sows tares in the field.  Tare is a weed that resembles the young wheat plants so closely that one can hardly tell them apart.   When the field workers ask if they should try to remove the offending weed, the master tells them to wait until the final harvest when the distinction between the plants is noticeable.   The wheat will be harvested, and the weeds will be burned.

The parable is a warning to the newly forming Christian community.   There are no ‘purity tests’ that enable us to separate good from evil.   This does not mean that we should acquiesce to the evil that surrounds us; but rather, that we be cognizant of it and do what we can to mitigate its effects while realizing that God will deal with evil at the final harvest. 

We live in a time of extreme polarization in our political and religious convictions.  So much so that we can barely talk to each other and hear points of view different than our own. [See last week’s sermon on the difference between listening and hearing.]  One need only look at the controversy about social distancing and the wearing of masks in public as an example of this polarization.  To reinforce our own positions, we often construct purity tests to guide our decision making.  But tragically, we are incapable of being truly objective and often do unimaginable damage to people and community of faith as we seek ‘purity.’ 
 
When Jesus explains the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares to his disciples, he reminds them that God will deal with evil and that God is also a God of grace.  To quote my sermon:  Grace has everything to do with the way the redeemed practice what they have experienced when it comes to people they regard as sinners.

Pastoral Note
We will be planning another parking lot communion service at Bethel Lutheran.  Members of both Bethel and Immanuel are invited for this short, sacramental service.  It is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, July 22 at 5: 30 pm. [Don’t forget your face masks].   

We are also discussing the possibility of having a Sunday outdoor service at Bethel in a shaded area beginning sometime in August. Members of both congregations will be invited.  You will be notified when this happens.

Be safe, continue to socially distance, and wear your face masks.  May God bless you.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
24[Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.  26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.  27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’  28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’  29But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.  30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn . . .’”

36Then [Jesus] left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”  37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,  39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.  40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.  41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

“99 and 44/100% pure . . .”

My pastoral prayer this morning is from Psalm 103.  This Psalm is a part of the Service for Individual Prayer and Confession.  Let us pray.
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The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
     slow to anger and of great kindness.
He will not always accuse us,
     nor will he keep his anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
     nor has he rewarded us according to our wickedness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
     so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
     so far has he removed our sins from us.
As a father cares for his children,
     so does the Lord care for those who fear him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Marketing campaigns make or break a product.  Just hearing a simple tune or the first words of a familiar jingle gives us instant product recognition.  If you were to hear the words, ‘I would like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,’ you would immediately think of Coca-Cola. How about ‘Double your flavor, double your fun?’  . . . You undoubtedly would think of Double Mint Gum. 

Some slogans actually tell you something about the product.  Ivory Soap is a good example.  Proctor and Gamble has used two facts to sell their product.  You heard them in commercials.  First: ‘Ivory soap — It floats.’  And second: ‘Ivory soap — It’s 99 and 44/100th’s percent pure.’ 

In the late 1880’s Americans, it seems, had a problem.  They couldn’t find their bath soap because it always would sink to the bottom of the bathtub.  The urban myth is that a production error at Proctor and Gamble in the manufacturing process caused more air to be whipped into the soap mixture before it hardened — thus making a more buoyant, floating soap.  This new, exotic soap took American by storm and ‘It floats’ became a by-line for Procter and Gamble’s new soap.

Then in 1881, Harley Proctor cemented his product’s place in  America’s heart.  He labeled his ‘Ivory Soap’ as ‘99 and 44/100th’s percent pure.’  Interestingly however, there were no standards for soap at the time.  The new soap was like all the other soaps in the world because it was made out of two components that sounded especially uninviting — fatty acids and alkali.  But Proctor believed that if he could market his soap as ‘purer’ than other soaps, he would win the market.  His chemists told him that his Ivory soup had:  .11% uncombined alkali, .28% carbonates, and .17% mineral matter.  If you subtract this from 100%, you get 99 and 44/100th’s percent purity . . . a number slightly better than his that of his competitors.  What Mr. Procter did was set the standard for purity that matched his soap . . . And then he made it the point of his marketing campaign.

This is all well and good for soaps, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, but I think that it becomes problematic when an organization or a nation focuses on ‘purity’ to define itself.  In late 1940’s and early 1950’s, our nation and its government was torn apart by the ‘anti-Communist’ scares prompted by the House Un-American Activities Committee and hearings led by Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin.  The lives of many prominent Americans, actors, scientists, union representatives, and university professors,  were ruined by allegations that they were ‘communists or fellow-travelers.’

Similarly, ‘purity’ discussions in the church are not productive.  More often than not, it’s like a ‘circular firing squad.’  No one ever wins these discussions . . . Church history is littered with casualties as one side insists on purging the other.  So, we face tough questions:  What does it mean to ‘pure enough?’   Is 99 and 44/100th’s percent purity enough to be pure?  Does this mean that there is a pure doctrine . . . a pure faith . . .  a pure morality . . . a pure ethics?  Are there standards to which we must adhere to be the ‘true Church.’  And what happens when we aren’t 99 and 44/100th’s percent pure?     

You know the answer as well as I do.  As one looks back on church history, God’s people haven’t done well in tolerating those with whom they disagree.  Let me give you a classic example of a purity discussion gone awry.  Consider the witchcraft trials in colonial Salem, Massachusetts.  There was a mindset that God’s people had to be ‘holy,’  And it was believed that a person’s holiness could be observed by the way they lived.  To be the People of God meant that they must be pure; and such a purity could only be achieved if the impure were destroyed.  The charge of witchcraft was all that was needed.  Soon, those who were judged to be unacceptable by the citizens of Salem found themselves accused of witchcraft.  Petty grievance, personal hatred, and innuendo fueled the developing madness.   They knew for certain God’s people would return to holiness only when the witches of Salem were destroyed. But unfortunately, those who sought holiness and purity in others, did not possess those qualities themselves.

Unfortunately, Salem Village is not an isolated incident; God’s People have often sought to eradicate the unholy from their midst . . . To become, ‘99 and 44/100th% pure,’ if you will.  But each time, the result is the same: innocent people get hurt And God is not served when innocent people die.  Early in his ministry, Jesus had challenged those who sought to limit the type of people accepted by God.  Pharisee and Zealot alike, felt the sting of his words.  There was no way to separate the ‘good’ from the ‘bad’ or the ‘holy’ from the ‘unholy.’   To illustrate his point, Jesus told the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.

The parable drew upon the experience of those who heard Jesus.  At one time or another, everyone had sown a field of wheat. And undoubtedly, they also had the misfortune of watching weeds come up with their wheat.  In the parable, an enemy had sown the weeds in the field after the good seed had been planted.  The servants questioned the master, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then has it weeds? . . . Do you want us to go and gather them?”  The master replied, “An enemy has done this . . . let both grow together until the harvest, lest in gathering the weeds, you also root up the wheat. I will tell the reapers, ‘gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn . . .’ ” 

The words of Jesus are addressed to all who consider themselves to be God’s People. They are directed to Pharisee, Puritan, and to anyone today who is concerned about the God’s people being ‘99 and 44/100th%  pure.’   And today, Jesus speaks to us.  His parable is as simple as it is direct.  God's world has been sown with goodness, but an enemy has deceitfully sown evil in the same field.  Both goodness and evil emerge in the world and grow up together.   Both good and evil are manifested in the lives of God's people.  But God will not allow the rooting out of the evil because, in the process, the good are also destroyed.   In the harvest, it is God who will separate the two.

I think that this is word of warning to God’s people. Who is saved and who is not saved is the Lord’s concern . . . Not ours.   In baptism, in the hearing of the Word, and in the eating of the Supper, we are called to faithfulness . . . We are called to live as witnesses to the live-giving grace of God.  But we are not called to judge others. 

The life-giving good news of this parable is the word of assurance from Jesus.  Despite the presence of evil in the world, God will bring his Kingdom into being.  He will not be delayed.  God is in control and he still ordains the beginning and end of all things.  We and our broken world are safely in God’s hands.  And in these troubled times, we need to hear this promise again and again.

Then we find a word of caution.  We are not to take upon ourselves the task of separating the good from the evil.  Jesus is emphatic about this.  This task belongs to God alone; and to no one else. Today it seems as if the righteous are all too ready to claim this task as their own.  As in Salem, the list of those who are identified as being evil suit the prejudices of the moment. This list currently includes AIDS-patient­s, Arabs, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, born-again Christians, AFDC mothers, LGBTQ+, military people, peace advocates, blacks, whites, the Taliban, Iranians, Americans, the wealthy, the poor, Republicans, and even Democrats.  It all depends upon who is making up the list.  In our rush to judgment, violence is done to the Kingdom and God is not served.  There is a touch of irony here.  Those who would limit attendance at the banquet of life, may well find themselves without invitations.  

And finally, Jesus' parable tells us something about God.  He is  a God of grace.   Grace is really about God reaching out to a sinful world and receiving sinners . . . Grace is God forgiving sinners when everything else, and everyone else, says that they will die . . . Grace is God saving people who have difficulty even admitting that they are sinners.  Grace is God reconciling sinners to Godself and making them whole.   So, let me give you another way of thinking about grace: Grace has everything to do with the way the redeemed practice what they have experienced when it comes to people they regard as sinners.

We’ve come a long way this morning — from Ivory soap to purity in the Church.  One more fact about Ivory Soap: Procter and Gamble claimed that the inspiration for the soap is Biblical.  In one particular translation of Psalm 45 one verse read: ‘All thy garments smell of aloes and cassia out of ivory palaces.’  It’s the image of purity. But notice there is no qualification — no ‘99 and 44/100th%’ pure because ‘GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.'  

This means that God is a God of 100%.  It is God’s will that no one be lost.  There is no rush to judgment because God is a patient and a forgiving.  And God waits, ever hoping that just one more sinner will be saved.  Amen

July 12, 2020

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – July 12, 2020

Introduction
I have just finalized my homily for the upcoming Sunday. We continue reading from Matthew’s Gospel.  With the beginning of the thirteenth chapter, the evangelist shifts the focus from the person of Jesus to the nature of the Kingdom of God and its intersection with the world in which we live.   Our Gospel is the Parable of the Sower and Jesus’ interpretation of the parable for his disciples.   The Scripture Lesson suggested by the revised common lectionary to support the Gospel comes from the Isaiah school of prophets.  The prophet reminds the people of Israel that God’s Word always accomplishes what God intends for it to accomplish [vv.10-11].

So what is God’s Word for today?  How do we receive it?  Why do some hear and understand while others hear and do not?  These are good questions for us to consider when so many claim to speak for God.  Discerning God’s intention is not an easy task for us.  Our difficulty is that there are so many distractions.  My sermon is an attempt to explore the difference between listening and hearing. 

We live in an environment surrounded by a cacophony of sound that is both distracting and misleading.  Our political dialog has moved from disagreement over principles to rancorous ad hominin attacks on those who disagree with us.   When we factor in the racial tensions of the last several months as Americans finally begin to honestly consider the darkness of our history and our weariness of the ‘coronavirus lockdown’ [and the surging infection rate], it is hard to focus on what God might be saying to us during this difficult time.

Our comfort is that God’s Word will not be denied.  They will accomplish the good that God intends even if we have difficulty hearing them.  But even more comforting is that fact that God [as the Sower] is indiscriminate when it comes to sowing the Word in the world.   Even the rocky and the weed infested margins of the field receive God’s special attention as the seed [Word] is sown there. Thanks be to God!

Pastoral Note
As Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise across the nation, this is continues to be a time for patience.  Minnesota has been fortunate to date because our infection rate has remained constant.   I believe that this has happened because many of us are wearing masks and continue to practice social distancing as we go about our lives.   Right now this is the way we manifest our sense of Christian community by putting the well being of others ahead of our discomfort because we must wear masks and stay at home.

Please note that we will again be scheduling brief ‘parking lot communion services’ as the leadership of our two congregations talk together.  You will be informed when these dates are set.   In the meantime, be strong and trust God.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Scripture Lesson – Isaiah 55:10–13
The prophet speaks for God:
10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
            and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
            making it bring forth and sprout,
            giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
  11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
            it shall not return to me empty,
            but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
            and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
  12For you shall go out in joy,
            and be led back in peace;
            the mountains and the hills before you
            shall burst into song,
            and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
  13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
            instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
            and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
            for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Gospel – Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.  2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.  3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.  4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.  5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.  6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.  7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  9Let anyone with ears listen!”

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

“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LISTENING AND HEARING”

Let us pray. Creator God, you work unceasingly in the field of humanity sowing the good seed and awaiting its yield.  It is our prayer that the power of your Holy Spirit transform our hearts into the good soil you seek.  Let your Word bear fruit 100-fold in deeds of compassion as you bring forth the new Kingdom among us.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Here are some random pieces of information from December 6th and 7th, 1941:

• 2:30 am / December 6th / Hawaii / Army Headquarters at Fort Shafter, Oahu: Reliable intelligence was received from Washington D.C. that the Japanese embassy burned its code book and ciphers.  [The information was considered top secret by the Army and not distributed to the Navy or Air Force.]
• 3:00 pm / December 6th / Washington D.C. / Department of Defense Cryptographic Section: Civilian translator Dorothy Edger reported intercepting extremely heavy Japanese radio traffic concerning Pearl Harbor naval base.  [When she reported this information to the officer in charge and requested immediate distribution, he replied, ‘Why don’t you run along . . . ? We'll get back to this piece on Monday.’]
• 6:30 am / December 7th / Pearl Harbor / Mobile Radar Unit at Opana, Oahu: Radar operators, Pvts. Elliot and Lockard, reported ‘something completely out of the ordin­ary’ to their watch officer, Lt. Kermit Tyler.  In their words, they saw ‘an unusually large flight’ of aircraft on their screen at a range of 130 miles.  [Lt. Tyler was relieved.  The B-17's from California were due in shortly. He told the crew, ‘Don't worry about it.’  At 7:30 am the blips were 45 miles away from Oahu.]
• 7:30 am / December 7th / Pearl Harbor / Fort Shafter - office of General Walter Short, US Army Commander in Hawaii:  When the general saw puffs of smoke in the sky, he asked his aide, Col. Bicknell, ‘What's going on out there?’  Col. Bicknell replied, ‘I’m not sure, but I just saw two battleships sunk.’  [General Short looked sur­prised . . .then he snapped, ‘That’s ridiculous,’ and turned his back.]

When the sun finally set on December 7th, 1941, 300 aircraft were destroyed, 8 battle­ships and 10 support ships were sunk or severely damaged, 2,403 service personnel were killed and 1,178 were w­ounded.  Listening and hearing . . . There is a difference.  Sometimes we listen, but oftentimes we do not hear.  And rarely has not hearing had such tragic consequences.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.  Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A FARMER WENT OUT TO SOW HIS SEED.  AS HE WAS SCATTERING THE SEED, SOME FELL ALONG THE PATH, AND THE BIRDS CAME AND ATE IT UP.  SOME FELL ON ROCKY PLACES, WHERE IT DID NOT HAVE MUCH SOIL. IT SPRANG UP QUICKLY, BECAUSE THE SOIL WAS SHALLOW.  BUT WHEN THE SUN CAME UP, THE PLANTS WERE SCORCHED, AND THEY WITHERED BECAUSE THEY HAD NO ROOT.  OTHER SEED FELL AMONG THORNS, WHICH GREW UP AND CHOKED THE PLANTS.  STILL OTHER SEED FELL ON GOOD SOIL, WHERE IT PRODUCED A CROP--A HUNDRED, SIXTY, OR THIRTY TIMES WHAT WAS SOWN.  THOSE WHO HAVE EARS, LET THEM HEAR.” 

I think that Jesus’ admonition about hearing is the key to unlocking the meaning of this parable.  Not just listening the way we listen to music and idle conversation in the coffee shop . . . but hearing . . . Truly hearing what is being said.  The problem is that we are a hasty folk who speed-read the imagery, and jump quickly to conclusions.  But this is not the way Jesus intended parables to be heard.  Parables are not snippets of doctrine about the Kingdom.  Instead, one might say that parables actually bring the Kingdom into being for the hearer.  In the hands of Jesus, the process is unique.  He begins with a simple story from everyday life that suddenly turns upon the hearers, and challenges them with an eternal truth . . . an eternal truth that forces one to make a decision about the Kingdom.  

But to hear the parable means that one must listen; something that is so very difficult today.  It almost seems as if we don't have time to listen to each other anymore.  Often, we just ‘talk at each other,’ intent only upon getting our point across.  Teenagers say that parents do not listen to them, and parents say the same about teenagers.  Marital discord often begins when one spouse will not listen to the other.  Pro-life and pro-choice people scream at each other, but do not listen to what the other is saying. Since 2016, political discussions, even in families, has often become impossible.  In short, disagreements capable of tearing apart families, friendships, and communities occur because we do not listen to each other.  We talk to each other, but we do not hear what we are saying.  But nonetheless, Jesus says, ‘THOSE WHO HAVE EARS, LET THEM HEAR.’ In this parable, the key idea is hearing the Word of God.  Using Jesus’ imagery, our ears are the soil of our lives.  Ears listening to the Word are good soil; ears distracted, indifferent, or disinterested are the unfruitful soils of the parable.  One must listen to live.  ‘THOSE WHO HAVE EARS, LET THEM HEAR.’

Remembering that the interpretive key to this parable is ‘hearing’ we look first at the Sower.  The Sower is indiscrimi­nate when it comes to throwing seed.  Some seed falls on the path and are consumed by the birds; other seed falls among the rocks and dies for lack of soil; and still other seed falls among thorns and is choked.  But amazingly, some seed also falls upon good soil and yields a great har­vest; even a hundred-fo­ld. 

Like the Sower, God is indiscrim­i­nate, even careless, with the  Word.  Certainly, paths and rocks and thistles do not bear much promise, yet God continues to scatter seed over them.  Who, but God, knows where the good soil is?  It is God’s will that all human beings be confronted by the promise of the Gospel.  Because God is the sower, there will certainly be a great harvest.  Every human being will have the opportunity to hear the life-giving Word.  

However, Jesus does not stop after making this point.  Had he done so, we could have congratulated ourselves at learning something about the nature of God and let it go at that.  But Jesus makes it specific.  The seed is the `Gospel of the Kingdom,' and when it is sown in people's lives, something happens.  There is no neutral ground.  Positive or negative, good or bad, something always happens.  A person is never left the same. They are either hear it or they do not.  Whatever the case, they are changed by the Word.    

Where does the seed fall?  It falls on a variety of soils; each representative of how we listen to the Word.  

Some seed falls on the path.  This soil is hard and packed down by years of human traffic.  The seed that falls on this ground never gets started because the soil is just too hard for the young plant's root. This soil is unsuitable because its orientation is wrong. People are more important to the footpath than are seeds.  Similarly, many who hear the Word are more oriented to the world in which they live than they are to the Word of God.  The Bible stories heard from youth grow dull and irrelevant when compared to the newspapers of today. Prayer seems to be but an idle waste of time when so much must be done. And even the Church that once seemed so important, is written off as an expensive luxury when it comes to spending incomes in a tight economy.  The people of the footpath are so busy with the family, work, and recreation, the so-called ‘impor­tant things of life,’ that the Word of God cannot be heard.

Other seed falls on rocky soil.  This is the soil in which everything grows, but nothing lasts.  The Word is heard and embraced, but grows no roots in a person’s life.  Perhaps people of the rocky soil look for guarantees where there are none; such things as protection from pain and suffering, spiritual highs, and easy discipleship.  They are so focused on themselves that they do not hear Jesus say, ‘TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.’   The seed never had a chance.

Other seed falls among the thorns.  One might call this ‘choked listening.’  The Word is heard, but is slowly drowned out by the many other sounds of life . . . Sounds, I might add, that are quite important.  But one cannot listen equally to all sounds.   There must be one to dominate; one to set the theme for living.  People of the thorns have no center in their lives; nothing of eternal meaning.  Soon, the Word of God is choked out and dies.

And finally, still other seed falls upon good soil.  There is nothing complicated about this soil.  The parable does not mention fertilizer, weeding, or even no-till farming; but nonetheless, it still grows.  The seed enters the soil, grows, and bears fruit.  Such people hear the Word of God for what it is and nothing else matters.  Here the seed grows and multiplies; yielding a crop beyond all expectations; even a hundred fold.  

In summary then, the Word does not automatically guarantee our salvation.  As in the parable of the Sower, God’s Word falls upon many different soils.  Sometimes it grows, and other times it does not.  Salvation comes only when the Word is heard.  That is why we come to church: to hear the Word.   Such hearing begins with ourselves.  Truly hearing the good news that there is a God who loves us more than life itself can only change us . . . Truly hearing the good news that there is a God who forgives the blackness of my sin can only free me from my brokenness . . . And truly hearing the good news that God has conquered death, for me and all who believe in Jesus, can only make me God's child forever.  Therefore, in the promise of our Baptisms, we can live as people who know that the seed of grace will yield a great harvest.

Moreover, we can also pray that seed might find fertile ground in our hearts.  And, if that happens, who knows what the harvest will be? . . .  30, 60, or even a 100-fold?   Who knows what this might mean for Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran Churches?  Who knows what can happen when the seed takes root in our lives?  Who knows?   All we know is that the harvest is certain; for such is the power of God's Word.  ‘THOSE WHO HAVE EARS, LET THEM HEAR!’  Amen.

July 5, 2020

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 5, 2020

Introduction
My homily this week focuses on the innate nature of our brokenness as human beings. I intentionally chose not to lead with the word ‘sin’ because it immediately colors our ability to talk about its true meaning.  We often think about sin as a laundry list of things that we should not do because such acts are offensive to God and destructive forces in our lives. While this is true, human sin is far more complex.

Sin is rebellion against God. There can be no other way to think about it.  Sin is not a little misstep here and there. Sin is integral to our being.  It is our declaration of independence from God.    We desire to control our lives –Not at the exclusion of God, but rather by giving God the minimum required so that we might be masters of what is left.   We desire to be unfettered and unbound – Doing what we want, when we want, for our own gratification.   

What happens to individuals is mirrored in our communities.  Multiplied over and over, the inevitable extension of our individual brokenness is society that disregards the needs of the poor and hungry; a society that understands sexuality as a tool for marketing and self-expression; a society where wealth is the measure of one’s ultimate value; and a society that is intolerant of those who are different than we are.   

Contrary to what we might say or believe, we are accountable for our sins.  However, I believe that our society has a problem with accountability.   No one accepts responsibility for what they do, or for what happens to them because of their actions.   The consequences are always someone else’s fault.  In a perverse way, this often has provided Christians with a way of rationalizing their sinful actions; an excuse, if you will. The tempter has become someone to blame; someone other than ourselves who is responsible for the things we do that run contrary to God’s holy Law. If not the evil one, we blame our circumstances for our misdeeds.

However, God will have none of it.  God knows our innermost thoughts and desires.  We are prodigal sons and daughters who have chosen to leave home because we think we are better off away from the Father.   But life has not been better.  We are alone, and apart from God we will certainly die. 

But all is not lost.  There is a word of grace.  Despite our ill-fated beginnings, our fascination with sin, and the brokenness in our lives: God is still with us.  God has not abandoned us in the darkness of our sin. Through the Holy Spirit, God calls us to repentance and enables us to believe in that Jesus died for our sins. The good news is that ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come. . . nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ [Romans 838ff].

My homily for this week uses another metaphor that I think will be useful for understanding our brokenness.  It is entitled: ‘The Games People Play.’

Pastoral Note – This past week has seen a marked increase of coronavirus infections, especially in the ‘Sun Belt’ our nation.   Texas, Florida, Arizona, and California have had significant spikes in infection rates.  So far, Minnesota seems to have ‘flattened the curve’ to some extent.   However, this is not the time to have changes in our practices of mask wearing and social distancing.   We have come so far, and I urge you to continue your faithfulness in

A number of churches across the nation are gathering for worship without face masks while disregarding social distancing.  Unfortunately, there are some pastoral websites carry statements from clergy suggesting to their church membership that ‘one must trust God to protect us’ as they gather for worship.   I believe that this is irresponsible.  God has given us the gift of science and we need to trust the input medical and public health professionals who give us science-based guidelines to follow.   We must do what we know works as we await the development of a vaccine.    protecting yourself, your families, and those around you. Rest assured; we are not going to rush back into the sanctuary because we can legally do so.  We will do so only when it is safe for all of us; but now is not the time.

In the meantime, we will continue with ‘parking lot communion’ several times a month.  Please watch Facebook, our churches websites, and email for notification of time and place.   Take care of yourselves and continue your good work!

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve
 
Scripture Lesson – Romans 7.15-25a
Paul writes to the church in Rome: I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Gospel – Matthew 11.16-30
Jesus said to the disciples, “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

“The Games People Play”

Let us pray. Holy Father, send your Spirit upon us tonight as you speak to us through the words of your Son.  Open our ears to the good news of salvation so that we who are captive to sin might be set free.  Shake us out of our comfortable pews, dear God, for it is in hearing your Word that we live.  Let the New Age of salvation dawn in our lives this day as we hear Jesus’ call to follow him.  In his name we pray, amen. 

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

The games people play.  Right after I finished college and long before I was married, my brother and I and my friend Julian went skiing at Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah.  We all had skied a good deal in the Twin Cities area and did quite well on Minnesota hard-pack; but skiing in the mountains is a different story.  The runs are steep and long.  In some places there’s powder snow; in other places, there are moguls (bumps) as big as earthmovers.  But none of this dampened our enthusiasm.  

We immediately went to the tram to try our luck on the highest expert run.  After putting on our skis at the top of the run, we noticed three young women who seemed to be stranded in a field of large moguls some 300 feet below us.            I looked at Julian and Ken and said, ‘They look like they need help.  Let’s ski down to them.’   With that, I planted my poles and pushed off.  My first two turns were flawless; but on my third turn, I caught the tip of my ski on a mogul and flipped head over heels down the hill.  My skis released and started to windmill over my head.   And since I’m not a small person, my momentum carried me down the slick snow faster and faster.  I slid by the supposedly stranded skiers and didn’t stop until I hit a tree a hundred feet below them.  Later that night, we did see them at a restaurant; but they just smiled and walked away . . . I’m certain that I impressed them . . . The games people play.

Before I went to the seminary, I was plant manager for a mid-sized factory in the Twin Cities. We had a worker named Chris who never seemed to do anything.   He was always walking around in the plant, from one department to another, interrupting the others.  Chris had been disciplined several times with written warnings and suspensions.  I also suspected him of stealing power drills from the company, but I could never prove it.  Then one day, as Chris was punching out at 4:30, someone bumped the catch on his lunch box.   Two rolls of company toilet paper tumbled out onto the floor.  Chris denied that he had stolen them.  It was obvious he said, someone had put them there.  The games people play.

In my first parish, a very well to do retired farmer invited me over to his house to talk about his stewardship and the Church.  He told me proudly that he tithed 10% of his income.  I said, ‘Oh really?  That’s quite a gift.’   [I knew how many acres he farmed.] Then he said to me, ‘Don’t get the wrong idea, pastor.  I tithe 10% of my social security income, not my farm income — I can’t afford to to tithe everything; it would cost me too much money . . . The Church would just spend it anyway.’   The games people play.

It should be no surprise that today’s Gospel is about ‘the games people play’ with God . . . Games that are very real . . . Games that unmask us for who we really are . . . Games that can make the difference between life and death.   Jesus asks his listeners, “TO WHAT SHALL I COMPARE THIS GENERATION?  IT IS LIKE CHILDREN SITTING IN THE MARKETPLACES AND CALLING TO ONE ANOTHER, ‘WE PLAYED THE FLUTE AND YOU DID NOT DANCE; WE WAILED AND YOU DID NOT MOURN.”  FOR JOHN CAME NEITHER EATING AND DRINKING, AND THEY SAY, ‘HE HAS A DEMON;’ THE SON OF MAN CAME EATING AND DRINKING, AND THEY SAY, ‘LOOK, A GLUTTON AND DRUNKARD, A FRIEND OF TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS!’"   

When he finished speaking, Jesus then drew upon image he had seen in the marketplace: a  group of children trying to decide what game to play.  One says, “Let’s play wedding." The group says, "No . . . We don’t feel like being happy today.”  “Ok,” says another, “let’s play funeral.” But the group says, “No . . . We don’t feel like being sad today.”   And so it goes . . . They never can quite decide what they want to do.

 It seems to me that Jesus is talking about people who play the ‘religion game.’  But what they don’t realize is that the stakes in this game are very high. Jesus uses the children in the marketplace as a metaphor to explain how people ‘play at religion.’  This parable describes how people react when confronted by the Kingdom when they encounter John the Baptist and Jesus.  Their words are not heard and they are both rejected by those who hear them.  John lived as an ascetic and was criticized for not eating or drinking.  The people  said, ‘He has a demon!’  Jesus, on the other hand, was criticized for eating and drinking.  They said he was glutton and drunkard who associates with sinners.  The games people play with God.  They are not inclined to accept the Kingdom or its messengers, even though one preaches judgment, and other, forgiveness.  The games people play . . . They will do anything to avoid an encounter with the Kingdom . . . Even to the point of playing the ‘religion game’ with God.

In his letter to the Roman congregation, Paul explores this deadly game and calls it what it really is: ‘sin.’  He talks about sin in a profoundly personal way.   According to Paul, our decision-making is faulty . . . we choose to sin against God and each other . . . To sin is to rebel against God even though we know in our heart that it will bring about our own death.  And tragically, it’s a game that people play, even though they’re bound to lose.  We play thinking that God is deceived by our petty deceptions and slights of hand.

Sin isn’t something we do occasionally. Sin is a state of mind; a way of operating that puts us at odds with everything God intends for us.  We are sinners through and through.  Everything we do is tainted by our brokenness.   Despite our best intentions, we always end up acting in our own best self-interest.   Paul alludes to this in his Letter to the Romans.  He writes, ‛I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.' 

So what is Paul talking about here?  Some have suggested that he's talking about the all-too familiar human struggle against temptation. You know what I mean: The neighbor who wants to be kind, but still can't wait to spread the latest piece of delicious gossip . . . The politician who is an idealist, but must compromise dearly held principles to ‘get business done’ . . . Or the high school student who studies hard and wants to get high grades, but sometimes copies other students’ work to be successful. 

But others have suggested something more subtle . . . something far more dangerous.  Sometimes we can fool ourselves into thinking we are followers of Jesus by living a one-dimensional piety that serves our own self-interest.   In other words, we set the agenda for our lives, rather than allowing God to do so.  At times, the voices of those who call themselves ‘Christian’ are as strident and destructive of those who have no relationship with Jesus.  We know that we all have difficulty being as compassionate or as loving as Jesus.   We can will what is right, but most of the time, we cannot do it because we are yoked to the world.

The yoke of this world is an iron chain that binds our every move.  We are in bondage to our self-will and pride.  We are confident that we can handle anything that comes along as we seek success at all costs.  To this burdensome yoke, we add our accumulated grief, our bitterness, our vanity, our envy, and our loneliness.   It is only a matter of time before the load becomes unbearable.  And tragically, the old Adam and Eve within us insist upon bearing this burden alone.  

And Jesus said, ‘COME TO ME, ALL WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.  TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, AND LEARN FROM ME; FOR I AM GENTLE AND LOWLY IN HEART, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  FOR MY YOKE IS EASY, AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.’

Living in the era of mechanized farming, most of us know little of yokes and how they work.  I am told that a yoke was carefully sized for a particular animal – Sized so that it fits comfortably around the horse’s or the ox’s neck.  The animal that bears a yoke, shares its load with another; the strong paired with the weak.  But even more important, with the yoke, comes direction.  No longer does an animal wander aimlessly about the field.  Wearing a yoke enables it put its energies to constructive use in service to its master.  So also for us.  The yoke he offers is fitted especially to us.  This happens in Baptism when Jesus calls us by name to be his brothers and sisters, children of the same Father.  Under the sign of water, we are yoked with him for all of eternity; the strong with the weak so that the burdens of life might be shared.  

To be a follower of Jesus is to be yoked with him.  And to be yoked with him is to be certain of his presence . . .  and to be certain of his presence is to love others . . . and to love others is to take up his ministry.  This yoke means that there is nothing in our lives that Jesus has not already experienced.  Anxiety, loneliness, and fear of our own mortality are maladies that afflict us today; but they are known to Jesus because he is one of us.   Today, it is this Jesus who offers us his yoke . . . It is this Jesus who stands ready to intercede for us before the Father . . .  It is this Jesus who died so that we might live.
​
On Easter morning, Almighty God declared once and for all that sin’s old game is over.  He declared that we are yoked to Jesus in life, in death, and in life again.  He declared  that ‘ . . .  neither death, nor life, . . .  nor things present, nor things to come, . . . nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Sin is the game people play . . . BUT THAT GAME IS OVER . . . Jesus has won . . . And because Jesus has won, so have we.  Amen.

June 28, 2020

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – June 28, 2020

Introduction
These are unsettling times.  We are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic that has put us at risk and forced unwelcome changes in the way we live.  We are also at one of those ‘hinge-point of history’ moments as we are beginning to confront our nation’s uncomfortable history of racism.  Both the pandemic and the social unrest we are experiencing will shape our society for the generations that will follow us.  

The bitter political divisions in our nation have made thoughtful reflection difficult.  We hear the voices of many people who profoundly disagree with each other. The lectionary readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost [the oracle of Jeremiah and Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew] raise a number of questions:  Who exactly is a prophet?  What is the message of a prophet?   What if there are competing prophets [Jeremiah and Hananiah], who do you believe?  

Difficult questions.  I believe that some of the prophetic voices we are hearing today are not helpful.  Our national divisions provide fertile ground for false prophets who speak with little authority beyond their own political, social, and religious agendas.   Please understand that I use the word ‘prophet’ to include those who claim to speak from a religious/biblical perspective as well as those who are secular and see themselves as guardians of common sense and the free expression of political rights. 

Two of the difficult discussions that are going on in our nation now are the pandemic and our historical remembrance of the Civil War.  As a response to the coronavirus, the CDC recommended protections to deter infection.  Secular false prophets have argued against social distancing and use of face masks as suggested by the medical and public health communities as a safeguard against infection.  Their argument against recommended practices is based on a perceived limitation of their individual rights.  In the discussion of the place of Civil War monuments and statuary commemorating Confederate leaders, secular false prophets argue for their preservation as part of our national heritage even though these leaders were insurrectionists whose desire was to fracture our nation over the issue of slavery. 

In today’s homily, we will explore the prophetic dimension of discipleship.  It is difficult to have a discerning ear as we listen and try to live our faith.  At the risk of tipping my hand about the trajectory of the homily, I will conclude with one key paragraph I think is help as we frame our thoughts. 

Those who speak for the Lord are those who live their faith.  They are guided by the Presence of the Resurrected Christ among us . . . The Holy Spirit who empowers our sanctification.  We can love others, because he first loved us; we can forgive others, because he has forgiven us; and we can minister to others because he ministers to us.  To have faith in Jesus is to be a servant of Christ.  And to be a servant of Christ is to take up his ministry.

Hopefully this will help as we listen to today’s prophets and discern the truth of their words.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Scripture Lesson: Jeremiah 28.5-9
5Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD; 6and the prophet Jeremiah said, ‘Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles.  7But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.  8The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.  9As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.’

Gospel – Matthew 10.40-42
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘40Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;  42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
 

‘Probability, Predictions, and Prophets’

Let us pray.  Almighty God, we thank you for your redemptive love made flesh in your Son Jesus who is our Lord.  It is our prayer this morning that you would send your Holy Spirit upon our church so that we might be living reminders of your presence in the world.  Help us to forgive rather than condemn; to build up rather than tear down; and to love rather than hate.  Open our eyes and our ears, as well as our hearts, to our brothers and sisters around us; and bind us together with your love so that we might be effective tools for work in the Kingdom.  And in the fullness of time, grant that we may live in your presence forever.   We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Predicting the future is risky business.  Many who claim to be ‘experts’ as see themselves as prophets who can speak with certainty about the future.  We all know that very few people get it right . . . Especially when it comes to technology.  Let me give you a few examples that are quite humorous in light of what really happened.

• In 1927, H> L. Warner, the president of Warner Brothers studio said, "Who the [expletive deleted] wants to hear actors talk?" He was an advocate for silent films. 
• In 1977, Ken Olson, the president of Digital Equipment Corporation said, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."  Today, most homes have multiple computers for family use. Many people also use cellphones that are, in fact, mini computers.
• In 1899, Charles Duell, the Commissioner of the United States Patent Office said, ‘Everything that can be invented has been invented.’   Today, the patent office is at least 12-18 month behind in processing patent applications for new ideas. 
• And of course, the automobile has been the subject of countless predictions.  In 1951, Motor Trend magazine advanced the idea that cars will be powered by small atomic reactors.  In its July 1959 issue, Popular Science magazine predicted with certainty that cars would soon be riding on a cushions of air that would allow them to travel 150 mph over water and 500 mph on land.

Well, you get the point.  Science and technology often take unexpected turns; and only rarely are predictions of the future accurate.  Most of the time, they prove to be silly statements that come back to haunt the one foolish enough to make them. Prophets of doom wear many disguises: politicians who predict a disastrous future if their opponents are elected; sociologists who identify alarming trends that will eventually tear apart our families or communities; and economists who predict economic chaos if some particular international scheme is not followed.  Fortunately, most of us take such ‘future talk’ with a grain of salt.  But there seems to be one group that always gets a hearing; one group whose pronouncements always get more than their fair share of publicity.  Of course, I am referring to those who claim to speak for God. 

Today, many people claim to speak for the Lord . . . Some stand in pulpits, others on street corners, and still others in front of television cameras that give them national exposure. They claim a special insight — a special message — from the Lord that must be spoken to the multitudes.  Their topics vary from the end times to the moral decay of America.  They make promises. They guarantee judgment. They promote moral codes that 0ften seem contrary to Scripture. And they are quick to identify those who are sinners among us.  They all have something to say and they always tell us that our failure to listen will bring only death and destruction to all that we hold dear. 

So, dare we listen to any of this?  Who do we believe?  How can God send so many conflicting messages? Who truly speaks for the Lord? How can we know for certain?

These questions are nothing new.  God’s people have always had to choose between the false prophets and the true prophets . . . And sometimes, it’s difficult to know which is which.  If you don’t believe me, just ask the people of Jerusalem how hard it was to choose between Hananiah, the King’s prophet and the perennial bearer of good news,  and Jeremiah, the incessant complainer.  The people did not know where to turn and they were looking for answers.  The little nation of Judah was caught between two dangerous enemies . . . Egypt to the west and Babylon to the east.

Hananiah, the king’s prophet,  looked like a prophet and sounded like a prophet.  When he said ‘Thus says the Lord . . . ’ it was like God was speaking.  And what’s more, he was saying what the king and the people wanted to hear.  He assured his hearers that mighty Babylon would fall within two years.  He even promised that the ten-thousand hostages taken from leaders of the people would be returned to their homes along with the holy vessels taken from the Temple.  If Hananiah were to be believed, Judah would again become a world power, and her king, Zedekiah, another David.  Hananiah was a prophet the people liked because he told them what they wanted to hear.  

Why did people listen?  It was a time of apparent prosperity.  Jerusalem was a center of trade and money came easy to the wealthy.   Oh yes, armies were on the move and there were wars and rumors of war; but King Zedekiah and his counselors thought Judah was secure.  They played by the rules.  An alliance here, a treaty there – Security was a matter of planning and statecraft.  And what’s more, the king was certain that he had God on his side.  His priests assured him that as long as the Temple worship was carried out on the Sabbath, the nation would be safe.   After all, they were God’s chosen people.    So why worry?  If they played the ‘religion game’ by the rules, everybody won: The king got the security he wanted; the clergy got the recognition they wanted;  and the people got the assurance they wanted.  But unfortunately, God didn’t get what God wanted: repentance and a change of heart. 
 
As it turned out, Hananiah the prophet was wrong . . .  And it fell to Jeremiah, a young prophet to tell both king and people the truth. He was called to be a prophet at a very difficult time.  God called him to speak words of judgment to a self-assured king and people.   Jeremiah’s words would not be well received.  Many thought that he was a traitor to king and country . . . Some even accused him of selling out to the Judah’s enemies.  

But Jeremiah had the counsel of the Lord.  God saw their Temple worship  for the sham that it was.  Although the people, the priests, and the king thought they had ‘done enough to satisfy God,’ they had it all wrong.  They worshiped with their mouths and not their hearts.  What was said on the Sabbath was not lived during the rest of the week.  The people all did what was right in their own eyes.  Merchants cheated their customers with false scales . . . Personal morality was nonexistent . . .  And the worship of other gods was encouraged ‘just in case additional help might be needed.’  The hearts of God’s people were corrupt . . . so darkened by sin that they could not repent.

So, Jeremiah the reluctant prophet, was told to speak words of judgment.  The false prophet Hananiah would die . . . God’s people would be taken into captivity . . . Holy Jerusalem would be burnt to the ground . . . And God’s Temple would be desecrated.  But no one believed his words. How dare he speak such heresy and treason?  Jeremiah’s family disowned him; his friends tried to kill him; and he was called a ‘mouthpiece for the enemy’ . . . a traitor to his people. 

Dueling prophets . . . Who’s right?  Which one speaks for the Lord? What exactly is the word of the Lord for God’s people? Who do we listen to? It isn’t an easy decision to make — particularly today when there are so many pronouncements by those who claim to speak for the Lord.  Nonetheless, I do think that a careful reading of the encounter between Hananiah and Jeremiah can provide us with some guidance.

First, false prophets are often accepted by society and their words are heard with gladness.  Hananiah and his counterparts today are very prominent people who rub elbows with the powerful people in our world.  They have access to people and to  the media.  Like Hananiah, they are often chaplains of  the status quo who speak the words people want to hear.

In the last half century, the well-known religious leaders who could speak so eloquently sin were silent when it came to issues that were dividing our nation: segregation; a war in Southeast Asia that was, at best, misguided; and our increasing materialism.  In a nation that takes pride in its ‘pull yourself up by your bootstrap’ work ethic, it’s no accident that prominent religious personalities rail against programs that provide tax relief, food, and medical care for low-income people. It’s no wonder they preach the so called ‘Gospel of Prosperity.’ True prophets are counter-cultural . . . They do not cultivate the favor of people who are leaders.  Like Jeremiah, the true prophet dares to speak difficult words because as Jeremiah says, ‘They are like fire in my bones . . . And I cannot hold them in.’  These words are spoken no matter the risk or the consequences.

Second, false prophets conclude that God’s present and future actions are entirely predictable.  They speak with authority about how God will deal with sin . . . Who will be punished for what sin and how.  They readily identify the signs of the end as if God has given them the key to the secret code of Armageddon.  True prophets are different . . . They bow to the mystery of God . . . Calling people to renewed faithfulness . . . Trusting that God will be faithful.

And third, false prophets envision a future that is inevitable. God will condemn –  God will judge – God will destroy.  But the true prophet challenges the people of God to change and become participants with God in creating a different state of affairs.  Jeremiah, after delivering his message of death and destruction . . . after watching the Babylonian armies encircle his beloved Jerusalem, went out and bought a plot of land as a sign that God’s people did indeed have a future.  Jeremiah challenged them to repent and turn to the Lord and to become a sign to all nations that the God of Israel was both faithful and forgiving.

So, who speaks for the Lord today?  Be careful . . . There are a lot of people who are saying strange things these days . . . There are even some who say that the sky is falling and the end is coming.  But somehow, I don’t think that these are the people who speak for the Lord.

Those who speak for the Lord are those who live their faith.  They are guided by the Presence of the Resurrected Christ among us . . . The Holy Spirit who empowers our sanctification.  We can love others, because he first loved us; we can forgive others, because he has forgiven us; and we can minister to others because he ministers to us.  To have faith in Jesus is to be a servant of Christ.  And to be a servant of Christ is to take up his ministry.

There is a word of caution. There are no exceptions, faith always requires action.  If we but permit him, our King will lead us to our neighbor; to the hungry family down the block, to the person sick with AIDS or with cancer, to the lonely senior citizen who has no one to talk to, or to the high school student who needs a friend.  Those who suffer and bear heavy burdens belong to Jesus and he has always been among them.  So if we want to find Jesus, we must join him there.

And on the last day, Christ the King will say to his servants, ‘COME, O BLESSED OF MY FATHER, INHERIT THE KINGDOM PREPARED FOR YOU . . . ; FOR I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU GAVE ME FOOD, I WAS THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE ME DRINK, I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU WELCOMED ME, I WAS NAKED AND YOU VISITED ME. I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU CAME TO ME.’

His servants will say to him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give you drink, or naked and clothe thee, or in prison and visit thee?’    And the King will answer, ‘TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, AS YOU DID TO ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE, MY BRETHREN, YOU DID IT TO ME.’   Amen.

Pastoral Note
Parking lot communion at Bethel Lutheran Church on Wednesday, June 24 and Wednesday, July 1 at 5:30 pm.   Please note that this will be a communion service with a brief homily about the Sacrament.  All are welcome.

June 21, 2020

Third Sunday after Pentecost – June 21, 2020

Introduction
Last week our theme was a ‘Task of Great Urgency’ as we explored the outward directed vector of discipleship.  Why the urgency? The answer is clear: lives depended upon it.  Jesus knew human life for what it was.  He knew the Galileans.  He knew that their lives were marred by sin.  He knew that this sin could only earn the wrath of God.  And he knew that they would die without help.   Their need was so great that they clutched at anything that gave them hope. St Matthew writes, “They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Given the urgency of discipleship, Jesus reminds his followers that it will not be an easy task.   Not only will there be skeptics, but oftentimes their opposition to the outward focus of discipleship will make it difficult for everyone.   As I write today, we face twin crises: the coronavirus pandemic and the racism that continues to divide our country. 

Each has the potential to be lethal for many people.   We are getting weary of social distancing and hope to get back to lives that are normal.  But Covid-19 does not respect our heartfelt desire set aside all the precautions we have been living with since mid-March.  I am saddened because I am seeing fewer people wearing masks and much larger public gatherings where social distancing is impossible. Unfortunately, public health professionals are noting sharp increases in Covid-19 infections in cities and states that have prematurely set aside the stepped procedures set out by government officials and the Center for Disease Control [CDC].  Then, several days ago, another person of color was killed in an altercation with the Atlanta police in what should have been a routine encounter.  Again, as details emerge, it is further evidence that something is wrong in our society.  One wonders what the outcome would have been if the victim had not been a person of color.

“They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” The words are more true today than when I wrote them last week.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the difficulty of the urgent task to which his disciples are called.   Social change will not come easily.  It is especially difficult when we are sheltering in place in our homes and limiting our exposure to friends, family, and neighbors because of social distancing. 

Perhaps we must fall upon one of our most ancient traditions.  Prayer and guided spiritual reflection.  I recommend the Psalms as a good place to start supplemented by a chapter by chapter reading of our lectionary Gospel of St. Matthew.  Prayer is our communication with God.   In addition to praying for our families and friends, we must also pray both for social healing and that God guide us as we continue to live with the pandemic.  Please understand, I am not a fatalist.   I believe strongly that God’s grace is sufficient to sustain us and guide as we move ahead.  Today’s Gospel ends with words of hope.   Jesus says those who are his disciples:  ‘ARE NOT TWO SPARROWS SOLD FOR A PENNY?  YET NOT ONE OF THEM WILL FALL TO THE GROUND APART FROM YOUR FATHER.’  I will end this week’s reflection with the words, ‘God does not abandon the sparrow, even in death.  So much the more for us.’   

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel:  Matthew 10.24-39
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!  26So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.  28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  30And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 “32Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. 34Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  38and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Comfortable Discipleship?

Let us pray.  Almighty God, we are not the disciples you called us to be.  We are silent when we should speak, proud instead of humble, and self-centered instead of self-giving.  And sometimes, we are just afraid.   But in the death of your Son Jesus Christ, you freed us from the prison of self and washed us in your life-giving grace.   

Dearest Father, it is our prayer that you send your Spirit upon us to strengthen our faith.  Reassure us that we are not alone and that what we do, we do in your name.  Guide us so that, like Jesus, we might be servants of all our brothers and sisters.  For it is in receiving them, that we receive him; and in receiving him, we receive you.  We ask this in our Savior’s name.   Amen. 

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Last fall, I saw something I hadn’t seen for years: a 1958 Ford Edsel.  It was parked in the Rosedale parking lot with a ‘For Sale’ sign in the window.  I don’t know how many of you remember the Edsel?  The new car was named for Henry Ford’s oldest son and it was the Ford Motor Company’s first attempt to introduce a revolutionary new design in its product line.  It had a large vertical horse collar shaped grille with split bumpers.  Automotive critics called it ‘an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon.’  Those who were less charitable dubbed it ‘a Mercury pushing a toilet.’  

I think you get the idea.  The new ‘look of the future’ was not well received by the purchasing public.  Sales were abysmal.  The sad thing was that, aside from styling, the Edsel was quite a good car.  There were many innovations and safety features in its design.   From all accounts, the basic engineering was ahead of its time. 

But Ford’s problem was a bad marketing strategy.  From a marketing point of view, it is beyond comprehension that there were no focus groups or market surveys to test the Edsel’s new look.  They were not in tune with what consumers wanted.  Ford simply assumed that car buyers would ‘love’ the new front end.  It was a bad marketing strategy. Not only did it not sell, but the car became the object of ridicule.   After catastrophic losses, production was discontinued in 1960. 

You need a marketing strategy to sell in today’s competitive market.  Modern consumers are very sophisticated.  One marketing strategy is called ‘test marketing.’  And because of its demographics, Peoria, Illinois is frequently chosen as the place where new products are first introduced. 

Why Peoria?  Peoria, Illinois is the geographic center of the United States; it has diverse ethnic communities; it represents the age spectrum of consumers; and its politics are both liberal and conservative.  So much so that our national political parties regard it as a ‘weathervane’ community.   If an idea, a person, or a product will sell in Peoria, Illinois, chances are that it will sell in Los Angeles, Topeka, Omaha, Kansas City, and perhaps even in Little Falls and Hillman, Minnesota.  The  big question is: Will it sell in Peoria? 

With this in mind, I would like you to think about discipleship —  Especially Jesus’ description of discipleship in today’s Gospel.   Will it sell in Peoria?  Better yet, will it sell here in Little Falls and Hillman?

Today’s Gospel reading, follows Jesus’ call of the twelve.   They were called to preach the Gospel saying, ‘the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’   But not all people would welcome their message.  Jesus told them that he was sending them out ‘AS SHEEP IN MIDST OF WOLVES . . . BEWARE FOR MEN WILL DELIVER YOU UP TO COUNCILS, AND FLOG YOU IN SYNAGOGUES, AND YOU WILL BE DRAGGED BEFORE GOVERNORS AND KINGS FOR MY SAKE TO BEAR WITNESS BEFORE THEM . . .’ 

When Jesus defined discipleship in this way, he forever destroyed the image of the comfortable disciple.  Once and for all, he dashed all hopes that discipleship could be heroic.  To be a disciple is to deny oneself, to take up the cross, and to follow him.  To be a disciple is to join him in the suffering of others.  There is no such thing as ‘safe discipleship.’  

And to be quite honest, this is not exactly what we expected when we signed up as disciples of Jesus.   Like the disciples, we were looking for something a bit different; something more to our liking; something more religious, if you will. Jesus does not ask his disciples to withdraw from the world.  Instead, he asks only that they follow him into the world on a journey of faith.  Jesus asks that his disciples give themselves willingly in the service of others just as he gave himself willingly for them.  But here is the question:  Will his vision of radical discipleship sell in Peoria?’ Or is it just another example of bad marketing strategy?

Bad marketing strategy or not, this is the discipleship to which Jesus calls his church today.  He calls  you and me to this same unrelenting discipleship.  Not only are we baptized into his death and resurrection, we are also baptized into his mission.  And make no mistake, it might not be a pleasant experience. Pain, sickness, and loss pay our faith no heed.  A world which should applaud our struggles, laughs at our defeats.  Discipleship is not easy.  As a matter of fact, it's far more difficult than we ever imagined. We who follow Jesus are not well loved by our more worldly cousins. Sometimes they tell us we're impractical; at other times, they ridicule what we say; and at still other times, they may even persecute us for our beliefs. But according to Jesus, this should come as no surprise. This is exactly what his disciples should expect.

After the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5-7], Jesus began to preach and teach in Galilee.  But the task was overwhelm­ing. There were so many who needed to hear the good news of the Kingdom.  To Jesus, the Galileans were ‘harassed and hopeless, like sheep without a shepherd.’  In the verses that immediately precede today’s Gospel, Jesus commissioned the Twelve to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom.  But before they set out, he told them how the world will react to their words: “A DISCIPLE IS NOT ABOVE THE TEACHER, NOR A SERVANT ABOVE THE MAS­TER . . . IF THEY HAVE CALLED THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE THE ‘PRINCE OF DEVILS,’ HOW MUCH MORE WILL THEY MALIGN THOSE OF HIS HOUSE­HOLD? . . . ­WHAT I SAY TO YOU IN THE DARK, TELL IN THE LIGHT; AND WHAT YOU HEAR WHISPERED, PROCLAIM FROM THE HOUSE­TOPS . . . DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO CAN KILL THE BODY BUT CANNOT KILL THE SOUL; RATHER FEAR HIM WHO CAN DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL.” 

Jesus de­stroyed the image of comfortable discipleship forever.  ­He reminds us that it may well be costly to follow him.  Even our families may not understand.  Jesus talks about division in our families because of him . . . Painful division because those who should understand, but do not.  We need to be clear that Jesus is not advocating the breakup of the family.  Jesus defends the sanctity of marriage and the honoring of one’s father and mother.  But even these sacred obligations come second to the in-breaking of God's Kingdom.  The new world of life is far more important because it gives meaning to everything else.  It is only in loving Jesus that we can truly love those whom God has  given to us as family.

Discipleship  is a question of priorities.  ­­And this, I think, is reason for conflict.  The world did not understand Jesus, and it will not understand those who are his disciples.  But nonetheless, Jesus says to disciples both past and present, ‘WHAT I TELL YOU IN THE DARK, SPEAK IN THE DAYLIGHT; WHAT IS WHISPERED IN YOUR EAR, PROCLAIM FROM THE ROOFTOPS.’  There can be no such thing as ‘secret discipleship.’  Each of us, be it at home or in the work place, has the opportunity to either deny Jesus or stand up for him by making moral decisions according to his Word.

Such decisions include how we deal with our sexuality, both as married and single people.  God has set down some very specific guidelines for use of this gift . . . guidelines which our world ridicules as being ‘old fashioned’ or naive. 

Or what about the way we accept strangers who live among us?  Remember: Jesus sought out the woman of Samaria and healed the Roman centurion's daughter, even though Samaritans and Romans were hated simply because of their nationality.   Can we, in our community, do less?  

And what about our pursuit of success?  Jesus warns his followers about the dangers of materialism and reminds them that God must come before anything else in a person's life.  Yet we live in a world that has willingly sold its very soul to the god of success, as measured by the number of cars in the driveway, the size of our homes, the horsepower of our boats, the goods we possess, the size of our salaries, and our prestige in our the community.

And finally, what about the hatred and anger that divides us as a people?  What about the many divisions in our communi­ty? . . . Divis­ions between neighbors, between lake people and city folk, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters?  And this just scratches the surface. Jesus, the one who admonishes us to ‘turn the other cheek’ and to forgive those who wrong us, must grieve as he sees us live amidst our broken relationships.  There is simply no room for hatred and anger in the life of a Christian. The events of the past months bear witness to the fact that there is still a racial divide in our nation . . . A divide that is now finally being addressed. 

So, will all this sell in Peoria? I don’t know.  And as a matter of fact, I suspect that Jesus doesn’t care whether it sells in Peoria or in any other place.    Jesus is not here to sell us a anything.  Instead, he’s come among us to bear witness to a new way of living — A way that puts God before all else.   He speaks difficult words to a reluctant people who are content in their brokenness.  Jesus knows all too well that the world does not like to hear his words.  He knows how frightening it is to challenge the world, even with the truth of the Kingdom.  Jesus knows because he did so and was crucified for it. 

But the good news today is that death and the world do not have the last word.  GOD DOES.  Death could not hold Je­sus . . . And today, this same Jesus speaks to us as the Lord of the living and the dead.  To those who would follow him, to those who must also speak difficult words, Jesus says, ‘ARE NOT TWO SPARROWS SOLD FOR A PENNY?  YET NOT ONE OF THEM WILL FALL TO THE GROUND APART FROM YOUR FATHER.  SO DO NOT BE AFRAID; YOU ARE OF MORE VALUE THAN MANY SPARROWS.’  Since death has no power over Jesus, it has no power over us either.     

Note the words, ‘YET NOT ONE OF THEM WILL FALL TO THE GROUND APART FROM YOUR FATHER.’  God does not abandon the sparrow, even in death.  So much the more for us.  The promise of our baptism, guaranteed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, is that we will never be apart from our Father in heaven in life, in death, and in life again.  Will that sell in Peoria?  Will that sell in Little Falls and Hillman?  
​
You bet it will  — Jesus is with us.  Amen.

June 14, 2020

​Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 14, 2020

Introduction
We are now in the season of Pentecost.  This is the longest season of the church year.   It begins on the Day of Pentecost when the promised Holy Spirit [Counselor, Advocate] of God fell upon the disciples and those gathered with them in the upper room. In liturgical churches like ours, we count time in this season as  ‘The XXXXXXth Sunday after Pentecost.’   The season of Pentecost continues through the summer and fall ending on Christ the King Sunday in late November. 

After seven weeks, the white paraments of Easter are changed to the red of Pentecost.  The red reminds us of the ‘tongues as of fire’ mentioned in Acts as the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples.  The Church was born in the fire of the Holy Spirit.  The Sunday following Pentecost is called ‘Holy Trinity’.  Here the white paraments commemorate the purity and holiness of God.  Following Trinity Sunday, the color changes to green and remains so for the rest of the liturgical year. 

Green is the color of growth and of life.  For this reason it graces our altars for nearly one-half of the liturgical year.  It is also known as the ‘Season of Growth’ as believers grow in faith and service to their Lord.  The corporate dimension of  the Pentecost season calls believers to spread the Gospel to those in the world who have not encountered Jesus.  Believers are called to live lives in service of others.  There is also an individual dimension.  The Holy Spirit seeks to transform believers into ‘little Christs’ (using Paul’s words) as they take up our Lord’s ministry.  Without the Holy Spirit, this radical transformation is not possible.  It is the prayer of the Church that believers continue to grow in lives of faith and service.   

There is a bit of irony in thinking about the Pentecost season as a time of growth when we are not meeting as a community for worship.  To be honest with you, I have reservations about gathering in our church buildings and I fear that it is premature even though some are now doing so.  My concern is based on the fact that many of our parishioners are in an age demographic that that is extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus. [Self-disclosure: I am also part of that demographic.]  I am reticent about going into buildings and confined spaces at this time.  I also want you to know that my family and I evaluate this weekly.  As your intentional interim pastor, I will follow our Bishop’s guidance as well as the direction of public health officials. I am also certain that there will be a time when this particular danger will subside.

What can churches do now?  Bishop Aitken has asked that all congregations form SMART teams that will monitor the situation and provide guidance as we consider, and finally begin to return to community worship.   I have gathered a set of working documents recommended by the ELCA and the NE MN Synod that will guide us in this process.  I have sent these documents via email to the members of Bethel and Immanuel’s church councils.  Please talk to them,  I have also sent a copy of these documents to each church offices so that they are available to any member of our parish.   And finally, since we are a parish, decisions like this will be coordinated by the church councils as I work with them in ensuring the everyone’s safety.
It is comforting to me that we have entered the ‘Pentecost – the Season of Grown’ at this time.  

• Under the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, this is a time for our individual growth as followers of Jesus.  This is especially appropriate now as our cities, our states, and our nation as a whole struggle with the inherent racism that has been crafted into our society over the last four hundred years.  For me, this has been a time of much prayer, reflection, and growth. 
• Under the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, this is a time for the members of our two churches and their councils to work together as we plan for a resumption of our life together as a community of faith.   How do we do this safely and still meet the spiritual needs of our members?   I am pleased that we have begun to discuss how we might celebrate the sacrament of holy Communion with compromising proper health practices.  I am comfortable coming up to either church and doing a brief communion service outside on the parking lot where servers would distribute the elements to those who choose to gather [socially distanced].   Such details would have to be worked out and coordinated by the leadership of our congregations.
• Under the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, this is a time for our church councils to continue their work on the individual parish profiles and our combined parish profile.  I have been assured by Deacon Brenda Tibbets that there will be candidates available next spring as we enter the call process.   It is time to continue preparing.  I believe that growth occurs as we look to our future as we seek to discover how we will respond to the ministry opportunities that God has set before us. 
• And finally, under the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, this is a time for us to look at how we do ministry among our people.  After some serious thought, I believe that it is imperative for us to continue to send out sermon/meditations to those who are unable to worship with us.  Many of our members have called to tell me that they appreciate receiving the sermon/mediations via email and snail mail.  Posting them to Facebook has also been helpful.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel:  Matthew 9.35-10.8
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

‘A Task of Great Urgency’

Let us pray. Holy God, mighty Father, it is your will that all who believe in your Son should have eternal life.  But Lord, there are many who are lost because they have not heard your saving Gospel.  Our prayer this day is that you send your Holy Spirit upon us; empower our witness to your saving grace; and let us trust that you will give us the words to say as well as the courage to speak.  In your mercy, bless those who hear with the gift of faith.  We ask all this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

It is a rare occasion when we face a task of great urgency.  For the most part, our lives are pretty relaxed; few things require our immediate attention.  Take income tax, for example.  One has several months to gather information before the filing date.  Even though there is a deadline, tax returns do not require immediate attention.  Or, consider those large projects at home: painting the exterior or renovating one of the rooms.  It’s work that requires some degree of planning beginning with a deadline.  For many families, the deadline is set by the date of a child’s confirmation or graduation. And once you know the date, preparations can be done step-by-step so that final deadline can be met . . . Sometimes just barely.   My point is that most tasks do not need to be addressed immediately. There is time to do it well. 

The first time in my life when I was confronted with a situation requiring my immediate attention was on April 11th, 1985.  The time was 1:00 am, and I was sound asleep.  Or, at least, I was asleep until Vicki poked me in the ribs and said, “It’s time —  Let’s go to the hospital.  Alexandria is 40 miles away."   Six hours later, our first daughterJoanna was born.  That was a task of great urgency for us.  There was little time for preparation . . . However, much to my wife's chagrin, I did find time to take a shower before we left.  Needless to say, she was  not thrilled; but a new father must always look his best.

Not surprisingly, the image of child birth was familiar to the early Church.  They understood waiting.  They waited, not for the birth of a child, but for the birth of a new age.  They waited expectantly for the coming of the Kingdom.  And with their waiting, came a sense of urgency.  There was much to do before the coming of the Kingdom.  And in today's Gospel, Jesus left no doubt what the Church's task was to be. 

St. Matthew tells us that it had been a busy time for Jesus in Galilee.  He “went to all their cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and infirmity.”  The reaction of the crowds was not surprising.  Jesus was the answer to their prayers.  They surged around him, hoping only to touch him.  Here was a man who could help them . . . Here was a man who was the answer to prayer . . . Here was a man who commanded the power of God.

“When Jesus saw the crowds,” the Evangelist writes, “he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless . . .”  They were “like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus said to his disciples, “THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL, BUT THE LABORERS ARE FEW; PRAY THEREFORE THE LORD OF THE HARVEST TO SEND OUT LABORERS INTO HIS HARVEST.”

Although the New Age was already present in Jesus, it had yet to be born in the lives of the Galileans.  To accomplish this, midwives were needed in great numbers.  And like any birth, it  required immediate attention. Why the urgency? The answer is clear: lives depended upon it.  Jesus knew human life for what it was.  He knew these people.  He knew that their lives were marred by sin.  He knew that this sin could only earn the wrath of God.  And he knew that they would die without help.   Their need was so great that they clutched at anything that gave them hope. “They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

The Galileans are not alone.  There are others who are “like sheep without a shepherd.”  I believe that Jesus is talking about the lives of his disciples today.  Harassed and helpless?  --- These words aptly describe us.  We live in a world where we are isolated by the Covid-19 pandemic.  We live in a world our old normal will probably never return.   We live in a world where there is financial uncertainty because of Covid-19.  We live in a world where there are justifiable social disturbances as we discover that we have not been as open to others as we thought we were especially in matters of race and gender identity.   We live in a world where anger, hatred, greed, lust, and alienation are realities in our own lives.  And, like all human beings, we live in a world where life and health is uncertain for us and our for loved ones.   At best, we are uneasy about the future; at worst, we fear it. Like the Galileans, our lives are marred by sin . . . Like the Galileans, our sin can only earn the wrath of God.  And like the Galileans, we are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Deep-down, we know that this tragic picture is correct.  If it were not, the answer-giving gurus, the self-anointed prophets and television’s Bible-spouting holy than thou’s  would have far less credibility than they do have today.  People search them out because these charlatans give easy answers to complex questions   . . .    Answers that put minds at ease . . . Answers that deny there is even a problem. We are like sheep without a shepherd.

But the good news today is that it is at this point that  God intervenes.  He did not leave the Galileans to their fate; nor does he leave us to our fate.  He chose to involve himself in the person of Jesus Christ.  Through his death and resurrection, the New Age was born.  The awful power of sin was defeated, once and for all.  Where there was once helplessness, there is now help.  Where there was once hopelessness, there is now hope.  And where there was once death, there is now life.  Such was the gift of God to the twelve apostles who followed him. And such is the gift of God, through faith, to those who are baptized into the death and resurrection of his Son.
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You see, baptism bespeaks a transformation.  Every time we baptize child, that child’s life transformed.   Not only is that child named as one who belongs to God, he/she is given a mission.   It’s the same thing that happened to us when we were baptized.  When we were baptized, we were called and empowered so that we might be useful to God for the work of the Kingdom

Jesus is even more specific with the apostles.  They were not allowed to rest in their spiritual security.  Just ‘knowing Jesus’ was not enough.  Instead, he commissioned them to go out among the harassed and helpless of Galilee.  They were to preach the coming of the Kingdom in all its power.  Like Jesus, they were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out the demons.  They were to act as midwives for the Kingdom.
 
And so it is with us.  We have been baptized into Jesus.  We have heard the story of salvation and it is our life-line in this broken world.  But baptism changes us from hearers into doers.  After baptism, we are people set aside by God to do his will.  Just ‘knowing Jesus’ is simply not enough.  We are not allowed to rest in our spiritual security.  It is imperative that we also take up the ministry of the Kingdom.  The harassed and helpless are all around us.   The task is urgent because it is a matter of life and death.  Like Jesus, we are to announce the coming of the Kingdom.  Like him, we are to heal the wounds in the lives of others.  And like him, we are to use the power given us by the Holy Spirit in baptism.

The task is urgent as look to the future of our congregations.   There is a need for us to speak words of comfort to our neighbors.  We can do so because God has first comforted us.  There is a need for us to love the unlovable.  We can do so because God has first loved us.  And most important, there is a need for us to forgive the unforgivable.  And we can do so because God has first forgiven us.  Jesus said, “THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL, BUT THE LABORERS ARE FEW; PRAY THE LORD OF THE HARVEST TO SEND OUT LABORERS INTO HIS HARVEST.” But then on June 14th, Jesus gives his disciples at Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran Parish all authority ands sends them out, charging them, “PREACH AS YOU GO, SAYING, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND”   Today, the helpless and the harassed are waiting for us.   Amen.

June 7, 2020

HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY – JUNE 7, 2020

INTRODUCTION
I’m heartbroken. This has been a difficult week for our cities, our state, and now for our nation.   On Memorial Day, George Floyd’s life ended as the Minneapolis police arrested him and used what proved to be lethal force that ended his life.  The video is horrifying to watch.  George Floyd cried out, ‘I can’t breathe!’ before he died.   The anger in the streets is justifiable.  The outcry that started in southeast Minneapolis and St Paul’s Midway district has now spread to other cities in our nation. 

I struggle with what is happening because I have been forced to admit that I am part of the problem.  I am a privileged white male who reads stories in the media of men and women of color who are not only treated differently by their local police forces, but sometimes also killed because of the color of their skin.   In actuality, there seems to be a double standard for policing.  Governor Walz painfully acknowledged that this manifestation of racism is a Minnesota problem.  And this is where it becomes personal. I am complicit in this problem.   I heard these stories in the past, but I did not pay attention to the frequency with which they appeared. I have been blissfully ignorant of the depth of the problem. For this, I need the forgiveness of my brothers and sisters of color.  I, along with many others, have let this get out of hand. 

Last weekend just after the happenings on Friday night, I walked by a church in my Eastside neighborhood in St. Paul.  Like the Bethel-Immanuel Lutheran Parish they are not having services because of Covid-19.  Bordering on the main north-south thoroughfare, their members had made cardboard and crayon signs that carried messages of support for those who are hurting so deeply because of Mr. Floyd’s death.   One sign especially sticks in my mind.  It read: If one can’t breathe, none of us can breathe!’  I was overcome with a profound sense of grief and remorse.

The sign is right. If one can’t breathe, none of us can breathe!  We who follow Jesus know this to be true.  In his First Letter to the Corinthian congregation, Paul talks about the Body Christ and how all parts of the body are equally valued.  He reminds us that when one part is injured, the whole body suffers.   There isn’t much more that I can say right now.   I am going to close with a brief meditation written by Bishop Ann Svennungsen.  It is entitled: A prayer for Minneapolis.  It was written after last Friday evening.

     “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not.”
     We join Jesus’ lament, keening at the brokenness – broken bodies, broken lives, broken systems. We plead for God to gather all people and all systems       
     under her wings, empowering us in the hard work of justice and transformation.
     By your Holy Wings, Mothering God . . .
     - Enfold and comfort all who grieve the murder of George Floyd
     - Tenderly care for those who’ve been traumatized once again by this death
     - Spread your protection over all who tirelessly give themselves to provide care and comfort
     - Prod the county attorney to swiftly prosecute the officers involved
     - Sweep out the racism in our criminal justice system
     - Uncover the sin of white supremacy that has plagued our city, state, country, and our individual lives
     - Move us all to repentance, to radical change – joining hands with all to rebuild our communities in the way of justice
     - Hover continuously over our city, inspire us with vision to imagine a new way of being community; and a new resolve to work toward that vision.
 
     “Minneapolis, Minneapolis, O how Jesus longs for us to wake up, to name our sin, to see our complicity, to recognize every single person as a beloved
     sibling. The time is now.”
 
In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve
 

 
BISHOP THOMAS AITKEN’S LATEST PASTORAL LETTER ON COVID-19 AND RETURNING TO WORSHIP

Pentecost
May 31, 2020

Dear Congregations of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod,

Peace, hope and courage in Christ, our Lord.

Your Bishop’s Directives and encouragement:

I want every congregation to know, if they have not heard already, that your Bishop’s directives are clear:  Congregations are not to return to “in-person gatherings” at the 25% capacity as currently allowed at this time.  Just because it may be allowed, doesn’t make it right, safe, smart, salutary or faithful to our call in Christ.  In fact, it is not safe, and the infection rate of COVID-19 is still on the rise. We have not reached the CDC “benchmarks” for the phases of returning to in-building meetings yet. Our culture is trying to balance health issues, with economy, I know. But if we don’t get the health piece right, the economy won’t matter.  As I write this, (and the number will have gone up when you receive this) 967 people have died from COVID-19 in Minnesota, and there are 22,947 confirmed cases.  Infection rates are going up and not down. Christians do not put other people at risk of dying no matter how much they may want to return to their buildings.  We are in this for a long, long time. And Christ in us makes us capable to deal with it maturely.  As baptized disciples of Jesus, we care for the neighbor – and Jesus defined the neighbor as anyone, no exceptions. In the past 8 weeks, I have heard how smart and faithful so many of you are in your congregations to keep everyone safe.  Thank you and keep it up!  Remember, we have never cancelled worship – it goes on each week beautifully in our Synod through technology, which has opened the door to new forms of evangelism!    You are the church. The building is not. You are worshipping and evangelizing without a building, just as the early church did.

I have instructed all our Rostered Leaders, and congregational Council members to create a “Smart Team” made up of elected leaders and other intelligent science-respecting members in each congregation to meet, discuss, and come up with a plan of re-entering their church buildings only when it is safe to do so  – even at the 10 people or less number. This plan must then be posted so everyone in the congregation knows about it.  Many of you have this Smart Team up and running.  Good on you.  I commend you.  This is hard work, I know, and that’s why the Holy Spirit is with you.  Our Northeastern Minnesota Website has numerous resources.  www.nemnsynod.org See especially, “Bishop Aitken’s Guidance going forward,” and work with the Documents listed there:

1- (ELCA) Considerations for Returning to in-person Worship:
 Being Church Together During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2-The Risks, Know them, Avoid them.
3-Guidelines:  In person Church Gatherings
4-Returning to the Sanctuary: Worship Resources
5-Gov. Walz; Worship Guidance
6- Liability Questions regarding re-opening buildings.
 
At our last two Rostered Ministers and Lay Leaders Zoom meetings, we discussed how well online worship, video and Face-time-live worship has been so very enriching. We also discussed  a variety of new ways of worship that included – where possible – parking lot services with clear rules of safety,  sharing parking lots with other congregations  and the work of thinking through  when the time is right, a gradual, regulated in-person building use,  using the CDC,  Minnesota Health Department, and the words of our Presiding Bishop, Synod Bishops,  and faithful ELCA recommendations.   COVID-19 is a moving target; we must all do our best to be informed.

You are precious, sisters and brothers in Christ.  I pray for you and care for you. I am glad to be your Bishop.   Don’t let those who haven’t thought this through take charge.  Be good and respectful of your Rostered Leaders.  I know them.  I stand with them.  They took vows to serve and lead in your congregations.  Listen to them.  And remember, many of our Rostered Leaders are in that “vulnerable” age group or pre-existing medical issue group. That “vulnerable” sector definition is changing all the time with this pandemic.  We in the Church must respect their decisions to not meet in person, even as time goes on. There are a myriad of creative ways they will lead and serve you.    As we lead together during these difficult days, and in the many difficult days ahead, let us be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” as our Lord said to his disciples. 

In the seriousness, partnership and joy of our call in Christ,
☩ Bishop Thomas M. Aitken, Northeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA
 

A Note on Trinitarian Theology
Today, June 1, is Trinity Sunday . . . And we are going to talk about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And to accomplish this, we are going to have ‘do theology’ together.  So, hold on to your hats; this might get a little weird.  Dr. Rolf Jacobson, who is a professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul has written a little book about theology called ‘Crazy Talk.’  It’s fun to read.

In the introduction, Dr. Jacobson begins by asking of the reader . . . ‘Have you ever listened to two theologians talk?’  Before the reader can answer, he adds, ‘If so, we hope the damage wasn’t permanent.  If not, thank God . . . Theology has become a game played by a small circle of people who have trouble making friends.’ But then he gets serious, ‘Theology is a conversation for the whole church . . . At its most basic level, theology is talk about God.’  I would add that we are not ‘saved’ or reconciled to God and to each other by our theology.  Theology is only the way we talk about God; nothing more, nothing less.  We are ‘made whole,’ or ‘saved’ if you will, by our relationship with God.

So let’s get serious and do some ‘God talk.’  The first thing you need to know is that theology uses the language and categories of philosophy to make statements.  Theology relies heavily on images, metaphors, similes, and analogies.  In short, we use ‘curved language.’  For example, if one says that ‘Jesus is the Good Shepherd,’ does that mean that Jesus actually has sheep and the related chores to do each night.  Obviously not, but the image of Jesus as Shepherd is powerful because we understand how shepherds care for their sheep. 

Jesus also used images to talk about God.  We know that Jesus referred to God as ‘Father.’  I understand that image because I have a loving Father who cares deeply for me.  Does that mean that God is male? . . . Certainly not!  But nonetheless, this is a powerful image that we understand.  Shortly before his final week in Jerusalem, Jesus uses another image for God.  He talks about God as a ‘mother hen’ who would take the city’s people under her protective wing to shelter them from the storms that would soon break over them when the Romans besieged the city.  Like I said, we can summarize this by saying that theology uses ‘curved language.’  It’s a way of talking that uses images to describe an otherwise indescribable reality.

We can make a second statement about theology.  The meanings of words change over time . . . And people use the same word to mean different things.  The historical problem with theology is that the words we use often have different meanings for different people at different times.  That is why theological argument is oftentimes fruitless.  Please remember that theological statements try to describe the indescribable.  God does not readily allow God’s self to ‘be put under the microscope.’  

Theology is an acknowledgment that we are trying to describe [or make sense] of the Biblical witness as well as our own experiences of God.  Theology is simply the way we talk about this to each other.  I believe that Trinitarian language is an attempt to articulate this relationship more fully.

Gospel – Matthew 28.16-20 & John 14.6, 16.7-15
From St. Matthew: 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

From St. John: 6Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . . . 15.7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:  9about sin, because they do not believe in me;  10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;  11about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 12I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  14He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  15All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’

“If that’s not love, what is?”
Let us pray.  Almighty God, you are the holy Three-in-One.  We know you as Creator because you are source of all life; as Redeemer because you died for us; and as Counselor because you are with us today.   Dearest Lord, on this Trinity Sunday, we ask that you would strengthen our faith so that we will not yield to the temptations of the evil one.  Let us rest secure in your threefold presence, trusting that you are sufficient to sustain us against all that might come.  Triune God, hear our prayer; and let those who worship you this day be one, even as you are one.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

One of my favorite musicals is ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.  My wife Vicki and I have seen it several times done by community theaters.   Zero Mostel played the role of Tevye on both on Broadway and in the movie.   In ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’  Tevye and his family are Russian Jews who live in Ukraine.  And since it is the nineteenth century, they live in fear of Czarist persecution.  But for the moment, all their fear is forgotten and there is a joyous celebration going on in the village.  Tevye and his wife, Golda, are celebrating the engagement of their daughter.  Because she is older and strong-willed, they had all but given up hope for her marriage.  After the celebration is over, Tevye and Golda talk about their life together. 

Looking at Golda, Tevye asks, ‘Do you love me?’  After a while, Golda replies, ‘Tevye, you are a fool.’  But Tevye speaks again, ‘I know that I am a fool . . . but do you love me?’  Golda smiles at him.  ‘Do I love you?  I've washed your clothes, cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, and milked your cow.  After twenty-five years, why talk about it now?’ 

But Tevye persists; ‘Golda, do you love me?’

 Finally, Golda answers, ‘For twenty-five years I have lived with you, fought with you, and stayed with you . . . If that’s not love, what is?’

The question ‘Do you love me?’ is a very real for us today; especially as we are separated from our loved ones and friends by Covid-19.   I think this question is at the root of every human being’s existence.  A child who has been disciplined by a parent tearfully asks, ‘Do you love me?’  A person  who has lost his/her job  because of the present economic distress fearfully asks loved ones ‘Do you still love me?’   A couple whose youngest child has just left home ask each other, ‘Do you love me?’  An elderly resident in a nursing home asks anyone who listens, ‘Do you love me?’

Do you love me? . . . A question that is very much part of our lives . . . A question hurled against the seemingly impersonal universe in which we live.  Do you love me?   I would like to suggest that this question moves beyond the scope of human relationships.  It is a question that has dramatic theological implications for us.  But the unfortunate reality for each of us is that love, as we know it, is not perfect.  We know far too well that love can disappoint, and that it is not always eternal.  Therefore, as we move into the realm of faith, we need to be reassured.  From the innermost part of our being, we cry out to God, ‘Do you love me?’  And for our peace of mind, we have to know the answer.

As Christians, we do have the assurance of Scripture.  In his first letter, John writes, ` . . . we know the love God has for us.  God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in him.'  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says to his disciples.  `AS THE FATHER HAS LOVED ME, SO I HAVE LOVED YOU; ABIDE IN MY LOVE.'  And again in the Gospel of John, ‘FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.’  Our God is a God of love; there can be no other conclusion. 
 
Yet despite these words of assurance, we still need help.  Our need to be loved by God is so great that we are often blind to the many ways this love is made real in our lives.  This morning, I would like to suggest a different framework in which to think about God's love.  This framework is what we call the Trinity.  The Trinity is God's way of saying, ‘I love you’ to each of us.

When we talk about the ‘Doctrine of the Trinity,’ we are talking about something not mentioned explicitly in the Scriptures.  The word ‘Trinity’ simply does not appear in the Bible.  Now please understand that this does not mean that the Doctrine of the Trinity is not biblical. On the contrary!  The Doctrine of the Trinity is biblical because it is implicit in the Scriptures.  By implicit, I mean that it is inferred.  While the word is not used in the Bible, we find many so-called Trinitarian formulas.  As an example, one could cite today's Gospel, St. Matthew's story of our Lord’s ascension.  Before Jesus left his disciples, he commissioned them to  ‘ . . .  GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT . . . ’

By invoking the Trinitarian formula when they baptized new believers, the first disciples were really saying that the word `God' was not sufficient to describe their experience of the divine . . . an experience that had radically changed the way they thought both about God and about themselves.  The word ‘God’ was simply too small.  It was too small because God had revealed himself to them in three unique ways: as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit . . . a revelation that continues even today.  So, after years of Spirit-inspired reflection on the Scripture, the Church is able to make four statements about the Trinity.

First, the divine unity of God is so constituted to include three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The Father is God above us, the Son is God with us, and the Spirit is God within us.  Each person of the Trinity can be identified by the way God becomes involved in our lives.  God is the Creator of all that was, all that is, and all that will be.  God is the Redeemer who became part of this creation to die so that humankind might not be destroyed by its sin.  God is the Sanctifier, the Spirit of the Living Christ, who calls human beings from their sin to a life of redemption.  But even more important, beyond the grand language of theology, Christians experience the Trinity on a more personal level.  We, who stand in awe of birth and the mystery of life, know God as Creator.  We, who live with our own brokenness, know God as Redeemer.  And we, who are called in baptism to be children of the Kingdom, know God as Spirit.

Second, the persons of the Trinity are a unity.  We do not worship three separate gods, nor do we understand that God has evolved in three stages — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  But rather, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are interrelated and interconnected expressions of the same being.  God is the ‘three-in-one.’  And as much as I would like to prove to you that ‘three equals one,’  the seminary does not teach special mathematics to do so.  This is not possible because the Trinity is a mystery beyond our comprehension.  Nevertheless, it is only as the Trinity that we can speak about the true God who arrived in Jesus Christ for the redemption of the world.  Our knowledge of the Trinity is bound to our confession of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Jesus declares, ‘WHAT IS THE FATHER'S BELONGS TO ME, AND WHAT IS MINE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WILL GIVE TO YOU.  I AM THE TRUTH.’ These words are the heartbeat of our Trinitarian faith.

Third, the Trinity helps us to understand the true meaning of brotherly and sisterly love.  The unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is symbolic of the unity possible for those who call themselves ‘Christian.’  Our individuality is no excuse for separateness; but instead, it is a strengthening virtue as we serve in the Kingdom together. 

And finally, the Trinity is a gift of love.  Our experience of the Triune God hinges upon one point alone  . . . a lonely cross outside of Jerusalem.  It is on this cross that God became one with creation.  In sharing our death, God's divine love for us was forever put beyond doubt. 
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But still, like Tevye, I need reassurance.  In my deepest moments of despair, I ask, ‘Father, do you love me?’  And, at that moment, the Holy Spirit gives me sight of Jesus’ cross . . . ‘And if that’s not love, what is?’ Amen.

May 31, 2020

Day of Pentecost – May 31, 2020

Liturgical Note about Pentecost
The festival of Pentecost, celebrated fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus,  is the last of the three great festivals in the Church year.  On Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of Jesus as we receive God’s assurance that humankind has not been abandoned to its sin.   On Easter morning, God overcame the power of sin, death, and the devil by the resurrection of Jesus.  And finally on Pentecost, God sent the Holy Spirit upon those who followed Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of Christ among those who believe in him.  

Pentecost also marks the beginning of the Church.  On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon the followers of Jesus, enabling them to speak openly about all that they had seen and heard.   Nothing less than the gift of the Holy Spirit could change simple fisher folk into fearless evangelists.  They became the spearhead of a movement that, in thirty years, would shake the very foundations of Roman society.  Today, the Church remembers its birth on Pentecost.  With coming of the Holy Spirit, its ministry and its people are empowered to carry on the work of Jesus until he comes again.

Introduction
Last Sunday, we explored the implications of Jesus’ Ascension for disciples past and present.  Our theme was ‘What now?’  The question is still relevant for us as we wait for relief from the restrictions that the Coronavirus has forced upon our lives. This past week, It became very real when our political leaders suggested that our sanctuaries again open for in person worship, despite strong cautionary words from medical practitioners and public health officials.  

What now?
In a way, the story of Pentecost is God’s answer to ‘What now.’  We are to tell the story of Jesus within our communities.  I do believe that God will provide not only the opportunities for our individual and unique proclamation of the Gospel.  I also believe that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit [the Presence of the Resurrected Christ] will give us the means to do this task. 

This may well be in a different context than we have envisioned on past Pentecost Sundays.  How do we tell the story of Jesus when we are sheltering in place; socially distancing from family and friends; and wearing masks that quickly become uncomfortable?  I wish I could give specific answers; but I cannot.  Nonetheless, I believe that we who follow Jesus are still the recipients of God’s Holy Spirit who are called to share the story of Jesus in words and, more importantly, how we live our lives.  This is what evangelism really is.

In our present situation, we still have many opportunities.  It may well require that we continue social distancing, wearing masks, and sheltering in place as we put the needs of others before our own.  I have no doubt that this is the course that our Lord Jesus would follow.   The greatest and immediate gift of the Holy Spirit may well be patience as we continue in this ‘new normal’ that has now become our lives. 

What does this mean for corporate worship?  This is still to be to be determined.   We will follow our Bishop’s guidance which will take into account the input of the  public health and medical communities.  As we continue our walk together in preparing for our next called pastor, the church councils of each congregation and I will act to protect your health while yet being faithful to the tasks given us by the Holy Spirit.  If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me. [email:  seolson322@gmail.com; cell: 218-290-6244]

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Scripture Lesson – Acts 2.1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

 5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.  7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?  9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, - 11Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power.”  12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”  13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

 14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.  15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.  16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:  17 In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.  18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.  19And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.  20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.  21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Gospel – John 14.15-27
 Jesus said to his disciples, “15If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.  17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 18I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.  19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.  20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” 

23Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 

24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 25I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.  27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

‘Something to Say’
Let us pray.  Dearest God, hear our words and give us the faith we profess.  As you touched the hearts of the first disciples with the fire of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, rekindle the fire of the Gospel within us.  Through your Spirit, you call us in Baptism to be your children, you enlighten us with the knowledge of your love, and you sanctify us as saints for eternity.  Send your Spirit upon us to make us workers in the Kingdom who give faithful witness to the One who died so that we might live.  We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. 

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

It was the dinner of dinners in Washington D.C – the toast of the banquet circuit.  Those attending were a virtual Who’s Who in the world of science . . . Physicists, chemists, biologists, and mathematicians.  There were enough elected officials to make it the most prestigious event on the social calendar.  That evening, Albert Einstein was to give the after-dinner address.  He was a man so unique that only a select few had the intellect to share his vision of the universe.  For better or worse, his simple equation, E = mc2, opened the door to the atomic age. Its simplicity amazed the world. But on that September evening in 1952, Albert Einstein once again gave cause for amazement.  He stood at the podium and waited for the applause to die away.  In the quiet that followed, he began to speak.  Albert Einstein said, ‘I have nothing to say this evening.  I'll come back when I do.’  And then he sat down. A shocked silence fell over the crowd . . . an awkward . . .  embarrassed . . . when-will-it-end silence that soon gave way to anger and indignation.

After their Master’s resurrection, the disciples were also silent; not because they wanted to, but because  they were doing as Jesus asked.  Before his ascension, Jesus said to them, ‘AND BEHOLD, I SEND THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER UPON YOU; BUT STAY IN THE CITY, UNTIL YOU ARE CLOTHED WITH THE POWER FROM ON HIGH . . . JOHN BAPTIZED WITH WATER, BUT BEFORE MANY DAYS, YOU SHALL BE BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.’ With these words, Jesus was lifted up from them into heaven.  A shocked silence fell over the disciples . . . an awkward, embarrassed when-will-it-end silence.

We know a lot about embarrassing silences.  So often it seems that we should say something and do not; or, do something and cannot.  Being a follower of Jesus is no different. It is difficult business. We all have questions – even clergy.  How do we share what is important to us? How do we convince others to join us here as we worship?  What exactly do we say?  And what if they say ‘not interested?’  Sometimes, we just live with those awkward, embarrassed, when-will-it-end times of silence.  We need help. 

‘Do we have something to say?’  There are those who pose the same question to the Church also. ‘Do you have something to say in this world of ours . . . A world that is in economic upheaval . . . A world where family life is under pressures that other generations could never imagine . . . A world where we are together with more people but have never felt so isolated, especially now because of Covid-19? . .  . A world where people are judged by race, gender, sexual preference, immigration status, social standing or economic worth?   Does the Church have something to say that is relevant to those who come looking for guidance and support?   Or better yet, does God have something to say? 

Today is Pentecost Sunday . . . And today God says, ‘Yes I have something to say.’  Pentecost is God speaking to the world . . . God speaking through the Church as it tells the story of God’s healing love for our broken world . . . God speaking through those claimed baptism as they take up the ministry of Jesus.  
First, God has something to say to you and me as believers  In the Gospel of John, when Jesus tells the disciples that he must leave them, he promises to send the ‘Advocate’ or the 'Counselor' to them.  The word that Jesus uses to refer to the Holy Spirit is ‘Parakletos [‘Paraclete.’]  ‘Paraclete’ comes from a Greek word having two meanings; the first being ‘one called to the side of another for aid and comfort’ and the second, ‘one who convinces, counsels, and strengthens.’  To be the Paraclete is to be all of these.  In John’s Gospel, the Paraclete is pre-eminently the Revealer of Christ to believers.  The Advocate brings believers to faith and strengthens them . . . The Spirit of Truth, the guide to Christ, who himself is the Truth.

As the revealer of Christ, the Holy Spirit takes the place of Jesus’ presence; being present himself at the side of each disciples.  Jesus said, ‘I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU DESOLATE, I WILL COME TO YOU . . . IN THAT DAY, YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM IN THE FATHER, AND YOU IN ME, AND I IN YOU.’  The unity of Jesus and the Father is extended to the believer by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the alter-ego of Jesus.  More simply put: for all disciples, for you and me, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the Living Presence of Christ in our lives.  We are not alone; Jesus is with each one of us.

We receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized. We become Spirit-borne co-workers of Christ; called to proclaim that God’s most precious possession is humanity – You and me.  God will go to any length to recover that which is lost, even a lonely cross outside of Jerusalem.  

Second, God has something to say to you and me as the Church. Pentecost marks the beginning of the Church.  On Pente­cost, the Holy Spirit fell upon the followers of Jesus, enabling them to speak openly about all that they had seen and heard.   They suddenly had the courage to tell the story of Jesus to an unbelieving and hostile world.  Nothing less than the gift of the Holy Spirit could change simple-minded fishermen into fearless evangelists.  They became the spearhead of a movement that, in thirty years, would shake the very foundations of Roman society. 

The Church remembers its birth on Pentecost.  With coming of the Holy Spirit, its ministry and its people are empowered to carry on the work of Jesus until he comes again.  Pentecost may well be the most important celebration of the Church year. 

Sometimes the church is called the ‘communion of saints.’ The word ‘saint’ refers to all human beings who believe that God graciously forgives their sin for the sake of Jesus. To be called a ‘saint’ means that we are called to be holy or ‘set apart from the world.’ Holiness is not a quality of the individual, but rather, a communal state given us through baptism. In other words, we are called to holiness as a community, and we need each other to live out this holiness.  We cannot be Christian apart from the Church of Christ.  We cannot be Christian apart from each other.  To be a Christian is to be in fellowship with God and with each other.  And today this sense of fellowship is cushioned in our social distancing and sheltering in place for the sake of others.  Nonetheless, we can minister to each other using both our modern technologies or old-fashioned phones calls and letters.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus captures this unique horizontal dimension of the Christian experience.  Speaking to disciples, both past and present, Jesus says, ‘A NEW COMMAND­MENT I GIVE YOU, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU  . . . BY THIS SIGN ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.’

We need to hear this time and time again, especially in world where are deeply divided one from another by economic, political, and now how we understand public health concerns.  The tragedy of disciples today is that we are hard-pressed to show love for one another; especially when we disagree with each other.   This may well be the way of the world today, but it is not the world that Christ envisions for us.  We have been called by the Holy Spirit to be different from the world . . . And the sign that we are different is that we love one another as Christ has first loved us. 

When you think about it, Pentecost is a spiritual ‘turning point’ for the Church.  When the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples, their focus changed immediately from self-concern to mission.   The change was so startling that bystanders thought that they were ‘drunk with new wine.’  Suddenly, it became imperative for them to share the story of Jesus with us.  On Pentecost, those who followed Jesus not only found their voice, but the Holy Spirit gave the words to say and they were words of proclamation.

The nearly two thousand years that separate us from that first Pentecost has changed nothing.  Our task is still the same . . . We are called to bear witness to the living Christ who died so that we might live.   We can no longer focus only on personal spiritual growth because to do so is a perversion of the Gospel imperative for community and mission.   We can no longer proclaim the Gospel from the safety of our sanctuaries because the first Pentecost brought the disciples out into the streets of Jerusalem with their message.  And we can no longer pick and choose those whom we want to be part of the Church because the Holy Spirit compels us to reach out to those in our community who have no church home.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we bear witness to Jesus, we speak kindly of and to one another, we comfort the grieving, we are taught to pray, and we speak for those who have no voice in our society.  As the Church, we are the image of Christ that the world experiences today.

So, what then, do we say?  We begin, I think, with the same words that Peter used on the first Pentecost.  We tell the story of Jesus -- his life, his death, and his resurrection.  If we take the coming of the Holy Spirit seriously, we know that the words will come to us.  But one cannot not just tell the story, one must also live the story.  This is called sanctification and it too is a work of the Holy Spirit.  Like Jesus, we are empowered to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable, and to console the inconsolable.  In short, we take up the ministry of Jesus into our own lives.
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Like Peter, we do have something to say.  And when we speak, there will be shocked silences . . . Some may even say that we are full of new wine.  The world will say that we are illogical and impractical.  But it matters not what is said, the promise of the Holy Spirit is that our words will be filled with saving grace.  Some will hear our words; others will be touched; and still others will believe.  On the first Pentecost, some three thousand souls were added to the Church. With the promise of Pentecost in our hearts, we speak because we do have something to say.  Amen.

May 24, 2020

Seventh Sunday of Easter (Ascension Sunday) – May 24, 2020

Introduction
Last Thursday [May 21] was Ascension Day – Forty days after our Lord’s resurrection. While some churches have a worship service on that day, many others delay the remembrance of Jesus’ ascension into heaven on the following Sunday Liturgically, it is the Seventh Sunday after Easter. We will follow that practice and focus on the appointed texts for Ascension Day.

I love the story of our Lord’s Ascension into heaven because it reflects our uneasiness about the future.   And for most of us, this uneasiness has dramatically increased since mid-March when started ‘sheltering in place’ and practicing strict ‘social distancing’ when we must go out for the necessities of life.  Make no mistake about our situation.  Our lives have changed dramatically and there does not seem to be much we can do about it.  Has it been worth it?  Has the infection curve ‘flattened?’  Are we safer at home?   I think that the answer is yes to all these and similar questions. 

But there is also a restlessness deep within us as we reflect on the meaning of our Lord’s ascension this week. With so much talk about ‘opening up the economy,’ ‘getting back to work,’ and trying to return to lives that we left behind 10 weeks ago, there is a compelling sense of uneasiness that haunts us.   We face the ‘What now?’ question in ways we never anticipated until only recently. How do we go to the grocery store? What about going out for coffee or out for dinner?  What about gather again in our sanctuaries for worship?  How do we/Should we have communion?  Dare we sing our liturgy and our beloved hymns? Do we have to wear face masks when we go out? 

I wish I had answers.   I do know that some people are intentionally defying public health guidance by intentionally not socially distancing, not wearing masks, and insisting that they be allowed to do as they will because they believe that it is their constitutional right to do so. I believe that this is not living in accordance with what Jesus would have us do as we relate to those around us.  Some of the states that have pushed the boundaries and ‘opened up’ early are now having spikes in their infection rates [e.g. Texas].  Is this a statistical fluke, or is it real?  Who knows?

So as the days pass, we live with this uneasiness about the future.  We live with the ‘What now?’ question.  I think that the story of our Lord’s ascension gives us a way to re-frame our thoughts.  ‘What now?’ may not be the most important question.  Perhaps we should ask ‘Who do we trust?’ before we do anything.   Take care and may God be with you.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel -- Luke 24:44–53
44Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’  45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,  46and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,  47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  48You are witnesses of these things.  49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

 50Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  52And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;  53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Scripture Lesson – Acts 1.1-11
The Evangelist Luke writes to Theophilus, his patron, about the story of Jesus and the beginning of the Church: 1In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning  2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  3After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  4While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This,’ he said, ‘is what you have heard from me;  5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

 6So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’  7He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.  8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’  9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  10While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  11They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’


‘What now?’

Let us pray.  Almighty God, Eternal Father, you are the Timeless One who bends even history to your saving will.  By your command, we were baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus so that we might live in eternity with you.  But Lord, we are sinners who live between two worlds; sinners that we are, and saints that you would make us.   Like the first disciples who watched your Son ascend into heaven, we wait and we pray.  We wait for your Holy Spirit and we pray that he would guide us to a saving faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Before going to Luther Seminary in St. Paul, I was a mechanical engineer.  I did both my undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Minnesota.  My specialty was thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid flow.  I also did work in production control and manufacturing processes.  We learned how to determine optimal machine loading and overall production schedules. 

Engineers are trained to be ‘problem-solvers’ . . . Unless you talk to car mechanics who often argue that design engineers are ‘problem-makers’ who have no consideration for those who must work on their engines after the fact.  And because of this, engineers are sometimes the objects of, shall we say, unkind humor.  Let me give you an example. 

During the French Revolution, many who were deemed ‘enemies of the state’ were put on trial and eventually executed.  The victims of the guillotine included royalty, clergy, nobles, professional people, and some of the revolutionaries themselves. 

On this particular day, they brought a bishop, a priest, and an engineer to the guillotine.  They asked the bishop if he wanted to be face up or down when he met his fate.  The bishop said that he would like to face up so he would be looking towards heaven when he died. They raised the blade of the guillotine and released it. It came speeding down and suddenly stopped just inches from his neck.  The executioner said, ‘It’s a miracle . . . God does not want this man to die.’

Then the priest came to the guillotine.  He also decided to die face up hoping that he would be as fortunate as the bishop.  They raised the blade of the guillotine and released it.  It came speeding down and suddenly stopped just inches from his neck.  Citing divine intervention, the executioner said, ‘God saved this man.’ So they released the priest as well.

The engineer was next. He decided to die facing up also.  They slowly raised the blade of the guillotine, when suddenly the engineer said, ‘Hey, I see what the problem is.’ 
 
Like I said, we engineers are problem solvers. I’ll never forget my first assignment after I started working as an engineer.  I was given a simple metal bracket to re-design.  The product had changed, and the bracket was no longer doing its job.  My first response was, ‘No sweat; it's a piece of cake.  Give me the afternoon on it.’   Three days later, it still wasn’t done . . . And, if the truth be known, I hadn’t really started.  For all the courses I’d taken . . . For all the theory I knew . . . I still didn’t know what to do . . . Some problem-solver!  Embarrassed, I finally had to talk to my supervisor.  I just knew what he was thinking, ‘Don't they teach them anything in school?’ My question to my supervisor was very simple, ‘What now?  What do I do?’  

The ‘What now?’ question is important.  It is more than an engineering question; it is a life question – A question that doesn’t always have answers that are obvious to us.  Life is further complicated when our Christian faith doesn’t seem to provide answers either. So we ask, ‘What now?’

What if I get an unforeseen diagnosis from the doctor?  What now? 
What will happen when my child leaves home for the first time for college or military service?  What now? 
What if I lose my job? [Something that’s very real in in this time of Covid-19.]  What now?
What if they don’t find a vaccine by the end of the year?  What if I get sick? What now? 
What happens when I realize that I am closer to the end of my life that I am to the beginning?  What now? 

The questions are endless . . . The What now?’s can be overwhelming.

Today is Ascension Sunday . . . The day we celebrate our Lord’s return to heaven.  But the ascension story leaves one with an uneasy feeling.  The ‘What now?’ question must have been very real to the disciples.   After all, they were problem-solvers; people who were used to getting things done.  They had seen the Resurrected Christ and they were ready to do something.  But as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven, they must have been asking, ‘What now? . . . Do we start preaching? . . . Do we go home? . . . Do we go back to our old jobs? . . . What now?’  It is apparent that there are many unanswered questions. 

In the three short years the disciples were with Jesus, they had seen and heard much.  The power of God was upon him.  They fed multitudes, the sick were restored to health, the people were taught with parables, and the Kingdom of God was proclaimed.  Beyond all this, the disciples became witnesses to the life-giving power of God on the first Easter.  The same Jesus who died on the cross was resurrected as the Christ of God. 

One can only imagine what they must have thought.  All their hopes and dreams would finally be realized.  Each disciple would become a fiery evangelist spreading the Gospel of Christ.  They would preach with power and people would listen.   They would be problem-solvers. 

After staying with them forty days, Jesus commanded them to remain in Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Before he was taken from them, the disciples inquired about the Kingdom.  They half-hoped that Jesus would fashion a kingdom after their design.  But when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, it was a Kingdom far different than they envisioned.  Jesus said, ‘. . . YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU; AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM AND IN ALL OF JUDEA AND SAMARIA TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.’  And when he had spoken these words, Jesus was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.  

The disciples were transfixed by what they saw.  With heaven on their minds, they were ready to do battle for Jesus.  But their bubble burst when Jesus disappeared.  The task was simply too large.  The implications of Jesus’ leaving were  too much to comprehend; so they just stood there looking up into the empty sky.  Even the Risen Christ had left them.  What now?

I think that the disciples were paralyzed because they had forgotten the promise of the Holy Spirit made by Jesus.  They had forgotten that they were to be his witnesses to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria . . . even to the ends of the world.  Like us, they did not remember all that Jesus had promised.  So when this crisis arose, the disciples came to the precipice of faith and said ‘What now?’    

St. Luke tells us that it took a vision of angels to get them going . . . Angels who reminded them of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit.  So they returned to Jerusalem and waited.  There was nothing else to do--so they waited and prayed.

So what do we make of the Ascension story?  St. Luke tells the story in the book of Acts in such a way to answer the Church's question about the what, where, and how of the Kingdom. 

First, there are questions about what the Kingdom of God is.  We are told that in the forty days following his resurrection, Jesus instructed his disciples about the true nature of God's Kingdom.  However, it appears that they did not understand the nature of God’s Kingdom nor the task to which they had been called.  Even as Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples ask whether this is the time when God will restore the Kingdom to Israel. 

Once again, Jesus reminds them that the Kingdom of God will not be limited only to Israel.  When Jesus speaks these words to us, he reminds us that the Kingdom of God is far bigger than our individual churches. God’s Kingdom will begin in Jerusalem and spread in ever widening circles to Judea, Samaria, even to the end of the earth so that all people will encounter the Resurrected Lord of life.  Like those who follow Jesus, we wait for the leading of Gods Holy Spirit – Something that is so crucial as we to ‘get back to normal’ with our lives.

Second, there are questions about where the Kingdom of God is.  After Jesus had ascended into heaven, the angels ask the disciples why they were still standing there, looking into heaven.  One Bible scholar, whose name I've long since forgotten, suggests that the location of ‘heaven’ is less important than the direction of heaven.  In this text, as in others, ‘upward’ is the direction of God.  ‘To go up’ means to go ‘Godward.’  The Godward direction points toward the holy will of God in human affairs.  The Ascension of Christ means that the work of the Kingdom must be the needle of a cosmic compass that always points to God.   

The Godward direction for us begins where we are and leads us into the world of men and women with whom and for whom Jesus lived and died.  The appropriate direction for people to look is not heavenward but toward the earth where the work of the Lord will continue until he comes again.  He has not abandoned the world.  God will 'restore the Kingdom' but in a way neither the disciples nor we expect — It will come with the daily witness of believers to the saving life and death of Jesus. 

And finally, there are questions about how we should wait.  The book of Acts tells us that when the disciples returned to Jerusalem, ‘They went up to the upper room . . . [and] with one accord, they devoted themselves to prayer.’  When we pray, we enter the very presence of God.  . . .  When we pray, we open ourselves to him . . . When we pray, our Father promises to listen . . . And when we try to pray and cannot, God’s own Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words [Romans 8.26]. 

Our spiritual lives are roller-coaster experiences that run from religious fervor to real doubt.  Sometimes we are so close to God that we can almost touch the Kingdom. At other times, we just do not know what we believe.  Moreover, we live in a world that is unbelieving, uncaring, and uncompromisingly hostile.
Therefore, like the disciples, we wait. We wait without a clear vision of the future. We wait knowing the pain and uncertainty of life. We wait knowing that death is very much a part of our lives. And we wait knowing that we struggle with our faith.  But as followers of the Ascended Jesus, we wait with hope. And we wait knowing that we rest securely in God's hand forever. 

What now? To be perfectly honest, I do not know.  I think that prayer is important while we wait for answers. But the fact that we do not know is not important.  What is important is that God knows.
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 ‘What now?’  God’s answer might well surprise us.  Amen.

May 17, 2020

Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 17, 2020

A Liturgical Note: As we approach the end of Eastertide [the fifty days that follow Easter Sunday], we who follow the lectionary have a decision to make as we choose texts for Sunday.  We do have appointed texts from the Gospel of John for the Sixth and Seventh Sundays of Easter. Their focus is on our Lord’s promise to send ‘the Advocate/Comforter’ who will guide the followers of Jesus as they join him in the resurrection.  However, Jesus’ ascension happens forty days after Easter, placing the it between the Sixth and Seventh Sundays of the season.  I have only known of a few churches that celebrate Ascension Day on the appointed Thursday. Most churches generally celebrate ‘Ascension Sunday’ on either the Sixth or Seventh Sunday of Eastertide.  We will focus on our Lord’s ascension into heaven on next Sunday, May 24.

Introduction
We are living in a difficult time.   If there has even been a time that we need the promised Comforter it is now.  As we move from quarantine to a limited resumption of the lives we knew before Covid-19, I have become concerned about the increasing incivility  reported in the news media.  People talking about their ‘right to not wear facemasks’ if so they so choose, their right to gather in groups with no regard to social distancing, and their right to do as they will, regardless what our elected leaders and healthcare professional recommend stands against both reason and compassion.

Our Gospel for today begins with Jesus’ promise to send the Comforter to assist his disciples as they tell the story of his resurrection.  Notice that in the first part of the reading, the promised Comforter is a sign of God’s love.  Jesus asks us to abide in the love of his Father.   But what this mean?

In the second portion of the reading, Jesus becomes very specific:  We are to love others as he loves us. In future Sundays, we will explore the implications of these words.   But what is striking is how it applies to our immediate situation.  Wearing masks when we go out and practicing strict social distancing is the way we are currently being called to practice our Lord’s command to love one another.  This becomes all the more problematic as some of our government leaders talk about ‘reopening our economy’ whatever the implications for those with compromised health conditions.  The question we are struggling with is: How do we measure the worth of human lives against our nation’s economic wellbeing?  

We know how Jesus would answer. Be it with our brothers and sisters at church, our friends, and our beloved family members, we practice the love of God by protecting those at risk.  In no uncertain terms this means doing what we know works to protect those who are vulnerable to the devastation of the Covid-19 virus.   I wish you well in the days and weeks ahead.  Living our faith means putting the safety of those around before our own needs.   May God be with you.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel – John 14.15-21, 15.9-17
Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete . . .

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

“Better than Yearbook Promises”

Let us pray.  O God of unfailing mercy, we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and as the foundation of our lives.  His constant love, his insistent call, and his enduring presence free us to be his disciples.  But Lord, being a disciple frightens us . . . and we are afraid to follow in his steps.   Instead, we hold ourselves apart as if more important tasks are awaiting us.  And often, we choose to live for ourselves at the expense of others.

Dearest God, forgive our reluctance to faithful servants.  It is our prayer this day that you would send your Spirit upon us to open our hearts, to heal our wounded spirits, and to unite us in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus, who gave himself so that all your children might have life.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

As we approach the end of May, our thoughts turn to our young people as they complete their high school and college work in preparation for graduation. 
But this year, things are different.  Covid-19 has changed everything.  The pomp and circumstance of the graduation ceremony, the open houses, and the gathering of family and friends will either be delayed or had under far different circumstances than in previous years.   My heart breaks for those who will experience the ‘covid-19’ graduation of 2020.    Please know that you are in my prayers and the prayers of your church. 

Vicki’s and my daughters are in their early thirties, so the Olson family has not had a graduation for a number of years.  When they graduated from high school, one of the rituals was ‘senior day’ when all those graduating were excused from classes and allowed to have their friends from all grades sign their yearbooks.   When I graduated in the mid-60’s, we did the same thing.   Several year ago, Joanna and Julia asked to see my high school yearbook from the year I graduated.   I must confess that I had not looked at ‘The Vista’ for may years.   My daughters had questions . . . ‘Dad, what did you look like in high school?  Who were your friends? What was graduation like at Mounds View High School?’  

To make a long story short, we looked at pictures . . .  I answered questions . . . And they laughed at our hair styles, skinny ties,  my black-rimmed glasses, and the senior pictures of me and my friends.  What caught my eye were the notes that we, as graduating seniors, wrote in each other’s year books.   Here are some samples:

From Jim . . . I don’t remember him at all because there were 485 graduates in my class. ‘Steve, It’s been a lot fun to know you these past years.   I hope to see you in the future. . Best of luck.  Jim R.’

Timothy N wrote . . . ‘Steve, it’s been a long drag.  Remember to be strong.  I expect to hear from in ‘68.  Tim. ’   I haven’t a clue what was going to happen in 1968, and  I certainly didn’t see Tim then.   In fact, I haven’t seen him since the day of graduation. He’s never been to a class reunion.

My friend Peter wrote: ‘Steve, don’t forget that chemistry experiment . . . We were off by ± one million percent.  See you this summer. Pete.’  We have lost contact with each other.

From a fellow Latin student:  ‘Labor vincit omnium . . . or something like that’  It’s been great knowing you and I hope we can continue our friendship in the years ahead.  Al.’   Al dropped out of sight, and, from what I know, has never surfaced.  

Joel in physics wrote: ‘Steve, remember that G stands for the gravitational constant and that it equals 6.67 X 10 -11 m3/kg-sec2 . . . If you do, everything will always work out . . . Let’s get together this summer. Strangely, to this day, I remember the gravitational constant . . . though it’s not much use in normal conversation.

Joan wrote: ‘English has been different . . . Study hall has been boring . . . And Social studies has been awful.   I’m glad you went through it with me.   All in all in wasn’t a bad year.   See you this summer.   Joan.’    I never followed up on that one.
 
You get the idea . . . It was enjoyable to read forgotten notes from friends long ago.  But I noticed a similarity about them.  As new graduates, we were sitting on top of the world . . . We had exciting plans . . . And we looked forward to spending a lot of time together in the months ahead.   What I remember is that we were all so close to each other then;   So close that we couldn’t imagine not seeing each other.   My friends and I made all sorts of promises: ‘I’ll see you this summer . . . Let’s get together and talk . . . I expect to hear from you in 1968.’   

But promises aside, I never saw Timothy, Al, Joan, Jim again.  They were just a few of the people who moved out of my life after graduation.  We had the best of intentions —  But even though we were friends, we were at a unique point in our lives.  It was the time when we would be drawn down many different paths. Some to military service and Vietnam; some to college or tech schools; there were others who went to work; and still others who seemed to disappear.  That’s just the way life is. But we didn’t know any of this when we signed yearbooks on the last day of school.  We didn’t know what the future would hold for any of us.  We didn’t know about the forces that would soon pull us apart.  So we made what I call ‘year book promises’ – Promises that we intended to keep; but promises that were never fulfilled because of where life took us in years that followed. 

Part of growing up, I think, is to realize that many promises are made, and that almost as many are broken.  Like I said, we have the best of intentions; but in time, we forget, we change our minds, and more often than not, circumstances force a change in plans.  But there is also more sinister side to human nature. Sometimes we are not faithful to our word. Sometimes we make promises knowing that we will never keep them. And sometimes promises are ­made and then broken as we are betrayed by those we trust.  Because there is an intrinsic brokenness in our lives, friendships, family life, marriage relationships, and even our relationship with God are often marked with our broken promises.  Sin is another word for this brokenness.

Given all of this, what then of God’s promises?  Can we trust them?  What do they mean for us? Several things, I think. First, God is faithful.  God remembers promises.  They are not ‘yearbook promises.’  In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises those who follow him,  ‘I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANED; I AM COMING TO YOU.  IN A LITTLE WHILE THE WORLD WILL NO LONGER SEE ME, BUT YOU WILL SEE ME; BECAUSE I LIVE, YOU ALSO WILL LIVE.’   The disciples were blissfully unaware of what the future held for them.  They had gathered in the upper room with Jesus to eat the Passover.  But Jesus knew – crucifixion for him, despair for them.  Like children who have become separated from their mothers, they would soon know the terror of being alone in a hostile world.
 
Lest we think ill of the first disciples, I suggest that we look to our own lives.  I think that all believers, at one time or another, have experienced the same sense of abandonment.  I hear this today as people are reflecting how Covid-19 has affect their lives.   Like I wrote last week, we want our old lives back.  As if discipleship wasn’t already hard enough.  How can be faith and trust God when we live in such an uncertain time? 

Make no mistake: Discipleship is dangerous and difficult business. Our world has been turned upside down for us.  And in a way there is a sense the God has stepped back and abandoned us in the midst of this present crisis we face.  The power of the Good News is dimmed as circumstances beyond our control [Covid-19] as well as the tragic consequences of our sin break over us like wave after wave on a troubled sea.  Where are the blessings now ? . . . Broken promises . . . Where is Jesus when we need him?   It’s almost enough to convince us that Jesus has gone and that we are alone.

But unlike the disciples in today’s Gospel, we live after the resurrection.  We have historical perspective: we even know the end of the story.  Jesus’ resurrection changed everything. He was no longer present to his disciples in the old familiar way. Recall for a moment, the resurrection stories on the first Easter.   The Gospels tell us that within a short time, even the resurrection appearances stopped.  Jesus was no longer seen by his disciples, past or present.  But he left them with a promise: ‘I WILL ASK THE FATHER AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER ADVOCATE TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER . . . I WILL NOT LEAVE  YOU ORPHANED  . . . I HAVE SAID THESE THINGS TO YOU WHILE I AM STILL WITH YOU.  BUT THE ADVOCATE, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND, WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING AND REMIND OF ALL THAT I HAVE SAID TO YOU.’

But the Good News today is that Jesus has made good on his promise.  We are not alone.   For that matter, neither we, nor the Twelve, nor anyone who calls Jesus ‛Lord' have ever been alone.  In the upper room, Jesus promised to send another ‛Paraclete.'  ‛Paraclete.'  comes from a Greek word meaning ‛one called to the side of another for aid and comfort; one who convinces, counsels, and strengthens.'  In the Gospel of John, the Paraclete is preeminently the presence of Jesus to believers. Jesus is with us today . . . in this sanctuary and wherever we go as we pass through the doors to the outside. 

And second, the promise of Jesus’ presence comes when we gather together in his name. In baptism, we are chosen to be part of a new community . . . a community that reaches out to the world in love because our Lord has first loved us.  In their last hours together, Jesus spoke of discipleship.  The disciples were to live in relationship with him . . . Jesus said that they were to ‘abide in his love.'  To help them understand what he meant, Jesus said that he was the Vine and that they were the branches.   They drew nourishment from him and were tended by God who was the Vinedresser.  Under the care of the Vinedresser, the branches either bore fruit or were destroyed.  But if they remained linked to Jesus, disciples would always bear fruit.
 
Had Jesus stopped here, I think, we disciples would have been happy.  If faith in Jesus were nothing more than abiding in his love, life would be easy for the believer.  Religion then, would be a purely vertical affair between God and myself.  But Jesus has chosen otherwise.  He has made things immensely more difficult.  Jesus is very specific about what it means for disciples to bear fruit.  His words ring in our ears.  ‘IF YOU KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS, YOU WILL ABIDE IN MY LOVE . . . THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU­ . . . GREATER LOVE HAS NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS . . . NO LONGER DO I CALL YOU SERVANTS, BUT NOW I CALL YOU FRIENDS.’

When Jesus speaks of love, he means something far different than do we.  For us, love is an emotion . . . a feeling for another person that is conditioned by their response.  But not so with God's divine love.  As it is worked out in Jesus, love is to be ‘for' another person and to act on their behalf; even at cost to oneself.  For those who follow Jesus, ‘giving one's life for another’ may be done a day at a time, an hour at a time, or even a ‘minute at time.  Giving one's life for another may be as simple as loving one’s children or recognizing the God-given dignity of another human being; or it may be as difficult as joining a brother or a sister in the searing loneliness of their pain.   Today it includes wearing masks and social distancing.  There is no other way.  Loving Jesus, we are no longer called ‘servants,’ ‘but ‘friends.’  As friends of Jesus, we are called to love one another as he loves us . . . And nothing can ever be more difficult,  or more rewarding,  than that. In this time of crisis, we are called to find new ways of caring each other . . . Phone calls, Facetime chats, written notes of encouragement, etc.  We are called to be creative in the way we care for each other.

God will bless our efforts.  God does not make ‘yearbook promises.’  His promises are real.  The Comforter is will come and is with us now as we live in the resurrection of Jesus.  After all, we are friends of Jesus.  And to his friends, Jesus says, ‘BY THIS SIGN ALL PEOPLE WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.’  Amen.

May 10, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2020

Introduction
A Personal Note from Pastor Steve: I write my sermons before I write these few words of Introduction; sometimes three or four days later.  After some reflection, I still like the sermon for this upcoming Sunday.  It allowed me to explore my own brokenness which has often centers on my certainty that ‘I knew where I was going.’  I have learned a good deal as my life has progressed.  But most of all, I have often experienced the grace of God that continues to pull me back to the life to which I was called in baptism. 

Is there another way of finding the ‘shalom’ [divine peace and wellbeing] that God intends for each of us? At one time early in my theological career I would have argued ‘No . . . Jesus is the only way.’  But now I am not so sure.  I have encountered the ‘shadow of Christ’ [perhaps a better phrase is the ‘aura of Christ’] in people and situations where I least expect it.   These experiences have opened my understanding of God’s grace to include so much more than I envisioned.  

During the Covid-19 crisis we share, I seem to have become more sensitive to God’s grace as we see it manifested by our healthcare professionals, our police and fire fighters, our brave people who deliver our groceries, mail, and our orders from Amazon so we can safely shelter in place.   I am not a Pollyanna.   I still miss family. I miss worshiping with you weekly. I miss my old ‘normal’ and I do have concerns about what the ‘new normal’ will look like for us.  And, I have to admit, I am getting impatient to ‘move on’ with our life as a community of faith.

When will we gather again in our churches?  I simply do not know.  The age profile of the membership of the Immanuel-Bethel Lutheran Parish is made up primarily of people who are at risk because of age and/or other conditions.  If we are a community of faith that is concerned about its members, we will ‘shelter in place’ until it is safe for us not to.  We help others by staying home. It is crucial that we follow Bishop Aitken’s directive that we do not have ‘worship as usual’ in the month of May.  He and the other bishops of the ELCA are working with information provided by healthcare professionals and the governors of our states.

How will the decision to return to public worship be made?  This will be a parish decision made by our two church councils meeting on Facetime or ZOOM.  As the intentional interim pastor, I will also have input into the decision.   We will follow the guidance of Bishop Aitken and our governor.  We will have a written plan in place for cleaning protocols, how we do worship [communion, offering, singing, etc.], and how often we gather in our buildings.

What do we do now?  We are people of faith and we wait trusting in God’s abundant grace.  If we can do this, we will get through this as we look to the future that remains hidden from us.  Be open to the possibilities that God set’s before us because that is where we will certainly encounter the ‘shadow of Christ’ in our lives.  May God continue to bless you and keep you and your loved ones safe.  
Pastor Steve ☩

Textural Note: And Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  What follows is a brief note about the significance of the ‘I am’ statements with Biblical citations for those of you who wish to explore this a bit further.  This is our Lord’s most famous of his seven ‘I am’ statements in the Gospel of St. John.  In chronological order, they are: ‘I am . . . the bread of life [6.38] . . . the light of the world [8.12]. . .the door [10.7] . . . the good shepherd [10.11] . . . the resurrection and the life [11.25] . . . the way, the truth, and the life [14.6] . . .the true vine [15.1].’  The evangelist remembers these special sayings of Jesus because they present of new way of describing the significance of the ‘Christ-event’ in the lives of believers.  Suffice it to say, John uses metaphors that are open-ended and not time bound to first century Palestine.  For the earliest followers of Jesus, the use of the ‘I am’ phrases also remind them of the Hebrew name God used as a self-identifier to Moses when he encounters the burning bush in Exodus [3.14].   The literal translation of God’s name [‘Yahweh’] is ‘I am who I am.’  The Evangelist John wants the reader to understand that Jesus is directly linked to the self-revelation of God in the Older Testament.  John writes twenty to thirty years after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke who explore the humanity of Jesus.  John presents Jesus as the divine Son of God.

Gospel – John 14.1-14
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4And you know the way to the place where I am going.” 5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
The gospel of the Lord.                                      Praise to you, O Christ.

‘Me Lost? . . . I Know Where I’m Going’
Let us pray.  Dearest Father, it seems as if we have been on the way for a long time.  So long, in fact, that we’ve almost forgotten where we are going.  But Lord, you have not forgotten us.  It is you who called us to this journey through baptism; you feed us along the way with the bread of life; and you know where we are going.

Father, we pray this day that you might give us the eyes of faith.  Let us see that we do not travel alone because your Son Jesus goes with us.  We pray also for those who travel in our company.  Use us, dear Father, to ease the difficulty of their journey, as you have eased ours.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

The great adventure was at hand.  I was ready . . . I was keyed . . . And I was prepared for anything . . . Nothing would stand in the way of success.   I was sixteen years old . . . I had just gotten my driver’s license . . .  and I was in love.   After asking for the car at least three times a day for two weeks, my father finally gave me permission to use it for a Saturday night date.  Like I said, I was ready. I knew exactly where I was going to take Nancy.  A rock band that we really liked was playing at a teen club somewhere in Hopkins ---  twenty-one miles away from Roseville.  I knew that it was going to be the perfect date. Nancy would be impressed; I was going to look good; and I could still make my midnight curfew and keep my parents happy.  All the bases were covered.  
However, there were several factors I did not consider. Factors well-known to just about anyone who has ever driven in the Twin Cities; but factors, nonetheless, that never dawned on a newly licensed, self-assured sixteen year old driver.   First, when you’re used to sitting on the passenger side, you don’t pay very close attention to small details like directions and street addresses. You just assume that you’ve absorbed them because you live there. [Remember this was long before cell phones and GPS.]  Second, one tends to underestimate driving times, even when you know where you’re going.  The Twin Cities are much bigger than you expect . . . And those stop lights and detours seem to take forever.  And third, and perhaps the most surprising, everything looks different at night. The route that seemed so clear on my map earlier in the day, disappeared into the darkness of the night.   But I wasn’t worried.   Like all men, I knew that I had the ‘direction gene’. . .  You know what I mean: Men never need to stop and ask for directions . . . By instinct, we automatically know where we are all times.  Make no mistake – I was ready.   I knew where I was going.  

The evening did not go as expected.  I discovered a route to Hopkins by way of Rosemount and Hastings   The Donner Party had better guides.  But I knew where I was going.  Nancy was certainly impressed.  But in my defense, we did hear the last twenty minutes of the band’s final set.  Going home was another adventure.   An hour into that route, Nancy found little comfort in my reassurance that ‘this all looked familiar.’   But I knew where I was going.

I will not bore you with the details.   Everything went downhill from there. Not only did I miss my curfew by an hour and a half, but my father was indelicate enough to ask why I had driven a hundred and seventy miles the night before.  Needless to say, it was a long while before I got the car again.  And Nancy . . . Well, we did not get off on the right foot.  She had really wanted to see that band . . . And she was angry because I would not stop and ask for directions.  Even though I was certain I knew where I was going, the evening was a disaster.  

I can laugh now; but it was not funny then.  I was convinced that my social life was ruined forever.  In retrospect, my parents, Nancy, and I all survived that climactic first date.  And I think we  all learned some things.  I learned that it is ‘OK’ to ask for help . . . People will not think less of you if you do.   My parents were intentional in helping me rebuild the trust relationship that is so necessary between teens and their parents.   And Nancy and I eventually became good friends.

Sometimes I wonder how much simpler our lives would be if we were not so certain that we knew where we were going all the time.  If we only had the sense to stop and ask for directions at those critical times in our lives.  It’s so easy to get off track.  Sometimes we know where we want to go and what we want to do, but we don’t know how get there.  At other times,  we are so convinced that we have everything covered . . . so certain of success . . . that we miss all the signs that we are headed in the wrong direction.  At still other times, we know that we are lost, but pride and stubbornness keep us from asking for help.
Sociologists who study modern culture tell us that we have become a society of individuals who are convinced they know what is best for themselves.  This assertion of self is  the Genesis story all over again.     We want to do things our way.  Sin is our refusal to recognize God as the One with whom we were created to live in relationship.  There can be no other way to think about it.  Sin is not a little misstep here and there.  Sin is fundamental to our being.  It is a declaration of independence from God.  We desire to be lords of our own lives. . . Not at the exclusion of God, but rather giving God the minimum required so that we might be masters of what's left.  We desire to be unfettered and unbound . . . doing what we want, when we want, for our own gratification.  We readily sell our souls for the privilege of being our own masters, beyond rule and constraint, doing what we will, even to the pain others
What happens to the individual is mirrored in our communities.  Multiplied over and over, the inevitable extension of our individual brokenness is a society that overlooks the needs of the poor ‘because they don't work as hard as we do’ . . . a society that understands sexuality as a tool for marketing and self-fulfillment rather than as a God-given gift to be shared within marriage . . . a society fast becoming intolerant of those who are either different than we are or hold different beliefs than we do . . . And most tragically, a society where an increasing number of children and young adults are becoming estranged from their parents and their peers.  

‘I know where I’m going!’ They are words that have become the battle cry of our brokenness.  ‘I know where I’m going!’   It’s no accident that Jesus used similar words when he spoke to his disciples in the Upper Room shortly before his death.

In the three short years they were with Jesus, the disciples had seen and heard much.  The power of God was upon him.  Multi­tudes were fed, the sick were restored to health, the people were taught with parables, and the Kingdom of God was pro­claimed.  Jesus trans­formed their lives.  Before he called them by name to be his disciples, God was an abstract idea; and religion, a collection of meaningless rituals.  But Jesus changed all that; the disciples could feel the power of God in their lives.  God became real for them. 

But hope quickly turned to despair.  Jesus told them that they would deny and betray him . . . And that he would be put to death.  The disciples must have been silent when Jesus spoke these words.    All they had hoped . . . all they had trust­ed . . . and all they had believed had been destroyed.  They all knew that messiahs who die bring little comfort to those left behind. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples . . . his disciples in the Upper Room and to his disciples here in Little Falls and Hillman  ‘LET NOT YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED; BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME.  IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY ROOMS; IF IT WERE NOT SO, WOULD I HAVE TOLD YOU THAT I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU?  AND WHEN I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN AND WILL TAKE YOU TO MYSELF, THAT WHERE I AM YOU MAY BE ALSO.  AND YOU KNOW THE WAY WHERE I AM GOING.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE; NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BY ME.’ 

These words are frequently heard at funerals.  But these words are not only for dying, but also for living.  In these few verses, Jesus calls us to faith and he promises us life. FIRST, JESUS CALLS US TO FAITH.  Jesus challenges his disciples to take their own faith in God seriously.  Faith in God is to have confidence in the One who always finds a way to renew his people.  God heard the cries of his people when they were slaves in Egypt, when they were pinned against the Red Sea by the armies of Pharaoh, and when they were in exile.  This same God who delivered Israel time and time again, continues to renew his people through Jesus Christ . . . even now when we all seem to be going our own ways.

AND SECOND, JESUS PROMISES US LIFE.  When Jesus speaks of life, he means something far different than the 'three score and ten' that we human beings expect.  For Jesus, life stands outside of time; it is not measured in years, days, and hours.  Instead, Jesus understands life as a never ending relationship with him.  Listen again to his words. ‘IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY ROOMS . . . AND WHEN I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN AND WILL TAKE YOU TO MYSELF, THAT WHERE I AM YOU MAY BE ALSO.’   There is no separation from Jesus; he does not leave us to our own devices. But Jesus even goes one step further.  He guarantees what he promises with his own death so that we might live.  This is why Jesus can say that he is ‘the way, the truth, and the life.’  

Jesus is the ‘way’ because he is the road by which men and women must come to God.  There is no other way.   This does not mean that we, as disciples, must walk the same path as Jesus.  But it does mean that each of us must make a decision about who Jesus is. Will we follow where he leads us? . . . That is the fundamental question.   We’ve always assumed that Jesus is present here as we worship together . . . And this is true.  But Jesus is also present in those very people who can’t seem to make it in our success-driven world.  Let me say it another way:  Not only is Jesus is present at the right hand of God, but he is also present in those who are our neighbors.  And remember that Jesus defines ‘neighbor’ as anyone who is in need.  Our less fortunate neighbors confront us with the reality of God. Emulating Jesus by feeding the hungry, speaking for those who have no voice in our community, are steps along ‘the Way’ to God.
Jesus is the ‘truth’ because he embodies the true life possible for all human beings.  This truth is not some abstract philosophi­cal principal.  Far from it.  Jesus himself is the truth because he is completely reliable in all that he is and in all that he does.  Jesus reveals the truth about us: we are sinners.  We do not know the way . . . We do not know where we are going.  And more importantly, Jesus reveals the truth about God: God forgives sinners and seeks them out as sons and daughters.  

And finally, Jesus is the ‘life’ because there is no life apart from him.  In baptism, we are Christ’s forever . . . In life, in death, and in life again.   Life takes on a whole different set of dimensions.  No longer can it be said to begin at the cradle and end at the grave.  Baptism changes everything.  Baptism ties us to Jesus. The once dead, but now living Lord promises life to those who believe in him.  
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Me lost? . . . Absolutely . . . Do I know where I'm going? . . . . Do you know where you are going?  I suspect not.  Our track record has not been all that good.  Regardless of what we chose to believe, we are lost and we don’t know where we are going.  But that doesn't matter and it never has.  What does matter is that Jesus knows where he’s going . . . And that he means to take every one of us there with him.   Amen. 

May 3, 2020

Fourth Sunday of Easter – ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’
May 3, 2020

Introduction
We continue to ‘shelter in place’ as protection from the corona virus.  Most churches have not had public worship since March 15.   This has been difficult for people who have made a life-long practice of worshiping together on Sundays.  In normal circumstances, today would have marked the end of our Northeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly.  Our plans were to elect and call a new bishop for our synod.  At closing worship, Bishop Thomas Aitken would have delivered his final proclamation of the Gospel to the pastors and people of our Synod.  But such is not the case; the pandemic has changed everything.  Bishop Aitken will continue in office until we can gather and elect his successor.  I am thankful for his continuing ministry to our pastors and our congregations. 

The office of bishop is important to the wellbeing the Church.   In the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America there are sixty-five synodical bishops.  The Churchwide assembly elects a Presiding Bishop.  That office is currently held by Bishop Elizabeth Eaton.

I have known Bishop Aitken for a long time and regard him as a friend.  The office of bishop in the traditional understanding is a ‘symbol of unity.’   Bishops are both called to serve in the office and the call is ratified [perhaps recognized might be a better word] through the election process.  The bishop serves as ‘pastor’ to the pastors and to the congregations in his/her synod.  The bishop is responsible for speaking publicly for the church in matters of faith, ethics, and ministry.  Bishops also have the responsibility to ensure that the Gospel is preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered.  Congregations receive pastoral candidates from the office of the bishop as they continue their ministries in their communities.   Bishop Aitken oversees the ministry of more than 130 congregations in our Northeastern Minnesota Synod.

The Fourth Sunday of the Easter Season is traditionally known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday.’  The Gospel reading is always from the tenth chapter of St John and the Psalmody is always Psalm 23.   Bishop Aitken has decided to publish a sermon for all the congregations in our synod on this Good Shepherd Sunday.  It is no accident the symbol used for the office of Bishop is the shepherd’s staff [more formally, the crosier].  What follows are the texts for today from St John’s Gospel and Psalm 23; and Bishop Aitken’s sermon.

In Christ ☩,
Pastor Steve

Gospel: John 10.1-10, 22-30
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 1“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

 6Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly . . .

22At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.  24So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”  25Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; 26but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.  27My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.  28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.  29What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand.  30The Father and I are one.”

This is the gospel of the Lord.                          Praise to you, O Christ.
 
Psalmody: Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  Amen.
 
 
Bishop Thomas Aitken’s Sermon for Good Shepherd Sunday
Dear beloved in our Synod,
Grace and peace to you, through Christ our brother, our Good Shepherd, and Lord.
Psalm 23, appointed as one of the lessons today, is the best-known passage of Scripture in the whole world, and one of the most powerful ones.  Let’s look and listen to how this psalm, linked together today with Jesus in our gospel lesson brings new life to us in our “Valley of the Shadow of death.”
The person who wrote Psalm 23 was on a journey.  Like yours and mine, it was a journey of life and of faith.  Something happened to this person, something tragic.  You live long enough and you’ll experience not only the beauty but also the pain of life.  It will happen.  And you will have questions that Psalm 23 addresses honestly.  You might be worried today about a loved one who could easily get the coronavirus. Or maybe you have already lost a friend or relative to it.  You may be living with another “dark valley” right now with that relative whose life has hit bottom with deep anxiety, chemical dependency, or loss of income to take care of your family.  

The bad thing that happens to this Biblical writer shows up in the very middle of the psalm. In Verse 4, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley (or, in earlier translations, “the valley of the shadow of death”) are the words that describe the author’s tragedy.   Before verse four, things went well:  There were quiet waters, lush green pastures and life was good, then the tragedy happens.   We don’t know what it was; it could have been that the Psalmist experienced the death of a family member, or that death was approaching soon.  Or it could have been an illness that would force the Psalmist or a loved one out of the community in those days, or a huge rejection or betrayal.  But something tragic happened.  The author does not mince words or cover this tragedy with sugary piety.  Notice how Psalm 23 does not declare that God keeps pious people safe from all harm or that your life will be danger-free if you pray, read scripture and do good things. It doesn’t say that those who love God will receive a protection bubble from illness or the power of wind, water or gravity.  I once had an Intern, back in the 90’s who wrote a paper for Seminary entitled,  “Into every Life a little rain must Fall.”  And of course this is true.   We used that paper as a resource for faith and bible study and  the problem of evil and natural tragedies.  That can be helpful, well and good for when there are no pandemics, when your own life isn’t in the balance.  What we are getting in Psalm 23 is more:  it is the real-life journey of faith that ends in strength and new life in the midst of tragedy.

Hear the Good News in this famous Psalm.  In the last half of Psalm 23 we get in on how the writer has experienced God in some powerful way, right in the valley of the shadow of death.  God doesn’t’ abandon us but leads us through the dangers.  Psalm 23 invites us to experience living with trust in the goodness of God.  Back in seminary I was introduced to the devotional writings of first century rabbis.  I came across one who wrote a morning prayer I have never forgotten.  He wrote, “O Holy One, if this were the only day You would have granted me to live, for this day alone, I give you eternal thanks.”      
 
Now Hear the Psalm again: “Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.   You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”   (Verses 4-6)

Many of your know that my good friend and mentor of 35 years, Pastor Earl Carlson died on Easter Sunday just a few weeks ago. He was 101 years old and we talked right up to his last days.  What the Psalmist says about God’s goodness, even in the midst of tragedy is exactly what Earl taught me over and over.   He was born with polio – and it remained in his body all his life until in his old age he was bent in half from the waist.  I remember many people saying to him, “Why you, Earl? You are so kind, so helpful, you bring us such joy. Why do you have to suffer, why did God let this happen to you?”  And you know what he would say?  . . .  “Why not me”?  Life is good, Life is beautiful.  This kind of thing happens to many people, why should I be different?   And just remember, like you my life is joined to Jesus’ life forever.”

 Jesus knew, didn’t he, what it meant to live in God’s world, with goodness, risks, and tragedy.  He entered it and through his life, death and resurrection showed God’s power in the midst of all that life can bring us. He was not ashamed to call us – as you know – sisters and brothers to him.   He is the pioneer and perfector of our own faith, standing with us in the midst of our weakness and fear to bring new life into us when we need it most.

God is not a magic rabbit’s foot, or lucky charm. God is the love that brings us hope, the strength to live in adversity, the courage to stand against evil, the joy to live life abundantly as Jesus says in our Gospel lesson today: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (verse 10) And God is the power to endure suffering as the Psalmist proclaims and the power to serve our neighbor as Martin Luther always reminded his flock. We may wish God had made a different kind of world.  But this is the world God made and God is still working in, redeeming all of creation, all of humankind, even our last “enemies” and tragedies.   Christ says to you today:  ‘I am your gate, I am your shepherd, I am your bread, your sustenance, your resurrection and life. ‘And he will bring us home one day. You can count on it, today, tomorrow, next week, the rest of your lives and into Eternity.
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Trust the Story.  Trust Jesus.  Trust the gospel.
To the glory of God, and the good of your neighbor.   Amen.

April 26, 2020

Third Sunday of Easter – ‘Emmaus Sunday’
April 26, 2020

Introduction
The Emmaus story is my favorite Easter story.   At my Mom and Dad’s home, we had a copy of Swiss artist Robert Zund’s 1877 painting ‘The Road to Emmaus.’  It’s a picture of three people walking along a forest road. They are obviously talking together with the man in the middle gesturing as if making a point.   The picture, while not reflecting the actual scenery that Cleopas and his friend saw as they walked, has always spoken to me in a powerful way. 
As the story unfolds on Easter afternoon, we discover the third person is none other than the I think that it describes believers like you and me some two thousand years after Easter.  Like the Emmaus travelers, we seem to be near the edge of the action;  not the center, but at the edge.  We weren’t at the tomb on Easter morning . . . We haven’t seen Jesus in person, either before or after his resurrection . . . And we’ve only heard the story from others.   I suspect that, if we’re truly honest with ourselves, we are just as surprised and confused as Cleopas and his friend.
I take comfort in our Lord’s self-revelation and his patience as he ‘opens the Scripture to them’ as they walk.  Were not our hearts ‘strangely warmed’ as we encounter Jesus where we least expect to meet him?  Although our ‘Emmaus walk’ is limited because of social distancing and the corona virus, Jesus comes to us in Word.   Enjoy the journey!

Gospel: Luke 24.13-35
13Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  17And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad.  18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?"                                                          

19 He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.  21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.  22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.  24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him."  25Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!  26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?"  27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

 28As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.  29But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them.  30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.  32They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?"  33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.  34They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!"  35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

“Hiding in the Open”
Let us pray.  Lord Jesus, today we journey to Emmaus and beyond.  We talk along the way because we do not understand.  We argue, half hoping that we are wrong.  Like so many others, we have heard stories of your resurrection; there are some among us who even say they have experienced your presence.  Let this all be true Lord, and let it be true also for us. With your Spirit, kindle in our hearts the fire of faith that knows you in the hearing of the Word and the breaking of the bread.  We ask this in your life-giving name.  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Sermon – I joined the United States Army after graduating from the University of Minnesota.  Since my background was engineering, I was assigned to Corps of Engineers and sent to officers’ school at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.  Our primary mission was to build roads, construct bridges, lay minefields, and work with explosives for demolition . . . All helpful skills for a parish pastor.  My battalion’s motto was: “If you can't bridge it, blow it.”

Besides this very specialized training, they also trained us as infantry officers.  Oftentimes, engineer units are used in direct support of infantry operations.  Besides weapons’ training and a lengthy study of tactics, we spent a good deal of time learning about camouflage.  We learned how to hide our tents, mark our vehicles, and to paint our faces with camouflage gray and green.  During our final war games against the Blue Army, I was ordered to camouflage my men and lead a night reconnaissance patrol to find a place to build a float bridge across the river  -- Something engineering officers normally do.

When I reported back to my company commander in the morning, he looked at my recommendation and said, ‘Nice job, Lt. Olson.  That’s where we’ll build it.  But how did you get past that Blue Army battalion?  They were all over the place!’  I should have just accepted the compliment and walked away.  But in my naiveté I looked at him as said, ‘Battalion sir?  What battalion?’ I had missed them completely . . . And fortunately, they had missed us also. I was so focused on security and charting our route in the darkness that I had missed what I should have been looking for.  My counterpart in the Blue Army and I were young and inexperienced officers who were so caught up in their operations that we both missed what was really happening to our units.  I was more lucky than good . . . He was good, but unlucky.   My  point is this: good camouflage is essential:  It works and it allows you to protect yourself by ‘hiding in the open.’
Luck was with me at Ft. Belvoir.   Sometimes it can save your life; but at other times, it can be costly because you miss the obvious.  The disciples in today’s Gospel are perfect examples.  They missed completely the significance what had happened on Easter morning.   You might say that Jesus was ‘hiding in the open’ because everything that happened was laid out in the Law and the writings of the prophets which was part of their ‘spiritual DNA.’ But the travelers were so focused on their own problems, that they almost missed Jesus on the road to Emmaus. 

When I think about it, I know what happened to them.   Everything they knew . . . Everything they believed pointed to one fact that every human being knew to be true: Dead is dead and no one ever leaves the cemetery unless they’re only visiting the grave of someone who has died.  The words of Jesus pointing to his death and resurrection . . . the Law . . . the writings of the prophets . . . and the testimony of the women at the tomb were camouflaged by their grief.   As far as they were concerned, the story of Jesus ended on the cross.

 St. Luke tells us that it was a simple trip to Emmaus . . . Some 7 miles from Jerusalem.  The travelers were truly anonymous disciples. Nothing is known about Cleopas . . . His companion is unnamed.  They were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus after the Passover.  Their journey was not a pleasant one.  A translation of the Greek suggests that they argued as they walked.  Then, an unknown stranger joined on the road.   They did not know that it was the newly Resurrected Jesus.  When he asked what they were talking about, Cleopas mocked him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there these last days?’ 

When the stranger pressed for an explanation, Cleopas described in detail the story of their erstwhile Messiah . . . How they thought he was the one to redeem Israel and bring the Kingdom of God into being . . . How Jesus had healed the sick, fed the multitudes, and gave hope to people who had none.  But now, it was over.  Jesus turned out to be nothing more than a dreamer who built castles in the sand.  Jesus was dead;  and with him, his visions.  Those who had followed him had fled for their lives and hid from the authorities.

But then, the tone Cleopas’ voice must have changed.  There were rumors . . . Stories, he said, that were certain to make the chief priest and elders even more vindictive.  ‘ . . . Some women in our company amazed us.  They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.’  But Cleopas was a practical man.  It was over.  Why stay in Jerusalem and share the fate of Jesus?  There was only one decision that made any sense:  ‘Hide in the open’ . . . Join the crowds going home after Passover.
I can identify with Cleopas and his friend.  He made a good decision.  After all, we also live in a dangerous world.  Sometimes it’s a good idea to ‘hide in the open’ . . . To blend into the scenery until things blow over.  If we do so, perhaps trouble will pass us by. But unfortunately, you and I both know that this isn't the way the real world  works.  The so-called ‘common denominators’ of life always seek us out.  Death, sickness, pain, worry, loneliness, insecurity, and despair . . . They see right through the camouflage we wear.  Hide where we might, they always seem to find us.  The only danger is that we are so intent in hiding ourselves that we miss the very things that might save us.

There is another dimension to the story that strikes me:  Cleopas and his friend may well have been ‘hiding in the open’ as they fled Jerusalem, but so was Jesus. When he approached Cleopas and his friend, they did not recognize him.  Jesus would not allow them to remain alone, despairing of the future.  He would not accept their self-imposed exile from the world.  Hiding or not, Jesus sought them out.   That’s what the resurrection was all about . . . Jesus died so that ‘all might have life and have it abundantly.’   The hidden Jesus said to them, ‘WAS IT NOT NECESSARY THAT THE CHRIST SHOULD SUFFER THESE THINGS AND ENTER INTO HIS GLORY?’  And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them, in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.   And not knowing why, their hearts were strangely warmed.

When the travelers arrived in Emmaus, the stranger appeared to be going farther. The Risen Christ does not force himself upon others. Cleopas and his friend invited him to stay with them that evening.  At the evening meal, a miracle occurred: the Guest became the host and a Messianic banquet took place in that small room.  When Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, their eyes were opened.  They knew Jesus in the breaking of the bread.  The Lord Jesus was ‘hiding in the open’ in the Scripture and in the bread and wine of the Eucharistic meal.

Martin Luther frequently talked about Deus Absconditus which means ‘the hidden God.’  I like that . . . We encounter the ‘hidden God’ in the most unusual of places . . . a manger in Bethlehem . . . a Jewish carpenter turned Messiah . . . a Roman cross outside of Jerusalem . . . a God hidden in human suffering.  Jesus was ‘hiding in the open’ and that’s what makes Emmaus road story so important.  Neither disciples past, nor disciples present can escape ‘the hidden God’ who will stop at nothing to redeem them from their sins.  Today, as we continue our Emmaus journey, the persistent stranger overtakes us again and again.  And each time he tries to engage us in conversation, hoping that we might recognize him for whom he really is.  He attempts to penetrate a pessimism that comes from having been disappointed so many times before.
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Like I said, Jesus is persistent, he has traveled with us since the day of our baptisms, seeking to make himself known as the one sure thing in this world where everything else disappoints. ‘Hiding in the open?’ . . . . . . Not anymore.  Today, we  have seen the Lord!   Amen

April 19, 2020

Second Sunday of Easter – ‘Doubting Thomas Sunday’
April 19, 2020
 
A Word about Holy Communion
As I think about the gathering of the disciples in today’s Gospel, I am saddened that we cannot gather in our respective sanctuaries to hear the Word of God and celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  You are undoubtedly hearing discussions about ‘virtual communion’ or ‘internet communion.’   This is not our practice and is not authorized by the Lutheran Confessions or our bishops.   While do not commune together in the same geographic spot, we are reminded that our Lord Jesus is fully present to us in the Word of God even when we are not celebrating the Lord’s Supper.  He is present to us, just as he was present to the first disciples eight days after his resurrection.  

Introduction
In today’s Gospel from St John, we hear the story of Jesus’ appearance on Easter evening to the disciples.  However, Thomas was not present.  When told of their experience, he cannot believe their words.  Eight days later, the Resurrected Lord appeared again, but this time Thomas was present.  Today’s homily will explore the line between faith and doubt.   How can we believe when so much has gone wrong? . . . Especially during this time of quarantine because of the corona virus. 

The good news on this Second Sunday of Easter is that Jesus did come to the disciples in their distress – including Thomas was had difficulty believing their reports. Faith in the Resurrected Jesus came in a different way to Thomas.  He just wanted what the others had . . . He wanted to see Jesus.  For his honesty, for his willingness to ask questions, Thomas will forever be known as ‘the doubter.’  Encountering Jesus, Thomas said, ‘My Lord and my God!’  So let it be for us as we experience today’s Gospel. 

Gospel: John 20.19-31
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."  20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."  27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."  28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"  29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

‘The Impossibility of Subtracting 6 from 4’
Let us pray.  Almighty God, on the first Easter you opened the grave and brought life to Jesus, and to all who believe in him.  But Lord, our faith is weak.  We are caught up in our own sinfulness, and we cannot see the gift of life that you hold out to us.  Forgive our unbelief, dear Father, and open our hearts to the One who died and now lives.  Give our troubled hearts peace, and nurture our faith so that we too might confess Jesus as our ‘Lord and God,’ and join him in his resurrection.  In his saving name we pray, amen.

Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

My favorite comic strip is ‘Peanuts’ by Minnesota’s own Charles Schulz.  Schulz’s gift was that he could use humor to make us look more critically at our lives.   It’s not unusual for us to see a bit of ourselves in Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Linus.  Several days ago, on the internet, I found a ‘Peanuts’ strip that had been published many years ago on a Sunday morning.  It struck me because it reminded me of Thomas’ struggle to believe the disciples; story that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.

Linus came up to Lucy with pencil and paper in hand and asked, ‘How much is six from four?’  Well, you know Lucy.  Incredulous that anyone could ask a question like that, she looked up from her book and said sarcastically, ‘Six from four?  You can't subtract six from four!’  Then returning to her book, she continues, ‘Everybody knows that you can’t subtract a bigger number from a smaller number.’  Linus, standing there patiently during her lecture on mathematics, exclaims with frustration, ‘Yes you can, if you're stupid.’  The ultimate self-putdown. 

Perhaps, both Lucy and Linus will someday learn enough mathematics to understand positive and negative numbers.  Or better yet, with a little experience, they will learn that as one takes two steps forward, they can also take three steps backward, and wind up behind their original starting point.  In each case, something is understood, and there is an awareness of something real . . . Something learned by experience.

I wonder then, if Linus is really stupid.  In the context of the Sunday comics, he is confronted with something that just doesn’t make any sense.  ‘How much is six from four?’ At his young age, poor Linus wasn't prepared for the complexity and beauty of higher mathematics.  Linus was frustrated, not because he was stupid, but because he didn’t have the knowledge or experience the to understand. 

In today’s Gospel, Linus could well be Thomas, or anyone else who was not there when the once dead, but now living Jesus appeared to the disciples on Easter.  I wonder if Thomas was really a doubter of the resurrection.  Perhaps poor Thomas just wasn’t prepared for the complexity and beauty of encountering the risen Jesus.  Thomas was frustrated, not because he was stupid, but because he didn’t have the knowledge or the experience to understand.  Let’s examine the story.

 It was Easter evening and the disciples were in hiding.  They hid for fear of what might happen to them.  To make matters worse, Peter, the Beloved Disciple, and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and could not find the body of Jesus.  Their report troubled the disciples.  But that was not all; Mary insisted that she had encountered the living Jesus outside the tomb.  Her words were burned into their memories.  She said, ‘I have seen the Lord!’  It was no wonder that they were afraid.  What could such a story possibly mean?  Common sense says that you can’t take a bigger number away from a small number . . . Common sense says that death is the end of life . . . And common sense says that the dead stay dead.

Our bond with the first disciples is simple.  Today, our Lord find us locked away from the world.  We’ve heard stories about his resurrection, and we whisper them to each other in our homes.  Like the disciples, we huddle together to talk about what might have happened on that first Easter.  In a world that is skeptical and doesn’t know what to believe I wonder if we’re a bit embarrassed by the whole story . . . We might even be afraid of what friends and family might think if talk about our beliefs too loudly.  And we call Thomas a doubter!  What can such a story possibly mean for us today?  Common sense says that you can’t take a bigger number away from a small number . . . Common sense says that death is the end of life.

Then suddenly, the Lord Jesus Christ stood among his disciples; the same way he now stands among us in our isolation.  He is neither apparition nor hallucination; he is the resurrected Lord of the Church.  To those whom he loves, his greeting is always the same: ‘PEACE BE WITH YOU.’ They are words that give comfort to troubled hearts.

Then Jesus breathes his life-giving Spirit into his disciples, past and present.  And in so doing, he commissions us to take up his ministry among our brothers and sisters.  As the Lord of the Church, he does not allow us to hide from the world in our beautiful sanctuaries, just talking about the resurrection.  Instead, Jesus sends us out into the world with his Holy Spirit to live the resurrection.  Understand that Jesus is not saying that all of us are to be preachers.  What he is saying is that we are commissioned to give witness, in word and deed, to the power of the Gospel in our lives even as we shelter in place.  Now this is all well and good.  These words may be fine for those who have never struggled with their faith, but what about the Thomases of the world?  What about those who want to take six away from four?  What about those who are troubled by the resurrection of Jesus?

Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to the disciples.  They believed; but he needed more than just the word of others.  Thomas wanted to be certain before he committed himself to something he didn’t understand.  ‘Unless I see in his hands the prints of the nails and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

 You have to admire Thomas.  He is a practical man; one who trusts his senses.  For him, seeing is believing.  Unfortunately, he knows little of human perversity.  One could almost make it a rule of human behavior.  No matter what the sign is, our skepticism will always grow to overcome the proof that is presented.  Human beings can never know anything for certain.

On this Second Sunday of Easter, Jesus has all types of disciples here at Bethel and Immanuel Lutheran Churches. And, rest assured, he loves us all.  Some of us are like those who saw Jesus on Easter evening and believed.  They are blessed because their faith is secure.  They are blessed because they have his peace.  And they are blessed because they have found Jesus within the Church; precisely where they have been born and raised.  They know that he has always been there for them.

But Thomas is another story.  He is the person who was not there when the miracle happened.  He is the person who heard the story from someone else.  Some of us are ‘Thomases’ and we are skeptical of what other people tell us.  We do not recognize the Risen Lord because we stand on the fringe of faith.  We question because we have not seen with our own eyes.  We are Christmas and Easter Christians who listen to the story hoping to feel better about ourselves.  We are Sunday Christians who come out of duty, hoping that Jesus will make himself known.  We Thomases sense the absence of Christ in our lives as profoundly as some sense his presence.  We know about betrayals of faith and we dare not believe only to be disappointed again.  Like Thomas, we want certainty.

The good news this morning is that Jesus did come to Thomas amidst the community of faith.  He came with the words, ‘PEACE BE WITH YOU.’ But when Jesus offered proof, Thomas realized its worthlessness.  Seeing and touching are not enough; they will not, and cannot, bring faith.  Faith came to Thomas as he experienced the Living Christ.
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Perhaps in some ways, it’s easier for us to believe than it was for Thomas.  We don’t have the evidence of our senses to confuse us.  Seeing is not believing . . . Seeing is seeing, and nothing more.  But faith comes as we experience the living Christ.  Today, Jesus also stands among us.  Just as Linus will learn in time that it is possible to take six away from four; we too will learn that Jesus is alive for us.  But proof-seekers beware!  Thomas got more than he bargained for.  Jesus took him seriously and gave him all the proof he needed.  So, in the end, it all comes down to this:  What if the resurrected Jesus takes our doubt seriously, like he did that of Thomas?   He might just give us the proof that we need.  Then what will we say?  It is my hope that we can join Thomas and say, ‘My Lord and my God.’  To say anything more is to say too little.  Amen.

April 12, 2020 - Easter Sunday

​‘Never to Be Lost Again’
John 20.1-18
Prayer – Dear Lord and Father, you are the God of hope for a world that lives without hope . . . You are the God of promise for a world that cannot keep its own promises.  On this Morning of mornings, you bring new hope and new promise in the resurrection of your Son Jesus.  As you opened the eyes of the Mary and the disciples on the first Easter, send your Spirit upon us to open our eyes to the salvation you have prepared for your people.  Where there is sin, grant us forgiveness; where there is hopelessness, give us hope; and where there is death, raise us to life.  We pray in the name of your Risen Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  
Salutation – Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  
Sermon – It should have been a textbook operation, but from the beginning, everything went wrong on April 4th, 1943.  Two waves of B-24 Liberators from the 376th Bombardment Group were set to depart Soluch, Libya to bomb the harbor in Naples, Italy.  The mission was simple enough:  Take-off in mid-afternoon, drop bombs on enemy shipping at 7:30, and return to base at midnight.  The air group had successfully run this mission several times before; but nothing is ever as simple as it seems.  The planes took off in a blinding sandstorm . . . Nine of the B-24’s returned to base because of visibility . . . Two dropped their bombs in the Mediterranean before turning around . . . And two more could not find the target and bombed a secondary site.
          The Lady Be Good was the last plane to take off from Libya and, because of the storm, never found the main bomber group.  The pilot and his officers decided to complete the mission on their own.  Newly arrived from flight training in the States, this was their first mission together.  After dropping their bombs, the Lady Be Good turned to make its return trip to the airfield in Libya.  At 12:12 am, the pilot, Lt. Hatton, radioed to say that the Lady Be Good’s automatic direction finder was not working and asked for a radio beacon to locate the base.
          At some point after the radio call, the Lady Be Good overflew its base because the aircrew failed to see the flares fired to attract their attention.  Unbeknown to them, they continued into the interior of North Africa for the next two hours.  The crewmembers thought they were still over the Mediterranean Sea.  At 2 am, the crew parachuted to the ground as the Lady Be Good continued on for 16 miles before it made a belly landing with no one on board.  The plane was deep in the Calanshio Sand Sea of the Libyan Desert.  A search and rescue mission from Soluch Air Base failed to locate the plane.  The flight crew was listed as ‘missing in action.’  
          Fast forward to November 9th, 1958, a British oil exploration team found a plane in the desert that was largely intact.  By means of the pilot’s log, they identified the plane as the missing Lady Be Good.  They also reported that all the parachutes were missing . . . Within a year, the United States Army investigated the wreckage and, reconstructing their flight path, searched for the missing crew.  In time, the bodies of 7 of the 9 crew members were found 50-60 miles away from the wreckage.  When they died of thirst and exposure, they were making their way north to what they thought was the coast of Africa.  What they did not know was that they were 400 miles from the coast and walking deeper into the heart of the Great Libyan desert.  A sketchy diary speaks of thirst and desperation during the last days of their lives . . . Several crewmembers have never been found.  
          When I first heard this story as a child, it fascinated me . . . How could something like this happen? . . . I wondered.  How could the crew not know where they were?  Why didn’t anyone look for them?  . . .  These were the questions of one who was very young.  Now, it’s easy to understand what happened. They were an inexperienced crew, the visibility conditions over Naples and their airfield were horrendous . . . And to make matters worse, they thought they knew where they were, even though they were hopelessly lost.  
            It seems to me that we are as lost as the aircrew of the Lady Be Good.  How do we become lost?    We don't mean to get lost, but we just get off track . . . Our internal direction finders fail us as we navigate our lives.  The danger is great because we think we know where we are going and we don't even realize we are lost.  It is almost comic the way we think that we are secure and that others are lost.  But reality is harsh . . . The realization that we are truly lost finally comes . . . It always does.  It comes as we near the end our lives . . . It comes as we look at the broken relationships with family and friends . . . It comes when tragedy strikes . . . And it comes when we have no one else to turn to. 
          We are sinners who, for whatever reason, choose to live apart from God and become lost.  But deep down, we sense that something is not right in our lives . . . We sense that we have somehow lost our way.  To make matters worse, death scars our innermost being as loved ones and friends are taken from us.  Humans that we are, we live with a constant sense of our mortality . . . fearing that we might die alone, abandoned by God.  We worry about the well being of our families as they move away from us because of school or jobs. We struggle with brokenness in our relationships with spouse, family, and friends . . . brokenness that separates us one from another. 
          And there’s always the unpredictability of life.  Strange things happen when you least expect them . . . Things like the chance sandstorms that the Lady Be Good encountered on her last flight . . . Tragedy often seems to strike when one is not ready for it.   But that’s the way life is.  And I think that’s what happened to Peter, the disciples, and Mary Magdalene after the events of Palm Sunday. 
          JESUS WAS DEAD.  The world said that all human beings must die, and Jesus was no exception to the rule.  So Mary Magdalene came to fulfill one last labor of love for her Master; she came to anoint his body for burial.  But on the first day of the week,  St. John tells us that something changed in the way the world does business.  The old reality was gone forever.  THE TOMB OF JESUS WAS EMPTY.  His body was nowhere to be found.  
          Poor Mary . . . Poor blessed Mary . . . Everything she had come to believe . . . Everything she had come to expect, was changed.  God had intervened in a totally unexpected way.  JESUS WAS ALIVE . . . DEATH COULD NOT HOLD HIM.  GOD HAD CHANGED THE RULES:  DEATH WAS NOT THE END OF LIFE. 
          But this possibility never entered Mary’s mind.  As far as she was concerned, the body of Jesus was missing.  When she told Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple, they ran to the tomb and found it as she said.  Both saw that the tomb was empty . . . Both saw the grave linens used to wrap the body.  But only the Beloved Disciple understood that Jesus would no longer need them . . . He saw life where there was death . . . He saw the new reality of the resurrection.  The empty tomb cried out its message of life, but Peter and Mary simply did not understand.  Like all of us, they knew that cemeteries were for dead people and that the dead stayed dead.  
          When Peter and the Beloved Disciple had departed the tomb, Mary stood by its entrance weeping.  With the disappearance of his body, Mary could only assume that her Master had suffered the final indignity of a desecrated grave.  The Evangelist John tells us that even the presence of angels could not change what she thought to be true.  Grief had so clouded her mind that Mary mistook the risen Jesus for the gardener.  It was not until Jesus called her by name that she knew him.  Mary saw Jesus with her own eyes.   And seeing Jesus, she had seen the future . . . her future . . . and the future of all who would believe in him. Death was not the end of the story because it could not hide Jesus from the life-giving power of Almighty God.  In joy, Mary ran to the disciples and shouted to them  ‘I have seen the Lord!’   And with these words, the world changed forever.   
          To say that  ‘Jesus is dead’ was no longer sufficient.  Yes, Jesus was dead; but now, he lives.  What happened on Calvary is part of our here and now.  Jesus carries the good news of his victory across the ages to people who are hemmed in by sin and death.  Jesus died for us and Jesus was resurrected for us.  That’s the good news of Easter.  
            Why is the death and resurrection of Jesus so important for us?  First, Easter reveals to us who God really is.  We already know who we are — warts and all.  We are painfully aware of all that is wrong in our lives . . . We know that we are sinners . . . And we know that we live only to die.  But because we are human . . . because our vision is clouded by sin, we cannot see God for who he really is.  But in raising Jesus from the dead, God reveals, once and for all,  who he is.  He is the One who gives life . . . the One who forgives . . . the One who dies for us . . . the One who loves us more than life itself.   In short, he is the One who is for us when everything else is against us.
          The raising of Jesus from the dead is more than an individual event proving that he is the Messiah.  Instead, the resurrection of Jesus is God's final statement to the world that he is ‘for us.’  God, through Jesus the Son, has not only made himself known by living among us; but he has also made himself known to us on the cross, saying, ‘THIS IS WHO I AM . . . I AM THE ONE WHO DIES SO THAT YOU MIGHT LIVE.’  
          Second, in raising Jesus from the dead, God guarantees our present and our future.   We know that life is lived one day at a time.  But so often, we fear the tomorrows that lie before us.  However, the good news of Easter is that life in the resurrection begins now; not sometime in the future.  Jesus is present with us now; in life, in death, and in life again. 
            Therefore, we can say that Jesus represents us before God.  A Resurrection faith is to trust that he will represent us before God . . . A Resurrection faith is to know that he speaks for us when we are silenced by death . . . A Resurrection faith is to believe that Jesus reminds God that each one of us is unique, indispensable, and absolutely irreplaceable.  The resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee that we will never be forgotten and unclaimed.  
          We began this morning talking about the lost crew of the ‘Lady Be Good.’  They were lost to their loved ones . . . their nation . . . And until, 1960, they were lost to history.  It’s important to remember that they were not alone in that lonely desert . . . The Resurrected Jesus was with them . . . even at the end.   And on this Easter Morning, it is even more important to remember that they were not lost God.  To each of us this morning, the Resurrected Jesus says, ‘I HAVE FOUND YOU . . . AND I HAVE CLAIMED YOU IN BAPTISM.  YOU ARE MINE FOREVER . . . NEVER TO BE LOST AGAIN.  Amen.

​April 5, 2020 - Palm Sunday

Introduction to Palm/Passion Sunday
The last week of our Lord’s life begins with a palm procession, commemorating his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Quickly the tone changes as we meditate upon Jesus' passion and death. Though Jesus is obedient even unto death on the cross, he is exalted by God. We gather to remember his offering for the life of the world, and to be fed by his life-giving mercy.
Gospel Readings
Matthew 21.1-11: 1When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.  3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."  4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5"Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.  8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  9The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”  10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"  11The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
Matthew 27.15-23: 15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ 18For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ 20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ 22Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ 23Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’
 
‘Triumph Becomes Tragedy’
Let us pray. Father in heaven, you anointed your Son Jesus, not to rule a kingdom won by the exercise of power, but to bear witnesses to its presence among us;  not to reign in arrogance, but to serve in humility and love; not to mirror this world’s powers, but to inherit a dominion that will not pass away.  Our prayer this day is that you might lift our eyes to the place of Jesus’ enthronement.  Nailed to that hateful tree, he became our Lord as we suffer on crosses of our own.  Holy God, let Christ the King forgive our sin and remember us in his Kingdom.  We pray in the name of Jesus, the Crucified, but now living King, amen.
 
Brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.
            What a strange way to begin the last week of one’s life . . . St. Mark tells the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem . . . It was a such a promising start . . . But in five short days, success turned into failure . . . Hopes were dashed . . . Jesus was on his way to the cross and those closest to him were hunted as criminals.   If we didn’t already know the story, we would be forced ask, ‘What happened? . . . How could something that started so well, end so badly? . . . What turned triumph into tragedy?
            Today is Palm Sunday . . . or, as it has come to be known, Passion Sunday.  Palm Sunday because it commemorates our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem; and Passion Sunday because it marks the beginning of his final confrontation with the powers that seek to destroy him.  What seemingly appears to begin as a victory, quickly becomes a bitter defeat.
            From the Evangelist Matthew’s Gospel, it appears that our Lord’s parade-like entry into Jerusalem was rather strange affair.  Jesus was person of some renown whose reputation had preceded him.  People were curious about this rabbi from the north.  Some said he was a teacher and a healer; others, a preacher and a prophet; and still others saw him as the long-promised Messiah.  So when Jesus came to Jerusalem for Passover, there was a sense of expectation in the air.
            The people were not disappointed; Jesus entered the city riding on a young donkey.  To modern eyes, this seems ludicrous; but to the eyes of those who waited for the Messiah, it was the fulfillment of prophecy.  They all remembered words of the prophet Zechariah who wrote: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a colt, the foal of an ass.’  
            In Jesus, they saw the Messiah coming to the Holy City . . . They saw the One who could make their lives . . . the One who could bring peace . . . the One who could be God’s instrument against the hated Romans.  As Jesus entered Jerusalem, they spread their cloaks on the road and covered the way with palm branches.  As the parade entered the city’s gate they shouted, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!’  
            Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday is a microcosm of our lives.  We live it over and over again when Jesus enters our own personal holy cities.   And like the people who first cut palm branches to throw at Jesus’ feet, we already know Jesus for whom he is.  We join his parade shouting ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ We join his parade, hoping that Jesus is the One who can make our lives better . . . The One who can heal us of our pain . . . The One who can finally bring us peace forever.
            But like our forebears in faith, we are also fickle.  In a few short days, we also stand in judgment of the One who comes to us riding on a donkey.  We judge him because we cannot bear his claims.  We do not desire a God who comes so close to us . . . One who challenges us to put him before all other gods.  Sinners that we are, the parade soon turns ugly.  No longer do we shout ‘Hosanna!’ but rather, ‘Crucify him!’
            Palm Sunday is truly a parade . . . A parade that begins as a profession of faith and ends with a travesty of justice when we hand down the death sentence for our Savior.  We join the crowds in the praetorium who shout to Pontius Pilate, ‘Let him be crucified . . . May his blood be upon us and our children!’   This is a terrible story that speaks of the darkness within our hearts.   But paradoxically, our defiant condemnation of Christ, provides a means for God to being salvation to sinners like you and me.
            Palm Sunday, I think, reveals our divided loyalties.  Yes, we know Jesus for who he really is.  On Communion Sundays we confess in the Nicene Creed that we ‘believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord . . . who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into hell.  And on the third day he rose again from the dead.’  But we continue to live our lives as if these words have meaning only on Sunday.  We put self-interest before our commitment to God.  We forget that we have been chosen in baptism to be children of God, and choose, instead, to be children of the world.
            I think that this Palm Sunday brings a disquieting reminder that we are sinners . . .  Sinners who see the Jesus, not as the One who gives life, but as a threat to life as we want to live it.    In the broad sweep of history, we Christians are no better that those who are not Christian.  Sometimes, we may even have been more uncompromising, more brutal, and far less forgiving.
            There’s no little irony in the fact that the followers of the Messiah who was unjustly condemned, tortured, and executed, took it upon themselves, when they had the opportunity, to torture and execute others in the name of this same Jesus.  Those who name themselves with the name of Jesus have knowingly persecuted those who do not believe as they do . . . They have burned people at the stake for having the wrong theology . . . They have condemned the very sinners to hell that Jesus commands his disciples to seek out . . . And they have used religion as an excuse to exploit economically others who are less powerful than they are.  All in the name of Jesus and the grace of God!   
            Sometimes those who wear the cross of Jesus and hail him as ‘Lord and Savior,’ seek to live the ‘godly life’ while not seeing the poor, the welfare recipient, the AFDC family, the AIDS victim, the grieving, and the hungry as brothers and sisters.  And finally, those who are regarded as sinners by God and forgiven through the death of Jesus, oftentimes fail to offer the same forgiveness to those who sin against them.
            We may not be overt in our rejection, but anytime we speak ill of a brother or sister . . .  Anytime we rationalize judgments made on the basis of ethnic origin, sexual preference, economic status, or family history . . . Anytime we presume to judge the sin of others . . . We join the Jerusalem mob and shout, ‘Give us Barabbas!  We want no part of this Jesus. Crucify him!’       In the Dupree’s Stations of the Cross, we find the words: ‘We have judged God and condemned him to death.  We no longer want Jesus Christ with us because he has become a bother to us . . .We have no other king than Caesar . . . No other law than blood and gold.  Take him away.  He is a scandal to the Jews and nonsense to us.  Give us Barabbas!’ 
            Today is Palm Sunday . . . Today is also Passion Sunday . . . It is time to choose.  Will you shout ‘Hosanna!’ or will it be ‘Crucify him!  But be aware: The Crucified Christ is also the Risen Christ . . . And he has already chosen you and me in baptism.  What will we shout today?  Amen. ☩☩