Sunday, December 15, 2024

All Creation waits…  and sings with Joy!

All Creation Is Waiting. As the scripture and the music declares, the whole world is waiting…from the little green shoot out of the stump of Jesse to the grand mountains and the hills to the lion and the lamb and all people …  All creation is waiting. But what are we, and the whole creation, waiting for? 

 All creation waits for… the coming the King, of God’s Kingdom, for a time of peace, a time when all the world – lions and lambs – wolves and cows – all prey and predators – will no longer hunger or live in fear – but instead live in harmony. That time is not yet…

 In her book, “All Creation Waits” Gayle Boss writes that “The early Fathers of the Christian church read the ebbing of light and heat and vegetable life each year as a foreshadowing of the time when life as we know it will end completely…To their and our abiding fear of a dark ending, the church spoke of an adventus: a coming.”1 xi

 No one knew or remembered the actual day Jesus was born. But this season – at least in the northern hemisphere – with the fading of light, the wintering and coldness of the world – seemed the perfect time to recall that – despite the anxiety and brokenness of the world around us, despite the seeming “deadness” of the earth, there is “One who is the source of life, One who comes to be with us, in us – especially in the midst of darkness and death. One who brings a new beginning.”2 P xi

 To understand the hope and anticipation of life out of death and light out of darkness, all we need to do is to listen to the story of animals preparing for winter – like painted turtle who, at some sign, dives deep into the pond, buries herself in mud, slows her heart and breathing until it is almost gone and then lies still, waiting. Each animal has its own story of how it waits:  the bear sleeps, hibernating in its cave, the deer huddle together, the squirrels dig up the nuts that they have buried for this very reason.

But while they are waiting… something is happening. There’s a mystery in waiting… in anticipating. In the stillness… in the quiet, creation is not stagnant. It may look dead but it is not. Instead, it is resting, growing, like a baby in the womb – still encased in the dark. It is waiting.

In our first world culture – we have been somewhat cut off from the seasons of the year. We don’t like to wait – and we are told – we don’t have to! Go to the store and you can buy fresh fruit available year-round and Amazon or UPS will deliver just about anything you want. I’m not complaining. I love having fresh fruits and vegetables and all of the conveniences of delivery. But I am wondering if we need to be reminded that in the midst of our hustle and bustle – and yes, I’m preaching to myself here too – to stop and remember that this is Advent.

In Advent, when we stop and reflect, we can see that our world is broken, but we can also see that brokenness is not the last word. Our brokenness, our world’s brokenness is merely a sign that we need a Savior, One who is the source of life, One who comes to be with us, in us – especially in the midst of darkness and death, sorrow and despair. Into a broken world has come our Savior Jesus – the One who brings a new beginning.

In the morning, light begins to dawn. And… if we listen… we can hear the notes of a song. It may be faint at first. But this is the song creation has been waiting – in the dark – to sing. It is a song of joy, abiding joy, that has been bubbling up, waiting to find a voice to proclaim the coming of the Anointed one, the Messiah.  

But it isn’t just one voice! As scripture tells us, there are many voices singing: “the mountains and the hills…shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12).  And we, brothers and sisters in Christ, have been invited to join in the song. For despite all of the challenges of our world – and there are many – our response is to sing. Join with all of creation in singing with joy because God is here – with us. There is no darkness or sorrow or despair than can overwhelm the presence of God in our midst. So, brothers and sisters, let us join with all of creation – trees and flowers, mountains and valleys, creatures big and small – in praising God with joy!  Amen. 

1 All Creation Waits, Gayle Boss Introduction xi December 15, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday, December 8, 2024

The Way of Peace

December 8, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

“Because of the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us, 

to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

These are the Holy Spirit inspired words of Zechariah. He has been mute for nine months, silenced by the angel Gabriel after he scoffed at the angel’s message – that his wife would bear a child, a messenger of the coming of the Lord. For nine months, Zechariah sat in silence, listening to two pregnant women – Elizabeth and Mary -- talk about the miracles that God was birthing in their bellies, and how God was doing something new – something that seemed impossible.  And yet, what seemed impossible was happening! Zecharaiah had a long time to think and pray. And so, when John was born, Zechariah spoke – or rather sang, proclaiming the goodness of God, quoting the prophets of old and pointing to the coming of the Messiah and the role his baby boy, John, will have in preparing the way.  

When Zechariah speaks the Word of the Lord it is hopeful and inspiring. “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” With these words, we can be assured that God is indeed present – even for and especially for those who are in darkness, in despair, who feel as if they are dying. And… for a moment, it seems as if the world will be transformed just because the Word has been spoken.

But transformation takes time. We don’t hear any more from Zechariah but thirty or so years later, John appears in the desert. He has become known as the baptizer and he is not mute. Perhaps Zechariah had hoped that John would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a priest and reform the faith from the inside out. But this is not what happened. Instead, John takes none of the robes or trappings of the priesthood and instead goes to the wilderness, eats what’s there – locusts and wild honey -- and proclaims a baptism of repentance, the need for people to change their focus, their way of life and live in accordance with God’s way. And somehow the message gets out and people come, hungry for the word of God and for direction. They ask John: What should we do?

John’s answers are simple and achievable. He doesn’t tell them to go on a marathon pilgrimage or to walk ten miles on their knees. Instead, he tells the tax collectors to take only their fair share. He tells the soldiers to be respectful and to stop harassing the people – and instead to ask for and be satisfied with fair wages. He tells people, in ordinary language, to do what the prophet Micah had proclaimed: Do justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with your God. This is the way of peace.  This is the way to prepare your hearts and your lives for the coming of the Messiah, of Christ.

How are you preparing for Christ? Perhaps, like me, you clean your house, you set out the Advent and Christmas decorations, you bake – or buy – cookies and special foods. You think about others – and buy gifts both for loved ones and for those who can’t afford gifts for their children – like the NEAR gift giveaway. Perhaps you go to concerts or listen to music written for this Christmas season. And why not?! This is a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah.  This is all good.

However… during this season of Advent and Christmas, it is also most important that you keep in front of you the “reason for the season.” Even that phrase has been marketed but it’s worth saying because we actually have to be intentional about keeping Christmas about Jesus because there are so many other distractions. In addition to all of the “Christmas” movies, songs, shows, and stuff that have nothing to do with Jesus, there is a push from our consumer culture to buy, buy, buy. And, sometimes we – I – can become overwhelmed by the expectations of making the “perfect Christmas” that we put upon ourselves. So in the midst of this season, I encourage you to take time to: Stop. Hear the story; tell the story of how Jesus – God incarnate came into the world – and then to remember …God Emmanuel is with us still. For Jesus Christ has come, Christ is with us AND… Christ will come again.

So how do we prepare for Christ in this time?

In Jesus’ day there were wars and rumors of wars. And I’m afraid that is true today too. In addition, we have another challenge – social media and an over-abundance of “news” sources which may or may not tell the truth.

I ventured back onto Facebook this past week. I had been taking a break from it for a while because of all of the vitriol that I would see – just popping on to wish people a happy birthday. But I saw that a pastor friend of mine had posted a Bible verse so I clicked on the thread. And I wished I hadn’t.

There were a couple of people having an argument over the latest news and one of them had called on my friend to find a quote from Jesus. She responded by giving the Gospel, chapter and verse – but nothing else. More people jumped on the thread and they went back and forth, the vitriol was rising with one of them attacking Jesus as unjust and it just got worse. At one point, my friend wrote, “Can’t we leave Jesus out of this?”

I am guessing that my friend was wishing she had not jumped into the fray at all and I’m also guessing that what she meant was that Jesus should not be weaponized. Because, every time you draw a line and claim that Jesus is on YOUR side -- look again. Jesus has a way of showing up where you don’t expect him. Also, you’ll notice that Jesus refuses to abide by the divisions that we create. For example, in Jesus’ day, the Jewish zealots were intent on overthrowing the Roman government but the Jewish tax collectors worked for Romans. There was no love lost between them. But Jesus called both a tax collector AND a zealot to be one of his disciples. Jesus did not exclude any group – he ate with pharisees – and with “sinners.”  Jesus calls ALL people to repent, to turn toward GOD and live… and calls us to do the same.  And so, while we can’t box Jesus in – and claim him as “on our side,” we also can’t just leave Jesus out of it.  For Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us – and is with us through all of our challenges.

Paul addresses one such challenge in his letter to the Philippians. Right before this beautiful passage, he addresses two of the leaders of the church by name, Euodia and Syntyche. They are having a conflict – what it is, he doesn’t say and no one else does either – so it is probably not all that important in the big scheme of things. However, Paul was concerned that the conflict was causing problems for them and for the church and so he begs them to “be of the same mind in the Lord” and asks the other leaders of the church to help these two women to reconcile their differences. 

He then urges them to not only reconcile but to: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.”  He calls them – and us – to be our best selves. “To be gentle – with others and with ourselves.” This is true whether we are in the church or online or wherever we are.

Without a doubt there is evil and there are challenges in our world. But let us, brothers and sisters in Christ, be different from the world around us. For we know that because of God’s great mercy for all of us, Jesus Christ came as a babe at the manger; Jesus comes to us each day as Emmanuel, “God with us” and Jesus will come again to bring peace to the world. And that’s why – despite the current challenges of this world, we can join with Zechariah in glorifying God and proclaiming, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Advent 1: HOPE

December 1, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran+ Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

 Happy New Year!  Today marks the beginning of the new church year. But to celebrate the New Year and to prepare for the coming of Christ into our world, the church does not throw a party with noisemakers and champaign.  Instead, the church year begins with Advent.  Advent is a season of preparation, of waiting and watching, praying and lighting candles and anticipating the coming of Jesus into our world.  But it is also a time to tell the harsh truth about the world we live in – and why we need a Savior.

 In this season of physically decreasing light, we begin our first Sunday in the year of Luke’s Gospel, not at the beginning of the book or with a story of the newborn baby Jesus – it’s coming – but we begin near the end of the Gospel. We begin with this fairly frightening apocalyptic sounding message from Jesus. Jesus says, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars…” The whole cosmos seems to be shaken with foreboding of what is coming. Fear runs amok.

 It may seem odd that we start the new year with this foreboding apocalyptic message. It is just three days after Thanksgiving.  Why not just stay with the message of gratitude? 

 Gratitude was my word for the day last week. And don’t misunderstand, it is good to be thankful in every season. But today, as we begin Advent, our focus turns to the word Hope.  And yet, at first read, the Gospel doesn’t sound hopeful. It sounds absolutely frighting.

Let me set the context for you. Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem and one of them remarked with awe and wonder on the beauty and majesty of the temple. From all reports, it was beautiful and pilgrims came just to worship in this spot. It was well built and looked as if it would last forever. But Jesus told his disciples – and the growing number of people who were following him – “Don’t put your faith or trust in this building. It will not last. It will all be put to ruin.”  What a devasting statement. It was like saying that a symbol of American prosperity and commerce – like say, the Twin Towers in New York City, could be destroyed – except even worse! The temple was not only a strong and beautiful building, it was the center of their life as a people; it was God’s home. Who would ever, who could ever do such a thing?

 And yet, in 70 AD, after a very unsuccessful uprising against the Roman occupation, the temple was demolished by the Roman army – just as Jesus had prophesied. The people were devastated. They wondered: where was God?

Luke – and the other Gospel writers – were writing after the destruction of the temple to a people who were shaken and trying to make sense of the world around them. People were afraid. And with reason! There were wars and rumors of wars and the whole world seemed to be going to “hell in a handbasket.” 

One of the rights of passage in my family when I was growing up was that when we turned 12, we could stay for a week with our cousins who lived in Iowa. While I was there, my cousin gave me a book to read – it was part of the “Left behind” series – that tells stories of the apocalypse and the end of the world.  I was so afraid - the books gave me nightmares.  I think that was actually the point of these books -- to “scare” people into following Jesus.

Fear is a powerful force. There have been false messiahs – like James Jones- who have led people astray with these kinds of apocalyptic fears. But this is not what Jesus is doing in our Gospel. Jesus tells the truth about the challenges of our world – which seem eerily contemporary.  There were wars and there are now wars. We hear of horrific acts of done by and to the “enemy” – people who used to be called neighbors – in Ukraine, in Gaza, and even in our own streets. So how are we to respond? It can be overwhelming.  When we feel fearful, hopeless and helpless, it can make us want to run away and hide.

But that is not what Jesus tells us to do. Jesus tells his followers then and now that we do not need to react in fear. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be weighed down with worry. Don’t drown your sorrows in mind-numbing activities.”  

As American novelist Flannery O’Connor once wrote, “To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind, you draw large and startling figures.”   That’s precisely what Jesus does in his prophetic wake-up call.  He shouts, he draws startling figures, and he uses every rhetorical device at his disposal to snap his listeners to attention.  “Be on guard,” he warns his disciples.  “Be alert.”  “Stand up and raise your heads.”  Look.  1

As we begin this season of Advent, we are being called to tell the truth, to be honest about the state of our world and our lives. Most of the problems in our world were human caused – fighting over land, over resources, taking trees from the forest and not replanting, dumping garbage in the ocean, petroleum gasses in the air. Some of these problems feel big and out of control but some are local - not picking up the garbage that our neighbor throws in the street, driving as fast as we like because we prioritize our agenda more than the law someone else made, not wanting to pay for schools now that our children are grown, evicting the family of the neighborhood child because they don’t have the right paperwork…The list is long.

As Rev. Debie Thomas writes, “Advent is a brutally candid season; it calls for honesty, even when honesty leads us straight to lamentation.  In Advent, we are invited to describe life “on earth as it is," and not as we wish it would be.  “We are invited to “shout forth our pain and bewilderment.  To name the seeming absence of God.  To draw the large, startling figures of the apocalypse.” In Advent, we are invited to set aside our self-righteous denial (it wasn’t me), polite piety –– (I don’t want to tell someone else how to do something) or cheap cheer (let’s just ignore it all and wish it would go away.)  Instead, “we are invited to allow the radical honesty of Scripture to make us honest, too… Advent reminds us that we are not called to an escapist, denial-based piety.  We are called to dwell courageously in the truth.”1 We are called to the truth. But that doesn’t mean that speaking the truth is going to be easy.  

Jesus calls us to tell the truth about ourselves – and about God. And the truth about God is that even when we don’t keep our promises, even when we tell the story that we want to be true instead of the hard truth of how the world really is, Jesus not only knows the truth, Jesus IS the Truth.  Jesus calls us out of fear and into hope.

Have you ever seen an old tree that has fallen down in the woods. It looks dead and useless– maybe even rotting away. But if you look again, you just might see some new life sprouting out of the stump of the old tree. That is the hope to which God calls us.

Jeremiah writes – from prison – to the people of Israel. Most of the book is Jeremiah reminding the people that they have not kept their covenant with God. But in today’s lesson, Jeremiah turns his focus, and reminds the Israelites – and us – of God’s covenant. For out of the seemingly dead stump of Israel, God has promised to raise up a new sprout.

The Gospel and New Testament writers knew that scripture – and others in the Hebrew scripture that talk about the stump of Jesse and understood Jesus to be the fulfillment of this prophecy.   This scripture takes on yet another meaning for us when we see the new life that Jesus calls us into.

Jesus calls us to notice, to pay attention to the details of nature – the fig tree and all the other trees – and the world around us. Notice the buds, the sprouting leaves. Notice the oceans and streams and the tiny drops of water on the window. Pay attention to the little nudges of God’s Holy Spirit on you.  For, as Debie Thomas says, “The God who shows up in a teenager’s womb might show up anywhere.” 1

This is the message of Advent. It begins with noticing the world around us and yearning for a better future, longing for GOD’s future, a future of hope for tomorrow. This is not a passive hope. Instead, Jesus calls us to Stand up. Stand up with humble confidence. We stand up with humility because we are not perfect and we stand up with confidence because we know that God is good, God is faithful, and that God can be trusted with our future. So let us pray that we can follow where God leads… and not be too surprised to find ourselves at the manger, celebrating the incarnation of Jesus and at the cross, rejoicing in the gift of resurrection freedom, and at the side of our neighbor, working and praying together for the sake of God’s world. Thanks be to God. Amen.

1Debie Thomas – Journeys with Jesus https://webmail.journeywithjesus.net/essays/2018-when-you-see-these-things

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Gratitude

One stopped. Ten men with leprosy – a dreaded and extremely contagious skin disease - had begged Jesus for healing. Jesus told them all to go to show themselves to the priests. They lost no time – all of them headed straight to the priests. And as they were walking or maybe running – toward the priests with the hope and dream of being made clean and being restored to community… one stopped. He looked and saw that he was healed and then turned back praising God and when he got to Jesus, threw himself at his feet and thanked him.

 Jesus asks, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine?” 

 It’s a fair question. “Where were the other nine?”  Why didn’t they turn back to say “thank you?” Perhaps they were just following Jesus’ instructions. After all, Jesus did tell them to go to the priests. But Jesus was a teacher – and so I think that Jesus asks the question – not out of righteous indignation – but rather to teach his followers – which of course includes us – something about gratitude and the power of saying “thank you.”

 Most people consider themselves grateful people – they say thank you or write a thank you note when someone does something nice for them or gives them a gift. But not everyone practices gratitude as a part of their everyday life. 

 Theologian, historian and author Diana Butler Bass, confesses that she decided to write about gratitude because she didn’t know how to write a thank you note.  Every time she sat down to write one, she heard her mother’s voice nagging her to do so – but she didn’t feel grateful. She felt obligated. She didn’t like thinking of herself as an ingrate but she didn’t know how to make herself more grateful. This desire to be more grateful led her on a journey to explore gratefulness and why it matters both for our personal lives and for our community. 

 One of the things that she learned is that while, according to a Pew research study, 78 percent of Americans felt a strong sense of gratitude, another study found that Americans were more anxious, less optimistic and more distrustful than ever, and full of anger, fear, division and intolerance. 1 She wondered how people could be personally grateful but not have that same sense of thanksgiving when it came to our life as a society. She writes that, as a society, “We are anxious and angry because we are haunted by nightmares of scarcity… fears that someone else is taking everything, that there is never enough and that we will never get what we think we deserve…[ This fear leads to] cravings for things we think will fill us, fix us, or make us forget our doubts and pain.” This leads to all sorts of addictive behaviors with money, food, hoarding, drugs and violence. This “gratitude gap” between how we feel in our personal lives vs how we feel about our community leads to what she calls a “toxic habitat of ingratitude.” 2

 The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. And you and I can change it… one person at a time. The solution – according to brother David Steindl-Rast – is simple because all people want the same thing. We want to be happy. We want our children and our loved ones to be happy. It is natural to assume that when you are happy then you will be grateful. But it doesn’t work that way. A person can be happy when receiving an ice cream cone or a promotion or winning the lottery. But that doesn’t make them grateful. And, I know and I’m sure you know people who have experienced incredible loss and misfortune and sadness, and yet remain grateful people. So how do we become happy? Brother David tells us that it turns out that “it is not happiness that makes us grateful” but “gratefulness that makes us happy”.3

 Brother David says that all we need to do is what we were taught as children when crossing a street: STOP, LOOK and GO.  This is exactly what the healed Samaritan does. He stops when he looks and sees that he is healed. And then he goes to Jesus to give thanks.

 We can do the same thing. Each day we can stop and notice the gifts that we have been given. And we have been given much!  Not only have we been given the gifts of creation – the world and all that is in it, but we have each been given gifts of talents, of time, of treasures, of one another. And you know this – last month when the stewardship committee asked you where you saw abundance, the list was long and varied – gifts of family, friends, relationships, gifts of skills and talents. I know that there are people here who have a variety of gifts and talents from making music to teaching to technical or electronic or administrative or wood work to baking and breaking bread together.  The list could go on.

 In addition, Brother David reminds us that for all of us, every day, every moment, we receive something valuable to us that is freely given, a real gift.  We didn’t buy it, we didn’t do something in exchange for it, it does not cost us anything – all we need to do is simply receive this gift. This precious gift is a gift from God – and that is the gift of each moment.4

 And so, if we are to follow Brother David’s method for becoming more grateful, then we need to: Stop – and acknowledge the gift. And then, Look. For once we acknowledge and notice that each and every moment we have is a gift – then we have an opportunity to do something with that moment.  This opportunity is the gift within the gift. We only miss the opportunity when we rush through life – when we are so focused on the next thing that we don’t take time to stop and look and acknowledge the gifts that we have been given.

 We have been given so much that sometimes we take for granted all the gifts that we have been given. Brother David tells the story of spending time in a poor part of Africa. When he returned, he was struck by the gift of clean water that came out of his faucets and the light that came on with a switch. So, to remind himself to be grateful, he put post-its with stop signs on all of his faucets and light switches reminding himself to stop and acknowledge the ordinary gift of water and light.

 We have been given so much. But sometimes we don’t want to think about ourselves as on the receiving end. Many of you, like me, have been taught, it is better to give than to receive. This phrase is biblical – it is good for us to give and to seek to give to others. And it makes us feel good. However…as Americans, we often harbor this image of ourselves as a “self-made man” or woman. We want to see ourselves as self- sufficient. We want to be the helpers and “they” are the receivers.

 Jason, a 40-something pastor was diagnosed and treated for a rare and incurable cancer. The people in his parish responded with food, prayers and care.  Jason and his family appreciated all the help. When he had a break in his treatment schedule, he preached a thanksgiving sermon to his congregation. He said, “You have done so much for us. You’ve fed us, prayed for us and with us. You helped with my medical bills, you sat with me in the hospital, you were there to catch me when I passed out in the chemo room” But Jason also admitted that even while he appreciated all that care, he actually hated being on the receiving end of all the help. He said, “I hate feeling like I’m in another’s debt… I was the guy who kept score which means I didn’t mind you being in my debt. I just didn’t want to be in yours.”

 But Jason learned not only to receive the gift, he also learned that courage and hope and strength and healing came through community. He said, Thank you. Thank you for being “with me, with us. More so than all the stuff you’ve done for us, you’ve been with us.” 5

 Despite his cancer  – which was incurable -- Jason learned to not only receive the gift of the food, funds and travel expenses but also the gift of community – of others praying and being with him and his family. And then he was able to respond – his “GO” was to thank them, to respond with gratitude for the gifts of time and treasures and especially for the gift of their presence and participation in his life and for their community.

 Once we start to see every moment in our lives in this way, we can, as Brother David says, “Stop. Look. And GO” and act in response to the gifts we have received. However, while every moment is a gift, this does not mean we should give thanks for everything.

 There is a Bible verse from 1st Thessalonians on gratitude which reads, “In everything give thanks”  Diana Butler Bass writes that this verse is often misquoted. “It does not say “For everything give thanks.’ Gratitude never calls us to give thanks for anything that is evil or unjust, never for violence, lying, oppression or suffering. Do not be grateful for these things.”

 Instead, she writes, “To know the mystery of life is to be grateful IN all things, In all things, WITH all things, THROUGH all things.”  This is how people who live lives of gratitude can be grateful even when situations in their life become difficult, painful or challenging. She continues saying, “Ultimately gratitude is a place – perhaps the  place – where we find our truest and best selves.” 6

 So how do we become more grateful?  There are lots of ways and gratitude practices that you can try. You could try, for example, to simply keep a gratitude journal – and write down one thing one thing each day for which you are grateful. I read about one woman who took a “gratitude picture” each day – as a reminder to be grateful. You can try Brother David’s method of “Stop. Look. Go.”  None of them are magic. It takes work, and intention to pay attention. But I encourage you – and myself – to try one of these ideas this Thanksgiving season. 

 I was actually most struck by a story that I heard by Brian Doyle. He was an 18 year old who was simply enjoying a night with friends driving down the highway when he noticed a car flashing its lights at him. He didn’t know why they were doing that – but then he saw. A car was coming straight at him – down his lane. He quickly veered off onto the side of the road as the car sped past him – in his lane. That moment shook him up. It was Thanksgiving week and he was happy to see all of the Thanksgiving notes on his social media feed. But then he thought, why should Thanksgiving be only one day? And he made a pledge to thank someone – not half-heartedly or out of obligation but to take the time to stop, to notice what someone else had done for him, the gift that they had given him of their time, their mentorship or their friendship. And he was amazed at the results. After thanking his friends first, he became more comfortable and started to seek out people to thank. One day he saw a former classmate Dave walking across the street with his mother. They weren’t close friends –but Brian remembered him because the boy had Aspergers and had many challenges but had not let Aspergers define him.  So Brian called him over and told him “Thank you for being who you are – you have helped me live up to who I am because I have thought of your example.” He could see Dave’s mother crying in the background and he realized that probably no one had ever thanked Dave for that before.7  

 Gratitude makes a difference both in our lives and in the lives of others. In fact, gratitude just may be contagious - and that’s a good thing. 8

 Brothers and sisters in Christ, thank you for reading/listening today. I thank God for you and for the gift of this time – this day – and God’s presence with us. And I pray that you will be filled with gratitude and that gratitude will fill you with JOY! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 November 24, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

 1Butler Bass, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks prologue p XVII 

2 Ibid p XViii

3Ted Talk Brother David Steindl-Rast

4 Ibid

5 Grateful, p 98-99

6 Ibid., p 193

7 Ted Talk Brian Doyle

8  Grateful p. 105

Sunday, November 17, 2024 Christ the King Sunday

Christ the King Sunday November 17, 2024

Today we are celebrating Christ the King Sunday.  And so I’d like you to ponder with me what kind of a King is Jesus? And what does claiming Jesus as King mean for you and how you lead your life?  I’ve got some thoughts about this and – here’s a hint: It doesn’t mean a parade with gold and glitter every day.

 When Jesus questioned by Pilate as to whether or not he is a King, Jesus says, “You say that I am a king. For this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate responds, “What is Truth?”

 Was Pilate a seeker? Or was he a cynical politician, jaded by the competing jockeying for power of the religious vs the Roman authorities. His job was to “keep the peace.” But keeping the peace for the Roman authorities meant using soldiers to physically suppress – violently if needed or desired – any and all challenges to their rule. Most of the time, it wasn’t a hard job. There was a faction of the population – called Zionists -- who yearned for the promised son of David to return as a King and restore the land to their rule. Pilate’s plan for them was brutal and easy. He simply sent Roman soldiers to capture and kill them – often by nailing them to wooden crosses beside the road. It was a fairly effective deterrent to future Zionists to see what would be their fate if they dared to protest against Caesar.

 But Pilot quickly sees that Jesus, was different from the Zionists. Instead of arguing about the injustices of Rome or fighting for his freedom, Jesus talks about truth. And this perplexes Pilate.

 It isn’t the first time in John’s Gospel that we hear about Jesus coming to bring truth. In the very beginning of the Gospel, in the first few verses, John introduces Jesus as the Word of God, “The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” This is a word of hope, of peace, of promise.  

 It is not the only introduction of Jesus we receive. When Nathaniel, who began as a skeptic, meets Jesus, he declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).  Within the first chapter we hear that Jesus is the Word of God, Son of God and King of Israel. So what kind of a king is Jesus?

 The Zionists yearned for a military ruler. But Jesus is not this kind of King. He rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey – not a warhorse. Jesus preached peace and nonviolence. He even said to Pilot, “If my kingdom was from this world, my followers would be fighting.” But this is not the type of king that Jesus is.

 When Jesus fed 5000 hungry people – give or take a few – on the side of the hill with two loaves of bread and five fish, the people wanted to make him king!  After all, with a king like this, no one would have to buy groceries! You can see how it was appealing.

 But Jesus did not want to simply feed people’s stomachs. He cared for their bodies but he wanted more for them that that. He wanted to feed their souls and teach them to live in God’s way. Jesus tells his followers, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The truth will make you free.

 If Jesus had stuck to feeding ministries, especially if he continued to refuse to become a king, he probably wouldn’t have run too far afoul of the religious authorities. But, when he began healing people, making them free from the demons and disease that ailed them – especially when he healed them on the sabbath and challenged the traditions of the temple -- all things that “broke the rules” – the authorities began to feel threatened. And so, when Jesus claimed his own authority over theirs, they began to plot to kill him.

 The sharp edge and challenge of speaking and living the truth, is that it exposes all that is not true, all that is not keeping with the way of God, all that seeks to control rather than care for those that get called “other.” So while the law had been given to help the people follow God’s way, when the rules were honored more than God and were used to control and stigmatize people rather than help people, they became a barrier to living in God’s way.  

 Being on the inside and having access to power, control, authority, and wealth are all seductive. Look at Pilate. He quickly figures out that Jesus is not the typical Zionist leader who wants to overthrow the government and so he sees no need to kill him. So, he goes back and forth between Jesus and the religious authorities and even tries to get the crowd to release Jesus instead of a bandit. But the religious leaders have poisoned the mood of the crowd and they all claim their king is Caesar.  Pilate is stuck. He can’t release Jesus without losing his credibility and so he orders Jesus to be crucified. But he also has the soldiers put up a sign on the cross, “This is the King of the Jews” in three different languages so all can see. It’s clear that he intends to mock the religious leaders – and Jesus – but the irony is that in trying to crucify the truth1, Pilate ends up using his authority to proclaim the truth. Jesus is the King of the Jews – and all of us.

 As Jesus tells Pilate, he has come to bear testimony to the truth. The truth is that Jesus is the King – of all the world. But Jesus is not a king like any other king. Instead of violence, Jesus shows love. Instead of creating an authoritarian realm, Jesus shows the way for all people – regardless of who they are, how much money and status they have, or their heritage or where they were born. Instead of retribution and revenge, Jesus offers forgiveness. And instead of some kind of spin, Jesus simply speaks the truth.  Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” And this is the life that Jesus calls us, as followers, to live into in our everyday lives.

 And yet, sometimes, the truth can be hard to discern. For if someone says something false often enough… it starts to sound like maybe it could be true.  I have a kind of funny example of this.  A long time ago, a friend of mine showed me a large space between his toes and told me that he had this space because he used to have six toes but he had to have surgery to remove a sixth toe. At the time, I rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah right.”  But then… years later, I noticed his toes. And he said, “Oh that’s just where I had a toe removed.” And I said, “Oh, I remember your telling me about that…” And he burst out laughing.  I had been hoodwinked.

 This was a simple joke – and hurt no one… except maybe my pride a little bit. But too often, there are lies told – especially on social media that are completely fabricated. But people believe them… and repeat them… and, like the game of telephone sometimes amplify them.  This is especially true if the lie feeds on our insecurities. Or if the lie is what we want to be true – rather than what really is true.  

 Charles Spurgeon, a British preacher from the 19th century once said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”  If a lie could travel ½ way around the world in the 1800s, with today’s internet and constant trolling of social media, a lie can circle the globe twice before the truth could even get out of bed!

 Telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is supposed to be our standard in our judicial system. I hope it is.  But I know that this is the standard that Jesus calls us to live by. For Jesus is our King, our Lord, the Alpha and Omega. And so, brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, let us proclaim our love and bear witness to the Holy One of God by speaking the truth, forgiving one another and showing love and care for the most vulnerable among us. Amen.

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Bartimaeus – I was blind but now I see

Karen felt called to ministry. Receiving an inner calling can be powerful – and in some churches, that is enough. But in our church, the ELCA, that calling must be confirmed by a candidacy committee that checks to make sure she passed psychological tests graduated from seminary,  and was recommended by her internship committee and supervisor, her clinical pastoral care supervisor and her seminary professors. But this is not all. The candidate must also receive an external call – that is, she must be called by a congregation into ministry. I am happy to report that Karen Peterson, our former Vicar, has received that call and so she will be ordained this afternoon. And you are all invited.

 In our Gospel story we meet Bartimaeus, whose name means “Son of Timaeus.”  I love that Mark tells us his name. Many of the other characters in Mark’s Gospel are not. A few weeks ago, we heard the story of the earnest young rich man who asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. He’s an earnest man, one who follows the commandments but he senses he is missing something and so he asks Jesus. In response, Mark says that Jesus loves him and so he tells him that there is just one more thing that he needs - sell everything and follow him. That’s a strong call. But the rich young man goes away saddened – because he owned many things. Or perhaps they owned him, because all we know about the rich man – is that he was rich and his riches kept him from following Jesus.

 Bartimaeus was once claimed and named by and after his father, Timaeus, for that is what his name means: Bar, son of, Timaeus.  But we don’t know how or why what happened to his family or how or why Bartimaeus became blind. We only that he is blind and has been reduced to begging by the side of the road. Unlike the rich man, all Bartimaeus owned was a cloak. It was an essential item –a garment to shield him from the hot sun and the fierce wind and to wrap around himself at night -  and as a receptacle for the alms that passersby might throw in his lap as he sat by the road. Not everyone did. For many, it was as if he was invisible. He was blind but to the crowd he was almost invisible.

 Bartimaeus could not see – but he could hear. As a child he, like all the children, heard the stories about King David and the promise of the Son of David who would come to set the people free. And, from his perch beside the road, he heard all the latest gossip and news including people talking about Jesus, the rabbi who taught with authority and had power to heal. Since he could not work, while Bartimaeus sat and waited for people to see him and to take pity on him and give him a few coins, he had time to ponder and to pray and to listen. And so, when he heard that Jesus was nearby, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   

 No one else in Mark’s Gospel had yet made the connection that Jesus was the Messiah. This was the insight of the man who could not see. But the people around him did not want to listen to him. After all, who was he to call upon Jesus? He was only a blind beggar. They tried to shush him – many even ordered him to be quiet.  But – and I love this about Bartimaeus- he refused to be silent. He called out even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

 Like Bartimaeus, Jesus had ears to hear.  But notice that he didn’t run over to Bartimaeus. Instead, he stopped and takes the time to heal the crowd first. He told the people, “Call him here.” The people were then forced to see Bartimaeus. Their eyes were opened to see their brother. They echanged their tune from trying to silence him to encouraging him, “Take heart.” Have courage. “Jesus is calling you.” 1

 Unlike the rich man, Bartimaeus doesn’t need a second to throw off his cloak – his only possession – and come to Jesus.

 Clearly Jesus could see that Bartimaeus is a blind beggar. But Jesus doesn’t simply heal him. Instead, he gives Bartimaeus agency by asking him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  This is the same question that Jesus asked James and John just a few verses earlier when they had come to him and asked him for a favor. What they wanted glory. They asked for the honor of sitting at Jesus’ right and left hand.  Jesus refused to grant the request of his disciples. But when Bartimaeus asked Jesus, “My teacher, let me see again,” immediately, Jesus restored his sight. He healed Bartimaeus  - who was then able to see Jesus with his eyes as well as his heart.

 And then immediately, – without a candidacy committee, or seminary or internship, or an external call, Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way.

 Bartimaeus, the blind man, was able to see what his disciples, the rich man, the people in the crowd, were not – that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah, the one who has the power to heal and to restore.

 In the wake of the election where roughly half of the people – more than half in Minnesota -- are heartbroken, while the other half are happy with the results, I wonder what we can learn from Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus is a great example for us as believers because he trusts in the call of Jesus and dares to ask for what he needs. Like James and John, we don’t always get what we want. We don’t even always receive what we think would be best. And yet Jesus is still with us – on the road.

 And so, those of you who are heart-broken, “Take heart. Be of good courage.” Jesus has not abandoned you – or the people like Bartimaeus, who are vulnerable, those on the side of the road.

 And to those of you who are happy with the results, Jesus is calling you, like James and John, not to glory but rather to notice and help those who are hurting, those who are left out, those who are in need of a word of cheer and solace, those who are like Bartimaeus.

 Jesus has called us all – and so let us join in trusting in the call of Jesus and dare to ask for what we need and to follow where Christ leads.

 November 10, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

 1 https://journeywithjesus.net/essays/1988-let-me-see-againBy Debie ThomasPublished: 21 October 2018

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Reformation Sunday – The Law of Love is the Gospel Good News

On Reformation Sunday, we often talk about Martin Luther who wrote 95 thesis and posted them on the church door in Wittenberg. He intended to simply start a conversation about how the church – and God’s people in it – could change, could reform so that people could stay on tract, in formation -  on what was central – namely the Gospel, or Good News of Jesus Christ.

Although we often focus on the split that occurred in the church, one of the gifts that Luther gave us and the whole church is his understanding of the law and the Gospel.  Luther believed that the law is what drives us to Christ and the Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Luther believed and taught that we need both the law and the Gospel – that they work hand in hand.

When we think of the Law, we often think of the 10 commandments. But there are over 600 laws in the Hebrew Bible – what we call the Old Testament. One of the things that the rabbis, Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes did was study the law so that they could follow it and teach it.   And so, after the scribe had heard and seen Jesus teaching and answering well the questions given to him by the Sadducees, it was not an unusual question for the Scribe to ask Jesus, as a rabbi, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus’ answer begins with the most famous and familiar commandment in Jewish tradition. It even has a special name, it’s called the Shema. ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’” Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength. In other words, love God with all your being. Since the scribe had only asked for the greatest commandment, presumably, that would have been enough. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Instead, he continues, The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

And then, Jesus does something interesting – he binds the two commandments together, like two sides of a coin, saying, There is no other commandment greater than these.” In other words, the first leads to the second and the second, presumes the first. If you love God, then you WILL love your neighbor as yourself. And if you love your neighbor, you are loving God.

You may recall that most of the time when Jesus interacts with the religious leaders, including the scribes, the conversation is confrontational. They often seem to be trying to trick Jesus. But this scribe listens to Jesus, sees and agrees with Jesus.  He even responds by quoting other scriptures in support of what Jesus said. Jesus notices the scribe’s wisdom in interpreting the law and encourages him with the words, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”  You are on the right path. You are in formation.

On a Working Sermon podcast, Rev. Dr. Rolf Jacobson, an Old Testament professor at Luther Seminary, told a story from the Talmud about a young nonbeliever and two rabbis, Rabbi Shemi and Rabbi Hillel. The nonbeliever comes up to Shemi says, I’ll convert and become a believer if you can teach me to recite the whole law while standing on one foot,” Rabbi Shemi  was carrying a cane and he poked it at the young man shook his head and said, “You are a foolish young man. Go away.”  So the young man went to Rabbi Hillel with the same question. Rabbi Hillel looked at him, stood on one foot and said, “What is hateful to yourself do not do to another. The rest is commentary.”  He put his foot down and said, “Now go and study.”

Do you see how Rabbi Hillel’s summary of the law is similar to the second side of the coin of Jesus’ commandment to Love your neighbor as yourself?  The law that Jesus gives is not a new law. But Jesus states it positively. Instead of telling the scribe and us what not to do, Jesus tells us how we are to live in a positive way.  

“Love God”. “Love the neighbor as yourself.” These sound pretty simple. But living them out takes a lifetime. It isn’t always easy.

But I think that this is exactly the word we need to hear today in our mixed up and hurting world. As you know, the world is full of people who are hurting due to the chaos and disaster – some from war and some from natural and unnatural disasters. In addition, the election  and the vitriol – especially on social media - is getting even more harsh.  And, in response, people are continually dividing themselves up into camps of “us” vs. “them.”  But, for us, as Christians, as those who follow Jesus, there is another way to be. Jesus tells us, “Love God. love your neighbor as yourself.” 

A few of us have been watching a Video series together called, “After Party.” In this video, David French, a political writer, tells the story of how his wife showing love to the neighbor.

Because David works as a writer of religious news and politics, responses to his articles and opinions on Facebook and twitter or X are also religious and political – and sometimes the responses are nasty.  One of his harshest critics was a woman named Kathy.  He has learned to deal with this as just part of the job.

David’s wife Nancy knows the pushback that David has received and yet, after reading stories about sexual assault victims who are not believed, she feels compelled to tell her story of being sexually assaulted in a national newspaper. After she writes it, she receives lots of responses on facebook – some supportive and some not.  She decides to simply delete the negative ones but to “follow” everyone who shows empathy. Kathy, the biggest critic of her husband, shows empathy to her.

Despite knowing that Kathy is a harsh critic of her husband, she decides to follow Kathy anyway. An online friendship of sorts began. Then…during pandemic Kathy – who is disabled – writes a panicked note on Facebook that she is almost out of food and is afraid. Nancy responded… and while it took several weeks, Nancy persisted and finally was able to order food and have it delivered to Kathy. She later arranged to meet Kathy. They became real friends. They still disagree on lots of issues. But because Kathy showed empathy to Nancy, and Nancy responded with loving kindness to Kathy, the love between them began to grow. Kathy – who had no friends – now has two: Nancy and David.

It is easy to get carried away by the distractions and hate of our world. This has happened again and again to the people of God. As we read in the book of Jeremiah, the people who were in exile had lost hope and then they lost their way. But God had compassion upon them and so we read in Jeremiah that although the people had forgotten their covenant with God, God had not forgotten about them. And so, God promises that “the day is coming that I will put my LAW within them. I will write it on their heart so that they WILL all know me.”

Jesus gave us a new commandment, the commandment of love. It is an old commandment made new in Christ. And so let us not despair, regardless of the challenges in our world. Christ is with us and continues to write God’s word of Love on our hearts. God isn’t finished writing.  We don’t yet all know the love of God. But in the meantime, on this day and the next, let us love God and God loves us and choose to act with empathy, kindness and love for our neighbor and ourselves. The Law of Love is the Gospel Good News of Jesus Christ and this is what Jesus calls us to do. Thanks be to God.  Amen.

+ Reformation Sunday, October 27, 2024 +

+ Faith Lilac Way Lutheran + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday, October 20, 2024

The Joy of Giving

How does it make you feel when you give?

 This is a question that Lara, a Berkley graduate student, was exploring. To help answer that question, she decided to conduct an experiment. And so, one summer morning, she approached passersby in Vancouver, British Columbia and asked them, “Are you willing to be in an experiment?” If they said yes, she asked them how happy they were, got their phone number and told them they would be receiving a call after five p.m. that evening. And then, she handed them an envelope.  Inside that envelope they found either a five or a twenty dollar bill along with a note. In some of the envelopes, the note said, “Please spend this $5.00 today before 5pm on a gift for yourself or any of your expenses (e.g., rent, bills, or debt).” On other notes, the instruction was: Please spend this $5.00 today before 5pm on a gift for someone else or a donation to charity.

 That evening, the recipients of the envelopes were called and asked how happy they were feeling and how they had spent the money.  It turned out, that those who spent the money on others were measurably happier than those who spent money on themselves – even though, at the beginning of the day, there was no difference between the two groups. Also, it didn’t seem to matter whether they received five dollars or twenty. The effect on their happiness was the same. What mattered was how they spent the money rather than how much of it they received.

 This experiment suggests that spending as little as five dollars to help someone else can increase your own happiness. In a similar experiment of over 600 Americans, the results were the same: “the amount of money individuals devoted to themselves was unrelated to their overall happiness; what did predict happiness was the amount of money they gave away: The more they invested in others, the happier they were.”  The results were the same even when taking into account differences in individuals’ income.1

 It makes us feel good to give. When our Wildfire Confirmation students meet, we often begin by asking where they have experienced joy, junk and Jesus in the past week. Often times the responses have to do with school and the ups and downs of ordinary adolescent life. But one day a student said, “Oh I saw Jesus at the MacDonalds.”  Oh, I said, “Tell us more about that.” She said, “There was a man there who looked hungry and homeless and so I gave him some food.”  She was absolutely beaming with joy at being able to care for another one of God’s children by giving him a meal to eat.

 I also noticed the joy in the air when we packed hygiene bags for foster kids and tied blankets for Camp Noah – a program for children who had been in a natural disaster like a flood or hurricane. When I helped with Near Food shelf’s Christmas give-away, I don’t know if the workers or the recipients were having more fun. The beauty of that event is that we and other congregations get to give the gifts, the workers then get to help parents pick out the gifts for their children and grandchildren and then the parents and grandparents get to give the gifts to the children. All of us get to feel good about giving and making someone else’s Christmas a little brighter.

 There is joy in giving – and that joy is amplified when we do it together. That is what is happening in our Old Testament lesson. The people of Israel have gathered together and brought gifts to build a house for the Lord. This is a gift for the future – David doesn’t get to build the temple – that job is given to his son Solomon.  But this is a fundraiser – to provide for that building. And yet, David acknowledges the source of all the gifts, saying, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. … O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.” 

There are many ways that you can choose to share the gifts of money and resources that God has entrusted to you. The internet – and maybe your email and physical mailbox, like mine are full of ideas of how you can share these resources. However… be sure to check out that it is a legitimate organization. As there were in Jesus’ day – there are those who want to devour widow’s houses –there are scams out there. One of the widows in our congregation told me of how she lost a lot of money by giving her credit card to a young man who called claiming to be her grandson. She said he didn’t sound like himself. But he told her he had a cold and was in trouble – and that she should NOT tell his parents about it. She loved him and wanted to help him. But you see where this is going – it wasn’t really her grandson. Unfortunately, as we read and hear in the news, such as the Feeding our Future scam, not all of the places we can give to are trustworthy. We have to be careful to whom we give,  because there is no joy in succumbing to a scam.

 In contrast, your church is faithful with the gifts that you and I give.  We don’t receive funds from anyone else but you and me – and these gifts allow us to pay our staff and maintain our church building where we gather to worship, learn, and do God’s work . We also share our gifts  with ministry and neighborhood partners. And, like David and the people of God then, we too gather together to praise God and enjoy good food and company together in the presence of the Lord our God. – with great joy.

I hope you, brothers and sisters in Christ, like David and the people of God at that time, experience joy in giving. For God has given us today an abundance of gifts – more than enough to share. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, the gift for the ministry is not to be given as an obligation. Instead, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 And so I invite you to join me in both joyfully receiving the gifts of God and joyfully sharing them to do God’s work.  Thanks be to God. Amen.

 Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + October 20, 2024 + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

 1https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_make_giving_feel_good

Sunday, October 13, 2024

Imagine, for a moment, a man named Sam who was carrying many boxes. These were not ordinary boxes. Instead, these were boxes lined with silver and gold and filled with precious things. Sam loved these boxes. When he would show off these boxes to other people – they were impressed too.  Carrying around his boxes – and showing off to others – made Sam feel really important. These boxes gave him status. Everyone knew that he was rich, that he was the man with the precious boxes. Sam invested some of the contents of his boxes  - and that made him plenty of money to live really well.

 Sam’s wealth didn’t turn him into a mean and miserly man. He was generous and kind. He followed the commandments and gave a portion of his wealth to the church and to charity. From all outward appearances, this man literally had it all.

 And yet… he felt as if he was missing something. What was it? He had everything he needed or even wanted for this life – season tickets to the theatre and orchestra. Of course, he sat in the best seats. He was an upstanding citizen and was considered wise. He even served in an advisory capacity to the local leader.  He had everything he could imagine he would ever want for this life.  But…suddenly he felt an emptiness inside of him, a hole. He tried to shake the feeling after all. He had more than enough. But the hole kept growing… what could he do with his life? What could he do that would make a difference and get rid of that nagging feeling of emptiness. And what about the next life? After all – he’s comfortable now. But, as they say, “You can’t take it with you.” So what should he do to fill the hole in his heart and secure his seamless transition into the glory of God’s holy heaven? What was it? Sam was at a loss.

 Wait – isn’t there a rabbi in town? People say that he is really wise. Some of his teachings are hard. But he blessed the children and said that “to such as these the kingdom of God belongs.”  Sam started to get excited and thought, “if this rabbi could bless children – wouldn’t he also bless me? I could even give him one of my boxes for his trouble.”

 Without another moment of hesitation, Sam gathered up his boxes and ran out the door. Or rather… he walked quickly.  He hadn’t learned yet how to run with his boxes piled high above his head. Sam saw Jesus getting up and taking his leave of the children.  Sam started to go faster – almost dropping one of his boxes – but catching it just in time.

 “Rabbi, teacher, wait up!” Breathlessly Sam rushed up to Jesus, knelt before him and said, ““Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  

 Jesus started to give him the answer from the catechism. But Sam said, “Yes, yes, I’ve done all of those things since I was a kid.”

 Jesus looked at Sam – and loved him. Sam felt the love of Jesus surround him. It was warmer than the summer sun, sweeter than honey and filled him up to overflowing. Yes! This was what he had been looking for! But then Jesus said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

 Sam was shocked. What?! ALL of it? Even Deuteronomy only asked for 10%. He couldn’t imagine life without his precious boxes. He had grown accustomed to the abundance of plenty. He wasn’t sure he wanted an abundance of discipleship. And so…with a heavy heart, Sam walked away.  Sam’s precious boxes – his money – got in the way of discipleship, of following Jesus. His hands were too full to receive the gift Jesus was holding out for him.

 Most of us don’t think of ourselves as having that problem – we don’t think of ourselves as financially wealthy - although people in poorer regions of the world might disagree. But money is not the only thing that can get in the way of following Jesus.  What distracts you? Your job? Your schedule? Your obligations? The election?

 Sometimes the distraction comes from the other direction – the distraction of loss. I think of the people in Florida and up and down the East coast. They were hit first by Hurricane Helene and then Hurricane Milton. Even if the hurricane or tornadoes didn’t hit their community, the overwhelming amount of rain and water did. For many of them – everything that they had worked for had washed away. For others, it is the loss of people we love. We can become so distracted by the challenges of this world or the sorrows of our heart, that we sometimes feel as if we come up empty, a hole in our heart.

And yet, even as Jesus compares the challenge of a rich person going to heaven as impossible as a camel going through the eye of a needle, Jesus reminds us, that while such a thing is impossible for us,  “Nothing is impossible for God.” 

 Have you ever seen trapeze artists?   They fly through the air doing incredible stunts and make it look so easy. And yet, the first rule for a trapeze artist is that you cannot hold onto two bars at the same time. And so, you must let go of the one that you are holding onto for dear life – in order to grasp the second bar.  So for a moment – a fraction of a second, they are hanging in midair with no visible means of support. It takes courage to let go. As one trapeze artist describes it,  “It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness coming to get me. I know in my heart of hearts that for me to grow, I must release my grip on the present well-known bar to move to the next one.1

 Like the trapeze artist, our first step is to let go.  It takes courage– whether like the rich man you are holding on to too much or whether you are so filled with sorrow, loss, fear or anxiety that you have a hard time looking beyond the present moment. But with Jesus’ help, we can let go because we can’t make ourselves right with God. And our second step is to trust  -- just as the trapeze artist has to trust their partner to catch them, so we can trust Jesus to catch us. We can trust Jesus with everything we hold onto – the good and the bad, our riches and our sorrows, our gifts and our challenges.

 Jesus calls us to a life of discipleship because Jesus wants to be our companion on the whole journey – not just in the scenic places – but also in the hospital waiting room, the financial planner’s office, at work and at play.  For Jesus never stopped loving the rich man – even though he walked away. And Jesus never stops loving you and the people who are in harm’s way whether by storm or from enemy fire.  Instead, Jesus invites us all, regardless of our situation, to

open our hands, our hearts and our lives to receive the gift of God’s love and care. For a life of discipleship is a life of abundance, a life worth living. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 1 Courtney Allen Crump, A Sermon for every Sunday, https://asermonforeverysunday.com

 October 13, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Prayers of the People

Challenged by God’s Word in Christ, let us pray for the church, the world, and the whole creation.

A brief silence.

Holy God, teach us to trust and to follow you. May your love inspire us to build supportive communities of faith where all are cherished. Be with our Wildfire congregations and help us work together for your sake and the sake of the community. May we be generous bearers of your eternal love.

God of grace, hear our prayer.

Steadfast God, inspire world leaders to work for peace wherever there is war and strife, including Ukraine and Russia, and the Middle East, for Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran and for places that are also experiencing war and strife but do not make our headlines. Mighty God, we trust in you to make a way for peace when no way seems possible. Surround those who are experiencing the devastation of their homes and land from floods and storms. We commend to your care all who have been affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton by other natural disasters.  Be with our people as we get closer to our election, especially when division threatens companionship, mutual support, and unity among us.

God of grace, hear our prayer.

Compassionate God,  grant healing and wholeness to all who are in need of your care – and of our care. From our congregation we name: David Bjorkquist, Helen Brandon, Carol Brown, Jacqueline Butkowski, Grace Lawson,  Joyce Merkel, Jackie Mueller, Betty Schmidt, Linda St. John, Dan Walmsley, Jackie Woolgar, Vic Woolgar. We also name – silently or aloud -- all others who are in need care, wholeness and healing ….

God of grace, hear our prayer.

Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in the saving grace you freely give, both now and forever.

Amen.

Sunday, October 6, 2024

“Enough” is Abundance

 Abundance. That is the word our stewardship committee chose for this upcoming year.  Our Gospel lesson of Jesus with the children is an example of the abundance of Jesus’ love and care. Jesus blesses and lifts up the children – those without any status – and welcomes them into his presence. There is room enough for all. God’s love is abundant. And we see that in the love of Jesus for “the least of these.”

 The word “Abundance” often evokes – at least for me – and image of a basket of fruits and vegetables and grains overflowing. I imagine a harvest of plenty to eat and plenty to share. I think of Norman Rockwell’s painting of sharing the enormous turkey around the full table as another image of abundance – abundance of relationship, abundance of food, a rich abundance of the provision of the earth. As a farmer’s daughter, I know that when there is a good harvest, there is an abundance of riches for all to share.

In our Old Testament reading – there was not a good harvest. And that is because there was no rain. Indeed, the prophet Elijah had prophesied that there would be no rain until the Lord said there would be rain. So why would a loving God Lord withhold rain from the people?

 A little background might be helpful here. King Ahab, the king of Israel, had forgotten about God. Instead of following in God’s ways, Ahab married Jezebel (that’s a name with a story for another time). It probably made political sense at the time - Jezebel was the daughter of another king in the region and political marriages is often how kings made peace with one another. But she was also a follower of Baal, the god to whom the Caananites believed provided fertility and water for their land. King Ahab was the King of Israel – but he was no longer worshipping the Lord God of Israel. Instead, he built an altar to Baal – and worshipped Baal – instead of the Lord.

The prophet Elijah, whose name means my God is the Lord, was sent on a mission to King Ahab to remind him that the Lord is the God of Israel. But King Ahab did not listen. And so, Elijah prophesizes the message of God: there would be no rain until he, Elijah, declares that there will be rain.

 Just as Elijah prophesized, there was no rain. I imagine that there was much prayer and sacrifice made to the Canaanites god Baal, but there was no rain. Perhaps King Ahab went looking for Elijah. But Elijah could not be found.  God told him to hide out in a wadi – which is a river bed – and that God would send ravens to feed him. This sounds even more miraculous since ravens are birds of prey who – unlike a dog or a dolphin are not normally a creature that care for people. Be that as it may, the point of the story is that God has cared for the prophet Elijah. But then the wadi dries up – it was a drought after all.

 God then sends Elijah to a widow’s house in Zarapheth. This is not in the land of Israel where there might be a sympathetic widow. Zarapheth is a little village by Sidon, right in the middle of the Phoenicians, the people who worship Baal and they are usually not friendly to the prophets of another god. 

 But this widow – a woman with no power and little agency – who has just about run out of food and is about to make the last meal for her son and herself to eat before they have nothing left – is the one who Elijah asks for a little bread. And, he has the audacity to ask that she feed him first. He promises there will be “enough.”

 Somehow, she believes him and shares with the prophet from the last of her rations. And, miraculously, there was enough. There was enough for him and for her and for her son. Day after day, the meal and the oil did not run out.  There was “Enough.” And that felt like abundance. 

 In our economy of consumption, it is easy to forget what is “enough.” We are constantly encouraged – by ads, by influencers, and even at times by the government to buy, buy, buy to keep our economy going. But having more “stuff” is not what makes for abundance.

 My mother told me a story once about a time in which, early in their marriage, money was tight. They were in love. Valentine’s day was coming up – but neither she nor my dad got paid until the 15th of the month. That was a day too late.  She had no money and she didn’t dare write a check – and in those days credit cards were not used for daily purchases. So… she invited my dad on a date to the drug store.  There they looked through the rows of Valentine cards, laughed at the funny ones, oohed at the beautiful ones – and “gave” each other a card to read…before putting it back on the shelf. They then went home, she made macaroni and cheese and then pulled out the crayons and they made each other a card. My mother told me that it was the best Valentine’s day they had ever had. Abundance is not about the stuff that you have but the love and care that you share.

We pray, “Give us TODAY our daily bread.”  But what does “daily bread” mean?  For the widow and her son, it meant having “Enough” to survive for the day. For my parents, it meant realizing that their daily bread of love and care and a simple meal was enough.  As Luther writes in his small catechism, “God gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.”

 God has given us enough. And when God measures out “enough” – we receive an abundance of blessings. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + October 6, 2024 + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Ask the next Question

Jesus has some hard words for his disciples in today’s Gospel. Jesus

says, “If you hurt or even put a stumbling block before one of these

vulnerable ones – it would be better for you if millstone – which is a

huge rock - were tied around your neck and you be thrown into the sea.

IF your hand or foot or eye causes you to sin--- it would be better for

you to cut it off or tear out your eye.” Ouch.

This sounds a bit like Shariah law in which great punishments are given

for sin. A hand is chopped off if someone steals. A girl is whipped for

not covering her head. When I look at those punishments, I flinch. But is

Jesus, who teaches nonviolence and turning the other cheek suggest the

same thing? It’s certainly firey language.

Let’s take a look at the context. In included the last paragraph from the

Gospel from last week. It ended with Jesus teaching his disciples about

what it means to be great in the kingdom of God – which it is NOT the

same as what it means to be great or to be important in their culture or

ours. Instead, Jesus teaches them – and us - that “whoever wants to be

first must be LAST of all and SERVANT of all.” Then Jesus does

something that would be completely surprising to his disciples. He takes

a child –remember, children had no status whatsoever in that culture –

and puts the child in front of them.

In today’s Gospel, which is the next verse, Jesus is still holding that

child when he says these harsh words to his disciples. The words are

clearly hyperbole. Jesus does not want a bunch of one-eyed, one legged,

one armed followers. But Jesus does want the disciples to see that the

way their culture gives status NO LONGER APPLIES. In God’s

kingdom, the least, the most vulnerable, the poor, the outsider, the child,

is to be treated with honor and dignity. Those who are vulnerable should

be treated with greater care.

2

And perhaps Jesus uses such strong language so that the disciples will

listen and will pay attention. For even though they have been traveling

with Jesus and hearing his words and seeing him heal people who are

outsiders and challenge the exclusionary ways that the scribes and

pharisees interpret the law – it is still hard for them to see the radical

changes that Jesus is preaching and teaching and asking them to

embrace.

Change doesn’t come easily. John tells Jesus that they “saw someone

casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he

was not following US.” John – and probably the other disciples –

somehow thought they were protecting Jesus and their own status as

disciples by trying to stop someone else from using Jesus’ name to heal.

But Jesus tells them that they are not in an exclusive club. All who do

good things should be encouraged – even if that good deed is as simple

as offering a glass of cold water. There is room for all in God’s

kingdom.

Change is hard – for them and for us. Sometimes the way that things

have “always been done” is not the way that God is leading us forward.

The question for the disciples then – and for us now – is whether the

traditions we love and culture that we are a part of, are supporting or are

they overshadowing and even subverting the message of Jesus. It’s a

question worth asking. But the disciples weren’t asking questions. They

assumed that they knew.

Asking questions. That is one thing that children can teach us. And

children can ask the darndest questions. Children want to know why and

how and what is that? They may ask: Is there a man in the moon? Where

is he? Does he have children? Why does the elephant have such a long

nose? Is 10,000 more than many? To a person with medical tape over

their eye, a child might ask: “Are you a pirate?” Children don’t filter

their questions. They just ask. After a friend of mine gave birth to her

second child – a 10 pound baby – her two year old daughter looked at

3

her mother’s post-partum body and said to her, “Are you sure there isn’t

another baby in your tummy?” Luckily, her mother laughed.

Children ask questions, lots of questions. But somewhere along the way

of growing up, adults often stop asking questions. Granted you now

may have an answer for the question of, “is there a man in the moon and

where is he? And why does the elephant has a long nose? And you can

just decide whether 10,000 is more than many. As an adult, I hope you

are wise enough not to ask a woman who has just given birth if she

might have another baby in her tummy somewhere. She probably won’t

laugh. Some questions are good to not ask if you are older than two or

three years old.

But generally, asking questions and being curious, IS a good thing. You

have probably had a teacher say, “There’s no such thing as a bad

question or the only stupid question is one that isn’t asked.” And yet, as

people get older, we generally become less comfortable asking questions

-- especially in a group – maybe out of fear of feeling foolish or maybe

because we think we are supposed to know the answer. Or maybe

because we are just out of practice.

Writer Theodore Sturgeon is a believer in asking questions. He writes,

"Ask the next question." Ask the next question, and the one that

follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of

everything humanity has ever created, and is the reason it has been

created. This guy is sitting in a cave and he says, "Why can't man

fly?" Well, that's the question. The answer may not help him, but

the question now has been asked. 

The next question is what? How? And so all through the ages,

people have been trying to find out the answer to that question.

We've found the answer, and we do fly. This is true of every

accomplishment, whether it's technology or literature, poetry,

4

political systems or anything else. That is it. Ask the next question.

And the one after that.” 1

The disciples didn’t ask questions. Instead, they focus on who is right –

and who is wrong, who deserves status – and who should be silenced or

stopped. But those are not the questions that Jesus is interested in.

These are not the things that Jesus wanted them or wants us to focus on.

These are the things that divide people– often they are petty things in the

big scheme of things -- into them and us and these are the things that still

divide people today. When we neglect to ask questions, to have curiosity

about our neighbor and the world around us and the person that we do

not know, our world gets smaller and we turn inward instead of outward.

We focus on serving ourselves and not on caring for the “other.” 2

Over the last two years I have taken some courses in spiritual listening –

listening for God and helping others listen for God too. And I have

learned that asking questions of another person – and really listening for

the response without thinking about what you are going to say in

response – is one of the most gracious and loving things that you can do.

Jesus challenges us to care for the most vulnerable, for the neighbor, for

the child, for the lonely and the “other.” So how can we do this? Perhaps

we can best care for others by first fostering more curiosity about our

community, our neighbor, the “other” and simply asking more

questions? And then ask God to help you listen deeply for the response

– before we act. For we don’t always know what kind of care or help is

needed. Following Jesus, we can ask for God’s help in learning to care

for the “other” and one another just as Jesus loves and cares for us. May

you have fun asking questions! And in doing so, may you receive Jesus’

blessing: “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Amen.

1 Asking the Next Question by Theodor Sturgeon

2 https://asermonforeverysunday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Amy-Redwine-Mark-9.pdf

5

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane +

September 29, 2024

Ask Another Question: Caring for the neighbor Sunday Sept 29, 2024

Ask the next Question

Jesus has some hard words for his disciples in today’s Gospel. Jesus

says, “If you hurt or even put a stumbling block before one of these

vulnerable ones – it would be better for you if millstone – which is a

huge rock - were tied around your neck and you be thrown into the sea.

IF your hand or foot or eye causes you to sin--- it would be better for

you to cut it off or tear out your eye.” Ouch.

This sounds a bit like Shariah law in which great punishments are given

for sin. A hand is chopped off if someone steals. A girl is whipped for

not covering her head. When I look at those punishments, I flinch. But is

Jesus, who teaches nonviolence and turning the other cheek suggest the

same thing? It’s certainly firey language.

Let’s take a look at the context. In included the last paragraph from the

Gospel from last week. It ended with Jesus teaching his disciples about

what it means to be great in the kingdom of God – which it is NOT the

same as what it means to be great or to be important in their culture or

ours. Instead, Jesus teaches them – and us - that “whoever wants to be

first must be LAST of all and SERVANT of all.” Then Jesus does

something that would be completely surprising to his disciples. He takes

a child –remember, children had no status whatsoever in that culture –

and puts the child in front of them.

In today’s Gospel, which is the next verse, Jesus is still holding that

child when he says these harsh words to his disciples. The words are

clearly hyperbole. Jesus does not want a bunch of one-eyed, one legged,

one armed followers. But Jesus does want the disciples to see that the

way their culture gives status NO LONGER APPLIES. In God’s

kingdom, the least, the most vulnerable, the poor, the outsider, the child,

is to be treated with honor and dignity. Those who are vulnerable should

be treated with greater care.

2

And perhaps Jesus uses such strong language so that the disciples will

listen and will pay attention. For even though they have been traveling

with Jesus and hearing his words and seeing him heal people who are

outsiders and challenge the exclusionary ways that the scribes and

pharisees interpret the law – it is still hard for them to see the radical

changes that Jesus is preaching and teaching and asking them to

embrace.

Change doesn’t come easily. John tells Jesus that they “saw someone

casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he

was not following US.” John – and probably the other disciples –

somehow thought they were protecting Jesus and their own status as

disciples by trying to stop someone else from using Jesus’ name to heal.

But Jesus tells them that they are not in an exclusive club. All who do

good things should be encouraged – even if that good deed is as simple

as offering a glass of cold water. There is room for all in God’s

kingdom.

Change is hard – for them and for us. Sometimes the way that things

have “always been done” is not the way that God is leading us forward.

The question for the disciples then – and for us now – is whether the

traditions we love and culture that we are a part of, are supporting or are

they overshadowing and even subverting the message of Jesus. It’s a

question worth asking. But the disciples weren’t asking questions. They

assumed that they knew.

Asking questions. That is one thing that children can teach us. And

children can ask the darndest questions. Children want to know why and

how and what is that? They may ask: Is there a man in the moon? Where

is he? Does he have children? Why does the elephant have such a long

nose? Is 10,000 more than many? To a person with medical tape over

their eye, a child might ask: “Are you a pirate?” Children don’t filter

their questions. They just ask. After a friend of mine gave birth to her

second child – a 10 pound baby – her two year old daughter looked at

3

her mother’s post-partum body and said to her, “Are you sure there isn’t

another baby in your tummy?” Luckily, her mother laughed.

Children ask questions, lots of questions. But somewhere along the way

of growing up, adults often stop asking questions. Granted you now

may have an answer for the question of, “is there a man in the moon and

where is he? And why does the elephant has a long nose? And you can

just decide whether 10,000 is more than many. As an adult, I hope you

are wise enough not to ask a woman who has just given birth if she

might have another baby in her tummy somewhere. She probably won’t

laugh. Some questions are good to not ask if you are older than two or

three years old.

But generally, asking questions and being curious, IS a good thing. You

have probably had a teacher say, “There’s no such thing as a bad

question or the only stupid question is one that isn’t asked.” And yet, as

people get older, we generally become less comfortable asking questions

-- especially in a group – maybe out of fear of feeling foolish or maybe

because we think we are supposed to know the answer. Or maybe

because we are just out of practice.

Writer Theodore Sturgeon is a believer in asking questions. He writes,

"Ask the next question." Ask the next question, and the one that

follows that, and the one that follows that. It's the symbol of

everything humanity has ever created, and is the reason it has been

created. This guy is sitting in a cave and he says, "Why can't man

fly?" Well, that's the question. The answer may not help him, but

the question now has been asked. 

The next question is what? How? And so all through the ages,

people have been trying to find out the answer to that question.

We've found the answer, and we do fly. This is true of every

accomplishment, whether it's technology or literature, poetry,

4

political systems or anything else. That is it. Ask the next question.

And the one after that.” 1

The disciples didn’t ask questions. Instead, they focus on who is right –

and who is wrong, who deserves status – and who should be silenced or

stopped. But those are not the questions that Jesus is interested in.

These are not the things that Jesus wanted them or wants us to focus on.

These are the things that divide people– often they are petty things in the

big scheme of things -- into them and us and these are the things that still

divide people today. When we neglect to ask questions, to have curiosity

about our neighbor and the world around us and the person that we do

not know, our world gets smaller and we turn inward instead of outward.

We focus on serving ourselves and not on caring for the “other.” 2

Over the last two years I have taken some courses in spiritual listening –

listening for God and helping others listen for God too. And I have

learned that asking questions of another person – and really listening for

the response without thinking about what you are going to say in

response – is one of the most gracious and loving things that you can do.

Jesus challenges us to care for the most vulnerable, for the neighbor, for

the child, for the lonely and the “other.” So how can we do this? Perhaps

we can best care for others by first fostering more curiosity about our

community, our neighbor, the “other” and simply asking more

questions? And then ask God to help you listen deeply for the response

– before we act. For we don’t always know what kind of care or help is

needed. Following Jesus, we can ask for God’s help in learning to care

for the “other” and one another just as Jesus loves and cares for us. May

you have fun asking questions! And in doing so, may you receive Jesus’

blessing: “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Amen.

1 Asking the Next Question by Theodor Sturgeon

2 https://asermonforeverysunday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Amy-Redwine-Mark-9.pdf

5

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane +

September 29, 2024