Growing in Faith: Trusting God with our Everyday Lives
Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
Have you seen the bumper sticker: “God is coming back, and boy is he mad!” It sounds like something that a preacher in the ilk of John the Baptist might say to stir up the people to repent.
It’s got a point: God would have lots of reasons to be mad. People have made a mess of the world. There is a lot of saber rattling going on and far too much war and even in places, like here, where there is peace--there is violence and discord. We haven’t loved our neighbor as ourselves and we haven’t been good stewards of the earth. Our crazy winters – with record breaking weather -- from snow and cold last year to almost no snow and oddly warm temperatures this winter. A man stopped by my office the other day with a question: what is your church doing about Climate change? My first thought was, “what can we do?” But when he continued to press me, I told him about synod and ELCA efforts and that locally, we have worked with Enerchange to change our lightbulbs to LED. These are good things, certainly, but to really combat climate change? Our efforts felt pretty meager and that problem – and the rest of the problems facing our world feel overwhelming.
But the message that Jesus gives in our gospel is not: “God is coming back, and boy is he mad!” and it’s not the other bumper sticker that I’ve seen that says, “Jesus is watching… better get busy.” Instead, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Or, if you were to put that in a bumper sticker, you could say, “God’s reign is coming – and boy is that good news!” 1
Jesus is not sugar-coating the way of the world. After being baptized, and undergoing 40 days of temptation, Jesus comes out of the wilderness to discover that John the Baptist has just been arrested. The world is not a good and safe place for John...or for preachers like Jesus who do not bow to the forces of empire. Jesus knows this but does not respond with fear. Instead, he says, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near…” In other words, “The time that you have been waiting for – is NOW and the kingdom of God at hand.” So, what shall we do? Jesus says, “repent and believe the Good News.”
Like John the Baptist, Jesus calls for repentance. The Greek word for repent is “metanoia” which means to change direction. So, while John called for a repentance of forgiveness and a change in the way that people act; Jesus calls people to repent and believe the Good News.
But what does this mean for those of us who are already baptized and who already believe? This is the question a very faithful woman asked me after I preached a sermon in which I talked about Jesus’ call for us to “repent, to turn “180 degrees” and to change our ways. She said, “if I already believe, how can I turn 180 degrees to follow Jesus? Won’t I just be spinning in circles?”
Although it gave me a very funny image of her spinning in circles, it was a fair question. For those of us who are already baptized, we are called to repent of everything that draws you away from God and turn towards believing in the Good News of Jesus Christ with your whole self – body, mind and spirit.
This is the purpose of this season of Lent, to draw people into a closer, deeper, relationship with God. So, while it was was created by early church leaders as a time of learning and preparing for baptism at Easter, it has become a time for all Christians, regardless of where we are in our journey, to grow in faith.
Grow in faith. This is one of the charges that we proclaim at the end of every service. Lent gives us a concrete timeframe to seek to grow in faith.
The next question, is how can we do that? There are many spiritual disciplines that you can explore, but I would like to suggest three that I am drawn to this year: Notice; Reflect and Pray.
Notice the ways that God is at work in our world. It is tempting to look at only the ways that we have failed as stewards of God’s world but God has not abandoned us. Jesus came as God Emmanuel, God with us and sent us the Holy Spirit to continue to be with us. God is not coming back to destroy the world. As we read in our lesson from Genesis, God made a promise to Noah and all people and all creatures, that no matter how hard life gets, now matter how awful people and nations become, God will not let the waters rise and destroy the earth. God said, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you.” Notice that God makes this covenant – a promise that is not dependent upon our actions – but only upon God’s will not only to Noah and all people, but to all the birds and animals too. God gives a sign – the rainbow – as a reminder to God – and to us – that God will keep God’s promise.
Notice the rainbows when life seems hard. A few weeks ago I was able to take a vacation to Kauai - a very beautiful part of the world. But unlike other people who maybe enjoyed simply relaxing on the beach, I thought it might be fun to go hiking in the wilder part of the Na Pali coastline that is not accessible to cars. And it was. But it was also hard. The path was not always clear or well maintained and after it rained, the path turned to mud. As we were making our way with our big camping packs – I walked very slowly so as not to fall off the edge of the mountainside – a runner came up behind us wanting to pass. Of course I scooted as close as I could to the mountain to make room for him, and as I did, I looked up and I saw a spectacular waterfall – and I was filled with awe. And then, after he passed by me, I looked the other way… and there was a rainbow, peaking out of the clouds. It’s good to trust the promises of God and to notice – whether you are sitting on a beach, clinging to a mountainside or stuck in traffic or at home… God is with us and will not forsake us ever. I invite you, this Lent, to join me in noticing God in nature and God at work in the world.
The second thing that I want to invite you to join me in doing is to reflect and pray. There are lots of options for devotions (there are a number of them in the narthex). But I want to especially call your attention to Psalm 25. We are going to be reading and singing and chanting this Psalm in worship throughout the season of Lent because it is a wonderful prayer to God for this time in which we are seeking to grow in faith.
It begins with a call to God: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, I put my trust in you.” This is a great way to begin any prayer, being open to God and committing to trusting in God. The Psalmist continues asking for help and protection against those who would hurt or shame him. – “let none who look to you be put to shame.” The prayer goes on to asking God for help in growing in faith – “Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me.” The Psalmist also reminds God – and him or herself – of who God is: “Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.” And then… we join the psalmist in asking for that very compassion to not remember but rather forgive “the sins of my youth and my transgressions.” The Psalm continues both remembering and asking God to remember that God is “gracious and upright” and that God’s path is full of “steadfast love and faithfulness.”
This is a Psalm worth learning, worth remembering and so I commend it to you this Lenten season as a way to begin or end your day as a scripture reading and a prayer. And then, as you pray this Psalm prayer, I invite you to reflect on your day. Was there a transgression for which you need forgiveness? A word spoken in anger or irritation? Take a moment to ask for God to forgive “the sins of your youth and your transgressions.” Was there someone who did something or said something hurtful to you? Ask for protection from shame and from enemies and the ability to forgive the wrongs of others. Did you notice God acting in the world through an act of loving kindness of someone else? Or did God help you to act with grace this day? If so, thank God for those moments. Finally, are there things, concerns in your day or in your life that you need to entrust to God – at least for safekeeping for the night so that you can rest and be renewed? Try to entrust these things to God’s care.
Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, let us begin this Lenten season, this season of repenting from all that keeps us from God’s love and instead frees us to believe in the promises of God by noticing God’s work in our world; reflecting on the way God is present in our lives and pray that we may grow in faith so that we may go out in grace and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God, Amen.
1 Minneapolis Area Synod Blog
2 A Very Brief History https://blogs.elca.org/worship/430/