Come to Your Senses…

How do you say “Thank you?” How you express adoration and praise to God?

For me, my first love is words. Some friends recently introduced me to the online daily word game called “Wordle” in which you have to guess the 5 letter word in six tries or less. I’m hooked.  And so, it is probably no surprise that my first method of saying thank you to God is through words -- whether it is through the words of scripture, prayers, sermons, stories or poetry.

Music is another way that I – and we, as Lutherans, love to praise and adore God. As members of our choir and other lovers of music probably know, 16th century Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the letters SDG on the bottom of each of his compositions. SDG stands for Soli Deo Gloria, “To God Alone Be the Glory.” Bach and others have composed music for the glory of God and people ever since have delighted in singing and playing music to thank and praise God.  

The words and the tunes of music, preaching and proclamation all depend on our sense of hearing in their praise of God. But as I started to think about our senses – I wondered – what other senses do we use to glorify God?

Visual artists depend upon gift of sight to proclaim their praise and adoration of God. The artwork on your bulletin cover, the Stations of the Cross artwork in our windows, the images on your prayer cards and the cross that hangs from our Chancel are just some of the ways we use visual art to glorify God within the sanctuary.

But this, of course, is not the only place where we see God’s glory praised. We also see God’s glory in God’s own creation – the mountains and valleys, streams and deserts. Sometimes we seek to capture it in photos and other art forms.

In addition, I would also include prayer shawls in my list of art work created to glory of God. Prayer shawls are not only beautiful to look at, but since only softest yarn is used to make them –they also feel beautiful. Another one of the senses! When I bring a prayer shawl to someone who is hurting, usually they respond with a word of thanks – but then, as I wrap it around their shoulders, I can see their body relax as they snuggle into the soft warm embrace of the prayer shawl, and I remind them that they wrapped in the prayers of this congregation and the love of God. And they feel that.

In our Gospel today, there is only one line about Martha, but it reveals another sensory way we can say thank you to God. “Martha served.” Martha’s love language was food, and she prepared a feast for Jesus. And this gift, the gift of food, a gift that we can taste, is a gift that Jesus also gives. In his first miracle at the wedding of Cana, Jesus gave an abundance of wine. And, on a hillside, Jesus gave the gift of bread and fish to the 5000 people who gathered there. And at the last supper, Jesus gave the gift of bread and wine, his body and blood, to his disciples and now to us. Jesus welcomes us to “taste and see” the glory of God.

We say thank you and give glory to God through the gift of sound, sight, feeling, and taste. But what about smells?

When we were little girls, my cousin and I were playing in our grandparents’ room one day when we discovered our grandmother’s lily of the valley perfume. Grandma was a bit indulgent with her grandchildren and so whenever we were over, she would share some of her perfume with us – putting a little bit of the perfume on our wrists and behind our ears. She was busy in the kitchen but we knew that she wouldn’t mind if we just helped ourselves to some of her perfume. We did and thought it smelled glorious. And so we put on a little more and then… as we were pouring it out, a little spilled. Maybe a lot spilled. We smeared it on our hands and our arms like lotion, trying to clean up the mess so that no one would know.  But of course… the smell of 1968 Lily of the Valley perfume was all over the house in just a matter of moments.

Smells are powerful.

Likewise, the smell from the perfume that Mary poured over Jesus’ feet must have been overwhelming– a whole pound of nard, poured out on Jesus’ feet. Washing feet was the common practice. So why does Mary anoint Jesus’ feet with an extraordinary amount of costly perfume?

In the Old Testament, anointing is reserved for special occasions such as the coronation of kings. You may remember the prophet Samuel anointed the shepherd boy David as the next king of Israel and in the 23rd Psalm, honor is bestowed as “you anoint my head with oil.”

Our Gospel story comes shortly after Jesus has raised Mary’s brother Lazarus from the dead and right before Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So perhaps Mary anoints Jesus’ feet out of her great gratitude for the return from the dead of her brother Lazarus. And, if she knew that Jesus was the Messiah, which means “anointed one” why shouldn’t she anoint, the Messiah, the anointed one, especially before he rides into Jerusalem?

But Mary may also know that raising Lazarus from the dead is going to cost Jesus his life. Jesus says that Mary has provided this anointing oil in preparation for his burial. This is the other use of anointing oil. Dead bodies were not embalmed.  Instead, people – usually women - anointed them with sweet smelling oil and covered them with spices to cover the smell of death.

Mary’s act of anointing surely filled the house with an overwhelming fragrance and her act of wiping his feet with her hair, touching him – something forbidden for women who were not a wife, mother or daughter – would not have gone unnoticed. And it wasn’t.

Judas fixates on the cost of the nard – and the waste of it. It was extravagant… but it wasn’t wasteful. For Mary – in contrast to Judas - shows us the way of discipleship.

Notice that Mary did not utter a word. She did not sing a song or cook a morsal of food. These may have been considered more “acceptable” ways of giving thanks and glory to Jesus.  Instead, she offered up all that she had, pouring out a pound pure nard, the cost of which would have been about $30,000, a year’s wages and used her hair, in the most tender and intimate way that she could, to anoint Jesus’ feet. It was a bold smelly witness of her love and devotion to Jesus as her Lord.

How do you and I proclaim our love of Jesus? How do we say thank you Lord? How do we use each of our senses to proclaim, to sing, to touch, to taste, to touch and to smell God’s love for us – and our love for Jesus?

Could we seek to be as audacious in our love, as bold in our praise and as creative in our witness to Jesus as is Mary?

Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, may the sight of beauty, the embrace of care, the taste of forgiveness, the sound of joy and laughter and the most lovely smells remind you of God’s presence and may you employ all of your senses to proclaim your love and adoration of Jesus. Amen.

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran      April 3, 2022   Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday Sermon

What does “Home” look like to you? I’m not talking necessarily about your house or apartment. I’m wondering what you think of as “home.” For my grandmother, even though she had moved to St. Louis Park, “home was always her corner of Lakes Coulee in Wisconsin, “God’s Country.” I never had the heart to tell her that the phrase she loved to say came from a beer commercial.

Home is that place where you feel like you belong – no matter what.

Former Poet Laureate Maya Angelou tells a story of leaving her mother’s house – at age 17, unmarried with a baby. Her mother had a 14 room house with live-in help. Her mother said to her, “Your leaving my house?”  Maya said yes, she had found a job and a house with cooking privileges and a landlady who would be her babysitter. Again, her mother said, “Your leaving my house?” Again, Maya said, “Yes, Ma’am.” And her mother replied, All right… “When you step over my doorsill, you’ve been raised…..you know the difference between right and wrong. Do right.” And then she added, “Remember this… you can always come home.”

 And she did. Maya said, I went home every time life slammed me down and made me call it uncle. I went home with my baby… and my mother never once said “I told you.”  Instead, Maya’s mother would cook for her, listen to her and care for her baby whenever she came home. I’m sure there were reasons Maya did not want to live with her mother – she doesn’t mention those --but she always knew that she could go home. She always knew that there was always a place for her and her son and that she belonged. That’s what love is. That’s what it means to offer grace.

Grace is a matter of the heart. It is never earned or deserved. Grace is what breaks through barriers. Grace brings peace, wholeness, and nurtures relationships. Grace builds up the other. Grace is a gift we all want to receive… but it is sometimes hard to give.

Our Gospel story is sometimes called the prodigal son. Prodigal means recklessly and extravagantly wasteful. That certainly describes the younger son. He had demanded his inheritance – early and then spent it all. He had nothing left. How could he go home? By demanding his inheritance from his father, he had effectively said to his father, “I wish you were dead.” It was only when he was at the end of his rope, that he finally “came to himself” and realized what a fool he had been, and what hurt and harm that he had caused. So, it wasn’t an easy thing to go home. But he composed his story and headed towards home – even though he wasn’t sure he would even be welcomed as a slave or servant.

There are times when, I dare say, all of us, have done things or said things that we regret, relationships that have soured. There have been certainly been times in which I’ve been reckless, prodigal, with my words and actions and wish I could take them back. Perhaps there are things you would do differently if you had a chance. Perhaps there are times in which you felt on the outside and longed for welcome, for home. I know this is true for me.

But this is not the end of the story. One of my favorite parts of this story is that when the father sees his wayward son, he is filled with compassion– while the son is still far off. And what I love about this is that it means that his father has been looking for him – watching… hoping against hope that his son would come home. For the son this means he doesn’t get to sneak up the road. His father has been on the lookout, watching, hoping against hope that maybe today… he would return. So, when the father sees his son, he runs to him. In those days, men especially those who were respected landowners did not run. They did not jog. To even show your ankles was considered a disgrace. And yet… the father runs to his son and welcomes him with open arms and calls for gifts to honor him and throws a party. That is grace. It is undeserved. It is forgiveness. It is sheer mercy. It is unconditional. It is surprising. It is “prodigal” – because it is both reckless and extravagant. But it is not wasteful. It is love.

This is how God acts towards each one of us. God is like that father and waiting for you and welcoming you home – not because you or I deserve it. But because God loves you so much – and because there is nothing that you can do or say that will keep God from loving you, unconditionally forgiving you and surprising you with extravagant mercy. Like the father, God wants a relationship with you.

The father in the story also wants a relationship with his oldest son. The father leaves the party to beckon his oldest son in, wanting him to be full of joy too. But the older brother has got a problem. When he hears that his brother is not only welcomed back but a big party has been thrown for him, he is indignant. It’s not fair – after everything that his brother did? How dare he come home?

While I dare say that we all acknowledge our own need for grace, it’s hard not to be like the older brother. Like him, we are used to comparing ourselves, judging ourselves against one another. We set up standards for ourselves – and others. True grace goes against our instincts.

Philip Yancy calls the inability to receive or to give grace, “ungrace.” Our willingness to sit in judgement and hold everyone to our own standards and values makes us feel strong and righteous. But, regardless of the issue – and there are many that can divide us – ungrace has the power to isolate and alienate us from leaders, co-workers, neighbors and even members of our own family. As we watch anxiously the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rise of authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the world, the world is in deep need of grace. And this is what we have to offer one another. Simple, ordinary grace.

For in the end, the biggest surprise about grace is that, when we give grace to others, our eyes are opened and we see even more clearly the grace that God has given and keeps giving to us. This grace is prodigal, extravagant, unconditional, and given just because God loves you. God proclaims to you, “You belong. You are home in my house, in my world, and I am with you. Always.” Thanks be to God! Amen.   

Sunday Sermon

I wish all of you a happy first day of spring.  We have survived another winter which is no small feat in Minnesota.  Back in the first week of February when it seemed that winter would never end, I saw a sign at a local Dairy Queen that said “Open for the Season March 1.”  I kept thinking about that sign through the whole month of February and it gave me hope.  In my mind things would be better once we made it to March 1.  On March 1 I did not stop by the local Dairy Queen but if I had it would have been a delightful experience.  The mercury reached forty-two that day which was ten degrees above the daily average.  On that day I am sure that many people ended a long winter with either a Blizzard, a cone, or a sundae.  Another thing that gave me hope during the long winter was riding my bike to church again for our Sunday service.  Last Sunday March 13 I was able to do that for the first time in 2022.  It was cold and dark on the way here but the ride home was in glorious sunshine and relative warmth.  During the long cold months of January and February I had forgotten how much I enjoy being able to ride my bike.  It only took one ride for me to reconnect with bicycling.  I simultaneously experienced the benefits of physical exercise, helping the planet by avoiding fossil fuel use, and also reaping the mental health benefits of an activity that improves my state of mind.  For me that first Sunday bike ride was a moment where the gloom of winter ended.  While I was on the ride home, I noticed a man showing a child how to swing a baseball bat and then giving the kid the bat for him to take his own practice swing.  Of course, this being Minnesota there was still some snow on the ground so they were working on their swings in a parking lot rather than at the baseball field but nevertheless they were also experiencing the hope of better days ahead and a long winter coming to a conclusion.  Ice cream, bicycling, and baseball are just a few of many different things that we will enjoy this spring in Minnesota, but the choice of activity is not important.  We each have different preferences but we all have a vision of a favorite spring activity that gives us hope and sustains us through the dark days of a long winter. 

In today’s lesson from Isaiah, we see that God also includes us in a vision of abundant life that is meant to sustain us through difficult times.  Chapters 40 through 55 of Isaiah are generally referred to by biblical scholars as Second Isaiah.  These chapters are addressed to an Israelite audience living in Babylon toward the end of the Babylonian exile.  The prophet announces to the people that the end of their exile is imminent.  Much like Minnesotans coming out of a long winter the people of Israel were also struggling through a very tough time.  God’s vision as spoken through the prophet is meant to inspire the people and to provide them with hope that better days are coming soon.  The message is one of deliverance rather than judgment.  The prophecy of Second Isaiah reassures the exiles that the Lord will soon display great power by bringing the people of Israel back to their own country in an exodus that will be even more glorious than the exodus out of Egypt.

The prophet offers an invitation to a grand banquet.  This is not just hot dogs and potato salad in the backyard.  This is the equivalent of Andrew Zimmern calling you on the phone and saying “I hear that you are having the kids over to the house for a barbecue on Sunday afternoon and I want to prepare a feast for you and I am not going to charge you a dime for any of it.”  It sounds way too good to be true but that is the reality of the meal that God has prepared for us.  God provides for us abundantly and generously.  The image of a banquet is a very powerful depiction. We don’t eat alone at a banquet but rather everyone shares a great meal.  There is no doubt that our best times are often spent eating good food with good people.  This idea of a lavish meal extends beyond food and to the very heart of God.  The significance of the image presented in this text is not what is served at this great meal even though the items described here which include wine, milk, bread, and rich food are all things that many of us thoroughly enjoy.  The real significance is that God provides for people who hunger and thirst.  A good question to ask here is whether this text refers to material provision or spiritual provision.  The answer here is an unqualified “Yes” on both accounts.  We are satisfied spiritually as we metaphorically eat and drink in the presence of the Lord, but we are also satisfied materially as God has created a world that is so rich and plentiful in resources that each and every one of us can live an abundant life in which our material needs are met.

I have no doubt in my mind that this promised banquet is available to everyone because that is the way that God works.  God welcomes everyone to God’s table.  When I was employed at US Bank, we worked with some excellent attorneys who were based in New York City.  We would meet with them periodically and the highlight of the meetings would always be dinner at one of the best restaurants in town whether that was New York, Minneapolis, or Pierre, South Dakota.  These attorneys were experts in the field of state taxation but after the work day was done, they were the most gracious hosts.  They had a knack for including everyone in the dinner conversation.  I was the new guy and the person on the team with the least important position.  I was mainly there to gain experience and to take notes but these big-shot attorneys treated me with respect just as if I were a senior vice president.  I would always come away from those evenings so impressed with the hospitality of our lawyers and how they made everyone in our party feel comfortable because in business I had plenty of other awkward dinners where I did not feel welcome or comfortable.  At God’s Table everyone is welcome and there are not any outcasts as God makes an everlasting covenant with us.  At this time the exiles were likely questioning God’s plans for them.  God had made a covenant with David but the end of the rule of the Davidic kings and the time in exile ushered in a new reality.  However, it is God who brings salvation to the people as God now expands the covenant with David into a covenant with the entire nation of Israel.  The blessings of God are not just bestowed on kings and rulers but an abundant life is God’s promise for all of us.  No matter our station in life we are all worthy of God’s blessings.

Anyone who follows the news may be skeptical about this optimistic vision of God providing a blessed meal for all of humanity to enjoy.  We see in the news each day so many horrible things that are happening.  The news of the war in Ukraine is an unpleasant reminder of humanity’s capacity for violence as this unnecessary belligerence is destroying innocent lives in Ukraine and is making people all over the world feel much less secure as the conflict threatens to grow.  Our nation may not be directly involved in the war but we deal with gun violence in our own community that is needlessly taking lives and terrorizing people each and every day.  Many of us are struggling to make ends meet as we are experiencing the worst inflation in forty years as the wages of the average worker are not increasing nearly as fast as the prices of fuel, groceries, and housing.  The Minneapolis teachers’ strike is another reminder that our schools and social programs are underfunded while the wealth of oligarchs like Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg continues to increase each day.  The good news in these difficult times is that God surprises us in ways that are often beyond our comprehension.  God’s ways are not our ways and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  The people of Israel in exile were in a state of despair but God released them from captivity for a return home even though I am sure that many of them had given up hope of ever returning to Israel.  God acts when we least expect it even in the turbulent times of March 2022.  One of the bright spots of this terrible war was shared widely on social media.  A Russian soldier surrendered to the Ukrainians.  The Russian soldier was crying and he was approached by a group of Ukrainians who gave him a pastry and tea and called his mother so that he could talk to her.  This is a small example but it is just another case of God working at an unexpected time and in an unexpected way.

During this season of Lent, we are called to repent and return to the Lord.  We do not often ask the question why we may want to repent.  As we consider the invitation to repent God also offers us this vision of the abundant life that we can live with God.  Just as the exiles returned to their country and just as Minnesota annually emerges from the depths of winter, we are confident in the knowledge that God provides a banquet for us.  This feast is so lavish that it is beyond our wildest dreams.  We are secure in the knowledge that all of us are worthy of God’s abundance.  We know that God will act on our behalf when we least expect it.  When you experience the inevitable difficulties of life God invites you to embrace optimism and share God’s vision of abundant life for everyone.         

-Vicar Kyle Anderson

Jesus Our Mother Hen

Women hold tight to their children cramming onto trains. Mothers carry babies in one arm and hold tight to a suitcase or backpack with the other. Using a cane to keep her balance, an elderly woman walks across a plank laid in a river where a bridge had once been. These are the scenes that have become all too familiar as we watch the refuges from Ukraine stream across the borders to safety in Poland and other countries. Despite the uncertainty of where they are going, and despite the pain of leaving husbands, fathers, and sons behind, the women hold tight to their children, comfort them, cover them with blankets if they can and wrap them in their arms. Their one hope is to bring their children to safety – and for some of them ---their child is all they can carry with them. Leaving is heartbreaking – but staying is even more dangerous.

Unfortunately, this kind of danger, caused by war and violence is nothing new. The Psalmist describes an army encamped against him and adversaries who assail him. And yet, despite the danger, the Psalmist speaks a word of hope, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27 is one of my favorite psalms. I commend it to you and to those refugees and all who are facing challenges in their life – of any kind. The very first verse: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” provides a strong word to hold onto in the midst of trials and dangers. Underline it in your Bible, put it on your refrigerator, memorize these words. For this image of God as refuge, as a stronghold, as a shelter from all of the storms of life, is a strong word of hope and promise that will help give you the confidence to trust in the Lord, and not be afraid when trials, challenges and dangers come your way.

In our Gospel for today, Jesus is being warned by Pharisees that Herod is trying to kill him – and, as we know, their warning was not unfounded. But Jesus does not let this challenge – or any other - deter him from his mission.  Instead, he tells the Pharisees to go tell that “fox,” Herod, that he will continue to drive out demons and heal people – he will continue his work. And then, when it is time, even though it is dangerous, and even though Jerusalem is the place where prophets are killed, that is where he is headed.

As Jesus was headed into this dangerous place, he could have claimed the strength and power of God as his refuge, his stronghold. He could have quoted Psalm 27, after all the Psalms were his prayerbook.  But instead, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen –and laments that he cannot gather the people of Jerusalem, like a mother hen gathers her chicks.

So why does Jesus choose to compare himself to a chicken? There are so many other more majestic animals. But Jesus is looking to draw people in close.  When a mother hen draws her chicks in close, she fluffs out her feathers – and the little chicks are hidden, tucked underneath her wings. And while mother hens are not the most powerful creatures, they are fierce in the way that they take care of their young. They will stop at nothing.

Have you ever seen a mother quail feigns a broken wing to lead the fox away from her chicks?  Using this ruse, the hen sometimes ends up sacrificing her life for chicks.  And that is just what Jesus did for us, when that fox, Herod, came after him, Jesus sacrificed his life and died for you and all of God’s children, that you may have life.

And so, like the Psalmist, you and I can proclaim that “The LORD is my light and my salvation…The LORD is the stronghold of my life” AND you can trust Jesus to be like a mother hen, drawing you close, and wrapping you in his loving arms -- because Jesus loves you and cares for you.

A great theologian was once asked, what is the most important thing that you have ever learned? He responded – without hesitation – “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Jesus loves me. This I know. Jesus loves me. If that is all that you remember, then it is enough. For this is the message that Jesus has for you too. Jesus loves you. It is written in the Bible and at your baptism it was written on your forehead and on your heart. This is why you have nothing to fear. This is why you can rejoice – for Jesus loves you and has promised to be your light, your salvation, your rock and your mother hen, gathering you under his wings.

And… if you wonder how you can respond to this gift of love and care, you can begin by saying, “Thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for being my rock, my stronghold. Thank you for being my life and my salvation. Thank you for giving me the antidote to fear – and that is your love. And thank you Jesus, for being a mother hen to me, drawing me in close.”

And then, knowing who Jesus is for us, our rock, our salvation and our comfort in the storm, the mother hen we can run to, we can seek to be like Jesus for one another.

That is what I see in those Ukrainian women. They are holding tight, trying to be like Jesus and the mother hen for their children – despite the dangers around them. They inspire me – and I pray for them.

I am also inspired by the parents of other young children, children in Poland, who took action too. Anticipating Ukrainian mothers, weary from carrying their children in their arms and holding them on the train, Polish parents left their strollers at the train depot – free for Ukrainian mothers and their children. And then they bought diapers and food and left it for the families too. 

We live too far away to donate strollers – but we can support our hurting brothers and sisters in Christ in Ukraine and in other places too far to reach through organizations like Lutheran World Relief. That’s who I’m supporting because Lutheran World Relief already has a program in place so all of the funds go to support those in need.

And we can support people in need right here. Our mission of the month, NEAR Foodshelf, supports hungry families in our neighborhood every day.

And, we can pray. We can pray for those mothers and children, we can pray for the end of hostilities and violence both in the Ukraine and on our streets. We can pray that Jesus leads us to become more like him.

In closing, I invite you to pray with me a prayer written by a pastor poet, Steve Garnaas Holmes:

Holy One, my Beloved, my Savior, my Chief,
you choose to be a hen in the realm of the fox.
You choose kindness in the face of evil.

Give me faith to do the same,
to heal instead of hurting,
to choose kindness even when threatened. 

Give me courage to be a mother hen
in a world of foxes,
for always I am under your wings1 Amen.   

1Steve Garnaas-Holmes  Unfolding Light www.unfoldinglight.net

Sunday Sermon

Jesus gets baptized in the Jordan river. His hair may still be wet. But no cake or party for him. Instead, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, is led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

The wilderness plays a big role in the Bible. After leaving Egypt, the people of Israel spent 40 years, a generation, in the wilderness. They learned what it meant to be people of God and that God was with them – providing water from a rock when they were thirsty and manna and quail when they were hungry. They learned who they are and they learned that God was with them.

But when the Holy Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness, there is no water coming from the rock. There is no manna or quail for Jesus to feast upon. And so… after being without food or water for a long time… Jesus is hungry and thirsty.

The devil chooses this time, when Jesus is physically weak and hungry to test him. But Jesus resists the temptation of temporary comfort by remembering the words of Deuteronomy that he learned from his family and teachers who had in turn learned them from their parents and grandparents. And when tempted with power and prestige – at the cost of worshipping something other than God-- he remembers the commandments that he had been taught. And, when the devil gets clever and pieces together a couple of scriptures and spins them to say what he wants them to say and offers up a promise of glory wrapped up in scripture, Jesus doesn’t fall for that one either. We know that glory will come to him. But not as a flashy spectacle. Instead, Jesus’ glory will come on the cross. But in his hour of temptation, Jesus rests on two things: scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit – who never left him.

Today, Sebastian will be baptized and welcomed into God’s family as a child of God. Sebastian will receive the same promise that Jesus promised his disciples – and you - that the Holy Spirit will be with him – forever.  Preston and Ashley, as his parents and Patrick and Lisa as his Godparents, you will be making promises too. You will be promising, before God and this congregation, that you will teach him scripture – including the Lord’s prayer and the Ten Commandments and bring him to God’s house so that he can grow in his relationship with God and God’s people. With that, Sebastian can not only count on the Holy Spirit being with him but he will be prepared for whatever life throws his way.

This past week we gave thanks and celebrated the life of Herb Scheelk – he was 99 years old. Of the many memories Herb like to share, one mission from his time serving aboard the USS Thompson during World War II stands out - patrolling Normandy on June 6, 1944, otherwise known as D-Day. The Thompson’s job was to travel along the coast, giving protection to the young men landing on the beach. The danger that they faced was that there were mines in the water. But the crew did their job, and somehow, by the grace of God, they were able to patrol the area up and down the coast avoiding the mines and protecting the soldiers. They did their part. But finally, both the boat and the crew needed to refuel. Another ship was called to take their place. On its very first pass along the beach, that ship hit a mine.

When he shared this story with me, Herb asked, why were we so lucky? I had to tell him – I don’t know. But I do know it was not because the crew on his boat were more faithful or because they prayed harder than the crew on the other boat. We do know, as Christians, that no matter which boat that we are in – God is in the boat too. But, as Herb reflected on it, he to said, “I guess it wasn’t my time.”

Those are words similar to what I said to him when he fought the demons of depression - a different wilderness journey. After burying three children and two wives and outliving most if not all of his crew mates from the USS Thompson, Herb became depressed. These last two years when he was cut off from family and friends because of the pandemic restrictions, didn’t help. And yet… both on the USS Thompson and in his nursing home room, God was with him. The scripture that he had been taught helped. But it was the prayers that we prayed and that he prayed – every day – that sustained him.

As the infection rates of the pandemic drop, I am hopeful that we are coming to the end of that wilderness time in which we have to isolate from one another. We haven’t won that war yet – and may always need to be vigilant about mutations from the coronavirus --but we have tools – vaccines and masks and our medical community--to help us. And we know that, no matter what, God is with us.

But now, as the last veterans of WWII are dying, the wilderness of war is with the world - again. Just a few short weeks ago I could not have imagined that the Russian Army would invade Ukraine. But while the Ukrainians are fighting back – hard, ordinary people, some of them faithful Christians, are suffering.

God never promised us that nothing bad would happen to those who are baptized in Christ Jesus. Baptism doesn’t make anyone bulletproof. 

But how do we respond to this wilderness crisis? It is happening on the other side of the world – and yet if the pandemic taught us one thing – what happens on the other side of the world affects us too.

There are some things that we cannot control. However, as Jesus teaches – even in our most vulnerable hour - we can first remember that God is with us and then, we can turn to scripture and prayer. The scripture reminds us that we are part of a bigger story, God’s story. And prayer, talking to God about our cares as well as our hopes and dreams – and listening for God’s way even when we think there is no way - helps us live our lives more fully, more wholly in Christ.

Remembering the promises of our baptism, and that we are never alone, we can rejoice in each day – regardless of the challenges around us. For we know that we are beloved, and that God is with us. And that makes a difference for how we live. Thanks to be God. Amen.

Ash Wednesday

The people of God were in trouble. A cloud of locusts had devoured the grain in their land. An invading army was on the horizon. But even worse…the prophet Joel was preaching the truth to them – and it looked like doomsday.

And into that world of hurt … God speaks. “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart.”

Despite everything that they had done or not done, despite not following God’s word or God’s way, the Lord speaks a word of hope and promise. For even though they did not keep the covenant – God did. God had not forgotten them. For God keeps God’s promises. Always.

Instead of castigating the people for their failures, God invites them: “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing.”

A traditional way for people in Joel’s day to mourn was to tear their clothing –to show how literally broken they were. But instead of this show of mourning, God invites them to open themselves up to all of the pain and sorrow that they feel. God invites them to come to him –with their whole selves – with broken hearts, honest sorrow and open-hearted mourning. God says, “Come and have a good cry.” Come… just as you are.

After suffering a serious illness that left her a semi-invalid at the age of 32, Charlotte Elliot fell into a deep depression and spiritual crisis. Her situation felt so hopeless that Charlotte confessed to an evangelist who was visiting her family that she felt so lost that she didn’t know how to come to Christ. He replied, “Come to him, just as you are.” 1

Come to Christ… just as you are.

So, how are you? We have been through a tough two years of the pandemic that isn’t done, a racial reckoning that isn’t done, and the saber rattling in the world has turned to war – and the world seems to have gotten worse. It can feel a bit overwhelming.  

But just as the prophet Joel’s job was to speak the truth to his people in difficult times, so it is my job to speak the truth to you now. The first piece of truth that I want you to remember is this: You are God’s child. And regardless of what you or anyone else does or says, God loves you, cares for you and will keep God’s promise to be with you – always.

But that’s not all. Tonight, I will proclaim another unvarnished truth to you as I mark the sign of an ashen cross on your forehead. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.” You – and I - are mortal.  

While some may call this depressing, pastor and podcaster Nadia Boltz-Webber calls it “refreshing.” She writes, “It’s refreshing in a way that only the truth can be… because we know deep down that we live in a death-denying culture which tries to tell us that we can live forever with the right combination of exercise, yoga, vacations and elective surgery… Which all feels like a metaphor for all our pathetic attempts at immortality.

She says it is refreshing because instead of denying our mortality, Christians gather around the world on this day, each year, and “we tell each other the inescapable truth that we are dust and to dust we shall return.  It’s downright audacious that amidst our societal anxiety about impermanence we just blurt out the truth as if it’s not offensive.   But the thing about blurting out this kind of truth about ourselves…is that after you do it ..you can finally exhale.  It’s like the moment when you stop having to spiritually hold your stomach in…”

And instead… we can lean into the promises of God. At your baptism, God promised YOU to be your God – and that you would be God’s child forever. For while the world around us may be overwhelming, Jesus gets the last word. And Jesus says, “Come. Just as you are. Because I love you.” For the love of Jesus, God’s love is more powerful than any of those other things that keep us up in the night, or that fills us with terror, shame or fear.

One night, when Charlotte Elliott couldn’t sleep because she was still struggling with those things that kept her up at night – namely, her faith – or rather, the lack of it and her anxiety and anger at being a near invalid at such a young age. But on this night, instead of focusing on her anguish, Charlotte decided to write down what she knew to be true, her own confession of what she did know to be true. Remembering the words of the Evangelist, she wrote: “Just as I am, without one plea.” And then… she wrote the whole song. It became her statement of faith.

Jesus had invited her to come to him.  And Jesus Christ invites you to come to Him too, just as you are. For the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart.” Bring your weeping, your regrets, your mourning, everything you have done and everything you left undone – bring it all, because God wants your whole self…not just your “Sunday morning best” but all of you.

God wants all of you – AND will not leave you just as you were. Instead, God invites you into a deeper and more expansive and intentional living. God invites you into living a life that reflects an open heart and a fullness from living in right relationship with God, yourself and others.

God wants the best for you – God wants you to experience an expansive life that is full to the brim with life, with love, with joy, and with beauty and peace. And this is why God wants you to draw near – because this is what God’s kingdom life looks like – this is what it looks like to be in relationship with God. And God wants a relationship with you. Thanks be to God. Amen.

1 https://hymnary.org/text/just_as_i_am_without_one_plea

2 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2014/03/ash-wednesday-sermon-on-truth-dust-babies-and-funerals/

Sunday Sermon

Do you remember what you were doing on August 21, 2017?  I was working in downtown Minneapolis, and I took a lunchtime walk up Nicollet Mall being very careful to not look directly into the sun.  I was avoiding staring into the sky because that was the day of a total solar eclipse and looking directly at a solar eclipse can severely damage a person’s eyes unless one is wearing special protective glasses.  The total solar eclipse was visible within a band that stretched across the entire contiguous United States.  Minnesota was outside of the band so here we saw only a partial eclipse.  At the time the Great American Eclipse was a big deal as prior to this event no total solar eclipse had been visible across the entirety of the United States since June 8, 1918.  There were watch parties all over the nation including at the White House.  My aunt and uncle who live in the Chicago suburbs went down to Southern Illinois into the band of the total eclipse and watched the event in a stadium with over 15,000 people.  Small towns that were in the path of totality had multiple day festivals including Moonstock headlined by Ozzy Osbourne who played a show during the eclipse.  The eclipse was much anticipated and then suddenly it was all over and it will be years before we will have another opportunity like this again.  I remember going home after work and watching a PBS Nova special called Eclipse Over America.  The footage shown that night was quite impressive.  As in all total solar eclipses, the moon blocked the sun and revealed the sun’s corona or outer atmosphere.  The corona is only visible in a total solar eclipse and during the eclipse the corona appeared as a pearly glow that surrounded the darkened moon.  It was a wondrous and heavenly celestial spectacle.  Even though Minnesota was not in the path of totality I went to bed that night thinking that I had missed out on something.  Maybe I should have bought the special glasses so that I could have safely glimpsed the solar eclipse in real time with my own eyes.  I wondered if seeing something so marvelous with one’s own eyes had changed the lives of those who viewed it.  In the days and weeks that followed the eclipse faded from the headlines.  Four and a half years later I have yet to encounter anyone who said that seeing the eclipse changed their life.  The eclipse came and went very quickly with minimal impact on most people.

The disciples Peter, James, and John had a unique opportunity to witness the Transfiguration with their own eyes.  For them it may have been like viewing an eclipse but likely it was a much more awesome experience.  They saw the appearance of Jesus’ face change.  They saw his clothes become a dazzling white.  They saw Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus.  They were overshadowed by a cloud, and they heard the voice of God telling them to listen to Jesus.  They were shocked and terrified.  They were surely wondering what the impact was of what they had just seen.  Unlike the Great American Eclipse which came and went these disciples had witnessed an event that changed human history and one that is central in the story of Jesus.  Jesus had already displayed the glory of God in his ministry as he performed healing miracles and showed his power over nature.  The miracles that Jesus performed were similar to those previously performed by Moses who brought the plagues on Pharaoh and who led the Israelites out of Egypt as he parted the Red Sea and also similar to the works of Elijah who revived the son of the widow of Zarephath.  These great prophets had received God’s glory.  The Transfiguration however is evidence of something completely different as Jesus shows here that he is not a recipient of divine glory but instead is truly the source of divine glory.  In revealing himself as the source of divine glory Jesus shows that he is truly the Son of God.

The Transfiguration is a key hinge point in the life of Jesus because it is where a life which started in a manger in Bethlehem now turns toward a cross in Jerusalem.  In the Transfiguration Jesus shows himself to be the Son of God but he also begins to reset people’s expectations of why the Son of God has come into the world.  If Jesus became incarnate solely to reveal God’s glory, then he just would have stayed on the mountain and periodically put on a series of stunning displays and every day could have been eclipse day.  In the Transfiguration story we see a glimpse of Jesus’ future.  As Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah, we read that they “were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”  Soon Jesus would start his journey to Jerusalem where his Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension will occur.  The glory displayed in the Transfiguration will be seen again in both the Resurrection and the Ascension but first Jesus will make a long journey to Jerusalem and suffer a painful death on the cross.

Moses and Elijah were two great prophets who lived in very close relationship to God as they both knew intimately the mind and the will of God.  Moses and Elijah would not have been capable of spectacular acts on their own, however through their relationships with God they were capable of great miracles as God worked through them.  They surely had their doubts but ultimately, they relied on God as God guided them through some very difficult times.  Moses suffered with the rest of the Israelites under Pharaoh’s cruelty and oppression before he was able to lead the Israelites to freedom.  Elijah was forced to flee for his life and was severely depressed before he was eventually taken up to heaven in a whirlwind as a chariot of fire and horses appeared.  The experiences of Moses and Elijah foreshadow those of Jesus who is about to experience suffering and death before returning in glory.  The way of God will not bypass the cross.  Both Moses and Elijah knew what it was like to experience both painful misfortune as well as God’s glory.  Through the good times and the bad times both Moses and Elijah stayed close to God.   Moses and Elijah appear in this text as symbols of the law and the prophets, but more importantly these two great prophets represent those who are living their lives in close relationship with God.

In other parts of Jesus’ ministry, it is clear that Jesus wants to be in relationship with all of us as we see him as an itinerant teacher who healed the sick, fed the hungry, and took the little children into his arms.  Here this awesome display of power seems like it would have scared and intimidated anyone who witnessed it so it is hard for us to view the Transfiguration as an invitation to relationship with Jesus but if we look closely the invitation is there.  The Transfiguration actually happens during a time of prayer.  While Jesus was praying the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white.  Prayer for Jesus involved, at times, a dramatic encounter of God’s presence.  Jesus used prayer to call on the other persons of the Trinity.  When he prayed at his baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon him and in the Transfiguration, prayer resulted in a display of glory and the voice of God proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God.  In this case prayer was not merely speaking words to God but was a truly spiritual experience of God.  Prayer is a way for us to be in relationship with God.  It is unlikely that any of us will have an experience like that of Jesus in the Transfiguration on a regular basis in our prayer lives.  However, this is an example that has value for our personal prayer practice.  When we pray, we should not just be speaking words in the hope that God might hear us and give us what we request.  In prayer we should be seeking the powerful presence of God in our lives.  It is unlikely that we will see a dramatic display of God’s power like the Transfiguration occur while we are praying, however it is through prayer that we experience God’s constant presence with us all day and every day.

At first glance the awesome scene of Transfiguration does not appear to be related to the story of Jesus healing a boy with a demon.  However, this healing provides appropriate closure to what had just transpired on the mountain.  Peter had offered to make three dwellings for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus to commemorate the Transfiguration but that is not what Jesus wants.  Jesus and his disciples simply come down from the mountain the next day and they encounter a great crowd of people including the father of a boy who was afflicted by an evil spirit.  The father may have been emboldened to ask for healing as he may have seen from a distance that something spectacular had happened on the mountain the day before.  Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy.  According to the text the crowd was astounded at the greatness of God.  This was not the great display of glory that had occurred on the mountain but for that boy and his father this act of healing was a much more significant display of the power of God.  Jesus showed that he wants to be in relationship with us and to heal us.

In the Transfiguration and in the healing of the boy we see that Jesus has come to reveal God and to redeem humanity.  Jesus is the source of divine glory and unlike a solar eclipse that suddenly comes and quickly departs the glorious power of Jesus manifests itself not just for a brief moment but for eternity.  The divine glory of Jesus is so powerful that it even triumphs over the power of death.  By living in close relationship with God we too can experience the power of Jesus in our lives.  Jesus comes down from the heavenly heights to be with us and to bring healing to us as he desires to bring us into a relationship with him that lasts forever and ever.     

-         Vicar Kyle Anderson

Kingdom Life: Loving Your Enemies and Other Crazy Things

In our Gospel, is Jesus setting up an impossible standard? After all, who could “love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and pray for those who mistreat them?” Anyone besides Jesus? This was the way Jesus lived. He prayed even as he was dying on the cross. But before we write this off as impossible and something that only Jesus could do… I’d like you to consider hearing Jesus’ message as both a description of the way that Jesus lived –and as an invitation to all who have ears to hear – that there is another way to live.

What Jesus is preaching is not the way of the world. This is not the way to be successful, rich or famous. Instead, Jesus preaches about a different kind of life - kingdom life. The life that Jesus invites us into is a life with a different attitude of heart, a lightness of spirit, and infused with joy. This is the kingdom life and this is what God is like. 1  

Too often God is portrayed as a gloomy, angry God. But Jesus, who knows God and who is one with God, gives us a different image of God. God is the one who showers all of creation with good gifts. Instead of competing for the highest score – or the right to be on the podium of the Holy Olympics, God sets the sun to shine and the rain to fall on all of us and God sent his Son Jesus to us and for us - not because we are worthy – but because God is generous and gracious and abounding with steadfast love. We don’t have to be anxious about whether or not we are doing enough to be saved from the powers of evil. Jesus has already saved us.

And so, confident of who we are – children of God – and knowing that God is with us, always, we can open our ears to hear Jesus’ words as offering new possibilities into what at times seems impossible. For Jesus is inviting us – and all those who have ears to hear – to live in the way of Jesus: loving our enemies, doing good for those who hate you, praying for those who mistreat you and forgiving others as God has forgiven you.

Joseph, in our first reading, learned that lesson. You may remember the story – especially if you’ve seen the musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob – the first child of his favorite wife. He had vivid dreams of greatness in which he was the lord over his half-brothers…and then he shared these dreams with them. As you can imagine, this did not sit well with his brothers – nor did they appreciate the fact that while they were working in the field with sheep, Joseph was being given a beautiful robe and doted on by their father. So, one day, the brothers plotted to kill Joseph. But after they had thrown him in a pit, some traders came by and they ended up selling him into slavery. That’s how Joseph ended up in Egypt – beaten and then sold into slavery by his brothers. But God was with him and he did well there… until he was falsely accused of adultery and thrown into prison.

But again, God was with him and gave him the gift of interpreting dreams. After he had correctly interpreted the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners, he was called to interpret Pharoah’s dreams about seven years of feast and seven years of famine. Impressed, Pharoah put Joseph in charge of all of the grain of Egypt during the good years and the years of famine. This is why, in one of the years of famine, when they had nothing to eat, his brothers ended up coming to Egypt to buy food. They did not realize that Pharoah’s CEO was their brother. 

Joseph’s dreams of his brothers bowing before him had now come true. He was now in the position of power. He could have gotten his revenge and thrown them all in jail forever. He could have reminded them of the dream and sent them away empty handed. But instead… he chooses to not only forgive them, but to overwhelm them with generosity, giving them not only food but also land and opportunity.

Looking back from a different perspective, Joseph saw the way God had made something good come out of his brother’s cruel actions. This is why, instead of extracting justice for past wrongs, Joseph chooses to both speak the truth of what his brothers had done to him and reflect on his life story in the light of God’s work in his life. He chooses to forgive his brothers, treating them not in the way that they treated him, but rather how he would like to be treated so that he could establish a new relationship with both them and his father. This brings him great joy.

Jesus is calling you and me and all those who have ears to hear into this kind of life, a life filled with joy.

But in a world faced with so many challenges is this even possible? The pandemic has not made things easy for anyone – and I know that it is harder for some than it has been for others. Some families have been torn apart by whether or not to get the vaccine and whether or not to mask. Other families have been set at odds with one another over politics. There are so many things dividing us – how can we even begin to have ears to hear Jesus’ words to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you, forgive one another and do onto others what you would have them do to you.  

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama, co-authors of The Book of Joy, tell story of two soldiers in an army medical center. Both were paraplegics who had lost the use of their legs in combat. They had the same diagnosis and the same prognosis. But one of them, Tom, was lying in bed writhing in pain and railing against the injustice of his situation. The other one, Chuck, was out of his bed, in a wheelchair. He said he felt as if he had a second chance on life. Not only was he grateful that he was living, but he discovered a new perspective, for now he was closer to the flowers and could look directly into the eyes of children.2

The difference between the two men was their perspective. Tom was stuck grieving the injustice of his loss – which was great. But Chuck, who had the same loss, was able to mentally step back and move beyond himself to see a different picture, and to look at his life from a different perspective. From his new perspective, instead of seeing loss, he saw flowers and children and a new opportunity to live.

Like Joseph, who was able to look back and see that even though his brothers had intended to do him harm, God was able to use the situation for good, Chuck was able to put his situation into a bigger perspective. As a result, his future was filled with possibilities and not just regrets. In their book, Tutu and the Dalai Lama point out that while our first response is often to react to bad situations with fear and anger, and they acknowledge that stress can make it hard for us to step back and see other perspectives, they challenge us to “take something bad that happened in the past and then consider all the good that came out of it.”3

So I did. The death of my father when I was 17 gave me compassion for others when their loved ones die – especially those who die – as my father did – far too young in my eyes. And, when I received a head and knee injury after being hit by a car, the first prognosis that my family received was that I would spend my life in a care facility, unable to remember or do much of anything. As my mother sought a second opinion and as God healed my brain, I became grateful for every day of my life. Other good and wonderful things happened as a result - including marriage and raising a family, and becoming a pastor. I began to see – and still see --every day as a gift.

How about you? Are you willing to back at something bad that has happened in your life – and see God’s hand in working through a bad situation to bring out good? If it doesn’t come naturally or easily, be patient with yourself. Not everything can be forgiven or put into a bigger perspective easily or readily.

Cori ten Boom, a survivor of the Holocaust, was once confronted by a former guard at an event that she was speaking at. He asked if she could forgive him. She looked at him, and recognizing him as one who had played a part in her sister’s death, she had to tell him – no, not yet. She eventually did forgive him, but she also knew that she couldn’t say the words if she didn’t mean them. She and Jesus and the Holy Spirit had some more work to do.  

Jesus is inviting you and me – and all those who have ears to hear -- into a life that is more expansive than what the world has to offer. As Cori ten Boom discovered, loving your enemy, praying for those who mistreated you – and those you love - and forgiving them isn’t always easy to do. But doing so, frees you up to live a life that is filled with joy.

May the Holy Spirit work in you to see life from God’s perspective and fill you with joy and blessings beyond number. Amen

                                               Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

1 N.T.Wright, Luke for Everyone, page 73

2 The Book of Joy page 195

3 The Book of Joy p 197. 

Rooted in Faith, Watered by Grace

What does it mean to be blessed?  Often, we think of blessings as having good health, loving relationships and enough to live a good life. But that is not what Jesus is preaching about. Instead, he warns his disciples not to get too comfortable, not to get too satisfied with themselves and not to think of life as all fun and games. It’s not that Jesus wants his followers to be miserable. Quite the opposite - he has just healed countless people of evil spirits and diseases. But Jesus wants more for his followers than just to be free of disease and more than the comfortable and self satisfied life that we may choose. Jesus wants his followers to be “true. ” That’s what it means to be blessed.

While Jesus’ words might sound a little surprising and even shocking to us, especially in the Message translation, Jesus is following the tradition of the prophets. Jeremiah, in our lesson from the Hebrew scriptures, our Old Testament, also talks about blessings – and curses. He compares those who do not trust in human leaders, or in themselves and their own wisdom and strength to a parched shrub in the desert. 

But those who trust in the Lord, he compares to “a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.”

I’ve seen trees like that planted by a stream– you probably have too – with roots that go out into the water and also deep into the ground.  I’ve also seen trees on the bank of the river that I’m amazed can even stay upright. They hold on in a seemingly impossible grasp of stone and a little dirt – the roots bared by the washing of the waters that run beneath it… and in the spring, the waters run right over it. Somehow these roots hold on to the rocks and the crevices. I think it must be because the roots go deep.

Jeremiah’s tree made me think of the family tree into which we were all grafted by Christ. But this tree, Christ’s family tree, instead of being rooted in the ground and holding onto rocks, is deeply rooted in faith.

Sometimes faith follows our personal family tree, one generation after another. As Kaitlyn is confirmed, I am reminded of her great grandma Ramona, who brought her daughter Diane to be baptized and confirmed, who in turn brought her son Joe, who brough his son Joe, who brought his son Joey and then Kaitlyn to be baptized….and will be soon confirmed. Your big family is rooted in faith. But as big as your family is, you are just one small branch of Christ’s huge family tree of faith.  Some people come in the same way as Kaitlyn did, one generation after another. Others were invited by friends or spouses or neighbors. But regardless of who invited you, all of you, all of us, were brought by the Holy Spirit.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are rooted in faith and watered by grace. For just as a tree cannot survive without water, so we all need to be renewed, refreshed and watered by God’s grace.

God gives us three gifts of renewal. First: the gift of confession and forgiveness: In those times in which we know we’ve made a mistake, done or said the wrong thing, are ashamed, embarrassed and feel as if we have lost it all… these are the times in which Jesus reminds us that we are his – and out of his great love for us, Jesus forgives us, renews us and makes us whole.

The second gift is the gift of Christ’s body and blood – communion. Again, out of God’s great love for us, even in or maybe especially in those times in which we are feeling empty, hungry and in despair, God welcomes us in and Jesus feeds us, renews us and makes us whole with the gift of his body and blood.

The third gift is the gift of God’s Word. In the ancient texts of scripture, written so long ago, God gives us an old word made new for a new day – and a Christian community, the church, to help us interpret and apply God’s word to our life today. God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures, read and studied together, help us to reflect on what God is doing in our crazy world today – and how we can be a part of God’s plan for our world. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit who renews us, restores us and gives us faith.

It is with that same faith that Jeremiah writes that those who trust the Lord will be like the tree planted in the stream. “It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”

For Jeremiah knew that just as the tree had to overcome heat and drought and disease, so his people had many challenges to overcome. Some of them were the result of the weather and disease and some problems were caused by themselves – or other people.

The same is true for us in our world today. But like God’s people in Jeremiah’s day, we are rooted in faith and watered by God’s grace so that we do not have to be anxious, worried or afraid. Instead, like the tree who, despite all of the challenges, is able to overcome heat, drought and disease and instead bloom, we too can overcome our challenges. We do not need to be anxious, worried or afraid. Like Jeremiah, we too can trust in God.

Rooted in faith, watered by grace, God invites you to grow and bloom. Like the tree whose leaves stayed green despite the heat and who bore fruit despite the drought and diseases that threatened its very being, we too can grow and bloom and be true. That’s who God made us to be.

Just outside of the city of Hebron in Israel, the place where Abraham and Sarah welcomed angelic visitors under the oak trees of Mamre, there stands an old, old oak tree. The tree looks dead – but the monks who live in the monastery next door have tried their best to prop it up, putting metal braces around it to support it. It would have been easy for them to just give up on it – and get rid of it.  But instead, they watered it. And one day… out of that dead looking stump, they saw a green shoot. And then another. Out of the dead looking stump came new life. 

We have many challenges today, individually and as a community and as a world. But like the tree, we are rooted in faith and watered by grace because God is not done with you and me yet.  Instead, God continues to shower us with grace and mercy, forgiveness and love so that we may be true. This is God’s blessing for you. Amen.

February 13, 2022              Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church             Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday Sermon

We are in the midst of The Great Resignation.  In my twenty-five years as a tax professional, I changed jobs a couple of different times.  Each time I felt that I was moving on for the right reasons.  In each case I was advancing my career and assuming new responsibilities while also moving to something that was a better fit for me.  A recruiter once told me that it is not unusual for the departure of one person from a company to cause others to resign.  The first three times that I moved on to seemingly greener pastures that did not happen as my resignation was an individual act that did not trigger a mass exodus, but things were different in 2021.  Shortly after I quit a colleague accepted a new position in Phoenix.  Then a few weeks later as I was preparing for my first sermon at Faith-Lilac Way, I received a text from a friend and former co-worker who told me that he was moving to another company so that he could work from home full-time which I knew was really important to him so that he could spend more time with his young kids while still advancing his promising career.  The Great Resignation has also impacted my wife who supervises a team of five.  She lost four of her five employees during 2021.  These are just anecdotes but there is substantial evidence that people have recently quit their jobs and have moved into new positions with much higher frequency than what is considered normal turnover.  The Great Resignation is an unexpected and very real consequence of the pandemic.  However, it is not the first event of its kind.  In today’s Gospel lesson, we hear of a Great Resignation that impacted the fishing industry in Galilee.

The event that prompted this Great Resignation in Galilee is an act which demonstrates that Jesus is the source of hope and abundance.  Simon Peter and his crew had been working hard all night with no success and they were frustrated.  In telling Simon to cast the nets into deep water Jesus is telling Simon and all of us that there may be areas which we have not explored which have great potential if we are willing to expand what we perceive as limits.  We do not know Simon’s tone in verse five but I assume that despite his reverence for Jesus whom he addresses as Master, Simon likely has pretty low expectations and may just be dropping the nets simply to please Jesus.  Of course, the catch of fish far exceeds what anyone would have realistically foreseen.  It is a simple but powerful lesson.  When we put our trust in the Lord, we receive in return much more than we expect.  God provides us with abundant gifts to live a full and satisfied life.  The pandemic has caused all of us to reassess our lives and what is truly important to each and every one of us.  Many of us have decided to pursue a new vocation or to look for a new employer within the same field which has led to the Great Resignation.  Regardless of employment status this pandemic has been an opportunity for many of us to change the trajectory of our lives.  Over these past two years almost all of us have contemplated what it means to live a meaningful and contented life.  When we put our hope in Christ, we see that things that once seemed impossible are now fully realized and it is this relationship with Christ that makes it possible for our lives to be filled with the joy and happiness that is represented in the bursting nets. 

My Great Resignation was years in the making as I discerned my call to ministry.  It really was not a hard decision as I have a great desire to serve the Lord, but I also knew that I had reached my limits in the corporate world.  It is easy to quit when management does not consider you a future vice president.  I really admire the disciples for quitting when they did.  They had just achieved the greatest moment in their fishing careers.  They could have argued with Jesus that with their fishing skill they could have fed many hungry people and built a fishing business that could have funded Jesus’ ministry.  However, that was not Jesus’ plan for these disciples.  They were called by Jesus to fish for people as they would join Jesus in a ministry of teaching and relationship building as they planted the seeds that would develop into the first Christian communities.

The lesson of this Great Resignation in Galilee is not that we quit our jobs all at once but that we listen to where God is calling us.  Many of you are really good at what you do, you enjoy it, your work may benefit the life of the community and your employment provides you and your family with a good living.  Many of you are happy with your life but we should not be afraid to consider new opportunities.  We all have a part in building God’s kingdom whether you jump between jobs or whether you are that rare company lifer.  This story invites us to trust in God and to be open to the new possibilities that God may have for us to use our talents to create a community of hope and abundance.

-          Vicar Kyle Anderson

Sunday Sermon

I grew up in the small town of Aledo, Illinois in the 1980s.  It was a very sheltered and protected environment.  In elementary school our principal Melvin Larson read announcements over the intercom every morning.  On a typical Friday he would say something like “lunch for today is fish sticks, coleslaw, fruit cocktail, wacky cake, and milk.  Have a nice weekend and feel free to attend the church of your choice.”  Today no public-school principal would encourage people to attend church in their school announcements and he probably should not have been doing it then but the reality is that in the 1980s in my hometown the churches were really active.  In a town with a population that was slightly less than four thousand the number of churches was in the double digits and if you count the country churches the count probably was close to twenty.  My family was active in the Lutheran Church and of course there was Sunday School and worship which we attended regularly, and the church was a big part of our social life as well.  There were the potlucks and the church picnic each year and the friends and family that you would talk to after worship.  But our social life was not just limited to our church.  I took a couple of years of piano lessons and gave two rather inept piano recitals at the Methodist Church.  The Baptists had the most active youth group in town and I watched Super Bowl XXII with them.  I am not sure if the House of the Risen Son was part of any denomination but I do know that their gym was frequently open and it was a place to hang out and play full court basketball.  The churches played a really important role in the town’s social life.  If one would have been excluded from the churches in town at that time it would have been like being exiled as it would have essentially meant being excluded from the life of the community and having a life that was isolated and diminished.  What really strikes me in today’s text is that Jesus is not worried about his popularity or his approval rating as he provokes anger in his hometown synagogue.  Jesus is so devoted to his ministry and his message that he is willing to be rejected by those who know him and to be excluded from the life of the community in Nazareth.

The lectionary actually splits the narrative of Jesus’ preaching at the synagogue in Nazareth into two parts.  Last week’s Gospel reading included the first part where Jesus neatly summarized his ministry in a short sermon as he quoted the prophet Isaiah.  Jesus declares that he is here to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and the oppressed, and to bring recovery of sight to the blind.  This brief but powerful message was initially well regarded as those who heard him received his message with joy and wanted to understand more about it.  Jesus does go on speaking the truth of God but as he pushes his hometown audience beyond their comfort zone their mood changes.  In bringing up these stories of Elijah and Elisha he is still proclaiming the good news but those assembled become much less receptive to Jesus’ message.

Each Gospel is written through a different theological lens and while all of the Gospels tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus each have a slightly different emphasis.  Matthew and Mark also describe Jesus being rejected at Nazareth but their accounts are shorter and much less dramatic as they do not include Jesus reading from the scroll of Isaiah or the people threatening to hurl Jesus off the cliff.  By beginning the narrative of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee with this story Luke characterizes Jesus as a prophet.  To identify Jesus as a prophet means that he speaks for God and suffers rejection from those to whom God sends him.  Prophets are willing to suffer rejection and ridicule because they have a passion for justice that is deep in their hearts.  In the opening pages of his classic book The Prophets Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote that “To us a single act of injustice – cheating in business, exploitation of the poor – is slight; to the prophets, a disaster.”  Heschel goes on to write that “we rarely grow indignant or overly excited” over acts of injustice but “[t]o the prophets even a minor injustice assumes cosmic proportions.”  By presenting Jesus as a prophet at the start of his public ministry Luke is making it clear that Jesus has come into the world to bring salvation to the poor and to the oppressed.

In our popular culture prophets are often presented inaccurately.  We have this image of prophets as those who tell us about the future.  Looking ahead is an important part of prophecy as prophets are called to inspire us with idealized visions of how things will look in the future.  However, the main purpose of prophecy is not about making predictions.  Prophets tell the truth about the present and give us assurance of God’s presence.  Prophets are the people who deliver the message about what is really happening on the ground because they are connected to the realities of daily life.  Prophecy often occurs in isolated and neglected places like the village of Nazareth so we often do not hear these voices which are speaking truth.  I recently heard a podcast which featured stories from West Virginia.  There was a thirty-something married mother of three who was describing her family’s perilous economic situation.  Her husband was a miner who was making $31 per hour.  He became addicted to opioids and needed help.  He enrolled in a two-week inpatient treatment program but his job did not provide him with any medical leave so he was terminated from his employment.  After he completed his treatment, he found another job but it only paid $12 per hour.  The woman said that they were barely able to survive and that they made it solely through charity and help from family.  After three years her husband was finally able to find another job which paid him close to what he previously made.  This is just one of many prophetic voices which talk about the need for paid family and medical leave, living wages, and affordable healthcare but as a society we are not listening.  As Rabbi Heschel pointed out we may feel bad about injustice but we don’t get overly excited and we continue on with business as usual as our society does not recognize the disaster of these acts of injustice.

In this text Jesus takes on the role of a prophet to bring people out of complacency and to reset their expectations.  The audience seeks salvation for the people of Nazareth and they want Jesus to act with power and authority in their hometown.  Jesus pushes his audience hard when he introduces the idea that salvation is available to all people.  Jesus recounts two episodes involving the great prophets Elijah and Elisha who were instrumental in bringing God’s deliverance from death and sickness to the Gentiles.  Jesus lifts up the message from his own Jewish tradition that God’s salvation is available not just to those who were born into the nation of Israel.  His listeners would have been well aware of both Elijah and Elisha and these miracles that were done far away from their hometowns and for the benefit of those who were considered to be outsiders.  The people fail to acknowledge that Jesus has come to serve all of God’s children especially those who are marginalized in our communities.  As we continue our journey through Luke’s Gospel in this lectionary year Jesus will make it clear that he has come to serve the poor and the oppressed as he will frequently encounter them throughout his ministry and on his journey to the cross.

I really wish that the audience would have reacted differently in this story.  I very much loved growing up in a small town, but I do admit that one of the dangers is that it is easy in a small town to become insular and to not recognize other people’s experiences.  The reference to Capernaum in this story makes me think of the town of Monmouth which is twenty-five miles away from my hometown.  Monmouth is a bigger town and it has more businesses and a college.  When I was growing up, they beat us in high school football eleven times in a row and during that time it would not have been popular for someone to go to any of the churches in Aledo and to proclaim to the people of Aledo that they were going to do a bunch of miracles in Monmouth.  It is easy for us in a large metropolitan area which hosts major events, which is home to the state capital, and which is the headquarters of many large companies to think that we are immune from the pettiness of a rivalry between small towns.  However, we are just as guilty of failing to realize that Jesus came to save everyone in the world as we ignore the voices on the margins of our community.  Those who are poor, those who are trapped in addiction, and those who are oppressed are crying out with prophetic voices and Jesus has come to lift them up.

It is not easy to see the good news in a story where Jesus is nearly thrown off a cliff, however it is definitely there.  The story ends with Jesus passing through the people and going on his way.  He will go to Capernaum next and then all through Galilee before journeying to Jerusalem and then to the cross.  Throughout his journey Jesus continues to proclaim his message that salvation is available for all humankind.  Jesus is a man who is willing to be ridiculed, to be kicked out of the sheltered environment of his hometown, and to put himself in danger in order to save each and every one of us.  It is not easy to risk the loss of comfortable surroundings and the familiar patterns of life but Jesus is willing to do this because his love for us is so deep.  That indeed is good news.  Thanks be to God.    

- Vicar Kyle Anderson        

We Are All One Body in Christ

Sometimes… a little story, like the ones I used to read to my children, can speak more wisdom than a thousand philosophical tomes. And so, I’d like to tell you a story…

There once was a town called Archy.  It was a sweet little town full of good folk who had a bartering system. The barber cut the farmer’s hair and the farmer dropped off produce at the general store and the general store clerk also got her hair cut and ordered all the supplies for the town – which she distributed to everyone in the town and the little man who lived on the edge of town cleaned the whole town every day.  It was a small town but everyone got what they needed. Until…a couple moved to town – Ms. Head and Mr Shoulders. Ms. Head said, “I’ve got the biggest head and so I should be in charge – and you should pay me double for all of my headwork.” Mr. Shoulders loudly agreed and then said… “And I have the strongest shoulders so I shall be your deputy – for the shoulders support the head… and so should we all. It was true that Ms Head DID have the biggest head and Mr. Shoulders did have amazingly large shoulders. And so the people agreed.

But instead of contributing to the tasks of the town, Mr. and Mrs Head and Shoulders simply made up rules. They changed the name of the town to HierArchy because they thought it sounded better… and they assigned seats in all of the public places, including the church, and took the best seats – the “hier” seats for themselves. Instead of asking people what they needed as the clerk had always done, they assigned rations to all the people in a “top down” manner, first the farmer, Mr. Armstead, and then the clerk, Ms. Hand and then finally, they told the little man, Mr. Toe, who cleaned the town and delivered flowers, that his job was really not important and so his ration was the smallest.

As you can imagine, the town of Hierarchy didn’t work so well anymore. Mr. Toe didn’t have time to clean the town because his ration wasn’t enough for his family and so he had to try to grow his own food instead of flowers. No one was picking up the garbage. The farmer didn’t come into town anymore because he couldn’t get what he needed and the barber started to see his business fail. They were in trouble.

But they were not unusual. In Paul’s day, the world was run in a very hierarchal manner in which competition, not cooperation was the norm. Caesar came first and everyone else got less. Like the town of “Hier-archy,” the rulers selfishly took the best for themselves – and the workers had to scrounge to make ends meet.

But when Paul writes to the  Corinthians, he wants them to envision a different kind of world. Because Paul believed that both they and the world had changed. The identity of all who were baptized in Christ Jesus is no longer the same. The baptized have been given a new name, the name of Christ is marked on their forehead and on their chest. No longer were those who are baptized to see one person as higher or greater than another. Instead, everyone, those in leadership, those charged with security, everyone in the trades, all who cared for children and everyone who cleaned the town, who shoveled the walks, who did the jobs that no one else wanted to do —were all united as one in Christ Jesus. And not only were they united, but they are of equal value -regardless of what skills they had, where they were from, how much money or resources they had or who they were.

To illustrate this, Paul points to the human body as a metaphor for Christ’s body. In the human body, the eye belongs to the body just as much as does the ear and the hand and the foot. They are not the same - each one has a distinct and valuable role in providing for the wellbeing of the whole body – but they work together for the good of the whole. In the same way, the members of Christ’s body are to work together, each offering the gifts that God has given them, for the sake of the body of Christ.

I love this image. However, unlike the parts of the body in which the eyes and ears each has a specific function, God has given us, as Christ’s body, many talents and gifts to share in a variety of ways. For example, when I first became the solo pastor here, Don Schmidt came up to me one day to talk about some property concern. It may have been about a wall he thought needed painting or fixing. Don was an excellent painter. He made his case about what he wanted to do. I looked at him and said, “Great!” Don smiled but kept looking at me… as if he was waiting for something. Finally, I asked, “Is there something that you need?” He said, “Well… Pastor Bob usually had all sorts of ideas about the property, and we would have to debate a little bit about how we were going to get something done.” I said, “Ah yes, Bob had that gift too. But I don’t. So just let me know what it is that you want to do so that I can make sure we have the resources to do the job -- and so I can cheer you on! Pastor Bob and I share some gifts – and are very different in others.

Here at Faith-Lilac Way, I see people who are all a part of the body of Christ, filled with many and varied gifts and talents to share. Some sing, others knit or crochet prayer shawls, send cards, shovel the walks, give financially, clean the church, paint beautiful paintings or walls, serve on the council, pray for the children, record the service, bring meals to families and serve Christ in this place and outside our doors. I see many gifts offered up to God… and this is good and then I see the gifts of the people in the other Wildfire churches, in the Synod, the ELCA, the world council of churches…and the gifts of people in other denominations, like Greater St. John Missionary Baptist, and people of God all over the world.

God gave us, and ALL our brothers and sisters in Christ, many gifts to share. The problem comes when we, or someone else, like Ms. Head and Mr. Shoulders, try to rank the gifts or value one as greater than another.  Is it better to be a preacher than a teacher? Is it better to be a doctor than a janitor? Those are the wrong questions. God gave all of the gifts and talents. Instead, the question needs to be, how can you use your gifts to give glory to God and to care for your brothers and sisters in Christ?

We, as humans, are very good at finding differences. We are very good at seeing which “one of these things is not like the other.” Paul writes that the old way of looking for differences doesn’t work anymore.

For we are all one in Christ – whether we are Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – Chinese or Americans, white or black, male or female, gay or straight, because we are all baptized into Christ, by the one Spirit, the Spirit of the living God. We are all one body AND God has blessed us with different gifts which are all needed. We are good at finding differences – but we aren’t so good at valuing differences. Too often, we seek uniformity instead of appreciating and giving thanks for the variety of people and gifts that are part of the body of Christ.

Paul reminds us that just as the human body needs all the parts of the body – the head cannot function without the lungs or the rest of the body   – so too, the body of Christ is dependent upon all its parts. Likewise, just as the whole human body suffers when an eye is hurt or you get a headache or an ear or toothache, so Christ’s body suffers if one person suffers… or is cut off. Paul writes, “there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

This is the message that we as Christians need to share with the world. We are one in Christ with ALL of our brothers and sisters in Christ and we are bound to one another by Christ’s flesh and blood. No longer are we simply individuals who are concerned simply with our own business. Instead, since we are bound to our neighbor by Christ, (even if we disagree with him or her), when our neighbor suffers – we all suffer.

This means that not only are we to pray for our neighbor but also remember that our actions affect our brother and sister in Christ who are next door and those who around the world. When the coronavirus mutates in Africa, China or Iowa or North Dakota, it will not be long before it is here… infecting you or the ones you love.  This means we have a responsibility to care for them as well as ourselves and our own.

God has given you many gifts and talents. And God wants you to use them both to give glory to God and to love and care for all of God’s children, our brothers and sisters in Christ. For, despite all the differences that threaten to distract and divide us, we are One in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.

January 23, 2022                 Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane