Sunday, March 19, 2023

4th Sunday in Lent Mental Health Focus March 19th, 2023

            During these last two weeks of March, Faith Lilac Way is talking about mental health. Many churches struggle to talk about mental health and mental illness, but it is an important topic, nonetheless. According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in any given year 1 in 5 adults (20%), will face a mental health challenge. With statistics like these it is likely that we have members in our congregation and community who face mental health challenges. You may have a member in your family, a friend, or a colleague who struggles with mental health. Perhaps you have had challenges with your mental health before.

            Mental health is also a topic that I am passionate about and as we begin the conversation, I would like to share some of my own mental health journey with you today, as well as where I found God along the way. I believe in the power of sharing stories, and I am at a point in my life now where I can share my experiences. I can even say now that I am thankful for these experiences, though it took a long time to reach this point. At the same time though, it can be a difficult story to share and to hear, so at any time if you feel triggered or need to take a break from listening, it is okay to step out of the room. Self-care is important, so please do what is best for you as I share my story.

            I had my first panic attack when I was 6 years old. I was in kindergarten and had the day off from school, so my mom was taking me to a friend’s house. We were driving down the interstate in the family van when we got into a minor car accident. The damage consisted of a dented bumper and some leaked fluid. There were no injuries, and I didn’t even know what had happened at first. But standing on the side of the road and looking at the dented bumper and dripping coolant, something happened to me.

            I felt like I was dying, and I really thought I could be. My heart raced and felt like heart palpitations. A deep sense of dread and terror fell upon me, and the world was closing in. My body felt tight and heavy, and I was shaking. I was dizzy and felt sick to my stomach. I couldn’t stop crying. I kept trying to scream but it was hard to breathe. No one could console me. I even remember the confusion and fear on the face of the other driver as she and my mom helplessly watched me panic. It was awful.

            Unfortunately, as the years went on the panic attacks continued, became more frequent and even more intense. The feeling of dread lived in the pit of my stomach as a part of my daily life, to the point that I often felt physically sick. I would have panic attacks over things such as the weather, being lost, unfamiliar places, or not being able to control something. I could never, ever be left home alone, and even in middle school I would take and hide my mom’s car keys so she couldn’t go anywhere without my knowing. I would have panic attacks at school terrified that no one would be there to pick me up, even though that had never happened before.

            My anxiety consumed my life and restricted the life of my family. I couldn’t turn it off or hold it in no matter how hard I tried (and believe me, I really did try!). I would pray constantly asking God to take my fear away, but the anxiety continued, nevertheless. My family couldn’t go out to places like concerts in the park, nor could my mom go out for an evening with friends. My mom tried hard to help me and sometimes she got frustrated, wanting to fix things and not knowing how. Sometimes my sister would get angry at me if we couldn’t do something because of me, and I had fights with friends who didn’t understand why I was afraid. I carried so much guilt and shame. I was in 5th grade the first time I seriously contemplated suicide. I just wanted to make it stop, and I wanted to stop hurting the people around me. I believed that it would be better for the people I loved if I wasn’t around to burden them.

            In that way, I think I can relate to the blind man in our gospel today. As a blind person in that day and age, he had no opportunities for work and no way to provide for himself. He had to rely on the charity of others, and he was an economic drain on his friends and family. He had no dignity or agency, and to add to his stress he also had to carry the social stigma of being a disabled person, as it was common in that time—as pointed out by the disciples—to believe that disability or illness was the result of sin. I wonder if he believed that too, if he carried the guilt and shame wondering what he had done to deserve this lot in life. I know I struggled with those kinds of thoughts with my own anxiety and depression. I wonder if, like me, he ever wondered if it was better for him to have never been born. Where was God, and why would God allow him to suffer in this way? I asked those same questions. Maybe, I thought, God had just given up on both of us.

            Well, it took many long years of patience, therapy, and medication for me to reach a place of mental stability. In high school I finally started to feel a little more normal. My anxiety and depression were still there, but I was able to better cope.

             It was in 10th grade that I became friends with a girl at school that I will call Nicole. Nicole was kind, bubbly and enjoyed talking and laughing. She was a great person and fun to be around. But then, halfway through the school year, Nicole drastically changed. She became reserved and quiet, actively withdrawing from her friends and pushing them away. She began failing classes, ate lunch alone every day and wouldn’t talk to anyone as if everyone was invisible.

            Hurt and confused, after a few weeks our friends gave up trying and left her alone. I wanted to give up too, but something in me kept trying. She wouldn’t talk to me but I would talk to her, and I would sit at her lunch table even when she got up and moved away. I just kept trying. It was in Spanish class one day that her sleeve rolled up just enough to expose the cuts she had been carving into her arm. I didn’t know why, but I knew my friend was deeply hurting. She needed help, and she needed to know that she was not alone.

            During study hall the next day I confronted her about the cuts on her arms. I told her that I knew something was seriously wrong, and whatever it was I didn’t want her to go through it alone. I cared about her, even if she didn’t want me to. She wasn’t going to scare me away. She was silent but for once she didn’t get up and move away from me. So I sat there doing my homework and just waiting. And finally, after twenty minutes or so of awkward but persistent silence, she told me what was happening. She confided in me that she had been sexually assaulted at the school. She felt ashamed and was too afraid to tell anyone, and she was afraid when she saw the person who had hurt her in the halls. She was cutting her arms daily and told me she wanted to die. She needed the hurt to stop.

            I couldn’t relate to Nicole’s circumstances, but I could relate to the pain she felt because I carried pain of my own. I shared with her my own experiences with anxiety, depression and suicide. I told her that she was not alone, her life mattered and things could get better. I promised to support her, and together we went to the school counselor to report what had happened to her and get her some help.

            Nicole spent three weeks in an inpatient psychiatric program getting therapy, medication, and learning new and healthier ways to cope. She was finally released from the hospital and able to come back to school, but her recovery wasn’t over. It took months of hard work, social and professional support for her symptoms to improve, but bit by bit she was getting better and finding her new normal. Over that time, she and I had many, many conversations about mental health, our experiences and even about God and faith in the midst of it all.

            A year later Nicole invited me to her 16th birthday party. She was back to laughing and telling stories, enjoying the day and her friends. It was great to see her happy. And later as the party came to an end, Nicole pulled me aside and handed me a small box from her pocket. She gave it to me and inside was a small sunshine necklace. With tears in her eyes, she thanked me for playing a big part in saving her life. Wow—I was incredibly humbled. All I had done was present and share my story, and it had made a bigger difference in her life than I had realized.

            In our gospel today the disciples ask Jesus if the man had been born blind because of his sin, and Jesus tells them no. The man was not born blind because of sin, because God does not choose to punish people in that way. I want to be very clear in saying that God does not choose to inflict people with disabilities, illnesses or disabilities. God does not cause this suffering—we just happen to live in an imperfect and sometimes broken world. Bad and difficult things can happen to us, and there isn’t always a reason why.

            But Jesus continues in his answer.  This man, though blind, can still reflect God’s love and promises to the world. Even this perceived disability cannot stop God. God can and does still work in and through broken people and situations. There is still hope for healing and new life, even in situations that seem hopeless. God did not heal the blind man because the blind man was broken, but rather to open the man’s eyes to his value. When the world told the blind man that he was broken, Jesus reminded the blind man that his life mattered, no exceptions. The life of that blind man, the life of the person with mental illness, the life of the homeless person down the street—all our lives—all of us matter and have hope and purpose in God. That is the kind of God we worship, and I am gosh darn thankful for that.

            During my periods of deepest depression and anxiety, I was blind to God’s grace and presence. I believed that nothing good could come from what I was experiencing, but now after my experience with Nicole, I give thanks all the more for God’s grace and promises because I have experienced them first hand. God took my brokenness, my most painful and vulnerable parts, and used them to bring new life and hope to someone else. God can and does use all of me, just as God can use every part of you. There is nothing and no one that is too far from God’s grace, and nothing that can separate us from God’s loving hope.

            It is in that hope that I share my story with you today. In my story I hope that you hear that you are loved and never alone. I hope that you hear in a new way that mental health matters. I hope you hear that there are people who care and that God is faithfully at work even in the most difficult of circumstances. I still have to be careful to take care of my mental health, and I still have times when I struggle, but I do have hope in God’s presence in the midst of it. I hope you hear that you can trust in God’s promises and look to see where God is present in your story. We all have stories to tell of God’s hope and we certainly live in a world that is in need of that hope, so may God use us and our stories—even our broken parts—to bring hope and new life. Thanks be to God, Amen.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Woman at the Well

The woman walked out of the city carrying her water jar. Again. She had done this every day… sometimes many times a day. It was already noon. The sun was hot and she knew the jar was going to be a lot heavier on the way back.

 “Will you give me a drink of water?” Surprised – she looked up. But the only person she was a Jewish man. She wondered out loud: “What was he – a Jewish man - doing, asking her - a Samaritan woman -- for a drink of water?”

 It wasn’t a big request.  She was standing right beside the well with a jar for water. But surely, he knew that culturally, politically, and socially, it was a big taboo for him to talk to her. And yet none of those barriers seemed to bother Jesus.

 He even knew who she was – and that she had five husbands and that the one who she was living with was not her husband. He seemed to know her whole story – and yet he didn’t condemn her like other people did who assumed that there must be something wrong with her. Instead of shaming her, this man offers her life-giving water and reveals to her, that he is the Messiah, the Christ, the one that they have all been waiting for.

 What a morning! What began as a routine walk to the well outside the city ended up transforming her life. The woman – we don’t even know her name - abandons her water jar and goes and tells the community about Jesus. And even though she doesn’t even know whether to believe it or not herself, she becomes the first evangelical preacher. Her message raises enough faithful curiosity in the community that they believe it too and want to hear more. So Jesus stays and teaches for two more days. And then the whole community believes.

 The taboos that separated the Jewish-Samaritan people seem pretty foreign to us. Men couldn’t talk with women. Jews and Samaritans were distantly related – but there was bad family history – and so they couldn’t even talk with one another. Clergy – the rabbis -- couldn’t touch anyone who might be ritually unclean – and that could include any number of things so they would NEVER touch a woman who was of childbearing age… but then they wouldn’t touch a woman anyway…. So clearly there was no hugging the pastor. There were a lot of rules. There was a lot of division. And Jesus cut through it all with a simple request for a drink of water.

 It’s easy for us to see the divisions between the Jewish and Samaritan people – but what about the divisions in our world, in our country, in our communities. As a country, we are divided politically; by who we trust to give us the news; by how we feel about a whole realm of social issues and even what words are acceptable to say. And yet… Jesus cuts through all of our divisions too.

 A young man standing on the corner with a clipboard asked Sister Helen, “Hey would you be willing to write a letter to a man on death row?”

 It was a simple request. Sister Helen had been an English major and enjoyed writing. So, it didn’t seem like too much trouble. So, she wrote a letter. She had become a nun before Vatican II and she had assumed that her whole life would simply be a life of prayer in the cloistered halls of the monastery. But all that had changed after Vatican II when the pope invited the nuns to come out of the monasteries and serve the poor. She figured prisoners were poor so by being a pen pal she would be serving the poor.

 The man wrote back. He wrote that no one would visit him – and so she thought that wouldn’t be too much trouble either. The prison wasn’t far away. So, she visited him in the prison and he asked if she would be his spiritual advisor. She was a nun – and he clearly had no one else -- so she agreed. She didn’t know that meant that she would be the last person, the only person who wasn’t happy to see him dead, to be with him when he was executed. He was admittedly guilty and had done horrific things – and yet while he told her that she didn’t have to come – she told him that she wanted the last face for him to see to be a face of love and not a face of hatred. She wanted to be Jesus’ face for him.

Sister Helen Prejean tells her story and the story of Pat Sonnier,

in the book which became a movie, “Dead Man Walking.”  Reflecting back, Sister Helen said she had no idea that when she agreed to write a letter to a man on death row, it would transform her life into becoming an advocate for eliminating the death penalty.  This is the work, she said, of “sneaky Jesus.” 1

 “Sneaky Jesus” cut through all the taboos of the Samaritans and Jewish people. “Sneaky Jesus” transformed Sr. Helen’s ministry of prayer to becoming an advocate of life and dignity for all people – even those who had killed another. And Jesus – “Sneaky Jesus” as Sr. Helen calls him-- is still at work in our world. For Jesus invites all of us – regardless of who we are, what burdens we carry, or what barriers and divisions we imagine separate us from others – to hear and share the Good News of Jesus. Thanks be to God!

 Amy Starr Redwine,No Shame in That A Sermon for Every Sunday, Lent 3A https://asermonforeverysunday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amy-Starr-Redwine-Samaritan-Woman.pdf

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Cracking Open Our Hearts

John 3:16 has often been called the “Gospel in a Nutshell” – because of its concise proclamation of God’s saving action and the promise of salvation that it gives. If you had to pick only one verse to remember – this is a mighty good verse to know. But because it is so well known, and so concise, we sometimes think of it as simple. But understanding and living into God’s love and saving grace proclaimed in John 3:16 is not as simple of a nut to crack as one might assume.

 The next verse takes away the exclusive sting that is sometimes ascribed to John 3:16 and cracks open our understanding of why God sent Jesus.  “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God acts out of love to save the world. And God isn’t done yet.

 As I was thinking this week about our theme of being “Unfinished,” it made me think about how God has cracked open and continues to crack open the world to receive God’s love and grace.

 Cracking an egg is easy. Crack, separate, drop yolk and white in a bowl and the shell into the compost. But that’s now how God works. Instead, God’s cracking open the world is more like the way a baby duck comes out of its shell.

 A mother duck used to lay some eggs in the church courtyard at Westwood Lutheran. My boys when they were little and at preschool, were eager to see the ducks come out of their shell. It started with just a small little crack and then the chick would peck a little more… and then need to rest. It took a long time – forever – in the eyes of a preschooler before the egg opened and the duckling emerged.

 When God called Abram and Sarai to go from their homeland to a new land, God promises to make of them a great nation which will be a blessing to all the nations. God did this – because God loved them AND God loved the world. While it took a long time in their eyes, God gave them a child, Isaac, who had children, who had children and God continued to love them and crack their hearts open– even when they got anxious, restless or neglected to remember God.

 Nicodemus, a pharisee and teacher of scripture knew well the story of Abram and Sarai – the people God renamed Abraham and Sarah, the ancestors of his people. But then he met Jesus. Jesus wasn’t like the prophets who had come before. Jesus was teaching and healing and acting in a way that didn’t fit with the way that Nicodemus had always been taught.

 Unsettled, but perhaps afraid to say something in front of the other Pharisees, Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the middle of the night. He’s polite and deferential, and asks reasonable questions – but Jesus gives him riddles for answers. I wonder if Jesus was trying to crack open Nicodemus’ carefully organized academic understanding of the world…  just one piece at a time.

 Nicodemus doesn’t get his questions answered that night in a simple way like cracking an egg… but clearly, he is being opened up to a new understanding of who Jesus is and how God is at work in the world. We see Nicodemus two other times in the Gospel. The next time Nicodemus appears he uses the law to defend Jesus against the other Pharisees. The third and final time we hear of him, Nicodemus is at the cross. He brings a gift of a hundred pounds of aloe and myrrh, gifts worthy of a king, and helps Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus’ body off the cross, wrap him in spices and lay him in the tomb. Clearly Nicodemus was on a journey – and we are too. 

 How is God at work, calling us to crack open the ways that we are “stuck”? How is God calling you to open your eyes to see Jesus – maybe in ways that you had not imagined before?  We might not always notice – but God has been at work in you from before you were born. At your baptism, you became cross marked and Spirit-Sealed, but this was just the beginning of God’s work in you.

 Like Abraham and Sarah and Nicodemus, our path is not always clear and we don’t always see God at work, calling us to be open to the Holy Spirit. But often when we look back, we see the hand of God working to open us up to God’s work – especially at times when we seem stuck.

 For example, my mother was working as a librarian and media specialist in a small school by our farm in Wisconsin. She noticed the new Superintendent acting in ways that were suspect and maybe even illegal. She decided she had to say something and that the only way that the school board would listen to her, and do something about it, was if she would resign and speak the truth. So…she did.  

 As a young person, I wondered what we would do without my mother’s job. I thought we were stuck. But God gave new dreams to my parents.

We moved to Plymouth. My dad went back to school – after having been a farmer all his live. My mother got a job working at Westwood Lutheran as their Christian education director. This led her to begin a preschool, which grew into a Christian early childhood center. Her work there transformed her life – and blessed the families of hundreds of children.

 When she got cancer and had to quit after 40 years of building this program, I worried about my mother. How would she cope? And yet, God provided another way. God opened her eyes to the other cancer patients in the doctor’s office – they were all on the same chemo schedule -- and so little by little, she and her friend Carole brought love and care as well as joy and laughter to the waiting rooms.

 I could tell many stories about the Holy Spirit opening people up, cracking us open and providing unimagined blessings. But the next story I want to tell you is a story about a church in Indiana that was cracked open in a new way. Nick Tangen, the director of Faith Practices, Neighboring Practices, interviewed Pastor Michael Mather on his blog about how his church in Indiana was transformed when they started noticing and supporting the gifts of the people in their neighborhood.

 The church had been running a tutoring program for 30 years. They were proud of the program – they had professional people in the city coming to help. But, despite their efforts, the graduation rate in their neighborhood continued to get worse. It wasn’t because of what they were doing – but it was discouraging. They never thought to ask the neighbors for help.

 Until one day, when they met Maya. Maya runs tutoring out of her house. She works at ATT at night. During the day she invites the kids on her block to come over to her house and teaches them everything from phonics to Sophocles. When they asked why, she said, “well, if the kids don’t know how to read, I teach them phonics. If they do, I teach Sophocles – and everything in-between.” Then, every Fridays she has a barbecue in the backyard and the kids present what they have learned to their families.

 The pastor asked her to come and meet with the church. She said she was too shy to speak in front of the whole church, but that she would come and they could tell her story and she would stay and talk to people after church. Maya lives only a few blocks away, but they could tell that she had never been to church there before because when she came into the church, she sat down in the front row. 

 At the end of the service, the pastor invites Maya to stand and then tells the congregation about the tutoring program that she runs out of her house.  He then asks everyone who would like to support the work that she is doing, to stand up. Everyone stands up. But Maya doesn’t know this because her back is to the rest of the congregation since she is still standing in the front row. Then the person who is leading says, “Will all of you who are standing support Maya with your prayers, your presence, your gifts and your witness? If so, say, “We will.” The congregation shouts We WILL!” At the sound of all those voices, Maya jumps up in the air and turns around. Two things are cracked open that had been invisible before. The congregation knows the good gifts and the ministry that had been happening right in their neighborhood – and Maya knew that there was a whole congregation of people ready and eager to support the work that she was doing.  God cracked open the ministry of that church on that day. They changed their ministry from thinking about what their neighbor needed to focusing on the gifts that God had given them and their neighbors.  

 How is God opening our eyes and our hearts? How is God at work in our lives and in our neighborhood and in the gifts and talents of our neighbors?  God is not finished. Let us pray God will open the eyes of our hearts to see God. And, let us pray that God’s love may be proclaimed in and through us and our neighbors to this world that God so loves.  Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Unfinished, Discovering God’s Call in the Not Yet.

Called to Follow Jesus’ Values

 If you are reading a novel – especially if it is a mystery – do you sometimes peak and read the ending? No shame if you do! It can be hard to be stuck in middle – not knowing the ending.

 That is not the problem that we have as Christians. We know the ending. We know that God sent Jesus into the world and that he died for us. We know that, because of Jesus, God claims us as God’s beloved children and we know that Jesus will come again to judge and redeem the whole world. But… we are not there yet. We are somewhere in the middle– we are in the unfinished part of God’s story.

 Our theme for this Lenten season is “Unfinished, Discovering God’s Call in the Not Yet.”  As Rev. Charlene Rachuy Cox, writes, “The church by its very nature, and we as people of faith, live our whole lives in the space between no longer and not yet. Cross-marked and Spirit-sealed, we dwell in the space between the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the final fulfillment of God’s hope-filled promises.”1

 God’s kingdom is “unfinished.” And so, as Christians, as we live into the promise of the future of God’s Kingdom, but know that it has not yet come, and that it is our call to discover what God’s call, God’s purpose is for us today.

 The theme for this week is “Called to Values.”  When you think of your values, what comes to mind? Do you think about the 10 Commandments?  Or Jesus’ commandments to love God and love your neighbor?  Do you value other things that maybe were ingrained in you from the time when you were a child or that you have simply learned along the way – things that aren’t written in the Bible like “clean your plate;” or “take turns” or even “God helps those who help themselves.” We have lots of unwritten values and social mores – and sometimes they come into conflict.

 Right before our Gospel reading for today, Jesus is baptized and God proclaims “you are my Beloved Son.”  But instead of a celebration, or a road trip proclaiming his anointed status, Jesus is led by the Spirit  - that’s the Holy Spirit -- into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 Have you ever wondered why? That’s one of the questions I’ve been thinking about this past week. I don’t think that Jesus is undergoing a test – like students have to take to get into college or like some sort of weird hazing like what goes on in some fraternities and sororities for students who want to belong. God has already proclaimed Jesus as His son.

 The wilderness can be a challenging place. But it is also a place that God took the Israelites when they left Egypt and were learning to trust in God as their Lord.  So perhaps the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to give Jesus some time and space to wrestle with what it means to be God’s son, to be a child of God who is also human. I think it is good for us to see the humanity of Jesus –that even Jesus had to wrestle with the temptation that comes from having a human body that gets hungry; and from having a human ego that might desire status or power or glory or the meaning and ability to make a difference in the world. These are not bad things in themselves – and the devil knows it. He even uses the bible to try to bolster his argument.

 But what Jesus confirms during this time in the wilderness is who he is called to be – the Son of God - and what his mission will be – and what he values. As he deftly turns aside the temptations of the devil, it is clear that Jesus values God’s word and that his mission is not to seek his own glory or power but instead to trust in God’s steadfast and abiding love and presence.  Also - did you notice? The Spirit led him to the wilderness… and there is no mention that the Spirit ever left.

 This is good news!  It is good news because when you were baptized, you were marked with the sign of the cross and sealed with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit hasn’t left you either.

 This is good news for our ordinary lives – and it is especially good news for those times of temptation, those times of trial and those times that are simply hard.

 Since the pandemic began – and maybe before – we as a world, as a country, as a city, as people have gone through some hard and challenging times. It feels like a wilderness time – where people are hungry, housing is scarce, children are killed in schools, people of color don’t feel safe on the streets and war and earthquakes cause devastation. I have to admit that the other day I was reading the news too late in the evening and I ended up having nightmares all night.

  We may be in a period of wilderness – but make no mistake – the Holy Spirit is with us still and always. This can be hard to remember when times are challenging – but that is one of the advantages of our community of faith in the church. We can remind one another of the promises of God and encourage and strengthen one another. 

 It is also helpful to be reminded that in the past,  Christians – even those leaders we admire, like Martin Luther -- have been in and come through hard wilderness times too.  As the story goes, one night…

  “Martin Luther invited some friends to share dinner at his home during a particularly challenging part of the Reformation and, during the meal, bemoaned the many setbacks they had recently experienced. As the night went on, Luther’s catalogue of disappointments grew longer and longer, until Luther suddenly realized that his wife, Katie, had left the table and come back dressed all in black. When Luther asked her why she had changed her clothes, she responded, “Well, to hear you talk, dear Martin, I thought that perhaps God had died and I should dress for his funeral.”

Which caused Luther to laugh at his own foolishness, to remember God promises, to get up from the table, and to get back to the ordinary and everyday tasks of preaching and teaching and trust the future of the reformation, and the world, to God” 2

 As we seek to value what Jesus values and live faithfully into this “unfinished time – this time between already and not yet, we too can be thankful that the Holy Spirit is not only with us but that we can trust our future and our world to God. And as we do that, we can ask Jesus to walk with us along the journey and discover that he is already here. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + February 26, 2023+  Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane

 1 Rev. Dr. Charlene Rachuy Cox

2 Rev. Dr. David Lose, A Sermon for Every Sunday

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Transfiguration Sunday Sermon

Listen to Jesus! Receive the Gifts of God

Listen Up! Pay attention!  Our Confirmation video begins each session with those words. It assumes that we aren’t listening and that we aren’t paying attention.

 This was not the case for Peter, James and John. Jesus had their attention. First of all – Jesus has brought them to a mountaintop. Looking back to our first lesson about Moses – important things happen on mountaintops.  Secondly, Jesus has been preaching and teaching the Sermon on the Mount – so maybe they think they are going to get some extra credit teaching. But they are amazed when they see Jesus’ face shining like the sun, and his clothes were a dazzling white.

 A few years ago, I remember driving on 34th street – just west of Douglas Drive on a sunny winter afternoon. It had just snowed and the snow was sparkling white.  I was behind a pickup truck and as we came up the hill the sun peaked over hill the sun blinded me -- and must have blinded him. The street was a bit narrow and he was driving next to the curb when the sun blinded him – and he crashed into a car parked along the side of the road. Luckily there was no one in it.  That blinding light is what I imagine Jesus looked like.  The disciples would have been reaching for their sunglasses if it happened today. 

 But then, Moses and Elijah– the representatives of the Law and the prophets -- show up to chat with Jesus. This was another confirmation of the proclamation that Peter had made just six days before that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.  No wonder Peter gets excited and eager to capture and memorialize this moment. But when a bright cloud overshadows them and a voice from heaven interrupts Peter with the same proclamation that was made at Jesus’ baptism – the disciples collapse in fear.

 Who could blame them? Their senses have been overwhelmed. Their eyes have been blinded first by light and then by a cloud. They have had a collective vision of Moses and Elijah. Their ears have heard the voice of God. No wonder their legs collapsed. 

 The commandment from God is clear – Listen to Jesus. That sounds pretty simple, right? But when Moses came down the mountain with the 10 commandments and found God’s people -- who were tired of waiting for him – worshipping a golden calf – Moses is incensed – and even God is angry. But notice how Jesus responds to his disciples. Jesus already knew Peter’s and our failings to follow God’s commands. But still… Jesus remains by their side. Moses and Elijah disappear. But Jesus stays and gently says to them, “Get up” literally, “Rise up,” and puts his hand upon them and says, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus is not angry. Jesus is compassionate as he reminds the disciples – and us -- he is God with Us – always. Jesus wants to be in relationship with us, with you.

 I wonder if the biggest challenge for Christians today in listening to Jesus and in staying in relationship with Jesus is the “busyness” of our culture. And it did not let up during the pandemic – many people just substituted online activities. This is not only a challenge for working parents but I’ve noticed that kids are uber-scheduled. In addition to a phenomenal amount of homework, kids are busy with after-school activities and with community sports, dance, art, karate and social media. I asked one of our youth, “When do you have time to sleep?!” Busyness affects all ages. Retired friends have told me – rather proudly – I’m busier than ever before.

 It turns out this is not a new challenge.  In The Cloud of Unknowing, a book written in about the 14th century by an unknown English monk warns,

“Be attentive to time, and the way you spend it… God, the master of time, never gives the future. He gives only the present, moment by moment.”

 Recently I went on a weekend silent retreat as part of a class that I am taking. I was told to turn off my phone, not bring my computer or any work or homework but just my Bible, my journal and my clothes. I was a little afraid that they would hand me a roll of duct tape to put over my mouth to keep me silent. But it turned out to be not as difficult as I feared.

 On the first night I pulled out my Bible. Actually, it was my mother’s Bible. As I was hurriedly packing, I put her Bible in my bag because it was smaller and a lot less heavy than my study Bible. I was so glad that I did. I noticed all of the passages that she had underlined, passages of hope and promise. It reminded me of the importance for us all to take time each day for God’s Word. Even a short devotion helps us take time to: Listen to Jesus and be in relationship with Him.

 Having extra time also allowed extra time for prayer. This was the point of the retreat, after all. But again, it reminded me of the importance of taking time for prayer – even when it isn’t on a retreat.  We still live in a busy world and it can be challenging to find the time for prayer. When I was a young mother, my prayer time was at night after the kids were in bed. Now I find the morning to be best for me. Another woman said that her prayer time was on her commute.  It doesn’t matter when you pray or what form you use. But it is good for me – and it is good for you – to talk with God. God wants to be in relationship with you – in the ordinary times of life as well as in your joys and in your sorrows and challenging times.

 God is with us even in the ordinary challenging times.  I was able to take a break from our cold north winter by travelling to the Florida Keys a couple of weeks ago. We rented a lovely condo – well… lovely except for the bed which gave me incredible backaches which is unusual for me. Usually, I sleep like a rock. But one night – it was about 4 in the morning -- I simply could not sleep or even lie in that bed any longer. So I got up and went out on the patio. My husband had set up a hammock. Suddenly inspired, I grabbed a blanket and snuggled in, hoping that I would catch a few winks.  But just as I lay down, a bright light was shining on my face. Irritated, I looked up to see if I could shut off the light. I could not. It was the full moon surrounded by stars and palm tree branches. It was absolutely beautiful. I forgot about my sore back and with wide eyes of wonder I gave thanks to God, and simply soaked up the beauty of God’s creation until I work up in the morning, completely refreshed and filled with joy and wonder. 

 The gifts of God are all around us. The commandment is to listen to Jesus and the blessing we receive as we open all of our senses, our hearts, our minds and our lives to see, to hear and to receive the gifts of God is the abiding presence of Jesus, God-With Us.  Thanks be to God. Amen.

February 12th, 2023

6th Sunday After Epiphany (Year A)

            We live in a society that is made up of laws. There are laws that keep us safe such as traffic laws—no doing wheelies on the interstate during rush hour traffic, for example. There are laws that protect money and property—no bank robbing or vandalism. There are laws that gives our government structure such as voting laws, and laws that are meant to protect human rights.

            In addition to the laws written in the law books, we also have many unspoken social laws or expectations that dictate how we behave. For example, while it is not illegal to cut in line at the grocery store, our unspoken social law tells us that this is wrong. I also recently saw a commercial that made a joke about the law of elevators. Social expectations tell us that we should face the elevator door, no making eye contact or talking to strangers riding with you or risk making everyone uncomfortable.

            Some laws are common sense, and some are very strange—for example, I did some research this week and learned that is it illegal in Kentucky to handle snakes during a religious service, and bear wrestling is also a big no-no. In general, laws are given for a reason and are meant to be helpful. They provide our society with boundaries and expectations and laws can often reflect a society’s values and helps people to make sense of themselves and the world.

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            In the Old Testament, God also gave the Israelites various laws to follow, around 613 to be exact. We are most familiar with the 10 commandments, but some of the other laws had to do with diet, proper worship, property rights, how to do business, solving conflicts and so on. These commandments—or “paths” as defined by the Hebrew word Mitzvah— were given with the intention of setting the Israelite people apart from other nations, molding them into God’s people. These commands were meant to offer a new path, a new way of life to the Israelite people as they continued to grow in relationship with God.

            These laws and commandments remained important to the Israelite community because they believed that following the commandments would bring God’s continued blessing, while disobeying would lead to trouble. We see this view in our Deuteronomy lesson today as Moses encourages the Israelites on the cusp of the Promise Land to choose life in obedience so as to avoid negative outcomes. I want to note that this does not mean that God was waiting to smite anyone who disobeyed, far from it, in fact. Think of this through the lens of a parent. Parents will give their children guidelines and rules meant for their overall wellbeing, and defying these guidelines can lead to consequences. Not looking both ways before crossing the street risks injury, choosing not to do your homework can lead to a failing grade, and lying leads to mistrust. These things are not necessarily punishments, but rather outcomes of poor choices, and sometimes, as every parent knows, you have to let a kid face the consequences in order to learn.

            It was similar for the Israelites. God set boundaries and expectations for the wellbeing of the people, and defying them risked negative outcomes. Worshipping other gods, for example, left them vulnerable to other nations and unhealthy cultural influences. Similarly, choosing to use corrupted business practices led to the oppression of the poor. When the Israelites failed to follow God’s ways the outcome was forgetting who God was and who God called them to be. They needed the laws given to them by God in order to remember who they were and remember their ongoing need for God.

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            Centuries later during the time of Jesus, the Mosaic Law was a tricky subject. The Pharisees and other religious teachers in the community were strict followers of the Mosaic Law and they were quick to judge anyone who didn’t meet their standards. The Pharisees used the Law as a form of power, and believed that they would receive God’s favor over the “Sinful Others.” The Pharisees used the Law as a means to salvation and as an excuse to look down on others.

            So, when Jesus came along doing his healing and preaching and gaining popularity among the people, the Pharisees quickly came to see him as a threat to their status. Jesus was not using the Law and the Scriptures as a form of judgement, but rather as a message of grace and calling others to turn to God. Jesus was associating with sinners, breakers of the Law, and still welcoming them into God’s love. Jesus taught the people that the Law was a guide to be followed to the best of their ability, but stressed that it was God who saves, and not the Law in itself. This was different than how the Pharisees were using the Law, and so they decided they wanted to get rid of Jesus, and began to use the Law as a weapon, trying to trap Jesus and accuse him of abolishing the Law.

            Of course, this is the opposite of what Jesus was doing. As our gospel tells us today, Jesus had come to fulfill the Law and not to abolish it. The Law had been given to the people by God. It was and still is good, not to be abolished. And yet, when the people were unable to live up to the Law, God did not condemn but rather had compassion. God so loved the world so much that God sent Jesus, to live a life according to the Law and to be an example of it to others. Jesus was the embodiment of God’s Law, and through the Cross he was also the embodiment of God’s love. God’s Love, Jesus, fulfilled the Law on our behalf and we have received God’s grace.

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            So, if Jesus has fulfilled the Law on our behalf as a means of grace, then how does the Law still matter today? After all, we no longer follow many of the 613 laws of the Old Testament. I know I for one wear mixed blends of fabric and eat pork. It’s important to keep in mind that many of the laws were written at a different time and place and in a different culture, so some of them may not translate to modern day as well as others. Despite this, the core of the Law is the same—to love God and to love neighbor—to be God’s people. That part of the Law will always be the same.

            Martin Luther teaches about the importance of the Law and the Gospel, stressing that both are needed and go hand in hand. According to Luther, the Law reminds us of our need for God. Try as we might we will fail to live up to God’s expectations, again and again. The Law keeps us accountable to this and reminds us that we cannot earn our own salvation. We need God’s help, and this knowledge helps us to truly receive the gospel and its gifts, accepting God’s forgiveness and living life anew out of this gift.

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            In the second part of our gospel today, Jesus sums up the Law and the Commandments in a simple way, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

            As Christians, our Law is to love—to love God in thanksgiving for all that God has done, and to love the neighbor in response to God’s Grace. We live life anew transformed by the gifts of the Gospel and God’s grace, and we seek to live this out in our daily lives. We follow the example of Jesus, and because Jesus lived a life following God’s Ways, we do our best to do the same by following the 10 Commandments. Like Jesus, we strive to do good works in service of the neighbor, and we do this not for our salvation but in response to God’s goodness. We strive to love as God first loved us and because God forgave us our sins, we try to extend grace to others for theirs. This is what it looks like to follow God’s Law.

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            So this week, as you go about following the laws of our world—please continue to stop at stop signs and don’t rob any banks—also think about how you are living into God’s Law. How are you honoring God with your time, talents and resources? How are you giving thanks to God with your life, and how are you using that life to serve others? Where in your life do you need to hear God’s grace, and where in your life might you need to extend grace to someone else?

            To be like Jesus and to follow God’s Law of Love is not always easy. In fact, sometimes it can be really, really hard to love, and there will be times when we get it wrong. The good news is that God is good and God is faithful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. When we fail to love God forgives and grace encourages us to try, try again. May God’s love bless us and may God’s grace guide us always, inspiring us to love God and love one another. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

February 5th, 2023

5th Sunday after Epiphany (Year A)

            When I was a kid, my dad liked to collect and sell antiques. He would collect antiques of all kinds—old machines, furniture, toys, jewelry, and the like. I have memories of Saturday mornings joining him as he drove to various antique shops in town. I was always curious in these shops, filled with so many things that I had never seen before, and relics of decades past.

            When I was in 2nd grade my dad moved to the small town of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and in its own way Plattsmouth is an antique in itself. Founded in 1853 along the Platte River, it started as a one street town with simple shops on either side, and to this day its main street is listed in the National Register of Historical Places. To walk down the street in Plattsmouth feels a little bit like going back in time, so it made sense that an antique lover like my dad would choose to make Plattsmouth home.

            One of the shops on Main Street, of course, was an antique store. My father quickly became good friends with the shop owner, named Lisa, and we would spend many hours in the shop with Lisa and her daughter, Cami. Lisa would let Cami and I explore the various antiques, and I remember a favorite of mine being an antique radio she had.

            I was fascinated with this old radio. It was from the 1930s, the kind of radio the family would gather around in the evenings to listen to the news or a radio drama. The kind of radio where someone probably listened to FDR’s chats to the nation during the Great Depression. A real piece of history. Of course, this decades old radio didn’t have the best signal compared to modern day. Most often when I turned it on I got static, but with precise and patient tuning, I could often eventually get a radio station signal. From static to clarity, music finally would come through.

             Now, why on earth am I preaching to you about an antique radio, you ask? Well, in our 2nd reading today Paul is writing to the Corinthians and talking to them about wisdom, and I think tuning a radio is a good image for this. Paul teaches that God’s wisdom is different than human wisdom, and human wisdom on its own cannot get a clear signal, a clear understanding, of God’s wisdom and agency. We often try to tune our “spiritual radios” into what God is doing and sometimes we get static. God is a mystery to us, and to be honest, I don’t think we are meant to understand completely the mind and wisdom of God.

            And yet, through the death and resurrection of Christ, God has revealed to us the core of God’s wisdom—radical love, relationship, and restoration of the world.  According to human wisdom, the idea that the God of the universe would become human and then die on a cross is pure foolishness, a sign of weakness and even shame. What kind of God would choose to suffer and die? And what’s more, why would the God of the universe choose to do this for people who don’t even listen? It makes no sense according to human standards. To the world the Christ event is like static on an old radio, making no sense, but to the person who has glimpsed God’s Wisdom and received God’s Spirit, the Christ event is a clear signal, a clear message of God’s love and purpose revealed.

            I remember once having a conversation with an old friend who considered herself to be an atheist. We were talking about the purpose of life and the existence of the world, and my friend looked at me and told me that there was no purpose, no deeper meaning. She believed that because there was no God, everything was random and without reason. We were simply born, tried to survive in this messed up world, and then died. For her, that was it. To be honest I remember feeling sad as she shared that with me. In her view life seemed to lose its richness. There was no mystery or curiosity, no hope for a better world. Human wisdom and understanding on its own brings little meaning, like static on a radio with no signal to be found.

            But God’s Wisdom offers something different. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, and through the gift of baptism, followers of Christ have received God’s Spirit and been gifted with a new “spiritual radio” that tunes us in to what God is doing. We begin to see and hear and experience life and the world in a new way. It is God’s love that is revealed to us, unbreakable and everlasting. A love so deep that God would do the most unexpected thing—die on a cross and rise again—in order to offer new life and new creation to the world and to each one of us. It is God’s Wisdom revealed to us that gives us hope and purpose in our lives, and when we tune ourselves into God’s Wisdom we are transformed into a new creation.

             It is God’s Wisdom that tells us in our Gospel today that we are called to be the salt and light of the earth, a city on a hill, but what does this mean exactly? To be tuned into God’s Wisdom means that we are no longer consumed or defined by the static of human wisdom and the ways of the world. In fact, God’s Wisdom often turns human wisdom upside down. When human wisdom, for example, tells us that there is no hope for the world, God’s Wisdom gives us hope for a better future. Similarly, when the world tells us that we are not good enough, not lovable enough, it it God’s Wisdom that proves otherwise—after all, the God of the universe loved us enough to die on a cross. God’s Wisdom trades our brokenness into wholeness and brings the value out of each of us. God’s Wisdom tells us that we were each made in the Image of God and gifted with God’s gifts. It is God’s Wisdom that makes us new and we are chosen—as wonderfully imperfect as we are—to play our part in God’s work in the world.

            When we are tuned into God’s Wisdom, we cannot help but lived transformed lives, to be light and salt of the earth. We live in the example of Jesus, who guides our steps and helps us to live according to God’s ways. We see God’s Kingdom breaking into the world, and we participate in bringing God’s goodness to others as God works in and through us. God’s light dwells within each of us and we are called to live in a way that reflects that light to others, to add our own splash of flavor into the world around us. Think about it this way: God has equipped you with a unique personality, unique passions and unique gifts—how are you using them to reflect God’s light and love? How are you glorifying God and serving the neighbor? How are you pointing back to God and to the hope of God’s promises?

            So, to ask again, what does it look like to be tuned into God’s Wisdom of radical love, living transformed as salt and light? It looks like trusting in God’s promises even in challenging times. It looks like choosing kindness and hospitality to the stranger or choosing forgiveness in moments of anger. God’s Wisdom of radical love looks like speaking against injustice and doing what is right even when it is hard. It looks like each one of us, beloved and created in the Image of God, using our gifts, talents, passions, and stories for the sake of others. God’s Wisdom of radical love looks like this community, gathered on a Sunday morning to worship and do ministry together. God’s Wisdom is love, and we are salt and light when we reflect that love in our daily lives.

             So today I give thanks for the gift of God’s Wisdom, God’s radical love that defies human understanding. This Wisdom of love is revealed to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a clear radio signal of who God is and who we are called to be in Christ. I give thanks that God creates all things new and equips us to be salt and light. May God’s Wisdom of love continue to guide each one of us. God’s ways are good, so let us live according to God’s ways and glorify God in all we do. Thanks be to God for God’s Wisdom. Amen.

Sunday, January 29, 2023

The Gospel in the bulletin is from the Message Bible, but I’m including this translation because I wanted you to read it both ways. The NRSVUE is a more accurate translation; the Message Bible seeks to express the meaning of the passage in more easily accessible language.  – Pastor Pam

  When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.NRSVUE  

 The refrain of an old song goes like this: “Count your blessings.  Count them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done.”

 Count your blessings. It is a good thing to do – because we have been blessed. Often when we think about blessings, we think about the good things that we have received such as: the people we love, health, meaningful work, a home, freedom, and, last but not least, our community in Christ.

 But in the “The Beatitudes,” the name commonly given our Gospel for today, Jesus doesn’t mention any of those things. Instead, Jesus blesses those who have conditions that we try to avoid – being “poor in spirit” – or as it says in the Message Bible – those who are at the end of their rope; those who have lost loved ones, those who are meek; those who are persecuted.

 Jesus is not saying we should seek to become these things – but rather he is looking out at the people that he sees and blessing them. It is not because of what they have done. Instead, Jesus proclaims for them a different present and future than the one that they could reasonably expect. After all, these were people who were living under constant threat from the Roman Empire – death and destruction were common. So why is Jesus proclaiming blessings?

 We are in the Gospel of Matthew this year. Matthew, more than any other Gospel, connects the Jesus story to the Hebrew scriptures. The very first verse of the first chapter declares Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed, the son of David and the son of Abraham. When Jesus is born of the virgin Mary, Matthew calls this the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of Emmanuel, God is with us.

 Matthew’s Gospel also connects Jesus with the prophet Moses. Jesus’ family flees to Egypt and then, like Moses, he comes out of Egypt. After calling disciples, healing and preaching, Jesus, like Moses, goes up on a mountain. But while Moses comes down from the mountain with 10 commandments, Jesus goes up on the mountain but then sits down and begins to teach. It’s a long sermon. We will be reading the Sermon on the Mount for four Sundays. Jesus has a lot to teach. And just as the Bible begins with God creating the earth and proclaiming blessing each day, Jesus begins his teaching by proclaiming blessing.

 There is one blessing that stood out to me – Blessed are those who mourn. Or as the Message Bible puts it, “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you.”  It doesn’t feel much at all like blessing when you lose someone or some thing that you love dearly. It feels terrible. But what struck me is that grief or loss is the one experience that Jesus mentions in his blessings that anyone and everyone who loves some one or some thing will experience at some time. We may not all be meek or pure of heart or persecuted for Jesus’ sake. And yet, we will all mourn. And when you do, Jesus offers blessing and comfort to you.

 The other night I was at Faith-Practices, Neighboring Practices meeting and we were asked to think about and write down moments in our lives in which we felt God’s presence and were blessed because of it.  

 Arts and crafts projects are not my forte, but there were only colored pencils on the table so I felt compelled to try to draw a timeline of my life with high points and challenging points along the way. As I drove a curvy line across and around the paper, I noticed that God was present through it all. But I also noticed the blessings that came out of the low points in my life including those times in which I mourned the loss of those that I loved dearly – my father when I was only 17, a dear friend, and then my mother, not so long ago.  

 When we got into groups of three to share those times that we felt God’s presence, it was interesting that the others in my group also remarked upon God’s presence with them in challenging times. The blessings often came later in the gift of compassion for others when they mourned.

 Of course, challenging times are not the only times in which we experience God’s presence and feel God’s blessings. On the mountain, Jesus blesses all kinds of people – especially those who do not fit any society’s list of the successful. Jesus blesses the meek and humble; peacemakers; and those persecuted for his sake.  And Jesus blesses you. Jesus doesn’t bless you because you fit into some category or because of anything you do. Jesus says you are blessed – and because Jesus, who is God with Us, says it – you are blessed.

 Lutheran pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber began noticing modern day examples of Jesus’ blessings in her congregation:

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Blessed are they who doubt. Those who aren’t sure can still be surprised.
Blessed are they who not so certain about everything that they can take in new information.

Blessed are those who mourn –

Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like.
Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried.
Blessed are they who don’t have the luxury of taking things for granted any more.
Blessed are the motherless, the alone, the ones from whom so much has been taken.
Blessed are those who “still aren’t over it yet.”
Blessed are they who laughed again when for so long they thought they never would.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

Blessed are the pre-schoolers who cut in line at communion for they will be filled.

 I would add to her list:

Blessed are those who feel isolated. They are open to community.

Blessed are those who are seeking. God is seeking you.

 Friends in Christ - as you “Count your blessings. Count them one by one” do not forget those blessings that came in the hard times, in the challenging times of your life. For God, Emmanuel, was with you then too. And still is. So, go ahead. Count your blessings. See what God has done. For of this I am certain: Jesus is blessing you.  Amen.

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Third Sunday in Epiphany

            In our second reading today, Paul urges the church in Corinth to be one in mind and without division. That is easy to do, right? To be honest, I chuckle at this a little bit. Has Paul ever been to church before? I think anyone who has ever spent time in a church—or anywhere for that matter—knows that not everyone will agree or be ‘one in mind’ on everything. People are complicated and diverse, which is both a blessing and a challenge when living in community. At some point, there will always be something that people disagree on, even in church.

             There are the smaller disagreements and divisions such as what color carpet to choose, the best way to collect the Sunday offering, or how to arrange furniture. I remember the one year during Lent when my home congregation re-arranged the sanctuary into a circle with the altar and the cross in the middle—there were definitely some mixed responses there! With these kinds of disagreements and divisions feathers can be ruffled and there might be some frustration, but typically these issues do not interfere with the bigger picture of the Church’s mission. We can usually make it through these kinds of challenges without too much trouble. 

            But then, of course, there are wider matters of debate and division, such as questions of theology and how to do ministry. How should the church organize its budget and spend its money? How involved should the church be in political matters, or when might the church need to take a stand on a political issue? Who is welcome in the church, and what should the church do with “problem people”—the always misbehaving child, the drug addict, the undocumented immigrant? What does the church look like and how do we “do church” together in an ever changing and complicated world? These are complex questions that often come with emotions and dearly held beliefs. These are the kinds of questions that can divide a community if they aren’t handled with care.

             Well, I’m sorry to say that I don’t have the answers to these complicated questions, but I do know that the Church as a whole has been wrestling with complicated questions since the beginning. In the letter to the Corinthians Paul is writing to a divided church. The Church in Corinth was still in its early stages and they were learning how to do and be church together. They had to figure out what their worship would look like, what theological teachings they would follow, and how to interact with people of different backgrounds (I.e. Jew and Gentile, Rich and Poor, etc.). The people in Corinth were full of faith, passionate about their community, but they disagreed on various things and they were trying to find a way forward.

            So in the midst of these conflicts and questions, here comes Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Paul writes to remind them who they are as a community. They are a community of people who have been transformed through the Gospel, called to be united in mission with Christ at their center. Caught up in their disagreements they were forgetting this fact, and I think we too can lose sight of our true purpose in such moments. To be one in mind does not mean we will always agree, but rather that we are committed to living and working together for the sake of God’s work in the world. Said in another way, there will be disagreements in the Church, but as Christians transformed by the Gospel we seek to be community together with Christ as our center.

             So how does a community transformed by the Gospel do ministry? How do we make decisions centered in our common mission in Christ? Of course this will look a little different in each congregation, but I think there are a few key things we can learn from Jesus when it comes to living in community together.

            First, the four gospels teaches us that Jesus had compassion and concern for the poor and marginalized. Rather than ignoring the “problematic people”, Jesus reached out to them in kindness. Think of Zacchaeus the tax collector, the blind beggar or the ten lepers. These are all people who were on the outside for one reason or another until Jesus reached out. He saw the humanity in them when others did not. As a community discerning ministry and life together, we can learn from Jesus to keep in mind the most vulnerable in the community and how we as a church can reach out.

            Second, Jesus was inclusive, and often included the most unexpected of people. Our gospel for today is an example. Jesus is walking along the shoreline and chooses to call two groups of fisherman to be his disciples. Now in that time period, Jewish boys typically went through a certain amount of religious instruction and education, and at the end of that training if a boy was smart enough/good enough he might be chosen to be a disciple of a rabbi. This was a great honor if you were chosen. But if you weren’t good enough to make the cut you lost the opportunity and went to learn the family trade. This is what happened to Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John. None of them were good enough to make the cut to be chosen by a rabbi. And yet, along comes Jesus, who calls these seemingly unqualified men to be a part of his ministry. He tells them “Come, and I will make you fishers of people” and they dropped everything and came as they were. I also want to note that Jesus did not specify what kind of people they would be fishing for. They would not be fishing for just the people that were good enough, smart enough, rich enough. They would be fishing for people, all kinds of people, because in God’s ministry all people belong. As a church we can ask ourselves in our ministry how we are following Jesus’s example of inviting and involving all people. Scripture reminds us—there are many gifts and many people but one Spirit uniting the Body of Christ. The uniqueness of each individual is an asset to the community as a whole, all people have value and something to share.

            Third, I think Jesus is a good example of relationship, patience and humility. Jesus took time to get to know the people around him. He seemed to have a genuine interest in others, and he even made time for children and the lowest in society. He had compassion and he listened. As a community, when it comes to making a decision or working through a disagreement, I think one of the best things we can do is to follow the example of Jesus and simply listen. People want to know that we care enough to hear their concerns. And who knows, we might just gain a valuable new insight we hadn’t had before. Being community together means being open and willing to learn from one another.

            Finally, and most importantly, Jesus’s ministry was rooted in prayer and discernment. Jesus often took time away from his work to pray and be with God. Taking this time to pray allowed Jesus to discern, listen and reflect so that his ministry could be purposeful and Spirit-led. Likewise, church communities also need time to pray and discern together when making a decision or facing a challenge. This time helps us as a community to remember our values, strengthen our relationships with God and one another and be open to where God’s Spirit might be leading. We can ask ourselves how we as a community are taking time to grow in relationship both with God and with each other. What might God say to our community if we took time to listen, pray and discern together?

             Being in community can certainly be challenging at times—relationships of all kinds have their challenging moments— but community is also such a gift. God created us to be in relationship with one another. Community can support us when we need it, as well as challenge each of us to grow and try new things. In community we learn to see God in our neighbor and we learn from those who are different than ourselves. In community we find belonging and the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and when we bring our gifts, talents, resources and passions together we can do far greater things than we could do on our own.

            This is the kind of community I have experienced here at Faith-Lilac Way. This is a community that is passionate about ministry, and together you have done and continue to do wonderful things for the sake of the gospel. I have found this to be a community that supports one another, a community where people can be vulnerable when they need to be and still be accepted. This is a community that people can call home, a place to belong.

            God is with us in this community. This church is made of many members and many gifts,  and with Christ at our center this congregation will continue to grow in faith, relationship and mission. So let us continue together, one in mission and one in gospel. Let us show compassion and inclusivity, patience and listening. May we be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led in prayer and discernment.  With all of the the ups and downs that come with living in community, I know God is at work within this community and good things continue to be in store. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sunday, January 15, 2022

Second Week in Epiphany (Year A)

          In college I once attended a campus ministry retreat and at that retreat I found myself sitting around a table with a group of other college students and we were sharing our faith stories. We talked about the congregations where we had grown up, ways we had encountered God in our lives, as well as times where we had struggled in faith and in the Church.

          One young woman’s story has stayed with me years later. She grew up in a congregation where her family was very active—the kind of family that was in church every Sunday, volunteered to help at church events and sang in the choir. Growing up she loved going to church. She loved the Bible stories, she loved the music, she loved the people. Church was a place where she felt happy and loved.

          But as she got older things started to change. In middle school and high school she started to wrestle with her identity and with her sexuality. When she was a freshman in high school she came out to her parents as bisexual, meaning that she was attracted to both boys and girls. This went against the teachings of the church they attended, so her disturbed parents took her to see their pastor. While the pastor tried to be kind, he explained to her that something within her was wrong, broken. The pastor advised her to study her Bible and to pray, to pray that God would take away the “homosexual sin.” All she had to do was want it badly enough, pray hard enough, and everything would be okay.

          She tried. She read her Bible morning and night and prayed constantly. She withdrew from other kids as she tried to repress her feelings. Her parents, not knowing what else to do, had confided in some trusted friends at church and before she knew it there were whispers and rumors about her throughout the congregation. People who used to smile at her now avoided eye contact, or gave her looks of sympathy, possibly even a look or two of contempt. The church which she had loved growing up now became a place of discomfort and shame.

          By her sophomore year in high school she left the church. She believed that she was broken beyond repair. How could God love someone like her?

          A few years passed and she graduated from high school. Wanting a fresh start she decided to move away for college where no one would know who she was. She settled into her college classes and kept to herself—that is, until she was assigned to a study group for her college math class. The study group met on Wednesday afternoons and she soon became friends with her study-mates, especially a boy named Connor. As the semester went on she eventually learned that Connor was an ELCA Lutheran (something she had never heard of) and every Wednesday after their study group he went to something called “Campus Ministry” to hangout with other Lutherans.

          Soon Connor began to invite her to Campus Ministry. At first she said she was busy, but eventually she told him straight out—“Your church wouldn’t want me there. I wouldn’t belong.” Connor replied with four simple words: “Just come and see.” Finally she agreed. She would go just once—just enough to get him to stop asking—and then she would never go back.

          That afternoon when study group was over she packed up her stuff and followed Connor as they walked across campus to the campus ministry group. They walked in and to her amazement, she had fun! There were group games and laughter and conversations. There were people who didn’t know her but welcomed her. She was a little uncomfortable during the Bible study and prayer, but it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would have been. The next week she asked if she could go back. And the week after that, and the week after that.

          She became a regular of the group and even learned that there were a couple of other LGBTQ+ students there too. As the weeks passed she made friends and found community. And most importantly—she explained to the group of us listening to her story—she started to be introduced to a version of God she had never met before. The God she had grown up with was conditional and angry, but the God she was learning about now was abounding in love. She came to learn that she was God’s creation, made in God’s image and called beloved. She learned that God loved her just as she was, she didn’t need to hide any part of herself in order to be loved. Meeting this God changed her life—made her feel whole again—and she became one of those wild ELCA Lutherans.

          This young woman’s story has stayed with me for a few reasons. First, I could feel the brokenness she felt, the fear that she was not good enough to be loved. I know I have wondered myself at times if God could really love me even when I felt broken. Second, this young woman had spent years of her life searching. She was searching for a sense of meaning and purpose, for a sense of community and acceptance. I think we can all relate to that. And third, I was struck by Connor’s simple words of invitation: “Just come and see.”

          In our Gospel today we hear Jesus extend this same invitation. In this first chapter of John, John the Baptist has been preparing the way, baptizing and calling people to God.

He is telling anyone that will listen that a Messiah is coming. John the Baptist’s message was intriguing and soon he started to gain disciples of his own, including the two disciples from our gospel story today. These two disciples were drawn to John the Baptist’s message. I think they were searching, searching for a deeper meaning, searching for hope and to be a part of something bigger than themselves. So they follow John the Baptist and listen to his message. They want to be a part of the action, to know about this Messiah who John is talking about, and so they stay with John and wait for this Messiah to come.

          And then—finally—the day comes. In my mind I can imagine these two disciples standing with John the Baptist near the banks of the Jordan River where John has been baptizing. And in the distance Jesus is walking and John the Baptist cries out, “It’s him! The one we’ve been waiting for! He is the Anointed one from God!” I can almost see John pointing, maybe even jumping up and down a little bit with excitement! Seeing Jesus the two disciples are full of curiosity and amazement. They know nothing about this Jesus or what is to come, but they believe in that moment that he is the One, the One in whom they have been waiting and watching for. They believed Jesus would do something important, and these disciples wanted to be a part of it, to learn firsthand from Jesus. Jesus’s message is the deeper meaning that they had been searching for.

          So they left John the Baptist and hurried to catch up with Jesus. I can see them running up to Jesus and as Jesus hears them approaching from behind he turns to face them, asking a simple question: “What are you looking for?” They respond by saying “Rabbi, Teacher, where are you staying?” On the surface this seems like a strange question, but really what they are saying is “Teacher, let us go with you.” Jesus sees them for who they are, sees their curiosity, their longing. And then Jesus, full of compassion and mystery utters three simple words, “Come and see.”

          With those three simple words the lives of these two disciples, and soon a third disciple named Simon Peter, are changed forever. They will embark on a world-changing ministry with Jesus, journeying near and far to proclaim God’s hope to the people. They don’t know it yet, but they will follow Jesus to Jerusalem, they will witness the crucifixion of Jesus. Three days after the crucifixion they will rejoice in his resurrection, and they will witness to this story for the rest of their lives. With three simple words Jesus changed the lives of these disciples and invited them to participate in the process of changing the world. What a gift these three simple words of invitation can be: “Come and See.”

          Jesus holds out his hand and invites us with these same three words. “Come and see.” Come and see the love I have for you, what I have already done for you out of that love. Come and see the hope I bring, the good things that are in store. Come and see that amazing things that we can do together. Come and see.

          When we accept the invitation Jesus offers, life is changed. God invites us into ministry in our daily lives, and, filled with hope in God’s promises we get to be a part of what God is doing in the world. God fills us, renews us, and sends us out. We are sent out into our schools, workplaces, retirement communities, neighborhoods and families. We are sent out into a world that needs hope. There are people around us every day who are like the young woman I shared about earlier, people who are searching and waiting to hear about a God who loves. What a gift it is that we can be the ones who God sends to extend our hands and our hearts to others in invitation, saying, “Come and see. Come and see for yourself the God who loves.” Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Sunday, January 8, 2023

You are My Beloved Child

 Have you ever heard of the “Island of Misfit Toys?” In the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas movie and sequel, this is where toys go that are unwanted or unloved or just created a little differently - “like a spotted elephant or a lion with wings, a train with square wheels or a water pistol that shot jelly.” And if you remember the movie, they didn’t feel so good about themselves. They wanted to belong, to be loved and to be valued just for who they are.

 And so do we. And yet we spend far too much time feeling not “good enough.”

 It was a beautiful day and the teacher let my class out early as a reward to play kickball on the playground. Except it wasn’t a reward for me. That’s because, whenever we played a game-- unless it was a spelling bee -- the team captains were chosen from the most athletic kids in the class and they “picked sides” while the rest of us had to wait to be chosen. The athletes were chosen first, then the popular kids. I was not very interested in athletics and tended to kick the ball straight at the pitcher for an easy out… every time. I wasn’t very confident in my abilities either and yet I remember praying that I wouldn’t be the very last to be chosen. Like all the other kids, I wanted to belong.  And yet… I felt more like a misfit toy than a part of the team.

 Have you ever felt like a misfit toy? Maybe you are great at sports… but you didn’t get the grades that you wanted for school and so other doors were closed. Or maybe you have felt like you could never measure up to the expectations or demands of your mom, or dad or coach or boss or even yourself.

 From her research, Dr. Brene Brown has discovered that we all want to belong. She says that it is part of the “innate human desire to part of something larger than us... [and so] we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval.” The problem is that we do that, we end up tying our feelings of self-worth, happiness and success to goals that are not in our control. For example - if only I lose  pounds, then I’ll be accepted. Or, if only I make the team, then I’ll belong. Or, if only I win the lottery, then my troubles will be over. These “if only” goals set us up for failure and get in the way of being our own authentic self.  

 Last week, many people made New Years Resolutions. There’s nothing wrong with that. A new year can be a good time to take a look back and reflect on who we have been and an opportunity to reassess plans and goals and consider ways that we want to live better and to be the people we most want to be in the upcoming year. Maybe you want to eat better, exercise more or improve your strength, weight or break a bad habit or two. Good for you!

 Unfortunately, people are often overly ambitious in their goals and less ambitious in developing a plan to accomplish these goals. But change is hard, and so, for whatever reason, most of us fail to keep our resolutions, our promises to ourselves - as well intentioned and even good for us as they may be. 

 In our lesson from Isaiah, God speaks to a people who have failed to keep their promises. But their failure was not just a New Year’s resolution. They failed to keep their promises to God.  God had made a covenant with Abraham and Sarah, and with all of their descendants, all of the people of Israel, to be their God. And they promised to be God’s people and to follow God’s commandments. 

 But again and again, the people sinned and broke the covenant and even sometimes forgot all about God. This did not please God. But God did not destroy them. God did not shame them or tell them that they were unworthy or unredeemable. Instead, God told them that even though they did not keep their end of the deal, even though they broke the covenant, God would keep that covenant. And, God would not only keep God’s promise, but God would send them a Servant Leader, a light to the nations, to keep their side of the promise as well.

 So God chose to send a servant leader who in Isaiah, God calls “my chosen in whom my soul delights,” to keep the covenant with the people of Israel and to extend that covenant to all people, to be a light to the nations.

 As Christians, we understand that servant leader to be Jesus. After Jesus’ baptism, God proclaims, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Or as the Message translation says,  “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

 When my children were little, I liked to sneak into their room after they were sleeping just check in on them. And regardless of whether it had been a good day or a more challenging day, as I looked at them sleeping peacefully in their beds, and I delighted in them. I think that that is what God is saying about Jesus – and how God feels about us. God looks at us – not only when we are sleeping – and delights in you.

 God delights in you because at YOUR baptism, you were proclaimed a child of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross of Christ forever.  At your baptism and every day afterwards, God says, you belong.  YOU are my beloved child. I love you. I delight in you and there is NOTHING that you can do that will make me love you any less.

 On the day that you were baptized, God sealed the deal… and today you have an opportunity – we ALL have an opportunity to say no to the devil, the forces of evil and everything that would tell us that we are not good enough…and to say yes to God who has already said yes to you. We can say yes to the one who says, “You belong.”  Thanks be to God who makes it so. Amen.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

We still seek Jesus & Christ is Seeking You!

Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

 As many of you know, I was on a pilgrimage this Fall, the Camino de Santiago, I discovered that people go on pilgrimages for many different reasons. All of our final destination was the Cathedral de Santiago. In addition, our group was seeking time to walk and simply be together after the pandemic. But there were other things that we were seeking – and carried with us -- that varied from person to person. One sought comfort after the death of a loved one; another sought direction after an unexpected early retirement. Yet another sought strength – she had not had any opportunity to train due to some medical issues – and she worried she couldn’t make it. We were all on the same pilgrim trail and yet we each carried different hurts, questions, challenges and needs for how we wanted or hoped for God to enter into our lives.

I think the wisemen were also on a pilgrimage of sorts. They had seen a star at its rising – and according to their reading and understanding of the stars, that meant that a new King had been born. They plotted its course – without the aid of GPS-- and determined that this new King was born in the land of Judea, a new King of the Jews. And so they set off on a journey to find him and pay homage to him.

We don’t really know who these “wisemen” are. We know they were Gentiles – outsiders. The Greek word that is often translated as “wisemen” or sometimes “kings” is Magi – which means astronomer or astrology – which makes sense, since they were studying the stars. But, despite the prominence of crowns on the three kings in Christmas programs, they probably were not kings. They may have also been Zoroastrian priests,1 who would have been very knowledge-able of the stars. But this would also underline that they were not Jewish – and that even in the very beginning – chapter 2 of Matthew – the Good News of Jesus is beginning to spread to the whole world. Whoever these Magi were –they were on a journey, a pilgrimage, to find this new King of Judea and to pay him homage.

“Homage” is not a word we use often. It can mean reverence or honor or even worship. It shows up three times. First, the Magi tell Herod that they want to know where the new king was born because they saw his star at its rising and they want to “pay him homage.” In line with the culture of the time, they want to honor him as a king ought to be honored.

After telling to King Herod, he says he too wants to “pay homage” so he tells the Magi to be sure to come back and let him know where this new king is so that he also can go worship him.

The third time that the word appears is when the Magi actually see Jesus. They had learned from Herod that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem – so they head that direction. I wonder if they had started to figure out that Herod was not a trustworthy person. They may have wondered if he actually sent them on the right track.

But just when they may have wondered if they were ever going to find this new King of Israel – and who could they trust – the one whom they sought started seeking them. The star reappears to guide them and they were “overwhelmed with joy.” The Greek puts it even more strongly, saying they rejoiced exceedingly with a great joy.” When the star stops over the house where Jesus is, the Magi go in, and seeing Jesus, the Greek says that they fall down and worship him. No stiff taking the knee or elegant bows. They fall down prostrate on their face in worship. 2

The contrast between the Magi and Herod is striking. We read later in Matthew that what Herod really wanted was information on this new baby who people in other nations were calling a “King” so that he could kill him. This cruel brutality wasn’t anything new for him -- he killed several of his own sons and his wife when he suspected them of wanting his crown.

Unlike Herod, who was only interested in his own wellbeing, the Magi humble themselves and worship Jesus – and they do this not out of compulsion or fear. Instead, they did this after having been filled with Great Joy!

I think the Magi have something to teach us. The Magi came to see Jesus seeking to give him gifts and they received much more. The one who they sought to honor was seeking them too.

One Spring morning a few years ago as I was cleaning my front door, I noticed something strange on the lintel, above the door. There was chalk on the doorframe that said: 20 C+M+B 19

I wondered, “What in the world could this be?” Is this some new kind of graffiti? Or a very tall person using our door as a chalkboard for a math problem? Maybe it was a code. Maybe it’s some new thing that someone in the neighborhood is doing to mark the houses.

It turned out that it was a code of sorts. But it wasn’t someone trying to graffiti our house. Rather, it was part of a blessing that is traditionally – at least in England and other places – done on the 12th day of Christmas – also known as the day of Epiphany. The first two numbers 20 stand for the century and the last two numbers are for the year. The “+” signs represent the cross. The letters CMB stand for Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, the traditional names given to the Magi.

The letters CMB also stand for the Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ Bless this House” and for all who enter it this year. This is a reminder every time we enter the house – even when the chalk gets a little pale - that Christ has blessed our home – and us. It is a blessing and an invitation for us to bless others just as the Magi blessed and was blessed by Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, may you be blessed and be a blessing in this New Year. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

1Niveen Sarras https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/epiphany-of-our lord/commentary-on-matthew-21-12-8

2 Greek English Lexicon