Stop, Look, and Listen - Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday Year C

Stop, Look, and Listen

Transfiguration C

February 27, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 9.28-43a

In the spring of 1984, I attended the Virginia Synod assembly as a lay leader in my congregation. It was in the old LCA, Lutheran Church in America, a predecessor of our ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. One of the practices at the synod assemblies of that time was to do ordinations of pastors. These days pastors usually are ordained in their home congregations. If you’ve never been to an ordination, they’re powerful events and this was my first. All these years later I can still vividly picture one of the newly ordained pastors serving Holy Communion and the glow on his face as he is doing so. I can still picture this because I distinctly hear God’s voice saying, “You need to be doing that.”

That was the first, last, and only time in my life that I have had such a direct experience of God. There was no mountaintop, just the river valley of Richmond, VA. There were no clouds; as far as I remember it was a sunny day. There were no heavenly visitors, only the bishop and his assistants. Yet, it was a glorious experience nonetheless. What happened after that is a longer story for another time but obviously, I became a pastor. Suffice it to say that like Peter, James, and John, the work of following God’s invitation to live out my baptismal vocation as a pastor was a long, confusing, and often painful process.

Today is Transfiguration Sunday, the bookend festival to the Baptism of Our Lord Sunday at the beginning of the season of Epiphany. You might recall a similar experience Jesus has when God spoke from the heavens and declared him as his beloved Son. Here, the heavenly voice declares Jesus as his Chosen, the one to be listened to. Transfiguration Sunday also signals the imminent arrival of Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. There is so much going on in these two distinct, but not separate, stories that we want to dissect them and pull them apart. For example, there is no shortage of questions. How did the disciples recognize Moses and Elijah; they didn’t have name tags. And what significance do they have for the story? Why did Peter want to build three tents or dwelling places? And why didn’t they talk about their experience to the others? Why was Jesus so upset at the disciples when they couldn’t cast out the demon? I’m sure you can think of some others.

As interesting as those questions are, this is one time I think it’s best to dwell in the mystery of the text rather than trying to answer questions. Part of the mystery is noticing that only three of the disciples are privy to this experience while the rest of them are waiting down below and the next day must deal with a stubborn demon. Another part of the mystery is to notice that the mountaintop of the Transfiguration leads down through the valley of messy ministry on a road to Jerusalem and another mountaintop called Calvary where a cross awaits Jesus.

As I live in the mystery of the Transfiguration and the casting out of the demon with the tension between the two, it occurs to me that we are being encouraged to stop, look, and listen to Jesus. Gospel-writer Luke may be telling us that experiences of God’s presence in the world don’t always come in bright, shiny, mountaintop revelations but rather in the messiness of everyday life.In fact, for most of us except for a select few, that’s where God most often shows up to work.

But like Peter, we often get so caught up in our own stuff and so focused on life that we don’t see God’s presence. We pitch a tent and don’t see. So, this Lenten season I invite you to stop what you are doing from time to time, look around you with the eyes of your heart, and listen for Jesus’ voice, calling you into a deeper walk with him. On Wednesdays during Lent we’ll explore God’s invitation to Sabbath and what it might mean for our life of faith. Then on Sundays we’ll journey to the cross with Jesus and his disciples, exploring what it means for Jesus to give his life for us. I hope you can join us for both. But either way, know that God is with you, cherishing both the mountaintops and valleys of your lives. Amen.

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.

Measure for Measure - Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Year C

Measure for Measure

Epiphany 7C

February 20, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 6.27-38

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful … for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Jesus has some challenging words for us today, but I have some caveats before I reflect with you on what they might mean for us. First, Jesus is not tolerating abusive situations nor is he telling us that we need to stay in them. We are not to be doormats for people to walk on. Second, Jesus is not saying that we should let injustices go and turn our backs on oppression. In fact, in some ways Jesus is saying the opposite, that we need to stand up to the “way of the world,” but that we need to do it with countercultural radical love that takes sin seriously.

Today I want to reflect on why Jesus is advocating for this radical love but I want to do so from a personal perspective. Walt Kelly drew a cartoon strip called “Pogo” that ran from 1948-1975. “Pogo” was set in the Okefenokee Swamp and it featured an opossum named Pogo. In one famous strip, Pogo is walking through the swamp with his porcupine friend Porkypine, and both are complaining about their hurt feet. The last panel shows why they have had trouble walking. There is garbage strewn through the swamp, making it look like a junkyard. In what is now an iconic line, Pogo observed, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Jesus says some radical things about loving our enemies, doing good to those who hate us, showing mercy, not expecting anything in return, and the measure we receive will be the measure we get. To riff on another story in Luke, we might ask, “Who is our enemy?” We might  be surprised at the same one that Pogo discerned: “It is us.” What do I mean that the enemy is us? I think Jesus is challenging us to consider what happens to us when we don’t love, forgive, show mercy, do good and expect nothing in return. In her book, Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott writes that withholding forgiveness from someone is like drinking rat poison and then expecting the rat to die. In other words, hurting others in kind hurts us in return, maybe more so.

Many of you know I went to Gustavus Adolphus College. One of Gustavus’ symbols is three crowns, arranged in a triangular shape. Not surprisingly, they used to make a lapel pin with the three crowns symbol. One day, I was talking with someone from Gustavus who was wearing that pin and I commented on it. Unbeknown to me, the tradition was that if you were wearing that pin and someone commented on it, you were to take it off and pin it on the commenter. Much to my embarrassment, the person did so and I now have that pin. Aside from the embarrassment, here’s the even yuckier part: I never wear the pin anymore because I don’t want to give it up when someone comments on it. I’m drinking rat poison.

I fear for our society, how what should be civil discourse is becoming more uncivilized. It’s not just on social media, where people intentionally troll others with the goal of stirring up hate and discord. School board and city council meetings have turned into free-for-alls, TV is filled with smack talk. It even happens in our churches where pastors are leaving ministry in record numbers. Yet, even as I despair the fraying fabric of our society, I wonder what it is doing to our inner life. Every time I think about clinging to that three crowns pin, every time I react inappropriately to the driver of a car, every time I want to write a blistering Facebook post, I drink more rat poison and my inner life diminishes.

In the early 1600s, Shakespeare wrote the play Measure for Measure, quoting from Jesus’ sermon in today’s gospel reading. The title has a double meaning. First, a despicable character who was meting out a deadly “measure” to another character finds himself on the receiving end of a similar “measure.” It was going to be “tit for tat” and the character was going to “get it.” But before that can happen, a different “measure” was given to the despicable person, this one a measure of forgiveness and mercy. Shakespeare, through his characters, understood which “measure for measure” is life-giving and which are not. Do we drink the rat poison or not?

This is not easy and none of us gets it perfectly. Even Joseph in our Genesis reading, who forgives his brothers and is able to see God working through the misery they inflicted upon him, toys with them first. If he doesn’t drink the rat poison he sips it from time to time. Yet ultimately and fortunately, Joseph knows that God is present through the worst life throws at us and works for his purposes. Furthermore, God gives us strength to forgo the rat poison by eating and drinking something better. As you come to the table of Holy Communion today, receive that strength in the full measure of God’s mercy and grace. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful … for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. Amen.

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.

Favored or Fated? - Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Year C

Favored or Fated?

Epiphany 6C

February 13, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 6.17-26

This past week I’ve thought deeply about who I am and where I stand in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. I have wondered, am I one of the blessed ones that Jesus mentions or am I one of those who are to expect woe? During this time of Epiphany, Jesus has been revealed to us in many ways. On the Baptism of Our Lord Sunday he was shown to be the Beloved Son of God in his baptism. The next week we discovered that he was a worker of signs at the wedding at Cana by turning water into wine. Then Jesus was one in whom Isaiah’s prophecy to bring good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, and the year of the Lord’s favor has been fulfilled and one who gets the hometown folk angry for enlarging the circle too far of who is in and who is out. Finally, last week, Jesus is the one who produces a miraculous abundance of fish and calls disciples to follow him without actually calling them.

Today Jesus is revealed as one who draws huge crowds, made up of an inner circle now called apostles, a larger circle of disciples, and even Gentiles who have traveled great distances to be healed and hear God’s word proclaimed. Jesus’ words, known in Luke as the “Sermon on the Plain,” are aimed mostly at the first two groups, but clearly the latter group of outsiders would overhear what he has to say about discipleship in God’s kingdom. It’s important to note the difference between Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” and this “Sermon on the Plain” in Luke. Here, Jesus is not on a mountain (a place of revelation in the Bible) but a level place and is standing as he teaches, not sitting (attitude of authority).

But the main difference is that Jesus is not spiritualizing the Beatitudes (or Blessings) as he does in Matthew’s Gospel. Rather, Jesus is expounding real-world conditions: here he talking about the actual poor vs. Matthew’s poor in spirit and actual hunger vs. hunger for righteousness’ sake. In fact, this week (and next) Jesus will be expanding on the mission statement from three weeks ago when he stated that Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled. Similarly, Luke’s Jesus adds four “Woes” to counterbalance the four “Blesseds.” The effect on us is to shift the question from, “In what way am I blessed?” to “Am I one of the blessed ones or do I invite woe into my life because of my life situation?”

One way forward in contemplating these questions is to recognize that the words used for blessed and woe are imperfect and inadequate translations into the English. Some translators use “Happy” instead of “Blessed,” but I don’t think that helps. Instead, I prefer “Fortunate” or “Favored” and “Look out!” instead of “Woe.” You see, using the word blessed implies that being poor, hungry, etc. is a good thing. But when we use the words fortunate or favored it denotes that God sees these folk who are often overlooked and marginalized. Similarly, using the phrase, “Look out!” helps us understand that Jesus is warning us that the things we consider to be good (and they are) can give us a false sense of security. We need to beware relying on ourselves instead of relying on God.

So, how does that help us as we try to find ourselves in this text and what Jesus is saying to us? To use the mnemonic device in the sermon title, do you see yourselves as favored or fated? I always teach my Confirmation students a way to answer this kind of either/or question: Yes! Notice that Jesus doesn’t address the four blessings to some of the people and the four woes to others. This is not a sheep or goats kind of sorting that is done elsewhere; this is a description of the human condition. In other words, at many times in our lives, we are empty and needy and at other times we are cocky and full of ourselves.

Finally, note that Jesus’ words today are descriptive, not prescriptive. In other words, Jesus is not telling us what to do, he is telling us something important about ourselves and the values found in God’s kingdom. Next week, we’ll hear more from the Sermon on the Plain about the challenging way of Jesus we are to follow as his disciples. For now, know that wherever you happen to be, whenever you happen to be there, God sees you, is present to your lives and challenges you because God loves you and gives you life. Amen.

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.

Yet, If You Say So - Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Year C

Yet, If You Say So

Epiphany 5C

February 6, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 5.1-11

“Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Many of you know that I was in the business world for 16 years, most of those with a company called Minnesota Fabrics. When I was in that world, we’d have regular managers conferences and meetings, typically in a resort setting. We’d be able to get away, talk with colleagues, rest and play, learn and be inspired. We’d usually hear from experts in management who would be part motivational and part content oriented so that they were able to say things in a way we could hear. Yet, as I think back about it, I realize they were saying the same things our leadership had been trying to say, but in a different way. It proves the adage that an expert is someone more than 50 miles away who is not of your organization.

Jesus is no expert fisherman, but he is motivational and an expert in discipleship and he convinces Peter to let down his nets and try fishing again. Peter, James, and John have been fishing all night. (By the way, where is Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother? And what about Zebedee, the father of James and John? Has he handed over the family business to his sons? My experience of men who do so don’t lie on a Mediterranean beach somewhere but rather still keep their hands and noses in the business.) Anyway, they are exhausted (you can hear the weariness in Peter’s voice) and want to go home to bed. Yet Peter humors Jesus, perhaps just to shut him up. First, he takes him out so he can teach to the crowds and then he casts his net in a place he’s just tried earlier to no avail.

Lo and behold, the results are beyond remarkable, an abundance of fish that only God could provide. What’s more remarkable is that the three leave everything and follow Jesus, without being asked. Even considering the heavy taxes the occupying Roman government levies, it would set them up quite nicely. But it’s those words of Peter’s, “Yet, if you say so …” that have been working on me this week. In particular, what strikes me is the reality that, as theologian Debi Thomas says, “we all live in the gap between weariness and hope, defeat and faith, resignation and obedience.”

Organizations, whether they are businesses or churches, often get stuck as they try to move into the future because someone shuts down good ideas. They do so by saying things like, “We’ve never done it that way before.” Or, just as deadly (or more so) is the response, “We’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.” You can hear the exhaustion and frustration in that response along with the desire to be faithful. As Thomas would say, between weariness and hope, defeat and faith, resignation and obedience. What I would want to ask is, “What did you learn when you tried it?” and “Was God in it?”

There are three things I’d like to mention briefly that might guide us as we discern God’s calling into the future. First, God usually comes to us in the midst of the ordinary in life, into our everyday existence. We tend to look for God in the big stuff, and God does big stuff, but usually it’s in the small things. Jesus shows up in the midst of Peter’s everyday work world and does something amazing. Second, God doesn’t ask us to leave our expertise, abilities and skills behind, but rather bring them with us. True, God is going to invite us to be stretched and grow in new ways, but with the gifts we have. Jesus tells Peter to bring his expertise with him, but we know that Peter will be asked time and again to step out of his comfort zone.

Finally, God encourages us with the words, “Do not be afraid,” which may sound impossible to us. It might help to not think of this as a command, but rather an invitation. In my experience, commands are almost impossible to obey. (For example, stop thinking about pink elephants! You can’t do it, can you? You’re welcome.) Rather, Jesus is inviting us into a new way of life, a new way of being in relationship with him. Part of that relationship is asking what God is up to and where God is leading us. 

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is in a period of transition, one made more difficult by the exhaustion we feel because of the pandemic. It has taken a toll on our leadership and created uncertainty for the future. We are between weariness and hope, defeat and faith, resignation and obedience. So, Jesus’ words bring encouragement and strength today: “Do not be afraid.” As you come forward for Holy Communion, put out our hands to receive Jesus’ body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine, be strengthened to respond, “Yet, if you say so.” Amen.

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.