Remembering Sabbath: Release from Our Anxieties - Midweek Lent 2022

Remembering Sabbath: Release from Our Anxieties

Midweek Lent 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

March 30, 2022

Exodus 16.21-30

Shortly after we were married, Cindy and I lived in Louisville, KY for a year. That winter there came the threat of a snow storm. Having grown up in Minnesota, we didn’t think about it much and went that night to do our normal grocery shopping. Big mistake. The store was packed with people yanking things off the shelves like Armageddon was coming. We moved from there to the Washington DC area and witnessed a similar phenomena. Whenever there was a threat of snow, milk, bread, and toilet paper became nonexistent in stores. Then two years ago, during the first COVID lockdown, similar things happened as people panicked, buying up anything and everything.

You may be comforted to know the hoarding phenomenon is not peculiar to 21st century America. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness after being liberated from slavery in Egypt. They were complaining that they were starving and they longed for the “fleshpots of Egypt.” How soon they forget that they were slaves who had nothing. In response to their complaints, God provides manna, a powdery substance used to make bread, and gives them strict instructions for what to do. They are to gather each day only what they need for that day and not to hold any back or it will rot. Unsurprisingly, some of them didn’t believe God because sure enough, it rotted. However, on the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much so that they can rest on the Sabbath and it won’t rot.

This story is instructive, opening our imaginations about the benefits of remembering Sabbath. As we recall from previous weeks, Sabbath keeping is rooted in the creation story and we who are created in God’s image are to rest as God did. We also recall that Sabbath is intended to refresh us in a whole-hearted life, liberating us from endless work and the myth that we must be endlessly productive and efficient in all we do. Tonight, we are invited to contemplate how remembering Sabbath might release us from our anxieties of running out or never having enough, of our need to be in control of our lives.

That’s really the heart of the matter, that we always want to be in control of everything. In other words, this Third Commandment goes back to the First: we are to have no other gods before us. This is so hard, relinquishing control and trusting God for everything we need. But ultimately, our future belongs to God because we can do nothing to create it on our own. Now, this doesn’t mean we are passive and “go with the flow” or “let go and let God.” Rather, remembering Sabbath keeps our priorities straight. So, when we remember Sabbath and set aside time to do so, we are acknowledging God’s place in the scheme of things as well as our own. God is God; we are not.

It would be lovely if we could all take a Sabbath day each week, to set aside one day. You may think it’s impossible, but it’s easier than you think. But that might be too much for all at once, like trying to eat a whole elephant in one sitting. So here’s a suggestion for a small way to start. If you aren’t already, carve out some time to practice gratitude for what you have. Maybe that means keeping a gratitude journal. Or maybe it means reviewing your day in thanksgiving before you close your eyes at night. In Philippians, the Apostle Paul  encourages us to give thanks in all things. (Note that he says to give thanks in all situations, not for all situations.) Sabbath is a time to cease striving for whatever it is we are afraid we don’t have enough of. What might that be for you tonight? So, let us give thanks to God for what we have, knowing it brings us the peace only God can bring. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Coming Home - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent Year C

Coming Home

Lent 4C

March 27, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 15.1-3, 11b-32

This is a hard parable to preach, but maybe it’s even a harder parable to hear. One reason the so-called “Parable of the Prodigal Son” is hard is because it is so familiar, which may cause us to think that we already know what it means and so dismiss it. An even harder reason is that all of us have family stuff in our backgrounds, whether in our family of origin or extended family. That family stuff triggers something deep inside of us, bringing to surface strong emotions we’d just as soon not deal with. Yet, if we can sit with those emotions, they may actually help us hear what Jesus is saying to us.

It is important to remember that Jesus’ parables are not puzzles to be solved. Rather, they are mysteries to enter. Parables are not so much to be opened and dissected as they are meant to open our imaginations about God and God’s kingdom. And open us up this parable does, more than we may like. We feel like we need to wear full body armor to protect ourselves. A son does an absurd thing, asking for his legacy too soon. In effect he is saying to his father, “I wish you were dead.” To make matters worse, the younger son squanders it on inconsequential things and is reduced to feeding pigs, an abomination to Jews. He returns disgraced.

The father, himself disgraced by his son’s actions, further embarrasses himself by running to meet his son. The first hearers of this parable would have been scandalized by their behavior. Yet, it gets worse. When the elder son learns about the outrageous party and refuses to join, his father comes to him. The father pleads for him to join the party and can only offer a rather lame excuse: everything of the father’s already belongs to the elder son.  Then he adds, as if it helps, it was necessary to celebrate the younger son’s return because he was once dead and is now alive, he was lost and is now found.

This week I was drawn to the elder son’s behavior, trying to imagine what he was going through. I’ve been angry seeing time, energy, and resources poured out upon those who don’t deserve it. I’ve been on the outside looking in before, and the loneliness of those feelings still hurt. Jesus tells this parable in response to the grumbling of the religious leaders who feel overlooked and underappreciated. Frankly, I find Jesus’ breezy response to the elder brother and to them less than satisfying.

So, I wonder, maybe the parable is not just about God’s unfettered grace, but maybe it is also about me. So, I ask myself, what is it about me that keeps me on the outside looking in, unable to join the party? Why is it that I can’t trust God’s promise that everything he has for me already belongs to me? Why do I have such a hard time realizing that I’m already home, embraced by a loving God? What is it going to take for me to experience the joy that God has already prepared for me?

I’m going to be sitting with those questions for some time. Depending on where you find yourself in this parable, you may have other questions of a different kind. But wherever you are in this parable, know that God’s love for you is unshakable and over the top. We look to the cross as an indication of how far this God will go to love us back to him. Wherever you are, welcome home, my sisters and brothers in Christ, enter into the joy of one who gives life. Amen.

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

The Holiness of Time - Midweek Lenten Sermon on Remembering Sabbath

Remembering Sabbath: A Lenten Invitation

The Holiness of Time

Midweek Lent

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

March 23, 2022

Deuteronomy 5.12-5; Exodus 5.1, 4-5, 7-9; 18.14-17

Scott: Hey, Bob! Long time, no see. How are you doing?

Bob: Hey, Scott! Back atcha. Busy, busy, busy as always. A rolling stone gathers no moss. You stop moving and you’re dead.

Scott: Same old, same old, huh?

Bob: Yep. Logging extra hours at work; they can’t seem to get along without me. Of course, we are always on the run going to our grandkids’ swim meets, dance performances, birthday parties, and pre-school graduations.

Scott: Wow, you have a lot going on.

Bob: You know what they say, “Better to wear out than rust out.”

Scott: So I’ve heard. How are Judy’s folks doing?

Bob: They’re still in their own home, who knows for how long. So, we’re over there quite a bit helping out.

Scott: Are you still volunteering at church?

Bob: Of course, I’m on the church council and even president. They know that if they want to get anything done, ask a busy person. I’m that guy.

Scott: You know, it’s been a while since we’ve grabbed a cup of coffee. How about right now?

Bob: I’d love to, but I gotta run. No rest for the wicked. Text me or call me some time.

Scott: Ok.

Bob: See ya, good talking to you. Bye!

We’ve been snookered. We’ve bought into the myth that the busier we are the better. We think that the more we do, the more important we are, the more valuable we are, the more American we are, and even the more faithful we are. We have “little pharaohs” in our heads demanding “More, more, more,” from us. The Church is partially to blame. Do you know where the so-called Protestant Work Ethic came from? Reformed churches in the founding of our country believed that material blessings are a sign of God’s favor. So we work harder and harder to show that God has indeed blessed us. It becomes a vicious cycle.

This is the third in our Midweek Lenten Series on Remembering Sabbath. Tonight we accept the invitation to explore the Holiness of Time and reflect on the benefit of slowing down. Two weeks ago we heard how Remembering Sabbath is rooted in the creation story, that as people made in the image of God we are to rest and be refreshed as God has rested and is refreshed. Last week we contemplated what activities refresh our souls so that we can live the wholehearted life. We also want to remind ourselves that this isn’t shaming or guilt-producing. Rather, it’s an invitation to life.

In Exodus 18, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, encourages Moses to get some help because Moses is burning out. Moses thinks he’s the only one who can handle the peoples’ problems. When Jethro advises Moses saying, “lest you wear yourself out,” it’s helpful to know that “wear yourself out” in the Hebrew is nabal which means “foolish.” Being so busy you wear yourself out is foolish. So, they come up with a plan that distributes the responsibility among all the Israelite tribes.

It’s not that we shouldn’t do the things we are doing because most of them are good things. Bob is doing bad things. And of course it is rewarding to live a full, productive life that is meaningful to us. Yet, the irony is that we are actually more productive when we remember to enter the rest of sabbath. If it helps, it is good to remember that we are human beings, not “doings.” We are more than producers and consumers. In other words, it’s okay to just be.

So, here are some questions for you to ponder tonight. How would your life be richer if you did it more inefficiently? What are the pharaohs in your head that are telling you to do more? Remember, God loves you no matter how much or how little you do. Amen.

Spread It Around - Sermon for the Third Sunday in Year Lent C

Spread It Around

Lent 3C

March 20, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 13.1-9

During my first call in Central Illinois, I became familiar with a small group of Christians that I’d never heard of before. They were an offshoot of the Anabaptist movement, similar to Amish or Mennonites. The adults were noticeable by their unique clothing. Being Anabaptists, they did not practice infant baptism. Rather, at some point as the children matured, they might decide to become a member, after which their life would change and they would conform to the group by wearing distinctive garb and following the rules. Even so, they might not become members and yet still be a part of the group. They did not have trained, ordained, clergy. An elder would perform that function and the obligation would be moved around. One item was of particular interest to me: their funerals. They were of two types: for a member, the elder would invariably say something like this, “Be like this person so you know you are saved.” For a non-member, the admonition would be, “Don’t be like this person who has foregone their salvation. Become a member now before it’s too late.

Though the theology is suspect, and the timing even more so, the question this group continually asks is an important one: In the face of a calamity such as death, what are you going to do? How will you respond? In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus replies to an unspoken question underlying the report of a vicious atrocity perpetrated by Pilate, a former-day Vladimir Putin: “Why is this happening?” Jesus short-circuits the theology of the day, the belief that people suffered because of their sinfulness. Now, we know that sometimes our suffering is the result of sinfulness, but Jesus says that’s not the point.

Jesus rather abruptly tells them that unless they repent, they will perish just as the others did. Now, we need to unpack what Jesus means by repentance and perishing. We normally think of this as asking forgiveness for our sins so that we are saved from the judgment of hell. Agreed, there is a place for confessing our sins and our brokenness while seeking absolution; we did it today. But more often, Jesus has a deeper understanding of repentance, which means literally to change our minds and the direction we are heading. In Jesus’ world, repentance means seeing things from God’s perspective, not our human perspective.

And when Jesus talks about perishing, he doesn’t mean going to hell. Rather, he means not dying like they did, suddenly and unprepared. Then Jesus tells the parable of the fruitless fig tree to broaden our imaginations about what our response might be. Too often we blame the victims and point fingers, probably to distance ourselves from the pain of what we see. And if we’re honest, we are quietly fearful of something like that happening to us or loved ones. So we deflect. But repenting, seeing the situation from God’s perspective, may mean responding with fruitful lives of care and concern, not blaming. Or, to shift the view, spreading the manure that can foster growth.

Two stories might illustrate this point. There was a question on my approval essay 26+ years ago. It asked how I would respond to someone who contracted AIDS, particularly through risky behavior. I wrote in my essay that I wouldn’t focus on blame or shame, but how I could care for this person; blaming or shaming wouldn’t help. The second story a year or two earlier, a local and highly regarded high school student athlete died when he drove drunk, missed a curve, and crashed into a tree. The family was rightly comforted and there was an outpouring of support. Yet I found the community’s subsequent response lacking: they cut down the offending tree. Nothing was said about drinking and driving. At an appropriate time, a manure-infused, fruitful response might have included discussing responsible drinking. That’s not blaming.

Lent is a time to reflect on our relationship to God, but the relationship and reflection are both personal and communal. God calls us to be church for the sake of the world, a world often broken and in pain. So, we ask, how might Good Shepherd Lutheran Church see the world from God’s viewpoint? Where might Good Shepherd walk with those who are hurting and address the brokenness and hurting in our world? As we’ll sing in a moment, there’s a wideness in God’s mercy that encompasses everything in our world. That mercy enables us to be the people God calls us to be, spreading mercy in word and deed. Spread it around, my sisters and brothers. Amen.

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

The Wholehearted Life - Sermon for Midweek Lent 2

Remembering Sabbath: A Lenten Invitation

The Wholehearted Life

Midweek Lent 2

March 16, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Exodus 23.10-13; Psalm 23

Jewish rabbi Ed Friedman has taught me a lot about human interactions and organizations. He told a story about a time he was on crutches, but wanted to go to a stamp show in Philadelphia. I think he was living in the Washington, DC, area at the time. So, he crutched to the cab, crutched to the train, crutched to the convention center, crutched around the center all day, and crutched back home again. When he returned home that night, his wife asked him to take out the trash. He responded, “How insensitive can you be? Can’t you see I’m on crutches?”

For Friedman, the activity of attending a stamp collector’s show was so life-giving that he barely noticed the pain. Or, if he did notice he didn’t let it bother him. Clearly, taking out the trash was not life-giving. Today we explore another facet of God’s invitation to remembering and keeping Sabbath. The intent of this series is not to induce guilt, but to create a space for your soul to be restored. As David Whyte notes, “The antidote to exhaustion is not rest; it’s wholeheartedness.” If the invitation to Sabbath can be summed up, it would be in an invitation to wholehearted living.

Last week, you heard from Pr. Erica that the invitation to remembering Sabbath is grounded in the creation story in Genesis, even though it comes in the giving of the Law in Exodus. We note that we who are created in the image of God are to rest as God did. Interestingly, in Exodus 31.17, a bit later than our text for this evening, it goes farther: not only did God rest on the seventh day, but God was also refreshed on the seventh day. Let that sink in for a moment: God was refreshed. If God needs refreshment, then so do we. This was such an important practice for the young Israelite people that not observing Sabbath was a deadly proposition.

Why was this so important for God and the Israelites? Because remembering Sabbath impacts both body and soul. When Exodus 23 talks about being refreshed, the world can actually be translated “re-souled.” We know there are many soul-crushing events that can occur in our lives, we need our souls restored. That’s what the psalmist is saying when he asserts that the Good Shepherd restores our souls. We walk through shadowy valleys but by God’s grace we are invited into soul restoration.

So, I want you to think about what activities you engage in that are life-giving and restorative for you. Like Ed Friedman, what are the things that restore your soul and energize you for daily life? Another way to ask this question is, what happens to you when you aren’t able to engage in these things so that you are not like yourself? Can you think of one activity you can engage in this week to remember Sabbath and restore your soul? Remembering Sabbath encourages you to rediscover what gives you life and to do it. The Good Shepherd invites you to still waters so you may have the life God creates for you. Amen.

One Like Us - Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent Year C

One Like Us

Lent 1C

March 6, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Luke 4.1-13

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of books by CS Lewis. We read them several times to our daughters when they were young, which left us wondering if they were children's books for adults or adult books for children. In the country of Narnia, there are sentient, talking animals as well as talking humans. In the first book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the evil White Witch has held sway over Narnia making it always winter, “but never Christmas” as one of the characters says. The main character, Aslan, is an impressive lion and a Christ figure throughout the books. Aslan is killed by the White Witch as a sacrifice for another character, but Aslan is resurrected through “a deeper magic than she knew.” Aslan then rallies the animals and other creatures to fight the White Witch and her minions. As he is preparing to do so, he remarks to other lions that “us lions have to carry those who can’t move quickly.” The other lions perk up and say, “Did you hear that? He said, ‘us lions!’” As they are preening they get loaded up with creatures to carry.

The identification of the lions with Aslan is an example of why the gospel in Luke is so vital for us. Today is the First Sunday in Lent (in it but not of it). Lent always begins with the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. It’s a little disconcerting to go back to the beginning of chapter 4, but it is critical that we do so at the beginning of Lent. You may recall that the season of Epiphany started with the baptism of Jesus in chapter 3 and ended with his transfiguration in chapter 9, the texts declaring that Jesus was God’s beloved and chosen Son. During that season the texts were answering the question, “Who is this Jesus?” As we explored that question, we can be excused for getting the impression that the divine aspect of Jesus outweighed the human aspect.

I’ve mentioned before how my Confirmation students have learned to answer “or” questions “Yes!” For example, in Holy Communion, is it bread and wine or body and blood. “Yes!” Are we saints or are we sinners? “Yes!” Was the Bible written by humans or God? “Yes!” And, of course, is Jesus God or human? “Yes!” We know in our heads that Jesus needs to be both fully God and fully human, but how much do we really believe that? I think that many of us consider Jesus to be some sort of superhuman individual who simply cannot be tempted, is incapable of making a mistake, and impervious to human foibles. But unless Jesus is one like us, susceptible to sin and failure, Lent and the cross are meaningless.

Let me elaborate. If Jesus isn’t susceptible to the forces of sin, death, and the devil, those won’t be defeated anywhere let alone the cross. If Jesus doesn’t understand brokenness, heartache, suffering, and the human condition, not to mention being able to take those things into himself to be redeemed by God, we are helpless and remain separated from God. But, in fact, Jesus is susceptible, Jesus does understand, and Jesus does take those things on for us. So, we walk the road to Jerusalem, the way of the cross, knowing that as one like us our fate is inextricably bound up with Jesus’ fate, that the powers will be defeated, and new life is coming.

There’s more, of course, because there’s always more, as Jesus is one like us. As I thought deeply about this identification as Jesus being one like us, I thought how important it is for people of color or different nationalities to see dolls like them in the stores or actors like them in TV and movies. I thought about the proliferation of art depicting Jesus as African, Asian, and other nationalities. I don’t think artists are trying to make Jesus into their own image but rather the other way around; they are trying to identify with Jesus. Like all good art, these depictions stretch our understanding of how Jesus is one like us, just as the lions identified with Aslan. Because Jesus embraced his humanity in all its fullness, we are able to do the same knowing that new life is coming just as it came for him. May you have a blessed Lent, sisters and brothers, as you journey to the cross and beyond. Amen.

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

Remembering Sabbath: A Lenten Invitation - Sermon for Ash Wednesday

Remembering Sabbath: A Lenten Invitation

Ash Wednesday

March 2, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6.1)

Over the years, a number of people have said to me, “You’re our spiritual leader.” As I’ve taken that to heart and figured out what it means, I’ve discerned that it means that, as a leader, I “go first” and work on my own spirituality. But one of my many struggles as a pastor involves how to encourage you and help you grow in your relationship to God without coming off as a super-Christian who has it all figured out. Here’s a little secret: I didn’t learn in seminary how to grow in faith and deepen my walk with God. There were no classes on doing daily devotions or praying nor was there engaging in spiritual direction. I’ve had to learn as I go. One of the things I have learned is that when I do share ideas about growing spiritually, I must be honest about my own struggles and admit that I don’t have it all figured out. I’ve also come  to realize that whatever “success” I have had is due to God, that God is always the hero in my stories.

Today, of course, is Ash Wednesday and the official start of our Lenten journey. This Lent we are inviting you to explore the practice of remembering Sabbath, an invitation we hear in the Third Commandment. As we go through this journey together, it will be too easy for me to make it sound like I have sabbath-keeping all figured out and it will be all too easy for you to feel guilty about not doing enough to keep Sabbath. That’s not the point of the series. It might be helpful to observe as one wag has who notes that this is the only commandment that we do not feel guilty about not keeping it yet feeling guilty when we do keep it. I think we need to unpack that sentiment this Lent.

So, here are a few things to keep in mind as we begin this 40-day journey to the cross and empty tomb. First, Jesus’ warning to not practice our piety before others doesn’t mean we shouldn’t gather for prayer, give of our resources, and even fast from time to time. Do you notice that Jesus is not telling us to do them because he assumes we already do them. The issue is how we do them. For example, several years ago I gave a sermon at an ecumenical service. A pastor from a different denomination gave the pastoral prayer afterward. Clearly this pastor thought I didn’t say the right things in the right, offering in his prayer almost a rebuttal. As someone else once observed, “Open your eyes, brother; you’re preaching.” Another example about giving alms: when I worked for Minnesota Fabrics as a store manager, we were required to donate 10% of our profits. However, the owners of the company told us we were not allowed to be recognized for it because then it would be advertising. That’s why we couldn’t sponsor sports teams. We gave because it was the right thing to do, not to be recognized.

So, with these things in mind, here’s some background and an overview of the series. First, do you realize that this is the longest Commandment of the Ten?

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20.8-11)

Second, this commandment provides a hinge between the “first table of the Law” (our relationship with God) and the “second table of the Law” (our relationship with each other). Finally, as a result, we need to know that the commandment is both personal and communal. In other words, sabbath-keeping is personal but it is not private.

So, next week we’ll explore the roots of this Commandment in the creation story, that as creatures who are created in the image of God we are to rest as God rested. The second Wednesday, we’ll explore how sabbath provides rest, refreshment, and a whole-hearted life. On March 23, we’ll discover how sabbath is a mini-Exodus, liberating us from the tyranny of endless work. Then, on the fourth Wednesday, we’ll see how sabbath frees us from our anxieties about not having enough. Finally, on April 6 we’ll explore more deeply the communal aspects of sabbath that were noted earlier.

So, a few reminders: Lent is an opportunity to remember that sabbath is a gift from God, not an obligation, and we are to open it and see what God is giving us. Also, as we think about repentance, we remind ourselves that to repent literally means to turn around and go the other way. God is inviting us to go in a new direction. None of us has this all figured out, but all of us can accept God’s invitation to grow deeper. I hope you will join me as we do this together. Amen.