God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living: Wisdom at Creation
Pentecost 11 (Narrative Lectionary 3 - Summer)
Proverbs 8.22-36; Luke 8.22-25
Grace Lutheran, Mankato, MN
August 4, 2013
When doing my doctoral work, most of it was online, but we’d gather for a week two times a year on the campus of Luther Seminary. Part of our schedule was doing daily devotions. One classmate, Michael, did terrific devotion on the wonders of creation using pictures and music in a PowerPoint presentation. It was beautiful, breath-taking, and stirring, extolling God’s handiwork in our world. Afterward, one of our professors wondered why Michael hadn’t included the dark side of creation. Missing were animals devouring each other, hurricanes, tornados, etc. Think of Wild Kingdom meets The Weather Channel. The professor was chided by his co-teacher, but I think his point was valid. What about the dark side of creation?
Today’s passage presents us with a Michael version of creation and the role of Wisdom in it. This is our third of six excursions into the Wisdom Literature and it presents a third major theme. The first week we learned that the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord doesn’t mean quaking in our shoes, and it’s not just awe at God’s power and obedience to God’s word, but rather to be in a right relationship with God. Last week the theme was how the reader of Proverbs is to come to the book as a child learns wisdom from parents. Today, we encounter Woman Wisdom, a feminine figure as the personification of God’s wisdom.
We could do a whole Bible study on Woman Wisdom alone and her counterparts Woman Stranger and Woman Folly. Frankly, no one knows exactly what to make of her presence here. She seems to have many of the attributes of God, so is she a feminine counterpart, meant to soften God’s warrior king image? Is she Israel’s answer to the feminine gods of other national religions that surrounded them? Is she merely a literary device meant to engage the presumably young male reader? How about Jesus’ precursor as the Incarnate Logos, who “was with God and was God” at the beginning of creation? Though these are interesting discussion points, I want to spend the rest of the time looking at the text itself.
There are two main points in the text, but I want to put them in conversation with Michael’s devotion, the gospel story of Jesus’ calming of the storm, and the disciples in its midst. The first point is that God’s wisdom is present in creation, and that we can see it clearly. There is orderliness about creation that makes sense, or will make sense, as we uncover it. We rely on this order and predictability in our everyday lives. The second point is that God delights in what has been created, an assertion that goes back to and even further than the book of Genesis. Not only did God declare creation good, God and delights in us and even delights in our delight of creation. I still remember my internship supervisor, Rev. Dr. E. Gordon Ross, talking about his desire to see as much of God’s creation as he could in the remaining time of his life. God delights in our delight.
Yet, the Wild Kingdom-Weather Channel reality that we all know too well is that there are many times we do not take delight in creation and we wonder if there is any wisdom in it at all. Jesus’ followers are a good example: though some were experienced fishers and sailors, the sea was a source of fear and uncertainty for them, somewhat like the chaotic waters of creation. When a sudden storm blows in and threatens to capsize the boat, they understandably panic. Hurriedly, they waken Jesus, who astounds them with his ability to calm both the wind and the waves.
At the Men’s Bible Study a couple of weeks ago, there was a discussion about the bad things that happen to us. Someone may have even quoted Romans 8.28, “All things work together for good.” However, another person said he didn’t see how good things could come out of his son’s death or his recent horrific accident. I responded that I believed that God was present throughout in all of our circumstances of life, good or bad, and that sometimes it’s hard to see what God’s presence brings about. Often, it is not until we have some distance on an event or when others see for us what we cannot see for ourselves that we are able to see God working.
What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? I have been hearing a commercial for a mattress company talking about, believe it or not, this very same thing. Knowledge, according to the ad, means knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom means knowing that the tomato doesn’t belong in a fruit salad. For us today, knowledge means knowing that there is orderliness in creation that is discoverable, and that God delights in us and our delight in it. Wisdom means knowing that God continues to be present in, with, and under all creation, creating and recreating, bringing order out of chaos. This includes our lives, whether sunny skies or cloudy, storms or calm, in creation in all its beauty and its terribleness. Where is God present in your life today, creating and recreating? God delights in doing so. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - "God's Wisdom for Everyday Living: on Trusting God"
God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living: on Trusting God
Pentecost 10 – Narrative Lectionary 3: Summer
July 28, 2013
Proverbs 3.1-8; Luke 12.29-31
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3.5
When Cindy’s father passed away last month, she did what a number of children do, give a remembrance at his funeral service. I thought it was one of the finest, if not the finest, remembrances I’d heard, and I’ve heard many. She told about the lessons she had learned from her father through her experiences with him. For example, fishing taught her patience, donating blood taught her to give back, bowling taught her to be a part of a team, and so on. Her remembrance was not only a wonderful tribute to her dad, it also exemplifies our Proverbs text for today.
Today we have the second in our six-part Wisdom series, God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living. Last week we discovered that Proverbs is more than just good advice; it’s part of God’s creation, something we’ll explore in greater depth next week. We found that living wisely in fear of the Lord means not only to be in awe of God’s power and obedient to God’s word, is also means to be in right relationship with God. Today’s text casts the conversation about wisdom in terms of a parent’s wise advice to a child. It confirms what we know very well, that parents teaching children is a major building block of society. In less direct way, it also reinforces the fact that parents are the primary faith developers of children.
The main thrust of the passage and the core of parental wisdom and advice are to trust God. When the Bible talks about faith it does so in a wonderfully nuanced and multi-faceted way. There’s certainly head belief, but there is also heart trust and the faithfulness of God that inspires our loyalty and faithfulness. I love the way Eugene Peterson puts this in The Message: “Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. … Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure everything out on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”
Do you realize how countercultural this trust of God is in a world that constantly advertises that we “can have it our way,” to “be yourself,” “follow your heart,” “live your dreams,” and “I just gotta be me?” There is nothing wrong with dreams, but I’m concerned that we are cultivating the most narcissistic and self-centered society ever. If we stop and think about it, we realize that our hearts don’t always desire the best things, do they? I love this quote of Mark Twain the exposes our naïve self-centeredness: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Jesus understands just how difficult trusting God can be for us, so he orients us properly. It’s important to know that Jesus doesn’t make light about what we need or how much we need to work to get it. Jesus wants us to grow in our understanding that God provides for us on God’s terms, including giving us the skills and abilities to do so. We are to see God working in, with, and through us and our lives. I was reminded of a story from CS Lewis’ Prince Caspian, in The Chronicles of Narnia, where the girl, Lucy, encounters the Christ figure in the form of a lion Aslan, whom she hasn’t seen for some time. “Aslan, you’ve grown since I’ve seen you last,” she says. “No, my little one,” he says, “it is you who have grown.”
How do we trust God? Thomas Constable reminds us that it is two-step process: the decision of trust and the habit of trust. First, we make a commitment to follow Jesus in the way of the kingdom and then we start acting like it. The second part doesn’t always come right away, but if in the middle of our fears we can muster the courage to commit our way to God’s, we will grow in our trust.
I think this applies not only to us as individuals but also as a community of faith. After worship today we will be voting on whether to further God’s work by calling a staff person who will lead us in helping to grow in faith and discipleship. It’s a scary time for us, but it was also scary making the changes in our education and worship last fall, changes which have borne incredible fruit so far. This is the next step of living into the future God has for us.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart. … Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; [God is] the one who will keep us on track. Amen.
Pentecost 10 – Narrative Lectionary 3: Summer
July 28, 2013
Proverbs 3.1-8; Luke 12.29-31
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3.5
When Cindy’s father passed away last month, she did what a number of children do, give a remembrance at his funeral service. I thought it was one of the finest, if not the finest, remembrances I’d heard, and I’ve heard many. She told about the lessons she had learned from her father through her experiences with him. For example, fishing taught her patience, donating blood taught her to give back, bowling taught her to be a part of a team, and so on. Her remembrance was not only a wonderful tribute to her dad, it also exemplifies our Proverbs text for today.
Today we have the second in our six-part Wisdom series, God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living. Last week we discovered that Proverbs is more than just good advice; it’s part of God’s creation, something we’ll explore in greater depth next week. We found that living wisely in fear of the Lord means not only to be in awe of God’s power and obedient to God’s word, is also means to be in right relationship with God. Today’s text casts the conversation about wisdom in terms of a parent’s wise advice to a child. It confirms what we know very well, that parents teaching children is a major building block of society. In less direct way, it also reinforces the fact that parents are the primary faith developers of children.
The main thrust of the passage and the core of parental wisdom and advice are to trust God. When the Bible talks about faith it does so in a wonderfully nuanced and multi-faceted way. There’s certainly head belief, but there is also heart trust and the faithfulness of God that inspires our loyalty and faithfulness. I love the way Eugene Peterson puts this in The Message: “Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. … Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure everything out on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”
Do you realize how countercultural this trust of God is in a world that constantly advertises that we “can have it our way,” to “be yourself,” “follow your heart,” “live your dreams,” and “I just gotta be me?” There is nothing wrong with dreams, but I’m concerned that we are cultivating the most narcissistic and self-centered society ever. If we stop and think about it, we realize that our hearts don’t always desire the best things, do they? I love this quote of Mark Twain the exposes our naïve self-centeredness: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Jesus understands just how difficult trusting God can be for us, so he orients us properly. It’s important to know that Jesus doesn’t make light about what we need or how much we need to work to get it. Jesus wants us to grow in our understanding that God provides for us on God’s terms, including giving us the skills and abilities to do so. We are to see God working in, with, and through us and our lives. I was reminded of a story from CS Lewis’ Prince Caspian, in The Chronicles of Narnia, where the girl, Lucy, encounters the Christ figure in the form of a lion Aslan, whom she hasn’t seen for some time. “Aslan, you’ve grown since I’ve seen you last,” she says. “No, my little one,” he says, “it is you who have grown.”
How do we trust God? Thomas Constable reminds us that it is two-step process: the decision of trust and the habit of trust. First, we make a commitment to follow Jesus in the way of the kingdom and then we start acting like it. The second part doesn’t always come right away, but if in the middle of our fears we can muster the courage to commit our way to God’s, we will grow in our trust.
I think this applies not only to us as individuals but also as a community of faith. After worship today we will be voting on whether to further God’s work by calling a staff person who will lead us in helping to grow in faith and discipleship. It’s a scary time for us, but it was also scary making the changes in our education and worship last fall, changes which have borne incredible fruit so far. This is the next step of living into the future God has for us.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart. … Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; [God is] the one who will keep us on track. Amen.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
"God's Wisdom for Everyday Living: the Fear of the Lord" - Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living: the Fear of the Lord
Pentecost 9 (Narrative Lectionary 3 – Summer)
Proverbs 1.1-9; Luke 6.47-49
July 21, 2013
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. (Proverbs 1.7)
I typically disregard the encouragement of “words to live by” through bumper stickers. Once in a while, though, one comes along that grabs my attention, that I say, “That’s pretty good.” Sometimes it’s even pretty good theology. I saw one the other day that I’d seen before: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” That bumper sticker just might sum up a major theme in the Wisdom Literature in the Bible. Did you know that there was such a type of literature in the Bible? Depending on how you categorize the books of the Bible, there are three or four such types: Proverbs, which has an optimistic or positive outlook on wisdom and daily living; and Job and Ecclesiastes, which are more pessimistic or negative in their outlook. As we have seen in our recent study of Psalms, it too, contains elements of wisdom.
Today we begin our six-week sermon series, God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living, during which we’ll explore four passages from Proverbs and two from Ecclesiastes. Today, we begin with Proverbs. The authorship of Proverbs has traditionally been ascribed to King Solomon, but most scholars believe that to be an honorary title given because of his legendary wisdom. The most famous example of his wisdom comes in the story of the women who were arguing over a baby, who Solomon offered to cut in half to satisfy them. However, clearly the book is an edited collection. The collection consists of practical wisdom, much of what could be considered as common sense. However, Proverbs and the other Wisdom Literature claim much more, that these writings show how God and creation work.
The starting point for a life lived wisely rather than foolishly, Proverbs says, is fear of the Lord. When we hear this phrase, we tend to think of God as perpetually angry, needing to be calmed down or appeased. However, although the Bible is clear about God’s power, “fear of the Lord” is meant to reflect that the proper attitude toward God is awe at his power and obedience to God’s sacred word. I am reminded about Mr. Beaver’s response to the children’s question about Aslan in, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: “He’s not a tame lion at all.” But it goes even further: fear of the Lord means we are to be in right relationship to God.
True wisdom, therefore, begins with a proper appreciation of the God “who created me and all that exists,” as Luther said in his explanation to the 1st article of the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism. This, of course, is in response to Luther’s infamous question, “So what does this mean?” Jesus cranks this up in the gospel reading for today, the ending verses of the “Sermon on the Plain,” where he stresses that following him means coming, hearing, and doing his word. Doing so is like building on a solid foundation that would withstand the storms of life. That’s wisdom.
I want to let you in on a little secret: most preachers agonize over the sermons that they preach. We agonize because we want to proclaim the word of God, one that we believe can make a difference in peoples’ lives. However, we also know that insight doesn’t necessarily lead to transformation. We all know people who are very bright or learned but who can’t seem to make their way in life. We only need to read Dear Abby for proof. Recently there was a column that included a letter from a woman in an abusive relationship who knew what she needed to do but couldn’t do it. Wisdom includes doing what we know what we need to do.
Even so, one of the biggest compliments someone can give me is, “You made me think, Pastor.”
A bigger compliment, though, is when someone says, “I think God is calling me to make some changes in my life.” It is easy for a pastor to shake their finger and say, “Don’t do that” or “Do this.” I think a better way, and the way of Proverbs, is to pose some questions about our life in Christ. So, here’s one for today: “Where is it that God is touching your life today, working in your life as you follow Jesus, to be more of the person God has created and intends for you to be?” This is God’s wisdom for everyday living, to be in a good relationship with God and each other. That may not be bumper sticker material, but it’s pretty good. Amen.
Pentecost 9 (Narrative Lectionary 3 – Summer)
Proverbs 1.1-9; Luke 6.47-49
July 21, 2013
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. (Proverbs 1.7)
I typically disregard the encouragement of “words to live by” through bumper stickers. Once in a while, though, one comes along that grabs my attention, that I say, “That’s pretty good.” Sometimes it’s even pretty good theology. I saw one the other day that I’d seen before: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” That bumper sticker just might sum up a major theme in the Wisdom Literature in the Bible. Did you know that there was such a type of literature in the Bible? Depending on how you categorize the books of the Bible, there are three or four such types: Proverbs, which has an optimistic or positive outlook on wisdom and daily living; and Job and Ecclesiastes, which are more pessimistic or negative in their outlook. As we have seen in our recent study of Psalms, it too, contains elements of wisdom.
Today we begin our six-week sermon series, God’s Wisdom for Everyday Living, during which we’ll explore four passages from Proverbs and two from Ecclesiastes. Today, we begin with Proverbs. The authorship of Proverbs has traditionally been ascribed to King Solomon, but most scholars believe that to be an honorary title given because of his legendary wisdom. The most famous example of his wisdom comes in the story of the women who were arguing over a baby, who Solomon offered to cut in half to satisfy them. However, clearly the book is an edited collection. The collection consists of practical wisdom, much of what could be considered as common sense. However, Proverbs and the other Wisdom Literature claim much more, that these writings show how God and creation work.
The starting point for a life lived wisely rather than foolishly, Proverbs says, is fear of the Lord. When we hear this phrase, we tend to think of God as perpetually angry, needing to be calmed down or appeased. However, although the Bible is clear about God’s power, “fear of the Lord” is meant to reflect that the proper attitude toward God is awe at his power and obedience to God’s sacred word. I am reminded about Mr. Beaver’s response to the children’s question about Aslan in, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: “He’s not a tame lion at all.” But it goes even further: fear of the Lord means we are to be in right relationship to God.
True wisdom, therefore, begins with a proper appreciation of the God “who created me and all that exists,” as Luther said in his explanation to the 1st article of the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism. This, of course, is in response to Luther’s infamous question, “So what does this mean?” Jesus cranks this up in the gospel reading for today, the ending verses of the “Sermon on the Plain,” where he stresses that following him means coming, hearing, and doing his word. Doing so is like building on a solid foundation that would withstand the storms of life. That’s wisdom.
I want to let you in on a little secret: most preachers agonize over the sermons that they preach. We agonize because we want to proclaim the word of God, one that we believe can make a difference in peoples’ lives. However, we also know that insight doesn’t necessarily lead to transformation. We all know people who are very bright or learned but who can’t seem to make their way in life. We only need to read Dear Abby for proof. Recently there was a column that included a letter from a woman in an abusive relationship who knew what she needed to do but couldn’t do it. Wisdom includes doing what we know what we need to do.
Even so, one of the biggest compliments someone can give me is, “You made me think, Pastor.”
A bigger compliment, though, is when someone says, “I think God is calling me to make some changes in my life.” It is easy for a pastor to shake their finger and say, “Don’t do that” or “Do this.” I think a better way, and the way of Proverbs, is to pose some questions about our life in Christ. So, here’s one for today: “Where is it that God is touching your life today, working in your life as you follow Jesus, to be more of the person God has created and intends for you to be?” This is God’s wisdom for everyday living, to be in a good relationship with God and each other. That may not be bumper sticker material, but it’s pretty good. Amen.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
"Psalms for Today: A Call to Praise" - Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Psalms for Today: A Call to Praise
Pentecost 7 (Narrative Lectionary 3 – Summer)
Psalm 150
July 7, 2013
Grace, Mankato, MN
This past Wednesday we committed my father-in-law to the earth and God’s care at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery. Following the service, as Cindy, her sister, and her mom were catching up with some extended family I got into a conversation with the funeral director, Bob, which began with the weather being nice. He told me he was of Serbian descent and belonged to a branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. I responded how much I value the Orthodox appreciation of mystery, revealed through icons, those pictures that point us toward a larger reality of God. Bob went on to share his concern about the declining morality of our society.
I told Bob that I was more concerned about rampant narcissism, people focusing on themselves, their own needs and wants to the exclusion of others. We went on reflect on how fewer people were having religious funerals and some no services at all. His own father had just recently passed away and we both shared about our experiences of family members dying. We agreed that death is a passage that we cannot ignore, or if we do so, we become wounded. Perhaps it was because I had Psalm 150 on my mind that I mused out loud that it seemed to me that the great religions are great because they take us outside of ourselves, to focus on the profound things in life.
Today we wrap up our series on the Psalms for Today, stating they are more than old church songs or songs of the old church. At the beginning of the series, in Psalm 1, we learned how the Psalms are a resource for life connecting us to the source of life. Then we heard how Psalm 150 as a song of praise orients us to that source of life, similar to a GPS system. Psalm 13 introduced us to the lament, the cry for help we sing during disorienting times of our lives when they take an unpleasant and unexpected turn. The 23rd Psalm gave us the psalm of trust, a way to express faith in God during those times. Last week through Psalm 30 we received the song of thanksgiving, sung on the backside, reorienting us to the new life God has brought us.
If you look at the psalms in a good study Bible, you will see that they are divided into five sections or “books.” Interestingly, the last line of the last psalm in each one of these sections ends in doxology or praise. Psalm 150, as not only the last psalm in Book Five, but also of the whole Psalter is all doxology or praise. “Praise the Lord” or “Hallelujah” is proclaimed 13 times in six verses. It’s praise on steroids. This is like the fireworks and cannon at the end of a July 4th pops concert. Do you think this is important? We are called to sing, dance, and play praises to the very one who gives us our very life and breath to do so.
This may be obvious, but it is not trivial. We all probably know some well-meaning Christians whose every other sentence is, “Praise the Lord,” almost like, “Have a nice day” or “No problem.” Yet, we need to ask ourselves, what gets in the way of praising God, of doing sincerely what is breathed into our soul? I have some ideas, and I’ve already suggested some, but I think I’m going to leave it for you to think about that on your own. Meanwhile, I do know that there is nothing in this world—not even death—that prevents us from praising God. Do you remember the story about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, where the religious leaders order him to tell his disciples to be quiet? Jesus responds, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” All creation praises the Lord.
Praising God is not a silent endeavor. Our hallelujahs are the response of ones who know the power of death, but also know a great God who has conquered death, who holds each of us loving hands. We are not called to praise God to appease God or pay lip service to a petty tyrant. We are called to praise God because God is indeed good and great and loves us steadfastly. God through Jesus Christ has restored us to himself and invites us to share that good news with others. “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” Amen.
Pentecost 7 (Narrative Lectionary 3 – Summer)
Psalm 150
July 7, 2013
Grace, Mankato, MN
Let everything that breaths praise the Lord! (Psalm 150.6)
This past Wednesday we committed my father-in-law to the earth and God’s care at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery. Following the service, as Cindy, her sister, and her mom were catching up with some extended family I got into a conversation with the funeral director, Bob, which began with the weather being nice. He told me he was of Serbian descent and belonged to a branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. I responded how much I value the Orthodox appreciation of mystery, revealed through icons, those pictures that point us toward a larger reality of God. Bob went on to share his concern about the declining morality of our society.
I told Bob that I was more concerned about rampant narcissism, people focusing on themselves, their own needs and wants to the exclusion of others. We went on reflect on how fewer people were having religious funerals and some no services at all. His own father had just recently passed away and we both shared about our experiences of family members dying. We agreed that death is a passage that we cannot ignore, or if we do so, we become wounded. Perhaps it was because I had Psalm 150 on my mind that I mused out loud that it seemed to me that the great religions are great because they take us outside of ourselves, to focus on the profound things in life.
Today we wrap up our series on the Psalms for Today, stating they are more than old church songs or songs of the old church. At the beginning of the series, in Psalm 1, we learned how the Psalms are a resource for life connecting us to the source of life. Then we heard how Psalm 150 as a song of praise orients us to that source of life, similar to a GPS system. Psalm 13 introduced us to the lament, the cry for help we sing during disorienting times of our lives when they take an unpleasant and unexpected turn. The 23rd Psalm gave us the psalm of trust, a way to express faith in God during those times. Last week through Psalm 30 we received the song of thanksgiving, sung on the backside, reorienting us to the new life God has brought us.
If you look at the psalms in a good study Bible, you will see that they are divided into five sections or “books.” Interestingly, the last line of the last psalm in each one of these sections ends in doxology or praise. Psalm 150, as not only the last psalm in Book Five, but also of the whole Psalter is all doxology or praise. “Praise the Lord” or “Hallelujah” is proclaimed 13 times in six verses. It’s praise on steroids. This is like the fireworks and cannon at the end of a July 4th pops concert. Do you think this is important? We are called to sing, dance, and play praises to the very one who gives us our very life and breath to do so.
This may be obvious, but it is not trivial. We all probably know some well-meaning Christians whose every other sentence is, “Praise the Lord,” almost like, “Have a nice day” or “No problem.” Yet, we need to ask ourselves, what gets in the way of praising God, of doing sincerely what is breathed into our soul? I have some ideas, and I’ve already suggested some, but I think I’m going to leave it for you to think about that on your own. Meanwhile, I do know that there is nothing in this world—not even death—that prevents us from praising God. Do you remember the story about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, where the religious leaders order him to tell his disciples to be quiet? Jesus responds, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” All creation praises the Lord.
Praising God is not a silent endeavor. Our hallelujahs are the response of ones who know the power of death, but also know a great God who has conquered death, who holds each of us loving hands. We are not called to praise God to appease God or pay lip service to a petty tyrant. We are called to praise God because God is indeed good and great and loves us steadfastly. God through Jesus Christ has restored us to himself and invites us to share that good news with others. “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” Amen.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Pr. Olson's Newsletter Article July 2013 - Exploring Our Core Values: Post #3 Celebrating God's Presence through Life Events
July 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is past mid-June as I write this letter and I have just finished the season of graduation open houses. What a treat it is to visit with our high school graduates and their families! I have also wrapped-up pre-marriage counseling with a young couple who will be married later this summer and I have met with a family to plan a funeral for their loved-one.
Furthermore, a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School is over and pretty soon I’ll be contacting students and parents to help them prepare for the Affirmation of Baptism (Confirmation) service this fall. Believe it or not, I have already been meeting with our Christian Education leaders to ramp up for another programming year. Of course, our Parish Nurse, Meredith, and I make regular visits to the hospitalized and home-bound.
I don’t mention these things to brag about how busy I am, but rather as an introduction to the topic of this month’s letter, our second proposed core value: “We are a Community of Faith … Celebrating God’s Presence through Life Events.” Core values are important for us because they are a basic statement of who we are and why we do what we do. They are to guide our mission and ministry as we seek to be faithful to God’s call on our lives.
Here’s what we mean by “Celebrating God’s Presence through Life Events”:
When we gather we also celebrate what God has done and is doing in, with, and through us as God’s people. We do this by recognizing the milestones on our faith journey: baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, high school graduations, weddings, funerals, and other ways Jesus Christ touches our lives. This celebration comes even through hardship and difficult times as we recognize the new life that can come in the midst of death. We give praise and thanksgiving to a God who calls us forward to new mission opportunities.
This core value builds off of the first one, “Gathering in God’s Love,” and acknowledges that God is actively working in our lives. It also declares that the milestones of our lives are always stepping stones on our journey of faith. Endings are new beginnings. Each step along the way is an opportunity to determine how God is calling us to join in God’s mission to love and bless the world.
As we live out and live into this core value, we must also pay attention to the act of celebrating. All too often, we jump from one thing to the next, not taking time to rejoice in what God has been doing in our midst. Taking a cue from the aforementioned couple, I’ll pass along some advice they received and shared with me: “Take time to enjoy your engagement.”
Indeed, let us take time to enjoy what God is doing in, with, and through our life events, attentive to the marvelous love and grace available to us through Jesus Christ. As always, let us know what you think.
In Christ’s Name
Pastor Olson
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is past mid-June as I write this letter and I have just finished the season of graduation open houses. What a treat it is to visit with our high school graduates and their families! I have also wrapped-up pre-marriage counseling with a young couple who will be married later this summer and I have met with a family to plan a funeral for their loved-one.
Furthermore, a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School is over and pretty soon I’ll be contacting students and parents to help them prepare for the Affirmation of Baptism (Confirmation) service this fall. Believe it or not, I have already been meeting with our Christian Education leaders to ramp up for another programming year. Of course, our Parish Nurse, Meredith, and I make regular visits to the hospitalized and home-bound.
I don’t mention these things to brag about how busy I am, but rather as an introduction to the topic of this month’s letter, our second proposed core value: “We are a Community of Faith … Celebrating God’s Presence through Life Events.” Core values are important for us because they are a basic statement of who we are and why we do what we do. They are to guide our mission and ministry as we seek to be faithful to God’s call on our lives.
Here’s what we mean by “Celebrating God’s Presence through Life Events”:
When we gather we also celebrate what God has done and is doing in, with, and through us as God’s people. We do this by recognizing the milestones on our faith journey: baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, high school graduations, weddings, funerals, and other ways Jesus Christ touches our lives. This celebration comes even through hardship and difficult times as we recognize the new life that can come in the midst of death. We give praise and thanksgiving to a God who calls us forward to new mission opportunities.
This core value builds off of the first one, “Gathering in God’s Love,” and acknowledges that God is actively working in our lives. It also declares that the milestones of our lives are always stepping stones on our journey of faith. Endings are new beginnings. Each step along the way is an opportunity to determine how God is calling us to join in God’s mission to love and bless the world.
As we live out and live into this core value, we must also pay attention to the act of celebrating. All too often, we jump from one thing to the next, not taking time to rejoice in what God has been doing in our midst. Taking a cue from the aforementioned couple, I’ll pass along some advice they received and shared with me: “Take time to enjoy your engagement.”
Indeed, let us take time to enjoy what God is doing in, with, and through our life events, attentive to the marvelous love and grace available to us through Jesus Christ. As always, let us know what you think.
In Christ’s Name
Pastor Olson
"Psalms for Today: A Song of Thanks" - Sermon for the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Psalms for Today: A Song of Thanks
Psalm 30
Pentecost 6 (Narrative Lectionary 3 – Summer)
June 30, 2013
Grace, Mankato, MN
If you look at Psalm 30 in the Bible, you’ll see that one of the superscripts, or headings, says that this is a psalm of David. This doesn’t necessarily mean that David wrote it or even used it, but that the Davidic kings used it in their ceremonies. However, following the suggestion of Shauna Hanna, this isn’t David’s psalm; it’s Jen’s Psalm. By most accounts, Jen and Nick were making a good life together. Both had good jobs, Nick was doing well sober, they had two beautiful daughters, and they were very involved in their church and community. Then the bottom dropped out when Nick was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. About 18 months later, barely 50 years old, Nick was gone and Jen had lost her soul mate.
Psalm 30 is classified as a song of thanksgiving. There aren’t very many of these, only about a half dozen, but they are powerfully important psalms. Even a quick reading shows it’s more than a song of thanksgiving. There are the praise elements we identified in Psalm 100, a cry for help as in Psalm 13, and even the assertion of trust we heard last week in Psalm 23. To put it into Walter Bruggemann’s typology, this is a psalm of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation all rolled up into one.
In one sense, Psalm 30 is a song of thanksgiving that can only be sung on the backside of a difficult life event. It is sung by a seasoned believer who has come through the orienting, disorienting, and reorienting experiences in life and has seen God’s hand through them all. Before Nick’s diagnosis, Jen and Nick had their share of challenges, but life was generally good. Yet, none of us fully appreciate how good our lives are until something devastating happens. So, looking back, Jen can value the life they had together, even the time through Nick’s illness.
But, Jen can certainly relate to the psalmist’s cry for help, the disorienting effect that Nick’s illness and death had on her and their daughters. Everything changed, everything revolved around caring for Nick and eventually preparing for his death and life afterward. Even in the depths of despair, Nick and Jen grew closer to God and to each other, something they didn’t think possible. There were many tears of pain and anguish, but times of blessing as they were surrounded in love. People brought food, the church choir sung to them on Christmas, and Nick’s Confirmation small group that he mentored paid him a visit. Through it all they somehow managed to trust in and hold onto God as they held onto each other.
As you can imagine, it was incredibly hard for Jen when Nick passed away and especially hard for her to be in worship. Yet, as time went on and she looked back, Jen was able to begin to sing a song of thanksgiving to God, not for Nick’s death but for how God was working in the whole experience. Worship was still hard, but Jen was convinced that God was going to use her and her experiences for something good. Jen found herself having a deeper compassion for ill and elderly people. She helped to start a grief support group and some Blue Christmas services at her church. Jen changed jobs and went back to school. Jen has been brought to a place of new life, not because of her effort, but because of God’s presence and blessing.
Many of you know that my family and I have been going through a similar time as we have been involved with my father-in-law’s health. It has been disorienting to have moved him to a long term care facility and then of course, his entrance into hospice and death. Yesterday, as we gathered to commend him to God, we were able to sing a song of thanksgiving, not for his death but for his life and what he meant to us, and for God’s gracious promises of new life that awaits us all.
Of course, Psalm 30 is not just Jen’s psalm, it’s our psalm. It is, in fact, the very structure of our lives. Each day we take some of our life for granted and often our lives change, sometimes drastically. Each of us are in different places right now: some are doing just fine, some are desperately crying for God’s help, and some are singing songs of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. Wherever we are, Psalm 30 reminds us of the promise we have in Jesus Christ, a promise that God is always with us, working in our lives to bring about new life, even in the midst of death. For our God is the one who turns our mourning into dancing. Our God takes off our sackcloth and clothes us with joy. Our souls will praise God and not be silent and we will give God praise forever. Amen.
Psalm 30
Pentecost 6 (Narrative Lectionary 3 – Summer)
June 30, 2013
Grace, Mankato, MN
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
So that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. (Psalm 30.11-12)
If you look at Psalm 30 in the Bible, you’ll see that one of the superscripts, or headings, says that this is a psalm of David. This doesn’t necessarily mean that David wrote it or even used it, but that the Davidic kings used it in their ceremonies. However, following the suggestion of Shauna Hanna, this isn’t David’s psalm; it’s Jen’s Psalm. By most accounts, Jen and Nick were making a good life together. Both had good jobs, Nick was doing well sober, they had two beautiful daughters, and they were very involved in their church and community. Then the bottom dropped out when Nick was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. About 18 months later, barely 50 years old, Nick was gone and Jen had lost her soul mate.
Psalm 30 is classified as a song of thanksgiving. There aren’t very many of these, only about a half dozen, but they are powerfully important psalms. Even a quick reading shows it’s more than a song of thanksgiving. There are the praise elements we identified in Psalm 100, a cry for help as in Psalm 13, and even the assertion of trust we heard last week in Psalm 23. To put it into Walter Bruggemann’s typology, this is a psalm of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation all rolled up into one.
In one sense, Psalm 30 is a song of thanksgiving that can only be sung on the backside of a difficult life event. It is sung by a seasoned believer who has come through the orienting, disorienting, and reorienting experiences in life and has seen God’s hand through them all. Before Nick’s diagnosis, Jen and Nick had their share of challenges, but life was generally good. Yet, none of us fully appreciate how good our lives are until something devastating happens. So, looking back, Jen can value the life they had together, even the time through Nick’s illness.
But, Jen can certainly relate to the psalmist’s cry for help, the disorienting effect that Nick’s illness and death had on her and their daughters. Everything changed, everything revolved around caring for Nick and eventually preparing for his death and life afterward. Even in the depths of despair, Nick and Jen grew closer to God and to each other, something they didn’t think possible. There were many tears of pain and anguish, but times of blessing as they were surrounded in love. People brought food, the church choir sung to them on Christmas, and Nick’s Confirmation small group that he mentored paid him a visit. Through it all they somehow managed to trust in and hold onto God as they held onto each other.
As you can imagine, it was incredibly hard for Jen when Nick passed away and especially hard for her to be in worship. Yet, as time went on and she looked back, Jen was able to begin to sing a song of thanksgiving to God, not for Nick’s death but for how God was working in the whole experience. Worship was still hard, but Jen was convinced that God was going to use her and her experiences for something good. Jen found herself having a deeper compassion for ill and elderly people. She helped to start a grief support group and some Blue Christmas services at her church. Jen changed jobs and went back to school. Jen has been brought to a place of new life, not because of her effort, but because of God’s presence and blessing.
Many of you know that my family and I have been going through a similar time as we have been involved with my father-in-law’s health. It has been disorienting to have moved him to a long term care facility and then of course, his entrance into hospice and death. Yesterday, as we gathered to commend him to God, we were able to sing a song of thanksgiving, not for his death but for his life and what he meant to us, and for God’s gracious promises of new life that awaits us all.
Of course, Psalm 30 is not just Jen’s psalm, it’s our psalm. It is, in fact, the very structure of our lives. Each day we take some of our life for granted and often our lives change, sometimes drastically. Each of us are in different places right now: some are doing just fine, some are desperately crying for God’s help, and some are singing songs of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. Wherever we are, Psalm 30 reminds us of the promise we have in Jesus Christ, a promise that God is always with us, working in our lives to bring about new life, even in the midst of death. For our God is the one who turns our mourning into dancing. Our God takes off our sackcloth and clothes us with joy. Our souls will praise God and not be silent and we will give God praise forever. Amen.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
"Psalms for Today: A Prayer for Help - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Psalms for Today: A Prayer for Help
Psalm 13
Pentecost 4 (NL3 – Summer)
June 16, 2013
“How long, O Lord,” the psalmist cries, “will you forget me forever? How long will you hide from me?” In a few short days we have moved from the adoration of Psalm 100 to the agony of Psalm 13. Life is like that, isn’t it, as it can change in the blink of an eye? One minute we are making joyful noises to the Lord and the next minute we wonder if the Lord exists, let alone be worthy of praise. One minute we are oriented, being pointed toward God as the source and ground of our very being. The next minute we are disoriented, everything we know and trust being called into question.
Psalm 13 is classified as a prayer for help, and it is no surprise that these “laments” are most numerous in Psalms. About one-third of the psalms are of this type. Perhaps it is because we find ourselves in these situations so frequently, thrown for a loop in a world that is all too “loopy.” We are a broken, imperfect people in a world determined to break us more. Even those of us who live relatively uneventful and blessed lives are not immune from disruption that the psalm describes. Psalm 13 and others like it help us to not only find our voices, but also helps us find ourselves through them.
There are few things worse in life than being forgotten or ignored, as any child knows who has been left behind in a game of Hide and Seek, or an adult whose calls or emails go unanswered. In fact, I would much rather have someone angry with me to my face than silently walk away or talk behind my back. Really. Psalm 13 not only helps us express the almost inexpressible, our deepest pain and sorrow, it also expresses that, all evidence to the contrary, God has not forgotten us and invites us into God’s very being. The psalmist declares that during those times we feel adrift from God we are still attached in a profound way.
H. George Anderson was the second presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving from 1995 to 2001. He tells about when his wife died from a long, painful illness, that he stopped believing in God because he couldn’t see how a loving God could let his wife suffer so much. However, Bishop Anderson continued to go to church because, “When we can’t believe, we go to worship to be around others who can believe for us.”
Similarly, my good friend Shirley tells about when her mother died, that she went to church hoping to hear a word that could ease her pain and disorientation. She didn’t receive it from the pastor or worship, but she did receive if from two friends, who walked with her, talked with her, and shared her pain. They embody what the psalmist expresses and our baptismal service charges to parents: that we are to live among God’s faithful people.
When the torrential rain and floods hit Southeastern Minnesota in 2007, people like Mankatoan Greg Nelson came to help, and one way that happened was to understand the psychology of flood recovery. He told us how our lives are going along normally (orientation) and then his catastrophe hits (disorientation), sending us into a chasm of despair. There is immediate help, but that is short term. Recovery takes some time, but it results in a new normal (reorientation). We get a hint of the reorienting promises of God’s presence today, but we’ll see more of that next week in Psalm 23.
It seems that this process happens in many areas of our lives where we experience loss or suffering. But it also seems that it is the way of the cross: God sent Jesus into our world seeking to orient us to God’s love. In the cross, perhaps the most disorienting of all events, God takes all of our brokenness and despair upon himself and through the resurrection God gives us a new normal, abundant life, reorienting us in a profound way. Because of the cross, we know that God will not leave us or forsake us. God has not forgotten us. In the midst of our disorientation, we cling to God’s steadfast love, trusting in his presence and mercy. Amen.
Psalm 13
Pentecost 4 (NL3 – Summer)
June 16, 2013
“How long, O Lord,” the psalmist cries, “will you forget me forever? How long will you hide from me?” In a few short days we have moved from the adoration of Psalm 100 to the agony of Psalm 13. Life is like that, isn’t it, as it can change in the blink of an eye? One minute we are making joyful noises to the Lord and the next minute we wonder if the Lord exists, let alone be worthy of praise. One minute we are oriented, being pointed toward God as the source and ground of our very being. The next minute we are disoriented, everything we know and trust being called into question.
Psalm 13 is classified as a prayer for help, and it is no surprise that these “laments” are most numerous in Psalms. About one-third of the psalms are of this type. Perhaps it is because we find ourselves in these situations so frequently, thrown for a loop in a world that is all too “loopy.” We are a broken, imperfect people in a world determined to break us more. Even those of us who live relatively uneventful and blessed lives are not immune from disruption that the psalm describes. Psalm 13 and others like it help us to not only find our voices, but also helps us find ourselves through them.
There are few things worse in life than being forgotten or ignored, as any child knows who has been left behind in a game of Hide and Seek, or an adult whose calls or emails go unanswered. In fact, I would much rather have someone angry with me to my face than silently walk away or talk behind my back. Really. Psalm 13 not only helps us express the almost inexpressible, our deepest pain and sorrow, it also expresses that, all evidence to the contrary, God has not forgotten us and invites us into God’s very being. The psalmist declares that during those times we feel adrift from God we are still attached in a profound way.
H. George Anderson was the second presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving from 1995 to 2001. He tells about when his wife died from a long, painful illness, that he stopped believing in God because he couldn’t see how a loving God could let his wife suffer so much. However, Bishop Anderson continued to go to church because, “When we can’t believe, we go to worship to be around others who can believe for us.”
Similarly, my good friend Shirley tells about when her mother died, that she went to church hoping to hear a word that could ease her pain and disorientation. She didn’t receive it from the pastor or worship, but she did receive if from two friends, who walked with her, talked with her, and shared her pain. They embody what the psalmist expresses and our baptismal service charges to parents: that we are to live among God’s faithful people.
When the torrential rain and floods hit Southeastern Minnesota in 2007, people like Mankatoan Greg Nelson came to help, and one way that happened was to understand the psychology of flood recovery. He told us how our lives are going along normally (orientation) and then his catastrophe hits (disorientation), sending us into a chasm of despair. There is immediate help, but that is short term. Recovery takes some time, but it results in a new normal (reorientation). We get a hint of the reorienting promises of God’s presence today, but we’ll see more of that next week in Psalm 23.
It seems that this process happens in many areas of our lives where we experience loss or suffering. But it also seems that it is the way of the cross: God sent Jesus into our world seeking to orient us to God’s love. In the cross, perhaps the most disorienting of all events, God takes all of our brokenness and despair upon himself and through the resurrection God gives us a new normal, abundant life, reorienting us in a profound way. Because of the cross, we know that God will not leave us or forsake us. God has not forgotten us. In the midst of our disorientation, we cling to God’s steadfast love, trusting in his presence and mercy. Amen.
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