Fruitful Living: Growing in Peace
Pentecost 6 (Summer Series)
July 20, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
John 14.25-31; Romans 14.13-23
Many of you know that I’m a second career pastor, which has presented many challenges for me along the way. One such challenge was going back to school at 38 years of age with a wife and two young girls. There was also some insecurity: could I hack graduate school? Even though I did okay, the insecurities continued to crop up. What about Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in a nursing home, tending to older folks with whom I had no experience. Could I do an internship in a large congregation? How would my first call in a rural congregation go, and what about my second call joining with two other pastors who had been together for several years? Yet, when I came to Grace an amazing thing happened: there were no insecurities, at least not in the same way. Maybe it was a quiet confidence from years of experience, but I think it was more and possibly deeper than that.
Today we explore the third fruit of the Spirit, peace. We are rapidly discovering that each of these fruit not only defy simple explanations, but we are only able to nibble around the edges of them. The interesting thing about peace is that most people define it negatively, as the absence of conflict. In fact, some have said that the history of humanity is one war after another punctuated with occasional outbreaks of peace. That confirms the reality that we know but hate to admit, that even when there are cease fires and treaties signed, any peace that exists is an uneasy one and probably won’t last very long.
That’s why Jesus’ words in John are so important: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.” His words are incredible on so many levels, not the least of which is the situation he speaks. It’s the Last Supper and Jesus is preparing his disciples one last time before he goes to his death. He knows that they will be lost and alone without him, that neither his life nor their lives will be anything but peaceful. Yet here he is promising them that peace will be present in their troubled hearts.
To understand the kind of peace that God gives through Jesus, we need to understand shalom. Shalom is the Old Testament word for peace, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of conflict. Shalom has more to do with our sense of well-being or wholeness. It means living into God’s intended future. Peace is, as Frederick Buechner says, everything we need to be wholly ourselves.
My colleague, Pr. Collette Broady, gave me an advanced copy of an article she wrote for the online WELCA journal, Café. In it she talks about how, in the midst of the crummy stuff of our lives, God is crafting a future we can’t imagine. God not only does this without our help but despite our hindering it.
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Rome wants us to know that this shalom and well-being is for us as a community, too. Yes, in Christ we have been set free from the requirements of the law; we are free. But he also wants us to know that with rights come responsibilities to others, for rights without responsibilities leads to fragmented community.
Peace is not the absence of something; it is the presence of the living God in the midst of our lives. Buechner again: Peace is not the absence of struggle, but the presence of love. Peace only makes sense when we don’t allow our difficulties to define us; we are not our struggles. We only get glimpses of the peace that God promises us in the end, something of down payment. I got a glimpse when I came to Grace and I get glimpses walking with you. I invite you to look for where God is bringing peace and well-being in the midst of the stuff of your lives this week, creating a future that you can’t possibly imagine. Amen.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
"Fruitful Living: Growing in Joy" - Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Summer Series)
Fruitful Living: Growing in Joy
Pentecost 5 (Summer Series)
July 13, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Matthew 5.11-16; 1 Thessalonians 5.12-24
This morning we start our excursion into the mysteries of the second fruit of the Spirit with two stories, the first true and the second, although not true, containing a heaping amount of truth. The first comes from the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, about two British runners in 1924 Olympics. Eric Liddell is Scottish and plans to be a missionary to China like his parents, but he also loves to run, much to the disapproval of his sister Jenny, who thinks it detracts from his ability to serve God. At one point, after just such an encounter, Eric tells Jennie that not to run would dishonor God, saying, "I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure."
The second “truth-filled” story is one of my favorite Christmas tales. It’s about a father who thinks he needs to deprive his overly-optimistic son of his rose-colored glasses in order to see reality. The son had asked for a pony for Christmas and the father saw this as a perfect opportunity. Placing a load of manure in the basement, he sends his son downstairs on Christmas morning, expecting the son to come back upstairs dejected cured of his optimism. When the son doesn’t appear, the father goes downstairs to find his son gleefully digging through the manure. When asked why, the son says excitedly, “There just has to be a pony in here somewhere!”
When I think about trying to define joy, I think that it is about as easy as nailing Jell-O to a wall. Said negatively, we are reminded about the former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s remarks about obscenity: though unable to define it he adds, “But I know it when I see it.” In Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABCs, Frederick Buechner adds this theological twist. First he quotes Jesus (“These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full,” which he notes Jesus says at the Last Supper). Then he adds, “Happiness turns up more or less where you’d expect to—a good marriage, a rewarding job, a pleasant vacation. Joy, on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the one who bequeathes it.”
Most of us realize on one level or another that joy and happiness are not the same things. Although we can’t “be joyful” in the same way we can “be happy,” there are some things we can do. If we can’t define it exactly, perhaps we can start on a rough description or list of characteristics. First, we want to acknowledge that as unpredictable as it is, joy is a gift from God. As a gift, it cannot be lost and therefore it is not as fleeting and transitory as happiness is. The Beatitudes in Matthew say that we are blessed by God in certain circumstances; those blessings have staying power.
It’s in the Beatitudes that we get another glimpse of the parameters of joy: God’s presence in, with and through our lives. We might add that joy through God’s presence comes in the midst of the worst manure that life can throw at us. God’s presence in our lives has important implications that we can only sketch out today, but God’s presence means that our lives have meaning and purpose. When we “run” we feel God’s pleasure. God’s presence means that we have a future, one of hope, because, as Miroslav Volf says, “hope is anticipated joy.” Or, as the psalmist notes, “Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
One final example: this last week I had the privilege of officiating at a difficult funeral for a woman who succumbed to a deadly form of cancer at an all too early age. Yet, during a time that was rightfully full of grief and sorrow, there were also glimpses of joy. It turns out that their “substitute pastor” came from a church where the woman was confirmed long ago and that the woman’s great-great grandmother was a founding member. Furthermore and coincidentally, this substitute pastor also had the same name as one of the cousins. However, the greatest joy came because one of the last things the deceased woman was able to say to her family was, “I’ll see you again,” freeing them to celebrate her life.
In other words, the family could see God working in, with, and through their circumstances. They experienced not only the hope of future promise of new life not only sustaining them but also enlivened and gladdened hearts. Joy is a gift, a fruit of the Spirit and, although we can’t make ourselves joyous, we can look for it. May you see God’s joyous presence in your life and feel God’s pleasure in you, with joyful abandon. Amen.
Pentecost 5 (Summer Series)
July 13, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Matthew 5.11-16; 1 Thessalonians 5.12-24
This morning we start our excursion into the mysteries of the second fruit of the Spirit with two stories, the first true and the second, although not true, containing a heaping amount of truth. The first comes from the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, about two British runners in 1924 Olympics. Eric Liddell is Scottish and plans to be a missionary to China like his parents, but he also loves to run, much to the disapproval of his sister Jenny, who thinks it detracts from his ability to serve God. At one point, after just such an encounter, Eric tells Jennie that not to run would dishonor God, saying, "I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure."
The second “truth-filled” story is one of my favorite Christmas tales. It’s about a father who thinks he needs to deprive his overly-optimistic son of his rose-colored glasses in order to see reality. The son had asked for a pony for Christmas and the father saw this as a perfect opportunity. Placing a load of manure in the basement, he sends his son downstairs on Christmas morning, expecting the son to come back upstairs dejected cured of his optimism. When the son doesn’t appear, the father goes downstairs to find his son gleefully digging through the manure. When asked why, the son says excitedly, “There just has to be a pony in here somewhere!”
When I think about trying to define joy, I think that it is about as easy as nailing Jell-O to a wall. Said negatively, we are reminded about the former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s remarks about obscenity: though unable to define it he adds, “But I know it when I see it.” In Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABCs, Frederick Buechner adds this theological twist. First he quotes Jesus (“These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full,” which he notes Jesus says at the Last Supper). Then he adds, “Happiness turns up more or less where you’d expect to—a good marriage, a rewarding job, a pleasant vacation. Joy, on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the one who bequeathes it.”
Most of us realize on one level or another that joy and happiness are not the same things. Although we can’t “be joyful” in the same way we can “be happy,” there are some things we can do. If we can’t define it exactly, perhaps we can start on a rough description or list of characteristics. First, we want to acknowledge that as unpredictable as it is, joy is a gift from God. As a gift, it cannot be lost and therefore it is not as fleeting and transitory as happiness is. The Beatitudes in Matthew say that we are blessed by God in certain circumstances; those blessings have staying power.
It’s in the Beatitudes that we get another glimpse of the parameters of joy: God’s presence in, with and through our lives. We might add that joy through God’s presence comes in the midst of the worst manure that life can throw at us. God’s presence in our lives has important implications that we can only sketch out today, but God’s presence means that our lives have meaning and purpose. When we “run” we feel God’s pleasure. God’s presence means that we have a future, one of hope, because, as Miroslav Volf says, “hope is anticipated joy.” Or, as the psalmist notes, “Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
One final example: this last week I had the privilege of officiating at a difficult funeral for a woman who succumbed to a deadly form of cancer at an all too early age. Yet, during a time that was rightfully full of grief and sorrow, there were also glimpses of joy. It turns out that their “substitute pastor” came from a church where the woman was confirmed long ago and that the woman’s great-great grandmother was a founding member. Furthermore and coincidentally, this substitute pastor also had the same name as one of the cousins. However, the greatest joy came because one of the last things the deceased woman was able to say to her family was, “I’ll see you again,” freeing them to celebrate her life.
In other words, the family could see God working in, with, and through their circumstances. They experienced not only the hope of future promise of new life not only sustaining them but also enlivened and gladdened hearts. Joy is a gift, a fruit of the Spirit and, although we can’t make ourselves joyous, we can look for it. May you see God’s joyous presence in your life and feel God’s pleasure in you, with joyful abandon. Amen.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
"Fruitful Living: Growing in Love" - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Fruitful Living: Growing in Love
Pentecost 4 (Summer Series)
July 6, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
1 Corinthians 12.31-13.13; John 21.15-19
Let us pray: Gracious and loving God, make us love as you have loved us, so that all of the world will know your love. Let this continually be our prayer until you come again. Amen.
Most of us have experienced the power of love and know firsthand its influence upon us. The overwhelming emotions that surge within us at the sight of our newborn son or daughter. The deep turbulence in our teenage years the prompt us to do with our bodies what our minds aren’t ready for. The stirring of our souls for our country as the US flag and veterans pass by, the “Stars and Stripes” playing and the fireworks going off. In fact, so necessary is love that the inability to love is considered a psychological disorder. Furthermore, the absence of love is crippling to our development. There was a story published a number of years ago babies in a Russian orphanage. There were too many for the staff to care for so that some were held regularly but others not touched at all. Those who were not touched frequently had arrested development and many difficulties.
It is this last example that gives us a small window into the biblical understanding of love. This summer we are doing a series on the nine fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. We got a running start on Holy Trinity Sunday with a reminder of the fruitful God who makes fruit possible. The God who abides in us welcomes us to abide in God and produces fruit in us. Then two weeks ago we heard about those things that stand in the way of fruitful living, what the Apostle Paul calls the works of the flesh. Last week, we heard that fruitful living is a communal experience and that we are in this together. Today we begin our study of each fruit, not merely as fruit inspectors or even as fruit tasters, but cultivators of fruit.
We do so with two of the three most famous love passages in scripture, 1 Corinthians 13 and John 2. (The most famous is probably John 3.16.) It’s helpful to know the context of each: the Corinthian church was one Paul founded and cared deeply for. With Paul gone, the Corinthians became conflicted, with various groups struggling for power. The conflict arose because they had a distorted understanding of spirituality, thinking there was pecking order of gifts. They thought that those who possessed the gift of speaking in tongues were spiritually superior to those with other gifts. Paul tells them that loveless gifts are empty. In John, Peter comes before the resurrected Jesus and is asked three times if he loves Jesus. Many people see in this Peter’s rehabilitation for denying Jesus three times and that he is now restored to discipleship and leadership.
Early this last week I asked my Facebook friends to fill in the blank: Love is ________. Only one of the responses came close to describing love as feeling, but even that one was only through an action. Did you notice in the readings the same thing? Biblical love is not a feeling, it is active. I heard a story this last week about a son who asked his father when he first knew he loved his mother. Perhaps he wanted to know if what he was feeling for a young lady was the real thing. The father paused for a long time and then surprised his son saying it wasn’t until 10 years into his marriage that he knew he lived his wife. Seeing the startled look on his son’s face, he explained: until that point he didn’t really know what love was.
In Galatians, Paul tells us that through God’s love in Jesus Christ we live in a new reality. We now live by the Spirit. However, he adds, that is not all; we are to be led by the Spirit. Paul goes even further: faith is not only active in love; love is a way of being. We are to be to others what God is to us. Love is both gift or fruit and task. There may be times when we don’t know what love requires of us, but there are never any times when we can set love aside. In the end, though, God makes possible what God demands.
One of my favorite movies is Disney’s Frozen, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. It tells the story of two princesses, Elsa, who has cryokinetic powers, and her younger sister Anna. Unfortunately, Elsa is unable to control her power and after a childhood accident she is hidden from everyone, including Anna. After ascending to the throne, the young women argue over Anna’s new love, Hans, and Elsa’s power is exposed. Panicking and fleeing, she unleashes an eternal winter on the kingdom. Anna, with the help of newfound friend and iceman Kristoff, seek out Elsa, trying to convince her to return.
Though they reunite, Elsa refuses to return, becomes agitated, accidentally striking Anna in the heart. Anna starts to freeze and Kristoff seeks healing from the trolls, who say that only an act of true love can save her. Thinking this means a kiss from Hans, they rush back to the kingdom. Yet it isn’t a kiss from Hans (who is revealed to be a conniver) or even Kristoff that can save her. It is Anna’s self-sacrifice, placing herself between Hans and Elsa as he tries to kill Elsa, just as she turns solid that is revealed as an act of true love. Anna thaws and Elsa realizes that it is through love that she is able to control her power.
Love, though active, is not heartless. But I think we get them backwards, believing that feeling comes first. Yet, I think more often than not we act our way into thinking and feeling, doing so because of God’s grace and power. May you discover the Spirit’s presence blowing through your life, leading you to grow in love. Amen.
Pentecost 4 (Summer Series)
July 6, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
1 Corinthians 12.31-13.13; John 21.15-19
Let us pray: Gracious and loving God, make us love as you have loved us, so that all of the world will know your love. Let this continually be our prayer until you come again. Amen.
Most of us have experienced the power of love and know firsthand its influence upon us. The overwhelming emotions that surge within us at the sight of our newborn son or daughter. The deep turbulence in our teenage years the prompt us to do with our bodies what our minds aren’t ready for. The stirring of our souls for our country as the US flag and veterans pass by, the “Stars and Stripes” playing and the fireworks going off. In fact, so necessary is love that the inability to love is considered a psychological disorder. Furthermore, the absence of love is crippling to our development. There was a story published a number of years ago babies in a Russian orphanage. There were too many for the staff to care for so that some were held regularly but others not touched at all. Those who were not touched frequently had arrested development and many difficulties.
It is this last example that gives us a small window into the biblical understanding of love. This summer we are doing a series on the nine fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. We got a running start on Holy Trinity Sunday with a reminder of the fruitful God who makes fruit possible. The God who abides in us welcomes us to abide in God and produces fruit in us. Then two weeks ago we heard about those things that stand in the way of fruitful living, what the Apostle Paul calls the works of the flesh. Last week, we heard that fruitful living is a communal experience and that we are in this together. Today we begin our study of each fruit, not merely as fruit inspectors or even as fruit tasters, but cultivators of fruit.
We do so with two of the three most famous love passages in scripture, 1 Corinthians 13 and John 2. (The most famous is probably John 3.16.) It’s helpful to know the context of each: the Corinthian church was one Paul founded and cared deeply for. With Paul gone, the Corinthians became conflicted, with various groups struggling for power. The conflict arose because they had a distorted understanding of spirituality, thinking there was pecking order of gifts. They thought that those who possessed the gift of speaking in tongues were spiritually superior to those with other gifts. Paul tells them that loveless gifts are empty. In John, Peter comes before the resurrected Jesus and is asked three times if he loves Jesus. Many people see in this Peter’s rehabilitation for denying Jesus three times and that he is now restored to discipleship and leadership.
Early this last week I asked my Facebook friends to fill in the blank: Love is ________. Only one of the responses came close to describing love as feeling, but even that one was only through an action. Did you notice in the readings the same thing? Biblical love is not a feeling, it is active. I heard a story this last week about a son who asked his father when he first knew he loved his mother. Perhaps he wanted to know if what he was feeling for a young lady was the real thing. The father paused for a long time and then surprised his son saying it wasn’t until 10 years into his marriage that he knew he lived his wife. Seeing the startled look on his son’s face, he explained: until that point he didn’t really know what love was.
In Galatians, Paul tells us that through God’s love in Jesus Christ we live in a new reality. We now live by the Spirit. However, he adds, that is not all; we are to be led by the Spirit. Paul goes even further: faith is not only active in love; love is a way of being. We are to be to others what God is to us. Love is both gift or fruit and task. There may be times when we don’t know what love requires of us, but there are never any times when we can set love aside. In the end, though, God makes possible what God demands.
One of my favorite movies is Disney’s Frozen, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. It tells the story of two princesses, Elsa, who has cryokinetic powers, and her younger sister Anna. Unfortunately, Elsa is unable to control her power and after a childhood accident she is hidden from everyone, including Anna. After ascending to the throne, the young women argue over Anna’s new love, Hans, and Elsa’s power is exposed. Panicking and fleeing, she unleashes an eternal winter on the kingdom. Anna, with the help of newfound friend and iceman Kristoff, seek out Elsa, trying to convince her to return.
Though they reunite, Elsa refuses to return, becomes agitated, accidentally striking Anna in the heart. Anna starts to freeze and Kristoff seeks healing from the trolls, who say that only an act of true love can save her. Thinking this means a kiss from Hans, they rush back to the kingdom. Yet it isn’t a kiss from Hans (who is revealed to be a conniver) or even Kristoff that can save her. It is Anna’s self-sacrifice, placing herself between Hans and Elsa as he tries to kill Elsa, just as she turns solid that is revealed as an act of true love. Anna thaws and Elsa realizes that it is through love that she is able to control her power.
Love, though active, is not heartless. But I think we get them backwards, believing that feeling comes first. Yet, I think more often than not we act our way into thinking and feeling, doing so because of God’s grace and power. May you discover the Spirit’s presence blowing through your life, leading you to grow in love. Amen.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Come + Grow + Serve - Newsletter Article for July/August 2014
July/August 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Come • Grow • Serve
Burger King recently announced that it is scrapping its iconic slogan, “Have it your way.” Although some slogans have more staying power than others, in reality organizations change their tag lines frequently. In the case of Burger King, “Have it your way” has been around for an amazing 40 years.
Slogans (or tag lines) are intended to express in a few words the current attitude of an organization. If you listen and watch carefully, you will quickly recognize them all over the place. Almost all organizations use them, from footwear makers (“Just do it” – Nike) to colleges (“Make your life count” – Gustavus) and even the military (“Be all that you can be” – US Army).
Creating a tag line is serious business in the corporate world, for which companies pay substantial sums of money. When the slogan is a good one, an organization can get a lot of mileage out of it. Burger King certainly got its money’s worth.
We don’t have the resources of a fast-food restaurant, college, or manufacturer, but we do understand the value of a phrase that captures in a few short words what God is up to at Grace. With our mission statement and guiding principles in place and well on our way to completing phase two of our three-phase strategic plan, the council decided it was time to revisit our tag line. After much conversation, here is the fruit of our labor:
Come • Grow • Serve
The first thing you notice about our new tagline is that there are no connecting words. Rather, there are three invitations that highlight three aspects of our mission, guiding principles, and strategic plan.
The first word, Come, describes the welcoming nature of Grace where all are welcome. Visitors to our church, especially those who become members, routinely cite the welcome they received as being the reason for committing to God’s mission and ministry through us. In fact, Come expresses the identity in our name, Grace Lutheran Church.
The second word, Grow, describes our commitment to grow in faith as followers of Jesus Christ. This is an area that we know needs work and by naming it we can be intentional about living the marks of discipleship: regular prayer, worship and scripture reading as well as being the generous people God created us to be.
The last word, Serve, reflects the core of our mission statement: “Through God’s abundant love, we live and work to serve others.” It also highlights our desire to make a difference in our world. God has a mission to love and bless the world. To accomplish that mission, God calls us together to serve others.
When someone asks you what Grace is about, you can tell them these three words: Come • Grow • Serve. You will see them in all of our communications, including the new logo being developed. This tagline probably won’t last 40 years because God is always on the move, but it won’t be less important. That’s our invitation to you and to others.
Come • Grow • Serve
Pastor Olson
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Come • Grow • Serve
Burger King recently announced that it is scrapping its iconic slogan, “Have it your way.” Although some slogans have more staying power than others, in reality organizations change their tag lines frequently. In the case of Burger King, “Have it your way” has been around for an amazing 40 years.
Slogans (or tag lines) are intended to express in a few words the current attitude of an organization. If you listen and watch carefully, you will quickly recognize them all over the place. Almost all organizations use them, from footwear makers (“Just do it” – Nike) to colleges (“Make your life count” – Gustavus) and even the military (“Be all that you can be” – US Army).
Creating a tag line is serious business in the corporate world, for which companies pay substantial sums of money. When the slogan is a good one, an organization can get a lot of mileage out of it. Burger King certainly got its money’s worth.
We don’t have the resources of a fast-food restaurant, college, or manufacturer, but we do understand the value of a phrase that captures in a few short words what God is up to at Grace. With our mission statement and guiding principles in place and well on our way to completing phase two of our three-phase strategic plan, the council decided it was time to revisit our tag line. After much conversation, here is the fruit of our labor:
Come • Grow • Serve
The first thing you notice about our new tagline is that there are no connecting words. Rather, there are three invitations that highlight three aspects of our mission, guiding principles, and strategic plan.
The first word, Come, describes the welcoming nature of Grace where all are welcome. Visitors to our church, especially those who become members, routinely cite the welcome they received as being the reason for committing to God’s mission and ministry through us. In fact, Come expresses the identity in our name, Grace Lutheran Church.
The second word, Grow, describes our commitment to grow in faith as followers of Jesus Christ. This is an area that we know needs work and by naming it we can be intentional about living the marks of discipleship: regular prayer, worship and scripture reading as well as being the generous people God created us to be.
The last word, Serve, reflects the core of our mission statement: “Through God’s abundant love, we live and work to serve others.” It also highlights our desire to make a difference in our world. God has a mission to love and bless the world. To accomplish that mission, God calls us together to serve others.
When someone asks you what Grace is about, you can tell them these three words: Come • Grow • Serve. You will see them in all of our communications, including the new logo being developed. This tagline probably won’t last 40 years because God is always on the move, but it won’t be less important. That’s our invitation to you and to others.
Come • Grow • Serve
Pastor Olson
Sunday, June 15, 2014
"A Fruitful God" - Sermon for Trinity Sunday
A Fruitful God
Trinity Sunday – Summer Series
June 15, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
John 15.1-17; 16.12-15
I blame the Trinity. I blame the Trinity for becoming a pastor, or perhaps more accurately, the doctrine of the Trinity. Most of you know that I was a lay person in the business world for 16 years before going to seminary. One day, I asked my pastor, Wally Jensen, to explain this Trinity stuff to me, thinking he’d sit down with me and lay it out. But, he did what any good pastor would do: he took a book from his shelf and handed it to me. (It was Robert Jenson’s Triune Identity.) I was caught returning the book by another parishioner, Jim Bittner. He said, “If you keep reading that stuff, you’ll wind up with your collar turned around.” Jim would know; he was heading to seminary himself.
Today is Trinity Sunday and some cranky ones say it’s the only Festival Sunday dedicated to a doctrine rather than person or event. But it’s also the day when I can blame the Trinity (or Wally and Jim) for being a pastor. Since then, Trinitarian theology has been a thread woven through my studies, and not just the usual history of the creeds and councils that discussed the doctrine. It was a major piece of my doctoral work on missional church leadership. I wish I could say I was an expert.
At its heart, the Trinity is a way to try to express something of this God who is by definition inexpressible. It tries to answer questions like, “How can one God be three?” or “How can three be one?” Perhaps the most important question was, “How can God be both close and also far away?” One part of the church used sending language to express this mystery (the Father sends the Son, etc.) while the other branch used relational language (the three are in such tight relationship that they act as one).
Metaphors like St. Patrick’s shamrock nibble at the edges of the Trinitarian mystery, but good images are found in scripture, such as our texts from John. Though not explicitly Trinitarian, John 15 and 16 relate the image of God as the Vine-Grower, and Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. Relying on relational image of abiding (remaining, staying, resting), Jesus tells us that we are to stay connected to him and he to us, and that connection means everything to us. It means life. Last weekend we made a road trip with our daughters and one of their phones needed recharging. My car adapter is temperamental and after multiple tries of it cutting in and out, I finally got her phone charging. When connected, her phone charged; it had life.
It is important about this metaphor is that there is a creative tension in our relationship with God. On the one hand, as branches our connection to God is a given; it is a gift freely granted to us that we don’t do anything to earn. On the other hand, there is a response to be made to this gift: that we continue to abide in God. Part of the reason is that we are to be followers of Jesus, and followers bear fruit. But another part of the reason is that life happens and leaves debris behind that must be cleared away. God prunes the junk and refuse from our lives so that we can have life.
There is a story of a pastor’s visit to a member who hadn’t been coming to church. The parishioner invites him in and the sit wordlessly in front of a coal-burning fire. After a while, the pastor gets up, grabs some tongs, and puts an errant and cold coal next to the burning ones. Soon, the once-cold piece of coal becomes hot and burning. Again wordlessly, the pastor gets up and leaves. The next Sunday, the parishioner is found in church.
This summer, we are going to explore deeply what it means to bear fruit in our lives, “Fruitful Living: Growing in the Spirit.” Today, we begin by noting the importance of being connected to the “fruitful God,” what it means to abide. Next week, we’ll look at what stands in the way of bearing fruit, the “works of the flesh,” as Paul says in Galatians 5. Then, on June 29, we’ll have a little side trip celebrating how God gives the growth as we install John Odegard as our new Minister for Discipleship and Faith Formation.
Then, on July 6 and each Sunday after, we’ll explore each of the nine fruit of the Spirit in depth: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Abiding in the relational Trinitarian God, being a disciple, and bearing fruit, is a life-long journey. It doesn’t mean that you’ll wind up with your collars turned around, just closer to God’s intention. Oh, but it does mean that you can blame the Trinity. Amen.
Trinity Sunday – Summer Series
June 15, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
John 15.1-17; 16.12-15
I blame the Trinity. I blame the Trinity for becoming a pastor, or perhaps more accurately, the doctrine of the Trinity. Most of you know that I was a lay person in the business world for 16 years before going to seminary. One day, I asked my pastor, Wally Jensen, to explain this Trinity stuff to me, thinking he’d sit down with me and lay it out. But, he did what any good pastor would do: he took a book from his shelf and handed it to me. (It was Robert Jenson’s Triune Identity.) I was caught returning the book by another parishioner, Jim Bittner. He said, “If you keep reading that stuff, you’ll wind up with your collar turned around.” Jim would know; he was heading to seminary himself.
Today is Trinity Sunday and some cranky ones say it’s the only Festival Sunday dedicated to a doctrine rather than person or event. But it’s also the day when I can blame the Trinity (or Wally and Jim) for being a pastor. Since then, Trinitarian theology has been a thread woven through my studies, and not just the usual history of the creeds and councils that discussed the doctrine. It was a major piece of my doctoral work on missional church leadership. I wish I could say I was an expert.
At its heart, the Trinity is a way to try to express something of this God who is by definition inexpressible. It tries to answer questions like, “How can one God be three?” or “How can three be one?” Perhaps the most important question was, “How can God be both close and also far away?” One part of the church used sending language to express this mystery (the Father sends the Son, etc.) while the other branch used relational language (the three are in such tight relationship that they act as one).
Metaphors like St. Patrick’s shamrock nibble at the edges of the Trinitarian mystery, but good images are found in scripture, such as our texts from John. Though not explicitly Trinitarian, John 15 and 16 relate the image of God as the Vine-Grower, and Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. Relying on relational image of abiding (remaining, staying, resting), Jesus tells us that we are to stay connected to him and he to us, and that connection means everything to us. It means life. Last weekend we made a road trip with our daughters and one of their phones needed recharging. My car adapter is temperamental and after multiple tries of it cutting in and out, I finally got her phone charging. When connected, her phone charged; it had life.
It is important about this metaphor is that there is a creative tension in our relationship with God. On the one hand, as branches our connection to God is a given; it is a gift freely granted to us that we don’t do anything to earn. On the other hand, there is a response to be made to this gift: that we continue to abide in God. Part of the reason is that we are to be followers of Jesus, and followers bear fruit. But another part of the reason is that life happens and leaves debris behind that must be cleared away. God prunes the junk and refuse from our lives so that we can have life.
There is a story of a pastor’s visit to a member who hadn’t been coming to church. The parishioner invites him in and the sit wordlessly in front of a coal-burning fire. After a while, the pastor gets up, grabs some tongs, and puts an errant and cold coal next to the burning ones. Soon, the once-cold piece of coal becomes hot and burning. Again wordlessly, the pastor gets up and leaves. The next Sunday, the parishioner is found in church.
This summer, we are going to explore deeply what it means to bear fruit in our lives, “Fruitful Living: Growing in the Spirit.” Today, we begin by noting the importance of being connected to the “fruitful God,” what it means to abide. Next week, we’ll look at what stands in the way of bearing fruit, the “works of the flesh,” as Paul says in Galatians 5. Then, on June 29, we’ll have a little side trip celebrating how God gives the growth as we install John Odegard as our new Minister for Discipleship and Faith Formation.
Then, on July 6 and each Sunday after, we’ll explore each of the nine fruit of the Spirit in depth: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Abiding in the relational Trinitarian God, being a disciple, and bearing fruit, is a life-long journey. It doesn’t mean that you’ll wind up with your collars turned around, just closer to God’s intention. Oh, but it does mean that you can blame the Trinity. Amen.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
"Free Spirit" - Sermon for Pentecost Sunday
Free Spirit
Pentecost Sunday – Narrative Lectionary 4
June 8, 2015
Grace, Mankato, MN
Acts 2.1-21
I don’t think that high school in the early 70s in Suburban Minneapolis was much different than today. Then, as now, young people were trying to find their place in life, figuring out who we were, where we were going in life. Though we would try on costumes—bell bottoms, tie dyes, and even Nehru jackets—like we tried on identities —jock, geek, nerd, preppie—we were by and large mainstream and, though we didn’t know it at the time, rather ordinary.
That is, except for people like Rachel. Rachel was kind of “out there,” although where “there” was we really didn’t know. She dressed funkily, but for her it wasn’t an attempt to stand out; it was just who she was. Rachel didn’t march to the beat of a different drummer; she was grooving to a whole different kind of music. We didn’t know what to make of her and, though she made us uneasy, we nonetheless had a grudging admiration for her. You see, although she was unpredictable she was also clearly comfortable with herself. Furthermore, Rachel’s presence showed us how wrapped up in ourselves we were and, though we probably couldn’t articulate it at the time, invited us to be our true selves (whatever those true selves were).
I think of Rachel when I think of the Holy Spirit. Today is Pentecost, the Sunday we celebrate the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ followers. For the Jews, Pentecost comes 50 days after Passover (hence the name). It is a harvest festival of thanksgiving as well as a celebration of the covenant God made with Moses and Israel on Sinai. It’s not the “birthday of the church” as is often stated, but a time to recall the powerful, gracious, life-giving presence of God. Pentecost doesn’t look backward as a birthday celebration does; it looks forward. So, Pentecost is not the beginning of the end, but rather the end of the beginning. Pentecost is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of help to his followers in proclaiming the good news of God’s love.
Yet, that promise of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus was very short on details. Who could possibly have predicted what happened on that first Pentecost? A mighty rush of wind, tongues like fire lighting on the people, and people being able to speak and hear their own languages. In fact, just like Rachel, blowing in and through my high school years, or like a crazy aunt who shows up at all the family functions, the Holy Spirit blows in, with, and through us in unexpected ways. If nothing else today is a reminder to hold up our collective metaphorical fingers to ask where the Spirit is blowing in our place and, perhaps more importantly, through those we least expect it. Not to catch the latest fad our new church thing, but to discover where the Spirit might be taking us next.
In addition to showing up in unexpected people and places in unpredictable, uncontrollable ways, the Spirit empowers us to find our voices. I think this is the aspect of the Holy Spirit that scares us the most because many of us are more like Moses, who initially declined God’s invitation to lead his people, than like impetuous Peter. We don’t all have to be Peters to speak about what God is doing in, with, and through our lives. But, the Holy Spirit, like Rachel, simply invites us to be ourselves and to share ourselves with others. It’s not our job to convince people to follow Christ because that’s God’s job. Our job is to simply tell others what God has done.
So, the Holy Spirit works in unexpected ways and gives us voice, but we always remember that it’s for the sake of others. Like Rachel, whose very presence invited us to stop being so wrapped up in ourselves, the Holy Spirit gathers us together as a community of faith to live and work to serve others (our mission statement). However, we remember that we don’t have a mission; God has a mission. To accomplish that mission, God has us, a church. God’s mission is to love and bless the world, for us to be a loving and healing presence in it. The world doesn’t always get that about us, and even sneers at us, but that’s okay. Our calling is simply to love everyone and welcome everyone. No exceptions.
The Spirit has been blowing through Grace in some wild and crazy ways the last few years. We have gone to one service on Sunday morning using Convergence Worship. We host a community meal followed by a relaxed worship service on Wednesday nights have followed by education for all ages. We have called a new staff person as a minister for discipleship and faith formation (a radical move) and will be assessing our facility to see if it supports God’s mission and ministry here. We do all this so that we can give voice to God’s love to our community. Yes, when you think about it, it is wild and crazy. But that’s the Holy Spirit for you. Besides, I think Rachel would be smiling. Amen.
Pentecost Sunday – Narrative Lectionary 4
June 8, 2015
Grace, Mankato, MN
Acts 2.1-21
I don’t think that high school in the early 70s in Suburban Minneapolis was much different than today. Then, as now, young people were trying to find their place in life, figuring out who we were, where we were going in life. Though we would try on costumes—bell bottoms, tie dyes, and even Nehru jackets—like we tried on identities —jock, geek, nerd, preppie—we were by and large mainstream and, though we didn’t know it at the time, rather ordinary.
That is, except for people like Rachel. Rachel was kind of “out there,” although where “there” was we really didn’t know. She dressed funkily, but for her it wasn’t an attempt to stand out; it was just who she was. Rachel didn’t march to the beat of a different drummer; she was grooving to a whole different kind of music. We didn’t know what to make of her and, though she made us uneasy, we nonetheless had a grudging admiration for her. You see, although she was unpredictable she was also clearly comfortable with herself. Furthermore, Rachel’s presence showed us how wrapped up in ourselves we were and, though we probably couldn’t articulate it at the time, invited us to be our true selves (whatever those true selves were).
I think of Rachel when I think of the Holy Spirit. Today is Pentecost, the Sunday we celebrate the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ followers. For the Jews, Pentecost comes 50 days after Passover (hence the name). It is a harvest festival of thanksgiving as well as a celebration of the covenant God made with Moses and Israel on Sinai. It’s not the “birthday of the church” as is often stated, but a time to recall the powerful, gracious, life-giving presence of God. Pentecost doesn’t look backward as a birthday celebration does; it looks forward. So, Pentecost is not the beginning of the end, but rather the end of the beginning. Pentecost is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of help to his followers in proclaiming the good news of God’s love.
Yet, that promise of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus was very short on details. Who could possibly have predicted what happened on that first Pentecost? A mighty rush of wind, tongues like fire lighting on the people, and people being able to speak and hear their own languages. In fact, just like Rachel, blowing in and through my high school years, or like a crazy aunt who shows up at all the family functions, the Holy Spirit blows in, with, and through us in unexpected ways. If nothing else today is a reminder to hold up our collective metaphorical fingers to ask where the Spirit is blowing in our place and, perhaps more importantly, through those we least expect it. Not to catch the latest fad our new church thing, but to discover where the Spirit might be taking us next.
In addition to showing up in unexpected people and places in unpredictable, uncontrollable ways, the Spirit empowers us to find our voices. I think this is the aspect of the Holy Spirit that scares us the most because many of us are more like Moses, who initially declined God’s invitation to lead his people, than like impetuous Peter. We don’t all have to be Peters to speak about what God is doing in, with, and through our lives. But, the Holy Spirit, like Rachel, simply invites us to be ourselves and to share ourselves with others. It’s not our job to convince people to follow Christ because that’s God’s job. Our job is to simply tell others what God has done.
So, the Holy Spirit works in unexpected ways and gives us voice, but we always remember that it’s for the sake of others. Like Rachel, whose very presence invited us to stop being so wrapped up in ourselves, the Holy Spirit gathers us together as a community of faith to live and work to serve others (our mission statement). However, we remember that we don’t have a mission; God has a mission. To accomplish that mission, God has us, a church. God’s mission is to love and bless the world, for us to be a loving and healing presence in it. The world doesn’t always get that about us, and even sneers at us, but that’s okay. Our calling is simply to love everyone and welcome everyone. No exceptions.
The Spirit has been blowing through Grace in some wild and crazy ways the last few years. We have gone to one service on Sunday morning using Convergence Worship. We host a community meal followed by a relaxed worship service on Wednesday nights have followed by education for all ages. We have called a new staff person as a minister for discipleship and faith formation (a radical move) and will be assessing our facility to see if it supports God’s mission and ministry here. We do all this so that we can give voice to God’s love to our community. Yes, when you think about it, it is wild and crazy. But that’s the Holy Spirit for you. Besides, I think Rachel would be smiling. Amen.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
"We Can Work It Out" - Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter
We Can Work It Out
Easter 7 – Narrative Lectionary 4
June 1, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Philippians 1.27-2.13
In December of 1965, the Beatles released what would become the sixth and last in a string of #1 singles in a row on the American charts. It would also the 11th #1 for them in less than two years. The “Fab Four” spent an unheard of 11 hours of studio time on the song and, when it came time to decide which song to release as an “A-side” single, Lennon argued strongly for “Day Tripper.” The group decided to market both songs as “A-side,” the first “double A-side” in recorded history. But the other song quickly out-played “Day Tripper,” reaching #1 on the music charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
If you have paid attention to the sermon title, you already know what the song is: “We Can Work It Out.” Interestingly, the song was a collaboration between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who I don’t think got along very well. McCartney wrote the beginning and ending, the more optimistic verses saying, “We can work it out.” He then passed it off to Lennon for finishing, with Lennon writing the more impatient bridge, “Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend.” (On a side-note, George Harrison is credited with the suggestion that then of the bridge have a waltz-like tempo.)
Well, this not just a shout-out to the 50th anniversary of the British Invasion of the Beatles in America. Rather, I thought of the song as I worked with the text from Philippians, especially verses 12-13, where Paul invites us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, as the NRSV puts it. (We read Peterson’s The Message version today because I think it’s more accessible and understandable.) Now, to our highly sensitized Lutheran ears this smacks of works righteousness or earning our salvation. However, we know that this is Paul writing, so we know that there has to more to “working it out” than meets the eye.
Paul writes to a church he founded and deeply cares for, a church whose unity is being threatened, both from without and from within. So, in telling them to live a life as a “credit to the Message of Christ,” he is reminding them of the new reality in which they stand, a reality of God’s love poured out through Jesus Christ. This is hard to see because of an unfortunate translate (in both versions). The “if” at the beginning of chapter 2 should be translated “since” or “because.” Since God has done these things or because of what has been done, therefore your lives are to be different. Then, at the end of the passage, Paul also reminds then that what God has already done isn’t the end. God continues to work deep within them, helping them to live out the faith given to them.
In between, through the use of the so-called “Christ Hymn,” Paul reminds them of two things: the basis for their life together and the character of it. They are to think of themselves in the same way as Jesus did when he emptied himself for them. Thinking as Jesus did doesn’t necessarily mean dying as he did and it doesn’t mean thinking alike. It doesn’t even mean we all believe the same; it means we share a concern for the common good. Christianity never has been and never will be a “one-size-fits-all” religion. Rather, it’s a way of life.
A small illustration: as I was working with a group of confirmation students and their parents a several years ago, I reminded the youth that we did not wear robes our Saturday evening services and to dress with that in mind. One of the moms immediately asked me if I have a dress code. She almost got me. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to say to them, “I expect you to bring your best selves to church, whatever that is for you.”
It is telling that the English word “you” can be either singular or plural, but I’ll bet that most of us assume it is singular when we read the Bible. However, most of the time, it is plural. Here, Paul is telling the Philippians to work out their salvation together, not individually. This is not adherence to a set of rules, but living out a shared vision of self-sacrifice for others. It is what we’ve tried to capture in our mission statement: “Through God’s abundant love, we live and work to serve others.” This is not superficial advice like “play nice,” but rather it’s a way of being and doing. We are to work out together what God has worked into us, and just as importantly, continues to work out in, with, and through us.
The Beatles certainly weren’t Christian, yet “We Can Work It Out” and the process in which it was written shows us what thinking of ourselves in the same way as Jesus and working out salvation might look like. McCartney and Lennon had different styles and attitudes, even different approaches to the song. Yet, they were able to work together their common vision for making music. Theirs wasn’t a collaboration that would hold, as we well know, for their particular unity wasn’t enough.
Our life together at Grace is going well right now and it will continue to do so, not because we all think alike, but because we have a common vision. It will continue only if we remind ourselves of what God has done in us and pay attention to what God wants to do with and through us, that we might “live and work to serve others.” We can indeed, with God’s help and guidance, “work it out.” Amen.
Easter 7 – Narrative Lectionary 4
June 1, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Philippians 1.27-2.13
In December of 1965, the Beatles released what would become the sixth and last in a string of #1 singles in a row on the American charts. It would also the 11th #1 for them in less than two years. The “Fab Four” spent an unheard of 11 hours of studio time on the song and, when it came time to decide which song to release as an “A-side” single, Lennon argued strongly for “Day Tripper.” The group decided to market both songs as “A-side,” the first “double A-side” in recorded history. But the other song quickly out-played “Day Tripper,” reaching #1 on the music charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
If you have paid attention to the sermon title, you already know what the song is: “We Can Work It Out.” Interestingly, the song was a collaboration between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who I don’t think got along very well. McCartney wrote the beginning and ending, the more optimistic verses saying, “We can work it out.” He then passed it off to Lennon for finishing, with Lennon writing the more impatient bridge, “Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend.” (On a side-note, George Harrison is credited with the suggestion that then of the bridge have a waltz-like tempo.)
Well, this not just a shout-out to the 50th anniversary of the British Invasion of the Beatles in America. Rather, I thought of the song as I worked with the text from Philippians, especially verses 12-13, where Paul invites us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, as the NRSV puts it. (We read Peterson’s The Message version today because I think it’s more accessible and understandable.) Now, to our highly sensitized Lutheran ears this smacks of works righteousness or earning our salvation. However, we know that this is Paul writing, so we know that there has to more to “working it out” than meets the eye.
Paul writes to a church he founded and deeply cares for, a church whose unity is being threatened, both from without and from within. So, in telling them to live a life as a “credit to the Message of Christ,” he is reminding them of the new reality in which they stand, a reality of God’s love poured out through Jesus Christ. This is hard to see because of an unfortunate translate (in both versions). The “if” at the beginning of chapter 2 should be translated “since” or “because.” Since God has done these things or because of what has been done, therefore your lives are to be different. Then, at the end of the passage, Paul also reminds then that what God has already done isn’t the end. God continues to work deep within them, helping them to live out the faith given to them.
In between, through the use of the so-called “Christ Hymn,” Paul reminds them of two things: the basis for their life together and the character of it. They are to think of themselves in the same way as Jesus did when he emptied himself for them. Thinking as Jesus did doesn’t necessarily mean dying as he did and it doesn’t mean thinking alike. It doesn’t even mean we all believe the same; it means we share a concern for the common good. Christianity never has been and never will be a “one-size-fits-all” religion. Rather, it’s a way of life.
A small illustration: as I was working with a group of confirmation students and their parents a several years ago, I reminded the youth that we did not wear robes our Saturday evening services and to dress with that in mind. One of the moms immediately asked me if I have a dress code. She almost got me. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to say to them, “I expect you to bring your best selves to church, whatever that is for you.”
It is telling that the English word “you” can be either singular or plural, but I’ll bet that most of us assume it is singular when we read the Bible. However, most of the time, it is plural. Here, Paul is telling the Philippians to work out their salvation together, not individually. This is not adherence to a set of rules, but living out a shared vision of self-sacrifice for others. It is what we’ve tried to capture in our mission statement: “Through God’s abundant love, we live and work to serve others.” This is not superficial advice like “play nice,” but rather it’s a way of being and doing. We are to work out together what God has worked into us, and just as importantly, continues to work out in, with, and through us.
The Beatles certainly weren’t Christian, yet “We Can Work It Out” and the process in which it was written shows us what thinking of ourselves in the same way as Jesus and working out salvation might look like. McCartney and Lennon had different styles and attitudes, even different approaches to the song. Yet, they were able to work together their common vision for making music. Theirs wasn’t a collaboration that would hold, as we well know, for their particular unity wasn’t enough.
Our life together at Grace is going well right now and it will continue to do so, not because we all think alike, but because we have a common vision. It will continue only if we remind ourselves of what God has done in us and pay attention to what God wants to do with and through us, that we might “live and work to serve others.” We can indeed, with God’s help and guidance, “work it out.” Amen.
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