“Spiritual and Religious” - Day of Pentecost Sermon

“Spiritual and Religious”

Day of Pentecost B

May 27, 2012

Acts 2.1-21

An old Chinese proverb says, “May you be cursed to live in interesting times.” We don’t have to go too far to find the curse of the interesting. Our upcoming elections give us enough material. We are also dealing with increased polarization in our society and fragmentation. It’s not much different in the church. Mainline churches, the ELCA included, are struggling. Churches are also becoming polarized and more fragmented. The fast growing category of religious affiliation is the “nones,” not to be confused with Catholic religious. “Nothing in particular” is the choice of 12% of our populations, with another 4% being agnostic or atheist. If that isn’t cursing-ly interesting enough, a large segment considers themselves “spiritual, but not religious,” with dueling YouTube videos going viral back and forth.

Here’s a video called “It’s Pentecost,” that has a different take on our situation today.

Indeed, we have a story to tell, a story that takes us outside of ourselves into God’s world. In the curse of interesting times, we often find ourselves either giving up on the church altogether or feeling we have to defend it. I don’t find either option to be helpful or life-giving. I gave up on the church once, and that didn’t work. As for the other option, we don’t need to defend the church, not because it is perfect, but because it is God, through the Holy Spirit, that brings the community of faith together. God has a mission to love and bless the world, and for that mission God gathers you, me, and others to join in that mission, to tell the story of God’s love in Christ.

Even so, what is often missing from God’s gathered communities is a lively conversation about what God is up to in their communities and where it is that God is blowing us to join in that work. The Spirit may blow wherever and whenever it wills, but it does blow with intentionality and purpose. A community without the Spirit is dead. The Spirit without community is, well, not the Spirit at all. The Spirit of Pentecost is found wherever boundaries are broken down, just as they were at that first Pentecost when people from the known world are reunited into a singular group.

The Spirit of Pentecost is present wherever people as questions about meaning and purpose, no matter how perplexing and difficult. The Spirit is present where men and women, old and young, free or not, share dreams and visions of what God’s world could be. I believe that the Spirit of Pentecost is blowing through Grace as we seek to join God’s work to walk with families of all ages in our congregation and our community. Exciting and, yes, even interesting things are happening. We are making some major additions to our Wednesday night programming: a community meal, informal worship, and faith formation for all ages.

Like those early disciples, we may not always be clear about where we are going, and we’ll probably stumble along the way, but the Holy Spirit will be guiding us every step of the way. With God’s help, we are going to be spiritual and religious, a community of faith guided by the Spirit. That’s a blessing, not a curse. Amen.

"Whence Justus?" Easter 7B Sermon

“Whence Justus?”

Easter 7B

May 20, 2012

Acts 1.15-17, 21-26

Today’s text from chapter 1 holds a special place in my heart. While using it for a Bible Study/devotion during a call process, I had an epiphany of sorts. I discovered that, since both Justus and Matthias were equally well qualified, presumably either would have fulfilled the obligations of office. It would have been differently perhaps, but equally as well. That seems to take some pressure off from having to find “the right one.” More recently, this text was a the major biblical passage that framed my doctoral thesis, which was concerned with how to increase the synod’s ability to identify and recruit missional leaders.

However, as so often happens when you work with a familiar text, you see something else you haven’t seen before. That happened this week. Jesus’ eleven disciples find themselves “betwixt and between.” Jesus has ascended into heaven and they have been told to return to Jerusalem to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. So they gather, along with others who had been following Jesus, including his mother and other women as well. While devoting themselves to prayer and the word, Peter gets up and with support from Scripture, declares they must find a replacement for Judas. A list of requirements is agreed upon, two members of the group are proposed, lots are cast, and Matthias is chosen. By the way, the casting of lots was a perfectly acceptable way of seeking God’s will in the ancient world.

What I wondered as I thought about this text is, “Whence Justus?” Where did he go? Interestingly, we never hear from Matthias again either, but what happened to Justus? Was he so disappointed he didn’t get the job that he left the fledging church to start his own? A long time ago in a synod far away, I was present at a synod assembly where a new bishop was to be elected. As often happens there were three strong candidates for the position; of course, only one was elected. What I found interesting was that the two pastors who weren’t elected we very visibly devastated about the outcome. I wondered if those that want it that badly ought not to get it.

But, back to Justus. Did Justus go away mad, or did he just go away? I can’t prove it, but I don’t think so. I think that Justus was there when the Holy Spirit came upon the gathered brothers and sisters at Pentecost. I think that, even though he wasn’t named a deacon either, that Justus used his gifts for mission. Just as importantly, I think that, even though he didn’t have a formal position or title, Justus exercised leadership wherever he was and in whatever situation leadership was called for. But most important of all, I think that Justus served God’s mission to love and bless the world. By the way, those pastors that weren’t elected bishop did the same. They went back to being the pastors God called them to be.

In my doctoral work on mission and leadership, I encountered many models for leadership. Servant leadership, modeled on Jesus’ service to his Father and the disciples, was key. “I came not to be served but to serve,” Jesus says. But I also encountered the notion of distributive leadership, which says that leaders are distributed throughout an organization at many levels, essentially leading where they are. From those, I developed an understanding of leadership as communicative leadership, servant leadership that happens in an organization wherever it is needed, whenever it is needed.

Essentially, the leader is the one who in any given situation agrees to go first, to take the initiative. This is important for us on a number of levels, but I’ll mention one: it’s all about God’s mission. God has a mission for us to meet families, in all their diversity, in new and challenging ways. We need a lot of folk here to step up and help us as we figure out how to do that. As one writer says, “we are all, potentially, the ‘twelfth apostle,’ called to join God’s work. God has a mission, to love and bless the world; for that mission, God calls us, just as God called Justus. Amen.

"A Spirited Tale" Easter 6B Sermon

“A Spirited Tale”

Easter 6B

May 13, 2012

Acts 10.44-48 (Acts 10.1-11.18)

Our first reading from Acts is only a snippet—albeit a powerful snippet—of a much larger story.

The larger tale encompasses all of chapter 10 and a good chunk of chapter 11. It’s a tale that can be divided in seven scenes, each with integrity in its own right, but connected to the larger whole. I invite you to listen as I briefly describe each scene and then to reflect on some questions that each scene poses us.

Scene 1 takes place in Caesarea, a port city on the Mediterranean north of Jerusalem, where Cornelius, a Roman centurion receives a vision from an angel of God. Cornelius, a “god-fearer,” but not a convert, is told by an angel of the Lord that his prayers have been answered and that he is to send to Joppa for a man named Peter. Cornelius does so. One question our text asks: Where is God speaking to unexpected people in our world today?

Scene 2 shifts to the next day, as the envoy approaches Joppa. Peter goes up on the roof to pray and becomes hungry. He falls into a trance where he sees a vision of the heaven opened and a sheet let down containing all sort of “unclean” animals. God tells Peter to “get up, kill, and eat.” Peter resists because he has never eaten any unclean animal, but God tells him that what he has made is not profane. This happens three times. So, one question might be: How is God pushing our understanding of clean?

While Peter is still trying to sort this out, Cornelius’ envoy arrives in Joppa and makes its way to Peter’s house. As they are calling for him, the Holy Spirit tells Peter that there are people to see him and that he must go with them without hesitation. The envoy tells Peter about Cornelius’ vision and invites Peter to come right away to Caesarea. Peter invites them in to stay with him. A question: Whom is God asking us to walk with on their journey of faith?

The next day, Peter and some of the Jewish Christians start the 30-mile trip to Caesarea. After an awkward moment where Cornelius falls down to worship Peter, Peter finds that Cornelius has gathered his household to eagerly receive him and they compare notes about their mystical experiences. Cornelius then asks Peter to tell them what the Lord commands him to say to them.

Question: Where is God providing an opportunity for us to speak a word to a people eager to hear it?

Then Peter begins to preach the good news of Jesus Christ, the passage we heard on Easter Sunday. He begins with the revelation that he now knows that God shows no partiality, and that all who fear God and do what is right are acceptable in God’s sight. Peter starts with the baptism of Jesus and continues telling about his ministry, death, and resurrection. A question might be: What resurrection experience can we testify from our own lives that others might find helpful hearing?

The next scene is our reading for today. The Holy Spirit, thinking that Peter was going on too long, “fell on” all of those who heard the word. There was no mistake that the Spirit was acting because they all spoke in tongues, which astounded the Jewish Christians. Peter asks that great rhetorical question, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these who have received the Holy Spirit as we have? One possible question the text poses: Are withholding God’s sacramental grace, whether baptism or Holy Communion, from anyone who has received the Spirit?

Peter stays with Cornelius for several days, which allows the word of what Peter has done to spread to the church at Jerusalem. Peter is called to make a defense of his actions to the leadership there. He explains everything that happened, including a recounting of the visions he and Cornelius receive. Peter ends with “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” The question: The implications of the decision to welcome Gentiles were not fully worked out by the early church. Where might God be leading us in the same way?

Under the prodding of the Holy Spirit, the early community of faith is pushed into new territory. This is confusing and sometimes even chaotic for them, but it is also life giving and exciting as well. The question that ties all of the other questions together is, “Where is God through the Holy Spirit working in, with, and through us, pushing us into new places?” The good news is that God promises to guide us and show us the way. The Holy Spirit is bringing new life to Grace Lutheran Church. Can you see it moving? Amen.

It's a Stretch - Easter 5B Sermon

“It’s a Stretch”

Easter 5B

May 6, 2012

Acts 8.26-40

The book of Acts, though called the Acts of the Apostles, should really be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. As seen in today’s text, it is God’s Spirit who moves the action along, roughly along three lines: from Jerusalem to Rome, from Jew to Gentile, and from Peter to Paul. The Holy Spirit gradually but steadily stretches the boundaries of the newly formed resurrection community of Jesus. It’s a story where the community of faith is constantly pushed to wrestle with new questions as it works out in concrete ways what the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means today.

In the story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, we have a rich and tantalizing text. Though Philip has been preaching to the Samaritans, those despised by the Jews as unclean, God, first through an angel and then through the Spirit, pushes Philip toward an encounter with someone even further outside of his normal circle of influence. Unlike the Samaritans, it wasn’t the Ethiopian’s nationality that was the problem. Ethiopians though dark of skin could convert to Judaism. No, it was his sexuality, or lack thereof, that kept him in the outer fringes of the temple life, literally cut off from the community of faith.

The Ethiopian is struggling with a text from Isaiah and Philip comes alongside to struggle with him. My guess is that, until the Ethiopian asked the question, Philip probably had not seen Jesus in this text. Yet, he does so and begins to tell the story of Jesus Christ, good news for everyone, not just Jews. We are not privy to their conversation, but something must have been said about baptism, because the Ethiopian spies some water and asks, “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” That’s one of those questions that assumes the answer: there should be nothing to prevent the Ethiopian from God’s love and grace, but he has been excluded so long that he wants to be sure.

So, here in the book of Acts is another demonstration of the wideness of God’s grace and mercy. It’s a story that has been called the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch but, as some have rightly observed, it could also be called the conversion of Philip. Why? Because Philip is stretched even farther than he imagines. For every boundary that God’s grace pushes, there is someone or a community that is stretched. Unfortunately, we don’t always respond well to those boundary-stretching people God brings us. Yet, I’ve found that, personally and as a pastor, through struggling with people and their questions, God has stretched me in more profound ways than I could ever have possibly imagined.

Some people don’t always have the best theological reasons for bringing their children to “get done” in baptism, but I’ve been stretched to understand that the Spirit is working in them, too. My understanding of sexuality and relationships has been stretched by getting to know women in committed relationships who seem to love Jesus as much, if not more, than I do and are trying to be faithful to themselves and God. My understanding about who should commune at the table has been stretched by children who seem to “get” Communion in ways I never anticipated.

I was recently contacted by a pastor who wondered if someone, who will soon be living in a halfway house in Mankato, would be welcomed at Grace. My initial response was, “Of course,” but then I paused to think about it, not because this person wouldn’t be welcomed, but because I wondered how we would be stretched in the encounter and how we would respond. I still don’t know, but I trust you and God in the process. I think we are being stretched by our families in our midst, to meet them where they are in all of the complexity of their lives and not to force them into our preconceived notions of church.

Like Philip, the Holy Spirit is moving us to places where we wrestle with others about questions of faith and life, and in the process, God is stretching us to see new possibilities. As we saw with our 125^th anniversary, God has stretched this community of faith before in many ways and will do so again. Where is God stretching us as a church today; where is God stretching you personally in your life? Wherever that is, God’s Spirit is working to bring new life lived in God’s grace. What is to prevent us from being baptized anew? Indeed, there is nothing God can’t handle as God’s Spirit works in, with, and through us. Amen.

"The Resurrection Community" Easter 2B Sermon

“The Resurrection Community”

Easter 2B

April 15, 2012

Acts 4.32-35

 “With great power [they] gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,” and “those who believed were of one heart and soul,” and there “was not a needy person among them.” What a difference a resurrection makes! It’s about more, far more, than life after death, getting to heaven. And it’s about more than having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It’s about community, resurrection community. During the Easter season, the first readings are from the book of Acts rather than the Old Testament. As we explore these texts for what resurrection community looks like, we need to remember these are post-Pentecost as well.

As we can see from our Gospel reading, resurrection community doesn’t happen quickly as the fearful disciples lock themselves away behind closed doors. There is no power here, no unified heart and soul, no service outside of themselves. Yet Jesus, as Jesus always does, meets the disciples where they are, even in their brokenness, and challenges them to be the people he has called them to be. He calls them not just as resurrection individuals, but also as resurrection community. Soon enough, they were out those doors, proclaiming boldly the resurrection of Jesus and the life available in his name. They will do this even though they are imprisoned, beaten, and ultimately martyred because of it.

That the disciples preached the good news of Jesus boldly is beyond dispute. But what of Luke’s claim to unity of heart and soul, not to mention that all was sold and no one had any need? A close reading of Acts shows that there were several contentious events in the early church. In fact, in chapter six there will be a dispute about the unequal distribution of goods to widows. I don’t think that being of one heart or soul means that there is no conflict or disagreements. One thing I do think it means is that everyone is pulling in the same direction, having the same goal, even though there may be differences of opinion as to how the community gets there.

The same is true about the selling of all possessions and having no needy among them. The wheels come off this idealized wagon soon enough. The story of Ananias and Sapphira, which comes soon after, shows that not all were on board with this plan. (Ananias and Sapphira will hold back some of their goods and fall dead when they are found out. Their sin isn’t so much that they held back, but that they lied about it, to God and to the community.) Even so, just because this is an idealized account doesn’t mean the ideal isn’t worth living up to. The point is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which constitutes a new community of faith, doesn’t merely free us from something—fear, brokenness, and powerlessness. It also frees us for something—something outside of ourselves. Jesus meets us behind our insecurities and frees us, sending us out as the Father sent him.

As I studied this text, looking ahead to our 125^th anniversary celebration next week, I couldn’t help think about those first people who settled this area and sacrificed to build this church. Very often, churches were the first buildings and people who had little to begin with gave sacrificially to build them. I also thought about how the resurrection frees us to live outside ourselves as I attended the Pathstone Living (formerly Mankato Lutheran Home) volunteer recognition luncheon the other day. It was heart-warming to see one of Grace’s own, Audrey, Tolzmann honored as volunteer of the year. But it was even more heart-warming to see person after person from Grace and other churches who willingly give of themselves at Pathstone and so many other places.

What a difference the resurrection makes! Today’s text may make us hold our wallets and purses a bit tighter, but that’s the least of our worries. God doesn’t want our money; God wants all of us. In fact, God already has all of us, but God wants our hearts and souls to be pulling in the same direction, focused outward in service. Our church council is working on a plan, based on the Shepherding Team’s work, to do just that. More will be coming out in the next few weeks, but I hope you will be a part of the plan as it unfolds. In a sense, you have no choice because Christ is risen, and the resurrection makes all the difference. Amen.

"Forgiveness and New Life" Resurrection of Our Lord B Sermon

Resurrection of Our Lord B

“Forgiveness and New Life”

April 8, 2012

Acts 10.34-43; Mark 16.1-8

Somebody talked. Otherwise, why would you be here today? Somebody must have talked. For almost 2,000 years, church folk have been uncomfortable with the ending to Mark’s gospel, or non-ending if you will. Grammatically, when you look at the original Greek, it ends in the middle of a sentence. Theologically, the gospel ends without any resurrection appearance of Jesus. Sure, the ending could have been lost, which is why there have been a couple of attempts to finish it. But those folk that make a living studying these things are beginning to think Mark did this on purpose, that he intentionally made his gospel open-ended. I tend to agree with them.

This Lent, we have been contemplating various aspects of forgiveness, a huge deal for us who call ourselves Christians. On Ash Wednesday, we heard about the need to come clean about our brokenness. We’ve also heard about the scandal of forgiveness through God’s amazing grace, some ways we might forgive others, forgive ourselves, and even forgive God. On Maundy Thursday we heard how God gives himself to us in the bread and wine of Communion so that we have forgiveness to hold onto. On Good Friday we heard how Jesus, as God’s agent of forgiveness, took all of our brokenness upon himself and gave us his righteousness.

But, when we asked the question, “Can we really forgive and forget?” the answer was a resounding, “No!” We are to forgive, but we cannot forget. In fact, there are things we must remember so they don’t happen again. In doing so, we exposed the insidious character of the notion of “closure” that is so prevalent in our society today. I heard this again on the news last night. There was funeral in Winona for a baby found dead in the river. They have been calling her “Baby Angela” because of some angel artifacts that were found with her. The woman who had found her explained the funeral by saying they needed “closure.” How can there be closure when the baby is still unknown. And even if they do find the parents, how can anyone forget this baby who died prematurely? There can be no closure because life isn’t tied up in pretty bows.

The ending of Mark actually takes us back to opening verse of his gospel, that this is “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Just as the empty tomb cannot contain the resurrected Christ, neither can Mark’s story. With God, there is always more to come. Mark’s version of Jesus’ resurrection shows us that God doesn’t fix bad endings. Rather, God meets us in the midst of our brokenness and does some pretty new and amazing things. This is not a “do over” where Jesus pops back to life as if nothing ever happened. Resurrection is a whole new thing.

Our first reading from Acts, where Peter preaches this amazing sermon on the resurrection, is remarkable on many levels. First, this is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times and abandoned Jesus in his time of greatest need. Even so, this is not the same Peter. This is the forgiven Peter who, through the power of forgiveness, has been given new life. The falling away of the disciples and the denial of Peter are not the end of God’s plan for them. When Peter is talking about forgiveness and new life, he is not talking about some abstract ideal he learned from a book. He knows forgiveness personally and he is open to the new possibilities God gives him through Jesus Christ, including welcoming unclean Gentiles!

Somebody talked, and when they did, there was no containing the good news any more than the empty tomb could contain Jesus. Forgiveness means a release from the present so that we can have a different future. Somebody talked to the Pennsylvania Amish who released others into new future after a horrific slaughter of their children. Somebody talked to the people of South Africa who envisioned a post-Apartheid society through Truth in Reconciliation based on forgiveness. Somebody talked and the young man is looking to reconnect with his biological father after some years of separation. Where is God meeting you in your brokenness, doing amazing things, and drawing you into a new future? Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed; Alleluia!

"Jesus, God's Agent of Forgiveness" Good Friday Sermon

“Jesus, God’s Agent of Forgiveness”

Good Friday B

April 6, 2012

Isaiah 52.13-53.12

Why does Jesus’ death matter? Why do we make such a big deal out of Good Friday? Why is it good that we call it good? Mark Heim says that some of the church says it absolutely knows the answer to the question, while much of the rest of the church is uncomfortable with the question. On Good Friday, we need to be uncomfortable with the question. There are at least half dozen answers to the question, all of which are helpful although some are more helpful than others are. A couple of the “answers” talk about how Jesus was a great teacher and moral example for us to learn from and follow. Another one says that Jesus sacrificed himself to appease God’s anger at our sinfulness. Still another that describes Jesus as being victorious over the powers of sin, death, and the devil.

Yet, I agree with Ted Peters there are two ideas that are more helpful about why Jesus’ death matters, even if they make us uncomfortable. They are expressed most poignantly in a section from Isaiah 52-53 called the fourth servant song: “Surely he has born our infirmities and carried our diseases; … he was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed; … although he had done no violence … he poured out himself to death … [and] bore the sin of many.” These snippets and more helped early Christians as they struggled to make sense out of Jesus’ death.

World history and various literatures are littered with the bodies of those persons who willingly die for others, and there are even cases where the sin and guilt of a people are placed on a particular person who suffers for the lot. Yet, nowhere do we have a case, other than in Christianity, where God has emptied himself, taken on human flesh, and willingly entered the pain, suffering, and violent brokenness of a people to take it all upon himself. To say that Jesus is God’s agent of forgiveness is not entirely accurate, because God is not just some dispassionate observer in Jesus’ death. God is as fully committed to saving humanity and all of creation. It’s like the difference between eggs and bacon in a breakfast: the chicken was involved; the pig was committed. God was fully involved and committed in the death of Jesus Christ.

Our discomfort with this approach to the meaning of Jesus’ death comes because we don’t want to admit the fullness of our brokenness, not to mention our inability to do anything about it. For us, Good Friday is “pick up the rock and see all of the ugly things scurrying to hide” time and we don’t want to do it. Like Peter and the rest who denied and abandoned Jesus, we live with the tension of being both believer and betrayer. I commend you for walking the way of the cross tonight, for admitting what you already know deep inside of yourself, that whatever answer there is for our sins, it has to come from outside of ourselves.

This Lent we have been exploring the road of forgiveness and it has led us to the cross of Jesus Christ. We realize that if we are to have any hope of forgiving and being forgiven it has to come in, with, and through him. Jesus has taken upon himself all of our hurts, pains, sorrows, anger, and yes, even our reluctance to include others in God’s forgiveness. He has taken all of that and he has given us his righteousness instead. I don’t need to tell you to “Give it all to Jesus,” because Jesus has already taken it and given us so much more. “Father, forgive them,” Jesus says from the cross and indeed our Father does forgive us, all of us. Why does Jesus’ death matter? Had it all ended here, this would have been plenty, but there’s more. With God, there’s always more. Meanwhile, it’s okay to be uncomfortable. Amen.