Fruitful Living: Growing in Faithfulness
Pentecost 10 (Summer Series)
August 17, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Luke 16.1-13
A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi Ho Silver!" “The Lone Ranger”. "Hi Ho Silver, away!" With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. “The Lone Ranger” rides again!
Indeed, there were many Saturdays that I would “return to those thrilling days of yesteryear,” watching “The Lone Ranger” on TV. The show would teach a young mind many lessons, including the importance of justice and standing up for right, especially the vulnerable, even if it means a threat to your own personal safety. But, as I think about “The Lone Ranger” and other shows, they also taught me about faithfulness. The back story on “The Lone Ranger” is that as a young boy, the Lone Ranger saves Tonto’s life and as adults, Tonto does that same, nursing the Lone Ranger back to health as the lone survivor of a group of Texas Rangers who have been ambushed. The Lone Ranger isn’t “lone” because he’s alone; it’s because he was the last one left. In fact, Tonto gives the Lone Ranger the nickname “Kemo Sabe,” which can be translated “trusty or faithful friend.”
Jesus presents us with a curious story today about faithfulness, one that has caused the spilling of much ink over the centuries. We know that parables are designed to stretch and interpret us more than we interpret them, but this one threatens to pull us apart. The message seems to say that as Jesus’ followers we are to act shrewdly in a crisis. But then the sayings Luke adds on throw the story in a different direction, focusing on faithfulness in a different way. There is something about the Christian life that we need to be faithful in small things in order to be able to handle the big things, faithful in the ordinary in order to handle the valuable, and faithful with another’s possessions to be able to handle our own.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to think about this while attending a Stewardship conference at Luther Seminary. The overall theme was building a year-round stewardship program rather than once a year pledge campaign. I came away thinking we are on the right track, but also with a deeply troubling question: Has the word stewardship become so identified with asking for money that we shouldn’t use it any longer? Now, I hate to throw away perfectly good theological words and would rather redeem them, if possible. This is especially true with the word stewardship since the business world has adopted the word stewardship and attempts to practice it faithfully.
Now, you know that I’m not afraid to talk about money in church, largely because Jesus talks about it so much. He has a lot to say about money and how we use it. And what I’m about to say might make you wish I was talking about money, but instead I want to talk about is what it means for us to be stewards of everything God has given to us, including our money. God doesn’t want our money because it already belongs to God; God wants us to use what is given to us faithfully. For example, think about Mark and Rachel and Alyssa and Adam who have now become stewards of Max and Henry. They (and you) have agreed to be faithful stewards of these children. God, who is faithful and just, invites us into a relationship with God and with others. And God wants us to know that our relationship with our stuff, including money affects all of our other relationships.
We have learned in this sermon series that the fruit of the Spirit come because we, who live in the Spirit through God’s love in Jesus, seek to be led by the Spirit in our daily living. We’ve also learned that part of growing in the fruit comes from practicing, and that includes faithfulness. One way we do this each week is by eating at the table of Holy Communion for we come to the table by faith, for faith. Also this week, I want you to think about what God has given you to steward. What has God called you to care for and how might God be calling you to be faithful in its care and use, particularly your relationships? OK, Kemo Sabes? Hi Ho Silver, away! Amen.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Sunday, August 10, 2014
"Fruitful Living: Growing in Generosity" - Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Summer Series)
Fruitful Living: Growing in Generosity
Pentecost 9 (Summer Series)
August 10, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Matthew 20.1-16
I think that most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, find this story that Jesus tells his disciples very troubling. It’s troubling because we live in a country with an overarching story that tells us that we can be whatever we want to be. This story grounded in the so-called “Protestant work ethic” that says if you work hard you will be rewarded and blessed. Of course, it is not hard to find people who work very hard in our country yet stay very poor. Even if we admit that Jesus is telling us a parable designed to stretch us and our understanding, we add a “yes, but….” Yes, we say, God’s ways are different, but they would never cut it in the “real world.” I wonder.
This parable started making some sense to me over 30 years ago long before I became a pastor. When moved the suburban Washington, DC area Cindy and I rented a condo, but were now buying our first house. We scraped together some friends and co-workers to help and gratefully, many responded. Interestingly, like the workers in the vineyard, not everyone could be there at the same time. Some were there the whole time and others near the end. When we finished with the unloading, I fetched chicken from Roy Rogers (like a Hardees) and we all ate a wonderful mean together. As we were eating, it occurred to me this was just like the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
Now, it never would have occurred to me to give people chicken in proportion to how much or how long they worked. Those who came later would get just as much as those who worked the whole time. As I think about how I learned what I did about generosity, I guessing it was probably because of my parents. My parents had the kind of home where my friends and siblings’ friends always felt welcome. They were free to raid the fridge or cupboards just as we were. When people ate meals with us, my father would go overboard to make sure they had enough, almost the point of being annoying and sometimes obnoxious. My dad was also the kind who would help someone who needed it, even taking vacation to help them paint their houses. I don’t know if they gave money to the church or how much. They might have; I just don’t remember. I’d have to learn about that kind of giving elsewhere.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the fruit of the Spirit during this summer sermon series, it’s the importance of practice. That’s especially true with generosity; growing in generosity involves both attitude and action. We can only guess why Jesus tells this story and why the early church preserved it. Some think he told it in response to the grumbling of the religious leaders because Jesus spent time with those people deemed undesirable, such prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. Others think the early church preserved it because those first followers, the Jewish Christians, grumbled about Gentile Christian newcomers. Regardless, the parable stresses that God is gracious and generous to all and that we who worship such a God are to imitate such generosity, not begrudge it.
At the heart of the parable is that we worship a God who desires us to be in relationship with God and others, and that this God will never give up on us. God will keep coming and inviting us to be in relationship with him, no matter the lateness of the day. We experience God’s relentless coming each worship service in the bread and wine of Holy Communion as God gives himself freely to all. This God wants us to grow in generosity not because God needs our money, but because God wants us. This week, to encourage you to grow in generosity, I want you to do two things. First, think about who you learned generosity from and how, and share that story with someone else. Second, look for a way to be generous in a way you haven’t done before and share that, too. Maybe it is leaving a larger tip when you go out to eat. Maybe it is saying “yes” by volunteering to give of yourself, whether here or in the community. Either way, as you live in the Spirit may you also be led by the Spirit in fruitful living, growing in generosity. Amen.
Pentecost 9 (Summer Series)
August 10, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Matthew 20.1-16
I think that most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, find this story that Jesus tells his disciples very troubling. It’s troubling because we live in a country with an overarching story that tells us that we can be whatever we want to be. This story grounded in the so-called “Protestant work ethic” that says if you work hard you will be rewarded and blessed. Of course, it is not hard to find people who work very hard in our country yet stay very poor. Even if we admit that Jesus is telling us a parable designed to stretch us and our understanding, we add a “yes, but….” Yes, we say, God’s ways are different, but they would never cut it in the “real world.” I wonder.
This parable started making some sense to me over 30 years ago long before I became a pastor. When moved the suburban Washington, DC area Cindy and I rented a condo, but were now buying our first house. We scraped together some friends and co-workers to help and gratefully, many responded. Interestingly, like the workers in the vineyard, not everyone could be there at the same time. Some were there the whole time and others near the end. When we finished with the unloading, I fetched chicken from Roy Rogers (like a Hardees) and we all ate a wonderful mean together. As we were eating, it occurred to me this was just like the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
Now, it never would have occurred to me to give people chicken in proportion to how much or how long they worked. Those who came later would get just as much as those who worked the whole time. As I think about how I learned what I did about generosity, I guessing it was probably because of my parents. My parents had the kind of home where my friends and siblings’ friends always felt welcome. They were free to raid the fridge or cupboards just as we were. When people ate meals with us, my father would go overboard to make sure they had enough, almost the point of being annoying and sometimes obnoxious. My dad was also the kind who would help someone who needed it, even taking vacation to help them paint their houses. I don’t know if they gave money to the church or how much. They might have; I just don’t remember. I’d have to learn about that kind of giving elsewhere.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the fruit of the Spirit during this summer sermon series, it’s the importance of practice. That’s especially true with generosity; growing in generosity involves both attitude and action. We can only guess why Jesus tells this story and why the early church preserved it. Some think he told it in response to the grumbling of the religious leaders because Jesus spent time with those people deemed undesirable, such prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. Others think the early church preserved it because those first followers, the Jewish Christians, grumbled about Gentile Christian newcomers. Regardless, the parable stresses that God is gracious and generous to all and that we who worship such a God are to imitate such generosity, not begrudge it.
At the heart of the parable is that we worship a God who desires us to be in relationship with God and others, and that this God will never give up on us. God will keep coming and inviting us to be in relationship with him, no matter the lateness of the day. We experience God’s relentless coming each worship service in the bread and wine of Holy Communion as God gives himself freely to all. This God wants us to grow in generosity not because God needs our money, but because God wants us. This week, to encourage you to grow in generosity, I want you to do two things. First, think about who you learned generosity from and how, and share that story with someone else. Second, look for a way to be generous in a way you haven’t done before and share that, too. Maybe it is leaving a larger tip when you go out to eat. Maybe it is saying “yes” by volunteering to give of yourself, whether here or in the community. Either way, as you live in the Spirit may you also be led by the Spirit in fruitful living, growing in generosity. Amen.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
"Fruitful Living: Growing in Kindness" - Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Fruitful Living: Growing in Kindness
Pentecost 8 (Summer Series)
August 3, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Micah 6.8; Mark 14.3-9
A number of years ago I was sitting in on group session of some sort with a facilitator. I don’t remember the details, but I do remember one small seemingly insignificant gesture. During the session one of the participants began to cry and quietly the facilitator slid a box of Kleenex toward her across the desk. He did this all the while maintaining his focus and attention on her. There was no big deal made, no interruption in the session and most people probably didn’t notice. Yet, it was probably one of the most profound acts of kindness I have ever seen, still memorable to this day.
Today we explore the fifth of nine fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5: kindness. Here as elsewhere we realize that these fruit aren’t as much explained or defined as experienced. The best we can do is to sketch the contours. We are also reminded that whatever fruit that grows from our lives comes from the presence and action of God through the Holy Spirit in us. Because of God’s great love for us and God’s desire to heal the broken relationship with God and others, God also enables in us what God wills for us. God has done this in the most profound way, taking on flesh, walking with us, dying and rising so we may have abundant life.
As we look at the fruit of the Spirit, we might wonder how kindness got on the list. It doesn’t seem to be a theological heavy hitter. Yet, one sweeping look around our world shows all too much that meanness and pettiness abounds. Children are pushed around at school so much that anti-bullying laws are needed. Newspaper editorials and the blogosphere are filled with hateful and hurtful words. Angry mobs frighten school buses full of children at our border. And it’s not even campaign season yet.
It’s why our desire for fruitful living and the words from Micah are so important for us and for the world. Micah explores the age-old question, “What do you want from us, God?” In the midst of a sacrificial system that isn’t working, Micah gives us a startling answer: nothing. God doesn’t want anything from us. What God wants is us. God wants us to live the life intended for us at creation, but went horribly wrong. God want us to live for God and others. How do we do that? We do it by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.
As I looked around for a biblical story to put flesh on Micah’s words, I thought of the unnamed woman in Mark. She’s a woman who quietly and without fanfare washes and anoints Jesus’ feet. There are many layers of significance to this story, not the least that she anoints Jesus before he dies. But what strikes me is that her actions, in addition to being subtle and unobtrusive, are timely, uncalculating, and flow out of what she has to offer. It would take a whole sermon to unpack these but for now let’s just point this out. Acts of kindness come at just the right moment, are wholly for the other, and flow from what we already have to give. Amazingly, this seemingly insignificant act by a nameless woman assumes cosmic proportions and is remembered.
This week I was reminded of David Lose’s assertion that the church is a rehearsal hall, not performance hall. I take this to mean that what we do in here prepares us for life “out there.” (Perhaps we should put up signs to the effect over our doorways as reminders.) As your pastor, I see you grow in kindnesses to one another both in here and out there. I’ve seen a wife who silently slips her hand into her husband’s as he is describing and emotional time in his life. I’ve seen a couple going through health problems bring a meal to another couple going through a similar situation. I’ve seen guys who let their duffer of a pastor play golf with them. I’ve seen people who gather to thank one of their own for stepping forward and giving of herself to serve them tirelessly and humbly for four years. I could go on.
I invite you this week to look for those kindnesses that God gives you through others and to find ways to practice kindness for others. Do this not to earn God’s favor or applause, but to be fully human. Our world can use more kindness, and for that God has freed you do God’s work in the world. God bless you this week as you love kindness in the name of the One who loves you. Amen.
Pentecost 8 (Summer Series)
August 3, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Micah 6.8; Mark 14.3-9
A number of years ago I was sitting in on group session of some sort with a facilitator. I don’t remember the details, but I do remember one small seemingly insignificant gesture. During the session one of the participants began to cry and quietly the facilitator slid a box of Kleenex toward her across the desk. He did this all the while maintaining his focus and attention on her. There was no big deal made, no interruption in the session and most people probably didn’t notice. Yet, it was probably one of the most profound acts of kindness I have ever seen, still memorable to this day.
Today we explore the fifth of nine fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5: kindness. Here as elsewhere we realize that these fruit aren’t as much explained or defined as experienced. The best we can do is to sketch the contours. We are also reminded that whatever fruit that grows from our lives comes from the presence and action of God through the Holy Spirit in us. Because of God’s great love for us and God’s desire to heal the broken relationship with God and others, God also enables in us what God wills for us. God has done this in the most profound way, taking on flesh, walking with us, dying and rising so we may have abundant life.
As we look at the fruit of the Spirit, we might wonder how kindness got on the list. It doesn’t seem to be a theological heavy hitter. Yet, one sweeping look around our world shows all too much that meanness and pettiness abounds. Children are pushed around at school so much that anti-bullying laws are needed. Newspaper editorials and the blogosphere are filled with hateful and hurtful words. Angry mobs frighten school buses full of children at our border. And it’s not even campaign season yet.
It’s why our desire for fruitful living and the words from Micah are so important for us and for the world. Micah explores the age-old question, “What do you want from us, God?” In the midst of a sacrificial system that isn’t working, Micah gives us a startling answer: nothing. God doesn’t want anything from us. What God wants is us. God wants us to live the life intended for us at creation, but went horribly wrong. God want us to live for God and others. How do we do that? We do it by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.
As I looked around for a biblical story to put flesh on Micah’s words, I thought of the unnamed woman in Mark. She’s a woman who quietly and without fanfare washes and anoints Jesus’ feet. There are many layers of significance to this story, not the least that she anoints Jesus before he dies. But what strikes me is that her actions, in addition to being subtle and unobtrusive, are timely, uncalculating, and flow out of what she has to offer. It would take a whole sermon to unpack these but for now let’s just point this out. Acts of kindness come at just the right moment, are wholly for the other, and flow from what we already have to give. Amazingly, this seemingly insignificant act by a nameless woman assumes cosmic proportions and is remembered.
This week I was reminded of David Lose’s assertion that the church is a rehearsal hall, not performance hall. I take this to mean that what we do in here prepares us for life “out there.” (Perhaps we should put up signs to the effect over our doorways as reminders.) As your pastor, I see you grow in kindnesses to one another both in here and out there. I’ve seen a wife who silently slips her hand into her husband’s as he is describing and emotional time in his life. I’ve seen a couple going through health problems bring a meal to another couple going through a similar situation. I’ve seen guys who let their duffer of a pastor play golf with them. I’ve seen people who gather to thank one of their own for stepping forward and giving of herself to serve them tirelessly and humbly for four years. I could go on.
I invite you this week to look for those kindnesses that God gives you through others and to find ways to practice kindness for others. Do this not to earn God’s favor or applause, but to be fully human. Our world can use more kindness, and for that God has freed you do God’s work in the world. God bless you this week as you love kindness in the name of the One who loves you. Amen.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
"Fruitful Living: Growing in Peace" - Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Summer Series)
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.
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 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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)