"Preparing for the Light … with Hope" - Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent

Preparing for the Light … with Hope

Advent 1 – Narrative Lectionary 2

November 29, 2015

Grace, Mankato, MN

2 Kings 22.1-10, 14-20; 23.1-3

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. … He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. (2 Kings 22.1-2)

It may seem as if we have been going backwards these past few weeks. Two weeks ago we were in the book of Hosea, the first of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. Last week it was Isaiah, the first of the Major Prophets and now we are in 2 Kings. In reality, we are moving forward chronologically. Hosea and Isaiah prophesied at the same time, about 700 – 750 years before Jesus, though Hosea was in the northern kingdom of Israel and Isaiah in the southern kingdom of Judah. Today as we hear about Josiah, we’re a hundred years later than Hosea and Isaiah.

Our text today is remarkable for two reasons: first, it describes Josiah as a good king. Though the writer of 2 Kings doesn’t come right out and say so, he indicates that Josiah is the Best. King. Ever. He’s remarkable because other than Hezekiah, the southern kingdom of Judah has been ruled by bad kings. Second, the text seems comfortable holding a theological tension: on the one hand, God is deemed just for punishing Judah for its apostasy and worshiping of other gods. On the other hand, the goodness and repentance of Josiah and the people don’t forestall the destruction as one might expect.

This theological tension in fact exists throughout the Bible: God both judges sin and evil and also forgives humanity in its brokenness. There are two more remarkable items to note about Josiah that are important for seeing our way through this text today. First, somehow Josiah manages to be a good king who walks in the way of his ancestor David in spite of coming from a long line of bad kings who did not. In fact, his son will revert to the typical behavior of “bad king.” How did Josiah do that? By the way, have you ever noticed that a “bad family” can produce a “good child” and so-called “good family” can produce a “bad child?” Second, in spite of the bad news that Josiah’s reforms won’t prevent Judah’s desolation, Josiah chooses to continue the way of faithful living in obedience to God anyway.

As I thought about Josiah’s faithfulness in the midst of darkness, I thought of the poem, “Anyway.” Though attributed to Mother Teresa, the NY Times has said that Kent M. Keith is the author. Here it is:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

It seems this is a good lesson for us who are entering Advent as preparation for celebrating Jesus’ birth. We who have been baptized into Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection might take that saving act of God for granted. Or we might look around our world and see all of the death, darkness, racism, fear and despair and want to pull the covers over our head and hide. Or we who claim that Jesus will come again might not really believe that’s true because it’s been 2,000 years since he made that promise and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. But like Josiah, we look for Jesus’ presence anyway. Like Josiah, we live full of expectant hope anyway. And we live the baptismal life anyway because the life of faith is not about what we get, but rather about what we give.

When we “live anyway” despite the pressures to do otherwise we are living signs of hope in our world. What does it mean to live the baptismal life with hope? Among other things it means that as the world worships possessions and experiences or doesn’t worship at all, we worship the living God anyway. It means that though we don’t always understand the Bible or get intimidated by it, we read the Bible anyway. It means that though we don’t know how to pray or wonder if our prayers get heard, we pray anyway. It means that although our community isn’t perfect and we sometimes treat each other poorly, we gather in community anyway. And it means that though the pressure is strong to consume anything and everything, we give ourselves and our money away anyway. My sisters and brothers in Christ, as you prepare for the light, may you live into and live out of your baptisms as signs of hope in our dark world. Amen.

"Little Sprouts" - Sermon for Christ the King Sunday

Little Sprouts
Christ the King Sunday – Narrative Lectionary 2
Grace, Mankato, MN
November 22, 2015
Isaiah 5.1-7; 11.1-5

This past week, as I was working on the text for today’s message, as it does so often, a song came into my head. This week it was, “(Hey, Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.” From the 70s, it was first sung by BJ Thomas, then the Muppets (believe it or not) and covered by Kenny Rogers. It was, as a line says, “a real hurtin’ song about a love that’s gone wrong.” Although neither Isaiah nor God are not sitting in a bar listening to a juke box, the first few verses in chapter 5 constitute a love song. Isaiah is prophesying about the same time as Hosea (whom we heard from last week), mid to late 8th c. BCE. Isaiah, however, is in Judah instead of Israel. It seems that the southern kingdom is not faring any better in its relationship with God than Hosea’s northern kingdom. It’s a love that’s gone wrong.

Whereas Hosea used the images of loving spouse and parent vs. adulterous spouse and rebellious child, Isaiah uses the image of gardener who lovingly plants and tends a vineyard that goes way wrong. With this love song in chapter 5 we catch another glimpse into the suffering heart of God. Anybody who has spent countless hours in a garden only to produce “wild grapes” can relate to the pain God feels when his lavish attention goes for naught. The injustice God witnesses makes God see red, literally. These are not minor infractions that God’s people commit. This is headline producing, CNN worthy brokenness.

Sometimes, out of love for the right result, you have to tear up a garden and start over again or instead you might let it lie fallow for a time. Indeed, that’ God’s intention in chapter 5. But, we know that God has promised not to annihilate the earth again. So, if you are God, you work for the good of the whole through actions of a few. That brings us to chapter 11. Now, there is a lot of conversation about what the stump of Jesse refers to, but that’s beyond our scope here. Even so, there’s no doubt that Isaiah says a new kind of leader will arise to make things right. This leader shall receive the Spirit of God and will be on the side of the poor and marginalized.

The early church struggled to make sense of who Jesus was. At first glance, he seemed a most unlikely Messiah (or Christ). But as they looked back through the scriptures they saw in Isaiah (among other places) this description that seemed to fit. Jesus was of the house of David and therefore he was a branch of Jesse (David’s father). Jesus was a legitimate successor to the throne of David. Yet, as we see in the passion narratives and other places, Jesus is a different kind of king with a different kind of kingdom. This king came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for “a love that’s gone wrong.”

It is no accident that we have imported language from chapter 11 into our baptismal service. God gives us the “spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” just as God has given this same spirit to Jesus. We are, to borrow a title from our faith formation with toddlers, “Little Sprouts.” The reformer, Martin Luther, calls us “little Christs,” but since Jesus is the Branch of Jesse, we are “little sprouts.” Through our baptisms into Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we become signs of his kingdom.

Of course, this new way of living is both already and not yet; we are trying to live it out even as we live into it. Through Jesus, we seek to be a community of forgiveness when “love goes wrong.” Living into the reign of Christ means resisting the values of this world that stand against God. The way of Jesus means working for justice and peace. Finally, it means being humble and recognizing that we don’t bring in the kingdom or possess it. God’s preferred future is a gift to be received and only then as something to be sought. This is not easy work, my friends, as we see the injustices abounding, but it is our calling and one I know you take seriously. As the fear mongering rages over many things, particularly the Syrian refugees, I know that we’ll be the “Little Sprouts” that God has called us to be. Why is that so? It is so because you have stood with the refugee and the broken and the poor so many times before that I know you’ll do it again. We may not always get it right, but we will follow the way of Jesus, trusting in his forgiveness and strength. Amen.

Caring for God’s People
Pentecost 25 – Narrative Lectionary 2
November 15, 2015
Grace, Mankato, MN
Hosea 11.1-9

Hosea is a prophet, and a prophet brings a word from God to God’s people. It is often one they don’t want to hear, of how they are falling short in the relationship with God and each other. A prophet can also bring a word of hope, and in Hosea’s case it is both. In addition to speeches, prophets are often told to engage in prophetic acts that reinforce the spoken word. Again, Hosea does both. Hosea speaks to the Northern Kingdom of Israel about 750-722 BCE. He speaks a word of judgment to God’s people with a prophetic act. Early in the book, Hosea is told to marry a prostitute who continues her unfaithfulness even after the marriage. This scenario drives home the point that Israel has been unfaithful to the Lord by “committing adultery” with other gods. Though we might not go after Baals, we can admit that there are times we look for salvation other places.

In this section of Hosea, the image shifts to one of Israel as a rebellious child and God as the parent. We see that God is not only a God of forgiving love, who takes us back in spite of our unfaithfulness. God is also a God of nurturing love, who taught us how to walk and puts us back on our feet when we fall. Now, stop and think for a moment about that someone in your family, near or far, who is hard to love. It seems there is also someone else in your family who continues to love that person in spite of themselves. We might even have been that difficult to love person ourselves. In fact, to some extent we are all that way; there are parts of us that are difficult to love.

Hosea wants us to know that no matter how unlovable or difficult to love we are, God loves us anyway. In terms that are passionate and almost embarrassing, he tells of a God who stoops to meet us and picks us up. He tells us of a God who longs to enfold us in a loving embrace, that no matter what we do or don’t do, we are still God’s people. Hosea gives us a rare insight into the suffering heart of God who will do anything to be reconciled to her children. Hosea tells us that God chooses to be a God of love, not retribution; God cannot not-love. If we see in the cross of Jesus the ultimate expressing of God’s suffering love, the roots for that suffering love are here.

Today is Stewardship Commitment Sunday when we make our financial commitments for next year. As you prayerfully consider your commitment to God’s mission and ministry through Grace, I’d like you to remember two important things: first, we don’t give to get God’s love and approval. In fact, it’s the other way around. It’s because of God’s unconditional, steadfast love given freely to that we can give at all. Second, I think all of us have felt shame because we don’t give more and, although God encourages us to grow in generosity, God loves us no matter what. God’s love flows through us.

The Stewardship Team chose this year’s theme, “Caring for God’s People,” to highlight this kind of love. “Caring for God’s People” is one of our Guiding Principles, statements of who we are and what we do. Caring for God’s people means ministering to the weak and vulnerable in our world and over the past few weeks, we’ve heard some great stories about how God’s love has flowed through us. I continue stand in awe of the many ways God’s steadfast love flows through each and every one of you. Today is not just a day to recommit to the way of love; it is also a time to celebrate that way of love. For God is in our midst, bending down, gathering us in God’s arms, and leading us with bands of love. Amen.

"Sinners, Saints and Servant Leaders" - Sermon for All Saints Sunday

Sinners, Saints and Servant Leaders

All Saints Sunday – Narrative Lectionary 2

November 1, 2015

Grace, Mankato, MN

1 Kings 12.1-17; 25-29; Mark 10.42-45

“If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” (1 Kings 12.7)

So Jesus called them and said to them, “…whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10.42-45)

It occurred to me this last week how important the events depicted in our reading for today were for God’s people. Our focus reading from the Old Testament gives us a snapshot of one of the most important events in the life of ancient Israel. It is one that will have consequences for hundreds of years, if not thousands: the dividing of the kingdom. King David, whom was anointed last week, was able to unite the northern and southern tribes into one kingdom. He did it through his strong personality and his military prowess, bringing peace to the land that had only known conflict for so long. David’s son, Solomon, was able to consolidate this kingdom through wisdom granted from God, his administrative ability and ambitious building projects, notably the temple at Jerusalem.

Now Solomon has died and his son, Rehoboam, is poised to take the reins of the kingdom. It is these building projects that have become a bone of contention with the people, especially the northern tribes. So, it seems after all that succession is not a done deal as these folk from the northern tribes come for a consult with the newly crowned king. Rehoboam has an opportunity to lead the unified kingdom into a new era but, as Richard Nelson my seminary Old Testament professor notes, he “chooses slogans over wisdom and machismo over Servanthood.” The effects of this ill-advised decision are disastrous: the kingdom splits forever, leaving it vulnerable to being conquered and worse, a line of kings starting with Jeroboam who abandon YHWH. Jeroboam will devolve into a king who will become the negative standard of bad kings who follow after him.

Periods of leadership transition can be chaotic and unsettling at best, as we are witnessing now in our own world. I grieve for our country as we seem to think that the best way choose leaders is to line them up and insist they tear each other apart while tearing our country apart as well. It was ironic that on the morning of the recent debates, I saw a blurb on Facebook about Queen Elizabeth II, who recently surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria as the longest reigning English monarch. In the blurb it noted that she has always emphasized her role is not to rule but to serve.

Our celebration of All Saints today might be able to shed some light on what healthy leadership could look like. Certainly, it’s a day to remember those who have passed away, who we now refer to as the saints in heaven. The have moved from the Church Militant on earth to the Church Triumphant in heaven. But it’s also an opportunity to remember what Martin Luther pointed out about our saintly life now. He noted that because of Jesus Christ, God looks on all of us as fully redeemed saints in God’s eyes even while we are still sinners. We are “already, but not yet.” We can see this with even Rehoboam and Jeroboam who, for all of their faults, were a mixture of faithful and fallible. It wouldn’t be until 1,000 years later that someone from the tribe of Judah and line of David would emerge and show us what true servant leadership looks like: Jesus of Nazareth.

On this side of heaven, being a saint doesn’t mean being always good or dead for that matter. Saints are those who in spite of their frailties are set apart for godly service. Whenever you lead, you do so by serving and whenever you serve, you are being a leader. All of us who have been baptized into Jesus Christ have been set apart to serve, in spite of our failings. Even Winston Churchill, the English Prime Minister on one of the greatest modern day leaders knew that when he said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Of course, that started with Jesus who shows us that true life is found in giving ourselves away and that God will work in, with and through us as sinners, saints and servant leaders. Amen.

Guest Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost- by John Odegard

Ruth 1.1-17

In our lesson today, we are learning part of the story of Naomi, who having left her homeland with her husband and sons to escape famine and started a life in a new land has found herself a widow, and with no one left to care for her. Both of her two sons and her husband have all died.

Her daughters in law grieve with her and she tries to send them away, back to their families where they might be welcomed back and taken care of. At least if they return to their families they may find food and shelter and a chance at a new life. Orpah goes back to her family but Ruth declares she will follow Naomi wherever she goes even until death. She clings to this grieving woman who has lost her husband and sons, who is returning to her homeland poor and broken. She says “do not press me to leave you, where you go, I will go.” She leaves her birth family, her home country and follows this broken woman into a foreign and strange country.

We as Christians are called to the same compassion and dedication. Not only to following Jesus, but to serve all of God's children as well.

Jesus says 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

In this story, we have three very different people, reacting to the same hand that life has given them in different ways. Each of us lives out these same stories and perspectives in our own lives. The hope we have today is that we might learn to recognize our own actions for what they are, and use every opportunity to serve and glorify God.

First, we have Orpah. I will be the first to confess that I often default to the way Orpah thinks and reacts. She is grieving with her mother in law and says she will go along with her, that she will stay with Naomi, but when Naomi urges her to go back home, she agrees. Orpah knows that Naomi is suffering and needs companionship, but she is also aware that she needs to think about what she will do now that she is a widow and has no financial security. Like many good mothers would, Naomi urges Orpah to take care of herself first.

Like Orpah, many of us offer condolences when someone is suffering.  Sometimes we are grieving with them. We offer to help in any way we can, “just let me know how I can help” we say, along with a hug or handshake.

Just like Orpah, we want to help. The problem is that we are leaving it up to them to ask for help, and that makes it easier for us to go back to our own life, worrying about our own troubles. What happens next, is they never ask for help, because most of us also play the part of Naomi when we are the one who is suffering.

Naomi is the one who has it worst off in this story, perhaps discounting the three men who were sick and died young. Naomi is now a widow, and probably too old to have much success at finding a new husband. She is in a foreign land with no relatives or family other than her two daughters-in-law, who are also recent widows, with no financial means to help or support her, let alone themselves. Her only choice is to head back home and hope for the kindness of a distant relation, or at least the comfort of a familiar place. Her daughters have come to know and love her and don’t want her to go alone, they want to go with her and share her burden, but she tries to convince them to think of the future instead. She tells them there is still hope for them to remarry and to have a happy life if they go back to their own families. She doesn’t want to burden them with her own troubles. After all, they have enough trouble of their own. They have no property, no money, no husband, and the proverbial clock is ticking.

Naomi, wanting to spare her daughters the hardship ahead pushes them away and tries to carry her burden alone, just as we often do. Especially in the Midwest.

Here, people will ask you how you are doing and before you respond they know that they will hear,

“I’m good, How about you? How ‘bout this weather?”

This is so ingrained it is almost automatic, but I know we can do better. And I know we really do care about how the other person is feeling. I know this because of something called the Minnesota good-bye. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, that is a ritual that takes at least 30 minutes where you start dropping not so subtle hints that you are about to depart, and inch closer and closer to the door, culminating in a conversation half way out the door that ends by stopping and turning around to talk every 5 steps as you are literally walking away from each other. Sound familiar now? As peculiar and elaborate as the Minnesota goodbye may be, it serves to show us how loving we can be, and just how meaningful these conversations are that we can’t just end them and walk away. We cherish our time together and value this person before us so much that we want them to know with absolute certainty that we wish we could talk more but simply can’t.

We are capable of having these great conversations and sharing our troubles with each other, but more often than not we hold it in, trying to do what is best for the other person. We don’t want to bother them with what we have going on, so we say “I’m good, and you?”

And then there is Ruth, who throws the Minnesota Goodbye out the window, taking it to a whole new level. She doesn’t just linger in the door, she simply will not hear of this conversation ending with a kiss and heading home. She says I love you so much that you are absolutely not doing this alone. She doesn’t say “let me know how I can help” but instead she takes action and says,

“It’s not up to you, I am carrying this burden with you, whether you like it or not.” And then she does even better, setting the perfect example for us to follow. She doesn’t tell Naomi how to fix her problems, she doesn’t tell her that she is over-reacting, she doesn’t pass any sort of judgement at all, she just digs in her heels and says “Where you Go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. If you die, I will be buried next to you, and even then I ask that God would not separate us.”

Ruth is determined to walk alongside this woman who seems to be cursed by fate. Naomi claims that God has even set Himself against her, and yet here is Ruth, showing the real hand of God. The one that holds on tightly no matter how hard we try to shake free. When told to go back to her family, she lives out the words that Christ would speak so many years later when he said

“Who are my mother and my brothers? Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

How can we do that? How can I live like Jesus, and follow the example of Ruth? Do we really have to drop everything and follow someone even to the grave?

We are called to start acting like family. Each of us is a child of God. Each of us is called by name and loved by the Creator. Each of us is expected to love one another as Jesus first loved us. But how do we show someone, a stranger even, that they are valuable, they are not alone, and that God loves them even when they feel like He is working against them? Consider this:

I think the Kingdom of Heaven is like a woman you have never met sitting in her doorway at the nursing home asking if we have a moment to talk. We have the opportunity to say many things in order to keep moving along. How busy we are or how we wish we could because staying to talk is dangerous in its own way. You don't know where you will end up. This conversation could take you to unfamiliar places where you have no control over the outcome, and that is truly scary. Not only is this new for us, but we would be leaving ourselves open to any emotional baggage she might place on our shoulders and hearts. Into the complete unknown. All for a stranger.

Martin Luther says

"Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours. Thus Abraham went forth from his father and not knowing whither he went. He trusted himself to my knowledge, and cared not for his own, and thus he took the right road and came to his journey's end. Behold, that is the way of the cross. You cannot find it yourself, so you must let me lead you as though you were a blind man. [It is]Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary to all that you choose or desire--that is the road you must take. To that I call you and in that you must be my disciple.”

He is saying that in order to follow Jesus, we have to be open to the unknown. And that is why we must stop and listen to that woman in the doorway tell about how she wants to go home. How she doesn't feel the same as when she was at home. How she misses her family. About her father, long since passed away, and the struggles her family went through when he was sick.

When you look back you will have no idea what you were even supposed to be doing instead, but you will absolutely remember her holding your hand as you prayed for her. I hope each of you will take the time to walk with someone, even for 20 minutes and see the difference in their eyes, and remember later what it’s like to hold their hand.

What can we do to be like Ruth you may ask?

Why don’t we start by lingering in the door just a little longer?

Amen.

John Odegard is Minister for Discipleship and Faith Formation at Grace Lutheran Church, Mankato, MN. He preached this sermon October 18, 2015.

"Carry On" - Sermon for Reformation Sunday

Carry On
Reformation Sunday – Narrative Lectionary 2
Grace, Mankato, MN
October 25, 2015
2 Samuel 5.1-5; 6.1-5

We are committed to using the Narrative Lectionary at Grace, which each year retells God’s story from creation to consummation. By remembering God’s story intersecting the story of our faith ancestors we connect with our faith stories. We are also committed to remembering the important events in the life of the church and the rhythm of the seasons depicted by the church year calendar. By remembering the time and times of the church, we see how God is present through all time. This can be a little tricky sometimes, as today when we celebrate the Protestant Reformation while reading texts from the Old Testament that talk about the coronation of David and the Ark coming to Jerusalem.

As I thought about today’s stories, old and older, the phrase “carry on” came to mind. “Carry on” has at least three meanings: to carry on as in being wildly enthusiastic about something; carry-on as in a bag you take aboard an airplane; and carry on as continuing to do something. I’d like to use “carry on” as a metaphor to explore the mash-up between 2 Samuel and Reformation Sunday.

Newly anointed King David “carries on” while transporting the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. David is already king of the southern tribe of Judah, but the tribes of the northern tribes of Israel ask him to be their king, too. The previous king, Saul, and all of his family have been gotten out of the way and so there is a leadership vacuum. David has been recognized as their de facto leader and his leadership is now formalized. David’s charismatic personality will unite the kingdom and, in a series of politically astute moves, David will consolidate the kingdom and establish a dynasty. First, he names the newly conquered Jerusalem as his capital city, a city neither north nor south can lay claim to.

Secondly, he brings the long forgotten Ark, the holder of the Ten Commandments etched on stone tablets, to the city. The Ark denotes the power and presence of God among the people and its placing in Jerusalem solidifies David as God’s choice. During the trip from Abinadab’s farm to Jerusalem, David kicks up his heals in a prophetic-like frenzy, much to the chagrin of his wife. Yet, the celebration is not so much for what David has done, but because of what God has done through David. The story makes it clear that all that happens does so because of the faithfulness of God. As we celebrate the Reformation, we are reminded that it is God who worked through the Reformers to bring about the renewal of the church and that for us “carrying on” is a proper response to God’s renewing presence.

The second sense of carry on has to do with baggage, or more appropriately, what we bring with us. A carry-on bag contains what is most important to us when we travel, stuff we don’t want to lose. In some cases, it may contain all we have. David realized that the Ark was something important to bring with the people into the future. His son, Solomon, will build a temple with the Ark at its center, and Jerusalem would be the center of the life and faith of the Jewish people. (In fact, Jerusalem still holds that spot for Jewish people.)

As I think about the Reformation and what we hold dear as Christians, I wonder what it is that we hold valuable that we will carry on with us into our future. The Ark held the most important Words that God spoke to the people. Could it be that it is the centrality of the Word that defines us as Christians? Not just the Word as the Bible, the story of God’s action with us and creation, but the Word made flesh who has entered and continues to enter our messy existence, bringing life out of death, hope from despair. After all, as Martin Luther said, the Bible is the manger in which the Christ child is laid.

Finally, to “carry on” has the sense of continuing to do something, much as a military officer telling soldiers to “carry on” after leaving. David’s anointing, the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital city and the installation of the Ark will take the Jewish people into the future as they attempt to carry on God’s will for them. Reformation Sunday is a reminder to us that we are to dot the same. We are to “carry on” by living out God’s calling. That’s why one of our Guiding Principles at Grace is that we are “Deeply Rooted.” This means in part that we will carry with us that which is core to our witness about God’s love, grace, and compassion. And, although it may be outside our comfort zones, we could dance a bit as we are doing it. Carry on! Amen.

Newsletter Article: October-November Edition of the Fourth and Main

October-November 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It seems as if one is never too old to have one’s world rocked by God.

This particular seismic event came in May at a breakout session during our Southeastern Minnesota Synod assembly. The workshop, led by stewardship consultant Mike Ward, focused on the synod’s visioning process for the coming years. During the presentation a question arose about volunteerism in the church. Pr. Ward’s response was the one that smacked me upside the head. “In the parish I never worried about matching peoples’ gifts with tasks because Jesus never did. He simply said to people, 'Follow me.'”

Now, my first reaction was to dismiss these comments out of hand. Fortunately, I stuck it out because I respected Pr. Ward and the contributions he has made to helping churches grow in their ability to help their people grow in faith. Since then I have turned his words over and over again in my mind. Here’s what I’m thinking.

It’s important to match people’s gifts with the mission and ministry that God is calling us to do. We have been using the Clifton Strengths Finder with our staff for the last year and it has been very helpful. The Strengths Finder identifies a person’s top five strengths (out of 34) and helps one understand how those strengths can be used effectively, both in our professional and personal lives. I often use the example that you can’t make a plow horse into a race horse and vice versa. The Strengths Finder has been useful for us to function better as a team.

However, I also think that Pr. Ward is right, too. (In good Lutheran fashion I can do paradox, holding two seeming opposite things as both being true.) There are times when God calls us out of our comfort zones and pushes us to do things we didn’t think we were capable. Each of us at one time or another has had to step up because somebody needed to do so and we were the only somebody available. Most of the time, we are surprised that we really can do what we didn’t think we could do.

Like many organizations, Grace has to figure out a way to match God’s call to mission and ministry with people willing to answer that call. Times are different than the last generation or two; I don’t need to recite them here. Even so, the ministry remains: helping our young people grow in faith and love, serving the needy and marginalized, providing engaging worship to sustain our lives and supporting the work of the church in our community and in the world.

This is so important that the church council has set “Encouraging Volunteerism” as one of its three main goals this year. To do so, it has established a task force led by Randy Long to examine ways we can match ministry with people. I hope you’ll be open to their work and their recommendations. Meanwhile, God’s ministry through us awaits our response. Please say, “Yes” when asked to serve. Not only will you be answering God’s call on your life, you’ll be making a difference in the lives of others.

In Christ,

Pr. Scott Olson