L Is for Laodicea - Sermon for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost - The Good Book

L Is for Laodicea

Pentecost 10 – Summer Series: The Good Book

July 28, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Revelation 3.14-22

This past week as I prepared today’s message, I’ve engaged in a bit of fantasy. I’ve wondered what it would be like to be the interim pastor at the church in Laodicea. The Apostle John, perhaps in this case, Bishop John, from his exile on the island of Patmos, has told me my work is cut out for me. At first blush, the church has everything going for it. It is located in a thriving context as Laodicea is a strategic city at the junction of three important trade routes in Asia Minor, our modern-day Turkey. Laodicea is well-known for producing wool and has a medical center that is known for its eye ointment. The church can even boast being founded by Epaphras, a co-worker of the renowned Apostle Paul. As an affluent church, it can afford to pay well beyond the Minimum Compensation Guidelines of the synod. It looks like a plum assignment that would help me ease into retirement.

However, Bishop John warns me, there are serious issues, all rooted in complacency. I have in my hand a letter from John, supposedly dictated by Jesus. I’ve learned that it is one of seven sent to Laodicea and six of its neighbors: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia. And, from what I’ve heard, it’s the only letter that has absolutely nothing complimentary to say. It uses imagery that makes it clear Jesus knows this church: Laodicea’s own water is so putrid it needs aqueducts to transport water from neighboring Hierapolis, known for its hot springs, and Colossae, for cool waters. Unfortunately, because of the long distance, the water arrives lukewarm and is thus gag worthy.

What’s an interim pastor to do? How will I be received? Will they be able to listen to anything I have to say? Today is the last in a sermon series called“The Good Book: Meeting our Ancestors in Faith One Story at Time.” It’s unique because today’s “ancestor” is a group, not an individual. Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be any good attributes to commend them. They have lost whatever “hot” zeal they had for sharing the gospel, and have focused on private piety rather than being a voice for change. Thus, Jesus would rather have them to be pagan “cold” than the lukewarm community they are. So, is the lesson to be learned today, “Don’t be like the Laodiceans?” 

Perhaps, but there’s more than that because with God there is always more, and it is always “better” more. The core message to Laodicea is that Jesus loves them deeply and doesn’t give up on them. Jesus stands at their door, knocking persistently, inviting them to turn back toward him and being the kind of community God wants them to be. Even amid the stark imagery, Bishop John reminds the church that God has not called the gifted but rather gifted the called. The Laodiceans have been gifted to be God’s hands at work in the world. To those who much has been given, much is expected. The Laodiceans have a responsibility to use their gifts for the sake of the world.

In a little while we’ll gather in Fellowship Hall to look back on your short 55-year history. We’ll endeavor to be honest about what has happened here, the good, the bad, and even the ugly. Through it all we’ll try to discern where God has been present in, with, and through you in this place. And we’ll use this looking back as a springboard to see what the future might look like as you prepare to call your next lead pastor. As we do so, we’ll remember that God loves you very much and wants you to “taste good.” Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

P Is for Puah - Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - Summer Series

P Is for Puah

Pentecost 7 – Summer Series, “The Good Book”

July 7, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Exodus 1.8-22

There’s an old proverb that goes back hundreds of years, with several variations, including one from Benjamin Franklin. And there’s even one a century earlier from the poet George Herbert. It’s called, “For Want of a Nail” and goes something like this.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost. / For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost. / For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost. / For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

As Wikipedia reminds us of the moral of the proverb, “seemingly unimportant acts or omissions can have grave and unforeseen consequences.” Today we might say, “For want of a baby the Hebrews were lost.” In our scripture reading we meet Puah and by extension her colleague Shiphrah, ancestors in the faith. They seem to be playing bit parts in the dramatic story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Yet, had they not played their part, the pivotal event in the life of Israel may not have happened. In addition to the covenant with Abraham that made them God’s chosen people, the exodus from Egypt is the singular defining event for the Jewish people.

Puah and Shiphrah are ordered by the king, also known as pharaoh, to commit mass infanticide by killing the male babies they deliver. He does this because he is fearful that the Hebrews would become even more plentiful and take over the country. (How many times has this story been repeated since humans evolved to walk upright?) It’s unclear in the Hebrew grammar whether Puah and Shiphrah are Hebrew midwives or Egyptian midwives to the Hebrew women, but what is clear is they “fear” God. In other words, they have a relationship with God, one of respect, a relationship they don’t have with Pharaoh.

What is also clear is that these women who deal in life will refuse to deal in death. It is also somewhat ironic that the mighty pharaoh, who is arguably the most important person in that part of the world, has his name lost to us. Yet we know the names of these two seemingly powerless and inconsequential women are not only known but also celebrated. Furthermore, as the story unfolds, it is the women who have agency in the story. In addition to Puah and Shiphrah, Moses’ sister convinces his mother to put him in a basket in the river to save him. And it is pharaoh’s daughter who will rescue baby Moses and raise him as her own. The women collaborate albeit unwittingly to deliver the deliverer.

So, what does it mean that Puah is an ancestor of ours? What has she passed down to us? On the one hand, we want to acknowledge the value of every single life and that is no small thing. Yet we wonder if she and Shiphrah are “spitting into the wind” of pharaoh in an exercise in futility. Will what they do matter? Even so, they acted in faithfulness to God’s call on their lives. They did so even though they had no idea of what was ahead for the Hebrews, that the Hebrews would become a mighty people despite pharaoh’s actions, and that a baby they saved would lead the Hebrews to the Promised Land.

It’s understandable that in looking around our country and our world we would feel despair and hopelessness. We see endless wars, mass shootings, homelessness, inflation, disasters, etc. Yet, as anthropologist Margaret Mead reminds us, “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” Puah and Shiphrah remind us that even small acts can produce consequential results.

In fact, the Bible is full of “inconsequential consequential” people, those in positions of power or influence who are able to do neither. But there are far more “consequential inconsequential” people such as Puah and Shiphrah. For example, there’s the seemingly inconsequential youngest of seven sons, a shepherd boy who unites the Hebrew people in a country or disparate 12 tribes. And this King Dave will have a descendant who will give birth to a Jewish rabbi, the son of a carpenter and young virgin woman. This rabbi will assemble a motley group of followers, women and men alike, a small group who will change the world. And through the life and death of this Jesus, God will destroy the powers of death in the second greatest act of deliverance in the Bible, the resurrection to eternal life.

Sometimes we might wonder what difference we can make, how a few pennies or dollar bills in a jar could change someone’s life or put a dent in the great need in our community. Yet these coins and bills can provide a meal in the Community Cafe, help eradicate polio, or provide school supplies for families in need. We don’t always see results, but our ancestors Puah and Shiphrah show us we don’t need to. We simply need to “fear God” and trust for the rest. Even so, we are not without resources because we believe that a handful of water assures us of God’s presence. And, as the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians, that he has handed down to us what was handed down to him, that a little bit of bread and wine contain the Creator of the Universe, everything we need to walk the way of our ancestors in faith, including Puah and Shiphrah. Thanks be to God. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

J Is for Joseph - Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost - Summer Series: "The Good Book"

J Is for Joseph

Pentecost 5 – Summer Series “The Good Book”

June 23, 2024

St. Ansgar, Cannon Falls, MN

Genesis 50.15-21

I’m a second career pastor, ordained 28 years after being in the business world 16 years. There was a point in the later part of that career where, after success and promotions, the work wasn’t going well and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next. We were living in the Northern Virginia area of Washington, DC at the time. I learned of a job opening in Chicago for which  I was excited because I was perfectly suited for the work. It would also put us closer to our Minnesota home. Cindy and I were “wined and dined” by the president of the company and his wife and I took a trip to Northern Wisconsin to meet the owner at his cabin. I thought all was well until I learned the owner went with a younger, less qualified person who was already in-house. The president was apologetic and clearly wanted to hire me but was overruled by the president. I was devastated and didn’t know what I was going to do.

That wasn’t the only dream of mine that wasn’t fulfilled, or I should say was fulfilled in an unexpected way. That brings us to the story of Joseph. (How many of you are thinking about Donnie Osmond in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat?”) A brief recap of the story is in order. Joseph, of course, was the favored son of Jacob born of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel. In his younger days, Joseph was a bit of a clueless jerk, flaunting his “technicolor” coat and telling his 10 brothers about a dream he had and which he interpreted as them bowing down to him. Not smart.

His brothers had enough and planned to kill him, but thankfully one of the brothers convinced the others to sell him into slavery to some traders instead. They then made it look like an animal killed Joseph by tearing up his precious coat and smearing it with blood. Jacob is inconsolable, but Joseph lands at the house of an important man in Egypt only to be accused of assault by the man’s wife. Potipher knows Joseph is innocent, but has no choice but to put him in prison where Joseph’s administrative skills earn the trust of the jailer. It’s also where he continues to interpret dreams, one for Pharaoh’s cupbearer and the other for Pharaoh’s baker. Both interpretations become true, and the cupbearer remembers Joseph when the Pharaoh has a dream that no one can interpret.

Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows being swallowed by seven skinny cows and only Joseph can interpret it. Joseph informs Pharaoh that there will be seven good years for harvesting grain followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh is so impressed he makes Joseph his right hand administrator and places him in charge of storing grain. When the famine comes as Joseph predicts, it reaches all the way to his homeland. His father Jacob hears there is grain in Egypt and  sends his 10 sons to buy grain. His brothers don’t recognize Joseph but Joseph recognizes them and he toys with them for a time. Even so, Joseph ultimately brings the whole family to Egypt.

Joseph’s family is welcomed by Pharaoh and flourish in Egypt. All is well until Jacob dies. Joseph’s 10 brothers not only become fearful, but they revert to lying and manipulation, saying that Jabob told them to tell Joseph to forgive them. Joseph responds with two amazing statements: “Am I in the place of God?” (Which, in some ways, is ironic because as the second most powerful person in Egypt Joseph might as well be a god to them.) The second statement, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good…”

This is a rich, multi-layered story that one sermon couldn’t do justice, with at least two themes. First, there is the theme of forgiveness, especially within families, that I explored in the Children’s Sermon. The other theme has to do with the interplay between our plans for life and God’s plans for us.

I went to college thinking I’d become a medical doctor and then a probation officer. I had no idea I’d end up in the business world. I also thought I’d marry a woman with long, dark hair and instead I married one with short, blonde hair. My life reflects the aphorism, “If you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans.” If true, God has laughed a lot at my efforts. In my most charitable moments when I don’t know what to do, I ask God what I should do, “A or B.” It’s nice to give God options, right, except that God invariably tells me “X.” “X” wasn’t even on the list!

The takeaway for me in the Joseph story is that God frees us to make our plans and dream our dreams while realizing that those plans are provisional and we are to be open to God’s leading. And in the midst of life we are to understand that God may be working in ways not yet evident. How many of us have ended up in life where we thought we would as young people? The same is true for churches: would your forebears have predicted where you are now?

One way to think about this interplay between our plans and God’s plans is to ask the “God questions.” The first question is, “What is God up to here?” And the second follows, “What does God want to do in, with, and through us in this place?” Sometimes that means trying things, little experiments, and seeing how they turn out. Sometimes it means looking in those places where we don’t often expect to find God and see what’s there for us. Ironically, sometimes it means waiting for God to speak as we pray for discernment.

When I was devastated at not getting that perfect job, I was not able to see it as a closed door so that God could open up a door to go to seminary and become a pastor. Even as I did so, I didn’t dream I’d be an associate pastor along the way and now interim pastor. I also became a doctor, just not the kind thought. And that short-haired blonde, we’ve been married for almost 44 years. As I look back on my life, I’m grateful that I’ve been able to see how God has used my experiences for God’s purposes. My prayer for each of you is that you’d also be able to say, “God has intended my life for good.” Because that’s the story of the cross of Jesus Christ, that God can take the worst that life has to throw at us, even death, and bring about God’s purposes, which is new life. Thanks be to God, Amen.

This sermon was preached at St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church, Cannon Falls, MN. For the "live" version of the sermon, click here.

The Lord's Prayer: Our Needs - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Summer Series

The Lord’s Prayer: Our Needs

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Narrative Lectionary Summer Series

June 16, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Luke 11.2-4; Psalm 23

Quite a few years ago we received a card in the mail offering a “free” dinner at a local restaurant. I decided to go even though I knew there was going to be a sales pitch, but Cindy wisely declined. Indeed, the organizers showed a scary movie about fires to get us to buy an alarm system. When I came home and described the evening to Cindy, her only comment was, “We’re not buying.” Of course, I knew that, but the pull was strong and it is evidence of our culture of wanting things. Now, it’s not a sin to want things, unless it’s other peoples’ stuff. That breaks at least a couple of the Ten Commandments.

The Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 seem to be at odds with each other. On the one hand, Jesus is commanding us to ask God for what we need while on the other hand, the psalmist is telling us we are not to want for anything. There’s the additional tension that we have a very short sermon to handle the abundance of riches in these two texts. We’ve spent one week each on God as Father, God’s holy name, and God’s kingdom. We could easily use three more weeks, one each on the remaining three petitions. As for Psalm 23, the latter could take its own multi-week series.

So, with these items in mind, I’m going to give you some broad strokes as food for thought. 

First, in praying the Lord’s Prayer and reciting Psalm 23, we remind ourselves that we live in a culture that teaches us to not only want everything but also perpetuates the myth that we can “have it all.” Not only can we not have it all, we know that having does not bring happiness. Happiness flows from a life of gratitude for what we have. Second, inherent in our asking God for daily bread is the reminder that we are to neither be anxious for what we need nor are we to pile up for ourselves more than we need. The lesson to the Israelites in the wilderness is that God gives us our “manna” each and every day. Finally, both the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 encourage us to ask while making us mindful Who it is that gives us what we need.

Today is Father's Day and like many of you, my dad was far from perfect. But one thing I’m always grateful for is how hard he worked to provide for us, to get us what we needed. In fact, I hated to ask for anything because I knew we didn’t have much. Yet our heavenly Father tells us otherwise, that we are to ask and be assured that God gives us what we need. For God so loved the world that he even gave us his Son Jesus so that we might have life and have it abundantly.

That Son gave his life to repair the broken relationship between us and God so that we can do the same with one another and we can live as God intended us to live. God forgives us so we can forgive others. That God continues to give God’s self as we are seeing today, first in the waters of baptism that washed over Beau and Tyler. In baptism, God “anoints their heads with oil.” Then in the Holy Table that God spreads before us “in the presence of our enemies,” we are fed with God’s very self. Jesus is both the Good Shepherd who pursues us “through the goodness and mercy that follows us” and our daily bread that sustains us as we “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

The Lord's Prayer: Holiness - Second Sunday after Pentecost - Narrative Lectionary Summer Series

The Lord’s Prayer: Holiness

Second Sunday after Pentecost – NL Summer

June 2, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Luke 11.2-4; Psalm 8

Last week Pr. Maria Markman had a terrific sermon to kick off this four-week series on the Lord’s Prayer. In preaching on the introduction, “Our Father,” she reminded us that this prayer is both a comfort and a challenge. It’s a comfort because of the intimate, relational nature as God invites us to come and pray, even if our relationships with our earthly fathers have been less than ideal. It’s also a challenge because we do not “My Father.” Rather, we say, “Our Father,” and when we do so we are reminded that we pray with people we may not like or usually associate with. “Our Father” is the hallmark of inclusivity.

Pr. Maria also reflected on her personal experience of the Lord’s Prayer in this aspect, which prompted reflections of mine. When I was an pastoral intern at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in York, PA I visited a young woman in a care facility. Linda had severe cerebral palsy, was confined to a wheelchair, and largely non-communicative, though she could make some sounds. It was awkward because she couldn’t talk. I think I got a smile from her when I told her that I was a registered Girl Scout. I don’t remember if I was able to give her Holy Communion, but I do remember praying with her. When we got to the Lord’s Prayer I could clearly hear her “saying” it right along with me. That’s how deep the Lord’s Prayer is. I’ve been in memory care units with residents who are non-communicative, but when I pray the Lord’s Prayer they join right in. Those are holy moments.

“Father, hallowed be your name,” is the phrase we contemplate today realizing as Pr. Maria reminded us last week, how often we breeze over the words without thinking about them. In this petition, we recognize God as both Holy Other and Wholly Other, who we worship as One who stands outside us. This is the God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush reminded to remove his sandals because he was on holy ground. Then, as Moses encountered God on Mt. Sinai in the wilderness to receive the Ten Commandments, came down changed in appearance because of this encounter. This is the God who Isaiah fell down before when God called him to be a prophet saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.” And we hear as the Psalmist declares, “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”

As Martin Luther adds in the Small Catechism, we assert that “God’s name is holy in itself, but we ask in this prayer that it may also be holy in and among us.” Furthermore Luther reminds us lest we forget, we don’t always honor God’s holiness. We dishonor God’s name by using it inappropriately or by putting other gods first, gods of consumerism, materialism, and busyness. Finally, we acknowledge that we don’t always live holy lives according to God’s holy name.

How do we live holy lives? There’s an aspect to holiness that helps us understand more what it is we pray for. This aspect is found in the root meaning of holy as something that is set apart for a specific purpose. God is holy because of who God is, not because what God does, and we are holy because God has set us apart. Hear the Psalmist again: God has made us “a little lower than God and crowned us with glory and honor.” God has given us responsibility for all of creation, has set us apart, and has gifted us for this work accordingly.

Today we are honoring our High School graduates and I want to direct these last comments to you. When you were baptized, God made you holy by setting you apart to serve God and neighbor. You are called to this holy work through whatever vocation you pursue, whether that is furthering your education, taking a gap year, serving in the military, or entering the workforce. If I were to give you some advice it would be this. I’d ask you to be open to the Holy Spirit and its leading, the One who God set aside to guide you in your life ahead, to consider ways that God is calling you to live your holy life. Find strength in a community of faith, a holy people set apart to help you. Partake in Holy Communion where God sets apart bread and wine to give God’s very self as strength for your journey.

One last thing, to you and all gathered here: remember there’s no expiration date on your baptismal certificates. (I know, because there is no space for that.) All of us are called to be God’s holy people until God calls us home, to continue to live out God’s calling on us. So, I encourage you to hallow God’s name by embracing the gift of the Holy Spirit in your lives. God’s blessing to you as you pray with your lives, “Father, hallowed be your name.” Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

The Resurrection Life - Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Narrative Lectionary 2

The Resurrection Life

Easter 7B - NL 2

May 12, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

1 Corinthians 15.1-26, 51-58

Dick was a seminary classmate of mine at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Fast forward several years later, Ron was a member of my congregation. Both of them shocked me in a way I wouldn’t have predicted but would have been home in the Corinthian church of Paul’s time. Dick and I were working together on a class project by constructing theology through the intersection of religion and science. (Our portion dealt with the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.) At some point, Dick offhandedly commented, “Belief in the resurrection isn’t that important to me.” I was so stunned I didn’t know how to respond. I knew I would hear some unsettling things at seminary but that wasn’t one of them. How could someone be a Lutheran pastor and not believe in the resurrection?

Several years later, I was preparing to do the funeral of Ron, a faithful member of my congregation who was almost always present at worship. When meeting with his family, I was shocked when his son admonished me not to talk about the resurrection because “Dad didn’t believe in it. Church was all about being a good person.” For Ron, Christianity was the message, one of forgiveness, grace, hard labor, and human kindness. So, reluctantly, that was the Good News that I preached.

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter and we come down near the end of the Easter season, which will culminate in Pentecost next Sunday (wear red!). Today we continue to hear how the early church lived out the implications of Jesus’ resurrection. During this season, we have gone from the book of Acts to dipping our toe in the waters of 1 Thessalonians and have been in 1 Corinthians the last few weeks. The city of Corinth was (and still is) a diverse and strategic city in Southern Greece, the capital city of what was then the Roman province of Achaia. The young church at Corinth mirrored many of its characteristics in diversity. Paul has a special relationship with the church he founded and cares for it deeply. He replies to a series of letters they have written and not only responds to their questions  but also addresses concerns of his own.

It’s hard to imagine churches squabbling over difference, but the Corinthian church has many internal divisions. These included disagreements about which of their favorite theologians to follow, whose baptism is better, and which spiritual gifts are the most desirable. Adding insult to injury, wealthier members have marginalized the poorer members by eating all the food and getting drunk before the poorer members are able to join them. That’s what Paul means in chapter 11 about eating the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. So, Paul reminds them that they are to follow Christ who is not divided, that they have been baptized into Christ not a theologian, that all spiritual gifts are needed and celebrated in love, and they are to treat their poorer members with respect.

But Paul saves his greatest concern for last: that some in the Corithian church were denying the resurrection. It’s as if some of us were to say, “Easter was seven weeks ago, that’s old news. Let’s move on.” We don’t know exactly what they were thinking, but we can make some good guesses. The Greeks understood the soul and body to be two separate, distinct entities and that when the body died the spirit was left. So they thought that the resurrection meant a spiritual one, not a bodily one. They thought that Jesus’ resurrection already resulted in a spiritual resurrection for them and their bodies no longer mattered.

In a tour de force, Paul lays out a brilliant and forceful case for Jesus’ resurrection and its implications. Not only was Jesus’ bodily resurrection attested by many, he declares that those who are baptized into Christ will also be raised. He says that you cannot have one resurrection without the other. Paul goes on to speculate on how this might happen and what the order will be. But he ends on what is the most important point in his argument, that death has been destroyed forever.

Paul drives home the point that the resurrection is a cosmologically changing event. The resurrection is a pivotal point in history, one spanning from creation to consummation. In a deeply mysterious event, the resurrection, death has been swallowed up in victory won by Jesus. Death is not the last word nor is it the most important word. As Paul emphasizes in Romans, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love, not even death.

So, where is this leading? What’s the point in all this? For starters, I hope that my classmate Dick discovered that the resurrection is vitally important to those whom he serves even though it isn’t to him. And I hope that people like Ron realize that there’s more to the Christian life than living a good life, as important as that is. In fact, it’s because of Jesus' resurrection and the promised resurrection for us that we don’t have to worry about our future. Because our future is secure we are freed up to live the resurrection life right now, not because our bodies don’t matter but because they do. What we do matters. Our bodies matter. On their best days, those mothers among us and those mothering parts of all of us understand this deeply. And the work of Habitat for Humanity, the Ministry Partner we are highlighting today knows that what we do matters. So, Siblings in Christ, continue to excel in the work of the Lord because your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Thanks be to God. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

Genuine Imitation - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter - Narrative Lectionary 2

Genuine Imitation

Easter 4B – NL2

April 21, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Acts 17.1-9; 1 Thessalonians 1.1-10

One night when I was a boy, my father took me with him to watch his bowling league. It was a real treat because it was at night when I’d normally be asleep. There must have been no school the next day. I don’t remember much about that night. What I do remember is my dad introducing me to one of his bowling buddies. Immediately, the friend said, “Oh Carl, I know he’s your son, he walks just like you.” What little chest I had puffed out with pride and joy, and I remember thinking to myself, “I’m Carl’s son. I walk just like him!” Now, I know he taught me how to bowl, though I don’t remember the specifics. Even so, I know I imitated him. A few years ago after I finished bowling, the man at the counter must have been watching me because he commented, “Someone taught you to bowl.” “Yes,” I answered, “my father.”

Genuine imitation is a theme that runs through our readings in Acts 17 and 1 Thessalonians 1. We’ve made a big jump since last week's story in Acts 3. The Apostle Paul has had his Damascus Road experience of encountering the risen Christ, which “converts'' him to the gospel. And the Apostle Peter has had his own conversion experience regarding the inclusion of Gentiles, the young church at Jerusalem has made a huge decision to extend their mission to non-Jews. Though Peter initiates this move, the torch is passed to Paul. That mission is going to “the ends of the earth” signified by a mission to Greece. Thessalonica was a major port on the Aegean Sea and capital city in the Roman province of Macedonia. It also laid along the major trade route, the Via Egnatia, and therefore held strategic importance.

Paul did what he normally does when entering a city, goes into a synagogue if there is one. (If not, he’ll find a “place of prayer,” usually down by the river.) Now, when it says that he argued with those present, the sense is more of discussion, dialogue, and reasoning, something that typically happened in a synagogue. Indeed, some people are persuaded, including upper class women and Gentiles. However, the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection wasn’t good news to all for some people got incensed to the point of violence. Even so, it is good to be reminded that “Jews” most likely refers to religious leaders who felt threatened, not all Jews. So, Paul et al. are forced to leave and go to Beroea where they get a better reception.  However, trouble followed them as some Thessalonians could stand to see them succeed there.

After a while, Paul will send Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the nascent church and report back to him. This first letter to the Thessalonians is Paul’s response to Timothy’s news. In what’s probably our oldest New Testament document, Paul uses a standard format for letter-writing in the ancient world. He begins with a greeting and then follows with a thanksgiving. But this where Paul deviates from the norm: the thanksgiving is greatly extended and takes up a good chunk of the letter. In it we can hear Paul’s deep care for the church as he encourages it from a distance.

Now, if we can get beyond the “mutual admiration society” between Paul and the church, we can explore a theme that runs throughout the texts: mutuality or “genuine imitation.” The Thessalonians have strived to imitate Paul’s example of faithfulness during duress. In turn, the Thessalonians themselves have become a similar beacon to other churches. Paul, in praising their faithfulness, offers them encouragement as they continue to endure.

I wonder what kind of letter Paul would write to the church at Faribault, Our Savior’s. Here’s my take:

Scott, Drew, and Grace. To the church of Our Savior’s Lutheran, Faribault, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, siblings beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. We give thanks for your perseverance and resilience in the face of so many challenges, that despite the challenges, or maybe because of them, your faith and example are stronger

Of course, we know that we aren’t perfect and we’re not always the best role models. What we do know is that God loves us no matter what we do or don’t do, and that love inspires us to share God’s love. Because God loves us unconditionally, we are freed to proclaim that love in word and deed. We are strengthened in this work through Jesus Christ who not only gave himself on the cross in the ultimate display of love but also through him who gives himself in Holy Communion. May that love strengthen you as you continue to be the church God has called you to be. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.