This life therefore is not righteousness,

but growth in righteousness,

not health, but healing,

not being but becoming,

not rest but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be,

but we are growing toward it,

the process is not yet finished,

but it is going on,

this is not the end,

but it is the road.

All does not yet gleam in glory,

but all is being purified.

 

Martin Luther

+++

2 PENTECOST A,     June 26, 2011
Pastor John F Hagberg

 

Gospel Word    Matthew 10:40-42

Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

 

Meditation “In His Name”

Sometimes pastors proclaim truth. Sometimes they say what people want them to say. Jeremiah and Hananiah were two such preachers. Jeremiah proclaimed that it was God’s will that Babylon conquer Jerusalem. Hananiah proclaimed that God would not let that happen. Jeremiah carried a yoke in public as symbol of Babylonian domination. Hananiah removed the yoke and broke it in public. The people cursed Jeremiah and tried to kill him. They praised Hananiah, but two months later, he was dead. Jeremiah believed he was speaking the word of God, but he had no evidence that he was right. The only thing Jeremiah could say was “Wait and see.”

 

I have tried to be a faithful preacher like Jeremiah, but sometimes you would have preferred Hananiah. I believed that hospitality was at the heart of this congregation, and we became a welcome place for divorced people and those who     suffer from the disease of alcoholism. We continued to welcome a variety of people, and I thought we were ready to openly welcome gay and lesbian people. Some of you were ready and some of you were not. We wrestled with Reconciling in Christ, a biblical term that sadly became loaded with negative connotations. We compromised and began to use such statements as “In Christ, our calling is to receive all.”  Some of you are uncomfortable with that. I believe that I was being faithful to the Gospel in pursuing a Reconciling in Christ designation, but like Jeremiah, there is no solid evidence that I am right. We can only wait and see.

 

I do believe that there are two distinct trends for congregations to follow in this  culture: becoming a gathering of like minded people who want their beliefs confirmed or becoming a gathering of people in whom the labels of the world disappear in the mystery of the sacraments, a oneness in Christ in which the old ways are drowned in Baptism and a new community rises in Holy Communion. I believe that Jeremiah would chose the way of sacramental mystery. Jeremiah would have understood the cross, which is at the heart of sacramental mystery. Hananiah would not have understood the cross at all.

 

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus speaks about a cup of cold water. He is speaking about hospitality. There are those who would say that we should be ready to offer that cup of cold water to all people, that all should be welcome in this place. But not so fast. Jesus is not talking about the cup of cold water that you share with others, he is speaking about the cup of cold water given to you by someone you do not know, someone who may be very different from you. As he sends his disciples out in mission, Jesus offers no guarantees for them, just a promise that those who receive a disciple bearing the name of Jesus will receive the blessing of Christ’s presence. And here is a crucial distinction: only those who know what a cup of cold water tastes like, will share a cup of cold water with others. Only those who have tasted the Bread of Life will share daily bread with others. Only those who have been forgiven a greater debt will forgive someone else. Only those who have been in the presence of God will be a holy presence to others. Only those who have been graciously welcomed will welcome the stranger with grace.

 

The future is naturally filled with anxiety of the unknown. In our anxieties, we are easily tempted to desire Hananiah’s preaching, which tells us what we want to hear. It may well be that the word of the Lord sounds more like Jeremiah, something you may not want to hear. Wait and see. I have tried to be faithful to the Gospel and lead you in building a place where all are welcome, a place of joy and thanksgiving, mercy and compassion, a place where the cup of cold water is offered. And now I will stop talking and trust Christ’s presence in bread and wine to offer a cup for you and to complete what I have done, in his name.

 

Prayer

O God, you direct our lives by your grace, and your words of justice and mercy reshape the world. Mold us into a people who welcome your word and serve one another through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen

+++

February 20, 2011, Matthew 5:38-48

You’re Complete in Christ

R. Paul Johnston, Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Sioux City, Iowa      

            Today…we continue to hear Jesus speaking to his disciples about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven.  He is describing all that God is doing through him…to “make all things new”…to give us “real life”. 

            Sometimes these are difficult sayings to hear… “love your enemy”… “pray for those who hurt you”… “turn the other cheek”…etc.  We wonder…what is Jesus really asking us to do?  How does he expect that we can do that? 

            First…we must realize that Jesus isn’t describing life as we know it or how it actually is…now.  Jesus is describing life… “real life”…as he is going to change it to be.  Jesus starts by describing life as it actually is…and then directs his disciples and us to think about how it could be.  Kind of a… “what would happen if?”  What if…instead of “Eye for Eye, tooth for tooth”…we didn’t hit back at all?  What would happen if…you loved your enemy…the way God loves them?     What would happen if…you prayed for those that hurt you?  How would that change things in this world? 

            Jesus is not saying that any of this is going to be easy.  In fact, he implies that it is probably impossible.  But he is also saying that “following him and loving the way he loves…is what the kingdom life is really all about.”  He is saying “become who you are…children of God.”  He is saying “for humans it is impossible…but for God all things are possible.”

            Dr. David Lose says, “Which is why it matters who’s saying these things in the first place.  It’s Jesus—Jesus, the one who not only talked the talk of love but walked the walk…treading steadfastly to Jerusalem…enduring the shame and humiliation of the cross…embracing death itself…all so that we might know, experience, and trust just how much God loves us and thereby – and only thereby! – have abundant life.” 

            And so…it is not something that we “have automatically” or “can instantly” do.  Rather it is something that we “grow into” as we come to experience…as we come to know the love of God in our own lives.  Corey Ten Boom, a Christian woman whose family were killed in the concentration camps during World War II has said, “I have not been able to forgive the Nazi’s for what they did to my family…but I pray daily that God would forgive them and that someday he would give me the grace and the love to forgive them.”  It’s something that we grow into.  It’s something that happens to you as you find yourself “wrapped in the love of God”.  We can love only as we begin to perceive what it means that God has first loved us.  

            This is Christ’s call for us as we live out our faith as disciples in this world.  “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out your God-created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”  It’s learning to live “differently”.

            “We were ready for anything, except for candles and prayer.”  These words were spoken by an East German police officer when confronted by the “candles and prayers” of nonviolent resistance to police brutality and government repression in the formerly Soviet-controlled German Democratic Republic.  The number of people protesting the government regime at that time was growing.  They would hold prayer vigils nightly… “lighting candles and praying”.

            But in October, 1989, the government cracked down, beating and arresting protesters.  Even so, the fear and intimidation were nothing compared to candles and prayers: “Two days later (after the start of the crackdown) St. Nikolai Church was full to overflowing for the weekly vigil.  When it was over, 70,000 people marched through the city as armed soldiers looked on, but did nothing.”  Speaking of his experience of that night, Sylke Schumann, a college student at the time, remembers, “…it was a cold evening, but you didn’t feel cold…because you saw all these people, and it was, you know, it was really amazing to be a part of that, and you felt so full of energy and hope.”  Another said… “the people had learned to turn fear into courage… They came to church and then started walking…”

            That’s how it happens.  When you put your trust in the ways of God…and God’s love fills you with hope…your fears are replaced by courage…and you begin to see the world differently. 

            I remember attending one of our ELCA National Youth Gatherings in Atlanta, Georgia.  37,000 young people and adults were going to be coming into that city.  This was the largest population increase to come to the city prior to the Summer Olympics in 1998.  As we left the dome following the opening worship service to walk back to our hotels, there was a mass of people in the streets, store front to store front wide, and as far as the eye could see in both directions.  There were police officers, city, county, and state, at every corner keeping us moving and directing traffic.  We were impressed with the turn out from the police.  The young people were singing the songs from the worship service and dancing in the streets of the city. 

            The next evening as we returned to our hotels, we noticed that even though the crowds were as many, the number of police officers were quite a bit less.  We asked one of the officers standing on a street corner…why the difference.   He said they weren’t there to protect the kids from the city, as we had thought…they were there to protect the city from the kids.  They couldn’t imagine 30,000 young people together in a city without property damage, stealing, looting, and some kinds of violence going on.  By the second night…they realized that this was not going to be a threat.  It is something that happens as we come to know who we are…as children of God.

              Jesus not only commands that things change, he also understands… understands just how hard it is for us to love rather than hate…to forgive rather than begrudge…to embrace rather than protect…to share rather than hoard…to heal rather than wound…especially when we ourselves walk so much of our lives wounded and hurt.  Jesus understands…that as much as we may want to love others…that so many things still get in the way.  Past disappointments or hurts that haunt us.  Old grudges and wounds that are a long time healing.  Painful memories that are slow to fade. 

            In today’s lesson Jesus isn’t so much asking us to change our ways and to live by a different set of rules.  Rather, Jesus is calling us to trust God and live into the promise of the “kingdom life” that God has prepared for us.  There are probably many things that keep us from being able to do that.  But today…I’m going to ask you to take one of the pieces of paper that are in the pew in front of you and write down one thing—one fear, one memory, one hurt, one resentment –that keeps you from embracing and becoming the person God wishes you to be.  These are the things that keep us from loving as God loves…forgiving others as God forgives…and freely serving others as God serves.  These will not be read by anyone.  In fact, they will be burned.  Then I want you to “crumple them up” as you would anything that you would “throw away” and bring them with you to the altar as you come for Holy Communion.  There will be a wastepaper basket for you to throw them into. 

            As I invite you to communion today, I will speak the words that Augustine said to his congregation while presiding at communion: “Receive who you are.  Become what you’ve received.”  In this way…and this way alone…do you receive the “real life” that Christ has for you.  Go…in God’s love…and live.  AMEN. 

+++

Lord make us instruments of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let us so love;

Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love. 
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born into eternal life. 
Amen.

 

St Francis of Assisi
+++

Links to reflective words in  the aftermath of tragedy:  

   Prayer and Worship Responses to Natural Disasters
   - New Zealand Earthquake
    - Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan

Reflections, Sermons and Articles:

• Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords: Speaking for the Soul, Diana Butler Bass, Beliefnet, 2011.
• Thoughts on Gabrielle Giffords, Todd Weir, bloomingcactus, 2011.
• Grace and Peace, Melissa Bane Sevier, Contemplative Viewfinder, 2011.
• "Called to Testify," Bob Cornwall, Ponderings on a Faith Journey, 2011. (Epiphany 2 lectionary texts, MLK, shootings in Tucson.)
• A Time of Silence and Lament, Richard A. Kauffman, Century Blog, 2011.