The Pastor’s Words

Text:  Mark 5:21-43
28 June 2009
Topic:   Waiting on Miracles
 
Today’s Gospel reading is a difficult one for me, personally, to preach on today.  Perhaps, it is a difficult one for you as well.  Because every one of us, at one time or another, has prayed for a miracle to happen in our lives, or in the lives of those whom we love, only to have that prayer somehow lost in the transmission between us and God.
As you have already heard, Joanne’s youngest sister’s husband, Steve, a vibrant 45 year old man, loving father of three and coach of his son’s football team, has suffered a very devastating stroke that has necessitated two operations on his brain to relieve the pressure that had built up due to the arteriovenous malformation he’s had since his birth. 
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have been praying for him.  We all want a miracle to happen.  We all want him back the way he was.
But there are others for whom miracles are also being sought.  Last week, one of our members, Nancy Hanna, fell down the stairs in her house in the middle of the night, cracked her skull, broke several vertebrae in her back, and almost bled to death.  She is now in Lancaster General Hospital where, hopefully, and prayerfully, she is beginning a long road to recovery.  She and her family, and us, as her church family, will be praying that she will return home again, restored, and able to live out her days.
Which brings me to the Gospel for today.  It begins with the story of a very important religious leader of that time and his daughter who was ill.  We don’t know what the young girl was dying from, simply that she was on her death bed and Jairus, her father, went begging to Jesus that he might heal her.
True to his nature, and true to his calling, Jesus responded compassionately to Jairus and went with him. 
On the way to Jairus’ daughter, crowds of people began milling about Jesus.  After all, it didn’t take long for people to get the message, “Hey, there’s a man in town who heals people.” 
Last week’s gospel, from Mark chapter 4, told the story of when Jesus miraculously calmed the sea.  And in chapter 5, in the section that precedes our text for today, is the story about Jesus healing the man with Lots of demons inside of him.  So people were getting the message, “We have a miracle worker among us!”
That’s why Jairus went looking for Jesus.  It’s also why the woman in the crowd who was following Jesus tried to get close enough to simply touch him.  It was her thought, and her hope, that if she just touched the hem of the robe Jesus was wearing, she just might be healed.  Everyone was looking for a miracle.
The deaths of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson dominated the news two days ago.  Ryan O’Neal, the companion of Farah Fawcett, wanted a miracle.  No doubt, Michael Jackson’s family and friends prayed for a variety of miracles for his assorted conditions throughout his life.  And you and I can add to that list from our own lives.
Jesus was known as the miracle worker.  And like the crowds in Mark’s gospel, we are all looking for some power, some body, to help us.
So, here’s my perspective.  Here’s how I’m coping with my brother-in-law’s condition. 
I begin at the end, which, ironically, is also another beginning.  I begin with the knowledge we are all going to die.  Since the Garden of Eden, from the beginning of time until now, we know we are going to die, some day, of some cause.
However, as a believer in the resurrection, I believe that even in death, we will live again – with with God –  in heaven – for all eternity.  So that even in death, we will have a new beginning and a party with all the saints that will last forever. 
The future is not in doubt.  It’s the present we struggle with.
We live on this earth, and our hearts and our minds and our families are very real and very precious to us.  There’s a rhythm to life that says we are given a reasonable time on earth (Psalm 90:10 says 70 years, maybe 80 if we’re healthy) and then we die.  But no one wants to leave this earth before that reasonable time is up.
So, when we get sick, or an accident happens, we cry out to God to intervene.  We pray for a miracle.  We pray to the one who created us, we pray to the miracle worker to come to our aid.
But several miracles have already taken place in the case of my brother-in-law.  And several miracles took place in the case of Nancy Hanna.  Steve was at home, in the middle of the day, when he collapsed last weekend.  He wasn’t in a car, or on a plane, or alone.  His wife and son were there and paramedics were called immediately.  Doctors were able to operate on him within a very short amount of time and just perhaps saved his life.  Those are all miracles.
Nancy lives with her mother, Bertha.  Normally it’s only the two of them at home.  But Nancy’s sister was visiting from the south and was at Nancy’s home when she fell.  Nancy’s sister called the paramedics who immediately sized up the situation and had her flown by helicopter to Lancaster which saved her life.  It’s a miracle she’s alive.
So, we’ve already seen some miracles happen.  We’ve already seen the power of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit at work in these two situations. 
Of course, we want more, much more.  And we will continue to pray for more miracles which will hopefully restore each of these two people to complete health.
In the gospel stories for today, faith was key to the healing that took place.  Jairus believed Jesus could heal his daughter so he sought him out and said, “Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.”  Jairus believed in the touch of Jesus.
The woman had heard about Jesus and his ability to heal people and said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well.”  She too believed in the touch of Jesus.
We need to believe in the touch of Jesus.  We need to believe in the touch of paramedics, in the touch of doctors and nurses, in the touch of friends calling us on the phone, in the touch of those who reach out to us on Facebook.  These are all touches of God coming to us, re-assuring us that God never leaves us nor forsakes us.
Does this mean all these touches will preserve our lives here on earth?  They may, and they may not.  But the touches are real and the touches bring some measure of comfort and hope.  Along with Jairus and the woman in the gospel, we must have faith.
The writer of Hebrews said, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” For now, we will hang onto the faith we’ve been given and pray that God’s healing hand will take care of all the rest.   AMEN

Text:  Mark 4:26-34
14 June 2009
From Small Things, Big Things Grow
 
From small things, big things can grow.
It was fifty years ago, at the end of the idealism of the 1960’s, that ASP – Appalachia Service Project and Habitat for Humanity were begun.  ASP was the dream of Tex Evans, a pastor in Frakes, Kentucky in the late 1960’s.  He saw a great need for home repair among the people of his community and envisioned a way to meet this need by matching high school youth groups with families in need.
Habitat for Humanity was the dream of Millard and Linda Fuller.  The Fullers, once very affluent residents of Montgomery, Alabama, decided in the mid-1960’s to give up their expensive home and very lucrative business and moved to Koinonia Farm, a small Christian community outside Americus, Georgia.  There, the Fullers developed the concept of “partnership housing.”
Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1960’s, who lived through them, and may even wish to forget some of the pain and confusion of that time, can now celebrate ASP and Habitat for Humanity as something very good that came out of those tumultuous days. 
As a college student in the early 1970’s, I remember a conversation about Habitat for Humanity in which it was stated, “The idea for Habitat for Humanity came from a commune.  And so, it’s probably some kind of communist plot to get everybody else living in a commune.”
As far as I know, ASP didn’t suffer from that kind of political smear, but, it, too, was regarded with great suspicion.  People said things like, “How can it be a good thing to let high school kids give up a week out of their summer to work on somebody’s house they’ll never see again?  Besides, isn’t it more important to teach people to ‘pick themselves up by their own bootstraps’?”
From small things, big things can grow.
Today, of course, ASP and Habitat for Humanity are seen as tremendous ministries that serve the needs of people far and wide.  Each of these ministries started small and have grown into huge missions that reach thousands of people.
From ASP’s humble beginnings in 1969 when 50 student volunteers went to Barbourville, Kentucky and repaired 4 homes, ASP now hosts nearly 15,000 volunteers each year to repair homes in Appalachia.  We will have nine of our own members working through ASP this summer in Leslie County, Kentucky, continuing to make homes warmer, safer, and drier, a vision that has not changed in fifty years.
Habitat for Humanity seeks to build homes for people who otherwise cannot to afford to build one themselves.  The houses are built at no profit, and no interest is charged on the house loan needed to build the house. 
Building costs are financed by a revolving fund called “The Fund for Humanity.” The fund’s money come from the new homeowners’ house payments, no-interest loans provided by supporters, and money earned by fund-raising activities. The monies in the Fund for Humanity are then used to build more houses.
In the last 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300,000 houses, sheltering more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities all across the world.  In our own community, Habitat for Humanity has built many new homes, some of them built by our own members.
From small things, big things can grow.
Jesus said in our gospel for today, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is a very small seed, but when planted in the ground, can grow into a very large plant.  It can even grow big enough so that birds can make a nest in it and rest in its shade.”  (paraphrase of Mark 4:30-32)
From small things, big things can grow.
Jesus was talking to his early disciples about the kingdom of God and what it’s like and what it’s not like.  He was explaining that the kingdom of God would start out small and grow into something big, something very big.  In fact, if Jesus had his way, the kingdom of God would encompass the entire world and all its people.  For as we heard last week, Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world but to save it – all of it!  (John 3:17)
Every time we celebrate a baptism in this congregation, every time we celebrate the affirmation of baptism in this congregation, every time sojourners and companions in faith come to this altar and renew their faith, every time old members and new members alike profess their faith in this place and go out from here renewed in the Spirit and consecrated to the Christian ministries to which they have been called, we participate in the building up of the kingdom of God.
From small things, big things can grow.  From small gatherings like ours, big things can happen.  From babies and small children can come the realization that God lives in them and is bidding us to listen to their needs, to care for their spiritual well being, and to lay a foundation for their future as Christian men and women.
From youth and young adults can come the realization that God not only lives in them but is using them to show us new ways of living and serving in a fast and changing world. 
From older adults and senior citizens can come the realization that God not only lives in them but is demonstrating his abundant and ever present support for those who remain faithful to him.
From small things, big things can grow. 
None of us, by ourselves, can have much of an impact on the life and the shape of the kingdom of God.  But, from small visions, connected to larger visions, from small gatherings merged into larger gatherings, from a small faith developing into a large faith, the kingdom of God will grow and flourish. 
When small things are allowed to grow, the needs of young and old alike will be met.  When small things are allowed to grow, wisdom and spiritual understanding will flourish.  When we trust that God is present in the small things of life, we will begin to see that God is already present in the large things that await us.
Mustard seeds, like any seed, are small, but they can grow into something very big and very useful.  So, too, with our faith.  Trust that God is leading us.  Trust that God can use small things and make them big.  AMEN

Text:  John 3:1-17
7 June 2009
Topic:  Affirming One’s Baptism
 
Today is a wonderful day in the life of three of our youth.  Today, they are affirming their baptism.  The parents of Allie Barajas, Ian Newswanger, and Max Varga brought each of them to the church to be baptized when they were just a few months old.  And today, these three are affirming what their parents did for them 13 or 14 years ago.
We’ve talked a lot about what it means to be baptized in this church.  In a word, it is the public acknowledgement that God has declared us to be a child of God. 
We use the symbols of water and the Word to demonstrate this great declaration.  And we make a big fuss by having a whole lot of people present for the baptism.  We invite family, friends, and an entire congregation, to witness this once and wonderful event. 
And afterwards, almost always, there’s a party.
Why?  Because we want to celebrate the Good News that we have been marked forever as a child of God.
Now, everybody knows that when these three were just a few months old, there was no way they could know what happened on their respective baptismal days.  They would have to be taught and shown what it means to be claimed as a child of God. 
And so, on the day of their baptism, their parents made promises to God and to themselves.  They promised to raise their child in the Christian faith.  They promised to teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creeds of the Church, the Ten Commandments and to place in their hands the Holy Scriptures so their child would, one day, understand for themselves what it means to be claimed as a child of God.
So, now, after more than a dozen years being raised in a Christian home, after attending Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, after worshiping regularly, and after completing two years of confirmation classes, each of them is ready to say, for themselves, and by themselves, “Yes, I believe.” Today they will be affirming their baptism, a baptism their parents wanted them to have.
An interesting, if not bizarre, trend is taking place these days in London, England.  While we are celebrating the affirmation of the Christian faith of three of our youth, there are others in the world who are renouncing their faith. 
According to an article in TIME magazine (Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2009) earlier this year, over 100,000 former Christians have downloaded certificates of “de-baptism” in a bid to publicly state they no longer believe.
The website that’s selling these “de-baptism” certificates is the National Secular Society, a group of people who believe the Christian Church, all across the world, by virtue of the sheer number of baptisms on their rolls, is able to have far more influence and authority than it should. 
It is the society’s contention that churches of all kinds claim to have more members than they actually do.  They believe that churches inflate the numbers of true adherents to the faith.  The society is upset because, in their opinion, the Christian Church, through false documentation, wields more power than it should. 
And to make their point, they are encouraging everyone who has stopped believing to get “de-baptized” and have their names removed from the official roll of members from their church in the hope that churches, with fewer numbers to report, will then have less influence.
A part of me is appalled at this trend, for truly, to disown one’s faith is a very serious matter.  God is not pleased.
And yet, if the National Secular Society of London is forcing the Church to be more honest, then that’s a good thing. 
The world into which these three young adults are embarking is a world that, from the Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden to this very day, is a very complex and confusing world.  It is a world that is divided, a world that has two very real, and opposite, attractions.  The world into which these three will be entering upon their affirmation of faith today is a world that will forever be at odds with itself.  And it will their Christian responsibility, as it is ours, to sort out how they will live, and, in what ways they will serve the Lord whom they are affirming today.
In another church’s newsletter I came across an illustration of what I’m talking about.
 
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves.” 
“One is named Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.”
“The other is named God. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
 
It is our prayer for Allie, Ian and Max, that they will be feed the wolf named God.  It is our prayer that these three, and indeed all of us, will seek the joy and peace, love and hope, and truth of God.
It is our prayer that these three, and all of us, will constantly seek to understand what it means to be a child of God, what it means to be claimed and called to love and serve God, to love and serve our neighbors, and to love and serve ourselves as well.
It is our hope and prayer that they will forever treasure their baptism, and the affirmation of that baptism that is taking place today.
It is our prayer that they, and we, will feed the faith we have been given, and that we will nourish our faith from this day until that day when we meet the Lord face to face.
Congratulations Allie, Ian and Max.  Celebrate the gift of God’s claim upon you in Baptism.  AMEN
 
 

“The Holy Spirit Gives Wisdom and Strength, Power and Clarity”
May 31, 2009
A sermon by Pr. John Carlson on Pentecost 2009 
 
My father grew up in a Lutheran Church in Axtell, Nebraska where all the surnames were Swedish.  It was a congregation of Olsons and Nelsons, Carlsons and Petersons, Palmquists and Soderstroms. 
The congregation in Quakertown where I served before coming to Coatesville was primarily made up of Pennsylvania Dutch.  They had surnames like Barndt and Beck, Follweiler and Heckler, Miller and Scheetz. 
Today, you and I are part of a congregation that is made up of people whose ancestors have come from a whole bunch of countries, not just one.  We have names in our congregation like Althouse and Bertoni, Fofanna and Kusnierczyk, Murray and Smith, Varga and White.
We have members who can trace their ethnic heritage not only to Northern Europe, but to the British Isles, to Western Europe, to Eastern Europe, to Southern Europe, and more recently from the Far East, and from Africa as well.   A whole host of nations are represented among the members at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Coatesville, Pennsylvania.            We are a congregation of ethnic diversity.
As you know, the Reformation of the Church began almost 500 years ago in Germany with one very loud but isolated voice.  Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest, studied and prayed, wrote and preached.
His message was eventually heard in Scandinavian countries, in Slovakia, in England, in all other parts of Europe, and eventually in every corner of the world, but initially, his was a lonely voice, a frightened voice, a voice without certainty.  This was true of the first disciples as well. 
Peter and all the other disciples were totally frightened by the events surrounding the trial and cruel death of Jesus.  They were even more terrified by the fact of his resurrection.  They simply had no idea what to make of all they had seen and heard – until Pentecost.
God knew what was going to happen when His Son would be taken from the disciples.  That’s why God decided, even before Jesus left this earth, He would send the Holy Spirit to comfort and to guide those whom Jesus had gathered to be his followers.
In our first lesson for today, we have the description of what took place at Pentecost.  Pentecost was a Jewish festival that celebrated the harvest of wheat.  It was a day on which the Children of Israel were to gather and celebrate the goodness of their God, to celebrate the harvest they had just been given.  They were to invite the poor among them.  They were to invite Levites and foreigners, orphans and widows.  In short, they were to invite anyone and everyone who had been somehow disenfranchised from the society of their day.  (Deuteronomy 16:9-11)
It was now fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus and Jews had gathered from every country of the world to celebrate Pentecost, to give thanks to God for the harvest that had been given to them.  And since the first followers of Jesus were all Jews, they, too, had gathered for a celebration of the harvest that had been given to them.
While they were gathering with their families and friends, along with the poor and the despised, suddenly, from out of nowhere, they heard the sound of a mighty wind. Tongues of fire came to rest upon the followers of Jesus.  And the disciples began to speak in the languages of people from far off places.
We can only guess what kinds of emotions were being felt by those who were speaking in strange languages they’d never spoken before.  What we DO KNOW is that those who were not given this miraculous ability to speak a language not their own presumed these followers of Jesus to be drunk.  What else could explain could explain this crazy behavior? 
And then Peter stood up.  Finally Peter stood up.  Peter, the guy who was so cowardly in the courtyard at Pilate’s house, stood up and spoke, not in some kind of weak and uncertain voice, but in a loud and clear voice. 
From the Holy Spirit, Peter had been given power and strength, and wisdom and words, to explain what was going on.  He reminded everyone of the words of Joel from their Hebrew scripture in which God had said,
 
“When the last days come, I will give my Spirit to everyone. 
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  
Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. 
In those days I will give my Spirit to my servants,
[to] both men and women, and they will prophesy. 
I will work miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below.”
(Acts 2:17-18 CEV)
 
Peter had been transformed.  Peter was no longer afraid.  He was now strong and wise, powerful and clear.  He had been filled with the Holy Spirit and was being guided by the Holy Spirit.  From that day on, he became the leader Jesus had chosen him to be when he was still with them.  
And from that day on, people of every land, of every tribe and every language, was given opportunity to believe and come to faith.  No longer was it necessary to be a Jew.  Anyone on earth – anyone – could hear and believe the Good News about Jesus.
Martin Luther, filled with the Holy Spirit, became strong and wise, powerful and clear.  He found himself able to speak the truth and to live the truth.  Because of Pentecost, and because of Martin Luther, the Church was changed.
Pentecost is about transformation.  It’s about reformation.  It’s about letting God’s Spirit move us to think and do and be ways we’ve never been before.  Pentecost is about being open to change.
At the end of today’s worship, the new members of our congregation, people who have come from a whole lot of different places, people who have been touched by the Spirit of God in new and powerful ways, will be declaring their intent to live faithfully, to serve God in their daily lives, and to join the transformation and reformation of this world, and of the Church.
Let us all pray that God’s Spirit will descend upon them, and upon each of us, so that along with Peter, we will become strong and wise in our witness to the faith, that we, too, will become powerful and clear in our efforts to bring justice to the world, and that we, too, will be ready for the great and wonderful day of the Lord’s appearing.
May the Spirit of God teach us everything we need to know.  May the Spirit of God remind us of everything Jesus said while he was among us.  May the Spirit of God give us God’s peace, not a worldly peace, but the kind of peace that only God can give.   And may this Godly peace which comes from the Holy Spirit keep us from worry and fear.  (paraphrase of John 14:26-27 CEV)
May we rest in the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit.  AMEN

Text:  Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
24 May 2009
Topic:  Called Up to Ministry
 
Every year in baseball’s spring training a young and upcoming star is born.  The only problem is that coaches don’t always recognize who that star is.  Incredibly, the Phillies had a rookie in their training camp this spring who led the spring team in home runs but never made it out of camp into the big leagues, until, yesterday.
John Mayberry, Jr. hit eight home runs in spring training and, with his 6 foot 6 inch frame and 230 pounds, is likely to hit quite a few more. 
Well, yesterday, on his very first day in the big leagues, John Mayberry, rookie, the son of John Mayberry, Sr. who hit 255 career home runs himself, John, the younger, hit his very first home run yesterday in the Yankees’ new stadium.  It was a three run shot into the left field seats that should have won the game if it hadn’t been for another blown save by Brad Lidge.  The 25 year old rookie can hold his head high.
Rookies are special people.  In the minor leagues, they spend a lot of time honing their skills as baseball players, riding lots of buses, eating bad food, and waiting for the day when they will be called up to fill a roster spot and hopefully contribute, like John Mayberry did yesterday.  There are lots of rookies who never make it to the big leagues.  But when they do, it’s a pretty big deal.
Matthias, in our first reading for today, was a rookie.  You know the story.  Jesus had picked 12 disciples to carry on his mission once he was gone from this world.  But, one of them, Judas Iscariot by name, betrayed Jesus, became troubled with himself for his terrible deed, and killed himself.  That left only 11 others to carry on the work Jesus had begun.
So, Peter, the leader of the disciples after Jesus death, after the resurrection, looked out on a huge crowd of followers of Jesus, stated, “We need someone else to help us tell others that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  We need someone else who has been with us from the very beginning.  We need someone who has been with us from the time Jesus was baptized until the day he was taken to heaven.”  (Acts 1:21-22  CEV paraphrased)
In truth, the name of Matthias is never again mentioned in the Bible, except for this brief reference in the book of Acts.  We know nothing of him prior to this point and nothing afterward.  At best, we can assume from Peter’s criteria for selecting a replacement for Judas, that Matthias had been a believer and a follower, from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and this is why he was selected.  In baseball terms, he was a player, laboring in the minor leagues for a very long time, until finally, he was called up.
The other man mentioned in the first reading was Joseph Barsabbas, also known as Justus.  He’d been a follower from the very beginning as well, but, Matthias won the lottery.  The apostles didn’t want to be the ones to ultimately decide, so they “cast lots.” Casting lots to make an important decision was a widely used custom in the Near East.  This way, they could say God made the final selection and not them.
Throughout the Gospels, Matthias and Justus were somewhere in the background.  When Jesus was preaching and teaching, Matthias and Justus were somewhere in the audience, soaking up the information, readying themselves for the day when they would be called upon to serve.  When the original 12 disciples were meeting with Jesus, Matthias and Justus were meeting with other disciples.  They weren’t in the big leagues yet, but, they were making certain they would be prepared if and when they would be called up.
What does any of this have to do with us?  Well, a lot, frankly.  We, too, are laboring, working out, reading our Bibles, praying, worshiping, honing our skills, and preparing for the day when we are called into active duty, into active ministry. 
There are plenty others who have gone before us, and who surround us, who are already actively engaged in mission and ministry and we are prayerfully waiting for the day when we will be asked, or when we will volunteer, to give something of ourselves for the sake of the kingdom.
While I never served in the military, I am aware of the long hours that military people put in to be prepared for the day when they are called into active duty.  There are drills, there are classes, there are training exercises and a host of other activities that only you, in the military, would know about, all of it designed to make a soldier ready for the day and the hour for his or her deployment.
As Christians, our days of preparation begin with baptism, at the font, getting soaked with the Word of God.  Jacob Kuhn will begin his Christian training today.  He doesn’t realize or even understand the importance of this event, but his parents and godparents will tell him.  His grandparents and great grandparents will tell him.  And his Sunday School teachers will tell him, and his confirmation teachers will tell him.  His pastor will tell him, and one day, Jacob Kuhn, and all the others who have been baptized in this place over the last month, will come to realize their calling to serve.  And when they are called, they will say yes, because they have been preparing for that very day.
Matthias, a rookie, joined the other 11 disciples and tradition has it he died a martyr’s death.  He wasn’t one of the original disciples, he was chosen later…….. chosen later, like you and me.  
Like you and me, Matthias and Justus were minor leaguers working and waiting for the day when we will be called up.  We might not hit a home run in our first game like John Mayberry did, but we can serve anyway.  While we wait, there are lots of ministries you and I can be involved in, big ones and little ones.  We just need to get ready and stay ready.  Because one day, the call to bigger and broader ministry will come – yes, to you, and you, and you, and me.  Be ready.   AMEN
 
 

Text:  John 10:11-18
3 May 2009
Topic:  The Model Shepherd
           
In theatre, the person who stands in the shadows of the lead actor, learning the lead actor’s lines and carefully observing each and every move he or she makes is called an understudy.  An understudy gets ready for the day when they will be called upon to take the lead.
In the factory, the person who is hired to learn a particular job that is a specialized task is called an apprentice.  An apprentice watches and learns, preparing for the day when he or she will do the special task for which they have been training.
In school, those who watch and learn from established teachers preparing for the day when they, too, will have full responsibility in a classroom are called student interns, or student teachers.
Whether an understudy, an apprentice, or an intern, each of these people follows the lead of someone else who has modeled for them what they are to do in their particular field of endeavor.
Today’s gospel reading refers to Jesus as a shepherd, the Good Shepherd.  But according to Dr. Raymond Brown, noted biblical scholar on the book of John, the Greek word, kalos, used as the adjective for shepherd, which is most commonly translated as good, as in Good Shepherd, actually means beautiful, in the sense of ideal or model of perfection.
It is his opinion, that a more accurate translation for “good shepherd,” would be “model shepherd,” as in “I am the model shepherd.   The model shepherd gives up his life for his sheep.”
Can you imagine the name of our congregation being the Lutheran Church of the Model Shepherd.  It just wouldn’t  have the special ring or beauty of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd!
But beauty wasn’t on the mind of Jesus when he told this parable to his disciples that day.  Jesus was, in fact, laying down some principles, a model, if you will, for how you and I, as his followers, should watch and learn how to do the tasks of ministry he has set before us.
As his understudies, his apprentices, his student interns, we have some lessons to learn about shepherding.  That’s why he gave us the parable story of the model shepherd.  So, what exactly are these lessons to be learned?  What model is the Good Shepherd giving us to follow?
First, we need to read scripture to watch and learn what the model shepherd did and did not do.  In today’s gospel reading, when trouble struck, when there was a problem, a huge problem, in this case a wolf coming after the sheep, the model shepherd didn’t flee, he didn’t run away.  He stayed and found a way to save his sheep.
For the oldest members of this congregation, for those of you who, 40 years ago, went through the very huge and trying circumstances of the merger of two congregations, and then, 8 years later, and again 16 years later, encountered the disintegration of two different sets of pastoral leadership, and still stayed here, you are the ones who truly understand today’s gospel.  When Jesus modeled for us the need to stay the course, even in very difficult circumstances, you stayed.  Raise your hand if you have been here 40 years or more.  Congratulations!
Secondly, the gospel says the model shepherd knew his sheep, he knew each and every one of their names.  He said, “I am the model shepherd.  I know my sheep, and they know me.”  And so, if we are watching and learning, like we are supposed to be doing, we will take time to get to know the names of our fellow members.   Turn right now and introduce yourself to your neighbor.  If you already know everyone around you, get up and find someone you don’t know, find out their name.  And after church see if you can’t get to know them better.
Thirdly, the model shepherd laid down his life for his sheep.  Now, I don’t expect we will ever be called upon to lay down our life for someone else in the congregation, or anywhere else, though it is happening right now as American soldiers are putting their lives on the line for freedom and new life for Iraqi and Afghan people. 
You and I won’t be asked to give up our lives, but we may be asked to do something outside of our comfort zone.  You and I may be asked to be a companion of faith for someone who is new to the faith, or new to this congregation.  You and I may be asked to be a visiting shepherd, to reach out to people who have very limited access to the outside world.  You and I may become a trained Stephen Minister and actually give of ourselves to someone else in a deep and meaningful way.  These are just a few ways that we may be called upon to lay aside our own “stuff” for the sake of someone else.
Fourth, the model shepherd does all this, remains with the flock even when there is trouble, gets to know every one of his sheep, gives of himself for the sake of others, does yet one more thing – he invites others into the flock.  The model shepherd is constantly trying to expand his reach into the world, constantly concerned with evangelism, constantly extending the hand of fellowship to any and all who are seeking it.
You and I are understudies, apprentices, interns.  Our job as fledgling, student shepherds, is to follow the model given to us by the Good Shepherd himself.  We are to be engaged in ministry, hang in when it gets tough, get to know the other people with whom we are ministering, be willing to give up some of our own stuff for the sake of the entire group, and go out from here today and invite others to join us.  The model shepherd, the Good Shepherd, gave us today’s parable for these very reasons.  AMEN
 
 
 
 
 
 

Easter 2009
Text:  Mark 16:1-8
12 April 2009
Topic:  Christ Raises Us Up!
 
Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.  Alleluia!
I wonder how many of us got up this morning and said, “Thank you, Lord!”? 
I wonder how many of us went to bed last night and said, “Thank you, Lord!”?
I wonder how many of us really and truly give thanks for what we have this day:  our life, our family, our home, our faith? 
Many of us have jobs and for that, hopefully, we are giving thanks to God.  Some of you, however, are without a job and you are praying God is going to help you.  Well, because of the resurrection, we can count on God being with us in that search.  Thank you, Lord.
Most of us this morning are healthy and are able to get around.  But some of you are in pain.  Some are suffering from one kind of illness or another, and you are praying to God that you will be given a reprieve, some kind of help, some kind of release from the distress you are in.  Well, because of the resurrection, God is with us in our time of need.  Thank you, Lord.
When life is tough and we are struggling to just keep up, we may be tempted to think that God is far off, that the resurrection of Jesus has no personal meaning or effect on us today.  But that’s not the case.  Because of the resurrection, God is right here beside us, walking with us, talking with us, and helping us get through it all.
At least, that was true for Anne Marie Hochhalter.  She was one of the victims of the shootings that took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado ten years ago.  Yes, it’s been ten years since that day in April when the whole world was shocked to hear of the senseless and brutal killings of twelve students and one teacher by two other students.  Sadly, today, these kinds of shootings are almost commonplace, but back then, it was new and scary.
Anne Marie had stepped outside her school that day and got shot.  It left her paralyzed.  Her mom, who always made Anne Marie go to church each week (it happened to be a Lutheran church) was also a very depressed person and six months after the shooting, Anne Marie’s mom took her own life, leaving Anne Marie to figure out her faith for herself.
And so, for several years, Anne Marie didn’t go to church.  She struggled to understand God.  She was angry at God.  She moved away, went to college, got a job and tried to get into life.  But all of it was a real struggle.
After a few years, a friend invited her to come to church with her.  She went.  At her new church, she discovered the love of God and the compassion of Jesus.  She came to understand that God didn’t cause the shootings to happen.  In fact, she came to realize, (and these are her words) “God doesn’t cause suffering. He suffers with us.”  She went on to say, “I’m certain God cried over Columbine. [And] I’m certain he cried along with me when mom died.”    
You see, because of the resurrection, Christ raised her up.  And because of the resurrection, Christ can raise us up too.
Last night, at the Easter Vigil, Sento Bangura, an adult, was baptized.  Thirty-three other adults affirmed their baptism.  Last night they embraced the resurrection of Christ in a brand new way.  They affirmed their belief that God is real, that God is alive, that God walks with them and talks with them, and shows them the way.  For them, the resurrection has become personal, it is a new lease on life, a new lease on faith, and a new way of going forward into the world in which they live.
For you see, we do not believe in a dead God.  We believe in a God who is alive.
The angel in the tomb told Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James, “Jesus is not here.  God has raised him.  Now, go and tell all the others.”
However, according to Mark’s gospel, the women were too afraid to tell anyone.  Shaking and confused, they became tongue-tied, and simply ran from the tomb.  Who can blame them?  They were scared speechless.   
And who would have blamed Anne Marie Hochhalter, when after she was shot and her mother died, she stopped going to church.  She was literally and figuratively paralyzed.
But the resurrection was more powerful than the silence of the women.  And, the resurrection was more powerful than Anne Marie’s paralysis. 
Somehow, 2000 years ago, the news of the resurrection of Jesus became known, and people began believing that God in Christ was alive, that the Spirit of God was right beside them, and within them. 
And somehow, that same Spirit of God worked in the life of Anne Marie as she, too, began to see and experience the love of God and the compassion of Jesus in brand new ways.  Because of the resurrection, Anne Marie is gainfully employed and living in her own wheelchair accessible home and going to church as regularly as she can.
When we say, Christ is risen, it’s not just a story in the Bible.  It’s not just for Easter.  It’s a reality to believe with all our hearts, with all our being.
And so, now, I wonder how many of us will go to bed tonight and say, “Thank you, Lord!”?
Now, I wonder how many of us will get up tomorrow morning and say, “Thank you, Lord!”? 
If we believe in the resurrection, then there’s a whole lot for which to be thankful. 
Because of the resurrection, Christ raises us up so we can say, “Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia.   AMEN
 

Vigil of Easter 2009
Text:  John 20:1-18
11 April 2009
Topic:  Growing In Faith Together – GIFT
 
Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus while it was still dark, presumably to wail and to lament, as was the custom of that day, since the body had been fully anointed the day of his crucifixion. As she approached the tomb, she saw that the stone to the tomb had been rolled away.  So, she looked in.  To her surprise, she saw that the body of Jesus was not there.  Startled, and not sure of what this meant, she ran and told Peter and John of what she’d just NOT seen.
Peter and John ran to the tomb.  John got there first, but didn’t go in.  As soon as Peter caught up to John, he raced past John into the tomb and together they saw the burials clothes off to the side.  It was obvious Mary Magdalene was telling the truth and so they went back to tell the other disciples what they’d just NOT seen.

Mary Magdalene, weeping, still in shock, and filled with grief, stayed at the tomb. 
Suddenly, two angels appear and ask her why she is crying.  She tells them, “They’ve taken away my Lord’s body and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”
Jesus then appears to Mary, but she doesn’t recognize him.  She thinks he’s the gardener and so she asks him, “Do you know where they’ve taken my Lord’s body?”
Jesus then speaks directly to her and calls her by name and says simply, “Mary.” 
Immediately, Mary recognizes Jesus.  Overcome with joy, she is now able to go and tell all the others what she HAD JUST SEEN, that Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!
Peter and John were only able to tell what they had NOT seen.  But Mary, who stayed at the tomb, who lingered there, who allowed herself to feel the loss of Jesus, who allowed herself to relive the hurt and the pain of those last two days, was rewarded with an appearance from Jesus. 
It wasn’t by design, and she certainly didn’t plan it this way.  She had no idea Jesus would show up in the garden.  But, Mary did something all of us can learn from.  She allowed herself to feel.  She allowed herself time to reflect.  She allowed herself to just BE in that moment.   She allowed some space in her life – for what she did not know.
And wonderfully, surprisingly, miraculously, into that space, came Jesus. 
Because Mary lingered, because Mary hung around, because Mary allowed some space for herself, Jesus appeared to her.
What Mary didn’t know is that God’s Spirit works best in our lives when we allow ourselves some time to feel, some time to just BE in the moment.  The Holy Spirit comes to us mostly when we have allowed space in our lives for a revelation to occur. 
We have just completed the first phase of our second year of the catechumenate process.  We call our process, Growing In Faith Together, or GIFT.  It is an intentional time set aside for us to listen to God’s Word, really listen to God’s Word, and to listen once again, and then pray for one another.
Like Mary, in the GIFT process, we allow ourselves time to feel, time to reflect, and time to let the Spirit of God show us things we never thought possible before.  In the GIFT process, we knowingly and willingly open ourselves to God’s revealing presence.  We linger, we hang around, we allow space for God, and then we wait…
After six weeks of the GIFT process, after worshipping here for quite some time, after we have allowed ourselves some space, some time to feel, some time to reflect, finally, tonight, we celebrate the baptism of Sento and the affirmation of baptism of 35 others.  Tonight we are Growing In Faith Together.  
Tonight, we have looked into the emptiness of this tomb, we have looked into this room, and we, too, have noticed that the dead body of Jesus is not here.  We have taken the time, we have allowed ourselves the time, to see that he has risen. 
The floral fragrance of the burial spices fill the air.  The burial clothes have been remanufactured into white paraments.  And we are celebrating what Mary discovered, that Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!
The first witnesses to the resurrection went and told others.  May we do the same.  May we learn to know God’s Word.  May we seek to live God’s Word.  And may we willingly and enthusiastically share God’s Word with any and all whom we meet, because Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!
AMEN
 
 

Maundy Thursday 2009
Texts:  John 13:1-17,31b-35 & I Corinthians 11:23-26
Topic:  Three Commands
 
In tonight’s readings, Jesus gave us three different commands: 
1.      “If your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other.”  (John 13:14  CEV)
2.      “I am giving you a new command.  You must love each other, just as I have loved you.”  (John 13:34  CEV)
3.      At dinner that night, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, “This is my body.  Eat this in remembrance of me.”  And then, he took some wine, blessed it, and gave it to them saying, “This is my blood.  Drink this in remembrance of me.”  (I Corinthians 11:23-25 CEV)
 
On the night of his betrayal, on the night before he died, he gathered his friends, his summoned his colleagues, he sat with his chosen disciples, for one last meal.  And at that meal, he took the opportunity to lay out for them the essentials of what he expected an ongoing mission and ministry would look like once he was gone.
He said we should serve one another.  He said we should love one another.  And he said we should eat and drink of his presence always.
For Jesus, his final words to us on this earth were not just idle chatter, but they were actual commands.  His final words revealed his deepest hopes and dreams for us who have chosen to follow his teachings.
When people are dying, indeed, when people take their last breath, we tend to hang on to each and every word that’s uttered.  We remember everything about that time.  We remember the room, we remember the lighting, we remember the kind of weather there is outside, we remember who called and who didn’t.  We remember everything, especially the words.  We remember the final verbal exchanges.
What we have in our readings for tonight are the final exchanges between Jesus and his disciples.  There would be no more walks along the road.  There would be no more crowds straining to hear him as he spoke to them from a boat in the water.  There would be no more late night conversations, no more healings, no more teachings.  This was it.
He said we should serve one another.  He said we should love one another.  And he said we should eat and drink of his presence always.
In these economically difficult times, it has been impressive to see and hear of people’s concerns for others.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but I have.  I’ve seen and heard people ask about folks who are in trouble more than I normally see and hear.  I have had more people come to me offering help to others more than at any other time.  I don’t know if it’s only related to the economy, but, I can tell you it’s happening.  People are looking out for the needs of others.
When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, and said we should do the same, he wasn’t expecting us to do the exact same service to others.  He was simply expecting us to serve one another, to look out for the needs of others, as he looked out for the needs of his disciples, his friends, his colleagues.
Washing the feet of someone in that time and place was a really nice to thing to do for someone.  When people walked everywhere, over unpaved roads, with sandals, their feet would be very dry and very dirty.  To wash someone’s feet was to care for that person’s needs.
Caring for someone’s needs in today’s world would look very much different.  All we have to do is look around.   And, again, from my vantage point, people are doing this.
Jesus also said, “Love one another as I have loved you.  When you do this, everyone will know you are my disciples.” 
This is a command, a mandate, from Jesus in our gospel for tonight.  It’s why we call this day, Maundy Thursday.  The word, Maundy, is derived from the word, mandate.  It is a night on which we received a new mandate, a new commandment, the command to love one another.
Somewhere along the line, we’ve all heard people say, “You know, she says she’s a Christian, but by the way she acts, you’d never know it.”  Or, “You see that guy over there.  Well, from his language you’d never believe he’s a member of that church up on the hill.”
We don’t like to be judged by our actions.  We don’t like it when people make comments about us.  But Jesus knew that’s what people do.  And Jesus knew that our actions speak loudly about who we are and what we believe.  That’s why he said, “If you let others see that you love others, truly love them, then, they will know you are my disciples.”  Because that’s what Jesus really wanted and what he still wants from those who call themselves Christians.
Finally, Jesus wants us to eat and drink into our bodies his very presence and power.  Jesus gave up his body for us.  By sacrificing himself for us, he showed us what true love can look like.  And in eating and drinking in his presence and power, we become strengthened to love and serve others.
It’s a simple thing, this Holy Communion.  It’s a tiny meal, this bit of bread and swallow of wine.  And yet, it is the very presence and power of the Divine coming to be among us.   The Creator of the Universe comes to you and to me, touches our very soul, and gives us what we need to carry on for the next day and the next.
Maundy Thursday is the first of these very holy and precious last three days of Holy Week.  It is the first day of the Triduum, which is Latin for Three Days.  Tomorrow, we will gaze upon the cross and reflect upon his sacrifice for us.  The following day, we will anticipate the resurrection that takes place sometime after sundown on Saturday.
For now, we will wash feet; we will eat and drink his presence and power.  And we will be humbled by his example of loving us fully and completely.   AMEN