The Pastor’s Words

Text:  Acts 2:1-21
23 May 2010
Topic:  All Inclusive Church
 
Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!
Easter is ending.  But the Holy Spirit has come and so the resurrection continues. 
Turn with me to the Rite for Holy Baptism on page 227 in the front of your hymnal.  There, you will find at the bottom of the page, on the right hand side, the complete theology and explanation of the purpose and meaning of Holy Baptism.  Here’s what it says: 
 

In baptism our gracious heavenly Father frees us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, the celebration of Easter for this year is ending, but each of us, in our baptism has been joined to Christ, forever linked, tightly bound, and gloriously connected to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This permanent relationship means that as long as there are Christians here on earth, the events of Easter will be ever with us.  Yes, Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  And he lives in us.
That paragraph continues:
 
We are born children of a fallen humanity; by water and the Holy Spirit we are reborn children of God and made members of the church, the body of Christ.
 
Because we are sinful, and, like Peter, prone to deny Christ and his presence in our lives at any moment, we are dependent upon the water of baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit to rebirth us, to forgive us and give us a “new life” in Christ. 
And where does that “new life” in Christ take place, in the church, in the body of Christ!  Yes, people come here, and to literally millions of other places like this where Christians gather to become renewed, restored, and reborn for life and service in God’s Kingdom.
The paragraph concludes:
 
Living with Christ and in the communion of saints, we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.
 
Yes, as people of God who regularly gather on Sundays, and on other days of the week, we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.  As Lutherans, we don’t have a prescribed plan for what that faith, love and will of God will look like.  But this much we DO know:  We gather to find out.  We gather to be enriched by one another’s presence.  And together, we seek the guidance of the Spirit to show us the way.
All of these red banners, the red paraments, the red geraniums, and the readings for today all speak of the coming of, and the arrival of, the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit isn’t a part of the Triune God that Lutherans do very well talking about.   And yet, it is the Holy Spirit that dwells in us every day.  It is the Holy Spirit that teaches us what God wants us to do, and with whom we should be doing it.
Here’s what Jesus had to say about the Holy Spirit.  He said this the night before his death on the cross:
 
²⁶The Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.  (John 14:26 CEV)
 
Jesus knew he wouldn’t be physically around to help the disciples, nor would he be around for the likes of you and me when we would want to know God’s will for us.  So, he sent the Holy Spirit. 
But not only that, knowing that we are also prone to worry and being afraid, he gave us his peace as well:
 
 ²⁷I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.  (John 14:27 CEV)
 
So, there’s nothing to worry about and the future is wide open.  God’s Spirit is with us and we can boldly go forward into mission and ministry.
But we need to look at one more thing about this Pentecost day.  We need to look at who actually received the Holy Spirit, who it was that God inspired to be God’s ambassadors, and who we will be working with along God’s Way.
 
LIST OF PLACES FROM WHERE PEOPLE CAME FOR PENTECOST
Parthia – northern Iran
Media – western Iran
Elam – southwestern Iran
Mesopotamia – Iraq
Judea – Israel
Cappodocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia – Turkey
Egypt – northeastern Africa, Egypt
Cyrene – northern Africa, Libya
Rome – southern Italy
Crete - Mediterranean island, Crete
Arabia – northern Saudi Arabia
 
Turn with me to look at the second lesson for today.  In the middle of that reading you will see the names of places from which people came to Jerusalem for Pentecost.  They came from literally all over the Middle East, Southern Europe, and Northern Africa.
 
MAP OF MID EAST
 
People who had come to Jerusalem were black and white, brown and every shade in between.  They spoke many different languages and yet, there was just ONE Spirit that inspired them all.
IN THE SPIRIT, in our baptism, each of us has been called to mission and service.  Because we are OF THE SPIRIT, each of us is uniquely gifted.  And at the end of today’s worship, sojourners and companions in faith will gather at the font to commit themselves to using their spiritual gifts for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit has come to take Jesus’ place and that Spirit resides in you and me.  That Spirit is teaching us and reminding us of everything Jesus said and did while he was here with us on earth. 
And finally, we have God’s peace that will keep us from being worried or afraid in our work.
Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia! 
And the Spirit lives in us.  AMEN
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Text:  John 17:20-26
16 May 2010
Topic:  Jesus Prays for Us
 
Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.  Alleluia.
On Thursday night, I attended a concert at St. Cecelia’s Roman Catholic Church.  It was a concert by John Michael Talbot, a very good guitar player and an even better singer.  He has been a musician in the Catholic Church for over 30 years, writing all kinds of Christian music and selling a ton of CD’s.  Experiencing the musical expertise of a folk guitarist like that was a real treat.
But more than his musicianship was the spirituality he brought to the event.  He told his personal story of faith, how he grew up in a Methodist Church in Oklahoma and later in Indiana, gradually found himself being attracted to a different way of worshiping God, and eventually became a Roman Catholic.  He is now part of a monastic order in the Catholic Church and spends lots of time in a hermitage – a separate house away from others – like hermits would do – where he prays, writes music, eats and sleeps.
In that hermitage he reads scripture, meditates upon the Word of God, listens to the Spirit, and puts his revelations into the songs he writes and the music he eventually performs for people like you and me.
He may be a Roman Catholic today, but his protestant background showed itself at one point in the concert when he actually asked people in the audience to kneel and ask Jesus to come into their hearts.  Now, I’d expect that from a Baptist, even some Methodists, particularly those from the Midwest, but not from a Roman Catholic. 
And yet, his invitation to let Jesus rule in our lives was simply the sincere desire to have everyone draw closer to Jesus.  He only wants what God wants, namely, that we fully and completely give ourselves to God, to offer up to God our hopes and our dreams, to put our worries aside and allow the Spirit to touch us and heal us.
I believe that’s what Jesus was praying for in his prayer in our gospel for today.  John, chapter 17, from which our gospel reading for today comes, is the prayer Jesus prayed right before his arrest and mock trial that led to his crucifixion and death.  In one sense, these were his last words here on earth. 
His final words were a prayer, a prayer for his disciples, and a prayer for you and me.  Look with me at today’s gospel reading.  Look at the first two verses:  “²⁰I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me.   ²¹I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us.”  (John 17:20-21 CEV)
When he prayed, “I am not praying just for THESE followers,” meaning his ORIGINAL disciples, [but] I am praying for EVERYONE ELSE,” he was saying that he was praying for YOU AND ME.
 He goes on to say, “I want all of them to be one with us,” meaning Jesus wants all of us, you and me, and anyone else who hears of the faith by way of his disciples, he wants us to become ONE with God, to become as close to God the Father and God the Son as we possibly can.  And this is what I believe John Michael Talbot was trying to get his audience to do on Thursday night.
That was Thursday night. 
Then came Friday night – an overnight lock-in with confirmation students, here at church. 
In addition to the normal games we play and the amazing jump roping the kids did, we watched a short video [“OPEN” by Rob Bell, NOOMA®]and discussed it.
The video was about prayer – what it is and what it isn’t.  The presenter talked about how we pray for a whole lot of things and only some of them turn out the way we want.  He didn’t try to explain what God does with all these prayers.  He didn’t try to say, “Well, God chooses to answer some prayers and tells us to ‘wait’ for others to be answered.” 
What he DID say was, “In the garden, before he was put up on the cross to die, Jesus prayed that somehow ‘this cup might pass’ him by.   He prayed to God that somehow he might not have to die.  But then he prayed, ‘not my will but your will be done,’ which basically said, ‘God, I’ll do whatever you need for me to do because I am in your arms.  I am not afraid.   I am open to your creative work in this world.’”
The presenter went on to say, “Jesus was brutally honest with God.  He expressed doubt and faith at the same time.  He expressed despair and hope in the same prayer.  He prayed like he was in a relationship with his Father.”
I would submit, we can only pray like this if we are in the kind of relationship about which John Michael Talbot was speaking.  For when we are in a relationship with someone – and in this case, with God – only then can we dare to be brutally honest and straightforward in our prayer.
We all believe God created the heavens and the earth.  But God isn’t finished.  Creation isn’t a once and done event.  And sometimes it is  WE,  OURSELVES,  who need to get involved in answering the prayers we’ve offered to God. 
The presenter of the video said, “We have no business praying to God to feed the hungry of the world if we’re not also doing something about feeding those same hungry people,” which is another way of saying, prayers are sometimes answered by the work of our very own hands.
But again, that assumes we are close to Jesus, close to God, and open to the Holy Spirit being in relationship with us.
At the end of today’s gospel reading, Jesus prayed for you and me.  He said, “²⁴Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am.  Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created.”  (John 17:24 CEV)
Jesus wants to be absolutely connected to us.  He wants us to be absolutely connected to him.  And he wants for us what was given to him, namely, the glory of the entire created order in heaven and on earth.  He wants us to experience the marvelous wonder of being in an ongoing, life-giving, life-fulfilling relationship with the Creator.
So, come to Jesus.  Receive him at this table today.  Let him enter your life to bring hope, to bring peace, and a relationship that can be both brutally honest and full of glory.   AMEN
 

Text:  Acts 11:1-18 & John 13:31-35
29 April 2010
Topic:  Something DIFFERENT and NEW!      
 
This morning we are going to be doing something different and new.  We are going to begin communing first and second graders. 
For those of us who grew up in the tradition of the Lutheran Church, communion was something you received at the end of confirmation, at the end of eighth grade.  In fact, communion was often seen as the “prize” or the “special gift” that came with confirmation.
And then, about 40 years ago, people began asking the question, “Why do we wait until after confirmation to commune children who are certainly able and desiring to receive what Christ offers to all who believe?” 
So it was, that in 1968 a book was published for Lutheran readers that explained the rationale for separating the rite of confirmation from a person’s first reception of Holy Communion.  The recommendation at that time was to begin communing children in the 5^th grade, or around age 10.
In the intervening years, more conversations have taken place and, now, it is not unusual for conversations to take place in Lutheran circles that suggest that just as baptism is offered to infants, so too, communion is a possibility for any and all.  For more on this, I encourage you to read the insert in today’s bulletin entitled, “Welcoming Children to the Table.” 
In our congregation, at Good Shepherd, the congregation council has decided to offer instruction in the reception of Holy Communion in the first and second grade and give parents and children the opportunity to choose if this is the right time or not for that child to begin communing at the table of the Lord.
All of this may seem radical, and departs from the norm which we have come to expect in the Lutheran church, but let me turn your attention to the first lesson for today and tell you of something even more radical.
As you well know, the first believers in the resurrection of Jesus were all of the Jewish faith.  Everyone who had come to believe in Jesus the Christ came to that belief first through eyes and ears of a Jewish mother or father.
But in today’s first reading from the Book of Acts, we have the revelation to Peter that God’s message of salvation was not intended just for those of the Jewish faith but for Gentiles as well.  What this meant is that people like Peter, and all the other disciples, would not only evangelize Jewish people but would reach out to everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike.
Talk about radical change.  Talk about something that departed from the norm of the day, this was it!
For several thousand years, the only people for whom the scriptures were written, the only people who had been selected to be “God’s Chosen People,” the only people known to be the focus of God’s attention were the Jewish people, the Hebrew people, the children of Israel.
Now, all of a sudden, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, it seems as if God has made a mid-course correction and reveals to Peter in a dream that everyone else in the world should be regarded as God’s Special People as well, that everyone who has been born on this planet deserves the right and privilege of hearing and responding to the Gospel.
And so it was that the mission to the Gentile world began with today’s revelation to Peter.  Because of this radical change in missionary vision, you and I have been blessed to not only hear but receive the Good News of Christ’s saving grace.
But, let me also reference today’s Gospel reading in talking about radical change.  In today’s gospel reading, Jesus was at a meal with his disciples the night before his betrayal and death.  It was on that night that he does a NEW thing.  He takes bread and wine from the table and gives it to his disciples for the very first time.  Never before had they received what they would later refer to as Holy Communion.  Never before had they considered eating a meal in remembrance of Jesus.
And it didn’t stop there, before the night was over, Jesus had taken some water and washed the feet of his disciples.  That hadn’t happened either.  And after that Jesus said, “I have set an example for you to do exactly as I have done for you.”  (John 13:15 CEV)
He finished the night by saying, “I am giving you a new command.  You must love each other, just as I have loved you.  If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  (John 13:34-35 CEV)
By connecting ‘love for one another’ with the meal he shared that night, Jesus was saying, “There is a new covenant, a new and stronger covenant between us now.”  Jesus was anticipating what would be revealed to Peter in our first reading.  He was anticipating a mission to the entire world, a mission that would no longer be for a select few.
He said, “If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  And that ‘everyone’ to whom he referred was  and is everyone in the world, Jews and Gentiles alike.
All of which brings me back to the celebration of First Communion today for those who are in first and second grade.  A new thing is happening in this today.  A new thing is happening in the Lutheran church today. 
Peter was open to the Spirit who revealed to him that the Gospel was to be shared with all God’s people, not just a few.  Jesus gave his disciples a new command to love each other, so that the entire world might see it and be moved to belief.
So, too, today, we are opening God’s table to include even younger people to this Feast.  Some parents in our midst will want even younger children to commune.  Others will want their children to wait.  Either way, the grace is here for all to receive and for all to celebrate.
God’s love is here.  Jesus gave that love to his disciples and said, “Give it away.  Don’t keep it for yourself.  Let the whole world know how much I love everyone,” which for us today means including very young children to partake of this meal. 
A new thing happened in the Book of Acts.  A new thing happened in the Upper Room.  A new thing is happening here today.  Thanks be to God.   AMEN

Text:  Acts 9:36-43
25 April 2010
Topic:  Resurrection Power

Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed, alleluia!

Most of you already know this, but we have in this congregation several groups that are doing wonderful things for other people.  But for those of you who don’t know, I want you to hear about some of the spectacular work being done by members of Good Shepherd for others. 

Mind you, this is only a partial listing, and does not include the individual deeds of love and mercy done by individual members on a daily basis.  But this is list I want everyone to know about.

We have in our congregation a group of people who are the Social Ministry Committee.  In terms of number of members, they are, by far, the largest committee we have, and probably the most active as well.  Here is a sampling of what they do:

Every year they collect snack items for the elderly residents of the county nursing home, Pocopson Home which is located just outside West Chester.  The Social Ministry Committee collects cookies and crackers and other snack items, bundle them into one package and deliver them to the residents at Pocopson.  This year they made up 100 snack packs and delivered them.

What you also need to know is that, currently, Good Shepherd does not have one member who is a resident at Pocopson Home.  These gifts are given, in some cases, to people totally unknown to our members, and yet, you can believe the residents who are able to comprehend this gift, are truly grateful – even to the strangers who delivered them.

The Social Ministry Committee does lots of kind deeds like this:  they make collections for the homeless men in Coatesville, they provide help for the homeless mothers and children through Bridge of Hope, and they make sure that children in need in our congregation and in our community have Christmas presents each year.  And this is only a partial listing of their kind deeds.

Another group I want you to know about is ASP – which is the acronym for Appalachia Service Project.  Right now, you see lots of activities going on to raise money for their upcoming summer trip to West Virginia where they will be helping make homes in that area warmer, safer, and drier.  Tonight is the big fundraiser-cook off which offers a free meal to any and all who come.  Of course, we will want you to make a donation to ASP so that the ten youth and four adults who will be going will have all their expenses paid.

For more than 40 years, ASP has been using volunteers from around the country to help poor people in the Appalachia region of West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky, reconstruct their homes, fix roofs, install plumbing, lend a helping hand, and in the process share a bit of God’s love and in return receive a whole lot more back.  I hope you will do your part in supporting our ASP teams for this summer.

Then, I want you know about a group of women in our congregation who are knitting prayer shawls, sewing quilts, and delivering them to people who have need for them.

They are continuing the work of Dorcas who is the subject of our first reading today.  Dorcas – or  as she was known among her Jewish friends – Tabitha, was known for “always doing good things for people and had given much to the poor.”  (Acts 9:36b CEV)  Later on, in that first reading, we come to know that she made coats and other clothing and gave them away, probably to the widows in her community.  (Acts 9:39b)

Dorcas was a disciple of the resurrected Christ.  She was a believer.  And she didn’t just come to worship and go home.   She put her faith and abilities into action.  As Christ had done for her, she did good things for other people.

After the resurrection of Jesus, life’s needs for the poor continued.  Indeed, widows were among the poorest because their husbands had died and Social Security hadn’t made it through congress yet. So, for the poor and the widows to have any kind of life, it was up to those with a heart, those with a passion for serving others, to gather what they could and share it with those less fortunate than themselves.

Ever since this time, the name Dorcas has been associated with Christian groups who have extended a hand to those who have had needs of any kind.  And today, I wanted to pay tribute to those individuals and groups within our congregation who are consciously doing the work of Dorcas through the social service ministries of this congregation.

In that same first reading for today, it details the death of Dorcas.  She got sick and died.  Her friends were heart-broken.  They cleaned her up, and laid her out upstairs – as was their custom – and then called for the pastor to come, who in this case was Peter.

Peter was in a town about three hours away from where Dorcas had died but he came as quickly as he could.  And, of course, he walked the entire way.

When he arrived, he was shown samples of the wonderful gifts of clothing Dorcas had made for the poor in that community.   No doubt Peter was impressed, but, his focus was now upon Dorcas, and upon the power of the resurrection that he had so recently observed.

Peter asked everyone to leave the room where Dorcas was laid out and then he prayed.  He prayed in the power of the resurrection.  He prayed with the fervency of one who had himself been turned around by the events of the resurrection.

And then he said, “Tabitha, get up.”  And, lo and behold, she did.  Dorcas opened her eyes, sat up.  Peter helped her to her feet and then “…called in the widows and all the other followers and showed them that Dorcas had been raised from death.”  (Acts 9:41  CEV)  It was a miracle. 

Coming back to our social service ministries at Good Shepherd, I don’t believe any of our members have performed any “physical resurrections” of dead people, but, I can assure you that those residents of Pocopson Home, those people in West Virginia who will have their homes worked on this summer, and those who receive prayer shawls and quilts will be feeling the effects of Christ’s resurrection.

For whenever we do a good work in the name of Jesus Christ, we are showing forth the power of the resurrection.

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.  The greatest and first Good Shepherd, Jesus, took care of his sheep.  And now, he has passed that work onto us.  Last week in our gospel reading, Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep.”  Peter’s task is our task.  Peter’s work is our work.

In thanksgiving for the resurrection of Christ, in thanksgiving for our salvation, it is now our joy to take up the work of Dorcas, to follow in the steps of Peter, and to show forth the resurrection in all that we say and do for others.

Let us continue to live and demonstrate that:  Christ is risen.  He is risen, alleluia!   AMEN

Text:  Acts  9:1-20

18 April 2010
Topic:  People Can Change

We take it for granted that this church building, this congregation, and the opportunity to worship freely will always be here.  I suppose it’s a fair assumption to make, given that, today, the Christian Church on earth is a powerful and staunchly defended religion.  But, it wasn’t always the case. 

There was a time when being a Christian was against the law.  There was a time when Christians feared for their lives, simply because they dared to believe in the risen Christ.  That time was in the first and second centuries after Christ’s life, death and resurrection.  We have a small record of this time in the Book of Acts.

If you were to read the 6^th and 7^th chapters of the Book of Acts, you would find that the early disciples found it necessary to recruit lay people to do some of the necessary mission work that was quickly arising after the resurrection.  Stephen, who was described as being a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” was chosen along with six other lay men, to assist widows and in the daily distribution of food.  But along the way, Stephen also became good at also speaking about the faith.  And for this, he died.

Which brings me to today’s first reading.  For his faithfulness, Stephen was stoned to death.  And the one in charge of the stoning was none other than Saul, a Pharisee of the first order, a dedicated church-goer but NOT a believer in Christ.

Saul tried his very best to destroy those who were adherents to “THE WAY,” as the followers of Christ were called in his day.  In fact it says in Acts 8:3, “Saul started making a lot of trouble for the church.  He went from house to house, arresting men and women and putting them in jail.”

Saul’s assault on the Christians could be compared to what happened to Jewish people on the nights of Kristallnacht November 9 and 10, 1938 when Jewish homes and businesses were ransacked and destroyed all across Germany and Austria by Hitler youth, the Gestapo and the SS troops.  Saul’s assault on the Christians of his day was systematic, very effective, and at the core, evil.

The first two verses in today’s first reading says, “Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord’s followers.  He even went to the high priest and asked for letters to Jewish leaders in Damascus.  He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lords Way.”  (Acts 9:1-2)

Two weeks ago, in our confirmation class, we discussed the seventh petition of the Lord’s Prayer which is “And deliver us from evil.”  It was a night when we had invited parents to also be present for the discussion.  I’d have to say, it was one of the finest discussions I’ve ever had about evil, its presence in our world, and how it infects and invades even the best of people.

I say this because we were able to say that evil is something that can be part of any one of us – at various times – for a whole host of different reasons.  We came to realize that evil was not something that was present only in “bad people,” but is present, if allowed to fester and to grow, in each and every one of us.

It has been well documented that within the Nazi ranks leading up to and including the the Second World War, that many, if not most, of the soldiers were raised in Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches.  These were not people who had not heard the Gospel.  These were not “evil” people from birth.  They were church-going people who were led down a horrible and destructively evil path.

Saul, in our first reading, was not an evil person from birth, but somewhere along the line, learned and came to believe that Christians were evil and needed to be destroyed.  And the biblical record says he was very good at it.

But then, the Holy Spirit came into his life and put an end to his evil ways.  It says in our reading that as Saul was approaching Damascus to find Christians to take back to Jerusalem to have them killed, “…a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice that said, ‘Saul, Saul!  Why are you so cruel to me?’”  (Acts 9:3b-4  CEV)

That bright light was Jesus, the Son of God.  It was a light so bright it made Saul blind.  Then, one of the followers of Jesus, Ananias by name, laid hands on Saul and said to him, “The Lord Jesus has sent me [to you].  He is the same one who appeared to you along the road.  He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”   (Acts 9:17b CEV)

Saul, who had been praying, was given immediate relief.  “Something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see.  He got up and was baptized.  [And] soon he went to the Jewish meeting places and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God.”  (Acts 9:18,20 CEV) 

Saul, went on to become Paul, the greatest apostle in the Christian church that ever lived.   Paul went to Greek speaking places of his world and preached the Gospel and did this for 15 years.  He wrote most of the epistle letters to far off places like Corinth, Phillipi, Ephesus and Colossae.  He would ultimately be persecuted for his beliefs, become imprisoned for his faith, and endure a host of death threats along the way.

But the Good News for today is that people can change.  Even people who do evil things – I mean really rotten, horrible, evil things like Saul did to the earliest Christians – those people, they, and we, can change.

When we pray, “Deliver us from evil,” sometimes we are actually praying, “Deliver us from ourselves!”  There is the capacity for doing evil within each and every one of us.  We are not saints all the time.  And sometimes, the very thing that needs to happen is for us to confess our sin and admit the evil that is within us – and deal with it.

When we pray, “Deliver us from evil,” sometimes our prayer is answered.  When we pray for those around us who are truly engaged in evil activities and ask God to deliver them from their evil ways, we need to realize that God just might answer that prayer and give to us a new and re-newed person who is not like the one we knew before. 

When Saul returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, people were afraid of him.  His reputation was of an evil man and no one trusted him.  And yet, God had given him a new heart and a new vision for life.  Sometimes, God answers our prayers and we have to begin to trust the new and re-newed person in our midst.

People can change.  People do change.  That’s really Good News.  Evil doesn’t have to win the day.  In and through the Gospel, people can and people do change. 

Today, in Germany, Christian churches are once again preaching the Gospel.  Today, in Germany, there is good will among diverse people.  Yes, they have their problems like we do, but the vast majority of people in Germany today are a testimony to the fact that people can and people do change. 

Finally, a word about communities and how they, too, can change.  This past week, we saw the steel remnants of the twin towers destroyed on 9-11 in New York returned to Coatesville where they were first created. 

In the speeches that were given at Terracina down on 1^st Avenue in Coatesville, the hope was expressed that the return of these memorial tributes to lives lost and innocence destroyed, would spark a renewed hope for Coatesville to become a better city, a better place in which to live, a community to be proud of once again.

People can and do change.  Communities can also change, and sometimes for the better.  Let us pray that God will find a way bring change to the people and the communities around us so that honor will be given to God’s Holy name.  Amen.

Easter2010
Text:  Luke 24:1-12
4 April 2010
Topic:  Hope Based on the Resurrection
 
Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.  Alleluia! 
We say these words because we believe them.  We believe that Jesus did not stay dead.  We believe that Jesus rose from the dead.  We believe Jesus, the Christ, forever gave the world a reason to hope, if not for this life, certainly for the life that is yet to come.  Hope and Easter go together.
Every Lent I visit each of our shut-in members.  At present we have 35 homebound members who would love to be here this morning but physical and other health concerns keep them at home.  So, we have 9 visiting shepherds, members of Good Shepherd, who, along with me, go out to those who cannot come here.  We go with the intention of having a pleasant visit, impart some hope, and share in communion. 
Sometimes, when we visit those who are shut-in, we come away with a blessing we didn’t expect.
That happened to me a few weeks ago when I was visiting Gene Timm who lives up on South Hill in Coatesville.  It has been a long winter for a lot of us and the springtime we are experiencing is so very welcome.  But on the day I was visiting Mrs. Timm, I wasn’t feeling the joy of spring.
We engaged in our conversation, as we always do, and somehow we got onto the subject of HOPE.  Gene said to me, “You know, we need to speak of hope more.  I love that verse from Hebrews where it says, ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’.”  (Hebrews 11:1 NRSV)  She went on to say, “People need hope to live.  Hope is what keeps us going sometimes.” 
And knowing Gene as well as I do, I know that her hope is not centered on herself.  She is physically unable to get around on her own.  She has to depend on others.  But, she still has hope.  Hope is what keeps her going.  She has a hope that is solidly rooted in a belief in our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.  And from her inspiration, I left her home blessed – yes, with hope.
It HAS been a long winter.  The recession has hit hard.  Money is tight.  People have lost jobs – people right here in our own congregation.  People have looked for jobs and not found them.  And hope is not a plentiful commodity.
Our nation is still at war – in two countries.  The president is trying to wind down the one in Iraq, but the one in Afghanistan looks like it’s going to take a lot longer for our troops to get done what they’re trying to do.  Whenever we speak of war, hope is an elusive wish.
After Jesus died and was laid to rest in the tomb on Friday, the disciples went into hiding.  To state the obvious, they had no hope.  In fact, one of the reasons they went into hiding was because they now feared the religious and political authorities would be looking for them and do to them what had been done to Jesus.
But then, a ray of hope suddenly appeared.  On Sunday morning, the third day after Jesus had died, a number of women had gone to the tomb and discovered it was empty.  They went back to the place where the other disciples were hiding and told them what they had discovered.
Luke says, “The apostles thought their news was nonsense.”  (Luke 24:11 CEV)  But, for Peter, it sparked some hope.  Peter ran to the tomb.  He didn’t wait around to debate with his fellow disciples the message they’d received from the women.  He took their words of hope and ran.
Hope is not something we can generate from within.  Hope is not something we can manufacture.  Hope, by its nature, comes from outside of our selves. 
Hope intrudes.  Hope happens.  Hope is seen or heard from another and is then received.  When I visited Gene Timm, I was given hope.  When the women told Peter the tomb was empty, he was suddenly overwhelmed with hope and he ran to the tomb to see for himself.
Hope happened when Jesus rose from that tomb.  At least that’s what we believe.  And because it was an event that happened, not to us, but to Jesus, it offers us hope that even in the worst of circumstances, there is the possibility and the potential of a new day, there is the possibility and the potential for a different outcome, there is the possibility and the potential of renewal in our lives.
Easter is hope.  And as believers in the resurrection, we can reach out and touch the hope that is all around us.
There are lots of people here this morning.  Some of you have come looking for some hope in an otherwise dreary time.  Others of us have been touched with the hope of the resurrection and are eager to share it with those of you who have come looking. 
Hope happens when we open ourselves to those around us.  Hope happened to Peter when he opened himself to the women’s message.  Hope happened to me when I let the smile and the sparkle in Gene Timm’s eyes touch me.  Hope can happen if you look at the belief in the eyes of your neighbor in the pew this morning.
Hope comes from the outside in.  The empty tomb of Easter comes from the outside and breaks into our sad and lonely lives and says, “Hey, death did not win.  Death is not the end.  Light is here.  He rose from the tomb.  Hope has arrived.  And hope can heal.  Believe it.  And while you’re at it, tell someone else.  Hope and belief can be contagious – if we let them.”
So, join me once again in our Easter proclamation.  Believe the words you are saying.  And let the hope they contain change you and fill you with joy and peace this day.
So, again, Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.  Alleluia!   AMEN
 
 
 

Text:  Lord’s Prayer 
March 21, 2010
Topic:  What Does This Mean?
 
This is the last of my sermon series on Luther’s catechism.  Today’s topic is THE LORD’S PRAYER.  
Very simply, prayer is talking to God.  And the way we talk to God is the same way we talk to one another.  There is no perfect form to use in praying.  Prayer is simply talking to God and everyone can do it.
At the conclusion of our confirmation classes which are for seventh and eighth graders, we pray.  Not just Pat and me, but each and every one of the students and our guides prays.
When we started doing our “prayer around the candle” at the end of each class time, the students were a little reluctant – not any more.  Students in our confirmation class are wonderful “pray-ers.”  They really know how to pray.  They simply talk to God.
Here’s how we have gotten them to pray.  We sit them on the floor, in a circle, around a large lit candle, in a darkened room, soft music playing in the background, and give them these directions:  When you are ready to pray, take a deep breath, breathe in God’s Spirit, and exhale all that keeps you from focusing on God.  Take your tea light candle, light it from the center candle, bring it back to your place in the circle, and pray out loud saying, “I thank you God for…., and then, I ask you God for…..” 
As I said, when we first begin, the students are a little shy about this whole prayer thing but it doesn’t take long for all of them to pray from their hearts.  I can honestly tell you, as your pastor, these prayer times in confirmation class are some of the most spiritually uplifting times of my week, hearing the prayers of 20 youth and adults in our confirmation classes.
Lutherans have traditionally been very reluctant to pray out loud.  It simply hasn’t been taught among us.  But, we are changing this. 
In our GIFT process, sojourners and companions in faith conclude each of our sessions with a prayer – out loud – for someone else in the small group.  And they are doing it – willingly and wonderfully.
In the Stephen Ministry program, Stephen Ministers are taught to pray out loud for those for whom they are caring.  Those who have gone through the training may have been reluctant at first to pray out loud but most of them are now doing so with confidence.
High school youth who attend our Fast Forward group that meets on Tuesday evenings prayer out loud for each other.  Their prayers are deep and they are sincerely prayed.
We are attempting to model for children how to pray in each and every children’s sermon.  As you have seen and heard, Pat writes prayers for children to use regularly at home.  We hope that parents will read the prayers for those who are still learning to read.  But we also hope that those who are already reading will continue to read their prayers out loud so they can become even more comfortable with making up their own prayers.
We have a prayer chain in our congregation.  If you want prayer for yourself, or a loved one, you may simply call the number that’s printed in the bulletin each week and give them the name.   Your request is then forwarded to those who are on the prayer chain and many, many prayers are then lifted to God about that single request.
As many of you have experienced, when we have healing prayers once a month, we ask the person coming forward what prayers they are asking for.  We anoint them with oil and then the “pray-er” puts both hands on the person for whom we are praying and prays out loud for the concerns that have been raised.
Finally, in our worship, during the time for prayers, we give people time to pray their own prayers – out loud – or in the silence of their hearts.  And we are hearing that many of you want even more time than we are giving to express your prayers.
In  many and different ways, we are trying to get us to pray more and more, with confidence and with the expectation that God is not only listening but answering our prayers.
In Luke’s gospel, the 11^th chapter, the disciples asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray.”  And Jesus obliged by giving them what has come to be known as the “Lord’s Prayer.”  It’s not a fancy prayer.  It’s not a complicated prayer.  It’s a prayer that comes from the heart.  We call it the “Lord’s Prayer,” but actually, it should be called the “Disciples’ Prayer,” because Jesus gave it to his disciples, to you and to me. 
Here’s what Jesus taught us:   We are to begin by acknowledging God with praise.  We are to remind ourselves first to whom we are praying.  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”  God wants us to always give thanks and praise at the beginning our prayers.
Then, we are to ask God to do what God wants.  In this “disciples’ prayer,” notice we don’t right away ask God to do anything for us.  We ask God to do what God wants.  We pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.”    When we put the perspective of God first, then we are praying in the way Jesus wants us to pray.
But then Jesus says, “Go ahead and ask God for what you need.  Ask God.  Trust God.  Believe that God really and truly wants you to be happy, healthy, and whole.”  So, it’s okay – no, it’s more than okay, we are instructed – to pray for what we need.  “Give us today our daily bread.”  And daily bread means food, clothing, jobs, shelter, good government and the like.
When Jesus lived on this earth, he saw firsthand how we do, and don’t get along with one another.  And from the Ten Commandments, we understand that God wants us to live in certain ways, and because God sees that we don’t keep the Ten Commandments nor get along with one another very well, God had Jesus tell us to ask for forgiveness. 
To help us get right with God, and to help us get right with one another, Jesus instructed us to ask for forgiveness, even as we are instructed to forgive others.  “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” 
And finally, Jesus goes one step further than most of us ever go in our prayers.  Jesus anticipates that as we go forward into life, as we live each day, there are going to be many challenges placed in front of us that need the help of God, challenges that are greater than we can ever possibly deal with on our own.  And so Jesus tells us to pray, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.”  In this last petition, it is really apparent that Jesus understands the world in which we live and wants us to ask for God’s help before we even get to the point of utter despair.
The final words of the Lord’s Prayer, the doxology, “For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.  Amen,” do not appear in either Matthew or Luke’s gospel account of Jesus words, but were added sometime early on in the first century as the early Christians used the Lord’s Prayer in worship each time they gathered. 
Prayer.  It’s talking to God. 
We talk to one another.  We text one another.  We email one another.  We leave notes for one another.  We go to great lengths to tell others what we think and feel.  We can – and we should – do the same with God. 
Prayer is our way to letting God know what’s on our hearts and minds.  Of course, God already knows, but praying helps clear our minds and helps us listen for and look for answers to our prayers.
Prayer helps us focus on God, and less upon ourselves.  Prayer leads us to a deeper faith.  We can pray anytime, anywhere.  Thanks be to God for the prayer given to the disciples, the Lord’s Prayer.  AMEN

Text: Luke 15:1-3,11b-32
14 March 2010
Topic: GIFT Process
 
Last week someone was gracious enough to fill out one of the little yellow “A Message for Pastor” and give me some feedback.  While it was unsigned, it asked a good question, “In the GIFT process, why don’t we do all the presentations at one time ?”
The GIFT process is our new way of receiving new members.   Well actually, it’s more than that. It’s the attempt to enhance and expand upon what it means to be a church member.  It’s the attempt at bringing us closer to what Jesus asked the original twelve to be, namely, to be a disciple.
Jesus didn’t ask the original twelve to join his church.  He asked them, NO, he called them to become a disciple.  And that’s what we are trying to do with this GIFT process.  As disciples, we are trying to Grow In Faith Together.
Over the years, we have received hundreds of new members.   They went through the “pastor’s new member class,” joined the church, stayed a while, and then left.   As their pastor, I got to know them.   Some long standing members got to know a few, but all too often, the new members didn’t get integrated into the congregation and they slowly drifted away.
Furthermore, the “pastor’s classes” focused on Lutheran doctrine and what it means to be a Lutheran, and not enough upon what it means to simply be a Christian.   All the research data I read today about people who are looking for a church home tells me folks are not looking to become “Lutherans,” as much as they are wanting to have a spiritual re-awakening or a spiritual renewal in the Christian faith.
Yes, their search has brought them to a Lutheran church, but that is clearly secondary to their primary search which is, “How do I get connected and stay connected to God?  How can I relate to Jesus?   How can the Holy Spirit be active in my life?”  These are discipleship questions, not membership questions, and the GIFT process is our current attempt at shaping an appropriate answer.
The GIFT process is twelve weeks long.  It begins in Lent and concludes at Pentecost.  The first six weeks are an exploration of Bible study and prayer, getting to know one another, hearing each others’ faith  (and non-faith) stories, all which takes place in a small group lead by five different people, Pam Taylor, Muriel Rose, Carole Thomas, Pat Polilli and myself. 
In the small groups we have equal numbers of sojourners and companions in faith. This assures us that a new member will at least get to know a few new members and a few existing members fairly well.   And, the new member will become actively engaged in the basics of our faith, Bible study and prayer. 
On the First Sunday of Lent, we welcome the sojourners among us. We want you to see them and begin to know their names.   It is our hope that when you see them up front you will remember their faces and go out of your way after worship and welcome them personally.   On that same Sunday, we give them a Bible, the Word of God as it has been revealed to us.   Some of these folks have owned a Bible before, some have not.   All of them receive a Bible that in contemporary, readable format.
On the Second Sunday of Lent, we enroll each sojourner and give them a copy of Luther’s catechism.  Again, we ask the sojourners and companions to stand before you so you can begin praying for each of them.  They are on a journey that needs the support of all of us.  They are not simply signing up to become members, they are beginning to look deep inside themselves and asking what God is calling them to do and be.   Martin Luther’s Small Catechism becomes an aid in helping them discover God’s will for their lives.
On the Third Sunday of Lent, we give them a copy of the Apostles’ Creed.   These are the words which separate us from all other religions.  These are the words which proclaim a belief in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  When a person is looking for what it means to believe for the first time, or to believe anew, going back to the basics is best.   And yes, we bring them up here again for God’s and your blessing so that you will remain diligent in your prayer for them.   We could do all these presentations on one day, but, that wouldn’t give you nearly the opportunity to be reminded of their names, nor of the enormity of this process.
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, today, we are giving each sojourner a crucifix, a representation of the resurrected Christ, to hang on their wall at home, to remind them of the of the salvation won for them and us in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord. Every one of us needs a reminder to stay focused on the faith we have been given.
It is no secret that the world is getting more and more secularized. More and more people have to work on Sundays. Sports events for youth and adults are encroaching on Sunday mornings.  Leisure activities and shopping crowd out worship, and in the end, we do what the prodigal son did in our gospel for today, we take our fair share, live our lives away from the faith, and eventually find ourselves in the despair in which he found himself. A crucifix in the home is a constant visual reminder to remain close to the Christian faith.
Next week, on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, we give each sojourner a copy of the Lord’s Prayer, one more basic of our faith to learn and love.
Giving sojourners these various gifts on each of these Sundays, not only gives them a symbol of the basics of our faith, it reinforces what it means to be a disciple, and not so incidentally, gives you the opportunity to see, to pray for, and to get to know those who are Growing In Faith Together with us.
That’s the six weeks of Lent.   After that, we invite sojourners and companions to continue their journey in the six weeks after Easter to learn more about the Lutheran church and its doctrines.   We will also spend time learning about this congregation and the many opportunities for service here, in our community, and around the world.   And on Pentecost, we will ask for the Holy Spirit to bless these folks one more time as they venture forth as disciples for Christ.
There’s no guarantee for success with any one process for spiritual formation.   No doubt, the prodigal son was raised properly in the faith.   So was the older son. Both ended up with serious issues.   In the end, it was the unconditional love of the father which gave each of them the room in which to grow and live again.
GIFT, and your participation in it, demonstrates unconditional love to each and every sojourner even as we seek to provide a sure footing on which they may continue their spiritual journey among us.  
So, could we receive members in a simpler way?  Yes, we could.   But we choose to make it a deeper, more spiritual, more blessed, and interactive experience.   Hopefully, it is making a difference.    AMEN
 
 
 

Text:  Apostles’ Creed
7 March 2010
Topic:  What Does It Mean
 
The Ten Commandments, of which I spoke last week, in my series of sermons on the Catechism by Martin Luther, are the rules that practically every organized society follow.  Yes, the first three commandments pertain particularly to ONE God and honoring that God with respect and care, but, even in non-religious societies, there is a presumed acceptance of a ruling authority that has made the rules by which that society lives.  In one sense, the Ten Commandments are simply the same rules by which most societies live.
Today’s topic is the APOSTLES’ CREED.  And again, you can find Martin Luther’s comments on page 1162 of the red hymnal. 
The first two words of the creed are, I BELIEVE.  As opposed to a set of rules in the Ten Commandments, in the Apostles’ Creed we have a statement of belief.
When we say on a Sunday morning, as we will today, right after this sermon, “I BELIEVE,” we will be doing something that ordinary people around the world will NOT be doing, unless they are Christians.  In fact, only Christians who believe that the apostolic creeds of the Church are important to know and recite regularly, will be using these words today.
Secular people who otherwise are upstanding citizens of their communities, people who don’t cheat, lie, commit adultery, or steal, won’t be saying these words.  Only Christians who have learned the words of the Apostles’ Creed, only Christians who have come to accept these words, only Christians who have come to believe what they say, will stand up in churches across the world and declare something about their life and their faith that non-believers will not.
As you know, we have confirmation classes to teach Luther’s catechism to 7^th and 8^th graders.  At the end of those two years it is our expectation that the young student will say for themselves, “I BELIEVE.”  It is one thing for parents to have their children baptized, raise them to believe certain things about the faith, it is quite another for a child, or an adult, to stand up, on our own, and say the words, and truly mean them, “I BELIEVE.”
Sometimes, after two years of catechetical instruction, an 8^th grader will say, “I don’t believe these words.”  And, of course, we honor their decision and the youth is not confirmed, they are not asked to affirm their baptism, sometimes disappointing parents and relatives. 
We don’t agree with those who choose not to believe, but we still respect their decision, and pray that one day they will affirm their baptism into Christ.
The Apostles’ Creed was formed early in the history of the Christian Church.  By the third century, a basic form of the creed was already in place.  It was used as a way of identifying the basic beliefs for Christians and became a kind of litmus test for identifying who was a true believer in the apostolic witness of Christ.  It was put into its final form in the eighth century and is the creed used at all baptisms in our church.
At the Council of Nicaea, in the year 325 A.D., another creed, the Nicene Creed, emerged.  It originated in the Eastern churches and was quickly adopted in the Western churches as well.  The result was that by the end of the fourth century after Christ, there were two creeds that Christians in both the East and West could recite regarding their beliefs.
Turn with me now in your red hymnal to page 1162 to look at Martin Luther’s comments regarding the Apostles’ Creed. 
The Apostles’ Creed has three paragraphs, or articles of faith, about three different manifestations of God.  The first article is “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”  The second is “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son our Lord.”  And the third is “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”
Regarding the first article of our faith, “I believe in God, the Father almighty,” Luther says this means, “I believe God has created me with all that exists.”  And I believe “God has given me and still preserves to me my body and soul: eyes, ears, and all limbs and senses; reason and all mental faculties.”
There are those who say there is no God and that we have simply evolved from some primordial gas in the universe without any rhyme or reason.  Christians proclaim, with the absolute certainty of faith, that God created the heavens and the earth – in however many days, or years, or millennia – and that even if we did begin as some kind of germ that multiplied into living organisms, it was God who put that germ on its path to creating the world as we know it. 
When we say, “I believe God created me and all that exists,” we are submitting ourselves to the Creator and decide, then and there, to serve and obey that same God.  This is what we expect of those who affirm their baptism, be they long time members, 8^th graders, or sojourners among us.
Regarding the second article of faith, the one proclaiming a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, we must begin by saying, there is no absolute physical or historical evidence that Jesus ever lived on this earth.  Yes, we have the Bible and its record of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, but outside of our Bible, there is only one historical reference to a prophet in Israel during the time period of Jesus’ life.  Outside of the biblical witness, there is no mention of the name of Jesus in that time.
So, when we say, “I believe Jesus is my Lord, [the one who] freed me from all sins, [the one who freed me] from death, and [the one who freed me] from the power of the devil” we are declaring to the world we believe in someone which secular history does not recognize.  We are declaring to our neighbors and friends, “I believe that God’s Son came to this earth, died and rose again, and gives me life.”  Nobody else has done this, no other religion claims this.  In this regard, Christianity very unique.
Finally, regarding the third article, the one in which we profess a belief in the Holy Spirit.  We believe that God the Father and God’s Son, Jesus, gave us an eternal presence, an eternal comfort, an eternal guide in the Holy Spirit.  We don’t know how this really happens, prompting Luther to write, “[On my own,] I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit … calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.” 
The Holy Spirit is God’s ongoing presence, God’s ever present comfort, and God’s daily guide while we are on earth.  When we say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” we are affirming that the God who made the heavens and the earth, the God who made Jesus our Lord and Savior, THAT God is with us today, right here, among us now.
The Apostles’ Creed is what Christians have used for 1700 years to ask those being baptized, “Is this what you believe?”  It’s what we will be asking our sojourners today.  It’s what we ask of all of us who gather in this place.
Do we believe?  Can we state with the absolute confidence of faith, “I believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?”  If so, then we are in the right place.   AMEN