The Pastor’s Words

Text:  John 8:31-36
23 October 2007
Topic:  Re-formations Continue
            I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say, “It just isn’t the way it used to be.”  If I did, I truly believe I would be very rich.   I hear this phrase in reference to the community in which we live, the school system our children attend, the stores we shop in, the cars we drive, the nation we call home.  Indeed, I hear people complain about the world in which are living saying, “It just isn’t the way it used to be.”  
            And, of course, the comment that immediately begs to be spoken after such a statement is, “Well, duh?!”  Of course the world isn’t the same as it used to be.  The world is in a sea of constant change, always has been, and always will be.  And it’s foolish for us to ever wish for it to return to some distant memory.   It’s just not going to happen.  For the world is constantly forming and re-forming itself.
            This morning, ten of our young people will be receiving their first Holy Communion.  Their world will never be the same.  Upon receiving their first Holy Communion they will forever be coming to this table expecting to encounter the Living Christ, in, with, and under the forms of bread and wine.  Their world will become transformed into a wonderful world in which they will regularly and faithfully be receiving the very real and holy presence of Jesus Himself.  Because of Jesus, their life will be RE-formed and TRANS-formed.  
This is the way the world is.  It keeps changing, it keeps being formed and reformed and transformed, because new people come to replace the old, because new ideas replace old ones.  And because some of the challenges that face us today are different from those of the past.
Sixty years ago, this hill, on which this church building is standing, was just a hill.  In the winter, after a heavy snow, kids would slide down this hill, not on the roads, because they weren’t here.  People used to go shopping in downtown Coatesville, not to the mall in Exton because Exton was nothing more than a four-way stop at the intersection of Routes 30 and 100.  Sixty years ago, travel was by car, over two lane roads, with very little air travel at all.  Schools were smaller, more personal, and segregated.  Televisions were just becoming available.  If you had a phone, it was a party-line phone, in the kitchen.  There were no cell phones.  Computers, such as they were, filled rooms as big as this one, with about as much power as one of today’s laptops. 
In a very short time, the world changed.  In a very short time, you and I have had to adjust to the very fast paced world in which our children and grandchildren live, a world in which going to the other side of the world can take a mere 24 hours, a world in which phone conversations by way of a cell phone (like the one I had with Joanne yesterday – she in Tanzania, me in Coatesville!) from one side of the earth to the other happen every day, a world in which microchip computers are guiding satellites orbiting the earth, and bombs over Iraq.  It’s truly a changed and different world than the one most of us in this room grew up in.  And, in a few short years, it’s going to be a different world in which these ten young people are growing up in as well.  Plain and simple, the world keeps changing, keeps forming and re-forming in all kinds of ways, and will continue to do so until the end of time.
In response to this constant change, in response all the new formations and re-formations that occur in the world, in today’s gospel reading, Jesus gives us wonderful words by which to live.  He says, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples.  You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
By this Jesus is saying, if we abide in his Word, if we truly seek to know his Word, if really try to live his Word, and if we make efforts to share his Word with others, then we will be his disciples. 
By abiding in God’s Word, we will be able to handle better those things that come crashing into our lives.  By abiding in God’s Word, we will be able to have a perspective on the changes that keep happening all around us.  By abiding in God’s Word, we will be equipped to face the uncertainties of tomorrow. 
By abiding in God’s Word, we can be free from doubt and fear.  By abiding in God’s Word, we can be free to love and serve our Lord in many and various ways, in many and various places.
Five years ago, in Tanzania, there was not one school for developmentally challenged children.   Three years ago, a school named Rainbow School, was built to care for mentally handicapped and autistic children.  One year ago, there was not one university in that entire nation that offered a degree in special education.  Today, after much prayer, much work, and much fund raising, Sebastian Kolowa University College, a Lutheran institution, is meeting the changing needs of their community.  The Lutheran church over there built a new school – actually re-built, or re-formed old buildings – and dedicated it to the glory of God, a school that will not only train special education teachers but train lawyers and business people t be sensitive to the needs of the handicapped as well.
The world is changing.  Well Duh?!  The key is to respond as our Lord would want us to respond, with faith and truths that are found in His Holy Word.
Ten young people are being nourished on the very Presence of our Lord for the first time today.  Along with us, they will come to rely on our Lord’s Presence as they grow into life, as they face the challenges of change that will surely come upon them.  And thanks be to God, the Changeless One will be there to guide and sustain them and us.   AMEN

Text:  Luke 18:1-8
21 October 2007
Topic:  Persistent Prayer
            When we really want something, what do we do?  When we see something we really need, what’s the process that begins happening inside of us? 
            When we see or sense something we need, or simply want, we immediately begin making some kind of plan for how we are going to buy, find, or create the opportunity to obtain it.
            When we see a car that we want, or need, we start putting away money to eventually buy it.  When we hear about a movie that everybody says is really great to see, we begin making plans to see it.  When we feel lonely and slightly depressed, we figure it’s time to get out, find some people to be around and get a different perspective on life.  
            Whenever we see or feel something we really need or want, we DO something about it.  In that list of things we begin doing once we’ve identified a need or want, Jesus would urge us to PRAY about it, and to pray persistently about it.
            Two babies have been baptized today.  As a parent, and now as a grandparent, I am very aware of how important it is to teach the faith to our children and grandchildren.   And one of those responsibilities is to teach our children how to pray, and to be persistent in prayer.
In the Old Testament lesson for today, Jacob wanted a blessing.  In the Gospel for today, the widow wanted fair and equal treatment in court.  And in both cases, if they had not been persistent, if they hadn’t pushed for more than the minimum, they would not have received the thing they wanted or needed. 
            And so it was, Jacob, who wanted a blessing, wrestled with an angel of the Lord all night until he received the blessing he sought.  And the widow, who simply wanted to be treated fairly, kept pestering the judge until the judge agreed to do so.  From these stories, Jesus then said, this is how we should pray.   
            In our adult Sunday School class we have been studying the six marks of discipleship as set forth in Pr. Mike Foss’ book, POWER SURGE.  The first mark of a disciple, a true follower of Christ, is that we pray every day.  You’ve already heard me tell the children in the children’s sermon about one way to pray.  To attain JOY, we need to pray to Jesus, for Others, and for Yourself last.  This is a simple formula for daily prayer.
            Other forms can also be used.  Consider this acronym:  A.C.T.S.  which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgivings, and Supplication. 
Each and every day, we should be setting aside time to offer to God in prayer our Adoration and praise, telling God how much we love Him, expressing how truly great God is, and acknowledging how we are totally dependent upon God for all things. 
Then, we should Confess our sins, telling God what we know we have done that is wrong, and telling God what we know we have failed to do and should have done, and asking God to forgive us. 
Next, we should give God Thanks for all the good things that have come our way.  When we consider that each day is a gift from God we could very easily begin our thanksgivings with a word of gratitude for the day.  This could be followed by a thanksgiving for family and friends, health and hope, shelter and food.  We are a blessed people and we need to thank God daily for all that we’ve been given.
Finally, we are free to make Supplication to God for any and all things.  Remember Jacob and the widow in our readings for today, they were persistent in their prayer for themselves.  Jacob wanted a blessing and wasn’t going to stop until he got one.  The widow wanted fair treatment in court and pestered the judge until she received it.  According to Jesus, it is okay that our supplications and requests before the Lord be plentiful and persistent.
Another acronym I use to teach prayer is one we use in confirmation classes.  It is a variation of the one I just gave you.  It’s a P.T.A. prayer.    A P.T.A. prayer is one that begins with Praise for God, then Thanksgivings to God, and finally, Asking God for those things we want or need in this life.
You choose whatever form of prayer that fits best, the one that brings you JOY, or an ACTS prayer, or one that is simply a PTA prayer.  However you do it, disciples are expected to pray daily, and, with the admonition of Jesus, to pray persistently.
One of the promises made by parents and sponsors of those being baptized is to “…nurture the newly baptized in faith and prayer.”    And, one of the promises that we make, as people of God witnessing baptisms in this congregation, is to “support and pray for the newly baptized in their new life in Christ.”  So, prayer is pretty important.  Not only do we need to know how to pray, we need to be able to pass this ability onto others.
Knowing that we needed to learn, Jesus taught us to pray and to pray persistently.   Sometimes we will get what we want, like the woman in the gospel.  But sometimes, we may also get more than we want.  Jacob wrestled with God, prayed persistently, got his blessing, but he also went away limping.  
Persistent prayer doesn’t guarantee us our requests.  It simply keeps us in the right frame of mind for whatever comes our way.   Disciples pray.  And we pray every day.  Persistently.  AMEN
 

Text:  Luke 17:11-19
14 October 2007
Topic:  Give Thanks

Most of us are familiar with THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.  This was a book about the Jewish girl who tried to escape the genocide of Nazi Germany by hiding in the secret annex of a building in Holland.  Eventually she and her family were discovered and they were all put to death.  But before that happened, she wrote her now famous diary, a book full of the hopeful images of a 13 year old.
            In that dark and lonely place, she wrote the following hopeful image, “How wonderful it is that nobody has to wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world.”
            This young girl, so wise for her very few years, reminded us that we don’t have to wait to do the very good things God has given us to do, that we can begin doing them today – not tomorrow – but today!  We are free to begin improving the world – TODAY!  Again, her words were, “How wonderful it is that nobody has to wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world.”
            In our readings from the Bible today, we have two stories, both of them are about lepers who are healed.  In the first reading, Naaman, the military commander of the Syrian army, a brave soldier, was inflicted with leprosy.  He was was cured when he dipped himself into the Jordan River seven times.
In the gospel reading, Jesus, on his way to the cross, is approached by ten men with leprosy.  These leprous men who were living in an isolated leper colony, as was commanded by law in those days, came up to Jesus and begged to be healed.  To the surprise of the lepers, Jesus didn’t run from them.  But rather, he looked right at them and told them to go show themselves to the priest and on their way they were healed.   
The response of these men who were healed is an important part of each story.  Upon his healing, Naaman praised God and returned to the prophet who healed him and offered the gifts he had carried with him.  Of the ten men who were healed, one of them, the Samaritan, the one least likely to be seen as a hero in this story, returned to Jesus and also praised God for his miraculous cure.
            You and I, my friends, are that soldier!  You and I, my friends, are that Samaritan man!  You and I, my friends, have been healed and Jesus is saying to us today, as he said to the Samaritan, “You may get up and go.  Your faith has made you well.”  He’s waiting for our response.
            We have been blessed with a brand new life.  We have been totally forgiven of our sin.  And now, we, too, are being sent into the world to begin making it a better place in which to live.   Because of the faith that has been given to us, we can make a difference.  This could become our response to our own healing.
            In the past two weeks, there have been a number of schools in our nation that have been subjected to threats of violence, and even death, as kids with guns have terrorized and killed other students, or made plans to recreate another Columbine experience with guns that one mother near us even purchased for her son.
            In each of these cases, there appears to be the common thread of kids who have been bullied, or kids who have been made to feel isolated from others, or kids who have deliberately separated themselves from others and get it into their heads to lash back at the kids they’ve decided are responsible for their misery.
            Now, there is no doubt that these kids, and some of their parents, need individualized psychological help.  But, we, as others standing by, can also help.  We can reach out to lonely and isolated people and really and truly show them that they don’t need to feel so isolated and so alone.
Remember those lepers in the gospel.  They were living in a colony all by themselves because they were shunned by the society in which they were living.  They were forced into isolation and separated from family and loved ones.  But when the lepers approached Jesus, he didn’t walk away from them.  Instead, he walked toward them.  And then, this is key, HE LOOKED RIGHT AT THEM.  Jesus acknowledged these outcast people and listened to their needs.  He showed them compassion and mercy, and then, he healed them. 
            You and I, my friends, like those lepers, have been healed by Jesus.  We have been cured of our separated state from God.  We have been cured of our isolation and are now being sent into the world with the marvelous and life saving Good News of Christ that says to others, “You are important in the eyes of God.  You are worthy.  Jesus not only sees you, he wants to heal you.  You don’t have to feel isolated and alone anymore.  Christ is with you.  I am with you.  I care.”
And who knows, maybe we can make a difference in someone’s life by simply extending a loving and welcoming hand.  Maybe we can help a parent who is at their wits end trying to deal with a child who has been bullied.  Maybe we can help a kid who’s feeling totally alone and without friends.  Maybe there are people who are imprisoned in their own homes looking for a way out.   Maybe we can make a difference by just letting someone know they’re not alone.
Anne Frank was absolutely right.  “How wonderful it is that nobody has to wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world.”
With the faith that is in us, we can give thanks for the healing in our lives by extending a loving hand to someone else.  With the faith that is in us, we can offer to others a perspective on life that isn’t so isolated and alone.  With the faith that is in us, we can begin improving the world TODAY.  We can bemoan the world in which we live, or we can do something about it.  By God’s healing grace and mercy, we believe it can change.  AMEN
           

Text:  Luke 17:5-10
7 October 2007
Topic:  Faith That Works
            In this life, every one of us faces challenges that cause us to wonder if we will ever get through them.  The challenges are as varied as losing one’s job, having to deal positively with an unruly child, trying to make it on a limited income, getting back on one’s feet after major surgery, wondering if Coatesville will ever be re-vitalized like we thought it might just a few years ago, looking at the political situation in these United States and wondering how it can be improved.
            These are the kinds of challenges that face us in our homes, in our community and in our nation today.  The question is:  How do we meet these challenges?  How have we prepared for them?  What resources do we have at our disposal to affect the changes that are needed?
            In our gospel for today, the disciples had been given a challenge by Jesus.  The challenge, which appears in the verse immediately preceding our gospel reading, was to forgive people even if they mistreat us seven times in one day.  Jesus said, “Even if someone mistreats you seven times in one day and says, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive that person.”  To which the disciples said, “You’ve got to be kidding!”   Or something like that.   And then they said, “The only way we can forgive people like that is if you make our faith stronger.”
            Indeed, it takes faith, a lot of faith, to forgive people once, much less seven or more times.   Like the disciples, we would do well to ask Jesus to increase our faith.  For faith comes from the Lord and we need as much faith as we can get to face all the challenges that come our way.
            This morning I have asked Joanne, my wife, to show you some pictures of her most recent trip to the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.  She and our bishop, the Rev. Claire Burkat, were in Tanzania last month to introduce our new bishop to the fine people over there.  At that time Joanne and the bishop saw the completion of a university that only a year ago was still a dream. 
            You’ve heard us talk of this university.  It’s called SEKUCo, Sebastian Kolowa University College.  It was built because the Lutheran people in that part of Tanzania needed a university to train special education teachers to serve the needs of their special education students.  What they ended up creating was a university that not only would be a teachers’ preparatory school, but a law school and a business school as well.
            In so many of our lives, here in America, when we face a challenge, we think, “I don’t know how I’m ever going to face this and deal with it.  I wonder if I can do it?” 
Among the Lutheran Tanzanians we have met, Joanne and I have observed that when they are confronted with challenges, they say, “Yes, we have challenges in our lives, but we pray about it, and then ask, ‘What is the Lord leading us to do?’  We don’t say, ‘We cannot do it,’ but rather, ‘How can we not do it?   How can we not trust God to provide all we need to accomplish all that we are dreaming?’”
And by God’s grace, they have not only met the challenges they have been given, they have prevailed.  By exercising their faith, their faith grew.  They asked God for guidance and God provided all they needed to build a university to meet the special education needs of their people, and much more.
Here now are other stories which Joanne will share with you regarding the faith and fortitude of these wonderful people. 
(For internet readers of my sermon, on a large screen in front of the congregation, Joanne showed us 41 pictures of her recent trip and told us of the marvelous faith, generosity and hospitality of their hosts in Tanzania. In addition she brought us greetings from Soni Lutheran Parish, our partner parish in the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.  Joanne will be returning later this month to Tanzania along with nine others from our synod for the dedication of SEKUCo.)