The Pastor’s Words

Text:  Mark 7:1-23
30 August 2009   
Topic:  GOD’S WORK, OUR HANDS
           
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a mission theme, a tag line, it’s promoting.  The mission theme is “GOD’S WORK, OUR HANDS.”  The intent of the tag line is to state simply, God has a lot of work to do in this world and God needs our hands to accomplish it.
Now, this could be misconstrued to say that everything the ELCA and its members do is the Work of God.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  A lot of what we do is clearly of God, but not everything.
The mission theme, GOD’S WORK, OUR HANDS, underscores the need for us to take seriously our God-initiated, God-blessed, baptismal call to be God’s eyes, God’s hands, and God’s feet in this world. 
When Jesus was on this earth, he literally was the hand of God.  By our faith and our association with Jesus, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and by extension, we are now God’s hands in the world, seeking to do the Work of God.
Today’s gospel reading tells us part of the story of how Jesus differed significantly from the religious teachings and religious leaders of his day.  Jesus was born a Jew, was raised in the Jewish faith, and studied Jewish teachings as a boy.  Scripture tells us he was so learned in his youth that one day he went into the synagogue in his home town and discussed theology and religion with all the elders who were present.  No doubt, Jesus knew his Bible (which in this case was the Old Testament) and he knew the traditions of his faith.
But, in today’s gospel reading Jesus interpreted the teachings of his faith in a brand new way, a way that challenged that of the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were the theologians and religious leaders of the church as Jesus knew it.  They were the ones who had studied, memorized and put into practice the multitude of religious teachings of the Hebrew people. 
The Pharisees of Jesus day were not fly by night preachers, nor were they independently inspired purveyors of the faith.  They had centuries and millennia of time, tradition and teachings behind them.   They knew their stuff.  And so when they saw the followers of Jesus eating without first washing their hands, they called him on it.
According to the Law of Moses, if people touched something impure before they ate, any food they touched would also be ritually impure.  That’s why the Law required them to wash their hands before eating.  Today, we’d call this good hygiene.  But back then, it had nothing to do with hygiene, it was all about ritual purity and doing what the Law had been teaching for literally thousands of years.
Jesus responded to the objections of the Pharisees by saying, “You know, you really shouldn’t be so concerned about ritual purity.  Rather, you should worry about how you treat one another.  You should be worrying about what you say to others, and what you do to others that’s impure.  It’s not what you put into your mouth that makes you impure, it’s what comes out of your heart that makes you impure.”
Jesus argued that God is less interested in what appears to be right, but rather wants us to act and be right in our conduct with and toward one another.  In other words, it would seem Jesus wants us to do “GOD’S WORK, [with] OUR HANDS.”  What we do in our religious life, with and for one another, seems to be more important than keeping the absolute letter of the law.
This past week, one of the giants in American politics died, Senator Teddy Kennedy.  Some of you, no doubt, watched the TV coverage of his funeral.  But, I am also aware there are some here today who think too much was made of the death and legacy of a man whom everyone knew had clay feet.
All politics aside, I believe Teddy Kennedy represented EVERYMAN.  He was human, to a fault.  He made many, and in his case, very public mistakes, moral and otherwise.  He suffered personal tragedy and loss.  But out of the ashes of his life, he worked to create a life worth talking about, a life of service to his country, a life of service to every man and every woman who was ever in need.
Yes, we may disagree about his politics, but, in listening to those who served with him, those who were in his party, and those who were not, all of them agreed that, late in life, when he realized what his work was on this earth, Teddy Kennedy toiled tirelessly to care for others, no matter their party affiliation.  Senator Kennedy came to understood he was not on this earth to simply care for himself, but his work was to look out for the needs of others, to share in their sorrows, and to try to lessen their burdens.
In his own way, Teddy Kennedy came to understood it is GOD’S WORK, OUR HANDS.
In baptism, we are made children of God.  God puts an eternal stamp of approval upon us and sends us out into the world to do the work that God cannot do unless it is done by the likes of Landon, and you and me.
None of us are going to do it absolutely right, and maybe not even well.  None of us are going to do the Work of God without failure, personally or professionally.  But the baptismal calling is upon us nonetheless.  And by God’s grace, and by God’s will for us, we will succeed in doing God’s Work in this world.
It had to be confusing for the Pharisees in our gospel reading for today.  They thought they were doing the will of God.  But then Jesus came along and re-interpreted scripture and tried to show them yet another way to be obedient. 
Sometimes, when we are looking for the will of God, and how we are to do God’s Work in this world, we just might have to sit and listen to a new way of interpreting scripture, because it’s God’s Work, not our work.  Sometimes, the very people we think have it right, don’t.  And sometimes the people we think have it all wrong, actually have it right.  It’s a matter of interpretation. 
As frail, human beings, we need to assess God’s Work and Our Hands and see how the two shall meet.   Some days, we’ll succeed, and some days, we’ll fail.  The important thing is to keep trying.  AMEN
 

Text:  John 6:56-69
23 Aug 2009
Topic:  God’s Initiates Faith
 
This past week, when it was 90° or more, I saw one of our members running up 17^th Avenue.  Yes, I saw this shirtless, very bronzed body running UP 17^th Avenue, and he wasn’t even struggling.  He looked like he could do it all day!  Kody Stewart is 22 years old and he runs marathons.  That’s 26.2 miles!  He was training that very hot and muggy day.  I saw him doing something that none of us here this morning could do.  Well, okay, maybe you could, but I surely couldn’t run UP 17^th Avenue.  For me, it would simply be “too hard.”
That’s what the disciples in our gospel reading said to Jesus.  They said, “Your teachings are too hard for us to understand.”  They were reacting to the words of Jesus when he said to them, “If you want eternal life, you must eat of my flesh and drink of my blood.”  (John 6:54  CEV)  He wasn’t speaking literally, of course, but figuratively.  He wanted them to eat the bread and drink the wine he was giving them, and believe that in the eating and the drinking of this sacred meal, that He, Jesus, would be present among them, forgive them, and grant them eternal life.
This teaching was too hard for the disciples of Jesus to understand, so they grumbled.  Yup, they grumbled, AGAIN.  This is three weeks in a row that we have had a gospel reading in which the people are reported to have grumbled about the teachings of Jesus.  This time, some of the disciples became so disgruntled by this teaching that they “turned their backs on [Jesus] and stopped following him.”  (John 6:66b  CEV) 
Soon, so many followers of Jesus left him he was forced to ask the original twelve disciples if they, too, were going to leave him.  Because his teachings were “too hard,” he was forced to look around to see if anybody was still following him.  
Peter answered Jesus by saying, “Lord, there’s no one else we can go to.”  (John 6:68a CEV)  You can almost hear in his voice, “But if there was someone else, we might consider it.”  I wouldn’t put it past Peter, because, you know, he’s the one who would later deny he ever knew who Jesus was. 
But to cover himself, Peter adds, “There’s no one else we can go to……..for your words give eternal life.”  (John 6:68 CEV)  He knew when to say the right thing, even if, deep inside, he wasn’t so quite so certain.
Jesus said, “When you eat this bread and drink this wine, you will live forever!”  He also said, “You cannot come to me, unless the Father makes you want to come.  That is why I have told these things to all of you.”  (John 6:65 CEV)  Jesus was laying out for those who were able and willing to listen and understand just how God works.
I don’t fault Peter, or any of the others, who just couldn’t make sense of what Jesus was talking about because they weren’t raised to believe that faith is a gift.  They were raised to believe that if we DO something for God, God will be pleased and grant us our wishes.  They were raised to believe that if we SACRIFICE something, then God will pay attention to us.
Jesus turned that notion of faith upside down and said, “You cannot come to me, unless the Father makes you want to come.” (John 6:65 CEV)  Faith is not something we can strive for.  It is a gift.
Those who couldn’t fathom these teachings, those who couldn’t grasp what Jesus was talking about, grumbled and complained.  They protested and eventually they left Jesus. 
For us, faith as a gift is a mystery as well.  But we have the opportunity to hang around;  we have the opportunity to attempt to make sense of what Jesus was trying to communicate.  And just maybe, if we hang around a little bit, if we study and pray, and if we listen quietly to the Spirit’s voice, we’ll come to understand what it means to really, and truly, feed on the Bread of Life.
Faith IS a mystery.  Faith IS something that’s difficult to comprehend. When Jesus said, “You cannot come to me, unless the Father makes you want to come,” he gave us the clear message that it is GOD who initiates faith, it is God who initiates the holy relationship that leads to eternal life.
Let me try this analogy.  It’s like two people who decide to have a baby.  They consummate their love for each other and, by God’s grace, create a baby. 
That baby is born without having been consulted.  They didn’t get to pick their parents.  They didn’t get to pick their siblings.  They didn’t get to pick their nationality or the culture in which they would be raised.  They were born and others decided all these things for them.
So, too, with God.  We are in relationship with God because, as Jesus said, God is the one who makes it happen.  God wanted us to be born.  It is God the Father who wills that you and I be in relationship with God.  It is God who initiates faith. It is God who sustains it in us.
This action is most clearly demonstrated in baptism.  In baptism, whenever it happens, be that for an infant, a child, or an adult, God declares for everyone to see and to hear, “Here is a child of mine.”  It doesn’t matter what age, what background, what sins have preceded baptism.   In baptism, the Lord God Almighty declares to the whole world, “This child is one of my own!”
The people who were listening to Jesus in our gospel couldn’t grasp this.  Those who were listening to Jesus that day were people who had been schooled in the thought that God expects something from us first, that God expects us to put ourselves “right with God” before we can even come and ask for God’s forgiveness and grace.
Lutherans, through our study of scripture, are very clear in teaching that God is the “initiator,” that God is the one who calls us into relationship. It is God who blesses us first, and then sends us back into the world to be ambassadors of God’s grace and love to others.  In baptism, God empowers us transmit the faith that has been given to us and share it with others.  As our ELCA’s current mission states, it is “God’s work, Our hands.”
The gospel message is radically different from what the world would teach us.  The gospel message is a gift from God.  The gospel message is radically inclusive.  The gospel message is delivered to us as bread and wine, Christ himself present, forgiving us and assuring us of a place in that Kingdom that will have no end…..   AMEN
 

Text:  John 6:35, 41-51
9 August 2009 
Topic:  God Gives Abundant Life.
 
God is so good.  God is so good.  God is so good.  God is so good to me!   These are words that we really and truly believe.  These are words that we live by.  God IS good, all the time.  ALL the time, God is good.  We know this to be true and we celebrate it each and every time we gather for worship. 
If we ever needed proof that God is good, we simply need to stop and listen to our breathing.  Our very lives are living proof that that God is good.  As we say in the creed, “God created the heavens and the earth,” which, of course, includes us.  Our very breath is evidence that God is good, all the time, to you, to me, to everyone who breathes.
Last week, four of us from Good Shepherd were at a conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada.  The conference was about how to improve upon our GIFT process, the way we receive new members and provide spiritual formation for our members.  We learned some things there that we will share with you at another time.
Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to visit Niagara Falls, knows that, “The beauty and power of the Falls are more than words can describe!” 
Standing on the cliffs on the Canadian side, opposite the falls, high above the churning water below, you see the rushing, cascading, seemingly endless flow of water descend into the cavernous ravine that’s been created over an eon of time.
For us who believe, we look at this marvel of nature and say, “God is good, God is powerful, God is abundant, God is everlasting.” 
And for some of us, we look at this overflowing gift as a sign of baptismal grace, more abundant than we can imagine, and greater than we can possibly fathom.  For in baptism, God’s love, and God’s grace, and God’s forgiveness comes to each of us, continually, massively, powerfully, for all eternity.  Looking at Niagara Falls this past week gave me these kinds of baptismal thoughts and helps me sing, “God is good.”
In today’s gospel reading, the people are again grumbling.  Last week, they were grumbling because Jesus wouldn’t give them any extra food, nor would he continue healing those who were being brought to him. 
This week, they are grumbling because, in addition to Jesus not giving them what they wanted, they just couldn’t believe that someone from one of their own villages just might be the Son of God.
After all, they knew his father and his mother.  They were familiar with Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary.  Maybe some of them even played with him when he was a boy.  So, how could Jesus, this local boy, claim to be “sent from heaven?”  Their discontent was palpable.
Because of the circles in which I travel and live, I don’t know too many people who don’t believe.  I basically associate with people who have at least some belief in God, if not, a whole of lot of belief in God. 
But, as you know, there are people who don’t believe in God.  There are people who don’t accept the notion that God is good, or that God even had a hand in creating the Falls at Niagara.  There are people, who like the folks in our gospel reading for today, cannot, or will not, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent from heaven to earth.
To make it very clear, here’s  what God is telling us in this passage, “Jesus is my Son, he is the bread of life.  He is super abundant, all powerful, overflowing with grace and mercy, granting eternal life to any and all who believe in him.” 
Today, we are installing this year’s congregation council.  Six adult members will be joining six other adult members along with two youth to help lead this congregation over the next 12 months.  It will be their job to oversee the work and ministry we are doing at Good Shepherd.
Their work will not be easy.  It never is. 
We are truly grateful for the very strong financial support that is being received at this time.  In these financially difficult times, Good Shepherd is holding its own.  We have a number of members who have responded to the call to give sacrificially and it’s making a huge difference.  However, there are still members who have yet to hear and respond to that call, and that, too, is having an impact on the bottom line.
Further, as you have seen, there are fewer of us who are regularly worshiping on a Sunday morning.  There are fewer of us who are regularly coming here to be fed by the Bread of Life.  There are fewer of us hearing the gospel preached and going out from here to share that Good News with others.  This is true across the Lutheran church, but, that doesn’t give me any comfort.
So, the task of the council is a big task, a critical task, but a task that is blessed by God.
Jesus said to the people in our gospel reading for today, “Stop grumbling.  Come to me, and I will raise you up.  I am the Bread of Life.  Those who eat of me will live forever.” 
As believers, we are called, to not only believe in these words but, to make them real in our lives, to trust that the Bread of Life will show us the way. 
At Niagara Falls, 6 million cubic feet of water flows over the crest line every single minute, of every day, of every year.  To give you some perspective, a room this size, full of water, cascades over the crest at Niagara Falls every second, of every minute, of every day, of every year. 
I hear that amazing number of how much water – baptismal water that goes over the Falls every second – and I think of God’s goodness and grace.  Jesus came to be among us, as the abundant and powerful, overflowing Bread of Life, assuring us that we will be saved, and fed, and energized for ministry, now and forever.  Let us believe it.  Let us count on it.  Praise be to God!   AMEN