We, the members of the Genesee Lutheran Parish, in receiving God’s gracious gifts, are committed to be living examples of Jesus’ love by strengthening and encouraging each other. We commit to love every person and serve anyone we can through word and deed, following the example of our Lord.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve Sermon

We'll resume regular-type posting in the New Year.  For now, here's the Christmas Eve sermon.  This year was an extra challenge, as many people come to Christmas looking for the usual joy, peace, and goodwill, but the shadow of events in Connecticut and Oregon--plus our empathy for all those who have lost loved ones, especially children--colors our feelings this Christmas.  I didn't try to preach a sermon that was happy or sad.  Rather I wanted to ask whether the Christmas Story was big enough for all of us at the same time no matter where we were on that spectrum.  I wanted to preach a sermon that would reflect the beauty and joy of this event but still be meaningful--and not alienating--if the folks experiencing tragedy firsthand were sitting in our pews.  I don't know how I did.  I suppose you can see.

The Christmas text is Luke 2: 1-20, found by clicking here.

The sermon:


Sermon for Christmas Eve, 2012

When’s the first time you realized life wasn’t in your control?

Maybe it was when your first crush didn’t work out.  Did your parents keep cooking liver and onions when all you wanted was mashed potatoes?  Were you treated unjustly by a teacher?  Got fired from a job?  For many of us it happens when we get sick, or even just older…confronting our own mortality.  Or maybe not our own mortality, but mourning the loss of a loved one whom we wish was here on this holiday.  For some it happens in the most tragic of ways, like for our brothers and sisters in Connecticut and Oregon whom we remember tonight.  Life out of your control can be dangerous, fearful, sometimes horrifying.

That’s part of why we find the Christmas story comforting, isn’t it?  A baby arrived!  What could be more innocent and pure than that?  There sit a couple in a manger, a small, intimate setting.  Alongside lie some cows, sheep.  Here come some visitors…a couple angels, later three wise men.  A star shines from above just on this spot, no other. It’s like the manger is a little haven, separated from the rest of the world.

And look how we celebrate Christmas.  We go out and grab the world!  Presents, exotic foods, strange and wild trees…we bring the world into our house for the benefit of our family.  Goose!  (Does anybody eat goose anymore?  Oh well.  Anyway…)  Goose:  flying wild and free, soaring through the skies.  Nab, grab…now it’s goose sitting in a pan on the table for our consumption and enjoyment.  Tree:  great minion of the forest, living for decades under the sun and rain.  Saw saw saw.  We hang little glass balls and lights on it.  Isn’t it cute?  Presents:  things we couldn’t imagine getting on any other occasion, yet somehow they appear under our tree, just for us…just for the people we love most.  It’s small, intimate, tame, and totally under our control.  How we love this Christmas story!

Except that isn’t really the Christmas story…not all of it anyway. We’re talking about a mother and father forced out of their home by a tax-collecting dictator, forced to travel an astonishing distance by foot just at the time their child would come.  Except it wasn’t entirely their child, or at least it wasn’t his.  He wasn’t the bio dad.  This thing had come and disrupted his life despite his wishes and dreams.  Nor was this an expected pregnancy for mom.  An angel showed up one day and said, “Guess what?”  And the first thing she said in response was a polite version of, “Why me?  Nobody’s going to believe this is true.”  And the angel gave a holy version of, “Too bad…it’s happening anyway.  You’re the chosen one.”

Then this couple finally gets to town just when the baby is coming and there’s no room in the inn.  Even when they explain and beg they get shoved out into the stable.  Not only can’t they control the baby coming, they can’t control where it’s going to be born.

The baby comes and they make it through that uncontrollable wave of everything.  (Don’t even ask!)  Then they have to deal with cows and sheep making noises and smells. Weird shepherds—themselves terrified by an uncontrolled appearance of angels--and foreigners come in at all hours to stare because somebody leaked the news and now suddenly Mary and Joseph are Bethlehem’s William and Kate.  Later on the local king will decide that he wants their baby killed so they’ll have to flee to the strange land of Egypt as exiles.

And then there’s the child itself…a baby like any other.  It’s helpless, unable to feed itself, unable to change itself, unable to communicate outside of basic cries and coos.  It doesn’t know anything of the world.  It’s totally dependent on mom and dad for protection, for sustenance, for everything.  It doesn’t control anything, not even itself.

This is the actual Christmas story…the part we don’t talk about as much.  It’s not intimate.  It’s not snuggly.  It can’t be acted out by precious four-year-olds in donkey and sheep costumes.  It’s scary, inconvenient, dangerous, and totally out of the control of everyone involved.  Hearing it turns our conceptions about the meaning of Christmas on their ear just as the event itself turned over the lives of everyone who participated in it.

In times like this questions arise…the same questions we ask every time we feel out of control no matter what caused it:  “What’s the meaning here?  What purpose to all of this?  What do we believe?”  Some ask these questions in academic fashion but others—those who have experienced the tragic part of “out of control” firshand--ask it with an anguished cry that no snuggly, safe Christmas story can answer.

Do we believe?  That’s the question that surrounds Christmas.  Have you noticed that every movie or show about Christmas deals with this theme in one way or another?  Oh, they seldom talk about Jesus himself, preferring the goodness of humanity or Santa or what have you.  But the same question resonates through all of them.  “Do you believe?”

We answer this question so poorly, too…not only in the movies but in real life.  We want to believe, to find some significance in our belief, but we’re robbed of the chance because we define “belief” in the impoverished, plastic way the world has taught us.  When we ask, “Do you believe?” we mostly mean, “Do you credit this as being real?  Do you think it exists?”  No goodness or growth comes out of answering that question positively or negatively.

Try this on for size.  Everybody all at once look at me.  Now believe really hard that my rapidly receding hairline doesn’t exist.  Come on!  Work at it!  Do I have the mane of vibrant and curly hair I once had as a youth?  What?!?  You couldn’t make my receding hairline not exist with your belief?  What kind of not-believers are you?

Now turn to the person you came with tonight…spouse, family, friend, whomever.  Turn to them now, put your hand on their shoulder, and say this:  “I believe you exist.”  There you go.  Everybody happy?  Have you changed or deepened your relationship?  Have you learned anything new about the person?  What would you think if people started coming up to you and saying, “Congratulations!  I believe you exist!”  Your first response would be, “So what?”  Your second, “Who are you and why are your beliefs so important that you think they are the litmus test of my existence?”  Answering the question accomplishes little.

Belief doesn’t mean screwing your head up in this or that fashion or coming to some kind of academic conclusion about the validity of something.  You know what belief means?  Trust.  Mental certainty can only come when you’re in control, when you can apprehend everything, stand above it and make a judgment.  Trust happens in those moments when you’re out of control, when you have little other choice.

Joseph and Mary and the Baby Jesus, the shepherds and wise men…they didn’t have any kind of mental certainty that this was going to turn out well.  In fact every step of the process so far had told them the exact opposite, from the weird and unplanned pregnancy to the barn-based delivery…let alone dealing with the baby.  Who looks at their newborn child and says, “I am academically prepared for every possible contingency and I am certain that my parenting of you will be superior and that all things will turn out well in every instance”?

They didn’t have that kind of belief. It’s not possible, no matter what movies and cynics tell you.  All they had was trust.  “I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t control what’s going on, in fact it seems to be going wrong most of the time.  But I trust.  I trust you mom and dad, that you will feed me and take care of me.  I trust you, spouse, that you’re not going to leave me alone with this screaming child.  I trust you community of shepherds and wise men, that you’re going to help us through this crazy time.  I trust you, God, that as mixed up and sometimes tragic as all this is—and remember this baby’s life would one day end with a summary execution on a cross—that you will take care of us and bring us all to goodness.”

Now try this.  Turn to that same person you did a minute ago.  This time look at them, take their hand, and say, “I trust you.  Things won’t go perfectly.  Life will be out of our control.  We won’t always be happy.  Sometimes we might be so mixed up that we can’t see straight.  But I believe in you and I trust you, no matter what.”

Now what have you done?  Can you see the difference?  And guess what?  As we trust we remember that most of the best things in life also happen in ways beyond our control:  the love you feel for a spouse that causes you to marry them, the love for your children that draws more out of you than you ever thought you could give, the zest for life that causes you to risk things instead of clinging to surety…the trust God had placing his only Son in the hands of mixed-up people like us, and the trust we have that that same Son delivers and saves us, bringing us to goodness no matter what circumstances, even tragic ones, define our lives.  It does get better.  Light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.  That is our trust.

And that is the real Christmas message, not a story of an isolated, pristine manger disconnected from reality, but a birth and a resulting web of relationships, grace, and love that touches all of life…all of our lives…transforming them, embracing and holding their sorrow yet somehow also bringing out their beauty and joy. 

Whether this is the happiest or saddest Christmas you’ve ever known, whether it’s the full or lonely, whether you have what you want or you’re still seeking, this day is for you.  Beauty beyond your control or desire is entrusted to you and nothing…nothing…will take that gift away.

A blessed Christmas to each of you.  May God’s love shine in your heart, and through you to a world that needs it.  Amen. 

--Pastor Dave



Friday, December 14, 2012

Is Anybody Listening?


Listen to the Christmas 2012 Children's Choir.

Blog Reporter Wanted

Do you enjoy taking pictures? Like to write news copy? Interview people? Do you know who Jimmy Olsen is? Want to help GLP communicate with our congregation and help spread the Word? Talk to Patrick about becoming a GLP Blog Reporter!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Sparkling blue lights, the blue paraments at the front of the church, and the blue candles are used to remind each of us that we are celebrating a special season, the season of Advent.  Blue is used during Advent for its references to hope.  The use of blue originated in Scandinavia, probably because purple dye was too expensive for churches to use.  The alternate color for Advent is purple, the royal color of the coming King.  And on Christmas, we will see the change of blue paraments to white.  White will signify the purity of the newborn Christ and the light and joy we have in him.

http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Worship/Learning-Center/FAQs/Liturgical-Colors.aspx

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

This Saturday, Brent and I will be attending Theology on Tap at the home of Pat and Randi!  I am looking forward to meeting with our friends as we discuss our views of religious and secular thoughts! 

When I was a kid, I believed that spending time outside of church with the "church folks" would never be fun!  In fact, I was sure that "church folks" would judge and condemn me for how I was, even though I wasn't too bad of a kid!  I sure didn't think that "church folks" would drink a beer or a glass of wine!  I didn't think that church folks would just relax and talk about things that had nothing to do with church or angels or Jesus!

What a relief to learn that "church folks" are just "folks" like my neighbors and my family!  And I enjoy spending time with my "church family!"  I cannot wait to see all of you on Saturday!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Theology on Tap!

Tonight, 7:00 p.m. at Rob and Susan's place!

--Pastor Dave

Monday, October 1, 2012

Rock and Roll Sunday Text


We didn't have a "normal" sermon on Rock and Roll Sunday.  Rather members of our congregation introduced each song with an explanation of our church and faith which the song then talked about.  Since those words weren't written down anywhere (and since this served as our sermon) I'm reprinting them here.  Hopefully this is a pretty good statement of what we believe, how we relate to each other and God.

Keep in mind there's supposed to be a song between each paragraph, so this isn't a seamless essay.  Take a deep breath and count to three before reading each successive paragraph and you'll get the idea.
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Each song this morning has a lesson, something we affirm about God and our service to him.  The very first affirmation is that God welcomes and loves all of us.  You may be used to churches drawing lines between people.  We believe God draws us together rather than tearing us apart, accomplishing good through our collective work.  You are welcome here!  Let’s celebrate!

We’re able to welcome all kinds of people in God’s name because we realize we don’t have all the answers.  Too many faith communities try to center around being “right”.  We understand that we can’t be.  We’re constantly called to learn new things about God but we never reach the point where we know it all.  Since I don’t have all the right answers and you don’t either, we settle for asking good questions and figuring it out together, putting up with the occasional wrongness about each other so we can see the greater good.

Our admission that we’re “Stuck in the Middle” of all this without the right answers, unable to find our way home by ourselves, drives us to depend on God.  We know we can’t be perfect.  We know we can’t earn our salvation.  Instead we depend on Jesus Christ, the Savior who gave himself for us, to guide us and bring us home.  We don’t view God’s love as a reward, earned only by the few who are worthy.  Instead we hold to First John 1:8 which says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  God’s love comes to the people who need it most.  We’re not good people saving ourselves, we’re God’s people, saved by the cross.

We’ve made some bold claims about God:  that he welcomes us, loves us, saves us, even as mixed up as we are sometimes.  How do we know this?  This message is found in the Bible.  God’s Word is the center of our worship life and faith.  It guides us as we make daily decisions.  It urges us to live different lives than we would have if we were left to our own instincts.  It is God’s gift to the world:  the story of his Son and his salvation.

The central story of the Bible is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  God’s Son lived among us, transforming us in a startling way.  John, Chapter 3 puts it well:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  Jesus redeemed us by becoming one of us, even suffering death so he could break its power.  When death tried to break Jesus as it had broken every other human being, Christ was stronger.  Christ broke death instead and emerged out the other side, living forever.  In doing so Our Lord transformed death into the gateway to new life, turning the moment of our worst loss and fear into our greatest assurance.  Experiencing death in common with us made Jesus our brother.  Overcoming it for our sake made him our Savior.

The Bible tells us Jesus became our Lord, holding power even over death itself.  He became the savior of sinners, redeemer of all of those the world had previously despised.  He became God of the poor, the lame, the blind and maimed, the outcast, the foreigner, people of all genders and races.  He extended his love to all those whom society considered less able and less worthy.  He made clear that God loves all his children.  That’s the message we proclaim today.  God loves us all and everyone we meet!

Just because God loves us all doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels, perfect and satisfied with ourselves.  God didn’t save us just so we could be smug and self-congratulatory.  We still remember how far we have to go before we fully realize God’s gifts to us, how much we have to strive daily to be worthy of the name that God has pinned on us:  “My Child”.  We are always on the move as individuals and as a church:  moving, growing, being refined by God’s spirit at work within and around us.  We’re meant to learn something new about God every day, which means every day gets better and better as our old instincts melt away and God’s new Spirit emerges.

Just like we don’t sit still with our faith, God doesn’t either.  He comes to us daily:  refreshing, inspiring, and strengthening.  One of the most important ways he comes to us is through communion, his body and blood together with bread and wine which we will share together today.  We now join together in prayer and sharing the meal Our Lord has prepared for us.

Having heard the story of God’s love, his salvation for even the poorest and least worthy among us, his invitation to love and live at peace with each other, what is there left but to celebrate?  In the end that’s what we’re here for:  to enjoy God’s gifts, each other, and the wonderful opportunities that the Holy Spirit puts before us every day to love our neighbor, serve each other, and make the world a better place.

Now we come to the end of our worship time together, but the beginning of the great feast of joy that will last our whole lives long and even beyond.  “Come, eat, enjoy!” God says, and we respond with gratitude.  We’re all called to spread this good news, the message of welcome and redemption, hope and love, salvation and transforming grace to the whole world.  Our words, actions, and lives are not just our own.  They belong to God and everyone whom God calls us to serve.  We’ve been called, sanctified, and filled with rejoicing!  Let us go in peace and serve the Lord!!!

Thanks be to God!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Rock and Roll Sunday Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is Rock and Roll Sunday, our big adventure in music and worship!  We'll be outside, so bring lawn chairs if you want.  We'll have a barbecue after, so side dishes would be great too!  Come, enjoy, worship, eat, and bring friends!  It should be a great Sunday for anybody who's not sure what our church is about!

Don't forget the Evangelism Worship following as well.  Those participating in the workshop will grab some food first and workshop right after.

--Pastor Dave

Friday, September 28, 2012

We Pray For...

...Katie Anderson-Nelson and her family this weekend as the Memorial Service for her husband Andrew will be held at the Valley Saturday at 11:00.  Katie is the daughter of Joe and Gayle.  All our prayers, condolences, and support are with them and with Andrew's family as well.

--Pastor Dave

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Welcome Basket Tomorrow!

Don't forget tomorrow is our next Welcome Basket for our new neighbor right down the street!  Bring something homemade if you can so we can welcome new friends!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thursday Evening Sermon: The God of the Cross

Our sermon text last Sunday came from Mark, Chapter 8.


27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainlyabout this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
This whole passage revolves around the question of identity.  Who is Jesus?  How are we to define him?

In the sermon I hearkened back to quests for identity from our own cultural history.  What is the role of women?  How are African-Americans to be perceived?  In general these movements have followed a pattern similar to this gospel.

1.  Someone asks a question, either overtly or by taking an action perceived as being outside one's normal place.  A married woman takes a job.  An African-American woman sits at the front of the bus.  Jesus does all of these amazing things and then asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

2.  Part of society shies away from change.  Another part, though, is open to re-defining roles.  "Some say you are John the Baptist; others Elijah" is, in a way, the rejection of the new in favor of the old.  "You are the Messiah" is the breakthrough for which Jesus has waited, the new and correct identification of him.

3.  Even when we accept change--willingly or grudgingly--we still want to be in control of its definitions.  "Woman's new identity revolves around the workplace.  Stay-at-home moms, what's wrong with you?"  Or, "African-Americans are victims of oppression.  Hey, why aren't you acting like a victim?  Why aren't you grateful that I have sympathy towards you and your plight?"  Thus we get Peter naming Jesus the Messiah but completely rejecting what "Messiah" really means.

4.  Once we've been through all of that junk--usually requiring decades to pass--we come to the conclusion that people get to define themselves.  Women don't have to be homemakers or business go-getters.  They can choose to be either, neither, or both.  Whatever they choose, that's the definition of them! Our job isn't to force them into a box, but to respect their own definition and let it shape us.  African-Americans can rightly point to prejudice in our society.  They can just as rightly point to a heritage of strength and endurance.  Or they can be free to be just as wonderful, awful, productive, selfish, wise, and mixed-up people as the rest of us are.  Each person gets to choose and then educate us about who they are.

See, we had the equation backwards.  We want our definitions to change other people.  Instead other people's definitions of themselves are meant to change us.

This same thing happened to Jesus.  He defined himself here.  He is the Messiah of the Cross.  He is the one who gives himself up completely for others, for the people he loves.  His followers will need a cross also, if they are to understand and emulate him.  They are to give themselves up for their neighbors, even if they suffer for it.  When confronted with choice or crisis their response is to be self-giving love.

Not listening when Jesus says this is the same as not letting one of our fellow human beings define themselves...telling someone they can't have a job because they're a woman or they can't become president because they're African-American.  Except now we're also telling that to God, trying to change him instead of letting him change us.

This is what we do every time we try to define Jesus as any lord but the Lord of the Cross.  The God who makes us right, the God who makes us superior to others, the God who allows us to judge our neighbor, the God of the Correct Church, the God who doesn't care, the God who cares about some folks more than others...all of these are mis-definitions of God.  And every one is a slap in the face to him.

How do you define God?  From where do those definitions come?  Do we define Christ as he defines himself or would we prefer to define him the way we want...the God of Us Alone instead of the God of the Cross?  Are we sure we know what Messiah means?

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Day of Judgment

This question comes from someone outside our church but I thought it might be of interest to all.

Pastor Dave,
I've read and listen to your sermons and thoughts over the last few months and I have a question.  How come you never talk about Judgment Day when we come face to face with God?  Isn't that part of the Bible too?
Yes, it is.  And we have actually delved into it during Bible Studies on Revelation and occasionally as a side topic when studying other books.  But that's the key...you have to put those parts of scripture in context.  That's hard in a forum like this or even in a 12-15 minute sermon.  The problem with concepts like this not that they, themselves are un-scriptural.  Rather people lift them out in such a way that makes the discussion of them un-scriptural, poisoning what was meant to be good by turning it to their own ends.  This has been done so often with the Day of Judgment and other related topics that even mentioning them starts people thinking down paths that are wrong.  The conversation is diverted into yuck before we even start.  The only cure for this is to place the topic where it belongs, in the larger scope of scripture.  While we might mention Judgment Day less often than some churches do I guarantee you we've done more to study the Book of Revelation, and brought more real meaning out of it, than most churches do.

Also, everybody within the sound of my voice, memorize what I'm about to say.  Get your eyes ready.  Read it carefully.  Commit it to heart.

I DO TEACH YOU ABOUT THE DAY OF JUDGMENT WITH EVERY WORD I PREACH.

Are the capital letters enough?  Should I bold and italicize it too?

Understand that on the Day of Judgment you will not be judged on how perfect you are.  Nor will you be judged on whether you adopted the right moral code, had the right beliefs in your head, or went to church "x" number of times out of "y" Sundays in your life.  We all fail on all those accounts.  Nobody is sinless.  Nobody lives up to even the simplest, clearest moral code.  We can't understand it well enough even if it's the right one.  Using church attendance as a barometer of rightness is wrong in so many ways I don't even know how to begin.  It's the wrong verb ("attend"), it's self-serving and presumptuous for the church, it turns God into a bean-counter and salvation into a mathematical equation, it depends on Christ in name only...and that's just the start.

The only thing you will even have a prayer of lifting your head about on that Day of Judgment--THE ONLY THING--will be those times that you loved...no matter how humbly and poorly.  The only currency on that day that matters is LOVE:  God's love for you first, your love for those around you second.

If God does not love you and give you his grace and mercy on that day nothing else you have said, achieved, or believed will matter.

If God asks you a question on that day it will not be "How right were you?" or "How sinless were you?" or "Which church did you go to?"  If there's going to be any question it will be, "[Insert your own name here], did you love as I loved you?"

Now granted, we're going to fall short on that account, as nobody can love as selflessly as God did.  But at least we're playing the right game there, even if the score isn't high enough to win.  All of these other ideas about Judgment Day--basing it one something besides love--are like bringing a baseball bat to a chess match.  Even your best swing is just going to ruin things and hurt people.

Now stop and ask yourself...what do I preach about, talk about, urge you into, bring up in Bible Study, write music about, encourage the kids to do, etc, etc, etc.?  Service, forgiveness, attempting to understand each other, listening to and caring for the people around you all amount to one thing:  love.  I preach this gospel not because I'm all smarmy-lovey but because it's the one Jesus preached.  It's not that hard to understand.  If you just take care of the love part, everything else falls in line.  Loving is the right theology.  Loving is the heart of every moral code.  Loving and being loved should be the two most basic reasons we participate in church.

I would argue strongly that I am giving you the very heart of the matter that will be at stake on Judgment Day every time I open my mouth.  If there's a problem it's that we haven't let go of those bad old understandings of that event...that love doesn't sound important on the day it matters most...that we don't get that the love of Jesus for us and his sacrifice are the only things that give us any prayer of passing beyond that day into heaven.  We want to make even that Ultimate Day about us, about our power, about our achievements and goodness instead of about God and his love for us.  Ironically enough, that's the same sin we've committed from the very start (eating fruit = making everything about us).  We're determined that we will view everything through that lens right up to the very last day of existence, I guess.

I understand this impulse, but that doesn't make it right.  We should probably stop.  We need to stop thinking about the Judgement Day in ways that are going to get us in trouble on Judgment Day.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Prayer Request

We don't normally do prayer requests online for various reasons, but the family specifically asked for your prayers and waiting six days until Sunday doesn't seem right in this case, so here you go.

Many of you know Dorothy and Andy, from our church.  Andy is not doing well and is on comfort care.  Please pray for them and their family.  If you don't know who I'm talking about or have other questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail or call.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Next Two Sundays!

I'm a little pressed for time today so I'm just going to remind you about the highlights of the next two Sundays.

Next Sunday, the 23rd, will be a big Sunday outside of worship.  We're delivering our third Good Neighbor Welcome Basket to neighbors just down the street.  We invite you to bring homemade items for the basket to help us welcome our third new family in the neighborhood!

Next Sunday is also the first Confirmation class of the new year.  Sunday School gets going with their first official lesson of the year.  We could use a couple people to help share stories about their jobs/calling with the kids, so talk to me or a friendly Sunday School teacher if you can assist for a Sunday!

Sunday the 30th is our Rock 'n Roll Sunday!  I think this is going to blow your socks off...or at least get your toes tapping even if they're still covered.  Weather permitting, we'll have service in the courtyard grass between the church and the parsonage so bring lawn chairs.  We're going to barbecue one last time so side dishes would be appreciated.  Most of all the service is going to be full of music talking about our beliefs and who we are as a church.  It will be a great reminder for those of us familiar with our faith and a great chance for newer folks to find out more about our faith story.  (And eat that BBQ!)

Following the big worship-a-palooza we will begin our final session of the Evangelism Workshops we've been running all year.  We'll try to be time-conscious, knowing that some of you will have been here since Sunday School, but we couldn't really push the workshop later in the day or later in the year without losing people.  It's going to be an especially appropriate experience given the energy of the morning.  If you haven't been to an Evangelism Workshop yet, do come.

We'll look forward to these and plenty other exciting Sundays to come!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

P.S.  We're looking for people to help plan Advent worship this year.  That begins in December but we want to start planning early.  Talk to me or Phyllis Kanikkeberg if you can help.

P.P.S.  Youth Girls Campout at Phyllis' on September 29th beginning at 7:00 p.m.!


Thursday, September 13, 2012

Monday Morning Sermon (Part 3) Why Did Jesus Say That?

Our week-long look at last Sunday's texts continues with a peek at the gospel, Mark 7: 24-37.


24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
The most striking (shocking?) part of this text comes in the first healing story, where Jesus appears to put a woman through the wringer before healing her daughter.  We expect a lot of things to come out of the mouth of the Savior, but, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs" isn't one of them!  Is Jesus being mean here?  Our Jesus?

I suppose we could attempt to soften the blow of the words.  We could talk about dogs still being members of the household.  We could skip to the eventual healing right away and ignore the statement altogether.  Either approach would be an injustice or worse, seem like permission.  As long as we perceive ourselves bringing good--or bringing God--to someone we have license to say whatever we wish?  Some Christians have adopted that very philosophy and caused much damage thereby.  "Turn to Christ, you stupid, ignorant heathen!"  Which weighs more in that statement, Christ or the insults?

We need to give full gravity to the harshness of these words.  We also need to admit that there are some things that God can say that we cannot.  That rankles us with our old impulses to become God ourselves.  One of the problems with that attempt at equality is that we tend to regard "harsh" and "powerful" as the same thing.  "You're a dog!" seems like a more powerful and direct statement than "Love your neighbor".  Even though Jesus says the latter (in one way or another) 60,000 times in the gospels and the former only once, we seize on the most powerful statement we can find when we try to assume the role of God, the better to prove our power.  "Being God" doesn't mean loving your neighbor, it means the freedom to call your neighbor a dog with impunity.  This isn't what Christ showed us about God, no matter what this statement appears to say.

So once again...why this statement to a poor, needy woman?

For the last couple of days here we've talked about faith being a relationship.  We've also talked about faith and works being bound together.  When you try to separate one from the other you end up with neither.

The woman in this gospel was a Greek, living near the city of Tyre, born in Syrian Phoenicia.  Forget the intricacies of geography...here's what's important about that:  this woman would have had no clue who Jesus was outside of rumor.  She had no cultural, social, or religious relationship with him, with the scriptures which framed his ministry, with the God he embodied.  All she knew was a travelling healer coming through town.  She was desperate enough to try him out, for the sake of her daughter.

Had Jesus simply healed the woman's daughter without comment, that's all she ever would have known.  Granted, she would have understood his effectiveness.  "He was a great guy," she would have said, "His stuff really worked!"  But where would that have left her and her daughter?  They still wouldn't have known who Jesus was, nor God.  They still would have had no relationship.  They would have experienced a great work completely absent of the context of faith.  Even that work, as great as it was, would prove temporary.  The woman's daughter went on with her life, grew up, lived, and then died.  Without some greater sense of faith and its meaning, that's all there is to the story.  The woman and child were just like billions of others who have lived on the planet.  So what?

As odd as it seems, Jesus' statement about dogs and table scraps put this whole story into a faith context.

Here's another thing you should know about that statement:  though it's shocking to us, Jesus' Jewish followers wouldn't have blinked an eye at it.  That's generally what they thought!  They were God's chosen people.  Everybody else was not as favored.  (Lest you think this is confined to ancient Jews, consider how many Christian churches today preach that same message, just swapping in Christ.)  If anything, their reaction to Jesus' utterance here would have been, "It's about time!  And can we get back to decent lands now?"

It's doubtful that the woman would have been surprised by the statement either.  Most cultures were at least mildly xenophobic back then.  If she knew anything about Jews she would have known she was not like them.  Her people considered them lowly, they considered her lowly in return.

The real surprise here comes in her response.  She doesn't deny the charges.  She doesn't get angry.  She doesn't protect herself or shy away from the accusation.  Her eyes remain focused on the real issue:  not her, but her daughter.  Her love for her daughter trumps everything.  The need for her daughter to be healed--another's need rather than just her own--remains paramount.

Jesus' statement about dogs questioned this woman's identity.  In essence he said to her, "These men all say you're a dog.  Culture says you're a dog.  Society says you're a dog.  I've just compared you to a dog.  Who are you?"  Her answer?  "I am the one who cares about somebody besides myself.  It doesn't matter who I am.  There's a child in need.  I am the one who names you as the one who can help.  Whatever you need to say or think or call me in order to help this child...do it."

I'm surprised that Jesus wasn't in tears as he told her that her daughter was healed.  And it's no accident that he said, "For such a [faithful] reply" your daughter is healed.  Between the two of them they had redefined what faith and rightness mean.  Faith and right are not about culture, gender, society, religious rules.  Those aren't sufficient to describe our relationship with God.  Faith is about saying exactly what the woman said, "Whatever goodness exists, God, you are the source.  Whatever happens to me, bless my neighbor with that goodness."  Those two statements describe our relationship with God and the relationship he wants us to have with the world.  The blessing, healing, and good work will naturally follow.

It's important to understand that Jesus' statement didn't end up burying this woman, but revealed how amazing she actually was.  This woman with no clue and no prior relationship with God, bearing only her need and her love, taught every one of us the real meaning of faith.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Monday Morning Sermon (Part 2) Faith and Works

Our look at last Sunday's texts continues today.  In case you forgot from yesterday, James 2 provided fodder for the sermon:


2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
The most famous part of James' assertion here is that "faith not accompanied by action is dead".  Along with the question in verse 14, "Can such faith save them?" (some translations leaving out the word "such") this drove Martin Luther crazy.  Luther rightly asserted that faith is the only thing that saves.  We cannot be saved by our good works.  If that were possible, why would Jesus have needed to die on the cross for us?  We just would have worked our way into heaven.  God saves.  People don't.  So Luther looked at James and said, "Bzzzt!  Try again."

(Side Note:  This shows that, modern arguments from certain corners aside, not even Luther felt that all words in scripture weighed exactly the same.  You can't dismiss any of them.  They all have meaning and importance.  But some influence us more than others.  That's built into the system, as is debate about how central each text should be.)

While Luther was correct and James' wording was perhaps a bit...inelegant, James does have a point here.  The danger of the true statement "faith alone saves" is that if you misidentify what "faith" is, you have no corrective.  You're up the creek.

Sadly many of us continue to misidentify what faith is.

Remember how we just discussed our objectification of sin and the Law--making both into objects that we tote around with us and bring out when convenient--and how that leads us astray?  We do the same thing with faith.  We say faith is a "thing" that we "have" or a belief that we "hold".  We consider faith an ingredient in the overall recipe of our lives, like a teaspoon of baking soda going in with the flour of our work, home life,  and recreation.  This leads us astray.

Holding this definition of faith, when we hear "faith alone saves" our response becomes, "OK.  I've got it!"  We figure we're good there.  As long as we keep going to church and believing the right way, we're taken care of.

But look!  Now we're not talking about faith anymore.  We're back to works.  "Going to church" and "believing the right way" are things that we do, choices we make.  Making faith a passive object in our active life reduces it, kills it even.

This is exactly where you get the modern church-goers who are so proud of themselves that they go to the "right" church and made the "right" decisions and whose primary concern in regard to Christianity is to go around trying to ascertain whether everybody else has done so as well.  "Knock. Knock. Knock.  Have you accepted the Lord Jesus into your life?"  (As if the person who "accepted Jesus" now carries him around in their pocket.  He's on the porch but not in the house.)  People run from that kind of Christianity the same way they run from church folks who say that being rich gets you into heaven.  And they should run!  Attendance and saying you believe the right thing have replaced cash but the system is still just as backwards and unfaithful.

Like the Law, like sin, faith is a relationship.  It's not an object that you--"you" being separate from faith--wear like a badge, carry in your pocket, or form in your head.  It's not an ingredient alongside all the other things in life, it is life.  Or rather life apart from faith is temporary, transient, quickly on its way to death.  Faith doesn't sit alongside life.  Faith transforms what was once dead into life.

When you understand faith as an active relationship, permeating everything, this question of "faith without works" becomes silly.  They become one and the same.  Every work becomes a work of faith.  Every understanding of faith affects your life and the way you do things. They're two sides of the same coin.  You can't have one without the other.  If you can even imagine faith without it affecting how you do things then what you're imagining isn't faith.

This is exactly what James is saying.  He's not arguing that works are superior to faith.  He's arguing that without works, you don't have faith in the first place.  The works may not be grand.  We may be talking about feeding your kids boxed macaroni and cheese here, or reaching out to take someone's hand from the hospital bed in which you are confined, or simply smiling when you say, "Hello" to a stranger.  But big or small, unless your faith propels you to care about the world and your neighbor, what good is it?

If faith is just about us--our thoughts and beliefs, our comfort, our salvation--then it's ultimately a selfish endeavor.  Know this:  The opposite of faith isn't unbelief.  The opposite of faith is selfishness.   When you throw that kind of selfishness into the mix, "faith alone saves" becomes a poisonous statement...not because the statement is wrong, but because faith is mis-defined.  The only way to make sure the definition is going well is to make sure your faith lives and breathes for others, that it leads you into loving your neighbor as yourself, and that you're following it.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Monday Morning Sermon (Part 1)

Last Sunday's bulletin was full of juicy, interesting scripture so we're going to take a detour this week.  Instead of a Monday sermon recap plus a bunch of other posts, we're going to spend a few days looking at the more thought-provoking parts of all our Sunday readings.  It's like a pastor's dream...a sermon that lasts all week!

We'll begin with the text upon which the sermon was based, James 2: 1-17.


2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

On Sunday we talked about the whole faith and works thing.  We'll get to that another day.  The other sermon I wanted to preach was on the paragraph from verses 8-13.  James makes a bold claim:  if you break one part of the Law you've broken it all.  I've talked about similar things using the same commandment he cites, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  But James takes it even further in verse 11 by pointing to the great Law-Giver.  The same One who said one part of the Law also said the other.  To go against his word in one way is the same as going against it in the other.

In one swoop James personalizes all of the Law and Scripture.  This is a brilliant corrective to the bugaboo we've been talking about for the last couple weeks:  objectifying (and thus depersonalizing and distancing) our faith.

As with sin two Sundays ago, as with faith last Sunday, we fall into the trap of thinking about offenses against the Law as things unto themselves.  "I committed this sin but I did not commit that one.  That sin is bigger or worse than the one I committed.  Therefore that person is a bigger sinner than I."  Offenses are described as detached objects with their own distinct mass.  They can be picked up and put down at will.  The implied goal:  don't pick up anything too heavy and you'll be OK.  It's all up to you!  The Law, then, is just a list of tables, delineating the offenses and how much they each weigh.

This loophole allows all kinds of nastiness to enter into our lives of faith.  This is exactly where the, "Oh yes, we're all sinners BUT..." mindset comes from.  That statement is inevitably followed by finger pointing at some person (or group of people) who are then ostracized from God's family by virtue of their terrible transgressions.  We'd never be so crass as to claim we're sinless.  We know God wouldn't like that.  So we allow ourselves a little sin while reserving the right to condemn our neighbors for their much greater ones.

James says, "Nuh-uh".  Sin isn't a detached object that can be weighed and measured.  Sin is a transgression against a person...God and the neighbor whom God loves.  Saying, "At least I didn't commit that sin" is the same as kicking your mom in the left shin and then saying, "At least I didn't kick you in the right one!  Or slap you!  Or pull your hair!  Remember Jimmy pulled your hair last week?  Don't you hate him worse?"  This makes no sense.  You hurt somebody.  You violated the trust of that relationship.  That's the point, not how you did it.

Personalizing the Law makes everything come crystal clear.  We're not spiritual accountants, doing the books.  We're in a living, breathing relationship with God and with our neighbors.  We have to tend to that relationship every day.  The Law tells us how to love God and how to care for the people whom God loves. He loves them so dearly that hurting even the least of them is the same as hurting him.  Understanding this is far different than understanding the Law as a choice between big and little sins, trying to figure out what we can get away with and who did worse or better than somebody else.  The latter way of thinking is self-centered, the former focused on caring for others.  The latter way puts you in the position of judging sins and everyone who commits them.  The former puts you in service to God and everyone around you.  They're opposite ways of thinking and cannot co-exist.

We say glibly, almost as a matter of rote, "We're in relationship with God."  It's an article of faith, one of those things that you say and then go, "Yeah, yeah, so let's get on to the important stuff."  We need to stop right there.  That IS the important stuff.  It's a real relationship.  Unless we start out seeing it as such we'll never understand the things we're trying to get on to.  That all of us have heard (and some have said) things like, "My sin is little and theirs is bigger" only shows how easy it is to forget the most basic, important things as we rush to justify ourselves and our own prerogatives.

I wonder who we think we're fooling?  You can almost see God standing there, waiting until our little speech runs down so he can tap us on the shoulder and say, "Pssst.  I'm still here.  Shall we talk about that shin-kicking incident now or do you want to justify it some more at the expense of your neighbor?"  Any other response besides, "I'm sorry" and then starting to tend to that relationship more faithfully is only more foolishness.

I pray you have wisdom and that all the people of faith around you will as well.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Reminder: St. John's Clean Up

Just a reminder that we've posted the clean-up list for St. Johns:  upstairs, downstairs, outside.  It's on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall.  We've love it if everybody would stop by for an hour or so sometime between now and the 15th to help ready the church for our return on the 16th.  Possible contributions include:

Fellowship Hall

  • Vacuum before setting up tables
  • Set up tables and chairs
  • Dust
  • Clean windows and windowsills
Sunday School Rooms

  • Move furniture and vacuum
  • Clean windows and windowsills
Entry Hall

  • Sweep and mop floor
  • Clean doors
  • Clean windows and windowsills
  • Dust and organize cabinet
Fellowship Hall

  • Mop floor
  • Oil pews
  • Clean windows and windowsills
  • Organize children's supplies, pens, hymnals
Outside

  • Weed front shrubbery
  • Weed window wells
  • Clean outside of windows
  • Sweep and clean steps and handrails
You get the idea.  There's more to do...it's all listed.  No single part is hard.  Everything is broken down into tasks that shouldn't take more than an hour at the longest, though a couple might require a friend to meet that hour deadline.  If only one or two people have to do it, though, this would be a near-impossible chore.  Come and help out if you can so we can be ready for worship, Sunday School, Bible Study, youth events, and all the other things we're doing this fall!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Whatever Happened to Black and White?

Yesterday's sermon got a quick response from a reader outside our congregation.  Distilled, it said this (more or less):

"I understand where you're coming from, but what happened to black and white, good and evil?  I miss the days when God was about the rules and you followed them.  I'm tired of having to think so hard about something that should be easy."

Hey, I empathize.  You've just described my life in a nutshell:  think about everything, be concerned about everyone, every day.  After a while you just get tired!

I would also hasten to add that nothing has happened to good and evil.  There's still a huge difference between the two.  They haven't mixed, nor are they interchangeable.  Say rather that we've learned not to trust our own perceptions of good and evil, our own ability to judge.

Back in the day when communities--particularly church communities--were homogeneous we didn't have to stretch our perception very far.  Whatever looked normal (meaning "like us") was good.  Anything that stuck out or threatened that normality was evil.  Our communities are far more diverse now.  "Normal" is a relative, and in some ways dangerous, term.  With all the variety of people coming in and out of our lives now we can no longer depend on the old perceptions.  Sometimes what's different (meaning "not like us") is good!  That doesn't mean evil is good.  It means good was bigger than we once understood when our world was smaller.   Trying to go back to the older, simpler way not only denies the changes in our environment but shuts out people who need to hear God's message.  That we cannot do.

The price of making sure we're not shutting people out is simple:  we have to work harder.  We need to listen, discern, study scripture, figure out how new stimuli and the word of God meet.  As I just mentioned, this is a pain.  It's often exhausting.  It would be much easier to say, "Let's just not deal with this."  In a way that's what "black and white" means:  no thought, no change, no exceptions.  Wishing for black and white is the same as wishing we didn't have to do so much spiritual work.

But if we do not do this work, who will?  If we do not reach out, make ourselves open, accept the challenge of this new type of community then we'll find God's Spirit lacking among us.  Nobody's going to do this work for us.  No self-help book, no judge or TV talk show host, no old piece of advice from mom can bail us out of it.  God has sent these things our way.  We can't undo that.  Our only choice is to do the work or quit.  And if we quit, I assume God will find someone else--someone more faithful--to do it.

It's funny...every time we hear stories of saints dying for the cause, people in foreign lands being persecuted for the faith, people risking their lives to help others in need, we always wonder if we'd have the courage to do it.  We imagine ourselves put in the spot of being the Hero.  We ask if we could give up our life for God.  Fear rises inside us, to be sure, but in our secret heart of hearts we'd like to imagine the answer is "yes, I would".

The thing is, very few of us are called to give up our lives in that particular way.  Instead God gives us our daily life, things to enjoy, beautiful and enriching experiences.  He also asks us to do a little work in the midst of these wonderful lives...exactly the work we're talking about.  "As you go about your daily tasks," he says, "pay attention to your neighbor instead of dismissing them.  Welcome them instead of turning them away.  Make an effort to understand them and their perception of me so that your own perception of me can grow. Share with others this goodness I've given you so that more people can know it."  None of that happens when we quit, when we paint the world black and white and decide who's in and who's out.  How in the world could we imagine being heroes if we can't even do the simplest work of faith?

In the end, saying, "I think it's all black and white" is the same as saying, "I don't intend to spend any time thinking about anything or anyone else today.  My judgment is the only thing I need."  You can then hear the words of scripture pealing down upon you.  "The greatest commandment is this:  that you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself."

We haven't moved to a more nuanced view of the world because we're nice, nor mushy and wishy-washy, nor liberal.  We've moved to a more nuanced view of the world because scripture calls us to do just that and in the end we trust scripture more than we trust our own opinions, perceptions, culture, or traditions.  We don't move away from the Bible as we do so.  We stand right in the heart of it.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)  

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Monday Morning Sermon: The Sin From Within

OK, it's Tuesday afternoon and not Monday morning, but you get the idea.  This week's gospel came from Mark, Chapter 7:

 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
The most interesting part of this text is the definition Jesus provides for sin.  It turns our usual way of thinking on its ear.

Christians have tended to define sin as a "thing", an external entity.  Dancing is a sin.  Playing cards is a sin.  Drinking, talking to a divorced woman, using the internet...the list goes on.  Some infractions are greater, some are lesser, but all are objectified.  The key to avoiding sin in this scenario is to stay away from the contaminating objects.  Don't dance, avoid the computer, cross to the other side of the street when the divorced woman comes your way.  As long as you don't touch the offensive material you will remain clean.

This definition is convenient for us in many ways.  It's simple.  It allows us to define ourselves as inherently not sinful.  It allows us to paint the world black and white, sinful or good.  It also allows us to judge others in a snap.  That person dances.  Those two are living together but aren't married.  This guy is a communist.  In an instant we can tell good people from bad, separate ourselves from the bad ones, and create a community convenient to us and acceptable to God.

Except that it's not acceptable to God.

The Pharisees employed just this definition of sin when they called Jesus' followers to task.  "Why are your disciples eating with defiled hands?"  Contamination was all around.  Evil abounded.  Why weren't the disciples engaging in the holy rituals which would push away the sin and keep them clean?  They must be evil people, having let sin into their lives so easily!

Jesus replied that the only sin that mattered was the one the Pharisees themselves were engaging in:  judging, condemning, pushing away God's people with their bigoted accusations.  When you use the word of God to divide people from people, attacking those who are not you, you have heard it but it is far from your heart.  True sin comes from within:  the self-centered misuse of God's good gifts to promote greed, deceit, envy, arrogance, and folly.  Sin isn't an external contaminate.  The potential (and really, the reality) of sin is with us, inside us every day.

Put another way, every time we say, "They're the sinners!" we prove that we are the sinners.

Almost nothing in life is inherently "sinful".  Things can be used to promote life, health, togetherness or they can be misused to advance selfishness, division, and death.  The classic example is the very first.  Confirmation students often ask me, "If God didn't want there to be evil, why did he put that tree in the garden?  Didn't he create evil then?"  The answer is no!  There wasn't anything wrong with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in itself.  It was perfectly fine, sitting there and fulfilling its purpose.  When Adam and Eve took the fruit and used it to replace God--attempting to become gods themselves--that's where the evil came in.

Dancing isn't bad.  How, when, and why you dance can be good or bad.  Alcohol can be good in some situations, bad in others.  The internet works for good and ill.  The list goes on.  How you use something--not just your intention but how it affects the world and the people around you--determines how sinful or holy it is.  This is true from the lowliest pebble on the ground to the word of God itself, as we see in this passage.  Good things used bad ways (like God's word used to divide and hurt) become bad.  "Bad" things used good ways (like our fermented beverages at Theology on Tap) become good.

This answers a whole host of thorny questions.  How can we offer a beer to a 44 year old but tell the 14 year old not to do that?  Is beer bad or good?  Aren't you being hypocritical?  No...in the first situation (absent mitigating factors) it's fine.  In the second it's harmful.  Granted it's hard to imagine using some things in a helpful manner no matter what the environment.  Illegal drugs come to mind.  In those cases a shorthand, blanket "no" is probably acceptable.  But the "no" comes from having examined all the possibilities and saying, "I don't see how this helps," not from looking at a substance and saying, "Bad!  Bad thing!  Which of you sinners touched this?"

Understanding this gospel forces us to consider people and situations instead of objectifying the world and making isolated, snap judgments about everyone and everything.  We're not free to point fingers at our neighbor.  We may decide that what they did was wrong but we have to be able to show how and why based on the negativity it brought into the world and not just our own culture, tradition, or opinion.  Sometimes we have to admit that what they did was right or helpful, at least in their case.  Either way the question of sin brings us closer to understanding our fellow human beings instead of driving us away from each other.

We're also called upon to examine our own sins more thoroughly, which includes admitting that we actually engage in them every day.  Eating a banana is not a sin.  Buying a banana that was picked by a third-world worker earning a starvation-level wage forced to live in a company camp where the only outlets are drug use and the prostitution of young women may be a sin.  How do we know?  Part of it is being more aware of the things we do.  But the other part is admitting we don't know and can't catch every sin...that we commit plenty without intention.  When we realize this--that we may have committed six sins just starting our car and driving to work today--we begin to have more empathy for our fellow sinners instead of of condemning them  offhand.  We also begin to realize the magnitude and importance of God's love for us, his patience, his forgiveness, and how miraculous it is that he claims us and saves us despite all of this.

That's a lesson worth learning.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Two (and a half) Things You Should Know

We've talked a little bit about events coming up in the next month or so.  I want to remind you of one, the last and final Evangelism Workshop for the year.  We'll hold it on September 30th and October 14th following worship.  If you haven't been to one yet, you're going to be light years ahead in understanding our church and its mission when you come.  Evangelism isn't what we think it is.  In fact most of what people have been told about evangelism is backwards.  This is a huge part of the reason we don't do it well.  That's a serious flaw in our lives of faith.  This workshop alone won't correct that but it will provide a start in a new direction.  That's going to become important to us as we move forward through the next year.  So please make your plans to participate.

After the rush of the early fall schedule clears we're going to hold two other slightly more voluntary but just as important courses:

Basics of the Bible

We talk about the Bible plenty and most folks are aware of the major story and themes but many don't know how the Bible fits together, where it came from, why it's central to our life of faith.  This course will look at the various parts of the Bible, their origins, how they fit together into the whole, and how they inform us today.  We're not going to study individual books as much as the flow of the story and its history.

Basics of Lutheranism

This will do the same thing for our denominational history.  We'll talk about Martin Luther, see how the Reformation came about, talk about the radical changes it gave birth to, and look at how its tenets continue today through our church (or sometimes not).  This won't just be a dry history but a look at the origins of many of the things we believe, discussion about the ways our belief has evolved, and a look at the church today and how it's similar or different.

Having been through multiple Bible Studies and a bunch of Theology on Tap meetings, I perceive people crying out for some of these things.  Or if they aren't crying out for them, maybe they should be.  These won't be the typical "here's what you have to believe, now hush up and toe the line" attempts at teaching theology.  Rather they'll be a chance to find common ground and identify which things in our faith life are central and which are more peripheral and malleable.

The phrases that get tossed around over and over again are:

"This is what the Bible says..."  And...

"Lutherans think this!  (Or at least that's what somebody said to me 20 years ago, I think.)"

As it turns out, at least half of the phrases that follow those assertions are, if not strictly untrue, at least pretty far out there.  Coming back to center and orienting ourselves will at least give us a chance to chart our journey instead of walking willy-nilly based on rumor and guesses.  These courses will be a chance to understand ourselves, our church, and our faith life better.

We will probably offer these in multiple years so everybody eventually has a chance to participate in one or both, but I'd love to see a strong showing early to indicate there's interest.  We'll try to schedule them conveniently.  Take advantage of them when they come around!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Lessons from Our First Youth Event

Our new (formal) Youth Event season kicked off Monday night with a well-attended viewing of the movie "The Hunger Games" which just came out on DVD.  Based on the book of the same name, it tells the story of two teenagers whose government and society force them to participate in a brutal spectacle pitting them against other teenagers from around the land.  All of the young folks, two from each "district" of the country, must fight in an expansive, scenic arena until only one emerges alive and victorious to be feted with riches beyond imagination.  This event is shown on TV for the amusement (and rooting interest) of all.  Our two heroes are forced to put on a show, faking a romantic storyline with each other, pretending they're thrilled with the chance to participate, demonstrating that they're not only willing to do away with their opponents, but that they're good at it.  If they don't play along they'll get no "sponsors" and not get the crucial aid they'll need to survive the ordeal.  At the same time they struggle with their own integrity:  the desire to be good versus the need to stay alive, the difficulty in keeping one's own identity when battling against a corrupt culture.

Like the books, this movie brought up multiple discussion points.  For purposes of this sitting, we focused heavily on two:

1.  Today's young generation lives in a world where if it doesn't happen on video, it's not real.  Between TV, YouTube, Facebook, phone cameras, webcams...every important moment is ripe for recording and broadcast.  There's a temptation, then, to swallow everything one sees on video as real.  The movie showed how unreal most of these situations are.  Our characters were forced to pretend the entire time they were on camera.  They were primped, trained, threatened, bribed...everything was directed towards showing the story the culture wanted told rather than the real feelings of these two people.  How similar is that to 99% of the things we see on TV today, especially "reality" TV?  In most ways if it happens on video it's not real.  Many of these people putting themselves out there for public consumption are doing just what all the youth in the arena had to do:  making up a pretend person to show to the world in order to put food on the table, stay alive, or gain fame.  That's not reality.  Or if it is reality, we're all in trouble.

2.  One of the enduring themes of the books and the movie is that even though our main characters find a way to keep/salvage some integrity, fighting back against the system to change it, they, personally, are never the same again after having witnessed the horror and violence that their culture has set up for them.  In some ways it takes them years to recover.  In other ways they never do.  Our young people today have the capability of witnessing almost anything with the click of a mouse button.  The best of human achievement is open to their Googling, but the worst is too.  No generation before them has had access to the kind of information and imagery that they have, for good and bad.  Our parents and society kept away harmful images and information during our formative years.  You had to actually go out and get/buy a magazine or movie to see shocking things.  These were usually protected, kept away from minors.  Not so today.  All of it comes right into your house.

This means that our young folks have a special responsibility to guard what they see.  They need a discipline beyond that which our upbringing required.  They need the ability to say, "No...I do not wish to see this, at least not right now."  No matter how much our culture dangles in front of them, they need to understand that society is more interested in selling them something than protecting them from anything.  They need the same kind of integrity our main characters had, to not go along blindly into things beyond their capacity to control.  Once seen, an image can't be unseen.  It'll follow you the rest of your life.  Those of us who are older have built up some resistance.  The cement of our brains has hardened to an extent.  Much of the harm of all but the most grotesque images bounces off.  But when you're young that cement is still wet.  The wrong image at the wrong time can leave an imprint that hardens into permanence, just like the hand print on the sidewalk.  It's OK to say no to some experiences for now, to stay out of the arena until you're sure you want to enter and you're sure you can handle it.  Just because something exists doesn't mean it's right for you.

We'll have more youth events in the coming months.  Hope to see all of you young-type folks there!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Things You Need to Know!

Instead of writing the church blog last night I attended the Parsonage Movie Premier of "The Hunger Games".  The event was well-attended and the movie was well-discussed.  We'll get to all that tomorrow.  Today some important announcements.

1.  Remember we still worship at the Valley for the next two Sundays.  We won't move to St. John's this year until the 16th of September.  Worship remains at 9:30 as long as we're at the Valley.

2.  On September 16th worship returns to St. John's.  This marks our Rally Sunday for Sunday School, beginning at 9:00 a.m.  Worship moves to 10:00 a.m. as soon as we return to St. John's.

3.  Next week, following Labor Day, is our St. John's clean-up week.  We need several things done inside and outside of the church.  Please take a little while to stop by with family or friends and spend a little time sprucing up the church in preparation for fall.  You don't have to spend multiple hours.  Just bring a couple friends and help out a little.  Lists of possible clean-up items will be posted at St. John's after next Sunday.

4.  Speaking of next Sunday, it's Labor Day weekend but we do have a nifty surprise in store for those who come!

5.  Confirmation classes will commence on September 23rd following worship.  Anyone interested in joining this year's confirmation class can talk to me.

6.  Our last and final Evangelism Workshop will be held after worship on September 30th and October 14th.  If you haven't yet participated in an Evangelism Workshop you'll want to be at this one.

7.  Our first Theology on Tap of the new year will be held on Saturday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m.  Place is to be determined.  Let me know if you'd like to host!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sermon Question: Good and Right

A question from one of our parishioners:

Pastor Dave,
In today's sermon you said that part of committing to God's call is committing to goodness, being married to it even.  I understand what you're saying but part of me also asks how this is possible.  I want to be committed to goodness in everything I do but I don't seem to be able to achieve that!  I make mistakes.  Sometimes it seems like nothing is right.  I suppose I'm saying that if I'm married to goodness I'm a bad spouse because I keep stepping out! How do I make this marriage work?

Great observation!  The easy answer is, "That's what forgiveness is for."  We need it in our marriage to goodness just as much as we need it in our earthly marriages and other relationships.  Nobody can be around another person for any length of time without forgiveness.  Fortunately God has an infinite supply.

I suppose we could leave it at that, save for your last question.  Saying, "God will forgive you, just keep trying" is true but it doesn't make a strong basis for feeling committed to something.  My gut tells me we need to add to the story a little by exploring the odd difference between "good" and "right".

In an ideal world--and frankly in the theological world as well--the terms "good" and "right" are interchangeable.  What's good is right and what's right is good.  End of story.

Unfortunately daily life tends to muddy our definitions.  How often do you really get to make a "right" choice?  I don't mean a choice that seems good in the moment or that addresses a certain situation, but a choice that's 100%, without exception or argument, right?  Chances are the answer is, "Almost never."  If you think you make the 100% right choices all the time then you need to get yourself a teenager.  Within 48 hours you will be informed how not-100%-right your choices actually are!

In real life few, if any, choices are absolutely right.  They all depend on context, opinions, culture, goals.  Even when all those things align your choice still only ends up right for you and people who feel/think/believe/grew up like you.  Let a stranger come into your midst and your "right" goes right out the window.  And this isn't even counting all the times when the "right" choice is simply the lesser of two evils.  *cough* *cough* election year *cough*

But as counter-intuitive as it seems to our pristine, theological minds, a choice can contain 100% goodness (in certain ways) even when it's not 100% right.

Let me give you an example.

Right after my parents divorced my sister and I spent hefty amounts of time in a new situation:  living in a house with my dad as the sole parent without the influence of mom.  As you may expect, some things changed.  Among the most prominent of those was dessert.  Heretofore portions of dessert had been strictly rationed.  That was the sensible-mom, child-rearing thing to do.  Now here comes dad, completely mom-free.  "You guys want some ice cream?"  Two heads nod.  Out comes a ginormous spoon and three ginormous bowls.  The spoon dips into the carton once, twice, thrice for each bowl.  My sister and I are now holding the Machu Picchu of ice cream in our little hands.  With huge, incredulous smiles we devour the wondrous bounty.  It was amazing.

Now, was this right?  Probably not.  Even if you discount the dubious nutritional content of those enormous bowls for pre-teen children you're left with one middle-aged pastor who to this day has inordinate affection for large bowls of ice cream and the comfort they bring.  This was not a sustainable, healthy pattern of eating for then or the years that followed!

But you know what?  For two little kids now living in a recently-broken family, emotionally adrift, with precious little to reassure them--kids who privately wondered every day whether anything would be safe or comforting again--this was good.  Oh yeah, this was 100% good, even though by many measures it was also wrong.  To this day I cannot imagine what life would have been like without those large bowls of ice cream.

Being married to goodness doesn't mean that you're going to do everything 100% right.  Rather it means that in everything you do, you can find goodness.  That goodness is what causes you to make the decisions you do, right or wrong though they may be.  And that goodness isn't just about you and your own needs, but also about the needs of those around you.  You focus on the goodness rather than how right or wrong you are.  As you begin to see the goodness in your (admittedly faulty) decisions your eyes also open to the goodness in other people's decisions...even those decisions which seem wrong by your internal measuring stick.  This brings you closer together with those around you and allows that ever-necessary forgiveness to flow more freely.

Being right is a fool's task that, even when successful, ultimately drives people apart.  The effort spent in being good, however, is never wasted.

I have been asked to my face before--several times--whether I think some of my decisions are right...by Scripture, morality, by our cultural norms, by church tradition.  I'm always a little at a loss there.  Who can ever guarantee that any decision is the right one even by one's own standards, let alone by those lofty measures?  I can't tell you with certainty that my decisions and interpretations are right, especially by Scriptural standards.  But I can tell you that they are good and I can point to that goodness in the lives of others.  It may be in a particular way.  It may be through an avenue or person that you don't like.  It may only get acknowledged by a simple smile, a momentary widening of eyes, or puzzlement because the recipient expected a different response from a "church guy".  But it's there.  I can see that goodness and I can commit to serving my neighbor by upholding it.  And really, what more could be asked?

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)