Theology on Tap will be held at Phyllis' house this month. She lives just north of the Valley Church on Eikum Road.
We've had 2-3 people note that the regularly-scheduled night would fall at the end of Spring Break. In deference to vacationing folks, we're moving it back one Saturday. April 13th will be our date. We'll see you there!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The Biggest Reminder From Jesus' Death
Yesterday I wrote a length post about the necessity of Jesus dying on the cross...why he did it and what it showed about God's relationship with us. You'll need to read that post in order to understand this one, in which we talk about the significance of Jesus dying to our daily life.
Jesus' death on the cross settles the argument about faith revolving around righteousness or love. This debate has been going on for centuries. Some folks say we get to heaven based on our righteousness...how good we are. The cross disallows this way of thinking, making it nonsensical. If we were capable of being righteous (making heaven's population more than zero) Jesus would not have needed to die for us. He could have just joined the righteous people in heaven and let the rest pass away into death/nothingness/whatever. Jesus died on the cross, and that death had meaning, because nobody was righteous but him. It was an act of pure and profound love, God's love for us. That shows us the nature of our salvation.
Again, clearly and simply: Salvation and faith revolve around God's love for us, not our righteousness for him. The first is infinite and all-powerful. The second doesn't even exist, at least not in a pure enough form to get us into heaven.
Every time we start to talk about our own righteousness as the basis for our relationship with God we head down the wrong path. Every time we look at scripture and judge that we have fulfilled it, every time we judge that our neighbors have not, we deny Jesus Christ and the need for his act of salvation on the cross. We can call ourselves Christians as we do so. We can quote chapter and verse to justify it. That does not make it true. You cannot use God's words to deny God and still claim to be serving him.
Many people who call themselves Christians are actually anti-Christian in this way. As we discussed yesterday, the whole point of Jesus' life and death on the cross is love. Yet it's the one thing that eludes them.
The judgment seems more powerful to us. It seems powerful in the instinctive sense that young boys have when they think knocking something down is more powerful than building it up. (Some parts of us never grow up.) It also seems powerful to us culturally. We respect those who can enforce their own will, get their voice heard loudest. Judgment is far easier to shout, and is a far quicker message to deliver, than love. Judgment also appeals to our traditional American "church-y" culture. We've been so beaten down that it doesn't feel like "real" church unless somebody's getting yelled at or preached against. We've grown up in a church culture of fear and now fear feels like the only really Godly thing to us.
Someone once said to me, "You've taught me a lot about God's love..." The "..." at the end of that sentence represents how it trailed off into an implication that there was something more, something greater that I wasn't teaching. Like judgment was the secret, powerful reality of God that nobody has the guts to take a stand on anymore.
Garbage.
Judgment is the convenient, weak, and self-serving subversion of God's message. Judgment is your repetition of the very first sin, putting yourself in God's place and denying your need for him too.
Any sense of righteousness and temptation to judgment that you've ever had should have disappeared the moment you saw it getting nailed up there on the cross with Jesus. The only way you can continue judging is to ignore the cross (and thus Christ) completely or to look at it and say, "It's not for me."
Righteousness does exist, but it's not our righteousness before God...as if we were choosing the right way when everybody else isn't. The only true righteousness is God's, shown through his sacrificial love on the cross for all of us. That righteousness cannot be bought or earned. The only way to understand it is to follow in God's footsteps, loving our neighbors just as much as Jesus loved them in that moment when he gave his life for them on the cross.
Judgment also exists, but it's God's judgment. We have all been found guilty. That's why Jesus had to accept the nails and spear on our behalf. There's no doubt about it, no wiggle room. We failed. Jesus took those sins to the cross with him so that failed people like us could be restored to God.
The only question now is whether we'll be thankful for this restoration and live our lives by it or whether we'll act as if it never happened by continuing to judge each other. In other words, you know that Judgment Day that all the quick-judging Christians say is coming to doom the world? That day isn't going to fall on the heads of those who don't know Christ and his sacrifice. Tax collectors, prostitutes, people from far-off lands...Jesus welcomed and loved them all. Judgment is going to fall on the heads of those who deny Christ by co-opting his loving gift into a weapon of power to make themselves seem more privileged and godly than their neighbor. This is the lesson the Pharisees never learned. This is what made them so angry that they ended up killing Jesus. Those who most look forward to the Judgment Day are those who most need to fear it.
On the most solemn, in some ways the darkest day of our entire church year--Good Friday--we also hear the message of purest hope and light: Love, or it's not true. Love, or it's not real. Love, or it's not Me.
As followers of this same Christ through life, death, and resurrection let us carry that message to the world.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Jesus' death on the cross settles the argument about faith revolving around righteousness or love. This debate has been going on for centuries. Some folks say we get to heaven based on our righteousness...how good we are. The cross disallows this way of thinking, making it nonsensical. If we were capable of being righteous (making heaven's population more than zero) Jesus would not have needed to die for us. He could have just joined the righteous people in heaven and let the rest pass away into death/nothingness/whatever. Jesus died on the cross, and that death had meaning, because nobody was righteous but him. It was an act of pure and profound love, God's love for us. That shows us the nature of our salvation.
Again, clearly and simply: Salvation and faith revolve around God's love for us, not our righteousness for him. The first is infinite and all-powerful. The second doesn't even exist, at least not in a pure enough form to get us into heaven.
Every time we start to talk about our own righteousness as the basis for our relationship with God we head down the wrong path. Every time we look at scripture and judge that we have fulfilled it, every time we judge that our neighbors have not, we deny Jesus Christ and the need for his act of salvation on the cross. We can call ourselves Christians as we do so. We can quote chapter and verse to justify it. That does not make it true. You cannot use God's words to deny God and still claim to be serving him.
Many people who call themselves Christians are actually anti-Christian in this way. As we discussed yesterday, the whole point of Jesus' life and death on the cross is love. Yet it's the one thing that eludes them.
The judgment seems more powerful to us. It seems powerful in the instinctive sense that young boys have when they think knocking something down is more powerful than building it up. (Some parts of us never grow up.) It also seems powerful to us culturally. We respect those who can enforce their own will, get their voice heard loudest. Judgment is far easier to shout, and is a far quicker message to deliver, than love. Judgment also appeals to our traditional American "church-y" culture. We've been so beaten down that it doesn't feel like "real" church unless somebody's getting yelled at or preached against. We've grown up in a church culture of fear and now fear feels like the only really Godly thing to us.
Someone once said to me, "You've taught me a lot about God's love..." The "..." at the end of that sentence represents how it trailed off into an implication that there was something more, something greater that I wasn't teaching. Like judgment was the secret, powerful reality of God that nobody has the guts to take a stand on anymore.
Garbage.
Judgment is the convenient, weak, and self-serving subversion of God's message. Judgment is your repetition of the very first sin, putting yourself in God's place and denying your need for him too.
Any sense of righteousness and temptation to judgment that you've ever had should have disappeared the moment you saw it getting nailed up there on the cross with Jesus. The only way you can continue judging is to ignore the cross (and thus Christ) completely or to look at it and say, "It's not for me."
Righteousness does exist, but it's not our righteousness before God...as if we were choosing the right way when everybody else isn't. The only true righteousness is God's, shown through his sacrificial love on the cross for all of us. That righteousness cannot be bought or earned. The only way to understand it is to follow in God's footsteps, loving our neighbors just as much as Jesus loved them in that moment when he gave his life for them on the cross.
Judgment also exists, but it's God's judgment. We have all been found guilty. That's why Jesus had to accept the nails and spear on our behalf. There's no doubt about it, no wiggle room. We failed. Jesus took those sins to the cross with him so that failed people like us could be restored to God.
The only question now is whether we'll be thankful for this restoration and live our lives by it or whether we'll act as if it never happened by continuing to judge each other. In other words, you know that Judgment Day that all the quick-judging Christians say is coming to doom the world? That day isn't going to fall on the heads of those who don't know Christ and his sacrifice. Tax collectors, prostitutes, people from far-off lands...Jesus welcomed and loved them all. Judgment is going to fall on the heads of those who deny Christ by co-opting his loving gift into a weapon of power to make themselves seem more privileged and godly than their neighbor. This is the lesson the Pharisees never learned. This is what made them so angry that they ended up killing Jesus. Those who most look forward to the Judgment Day are those who most need to fear it.
On the most solemn, in some ways the darkest day of our entire church year--Good Friday--we also hear the message of purest hope and light: Love, or it's not true. Love, or it's not real. Love, or it's not Me.
As followers of this same Christ through life, death, and resurrection let us carry that message to the world.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Why Did Jesus Have to Die For Us?
Since we're in the middle of Holy Week, it seems like a good time to stop and remember why Jesus died for us. This is something we take for granted...one of those things we talk about but don't really think about. I can guarantee you that in our society, and really in most churches, the cross is seen more as a nifty thing to hang on a necklace or a decoration for a church wall than as the instrument of Jesus' death. We talk about Jesus dying for us like we talk about the weather. "Jesus died for us" takes on the same conversational flavor as "It's raining out". Both are true. Both affect our lives...sorta. But neither one is going to change how we go about our day.
While all Christian folk would happily admit that Jesus died to save us, I'd wager that relatively few could explain why or what it means to our faith and daily lives. That being the case, are we really remembering and honoring him?
To understand why Jesus died for us we need to go back to the nature of sin.
Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden, a life free from sin and death, eternal and fulfilling. Had they not bitten the fruit in disobedience neither sin nor death would have been part of the human experience. When they bit that fruit, though, they changed the world. Selfishness, mistrust, anger, blame, jealousy, power struggles...that single act wove all of these things into the fabric of creation.
Once that happened, God was in a pickle. He could (and did) forgive them but he could not undo their acts, nor the effects of those acts, short of wiping out everything and starting over with Fred and Judy. He didn't want to wipe out the world and start over because he loved Adam and Eve and was committed to being faithful to them even when they had not been faithful to him.
On the other hand, God could not just let creation go on as before. It was built to be permanent...living forever. That was fine when everything was good, but now the whole world was bent and broken by sin. "Forever" works really well after "love" and "peace". When put after "selfishness" and "mistrust" and "anger" it becomes a horror. Think of all the things that have stemmed from that first sin: war, poverty, racism, illnesses, disease and hunger. To let those go on forever would be cruel, not loving.
This is why God's response to sin had to be death. Many interpret the pronouncement of death as a punishment given in anger. Others interpret it as God's way of saying, "You messed up, now you owe me." Neither is accurate. Death is God's merciful response to the suffering brought on by human sin...his way of saying, "Don't worry, this won't last forever." Nothing impure or evil can last forever without ruining eternity, so God doesn't let that happen.
Born into a world bent by sin, growing up with needs and pains that bend us inevitably to selfishness, all human beings end their lives in death. Not one of us is able to walk up to God and say, "I'm perfect! Let me into heaven!" If we tried, God would have to look at us and say, "What about that thing there?" The slightest imperfection would be enough to deny us admittance to forever, for then that imperfect thing would live forever with us.
Death has claimed every human being since the beginning of time and done so properly, righteously, justly. Death has put an end to our sin and kept the possibility of an unstained "forever" alive.
The problem here is obvious. "Forever" is still unstained but it's also empty...empty of human beings anyway. With none of us able to get in, God was looking at a forever labeled "Heaven, Population: 0". This was not his plan. Remember the whole point of allowing this existence to continue instead of starting anew was that he loved Adam and Eve and all their children, including us. He could not allow evil to live forever, destroying our lives forever. But he wasn't willing to live without us either.
This is why he sent his Son, the Savior who would get us all--humans and God--out of this nasty pickle. Jesus was the only one who ever resisted temptation (remember the wilderness and the devil), the only one who ever lived his life righteously, the only one free from sin. He was the shining example of everything humanity and God were supposed to be.
This meant that finally someone qualified to get into heaven and live eternally. Jesus could have walked up to God and said, "I'm ready to come in!" God would have looked at him, responded with a "Well done!", and the sign would have said "Heaven, Population: 1" forevermore. No death was necessary, nor judgment, nor even much of an examination. It was done! Jesus was the one. Had he desired it, that would have been his fate.
But Jesus looked around him. He saw his disciples: poor, mixed-up guys bumbling around and trying to get it right without a hope of doing so. He saw the woman at the well, the tax collectors and prostitutes, the hungry children, the sick and blind and lame. He saw the Pharisees and Sadducees, he saw the Romans, he saw all the people who wouldn't ever know that God cared about them. He remembered Adam and Eve, the hope that they could one day be redeemed from their mistake, and his father's love for them. He saw all of these people, all of their ancestors and descendants, and he realized that "Heaven, Population: 1" wasn't what he wanted. Given the choice to save himself or remain with them, he chose them. He chose us. He chose love.
But in order to remain with humanity, Jesus had to go where humanity goes...into death. His death was particularly horrible: ritual execution on a cross at the hands of people so blinded by sin and self-interest that they saw his love for the world as dangerous and destructive. The one, sinless person in all of history was destroyed by the sin of everybody else, for fallen humanity could not abide him.
And just like that, Jesus was gone. He had taken the path of millions before and billions after. At the end of his life, he died. Just like us. Because he loved us and would not be separated from us no matter what the cost.
But this moment of death was different than any other. As I said earlier, death was the just and merciful end to human sin. That was its purpose. Death was like a machine, its jaws closing on each sinful person in turn, swallowing them and making an end as it was meant to do. No human could stand before it. Our sin condemned us all. But death could not swallow one who was perfectly righteous, perfectly holy, without sin...one who had loved broken humans so much that he walked willingly with them into its grasp. When death's jaws closed on the rest of us, we broke and ended. When death's jaws closed on Jesus, it might as well have been trying to chew a boulder. It was not designed to end this kind of man, nor could it. When death tried to chomp down on Jesus, death broke and Jesus remained.
There are no words in any language devised on this earth to explain the effect of that moment. It changed the entire course of creation: our history, our destiny, everything.
For those who had been consumed by death before his sacrifice, Jesus broke through like a ray of sunlight beaming into a dark cave. He reached out to Adam and Eve and all their children and said, "It's OK. I've come. You can come home now. Your sin won't trap you anymore. Be made clean." For all of us who come after we now pass through the broken jaws of death as if they were an arch, the gateway to heaven and new life. We, too, see Jesus ahead of us on that path, reaching out his hand to us and saying, "Come! I'm here. Come home." He was the first and only person to break the power of death and sin. He was the first person to walk the path to everlasting life, but no longer the only one. That "Heaven, Population:" sign now reads uncounted numbers because Jesus wouldn't leave without us...because he loved us.
When we get to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we remember that, had Jesus not loved us and given himself for us, we'd still be walking into the jaws of death without hope. We'd be victims of our own sin if Jesus hadn't chosen to become a victim for us. He did not do it for himself. In fact he took on unimaginable and wholly unjust suffering that he didn't have to experience. He could have walked into heaven and lived forever. Instead he chose the cross, and us.
Tomorrow: The much shorter, but absolutely indispensable, practical faith lesson this story teaches us.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
While all Christian folk would happily admit that Jesus died to save us, I'd wager that relatively few could explain why or what it means to our faith and daily lives. That being the case, are we really remembering and honoring him?
To understand why Jesus died for us we need to go back to the nature of sin.
Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden, a life free from sin and death, eternal and fulfilling. Had they not bitten the fruit in disobedience neither sin nor death would have been part of the human experience. When they bit that fruit, though, they changed the world. Selfishness, mistrust, anger, blame, jealousy, power struggles...that single act wove all of these things into the fabric of creation.
Once that happened, God was in a pickle. He could (and did) forgive them but he could not undo their acts, nor the effects of those acts, short of wiping out everything and starting over with Fred and Judy. He didn't want to wipe out the world and start over because he loved Adam and Eve and was committed to being faithful to them even when they had not been faithful to him.
On the other hand, God could not just let creation go on as before. It was built to be permanent...living forever. That was fine when everything was good, but now the whole world was bent and broken by sin. "Forever" works really well after "love" and "peace". When put after "selfishness" and "mistrust" and "anger" it becomes a horror. Think of all the things that have stemmed from that first sin: war, poverty, racism, illnesses, disease and hunger. To let those go on forever would be cruel, not loving.
This is why God's response to sin had to be death. Many interpret the pronouncement of death as a punishment given in anger. Others interpret it as God's way of saying, "You messed up, now you owe me." Neither is accurate. Death is God's merciful response to the suffering brought on by human sin...his way of saying, "Don't worry, this won't last forever." Nothing impure or evil can last forever without ruining eternity, so God doesn't let that happen.
Born into a world bent by sin, growing up with needs and pains that bend us inevitably to selfishness, all human beings end their lives in death. Not one of us is able to walk up to God and say, "I'm perfect! Let me into heaven!" If we tried, God would have to look at us and say, "What about that thing there?" The slightest imperfection would be enough to deny us admittance to forever, for then that imperfect thing would live forever with us.
Death has claimed every human being since the beginning of time and done so properly, righteously, justly. Death has put an end to our sin and kept the possibility of an unstained "forever" alive.
The problem here is obvious. "Forever" is still unstained but it's also empty...empty of human beings anyway. With none of us able to get in, God was looking at a forever labeled "Heaven, Population: 0". This was not his plan. Remember the whole point of allowing this existence to continue instead of starting anew was that he loved Adam and Eve and all their children, including us. He could not allow evil to live forever, destroying our lives forever. But he wasn't willing to live without us either.
This is why he sent his Son, the Savior who would get us all--humans and God--out of this nasty pickle. Jesus was the only one who ever resisted temptation (remember the wilderness and the devil), the only one who ever lived his life righteously, the only one free from sin. He was the shining example of everything humanity and God were supposed to be.
This meant that finally someone qualified to get into heaven and live eternally. Jesus could have walked up to God and said, "I'm ready to come in!" God would have looked at him, responded with a "Well done!", and the sign would have said "Heaven, Population: 1" forevermore. No death was necessary, nor judgment, nor even much of an examination. It was done! Jesus was the one. Had he desired it, that would have been his fate.
But Jesus looked around him. He saw his disciples: poor, mixed-up guys bumbling around and trying to get it right without a hope of doing so. He saw the woman at the well, the tax collectors and prostitutes, the hungry children, the sick and blind and lame. He saw the Pharisees and Sadducees, he saw the Romans, he saw all the people who wouldn't ever know that God cared about them. He remembered Adam and Eve, the hope that they could one day be redeemed from their mistake, and his father's love for them. He saw all of these people, all of their ancestors and descendants, and he realized that "Heaven, Population: 1" wasn't what he wanted. Given the choice to save himself or remain with them, he chose them. He chose us. He chose love.
But in order to remain with humanity, Jesus had to go where humanity goes...into death. His death was particularly horrible: ritual execution on a cross at the hands of people so blinded by sin and self-interest that they saw his love for the world as dangerous and destructive. The one, sinless person in all of history was destroyed by the sin of everybody else, for fallen humanity could not abide him.
And just like that, Jesus was gone. He had taken the path of millions before and billions after. At the end of his life, he died. Just like us. Because he loved us and would not be separated from us no matter what the cost.
But this moment of death was different than any other. As I said earlier, death was the just and merciful end to human sin. That was its purpose. Death was like a machine, its jaws closing on each sinful person in turn, swallowing them and making an end as it was meant to do. No human could stand before it. Our sin condemned us all. But death could not swallow one who was perfectly righteous, perfectly holy, without sin...one who had loved broken humans so much that he walked willingly with them into its grasp. When death's jaws closed on the rest of us, we broke and ended. When death's jaws closed on Jesus, it might as well have been trying to chew a boulder. It was not designed to end this kind of man, nor could it. When death tried to chomp down on Jesus, death broke and Jesus remained.
There are no words in any language devised on this earth to explain the effect of that moment. It changed the entire course of creation: our history, our destiny, everything.
For those who had been consumed by death before his sacrifice, Jesus broke through like a ray of sunlight beaming into a dark cave. He reached out to Adam and Eve and all their children and said, "It's OK. I've come. You can come home now. Your sin won't trap you anymore. Be made clean." For all of us who come after we now pass through the broken jaws of death as if they were an arch, the gateway to heaven and new life. We, too, see Jesus ahead of us on that path, reaching out his hand to us and saying, "Come! I'm here. Come home." He was the first and only person to break the power of death and sin. He was the first person to walk the path to everlasting life, but no longer the only one. That "Heaven, Population:" sign now reads uncounted numbers because Jesus wouldn't leave without us...because he loved us.
When we get to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we remember that, had Jesus not loved us and given himself for us, we'd still be walking into the jaws of death without hope. We'd be victims of our own sin if Jesus hadn't chosen to become a victim for us. He did not do it for himself. In fact he took on unimaginable and wholly unjust suffering that he didn't have to experience. He could have walked into heaven and lived forever. Instead he chose the cross, and us.
Tomorrow: The much shorter, but absolutely indispensable, practical faith lesson this story teaches us.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Music Night Tonight at 7 pm
Come see where the Spirit takes us tonight at 7 pm. Will it involve a vibrating air column, vocal chord, string, or drum head?
Monday, March 25, 2013
Holy Week Is Here
Holy Week is upon us. Most people who participate in these services find this week the most meaningful of their year, and for good reason. The story of the Last Supper, Jesus' death on Friday, the resurrection on Sunday morning, encompass the whole range of human experience and need...plus the culmination of God's salvation story!
The schedule for this week:
Thursday Night, 7:00 p.m. at the Valley, Maundy Thursday service with Holy Communion.
Friday Night, 7:00 p.m. at the Valley, Good Friday Service
Sunday Morning, 10:00 a.m. at St. John's, Easter Service
Also note there's a 6:00 a.m. sunrise service at Cordelia, north of the Valley church on Old Hwy 95.
We will need several readers for Friday night's service. Talk to me if you're interested in helping out.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
The schedule for this week:
Thursday Night, 7:00 p.m. at the Valley, Maundy Thursday service with Holy Communion.
Friday Night, 7:00 p.m. at the Valley, Good Friday Service
Sunday Morning, 10:00 a.m. at St. John's, Easter Service
Also note there's a 6:00 a.m. sunrise service at Cordelia, north of the Valley church on Old Hwy 95.
We will need several readers for Friday night's service. Talk to me if you're interested in helping out.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Thursday, March 21, 2013
More Homespun Wisdom
Just for fun I thought I'd do another round of random thoughts gathered from observing people, life, the world, etc. These are just my thoughts. Your mileage may vary. Chime in or argue with them in the comment section if you want!
1. Everybody worries. The trick is to worry about things you can control. That's productive. I worry all the time about what I should say during sermons, how it came across, what I could have done differently. Those worries make me a better preacher. Worrying about things beyond your control makes you feel powerless and spurs you into inaction rather than positive action. What happens, happens. Our job is to be the best people we can through all of it.
2. Spend money on experiences and people you'll remember more than on things you'll lose.
3. All complaints are a mixture of something being wrong around you and something being wrong with you. It's never just one or the other. The litmus test to determine how much of the problem is external and how much is you is simple. Count how many people you've complained to about this issue before taking positive action to resolve it. The bigger the number, the more likely it is that you're the problem.
4. If your wedding is all about you being "Princess for a Day" it indicates that you're not feeling like a princess on all the other days. You might want to ask if you're marrying the right guy then.
4a. Don't spend $20,000 on your wedding. Nobody is going to remember whether you had Chicken Cordon Bleu on fine china or L'il Smokies and macaroni salad on regular plates. Everybody loves both and nobody's going to be impressed by you trying to one-up the last wedding anyway. Being gracious to your guests (interacting with them instead of sitting on high at a banquet table, for instance) is far more important and memorable. Then take that other $15,000 and use it for something meaningful...or just start your nest egg with it.
5. Handy Marriage Tip #1: The phrase "Better to ask forgiveness than permission" does NOT apply when dealing with your wife!
6. The validity of your point is inversely related to the volume at which it's delivered.
6a. If you hear a preacher rail repeatedly against an evil in society he's afflicted with that evil. Run.
7. Nothing renews your life, relationships, and spirits more than good times with friends.
8. Much of our unhappiness comes from our own expectations. If it's big, grey, has a long trunk, and is eating peanuts it's an elephant. Do not then complain that it doesn't quack and paddle around on your pond. If you wanted a duck, you should have gotten a duck. It's probably easier to just love the things that are cool about your elephant.
9. Stop looking for the easy answer. Life isn't about the right answers, it's about asking the right questions.
10. Fun is where you find it. Find some in each day, then share it!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Pastor Dave's Homespun Wisdom
(in no particular order)
1. Everybody worries. The trick is to worry about things you can control. That's productive. I worry all the time about what I should say during sermons, how it came across, what I could have done differently. Those worries make me a better preacher. Worrying about things beyond your control makes you feel powerless and spurs you into inaction rather than positive action. What happens, happens. Our job is to be the best people we can through all of it.
2. Spend money on experiences and people you'll remember more than on things you'll lose.
3. All complaints are a mixture of something being wrong around you and something being wrong with you. It's never just one or the other. The litmus test to determine how much of the problem is external and how much is you is simple. Count how many people you've complained to about this issue before taking positive action to resolve it. The bigger the number, the more likely it is that you're the problem.
4. If your wedding is all about you being "Princess for a Day" it indicates that you're not feeling like a princess on all the other days. You might want to ask if you're marrying the right guy then.
4a. Don't spend $20,000 on your wedding. Nobody is going to remember whether you had Chicken Cordon Bleu on fine china or L'il Smokies and macaroni salad on regular plates. Everybody loves both and nobody's going to be impressed by you trying to one-up the last wedding anyway. Being gracious to your guests (interacting with them instead of sitting on high at a banquet table, for instance) is far more important and memorable. Then take that other $15,000 and use it for something meaningful...or just start your nest egg with it.
5. Handy Marriage Tip #1: The phrase "Better to ask forgiveness than permission" does NOT apply when dealing with your wife!
6. The validity of your point is inversely related to the volume at which it's delivered.
6a. If you hear a preacher rail repeatedly against an evil in society he's afflicted with that evil. Run.
7. Nothing renews your life, relationships, and spirits more than good times with friends.
8. Much of our unhappiness comes from our own expectations. If it's big, grey, has a long trunk, and is eating peanuts it's an elephant. Do not then complain that it doesn't quack and paddle around on your pond. If you wanted a duck, you should have gotten a duck. It's probably easier to just love the things that are cool about your elephant.
9. Stop looking for the easy answer. Life isn't about the right answers, it's about asking the right questions.
10. Fun is where you find it. Find some in each day, then share it!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Final Lenten Evening Service Tonight!
Our last Wednesday Night service commences at 7:00 p.m. at the Valley tonight. I appreciate everyone who has come to these. They've been special this year. If you haven't yet, here's your chance!
Next week is Holy Week. We'll kick off with Palm Sunday worship at 10:00 a.m. at St. John's including a special presentation by the Sunday School. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services happen at the Valley at 7:00 p.m. on the 28th and 29th. Easter is the 31st with worship at St. John's at 10:00 a.m.
I'm looking forward to spending these next couple of weeks with you all as we hear the most wonderful story ever told.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Next week is Holy Week. We'll kick off with Palm Sunday worship at 10:00 a.m. at St. John's including a special presentation by the Sunday School. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services happen at the Valley at 7:00 p.m. on the 28th and 29th. Easter is the 31st with worship at St. John's at 10:00 a.m.
I'm looking forward to spending these next couple of weeks with you all as we hear the most wonderful story ever told.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday Morning Sermon: Letting People Love
This Sunday's gospel came from John, Chapter 12:
But the Bible makes clear that Judas' objection wasn't based on any greater concerns, just on his own needs. He wanted the perfume sold so he could take the money. Things didn't go his way. He didn't benefit. So he complained about a woman doing the best she could to love Jesus.
That unfortunate impulse remains with us today. People show their love for God in many different ways. During the sermon I related a former trend in church which I found puzzling: liturgical dance. This little craze swept through a church I attended before I became a pastor. People would get up, turn on music, and dance in white dresses with streamers. I didn't get it. It seemed like a waste of time to me. Why couldn't that five minutes been spent in prayer or service or singing another hymn?
Being older and wiser I now understand that the Spirit was working through those dancers. They were expressing their gifts, trying to send a Godly message to us. This was their moment to show how God's Spirit moved them. I was just too dense and self-centered to see it. I was Judas.
Today I would probably appreciate liturgical dance a lot more. If somebody wanted to do it in our church the answer would be, YES!!! It'd be exciting, touching, moving...if nothing else for the sake of the dancers sharing their love.
But then again, I've learned one of the lessons of this gospel. You have to let people love Jesus the way they're going to love Jesus. The world doesn't need your judgment as much as your support. Just because you don't understand the way a person expresses their love for God doesn't make it bad. Maybe God likes it! Not being God yourself, you can never be sure.
Besides, you'll get your chance to love your way too. As Jesus says, "You will always have the poor among you." You'll be able to do what you want. Just make room for others to do the same.
Don't stand in the way of love and its many forms. When you do, you become like Judas...robbing something that's supposed to be for the good of the world, turning it inwards for your own, selfish benefit. Let people dance. Let perfume be spilled. Sing those crazy songs that other people enjoy even if it's not your style. Learn to appreciate God through someone else's eyes and expressions. That way he gets bigger and bigger, filling up more of your world as you discover new ways to love him.
'
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”In a sense Judas was right, or at least understandable, in objecting to this ostentatious display. Not only was that perfume costly, Mary was touching Jesus intimately. Wiping his feet with her hair? Really? I don't know about you, but that hasn't happened at many dinner parties I've attended! The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume and the glow of this daring act.
But the Bible makes clear that Judas' objection wasn't based on any greater concerns, just on his own needs. He wanted the perfume sold so he could take the money. Things didn't go his way. He didn't benefit. So he complained about a woman doing the best she could to love Jesus.
That unfortunate impulse remains with us today. People show their love for God in many different ways. During the sermon I related a former trend in church which I found puzzling: liturgical dance. This little craze swept through a church I attended before I became a pastor. People would get up, turn on music, and dance in white dresses with streamers. I didn't get it. It seemed like a waste of time to me. Why couldn't that five minutes been spent in prayer or service or singing another hymn?
Being older and wiser I now understand that the Spirit was working through those dancers. They were expressing their gifts, trying to send a Godly message to us. This was their moment to show how God's Spirit moved them. I was just too dense and self-centered to see it. I was Judas.
Today I would probably appreciate liturgical dance a lot more. If somebody wanted to do it in our church the answer would be, YES!!! It'd be exciting, touching, moving...if nothing else for the sake of the dancers sharing their love.
But then again, I've learned one of the lessons of this gospel. You have to let people love Jesus the way they're going to love Jesus. The world doesn't need your judgment as much as your support. Just because you don't understand the way a person expresses their love for God doesn't make it bad. Maybe God likes it! Not being God yourself, you can never be sure.
Besides, you'll get your chance to love your way too. As Jesus says, "You will always have the poor among you." You'll be able to do what you want. Just make room for others to do the same.
Don't stand in the way of love and its many forms. When you do, you become like Judas...robbing something that's supposed to be for the good of the world, turning it inwards for your own, selfish benefit. Let people dance. Let perfume be spilled. Sing those crazy songs that other people enjoy even if it's not your style. Learn to appreciate God through someone else's eyes and expressions. That way he gets bigger and bigger, filling up more of your world as you discover new ways to love him.
'
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Monday, March 18, 2013
Genesee Lutheran Parish Church Council Minutes
March 12, 2013
In Attendance:
Patrick Adams. Dan Carter, Doug Cartwright, Courtney Sharnhorst, Amy
Peterson, Jennifer Parkins, Linda Chilson, Gayle Rossebo, and Pastor David
Deckard
Gail moved to have Courtney Scharnhorst as Vice Chairman and Dan
seconded, with a unanimous vote.
Pastor Dave reported that Easter services are taking shape. He needs
volunteers for Holy Week services. There have been some plans for Spring Break
activities for the youth. Preparations are being made for moving services out
to the Valley Church in May, service times for the summer will be decided on at
a later date.
We had a long discussion about how to move on with our Mission work on
Stewardship this year with some tentative plans being made. There was a lot of good input from everyone
on the subject and a lot of good ideas. One thing we decided and knew was that the
people of our church are our assets and that we need to let them know they are
our assets. The first step is to get to
know our congregation, their wants and needs with the first of this
happening on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
Celebration of Discipline
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)
Hmm what does that mean? What does the word meek mean? And where does it fit into discipline? These were the questions of this weeks Adult Sunday School class.
Our focus for the day was:
A disciple of Jesus is one who learns, who is teachable, and who seeks to follow. Learning requires discipline and humility to open the door to new discoveries and experiences.
First thing we noticed was that the words disciple and discipline both start with the same suffix. This was interesting, I wonder how many of you ever looked at the two words and thought of them as being similar in meaning? I know none of us had really ever made the connection between those two words. It kind of makes sense when you think about it as you probably really have to have discipline to be a disciple of Jesus, you have to be strong and able to stand up to the criticism and doubters out in the world.
While we were still pondering this we moved onto the discovery and reading:
Wow-None of us had ever thought of either Moses or Jesus as meek. Of course for most of us meekness has always been interrupted as a weakness or timid.
First one we saw was as an adjective meaning: Quiet, gentle and easily imposed on; submissive. OK we could go along with quiet and gentle but not so much easily imposed on or submissive. Next we looked at Webster's meanings.
My first thought given the events of the past week was the stories of the new Catholic Pope and how he seems to fit a humility that banishes pride and allows one to be teachable. The fact that he seems so far to be pretty humble and refused to partake of all the first rituals that come with being named a new Pope. I realize that it remains to be seen if he will truly be this way through his time as Pope but for now this was my interpretation of what I had seen.
Mark and Brent both talked of the sense of awe and gratitude toward the works and mysteries of God, using being in the outdoors and being in awe of all that is there to see.
Mark looked the list and said he could see where each of this would take patience. Now that got us all to thinking and we could all see that meekness did not really mean weak but if you have patience you are closer to the biblical meaning of meek.
The last part of the lesson always gives a thought for the journey:
Meekness comes when we connect with nature and each other in such a way that we see the sacredness in everything God created. Take time to connect.
Verse for the journey:
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:2829)
Prayer for the journey:
Graciouse God, help us to be so in tune with your Word and your world that we are eager to learn and gentle in how we treat others and you creation. Amen
Hmm what does that mean? What does the word meek mean? And where does it fit into discipline? These were the questions of this weeks Adult Sunday School class.
Our focus for the day was:
A disciple of Jesus is one who learns, who is teachable, and who seeks to follow. Learning requires discipline and humility to open the door to new discoveries and experiences.
First thing we noticed was that the words disciple and discipline both start with the same suffix. This was interesting, I wonder how many of you ever looked at the two words and thought of them as being similar in meaning? I know none of us had really ever made the connection between those two words. It kind of makes sense when you think about it as you probably really have to have discipline to be a disciple of Jesus, you have to be strong and able to stand up to the criticism and doubters out in the world.
While we were still pondering this we moved onto the discovery and reading:
- Moses and Jesus were called meek. What have you learned about Moses and Jesus that would counter the popular notion that meekness is weakness or timidity?
Wow-None of us had ever thought of either Moses or Jesus as meek. Of course for most of us meekness has always been interrupted as a weakness or timid.
- A number of meanings are given to the word meek. Which of the following are the most helpful to you? How?
- One who has control of his or her instincts, impulses and passions
- A humility that banishes pride and allows one to be teachable
- A compassionate use of one's strengths to help others
- One who does not need to always be in control or always win
- A gentleness (non-violence) that promotes harmony with others and the earth
- A sense of awe and gratitude toward the works and mystery of God
- Other
First one we saw was as an adjective meaning: Quiet, gentle and easily imposed on; submissive. OK we could go along with quiet and gentle but not so much easily imposed on or submissive. Next we looked at Webster's meanings.
- Enduring injury with patience and without resentment
- Deficient in spirit and courage-submissive
- Not violent or strong
- Choose one of the above descriptions and tell of an example of this that you have witnessed or read about. It could be an individual or group. What blessing resulted?
My first thought given the events of the past week was the stories of the new Catholic Pope and how he seems to fit a humility that banishes pride and allows one to be teachable. The fact that he seems so far to be pretty humble and refused to partake of all the first rituals that come with being named a new Pope. I realize that it remains to be seen if he will truly be this way through his time as Pope but for now this was my interpretation of what I had seen.
Mark and Brent both talked of the sense of awe and gratitude toward the works and mysteries of God, using being in the outdoors and being in awe of all that is there to see.
- Certain attitudes in society are inconsistent with a biblical understanding of meekness. Choose the one you have struggled with the most and tell about your struggle.
- Technology in our salvation, our priority
- Competition is needed for growth/progress
- Meekness is not a sign of strength for men
- Meekness is not a sign of strength for women
- A need to won and to be in control
- Silence is seen as weakness or inferiority
- Religion belittles knowledge
- Little encouragement to learn from the environment or lack of connectedness to creation
- Other
Mark looked the list and said he could see where each of this would take patience. Now that got us all to thinking and we could all see that meekness did not really mean weak but if you have patience you are closer to the biblical meaning of meek.
- Leaning takes discipline. Give examples of how has this been true in your life.
- What opportunities for learning has the church offered that have helped you the most? What more might be done? How does learning about global issues teach meekness?
- What could we do to teach our children about the blessings of meekness?
The last part of the lesson always gives a thought for the journey:
Meekness comes when we connect with nature and each other in such a way that we see the sacredness in everything God created. Take time to connect.
Verse for the journey:
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:2829)
Prayer for the journey:
Graciouse God, help us to be so in tune with your Word and your world that we are eager to learn and gentle in how we treat others and you creation. Amen
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Final Lent Saturday Movie Tonight
Our final Saturday Night Movie of the Lenten season is tonight at 6:30 at the parsonage. It's Schindler's List, one of the best movies ever made but also one of the more difficult in some ways. It's a hard, beautiful story about the Holocaust and sacrifice, well worth watching if you haven't seen it or haven't seen it in a long time. The movie starts at 6:30 p.m.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Desperately Seeking Pop Sale!
Spring Break is coming up soon and we're drastically low on pop reserves. We'll have to avert this impending youth disaster somehow, so if you're shopping in the next couple weeks and notice a good sale on pop anywhere let me know!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
How Blessed Our Church Is!
I just wanted to mention something today that goes unremarked through most of the year. We have the most amazing church council and we're really blessed with the leaders God has sent to our community.
Last nights meeting involved the always-difficult subject of stewardship, particularly financial stewardship, which doesn't get talked about much in most churches. It's one of those topics that almost leaves your stomach in a knot when you consider it. As we talked about last Wednesday night at Lenten Evening Service, our culture thinks of money in such a peculiar (and jealous) fashion that we're caught in a trap with it. We're up the creek if we talk about it, up a different creek if we don't. It's a topic that can blow up in your face.
So here we are, as a council, negotiating these waters and it was such a wonderful, Spirit-filled experience. No kidding! You wouldn't have believed it! Everybody sat together and opened up about their thoughts on money, culture, faith, stewardship, theology, and what it all means. It was like Theology on Tap without the beer! There was such a level of trust in the room, plus commitment, plus drive, plus compassion and understanding. We explored us and God, reaffirming the best in each other and in our church.
The result was the beginnings of a plan going forward, not to "get more money" but to alleviate the fear of this subject...a fear that threatens the bonds we've built together. What we're really talking about is a chance to discover that we trust each other and God in every way, that what we're doing at church is real and transforms our whole lives...a chance to be free and live as God's children the way we were meant to.
Seriously, you would not believe this was a council meeting.
The wisdom, trust, honesty, and faith of our council members is incredible. We should all realize how blessed we are to have them. I've seen plenty of councils and I've not seen one like this. Thank you to all our council members. I hope we're all excited about taking the journey forward with you over the next few years. I know I am.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Last nights meeting involved the always-difficult subject of stewardship, particularly financial stewardship, which doesn't get talked about much in most churches. It's one of those topics that almost leaves your stomach in a knot when you consider it. As we talked about last Wednesday night at Lenten Evening Service, our culture thinks of money in such a peculiar (and jealous) fashion that we're caught in a trap with it. We're up the creek if we talk about it, up a different creek if we don't. It's a topic that can blow up in your face.
So here we are, as a council, negotiating these waters and it was such a wonderful, Spirit-filled experience. No kidding! You wouldn't have believed it! Everybody sat together and opened up about their thoughts on money, culture, faith, stewardship, theology, and what it all means. It was like Theology on Tap without the beer! There was such a level of trust in the room, plus commitment, plus drive, plus compassion and understanding. We explored us and God, reaffirming the best in each other and in our church.
The result was the beginnings of a plan going forward, not to "get more money" but to alleviate the fear of this subject...a fear that threatens the bonds we've built together. What we're really talking about is a chance to discover that we trust each other and God in every way, that what we're doing at church is real and transforms our whole lives...a chance to be free and live as God's children the way we were meant to.
Seriously, you would not believe this was a council meeting.
The wisdom, trust, honesty, and faith of our council members is incredible. We should all realize how blessed we are to have them. I've seen plenty of councils and I've not seen one like this. Thank you to all our council members. I hope we're all excited about taking the journey forward with you over the next few years. I know I am.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Monday Morning Sermon: Life Isn't Fair
This Sunday's gospel was the famous Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke, Chapter 15. We'll print it at the end of this post if you care to read it. I think most are familiar with it.
A father has two sons. The eldest serves him in everything. The younger is rebellious, insulting his father, taking dad's money and leaving home. He spends it all in dissolute living and returns home a pauper. Instead of chastising him the father rushes out to greet him, embraces him, puts a ring and a robe on him, and throws a huge party. The elder son is upset, for he has stayed faithful and yet it seems his father is happier over the lost, rebellious son returning than the faithful son who stayed. The father assures his first son that he loves him and that all that belongs to the father belongs to him. But that doesn't stop dad from rejoicing over the son who was lost and now is found, who was dead but has come back to life.
It's worth noting that this story sprang from a question posed by the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They were upset that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners...people who weren't as good and pure as they. These esteemed and upright members of the community were the elder son in the story. They couldn't understand why Jesus was partying with the rebellious people.
We can all empathize with that feeling. It's no fun when you feel like you have followed the rules and somebody else hasn't yet that other person gets rewarded. It angers the inner fourth-grader in all of us. (Kids that age are usually hyper-concerned with rules and following them.) If we were standing there watching Jesus pay attention to people besides us we'd probably be saying, "What about meeeeee???" too. "I went to church services! I gave to your ministries! I went to Bible Study! Why are you going to their house to dinner and not mine?"
Jesus turns to the Pharisees and says the same thing the father says to his eldest son in the story. "I love ya, kid, but life's not fair."
We've all been told this at one time or another. When our sister gets a more expensive Christmas present than we do, when another kids gets chosen for a special honor at school we feel we've earned, when somebody else gets the bigger piece of birthday cake an adult comes along and tells us, "Life's not fair." What they really mean is, "Hush!" It's a dismissive statement.
Not so when Jesus says it. "Life's not fair" is an expansive statement when it comes from him. To us it means, "You didn't get something good and someone else did. There wasn't enough for everybody." From him it means, "You get something good and so does someone else. There's more than enough for all!"
Life's not fair. We don't get what we deserve. This is a good thing. Since we're mistaken, blind, lost sinners--just like the younger son in the story--we actually deserve condemnation and death. We're not fit to stand before a perfect and holy God, let alone live with him in heaven. Instead of passing that sentence upon us, Jesus brings us grace and life. We don't get what we deserve, we get something better!
This is supposed to be the pattern for our lives and for our church. When we become like the Pharisees, denying God's grace to people because we don't feel they measure up, we lose the very thing that makes our faith distinctive. The whole world will tell you that you only get what you earn (except when you don't, and then "life's not fair"). Only faith tells you that your destiny is more. When we attempt to be "fair" by worldly standards--favoring some over others based on how long they've been with us, how smart they seem, what good people they are--we abandon the central message of the faith we're claiming to uphold.
Life's not fair! It's so much MORE than fair. And thank goodness for that! Spreading this message to the world--showing it through word and action--should be our purpose every day as we follow Christ.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
A father has two sons. The eldest serves him in everything. The younger is rebellious, insulting his father, taking dad's money and leaving home. He spends it all in dissolute living and returns home a pauper. Instead of chastising him the father rushes out to greet him, embraces him, puts a ring and a robe on him, and throws a huge party. The elder son is upset, for he has stayed faithful and yet it seems his father is happier over the lost, rebellious son returning than the faithful son who stayed. The father assures his first son that he loves him and that all that belongs to the father belongs to him. But that doesn't stop dad from rejoicing over the son who was lost and now is found, who was dead but has come back to life.
It's worth noting that this story sprang from a question posed by the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They were upset that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners...people who weren't as good and pure as they. These esteemed and upright members of the community were the elder son in the story. They couldn't understand why Jesus was partying with the rebellious people.
We can all empathize with that feeling. It's no fun when you feel like you have followed the rules and somebody else hasn't yet that other person gets rewarded. It angers the inner fourth-grader in all of us. (Kids that age are usually hyper-concerned with rules and following them.) If we were standing there watching Jesus pay attention to people besides us we'd probably be saying, "What about meeeeee???" too. "I went to church services! I gave to your ministries! I went to Bible Study! Why are you going to their house to dinner and not mine?"
Jesus turns to the Pharisees and says the same thing the father says to his eldest son in the story. "I love ya, kid, but life's not fair."
We've all been told this at one time or another. When our sister gets a more expensive Christmas present than we do, when another kids gets chosen for a special honor at school we feel we've earned, when somebody else gets the bigger piece of birthday cake an adult comes along and tells us, "Life's not fair." What they really mean is, "Hush!" It's a dismissive statement.
Not so when Jesus says it. "Life's not fair" is an expansive statement when it comes from him. To us it means, "You didn't get something good and someone else did. There wasn't enough for everybody." From him it means, "You get something good and so does someone else. There's more than enough for all!"
Life's not fair. We don't get what we deserve. This is a good thing. Since we're mistaken, blind, lost sinners--just like the younger son in the story--we actually deserve condemnation and death. We're not fit to stand before a perfect and holy God, let alone live with him in heaven. Instead of passing that sentence upon us, Jesus brings us grace and life. We don't get what we deserve, we get something better!
This is supposed to be the pattern for our lives and for our church. When we become like the Pharisees, denying God's grace to people because we don't feel they measure up, we lose the very thing that makes our faith distinctive. The whole world will tell you that you only get what you earn (except when you don't, and then "life's not fair"). Only faith tells you that your destiny is more. When we attempt to be "fair" by worldly standards--favoring some over others based on how long they've been with us, how smart they seem, what good people they are--we abandon the central message of the faith we're claiming to uphold.
Life's not fair! It's so much MORE than fair. And thank goodness for that! Spreading this message to the world--showing it through word and action--should be our purpose every day as we follow Christ.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Monday, March 11, 2013
Almost Done!
I'm a fairly happy pastor this week because I'm almost done with a project I've been working on since November. It's a rundown for the synod, describing our youth ministry success. I thought this would be a fairly simple project but it turns out that the roots of our youth ministry run deep into evangelism and our foundation theology. Describing what we do doesn't cover it. You have to understand the whys and hows in order to see the Spirit. The kids themselves have let me know that. More than one has come up and said, "I didn't think I'd like to do [insert name of youth event here] but it was totally fun and now I come all the time!" As it turns out, what we do almost doesn't matter. The events are just different ways of expressing the same love.
The problem is that churches haven't always been in the business of seeing or conveying that love. We should have been. We lost something when we drifted away from that purpose. In forcing us to re-learn how to be people of faith our youth have, in a sense, restored us. That's one of the reasons it's important not to view youth ministry as a bag of handy tricks. Another reason: the same principles used in good youth ministry transfer to all of our other ministries. The endpoints look different because youth are different than other community members. But really, what is Theology on Tap but youth ministry for adults, plus a few beverages and minus the board games? It's the same Spirit, the same process. In opening one small door in what was an isolated, marginalized corner of our faith world we actually flooded the whole place. Who would have known?
Nobody would have if the goal was to do "youth ministry". When we began to do real ministry, evangelical, "Good News" ministry with youth...that made all the difference. Once the Good News gets loose there's no stopping it.
It's been my task to try to explain this. It's not easy building the layers of understanding you need to operate evangelically in your everyday life. It's taken plenty of work to put it understandable form. I hope I've been able to do so adequately. I'm down to the last few pages and editing. It should be done by this time next week. Let's see how it goes.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
The problem is that churches haven't always been in the business of seeing or conveying that love. We should have been. We lost something when we drifted away from that purpose. In forcing us to re-learn how to be people of faith our youth have, in a sense, restored us. That's one of the reasons it's important not to view youth ministry as a bag of handy tricks. Another reason: the same principles used in good youth ministry transfer to all of our other ministries. The endpoints look different because youth are different than other community members. But really, what is Theology on Tap but youth ministry for adults, plus a few beverages and minus the board games? It's the same Spirit, the same process. In opening one small door in what was an isolated, marginalized corner of our faith world we actually flooded the whole place. Who would have known?
Nobody would have if the goal was to do "youth ministry". When we began to do real ministry, evangelical, "Good News" ministry with youth...that made all the difference. Once the Good News gets loose there's no stopping it.
It's been my task to try to explain this. It's not easy building the layers of understanding you need to operate evangelically in your everyday life. It's taken plenty of work to put it understandable form. I hope I've been able to do so adequately. I'm down to the last few pages and editing. It should be done by this time next week. Let's see how it goes.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Becoming a Wounded Healer
This weeks lesson in Adults Sunday School was Becoming a Wounded Healer. What does this mean to you and how can you relate?
Our focus for the day was: To remember that dark times of grief and pain can be teachable moments and pathways to blessings, and that we can learn from Jesus how to be sensitive to the suffering of others. Discovery for the day was from Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Our goal for today was to really figure out what a "Wounded Healer" is and how we may or may not ever been one and if we feel we can be. While it was not as hard to understand this week it did lead us into a really good discussion and we even had to stop so we good make it to worship services.
In some ways I feel this lesson almost related to the gospel this week since it was what most of us know as "The Prodigal Son". It was not our intention to have the two relate since we did not really know until church what the gospel was but the two went together really well. In the gospel we heard about the parable Jesus told of about the son of a rich man who took his share of his fathers wealth and squandered it to the point he became very poor and destitute. When he returned home his father welcomed him home with welcome arms and celebrated his homecoming. The son who had stayed and helped his dad did not understand how this could be. The father said that he had always been with him but the other son had been dead and returned to life. I think for me anyways this was being a Wounded Healer, it was understanding that you can be down and out but can come back, those around that person need to be able to have empathy to their plight. We do not necessarily agree with how they did things but we do need to have understanding. Now I am not sure everyone in our class thought the two went together today but this is how I saw it.
We were asked to share a time when you saw one of your parents, another family member, or close friend grieving. What were the circumstances? How did it affect you? Each of us had something we could remember and told how it affected us. Some of the stories were of about when a grandparent died, for me it was when my sister died, and Randi told of when a friend lost her 40 year old daughter to cancer. We each looked at how others dealt with the loss.
When losing my sister all of us of course were upset and hurting but I remember how devastated my mom was and as time went on people felt she needed to move on and not really get over it but quit dwelling on it. It always made me mad when people said that since no one can say when a person has to stop grieving and each of deal with grief in our own way. I felt that we all needed to understand the whole that a parent has when they lose a child, I even then could understand that big whole that leaves in your heart. When I went through it myself years later, because of what she went through I told everyone that no one to ever tell me it was "time to get over it", that I would deal with it my own way and in my own time. I was asking others to be a "Wounded Healer". Both these and many other losses and hard times have helped me to understand and to help other people when they are going through such things. I may not always be good at it but I honestly try. Sometimes we have to be wounded healer while we are hurting too, that is not always easy since it is easy to concentrate on our feelings and forget what others are going through at the same time. When Scott died I think I had a hard time of being a "Wounded Healer" as I was concentrating on my loss and not necessarily understanding what others were going through. During times where we share a loss it is hard to think of what others are going through.
Verna told about when she was 6 or 7, her mothers mom died, and how surprised she was that her dad was so devastated over the loss. At the time they did not have a phone so someone came and gave them the message that her parents needed to call someone. They went downtown to the payphone and called, she recalled that her parents came back to the car and her dad was crying (which he never did) so Verna asked what had happened. Her mom said that her grandma had passed away, she immediately that it was her dad's mom because of how upset he was and how calm her mom seemed to be. Then they were told it was her mom's mother. At the time it was hard to understand how her mom could be so calm and how upset her dad was. Each of us has our way of coping, as she found out through time her mom handled these things more inwardly and was just as devastated over losing her mother as her dad was even more so actually.
The lesson went on to ask us, What do you think Jesus was talking about when he said, "Blessed are those who mourn"? What are we to mourn? This is the list we were to look at and pick one or two and explain.
All of us could relate with most all of these in one way or another. Verna told of how 9/11 affected her and that for so long she has not been able to read or watch anything about 9/11. The Lenten movie this week was about a boy who lost his dad during 9/11, she told that she really enjoyed it and she got to watch it, had she known what the movie was she probably would not watch it but was glad she got the opportunity. Randi also talked of 9/11 and how as a community people came together to deal with the horror of that day. For me it was remembering May of 1972 in the Silver Valley, this is something I will never forget. Sunshine mine caught on fire underground, 91 men died with two surviving. To this day I can remember how it affected everyone in the Valley even those of us who were fortunate enough not to have anyone in the fire. I remember kids being called out of class as men were found and how all of us knew what that meant but were all praying that it was good news instead of bad. It is a time that is imprinted in my mind forever and I am sure it is in all of us that lived there during that time. Times like 9/11 and the fire of "72 are times that people as a whole grieved. We all watched in horror the planes hitting those towers. People in the area and I am sure nationwide all listened to the news day after day for 7 days waiting for news of the fate of those 91 men and for us in the valley it went on for a couple of weeks after as the funerals all took place. Much like Verna I did not want to read or see anything about that time for quite sometime, then Jeffrey got the book The Deep Dark and with trepidation I read it and I was glad I did.
During these times we all understand the grieving of others and how it is affecting them but sometimes when it is not as big of a picture as these things were we do not always understand and may not even be able to totally understand the grief. I know when the shootings happened in Sandy Hook and Columbine everyone understood and grieved with those who lost someone to those shooters but how many of us also felt sympathy and understand for the family of those who did the shooting? I am not sure why, maybe it is because I am a parent, I have always had sympathy for those families as much as I have the ones that lost their loved ones.
In his book The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen reminded us that we are not always able to eliminate pain of others. We are called to share their pain and darkness in such a way that new hope is experienced. How do we do this?
We all said asking the hard questions with compassion is a hard one for most of us. It is too tempting when asking the hard questions to pass judgement at the same time, we may even think we are being compassionate when we really aren't. Being honest enough to recognize limitations, failures, and pain is also hard since most people rarely want to admit when they have failed or that they are limited. It also hard to be honest about pain for fear people will see you as weak, just like many are not comfortable with tears as so many also see this as a sign of weakness. I know for me willingness to learn the rot cause of hurt is hard since I don't want to seem like I am being too nosy. Finding someone who has been where I am, who understands is the one that gives us the most comfort but not always easy to do.
Jesus became a servant, obedient to God unto death. He was tempted on all points like we are, without sin. He was misunderstood, rejected, and falsely accused. Jesus was a Wounded Healer. How does know this help us? How did Jesus embrace darkness?
In which of the following situations do you think that you would be most helpful by entering into the pain of another or sharing in the experience of darkness? Why
Talking about God and his existence is not as easy when you are talking to a non believer but I have found as long as I accept that person for who they are often they want to talk about why I believe in God. I understand there are also times of crisis in our lives that make us question whether there is a God. It is hard when you are struggling to put your faith in God, when everything seems like it is against you and it is your darkest hour, you question God existence. If you have gone through this I think it is easier to relate to people when they are going through it. If I were to be honest there have been a time or two when things were at there darkest that I have questioned God of why not so much that does he is exist but how he could love me and still let me have to suffer. I am willing to bet most all of us have gone through this at least a time or two in their lives.
Each of the items on this list if you have gone through it or been close to someone going through them makes it easier for us to helps others as long as we do it as Wounded Healers, not as someone who knows best. I took from this lesson that a Wounded Healer is someone who can be empathetic to others, not sympathetic as there is a difference.
So what are your thoughts about what this means to you and how can you relate? We did not really get to do the last part of this lesson where it asked us to think of ways that "mourning" has been encouraged where you have worshiped or in your community. Please share them with us!
Our focus for the day was: To remember that dark times of grief and pain can be teachable moments and pathways to blessings, and that we can learn from Jesus how to be sensitive to the suffering of others. Discovery for the day was from Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Our goal for today was to really figure out what a "Wounded Healer" is and how we may or may not ever been one and if we feel we can be. While it was not as hard to understand this week it did lead us into a really good discussion and we even had to stop so we good make it to worship services.
In some ways I feel this lesson almost related to the gospel this week since it was what most of us know as "The Prodigal Son". It was not our intention to have the two relate since we did not really know until church what the gospel was but the two went together really well. In the gospel we heard about the parable Jesus told of about the son of a rich man who took his share of his fathers wealth and squandered it to the point he became very poor and destitute. When he returned home his father welcomed him home with welcome arms and celebrated his homecoming. The son who had stayed and helped his dad did not understand how this could be. The father said that he had always been with him but the other son had been dead and returned to life. I think for me anyways this was being a Wounded Healer, it was understanding that you can be down and out but can come back, those around that person need to be able to have empathy to their plight. We do not necessarily agree with how they did things but we do need to have understanding. Now I am not sure everyone in our class thought the two went together today but this is how I saw it.
We were asked to share a time when you saw one of your parents, another family member, or close friend grieving. What were the circumstances? How did it affect you? Each of us had something we could remember and told how it affected us. Some of the stories were of about when a grandparent died, for me it was when my sister died, and Randi told of when a friend lost her 40 year old daughter to cancer. We each looked at how others dealt with the loss.
When losing my sister all of us of course were upset and hurting but I remember how devastated my mom was and as time went on people felt she needed to move on and not really get over it but quit dwelling on it. It always made me mad when people said that since no one can say when a person has to stop grieving and each of deal with grief in our own way. I felt that we all needed to understand the whole that a parent has when they lose a child, I even then could understand that big whole that leaves in your heart. When I went through it myself years later, because of what she went through I told everyone that no one to ever tell me it was "time to get over it", that I would deal with it my own way and in my own time. I was asking others to be a "Wounded Healer". Both these and many other losses and hard times have helped me to understand and to help other people when they are going through such things. I may not always be good at it but I honestly try. Sometimes we have to be wounded healer while we are hurting too, that is not always easy since it is easy to concentrate on our feelings and forget what others are going through at the same time. When Scott died I think I had a hard time of being a "Wounded Healer" as I was concentrating on my loss and not necessarily understanding what others were going through. During times where we share a loss it is hard to think of what others are going through.
Verna told about when she was 6 or 7, her mothers mom died, and how surprised she was that her dad was so devastated over the loss. At the time they did not have a phone so someone came and gave them the message that her parents needed to call someone. They went downtown to the payphone and called, she recalled that her parents came back to the car and her dad was crying (which he never did) so Verna asked what had happened. Her mom said that her grandma had passed away, she immediately that it was her dad's mom because of how upset he was and how calm her mom seemed to be. Then they were told it was her mom's mother. At the time it was hard to understand how her mom could be so calm and how upset her dad was. Each of us has our way of coping, as she found out through time her mom handled these things more inwardly and was just as devastated over losing her mother as her dad was even more so actually.
The lesson went on to ask us, What do you think Jesus was talking about when he said, "Blessed are those who mourn"? What are we to mourn? This is the list we were to look at and pick one or two and explain.
- Our own broken relationships, our sins.
- The suffering we experience when we become ill or face a personal crisis
- The suffering we experience when we are unjustly treated
- The suffering of family and friends that cause sorrow in us
- Universal suffering through such things as poverty, religious wars, or natural disasters
- The pain of addiction
- Other
All of us could relate with most all of these in one way or another. Verna told of how 9/11 affected her and that for so long she has not been able to read or watch anything about 9/11. The Lenten movie this week was about a boy who lost his dad during 9/11, she told that she really enjoyed it and she got to watch it, had she known what the movie was she probably would not watch it but was glad she got the opportunity. Randi also talked of 9/11 and how as a community people came together to deal with the horror of that day. For me it was remembering May of 1972 in the Silver Valley, this is something I will never forget. Sunshine mine caught on fire underground, 91 men died with two surviving. To this day I can remember how it affected everyone in the Valley even those of us who were fortunate enough not to have anyone in the fire. I remember kids being called out of class as men were found and how all of us knew what that meant but were all praying that it was good news instead of bad. It is a time that is imprinted in my mind forever and I am sure it is in all of us that lived there during that time. Times like 9/11 and the fire of "72 are times that people as a whole grieved. We all watched in horror the planes hitting those towers. People in the area and I am sure nationwide all listened to the news day after day for 7 days waiting for news of the fate of those 91 men and for us in the valley it went on for a couple of weeks after as the funerals all took place. Much like Verna I did not want to read or see anything about that time for quite sometime, then Jeffrey got the book The Deep Dark and with trepidation I read it and I was glad I did.
During these times we all understand the grieving of others and how it is affecting them but sometimes when it is not as big of a picture as these things were we do not always understand and may not even be able to totally understand the grief. I know when the shootings happened in Sandy Hook and Columbine everyone understood and grieved with those who lost someone to those shooters but how many of us also felt sympathy and understand for the family of those who did the shooting? I am not sure why, maybe it is because I am a parent, I have always had sympathy for those families as much as I have the ones that lost their loved ones.
In his book The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen reminded us that we are not always able to eliminate pain of others. We are called to share their pain and darkness in such a way that new hope is experienced. How do we do this?
- Not having words to say but just being present
- Willingness to learn about the root causes of the hurt
- Being open to face to face encounters with people struggling for personal survival
- Finding someone who has been where I am, who understands
- Asking the hard questions with compassion
- Being honest enough to recognize limitations, failures, and pain
- Being comfortable with tears
- Other
We all said asking the hard questions with compassion is a hard one for most of us. It is too tempting when asking the hard questions to pass judgement at the same time, we may even think we are being compassionate when we really aren't. Being honest enough to recognize limitations, failures, and pain is also hard since most people rarely want to admit when they have failed or that they are limited. It also hard to be honest about pain for fear people will see you as weak, just like many are not comfortable with tears as so many also see this as a sign of weakness. I know for me willingness to learn the rot cause of hurt is hard since I don't want to seem like I am being too nosy. Finding someone who has been where I am, who understands is the one that gives us the most comfort but not always easy to do.
Jesus became a servant, obedient to God unto death. He was tempted on all points like we are, without sin. He was misunderstood, rejected, and falsely accused. Jesus was a Wounded Healer. How does know this help us? How did Jesus embrace darkness?
In which of the following situations do you think that you would be most helpful by entering into the pain of another or sharing in the experience of darkness? Why
- The wound of loneliness
- Some form of addiction
- Having lost touch with God
- Unemployment/career crisis
- Doubts about religion/God/church
- Loss of a loved one
- Terminal illness
- Poverty/hunger
- Wound of rejection
- Childlessness
- Others
Talking about God and his existence is not as easy when you are talking to a non believer but I have found as long as I accept that person for who they are often they want to talk about why I believe in God. I understand there are also times of crisis in our lives that make us question whether there is a God. It is hard when you are struggling to put your faith in God, when everything seems like it is against you and it is your darkest hour, you question God existence. If you have gone through this I think it is easier to relate to people when they are going through it. If I were to be honest there have been a time or two when things were at there darkest that I have questioned God of why not so much that does he is exist but how he could love me and still let me have to suffer. I am willing to bet most all of us have gone through this at least a time or two in their lives.
Each of the items on this list if you have gone through it or been close to someone going through them makes it easier for us to helps others as long as we do it as Wounded Healers, not as someone who knows best. I took from this lesson that a Wounded Healer is someone who can be empathetic to others, not sympathetic as there is a difference.
So what are your thoughts about what this means to you and how can you relate? We did not really get to do the last part of this lesson where it asked us to think of ways that "mourning" has been encouraged where you have worshiped or in your community. Please share them with us!
Friday, March 8, 2013
Movie on Saturday!
We'll have our next Lenten movie night, featuring "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", Saturday at the parsonage at 6:30 p.m. Join us if you wish for this story of sacrifice and love.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
The Centurion's Humility
I was puttering around in the Gospel of Luke today and found this wonderful story in Chapter 7:
The Roman Centurion certainly does not belong with God by most standards. He's a foreigner. He's a pagan. He's seen by most of the locals as an oppressor, if not directly at least an agent of the government that has occupied their country and oppressed their people. Though he's important in his own sphere with power over the lives of the people around him, he has no standing before Jesus. He doesn't even have an avenue of approach. How would Jesus know him? Why would a wandering Jew accept him or even agree to see him? The Centurion is used to people having to curry his favor. Now he's in the awkward position of having to beg for someone else's.
So the Centurion sends some respected Jewish elders. They don't feel they can just make the introduction, they have to plead for the Roman and share all the reasons Jesus should come and see him. "He's a wonderful guy! He's not like the other Romans! He's taken care of us and helped us build our synagogue! You're a religious guy, right Jesus?" They're trying to make the Centurion acceptable in Jesus' sight by extolling the Centurion's virtues and showing how his interests and Jesus' align.
Following this pattern, here's what should have happened. When Jesus went to the Centurion's house the Centurion should have done everything he could to impress him. The Centurion should have shown off his fancy place, demonstrated his wealth and power, talked to Jesus about how many good things he (the Centurion) had done, and hinted to Jesus that if Jesus fulfilled his wishes, he'd do even more good for Jesus' people. It'd be like a politician or community advocate meeting with a wealthy benefactor nowadays. The key point of the meeting from the Centurion's view would be communicating his own goodness and power, the better to convince Jesus that he was worthy of attention and that this was a relationship to be cultivated.
Instead, though, the Centurion sent another message. "I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof. But say the word and my servant will be healed." It wasn't about how great the Centurion was, but about how great Jesus was...not about his own power but about God's power. This message wasn't about demands or bribes or people scratching each other's backs. It was humble, honest. "Lord, you have the power. I can't make you use it. But I know if you just say the word, this good thing will happen even though I can't achieve it myself."
What an amazing statement of faith. In just a few words the Centurion turned the whole scenario upside down. In doing so, he discovered a true relationship with God. Life wasn't about him and his ability, it was about God and God's mercy. Goodness didn't come from power or from an economic exchange, goodness was a gift. The Centurion knew that he only way to receive God was on his knees in thankfulness. He set aside pride, power, and position to assume that attitude. In doing so he amazed Jesus with his faithfulness and showed that he belonged with God more than even the most learned and prominent Jewish leaders.
In that moment when we get beyond ourselves and say, "Everything for you, Lord," we discover the essence of our relationship with God, the purpose of our lives, and more goodness than we could ever imagine.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.This story is wonderful because of all the assumptions people have about who belongs with God and who doesn't.
The Roman Centurion certainly does not belong with God by most standards. He's a foreigner. He's a pagan. He's seen by most of the locals as an oppressor, if not directly at least an agent of the government that has occupied their country and oppressed their people. Though he's important in his own sphere with power over the lives of the people around him, he has no standing before Jesus. He doesn't even have an avenue of approach. How would Jesus know him? Why would a wandering Jew accept him or even agree to see him? The Centurion is used to people having to curry his favor. Now he's in the awkward position of having to beg for someone else's.
So the Centurion sends some respected Jewish elders. They don't feel they can just make the introduction, they have to plead for the Roman and share all the reasons Jesus should come and see him. "He's a wonderful guy! He's not like the other Romans! He's taken care of us and helped us build our synagogue! You're a religious guy, right Jesus?" They're trying to make the Centurion acceptable in Jesus' sight by extolling the Centurion's virtues and showing how his interests and Jesus' align.
Following this pattern, here's what should have happened. When Jesus went to the Centurion's house the Centurion should have done everything he could to impress him. The Centurion should have shown off his fancy place, demonstrated his wealth and power, talked to Jesus about how many good things he (the Centurion) had done, and hinted to Jesus that if Jesus fulfilled his wishes, he'd do even more good for Jesus' people. It'd be like a politician or community advocate meeting with a wealthy benefactor nowadays. The key point of the meeting from the Centurion's view would be communicating his own goodness and power, the better to convince Jesus that he was worthy of attention and that this was a relationship to be cultivated.
Instead, though, the Centurion sent another message. "I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof. But say the word and my servant will be healed." It wasn't about how great the Centurion was, but about how great Jesus was...not about his own power but about God's power. This message wasn't about demands or bribes or people scratching each other's backs. It was humble, honest. "Lord, you have the power. I can't make you use it. But I know if you just say the word, this good thing will happen even though I can't achieve it myself."
What an amazing statement of faith. In just a few words the Centurion turned the whole scenario upside down. In doing so, he discovered a true relationship with God. Life wasn't about him and his ability, it was about God and God's mercy. Goodness didn't come from power or from an economic exchange, goodness was a gift. The Centurion knew that he only way to receive God was on his knees in thankfulness. He set aside pride, power, and position to assume that attitude. In doing so he amazed Jesus with his faithfulness and showed that he belonged with God more than even the most learned and prominent Jewish leaders.
In that moment when we get beyond ourselves and say, "Everything for you, Lord," we discover the essence of our relationship with God, the purpose of our lives, and more goodness than we could ever imagine.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The Simplest Things
A momentous event happened last night. Derek got his first pair of shoes with real shoelaces instead of velcro straps. They were on sale and had one of his favorite TV characters on them, Perry the Platypus. It was love at first sight. But now we have to teach him to tie shoes. Ugh.
Tying shoes is a simple thing. You've done it for years, maybe decades, without even thinking about it. But you know what? It ain't simple when you're learning it. Derek's all eager to figure it out but I'm at a loss how to teach him. We've got the first step down: make an "X" with the two laces, tuck one lace under the bridge of the "X", then pull both laces tight. Easy. But how do you describe how to make the loops? I know exactly how to do it and so do you. But I can't write out the instructions for those loops here and I bet you can't either. Go ahead! Try it! I'll watch the comment section. I bet it'll take you multiple sentences and even then the description won't be adequate. It's just one of those things that you can do intuitively but that you can't teach intuitively.
Of course this experience is bringing back my own lessons in shoe-tying when I was Derek's age. We've all forgotten it after 92,000 laces tied, but back then learning to tie your shoes was the equivalent of differential calculus. You just had to do it and do it. It just wouldn't work until the point that it did...somehow. Once you got it, you got it, but darned if you could explain it to anyone else.
This reminds me of our faith journey, learning about God and such. There's no pocket instruction booklet that will tell you everything you need to know in order to "do the God thing". There's plenty of repetition, frustration, struggle. It doesn't work and doesn't work until the day that it does...somehow. But darned if you can tell anybody else how or why.
It's also a reminder that we need to be slow, gentle, and understanding when people ask us about our faith or want to explore their own faith with us. The basics of faith seem simple to us because we've repeated them a thousand times. We tie our God shoes without remembering the steps (and frustration) of how we learned to do it. But what's intuitive to us is calculus to someone who's brand new, searching for their faith. If we try to rush them through that part to get to our vaunted conclusions (whatever those may be) we'll only end up ruining the experience.
This is especially true since many people start their faith journey trying to find the answer to horribly complex questions. "What happens when we die? Why does God let people suffer? What are heaven and hell?" No easy answers present themselves, nor should they. Trying to give speedy answers to those questions in our quest to share faith is the equivalent of throwing shoes and a coat and hat on them and shoving them out the door saying, "Come on! We've got to get to the market!" Nobody learns anything about tying technique that way. Instead they learn that faith is about getting to a particular destination as quickly as possible. As soon as they find any flaw in that destination--or simply want to go somewhere else instead--their faith is done.
If we're patient with people as they unlock the wonders of shoe-tying, however, they'll find they can walk anywhere at any speed with those shoes on. The faith journey isn't about arriving at a certain place, it's about girding yourself up and exploring. The simplest things taught (and lived out) with patience do more good than the most complex answers delivered quickly.
Sometimes we define our faith goals as "getting new members in church" or "getting people to believe like I do" or even "getting everybody to agree". A more faithful definition might be just being with people where they are, even if that's looping one lace under the other for the 100th time and having no idea how to explain the next step. The smallest, simplest things often matter most if we just have the patience to see it.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tying shoes is a simple thing. You've done it for years, maybe decades, without even thinking about it. But you know what? It ain't simple when you're learning it. Derek's all eager to figure it out but I'm at a loss how to teach him. We've got the first step down: make an "X" with the two laces, tuck one lace under the bridge of the "X", then pull both laces tight. Easy. But how do you describe how to make the loops? I know exactly how to do it and so do you. But I can't write out the instructions for those loops here and I bet you can't either. Go ahead! Try it! I'll watch the comment section. I bet it'll take you multiple sentences and even then the description won't be adequate. It's just one of those things that you can do intuitively but that you can't teach intuitively.
Of course this experience is bringing back my own lessons in shoe-tying when I was Derek's age. We've all forgotten it after 92,000 laces tied, but back then learning to tie your shoes was the equivalent of differential calculus. You just had to do it and do it. It just wouldn't work until the point that it did...somehow. Once you got it, you got it, but darned if you could explain it to anyone else.
This reminds me of our faith journey, learning about God and such. There's no pocket instruction booklet that will tell you everything you need to know in order to "do the God thing". There's plenty of repetition, frustration, struggle. It doesn't work and doesn't work until the day that it does...somehow. But darned if you can tell anybody else how or why.
It's also a reminder that we need to be slow, gentle, and understanding when people ask us about our faith or want to explore their own faith with us. The basics of faith seem simple to us because we've repeated them a thousand times. We tie our God shoes without remembering the steps (and frustration) of how we learned to do it. But what's intuitive to us is calculus to someone who's brand new, searching for their faith. If we try to rush them through that part to get to our vaunted conclusions (whatever those may be) we'll only end up ruining the experience.
This is especially true since many people start their faith journey trying to find the answer to horribly complex questions. "What happens when we die? Why does God let people suffer? What are heaven and hell?" No easy answers present themselves, nor should they. Trying to give speedy answers to those questions in our quest to share faith is the equivalent of throwing shoes and a coat and hat on them and shoving them out the door saying, "Come on! We've got to get to the market!" Nobody learns anything about tying technique that way. Instead they learn that faith is about getting to a particular destination as quickly as possible. As soon as they find any flaw in that destination--or simply want to go somewhere else instead--their faith is done.
If we're patient with people as they unlock the wonders of shoe-tying, however, they'll find they can walk anywhere at any speed with those shoes on. The faith journey isn't about arriving at a certain place, it's about girding yourself up and exploring. The simplest things taught (and lived out) with patience do more good than the most complex answers delivered quickly.
Sometimes we define our faith goals as "getting new members in church" or "getting people to believe like I do" or even "getting everybody to agree". A more faithful definition might be just being with people where they are, even if that's looping one lace under the other for the 100th time and having no idea how to explain the next step. The smallest, simplest things often matter most if we just have the patience to see it.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Monday Morning Sermon: Coping With Tragedy
This week's sermon text came courtesy of the Gospel of Luke, the 13th chapter:
It wasn't any different in Jesus' time. Maybe you wouldn't hear about things that happened thousands of miles away but this gospel shows us two tragedies within earshot of Jesus and his followers. Governor Pilate had slaughtered some Galileans at their worship and a tower had fallen in Jerusalem, killing 18.
I can empathize with the "buzz" Jesus heard in response to these events. Both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina happened a day before regularly scheduled church meetings. Naturally they were the topic of discussion the next day. Inevitably as people shared their thoughts one or two folks would come up with, "Well, [insert place of tragedy here] was full of wicked people and America isn't following God anymore so maybe this was his punishment. We need to wake up!" They weren't alone, of course. Every time something bad happens some crackpot preacher with access to a microphone and a sensation-seeking media audience gets up and claims the same thing, in essence turning the deaths of other people into an opportunity to say, "See?!? I was right!!!" As if God would slaughter his children so you can get an ego stroke. These "preachers" are idiots. They mislead all who hear them, give birth to (and permission for) evil and lies spoken in God's name, and no matter what kind of label they try to put on their "faith" they lure people away from God, not towards him. Being able to quote scripture is no big trick. It's how you use it that matters.
As I said on Sunday, I was a younger and more polite Pastor Boy back then so we all worked through that conversation about whether God sent a hurricane to destroy a town because of Mardi Gras parades. What I probably should have done as soon as someone suggested God wiped out towns with sinners in them is to dive under the table and reach for a helmet. Because guess what? Everybody sitting around the table that day was a sinner...some worse than anybody knew, others worse than even they knew.
That's exactly what Jesus pointed out to people in this gospel.
There's a backwards way to read this scripture and a right one. Unless you're careful you're going to fall into the backwards way. It assumes that yes, those people whom Pilate slaughtered and on whom the tower fell were punished by God. When Jesus says, "Unless you repent, you too will perish" confirms for this listener that God smites evil folks and they had better be good lest the next storm hit them. To interpret the lesson this way we have to ignore that verse 2 begins with Jesus questioning the listener's assumption that these events were divine retribution and verse 5 flat out tells them, "No!" Then again, people who want to scare you into their way of thinking don't have much trouble ignoring parts of scripture that are inconvenient to their opinion.
Instead of confirming the assertion that disasters are God's retribution on sinners, Jesus is using the "Judge not, lest ye be judged" principle here. "You have judged those people more wicked than you and said God struck them down because of it. Well, you are all sinners. If God really acts like you say he does, YOU better be afraid!"
The only thing that allows people to make claims of divine retribution is the certainty that the disaster won't strike them. When you hear, "God sent the hurricane to punish the wicked" you should also hear, "And I don't judge myself wicked therefore hurricanes will never strike my home, Amen." Do you see what's going on there? That isn't an assertion of faith, it's the same old human response we started this explanation with. "I'm afraid. I need to feel secure. I'm checking the locks to make sure no hurricanes come here." Except instead owning that fear and dealing with it they're denying it, trying to foist off the whole thing on God. Saying, "I am sad in the face of this tragedy...it makes me feel scared and insecure and I'm worried this could happen to me or people I love," would be honest. It would allow us to come together to talk about how we all feel. But that admission also leaves the speaker vulnerable. It's much easier to say, "This was God's Will because of wickedness and I am not that bad so I am not afraid of it happening to me." Unfortunately this denial leaves us in the same place as the bad preacher, claiming that God killed other people to show how good we are.
We are all God's children whether we know it or not. God hears, "God sent the hurricane to punish the wicked" just like a parent would hear, "Dad killed my brother Jimmy because he was bad and I was good". That's horrible...unimaginable. It would also make Dad very angry at the kid who dared to utter it.
The fig tree parable at the end of the gospel confirms this. Some people read God as the guy who wants to chop down the tree, eager to smite all of us for our wrongdoing. That's backwards. The tree-choppers in this story are actually the same people who came to Jesus talking about God's retribution on the Galileans and the tower victims. They are so quick to condemn their brothers and sisters whom they perceive as wicked and fruitless. They say that the gardener should just chop the tree down, which is just what they perceived happening with these tragedies. "God should just wipe out those wicked people!" How does the gardener respond to this? "Wait! Have patience. The tree needs more tending. Let me care for it more. If it never ends up bearing fruit then you may be right, but we haven't spent enough time or TLC on it to make that determination yet." That's God's response: not smiting, but love and care.
This also guides our Christian response to tragedy. Our role when sad things happen isn't to sit and worry about ourselves. Nor is our role to protect ourselves, denying our fear and the possibility of anything bad happening to us. Least of all should our role be cloaking our human fears and frailties behind the cover of divine retribution. Instead we are called to do what God does: response in the kindest, most loving, most patient and helpful way possible. Compassion and empathy are the fruits of God's Spirit, not distance and judgment. This is true in the best of times, even more so in the worst.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”Tragedy evokes many responses from us: sadness, empathy, fear, the desire to protect ourselves, the need for warmth and security, the tendency to "check the locks" and make sure everything around us is under control. Some of these responses are more graceful and some less, but all are natural. Modern technology and quick communication exposes us to more tragic events than any previous generation ever had to endure so we've all had practice responding in all of these ways...most of us within the last year or so. Our entire country ran this gamut of emotions after the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, for instance.
It wasn't any different in Jesus' time. Maybe you wouldn't hear about things that happened thousands of miles away but this gospel shows us two tragedies within earshot of Jesus and his followers. Governor Pilate had slaughtered some Galileans at their worship and a tower had fallen in Jerusalem, killing 18.
I can empathize with the "buzz" Jesus heard in response to these events. Both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina happened a day before regularly scheduled church meetings. Naturally they were the topic of discussion the next day. Inevitably as people shared their thoughts one or two folks would come up with, "Well, [insert place of tragedy here] was full of wicked people and America isn't following God anymore so maybe this was his punishment. We need to wake up!" They weren't alone, of course. Every time something bad happens some crackpot preacher with access to a microphone and a sensation-seeking media audience gets up and claims the same thing, in essence turning the deaths of other people into an opportunity to say, "See?!? I was right!!!" As if God would slaughter his children so you can get an ego stroke. These "preachers" are idiots. They mislead all who hear them, give birth to (and permission for) evil and lies spoken in God's name, and no matter what kind of label they try to put on their "faith" they lure people away from God, not towards him. Being able to quote scripture is no big trick. It's how you use it that matters.
As I said on Sunday, I was a younger and more polite Pastor Boy back then so we all worked through that conversation about whether God sent a hurricane to destroy a town because of Mardi Gras parades. What I probably should have done as soon as someone suggested God wiped out towns with sinners in them is to dive under the table and reach for a helmet. Because guess what? Everybody sitting around the table that day was a sinner...some worse than anybody knew, others worse than even they knew.
That's exactly what Jesus pointed out to people in this gospel.
There's a backwards way to read this scripture and a right one. Unless you're careful you're going to fall into the backwards way. It assumes that yes, those people whom Pilate slaughtered and on whom the tower fell were punished by God. When Jesus says, "Unless you repent, you too will perish" confirms for this listener that God smites evil folks and they had better be good lest the next storm hit them. To interpret the lesson this way we have to ignore that verse 2 begins with Jesus questioning the listener's assumption that these events were divine retribution and verse 5 flat out tells them, "No!" Then again, people who want to scare you into their way of thinking don't have much trouble ignoring parts of scripture that are inconvenient to their opinion.
Instead of confirming the assertion that disasters are God's retribution on sinners, Jesus is using the "Judge not, lest ye be judged" principle here. "You have judged those people more wicked than you and said God struck them down because of it. Well, you are all sinners. If God really acts like you say he does, YOU better be afraid!"
The only thing that allows people to make claims of divine retribution is the certainty that the disaster won't strike them. When you hear, "God sent the hurricane to punish the wicked" you should also hear, "And I don't judge myself wicked therefore hurricanes will never strike my home, Amen." Do you see what's going on there? That isn't an assertion of faith, it's the same old human response we started this explanation with. "I'm afraid. I need to feel secure. I'm checking the locks to make sure no hurricanes come here." Except instead owning that fear and dealing with it they're denying it, trying to foist off the whole thing on God. Saying, "I am sad in the face of this tragedy...it makes me feel scared and insecure and I'm worried this could happen to me or people I love," would be honest. It would allow us to come together to talk about how we all feel. But that admission also leaves the speaker vulnerable. It's much easier to say, "This was God's Will because of wickedness and I am not that bad so I am not afraid of it happening to me." Unfortunately this denial leaves us in the same place as the bad preacher, claiming that God killed other people to show how good we are.
We are all God's children whether we know it or not. God hears, "God sent the hurricane to punish the wicked" just like a parent would hear, "Dad killed my brother Jimmy because he was bad and I was good". That's horrible...unimaginable. It would also make Dad very angry at the kid who dared to utter it.
The fig tree parable at the end of the gospel confirms this. Some people read God as the guy who wants to chop down the tree, eager to smite all of us for our wrongdoing. That's backwards. The tree-choppers in this story are actually the same people who came to Jesus talking about God's retribution on the Galileans and the tower victims. They are so quick to condemn their brothers and sisters whom they perceive as wicked and fruitless. They say that the gardener should just chop the tree down, which is just what they perceived happening with these tragedies. "God should just wipe out those wicked people!" How does the gardener respond to this? "Wait! Have patience. The tree needs more tending. Let me care for it more. If it never ends up bearing fruit then you may be right, but we haven't spent enough time or TLC on it to make that determination yet." That's God's response: not smiting, but love and care.
This also guides our Christian response to tragedy. Our role when sad things happen isn't to sit and worry about ourselves. Nor is our role to protect ourselves, denying our fear and the possibility of anything bad happening to us. Least of all should our role be cloaking our human fears and frailties behind the cover of divine retribution. Instead we are called to do what God does: response in the kindest, most loving, most patient and helpful way possible. Compassion and empathy are the fruits of God's Spirit, not distance and judgment. This is true in the best of times, even more so in the worst.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
The Beat Goes On
Patrick can't make it to tonight's Music Night but he is hoping some people will get together and make some music together without him. The pipers were moving into the upper register and starting to learn Canticle Of The Turning. Bending the last note is lots of fun.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
February Church Council Minutes
Genesee Lutheran Church
Council
Monthly Meeting
February 26, 2013
Attending:
Jennifer Parkins,
Courtney Scharnhorst, Doug Cartwright, Susan Riggs, Dan Carter, Patrick Adams,
Linda Chilson, Pastor David Deckard
Meeting was started at
7PM
Jennifer Parkins read
to us about Holy Leisure-
Holy Leisure , as do
prayer and work, serves God. It may sometimes be self-refreshment or
refreshment by another. But it must result in a return to work and prayer with
renewal and joy.
Benedict’s genius was t
recognize that leisure is also God’s and should be so absorbing as to be timeless.
Still those monastery bells peal regularly, reminding us who we are, and
calling the community to prayer, work and play. Order in all of life, they
toll, right priorities, ad balance, are essential.
I often forget that God
wants me to laugh, to enjoy, being myself, to rest. “Peace comes from living a
measured life,” says Sister Joan. “Peace comes from attending to every part of
my world in a sacramental way.” Peace comes from holy leisure!
Next month Susan will
bring something on “Devotion”
Financial report was
given by Susan Riggs-
Things are the same as
reported at the annual meeting. We did get a Memorial Donation from the family
of Bud Deister. The Portico account is now being combined for both St Johns and
the Valley Church as one. So far things look good for the Donations Button on
the Blog site; Susan plans on checking that once a month for now.
Sunday School Report-
The Sunday School
classes are now preparing for Passion Sunday program.
Erika Grieser is
interested in taking over Phyllis’s position as Worship Committee Chair-Phyllis
will be helping her with the transition. This leaves open Erika’s position as
the Preschool Sunday School teacher, Vikki Fountain has agreed to take Erika’s
place this coming fall.
Pastor’s Report-
The Movies have been a
big hit with all those working on them and viewing enjoying them very much. The
teens will be working on one more for this year. There will be an evening set
up soon where all the movies will be able to be seen, date to be announced. If
you have not seen any you really need to plan on trying to make it that
evening.
Youth weekend went very
well attendance was high with 17-18 teens attending over the weekend. Saturday
night had the largest attendance-Patrick Adams came and helped bake Pizza that
evening. Food was not a problem as several members contributed with food for
the weekend. Another teen activity is going to be done over Spring Break.
Lent Services are going
to be Simple and Clean this year, what we will be doing for Holy Week and
Easter has not been determined yet.
Pastor Dave has had
good feedback on the Vision we have for our Church. He plans on making up a
shorter version of what he is foreseeing and the floor plans to mail out so
that everyone can see.
Stewardship is our next
goal; we have come full circle from what the church was to what it is today,
now we need to start working towards the future. Stewardship is important for
the mission of our church and we hope to approach this in a new way. We need to
clarify who and what membership is. One of the goals for the counsel is to make
up a new directory of our members.
New Business-
We need to set up an
“Activities Committee” Meeting in early March, possibly a Wednesday evening after
Lent Services, Jennifer will get a date set up and let everyone know.
Jennifer welcomed the
new council members. We need to look at the offices soon since officers may
only serve two terms per offices.
Patrick reported that
the ELCA site has many ideas for helping with our vision for this year. He gave
us five pages as a sample of things we could do. One way was to look at it as a
contrast of how we may look at church and what our goal would be:
Consumer Church Is
Different from Missional Church
Church is seen as a dispenser
of A
body of people sent on mission who
religious goods and
services. People gather in community for worship,
come to church to be “fed”,
to have community encouragement and
their needs met through
quality teaching from the Word in addition
to
programs, and to have
the professionals what they are self-feeding
reach their children
about God. themselves throughout the week.
I go to church I
am the church
The idea of giving out
of gratitude not out of debtedness is one way to look at this. We also need to find how to get everyone to
feel a part of everything. First thing though that we need to do is come up
with our Mission before we start on Stewardship. It was asked that we come to
the next meeting with our goals, ideas of issues and challenges we feel people
will face. This could probably be done in a sub-committee with them coming back
to us with what they have come up with. Pastor Dave felt we could start the
discussion at the next Theology on Tap.
Susan gave us
information on the Synod Assembly that was coming up April 19-21 in Boise.
Early registration would need to be in by March 10th. The theme for
this year is “Spirit Powers Us”. It was felt that we would like to know what work
classes they were going to be having before deciding on whether we wanted to
send anyone.
We also need to find
someone to be Vice President.
Our next meeting will
be March 12, 2013 at 7PM at St John’s.
Meeting was adjourned at 8PM.
The Little Things
Do you know what song the Sunday School kids sang this morning? I do!
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see
for the Lord he wanted to see!
He looked up in the sycamore tree and he said, "You come down here!"
cuz I'm going to your house today, I'm going to your house today!
Actually, I don't think this is exactly how it goes. You see, I didn't hear it firsthand. I know the Sunday School students learned this song today because my little boy has been singing in non-stop all afternoon. That makes sense, really. It has everything he could ever want in a song: tree climbing, giving orders, and someone coming over to the house to visit!
It just goes to show you, though, that the smallest things can make the biggest impression sometimes. You never know who you're going to reach with little things you consider ordinary, like a song we've all probably heard a hundred times before. That old song finds new meaning in the mouth of a five-year old who never realized that Bible stories were that exciting!
Don't neglect the little things in your faith life. The simplest moments shared faithfully can make a huge difference!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see
for the Lord he wanted to see!
He looked up in the sycamore tree and he said, "You come down here!"
cuz I'm going to your house today, I'm going to your house today!
Actually, I don't think this is exactly how it goes. You see, I didn't hear it firsthand. I know the Sunday School students learned this song today because my little boy has been singing in non-stop all afternoon. That makes sense, really. It has everything he could ever want in a song: tree climbing, giving orders, and someone coming over to the house to visit!
It just goes to show you, though, that the smallest things can make the biggest impression sometimes. You never know who you're going to reach with little things you consider ordinary, like a song we've all probably heard a hundred times before. That old song finds new meaning in the mouth of a five-year old who never realized that Bible stories were that exciting!
Don't neglect the little things in your faith life. The simplest moments shared faithfully can make a huge difference!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Poor in Spirit
Today in the Adult Sunday School Class we started a new study about Following Jesus, our first lesson plan was on "Awakening The Heart". The studies we have been doing has different parts starting with the Focus. Opening Prayer, Community Building, Discovery and Daily Walk.
Focus for today: To discover that our positive response to God's love and Jesus' invitation to follow him rings us into a new experience of what is real, what is important, and what is satisfying. Community building is always a way to introduce ourselves and something they want you to share. The Discovery was from Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
After reading this we were brought to the question of what this means to us especially the words blessed and phrase poor in spirit. It lead to quite a discussion. Blessed we looked up in the dictionary online and came up with these meanings: a. Held in reverence, b. honored in worship c. characterized by happiness or good fortune. There are many meanings these were just a few. For us Blessed was not as mystifying as Poor in Spirit was. We all agreed that when we hear that phrase we tended to concentrate on the word poor.
So my question to you now is what does this phrase mean to you?
The lesson went onto having us pick our a list when we are most open to the spiritual dimension of life and it gave us samples that we were to choose from:
A. When I am experiencing a crisis or loss
B. When I take time to connect with nature.
C. When I hear a good sermon or Bible study.
D. Music or art connects me to the spiritual.
E. When I hear the cries of hurting people.
F. In my quiet time or times of solitude.
G. Children help me the most because...
H. I don't know that I am very open to a spiritual reality. Maybe it's because..
I. When I am part of a worship service.
J. Other
All these made us stop to think about when we do connect and why. For all of us we had one that was the most but also felt all of them in one way or another was times we connect.
When do you feel you are connected most with the spiritual dimension of life and why?
We still were not sure we understood what the phrase Poor in Spirit meant, still we kept thinking of the word poor and thinking of this as meaning someone needy. So we went onto the next portion of our study this one asked us: In your opinion, what hinders many people from being "poor in spirit" or to open to God's presence and direction. What? We still were stuck on poor but this now made it sound like "poor in spirit" was something we wanted to be. Why would we want to b "poor in spirit"? We still were concentrating on the word poor and what we all conceived poor to mean and for most of us we don't want to be poor if we can help it. So now that challenge was to read the following and figure how these things could hinder a person from being "poor in spirit":
So my question to you now is what does this phrase mean to you?
When do you feel you are connected most with the spiritual dimension of life and why?
Focus for today: To discover that our positive response to God's love and Jesus' invitation to follow him rings us into a new experience of what is real, what is important, and what is satisfying. Community building is always a way to introduce ourselves and something they want you to share. The Discovery was from Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
After reading this we were brought to the question of what this means to us especially the words blessed and phrase poor in spirit. It lead to quite a discussion. Blessed we looked up in the dictionary online and came up with these meanings: a. Held in reverence, b. honored in worship c. characterized by happiness or good fortune. There are many meanings these were just a few. For us Blessed was not as mystifying as Poor in Spirit was. We all agreed that when we hear that phrase we tended to concentrate on the word poor.
So my question to you now is what does this phrase mean to you?
The lesson went onto having us pick our a list when we are most open to the spiritual dimension of life and it gave us samples that we were to choose from:
A. When I am experiencing a crisis or loss
B. When I take time to connect with nature.
C. When I hear a good sermon or Bible study.
D. Music or art connects me to the spiritual.
E. When I hear the cries of hurting people.
F. In my quiet time or times of solitude.
G. Children help me the most because...
H. I don't know that I am very open to a spiritual reality. Maybe it's because..
I. When I am part of a worship service.
J. Other
All these made us stop to think about when we do connect and why. For all of us we had one that was the most but also felt all of them in one way or another was times we connect.
When do you feel you are connected most with the spiritual dimension of life and why?
We still were not sure we understood what the phrase Poor in Spirit meant, still we kept thinking of the word poor and thinking of this as meaning someone needy. So we went onto the next portion of our study this one asked us: In your opinion, what hinders many people from being "poor in spirit" or to open to God's presence and direction. What? We still were stuck on poor but this now made it sound like "poor in spirit" was something we wanted to be. Why would we want to b "poor in spirit"? We still were concentrating on the word poor and what we all conceived poor to mean and for most of us we don't want to be poor if we can help it. So now that challenge was to read the following and figure how these things could hinder a person from being "poor in spirit":
- Their upbringing in the home didn't emphasize it.
- The pull of materialism or prosperity.
- Religion is seen as following rules or beliefs rather then healthy relationships.
- Easier to conform to the expectations of others.
- Needing God's help is seen as a weakness.
- Inadequate teaching from the church.
- Only the material word is real or important.
- Other.
- Think of ways you have been blessed (satisfied) by being aware of moments of spiritual transformation or amazement. For example, the story told in a sermon or movie, being changed through prayer, taking time to listen or help. What has helped to awaken your heart.
So my question to you now is what does this phrase mean to you?
When do you feel you are connected most with the spiritual dimension of life and why?
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