Tonight, I have decided to do something a little different.

With this being our last Wednesday together before Holy Week I would like to give a short meditation upon Jesus’ passion and death on the cross.

On Sunday we will hear the long passion reading from the Gospel of Luke.

In preparation for that dramatic reading, I offer this evening some reflections on violence, evil, and the cross.

I chose tonight’s sermon topic before the beginning of Lent and before the war in Ukraine.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine every evening as we turn on the news, we come face to face with great evil and violence.

But even before the war in Ukraine we are all well-aware that violence and evil acts are committed all the time.

The pain and the suffering never ends.

The pain and suffering of innocent people never ends.

Trying to make sense of all of this is an exercise in futility.

But this is where our faith comes in.

It is through the cross of Christ where God meets us in our pain and in our suffering.

Through the great evil and violence that Jesus suffered on the cross God was willing to go to the darkest place and most painful place for us.

The theology of the cross does not explain why there is violence and why there is evil in this world.

But what the cross does do is that it communicates to us how Jesus was willing to suffer for and with us.

Jesus experienced violence, evil, suffering, pain, and despair from the cross.

On the cross he said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!”

Jesus even felt the pain of being abandoned by God.

And in that moment in time on the cross Jesus hangs there in a space between faith and doubt.

In the hymn, What Wondrous Love is This, which we will sing to begin our Good Friday service, we will ponder such a love that would take Jesus to the cross.

Jesus is the suffering servant who lived in a brutal and violent world.

Pontus Pilate was a harsh and unjust ruler.

He was a violent man – who sent Jesus to the cross.

It would appear now, at this point, as Jesus suffered on the cross that Jesus’ life came to an end in a final violent, evil act.

But we all know that this is not the end of the story.

Our faith does not end with such a conclusion.

Our forty-day Lenten journey takes us to this point – and to this very edge.

We follow Jesus to the cross.

We take up our cross and follow him.

We take a hard look at the violence and the evil in the world.

And then we give witness to a greater truth.

It is a truth that is more powerful than the forces that oppose it.

It may seem, at times, that evil has the last word.

It may even be for a time that evil does have the last word.

For three days Jesus’ followers believed that violence and evil had won.

But then something happened.

From the cross a true miracle happened.

On the cross Jesus surprises us.

On the cross he not only meets us in our suffering and pain but Jesus makes the cross the defining act by which he will sacrifice himself for our salvation.

Jesus becomes the sacrifice of love.

The cross does not explain why there is suffering, violence, evil, pain, or sin in the world.

What the cross does do for us though is it communicates to us that God is on our side and that God loves us.

Today the cross is a great critique and rebuke of all the senseless and terrible violence in the world.

In the cross evil and violence ends in love.

“Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree, when God, the mighty maker died.”

To see God in the crucified Christ means to understand that in the violence and evil of this world the hunger, the war, the injustice, the racism, the pain that God is alive and that God suffers by us, with us, and that suffering is in God.

In his suffering our suffering is changed and transformed by his love.

In the cross violence and evil have not won the final victory but rather on the cross Jesus puts an end to all crosses of death, to all the destructive webs of violence and evil in this world.

In the cross we come to see that God’s way of life is so much greater than our ways of death.

As Lent comes to an end and as we pray and fast during Holy Week and prepare our hearts to receive this great love and grace, we find our peace and our hope in the cross.

Let us pray:

Jesus shows himself before his disciples.

His disciples are scared and afraid and Jesus appears before them.

He has risen from the dead.

He gives his disciples – his peace and he gives them the Holy Spirit – the very presence and breath of God.

And after he appears to his followers in Jerusalem – the disciples are ready to do great things in the name of Jesus.

So, what do the disciples decide to do?

After seeing their Lord and Savior risen from the dead.

You do just what you would do after seeing someone rise from the dead.

You go fishing.

Well, maybe not exactly what you would do but that is what the disciples do.

Simon Peter says to his friends, “I am going fishing.”

And his friends say back to him, “We will go with you.”

Can you see the humor in this text?

The disciples have just seen the risen Lord and what do they do…?  They decide to go fishing.

They return to what they know and what they are familiar with.

But while they are fishing that night, in the dark – they catch nothing.

Now it is morning – the light is out once again.

And there in the light -stands Jesus.

He is on the shore waiting for them – even though Jesus had just appeared to them, when they were in the locked house, the disciples not only are not willing to do what Jesus wants them to do… they do not even recognize him on the beach.

And Jesus goes along with his disciple’s fear and stubbornness and he calls out to them, “Children, you have no fish.”

Notice how Jesus uses the word, children.

The disciples answer, “No.”

In other words… you got that right.

So cast on the other side Jesus says.

A simple solution that might just work.

They cast their net on the other side and suddenly they catch so many fish that they cannot haul their net back into the boat.

And then the true miracle happens – not that they catch so many fish but that now a disciple knows who this man is.

The disciple who Jesus loves says to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

When Peter hears him say that he is the Lord, he too recognizes that it is Jesus.

And what does Peter do… he jumps into the water to escape from Jesus.

He is ashamed and does not want Jesus to see him.

But Jesus says in the Bible reading, “Bring some of the fish that you just caught.”
And Peter climbs back into the boat and drags the net filled with fish to Jesus.

153 fish in total.

153 fish what do you think that number means?

I don’t know either but wouldn’t it be interesting if we did know what that number meant.

Some scholars think it could refer to the total number of fish in the Sea of Galilee.

Therefore, this number could represent the disciples’ mission work to all the nations.

This number could also point to the abundant nature of God.

Regardless, of the symbolic meaning of the number – it is a lot of fish when they did not catch anything during the night.

But in the day – in the light – with Jesus they catch more than they need.

This points to the abundant nature of God!

Now comes the wonderful part of the Bible story.

At this point in the text, Jesus invites them to have breakfast.

They share in a meal of bread and fish.

We all know how life-giving it can be to eat with others.

Just two weeks ago we brought back our tradition of sharing in an Easter breakfast together between our two Easter services.

I really enjoyed that breakfast and how we shared together in a very special meal on Easter morning.

Did you know that sharing together in an Easter breakfast has its origin in this first Easter breakfast – as the risen Lord appears before his disciples and they share together in having breakfast?

After they finish their meal Jesus questions Peter three times about his love for him.

This is very hard for Peter.

Peter feels hurt that Jesus questions him three times.

Now remember Peter already feels bad here.

When he first sees, Jesus while he is in the boat, he jumps into the sea.

Later he gets up enough courage to still have breakfast with Jesus and then this happens.

Can you identify with Peter here?

Peter denied Jesus three times before Jesus was crucified.

He jumped into the sea when he first saw Jesus.

And now he feels hurt because Jesus questioned him three times about his love for Jesus.

Peter knows that he has messed up.

He has fallen short of his call to be a disciple.

Have you been there?

I know that I can be very hard on myself and feel badly when I fall short in some area.

Peter feels awful here.

He is ashamed of his behavior and he feels that he has let Jesus down.

All of us can identify with Peter here.

But Jesus still loves Peter just as Jesus still loves us – always.

Far more important than seeing Peter as one who denies Jesus and falls short is to understand and to recognize the love and grace of Christ.

And he says to him and to the other disciples, “Follow me.”

Follow me!

Jesus doesn’t give up on his followers.

Today this Bible reading is good news for us as well – just as it was for Peter and for those first disciples.

Jesus calls us to follow him and to give witness to Jesus in the world that God loves.

The future is open for the Holy Spirit to work and to move among us.

Our congregation is not defined by the last two years of the pandemic.

God is doing a new thing.

We are Easter people who celebrate the resurrection.

Christ was crucified but now is alive.

As the Psalmist says in Psalm 30 – Weeping lasts for the night but joy comes in the morning.

In the light of Christ, we follow Jesus in wonder, love, and praise.

Amen.

Let us pray:

“Lord, may these words from my mouth and this meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.”

Amen

Two weeks ago, I shared a very personal story in my Sunday sermon.

I spoke how the Lord greatly renewed my faith, some sixteen years ago now, through the holy meal of the Eucharist.

The word Eucharist is taken from the Greek and the word means:  “thanksgiving.”

In the Eucharist meal we receive Jesus Christ to which we are deeply thankful.

I was and I am grateful.

Sixteen years ago, I was just starting seminary and I was really wrestling with God and with my faith but at the same time I felt a persistent call from the Lord to a life of faith and service.

At Wartburg Seminary every Wednesday during morning chapel we received Holy Communion.

It was there at the table of the Lord that I received a very real spiritual healing.

The weekly meal brought healing and resurrection to my spirit at a very difficult time in my life.

The healing came for me at a time when I needed God to come to me and to ignite my faith.

The risen Christ appeared to me in the bread and the wine of the Eucharist and I felt a peace and a joy that I desperately needed at that time of my life.

I was experiencing a lot of pain at that time of my life and Jesus healed me.

Holy Communion is more than simply bread and wine.

Holy Communion is a miracle.

It is a miracle of God’s grace and mercy shown to us through Jesus’ body and blood.

It is the way that God uses through his Son to call his children home.

The Eucharist meal is a means of grace which means it is the way that Jesus calls us by name.

And please know that Jesus goes with you from the table.

So, it is not as if you receive Jesus in the Eucharist and then he is gone.

Jesus goes with you out from the worship service to a life of faith and service.

In my preaching you have noticed that I often turn my sermons back to meal – it is because not only do I believe in the words that Jesus said on the night in which he was betrayed but I have personally experienced its salvific power.

Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading, “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”

The sheep – that’s us – we hear Jesus’ voice.

We hear his voice and we welcome and receive his presence.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 23, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

With Jesus comes blessings and abundance and grace.

Now this does not refer to material abundance or success or fame.

The Psalmist is referring to those things that truly matter in life – peace, joy, happiness, love.

And in Revelation chapter seven we hear that the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our shepherd, and he will guide us to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from our eyes.

Jesus will comfort us in our suffering and pain in this life and he will be with us to the very end.

These verses from Scripture give us hope for the future and these verses give us hope today.

In the light of God’s Word, in the real-presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, in the shared hope that we carry within – we move forward as the people of God at this time and in this place.

In this Easter season be open to miracles, trust in the movement and the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us, know that resurrection and new life is possible through Jesus Christ.

May Jesus’ healing presence be with us.

In Acts chapter nine a woman disciple named Tabitha became ill and died.

She was a deeply spiritual woman who devoted her life to helping others and to acts of love and charity.

Tabitha lived a life of faith and service.

When I think of Tabitha, I think of women saints who have greatly blessed the church of Christ over the years.

Tabitha, was such a disciple of Jesus.

When the disciple Peter finds out that Tabitha is dead, he immediately comes to the room were Tabitha laid.

Now this is where this Bible story gets very interesting.

Peter knees down on the ground.

Then he begins to pray.

And then he says, “Tabitha, get up.”

Tabitha opens her eyes and she rises.

Tabitha who once was dead is now alive!

Peter preforms this miracle through the power of God.

The same Peter who was scared and afraid.

The same Peter who denied Jesus.

The same Peter who turned away from Jesus – is now in Jesus’ name healing and raising the dead.

Now Peter trusts in Jesus, he follows Jesus, and he is living in the light of Christ.

We too are given power and boldness and new life to do great things in the name of Jesus.

Like Peter after seeing the risen Lord we may be tempted to return to the familiar – to return to what we know, to dismiss the resurrection as an idle tale.

Peter returned to fishing.

It is not as if Peter should never go fishing again but now in the light of the risen Christ he is called to much greater things.

As we go about our day to day lives, we are called to greater things in the name of Jesus.

Often like Peter we resist.

We hold on to our pain because we do not want to let it go and to give to Jesus, we do not trust in the full power of the Holy Spirit, we may not really believe in the resurrection and the gift of new life that come to us even now.

But Jesus continues reaching out to us – never letting us go.

That is what Jesus did for me in the Eucharist sixteen years ago now during the season of Easter and that is what he does for me still.

It is what he does for all of us.

He reaches out to us with his real presence – to that we ever eternally grateful.

And so may the Lord bless you with his real presence in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.

May you hear his voice and may you follow him now in this life and may you follow to eternal life in heaven.

And may the peace and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you now and always.

Amen.

Caryll Houselander, a writer and spiritual teacher, tells of a powerful, vision that she had of the risen Christ.

In her own words I would like to share part of her story to begin my sermon:

It all happened, she writes, on a very ordinary day:

“I was in an underground train, a crowed train in which all sorts of people came together, workers of every kind going home at the end of the day.  Then quite suddenly I saw with my mind, but as vividly as a wonderful picture, Christ in them all.

But I saw even more than that; not only was Christ in everyone of them, living in them, rejoicing with them, sorrowing in them – but because he was in them and because they were here the whole world as it were was here too, here in this underground train – at that very moment.

The train ride ended.  I came out into the street and walked for a long time in the crowds.  It was the same here, on every side, in every passer-by -Christ.  I saw the risen Christ everywhere.

After a few days the vision faded.  People looked the same again, there was no longer the same shock of insight.  Now each time I was face to face with another human being, I simply saw another human being.  Christ seemed hidden once again, indeed through the years to come I would have to seek for him and usually I would find him in others and still more in myself only through a very deliberate and blind act of faith.”

Houselander’s spiritual vision speaks to the presence of Jesus among us.

The presence of the risen Christ with us!

He is here, he is there, he is everywhere.

In one Gospel Jesus said:

“I am the light above everything.  I am everything.  Everything came forth from me, and everything reached me.  Split wood, I am there.  Lift up a rock, you will find me.”

Gospel of Thomas

And in another Gospel Jesus said:

“I am the light of the world.”  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Gospel of John

Granted sometimes in life it may seem like Jesus is more hidden than visible.

We know that he is the light of the whole world but do we live as though he is the light of the whole world.

Even as we gather together on Sunday mornings, the time in which we set aside for worship and for our spiritual growth, do we anticipate encountering the risen Christ in worship?

In our day to day lives do we anticipate the risen Christ walking with us?

Now this is where a leap of faith is required in order for us to experience Christ with us.

Without this leap of faith, we may get stuck in our faith.

To recognize the presence of the divine Christ in every thing and every one is to take one big step forward in our spiritual maturity.

This step forward though does not happen through our own power or effort.

In fact, it cannot.

I love this quote by Martin Luther!

Luther writes in the Small Catechism:

“I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel.”

Faith happens through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

The vision that Paul received in Acts chapter 16 and that John received in Revelation 21 came about through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in the Gospel of John chapter fourteen:

“The advocate, meaning the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Now what does the Holy Spirit teach us?

The Spirit teaches us what Houselander saw in her vision – that Christ is with us, in us, and around us.

The risen Christ is with us even now.

It is like this…

In life sometimes things pass us by without us truly noticing or seeing it.

Maybe we are even trying to see what we are looking at but cannot.

Let me give you an example here:

For years I was trying to connect with the ideas of the theologian and teacher, Richard Rohr.

I have been buying his books, reading his books, and then telling Kalen after each attempt… I don’t connect with this author!

But this past week… all of a sudden, for some reason, I picked up one of his books, from my shelf, and started reading.

And his ideas started connecting for me for the first time.

Not only was it affecting me here in my mind, where I could process what he was saying, but maybe more importantly I started to feel it here and that is when the book really started to impact me.

What changed?

It’s hard to say… but something did change in me and now I see what the author was trying to say and now I know why so many people love reading books by him – including many of my friends.

The Advocate, which could also be translated as helper or as one called to one’s side is the One who helps us to see Jesus.

I especially like that image of the Spirit as One who is called to walk alongside of us – teaching us and reminding us that Jesus and his peace is upon us.

This Spirit, who is called to walk with us, opens our eyes to see the risen Christ among us – to feel his joy, to feel his pain, to experience him in the here and now.

May the Holy Spirit call, gather, and enlighten us and on the last day bring us and all believers in Christ eternal life.

Amen.

Jesus appoints seventy people to go ahead of him to prepare the way for his coming.

Once again, we encounter the sacred number seven in Scripture.

The number seven in seventy points to God and to divine perfection.

Jesus here is doing a divine work – it is God inspired.

There is also an Old Testament story in the book of Numbers where Moses is told by God to bring seventy leaders forward to join Moses in the work that he is doing.

Here Jesus is doing the same thing.

Jesus says to his seventy, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Today just like in Jesus’ time workers are needed in God’s kingdom.

When the people have gathered, Jesus gives them a warning.

They will be like lambs in the midst of wolves.

The wolves come to destroy and to attack the lambs.

Jesus’ disciples will not be welcomed by everyone.

Some will turn them away and some may even attack them.

As they travel, they are to share the Lord’s peace with those they meet.

In verse six Jesus gives a very interesting teaching to them.

I have always been fascinated by this teaching.

In verse six we hear:  “If anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.”

I would like for us to think about that word, return for a moment.

To return is to go back to something.

Here Jesus is using this idea as a positive thing.

In life if you share the Lord’s peace with someone that peace will rest upon that person but if the person chooses not to receive that peace, then it will return back to you.

So, nothing here is lost.

Either you bless someone with peace and that person receives peace or the peace is not received and then it is returned and you are blessed by the Lord’s peace.

Jesus teaches us here a very important truth about life.

If we put out peace into the world that peace will be received by others or it will return back to you and you will receive that peace.

Either way peace is given and received.

Think for a moment about the peace makers in the world.

Jesus said in another Gospel:  “Blessed are the peace makers for they will be called what… they will be called children of God.”

This verse reminds me of a person that I have admired for many, many years.

In her life this person simply went by the name, Peace Pilgrim.

Her actual name was Mildred Norman but everyone knew her as Peace Pilgrim.

Peace Pilgrim was a spiritual teacher, mystic, and peace activist.

For twenty-eight years she walked around the United States going from town to town spreading the life-giving message of God’s peace.

She had no money or possessions.

She walked until she was given shelter and she fasted until given food.

The day before she died someone asked her if she was happy living such a life.

Her response was simple and profound.

She said, “I am certainly a happy person.  Who could know God and not be joyous?  I want to wish everyone peace.”

After her death in 1981 her ashes were spread in a family plot near Egg Harbor City, New Jersey and in 2017 she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

She lived today’s Gospel reading literally and blessed so many people with the Lord’s peace.

Now we may not pick up and start going from town to town spreading God’s peace as the Peace Pilgrim did but still, we all have a calling from the Lord to spread Jesus’s peace.

People like her and others inspire us to do what we can to spread the life-giving message of God’s love and peace.

And we live right not at a time when peace is very much needed in our world.

In the Bible peace refers to wholeness.

The word shalom is used in the Old Testament to mean peace.

The word shalom is a Hebrew word which means not only peace but also harmony, completeness, and abundance.

To receive God’s shalom is to be blessed by God.

In the Bible shalom can also refer to restoration and a return to completeness.

Now hear again that word, return.

Sometimes in life it may feel like we do not have peace.

The peace that we desire is not with us.

We have stress, we have conflict in our lives, we live with regrets and we have of sorts of problems.

If this is the case know that this is not what God wants you to experience in your life.

God is with you in your pain and God wants to bring you healing and peace.

God wants us to return to that place of peace and shalom where we know God’s joy and God’s happiness.

So often in my life when I have felt the absence of God’s peace it only took for me to return back to the Lord where my peace was restored.

If I am struggling and life feels very difficult that’s when I need to return to Jesus in pray to receive his peace once again.

How valuable my morning prayer and meditation time is for me in finding a new sense of peace in my life.

Without fail, when I begin my morning with prayer and with meditation how much more deeply, I feel the Lord’s peace.

Then when things come my way, I am able to handle those things with more grace.

I am certainly not perfect so don’t hear me saying that… what I am saying here is that the Lord’s peace comes to those who seek it.

And when we receive God’s peace, we are to give it away knowing that even if the peace is not received it always returns back to us.

Jesus said, “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

And again, he said, “If you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into the streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”

In other words, as we spread God’s peace, as we share the Lord’s peace with others, after we do so we then let go.”

We let go and give it to God.

Either it will be received or it will not be received but either way you have God’s peace upon you.

People of God, live in this peace.

Do not let your life to be filled with anger and resentments.

Forgive, give your peace, and pray to the Lord of peace for the gift of God’s shalom.

And above all rejoice that your names are written in heaven – for we belong to God.  Amen.

In Colossians chapter three we hear that we are to let the word of Christ to dwell richly in us.
We are now halfway through summer.
Each Sunday during the weeks of summer we hear teachings and parables from Jesus.
I hope that these stories from our Lord dwell richly in you during these summer days.
Each Sunday we are given the opportunity to ponder Jesus’ words for the new coming week.
Let these words work in you during the week.
Let these words from Jesus, dwell in your hearts and your minds.
Last week we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan and how Jesus taught us to redefine
who our neighbor is.
Maybe we took some time last week to truly consider what this teaching might mean for our
lives.
Today we hear a Bible story on the priority of hearing the Word of the Lord as Jesus visits the
home of Martha and Mary.
When I read this Bible reading now what came to your mind?
How might you apply this reading in your life?
In this story from Luke chapter ten we have two opposite responses to Jesus.
When Jesus comes – Martha decides to get busy with her many tasks.
Mary simply sits at Jesus feet.

Now it doesn’t say this in the text but I image here that Martha prepares a nice spread of food
for Jesus.
She was the one who welcomed Jesus into her home.
So probably she is also the one who is serving Jesus.
And, as far as we know, Jesus accepts her hospitality.
But Mary is not helping at all.
Mary is not helping her sister with any of the jobs that need to be done.
This is just not right!
She should be serving too and helping Martha.
I learned early in my marriage with Kalen that when we have company over,
I cannot let Kalen do all the work in preparing for and having company over,
and then for me to just sit on the couch while she is busy working.
Well, I actually I could do that but that would be a very bad idea.
No, I need to help and to serve with Kalen when we have company.
So, there is this feeling of: “Where is the fairness here?” – that Mary is not doing any of the
work and Martha is.
Where is the justice in that?

But as it is the case in many of the Bible stories and parables from Jesus – Jesus is making a
larger point here.
This Bible reading is not so much about Mary not working and Martha working as it is about
how we respond to Jesus.
Here Mary is giving her complete devotion to Jesus while Martha is distracted by other things.
The distractions are pulling Martha away from and not closer to Jesus.
Martha’s worries and her distractions are keeping her from Jesus.
In verse forty-one we hear:
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one
thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
When I first read this text earlier this week, Jesus’ answer to Martha about her worries and her
distractions jumped out of the text for me.
I said to myself, “That is me too.”
My worries and all the distractions in my life pull me away from Jesus and from my faith.
In this text there is a way in which Mary does something very beautiful here.
She simply sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to him.
At that time, to sit at the Rabbi’s feet meant that you were taking the role of a disciple ready to
learn from your teacher.
Here Mary takes on that role as disciple eager to listen to and to learn from her teacher, Jesus.

Martha is not doing anything wrong here.
If she is serving Jesus food, Jesus is probably eating the food that Martha gives him.
But what Martha needs to do is to let go of her worries, to let go of her concerns, and all of the
distractions and tasks at hand and then to go and to sit by Jesus.
There she will learn things about God and she will receive exactly what she needs to receive –
God’s love and God’s grace.
God’s love and God’s grace will never be taken from her.
Jesus loves her and Jesus wants her to be a follower as well.
This coming week let this Bible story dwell in you richly.
Consider the worries and distractions in your life and how they pull you from Jesus.
What is preventing you from sitting at Jesus’ feet in order to listen to him?
What is getting in the way of your relationship with Jesus?
Remember that Mary chose to sit and to listen to Jesus and by doing so she was given
something that will never be taken away from her.
How might you find time this week for purposeful silence to simply listen to Jesus?
No phone, no screen, no distractions, just time with Jesus.
This coming week may we take this teaching to heart…
May this word from Jesus dwell richly within us…

May we be ready to welcome and to serve Jesus as Martha did…
And may we especially be ready to sit and to listen to Jesus as Mary did.
Amen.

When you pray, how do you pray?

What do you say to God?

What are your prayers like?

Do you pray these words that Jesus taught his disciples to say?

“Father, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.  And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Today we know this prayer as the Lord’s Prayer.

It is one of the first prayers that we learn to say and it is the prayer that we say before we receive Holy Communion.

Do you remember when you first learned this prayer.

I can remember as a small child, saying this prayer over and over until at last I memorized it.

I can recall how happy I was when I finally got it and could recite the prayer from memory.

Maybe you have a similar memory.

Hopefully, this is a prayer that you pray regularly.

And it does not matter if you prefer the traditional style or the contemporary style of this prayer.

The important thing is that we pray the prayer often and with heart.

Jesus teaches us that we are to pray this prayer over and over and over throughout our lives.

Praying this prayer without ceasing and faithfully praying each petition of this prayer.

We are to prayer this prayer with great persistence like the friend in the parable who continues asking for bread over and over and over again until the friend receives the bread.

In the same way we are to prayer the Lord’s prayer continually throughout our lives.

For if we ask it will be given to us, if we search, we will find, and if we knock the door to a life of faith will be opened to us.

In life it is easy to get caught up in praying for things that in the end do not matter at all.

Jesus teaches us today in the Gospel of Luke what we ought to be praying for.

First, we are to pray to God whose very name is holy.

We are not God, only God is God, and we are not alone.

God is above us, around us, and within us.  God is here.

We are not alone in life.  God is always with us.

That truth is something we talked about in VBS this week with the kids.

God is always with us.

And God’s kingdom is what we are to be seeking.

What is God’s kingdom?

God’s kingdom is where peace, joy, and love are found.

God’s kingdom is where God is.

There can be a heaven on earth and there can be a hell on earth too by the way in which we believe and by the way in which we treat others.

As followers of Jesus, we are to strive for a heaven on earth – that God’s kingdom in heaven is also found here on earth – that God’s kingdom will come in this world.

We are to ask each day for our daily bread.

Daily bread is not bread alone but everything that we need in life.

Each day we ask God to provide us with what we need and then we ask God for the generosity to share the rest with others.

We do not need to hoard God’s gifts and blessings but we are to share and to give as God shares and gives.

Next, we are to pray for forgiveness for all of our sins.

In asking for forgiveness, we then try to forgive others and to show grace to those who have hurt us.

This is a hard one and we certainly do not do this one perfectly.

It is only by God’s grace that are we able to show grace to others.

It is only in receiving God’s forgiveness that we are able to forgive.

Now this does not mean that we forget the harm that was done to us.

Sometimes the pain is so deep that the relationship can never be returned to what it once was.

This is especially true in the case of abuse and sometimes boundaries need to be put into place but even still by God’s grace we are to work to find a way to forgive and to let go trusting all the while in God and God’s ability to restore and to heal.

And lastly, we ask the Lord to save us from the time of trial.

We need God and without God we fall into temptation and without God there is no life.

God is our protector and our savior.

These things we pray for throughout our lives.

God is good and loving and God is ready to hear our prayers and to answer our prayers even before we say the words.

God provides for us all.

God provides for us even if we do not believe in him.

But O, how much greater it is to know that all that we have and all that makes us who we are comes from God.

Knowing this brings about a great inner feeling of gratitude and peace.

The gifts that we have in our lives comes from God.

Even life itself comes from God.

Each of us have the ability to experience peace, happiness, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, Jesus said in verse thirteen of today’s Gospel reading that the heavenly father is only too ready to give us the Holy Spirit when we ask him.

This means that right now we can know and feel the very presence of God in our lives.

This means that we can have faith in Jesus.

To live a life of faith is a tremendous blessing from God.

No money, no success, no power can compare to the joy of a simple, humble life of faith.

I have known people in my life who have died without a penny to their name but have died in peace because they had great faith.

The door will be opened.

Jesus waits, always waits for us at the door.

I have always loved that painting of Jesus knocking at the door.

Maybe some of you own that painting in your home.

In that famous painting Jesus becomes the friend in today’s parable, he is the one knocking and waiting.

He is the one who is ever persistent never giving up on us.

He comes not asking for bread.

He comes looking to give bread.

He comes as the bread of life – looking to give us what we need, looking to give us life and salvation.

Jesus will never force his way into our lives.

He gives us free will.

Jesus is at the door, he is waiting for us, and he will never stop believing in us.

He waits even now to hear our prayers.

Lord, teach us to pray.  Amen.

Today’s parable of the barns is unique to Luke.

This teaching can only be found in this Gospel.

And even though this parable can only be found in one of the four gospels the message here is both convicting and instructive.

In the parable Jesus argues for extreme reliance on God.

Jesus also teaches us here to place our trust in God and not in wealth.

It seems simple enough until one tries to put this into practice.

Our world operates around money.

It is kind of like this…

Have you ever seen the 1947 movie:  “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart as George Bailey?

I can use the example of a Christmas movie in my sermon because my family and I just celebrated Christmas in July at home with some friends… so I have Christmas on my mind.

Anyway, at one point in the movie George Bailey is desperate for money since his Building and Loan business suddenly loses $8,000.

Today that would be like losing more than $100,000

Then in an answer to prayer George’s guardian angel, Clarence comes to visit him.

During a conversation that the two are having George asks his guardian angel, Clarence if he has any money.

Clarence responds with a laugh and he says, “No, where I come from, we don’t need any money,” to which George then says, “Well, it comes in handy down here.”

Yes, it does.

We simply cannot function in the world without money.

Jesus knows this and that is why he tells the kind of parable that he tells.

This parable is told by Jesus to teach us to direct our attention from money to God.

God is the source of all blessings and all good things.

Last week in my sermon I spoke about how we are to pray each day for our daily bread.

Daily bread being all that we need in life.

Martin Luther writes in his Large Catechism of instruction that the petition “daily bread” includes everything that belongs to our entire life in this world.

Luther went on to say in his Large Catechism that this would include not only our food, clothing, house, and health but also peace in our daily activities and peace with the people whom we live with and work with and interact with.

Luther is teaching us here that we are to ask God for all that we need and then to trust that God abundantly provides.

Jesus said in another Gospel in the Gospel of John that he came to bring abundant life.

Abundant life in this context means a life that exceeds one’s expectations.

In Christ one’s life is more meaningful and is richer, and fuller than one would even hope for.

This past week Evie and I both watched a movie together and after the movie was finished, we both said to each other that the movie was better than we thought it was going to be.

We had high hopes for the movie and we were hoping to see a good movie together and, in the end, the movie went even beyond our expectations of it.

This is how it is with Jesus.

The life he gives is of a higher level then what we can even imagine.

So, in going back to the parable, why would we place our hope and our trust in things of this world like building bigger barns when there is something much greater for us – which is a life of faith in Jesus.

What is true wealth is knowing God.

Neither wealth or poverty is a sign of our relationship with God rather what is a sign of our relationship with God is our trust in God and our faith in God’s ability to provide all that we need.

Although God gives and provides us with everything that we need even before we ask, God’s wish for us is that we would put our trust in him so that we would know that the gifts in life come from him.

And more than that… that we might come to know his great love for us.

In our lives we put Christ and his cross at the center of our daily living we do not put bigger barns at the center of our daily living.

This does not mean that we do not practice faithful stewardship with our finances and careful planning and saving but what it does mean is that our faith is more important than what we own.

A great depression can wipe out our savings, a flood can ruin our home, COVID can take away our ability to gather together but God’s gift of faith in Christ remains through it all.

As the Apostle Paul says in Romans:  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword… for nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

May this promise from Scripture go with you this coming week.

Amen.

When I have a text like this to work with for my sermon I often wonder where the best place to start is…

There is a lot here in this morning’s Bible reading from Luke.

It is an extremely provocative text.

Jesus’ words here are meant to cause a strong reaction.

It should make us feel something and to awaken something within us.

Maybe a good place to start in unpacking today’s Gospel reading is to break it up into two texts.

We have verses 49 to 53 which is largely about division and then we have verses 54 to 56 which is largely about interpreting the present time.

First, the part on division.

Jesus said, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Not peace but division.

When we think about Jesus we think about peace – we do not think about division.

But in this teaching from Jesus, he is talking about division.

Jesus said that a household will be divided.

Family ties will be cut.

Separation will occur.

And how painful it will be.

Whenever division happens there is great pain.

Whether it be in a family or in some kind of a group whenever there is division there is loss and pain and anger.

We long for unity and peace and when that doesn’t happen the pain and the conflict can be so severe.

In the text Jesus is naming a true reality.

His teachings and his ways will bring division.

And, at that time, that is exactly what happened especially among families.

In the first century, Jesus’ teachings caused division within families.

And it did not stop there.

If you study church history you will find that in the last two thousand years the church has encountered division, conflict, and separation – again and again and again.

The hard truth here is that as much as we might like to preserve unity – Jesus’ words point to a greater truth.

In our sinfulness we turn from the peace of Jesus.

We cannot say that we believe in Jesus and his peace and then act in ways that are contrary to his peace.

We cannot pray to Jesus for peace and then act in our old sinful ways.

To know God’s peace, we must take steps towards peace.

To have peace in our families we must take steps towards peace.

It is like the old saying… “Hard work doesn’t guarantee success but without it you don’t have a chance.”

We cannot expect Jesus to do all the work of bringing peace and love and grace to the earth.

We need to join him in that cause.

We are to be part of the solution.

When division happens do we make it worse by our actions or do we make amends and find a way back to peace and harmony.

God wants to use us to bring about the kingdom of God – but we must not get discouraged when division happens, as Jesus warns us that it will happen – it is inevitable, but as Christ followers we are to stay with him on the path.

Then after saying these words on division Jesus turns his preaching to the interpretation of signs.

“When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’ and when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens.”

In today’s time we know so much about the weather and about the earth and sky and even space.

We can know things about the natural world that brings incredible insight into the smallest details of creation.

But as Jesus warns us here can we interpret the present time?

Jesus is calling for awareness.

First, he warns us that division will happen as followers of Jesus and next he calls us to be aware of signs of God’s kingdom.

We are to be aware of the things of God and not blind to God’s ways.

If we can know so much about creation, can we also know so much about Jesus and his mission.

We are to put our hope in him – not wavering back and forth but staying true in our faith.

People of God, may we pray for unity in our families and in our church, may we pray to be aware of signs of God’s presence around us, may we pray for grace for when we fall short of God’s ways, and may we pray for understanding and for compassion.

We are to be peacemakers in a world that seeks to be divided, we are to be the people that point to God’s reign around us, we are to be the one’s that work to heal and to restore that which is broken.

We can do this because Jesus is with us.

Amen.

What a miracle it is to be healed.

To suffer for so long and then to instantly be cured.

It all happened on the sabbath day.

Jesus was teaching the people and then there appeared a woman.

This woman was crippled and bent over.

For eighteen long years she suffered in this way.

But Jesus sees her.

He notices the woman – he does not ignore her.

And most importantly he sees her pain.

He calls the woman over to him.

“Woman,” he says, “you are set free.”

Jesus then lays his hands upon her and immediately, without delay, she stands up and praises God.

Now you would think that the healing story would end there.

And there would be this great celebration of the miracle that Jesus preformed.

A woman who was crippled is now set free from her ailment.

But, as we see from the text, this is not the case.

The leader of the synagogue instead of joining in the celebration and the joy of the healing miracle he is instead indignant.

He is upset that Jesus would heal on the sabbath.

Here in this Bible reading we see division on how one should treat the sabbath.

Now remember from last Sunday – Jesus said his words and his actions would cause division.

Today we see this happening in the healing story.

The synagogue leader is upset that Jesus would do such a thing as to heal on the sabbath.

By doing so he believes Jesus is breaking God’s commandment of working on the sabbath.

He is blinded to God’s ways and he cannot see the miracle that just happened.

At that time healing a person was seen as work.

To the synagogue leader Jesus is not following the law.

But wisely, Jesus will have none of it.

Jesus can see through this man’s intentions here.

The man is not concerned about God or on the woman in need of healing rather his intentions are focused on casting judgment on Jesus.

And so, Jesus says to that man and to those who are listening that this woman, who Jesus just healed, is a daughter of Abraham, in others words, Jesus is saying that this woman is a child of God.

And that she was in bondage for eighteen years.

Jesus sees the situation for what it is and he makes it right.

What is more important not working on the sabbath or in helping someone who is suffering.

Of course, we know the answer.

This is not a trick question.

God’s will is always to relieve suffering.

In this case it is to relieve the suffering that the woman is enduring.

Jesus wants to heal her.

In the end Jesus puts his opponents to shame and the crowd rejoices.

In hearing this Bible story right now, I wonder what comes to your mind?

How do you understand the sabbath?

What meaning does that day hold for you?

And what are your thoughts around healing and being cured?

As with every gospel reading that we hear on Sunday mornings there is always a lot to unpack.

So much is happening in this particular text.

We have the woman who is crippled.

We have Jesus who is teaching on the sabbath day.

We have Jesus breaking the sabbath law and healing the woman.

We have the synagogue leader who is indignant that Jesus would heal on the sabbath.

And finally, we have the crowd who witness everything that happens.

Now if I had to pull one key takeaway from this Scripture reading it would be this… that Jesus loves the woman who is suffering.

This text is really not about the sabbath or the synagogue ruler and his feelings about Jesus or the crowd or even about Jesus’ teachings.

This reading is about Jesus’ great love for a child of God who needs help.

What we learn from this reading from the Gospel of Luke, is that Jesus loves us and wants to heal and save us from our pain and suffering and then to bring us back to God and to others.

By healing on the sabbath Jesus shows us that he does not want us to suffer for even one day more – he wants us to be healed now.

In our world today there is great suffering and pain all around us.

Even God’s earth cries in pain from the ways in which we have harmed God’s creation and have not acted as faithful stewards of God’s world.

There is much healing that is needed.

Healing for the world, healing for our communities, healing for families, healing for those who are crippled.

To be healed is to be relieved from suffering and to be brought back to wholeness and oneness with God and others.

As we place our hope and trust in a God that desires wholeness and wellness for us, we too will rejoice with the woman who was healed.

Even on the sabbath Jesus wants to heal and to restore and to forgive.

For that – may we praise God for Jesus’ power over the spirits that cripple us and for Jesus’ great love for each one of us.

Amen.

I always have a hard time reading and preaching this text from Luke.

It is hard to know what to say.

Jesus gives us a difficult teaching here.

Sometimes when we are reading Scripture and we get stuck with what we are reading it is helpful to look at a different translation to see if we get any additional insight into the text or possibly a new perspective.

With this reading from Luke, I decided this past week to look at it from the translation, The Message.

The Message is a translation of the Bible through the lens of our modern language.

It is not a perfect translation as no translations are.

All translations of the Bible are filtered through the lens of the people who are translating it but still The Message is a fairly good translation that I enjoy reading from.

It’s also a translation that I like to use with my confirmation students because of the modern language.

The Message reads almost like a novel.

Now with the NRSV, the New Revised Standard Version in mind, which is what we have in the bulletin, I would like to read that text again but this time from the Bible, The Message:

A reading from the Gospel of Luke chapter fourteen:

One day when large crowds of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, 

“Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters- yes, even, one’s own self! – can’t be my disciple.  Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it?  If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish.  Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: “He started something he couldn’t finish.’

“Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other?  And if he decides he can’t won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?  

“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple”

There is certainly a different feel here with a different translation.

The same message from Jesus but given in a different light.

What Jesus is getting at here, I believe, in this particular teaching is that he is pointing out our very human tendency towards idolatry.

Idolatry is extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.

Jesus is teaching us here that God is to be source of our admiration, love, and reverence.

We are to place Jesus and his cross central in our lives.

Our sanctuary points to this truth as the cross is at the center of our worship space.

The cross is the point of our focus and worship.

I love that verse in The Message:  “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.”

Probably here the use of the word, hate in the NRSV translation, which again is in your bulletin, was not meant to mean the definition of hate that we have today in our context.

A more accurate translation for us would be what The Message uses, which is letting go, meaning that we hold on to Jesus in a way that we do not hold on to other people or possessions.

For example, I love my family but I do not worship my family or look to my family as the source of my life.

I receive help from my family and love from my family but I know that the gift of my family comes from God and the love that I receive from my family comes from God.

I am grateful for the possessions in my life but I know that possessions can be here one day and gone the next.

My savings in the bank can look good one day and then be gone the next but God’s provisions continue and God continues to provide even during times of scarcity.

We worship God and God is the source of our lives.

Through the cross of Christ, we look forward to the resurrection and we trust in God’s ability to give life and to make things new.

When we lift up the cross and follow after Jesus, we are given by him a new direction and a new path for our lives.

In Christ we lay a foundation for our lives that he helps us to finish.

We will be like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither.

Last month I came down with Covid and I was knocked out for about a week.

So, I had a lot of time to think and also to pray.

And one thought that continued to stay with me during that time is this… that if everything was taken away from me the one thing that remains is my faith.

My faith grounds me and keeps me close to Jesus and his cross.

Fortunately, I did recover well, and I certainly pray for the families that have lost loved ones because of Covid, but for me, the blessing that lingered after my recovery from Covid is that my illness gave me a different perspective on my life and on my faith – just like how a different translation of Scripture gives you a different perspective on the text or texts that you are reading.

And so may we, walk more closely with Christ and cling to his life-giving and healing power.

It is a power that sustains us in this life and it is a power that can even bring life in death.

With God’s help may we let go of those things that prevent us from following him and from picking up the cross.

May we lift high the cross of Christ.  Amen.

Jesus offers two compelling parables this morning.
First, the parable of the lost sheep.
Then the parable of the lost coin.
And unlike last Sunday’s Bible reading, where it was very hard to understand Jesus’ teaching,
today’s Bible reading is quite clear.
The two parables point to the truth that God is gracious and that God pursues us even when we
turn away from him.
God is a loving father who wants to be in relationship with us.
God wants us to know him and to find joy in him.
God wants us to turn to him and to be found – to be found is to be, finally, at home with God.
To be at home with God happens in our death, yes, when we are raised from the dead to be
with Jesus and the whole company of God’s saints, but it can also happen in this life as we
come to know Christ and his grace and his peace.
We do not have a permanent place here on earth but that does not mean we cannot find a
place of belonging and a place that feels like home.
This past week in considering this text from Luke, I have been reflecting on the meaning of
home.
What does it mean to be at home?

To no longer be searching, to no longer be lost, to be found, to be at a place of rest, to be at a
place where you can be yourself, to be at home.
Home can refer to a house, it can refer to a place, it can refer to family but in the context of this
Scripture reading – home is being with Jesus.
This truth became very real to me as I was growing up.
By the time I reached eighteen I had already lived in five different towns, three different states,
and I had attended four different schools in four different communities.
To this day I still don’t know what school I should go to if I were to attend a school reunion.
Maybe some of you here have had a similar experience.
So, I realized as a child that being at home does not necessarily mean a place – it can mean that
to be sure but for Jesus – being at home means something else.
Being at home is something more spiritual, something we feel and know inside of us.
Being at home is an inner knowing and belief that Jesus is right there.
And that his peace and his grace is always there for us to receive.
Our weekly Eucharist meal both reminds us of this and our weekly Eucharist meal is a spiritual
means for us to receive his grace and his peace.
At the table we are at home.
We are at home with Jesus.

And then as we leave this place and go on – for the rest of the week Jesus goes with us and
ahead of us.
If you are like me, you may have some anxiety about the future.
The future is unknown, there is always uncertainty about the future.
And how comforting it is to know that Jesus is already there.
He goes ahead of us and then he meets us each step of our journey.
He does not let us to become lost on the way.
Suddenly then the mistakes that we make in life and the regrets that we hold to become
absolved in his presence.
And if we turn from him, Jesus is quick to help us to find the way back to him so that we can be
at home with him.
This is the hope that we share together as God’s people – it is an active kind of hope.
This means that our hope in God and in Jesus impacts us each day of our lives.
This coming week spend some time thinking about what home means to you.
We often have strong attachments to the places we call home.
My family and I recently visited a place that is very dear to us on our family vacation.
For me it is the place that feels most like home.
It’s Dubuque, Iowa.

Why you might ask?
Well, it’s the place where Kalen and I met and where we went to seminary together.
It is a life-giving place for me.
I still keep in touch with many of my professors, teachers, and classmates that I first me in
Dubuque.
One of whom you met and welcomed this past spring, in our guest organist, Dr. Roy Carrol who
was one of my worship professors and the seminary worship organist.
There are so many wonderful memories from that place and it always feels like home when I go
back to Dubuque even though I only lived there for short four years.
Places do that.
We associate a lot of meaning to a place and the people we meet there.
This is good and the places that we call home provide the foundation and the stability that we
need in life.
Now think about that and the places that are dear to you.
And then think about your relationship with God and how God calls us to himself to be found in
him and to be spiritually at home with him.
Even during the times that we feel distant from God and the times that we feel lost in our faith
God is there speaking to us and reaching out to us.

Like the man who looks for his lost sheep and the woman who searches for her lost coin – God
continues, always to pursue us until we are found in him.
When we are found there is rejoicing indeed – for we are home.
Amen.

Today we hear another shocking teaching from Jesus.

It appears that Jesus is praising an act of dishonesty.

The manager who acts shrewdly is the hero of the story.

I can remember hearing this story as a child and thinking what a weird parable.

Even now I have to really think about this parable and what Jesus is trying to teach us.

Clearly there is an important lesson here if we just dig a little deeper.

What is Jesus trying to say to us in the parable of the rich man and the manager.

As with most of Jesus parables you can look at them through many different angles.

Today I would like for us to think about the quick and smart behavior of the manager.

He showed composure – he did not act compulsively – he made a plan and then he executed it.

Now I don’t believe that in the end Jesus was praising his dishonest behavior but Jesus was trying to make a larger point here.

Jesus is praising the man’s resourcefulness, his wits about himself, his smart intuitive thinking.

That is what Jesus is lifting up.

Jesus wants us to be just as bold for his kingdom work.

He wants us to use all the gifts that we have to move his kingdom and his mission forward.

Can we be just as creative and smart and yes, shrewd as the dishonest manager but and, here is the twist here, can we be that for what is right – for what is just, and for what is honest.

Remember the scripture from the book of Micah – we are to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

Jesus is calling us to respond to him with the same kind of boldness that the manager had in the parable.

We are not to shy away from our faith but we are to lean more deeply into our faith with all the strength that God gives us.

It is a shocking parable but it is also a parable with a good message.

Each of us can find ways in our work, in our home life, within our families to really live from our hearts and not to just to complacently get by.

Life is too much of a gift to let it just slide by…

As I was working on this sermon this past week, I thought to myself if the shrewd manager were to write a book what kind of a book would it be??

And the first book that came to my mind was the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey.

This is a book on how to live from that deeper and more creative part of ourselves.

The book also is a very worldly book and it takes an almost mechanical approach to living.

In other words, the book feels at times a little distant from the day to day lives of real people.

But if you look at the book and take his ideas and apply them with your faith then suddenly it gives your faith new meaning.

For example, one of his ideas in his book is to create a personal mission statement.

Our congregation has a mission statement – our shared mission statement is to praise God, to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ, to reach out with this message to people of all backgrounds and cultures, and to create a community of Christian support, love, and forgiveness.

Maybe you work at a place that has a mission statement but do you personally have a mission statement?

Do you have a mission statement that you think about everyday that impacts your choices and decisions that you make each and every day of your lives?

I have a personal mission statement that I have been living from for the past twelve years.

In January of 2010 I received some strong inspiration and I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down my personal mission statement which I have been living from ever since.

During good days and seasons I remember my personal mission statement during difficult days and seasons I remember my personal mission statement.

My mission statement gives meaning and purpose to my life and the statement give me direction in living out my faith and in being a better steward of the gifts that God has given me.

I am not going to share my mission statement because it is between God and me but I want to share with you now how impactful my personal mission statement has been for me over the years.

During some of the dark days and seasons of my life my personal mission statement has been a light for me – almost as if the Holy Spirit is reminding me to keep moving forward and trusting in Jesus.

How about you – what is your mission statement between God and you?

Today is Reformation Sunday.

On this day we remember the good work that was done, 500 years ago, by Martin Luther and the other early church reformers like Philip Melanchthon and John Hus.

These church reformers taught us to always be about the work of reforming and renewing the church.

There is never a point where we can say – I think that the church is perfect.

As much as I would like to say this

– there is never I point where I can say – I think Williams Bay Lutheran Church is perfect.

We will never reach that point.

We will never be able to say that we will not need to change or make any improvements to our church because everything is already right.

Reforming / renewal is an on-going process in the church.

Somethings do stay the same in the church but other things change and through it all we look to God for guidance and direction.

We do not cast the vision – it is God who casts the vision – who gives us the mission.

We do not move the church forward it is God who moves the church forward and then we move into God’s future with trusting hearts.

It is easy to get caught in the temptation that we are the ones who direct and guide the church but that is wrong.

It is God who directs and guides the church.

For Luther he believed that the church was greatly misguided because the church was moving in a direction that was not led by God and by God’s Holy Spirit.

The church was corrupt.

Through Luther’s work, along with other early reformers, the church changed and became more faithful to the Gospel.

There was resurrection and new life in the church.

Even today we strive to seek God’s will and not our own.

How do we do this?

How do we hear God’s voice in the church?

In my personal devotional time, I am reading through the book of Proverbs.

The book of Proverbs is a book that gives advice and guidance on a wide range of issues.

In Proverbs chapter twenty verse eighteen we hear that we are to form our purpose by asking for counsel and advice.  Then and only then can we carry out the plan.

One of the things that I have really appreciated over the years as a pastor is being on church counsel.

I am grateful that I don’t have to cast the vision for the church on my own.

I listen carefully to the direction and the guidance that I receive from the leaders of our congregation as they carefully seek God’s will.

And then I lean on them for help in order to carry out the mission of our church.

Over the years some seasons in the church have gone very smoothly with very little concern but some seasons have been much more challenging and difficult but through it all we listen to the voice of God.

We trust in God’s future and God’s ability to draw us forward into God’s mission.

We catch ourselves when we are tempted to be visionary dreamers – this means times when we put our plans ahead of God’s plan.

These are times when we try to push our will forward instead of taking the time to carefully discern God’s will.

And the only way we can discern God’s plan is through prayer and listening.

There is no other way.

Prayer and listening.

We pray to God and then we listen.

During the first two years of the pandemic this was my constant work.

Prayer and listening.

Prayer and listening.

Praying to God.

Listening.

Listening to the church counsel.

Listening to others in the church.

Listening to the Spirit at work in our church.

Listening, listening to the voice of God.

In Proverbs chapter three verse five we hear that we are to listen for God’s voice in everything that we do, everywhere we go; for God is the one who keep us on track.

And Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading that if we continue in his word – meaning that we continue listening to him and seeking his will, then we are truly his disciples.

We will know the truth – we will know the way and his truth will set us free.

We will be free to live a grace-filled and life-giving life.

As the church continues listening to God’s voice the church will continue to reform and be shaped and pruned by God’s Spirit.

God will continue using the church for God’s purposes.

God has not given up on the church.

Even now I see God at work in our church.

Yes, here in this place.

As we gather together each week for worship

– God is at work.

In seeing the children and youth in church

– I see God at work.

In Stu’s stewardship talks where he speaks about the work and activity of this church

– I see God at work.

In the work that our church council does each month working together to help our church discern God’s ways

– I see God at work.

In the hymns that we sing that speak to our faith in a gracious and loving God

– I see God at work.

In the laughter and the joy that we share together over coffee and pie – I see God at work.

As God’s people in this place and time

– may the Lord bless our church and may we have the faith to continue moving forward into God’s future as God makes a new covenant with us.

A covenant where God writes on our hearts that we are God’s people and God is our God.

We ask for all this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

This past week I had a graveside service at Roselawn Cemetery here in Williams Bay.

The service was for someone who was a previous member here but had since moved away from this area many years ago.

But even through the years and the distance she still felt a connection with our church.

I am grateful that people feel that way – connected to the church even though time passes and distance separates.

Whenever I officiate for a graveside service or a funeral service, I am reminded that we do not have a permanent place here on earth.

Sometimes it seems as if our lives will continue forever but that is not the case.

As wonderful as life can be the time we have is set.

There is a Scripture verse that says:  “People are appointed once to die.”

That is from Hebrews chapter nine verse twenty-seven.

We will not live forever.

We will, one day, die.

Today on this All Saints Sunday we remember this truth just like we remember this on Ash Wednesday.

Every year on Ash Wednesday, as we begin the forty-day journey of Lent, we hear the words:  Remember we are dust and to dust we shall return.

We believe by faith that our spirits will continue but our bodies will go back into the earth.

“We commit her body to the ground earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Those were the words that I said at the graveside service this week.

The words that we hear at the beginning of the book of Genesis will come true for all of us.

In Genesis chapter three we hear:  “We will return to the ground, since from it we were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”  Genesis chapter three verse nineteen.

On this All Saints Sunday we also remember that we are connected to the whole company of the communion of saints.

All of God’s people in heaven and on earth are a part of the company of saints.

There is a never a moment in life where we are not a part of the communion of saints.

Again in Hebrews chapter twelve it says that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.

The writer of Hebrews wanted us to imagine that we are all in an arena and there at that arena are previous generations.

They are present for us.

These people witness and see our faith in action and from their seats they cheer us on.

Think about your favorite sports team.

If you follow your team regularly you will notice a pattern.

Your team always plays better at home.

Your team feeds off the energy, the excitement, and the positive energy of the home crowd.

This is true for us as well.

Knowing that we are a part of the communion of saints gives us encouragement and hope especially during the struggles and challenges of life.

We have people right here in this place who will encourage and support us but we also have those who have gone ahead of us who now rest with God who wait for us and who cheer us on.

And they do cheer us on in life and at the hour of our death.

When I first became a pastor, I thought that I would have many difficult conversations with members about dying and in addressing people’s fears around death.

Now over the years I have had some of those hard talks and these talks are very important as I try to give these people hope but overwhelmingly, I have seen such peace and faith in those who are near death.

Overwhelmingly, those who are at the end of their life, talk to me about their love for God, their faith in Jesus, they talk about their loved ones who have passed away and how they are ready to be with them again, and they talk to me about their readiness to be with God.

I have seen such faith over the years.

Surely these men and women that I have seen with my own eyes were already surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.

In fact, I can recall one conversation in particular, this conversation happened when I was serving a church in Iowa, that especially moved me.

I met with this person for our visit at the nearby town’s favorite diner in Toledo, Iowa.

Big-T, which was a Maid-Rite restaurant, was our stop.

Not only was the restaurant a town favorite but the owner, a very kind man and humble man, was a member of the church that I was serving at the time.

So, over a Maid-Rite and a cup of coffee, we talked about faith and about dying.

From my memory he did most of the talking, which was fine with me, and I remember him telling me this:

Pastor, I have learned that we don’t need to be afraid of dying.

It is going to be beautiful.

When my time comes, I am ready to go to heaven.

The conversation that day really impacted me.

His faith was so strong.

When his time was up, he was ready.

He had made peace with his life and he made peace with God.

We do not have a permanent place here on earth but we do have a permanent place, a permanent home in heaven where we will be with the whole company of God’s saints.

On this All Saints Sunday we give thanks for our faith in God’s gift of eternal life and we give thanks for all the saints.

If I could leave you with one more thing this morning it would be this:  Eternal life is our inheritance.

It is God’s gift to us.

There is nothing you can do to receive an inheritance.

You receive an inheritance as a gift from the owner.

This is Christ’s gift for us.

For Jesus was faithful to us and Jesus was faithful to God even to death on a cross.

Now n Christ our lives will continue even in death.

Jesus said in the Gospel of John:  “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

May God give to each one of us here the faith to believe this promise from our Lord and may the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

Amen.

Grace and peace be with you all from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

Amen.

This evening it is good for us to gather together for worship.

In speaking about being thankful tonight, I want to begin my sermon by saying that I am grateful for our shared partnership in the Gospel.

I am grateful that we can come together as a community to give thanks to God for blessings received.

I have been a pastor now for twelve years and every year of my ministry I have joined up with other churches for an ecumenical Thanksgiving service.

Starting back in my first congregation out in Iowa I have had a part in a community Thanksgiving service for the past twelve years and I don’t plan on stopping – I want to keep this important ministry going.

I begin my ministry in rural Tama, Iowa.

The tradition in that small community that I was called to was always to share in a community Thanksgiving service.

And so, between the two Methodist churches, the Presbyterian church, the Catholic church, and the Meskwaki Tribe Assembly of God church we joined together every Thanksgiving to give God praise as a community.

For those four years that I was in Tama I always found it so incredibly meaningful for everyone to come together each Thanksgiving for worship.

I am grateful still that I am able even now to participate in a community Thanksgiving service that has grown in size over the years.

I certainly want to thank Chapel on the Hill for hosting this years’ service.

We are grateful for this service.

Besides being grateful for tonight’s community service… what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving.

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always.

For the Apostle Paul, to rejoice in the Lord meant that you not only expressed gratitude and thanksgiving through your actions but to rejoice in the Lord meant that you felt something internally – you felt something in the heart.

Paul believed that to rejoice meant you actually had an experience of God’s grace and mercy that compelled you to rejoice in all circumstances.

Through the inner experience of God, you outwardly expressed your joy and delight and praise.

What do I mean by this?

When I was ten years old, I developed a great passion for the game of basketball.

I would go out and shoot baskets in our basketball hoop over the garage again and again and again.

For hours and hours, I worked on my shot.

In the rain, in the snow, in the wind I would fine tune my basketball skills.

I had a love for the game.

There was this profound joy that I found in basketball.

I even purchased a rim that was smaller than the actual size of a standard basketball rim -that fit over the standard rim – in order to improve my shot.

It was called the accurim.

The accurim turned a standard basketball rim from being eighteen inches in diameter to being twelve inches in diameter.

Now a standard basketball has a diameter of about 9 inches so when shooting at a hoop that has the accurim attached to it you had to be extremely accurate in your shot.

If you were off just a little the basketball would bounce of the accurim.

The purpose of course in using that device on your rim was to improve your shot by forcing you to get the basketball right in the middle of the rim.

At that time, I also sent in the mail a check for sixty dollars to get a book that guaranteed anyone that read the book some ten inches on their vertical jump – if they followed the plan highlighted in the book.

But from my memory the accurim did improve my jump shot but that expensive book that I sent away for, which turned out to be not a book at all but really just a pamphlet, I discovered that reading that pamphlet did not greatly improve my jump.

In other words, after reading that pamphlet I still could not dunk the basketball.

Although to this day I still have dreams in my sleep of dunking the basketball.

But in real life not so much.

Oh, I had dreams back then to become an NBA star like my hero Michael Jordan.

But by my sophomore year of high school while sitting on the bench during the games I had to rethink my NBA career.

But my love for the game and the joy that I still get even now from basketball whether it is simply in shooting hoops at the Y or in watching the Milwaukee Bucks on television or my favorite thing in watching now my daughter play basketball at the Williams Bay school I am grateful for that simple game of getting the basketball.

I don’t play basketball just because I enjoy the game.

I feel the game as I play.

It is an inner feeling – it is a deep commitment to the game that flows from that inner feeling of joy.

To be grateful is to not only show your joy and your love for something it is to feel that joy and love for something.

God doesn’t just want us to carelessly offer up praise and thanksgiving.

God wants us to deeply feel that praise and thanksgiving in our hearts, our minds, and our souls.

God wants us to experience his joy and his grace so that our hearts spill out his praise.

Now it is your turn.

Think about something in your life that brings you great joy.

Sometimes just thinking about something that brings us joy can ignite these deeper feelings within us.

Then ask yourself this question: “Why do I feel this way about that?”

Why does this thing bring me so much joy?

Because whatever that thing is it may be leading you or pointing you to something very significant.

That thing might be helping you to understand yourself in a deeper way.

Once you got it – hold onto this feeling.

The way you feel about that thing that brings you such great joy is the same feeling that God wants you to feel towards him.

And more than that because whatever that thing is – in my case it is basketball but it will be different for you, whatever that thing is it pails in comparison to having a life-giving relationship with God.

Nothing here on this earth compares to God.

God is the source of all life and joy and wonder and God is the source of our happiness.

In the Gospel of John, we hear that Jesus is the bread of life who gives life to the whole world.

He is the one who satisfies our hearts and our souls.

As much as I love basketball it is nothing in comparison to my relationship with Jesus who is the true bread from heaven.

He is the Word made flesh, the Alpha the Omega, the beginning and the end.

He is everything to us.

When we receive him and his love and his grace, we overfull with gratitude and thanksgiving.

You give him thanks and praise because your praise flows out of a heart that has been touched by God.

On Thursday we will celebrate the day of Thanksgiving.

This coming Thanksgiving Day take a moment to express your joy and your gratitude to God.

Let God fill your heart, mind, and soul in such a way that you overflow with praise to him.

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Mostly we give thanks for our faith in a gracious God who gave his Son to us.

For Jesus was faithful to God and to us even going so far as dying on the cross demonstrating his commitment and love to those he cares for so very much.

His love is for you and me.

It is not a love that we only hear about it is a love we feel, we know, and we experience – it is a love that tell others about and it is a love that we rejoice in.

Let us pray:

When I was a child, I thought that these last two weeks of Advent, right before Christmas, were a bit magical.

In church I can remember the joy that I felt when the third candle was lit.

“One more to go,” I would say to myself and then Christmas will be here very, very soon.

And then with Christmas came the great delight of Christmas vacation and presents and family traditions and in joining in on the church Sunday school Christmas program.

In the little country church, I attended, it was their tradition to have the children’s Christmas program on Christmas Eve.

Oh, how exciting it was to participate in such an event on the night before Christmas.

The tiny church would be packed, balcony and all, and with my Sunday school friends we would sing and say our lines and in special costumes perform the story of the birth of Jesus.

I knew even then, as a small child, that Christmas pointed to something much greater, even if I could not fully understand what it pointed to.

And while we follow a clock and a calendar – we have faith in a God who is beyond time and whose love and grace, and protection is far greater than what we could ever imagine.

And yet, at this time of the year, somehow, we try.

We even try to practice it and to embody it, even if for the briefest of spurts.

For if we cannot image such love and grace now – how will we ever be able to receive such love and grace.

And so later this morning we will try to do just that.

We will try to image and feel such love and healing and mercy from God as told through the voices of our children – as they act out the story of the birth of Jesus.

And then we will hear again from the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John that miraculous message of the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

Jesus the coming messiah who comes to save God’s people.

He will save us from evil and from sin and he will save us for that which is life-giving and healing.

Can we and will we imagine and believe in such a powerful love from God?

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter eleven John the Baptist has a strong moment of doubt.

He questions if this person, Jesus is indeed who he says he is.

Now in our Scripture reading – John is in prison.

He is not in a good place – his end is near.

And he is having some serious doubts about Jesus.

The messiah is not meeting his expectations.

Afterall, he is in prison.

Later we will hear in the Gospel that he will be executed.

And in this sad state – John thinks that God’s kingdom is not being realized yet on earth.

He is probably thinking here about King Herod and the power of Rome.

John wonders why Jesus has not taken over the throne and assumed kingdom power.

And so, he sends his disciples to question Jesus.

“Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

Jesus is the One – there is not another.

Jesus answers back by saying, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.  Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies made by the prophets specifically from the prophet Isaiah.

In the book of Isaiah, we hear:

“Say to those with a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!’  The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”

Jesus’ work of healing and love is ushering in God’s new kingdom.

Jesus is a warrior king in this new kingdom, but he is a warrior king of healing and new life.

He will not misuse his power as kings of old – who kill and destroy.

Instead, Jesus will humbly take the throne and he will judge and rule with justice and love.

Jesus will be a king unlike any other king from the Bible.

He will rule in a new way, and he will restore and reconcile all of God’s creation back to God – he will be the Savior of the world.

It says in Colossians chapter one that God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

In our time, right now, the reconciling work of Jesus continues to unfold.

Jesus continues to manifest the mystery of his healing peace.

It is a peace for you and for me this Advent season.

This is a bit of a magical time in our calendar.

It is a time where we think a little bit more of what it means to help those who are in need, where we try to show a little more kindness to others, where we reflect upon the previous year, where we dream about the New Year and where God will take us, and where we make more space in our hearts for Jesus.

It is a time of the year where we are reminded that we are forgiven and loved by a gracious and compassionate God and where Jesus’ abiding presence is always with us.

Today may you know, without a doubt, that Jesus is the Messiah who comes to make all things new.

His healing presence is for you and for me.

May you be blessed by his peace this Advent and may you know the joy of the Lord now and at Christmas.

We pray.

December 18^th  Fourth Sunday of Advent 2022

Pastor Tom Dowling

Fourteen years ago, I was preparing to preach a Christmas message as an intern pastor in Dodgeville.

I remember only a little now of that Christmas sermon that I spent so much time preparing for.

I remember how, at one point in that sermon, I spoke about that beautiful hymn, Silent Night.

It’s a hymn that when song on Christmas Eve brings a bit of heaven to earth.

But that Christmas sermon almost didn’t happen…

At that time in my life, I was doing seminary the traditional way of living on the seminary campus for three years and then living off campus for one year of internship at a church.

I started my internship there in Dodgeville at the end of that summer.

I remember in the beginning feeling so overwhelmed.

It wasn’t so much that I felt that I could not do the work – it was that I felt that I could not handle the work – which is a big difference.

Meaning I had the skills – more or less – but certainly not the confidence.

And so, I thought to myself how I might quietly find a way to leave my internship.

Kalen and I were newly married and I knew that if I told her I was quitting my internship that would not go over so well with my new wife.

So, I had to be very careful with how I was going to do this.

But in the struggle of my discernment, I somehow found a way to stay with it.

And over the course of the year, I was tremendously blessed by the work that I was doing, by the people that I ministered to, and by those who ministered to me.

Even now whenever I go through that little Wisconsin town of Dodgeville or when I think about that time in my life and the people that I got to know there – so many good memories come to my mind.

The Holy Spirit was certainly interceding and gently and at times forcefully pulling me along that year of internship – speaking to me to stick it out – to stay with it.

In today’s Bible reading from Matthew, we hear of Joseph’s decision to leave not a job, which was my situation, but to leave the one he was engaged to – Mary.

But just when he resolved to do this the Lord intercedes through an angel and the angel tells Joseph to stay with Mary.

By doing so Joseph is greatly blessed for he becomes the earthly father of the Son of God.

Now all of us here – in some way – can identify with the man Joseph.

All of us here have had experiences in life where we have wanted to leave something.

Whether it be a job, a town, or some kind of life situation that would greatly impact those around us – in Joseph’s case he wanted to leave Mary because of what he knew – all of us here have faced, at some point in life, that difficult decision of whether to stay or to go.

I imagine with Joseph he wrestled over his decision to stay with Mary or to leave her.

Discernment is never easy.

Discernment is hard work.

Now the word discernment means understanding or perceiving something in such a way that you can see a clear path forward.

Discernment refers to the ability to make smart judgements and to be aware of the subtle and not so subtle movements of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes though the way is not clear at all.

And we pray and pray and hope that we can find some direction from God.

Joseph is in discernment.

At that time the Jewish law stated that engagement was legally binding.

And when he hears that Mary is pregnant with a child, that is not his, Joseph discerns that the best option for him is to leave Mary.

But before he does so the Lord intervenes.

In a dream God speaks to Joseph.

Just like how God spoke to the other Joseph in the Bible in the book of Genesis.

God speaks to this Joseph too in a dream.

Two thoughts here.

First, God is always speaking to us and God will use whatever ways God can in order to get our attention.

Secondly, we may not be as faithful as Joseph was or as clear in our discernment as Joseph was after he received the guidance of the dream but nevertheless, God keeps speaking to us.

Joseph immediately listened to God and he did what God told him to do when God spoke to him through the angel.

But again, even when we don’t listen to God – God doesn’t give up speaking to us.

When we turn the other way and when we turn away from God – God still intercedes on our behalf – God continues to reach out to us – until we finally stop and listen to him.

I have learned in life that when we turn from God or if we have a big misstep the best thing we can do is to humbly come before God and say, “Ok Lord, I took a wrong turn again.  I had poor judgement.  I did not listen to you.  But I am listening now… I am listening now.”

How many times have I prayed that exact same prayer to God over the years.

“Lord, in this situation I did not listen to you.  I missed your will but I see what I did and I am listening to you now.  I have learned my lesson.”

I am grateful for the times in my life when I was like Joseph and I listened to God’s voice but I am equally grateful for all the times in my life when I did not listen to God and yet God still worked in my life and more than that – God gave me grace.

Grace being a second change and a renewed hope that we have another opportunity to listen and to honor God’s will.

All of us here have regrets – things that we did that we wish we did not do, sins that we committed that are painful to remember, and choices that were in direct contradiction to God’s will.

At times it may feel like we are lost in the dark and that we are wandering aimlessly in life.

And when we come to that point in life, that is when the good news of the Gospel impacts us.

There is a reason that God decided to send Jesus.

In Matthew verse twenty-three of chapter one we hear:

“The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us.”

Even though here in Wisconsin we have the longest nights of the year a light still shines very, very bright this time of the year.

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we are very close to celebrating the birth of our savior.

Jesus comes as the true light among us.

He will be with us and he will save us.

He saves us from sin and death and he saves us for a life of joy and peace.

Joseph had a great responsibility.

He was to care for the Christ-child and to nurture him until he would become the Savior of the whole world.

God gave Joseph a mission and Joseph listened to God.

In what ways is God speaking to you this Advent?

Every Advent season is an opportunity for us to listen to God in new ways.

From this place of worship as you leave today and go about your week, this final week before Christmas – where is the Holy Spirit interceding on your behalf?

How is God preparing your heart and your mind for the coming of his Son?

Is he speaking to you through prayer, through Scripture, or is God speaking to you through your dreams just as he did through Joseph’s dreams.

Dreams can be a powerful way that God speaks to us – whatever way God is speaking to you – keep listening.

Christmas is a reminder to each one of us that God is always speaking to us and that God is always calling us to something greater in life – to a higher purpose.

Let’s be like Joseph and let’s hear God’s voice and respond to God’s voice with our lives.

This coming Christmas may we hear the Lord’s true voice and when we hear his voice let us faithfully follow him.

And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing in the coming Christ-child.

Amen.

Christmas Day 2022

Grace and peace be with you this Christmas day from God our father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?

There are several that come to my mind.

It was 1987 and I was seven years old.

There was a knock at the door.

It was Eldon Nessen a dear friend of the family.

He was holding a large wrapped box.

“Merry Christmas, “he said.

He stepped into our house.

“This is for all of you,” he said.

He then carefully handed over the large box to my dad.

It was very heavy and wrapped in beautiful Christmas paper.

My parents and Eldon exchanged a few more words and then he was gone – maybe to deliver another Christmas gift.

My brothers and I were only too eager to open the large box.

“Go ahead,” my parents said with smile.

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

Jim and I tore into the wrapping paper.

When our job of unwrapping, the box was finished – sitting there on the kitchen table was a color television set.

We had a tv but it was a tiny black and white television set.

I knew in that moment a whole new world was about to appear.

No longer would I watch Sesame Streat and Mr. Rodgers in black and white.

Now color would fill the picture screen.

A whole new world was coming my way, at least that is what I thought as a seven-year-old.

It was certainly a Christmas to remember from my childhood.

Another special Christmas was the memory that I shared last week in my sermon.

It was Kalen and my first Christmas together as a married couple and the Christmas where I would tell the good news of Jesus’ birth to all the people at my internship church.

It was a sermon, as I shared last week, that I almost did not give if it were not for the strong intervention of the Holy Spirit.

To this day I believe it was the Spirit of God who gave me grace to continue my training that year and to stay at that internship church.

I remember giving that sermon on Christmas Eve to a packed church and thinking afterwards how good it felt to share the Gospel at Christmas – the good news of Jesus Christ coming to dwell among us.

And lastly, the Christmas of the first year of COVID comes to my mind.

Everything seemed so difficult and unpredictable that year except Christmas.

That Christmas of 2020 we still gathered together on Christmas Eve either on Zoom or in-person with our masks and social distancing to celebrate the birth of our Lord.

And to remember that God was still with us even at a time like that.

When we lit the candles that evening and sang “Silent Night” it was a powerful witness to all of us of the light of Christ shining brightly among us.

As dark as that year seemed the light of Christ shinned brighter.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

In the beginning of the Gospel of John, we hear of the light of God coming to us in a person who is Jesus the Christ.

Later in the Gospel of John Jesus proclaims that he is the light of the world and that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

It is this light that we celebrate every Christmas.

It is a light that turns the world from black and white to color.

Jesus illuminates the world with his love, his grace, and his glory.

He is the reason we have left the comfort of our homes this morning to gather together once more to celebrate his birth and to sing his praises in these beautiful Christmas songs.

I don’t know if this Christmas will be a Christmas you will remember in the years to come – maybe it will – maybe it will not be a very memorable Christmas.

Nevertheless, this day reminds us to also keep our hope in the future.

On Christmas day we remember that the Savior has already been born to us and his future kingdom that will come someday.

Today we put our hope in God’s future as we remember the past.

Christ has come to dwell with us and Christ will come again.

He comes to us.

He will heal us, bless us, and will have communion with us and one day he will invite us to join him in the kingdom of heaven.

There are many who have gone ahead of us, there are many who will follow us, Christ leads all of us to his everlasting kingdom.

Truly this is grace and this is truth to us this day.

Jesus the Christ full of grace and truth coming to us as the Word made flesh.

Amen.

January 1, 2023

There is an old story on how poinsettias and Christmas came together.

There was once a poor little girl named Pepita.

At Christmas she wanted to give something to the baby Jesus.

But she had no money to buy a gift for Jesus.

On Christmas Eve as Pepita walked sadly to church, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.

“Pepita,” he said, “I am sure that even the smallest of gifts, if given with great love will make Jesus happy.”

Pepita did not know if she could give even a small gift.

But she thought quickly and decided to make a small bouquet for the baby Jesus.

She picked some weeds from the roadside and tied them together.

She felt embarrassed by the gift because it seemed too simple and too small of a gift to present to Jesus on Christmas Eve.

As she walked into church with her cousin, Pedro she walked with him up to the altar.

There she knelt down, presented the bouquet of weeds at the manger, closed her eyes, and prayed.

Suddenly, as she was praying, the weeds burst into bright red flowers resembling the poinsettia plant.

Everyone who saw them that Christmas Eve believed it was a Christmas miracle.

And from that day on the poinsettia plant was called the flowers of the holy night.

Each Christmas as we present the poinsettia plants at the altar, we do so in humble reverence to the baby Jesus.

The flower and the leaves point to the star of Bethlehem and the red color points to the blood of Christ shed on the cross.

The white leaves point to Jesus’ purity.

The whole plant points to Jesus’ love for us and to the love that the little girl showed to Jesus.

This year we had many poinsettias given on Christmas Eve.

I can say that all of the gifts to our church both at Christmas and throughout the year were many in 2022.

Our church was greatly blessed.

There are many reasons for why we ought to be thankful today.

God has truly provided for our church and we have responded by faithfully giving back with our time, our treasures, and our talents.

As we look ahead to 2023 God with go with us.

In the life of the church every new year is an opportunity for us to reach out to others with the healing, life-giving message of Jesus’ love and every new year is an opportunity to grow deeper in faith.

It is difficult to travel through life without faith.

Faith gives us purpose and meaning.

Faith gives us courage and strength.

Faith gives us hope even in death.

To live without faith is no life at all.

Now I am not saying that those who do not believe have no life.

In the end, everyone decides for themselves what they will and will not believe.

Just as you cannot command someone to love someone else – you cannot command someone to have faith.

You either believe or you do not believe.

But for a follower of Jesus to live and to experience one’s life means that you have faith.

Martin Luther stated that faith is central for a Christian.

On this last Sunday of Christmas, we give thanks to God for the gift of faith.

And we respond to God for this great gift by living lives of service and love.

On this day we offer up prayers for our church as we hope for and pray for God’s blessings to be upon us in 2023.

We do not know the future and we cannot control or command the future we can only trust that the future is in God’s hands.

The future is always full of uncertainty.

The future is always full of both joy and pain.

But with faith and good courage we move forward into 2023 in grace-filled and in life-giving ways.

Just as an angel of the Lord directed and guided Joseph, Mary, and the baby in today’s Gospel reading – the Lord will direct and guide our days.

We will journey together once again through the church seasons of Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, and finally to Christmas.

We will gather together as God’s people on Sunday mornings to hear God’s Word and to sing God’s praises.

We will pray for one another and we will support and encourage one another.

We will try to be understanding to one another and we will try to speak about others in the kindest and most gracious way possible even when it is difficult to do so.

We will reach out to those in need with our outreach ministries like CROP Walk and the food pantry, ELCA World Hunger and San Jose mission church.

We will reach out to the community with our Vacation Bible School ministry and God’s Work. Our Hands Sunday.

We will support the work of the wider church in giving to the Synod and to Lutheran Campus Ministry and to Lutherdale Bible Camp.

There are so many ways our church lives out its mission.

This coming year look for ways you can help to move forward our church’s mission.

It does not have to be a big thing that you do.

None of us here need to be a superhero or feel we have to do huge things for this church – we just need to do many small things together in Jesus’ name and for his kingdom.

Sometimes the small things that we do together in his name make all the difference in the world.

I have often thought that our church does many small things very, very well.

And because we do so many small things so well those small things, over time, adds up.

For example, every year our small Sunday school faithfully takes up an offering for Heifer International which feeds families in need with much needed animals.

Over time our little Sunday school has given over ten thousand dollars to Heifer International.

What a gift this has been for those in need.

So once again look for small ways that you can give and contribute to our congregation in the new year.

And if you want to help more but don’t know what some of our needs are here is a short list of some of our needs.

You might volunteer to serve on the altar guide and then you would set up communion and  change the paraments during the church seasons, you might serve as an offering counter on Sunday mornings, you might serve as a reader at both the 8:00 and 9:30 services or as a communion assistant, you might serve on church council and then you would help the church board to discern God’s will in making important decisions for our congregation, you might decide to serve as an usher during morning worship, or you might decide to join the handbell group, or maybe you want to dig deeper in your faith and so you decide to join our Sunday morning Bible study group or maybe you have some new ideas for our fall stewardship program.

There are so many ways you can help this congregation so that we can continue moving forward in mission.

The church is for everyone and we all work together to discern God’s will.

And lastly, we can all pray.

We must continue praying for one another and praying for the health of our church.

Covid taught us that we need to be vigilant in praying for our church and praying for its survival.

We cannot take the church for granted.

The church needs our love, our gifts, and our service – then and only then can God bless the church and turn it into some beautiful and life-giving.

May the Lord guide us in the New Year.

May his blessings be upon us.

I am looking forward to walking this road with you and believe God will bless our life together in 2023.

May we leave our gifts at the altar.

And let us all pray together that God would make our gifts to bloom with life.

Amen.

This morning we hear the familiar story of Peter sinking into the water.

At first – Peter seems to be the brave disciple.

He is the one who takes the risk of coming out of the boat to meet Jesus.

When he does this – everything seems very good.

He walks on water.

A true miracle – just like the fish and the loaves miracle story.

But he becomes afraid.

He realizes what he is doing – he gets scared and he sinks.

Game over.

Here Jesus is a little disappointed in Peter.

“You of little faith, why did you doubt.”

Matthew’s telling of this story resonates with us today.

How many of us here can identify with Peter.

We want to believe.

We think we have faith.

Maybe we even feel that our faith is strong.

And then good things start to happen.

It is as if we are walking on water.

We see the power of God at work in our lives.

We start noticing miracles and blessings in our life and in the lives of those around us.

Our faith increases and grows.

And then we get scared.

We become afraid.

We start to sink.

We stop reading our Bibles, we stop praying, we stop coming to church.

It’s like whenever a lot of good things start coming our way and then we begin to worry that something bad is going to happen now.

Because so many good things have happened to us.

In the Bible once Peter notices that he is walking on the water and feeling the wind on his face – he gets frightened and then we know what happens next.

He sinks into the water and he needs help to get out of the water and back into the boat.

I wonder here what would have happened if he would have continued walking on the water.

What if he noticed how he was walking on the water, noticed the wind on him, noticed how he was obeying Jesus and coming to him.

-And didn’t stop walking.

He kept moving forward in faith.

Have there been times in your life when you got scared and stopped walking towards something?

Maybe even stopped walking towards Jesus.

You heard his voice, you believed in him, but something prevented you from coming after him and in following him.

You were afraid and you began to sink.

If you said yes, then know you are in good company.

I have certainly said yes to this question more than once in my life.

Times when I got scared.

Times when prayer seemed difficult.

Times when my faith seemed very small indeed.

The good news here for all of us – is that when Peter began to sink into the sea, he had the good sense to immediately call out to Jesus.

“Lord, save me!” he cried.

And what does Jesus do… he immediately reached out his hand, catches Peter, and saves him.

Afterward, he does get a talking to.

“You of little faith, why did you doubt.”

But even with that said – Jesus continued to believe in Peter and Jesus continued to love him.

Peter is a real person – an imperfect person, certainly he is not a saint.

He is one who sometimes lacks faith, but he is still a disciple of Jesus.

God does not call us to be perfect people, God does not call us to be saints, God calls us to be people of Jesus.

God calls us to be Jesus people.

People who love Jesus and who follow him.

In following his we call out to him when we need him, when we need his help, when we need his protection and care.

This is a really important text in Scripture.

This reading gives us the assurance that Jesus is with us even when we falter.

When we are not at our best and when we have days like Peter where we sink – Jesus is there to catch us, to lift us back up, and to set us back in the boat.

Thanks be to God that Jesus, the Son of God, is always there for us.

Picking us up and helping us to get back on our feet once again.