Sunday, May 31, 2026

Happy Pentecost!  Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit – and the gifts the Holy Spirit empowers in us. The gift of the Holy Spirit came on that first Pentecost like the wind. They could not see it. But they could hear it come “like the rush of a violent wind” – and they could feel the effects of it. 

If you have ever driven along the interstate in Nebraska you might have seen a highway sign that says, “Watch for the wind”.  That might seem like a silly thing to say – because you can’t see the wind. But as those who drive that freeway know, when the wind gets going on the prairie, it is a powerful force and can easily tip over huge semi-trucks, uproot trees and change the landscape.

I learned this the hard way years ago when I was going to visit my sister in South Dakota. When we were half way there, she called and said, “You may not want to come. There’s a blizzard brewing”. I was young and thought that I knew how to drive in snow so I dismissed her warning as that of my overly protective sister – she had just had a baby and so I figured it was her maternal instinct on overdrive. But.. of course. She was right. It wasn’t the snow – it was the wind that made it impossible to drive. They closed the freeways and I think we ended up staying in a little motel 6 for the night. In the morning – that fierce wind was nowhere to be found—but the evidence that it had been there was written on the mountain of snowy drifts covering the cornfields.

Like the wind, the Holy Spirit blows in unexpected places and unexpected ways. But unlike the wind, what the Holy Spirit brings is always a gift – even if we do not realize it at first.

On that first Pentecost, one of the gifts that the Holy Spirit brought the apostles was the gift of language. This was not the gift of spiritual tongues that needs an interpreter. Rather, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the gift of being able to speak in the native language of all the pilgrims and expats who had gathered in Jerusalem for their harvest festival. 

Have you ever tried to learn another language? If you began when you were two or less, it wasn’t a problem at all. Your brain simply made space for more than one language. But as we age, it becomes harder. I know this from experience. This past summer we were going to travel in Germany so I thought I should learn the language. I made a valiant attempt. And, the people were very gracious when I tried to speak, but often, what I said came out as a mixture of German, my high school Spanish and English.

As adults, learning a new language does not come easily for most of us even if we study and train. Recognizing this, the pilgrims and people from other lands were amazed and astonished when Galilean fishermen, who would not have picked up foreign languages from travel or study. began speaking fluently of God’s power and awesome deeds in their native languages. Some were filled with awe and wonder. Others quickly dismissed this as drunken jibberish. But those who were able to wonder asked the question, “What does this mean?”

It is also a good question for us today. What does the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost mean for us?

It is tempting to treat Pentecost as the amazing coming of the Holy Spirit, a unique event that happened in the past. We celebrate it as the birthday of the church and are amazed too at what happened in the past. But… friends, let us not think for a moment that the Holy Spirit is confined to history and that we can simply count the candles since that holy day – and then blow them out.  Like the wind, the Holy Spirit hasn’t left and will not be blown out like a candle – it’s more like one of those relighting candles that simply doesn’t want to quit burning.

But before we try to answer the question of “what does this mean” or even the question of where and how is the Holy Spirit blowing today? I think we need to ask another question: Why?

Why did the Holy Spirit come and give Galilean fisherman the ability to speak in the native language of all of the pilgrims?

Many interpreters have understood the giving of languages in Acts as the antidote to the story of Babel in Genesis in which all of the languages of people were confused.  But Professor Eric Barreto points out that at Pentecost, God doesn’t choose or create one single language that everyone can understand but instead, enables the disciples to speak the native, home language of each person there. Recognizing that one’s home language, culture, heritage and experiences are core to who you are, the Holy Spirit meets them and us in the midst of our differences.1 And instead of choosing one over another, the Holy Spirit creates community between, across and despite differences.

Together, with all of our varying gifts, talents, abilities and languages, we are all one in Christ. As we read in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. We are all parts of one body –Christ’s body. This is through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Again, as Paul writes, “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free” – different heritages, different economic status, different nationalities, different traditions – we are not the same. And yet, we are all one in Christ.

So again, what does that mean? What does it mean for us? Maybe we need to watch for the wind of the Holy Spirit, for like the wind, it blows where it will. Where and how is it blowing us today?

In the midst of a world that is being torn apart by differences, we, as people who belong to Christ – who are Christ’s body –can proclaim this unity in Christ to and for all people. For when two or more are gathered, together we are the community of Christ.

We are the community of Christ whenever we gather for worship – today as we welcome Deb and Joe into our midst – and each time we meet.

We are the community in Christ when we gather with First Lutheran and Cross of Glory for worship. I saw the Holy Spirit at work here on Good Friday and at Cross of Glory on the first Sunday in May. The Spirit sang through the joint choir, skipped through the congregation with the children as they marked the congregation with the sign of the cross and whispered hope in our hearts. This is the Holy Spirit at work creating Christian community.

This summer we are continuing the New Creation exploration through five vision groups comprised of people from all three churches. We began with the 30 member Worship & Music & Art Visioning Group -and I’m glad that we did because it turned out to be impossible to find a two-hour time slot the fit everyone’s schedule so we had the same meeting twice. In this first meeting, we invited people to share the gifts they saw in their congregation with each other. We discovered there was a lot of overlap – and some differences. And that that was ok.  The Holy Spirit can work through and across differences. In fact, differences provide opportunities to see something in a new way. 

Seeing something in a new way is actually the next step for this group. They will be going out and exploring how other congregations worship through field visits to other congregations, one-on-one conversations and other research. The goal is to experience what other churches in the larger community are doing and then share how the Holy Spirit is at work in these places. And then together, hearing all of these experiences, we will be listening for how God is calling us to use both the gifts that we love and already have and the new ideas and inspiration that the team shared. This is how the Holy Spirit creates Christian community.

To answer the Pentecost question: What does this mean?  The answer might be: Watch for the Holy Spirit. For like the wind, you may not see the Spirit but you will see the Holy Spirit at work in our world, today, speaking our language and traditions and helping us listen to the language and traditions of others. And, in the process, the Holy Spirit creates Christian community. And this is good news. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Faith-Lilac Way + Pentecost 2026 + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

1 Eric Barreto: Can't We All Just Get Along? Sunday June 04, 2017Day One

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Open the Eyes of My Heart

Today we are celebrating the feast day of Jesus’ Ascension – even though today is not technically Ascension Sunday. So…you may wonder why we are celebrating it today?

 One reason is that while today is technically the Day of Pentecost – and many Christians around the world are celebrating it today – many people in MN and across the country are celebrating the Memorial Day weekend today and I did not want to short-change the Holy Spirit with a traditionally low attendance Sunday. So… come back next week for our Pentecost celebration with a new member welcome and the choir coming back to sing.

 The other reason that we are celebrating Ascension Day today is that while it is technically 40 days after Easter and so falls on Thursday - it usually just gets skipped. But it is an essential part of Jesus’ story – especially in the Gospel of Luke and in our creeds.

 As you recall, Luke begins his Gospel by telling the story of Jesus’ birth – we call it Christmas. Theologians call it the incarnation – God taking on human flesh and becoming one of us. God – in carne – which means God in the flesh.

As we read in the Nicene Creed “For us and for our salvation, he (Jesus, came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human”.  The Apostle’s creed uses fewer words and describes the miracle of Jesus birth as: “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.”

 The creeds sweep by Jesus’ life and teachings – to focus on the actions of Holy Week. Jesus suffered, was crucified and was buried.  Both the Apostles Creed and the Nicene creed mention Pontius Pilate – a ways to locate the crucifixion in time and space. The Nicene creed says, “For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.”  The Apostles creed says the same thing in a differed order: Suffered under Pontious Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.”

 And then we come to Easter! The creeds says the same thing: “On the third day he rose again.”  The Nicene creed adds, “In accordance with the scriptures” – because no one – prophet or priest, Pharisee or Sadduccee, could have anticipated that this was how the Savior of the World was going to come. As Luke writes in the Gospel, it was only after his resurrection that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”  It is only by looking back at the Hebrew scriptures through the eyes of Jesus and the lens of the cross of Christ, that we can see how God was at work. I’ll admit that I wish the disciples had taken more notes but Luke shares the summary statement:  “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day…”  

 But even with all of that, the disciples still don’t quite understand. In a commentary, Luther Seminary Professor Dr. Rolf Jacobson likened the disciples to seminary students who have been taking an intensive course on Holy Week – and then fail the final exam by asking:  “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Nope. That’s not it. Jesus reminds them – and us, “ “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.”

 Instead, Jesus gives them a job, declaring them (and us) to be witnesses, and commissioning them (and us) to proclaim Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”  This may seem a bit overwhelming to a bunch of former fisherman, But as Luke writes in the book of Acts, Jesus promises,“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And then, after blessing them, promises them the Holy Spirit will come. 

 The Apostle and Nicene Creeds are identical on this point, saying simply, “he ascended into heaven.”

 We too often think of Jesus’ Resurrection as the end of the Gospel story of Jesus. Imagine the end of the movie with Jesus rising to heaven as the credits roll. But Jesus is still not done. Luke writes about the ascension in both the Gospel of Luke and in his sequel, “The Acts of the Apostles.”  The Ascension forms a sort of hinge between the Resurrection and Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit.

 And yet the disciples, still don’t quite understand. Perhaps we can’t blame them for staring into the sky, hoping for Jesus to come back and lead them. I’m sure that’s what I would be hoping for. It is only after two angels interrupt their gaze by asking, “why do you stand looking up towards heaven?” that they return to Jerusalem to pray and wait for the Holy Spirit.

In the commissioning of the disciples and the promise of the Holy Spirit, the story of Jesus changes from a story that happened in the past, during the time of Pontius Pilate and in a particular place, in Jerusalem and Galilee and the surrounding countryside of Israel to the story of Jesus who not only was, but is, and continues to be, alive and active in our world today.

 Our lesson from Ephesians helps us to see how Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is present today. Paul first commends and encourages the Ephesians saying, “ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers,”  And then he prays for them: “  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,”  - now listen to the purpose of Paul’s prayer:  so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, Paul is praying for their hearts – that they may see from their very soul, their very being, and, as he writes, “you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.”

 Paul calls them to hope. Paul calls them to see and to claim their inheritance – that they have a place, that they belong, together with the saints of old,  as a child of God. And finally, for them to realize the greatness and extent of the power of Christ. As theologian Sarah Henrich wrote, “It may be the case that ‘all I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten’ 1 but we are far beyond ‘need’ in this passage. This writer speaks to people of faith for whom the blessing of rich relationship is a gift they will never fully plumb as long as they live.”

 The Ephesians and all Christians, including you and me, are being called into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Paul invites us to open the eyes of our hearts so that you may continue to be filled with God’s love and grace.  This is a message of hope – even in times in which we are tempted to despair. When we suffer with ailments, when we feel betrayed, or when a loved one dies or when the world seems to be full of hatred and division – for such a time as this… even in those times, maybe especially in this time in which we are challenged, it is good to remember that God’s love is greater than evil, God’s mercy is stronger than all other forces and that we can always come home to God’s embrace and experience God’s love and grace in new ways with more power and hope and joy than we had ever thought possible.  And so, brothers and sisters, siblings in Christ, let us open the eyes of our heart that we may see, feel and experience all that God has for us. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 Faith-Lilac Way + May 24, 2026 + Ascension of Our Lord + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday, May 17, 2026 Spring Music Sunday

Responses to God’s Word in Scripture and Song

 After song: 10,000 Reasons (p. 5)

Response:  “Bless the Lord O My Soul”

 “Bless the Lord O My Soul” is a prayer of yearning, of hope and of praise. It comes from a deep place within us, an echo of the first blessing you received, when God looked at you before you were even born, and called you, “Beloved.” God loves you. God loves us. May we bless the Lord together. Amen.

 After Chancel choir “Lord Listen to Your Children Praying” ( p 6)

 Response: A Prayer to the One who Listens

To the God who hears us: we give you thanks for listening to our heart's desires, our pain and sorrow,  our hopes and dreams and even our petty grievances. Sometimes we pray it, sing it, shout it out loud and strong. Other times we whisper softly or dare not speak the words. And yet you hear us. You listen. And it makes a difference in us. For in our praying, when we stop to take a breath…or pause to listen… you transform our prayer from help to hope from scarcity to abundance from impossible to possibilities. Dear God, thanks for listening. Help us to listen too. Amen. 

 After Chancel Choir: Come unto Me (p. 6)

Response Beginning with Beloved   A Blessing by Jan Richardson

Beloved.

Is there any other word
needs saying,
any other blessing
could compare
with this name,
this knowing?

Beloved.

Comes like a mercy
to the ear that has never
heard it.

Beloved.

Keep saying it
and though it may
sound strange at first,
watch how it becomes
part of you,
how it becomes you,
as if you never
could have known yourself
anything else,
as if you could ever
have been other
than this:

Beloved.

 After Ladies Ensemble “In the Morning, In the Evening” (p.7)

Response:   Living as Beloved  

 Beloved is where we began - and beloved is how God sees us still.  Beloved. Full stop. You are God’s beloved. Know that. Believe it. And then… you are free to wonder: how can I respond to such wholehearted overwhelming love and grace? What is God calling me into? As God’s beloved, what is my vocation for this time in my life? As God’s people, what is our calling? 

 After Chancel Choir: Yet Not I, but through Christ in Me (p 8

Response: Christ Lives in Me.”

 Yet not I, but through Christ in me.” When John the Baptist was asked if he was the Savior, he said “no” - and pointed to Jesus.  May this be our posture too - let our lives point to Christ. Let us pray:  Lord Jesus Christ, “Let your way be our way. Let your light shine in us. Let your love be reflected in our lives. This is true for us as a church, as the body of Christ. And may we pray this prayer for ourselves as well.  Jesus: may you be reflected in my life, our lives, so that it is no longer I who live, it is not about us, but rather, it is all about Christ who lives in me. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Vicar Karla Leitzman

            Some of you are aware that my undergraduate degree is in Theatre Performance, and while I have not worked professionally in the theatre since my graduation, I really feel like that training equipped me pretty brilliantly for not only my career path but for life in general. It made me hone my writing and analytical skills, it taught me how to work to a deadline, it taught me to problem solve effectively and stay calm in stressful situations. And, it taught me how to work with people, regardless of if we get along or not, regardless of if we agree or not. So all of these things are very valuable attributes to utilize in our rapidly changing and fast paced world.

             During my junior year, I had to take a lighting design course, because Gustavus required all its students, regardless of what their theatre focus was, to learn about all aspects of production. And truthfully, I learned that I really loved lighting design and did flirt briefly with the idea of changing my focus and trying to become a professional lighting designer but that’s another story. That fall semester, there was a small group of us working on a student production and as part of the class two of us were assigned to do all the lighting and sound design. For this production, we had faculty advisors, but it was our job to do everything from direct, to design, to stage manage, to costume and on and on. That Friday of tech weekend, we showed up at the black box theatre to start figuring things, to learn how to use the light board, out only to realize that our lighting professor had something come up for the weekend and she wasn’t able to show us how to do anything but she did email us the manuals for all the equipment in the space. Not getting this done wasn’t an option. Because we were on a deadline we needed to put this show up, so it’s not like we could say, eh we’ll just work on this when she gets back on Monday. Nope, on Monday we were going to have actors on that stage and under the lights we needed to hang, point, and design. We dug through those hundreds and hundreds of pages of manuals, we found ourselves googling voltage numbers for various fixtures because we wanted to avoid shorting out the building, and after spending 40 hours in that theatre in three days time, we had it set for the actors to show up on Monday. We felt lost and confused but we knew we were going to need to figure it out.

             In today’s gospel passage, this is what is referred to as the farewell discourse, and it is pivotal in the life and ministry of Jesus and in the next 2,000 years of the Christian Church. Jesus knows he is going to die, he knows he will be put to death for his radical actions and for his public ministry. He worries about his friends who have looked to him for guidance and leadership and friendship during his time on Earth. He worries about leaving them behind to continue his legacy of love and care. They are worried to. And so he promises them that when he is not physically with them any longer, he will send the spirit as an advocate, as one to work through them when he is gone.

             As resources go, the Spirit and the Advocate being left behind is arguably a much better tool to leave behind than some light and sound board manuals for a couple of 20 year olds to dig through.

            This speaks to Jesus’ immense love for his friends. Even in the midst of his own grief, his own fear at what is very soon to come, he still prioritizes his disciples and their worries. He knows that his leaving will leave them behind feeling lost and orphaned and so he assures them that they will not be alone, that he leaves behind the model of the way he lived his life and practiced his ministry. And then it would be up to them to continue that legacy. The work that Jesus did on Earth is shortly coming to a premature end at the hands of Rome, and now, his friends will be left to carry the torch that burns brightly with the same love, grace, and care that Christ showed them how to share and live out.

             As Jesus is sharing this, he knows that the immediate time to come is going to be incredibly hard for his disciples. He will soon be murdered, publicly and brutally. His disciples will be left worrying if they will suffer a similar fate for their connection to Jesus. They will be left to feel lost and confused, wondering if they made the wrong decision in following this outsider from Galilee who preached justice and shared bold love. So, Jesus tells them that there will be good news on the other side of that pain and that trauma, that even know they will hold all of those things, the promise of the resurrection remains and his comfort will remain with them. He will appear to him after his death and resurrection. But, that will be short lived. He will return to them just long enough to inspire them to continue his legacy of acting love out boldly. God has already given the gift of love through Jesus who came to Earth to change it all, to turn a world on its head that prized greed over people, power over kindness. And the spirit is what remains to move through and with us to share that gift of love.

             It is one thing to love, it is another thing, sometimes, to use that love to make us act, to love so boldly as Christ did that we can not remain stagnant or complacent in a world that needs that love so acutely. So, the spirit remains. The spirit remains to move and to inspire, to embolden Jesus’ disciples, which now includes us these years later, to allow that love to be active.

             Yet the Spirit does not take the place of Jesus. The Spirit, Jesus says is another Advocate. Another one, in addition to him. Both have a pivotal roles to be God’s manifestation of love and care for all of creation, but they are distinct and one in the same, all at the same time. Jesus comes to Earth enfleshed as God’s word and God’s love because the world and its priorities were disconnected, or alienated from God. The Spirit remaining connects this earthly realm to God the Creator and God the Son, all distinct yet sharing the same priority and that priority is love. Unfathomable love.

             God leaving the Spirit as an Advocate to remain with Jesus’ disciples reminds us that there is not only life after the tomb, but there is also life after the resurrection. That when the disciples will feel unmoored and that their identities and purpose will die along with Jesus, we are reminded that there is more. There is more even when we don’t see it yet or know what shape it is going to take. But we know that God is already there and that the Spirit is guiding us and advocating for us to live that love out.

             Last week we had our first shared worship with the saints, because remember we are all saints, of Faith Lilac Way, Cross of Glory, and First Lutheran. We had 172 people at worship. 172. By my count we had more than ten kids walking through the sanctuary with Pastor Ali sprinkling holy water on the congregation as we celebrated and affirmed our baptism. The choir loft was full. And Pastor Ali preached about how we do not yet know how this is all going to unfold, we don’t know yet where it will end up. But we do know that God is already there and we ask that the Spirit continue to move and to advocate for us in the process.

             In our reading from Acts this morning, we are presented with the image of Paul addressing the Athenians, commending the for their strong spirituality. I actually really love the image of Paul taking time to wander around the city to learn about it before addressing its people. It’s like he’s going to identify the places where God is already working, just like our three congregations are doing both within our churches and in the broader community. Where is God already at work and where and how can we amplify that work and the movement of the Spirit? And Paul basically tells them, “hey, as God’s beloved, you have been shown that love and that grace through the resurrection of Jesus. As those beloved, you do not get the luxury of sitting still. You need to act it out. The world needs you to act it out.”

             Good friends, the world still desperately needs us to act it out. Where it can be tempting to want to hold fast to what we know and what feels safe, we often find ourselves in situations that push us, and this is especially irritating when we find ourselves in situations where we do not want to be pushed. I would be willing to bet that these first disciples would have much rathered things stay the same, that they could continue about their lives and their ministry, traveling with Jesus, amplifying his messages of love. If they could have been given a choice, I am pretty confident that they would have not chosen being left by themselves to continue that work. But they had to. Staying stagnant wasn’t an option. Saying, “oh we can’t do that we’ll just go back to the way things always have been” wasn’t an option. And so Jesus makes sure that they know that they are not, in fact, alone. And thanks be to God that we are also, in fact, not alone either.          

Sunday, April 26 Blessing of the Animals

It Is Good!

 In the beginning, God called the world into being, and called it “Good.” In our first creation story in Genesis, there is a natural order to it – first the separation of light and dark – and God called it Good. Then came the separation of earth and sea – and God called it Good. God created plants and then the animals – those that fly, those that creep along the ground, those that have two or four legs or many more. And God called them all Good. And then…God made humans out of the same dust of the earth, calling us into being and God called us Good too.

In this first creation story, God said to the first humans, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”  Our human interpretation of that very first command has gotten us and the world into a lot of trouble. We carried out the first command really well – be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. But the next two have gotten us into some trouble. What does it mean to “subdue” the earth and “have dominion over it”?

Too often this commandment has been used to justify ravaging the earth and all its creatures for the resources that we as humans want – without a corresponding care or work to replenish them. The ELCA has a social statement about Creation Care that says:

   “Made in the image of God, we are called to care for the earth as God cares for the earth. God’s command to have dominion and subdue the earth is not a license to dominate and exploit. Human dominion, Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8 a special responsibility, should reflect God’s way of ruling as a shepherd king who takes the form of a servant” .Philippians 2 And, as the second chapter of Genesis clarifies, “our role within creation is to serve and to keep God’s garden, the earth.” ‘To serve,’ often translated ‘to till,’ invites us envision ourselves as farmers or gardeners while ‘to keep’ invites us to take care of the earth as God keeps and cares for us, Numbers 6:24-26 as a parent cares for a child.” 1

Farmers, like my father, a farmer, care for the earth and the creatures in their care.  In the spring, my dad planted corn or grain and clover in strips along the rolling hills of our farm in Wisconsin.  This prevented erosion – the clover grasses held the dirt from washing away even during the hardest rainstorms. The crops were rotated year by year to replenish the soil – what the corn took out of the soil was replenished by the grasses the next year. We fed these plants to our cows and then, we shoveled out the manure from the cows and spread it back on the fields which also replenished the soil. We benefitted too: we milked the cows and took some meat for our use. It was a relationship of mutuality – the cows were fed, the earth was renewed and we ate well.

If you remember the movie, “Finding Nemo” in addition to being a delightful comedy/ adventure movie about a personified clownfish searching for his son Nemo, we also learn a bit about marine biology. There is a symbiotic relationship between clownfish – also called anemone fish -  and their sea anemone hosts.  The long tentacles of the anemone are covered with poison stingers which protect the fish from predators, and in return, the fish help keep the anemone clean. The two creatures are co-dependent upon each other, they need one another to live and to thrive. 2

Today, we remember and celebrate our mutual and symbiotic relationships with animals. According to my research, dogs were domesticated 15,000–30,000 years ago, when humans discovered that they could be trained to hunt, herd, and guard. Cats were welcomed into homes at least 9,000 years ago to catch mice and other rodents.3  Since then, we have expanded the number and kinds of creatures that we welcome into our home for companionship and delight – rabbits and birds, lizards and fish and a host of other creatures - even if they don’t hunt or catch rodents. In fact, I’m guessing that you prefer that they don’t bring you their catch.

Today we bless those creatures with whom we live and we remember and give thanks for all of God’s creatures, the earth and sea, sky and space. For, in God’s beautiful, connected web of creation, God has made all of these creatures and continues to create and renew the face of the earth. And God has – and continues to proclaim, “It is Good.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

1https://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/socialstatementelca.html

2https://asknature.org/strategy/intricate-relationship-allows-the-other-to-flourish/

3https://a-z-animals.com/animals/lists/animals-with-a-symbiotic-relationship/

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Blessing of the Animals April 26, 2026 +   Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Peace be with you

 “Woe to you, you unfaithful, betraying, denying, fear-filled former disciples.” That’s what Jesus could have said when he entered the room. Like the ghost of Christmas past in Charles Dickens Christmas Carol, Jesus could have shown his disciples all of their failings in the past.

 Instead, Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” He says it twice in his first meeting with the disciples and then again, when Thomas is with them. “Peace” be with you.

 Like the Hebrew word “Shalom,” the Greek word for “Peace”, Eirene, can be simply a greeting. But when Jesus says it to his disciples who are hiding behind locked doors out of fear – fear that Judas may betray them too, fear that would be outcasts in their own community, fear that they will be turned over to the Roman authorities as Jesus had been. Into all of their fears, Jesus says, “Peace” be with you.

 For those of us who have grown up as Christians, we can almost take for granted Jesus’ resurrection. “Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed” has been on my lips since I could talk. But when your heart is full of fear, it is hard to get past the fear. And so Jesus does something else. He breathes the Holy Spirit onto the disciples. This is the first giving of the Holy Spirit – not as it comes at Pentecost – with fire – but as simply breath, the breath of God.

For Jesus has come to them, not to scold them or to shame them. Instead, he comes to them with peace, showing them his wounds, his hands and side so that their fear could be turned into joy. And, then with joy-filled hearts, Jesus again says them, “peace be with you” This time, they are ready to receive that peace, a peace that passes all understanding— even for what their heads were telling them could not be - a resurrected Jesus.

This sounds like the end of a good movie. The friends are reconciled, all are filled with peace and good will… and the credits start to roll.

But this is not the end.  When Jesus breathes on the disciples and fills them with the breath of God and then says, “As God has sent me, so I send you,” this is the beginning of the disciples’ role as apostles, as “those who are sent.”

Jesus also gives them three instructions. First, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives them authority: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

I love the first part: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” For we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. That is to say, we all do and say things that are not kind, that are not loving and are not in keeping with being and acting in the way Jesus would have us act. We also commit the sins of “omission.” We neglect to share our resources, say a kind word, pray for those who are hurting or advocate for the stranger, the vulnerable or those who have been wronged.  And, because of the way our economic and societal system works, we also confess that we sin a community when we don’t care for God’s earth, sea, sky and people. We all desperately need to confess our sins.

In his Small catechism, in the section called, “the office of the keys,” Luther writes, “Confession consists of two parts: one, that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the pastor or confessor as from God himself, and in no way doubt, but firmly believe that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.”

We can be confident that, by God’s grace, God will forgive us for God is gracious and merciful and forgives all our sins. You can count on it. And, we need to hear that word from someone with skin on. This is why we almost always begin with confession and absolution – except for the season of Easter in which we focus on giving thanks to God for all God has done. But we normally begin worship with a time of confession – and absolution because you and I each need to hear these words of forgiveness – given for you.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer warns us against skipping to the absolution too quickly, without taking time to truly repent. He writes, that cheap grace is “the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sins departs.” In other words, it is not enough to say, “My bad. I confess it.”  Repentance is more than acknowledging that we sin. It is asking God to help us to become less self-ish and more Christ-like and when we do this, we receive Christ’s costly grace. In giving us forgiveness of sins, we receive a gift that help us to live. Forgiven, we are free to share Christ’s peace with one another.

However… Jesus also tells the disciples: “If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” This sounds dangerous. Is Jesus really giving mere mortals the authority to retain sins?” I’ll confess it always makes me nervous. Not only do I worry: “Who am I to retain someone else’s sins?”  but I also worry about the ways that this power could be abused by us mere mortals. As a result, I often skip over this verse like a hot tamale.

However, as I was preparing for today, I heard this passage read from the Message Bible. And I heard something new! Eugene Peterson translates and interprets this verse a little differently, in the form of a question, “If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”

“If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?” This question gives me pause – because we all – I’m assuming – at least I -- have had times in which someone has said something mean or I have been wronged – and I’ve hold onto that grievance. I remember it. It sticks in my craw. I think this is pretty human.

And so what happens to that grievance? Maybe you forgive it – even if the person doesn’t ask for forgiveness.  Maybe you forget about it. But…if you hold on to it, if you remember and dwell on the grievance, if it sticks to you and you just can’t forget about it. Then what?  “If you don’t forgive it, what are you going to do with it?” Chances are, it festers… under the surface… and hurts you.

Last year I went to my 40th college reunion – how could it be? I’d like to say I was only 9 when I went to college – but that’ wouldn’t be true. But because it was a “big one” I saw a lot of people that I had not seen for a long time. It was fun to reconnect and to hear the life stories of people who I had known at that transformative time in our lives. Except for one person – who had been a part of my close circle in college. Out of nowhere, he said some rather snarky sounding things to me – but the words that he said didn’t actually make much sense so I chose to just let it go. I did not want to spend any time questioning him about it – and neither did anyone else at the table. The subject was quickly changed. Later, someone asked, “what was that about?” I didn’t know and they didn’t either and so the snarkyness was ignored, brushed away as the result of maybe a bad night sleeping in a dorm room again or something else in his life.

But then a month or so ago, I was attending a workshop on prayer and he was there too. It was a Sunday afternoon so I running late – no surprise - and sat in the back. But during the break, he came up to me. We did the usual check-in of “how’s your family” – and then, right before the break ended, he said, “I want to ask your forgiveness for the times in the past when I have been a jerk to you.”

My mind started to race. What is he talking about? Did he mean those snarky comments that I didn’t understand at the reunion? Or was it something else? I paused for just a moment. And in that time, the Holy Spirit gave me a nudge and I realized, “Oh, he’s confessing. He’s asking for forgiveness.” And so, I took another breath and then said, “If you have, I have already forgiven and forgotten it.” He looked a bit surprised. And then there was an awkward pause and – again my mind raced and thought, “Oh, maybe he is asking me to confess something that I have said or done.” And so, I said, “I want to ask you for your forgiveness for the times that I have hurt you.” He looked a little surprised and then smiled and said, “If you have, I have already forgiven and forgotten it.” And in that moment, a felt the warmth of Christ’s peace embrace me. 

Peace be with you. Jesus says it three times in today’s Gospel. He says it twice the first time he enters the locked doors to disciples who were afraid. And then, 8 days later, he says it again – maybe especially to Thomas who had not been present with the others, who was having a hard time of believing without seeing. But after seeing Jesus, Thomas responds with profound confession of faith, “My Lord and My God.”

And then Jesus speaks to you and to me, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Brothers and sisters, siblings in Christ, Peace be with you.  Christ’s peace be with you.

Later today we will share the peace of Christ with one another. This is a time to not just greet one another. This is a holy time in which we are offering the peace of Christ to another in preparation of receiving the gift of Christ’s body and blood. Like Thomas, you are about to see Christ’s wounds in his body and blood.

And so, I invite you to look in someone’s eyes and say, “May Christ’s peace be with you.” And the other person can also say, “May Christ’s peace be with you.” And then, since we did not have confession today, I want you to say, “Christ forgives you all your sins.” And the person receiving them can say Amen. Christ forgives you all your sins.

This is the Good News that we receive today. We receive not a cheap grace, not an easy flippant forgiveness. Rather we receive Christ’s costly grace of love and mercy. And so, brothers and sisters friends in Christ, May Christ’s peace be with you; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Vicar Karla

          This spring, I am auditing a course at Luther Seminary. I have realized that since I am auditing and am not taking the course for credit but am rather there to just learn, that going to class and not needing to do assignments for courses is, in fact, every bit as enjoyable as I always imagined it to be. A couple of weeks ago, I was on campus with my fellow classmates for the on campus portion of the course. In a break between course sessions, a few of us found ourselves chatting in the comfy chairs outside the classroom. The four of us are all pretty far along in our seminary educations and candidacy for Word and Sacrament. I am on internship, another student is about to start internship, and the other two have completed their internships and will shortly beginning their first calls as pastors in congregations.

          Inevitably, as it was Feburary, we found the topic of conversation drifting toward all that was happening in Minnesota with regards to the occupation of ICE and CPB officers, and specifically, we found ourselves talking about how churches and clergy have been responding. This was not long after the 100 clergy were arrested for blocking deportation flights, including several of our Wildfire pastors. One of my friends said something I don’t think I will soon forget. She said that as she was reflecting on her soon to be complete seminary education, she has identified how her thinking has changed since she started. In particular, she noted that when she started seminary, the potential impact to her social life was what she would have identified as being her biggest concern of following this call to be a pastor. Would she be able to find someone to date? Is that something she was supposed to lead with on the dating apps or do you share it later type of thing? But, now, as she prepares to begin her first call as a pastor, her biggest concern is, am I going to need to take on bodily harm to protect and advocate for my neighbors? Am I going to need to put my body on the line? We noted the Episcopal bishop in New England who was pushing his clergy to have their wills and affairs in order because the time is coming when they may face a very real need to do just that.

          And so I wonder, is that what the disciples might have been thinking as they continue on their journey. Being seen with Jesus, the one who was murdered for insurrection against the Roman Empire would have made them targets of facing the same fate. When they left home they were probably aware that their decision to leave everything they knew to follow this Gallilean outsider would have been viewed as a questionable decision. What was the worst that would happen, though? They get made fun of at family dinner when they got back home? Well now, all of a sudden, they are faced with the fear of so much more happening to them for their involvement in Jesus’ ministry. The man that they followed, who they had sacrificed for, was gone, seemingly along with the assurance that he was in fact the messiah they had all longed for. What would be waiting upon arriving home? Where was home? Were Roman soldiers going to come after them and punish them or even their families?

          And then, as they are journeying on that road, Jesus meets them, surprising them. Not only do they not recognize him but they are shocked that here is someone who hasn’t heard the news of what has just occurred in Jerusalem. I am sure it would have seemed absolutely wild to them- that their worlds have completely shifted and changed in every way imaginable and here is a new person who doesn’t have any concept and whose world seemingly has just kept on turning while their world would have been completely turned upside down.And then, this stranger doesn’t just pass them by, not only does he meet them there in the road, but he continues walking alongside them for quite a long walk.

When I studied abroad in Sweden during my sophomore year at Gustavus, our group took a day trip to see the factory where the dala horses, so famous in Sweden, are made and painted. We were staying in a folk school about ten kilometers from the factory which was a bit removed in a more rural village. We boarded the bus and learned about the history of the horses and the painting traditions. We took some photos, bought some souvenirs, and had a grand time. Until we missed our bus to go back to town. We had two choices. We could wait for the next bus, about 8 hours away, or we could walk back. Now keep in mind this was a really tiny town. Pretty much the only thing we could have done to pass the time would have been to sit at a bus stop. So, we collectively just started the 10 kilometer trek and remember that none of us were wearing clothing or footwear with the notion of needing to be able to walk that distance that day.

As we were finishing the walk, we were very hungry and we were tired and our feet hurt. Such a terrible trifecta. As we started that final mile or so, we looked up and saw the golden arches of McDonalds, and to this day, I don’t think McDonalds has ever tasted so good. And this story is one of our shared favorite memories from our semester that we still laugh about all these years later. It just so happens that the distance we traversed that day was about the length of the walk that today’s disciples would have been walking to Emmaus. Aka I can attest that there would have been plenty of time for conversation and connections.

          Throughout the Torah, the commandment to welcome the stranger appears 36 times. This means that Cleopas and the other disciples would have been very well versed and knowledgeable about the importance of honoring the stranger. It was not an accident that Jesus showed up as a stranger, and the word that is used here is the word that would have been translated to mean foreigner. In Greek, the word for stranger is paroikos. Oikos means “house,” so literally, par-oikos means “outside the house.” This is the same word that is used for someone who lives in a country without citizenship. Cleopas calls Jesus an “immigrant,” a “foreigner.” How often do we, too, assume that we understand and that others are outsiders who do not belong?

          If we look back to Jesus’ birth and the very start of his story, he came into this world as a stranger. A displaced Galilean, far away from home, born to parents who were guests in Bethlehem, without resources, without even a proper place to spend the night. And then, before they could even return home, they were forced to flee to Egypt for fear of their safety and their lives.      So, Jesus enters the world as a stranger. And here in today’s story from Luke, he is once again a stranger.

          How might our world look different if we saw Jesus reflected in the face of each stranger, each foreigner we met? Where are the places where the face, ministry, legacy of Jesus is present and alive, but we do not recognize it? Perhaps we don’t recognize it because our minds are already made up, that we feel we know the stories and experiences of someone we do not know. How much more wonderful could our world, this kingdom of God’s which we are tasked with creating here on Earth, look different if we could just remember to look for the face of Jesus in the stranger, in those who are different from us, those who are outsiders?

          Though he is not physically here, Jesus meets us on the road, on all roads, the short and easy traversable ones, and the very windy ones that we are forced to walk when we do not expect to and when we do not want to. Jesus meets us there all the same. And, even when he makes himself known to his friends, he makes it clear that it is peace that he brings. Just as he did when he was living and walking among them during his ministry on Earth.

          May we be brave enough to look for Jesus in the faces of those who are different from us, the outsiders, the lost, the forgotten, those who don’t share our same experiences or beliefs. As Christ meets us on the roads, so too, may we exemplify that love and presence to accompany and meet others on their own roads. Amen.

Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026

Easter Sermon

Let the people say, Christ is Risen! (Christ is risen indeed.)  Let the people say Alleluia! (ALLELUIA! )

This is the Easter message: Christ rose from the dead and we respond with a joyous “Alleluia” which is Latin for “Praise God!”  But that first Easter morning did not begin with a joyous shout of Alleluia.

Instead, in Matthew’s Gospel, it begins with a roar as the ground shook between the feet of two women, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary. They came to see the tomb where Jesus lay. They hadn’t expected a cosmic reaction. But the ground shook as an angel descended and rolled away the stone of the tomb which had been sealed. He was frightening to behold –the guards trembled and fainted. They looked like dead men. But to the astonished women, the angel says, “Do not be afraid, I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.”

“Do not be afraid.” These are the first words of most angels who visit people in the Bible so they must look pretty frightening. But the angel – whose name means “messenger” has a message to share with the women about Jesus: “He is not here, for he has been raised.”

This is the Easter message. But to the women, this must have seemed impossible. Everyone knew that what’s dead – stays dead. Perhaps sensing their doubt, the angel invites the women, “Come and See.”  He wants them to see for themselves that the tomb is empty. Jesus’ body isn’t there.

Experiencing an earthquake, watching a mighty angel breaking the bonds of a sealed tomb and witnessing an empty tomb would have been overwhelming enough, but the angel has one more message for the women. This one is a mission: “Go quickly and tell Jesus’ disciples that he has been raised. Jesus will meet you all in Galilee.”

This was a lot for the women to take in.  But they listened and then…following the advice of the angel to “Go quickly” – they ran. Matthew writes, “They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy.

Fear and great joy: These two emotions would seem to be contradictory.

And yet… aren’t there times for us when fear and joy hold hands and we experience both of these at the same time?

When a new baby is born – we hope and pray for health for the baby and the mother with anticipation and joy and yet… with a little bit of fear too… until the first cry comes.  Then… it’s all joy.

Whenever we experience change – or even a new beginning in our life, fear and joy hold hands because often we are saying goodbye to the way things were in the past – students graduating from a school for example – they are joyful and excited for their next journey but also a bit scared, fearful of the unknown future. The same is true for our church as we talk about consolidation and becoming one brand new church together with First Lutheran and Cross of Glory. It is exciting and joy-filled as we dream about a bigger choir and perhaps having bells again and more people to do God’s work together. But the future can also be a little scary, just because it is unknown – and beyond our control.

The future certainly felt out of control for the two Marys. And, they had reason to fear. A fierce looking angel appeared; the whole cosmos was quaking. Two Roman guards were laying at their feet, looking dead. The tomb was empty! They saw them put Jesus’ body in the tomb. And yet, Jesus’ body was not there. Was not even death certain anymore?

The women had plenty of reasons to fear… but even more reasons for joy! The angel said that Jesus had risen!  Even a guarded stone tomb could not contain a resurrected Jesus. And then, the angel gave them hope for the future: Jesus would go ahead of them to Galilee.

Preacher and author Jim Wallis once said, "Don't base your hope on the evening news. Base your hope on Jesus and the resurrection, and watch for the evening news to change." I think he got the first part right. Regardless of how you get the news, it is rarely good and even less often is it hopeful.

Our hope is in Jesus and the resurrection. And because of this, we can’t just wait for the evening news to change. Like the two women, we too have a mission. We too have good news to share.

The angel told the Marys that Jesus was going before them and would meet them in Galilee. But, as they were running, suddenly, Jesus met them on the road. Jesus was with them – not just in the future. But Jesus was with them – and with us – Right Now. Jesus is God with us.

Despite having been beaten, spit upon, lied to, betrayed, tortured and finally, crucified, the resurrected Jesus does not speak words of hate, demanding restitution. He greets them and us with love and grace – saying “chairō” which can be translated as simply as “greetings” And it can mean: “Be glad!” or “Rejoice!” 

“Rejoice! Be Glad!”

With this greeting of love and grace and JOY, Jesus reflects the  character of God. As we read in Jeremiah: “God loves us with an everlasting love.” There are some that would portray God as vengeful and judgmental. But our God is the God of the covenant. Our God is the God of love. This is why Jesus came. Jesus came out of love, a love that is everlasting and gives us hope over despair; joy over sorrow and new life over death.

The power of death has been defeated. But this does not mean that we will live forever. No, as we are reminded every Ash Wednesday, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We are mortal. But, because of the resurrection of Jesus, death no longer has the last word for him or for us.  Instead, the last word belongs to God: God’s love is what lasts.

And that love is what gives us hope, Resurrection Hope, for the future. Resurrection Hope propels us out of our lethargy and keeps us engaged in the world rather than simply staying home and watching the news from afar and wishing things would change. Resurrection Hope means acting in love in our everyday lives. The ways that we can do this are many: from buying groceries for the hungry through our offerings, delivering food to school kids through Everymeal, driving a neighbor’s kid to school, making a prayer shawl, supporting Global Refuge care for immigrant families, and simply doing acts of kindness every day – no matter how small. This is what makes up the Kingdom of God, the gift of love which comes from resurrection hope.

This hope does not comes from the news and our motivation does not come from fear. Our hope and our mission comes from Christ.

And so, like the two Marys, let our fear turn from fright to awe and let us respond to the Resurrection of Christ with joyful praise and worship. 

At the beginning of the service, you received a card from the children proclaiming the Good News. Let it be a reminder to you of God’s Good News. Stick it on your refrigerator or your bathroom mirror. Post it on your screen and on your facebook page. Let it be a reminder to you that Christ is alive and active in our world.  And so, Let the people say: Alleluia! (ALLELUIA! )  Let the people say Christ is risen.  Christ is Risen!  Amen.  

Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026

Vicar Karla Leitzman

            I have noticed a sort of interesting thing about myself in the way that I look at biblical texts. And that is, I have realized, that I sort of group all ancient times together. Biblical times are biblical times. Inadvertently, my brain just puts all ancient times into one category, which is honestly wild. Like, oh that all happened thousands of years ago, it’s all ancient biblical times and I’ll just tie that bow around it and move along. There are so many thousands of years of difference throughout the bible, especially when looking at both the Old and New Testaments.

             And this realization hit me particularly significantly as I thought about the prominent role the celebration of Passover plays in this whole story. Passover was, is still, at its heart, a celebration of liberation. As Jesus is riding into Jerusalem, devout Jews are preparing to commemorate a time when God freed them. Year after year, they came together, to celebrate God’s deliverance from the powerful and violent oppression from Egypt- from an oppressive super power. The Israelites were exploited by the powers of Egypt, who viewed them as expendable. And here they are now as they watch Jesus ride into Jerusalem, not atop a war horse but atop a lowly donkey, once again in the midst of being oppressed once again by another super power that views them as expendable, this time the Roman Empire. As they gathered together, laying down their cloaks in a showing of reverence of the king they wanted to deliver them, they wanted bold deliverance again. Every year they came together in their shared longing for that deliverance. But during this year, with the entrance of Jesus, they could practically taste the freedom and the liberation.

             And I think there’s a few things to note to reflect on this. They wanted something violent and vengeful and yet Jesus brings a humble arrival, a different kind of deliverance. They also used their past to give them strength and fortification for their present. Today, as gather for worship and we note the stark similarities to our current world to the time when the Roman Empire was in power, we take fortification from knowing that God has been here before. Just as the Israelites of Jesus’ day took fortification in knowing that God had been there before.

            The waving of the palms and the shouting of Hosanna signify that those gathered wanted, not just wanted, but yearned for, Jesus to act as their liberator. Jesus knew what the world wanted, what the world advocated for, and he brought something much different, much kinder, much softer. He could have brought what they wanted, but he knew he was directed to bring something else. And the same remains true today.

             I close with a Palm Sunday blessing from a favorite theologian, Cole Arthur Riley:

 “There is miracle in belonging to a God who rejects the image of a glorified hero and instead comes to us on a donkey, centering the plight of those who suffer. Liberation begins with this: do not be afraid.

 God of the Palms, thank you for drawing near to us. Thank you for showing us a different way: a God who rejects privilege, a God who is unbothered by sitting on a donkey if it means you are drawing near to us. As we wait, take away the fear that has settled on our souls. Help us to trust in the arrival of goodness even in the wake of suffering. Let this Palm Sunday speak the language of welcome, that we would never turn hope away when it appears to us.

 Do not be afraid. Liberation is coming.”  Amen

Sunday, March 22, 2026

I am one of those really lucky people whose best friend has been my best friend since we were about three years old. For decades she has been my person, my chosen sister, and there is something so beautiful and wonderful about getting to see each season of a beloved person’s life. Well, one of the seasons of our shared childhood was sheep herding misfits.

          She didn’t live on a farm, or really even a hobby farm necessarily, but for a while during her growing up, her parents decided that because they had several acres of land and a barn, that taking care of animals would be a good exercise in learning responsibility for her and her brother.

          Now one of the realities of growing up in a small rural community is that if you go to a friend’s house that happens to live on a farm, or on land that has a lot of work involved and your friend has to do chores before they can play, well you also have chores to do before you can play. So one of the times I was over at her house, we needed to do something to take care of those sheep. And, one of us left the gate open and the sheep would wander and we would have to figure out where they went and it was always such a hassle and frankly probably more than a couple of nine year olds should have been left in charge of.

So in today’s gospel reading, where Jesus describes himself as the gate which stands in the way of harm which can come to the sheep, I couldn’t help but think of my friend’s dad who would inevitably always need to come and rally the sheep, and they would listen to him where they wouldn’t listen to him. Jesus described himself as being the gate which protects the sheep from danger, and in this case, the gate was my friend’s dad and he was protecting the herd from the ineptitude of his daughter and her friend.

The gospel of John, different in many ways from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is filled with imagery of God and God’s word becoming embodied in Jesus. Throughout John, we see God coming to the world through Jesus, completely shifting the reality of the time away from the values of the world and instead creating a reorientation back to God’s love and care.

          The gospel of John doesn’t really give us parables told by Jesus but we have one here. In a lot of ways, this story is both unique and familiar at the same time. The metaphor of God as a shepherd is very commonplace, throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Listeners would have known the importance of the role of the shepherd throughout all of those years. Many kings were referred to as shepherds of their people. Listeners in the ancient far east also would have known that sheep are incredibly vulnerable and therefore dependent upon the shepherd to protect and care for them.

Yet here in John, Jesus is not only described as being the shepherd but also the gate to the pen that keeps the sheep safe. And not a gate that merely functions as a device to keep in or out, but a gate that acts as protection. Here Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who knows each and every sheep by name, who loves each one, who is willing to lay down his life for their welfare. And, here we have Jesus the gate, the intermediary between his vulnerable beloved and the violence and harm of the world.

          So, what does it mean to be aware of Jesus’ identity as the Good Shepherd of today’s gospel when we are in the midst of our liturgical season of Lent? We are currently in the part of the church calendar where we journey with Christ to the cross, where we reflect on and lament the pain and forces of the world which facilitate that death on the cross as the outcome to Jesus sharing his ministry of love, justice, and care.

          And in that lament and reflection, we come to realize just how little everything seems to have changed in these last two thousand years. Jesus comes, then and now, to a world that is broken, filled with pain, where the powers of the Empire wage with violence and impunity. The Roman Empire, in its constant acquisition of land, money, and power, was actively taking from the poorest citizens to make the wealthy even wealthier. The outsiders, the strangers, the vulnerable, the ostracized,  were viewed as disposable and expendable, as not being important. Sound familiar?

          Jesus comes to turn it all upside down. Jesus comes, as the Good Shepherd, as one who acts as the gate, the check point, who both puts himself between his flock, his beloved, and the danger and violence that threatens to destroy them and still knows each and every one by name. He knows each story, each vulnerability. In this season of lament and reflection, we notice that God continues to show up and stand with the vulnerable, those the powers of the empire, of the world, push aside and view as expendable. Jesus says these are my beloved and they are anything but disposable.

                   Last January, I was lucky to go on a travel course through Luther Seminary. We traveled throughout Guatemala and Mexico, seeing the work that the Lutheran Church is doing in the region.

One day in Mexico City, we were visiting a migrant shelter. The shelter we happened to be at was a shelter for men only, and what began as us sitting with a few guests that afternoon, steadily grew adding more and more people. These men wanted to share their stories and they were harrowing. The majority were from central American countries, but several African countries were represented as well as some from South America and even some from the Middle East. Some were hoping to remain in Mexico to apply for asylum there while some still hoped to continue on to the United States. Many had been kidnapped while on their journey and when they learned that we had just been in southern Mexico which is where many of them ran into trouble, they were very concerned about our safety.

          As we were talking and listening to stories, everyone going back and forth between translating into and out of Spanish, we noticed one Asian man on the fringe of the room and little by little, he started to inch into the room to hear what was happening. We could see that he was holding out his phone, apparently trying to have it listen to translate. The woman who works for the Lutheran Church in Mexico and runs the shelter said that he was from China and that no one had been able to communicate with him in the month that he had been there. She said he tried to use his phone but it didn’t really work and how much she wanted to know his story.

          One of our classmates, who is originally from Taiwan, walked over to him and started speaking to him in Chinese. I will never, ever forget the look in his eyes when he realized that he could understand what someone was saying to him. As he told his story, which Christy translated into English which our professor then translated in Spanish, everyone was holding on to each word that was shared. We learned that he fled China as a political prisoner who had dared to speak out publicly about the Chinese government. We learned that Mexico was the eleventh country he had been in and that he had not spoken to another human being face to face in 10 months. With each piece he shared, he became more and more confident, more self assured, more aware that his story mattered.

          When he finished telling his story, all of the residents absolutely flocked to Christy. They needed her to tell him how happy they were to hear his story and they all wanted to know how to say some basic phrases to be able to speak to him. As we left, the pastor in Mexico who facilitated all this work said with tears in his eyes, “today God sent Christie.” That man’s story was known to God, and she got to be the one to share that story, that day she got to be the one who acted as the gate between silence and fear to feeling known and seen.

          At Global Refuge, we are honored to be able to share so many stories, to be able to accompany and to support God’s deeply beloved children.  And we can’t do it alone. We are grateful to you for joining in this holy and vital work alongside us and alongside those we serve. We are heartened that Jesus has been here, among the tumult and violence before and that Jesus is still here and will continue to be here empowering us on this journey.

 Let us pray,

 God of Solidarity, Thank you for being a God who enters the suffering of the world- who doesn’t run from those in pain but rushes to the site of blood, of tears. Guide us toward a solidarity that demands something of us. Let us learn to risk ourselves on behalf of the vulnerable, believing that when one of us is harmed, we all are. Help us to remember that justice and liberation are not a scarcity, and that our survival and dignity are wrapped up in one another. Secure in us the courage to stand, knowing together we will restore what the world has tried to suffocate in us. Amen.

Sunday, March 8, 2026

I love to watch kids playing on the beach building sandcastles. Some children build it and tear down. Others put a lot of work into it, building towers and moats and even drawbridges.  Some of the sand castle constructions that I have seen are works of art! And yet, they all have the same fate. When the tide comes in, they slowly, but surely, melt into the sea. We know that this will happen to sandcastles. But in our lesson, Jesus exposes some other things that we, as people, construct that are not lasting – and even may be harmful.

 “Can I have a drink of water?” It’s a simple question. But with that little question, Jesus challenges some long-held – centuries old -- societal taboos.  Jewish people did not speak with Samaritans and Rabbis did not talk with women. Although it seems odd to us, I mean, all he was doing was asking for a drink of water. But I’m told that even today, in the old city of Jerusalem, an orthodox rabbi will carry his prayer shawl in front of his face so that he does not see a woman on the way to the Western Wall – the wailing wall – of the old temple. But there is  a problem with carrying a shawl in front of face: you can’t see! And so, apparently, these rabbis are continually running into things. But despite this problem - they do it anyway.

 The Samaritan woman knew all of the taboos. She knew her place. She could have maintained the taboos by walking away or by ignoring this man, but instead, she got curious. She asked questions. And Jesus responded, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”  Again, she was curious. How could he do this? He doesn’t even have a bucket.  But again, Jesus offers: “Everyone who drinks of this water will never be thirsty again. Instead, it will become a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 

Carrying water is a hard and unending task. We need water to drink, to cook, to clean and for sustaining life itself. And for a woman in Jesus’ day, this was a daily task – carrying water from the well, back home. This the Samaritan woman could not refuse: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to dray water.” 

The Samaritan woman did not understand what Jesus was offering. He has been speaking in images – on another level – much as he did in the chapter right before this when, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to see him. But there are differences between these two stories. Nicodemus came at night. Jesus initiates the conversation and is talking with Samaritan woman at noon under the bright hot sun. Nicodemus was expecting answers and he got riddles. The Samaritan woman was expecting rejection and she received an encounter with Jesus that changed her life.

 I think it was because she told the truth. When Jesus asked her to call her husband and return, she flatly said, “I have no husband.” Jesus seems amazed that she would tell the truth. Much has been made of the Samaritan woman’s back story. But Jesus doesn’t condemn her or even say, “Go and sin no more.” It may be that her husbands died or she was barren and had been divorced. But Jesus doesn’t dwell on it and neither does she. Instead, freed from that social stigma, the Samaritan woman begins asking the theological questions of the day, questions that had separated Samaritans and Jews. But again, Jesus sweeps away the divisions between God-loving people that humans had created. And instead, when she proclaims her faith in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus tells her who he is saying, “I AM.”  This is the ancient name that God spoke to Moses.

 Jesus, in the Gospel of John, uses the name “I AM” to reveal who he is.  Often, Jesus speaks metaphorically: I AM the bread of life; I AM the Good Shepherd, I am the Water of Life. Each of these “I AM” statements reveal a bit about who he is. But when speaking with the Samaritan woman, Jesus is more direct. Perhaps because she spoke plainly and truthfully to him, Jesus responded with “I AM” – and then, just to be clear, he said, “The one who is speaking to you.”

 At this moment two things happen. The disciples come back and the woman leaves her big stone water jar behind, the jar that carries the water that she needs every day for cooking and cleaning and drinking and instead, runs off to share this good news, saying, “Come and See.”

 “Come and See.” This is the same invitation that Jesus gives to his disciples. It’s a simple invitation, right?  Come and see for yourself the one who has told me everything that I have ever done – he can’t be the Messiah, can he?  The Samaritan woman doesn’t have all the answers. In fact, her question is honest – she is still wondering, still trying to figure out who Jesus is: this can’t be true, can it? And yet… it is also holds out a possibility, an invitation, that is hard to resist. Come and see for yourself.

Come and see. It is a good invitation. It’s not hard to say. It’s not “preachy.” It doesn’t claim any superiority. Instead, it invites curiosity.

 It makes me curious. What are the obstacles that get in our way of saying that very thing: “Come and See” to people that we meet or people that we know are not a part of a church community.

 What are the things that we need to set down, like the woman set down her waterjar, in order to share the good news?  What are the sand castles – that look insurmountable – that are getting gin our way?

 Is it because we are Minnesotan and Lutheran? 

Is it because we don’t want to be mistaken for groups that “proselytize”?

Is it because we don’t know how? Or are afraid that someone would say no?

 A pastor friend shared a story of a church youth group that was holding a car wash. He started to talk with them, asking about where they went to school and what they thought of the local football team.  They were engaged in good friendly banter. But then he asked, “What is the car wash for?” When they told him it was for a mission trip with their church, he asked them to tell them about their church. They answered, “Why don’t you talk to the pastor.”

Friends, that sounds like another sandcastle to me. You don’t have to be ordained to share about your church. All you have to be able to say is, “Come and See.” For example, this Wednesday we are hosting the Midweek Lenten soup supper. How hard would it be to say to your neighbor or a friend or a person who might have gone to a church a while ago but isn’t going anymore: “Hey, I’m going to my church’s Lenten soup supper and worship afterwards. Want to come with me?” What’s the worst thing that could happen? They say no?  What if they ask, “what happens at worship?”  You could say: We sing some songs, hear a message and pray and you can even light a candle if you want to.

 There is a loneliness epidemic in our country. And you have all it takes to make a difference. Not for the world. But for one person. One family. That’s how God’s love spreads: One person inviting another. And, even better, offering to go with them – or have a plan to meet them at the door. It is hard for me – and maybe you – to imagine, but the hardest steps for someone coming to church is to get through the doorway. There’s nothing wrong with the doorway. But it takes courage to enter a new space.

Because if you dare to do this, to take Jesus’ call to share the Good News seriously, you could be blessing another person in ways you cannot even imagine.

 A friend shared this story: Deb had a powerful business job. But then her husband got a promotion, they moved to a bigger house, had a baby who had some complications, and she quit her job to stay home with the child. It all happened pretty fast. This active, engaged woman suddenly found herself in a new suburb with no connections and with a very needy baby. And, as much as she loved her baby and her husband, she was lonely. As she tells her story, she wouldn’t have admitted that she was lonely. After all, she had a nice house, a faithful husband and a beautiful baby. What more could one want? She felt guilty for feeling like there was something else that she needed.

Her nextdoor neighbor had noticed when Deb was pregnant, and even that Deb’s car was now in the driveway instead of zipping out of the driveway at 6AM every morning like it had in the past. And so… when they happened to go to the mailbox at the same time, she asked Deb… “You wouldn’t want to come with me to a Mom’s group at my church would you?  It’s really casual – jeans and sweatshirts, talk about being moms, eat chocolate and drink coffee and do a little Bible study. You wouldn’t want to come with me, would you?  Deb said it was all she could do to keep from shouting, YES.

That little Bible study with chocolate became the entrance point for Deb – a person who had grown up in the church but then moved away from it – to re-engage with Jesus. She admitted later that she came for the chocolate and the companionship of other mothers but she ended up falling in love with Jesus. Like the Samaritan people, all she needed was an invitation, an opportunity to hear for herself, to spend some time in the Word with Jesus.  She later became a pastor. But her journey began by a simple invitation to come and see – and eat some chocolates.  

 Brothers and sisters, siblings in Christ, let us not get stuck in the sand houses of our perfectly reasonable objections that we carry with us. Instead, let’s set those down  and instead, take a risk to be curious, to seek out a stranger, a neighbor, a friend and say, “Come and See.” They will be glad that you did. And so will Jesus. Amen.

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Have you ever walked along a shore looking for just the right shell or a stone? I’ve done this many a time – on the North shore, by a lake, or on the beach. And each time, instead of picking up just one perfect stone to treasure, I come home with at least a pocketful. When our kids were young, they delighted in doing this too and so we would come home with sand buckets full of beautiful rocks. It got to the point where we had to practice catch and release with the rocks.

The scriptures for today have many gems within them. And normally, I follow my preaching professor’s rule to just “pick one scripture passage” and really dig into it. But today, I’m going to break that rule and instead give you three verses to put in your pocket, stick on your refrigerator or your bathroom mirror or, better yet, commit to memory. Because, over the years, I have found that there are times in your life when you need something to hold onto – and I can think of nothing better than scripture or two or three that you know by heart – because then these words are in your heart.

The first gem comes from the book of Genesis. God invites Abram and Sarai to go to an unknown place, and to birth a new people. God promises them, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” God hasn’t changed their names yet to Abraham and Sarah yet. God hasn’t even demanded – yet – that they worship only God. But God gives them this blessing and with it, a mission statement. God tells them “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing” not only to one another – but so that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God tells Abram and Sarai - you have a purpose.

God also promises protection for Abram and Sarai on their journey, saying, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” This is meant to assure Abram that God has his back. Notice it does not say that God will curse anyone Abram curses. Instead, God is offering protection for Abram for the journey – and promising a blessing through them to ALL the families of the earth.

Jesus is a descendent of Abraham. And are we. As Paul explains, in our baptism we are made brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and have been adopted, or as he says, grafted onto the family of Abraham. This means that you too are a child of Abraham and so you too have been blessed to be a blessing. And so, in those days you feel as if you have no purpose, no meaning, and you want to give up – or at least put your head under pillow and say, “wake me up when the world gets less crazy,” remember the promise of God: “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing.” For even in the darkest days – and even when you don’t feel particularly blessed, God is showering you and all the world with everyday blessings. God gives the sun to shine and the rain to water the earth. God gives us food to eat and resources enough to share. And, God also gives us a purpose – to be a blessing to others.

“You are blessed…to be a blessing.” This is a gem. And a good verse to start your morning.

Another verse, or rather pair of verses that I would commend to you are from Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.”

I can’t tell you how many times or at how many hospital beds I have read those verses. Often, the person I am visiting will join me in the response, “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” In times of trial, it is good to remember that you are not alone. But these verses are not only for crisis times. We need – and want – God’s presence and God’s help always.

The rest of the Psalm is a good reminder that God is with us. The Lord will not go to sleep on you but will be present, abiding with you always, every day, in every time and place. This does not mean that bad things will not happen. We live in a world that is full of evil, suffering and brokenness. This is the reason Jesus invites to pray: “lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.” We pray for God’s guidance and protection. And in this Psalm, we are assured that God will answer and will be with us.

The whole Psalm is good – but the desire, the desperate need for God’s help NOW is captured by the first verse: “I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? And the response is swift and sure: My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” This is a good verse to have in your pocket for all of the days in which you could use a little assurance that you are not forgotten but that God is with you and is the one on whom you can depend.

There is one more scripture verse or rather verses that I want to commend to you: John 3:16 and 17. John 3:16 is very well known: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Sometimes you see just the reference in places like football stadiums. This verse has been called the Gospel in a nutshell. For John 3:16 tells the story that it is because of God’s great love for the world that God sent Jesus to be our savior. And that is why it is good to memorize – because it tells the Good News in such few words. Unfortunately, this verse has been interpreted in ways that are exclusionary. And so, when taken alone, it can be read in that way. But there is not better interpretation of scripture than scripture and so I think it is important to read John 3:16 and 17 together. Verse 17 says, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.” This is the expansive love of God – and it was given for the whole world.

Sometimes it is good to look at a different translation in order to see the meaning of a scripture more clearly. The Message Bible translates these two verses in this way: This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

The hard part about looking at different translations is that it becomes harder to remember – let alone memorize. But memorization is not the only way to hold onto these precious gems of scripture. In fact, it is getting less popular.

There was a time in which memorization of Bible verses was a big deal. Sunday school classes and Confirmation classes worked on memorizing scripture. And there is a good reason for this. The benefit of having memorized scripture is that it is with you – always. And in those times of trial, the words are right there. I only have to begin saying the 23rd Psalm or these two verses, and those who have had to memorize them can join right in. But rote memorization is not for everyone.

When I was in Seminary, there was a push to make sure that pastors knew their Bible. And so, someone decided the best way to do that was to test Seminary students with a Bible Exam and that you had to pass it in order to graduate. We were given a packet of Bible verses, an extensive list of potential questions and an invitation to read our Bible over the summer for the exam in the Fall. We were told that there would be a makeup if we did not pass the first time. However, I was pregnant at the time and knew that I could not afford to fail because not long after the test was given, I would have a baby. And, I had a feeling I would have even less time to study then. So that summer I studied. And read. And memorized scripture flash cards. Finally, it was time to take the Bible Exam. There were about 100 students at the time. I passed! Along with only six others.

The seminary professors who created the test were aghast. Did 90% of their students not know their Bible? At first, they thought this might be the case and so they tried to create classes and adapt the exam. But they finally discovered that many of my Seminary friends actually knew their Bible well and were also well versed in theology and pastoral care and preaching – but they simply could not memorize. Others were simply not good at taking this kind of test. Eventually, the seminary realized that this was not the best tool to promote the Bible and learning scripture.

This is to say, that rote memorization is one way to learn scripture. Another way is through music. All of the psalms can be chanted and some – like A Mighty Fortress and the 23rd Psalm and I’m sure others, have been sung to other tunes. Art is another way. Notice how many scripture verses are written in calligraphy in our narthex. And finally, many of the words of our liturgy are taken from scripture. So, you probably know more scripture than you realize. And, you all have a Bible at your homes and on your phones so you have the scripture close at hand.

Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, may you hold these and other gems of scripture in your heart or in your pocket. Sing them. Write them on your doorposts or place them on your wall. Keep these gems near at hand so that may be what guides you, comforts you and strengthens you each and every day. Amen.

March 1 – Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran – Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

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