Sunday, June 29, 2025

June 26, 2025

Freedom. What do you think of when you hear that word? Perhaps – you think of our country’s freedom - especially this week when Americans across the country celebrate the 4th of July with flags, parades and of course fireworks. It’s good to celebrate. It’s also good to remember that Freedom isn’t free. Our political freedom cost our forefathers something – the lives of some Americans were lost for the sake of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Freedom was the rallying cry. But it wasn’t freedom for all. Other patriots, in later years, needed to raise the banner of freedom again –freedom for people regardless of the color of their skin, freedom for women to vote, freedom for people to love whomever they love. As a country, we love the idea of Freedom – at least for ourselves. We want to be free.

But people don’t always agree on what or who should be free or even what it means -not now and not in Paul’s day either. Paul is writing to churches who were having a debate over what it meant to be a Christian – and whether that meant following all of the rules of the Torah, including the dietary laws and circumcision. Paul, as someone who had been a strict follower of every Torah rule for his whole life, argues that Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfilled that law and set them free. This is why he proclaims: For Freedom, Christ has set you free! They were Freed from the law that determined who belonged. Instead, all who believed belonged. The family of God just got bigger.

St. Augustine once said, “Love God and do whatever you want.” He then pointed out that the order of those two parts of the sentence matter. As Christians we are not free to “do whatever you want” as long as we love God. Rather, if we truly put LOVE GOD first, and let that determine our actions and our words, then whatever we do and whatever we say will always the love of God.

If, however, freedom, is used selfishly, it can easily lead to lawlessness and strife.

As Paul quickly clarifies, Christ has freed you FROM the laws that bind you AND Christ has freed you FOR love and service to the neighbor. He writes,“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become enslaved to one another.” Paul envisioned a world in which Christians with higher status and money and resources would use those gifts to raise up Christians who had fewer resources; the rich would share with the poor – even “enslave themselves” to indicate the radical change from a society that was divided into rich and poor, slave and free, to become a community of mutual love and care.

Alas… it is more tempting to use that freedom selfishly.

Fifteen hundred years later, Martin Luther, in reading Paul’s letter to the Galatians, argued that the rules of the church had again gone astray. This time, the church was requiring purity, good works and indulgences – which were fees collected by the church – as requirements for salvation. But Luther, pointing to Paul’s teachings, insisted that Christian freedom means that:

“Christians are free to love without any thought of reward for themselves [because]… their charitable actions are not motivated by self-interest but rather by the neighbor’s need. 1 In other words, Christ has set us free from working for our own salvation. We have a savior, Jesus, who has already done that work. Our job is to use our gifts, time, w good words and works as a grateful and loving response to the love of Christ. Luther’s work helps us as Lutherans and Christians generally to remember that Christ sets us free – and so we are free to serve our neighbor.

But Luther wasn’t perfect. When German peasants were inspired by the words Luther wrote about their freedom and equality in Christ and began a mass uprising, Luther sided with the ruling Princes and urged them to put down the rebellion – which they did in a horrific and bloody war.

As Lutherans today, we can learn both from the wisdom of Luther and from his mistakes. As one scholar wrote: “In a world that is still marked by inequality, injustice, and polarization, the story of the peasants’ struggle for freedom invites Christians today to critical and humble reflection. What is Christian freedom for — for us? Is it merely a spiritual freedom, pertaining only to individual salvation and preserving the social status quo? Or freedom also for the greater, collective good?”2

Let us join Paul’s call to Freedom – not only from the forces of evil but also Freedom FOR the neighbors. For as Paul writes earlier to the Galatians, we are all one in Christ Jesus. And that means that when one hurts, we all hurt, and when one suffers, we all suffer, and when one is wrongly enslaved, we all are wrongly enslaved.

To learn how to use our freedom well, Paul points to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Notice that are not just “spiritual gifts” that are only directed towards God. These gifts are also meant to be used in relationship with other people.

So, how do we live into the Freedom which Christ gives to us? What is our freedom for? There are many ways that we can use our voices to advocate for others, our hands and feet to serve and our hearts to care.

Our book club just finished reading, “Human Kind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time” by Brad Aronson. He tells stories about teachers and mentors giving a word of encouragement, neighbors helping a family who had a sick child and other simple acts of kindness that transform the lives of the recipient – and the giver. One story struck me because the idea was so simple and anyone can do it.

Cheryl Rice was having a difficult time at work. The project that she was working on wasn’t coming together and she was losing sleep and confidence in her own abilities and worth. But one day, a colleague gave her a card which said, “YOU MATTER.” That’s it. But those words were enough to turn her perspective of herself around. She said, “I’ve struggled at times with my own self-worth, and when I received the card, it felt as if a question I carry around with me had been answered. I matter.” That little card filled me up.

It also inspired her to help someone else. She had 100 cards printed with the words, “You Matter” printed on them. She at first gave them to friends and family but one day, she overheard the cashier say to the woman in front of her, “Hello, How’s it going?” Instead of saying “fine,” teh woman replied, ‘Not so good. My husband just lost his job and my son is acting out. The truth is, I don’t know how I’m going to get through the holidays.” Cheryl felt bad for this woman – but she didn’t know what to do – she was a complete stranger. And then she remembered the cards. She went over to the woman and said, “I overheard what you said to the cashier. It sounds like you’re going through a really hard time. I’d like to give you something – and she handed her a “You Matter” card.

The woman read it and began to cry. She said, “You have no idea how much this means to me.” Cheryl went back to her car and cried too. 3

And then she decided to take it a step further and printed a 1000 “You Matter Cards” and offered them online for free in a “You Matter Marathon: No running required.” People responded and the stories of grateful responses to this simple gift of love and kindness poured in. And then the idea exploded. At this point over 3 million cards have been given out in every state and in 100 countries. As one recipient said, “Ours is not the task of fixing the world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.”4 This is proof that acts of kindness – even small ones -- can have a huge effect.

Siblings in Christ, Christ has set you and me free to act with loving kindness and to share the gifts of the Holy Spirit with one another in our everyday lives. Today we will be witnesses as Analeya receives the gift of baptism and is made free in Christ. Our role as the body of Christ is to join with her parents and godparents in praying for her, and teaching her that she is a beloved child of God and that she has been made FREE to love others as Jesus Christ loves her. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran+ June 29, 2025+ Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

1 Martin Luther, Freedom of a Christian as quoted by Barbara Pitkin (below)

2 Barbara Pitkin, https://www.journeywithjesus.net/lectionary-essays/current-essay

3 “Human Kind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time” by Brad Aronson

4Website https://youmattermarathon.org Quote by: Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Comment

Sunday, June 22, 2025

June 19, 2025

Vicar Karla Leitzman Sermon for 6/22/25 World Refugee Sunday

Some of my most beloved and cherished childhood memories include the people who lived closest to me. When I was a child, the girls who lived next door to me and I loved to pull raspberries off of the bush and pop them in our mouths, and we also were known to rip asparagus out of the ground and eat them immediately, dirt and all. The neighbor on the other side was also a pretty constant fixture in my life growing up. When I got my first bee sting as a little kid, it was even she who heard me screaming first and right away ran over to help calm some of my hysteria.

I grew up in central Minnesota outside of several tiny towns, but unlike most of the other kids I went to school with who lived much farther out of town than I did and had no immediate neighbors, we lived on a road with several houses around us. When I first heard this gospel reading as a child, my first thoughts were of those on each side of my parents, and as is often the case, there was much held in common between mine and their families. All three houses were inhabited by white middle class occupants. Generally, we looked the same, held similar ish political views and all had some form of advanced education beyond a high school diploma.

It is generally pretty easy to associate the word neighbor with those who are like us, those who are near to us, those who think like us, look like us, vote like us, have similar life experiences to us. But, as this parable points out, those are not the only people we are called to see as our neighbor.

Biblical societies would have been highly tribal and tight knit. You kept close to your immediate communities, and there would have been hostility between communities. For example, in our gospel lesson of today, the Jews of Judah and Galilee would have been pitted deeply and significantly against the Samaritans. The Samaritans identified as being Jewish, but whose center of worship was not the temple or Jerusalem. To the Judean and Galilean Jews, Samaritans heretics and were the lowest of the low. They were thought to be the antithesis to temple centrality and deeply held values and beliefs of the time. In contrast, the priest and Levite, who walk right on by, would have been considered to be the epitome of good and righteous Jews.

Despite its prevalence, this parable can actually be one that makes preachers tense up a little bit. It is often thought to be a very straightforward story. I could truly come up here and reiterate, love the lord your god with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. The end. And don’t get me wrong, that would be a worthy sermon. Any sermon that shares the lesson that Jesus calls us to see everyone as our neighbor and to show mercy to those who need it is, indeed, a most excellent message. A notable thing is this is not a story of a Samaritan being the one needing help. Jesus could have told a story of a Judean or Galilean religious leader stopping to help the wounded Samaritan. The religious leaders of the time would have likely heard that story and recognized some shock value because they would know how subversive it would be for a Jew to stop and help a Samaritan, but the Jewish person in the story would get to be the protagonist and the hero.

Instead, Jesus shifts it all to emphasize this so-called enemy, the one who is thought to be unclean and unworthy, as the one who stops to help, thereby humanizing him. There is much to be found here about what it means to be in a community together. Where the religious leaders ignore the man who is in need of care, it is his supposed enemy who shows him mercy, and kindness, and nearness. And in doing so, the listener sees him as more than the worst things that are perceived about him. So, what makes the Good Samaritan good, so good in fact that this parable transcends so far beyond Christianity and religious teachings? I think one of the most significant reasons this Samaritan is thought to be good because he takes the time to really see and to discern the needs of the man in the ditch. And, he gets in the ditch with him.

This parable shows us that the kingdom of God is one that brings us closer to one another despite our differences. It was the Samaritan who sees the man in pain, who joins him in the ditch and discerns what he needs. In a world where we are given countless opportunities to be distant from one another, to keep others at arms’ length, this gospel reminds us that we are called for nearness with one another and that God comes near to us. Underneath the perceived simplicity of this story, is the crux of our faith and our shared calling to use the freedom that we have in Christ’s death and resurrection to freely and abundantly go out to love and serve the neighbor.

One of the reasons I really love the Gospel of Luke and it is because of stories and parables like the Good Samaritan. See, in Luke over and over again we are reminded that Jesus has a heart for the outcast, the stranger, the lowly, and that we are all called to share that heart. It is in the gospel of Luke that we hear the Magnificat and Mary’s song about the powerful being brought down and the lowly raised up. It is here, too, where we see that God chooses to come to a world that is fraught with pain and discord, coming to Earth in human form as a Palestinian outcast in a far removed town in a land brutally and forcefully occupied by Rome. In Luke, we get a picture of not only that Jesus is with refugees, but Jesus is a refugee himself as his family is forced to flee to Egypt for fear for their safety and wellbeing. The gospel of Luke, over and over again reminds us to look out for those who are overlooked, and therefore, the Samaritan, the outcast, the lowly, the vilified, is the one who stops and notices. God came to the mess, to the nearness of the proverbial ditch, and calls us to do the same. Throughout the bible, in both the old and new testaments, we are reminded to uplift the stranger, the alien. Because the world too often falls short in doing this, the countercultural messages of the gospel call us to repair the cracks and margins where the outsider is too often relegated.

At Global Refuge, the new public facing name of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, we have been working for eighty five years to welcome all of our global neighbors who long for new beginnings. We began in 1939 as a group of American Lutherans worked to help Lutherans in Eastern Europe flee to the United States amidst an increasingly precarious setting at the start of World War II. We were there in the 50s as thousands of Cuban refugees arrived in Miami and beyond, and we were called upon yet again after the fall of Saigon in the mid 70s to resettle thousands of families from South East Asia. I would wager that there are those of you here this morning who were part of congregations that sponsored families of boat people and that some of you are likely even still in contact with those families today. We know together that meaningful welcome is more than what a government or agency can provide. We need partners, like all of you, to amplify and share Christ’s beautiful welcome and accompaniment.

Today, the neighbors we welcome together come from all over the world. We are no longer responding to one crisis at a time but overlapping crises, requiring us to be nimble and culturally responsive in ways I am not sure those first partners in the late 30s could have even comprehended. And, we remain rooted in our Lutheran call to accompany and to walk with all who look for new beginnings, seeing all of these people as our neighbors. Our job is not to wave a magic wand and try to fix these challenging situations, but we are called to walk with newcomers, to get in the ditch, to help them learn a new language, to help them complete their behind the wheel hours so they can get a drivers’ license, to help them navigate the unfamiliarity of an American grocery store. We are called to accompany and to be with them in the long welcome, not just an immediate quick fix.

There’s a quote from pastor and activist Sandra Van Opsta; that it fitting: “God’s people are knocking on our doors, asking us to let them help us be the church God always intended us to be…we must pay attention to immigrants- not for their conversion, but for ours.” Where it can be so tempting to cling to our tribal tendencies, like those early biblical societies, to see those the most like us as our neighbors, God always intended for us to be more than that. The things that separate us from one another and create harm and pain amongst us, are not of God.

I will close with a sweet story from one of my good friends who lives in North Minneapolis. Her new neighbors next door to her are an Afghan family who have recently been resettled. They are a fairly large family, two parents and six children. They came over to introduce themselves to my friend and they were very confused and alarmed to discover that she is in her mid thirties and lives alone in her house with her dog, which is exactly how she likes it. In their cultural context, it is strange that a woman of her age would live alone, unmarried and without children. So, most evenings, they bring her dinner. They bring plates of food and sometimes invite her to join them at their house. My friend could view her neighbors as the outsiders, those who need help, and instead, they are the ones going out of their way to accompany her and make her feel welcome and appreciated. They are sharing what they have with her, living out a call of sharing abundance and goodness. Being the body of Christ means many things, including identifying when we are the ones who are called to share resources and help and when it is time to receive them.

This morning and this week, I invite us all to go and do likewise like Jesus tells us in the gospel. When we are the ones in the ditch to have the courage to ask someone to come down into it with us. When we are the ones with capacity to help, to be open to the ditches we can climb down into, especially when it makes us nervous or uncomfortable. To go and show mercy and to be humble enough to both share and receive God’s love and abundance with one another. Whether we are showing care to our neighbors who very alike to us, or our neighbors who could not be more different than us, may we remember they are all dearly loved children of God. Because love thy neighbor doesn’t only mean the neighbors who are most like us, but all of God’s people.

Let us pray,

O God of Community, we thank you for all of the ways you draw near to us. Through your Holy spirit, move within and through us to honor that nearness by drawing close to one another. Where there is discord and division, work through us to work for reconciliation. Where there is pain, help us to hold that pain as our own and to accompany all who struggle. When we see those who are different from us, may we see your face reflected in your dearly beloved children. Be with all who flee their homes and all that is familiar in search of newness and opportunities. Make our arms strong so we may open them in welcome.

We ask all of this through your son, the one who fulfilled your promise of goodness and mercy, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Comment

Sunday, June 15, 2025

June 12, 2025

Join the Dance

A few weeks ago, I attended my college reunion. It was fun to see old friends again and to catch up, and reminisce. Several of us remembered taking “Ballroom Dancing” as our Phy Ed class and falling in love with it. But it has some limitations. It requires knowledge of the steps – and it requires two people. It’s a partner dance.

And that can be a problem. As my classmates and I gathered together, along with alumni from other classes, some returned without their partners, some never married, and many, probably most, of the others never learned Ballroom dance.

So how do you have a dance in which all can participate? Obviously, you can’t have ballroom dance. But at this event, there was another challenge: there were people there celebrating their reunions in increments of 5 from the 5th to the 65th . How do you accommodate people wanting to hear music spanning from the 1950s to today?

They came up with an ingenious solution. Everyone received a set of headphones – which had three settings, a trinity of settings – of red, green and blue and each of the headphones was connected to a different DJ’s music. And so, you could listen to music from different eras on each headset and change them whenever you wanted. So, there were people listening to different music but still dancing together.

Admittedly, it looked funny from the outside to see people dancing and not hearing any music. But to those who were dancing, it was super fun and everyone was included – including those who just wanted to chat. They could talk without having to compete with blaring music.

Today we celebrate the festival of the Trinity. The word “trinity” is not found in the Bible but came about as followers of Jesus tried to explain their experience of God. In the beginning, most of the Jesus followers were Jewish, who were committed to monotheism, a belief in ONE God.

But they also had experienced Jesus as God incarnate, God taking on human flesh and the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, coming as Jesus promised, to guide, teach, and comfort. Clearly God was doing something new and they were trying to wrap their heads around One God revealed in three ways.

Theologian and contemplative priest Richard Rohr describes it in this way. He says that “for God to be good, God can be one. For God to be loving, God has to be two because love is a relationship. But for God to be supreme joy and happiness, God has to be three. That’s because lovers do not know full happiness until they both delight in the same thing. 1 ”

Rohr explains, “The law of three is made in order to undo the law of two.” 2 We tend to divide things into two – black OR white; rich or poor; right OR left…it becomes oppositional and you choose sides. You need a dance partner in order to participate. But when you have three, it changes the dynamic. It becomes relational, not dualistic. Speaking to a group of scientists, Rohr goes on to explain that “What physicists and contemplatives alike are confirming is that the foundational nature of reality is relational; everything is in relationship with everything else” 3 .

In the Fourth Century, three theologians, two named Gregory and one named Basil, tried to explain this without the benefit of physics. They described the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as a circle dance. In a circle dance, everyone is included – regardless of who you are. All the things that we typically divide into two – male or female – young or old – rich or poor are irrelevant. For in a circle dance, people come together, and those who know the dance well, carry along those who are new, those who are young and those whose footsteps are faltering. With arms clasped together, shoulder to shoulder, each one is included, each one is a part of the dance. There is unity – but not uniformity.

Unity but not uniformity. Relationship and community across difference. These are some of the things that we were talking about when Dave Fernelius and Grant Galarneau-Becker, our president and Vice President and I gathered with other local ELCA pastors and representatives of their churches this past week. All of the churches are a part of the Wildfire collective – a group of churches that have been collaborating in many different ways over the past 17 years.

We have done a lot of ministry together - and plan to continue. But it seemed time to revisit our “why” – why do we gather together so that we can be open to ways that God is leading us in the dance of revealing God’s love to our neighbors within District 281, the geographical space that we all share.

The world around us is changing. That is not new. But the rate of change is unsettling. For example, some of our neighbors next door at Robbins Way depend upon Medicaid for their healthcare. Many of us depend upon North Memorial hospital for health care. With the US Senate budget changes that are looming, some of those resources may no longer be available. It is tempting to just ignore the changes around us and to hope that the problems just go away.

And yet… in times of challenge and change, God speaks – and we need to listen and then act. As citizens and as people of faith, we cannot be silent. We can’t say, “it’s someone else’s problem. It doesn’t affect me.” We have been called by Christ to care for our neighbor. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to guide us. And so, together, we are called to discern how God is calling us to act in our community and in our world and then to respond.

It may not be easy. But who would have guessed that you could have three kinds of music going at the same time and people in their 20s to 80s dancing together? The challenges of our world are much more significant than figuring out a reunion dance. But God has empowered us to be witnesses of God’s love and grace to ALL people. To act, we need the courage of Jesus and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide us. And these are exactly the gifts that God has given to us for this time. “Through Jesus’ example, teaching, and love, we are made to understand and to rejoice in God’s love for us and to learn to love one another as neighbors dwelling close to the heart of God with the Son in the unity of love. And when we do this, we show the world, in loving words and works, that it also is beloved, by embodying God’s love for it.

Meanwhile the Spirit is with us always, guiding us on the way of love, creating a space for us and in us to be part of the Trinitarian dance of God.” 4 The creator God has prepared the dance floor, Jesus has begun the music and the Holy Spirit is calling, “Will you dance?”

1 The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformationby Richard Rohr on YouTube

ii Ibid

iii, Deacon Peter quoting Richard Rohr and The Divine Dance; The Trinity and Your

Transformation ibid

iv Meda Stamper Workingpreacher. org

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + June 15, 2025, Holy Trinity Sunday + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Comment

Sunday, June 8, 2025

June 5, 2025

Come Holy Spirit. Come.

How does the Holy Spirit come? When we read the lesson from Acts

about the disciples speaking fluently about the power of God in foreign

languages – without one lesson – I’m filled with awe and amazement

and confidence that this must be the work of the Holy Spirit.

But a violent rush of wind and tongues of fire is not the only way that

the Spirit comes. In the Psalm we read that the Holy Spirit was there at

creation, creating all the world and all of the creatures in it -- and that

the Spirit is still creating and renewing the face of the earth. John’s

Gospel talks about the Holy Spirit coming as an Advocate, abiding with

us. The book of Romans speaks of the Spirit as bearing witness – with

our spirit – that we are children of God. Like a prism, today’s readings

show different ways that the Holy Spirit shows up in scripture.

But scripture is not the only way that the Holy Spirit is made known.

Where have you seen the Holy Spirit at work? Or have you just been too

busy “doing” to stop to notice that the Holy Spirit is at work among us?

You would not be alone.

But once in a while – we do. If you go to Louisville, Kentucky, to the

corner of Fourth and Walnut, you will see a cast-metal sign with the

words “A REVELATION” on it in Big Capital letters commemorating a

spiritual vision by Thomas Merton.

Thomas Merton had been a graduate student in English at Columbia

University. He was well regarded and clearly had a promising as an

academic. But, to the surprise of his family and friends and everyone

who knew him, he declared he had a call from God. He left the

university and joined the Trappists monks in Kentucky. The move was

not easy. Thomas struggled between his desires to be active in the world

and his call to the contemplative world. He became a prolific writer and

best-selling author. But these accolades were not the reason for the sign.

In his book, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Thomas explains:

In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of

the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the

realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I

theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we

were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of

separateness … I have the immense joy of being [human], a

member of a race in which God became incarnate. As if the

sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm

me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could

realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling

people that they are all walking around shining like the sun 1 .

The Holy Spirit opened his eyes to see the world the way that God sees

it. Sometimes we see it too – sometimes, like the Psalmist, we see God’s

work in creation – a beautiful sunrise or sunset, a mountain top, the early flower buds of spring, the green grass of summer and the sun sparking on the lakeshore, the snow glistening on the flocked trees in winter. If we stop and look, we can see God’s hand at work.

God is also at work on the corner of Fourth and Walnut in Louisville and

at 42 nd and Welcome in Robbinsdale. Today we will be baptizing Elijah,

this little baby who is named after a great prophet. And we will be

inviting the Holy Spirit to come. Using ordinary water and ordinary

words, the Holy will come in an extraordinary way to bless and to claim

Elijah as a child of God and sibling to Christ Jesus.

As Paul writes in the book of Romans, “ you have received a spirit of

adoption.” In your baptism, you are made – each one of you – a child of

God. And so we can be empowered to call out to God with all of our

needs and cares just as a little child cries out “Daddy, Mommy” when

they are hungry, tired, afraid AND when they are joyful and have

discovered something new. God takes delight in each of you, just as the

parents and grandparents of a child take delight in a newborn baby.

Like the sign on 4 th and Walnut in Louisiana, God’s Holy Spirit bears witness to this Revelation at Elijah is becoming a child of God on 42 nd and Welcome and is surrounded by you, also God’ children – who are

“shining like the sun” – even though you can’t see it.

When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with

our spirit that we are children of God.

We need to keep reminding ourselves – and each other of who we are

and whose we are. As Paul reminds us, “you did not receive a spirit of

slavery to fall back into fear.” But it is so easy to do. We live in a world

that is full of forces that would enslave us – to hatred, bigotry, and

injustice. When we react with fear, we put our own selfish interests

above care for the other, the neighbor, the poor, the hungry, the migrant,

the one who was born somewhere else or who looks different from me

or you. When we succumb to fear, we are tempted to circle the wagons –

and leave those outside our circle to the wolves.

But this is not the way of Jesus. And this is not the way that the Spirit of

God leads us. Instead, as theologian Candace Hall writes, “As children

of God freed and forgiven, God’s Spirit reminds us who we are when

we’re fearful. When we’re suffering. When we think we’re ‘not enough.’

God’s Spirit reminds us that God made us in [GOD’s} image. We’re

beloved as God’s children, and there’s nothing we can do about

it.” 2 God loves you. Period.

Remembering who you are, and whose you are, let us joyfully proclaim,

“Come Holy Spirit, Come. Be made known to us and through us in the

words we say and in our actions. May the Holy Spirit shine through you

today. Amen.

1Thomas Merton, Spiritual Master: The Essential Writings, Paulist, 1992, 144–145)

2 Crystal Hall, Workingpreacher.org 2022

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + Pentecost + June 8, 2025+ Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Comment

Sunday, June 1, 2025

May 29, 2025

It sure does not seem like it has been seven whole weeks since we gathered here together for Easter Sunday, with all its pomp and circumstance and beautiful flowers and returning alleluias. And yet, today is the seventh Sunday of Easter which is also the last Sunday of the liturgical season, and we will soon look ahead to Pentecost next week.

Because we are still in the Easter season, it admittedly struck me as slightly odd upon first reading that today’s gospel lesson comes from the part of the book of John where Jesus is getting ready to be handed over to the Romans. It’s kind of like, “wait now, are we going back and doing Holy Week all over again?” And yet, when we start to think about what is to come as we move forward into the soon to come season of Pentecost and the start of the Christian church, it actually makes perfect sense that this is the final passage that tees us up, so to speak, for all that is to come and all that the Holy Spirit is soon to do.

In his final hours, Jesus prays for unity, for connections amongst all God’s beloved children and for the rejection of the human created divisions that we create to separate us from one another. Just as is so often true still today, during the life of Jesus, social divisions were strong. Your citizenship, who you worshiped, to what Empire you gave your allegiance, where you called home were the things that that defined you. But, Jesus brings something new. Jesus shares love, a desire for beloved and radical community, and a new way of being, a new way of loving and caring for others. He prayed to God for connections and nearness, that God’s love which is embodied and enfleshed in Jesus will continue to be made known.

Did you know that Jesus prayed for you? That in these last days of his life, amidst his betrayal, he prayed for all of his disciples yet to come and he prayed for unity. We fall under that category. We, along with generations past and those yet to come are all part of this prayer.

Many of you know that I returned from a travel course through western Turkey on Friday night. (I’m only a tiny bit jet lagged.) And, because I knew I would be preaching on this text shortly after returning, I had these verses from today rolling around in my head for much of the trip. Jesus praying for his disciples to come is just so incredibly striking to me in general. And, then so many layers got added as I was immersed in the early years of the Christian church and the first gatherings of Christians. Jesus prayers today’s set the stage for Pentecost and for all that is soon to come.

It just happens that the day we arrived was actually the 1700th anniversary of the ecumenical council at Nicea, and though we did not go to Nicea on this trip, it was still incredibly neat to realize that I was in the country where it happened on that anniversary. The council of Nicea was an ecumenial gathering of bishops in Nicea, now modern day Iznik, Turkey, meant to generate consensus on doctrines of the Christian faith. A few hundred years after the death of Jesus, many churches had been established throughout these far flung corners of the world, and Emperor Constantine decided it was time to come to some shared understanding of what it meant to be a Christian in the early centuries of the church.

One of the main outcomes of the Council of Nicea was the Nicene Creed, the development and finalization of was hotly debated and contested and we still say that creed together all these years later as a way of affirming our faith and acknowledging these vital foundations of our church.

Another main outcome of the gathering was a consensus on the trinity, an affirmation that God is three beings, creator, son, and holy spirit, all working both together and independently. The Holy Spirit coming alive on Pentecost, moving through and among the followers of Jesus, is a continuation of this Easter celebration of love, justice, and unity. But, we’ll dig more into Pentecost next week.

In the meantime, it is amazing to take note of all of these Christian foundations which people of faith have continued to build upon and sometimes deviate from throughout these rough two thousand years of Christian history.

There is something comforting to be about realizing that we are not the first to question and wander- our Christian ancestors who came before us have been doing the same thing this whole time. And, amidst all of that wondering, wandering, and questioning, Jesus reminds us that he desires unity for us. That as a communion of all dearly loved children of God we celebrate that there is so much that connects us.

In his final hours with his first disciples, when he was so close to being handed over to the Romans to be executed, Jesus prioritized praying for his followers and friends in the present and all those yet to come, and he prayed that they, which does include us, would all be united together in God’s abundant and expansive love that is enfleshed through Jesus’ ministry and life.

The foundations of the early church remain with us today, which serves as a reminder that our faith is both ancient and always being made new through our God of the Trinity.

As we go out into this week, I invite you to think about a few things:

Where are the places in your life where you have felt yourself stand atop a strong foundation? And, where are the places where you have built a foundation which those who come after you will stand on what you have built and then create beyond it? Who are the people, both anticipated and unexpected who you have had to work with, whether by choice or necessity, to create that foundation? What are your hopes for all who will come after you?

In these last days of this Easter season, may we remember that through Christ we are always made anew. That we stand on structures established by the great cloud of witnesses who came before us and we leave. May we be emboldened to continue to work together to make God’s unity, love, and grace known to all. Amen.

Vicar Karla Leitzman

Comment

Sunday, May 25, 2025

May 22, 2025

You are Invited

Have you ever given or received an invitation that has changed your life? Perhaps the words, “Will you marry me?” The answer will change two people’s lives. Or maybe an invitation to join a youth Bible study or a Mom’s group or even an invitation to lunch.

Invitations can change everything. In the passage right before our Acts lesson, Paul was eager to go and share the Good News of Jesus. But every time he picked a place to go, he kept being blocked from going there. Paul interprets this as the Holy Spirit saying, “no, don’t go; you are called to go and share the Good news – but not there.”

I imagine Paul was getting a little frustrated at the closed doors he was encountering but then he had a night vision from a Macedonian man from Macedonia, a mountainous region of Northern Greece. The man was calling to him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” It was a bit of risk, to simply follow a dream, a night vision, but this is what Paul was waiting for – so they set sail immediately until they came to Philippi, which was a Roman colony, the seat of power under Phillip the Second. They were there for several days – but no one met them. Finally, on the Sabbath, they looked for a Synagogue to attend. The tradition was that it takes ten Jewish men to form a synagogue. But this was a Greek city and Paul could not find a synagogue anywhere in the city. So, he and Silas went outside the gate to the river hoping to find Jewish people gathered there for prayer and worship. And they did. But the man who beckoned them to come wasn’t there. Instead, he found a woman’s prayer gathering.

At this point, Paul could have just kept on going, looking for the Macedonian man who had called him in his vision. But, at the invitation of the women, he sat down and taught them about Jesus.

One of the women listening was Lydia. Lydia is an interesting person who breaks a lot of the stereotypes of women of that day. She was a merchant, a business woman who sold purple cloth – which was a very expensive, highly prized material. She was the head of her household. And, she was not from around there. She was from Thyratira, in Asia. So she had traveled a similar path as Paul had to come to Philipi. She had a large house and a household and as such had some standing in the community. And finally, she is called a “worshipper of God.” She was a seeker, she wasn’t ethnically or religiously Jewish and yet there she was, with the Jewish women, praying.

As Paul and Silas and Timothy shared the good news of Jesus, the Lord opened the heart of Lydia. She received the invitation to believe and she was baptized and – as was the tradition of the time – her whole household was baptized too.

But here comes what I think is the most interesting part of this story. Not only was Lydia baptized and instructed her household to be baptized, but she also felt empowered to make an invitation of her own. She invited Paul and Silas to come and stay at her house. And it wasn’t just a casual invitation. She prevailed upon them, inviting them to make good on their promise that she was a worthy, saying, “If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.”

Clearly, the Holy Spirit not only opened her heart to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, but also empowered her to share her gifts as well. Lydia’s home then became not just a place for Paul and Silas to stay but also a “safe place” for Christians and the beginning of the church of Philippi. Lydia transitioned from being a receiver to being a contributor.

There was a church that offered a free meal to the hungry in a poor neighborhood. That isn’t unusual. Lots of churches do this. What was unusual was that the ones who were serving the meal were not people from outside the community doing an act of charity. Instead, the people serving the meal were same as the people, often homeless people, who had come for the meal. When I asked about it, I was told that one of the guests had asked to be a server – and instead of holding on to this position for himself – the leader invited this man to take his apron and switched spots with him, allowing the homeless man to serve him. Now, the leaders of the church – and this formerly homeless man – are on the lookout for people who, like him, want to be empowered to serve rather than to simply receive.

It was a subtle change. But it made a huge difference for the people. Instead of feeling like they were always on the receiving end, these people were invited and empowered to be a part of the team that served the neighbor in need.

How is God inviting you? How is the Holy Spirit opening your heart? It may be an invitation to serve – instead of being served. Or it may be an invitation to community and to relationship.

I may have shared this story before but as I was thinking about invitations, I was reminded of my first day of at what was then called Plymouth Junior high. It had been a good morning. I was having a great time getting to meet all sorts of new people. But at lunchtime, when I came out of the lunch line with my caf tray and saw a sea of faces – more people my age than I had ever seen before--sitting at tables with no direction as to where I belonged … I froze. Where do I go? Cindy Spielde, a girl I met in homeroom, came up to me and said, “Would you like to sit with us?” A wave of gratitude washed over me and I said, “Oh yes.” She became a dear friend.

It was a simple invitation. But it meant the world to me. And so, friends in Christ, I invite you to ponder – how is God opening your heart? What is the Holy Spirit inviting you into? How can you invite someone else to hear God’s good news? How can you be the Good News to someone else – perhaps someone you have not yet met?

Those of us who have grown up in the church probably don’t realize that it can be a really hard journey from the parking lot to walking through the church door. And that’s just the beginning… At a church meeting on Evangelism, one of the speakers said that one of the most frequent barriers to attending a new church is not knowing where the bathroom is. Hearing this as an “insider” and an extravert this was incredibly surprising to me, after all, couldn’t they just ask?

And yet, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to be “new” to a church setting. Vicar Karla and I were on an internship retreat at St. John’s monastery’s retreat house and some of us decided to go to the morning weekday service with the monks. We walk in the wrong door and end up in the back of the church – just where a Lutheran wants to be, right? But then we see a monk beckoning us forward and we have to cross the entire sanctuary to our seats in the guest area up front. With a few whispers he then shows us the three books that we need for the 20 minute service and he disappears. I noticed a sign on the wall but there was no bulletin. Luckily for us, a very kind man, an alumni of St. John’s, helped us when we couldn’t find our place in the worship. It was a simple gesture, but it helped me feel like I belonged.

Like Lydia, we are all both seekers and people who have something to offer. As seekers, we are invited to ask ourselves: what are we seeking? “Where is the hunger of your soul leading you towards? It is easy to neglect this question in the midst of our busy lives. For those of us for whom life is a series of tasks to get done or goals to be accomplished or health crises to be endured, it is easy to forget to ask where God is in the midst of all of that. The seeker is one who is on the lookout for the presence of God. The seeker is looking for God in the world around her, and in the people he meets, and in the challenges and opportunities along the way. Lydia reminds us to continue seeking.” 1

Lydia also reminds us that, hearing the word and receiving the gift of God’s love and grace, she and we are empowered to share the gifts we have with others. For when God opened her heart, Lydia opened her home and became one who welcomed and invited others.

Siblings in Christ, may we be open to God’s invitation to hear God’s word; to Jesus’ invitation to come to the table and to the Holy Spirit’s invitation to empower others to hear and see that they also belong to Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen.

May 25, 2025 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

1 Day1 https://day1.org/weekly-broadcast/681b10b86615fb2641007358/view

Comment

Sunday, May 18, 2025

May 15, 2025

Gems of Beauty

Are you a rock picker? Walking along the shore of a river, lake or ocean, do you find yourself picking up a sparkling rock, an interesting shell or a piece of drift wood? I do – and so do other members of my family. When our boys were little, I had to put a limit on the number of rocks they could bring home – a catch and release rule – even though they argued that each rock was as precious as a gem stone. If you visited our home, you would find that when we moved, we could not part from many of these beloved rocks and shells.

What is precious to you? What do you hold onto?

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury loved books. Living during WWII when Hitler was burning books, Bradbury penned a science fiction story in which all books were being banned and burned. In order to preserve these books, a group of renegade book lovers memorized their favorite book. One chose the Gospel of Mark, another the Gospel of John, another chose the Odyssey & the Iliad. A book lover myself, I pondered which book would I memorize? Would it be the Gospel of Luke? Or Romans? A teenager when I first read this book, this prospect seemed daunting …maybe I would choose something shorter like one of Paul’s letters or 1st John. It’s only a couple of pages long.

Martin Luther chose the Psalms. As a monk, Luther learned the Psalms by heart and they became a bedrock for his faith. In his preface to the Psalms, Luther writes, “The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea driven about by winds blowing from all four corners of heaven. The Book of Psalms is full of heartfelt utterances made during storms of this kind.”

This is certainly reflected in the Psalms chosen for today. And while we may not be able or choose to memorize the whole book of Psalms, there are some verses here that are as bright as gems – and are worth picking up and holding in your hand and in your heart.

Some of the Psalms speak in the first person – and so when you are filled with despair and hopelessness, I urge you to recall this verse from Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come?” The response is swift: “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Other Psalms are for the community. When we are buffeted by storms of any kind, remember these words from Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” And God’s response to our flailing around, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

The Psalms were the prayerbook of Jesus and can be your prayer book too. When your heart feels like it is a ship on a stormy sea, you can join the Psalmist in expressing your anger, frustration or fear and then… keep reading until you hear God’s response of hope, protection and assurance that you can trust in God. And, when your heart is full of gratitude and your boat is in peaceful waters, you can find in the Psalms inspiring words of hope, gratitude, praise and adoration.

May you find in the Psalms gems of beauty that sparkle with wisdom, hope and the promises of God. As the Psalmist writes: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

1Martin Luther, Preface to the Psalter.

May 18, 2025 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Comment

Sunday, May 11, 2025

May 8, 2025

Jesus, Lamb of God; Jesus our Good Shepherd

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Calling himself a Shepherd and his followers sheep would have been a familiar metaphor for his listeners. Sheep thrived on the tufts of grass on the hills of Judea – where other things couldn’t grow -- and they needed shepherds to watch them. David was a shepherd before he became King of Israel and learned a few lessons about what it meant to care for the vulnerable as he sat with his slingshot, keeping an eye out for predators. When he became King, he like other rulers was called to “shepherd,” to care, for his people like a good shepherd cares for his sheep. The Psalmist uses the image of a Shepherd for God in the 23rd Psalm, as the Psalmist and we proclaim, “the Lord is my Shepherd.”

So, it is not surprising that we find sheep and shepherd imagery in the Revelation to John.

Revelation is a book that many – including me – often avoided because it has been mis-used over the years. But when a woman begged me to do a Bible study on Revelation because she was plagued by some of the things that she had heard and read – like the “Left Behind” series and wanted to know what the Bible really said, I relented. I’m glad I did and I want to share a few highlights of what I learned – especially as reflected in our passage today.

First a little background: The Revelation to John is a letter written by John (because of the date of the letter this is probably not the disciple John). He is on the isle of Patmos during the height of the Roman empire – he may have been exiled there because of his faith. We don’t know any more details but we do know he had an apocalyptic vision and shares it with seven churches. John was concerned about these churches. Some of the churches dared to live out their faith publicly, proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” in the midst of an empire that proclaimed “Caesar is Lord.” The people in these churches were struggling economically and were in danger of persecution. But other churches quietly worshiped on Sunday and then accommodated the empire on the rest of the week – they didn’t make waves and were rewarded for it. John’s letter offers a word of comfort to those who are suffering for their faith and a word of challenge to those who “going along.” He encourages both to follow the Good Shepherd and not the empire. So, everything in this letter – which is a vision – is a word to these churches and to each of us as we make choices about who we will follow -- the Good Shepherd or the Empire of our day.

Our text for today begins with what John sees: “there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” This is in addition to the 144,000 that he’s talked about in the last chapter. The number has swelled – and it includes people from every nation, every tribe, every language and culture. There is a great diversity. John can’t count the number. And what are they doing? They are having church! They are waving Palm branches like we do on Palm Sunday. They are worshipping the Lamb of God and they are singing. “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Ever wonder where the lyrics for our hymns and worship music comes from? More come from or were inspired by the book of Revelation than any other book of the Bible.

But then John gets asked a question: Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” John wisely responds: “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal.”

This is a message to the members of the churches who have suffered for their faith. Their faith has not been in vain. But as with other things referenced in Revelation “the great ordeal” is not limited to one event in time or space. People of all generations experience challenges to living out their faith honestly and authentically. There is always the temptation to get comfortable or complacent. The encouragement of Revelation is to dare to follow Jesus.

The elder goes on to say: “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

There are many paradoxes in the book of Revelation. Anyone who has done laundry knows that blood is really hard to get out of clothing and, if you want something white, you wash it with bleach – not blood. But this is the paradox - their hearts and souls – as well as their robes are being cleansed by the blood of Jesus, the lamb of God. They were washed, cleansed, made new and whole by what seems as if it should stain them.

The final paradox of this section is that Jesus is referred to as the lamb of God – and the shepherd. Just as there are many Biblical references for the role of shepherds, there are also Biblical references to lambs. God gave Abraham a lamb to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac. God told Moses to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts to avoid the plague of the angel of death. Lambs had been used for sacrifice throughout the Old Testament. But while prophets had proclaimed the coming of one who would be a sacrificial lamb, it is in the first chapter of the Gospel of John that Jesus is proclaimed as, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This is who John of Patmos is proclaiming in the the Book of Revelation and who we proclaim Jesus to be at every communion service as we sing the Lamb of God.

But Jesus is also called “the Good Shepherd” – both in the Gospel of John and here. Here is the paradox: Just as Jesus, son of God, took on flesh so that he could be one of us and die for us; Jesus is both the shepherd who cares for the sheep and the lamb who died for them and in whose blood, we are made new.

And these are the promises of Jesus, the Lamb of God who is our shepherd. Those who follow Jesus “will hunger no more and thirst no more…for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

These are the promises of Jesus, the Good Shepherd for you.

In response: we are to dare to follow Jesus – and not the Empire. We are to follow the way of Jesus who teaches us to love and welcome the neighbor, the other, to care for the sick, the marginalized, the poor. And even though it is easier or tempting to be distracted by the false and tempting offers of “success” by those whose interest is in enriching themselves, Jesus invites us to follow him and his way. For Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

Following Jesus means listening to the voice of Jesus. I can think of no better way to listen to the voice of Jesus than by engaging in prayer, Bible study and worship. These practices build the foundation of faith.

When we pray, we are inviting God to enter into our lives and I encourage you, in your praying, to take time to: praise and thank God for the gifts you have received; ask God for forgiveness for the things that you have done and failed to do; share with God your questions and concerns and don’t be afraid to ask for help! Ask God to guide your thoughts and your actions for that day. AND THEN… listen. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” In order to hear Jesus’ voice, we need to listen.

Bible study is not just for Sunday school and confirmation. It is taking the time to read God’s word and apply it to how we live our daily lives. When we do Bible study together, we are seeking God’s direction for our lives – rather than all of the other sources that seek to influence what we do with our time and our lives and the money and resources that we have. How do we spend the time we call “ours”? How do we spend the money we call “ours”? Who do we serve? Who do we protect and care for? Who do we advocate for? Who are we following? It’s less about having head knowledge and more about learning how Jesus would have us act in the world. Jesus sent his disciples out into the world – and sends you and me out too.

Finally – and with great joy -- we worship together. I say together, because when we worship, we are joining a crowd of witnesses both on earth and in heaven above praising God and being strengthened for love and service. So let us sing joyfully. Because no matter what challenges may come your way, or our way, Jesus is still Lord of heaven and earth. So let us join in praising Jesus, the lamb of God, our shepherd and Lord. Amen.

May 11, 2025 + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran

Comment

Sunday, May 4, 2025

May 1, 2025

Last weekend, I was on campus down at Gustavus Adolphus College, representing Faith Lilac Way at the annual Association of Congregations Meeting. Gustavus just happens to be my beloved alma mater, and it was a wonderful excuse to be on campus in the beautiful springtime as the semester winds down. During her state of the college, President Bergman reminded all of us that graduation was right around the corner for this year’s graduating seniors. It is, in fact, today. So with that in mind, throughout the last week, I have been finding myself thinking about my own graduations.

I remember graduating from high school, slightly sad yes because I was very fortunate to have a mostly positive high school experience with good friends I remain close to still today, but mostly I was just excited and I was ready for what was next. I could just taste the newness, the freedom, that all that was to come could only be good. I felt like I had the world at my feet. And that assuredness mostly turned out to be founded. And, my four years at college where I headed right after high school were largely fantastic, and I am grateful every single day for my undergraduate experiences and friendships.

But, I remember feeling very differently on the day of my college graduation than I did for high school. In that season, I felt like I was losing much of my identity, so much of what had defined me for the last four years. How was I supposed to go out into the real world and not need to introduce myself with my major? And what do you mean that my best friends would no longer live a flight of stairs above me or across the parking lot? I felt completely lost and I felt sad. And I found that the best I could do was to just think of what was immediately next. I would move home to my parents’ house before my internship started. And when people asked me what was next for me, I would glibly answer that well for now I was going to just focus on reading the new Dan Brown novel because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d read a book for fun. During the last week of school, one of my friends even made a sign that he affixed to his backpack that said, “I am a senior. No, I don’t know the meaning of life and I don’t know what I’m doing after graduation, so you can all stop asking.” At the end of it, there was this feeling of, well, there’s nothing to do but to head for home and figure out what would come next.

Today’s gospel lesson exemplifies these feelings but on steroids. If I thought I was lost and had given up huge pieces of my identity just by graduating from college, I really can’t fathom how Jesus’ disciples must have felt. 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? Was Cleopas nervous to get home because he didn’t want the earful from his family about his disappearance during the years he was following Jesus? Can you imagine those I told you so’s?

Today is actually Star Wars day. It’s May 4th, so may the fourth be with you. Obviously, I have to use the excuse to work Star Wars into today’s sermon. Today’s gospel lesson brings about so many feelings of unrequited hopes and dreams. I admit that I do generally prefer the original Star Wars movies, episodes 4, 5, and 6 which were released in the 70s and 80s. I can mostly take or leave episodes 1,2, and 3 and then 7, 8, and 9. But, there is a scene that comes to my mind in today’s context. At the end of the third movie, we reach a pivotal moment. Movies 1, 2, and 3 have shown Annakin Skywalker, working and training with his jedi master, Obi Wan Knobi to become a jedi and wielder of the Force. Annakin is thought to be the one who is foretold to bring balance to the force, aligning himself with the “good” side of the force along with Yoda and Obi Wan. But, Annakin is seduced to the dark side of the force, eventually morphing into the infamous Darth Vader.

At the end of the third movie, after a lot of drama and violence, Annakin has fought with Obi Wan and he is falling back into a volcano. In anger, desperation Obi Wan yells, “You were my brother. You were the chosen one.” And I wonder, did any of Jesus’ disciples cry out similar words after his crucifixion? I imagine variations of “Jesus, you were my brother, my teacher, my confidant. I believed in you, left home for you, was ostracized by communities for you. You were supposed to be the chosen one. The Messiah. You didn’t bring God’s wrath and revenge like you were supposed to. Now what am I supposed to do?”

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?

You all might be picking up throughout my time here with you so far on how much I love the multitudes of literary devices and parallels we can find throughout the bible, the bookends as I like to call them. So, if we look back to Jesus’ birth and the very start of his story, he came into this world as a stranger. A displaced Gallilean, far away from home, 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 meats us on the roads, so too, may we exemplify that love and presence to accompany and meet others on their own roads. Amen.