Freed for Faith not Fear

The Gospel according to Luke the 12th chapter
Jesus said, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
The Gospel of the Lord

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I love the Olympics. I know there are always problems, but I am inspired both by the gathering of the nations together for a peaceful event and by the Olympic athletes themselves. They have all sacrificed time, money and considerable energy for this moment. But this year, I am most inspired by the athletes from the brand new “Refuge Team.” 

One of Refugee Team athletes is Yusra Mardini. With her sister, she fled the Syrian war, traveled through Lebanon and Turkey and boarded a dingy with 18 other people to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Greece. But on the way, the boat broke down. Mardini and her sister and the two other swimmers jumped overboard and swam for three hours, guiding the boat to safety. But that’s not all. It turns out that while she was in the water pulling the boat, Mardini noticed a six-year-old boy in the boat who looked scared. She said, “I had to be funny and make smilies even when in the water because I didn’t want him to think we were dying.”

Fear is a powerful force. Fear causes us to react in one of three ways: fight, flight or freeze. This can be a very helpful instinct when facing a tiger or bear in the wilderness – or when you are in a sinking boat. But while it’s a good initial instinct, fear doesn’t work well for most of our life decisions and choices because fear fills us with anxiety. And we tend to make bad choices when we are anxious.

In our Gospel, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” Just like the angels delivering Good News, Jesus knows that we too can easily get caught up in fear. So he speaks to his disciples – and us – in these tender words as a Shepherd speaks to his lambs. “Do not be afraid, little flock.”

“Do not be afraid, little flock for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Listen to that again. Jesus said, “it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” You. God wants to give you the kingdom. This is what God wants to do. This is God’s desire – to give you and me the kingdom. 

Speaking to his disciples – and us – Jesus wants to free us from fear and anxiety so that we may have faith to trust in the promise of God. That is what Jesus wants to give us: faith to trust God. 

So how do we live into that promise and live in Faith and not in Fear?

Jesus has some ideas. Using the Message Bible translation, Jesus says, 
    1) Be generous. 
    2) Give to the poor. 
    3) Be ready.

Remember, Jesus doesn’t say that you have to do these things in order to belong or to be welcomed into God’s Kingdom. He’s already said that the Father wants, desires, plans to give you the kingdom. Being generous and giving to the poor are things that we can do in thankful response to God’s grace. These are ways for us to live in faith and not in fear. 

And if back in Biblical times, money, resources, “stuff” could be distracting, what about now?! Jesus said then – and now – “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” 

In his book, Giving to God, Mark Allan Powell points out that most people read this passage backwards. Before I read his book, I used to read it backwards too. We think it says, “Your treasure – namely money and resources - will follow your heart.” But that’s not what Jesus says. What Jesus says is where you put your money and resources… that’s where your heart will go. The heart will follow. 

So… Take a look at your bank and other financial statements. Where does your money go? That’s where Jesus says your heart is. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.”

I have some friends who used to live in Chicago. They told me that they wanted to join a big church in downtown Chicago – and so they made an appointment to see the pastor. The secretary called them back to tell them to bring a copy of their taxes from the previous year. Curious, they did. When they met with the pastor, he looked at their taxes and said, “Thank you. For your offering, our financial office will be billing you for 10%.” That’s one way of having your heart follow your treasure. 

But…that’s not how we do our stewardship campaign. 

Rather than force or tax you into giving, we invite you to share the resources that God has entrusted to you with Faith-Lilac Way so that together we can do God’s mission in this place and outside our walls. Because giving back to God and God’s mission is a matter of faith – not fear or tax or obligation. Instead, trusting in the promise of God, we give back to God what God has first given us.

Live in faith – and not in fear. Be generous. Give to the poor. It’s really counter-cultural. Every day we are bombarded with news that is designed to instill fear. From the election, to violence in the world and in our neighborhoods, to health risks to environmental disasters, we are given reason to fear. 

I think that’s one of the reasons that I found the story of the Refugee Olympic swimmer Mardini and her sister so inspiring. They were in incredibly frightening situation. The danger was real. But Mardini did not give into fear. Instead, she acted not only to save herself and the other people in the boat, but she sought to bring hope – and not fear – to a frightened little boy. 

For, while fear can be a motivating force in times of danger, it is not what we need to live. Jesus knows we need something different. Jesus gives us faith. When we live and act in faith, we are generous, give to the poor and…are ready. We are ready to respond, in faith, to whatever comes our way because we know that God is with us. 

Do not be afraid. Instead - be ready. Be ready – not because we need to be afraid – but “Be ready to be blessed!” Because here is the surprising end to this teaching: when the Master returns, he doesn’t demand service. Rather, he serves the slaves. Do not be afraid. Jesus gives us the gift of faith so that we can live out that faith by being generous, caring for those in need and being ready to receive God’s blessing.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you are free to live in faith not fear. Be ready to be blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church
August 7, 2016

Is what you have defined by relationships?

Vicar Katelyn
7.31.16

Luke 12

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." 16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

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Don’t hoard your money, but instead be rich toward God, the end. Got it?

If only it was that simple.

This gospel story isn’t about money. At least not in the way we expect. It’s easy to turn this parable into some kind of financial stewardship message, which isn’t bad, but I don’t think that’s quite the meaning of this story.

First reading through this passage, we might assume the rich farmer in the parable is called a fool because he is wealthy and stores up his possessions. But after a second thought, those things aren’t really foolish. Having wealth doesn’t make one a fool, nor does saving for the future. No, I don’t think this is what makes God angry.

It’s not his wealth and saving that make him a fool -- it’s his attitude about them, it’s how he uses them that makes him a fool. Listen again to how this rich farmer speaks:

The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' (Luke 12:17-19)

He’s literally just talking to himself, about himself, with himself … you get the idea. He even speculates congratulating his future self on his self-made abundance.

He doesn’t give thanks to God, he doesn’t thank the workers on his farm, he doesn’t even think to share his incredible abundance with anyone. He just decides to build bigger and bigger spaces to accumulate all of his stuff, reserving its use only for himself.

Now this isn’t that far off from some trends in the United States. I’m sure you’ve heard of the show Hoarders. People on the show have accumulated so much stuff they can hardly get around their own homes -- now obviously this is an extreme situation, and usually related to other problems, but it’s also worth pointing out that many people are fascinated by the show. I read that “At the time of its premiere, Hoarders was the most-watched series premiere in A&E network history among adults aged 18-49 and tied for the most ever in the adults aged 25–54” (Wikipedia).

In other words, we not only like to accumulate stuff, we even like to watch TV shows about people who accumulate stuff. And it’s not just Hoarders. Think of all the reality TV centered around extremely wealthy people and what they have.

Or how we gawk with envy at huge homes and yards -- over the last 40 years, the average home size in the United States has increased by more than 1,000 square feet (money.cnn.com). We’re building bigger and bigger barns -- houses -- to store our stuff, which we seem to have more and more of.

But like I said earlier, it’s not wealth or possessions that are the problem -- it’s our perspective and attitude about them. And I know that here this morning we have people with many different financial realities. Some of you may be struggling paycheck to paycheck, others living extremely comfortably, and others somewhere in-between. No matter where you fit in on this spectrum, you can either be rich toward God or not.

Being rich toward God does not depend on your financial status.

In verse 15, Jesus says, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

So then, what does one’s life consist of? I think life -- and life defined as purpose, what’s at the core, what gives meaning -- I think our lives consist of relationships. Seriously, that’s it. Relationships.

Think about it. Have you ever been in a tragic situation? Maybe you got a phone call that a friend had died. Or maybe your child went missing.

What mattered to you in that moment? Were you thinking about whether or not your house was big enough? If you had enough techology? No, of course not. You were thinking about who you could reach out to, or you were wanting to be with someone you loved. You may have been praying to God.

No one on their deathbed is going to say, “I wish I had loved my possessions more instead of my family.”

Our lives consist of relationships -- relationships with God and each other.

Even our possessions and money should have to do with relationships. I will say again and again that it’s not possessions or money that can be foolish, it is our use of them and attitudes about them that can be foolish.

You probably have things that are meaningful to you. Like a desk that your grandfather made. Or a few outfits your newborn baby wore. Or a boat that reminds you of fishing with your dad. It would be foolish if you had hundreds of desks just to show off. Or if you were attached to tubs full of newborn clothes that hadn’t been used in years. Or if that boat just sat in storage for a decade.

It’s about our perspective, not the things themselves.

And you probably have things that help you be in relationship with others. A phone to contact people. A stove to cook a meal for family or friends. It would be foolish if you could never be away from your phone. Or if you wanted to remodel your kitchen every year to be the best.

Again, it’s about our perspective, not the things themselves.  

God says to the rich farmer -- and to us -- “The things you have prepared, whose will they be? So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

We can store up all the things we want, but in the end, whose will they be?

Items defined by relationships, like family photos or a favorite painting, will continue to be defined by relationships and passed on to others when you are gone.

But boxes of hardly worn clothes you just can’t part with? A pile of iPads because you always had to have the latest version? Whose will these be? No one’s. They will simply be thrown out.  

Of course you’re always going to have some amount of items that aren’t defined by relationships, but that should be kept to a minimum. It’s far too easy to keep boxes upon boxes of things we don’t need, or to go out and purchase a bunch of things we don’t need. These choices are driven by impulses and lack of letting go, instead of being driven by relationships.

What positive difference does keeping everything or always purchasing possibly make in life? Does thinking about all the stuff you have bring you closer to God? Of course not.

Being aware of all this matters because it distracts us from relationships, it distracts us from being rich toward God. Being rich toward God, in my understanding, must start with being rich toward one another. This means shifting our focus from love of things to love of others.

I don’t doubt that you all know that relationships are what’s most important, but everyone can use a reminder. We have all gotten swept away into loving possessions or money at some point in our lives.

We get distracted and swept up in loving things when our focus isn’t where it should be. When we get lazy about connecting with others. When we feel empty and try to fill that void with something other than God’s love.

So what to do? I think the answer to this is really very easy, we just don’t get around to it. Clean house! Both literally and in other ways.

Those boxes sitting in that room full of stuff you haven’t touched in years probably weighs on your mind now and then. It prevents you from having a guest room for your family. Or maybe the storage mess makes you cranky and you keep complaining about it to other people instead of taking care of it and letting it go. If you cleaned it out, you’d have space for your friends to stay or you would be in a better mood at home.

Consider the amount of time you spend online. Do you love reading Facebook or Instagram posts more than having a family dinner time? Clean up how you use your time, set boundaries, and be attentive to your family relationships.

Do you love your huge bank account like the rich farmer loved all of his surplus? Do you have more than you should ever spend on yourself? Instead of falling in love with staring at the wealth in your bank account, fall in love with an organization doing good work and donate some of that extravagant surplus to help them out. Use your money for the benefit of others, for relationships.

I want you to take just a few seconds and either write something down on today’s bulletin or type something on a list in your phone. I want you to think of one way you can “clean house,” one way you can make relationships more central in your life. And I want you to also write down a time -- it could be today, tomorrow, next weekend -- when you can set aside time to start making that change.

I decided I will use social media this week to reach out to at least five people I am connected with online, but whom I haven’t had meaningful conversations with for a few years. Instead of just watching them from the periphery and loving to scroll mindlessly through a news feed, I will clean up how I’m using my time and intentionally send five people a message, seeing what they’re up to and what’s important to them since we’ve last talked.

To end, I want to go back to the beginning of our passage. A man comes to Jesus and demands that he get involved in his family dispute about inheritance. Instead, Jesus tells him a parable about the dangers of loving possessions and money more than people. An inheritance would’ve been given out after someone died. And so this man, rather than mourning the loss of a loved one and spending time loving his family, is fighting over an inheritance -- this sort of thing still happens today.

Heed Jesus’ warning in your life as a whole: “Take care, Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Your life consists of relationships, with God and God’s beloved children. Don’t get distracted by other things. Clean house. These relationships are truly what make up your life, and what matters your whole life long. Amen.

Follow Faith, not Feelings

The Holy Gospel according to Luke the 10th chapter.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” The Gospel of the Lord

Follow Faith, not Feelings
July 17, 2016

We have had another week in which violence has erupted - this time in Nice, France. Innocent people were hurt and killed. Again. This past week I ran into Pastor Roderic Gholston, the pastor of the Missionary Baptist church that meets here Sunday afternoons. I asked him, in light of that week’s shootings of African American men, “How are you doing? What are you saying to your people?” He said, “I tell them, you’ve got to stop following your feelings - and follow your faith.” Follow your Faith - not your Feelings.

Martha was following feelings toward her sister. They were not feelings of sisterly love. No - her feelings were sisterly resentment. “Why does Mary get to sit there doing NOTHING and I am stuck doing all the work?” I’ve got two sisters. This feeling is not unique to Martha. 

To be fair to Martha, she is doing something good. In serving Jesus and his friends, she is showing hospitality through her service.

As we see throughout the Bible, showing hospitality is not just a cultural value, it’s a faith value.  Lots of stories tell about the value and blessing of hospitality: from Abraham and Sarah caring for three strangers - they turn out to be God’s messengers. A widow gives the Prophet Elijah a place to stay and prepares for him the last of her food - and the food never runs out. Jesus extols the virtue of hospitality and service through his teaching - remember the story of the Good Samaritan, caring for the neighbor; his miracles of healing the least worthy and through his actions of service - washing the feet of his disciples. Clearly, hospitality is a discipleship value. Caring for the neighbor, serving the neighbor is important. And it is a blessing both for the giver and the recipient. As we read in Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Showing hospitality, showing care, is a Biblical value

But, as anyone who has served a lot of people knows, it’s also a lot of work. And so, again, as one who has sisters, I can completely understand how Martha might resent that she is “stuck” doing all the work while her sister Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet soaking up the words of the Savior. It seems “Unfair!”

And yet, when she asks Jesus to take her side, Jesus doesn’t. Instead, Jesus says, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Often this is read as a rebuke of Martha. But maybe it’s only a rebuke of her feelings of resentment of her sister and of her feelings of “busy-ness” and distraction.  After all, maybe Jesus doesn’t care if the best china is used - or if there are three kinds of rice and four kinds of potatoes. He appreciates good food, I’m sure. But…Jesus didn’t come to make us feel good.

Jesus came to give us Faith. Jesus came that we may have LIFE. And have it abundantly. Sometimes we - myself included - can get caught up in our feelings of fear, anxiety, resentment  or our feelings of busy-ness and distraction that we forget to listen, to listen to God’s word. We focus on our feelings - rather than our faith.

Jesus values hospitality and service to the neighbor.  But service is not the only way to offer hospitality. Mary also offers a gift of hospitality.  Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens. This was a radical move at that time. Women were not considered “disciples.”  She would have been considered “out of place.” But Jesus made room for Mary amongst his disciples- and he makes room for you and me too. And…maybe Jesus is calling us to hold open the door for our neighbor, especially if they are considered “other.”

Discipleship is not either service or  listening to the word of God but rather discipleship is about both listening to the word of God… AND doing it.  This is not a new thought. 4th century theologian Ambrose observed, “Virtue does not have a single form. In the example of Martha and Mary, there is added the busy devotion of the one and the pious attention of the other to the Word of God.” 1

And yet, while nothing new, we can get caught up in our feelings - feelings of resentment, fear or anxiety. And when we do, we don’t respond in faithful ways. Instead, like Martha, we respond with irritation and complaints. Or, when faced with fear, people often respond with anger which leads t violence - or we flee, or shut down, preferring to believe that the problem and the violence is in somebody else’s neighborhood - and it’s not my problem. 

Jesus calls us to follow - not our feelings, not our fear but to follow Jesus in Faith. 

We can start, like Mary, by listening. But listening is a challenge in today’s world because there are so many competing sound bites through texts, tweets,TV, and all kinds of other media clamoring for our attention - all the time. But like Mary, we can start by listening to Jesus so that we are led led by Faith - not our feelings, led by our Faith not Fear. 

Then we can - and must — act, remembering that we follow Jesus who preaches love to the neighbor, care for the stranger and hope for the hopeless and who practices hospitality for all.

Gracious God,
We give you thanks for your presence with us ALWAYS. Help us to follow YOU in faith and not be sidetracked by our feelings of anxiety, resentment and fear. Show us the way to love our neighbor, care for the stranger, and spread your message of Faith - not fear.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran
July 17, 2016

1 Working preacher.com

Sent out in ministry together: vulnerability, dependence, & support

Katelyn Rakotoarivelo
7.3.16
Faith Lilac Way Lutheran

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 NRSV

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!' 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 "Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

16 "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

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Sermon

In response to this gospel text, one pastor asks: “Would you like it if Jesus organized volunteers at your church? Picture this: everyone is enjoying their coffee and conversations after worship, and then Jesus steps up onto a chair, waving his arms to get your attention, and says loudly, ‘Excuse me, can I have your attention? I need 70 people to help with a project this week. You will get to go to unfamiliar places and invite yourselves into people’s homes.

It will be like you are sheep sent into a pack of wolves. And also -- you aren’t allowed to bring anything with you. No cell phone, no extra clothes, none of that. Sound good? Great, because I’ve just signed all of you up for this opportunity!’

I’m pretty sure this isn’t a good way to get volunteers. There’s no selling point here. What is Jesus thinking?

Except Jesus wasn’t really asking for volunteers. He appoints the 70 and sends them out. He doesn’t ask for volunteers, and he doesn’t wait to see who comes forward on their own. I guess he’s Jesus, after all, he can do what a volunteer coordinator only dreams of.

But still: ‘I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves’? This is clearly dangerous territory, and he’s sending them out completely unprepared and unable to fend for themselves? And wolves aside, how can they buy food or get a place to stay? Without a bag, what are they supposed to do about extra clothes if they get cold or wet or just dirty from the road? Doesn’t he know they’re going to need these things?” (Adapted from a sermon by Rev. J.C. Austin in 2013.)

It seems like Jesus doesn’t have a clue. But of course he knows what he’s doing. The question isn’t what they need, but who. They need each other and they need Jesus -- we do, too! They will also need help from those willing to welcome them in along the way.

Obviously what these 70 are being called to do is not easy work, but we also shouldn’t be so quick to think about the plight of each individual. They will never be alone.

In American society we’re highly trained in individualism, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it makes us quick to say things like “My faith, my religion, my God” -- when really, all of these things are radically communal, are always related to relationship and being together.

Jesus sends them out in pairs -- each person will always have another to lean on. When one loses strength, the other can help. If one is discouraged, the other can build him back up in faith. There’s no way they could do this ministry and mission on their own.

They also have this much larger network of 70 incredible witnesses -- I’m sure they must have met up with other pairs along their travels and gained insight and support. And let’s not forget, God is always with them as well!

But it still can be scary, of course. After all, they have to depend on strangers for hospitality and welcome, and they are sent into unfamiliar places to perform healings and to speak peace. In other words, this journey requires being vulnerable.

Being vulnerable is hard. And acknowledging a need to depend on others is hard. The mission of the 70 requires more vulnerability and dependence on others than we would typically experience, but we are fooling ourselves if we think we can always protect ourselves and be 100% independent.

First of all, you are never 100% independent -- God is always in your life, and this is a very good thing! Second of all, the moment we experience any “illness, loss, death, or tragedy, we are painfully reminded of just how incredibly vulnerable we are.” (Adapted from a commentary by David Lose, 2013. ) When everything seems to be going well, it’s easy to forget that we are always vulnerable, and ultimately we always need to depend on each other and on Jesus.

Even though we may not be sent on the exact same mission as the 70, we are certainly sent out in many other ways by Jesus, ways that require depending on others, being vulnerable, and working together. And through it all, we are never alone. I have a few examples to share with you.

First, we had Wildfire VBS at St. James Lutheran this past week. About 35 kids in preschool through grade 5 attended, and we had many high school and adult volunteers helping out. Each day before the kids came, most of the volunteers gathered for announcements and a short devotion time. I led the devotional piece.

The theme for the second day of VBS was: Jesus gives us courage. So I asked the volunteers, “When do you need courage from Jesus?” A few of them commented that they needed courage from Jesus to lead VBS. It can be scary to know that you are responsible for a week to teach kids about faith and Jesus, and to keep them safe and to set a good example.

You are always vulnerable as a leader as well -- what if a kid gets upset with you and tells their parents? What if you say something you didn’t mean to? What if you are questioning your skills and ability to work with kids?

There’s a lot that can be going on! But each VBS leader always had another volunteer in the room with them -- like the pairs Jesus sent the 70 out in. And each person also had this larger network of volunteers to lean on for support and ideas. Jesus was definitely present everywhere as well!

Sure the supplies and the set up matter in VBS, but if you have all the fun items and the best decorations ever and no one to help you run the week, it isn’t going to work! Volunteers in a shared commitment is the most important part. VBS can only be done well together. No person was ever alone in this ministry.

Secondly, I’ve been thinking a lot about our upcoming Wildfire mission trip. We’re going to Hammond, Indiana -- a place most of us have never been, to serve people we haven’t met yet. We’re going to get into vans, drive there, and trust that God will work through us and that we will encounter God in the people we meet and serve.

It requires vulnerability -- we will be working with participants from Holy Nativity and House of Hope whom we may not know very well, sharing our faith and spending a lot of time together. We will be talking with the residents that we serve -- we might be nervous about how we come across or wondering what to talk about with them. We will be doing different kinds of home repair work -- from painting to fixing ramps to whatever else is needed -- it takes vulnerability to be honest about what you do and don’t know how to do, and to ask for help and direction from other volunteers when you need it.

This mission trip definitely requires working together! We’re not sending one volunteer to a home by themselves. One person could bring all the tools and supplies they wanted, but could never complete the tasks in a week all alone! No, we’re serving on crews of 6 or more people, sharing the workload, and we have the bigger network of 27 of us at the end of the day to reflect with and learn from. We can only do this together. No person will be alone in this ministry.

Lastly, I’ve been reflecting a lot on my own sense of call this year -- really, the past 9 years. The sense of call that has led me to pursue ordination in the ELCA has included immense vulnerability and a high level of dependence on and trust in others. And of course Jesus is at the center of it all.

I first thought about being a pastor at the end of my freshman year of high school. Somehow I ended up on a trip to Luther Seminary with older youth from my church, for a preview day geared at high school students. I didn’t know what a seminary was or why I was going really. I hardly knew the other students. But there I was.

I heard God at Luther, and through one of the seminarian speakers. It was a new and odd experience, and I felt a nudge towards being a pastor. I thought it was ridiculous at the time -- I was a painfully, and I mean painfully, quiet person, and I wondered how in the world I could ever be a pastor.

Obviously I’m still introverted, and proud of it, but nothing like my freshman self. This sense of call that began during that visit was compelling enough for me to talk to my youth director and pastor, which felt very vulnerable.

And life went on from there. The more I went outside of my comfort zone with things like teaching and speaking and meeting new people, the more I wanted to follow this call. But also the more vulnerable I became and the more I needed the guidance and support of others.

When you attend seminary, there are all sorts of times you are vulnerable -- in the classroom sharing ideas, doing ministry with churches, interviews with your candidacy committee, group processing in your chaplaincy time, meeting with your committee during internship year. You have to remember that you are not in this alone, and that ministry is always, always done in partnership with others and with God. You also have to remember that you have this network of other seminarian friends for support too.

I’ve never been alone in this journey, not once. Jesus is always with me, and my friends are always there to reach out to, and ministry in the church is always done with the congregation and community. Ministry and mission are not possible without other people and without God.

I’ve shared with you different ways we are sent out, relying on each other and being vulnerable. So now I want to ask you … no, I want to tell you -- that Jesus appoints you, calls you by name, and sends you out in ministry and mission! Pay attention to whatever that may be for you. Follow the call. It may be scary and it will require being vulnerable and depending on others, but you are never, ever alone.

Look around the sanctuary, see who you know. There’s your pair, or your group of three, or your group of four, that Jesus sends you into mission and ministry with.

Now stand up -- look around. This is your “group of 70” -- your community of believers. This congregation “holds on to each other, consoles each other, encourages and emboldens one another.” This is simply what we do.

You are not alone. We are in this ministry and mission together, with God. Jesus calls you and sends you out, into vulnerable and sometimes unfamiliar places, but you are never, ever alone.

So go out together and speak peace, telling all that the kingdom of God has drawn near. Amen.

What does Grace Look Like?

God of Grace, open our ears to hear your word of forgiveness, open our eyes to see those in need, open our lives to love one another as you love us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What does Grace look like?

Did you hear the story of John Oliver, the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight? He was doing a story on debt collectors. His story focused on the predatory collectors who buy up debt from banks at a hugely reduced rate – cents on the dollar and then use threats and other aggressive tactics without even verifying the details of the debt. To further explore how this worked, Oliver decided to form a debt collection company of his own. It cost only $50 to set it up. They called it “Carp.”

According to Oliver, soon after its creation, this company was offered a portfolio of medical debt – that’s the debt of people who can’t pay their doctor and hospital bills -- worth almost $15 million dollars at a cost of “less than half a cent on a dollar, which is less than $60 thousand dollars. They bought it and soon afterwards, they received the list of names, addresses and social security numbers of the people who owed that debt: it was nearly 9,000 people.

Oliver said, “We bought it, which is absolutely terrifying because it means if I wanted to, I could legally have Carp take possession of that list and have employees start calling people, turning their lives upside down over medical debt,” said Oliver.

But…instead of doing that – he forgave the debt.

Imagine the response of those 9,000 people. They – or a loved one - had suffered from a medical challenge that cost so much they couldn’t pay their medical bills. If a predatory creditor had bought their debt, they would have been harassed and terrorized. Instead, their debt was paid.

That’s a story of grace.

Oliver’s action parallels a story that Jesus tells about the creditor who had two debtors – one owed a lot and one owed just a little. The creditor forgave both debts. Jesus asks the Pharisee who had invited him into his home: Which one will love him more? The Pharisee said, “The one who was forgiven more, I suppose.” Jesus complimented him – you got it right!

But then Jesus compares the Pharisee’s hospitality – or rather lack of hospitality and care – to the outpouring of love of the woman at his feet. Imagine the scene – homes in the middle east in that day had open courtyards and were more accessible to people just walking in than a Minnesota home today, but it still would have been surprising for an uninvited woman to come into the room and kneel at the feet of one of your guests and not only wash his feet with her tears– but then to take down her hair – which was considered very private - and to wipe his feet. While everyone else around the table is probably embarrassed and trying to ignore her, Jesus explains her actions as the actions of one who has been forgiven much and who was responding with love.

That’s grace.

Jesus forgave her. She responded with love. And then Jesus reminded her – you are forgiven. Get up! You are healed and set free to live.

That’s grace.

At the beginning of the service, we invited you to pick up a rock and hold it in your hand for the whole service. Now I want you to take a look at the rock in your hand. You probably didn’t think much of it at first – except maybe wondering what in the world Pastor Pam was going to have you do with that rock. It’s not real heavy so you probably didn’t think much about it – until you had to try to open the hymnal. Some of you may have set them down. That’s ok.

But think about how that rock would change your life if you could not set it down. You would have to do everything with one hand. Holding that rock would start to get old fast. Maybe you would try to pry the rock from your hand. Maybe you would try to take some medicine. But what if nothing worked. The rock was still with you. But then, one day – due to nothing that you tried and nothing that you did or said, suddenly, Jesus says, “your sins are forgiven” and the rock is gone. You are set free.

That’s what God’s grace is like. Because of God’s love for you, Christ forgives you and sets you free from all of the rocks – sins – problems – challenges –all the actions/words and things that weigh you down. Forgiveness sets you free. And you, like the woman in the Gospel story, are free to love. That’s good news!

But now imagine that that rock was not something that you did – it wasn’t a sin or anything that YOU did but rather was a grudge that you held against someone else, a grudge that you refused to forgive. They had wronged you and you decided you were not going to forgive them… end of story. Except….you didn’t notice that that grudge became a rock in your hand. And it kept you from being the person God made you to be. You tried to ignore it. You tried to work around it. But that grudge, that rock, affected everything you did.

You may be familiar with the amazing story of reconciliation in South Africa. Forgiveness – not getting even, not getting revenge -- was the key to stopping the bloodshed in that country. But the reconciliation commission discovered something amazing. Not only was reconciliation good for the country, but, as Bishop Desmond Tutu describes it, the act of forgiveness is essential for our own wholeness.

Forgiveness. It’s something that we need – and God gives it freely. No cost. Your debt is paid by the love of Jesus. Nothing more is required -because Grace is the free gift of God. But we want and need to respond – with love.

Today, as you come forward to receive Christ’s gift of his body and blood, remember that you have been forgiven already by Jesus and now Jesus wants to set you free. So I invite you to bring the rock in your hand – and let it go. Christ has set you free to love and forgive yourself and your neighbor, your spouse, your child, your brother or sister, your co-worker, your friend. You have been forgiven. You are set free to love and to forgive.

That’s what grace looks like.

Thanks be to God!

Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church
June 12, 2016

We don't all have to be the same

Vicar Katelyn Rakotoarivelo
5.29.16
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran

Galatians 1:1-12

Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the members of God’s family who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

----

First, a little background and reminder of what’s going on: Paul the Apostle was a missionary, helping start and support churches all over. Sometimes he sent letters to them. But not everyone was able to read, so likely one person would read the letter to the whole church community.

Imagine if your church received an important letter from the bishop and you all gathered on Sunday to hear your council president share it. You might be expecting some words of encouragement or thanksgiving.

When the Galatians received this letter from Paul, they also knew what to expect: he always started with naming himself, addressing the letter, a greeting, and then a thanksgiving for the church.

Except Paul just skips over the whole thanksgiving part this time. That would’ve been kind of alarming. Instead he gets right to criticizing. Something must really be wrong!

And something was really wrong! The Galatians were listening to false messages even though they knew the true gospel. Paul had shared it with them.

But there were these “missionaries” who came to Galatia after Paul and persuaded the Gentile Christians that they must become Jewish in order to be true followers of Jesus. Their reasons were something like: Jesus was a Jewish Messiah, his first disciples were Jewish, and they used Jewish Scriptures, so therefore you must become Jewish. In other words, these “missionaries” were saying -- to follow Jesus, you must be just like us.(1)

It would be kind of like if I went to a Lutheran church in Africa and said, Well, Martin Luther was European, a lot of Lutherans lived in Norway and Sweden, and the rural Midwest has a lot of Lutherans. So you better figure out how to be white and only sing songs from this red hymnal, or you can’t possibly be Lutheran.

This sounds ridiculous because it is.

There’s a great diversity in the Lutheran church worldwide, and that’s wonderful, especially when we engage together.

But it’s easy to forget that diversity is wonderful. And vibrant. And nourishing. And all sorts of other things.

When we forget that we don’t all need to be the same as Christians, we do what Paul has called “perverting the gospel.” We change it. We distort it. We turn to other messages.

We know the gospel. And it’s for all people.The gospel is the good news of Jesus, the gospel is Jesus, or as Paul puts it, that Jesus “gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age.”

We’re free from all of the false teachings and harmful ways of life that we get from the world. And we get a lot of them.

We listen to one-sided media and fear Muslims. Or black men.

We listen to society’s goals and put money first. Or our own egos.

We listen to peer pressure and disrespect women. Or LGBT people.

We forget that we’re free from all of these evils. We’re free to listen to and follow Jesus. But how quickly we get swept up in other messages … just like the Galatians.

Now of course engaging and embracing diversity is just one part of our life together as Christians, but in our world it’s increasingly important if we’re going to be church together.

And when we don’t engage and embrace diversity as Christians, and I mean specifically as Christians, the effects are damaging.

The effects can be damaging on a grand and historical scale, like colonists thinking they have a divinely appointed right to convert and subjugate indigenous peoples, causing generations of harm.

The effects can be more personal and local, like dismissing the confirmation student who has doubts and who questions the way the church does things. I bet there are some of you in this room who were that kid, and who experienced a rejection of your questions and ideas -- and instead the pastor or the congregation simply expected you to assimilate without question. Many kids who experience this eventually leave the church altogether.

The effects can be painful without anyone even realizing what’s wrong. A friend of mine, Sarah, grew up in a charismatic, Spirit-filled tradition, but later joined the ELCA for theological reasons. She was one of just a couple people of color in a good-sized congregation. She also talked a bit more about the Holy Spirit and was more emotive about her faith. Whenever she tried to take on leadership positions within the church or share her ideas in a group, people seemed uncomfortable and would quickly pass over her without thinking.This became a pattern again and again, and it was very painful for her. Was she doing something wrong? Were they passing over her because of her race? Her emotions? Her talk of the Spirit? This congregation was really missing out on a remarkable servant of Christ.

Now these are just a few different ways that thinking we all have to be the same or expecting others to assimilate is damaging. And not only is it damaging to those we exclude or reject, it’s damaging to the church and to our lives. We lose out on a bigger picture of who God is and what the church can be.

But what happens when we do embrace and engage diversity as Christians? I have a few stories to share about this as well.

I spent the week of the 15th in Atlanta, Georgia, working at a conference called the Festival of Homiletics. Homiletics means preaching. It’s five days of worship, preaching, and fellowship. It might not sound fun, but I promise you, it’s amazing. I’ve helped out with it the past couple years. Preachers from a variety of Christian denominations and personal backgrounds share God’s Word and inspire preachers. Likewise, the liturgists for worship offer many different musical styles, prayers, and liturgies. And the clergy who attend the conference are from many denominations.

Opening worship Monday was with Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church and their choir, and throughout the week we heard from Father Renniger from the Catholic Church, Cláudio Carvalhaes - a professor in the U.S. from Brazil and very passionate about justice work, Grace Imathiu - a United Methodist pastor who grew up in Kenya and brings Scripture to life in the most amazing ways, and Nora Gallagher, a writer who educates diligently about caring for the earth. These are so many voices brought together in the most incredible, rich week. I love it. You can hear God everywhere.

Or what about here, at Faith Lilac Way? Two weeks ago you and Greater St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church put together hygiene care kits and shared a potluck meal. You came together in a common mission, while also learning about each other and building relationships and, very importantly, letting one another be who you are. If either group had neglected this opportunity, you would’ve missed out on a great experience! You would’ve missed out on encountering God in new ways and on a certain energy and aliveness that can only happen together.

And finally, last year I attended a documentary and worship service at Church of All Nations in Columbia Heights. One of the worship leaders, a Native American man, shared how some of his older relatives were never allowed to bring their traditional drums into the church. Both were considered unacceptable. I could feel the deep pain of these stories in his eyes. Then, as he and a few others began to drum in the service, I witnessed how truly they worshipped God through their own sounds. And as he spoke about a Native spirituality and Christianity, I witnessed a profound, authentic faith. It’s an evening I’ll never forget.

I’ve shared several stories with you, stories about engaging or rejecting others as Christians. You have a role in shaping the stories that people associate with Christianity and the gospel. We are called to be teachers and examples of the gospel, not of false messages.

You might not think that as one person you make much difference, but you do. Your actions set examples for others, and together we tell and create stories about who God is and what our faith and the gospel mean.

We’re not called to all blend together and become the same. We’re set free to live our lives as authentically as possible as Christians, whether we’re Baptist or Lutheran, Latino or Asian, young or old. The Church needs all of us. When you come to the table with all kinds of Christians, come as yourself, with all of your commitments and an open heart.

We need the whole body of Christ at the table. We can’t just say a general, vague “All Are Welcome.” We have to really mean it.

Who makes you uncomfortable for no other reason than they’re different from you? Who are you quick to judge because their expression of faith isn’t like yours?

Consider this week who you can specifically welcome because of your Christian faith. Who you can specifically learn from that is different from you.

I trust you will find yourself with stereotypes shattered and your experience of God deepened.

If we all do this, we can truly be a church that never distorts or perverts the gospel, but embraces and engages all the ways and all the people through whom our God works. We can live our lives in response to the gospel, together. For this, Jesus has set you free. Amen.

(1) Adapted from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2882 by Audrey West.

The Holy Trinity Revealed: God’s Love Poured out for You

I met a young man who was getting his PhD in chemical molecular hydrology engineering… or something like that. I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but rather than let on, I said, “Oh, I see. And how do you hope to use this degree… are you going to teach?” To which the young man said no, but then explained what he was doing in two sentences in plain English. I complemented him on his ability to translate – to which he replied: Most people don’t have a clue as to what I do – so I had to come up with an elevator speech to explain it.

Today is Holy Trinity Sunday. It too is hard to understand. The word “Trinity” isn’t in the Bible anywhere. It is simply an attempt – after Jesus came -- to understand how God is working in our world. Before Jesus, most people believed in many gods – there were gods for wind, rain, crops and everything else. But the Jewish people believed in ONE God. That made them distinct. Then came Jesus and Christians said, we have One God – but people had a hard time understanding how God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit = 1. What kind of math is that?

Romans 5:1-5 is Paul’s elevator speech for the Trinity. But it’s not a theological explanation. Instead it explores the three different ways that God is revealed and why that makes a difference for our lives.

Why does it make a difference? One word: Jesus. Paul has already proclaimed that we are justified – that is, made right with God by Jesus through faith. He goes on to tell us that the result of this is peace – peace with God. Jesus has made things right with God for us - for You. Regardless of the wrong turns you have made in the past, mistakes, hurtful things that you have said or done, Jesus has set things right with God – for you.

But Paul knows that we live in a challenging world in which all things are NOT right. It might be all right for a moment, but it’s kind of like the prayer I once heard: “Dear God, I give you thanks that I have not said or done one thing wrong or hurtful all day. But… I’m about to get out of bed – and then I’m going to need some help for the rest of the day.”

Yet rather than be discouraged, Paul encourages his listeners, saying that as followers of Christ we may boast in our Hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we may boast in our suffering.

Paul was from a different time – but I think even for the Roman Christians, boasting in suffering may have sounded like sore comfort.

Suffering. There will be suffering, heart-ache and despair. Being a follower of Jesus does not protect us or shield us from the trials of the world. Sometimes, it makes it harder.

Roman Christians were in a minority – and many were persecuted and suffered for their faith. Unfortunately, those days have returned. Coptic Christians in Egypt have been beheaded, Christian Arabs – some of them Lutheran – living in the Holy Land are being persecuted, and Christians in other places also are in danger.

Our suffering may seem small in comparison. Yet, even if we are not persecuted for our faith, we are not immune to suffering because we are Christian. There were most likely Christians on board the plane that was destroyed over the Mediterranean Sea. Christians are not spared from cancer, heart trouble or any other disease. Followers of Christ face the same challenges from the world – floods and droughts and sickness and hardship - as everyone else.

As Jesus says, God "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”  The difference is that, both in joy and in hardships, people of faith are able to respond, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I learned this lesson from my father when I was a little girl. I remember standing in our living room looking out at my father’s fields. The grain had just become ripe, and the golden stalks were being pounded into the ground by a fierce thunderstorm. I prayed for the rain to stop – or for God to skip over my father’s grain and just rain on the corn. I must have just learned about the power of prayer in Sunday school and so I was praying with all my might. My father came into the living room and looked at me with my nose pressed against the glass looking anxiously at the grain. God was NOT answering my prayer. My father said, “What’s wrong?” I responded with a bit of accusation in my voice, “Aren’t you even a little bit worried? The crops are being ruined.” My father smiled and said, “Well… we’ll see. Nothing we can do about it right now. Want to play a game of checkers?”

My father had endurance. He had lived through worse storms than this – and knew that whether the crop was ruined or not, it was not the end of the world. Instead, it was an opportunity for him to take a break from his chores and spend time playing a game of checkers.

If you are anxious and afraid, if you wonder if your actions have caused your suffering then suffering can lead to depression and hopelessness. But, if you are confident that Jesus has already made you right with God, then suffering can be endured because you know that it is not the end of the story. And that kind of endurance, an endurance that is not just surviving and not simply trusting in your own skill, abilities or luck but is linked – often through suffering -- to a confidence that God is with you – despite the challenges that come your way. This is the kind of endurance that leads to character.

No one is born with a good character. But character is learned through practicing good values, being forgiven when we make bad choices and knowing that Christ has made you right with God – so it isn’t up to you to prove your worth. Character is molded and formed by the forgiveness of Christ who made us right with God and through a life that is not squashed by suffering and adversity but instead endures and grows. A person with these gifts of character dares to hope.

We are back to hope.

Hope is sometimes dismissed as naïve or foolish. It’s so much easier to find the reasons something won’t work than cling to hope in the midst of suffering and adversity.

George Fredric Watts painted a remarkable painting named “Hope.” It’s the portrait of a woman, barefoot and blindfolded and dressed in tattered rags sitting on top of a globe. In her arms she is cradling a harp – that has lost all of its strings except for one. And she is playing that one string – undaunted by all of the challenges around her.

This is the painting that inspired President Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright – who saw in it the “Audacity of Hope,” an idea that captivated President Obama so much that he named his second book after it. Regardless of whether or not you like President Obama or his pastor, they captured the “against all odds” quality of hope. Hope doesn’t figure the odds. Hope doesn’t get stuck in probabilities. Hope has a different vision. It’s a vision of possibility.

We dare to hope, because, as Paul writes, “hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

That is a note to remember – especially for you who are graduating: Some of you will be heading off to new places – schools or places of work. And as you go, there will be many things in the world to challenge you. There may even be some suffering in your life. There may be times when you are tempted to give up. But… in that moment, when all seems dark and hope-less, remember the peace that Jesus gives – who has made things right with God FOR US and remember that there will be suffering and challenges in your life…but remember too that suffering can lead to endurance and endurance to character and character to HOPE and… “Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

This is why we gather on Sunday mornings to worship rather than do a whole host of other things that seem really important at the time. This is why we bring children like Thea and Anna and Howie to be baptized and this is why we keep coming. We need to be reminded of God’s love for us – and that we are part of the whole community of faith who gather to worship God TOGETHER because then WE as Christ’s body are made whole.

image credit: By George Frederic Watts and workshop, Public Domain

Lean Into the Power of the Spirit

Pentecost is the Holy Spirit’s Big Day! It is the day that we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit with tongues of fire and people witnessing to the power of God in languages that they don’t even know. In Acts the Holy Spirit is literally ON FIRE. What a dramatic entrance! But then, we read in our Psalm that the Holy Spirit was there from the very beginning with God, creating and renewing the face of the earth. In our Gospel, we read of the Holy Spirit as Advocate – and as the Spirit of Truth. Paul writes in Romans that the Spirit is our witness – that we are indeed children of God. 

One thing is clear when we read about the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit is active in the world and cannot be controlled, contained or tamed by us – instead the Holy Spirit is an advocate FOR us. 

Today we will be celebrating the third baptism within the past few weeks and so the lesson from Romans caught my eye. Through baptism, we are made children of God, adopted into God’s family, made brothers and sisters of Christ. 

But what does it mean to be adopted? Too often, adoption has had a second class status as if it was more desirable to be born into a family than to be adopted. But I think that adoption – especially the way that Paul talks about it – is synonymous with being chosen. 

Being chosen… or not. That was my worst memory of school. Hands down. Perhaps this didn’t happen to you when you were in school – but in my school, on the playground and in phy. Ed., everytime we wanted to play a game, we had to “choose sides.” Yours truly was not athletic and so was always one of the last chosen. 

Unlike kickball teams who choose one person – instead of – another, God reaches out to ALL people and individually looks into your eyes and says, “I choose YOU.” And the great thing is that there isn’t a limit. God doesn’t choose BETWEEN people. God simply chooses You AND your neighbor. It's not an either/or. God’s YES is not exclusive but is rather Inclusive.

That was not the case for the Roman culture to which Paul was writing. In that context, a person’s status was very important. People were either slaves or free, Jews or Gentiles, men or women. And those who were slaves, gentiles and women – were not equal in status. They certainly were not the first choice for to be an heir.

But Jesus’ death and resurrection turned the rules upside down. The rules that distinguished between the status in God’s kingdom between: Greeks and Jews, slaves and free, men and women were broken. Instead, as Paul writes, “all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

So what does it mean to be adopted by God, to be grafted onto the family tree of Christ? What kind of inheritance can we expect?

It doesn’t mean money – or any of the riches typically associated with receiving an inheritance. Becoming a child of God – a brother or sister to Christ is not a ticket to success as the world knows it. 

Instead…it is something else. We get just a glimpse of what this inheritance is at the end of our reading from Romans. Paul’s sentences are very long – and yet are packed full of meaning. So turn with me, if you will, to that last sentence. We’ll take it apart together. 

When we cry, “Abba! Father!" 

What do children do when they are in need? They call out to their parents. Abba is “Daddy” in Aramaic, the local dialect of Jesus the name that Jesus cried out to in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying “Abba, Daddy.” So as Children of God, we are given the authority to cry out to God as Abba! Father! Daddy! Like Jesus, we can appeal to God as our Daddy. 

Continuing with the passage:

 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  

The Holy Spirit works in many ways – as a comforter, advocate, guide to name a few. But in this case, Paul is calling upon the Holy Spirit to be a witness. In other words, the Spirit of God bears witness that we are indeed children of God, brothers and sisters of Christ and heirs with Christ.

and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—

What does it mean to be an heir? In Roman culture, this meant everything. There was a simple but profound difference between the haves and the have-nots, the rich and the poor, the “slaves” who got nothing more than their room and board and the “sons”. Although the NRSV has updated the language to include today’s meaning, at the time of Paul, daughters were rarely included in inheritance. And yet… Jesus turns expectations upside down. The old rules do not apply. Gender, birth, economic status do not determine inheritance. Instead, the Holy Spirit calls and gathers ALL God’s children to receive grace and mercy.

Paul ends this very long sentence with a surprise:

if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Glory sounds all right. But Suffering? That’s part of the package too?

Paul knew that being a follower of Christ, being a Christian, would not always be easy for the believers in Rome. They were going against the culture. Both Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, men and women were making big changes in the way that things had always been in daring to gather together to worship Christ. Paul reminded them that the Spirit would be with them. It wasn’t always going to be easy. Paul knew that suffering would come.

Living in a country that protects freedom of religion, we aren’t used to thinking that we might have to suffer for our faith. But, the truth is that we live in what many people call a “post-Christendom” world. 

Currently, there is a great deal of anxiety as main-line church attendance falls and Sunday schools dwindle. Some wax with nostalgia about the “good old days.” Pastors routinely beat themselves up over not having crowds at the door. But the truth is that the programs that were overflowing in the past are no longer appealing to a population that now has more opportunities than time in the day. 

Paul goes on in his letter to assure the believers of Rome, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” Paul acknowledges the challenges of the day but also has confidence that this is not the end of the story. Instead, he describes creation as still in labor. God is not done. And so Paul urges the believers in Rome and us to dare to hope.

Hope. Hope is not a concrete plan. Hope does not have objective goals. Hope may not be “realistic.” And yet…because the Holy Spirit bears witness that we are indeed adopted, chosen children of God, heirs with Christ we dare to not only hope but to have confidence in the promises of Jesus. 

Here are a few examples of why I dare to hope:

1) Working with the youth in the puppet musical – our youth give me hope for the future. They are learning the important elements of faith.

2) Interviewing interns has been a great joy for me. This year I interviewed 9 interns – each with a story to tell and each with a desire to serve. 

3) Yesterday I met a man with a hat that said, “Jesus is Lord.” I asked him about his hat. He told me that because of his hat, he has had opportunity to speak to a lot of people about his faith. He lives in a nursing home in Wisconsin. But he is not done sharing his joy in Jesus’ love and grace. 

4) People that I haven’t seen in a year are contacting me to go to camp. Opportunistic? Maybe. But it also is an opportunity to grow in faith.

These are just a few. The key is this: We dare to hope. And not only that – but we dare to be bold enough to claim the promises of Jesus..”

Paul concludes this section with one of my favorite verses in Romans, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”

I believe that – not only is God active and alive in our world today, encouraging us and inviting us to LEAN IN to be led by the Spirit but also that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, advocating for us and praying for us with “sighs too deep for words.” 

The good news is that we are not alone. God is up to something in this world – and as followers of Christ, it is our task to lean into the guidance of the Holy Spirit with hope, confident that the one who gave us the promise of New Life in Christ will be faithful now and forever. Amen. 

Jesus' Peace

5.1.16
Vicar Katelyn

John 14:23-29

23 Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, "I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Oh really, Jesus? That’s ridiculous. Just listen to the news for five minutes. Political fights all over the place. Racial injustice. Terrorism around the world. Women harassed in the streets. All this, and we’re supposed to not be troubled or afraid?! How’s that supposed to work?

Jesus’ message of peace is difficult to accept. He promises to give us his peace, but it sure doesn’t look like he’s followed through on that promise, does it? Because peace means no more conflict and no more suffering, right?

I sometimes wish that’s what it meant in our faith, but I don’t think this is what Jesus is promising. Jesus isn’t promising a life free of pain and struggle. He’s giving us a lasting peace of promising to always be with us, to send the Holy Spirit to teach us and remind us of him.

The peace Jesus offers us doesn’t eliminate the hard things. But, as David Lose writes, Jesus gives us “a peace that allows us to lift our gaze from the troubles that beset us and see those around us as gifts of God worthy of our love and attention.”

In other words, when we receive Jesus’ peace, we are not dominated by the world’s messages of fear … instead, we are overwhelmed with love to act on behalf of our neighbors. We are accompanied and guided by the Holy Spirit to live out Jesus’ teachings and messages.

But still, how do we actually do this? How do we move ourselves from fear to a life full of Jesus’ peace? Jesus says, “Do not let …,” which gives us some responsibility. It indicates that we have a choice, that we can, with his help, of course, actually do something about our trouble and fear.

I think of trouble and fear not so much as things we can get rid of completely, but things we can manage. For example, many of us, including myself, feel anxious sometimes. We might be unsure if we can actually do something or worry about what might go wrong. Sometimes this feeling just bubbles up inside. To manage the anxiety, you might exercise regularly, meditate, and journal. You might develop breathing techniques to help you when you’re feeling anxious.

These practices don’t make the anxiety leave forever, but they do make it so you’re not dominated by it, so you have peace and can do the things that are important to you.

In a similar way, regular prayer, worship, Scripture reading, and other practices help us to receive Jesus’ peace and let it flow through our hearts and lives. They don’t make it so we’re never troubled or afraid, but consistent practices help us to set our eyes on our neighbor and give us the strength to hope and to live out our faith.

But you might insist, “I don’t have time for all that. I’m too busy.” Sorry, but that isn’t going to cut it. I don’t expect you to be in worship 52 Sundays every year or be diligent absolutely every day in prayer and reading Scripture. I certainly am not. But again, we have choices to make.

And it’s not about what I expect or what anyone else expects … it’s about how you want your life to be. And how God wants your life to be. You have a choice, everyday,  between receiving the world’s busy-ness or receiving Jesus’ peace.

The constant go of our culture has made an idol of being busy. And it’s definitely a huge pressure. There are so many extra-curricular activities for kids, a growing blur between work and home, and being constantly available via technology. It’s a lot. We’re so accustomed to being busy that we forget we have a choice, we forget there are other ways to live.

Jesus even says, “I do not give to you as the world gives.” The world gives us a to-do list; the world gives us over-scheduling, selfishness, and temporary happiness. Jesus gives us deep peace. Jesus directs us to not let our hearts be troubled or afraid.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to make worship, prayer, service, fellowship, and other practices a priority in our lives, to make them regular habits. When we do this, when we have this consistency, we are far more likely to receive Jesus’ peace.

Again, it doesn’t fix all of our problems, it helps us navigate them and frees us from fear so that we can live the life God calls us to live.

Think of Jesus’ peace as an anchor. As something that centers or grounds you.

When I was studying abroad in southern Africa in college, we had a ten-day break to travel as we wished. I took a bus with two of the other students to Victoria Falls. While we were there, Steph and Taryn somehow convinced me to go white water rafting on the Zambezi River. I’d never done this before, much less on a world-class river -- this is much rougher than you’d get on your average tourist rafting trip in the United States. I would not do this again.

But anyway, off we went with others for a full day of rafting, 20-25 rapids in all. About the third rapid or so, our raft rose in the water and tipped over. I got stuck briefly under the raft, and was tossed about in the water. This probably was all only a few seconds, but it felt like forever. It scared me in a way that I hadn’t been scared before. It was all I could do to not break out in tears as I climbed back into the raft in calmer waters. I looked up at either side of the river -- it’s not like I could scale the hundred feet of cliff and leave. No, the only way out was to continue.

I took a deep breath and centered myself on moving forward. This was only rapid number three. There were many more to go. I held myself together and was determined to make it through the rest of the trip. I didn’t so much pray as I just tried to focus on God as a source of strength and peace. Trying to focus my energy on being calm, centering myself with peace. Luckily, the raft didn’t turn upside down again the rest of the time, though it was still a rough ride. But I made it.

God’s peace didn’t make the rapids disappear or get me out of the situation -- it helped guide me through.

It’s similar to an anonymous quote I saw this week that said, “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

No matter what we are troubled by or afraid of, Jesus’ peace is here for us to receive.

There are many things we may fear, that are very real and not to be ignored. We’re afraid of relapsing into an alcohol or drug addiction. We’re afraid a family member might hurt themselves. We’re afraid we might have a panic attack or slip into deep depression. We’re afraid we’re not good enough. We’re afraid we’re not the mother or friend or spouse that we’re supposed to be. We’re afraid of losing someone we love and of our own health deteriorating.

These are big things.

But God is bigger.

Jesus’ peace is greater than all your troubles and fears.

And he invites you to receive his peace. It changes your life. It won’t take away the hard things, but it will keep them from dominating you. It will free you to do what’s most important -- serve Christ.

It will give you the strength to open wide the gate for justice to flow. It will give you freedom from captivity to to fear. It will give you an imagination for a world where all are fed and all are healed. It will give you the anchoring and the drive you need to live out the Gospel in your corner of the world.

So what choices will you make? Will you be dominated by fear and trouble, or will you develop habits in your life that fill you with Jesus’ peace? Will you let him free you to live your faith? Say a prayer, read Scripture, talk about faith with your family and friends. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid. Jesus does not give as the world gives. God’s peace is yours. Amen.

Purposeful Life

John 21:1-19

1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." 6 He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. 9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."

A Great Big Net

Today’s Gospel reading comes at the very end of the book of John - almost as an after-thought.  After all, the big news has been shared. We’ve already heard: Jesus has risen. He appeared to his disciples. He appeared to Thomas, clarifying doubt. Today’s Gospel is a story about the day after the party. The question that I think today’s Gospel addresses is this: How does Jesus’ resurrection matter for YOUR life Monday - Sunday? Does it?

I think that Peter was asking that question.  After all of the excitement from listening to Jesus teach, watching him perform miracles, taking part in a royal procession into Jerusalem, sharing a passover meal, watching as Jesus was betrayed and arrested, standing helplessly by - and yes - denying Jesus. The shame Peter must have felt as Jesus was crucified. But then —- miraculously - Jesus rose from the dead. And he appeared to them. It was all too wonderful… Perhaps Peter just did not know what to do. And so… Peter went home. The other disciples did too. What was there left for them to do in Jerusalem? But then… what was there for him to do at home?

So Peter did what Peter had always done - he went fishing. The others came too. But what was he catching? Nothing.

Now I know from personal experience, that sometimes the fish are biting - and sometimes they just aren’t. I remember one year that I was up in the Boundary waters. Some in my crew wanted to fish. But it was a couple of days after the Mayfly hatch. It didn’t matter what fly or worm or lure we used. The fish just weren’t biting. Why would they? They were gorging themselves on the free and abundant mayflies blanketing the water.

Perhaps the disciples were sitting in the boat blaming their lack of fish on mayflies, the moon or something else. They probably had tried everything. After all, many of them had grown up fishing. Clearly they knew what to do. The situation looked rather hopeless. So when a stranger called to them from the shore, and suggested they throw the net on the other side, it was almost laughable. But they did it anyway.

The catch was amazing. The nets were almost breaking.  Seeing abundance where there had been scarcity, one disciple was wise enough to look up - and seeing said, “It’s the Lord.”  It was Jesus, providing an overwhelming abundance in a situation they had found hopeless and felt helpless.

And that’s not all - Jesus invited them to breakfast too. Jesus provides the fish - and the breakfast. Notice that Jesus already had fish cooking - but invited them to add to the potluck.

But then Jesus does something really interesting. In asking Peter three times, “Do you love me?”, Jesus restores Peter to his flock, allowing him to be the one who confesses Christ rather than the one who denies Christ. But that’s not all. Jesus also commissions Peter, giving him a task, a purpose. Jesus says,"Feed my lambs….Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep.” and he ends with… “Follow me.”

Care for my sheep. And follow me. That is the invitation that Jesus gives to Peter and that Jesus gives to us too. This is the secret to a meaningful life// This is an invitation to purpose/meaning. This is the antidote to the hopelessness in the world around us - a hopelessness that sometimes seeks to suck us in. Because it is SO EASY to become hope-less. It’s tempting to despair. Often times the world around us does not seem fair. And it’s not. Sometimes the challenges of our everyday living seems a bit, frankly, overwhelming. our pain and sorrow can feel suffocating. But Jesus does not want us to stay there. Instead Jesus says, “Care for my world, my children - and follow me.”

This isn’t always simple. It isn’t always easy. But when you are looking for hope in a seemingly hopeless world, a world against which you sometimes feel helpless - then listen to Jesus’ invitation. Jesus is inviting you into a life of meaning - and a life of purpose.

Yet…sometimes situations in life make us feel as if we are holding an empty net. In those times, it’s hard to believe that net will be full of fish if you simply cast it on the other side.  At those times…we feel stuck - hopeless and helpless.

I had an extended conversation this past week with a woman in our congregation about hopelessness. She called it a “spiritual disease”. And I think she is right. Hopelessness comes when people lack an imagination to see life differently - to see an alternative to the life they now live.

She told me the story of a man I’ll call John. He was an alcoholic and had had several DWIs. In fact, he had had so many DWIs that they became almost “normal” for him. He wan’t even depressed about it. He simply assumed that he would die as a result of his alcoholism - maybe while he was driving. He just hoped that he wouldn’t kill someone else in the process. He had no hope for his own life. He felt it was inevitable.

John was stuck in hopelessness. He had lost all imagination that life could be different. That is… until he met Bob and Mary.  It was hard to say what exactly changed. It wasn’t anything dramatic that they did. They would simply listen to him. They made it clear that they were truly interested in him and in his life. What changed? Somebody cared — and he did not want to let them down.

Jesus said, “"Feed my lambs….Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep.” Jesus isn’t shaming Peter for denying him and he doesn’t shame us either when we fall short. But Jesus is giving Peter and us a new way, a path to live a life that is full of meaning and purpose. It’s simply this: Love and care for the neighbor, the “other” as if they were Jesus.  This is the way to follow Jesus.

If this seems overwhelming - or too hard to do - remember this: when Jesus invited the fishermen to cast the net over to the other side of the boat, he wasn’t just talking to Peter. Indeed, it needed all of the fishermen, all of the disciples, to try to haul in that great catch of fish. Jesus does not call us to work alone.  Rather, Jesus is calling us ALL - every one of us — to be the net that tends to his sheep and catches any child of God who fears that he or she might “fall through the cracks.”  And the blessing is two fold. For you see… sometime we are the ones who are holding onto the net - catching those who might fall. And there is nothing more meaningful or purpose filled than being part of that net that holds your brother or sister up.

But sometimes… we are the one in need of a net. We are the ones who need to hold on for dear life.  Sometimes, when we are feeling hopeless and helpless like John was, we don’t have eyes in which to see that there are brothers and sisters surrounding us ready to help. Too often… the last place that someone wants to be vulnerable - to admit needing help — is in the church.

So I wonder… can you and I change that impression? Can we tell others that we are not here to judge others but simply to do as Jesus taught - love others as Jesus has first loved us.

While you are at it, you could mention that Jesus has a really big net.  For Jesus has promised to be with us - to send the Holy Spirit to catch us when we fail. So come - follow Jesus. For Jesus is calling you - and me - and our neighbors to a live a life worth living. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
April 10, 2016
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran

Gift of Descipleship

John 12:1-8

1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Gift of Discipleship: Loving & Following Jesus

Giving gifts can be wonderful. I remember being at a little child’s birthday party – I don’t even remember who it was - but on opening a small gift, he exclaimed with joy and delight: “Oh! Just what I’ve always wanted.” It was delightful to see the joy on his face – but even more delightful to see the joy on the face of the giver and everyone around the circle. That’s the response that we want when we give a gift. But… it doesn’t always work out that way

Mary’s gift was smelly. Imagine – a whole pound of perfume! The whole house must have reeked with the aroma. But besides the pervasive smell, Mary must have raised more than a few eyebrows when she caressed Jesus’ feet with her hands and she let down her hair to dry his feet. In the culture of the time, women’s hair was something that only their husbands saw. Plus, the perfume that she used was often saved to anoint the dead. Looking around the room – there was Lazarus – Mary’s brother, the man Jesus raised from the dead. Was this a joyful thank you to Jesus for bringing Lazarus back to life? Or was it a reminder of the nearness of death?

As if that wasn’t enough to make people notice, this was an extravagant gift. And people always pay attention when gifts are extravagant.

This past week, when I was at Breadsmith – the bakery that donates our bread on Wednesday nights – the man ahead of me kept adding to his order. He turned and looked at me and apologized saying, “Oh I’m sorry it’s taking me a long time. But I just had to come here – even though I live in Eden Prairie. My wife loves this bakery.”

I looked at his order. I noticed it included very large package of chocolate brownies. I smiled. But the man continued… “I’m in the doghouse.”

I didn’t say a word – just smiled. He went on, “You think this is bad – he gestured to his growing pile -- I work in jewelry and one day a man came in and bought a very expensive 18 inch gold necklace for his wife. As I was wrapping it up, he said, ‘I’m in the doghouse. I hope this will do it.’ Just as a joke I said him, “Well, the next time you are in the doghouse, you could come back and get the earrings to match!” He looked at me and said, ‘Wrap them up.”

These two men were giving extravagant gifts for a purpose – they both wanted to get “out of the doghouse.”

That wasn’t the reason for Mary’s gift. Her gift was extravagant too – and actually far more expensive than the gifts of those two men. Scholars estimate that nard, the perfumed oil that Mary poured over Jesus’ feet, would cost a year’s salary. How could Mary afford that? What was she thinking? What was the purpose in spending that money – wasting it as some would say?

That was Judas’ complaint. He clearly wasn’t happy with what was going on. He piously complains that the nard could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

Judas’ seemingly practical, sensible and even pious complaint is in sharp contrast to Mary’s extravagant – seemingly wasteful gift. John gives the readers an aside that Judas stole from the common purse, revealing a personal, selfish reason for his complaint. But still…why did Mary offer such an extravagant gift? If she had that much extra, why didn’t Mary give it to the poor or to some other cause?

Jesus provides the answer. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t care about the poor. When he says, “You always have the poor with you,” Jesus may have been referencing Deuteronomy 15:11 which says, “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.” Matt Skinner

But Jesus also wanted to remind his disciples, that Good Friday was not far off as he says, “but you do not always have me." So Jesus accepts Mary’s gift. It might not have been “the gift that he always wanted.” But it was a prophetic gift – a gift that pointed to Good Friday.

Why would Mary provide such a gift? Did she know more than the disciples? We don’t know. But remember the first time that we hear of Mary and Martha. Jesus is called upon to settle a family squabble. Should Mary have to help Martha in the kitchen or could she sit at Jesus’ feet and listen? Jesus honored Mary’s wish and made a place for Mary to sit at his feet, the place of a disciple, and listen.

In response, Mary’s extravagant gift was smelly, personally intimate and expensive– it was a gift of her whole self, her resources, time, talents and money.

For us, Mary models what it means to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. Like Mary, we too can listen to Jesus and act with love and care, not holding back but out of love, sharing our whole selves and our resources. And like Mary, you have been given a gift. Jesus has made room for you at the table. You too are called to discipleship. You too are called to love and follow Jesus.

But how do we do this?

It doesn’t mean that there should be a run on smelly perfume. As Jesus said, Mary’s gift was prophetic – a preparation for his burial.

But Jesus has welcomed you to His table too. He loves you and has claimed you. And God has given you gifts and talents that are given “for you” – and are given for you to share.

The question for you to ponder is this: how can you respond to the amazing and inclusive love that Jesus has for you? How can you respond – with love, like Mary did -- to the love of Jesus?

We could look at the marks of discipleship printed on our wall – the practices of worshipping, learning, serving, giving, inviting , encouraging and praying. All of these are good. But…let’s start with prayer, trusting that Jesus will lead us in our prayers to action.

Dear Jesus,

    Thank you for calling us to and giving us the gift of a life of discipleship. Lead us and guide us so that in our words and in our deeds we may show your love and walk in your way. Amen.