I Am So Grateful…

What do you think of when you hear the word shepherd? Do you think of the Renaissance pastoral paintings of a shepherd playing his harp for the sheep? Or children dressed up in bathrobes and headpieces to tell the Christmas story?

But that is not what those who were gathered around Jesus would have heard when he said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” They would have been reminded of the shepherd David who became king and the prophies of a Shepherd/King to come. They would have heard the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

The Lord is my shepherd. When we, as people of faith, read or recite these words, we are making a personal confession. You and I are each saying, “The Lord is my shepherd.” The Psalm walks us through the ways the Lord shepherds us and ends with the proclamation, again personal, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Rev. Dr. Rolf Jacobson, a Hebrew scholar at Luther Seminary, said that, in the Hebrew, the words translated, “I will dwell” means “I will return and stay.”1 This is a statement of faith, trusting that it is the Lord who provides for each of us, walks with us– even through the deepest valley, honors us, forgives us, and pursues us with grace and mercy. This is what our Lord God has done for us.  How can we respond?

When you were growing up and you received a gift, your mother or someone in a mother or father role, probably told you: “Be sure you say: thank you.” Not only was it the right thing to do, saying thank you expresses gratitude.

About twenty years ago or so, neuroscientists started studying gratitude. They discovered when people express or receive gratitude, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin. And, we feel better. We feel joyful!.

Researcher Brené Brown wanted to discover the relationship between joy and gratitude. What she found, surprised her. Everyone she interviewed who was joyful, actively practiced gratitude. And, she said, it wasn’t just ‘attitude of gratitude,’ because she found that “attitude doesn’t always translate to action.”3 Instead, she found that the practice of gratitude is what made people joyful.”

So how does one “practice” gratitude? Brene Brown found that it could be writing in a gratitude journal or simply saying these four words out loud, “I am so grateful …” and then filling in the blank – and doing that every day. For herself, she said that she and her family, after saying grace at dinner, say one thing for which they are grateful. She says it has made a huge difference in their family life.

So what can be our response to Jesus, our Good Shepherd who has been revealed in the Psalm as one who provides for each one of us, cares for each one, and is with each one of us?  Today I would like to invite you to practice gratitude with me.

If you can, take a piece of paper or a post-it note and write: I am grateful for… and then write either Jesus for being your Good Shepherd, or God your creator or the Holy Spirit who walks beside you. That’s your first practice of gratitude: being grateful to God.

We are grateful that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. But we can also be grateful for the way God has provided for us. As Psalm says, “I shall not BE in want.” Like the shepherd who provides green pastures and still waters for the sheep, God provides food and drink for you too – and in abundance.

So   I invite you to write, “I am grateful for… “ and then write down one of your favorite foods or beverages. What marvelous food do you love to eat? Strawberries might be mine.  What do you love to drink? Water? wine ? coffee? Coke?

This is just the beginning of the gifts of God for which we can express our gratitude. Now I want you to think of a person, who is living, for whom you are grateful. Brene Brown says that in her family, on birthdays, everyone shares one gratitude for the birthday person.3 So think of someone, even better if it is someone that you will see today or will mail a card to today, and write, I am grateful for… and then fill in their name and one short reason why you are grateful for them. I invite you to give or send your post-it to that person later today.

Isn’t this fun?! There is so much for which we can be grateful. This is enough to make me joyful. And that’s another surprising thing that Brené Brown discovered: being joyful doesn’t make us grateful. It’s actually the other way around. As the Anglican brother David Steindl-Rast once said, “The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”5 This is important for us to know because every day, every situation, is not joy-filled. We live in a world that is often troubled.

Psalm 23 speaks to that reality. We read that God provides protection and honor – a banquet table -- even in the midst of enemies.

Because we have enjoyed living in relative peace for so many years, I never thought much about what it would mean to be at a banquet in the midst of enemies. But now, with all of the fighting in the Ukraine… the word “enemy” doesn’t sound so strange anymore. My heart goes out to the Ukrainians and Russians who have family on both sides of the conflict. And, in our own country, within our community and even in families, divisiveness over so many issues can be sharp – and painful. But the question is the same – whether it is a personal or an international conflict: how do we live with gratitude in the midst of challenging times and places?

In her book, The Hiding Place, Cori ten Boom and her sister Betsy are sent to a concentration camp after hiding Jewish people from the Nazis. Their barracks was filthy and swarmed with fleas, and she wondered how they could possibly live in this place. But then she heard her sister Betsy praying in gratitude and giving thanks – for their Bible, for their fellow prisoners and … for the fleas.  At this, Cori objected, saying, “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.” And yet, they discovered that because their barracks was filled with fleas, the guards did not come into their barracks to harass or hurt them. And so… Cori joined her sister in praying with thanks and gratitude for the fleas.6

God finds a way for us -- even in the darkest valley. And so, we take heart and have faith that God will find a way… even where seems to be no way. This is why we can proclaim with the Psalmist, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.”

As our Good Shepherd Jesus’ promises a little later in the Gospel of John, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms and I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus has a place for you in the house of the Lord – forever.  

And to this, our response is gratitude. Even on the darkest day. For each day, God is with us. And so I encourage you to find a way – if you don’t already – to practice gratitude every day. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be a gratitude journal or a part of your morning and / or evening prayers. Or at your dinner table. Or just saying these four words, “I’m so grateful for… and then fill in the blank.” We have so much for which we can be grateful, our cup overflows. And for this, I am so grateful for our Good Shepherd Jesus.  Amen.

May 8, 2022                    Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran                 Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

1 Rev. Dr. Rolf Jacobson January 24, 2022, ChurchAnew

2https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/

3 https://goop.com/wellness/mindfulness/brene-brown-gratitude-practice

4Brene Brown,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IjSHUc7TXM  

5 David Steindl-Rast, Gratefulness, The Heart Of Prayer

6 Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place, 1974.

Called to Follow

The year was 1990. The Berlin Wall had fallen.  The formerly powerful East German leader Erich Honecker and his wife Margot, the powerful and ruthless East German Education Minister, were ousted from power and their gated community. They were homeless. Despite his wife’s initial misgivings, Pastor Uve Holmer and his wife and their family of 10 children, took the Honeckers into their home. They were not supporters of the Honeckers or the East German state. In fact, the state’s anti-religious policies that the Honeckers had enacted harmed their family and barred their children – all 10 of them – from going to college. And yet, Pastor Holmer felt called, by God, to practice what he preached.1

Ananias faced a similar dilemma. When God called him in a vision, Ananias, like Isaiah, immediately said, “Here I am!” But when he found out that the Lord was asking him to go and lay hands on Saul and bring him into his home, Ananias questioned the assignment.  “Really? This guy? But he has done evil things and plans to stop us from proclaiming your name. Surely, you don’t want me to heal him?”  But the Lord said, “Go.” And Ananias went. 

Ananias is not remembered as a great evangelist, preacher and teacher like Paul and Peter. His name is only mentioned one other time in the Bible, when Paul retells the story later in Acts. But because Ananias, listened to God and did the will of God, despite the potential risk to himself and against his own judgment, Saul was healed and baptized and became Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles and the Jewish people.

Ananias was devout and faithful and an example of how God uses ordinary faithful people to do God’s work in the world and to share God’s love and God’s story. And that is still true today.

Sometimes, like with Saul, the call story is dramatic. He is blinded and scales fall from his eyes when Ananias prays for him. Or like Peter, who is “re-called” by Jesus, and reassured that despite his denying Jesus, Jesus has not denied him.

But for many of us, our call to living as a Christian, as a baptized child of God is not as dramatic as Peter’s or Paul’s. And yet, your call to be a follower is no less a call from God. For all who are baptized in Christ are called to follow Jesus all the days of our lives. And, all of you who have brought your children for baptism, and all of you who have been sponsors or Godparents and all those who have been present in the congregation for a baptism, have vowed before God, to nurture, to support, and pray for the baptized children of God. It is our calling to teach and to share God’s word and God’s love with others. This is what God calls us to do.

Can you recall people in your life who have supported you in your faith? Can you recall times in which you have supported others in their faith? My grandmother was my babysitter when I was young and she loved to read Bible stories to me. Mrs. Olson, my Kindergarten Sunday School teacher, always encouraged me. Don, my Confirmation mentor, challenged me to read the prophets with an ear for the truth and the Good News. When a huge storm flattened his wheat crop, my father taught me the importance of trusting in God despite the evidence. My mother was an inspiration. And that is just the beginning of the people who have nurtured me. I’m guessing and hoping that you too have had people in your life who have encouraged you to listen to God’s word, to trust in the Holy Spirit and not to be afraid.

I also know that many of you have been encouragers of my faith – and I hope and pray that I have been an encourager of yours. For that is what we do in Christian community – we encourage one another to listen for the Word of God and will of God in our lives and then strive to follow where God leads. 

This week when I visited with David Bjorkquist in the hospital, he told me stories of people who had encouraged him in his faith over the last couple of years. He told about having coffee with his Catholic neighbor and puzzling together about issues of faith. And then he mentioned the scores of people who wrote on his caring bridge site and the cards he received and the encouragement – especially from a person from our congregation who visited him faithfully when he was in a care center– until the pandemic hit and he no longer could do so. David was also thankful for your prayers now as he is back in the hospital – and he is praying for you.

Another person who I visited recently told me of the encouragement she received from the phone calls and cards and worship materials that she received during the pandemic. Another told me of the strength that she felt, knowing that she was being lifted up by prayer.

These may seem like little actions. But each action, each prayer, makes a difference. Each action, each prayer knits together the community of faith that we share. Each telling of God’s story spreads and deepens the faith of another. It is our job to plant the seeds of faith, to nurture and to pray for one another.

We are called to share God’s Good News in a variety of ways and, like Ananias, we are called to follow where God’s Holy spirit leads us. However, not every action that we take in the name of Christ, and not every prayer we pray or every word we share brings about a transformation in another like the one that occurred with Saul. For while it is our calling to follow Jesus and to plant seeds of faith, God is the one who makes them grow.

After taking in the formerly powerful Erich and Margot Honecker, Pastor Holmer and his wife did their best to help their lodgers reflect critically on their situation, hoping to help them see the harm that they had caused and the alternative of living a life of faith. But after ten long weeks of caring for an ailing Erich, while protests were going on outside their doors from neighbors who wanted revenge and justice, the Honeckers were exiled to Chili because Erich was too sick to stand trial. Neither of the Honeckers were repentant and they never became Christians. Scales never fell from their eyes. So was Pastor Holmer’s act of courage a failure?

Looking back, retired pastor Holmer has no regrets. He remembers Erich Honecker as a sick man and quotes Martin Luther who said, “When my enemy is ill, he is no longer my enemy.”2  And then Holmer said, “On Sundays we pray to ‘forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us…’ Did we really want to pray that and not live it?”3

The Holy Spirit was still working – just not in the way that he had first hoped. The Holy Spirit did not magically transform the Honeckers but instead, it helped a pastor to forgive the harm that Erich and Margot Honecker had done – not to all of East Germany – but the harm that was done to him and to his family.

Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, we cannot know how the Holy Spirit is working – but are called to trust that God is at work, in us and through us. And that by God’s grace – and not our power – Christ will redeem the whole world. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sunday Sermon

The story of Thomas demonstrates the power of FOMO.  FOMO as many of you know is an acronym meaning the “fear of missing out.”  FOMO describes very real fears and emotions that are deep inside each and every one of us.  FOMO is the feeling of apprehension that one is either not in the know or is missing out on information, events, or experiences that could make one's life better.  FOMO is also associated with a fear of regret, which may lead to concerns that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, a memorable event, or the chance to advance one’s career.  FOMO is characterized by a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing, and can be described as the fear that deciding not to participate is the wrong choice.  FOMO is very real and it is really powerful and it can cause one to feel negatively about oneself and their life.

Businesses know the power of FOMO and use it to maximize their revenue.  I think that the best example of this in our community is the State Fair.  Yes, I know that there is going to be a State Fair preview over Memorial Day weekend but the real State Fair is open for twelve days ending on Labor Day.  I like the State Fair, but I also like other cultural institutions that we are fortunate to have in the Twin Cities.  Over the years I have enjoyed my experiences visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Museum of Russian Art, the Bell Museum, the Mill City Museum and the Minnesota History Center.  In my eleven years in the Twin Cities these are among my favorite museums and I have visited each of them at least once but I do not visit them every season or every year.  However, before the pandemic hit, I had a streak of visiting the State Fair for seven straight years.  I do not necessarily like the State Fair that much more than the other attractions that I have mentioned but the State Fair is good at taking advantage of FOMO.  The museums in the Twin Cities are open virtually every day.  Like many of you I am really busy and my leisure time is limited.  Now that I am feeling more comfortable being out in public again returning to one of my favorite museums seems like a good idea, however it is easy to come up with excuses.  When something is always open FOMO is not a factor.  I suggest to my wife that we should go to a museum when the weather is better, or when we have more time like when her spring busy season is over, or when I am done with internship.  When there is no deadline or no sense of urgency often nothing gets done.  When the State Fair starts in August the power of FOMO kicks into high gear.  You hear a broadcast from the State Fair that gets you thinking about going.  Your friends tell you about their experience either during a conversation or on social media.  You then realize that you have to get there before midnight on Labor Day and all of a sudden FOMO has motivated you to achieve the distinction of being a thirty-year customer of the State Fair.

Thomas missed out on more than a Pronto Pup.  He missed out on something a million times greater.  Thomas had an opportunity to see the Risen Jesus on the greatest day in human history and he was nowhere to be found.  Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the beloved disciple who is certainly not Thomas saw the empty tomb.  Later when she was crying outside the tomb Mary was comforted by the Risen Lord.  On that Easter evening Jesus appeared before a group of unnamed disciples which of course did not include Thomas.  The Gospel of John records three convincing proofs of the Resurrection on that Easter Day that were available for Thomas to witness but he missed every single one of them.  The author of the Gospel of John does not use the term “the twelve” during the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on Easter evening which leaves open the possibility there were others outside of “the twelve” who were present as well as the possibility that others of “the twelve” were not there.  Other followers of Jesus may not have been there but Thomas is the only one who is specifically mentioned which seems to indicate that Thomas is the one who was the most devastated about missing out.

FOMO is real and it causes both anxiety and distress.  I cannot imagine how difficult that week was for Thomas.  The text does not mention when the disciples told him what they had seen.  It is possible that he knew as early as Monday morning that he had missed the appearance of Jesus.  When I worked in consulting and corporate tax, I always remember Monday as the day where FOMO burned fiercely as people talked about their weekends.  Those Monday office conversations were the perfect environment for creating jealousy inside the person who had missed the great meal, the new movie, or the big game.  Thomas was surely emotionally crushed as it did not seem possible that Jesus would appear again the next Sunday.  Thomas surely thought that he had missed out on the biggest thing ever.

Thomas could have been consumed by jealousy, anger, and shame and he could have left the Jesus movement behind.  Thomas could have reasoned that there was a reason that he had missed out and that it just was not meant to be for him to be a disciple.  Thankfully, Thomas did not react that way, and he made sure that he would not miss out again.  His presence with the disciples a week later indicates that despite missing out on the big day he was still meeting with the disciples as they were trying to figure out the path of their mission and ministry.  Lightning does strike twice as the Risen Jesus appears again and this time Thomas is there.  Jesus freely and willingly gives Thomas exactly what he requests.  Jesus invites Thomas to put his finger in the mark of the nails and to put his hand in his side.  The text does not indicate whether or not Thomas does actually touch Jesus but just being in Christ’s presence and being invited to touch the wounds is enough for Thomas to exclaim the boldest affirmation of Christ in the entire Gospel of John when he says “My Lord and my God!”  Thomas may have had doubts but he also had belief and seeing the Risen Christ inspired him to proclaim his deep belief in Jesus.

This bold statement is likely not the end of the Thomas story.  According to traditional accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians of modern-day Kerala in India, Thomas traveled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, and he reached modern-day Kerala on the southwest coast of India in the year 52 CE.  To this day Thomas is considered the patron saint of Christians on the Indian subcontinent.  Kerala has a population of 34 million people and today Christians make up 18% of the residents of Kerala which is the highest percentage of Christians in any Indian state.  Kerala also has the highest literacy rate and the longest life expectancy of any Indian state.  It may be a stretch to attribute these things to an apostle who visited two thousand years ago but the fact that millions of Christians in India hold the belief that it was Thomas who brought Christianity to their community is a strong witness to the reality that the Risen Lord enables faith and changes lives in ways that spread the love of Christ to others so that nobody misses out on experiencing the Risen Jesus. 

Like Thomas we are all both doubters and believers.  We like to think of ourselves primarily as believers but it is normal to have doubts.  Our doubts often cause us to miss seeing the Risen Christ in our midst.  The fear of missing out is very real but thankfully we are given many opportunities to see the Risen Christ in our daily lives.  The Risen Christ can take many different forms.  Sometimes we encounter the Risen Jesus in an act of service.  I remember one snowy day when I was volunteering at a community meal and one of the guests asked me for the snow shovel was so that he could clear the walk so that the guests with mobility issues could safely enter the building.  I have also seen the Risen Lord in acts of compassion just like when I was a chaplain at North Memorial ministering to a grieving family and as people were breaking down in tears a nurse appeared with boxes of tissues.  I have seen the Risen Christ in the scriptures when a passage that I have read many times before suddenly hits me in a different way and opens up a new insight that I had not previously seen.  I could also list other signs here but it is impossible for one to document all of the ways that Jesus is present in our midst.

The fear of missing out is a very real phenomenon, however we should not be paralyzed by the fear of missing out.  We have many opportunities to see the Risen Christ as the constant presence of the Risen Lord means that with Jesus we never truly miss out as Jesus is always in front of us, offering himself to us and inviting us to see him and to touch him.  Encounters with Jesus can and do happen frequently even if we cannot predict when they will happen.  These encounters turn our fears and doubts into hope and belief.  Christ appears in the midst of our doubts and strengthens our belief as the Risen Christ works through us so that we can share what we have seen with others and that others can also share Christ’s presence with us as well.              

Remember and Rejoice!

Easter Sunday | Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane 

I forgot. How many times have you said that? Maybe it was your keys, phone, an appointment, someone’s birthday? I’ve said it way too many times. We all forget things from time to time, but it’s especially easy to forget things when we are grieving, stressed or distracted by other things. My aunt liked to remind her family that on the morning of her wedding, she was all ready to go to the church and she went into her upstairs bedroom to get her veil. Meanwhile, everyone else in her family was so distracted by the details of what they were each supposed to do on that day that they piled into their cars… and it wasn’t until they got to the church that they realized, - they left the bride at home. 

Mary Magdalene, Joanna and the other women were understandably more than a little distracted when they went to the tomb. They were grieving the loss of the one who had healed them – Jesus had exorcised 7 demons from Mary Magdalene and had healed Joanna and the other women from various diseases as he traveled throughout Galilee. Luke reports that after being healed, these women followed Jesus, listened to his teachings and supported him and the disciples out of their own resources.

But now, as they brought spices to anoint his dead body – the last gift that they could offer - their world looked bleak, full of death. The powers of evil – working through the brutal force of the Roman army – had killed the one that they thought was the Messiah and along with him whatever hopes they might have had for a different kind of world.

Dashed hopes. Death. Shattered dreams. It sounds all too familiar.  Just as we begin to come out of the pandemic, which was marked by isolation, disease and death, we find ourselves in a world that is less safe. Bombs devastate train stations and maternity wards. People are shot in a subway. Children are dying of hunger. The death toll is mounting. Regardless of where you get your news from, the news is not good.

Yet it is into this very world that Jesus came, teaching, preaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God as he healed the sick of heart and mind and forgave the sins – even of those who tortured and killed him.

Who could blame the women if their thoughts were not on Jesus’ teachings that day as they brought spices to the tomb? They were living in a world of death and hurt – much like ours.  And so of course they were “perplexed” when they found the gravestone moved and the tomb empty. Of course they were terrified when angels - men in dazzling clothes -- suddenly appeared.

But the angels – not bound by this world of death and hurt - seem surprised to see them and ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not dead but is risen.” “Remember.” Remember the words of Jesus. And then they remind the women of Jesus’ words prophesizing his death and resurrection. Of course Jesus is not in the tomb. He’s not dead! 

And then… as if the light from the angels shone a light into their hearts and minds, in an “aha” moment, he women remember. They remember Jesus’ words and the promises of God and go to tell the disciples and all the rest the good news.

At first, none of the disciples believed the women. They called their good news “an “idle” tale – which is a polite translation of: “hogwash,” “fake news” – or worse. But later, after a visit from Jesus and some work on the part of the Holy Spirit, Peter and the others not only remember Jesus’ words, but are convicted that the Good News of Jesus is true, not only for them, but for all people. As Peter says in the book of Acts, God shows no partiality. The love of God and forgiveness of sin is for all people. You can count on that too.

Remember. Just as Mary Magdalene and Joanna remembered and then shared the Good news, and then Peter and the disciples remembered and shared the Good News, so I invite you today to remember the words of Jesus and share the Good news of the promises of God which have been given “for you” and for all people.

Remember. Soon, you will again hear the words of Jesus proclaimed, “This is my body… eat this in remembrance of me. This is my blood.. drink this in remembrance of me…”  Remember the promise of forgiveness of sins is given for you.

Remember. Today as you walk by the Baptismal font, remember that you were baptized as a child of God and God claims you as God’s beloved.

And wherever you go, and wherever you are, Remember the promise of Jesus who said, “I will be with you always.”

Jesus told stories to help people remember. So today I have a story for you. This is the story of a farmer and a hired hand.

“A hired hand was once applying to work for a farmer. When the farmer interviewed him, he would respond to every question by saying, “I sleep well at night.” The farmer thought his responses to be a little odd, but decided to hire him anyway.

One night, not long after, a great storm arose, and the farmer leapt from bed and called for his hired hand to help. When he could not rouse him, he went out himself, only to find that everything was already sheltered and tied down. The farmer then understood the worker’s comment, “I sleep well at night.” He slept because he had done everything needed in case of a storm. From then on, the farmer also slept well at night.”1

Out of God’s great love, God sent – not a hired hand -but Jesus, his only son, to save us and redeem us. And that is why we not only remember the words of Jesus but we can trust in his promises. By dying and rising again, Jesus has defeated the power of death so that we might have life in him. This is why we can rejoice.  Thanks be to God. Amen. 

1Adapted from God Pause Sunday, February 13, 2022 https://www.luthersem.edu › godpause

Maundy Thursday

Pastor Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane | Reflection

The apostle Paul was not in the upper room with Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed, and yet when he shares the story of the Last supper it moves from a story told in the past tense to a proclamation of what is happening now. This is the same way the Jewish community has always remembered the Passover.

When the Passover story is told in the book of Deuteronomy, it begins by recounting the story in the past: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien…” But very soon, the narrator changes from talking about “him” to identifying as the community. Reading again from Deuteronomy it says, “When the Egyptians treated “us” harshly… we cried to the Lord and the Lord brought “us” out of Egypt.”  In this way, whenever the Passover story is told, it is not just the story of the Jewish ancestors but it becomes the story of the current Jewish community. 1

In the same manner, as Paul writes about the Lord’s supper, he begins by recounting an event in the past but moves to remembering and proclaiming a present reality for the community that is gathered. When we hear, “the Lord Jesus takes bread and breaks it and says, “This is my body that is for you. Do this for the remembrance of Me” and again as Jesus takes the cup and says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” we aren’t just remembering an old story that we have heard. This is our story too.  Christ’s body and blood are given for you just as much as for those disciples gathered at the Upper Room.

And the story is not over. As Paul writes, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” The promise is that Christ will come again. But…have you ever wondered why Paul says we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again and doesn’t mention the resurrection?  

Paul is making some assumptions when he speaks and writes this way to people of faith. Just as when the Jewish community celebrates the Passover, they don’t only celebrate the night that the angel of death passed over the doors of the male Hebrew children without killing them. That word, “Passover,” is the beginning of the story of God’s presence with them through the Red Sea, through the trials of the desert and finally coming to the promised land. In the same way, when Paul says that we proclaim the Lord’s death, he is summing up the whole story of Jesus death and resurrection and presence with us through the Holy Spirit until that day when Jesus Christ comes again.

Jesus’ story is not over and we have a role to play. We have a story to tell –in the words that we speak about what we believe and in the way that we live our lives. Our whole lives are meant to be a proclamation of the living Christ.

And so, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us remember that as we eat the bread which is his body and drink the cup which is his blood we are to proclaim not only Christ’s death and resurrection but also the living and active life of Christ. Everywhere you go, you are Christ’s witness. Amen.

1The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume X, Abingdon Press 2002 J. Paul Samply First Letter to the Corinthians page 935            

Vicar Kyle Anderson | Meditation

 What would you do if you knew that your enemies were looking for you in order to seize you?  I would be praying with all of my heart and soul for deliverance from the situation.  In this case there were multiple possibilities for Jesus with the full power of God at his disposal to have avoided being captured.  Jesus does not resist at all.  Jesus does not attempt to flee.  Jesus does not resort to violence as he tells Peter to put his sword away.  Jesus even does the officers’ job for them.  He asks them the question “Whom are you looking for?”  When they reply “Jesus of Nazareth” they actually do not immediately arrest him which may indicate that they doubt that they have found the right person.  Jesus then goes on to identify himself by saying “I am he” just to make sure that they know that they have found the right person to take into custody.  When confronted by the divine the soldiers fall to the ground which creates the perfect opportunity to flee, however Jesus chooses to remain there.  Jesus then repeats the question “Whom are you looking for?” and he again identifies himself.  Not only does Jesus fail to resist arrest but he actually makes the task easier for those who have come to take him away. 

Jesus did not resist arrest because according to the Gospel of John this was the moment for which he came into the world.  Jesus came into the world to be the light of the world and to save the world.  Jesus seized this moment as his time had come.  The first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of John are to two disciples and Jesus asks them “What are you looking for?”  Now as Jesus nears the end of his earthly ministry, he asks those who came to arrest him “Whom are you looking for?”  This is not the last time that Jesus will ask this question.  Three days later he will approach a weeping Mary Magdalene and ask her “Whom are you looking for?”  In each of these different contexts Jesus asks the same question.  On this night of darkness and despair we are also seeking Jesus.  War rages in Ukraine, the uninsured are losing access to free COVID vaccines and free COVID testing, and kids around the world including many in our own community are going to bed hungry tonight.  We too are hoping to find Jesus and the good news is that in spite of the world’s troubles Jesus knows that we are looking for him and he makes it easy for us to find him.

God works in completely unexpected ways.  It does not seem possible that Jesus allowing himself to be arrested by the forces of evil is going to end three days later in the salvation of the world.  However, Jesus is fully in control of the situation.  The arrest happens because Jesus enables it to happen.  Jesus is willing to drink the cup that his Father has given to him.  In the Old Testament the cup can symbolize wrath or it can symbolize joy and salvation.  Tonight, as darkness comes over the land it may appear that the cup mentioned here is the cup of wrath.  However, the cup from which Jesus drinks will actually bring joy and salvation to the world as the arrest of Jesus and his death on the cross is only the beginning of a story that will end with an empty tomb and Jesus rising again to ask the question “Whom are you looking for?”       

Basketball coach John Wooden said that “the most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.”  Jesus knows that he is coming to the end of his earthly ministry and that he still has important lessons to teach his disciples.  Before launching into a lengthy farewell discourse Jesus performs a powerful act to demonstrate both love and service.  It was ordinary hospitality to offer guests water to wash their feet after a journey in sandals on dusty roads.  Usually, the host was not expected to wash the feet of their guests but the host was simply expected to provide a basin of water and a towel.  If anyone was ever assigned the task of washing feet it was a slave.  It was also common for disciples to wash the feet of their teacher.  Nobody at the table would have expected or would have wanted Jesus to wash their feet.  Peter and the disciples may have been surprised about the foot washing but they should not have been as throughout his ministry Jesus defied expectations.  Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus touched lepers who were in need of healing.  Jesus was the Good Shepherd who cared for the poor and the oppressed rather than catering to the rich and the powerful.  The personal example of Jesus is one of humble service to the community.

When he washes the feet of his disciples Jesus provides a model for his disciples to emulate.  The disciples are to perform acts of service for one another.  For Christians status and rank do not matter but all actions performed by Christians are to follow the example of Jesus and are to be based on love and service.  Peter opposes Jesus by initially refusing to let him wash his feet but Jesus is very determined to carry out this act and definitively demonstrate that love and service are the foundations of Christian community.  After he has washed their feet, Jesus then tells his disciples that they are to wash each other’s feet.  Washing feet was common in the life of that society so Jesus is calling his disciples to show their love and service in the routines of daily living.  In modern times with paved roads and sidewalks and closed toe shoes foot washing is no longer a regular practice but we can all think of examples of ways that we can love and serve each other in the course of our daily lives.  Simple unexpected acts of love and service reflect the mission and ministry of Jesus.

Jesus then reinforces what he has just taught his disciples by example by referring to it as a new commandment.  The commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself went all the way back to the book of Leviticus.  Here Jesus commands them to love one another just as Jesus loves us which further expands the commandment to love the neighbor.  Jesus expects his love to be shared by his followers who in turn will share it with the whole world.  If we love just as Jesus loves us then the Christian community will inspire love and service that will spread not only to our neighbors but throughout the world.  In washing the feet of his disciples Jesus provides a model for them to follow.  Through his personal example Jesus demonstrates that acts of love and service both great and small have the power to change the world.

Palm Sunday

We have just heard one hundred fourteen verses of the Greatest Story Ever Told and this powerful and compelling narrative started with four simple words: “when the hour came.”  Yes, the hour did come and Jesus had been anticipating its arrival.  Jesus knew quite early in his earthly ministry that he had a vocation to fulfill and that he was starting on a path to Jerusalem where he would suffer and be rejected before his eventual glorification.  According to Luke 9:31 Moses and Elijah appeared during the Transfiguration and they spoke of Jesus’ departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  The teaching that Jesus did on his journey was so radical that when he arrived in Jerusalem he was arrested, tortured, and executed as a criminal by the Roman Empire.  The Crucifixion was not merely a moment in history but it is an event that continues to have a major impact as its importance is not just limited to its historical context.  As we just heard Jesus ate a Passover meal with his disciples.  In the Jewish tradition Passover is not only a remembrance of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery but it is also a chance for future generations to live the story of the Exodus as their own story.  In a similar manner, Christians are invited into the story of the Passion of the Christ not only to remember it as a historic event but also to live the story as a current reality.  The hour came on a day almost two thousand years ago and the hour comes again during this Holy Week.

Each of the Passion narratives in the Gospels share commonalities but they also have some differences.  I want to emphasize three things that are unique to Luke’s account of the Passion.  First, in Luke Jesus offers the gift of forgiveness.  From the cross Jesus says “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”  As he is suffering on the cross Jesus offers a prayer for those who were involved in his crucifixion.  In the immediate context the prayer is for the Roman soldiers who are carrying out this death sentence but I think that it also includes us.  We live in need of forgiveness each and every day.  We are complicit in systems that pollute the environment, that leave many people without adequate housing, healthcare, and nutrition, and that result in the oppression of minority communities.  We do not always know what we are doing and we are not always aware of the impact that our behavior has on the lives of others.  Therefore, we live in constant need of God’s forgiveness.     

In addition to forgiveness Jesus also offers us the promise of salvation.  When the repentant criminal asked Jesus to remember him, Jesus told him that “today you will be with me in Paradise.”  In the midst of suffering and agony Jesus remains focused on his mission.  Jesus has come into the world to save the world.  If we are willing to leave our sinful ways and turn toward Jesus, we see that salvation is a reality just as it was for the repentant criminal.  In even the darkest moments like times of war, pandemic, and economic turmoil Jesus remains focused on saving us.  Yes, Jesus remembers us no matter how bleak things seem to be.

Finally, when we encounter Jesus, we are changed and transformed.  Many in the crowd that day came out to see a spectacle.  They cried out “away with this fellow!” and “crucify, crucify him!”  At the end of this Passion narrative the mood of many in the crowd had been altered.  After Jesus died Luke tells us that when the crowds had seen what had taken place, they returned home beating their breasts.  By the end of the Passion story those in the crowd who were crying for blood now appear to be repentant.  The crowds who had shown up for the spectacle are now contrite.  These people who witnessed the Crucifixion and the suffering of Jesus were changed by seeing these events.  When we encounter our Lord and Savior Jesus, our lives and perspectives are changed.

How has the hour come in your life?Do you feel the power of the gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and transformation that Jesus is offering to each and every one of us?This week I invite you to live the story of Holy Week not just as a remembrance but as a current reality as we gather as a community both in person and online to commemorate Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.Yes, the hour did come for Jesus but the story is not over as this week the hour comes again and we are invited to live fully in the knowledge that forgiveness, salvation, and transformation are freely available to us each and every day.

Come to Your Senses…

How do you say “Thank you?” How you express adoration and praise to God?

For me, my first love is words. Some friends recently introduced me to the online daily word game called “Wordle” in which you have to guess the 5 letter word in six tries or less. I’m hooked.  And so, it is probably no surprise that my first method of saying thank you to God is through words -- whether it is through the words of scripture, prayers, sermons, stories or poetry.

Music is another way that I – and we, as Lutherans, love to praise and adore God. As members of our choir and other lovers of music probably know, 16th century Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the letters SDG on the bottom of each of his compositions. SDG stands for Soli Deo Gloria, “To God Alone Be the Glory.” Bach and others have composed music for the glory of God and people ever since have delighted in singing and playing music to thank and praise God.  

The words and the tunes of music, preaching and proclamation all depend on our sense of hearing in their praise of God. But as I started to think about our senses – I wondered – what other senses do we use to glorify God?

Visual artists depend upon gift of sight to proclaim their praise and adoration of God. The artwork on your bulletin cover, the Stations of the Cross artwork in our windows, the images on your prayer cards and the cross that hangs from our Chancel are just some of the ways we use visual art to glorify God within the sanctuary.

But this, of course, is not the only place where we see God’s glory praised. We also see God’s glory in God’s own creation – the mountains and valleys, streams and deserts. Sometimes we seek to capture it in photos and other art forms.

In addition, I would also include prayer shawls in my list of art work created to glory of God. Prayer shawls are not only beautiful to look at, but since only softest yarn is used to make them –they also feel beautiful. Another one of the senses! When I bring a prayer shawl to someone who is hurting, usually they respond with a word of thanks – but then, as I wrap it around their shoulders, I can see their body relax as they snuggle into the soft warm embrace of the prayer shawl, and I remind them that they wrapped in the prayers of this congregation and the love of God. And they feel that.

In our Gospel today, there is only one line about Martha, but it reveals another sensory way we can say thank you to God. “Martha served.” Martha’s love language was food, and she prepared a feast for Jesus. And this gift, the gift of food, a gift that we can taste, is a gift that Jesus also gives. In his first miracle at the wedding of Cana, Jesus gave an abundance of wine. And, on a hillside, Jesus gave the gift of bread and fish to the 5000 people who gathered there. And at the last supper, Jesus gave the gift of bread and wine, his body and blood, to his disciples and now to us. Jesus welcomes us to “taste and see” the glory of God.

We say thank you and give glory to God through the gift of sound, sight, feeling, and taste. But what about smells?

When we were little girls, my cousin and I were playing in our grandparents’ room one day when we discovered our grandmother’s lily of the valley perfume. Grandma was a bit indulgent with her grandchildren and so whenever we were over, she would share some of her perfume with us – putting a little bit of the perfume on our wrists and behind our ears. She was busy in the kitchen but we knew that she wouldn’t mind if we just helped ourselves to some of her perfume. We did and thought it smelled glorious. And so we put on a little more and then… as we were pouring it out, a little spilled. Maybe a lot spilled. We smeared it on our hands and our arms like lotion, trying to clean up the mess so that no one would know.  But of course… the smell of 1968 Lily of the Valley perfume was all over the house in just a matter of moments.

Smells are powerful.

Likewise, the smell from the perfume that Mary poured over Jesus’ feet must have been overwhelming– a whole pound of nard, poured out on Jesus’ feet. Washing feet was the common practice. So why does Mary anoint Jesus’ feet with an extraordinary amount of costly perfume?

In the Old Testament, anointing is reserved for special occasions such as the coronation of kings. You may remember the prophet Samuel anointed the shepherd boy David as the next king of Israel and in the 23rd Psalm, honor is bestowed as “you anoint my head with oil.”

Our Gospel story comes shortly after Jesus has raised Mary’s brother Lazarus from the dead and right before Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So perhaps Mary anoints Jesus’ feet out of her great gratitude for the return from the dead of her brother Lazarus. And, if she knew that Jesus was the Messiah, which means “anointed one” why shouldn’t she anoint, the Messiah, the anointed one, especially before he rides into Jerusalem?

But Mary may also know that raising Lazarus from the dead is going to cost Jesus his life. Jesus says that Mary has provided this anointing oil in preparation for his burial. This is the other use of anointing oil. Dead bodies were not embalmed.  Instead, people – usually women - anointed them with sweet smelling oil and covered them with spices to cover the smell of death.

Mary’s act of anointing surely filled the house with an overwhelming fragrance and her act of wiping his feet with her hair, touching him – something forbidden for women who were not a wife, mother or daughter – would not have gone unnoticed. And it wasn’t.

Judas fixates on the cost of the nard – and the waste of it. It was extravagant… but it wasn’t wasteful. For Mary – in contrast to Judas - shows us the way of discipleship.

Notice that Mary did not utter a word. She did not sing a song or cook a morsal of food. These may have been considered more “acceptable” ways of giving thanks and glory to Jesus.  Instead, she offered up all that she had, pouring out a pound pure nard, the cost of which would have been about $30,000, a year’s wages and used her hair, in the most tender and intimate way that she could, to anoint Jesus’ feet. It was a bold smelly witness of her love and devotion to Jesus as her Lord.

How do you and I proclaim our love of Jesus? How do we say thank you Lord? How do we use each of our senses to proclaim, to sing, to touch, to taste, to touch and to smell God’s love for us – and our love for Jesus?

Could we seek to be as audacious in our love, as bold in our praise and as creative in our witness to Jesus as is Mary?

Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, may the sight of beauty, the embrace of care, the taste of forgiveness, the sound of joy and laughter and the most lovely smells remind you of God’s presence and may you employ all of your senses to proclaim your love and adoration of Jesus. Amen.

Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran      April 3, 2022   Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane

Sunday Sermon

What does “Home” look like to you? I’m not talking necessarily about your house or apartment. I’m wondering what you think of as “home.” For my grandmother, even though she had moved to St. Louis Park, “home was always her corner of Lakes Coulee in Wisconsin, “God’s Country.” I never had the heart to tell her that the phrase she loved to say came from a beer commercial.

Home is that place where you feel like you belong – no matter what.

Former Poet Laureate Maya Angelou tells a story of leaving her mother’s house – at age 17, unmarried with a baby. Her mother had a 14 room house with live-in help. Her mother said to her, “Your leaving my house?”  Maya said yes, she had found a job and a house with cooking privileges and a landlady who would be her babysitter. Again, her mother said, “Your leaving my house?” Again, Maya said, “Yes, Ma’am.” And her mother replied, All right… “When you step over my doorsill, you’ve been raised…..you know the difference between right and wrong. Do right.” And then she added, “Remember this… you can always come home.”

 And she did. Maya said, I went home every time life slammed me down and made me call it uncle. I went home with my baby… and my mother never once said “I told you.”  Instead, Maya’s mother would cook for her, listen to her and care for her baby whenever she came home. I’m sure there were reasons Maya did not want to live with her mother – she doesn’t mention those --but she always knew that she could go home. She always knew that there was always a place for her and her son and that she belonged. That’s what love is. That’s what it means to offer grace.

Grace is a matter of the heart. It is never earned or deserved. Grace is what breaks through barriers. Grace brings peace, wholeness, and nurtures relationships. Grace builds up the other. Grace is a gift we all want to receive… but it is sometimes hard to give.

Our Gospel story is sometimes called the prodigal son. Prodigal means recklessly and extravagantly wasteful. That certainly describes the younger son. He had demanded his inheritance – early and then spent it all. He had nothing left. How could he go home? By demanding his inheritance from his father, he had effectively said to his father, “I wish you were dead.” It was only when he was at the end of his rope, that he finally “came to himself” and realized what a fool he had been, and what hurt and harm that he had caused. So, it wasn’t an easy thing to go home. But he composed his story and headed towards home – even though he wasn’t sure he would even be welcomed as a slave or servant.

There are times when, I dare say, all of us, have done things or said things that we regret, relationships that have soured. There have been certainly been times in which I’ve been reckless, prodigal, with my words and actions and wish I could take them back. Perhaps there are things you would do differently if you had a chance. Perhaps there are times in which you felt on the outside and longed for welcome, for home. I know this is true for me.

But this is not the end of the story. One of my favorite parts of this story is that when the father sees his wayward son, he is filled with compassion– while the son is still far off. And what I love about this is that it means that his father has been looking for him – watching… hoping against hope that his son would come home. For the son this means he doesn’t get to sneak up the road. His father has been on the lookout, watching, hoping against hope that maybe today… he would return. So, when the father sees his son, he runs to him. In those days, men especially those who were respected landowners did not run. They did not jog. To even show your ankles was considered a disgrace. And yet… the father runs to his son and welcomes him with open arms and calls for gifts to honor him and throws a party. That is grace. It is undeserved. It is forgiveness. It is sheer mercy. It is unconditional. It is surprising. It is “prodigal” – because it is both reckless and extravagant. But it is not wasteful. It is love.

This is how God acts towards each one of us. God is like that father and waiting for you and welcoming you home – not because you or I deserve it. But because God loves you so much – and because there is nothing that you can do or say that will keep God from loving you, unconditionally forgiving you and surprising you with extravagant mercy. Like the father, God wants a relationship with you.

The father in the story also wants a relationship with his oldest son. The father leaves the party to beckon his oldest son in, wanting him to be full of joy too. But the older brother has got a problem. When he hears that his brother is not only welcomed back but a big party has been thrown for him, he is indignant. It’s not fair – after everything that his brother did? How dare he come home?

While I dare say that we all acknowledge our own need for grace, it’s hard not to be like the older brother. Like him, we are used to comparing ourselves, judging ourselves against one another. We set up standards for ourselves – and others. True grace goes against our instincts.

Philip Yancy calls the inability to receive or to give grace, “ungrace.” Our willingness to sit in judgement and hold everyone to our own standards and values makes us feel strong and righteous. But, regardless of the issue – and there are many that can divide us – ungrace has the power to isolate and alienate us from leaders, co-workers, neighbors and even members of our own family. As we watch anxiously the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rise of authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the world, the world is in deep need of grace. And this is what we have to offer one another. Simple, ordinary grace.

For in the end, the biggest surprise about grace is that, when we give grace to others, our eyes are opened and we see even more clearly the grace that God has given and keeps giving to us. This grace is prodigal, extravagant, unconditional, and given just because God loves you. God proclaims to you, “You belong. You are home in my house, in my world, and I am with you. Always.” Thanks be to God! Amen.   

Sunday Sermon

I wish all of you a happy first day of spring.  We have survived another winter which is no small feat in Minnesota.  Back in the first week of February when it seemed that winter would never end, I saw a sign at a local Dairy Queen that said “Open for the Season March 1.”  I kept thinking about that sign through the whole month of February and it gave me hope.  In my mind things would be better once we made it to March 1.  On March 1 I did not stop by the local Dairy Queen but if I had it would have been a delightful experience.  The mercury reached forty-two that day which was ten degrees above the daily average.  On that day I am sure that many people ended a long winter with either a Blizzard, a cone, or a sundae.  Another thing that gave me hope during the long winter was riding my bike to church again for our Sunday service.  Last Sunday March 13 I was able to do that for the first time in 2022.  It was cold and dark on the way here but the ride home was in glorious sunshine and relative warmth.  During the long cold months of January and February I had forgotten how much I enjoy being able to ride my bike.  It only took one ride for me to reconnect with bicycling.  I simultaneously experienced the benefits of physical exercise, helping the planet by avoiding fossil fuel use, and also reaping the mental health benefits of an activity that improves my state of mind.  For me that first Sunday bike ride was a moment where the gloom of winter ended.  While I was on the ride home, I noticed a man showing a child how to swing a baseball bat and then giving the kid the bat for him to take his own practice swing.  Of course, this being Minnesota there was still some snow on the ground so they were working on their swings in a parking lot rather than at the baseball field but nevertheless they were also experiencing the hope of better days ahead and a long winter coming to a conclusion.  Ice cream, bicycling, and baseball are just a few of many different things that we will enjoy this spring in Minnesota, but the choice of activity is not important.  We each have different preferences but we all have a vision of a favorite spring activity that gives us hope and sustains us through the dark days of a long winter. 

In today’s lesson from Isaiah, we see that God also includes us in a vision of abundant life that is meant to sustain us through difficult times.  Chapters 40 through 55 of Isaiah are generally referred to by biblical scholars as Second Isaiah.  These chapters are addressed to an Israelite audience living in Babylon toward the end of the Babylonian exile.  The prophet announces to the people that the end of their exile is imminent.  Much like Minnesotans coming out of a long winter the people of Israel were also struggling through a very tough time.  God’s vision as spoken through the prophet is meant to inspire the people and to provide them with hope that better days are coming soon.  The message is one of deliverance rather than judgment.  The prophecy of Second Isaiah reassures the exiles that the Lord will soon display great power by bringing the people of Israel back to their own country in an exodus that will be even more glorious than the exodus out of Egypt.

The prophet offers an invitation to a grand banquet.  This is not just hot dogs and potato salad in the backyard.  This is the equivalent of Andrew Zimmern calling you on the phone and saying “I hear that you are having the kids over to the house for a barbecue on Sunday afternoon and I want to prepare a feast for you and I am not going to charge you a dime for any of it.”  It sounds way too good to be true but that is the reality of the meal that God has prepared for us.  God provides for us abundantly and generously.  The image of a banquet is a very powerful depiction. We don’t eat alone at a banquet but rather everyone shares a great meal.  There is no doubt that our best times are often spent eating good food with good people.  This idea of a lavish meal extends beyond food and to the very heart of God.  The significance of the image presented in this text is not what is served at this great meal even though the items described here which include wine, milk, bread, and rich food are all things that many of us thoroughly enjoy.  The real significance is that God provides for people who hunger and thirst.  A good question to ask here is whether this text refers to material provision or spiritual provision.  The answer here is an unqualified “Yes” on both accounts.  We are satisfied spiritually as we metaphorically eat and drink in the presence of the Lord, but we are also satisfied materially as God has created a world that is so rich and plentiful in resources that each and every one of us can live an abundant life in which our material needs are met.

I have no doubt in my mind that this promised banquet is available to everyone because that is the way that God works.  God welcomes everyone to God’s table.  When I was employed at US Bank, we worked with some excellent attorneys who were based in New York City.  We would meet with them periodically and the highlight of the meetings would always be dinner at one of the best restaurants in town whether that was New York, Minneapolis, or Pierre, South Dakota.  These attorneys were experts in the field of state taxation but after the work day was done, they were the most gracious hosts.  They had a knack for including everyone in the dinner conversation.  I was the new guy and the person on the team with the least important position.  I was mainly there to gain experience and to take notes but these big-shot attorneys treated me with respect just as if I were a senior vice president.  I would always come away from those evenings so impressed with the hospitality of our lawyers and how they made everyone in our party feel comfortable because in business I had plenty of other awkward dinners where I did not feel welcome or comfortable.  At God’s Table everyone is welcome and there are not any outcasts as God makes an everlasting covenant with us.  At this time the exiles were likely questioning God’s plans for them.  God had made a covenant with David but the end of the rule of the Davidic kings and the time in exile ushered in a new reality.  However, it is God who brings salvation to the people as God now expands the covenant with David into a covenant with the entire nation of Israel.  The blessings of God are not just bestowed on kings and rulers but an abundant life is God’s promise for all of us.  No matter our station in life we are all worthy of God’s blessings.

Anyone who follows the news may be skeptical about this optimistic vision of God providing a blessed meal for all of humanity to enjoy.  We see in the news each day so many horrible things that are happening.  The news of the war in Ukraine is an unpleasant reminder of humanity’s capacity for violence as this unnecessary belligerence is destroying innocent lives in Ukraine and is making people all over the world feel much less secure as the conflict threatens to grow.  Our nation may not be directly involved in the war but we deal with gun violence in our own community that is needlessly taking lives and terrorizing people each and every day.  Many of us are struggling to make ends meet as we are experiencing the worst inflation in forty years as the wages of the average worker are not increasing nearly as fast as the prices of fuel, groceries, and housing.  The Minneapolis teachers’ strike is another reminder that our schools and social programs are underfunded while the wealth of oligarchs like Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg continues to increase each day.  The good news in these difficult times is that God surprises us in ways that are often beyond our comprehension.  God’s ways are not our ways and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  The people of Israel in exile were in a state of despair but God released them from captivity for a return home even though I am sure that many of them had given up hope of ever returning to Israel.  God acts when we least expect it even in the turbulent times of March 2022.  One of the bright spots of this terrible war was shared widely on social media.  A Russian soldier surrendered to the Ukrainians.  The Russian soldier was crying and he was approached by a group of Ukrainians who gave him a pastry and tea and called his mother so that he could talk to her.  This is a small example but it is just another case of God working at an unexpected time and in an unexpected way.

During this season of Lent, we are called to repent and return to the Lord.  We do not often ask the question why we may want to repent.  As we consider the invitation to repent God also offers us this vision of the abundant life that we can live with God.  Just as the exiles returned to their country and just as Minnesota annually emerges from the depths of winter, we are confident in the knowledge that God provides a banquet for us.  This feast is so lavish that it is beyond our wildest dreams.  We are secure in the knowledge that all of us are worthy of God’s abundance.  We know that God will act on our behalf when we least expect it.  When you experience the inevitable difficulties of life God invites you to embrace optimism and share God’s vision of abundant life for everyone.         

-Vicar Kyle Anderson

Jesus Our Mother Hen

Women hold tight to their children cramming onto trains. Mothers carry babies in one arm and hold tight to a suitcase or backpack with the other. Using a cane to keep her balance, an elderly woman walks across a plank laid in a river where a bridge had once been. These are the scenes that have become all too familiar as we watch the refuges from Ukraine stream across the borders to safety in Poland and other countries. Despite the uncertainty of where they are going, and despite the pain of leaving husbands, fathers, and sons behind, the women hold tight to their children, comfort them, cover them with blankets if they can and wrap them in their arms. Their one hope is to bring their children to safety – and for some of them ---their child is all they can carry with them. Leaving is heartbreaking – but staying is even more dangerous.

Unfortunately, this kind of danger, caused by war and violence is nothing new. The Psalmist describes an army encamped against him and adversaries who assail him. And yet, despite the danger, the Psalmist speaks a word of hope, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27 is one of my favorite psalms. I commend it to you and to those refugees and all who are facing challenges in their life – of any kind. The very first verse: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” provides a strong word to hold onto in the midst of trials and dangers. Underline it in your Bible, put it on your refrigerator, memorize these words. For this image of God as refuge, as a stronghold, as a shelter from all of the storms of life, is a strong word of hope and promise that will help give you the confidence to trust in the Lord, and not be afraid when trials, challenges and dangers come your way.

In our Gospel for today, Jesus is being warned by Pharisees that Herod is trying to kill him – and, as we know, their warning was not unfounded. But Jesus does not let this challenge – or any other - deter him from his mission.  Instead, he tells the Pharisees to go tell that “fox,” Herod, that he will continue to drive out demons and heal people – he will continue his work. And then, when it is time, even though it is dangerous, and even though Jerusalem is the place where prophets are killed, that is where he is headed.

As Jesus was headed into this dangerous place, he could have claimed the strength and power of God as his refuge, his stronghold. He could have quoted Psalm 27, after all the Psalms were his prayerbook.  But instead, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen –and laments that he cannot gather the people of Jerusalem, like a mother hen gathers her chicks.

So why does Jesus choose to compare himself to a chicken? There are so many other more majestic animals. But Jesus is looking to draw people in close.  When a mother hen draws her chicks in close, she fluffs out her feathers – and the little chicks are hidden, tucked underneath her wings. And while mother hens are not the most powerful creatures, they are fierce in the way that they take care of their young. They will stop at nothing.

Have you ever seen a mother quail feigns a broken wing to lead the fox away from her chicks?  Using this ruse, the hen sometimes ends up sacrificing her life for chicks.  And that is just what Jesus did for us, when that fox, Herod, came after him, Jesus sacrificed his life and died for you and all of God’s children, that you may have life.

And so, like the Psalmist, you and I can proclaim that “The LORD is my light and my salvation…The LORD is the stronghold of my life” AND you can trust Jesus to be like a mother hen, drawing you close, and wrapping you in his loving arms -- because Jesus loves you and cares for you.

A great theologian was once asked, what is the most important thing that you have ever learned? He responded – without hesitation – “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Jesus loves me. This I know. Jesus loves me. If that is all that you remember, then it is enough. For this is the message that Jesus has for you too. Jesus loves you. It is written in the Bible and at your baptism it was written on your forehead and on your heart. This is why you have nothing to fear. This is why you can rejoice – for Jesus loves you and has promised to be your light, your salvation, your rock and your mother hen, gathering you under his wings.

And… if you wonder how you can respond to this gift of love and care, you can begin by saying, “Thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for being my rock, my stronghold. Thank you for being my life and my salvation. Thank you for giving me the antidote to fear – and that is your love. And thank you Jesus, for being a mother hen to me, drawing me in close.”

And then, knowing who Jesus is for us, our rock, our salvation and our comfort in the storm, the mother hen we can run to, we can seek to be like Jesus for one another.

That is what I see in those Ukrainian women. They are holding tight, trying to be like Jesus and the mother hen for their children – despite the dangers around them. They inspire me – and I pray for them.

I am also inspired by the parents of other young children, children in Poland, who took action too. Anticipating Ukrainian mothers, weary from carrying their children in their arms and holding them on the train, Polish parents left their strollers at the train depot – free for Ukrainian mothers and their children. And then they bought diapers and food and left it for the families too. 

We live too far away to donate strollers – but we can support our hurting brothers and sisters in Christ in Ukraine and in other places too far to reach through organizations like Lutheran World Relief. That’s who I’m supporting because Lutheran World Relief already has a program in place so all of the funds go to support those in need.

And we can support people in need right here. Our mission of the month, NEAR Foodshelf, supports hungry families in our neighborhood every day.

And, we can pray. We can pray for those mothers and children, we can pray for the end of hostilities and violence both in the Ukraine and on our streets. We can pray that Jesus leads us to become more like him.

In closing, I invite you to pray with me a prayer written by a pastor poet, Steve Garnaas Holmes:

Holy One, my Beloved, my Savior, my Chief,
you choose to be a hen in the realm of the fox.
You choose kindness in the face of evil.

Give me faith to do the same,
to heal instead of hurting,
to choose kindness even when threatened. 

Give me courage to be a mother hen
in a world of foxes,
for always I am under your wings1 Amen.   

1Steve Garnaas-Holmes  Unfolding Light www.unfoldinglight.net

Sunday Sermon

Jesus gets baptized in the Jordan river. His hair may still be wet. But no cake or party for him. Instead, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, is led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

The wilderness plays a big role in the Bible. After leaving Egypt, the people of Israel spent 40 years, a generation, in the wilderness. They learned what it meant to be people of God and that God was with them – providing water from a rock when they were thirsty and manna and quail when they were hungry. They learned who they are and they learned that God was with them.

But when the Holy Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness, there is no water coming from the rock. There is no manna or quail for Jesus to feast upon. And so… after being without food or water for a long time… Jesus is hungry and thirsty.

The devil chooses this time, when Jesus is physically weak and hungry to test him. But Jesus resists the temptation of temporary comfort by remembering the words of Deuteronomy that he learned from his family and teachers who had in turn learned them from their parents and grandparents. And when tempted with power and prestige – at the cost of worshipping something other than God-- he remembers the commandments that he had been taught. And, when the devil gets clever and pieces together a couple of scriptures and spins them to say what he wants them to say and offers up a promise of glory wrapped up in scripture, Jesus doesn’t fall for that one either. We know that glory will come to him. But not as a flashy spectacle. Instead, Jesus’ glory will come on the cross. But in his hour of temptation, Jesus rests on two things: scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit – who never left him.

Today, Sebastian will be baptized and welcomed into God’s family as a child of God. Sebastian will receive the same promise that Jesus promised his disciples – and you - that the Holy Spirit will be with him – forever.  Preston and Ashley, as his parents and Patrick and Lisa as his Godparents, you will be making promises too. You will be promising, before God and this congregation, that you will teach him scripture – including the Lord’s prayer and the Ten Commandments and bring him to God’s house so that he can grow in his relationship with God and God’s people. With that, Sebastian can not only count on the Holy Spirit being with him but he will be prepared for whatever life throws his way.

This past week we gave thanks and celebrated the life of Herb Scheelk – he was 99 years old. Of the many memories Herb like to share, one mission from his time serving aboard the USS Thompson during World War II stands out - patrolling Normandy on June 6, 1944, otherwise known as D-Day. The Thompson’s job was to travel along the coast, giving protection to the young men landing on the beach. The danger that they faced was that there were mines in the water. But the crew did their job, and somehow, by the grace of God, they were able to patrol the area up and down the coast avoiding the mines and protecting the soldiers. They did their part. But finally, both the boat and the crew needed to refuel. Another ship was called to take their place. On its very first pass along the beach, that ship hit a mine.

When he shared this story with me, Herb asked, why were we so lucky? I had to tell him – I don’t know. But I do know it was not because the crew on his boat were more faithful or because they prayed harder than the crew on the other boat. We do know, as Christians, that no matter which boat that we are in – God is in the boat too. But, as Herb reflected on it, he to said, “I guess it wasn’t my time.”

Those are words similar to what I said to him when he fought the demons of depression - a different wilderness journey. After burying three children and two wives and outliving most if not all of his crew mates from the USS Thompson, Herb became depressed. These last two years when he was cut off from family and friends because of the pandemic restrictions, didn’t help. And yet… both on the USS Thompson and in his nursing home room, God was with him. The scripture that he had been taught helped. But it was the prayers that we prayed and that he prayed – every day – that sustained him.

As the infection rates of the pandemic drop, I am hopeful that we are coming to the end of that wilderness time in which we have to isolate from one another. We haven’t won that war yet – and may always need to be vigilant about mutations from the coronavirus --but we have tools – vaccines and masks and our medical community--to help us. And we know that, no matter what, God is with us.

But now, as the last veterans of WWII are dying, the wilderness of war is with the world - again. Just a few short weeks ago I could not have imagined that the Russian Army would invade Ukraine. But while the Ukrainians are fighting back – hard, ordinary people, some of them faithful Christians, are suffering.

God never promised us that nothing bad would happen to those who are baptized in Christ Jesus. Baptism doesn’t make anyone bulletproof. 

But how do we respond to this wilderness crisis? It is happening on the other side of the world – and yet if the pandemic taught us one thing – what happens on the other side of the world affects us too.

There are some things that we cannot control. However, as Jesus teaches – even in our most vulnerable hour - we can first remember that God is with us and then, we can turn to scripture and prayer. The scripture reminds us that we are part of a bigger story, God’s story. And prayer, talking to God about our cares as well as our hopes and dreams – and listening for God’s way even when we think there is no way - helps us live our lives more fully, more wholly in Christ.

Remembering the promises of our baptism, and that we are never alone, we can rejoice in each day – regardless of the challenges around us. For we know that we are beloved, and that God is with us. And that makes a difference for how we live. Thanks to be God. Amen.

Ash Wednesday

The people of God were in trouble. A cloud of locusts had devoured the grain in their land. An invading army was on the horizon. But even worse…the prophet Joel was preaching the truth to them – and it looked like doomsday.

And into that world of hurt … God speaks. “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart.”

Despite everything that they had done or not done, despite not following God’s word or God’s way, the Lord speaks a word of hope and promise. For even though they did not keep the covenant – God did. God had not forgotten them. For God keeps God’s promises. Always.

Instead of castigating the people for their failures, God invites them: “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing.”

A traditional way for people in Joel’s day to mourn was to tear their clothing –to show how literally broken they were. But instead of this show of mourning, God invites them to open themselves up to all of the pain and sorrow that they feel. God invites them to come to him –with their whole selves – with broken hearts, honest sorrow and open-hearted mourning. God says, “Come and have a good cry.” Come… just as you are.

After suffering a serious illness that left her a semi-invalid at the age of 32, Charlotte Elliot fell into a deep depression and spiritual crisis. Her situation felt so hopeless that Charlotte confessed to an evangelist who was visiting her family that she felt so lost that she didn’t know how to come to Christ. He replied, “Come to him, just as you are.” 1

Come to Christ… just as you are.

So, how are you? We have been through a tough two years of the pandemic that isn’t done, a racial reckoning that isn’t done, and the saber rattling in the world has turned to war – and the world seems to have gotten worse. It can feel a bit overwhelming.  

But just as the prophet Joel’s job was to speak the truth to his people in difficult times, so it is my job to speak the truth to you now. The first piece of truth that I want you to remember is this: You are God’s child. And regardless of what you or anyone else does or says, God loves you, cares for you and will keep God’s promise to be with you – always.

But that’s not all. Tonight, I will proclaim another unvarnished truth to you as I mark the sign of an ashen cross on your forehead. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.” You – and I - are mortal.  

While some may call this depressing, pastor and podcaster Nadia Boltz-Webber calls it “refreshing.” She writes, “It’s refreshing in a way that only the truth can be… because we know deep down that we live in a death-denying culture which tries to tell us that we can live forever with the right combination of exercise, yoga, vacations and elective surgery… Which all feels like a metaphor for all our pathetic attempts at immortality.

She says it is refreshing because instead of denying our mortality, Christians gather around the world on this day, each year, and “we tell each other the inescapable truth that we are dust and to dust we shall return.  It’s downright audacious that amidst our societal anxiety about impermanence we just blurt out the truth as if it’s not offensive.   But the thing about blurting out this kind of truth about ourselves…is that after you do it ..you can finally exhale.  It’s like the moment when you stop having to spiritually hold your stomach in…”

And instead… we can lean into the promises of God. At your baptism, God promised YOU to be your God – and that you would be God’s child forever. For while the world around us may be overwhelming, Jesus gets the last word. And Jesus says, “Come. Just as you are. Because I love you.” For the love of Jesus, God’s love is more powerful than any of those other things that keep us up in the night, or that fills us with terror, shame or fear.

One night, when Charlotte Elliott couldn’t sleep because she was still struggling with those things that kept her up at night – namely, her faith – or rather, the lack of it and her anxiety and anger at being a near invalid at such a young age. But on this night, instead of focusing on her anguish, Charlotte decided to write down what she knew to be true, her own confession of what she did know to be true. Remembering the words of the Evangelist, she wrote: “Just as I am, without one plea.” And then… she wrote the whole song. It became her statement of faith.

Jesus had invited her to come to him.  And Jesus Christ invites you to come to Him too, just as you are. For the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart.” Bring your weeping, your regrets, your mourning, everything you have done and everything you left undone – bring it all, because God wants your whole self…not just your “Sunday morning best” but all of you.

God wants all of you – AND will not leave you just as you were. Instead, God invites you into a deeper and more expansive and intentional living. God invites you into living a life that reflects an open heart and a fullness from living in right relationship with God, yourself and others.

God wants the best for you – God wants you to experience an expansive life that is full to the brim with life, with love, with joy, and with beauty and peace. And this is why God wants you to draw near – because this is what God’s kingdom life looks like – this is what it looks like to be in relationship with God. And God wants a relationship with you. Thanks be to God. Amen.

1 https://hymnary.org/text/just_as_i_am_without_one_plea

2 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2014/03/ash-wednesday-sermon-on-truth-dust-babies-and-funerals/