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Distracted: Mary and Martha is not about Mary VS Martha

Now as they [Jesus and his disciples] went on their way, he 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.”

Luke 10:38-42

My sermon from the 9th Sunday After Pentecost (July 17, 2016) on Luke 10:38-42.

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From Pastor Marc – My Message for the Messenger, Summer 2016 Edition

When was the last time you responded to a call to action? Not a day goes by when I do not receive an email, Facebook post or Tweet asking me to sign a petition, donate to charity or advocate for a social cause. We’re surrounded by invitations to look at our world, notice injustice and do something to make a difference.

At a prayer vigil on June 22, Rabbis and Christian clergy from the Upper Pascack Valley Clergy group participated in a prayer vigil for the victims of the attack on Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. As we gathered to plan the service, the clergy spent time in prayer and conversation trying to craft what this service should look like. We read the names of the victims and raised up prayers for the families, friends and loves ones who are mourning and suffering. It was through prayer and discernment that the clergy decided that we, together, were called to action. Rabbi Noah Fabricant of Temple Beth Or, during the service, invited all of us to take out our phones and to call our representatives in the US Senate and House. We were invited to share with them that we were at an interfaith prayer vigil, gathered as faith-filled people, and wanted to advocate for a change so that this kind of violence and hatred can end. We shared our thoughts and prayers with our representatives, knowing that faith-filled people do have a voice and no one “religious” voice covers all points of views and opinions. We left voicemails in their mailboxes with the sound of other people calling in the background. For the 45 of us gathered that night our call to action was a literal call to action, and we made it so.

So what “call to action” is the Spirit inspiring in you? As followers of Jesus, we’re called to love the world not because we are kind and nice people. We’re called to love the world because Jesus knew the world was worth dying for. When God calls us to make a difference, this isn’t a call for other people to answer. The call God gives is a call we answer because Jesus makes a difference in our lives. So let’s make a difference in the lives of others too.

See you in church!
Pastor Marc

A Reflection on Psalm 121

The first reading today is from Psalm 121.

I’m a big fan of questions. I like asking questions, love answering questions, and I enjoy starting my sermons out with questions. Questions help frame a conversation. They guide me, letting me explore all the possibilities such a question comes up with. A question enhances my creativity. And that’s what Psalm 121 does today when it begins with a question. The author asks, “Where will my help come from?” The author is posing a question and, in the next 7 verses, will explore possible answers.

The author of this psalm first looks to the hills for help. Hills might be a strange place to look for help but, when we’re in need, looking upwards is a normal response. We might feel we are trapped in a valley, surrounded on all sides by what is afflicting or bothering us. We look for a way out, so we look up, towards the hills that around us. Cities, castles, and fortifications were usually built on hills, providing some protection and defense during a military attack. A hill is a safer space than a valley so that’s where the author first looks.

But hills, the places where people live, build cities, and towers, is not where the author finds final strength. A hill cannot overpower or protect from the God that created it. The author turns to the ultimate creator, God, for protection. The psalm assures us that we are seen, noticed, and protected by the God who created all hills and all seas. In verses 3-8, the word “keep” is used six times. It’s used in this case to mean “watch over,” like a guard protecting a city a night. God isn’t just protecting us, God is watching us, guiding us, through trouble and strife. And this guidance does not happen only once. God continues this process, over and over again, through this life and into the next.

Each week, I write a reflection on one of our scripture readings for the week. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship Bulletin for 7/10/2016.

Do: a sermon on the Good Samaritan after Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, and Dallas.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

Luke 10:25-37

My sermon from the 8th Sunday After Pentecost (July 10, 2016) on Luke 10:25-37.

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Other Food: a sermon on what the Kingdom of God might look like.

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. 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. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 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. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”

‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

Luke 10:1-11,16-20

My sermon from the 7th Sunday After Pentecost (July 3, 2016) on Luke 10:1-11,16-20.

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What does the kingdom of God look like? That’s the question – that’s gnawing on me today. And it’s seems fitting, on this July 4th weekend, to think about kingdoms. This is the weekend when my social media feeds are filled with images of the founding fathers and mothers wearing sunglasses with the caption “we Brexit’d before it was cool.” We are celebrating the new future that some men and women imagined for themselves in 1776, a future away from the British Kingdom. So Jesus’ words about God’s kingdom isn’t strange to us but…it’s still a little odd because we don’t have kings. We don’t live in a kingdom. That’s a word that belongs in fantasy books and tv shows like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. Words like emperors, kings, queens, and lords – are words that are always at arm’s-length from us because we don’t live with, or under, them. There’s a gap between us and Jesus’ words, a distance between what’s spoke out-loud and the meaning that we readily grab onto. We live embedded in the American ideal where all people, through the power of voting and representation, have some say in how the government rules and functions. Even when such an ideal fails to embrace everyone who calls the United States home, we react almost instinctively against anything that takes that power away. When we watch state governments gerrymander congressional districts so that one side always wins or when they pass laws that unduly target the voting rights of African-Americans, Hispanics, or even spouses who took their partners’ last names when they married, these violations become personal because we know what’s being taken away. We know that another person’s authority is being removed. We understand that because that’s what we live. But the ideal kingdom – the word as Jesus is using it today – is different because a kingdom is centered around the king, around the ruler. In Jesus’ day, the Roman Emperor was on top, with appointed governors and small puppet kings serving as his representation on the ground. Power didn’t trickle down from the top because power, and authority, was stuck at the top. The people listening to these stories of Jesus – the people who would welcome these disciples that Jesus sent out – they were part of a kingdom where authority and power belonged to someone else. The disciples and their future hosts – they just lived there. So when Jesus sends out his disciples, two by two, to go ahead of him – he reminds each of them that something extraordinary is happening. These disciples aren’t only going to share stories about Jesus with people they haven’t met yet. These disciples are giving voice and embodying just what the kingdom of God is. They are bearing witness to God’s kingdom – God’s authority – God’s power – entering our kingdoms and sharing a vision of what God’s kingdom actually looks like.

And that vision – involves food.

Now, Jesus gave this set of 70 disciples – or 72 – depending on the translation – special instructions. Unlike the 12 apostles who were sent out earlier, Jesus offers these 70 a more detailed briefing. He tells them to bring nothing with them – not even a bag or an extra pair of sandals. And when they arrive in the place where they are going, the first words out of their mouth is “peace.” That’s what these 70 are bringing. But this peace is more than just a feeling of peace, they’re not just bringing a sense of calm. Jesus is telling to them to bring actual peace into the homes they’re visiting. And this kind of peace is only happens when community, and relationships, are formed. The barriers, fears, mistrust, and anxieties that put distance between us and others – Jesus’ disciples are to bridge that reality with His peace. For peace to happen, a connection between people and Jesus is being offered – and that connection happens best around meals.

But what kind of meals? The disciples are told to sit at the table – and eat whatever is given you. The host is invited to give these visitors whatever they have. Now those words “just eat it” are…well…terrifying if we’re a picky eater. These are words my parents used on me when I would stare, blankly, at the food that they placed in front of me. The disciples aren’t invited to pack their own lunch or pick and chose something they like from a menu. They’re told to just eat. These disciples are bringing peace, they’re bringing connection, but they’re also asked to participate in that relationship as well. They are invited to receive what is offered in return, to eat something strange and different, and embrace everything that meals offer. Meals are always more than just food. They’re events where people share conversation and share each other. The disciples will learn who is sick and who is suffering. They’ll learn who is celebrating and who is concerned about the future. The disciples will discover who their hosts really are. Their hosts are not kings and queens. They are people living in someone else’s kingdom. But Jesus cares about who they are and the lives they are living because they are living in God’s creation. The disciples during these meals will share Jesus and, in the process, discover what God is doing in the lives of the people they’re meeting.

So peace, food, connection with God and with each other – that’s a bit of what God’s kingdom looks like. This peace is a peace that forces us to meet someone we don’t know and for both of us to lose our fear of the other. This connection involves seeing the job that Jesus has given all of us – to participate in what God is doing in the world and form relationships with all who God loves. And this food…well…this food is everything. The food Jesus tells his disciples to eat isn’t just the food that’s local to Israel or the Middle East. Even though Jesus’ earthly ministry stays pretty local, Jesus isn’t telling his disciples to only eat the food that they know. The number 70 is more than a number; it’s an old, biblical, symbol that represents all the nations other than the Jewish people. 70 disciples are sent to visit 70 nations. All the disciples are sent to visit all people. And when we get there, when we enter their homes and bring God’s peace, we’re going to embrace celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain’s motto and “try anything, at least once.” Because when we eat, we recognize differences and what makes us different. But we also see that our kingdoms and nations do not compare to God’s kingdom of love and care. In Christ’s cross, God brings all of us into the One body of Jesus Christ. And it’s through this one body of Christ, that God’s kingdom of love, connection, peace and hope is shared through all of us. This is God’s vision for the world. This is what God’s kingdom is all about. The kingdom of God is here – and we’re to live that kingdom out, right now.

Amen.

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A Reflection on Psalm 98

The first reading today is from Psalm 98.

What’s your favorite new song? One of my personal joys is going to library book sales and digging through their old cd collections. I try to find songs and albums filled with the music I heard on the radio while I was growing up. In the process, I discover songs I never heard before by bands that fill the soundtrack of my youth. These songs are old but they are new to me.

Psalm 98 is a hymn of praise separated into 3 stanzas. It begins with the command that all of us should sing a new song to God. But what would be a new song to God? For the author of this psalm, something amazing has happened. God delivered the people of Israel from some kind of national crisis. We don’t know what happened (an enemy army could have invaded) but the people survived. The people are called to sing a song of thankfulness and praise. God saved the people and, sometimes, the most proper response is to sing.

But the psalm isn’t saying that only the people of Israel are called to sing. Everyone, everywhere, is invited to tell what God has done. This isn’t a song for only one kind of people in one kind of place. God’s deliverance of Israel is a sign to everyone that God is present and active in the world. Saving Israel from a national calamity isn’t only good news for Israel; it’s good news for the world. God is a God who cares for God’s people and God’s world. And a world that’s commanded to sing a new song is a world called to sing God’s love song to the ends of the earth.

Each week, I write a reflection on one of our scripture readings for the week. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship Bulletin for 7/03/2016.

We Didn’t Start the Fire – a sermon on Jesus, rejection, and discipleship.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Luke 9:51-62

My sermon from the 6th Sunday After Pentecost (June 26, 2016) on Luke 9:51-62. Blessing of the Animals Sunday.

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Rev. Marc A. Stutzel at Christ Lutheran Church, Woodcliff Lake, NJ on June 26, 2016

6th Sunday After Pentecost. Luke 9:51-62. We didn’t start the Fire. Blessings of the Animals.

So, I’d like to make a confession to all of you: I would never make it as a Broadway actor. Now I know this not only because I can’t really sing, or dance, or memorize lines. I don’t think I could make it on Broadway because I’m not sure I could handle the rejection. From the actors I know and the stories I’ve read, talent for Broadway is important, but how we handle rejection matters even more. Going into an open audition, with headshots, and resumes, and demo tapes, and all that – that seems doable. But having to do that day in, and day out, and praying that today I would I get that elusive “call-back” for another round of try-outs – that would be hard. To experience that kind of rejection over and over and over again would be soul crushing, frustrating, and exhausting – which is why I sympathize with the reaction the disciples’ had when they experienced rejection in our reading from Luke today. They entered a village of the Samaritans, serving as the advance team to prepare the village for the arrival of Jesus. But when Jesus finally came, the village refused to receive him. They rejected him. The Samaritans see Jesus focused on Jerusalem, so they don’t let him in.

Now, their rejection of Jesus isn’t surprising. Jesus is heading to Jerusalem, the home of the Temple, the center of Jewish worship. Jerusalem for Jesus and the other Jews like him, is where God is; it’s the place God calls home. But the Samaritans disagreed. They believe God is also located at the ancient holy site of Mount Gerzaim. Jesus’ turn towards Jerusalem is a turning away from what the Samaritans believe. So the behavior of the villagers isn’t surprising – but what the disciples want to do, is.

James and John, after spending time and energy to prepare the village for Jesus’ arrival, get mad. They go through the stories they know and they remember something that Elijah the prophet, once did. Soldiers from the old Northern Kingdom of Israel, the area that became Samaria, tried to force Elijah to visit the king. The soldiers were from the wrong part of town, worshiped God the wrong way, and they had the gall to assume they could get a prophet of God to do what they want. So Elijah burned them up. Jesus’ disciples, trying to make sense of why the Samaritans would not receive Jesus, twist bits of this old story to give meaning behind what they are experiencing now. James and John asks Jesus to embrace their anger and do what Elijah did.

But Jesus says no.

Which is a really great response. This is the Jesus we like to preach and share – the Jesus who doesn’t rain fire and brimstone on those who reject him and who doesn’t encourage violence as a response to difference or disagreement. This Jesus – isn’t a Jesus that the church has always followed. In our long and bloody history, we’re too often like James and John when it comes to engaging with people who don’t believe like we do. And I’m not sure the church has repented enough when it comes to the violence we’ve inflicted and caused. Jesus tells his disciples that our job isn’t to seek and destroy. We’re called, instead, to save and heal.

But what does that healing look like? Well, not raining fire from above on people and communities we don’t like or agree with is probably a start. We also need to work hard so our feelings of rejection don’t cause us to reject others too. But there’s more to following Jesus than just being kind. After Jesus rebuked James and John, their journey towards Jerusalem causes them to run into 3 unnamed people who want to follow Jesus. And Jesus…well…what he says is harsher than what’s come before. One person makes a promise that they will follow Jesus but Jesus makes clear that this journey is not a comfortable one. The journey to Jerusalem doesn’t include the comforts, security, and protection of home. Another follower comes but first wants to bury their father. Jesus tells him that the journey to Jerusalem trumps family loyalty and responsibility. Finally a third comes willing to follow Jesus, but before he goes, he wants to tell his family goodbye. Jesus, again, says “no.” None of these three followers say anything unreasonable. None of them say anything wrong. But Jesus’ rebuke to each of them is harsh. His sayings are strong and they sting because, in the words of Mother Mitties DeChaplain, Jesus “simply refuses to blunt the sharply pointed reality that to share in the work of Jesus is to share in his sacrifice.” Jesus’ face is set to Jerusalem. Jesus knows where he’s going. He knows that following him isn’t about being comfortable. The journey to Jerusalem involves a cross.

When it comes to rejection – Jesus’ words seem to be rejecting those who can’t fully commit to him. And For those of us already on the inside, who already feel comfortable in our faith, Jesus’ words appear like a pat on the back. We’re already following Jesus – so that must mean we’ve got something others don’t. In the text today, Jesus seems to be holding some kind of audition for those who want to be on his side. But even in this audition-like atmosphere, where these three followers offer their best monologue on why they should star in Jesus’ play, not one of them actually leaves. Their words are rejected – but the text doesn’t say that these followers were cast away from his side. Jesus doesn’t say these harsh words, trying to reject some who wish to follow him. Instead, he’s sharing what being a follower of Jesus looks like. Being a disciple isn’t easy. Being a disciple is more than just being kind. Following Jesus involves a dying – a dying of all our impulses and sin that make us see the world differently than God sees it. The differences we have with each other, the boundaries we define to decide who is in, who is out, and who should be rejected, is not part of God’s agenda, nor does it have a place in God’s kingdom. What God values is what Jesus is about to do and it involves a lot of “self-sacrifice, self-giving, [and] self-forgetfulness.” Being a follower of Jesus means we will be uncomfortable and we will end up in places and with people who we don’t understand and who don’t understand us. But the call to love is bigger than our call to reject because being a disciple involves a cross – a cross that we take up daily because Jesus took up his cross for all.

Amen.

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A Reflection on Psalm 63

The first reading today is from Psalm 63.

By the end of the day today, according to our Year with the Bible reading schedule, we’ll have read 89 of the 150 psalms. Many times we’ve encountered a place called Sheol. Sheol is a vision of what happens after death. Our vision of heaven and hell are not contained in a vision of Sheol. Sheol isn’t a half-way part or a way point until people end up with God or not. Sheol, instead, is a wasteland where all end up. It’s dark, lonely, and silent. When Sheol is described in scripture, it is without possibilities. Everyone there feels like they’re waiting for something to happen. But since the people are dead, nothing will happen. Those who live in Sheol wait, and wait, and wait, for something that never comes.

For the author of Psalm 63, that silence is the epitome of life in Sheol. Silence is a firm description of what death is all about. This psalm is a trust psalm where the author longs for God’s presence. The author trusts that God is present and loves the author. The author has experienced God, felt God in their lives, and cannot stop talking about God. For this author, to be with God is to speak about God. To speak about God is to experience life and opportunity. A life with God is a life of words, sounds, and music. A life without God is a life that will only end in permanent silence.

The author of Psalm 63 is not saying that silence is bad but they are encouraging us to share. To trust God is to trust that we matter to God and God is active in our lives. When we experience God or see God active in someone (or something) else, we’re called to share that with others. We’re called to share our experiences of faith. These experiences are gifts from God that can do more than just nourish our relationship with God. By sharing these experiences, we can bring God and God’s love to someone who needs it.

Each week, I write a reflection on one of our scripture readings for the week. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship Bulletin for 6/26/2016.

A Reflection on the Psalms

The first reading today is from Psalm 10:1-4,9-18.

When you see and experience God, what are the words that come to mind? I’ll admit that even a professional religious person, my experiences of God cannot be fully described. There are times I experience such grace, love, or heart break where words are just not enough. But God-moments are not limited to only experiences that take our breath away. There are times when our spirit cries out in words of joy and lament. In those moments, we don’t usually know what to say. We can sometimes worry about what we can actually say to God. We’re usually comfortable having God speak to us but what words can we use to speak to God?

Faith is more than just a belief; faith is also a language. The book of Psalms helps us to speak faith-language. These 150 short (and not-so-short) poems and songs all serve different purposes. Some are prayers asking for God’s help while other’s celebrate God’s creation. Some were used when the King of Israel was crowned and others were the hymns and songs sung in worship. The psalms are meant to be spoken, sung, and heard. They are faith-filled words that cover the full range of human experience and emotion. Fear and joy, sadness and love are all covered in the book of Psalms. There is nothing we can bring to God that God hasn’t already heard and the book of Psalms helps us bring our pain and joy to God in whatever words are comfortable to us.

Today’s reading is Psalm 10. This is a Psalm centered on human suffering. In the face of evil, the psalmist wonders where God is. After last Sunday’s recent terror attack in Orlando where men and women were targeted for being LGBT, that is a question we can ask too. The psalmist knows that God sees what happens and they plead for God to break the power of the wicked and evil. Their prayer is our prayer. We seek justice, love, and peace so that “mere mortals may strike terror no more.”

Each week, I write a reflection on one of our scripture readings for the week. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship Bulletin for 6/19/2016.