I attended last week’s ELCA Youth Gathering. This massive event, with 30,000 youths, invaded Detroit to worship God and live our faith out loud. Part of the event involved a giant convention center filled with interactive things to do, including re-enacting Da Vinci’s the Last Supper. We (Christ Lutheran Church) joined Good Shepherd, Glen Rock and created this:
Look at that hair.
“And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
This was the passage, according to the New York Times, that was being studied at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church when the racially motivated terror attack occurred.
I don’t have anything to say. I’m struggling with tomorrow’s sermon (which is Mark 4:35-41 – Jesus calming the storm). But I wanted to write down the passage they were studying. I want to make sure I remember.
Every Sunday, I stand in a gap in our communion rail to proclaim confession and forgiveness. It doesn’t matter what style of worship (contemporary or tradition), I’m always there, declaring the absolution of sins. It’s a tradition here at Christ Lutheran Church and one that I’m glad we do. Somedays, I need forgiveness before I lead worship. On other days, I know people in the pews who need to hear God’s love for them before the readings begin. And then, sometimes, my eight month old decides to chime in during the declaration. Here’s how it went last Sunday.
Me: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ out Lord.
George: Tbbbbbbbbbppptttttt!!!!!! (he’s busy blowing raspberries in the back)
Then, a few moments later:
Me: In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins –
George: HEEYYYOOOOOO. Daddadadadadada.
Me (continues): As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority (George: *raspberry*), I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father (George: *raspberry*), and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
George: AHAHAHAH.DADADadadadadadada.
All: Amen.
This might end up as a sermon illustration at some point.
One of the gifts being pastor of Christ Lutheran Church is the annual Trash & Treasure & Clothing Sale held on the First Saturday of May. This is a beast of an event. Volunteers work for a month cataloging clothing, cleaning pieces donated from the wider community, and sorting and pricing an amazing amount of items. The church building is taken over, an army of volunteers is fed by another army of volunteers, and, in one day, we’ll raise $15,000. This is the most professional and well organized church sale that I have ever seen. Most of the money will be given to organizations outside the church, from our local food pantry to ELCA Disaster Response. It really is an amazing event and I can’t believe the energy, talent, gifts, and skill the volunteers have to pull this off. And since I’m helping as I can (and I’m in the building most days), I have first pick of what comes in.
So, to whomever donated these Star Wars actions figures: thank you.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
Luke 24:36-48
My sermon from the 3rd Sunday of Easter (April 19, 2015) on Luke 24:36-48.
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Today’s First Reading is Acts 4:32-35..
This text from Acts is rather striking, isn’t it?
What we’re seeing is a vision of the Jesus community after Pentecost. The community is preaching in the temple, gathering in regular meetings, and some of the early disciples are being arrested for their beliefs. The community hasn’t even been called Christian yet (see Acts 11) and Stephen won’t be killed until Acts 7. So at the start of this post-Easter community, we find this text from Acts 4. Ownership of property and things, like land, houses, and I assume bowls and cups, no longer exists. Items are sold or shared. The apostles dictate where the money goes and who receives any. This model works because everyone is on the same page. The community can practice a radical form of generosity because they are so united. Our habit of using things to separate us from one another no longer exists.
But the community in Acts isn’t a blueprint that we’re called to follow. This kind of community doesn’t last (read Acts 5 to see why). So instead of selling our houses and giving the money to Pastor Marc to handle, let’s ask just what is going on here. We’re invited to see what’s happened to cause this community to act this way and that’s the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is causing the community to swirl around each other, to care and love each other in ways it didn’t before. The barriers that we build to create a hierarchy of importance (such as how much money we make, how big our house is, how many vacations we go on) is broken. The community embodies the love that Jesus preached and practiced. People are cared for, division are broken, and love is the only rule.
The community of Acts 4, however, isn’t perfect. These short verses are focused on those already inside the community. There is nothing about giving to the poor, sharing with non-Christians, or having meals with the unwanted. They are turned inwards when so much of Jesus’ ministry was directed towards the people “out there.” All communities are called to embody Jesus, to proclaim in our actions and identity the love that God shares with the world. Radical generosity is a part of that. Loving the stranger is a part of that too. Turning away from ourselves and looking at those around us, asking what they need and how Spirit is moving in their lives, matters too. The first communities after Easter struggled with this. We struggle too. But this call from God, to be a community that embodies everything that Jesus is about, continues. That’s our mission and our job.
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 4/12/2015.
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mark 16:1-8
My sermon from the Easter Sunday (April 5, 2015) on Mark 16:1-8.
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The Gospel Reading is Mark 16:1-8.
What do you think about the resurrection?
It’s easy to get lost in what the church says about the resurrection. We have the story recorded in four different ways in the four gospels. Paul’s letters and the later epistles written in his name are centered on what it means to live on this side of Easter. We hear how the empty tomb matters, how there’s an angel sitting on a bench, and there’s a neat pile of linens stacked to the side. And we see the disciples, women and men, standing there and wondering what happens next.
But, beyond that story, how does the resurrection matter to you?
Easter is a beautiful day. Flowers cover the altar here at church and the music will be amazing. And once the worship is done, Easter, for many of us, doesn’t end. There’s brunch and family dinners, visits to the mall in New York or a trip to Manhattan to experience NYC in Spring. We hit the road to see friends and family while decked out in our best suits, beautiful pink ties, and while wearing our most fun socks. And who can forget the opening and sharing of Easter baskets, the hunting of Easter eggs, and the bitting the ears off chocolate bunnies. The world around seems to be all about Easter as well. Easter sales, bunnies standing outside fire houses, hams that we need to pickup from Shoprite, and TV specials featuring Jesus premiering later tonight. Easter is an event that goes on, for everyone, all day.
But Easter is more than just today. Easter is for every day and night of our lives.
Today, like we do everyday, we shout from the rooftops that Jesus lives. But he’s more than just a member of the Walking Dead. This Jesus is something brand new; living a promise that death isn’t the end. Death isn’t the opposite to life; instead, a new, different kind of life, is. And this new life matters now. Easter means our lives today are different than they were before. We’re living in a post-Easter world where our lives, the specifics of our lives, are not defined by its end. Christ is risen. Christ is living. We are in the post-resurrection future. More is coming – and that matters to me and to you.
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 4/5/2015.
The Gospel Reading is John 18:1-19:42.
I’m always uncomfortable when I hear in the gospel according to John, the phrase “the Jews.”
It’s a phrase John uses a lot when compared to other gospels(over 60 times compared to only 6 in Mark). Living 2000 years after Jesus’ ministry, this phrase might not sound too strange to us. But as the scholar Raymond Brown writes in reference to Jewish parents of a blind man in Jerusalem who are “described as being ‘afraid of the Jews’ (9:22) is just as awkward as having an American living in Washington, DC, described as being afraid of ‘the Americas’ – only a non-American speaks thus of ‘the Americans.'” John isn’t being descriptive in his use of the term; he’s being hostile. Scholars believe that the author of John was part of a community that had been expelled, or split, from Jews worshipping in synagogues. John’s community probably couldn’t understand why those in the synagogues did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and those in the synagogues couldn’t understand how these people did. They split apart and, like all breakups, mutual hostility and anger broke out. John community was so angry that Jesus’ story started to be reduced. The diversity of Judaism as witnessed in Mark, Matthew, and Luke (i.e. the Sadducees and the Pharisees) disappeared in John. They are all just “the Jews” and John does not like them very much.
So what should we do with this aspect of John? Do we removed the references or replace them with something softer, like “religious authorities?” Such a tactic, I believe, fuels the problem. The reality is that John says some hateful things and he’s been used to fuel Anti-Semitism for centuries. We shouldn’t mask the hateful things that Scripture sometimes says.
And I believe that’s what helps make Scripture powerful for us. Scripture isn’t just God’s word; scripture is also the human story. We are sinners. We feel hate. We exclude others, act out in anger, and discriminate over religion, race, sex, gender, and sexual orientation. We’re very good at not loving our neighbors or ourselves. And John’s gospel captures that. We see in John our inability to follow the commandments as Jesus taught us. John is showing us a community who are full of followers of Jesus but who still, like us, are caught up in sin. John’s community, like ours, still needs God’s love and grace to be transformed into the disciples God calls us to be.
John’s antagonism and hateful sayings are things that we, as disciples of Christ, stand against. Our love for our neighbors and for God’s creation calls us to do nothing less. John’s community, as a community in our world, still struggled with darkness. We still struggle with darkness too. But Jesus promises to keep coming to us, bringing light into our dark places, and showing us how to love.
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 4/03/2015.