February 24, 2015--unity of spirit

1 Peter 3:8-18a

⁸Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ⁹Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For “Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; ¹¹let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it. ¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” ¹³Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? ¹⁴But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, ¹⁵but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;
¹⁶yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.
¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.
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I watch the news, I have worked with many congregations, I have friends and family, and I wonder--is it really possible to ever have unity?  Scripture will talk about being of one mind, not to argue.  Is it really possible?  I have to believe it is, or else why would scripture speak so much about it.

I don't believe unity means to be alike, to agree with everything others may say.  The writer of 1 Peter encourages a unity of spirit, of sympathy/care for one another, love one anther, have a tender heart, and a humble mind.  Don't repay evil with evil or abuse for abuse, rather repay with a blessing.

I encouraged the people of Ascension to give up fear for Lent.  I wonder how much fear has to do with why it is so hard to have a kind of unity that God seems to desire.

The first fear I can imagine is the fear that things won't be the way "I" like things to be.  Things will change and it won't be my way, and I like my way.  It's always been that way.  We might make up rules that speak to us, that work for us, and we expect them to be met.  But so often these rules are about us.  Instead we are to have a humble mind, to think of ourselves less and to think of others more.  What would be best for the community might be our first question instead of what is in this for me.

 One fear I have seen when difficult decisions need to be made is the fear and threat of money.  If the congregation makes a decision, we know some people will stop giving.  We assume we know who the big givers are, and we want to make sure we keep them happy.  It saddens me when I have heard congregational members even say this is what the pastor is to do (I have never heard this at Ascension!)  Clearly the church leaders were not happy with Jesus' decisions, with Jesus' way of expressing faith in God.  So much so they killed him.  But Jesus did not repay evil with evil, instead he said Father forgive them. 

What would happen if Ascension and let me go there, the whole church were to be in unity of spirit?  Oh, I can only imagine, and what an imagination I can have.

 unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ⁹Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing

February 23, 2015--grace and works

Ephesians 2:1-10

2You were dead through the trespasses and sins ²in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. ³All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.
⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
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 This reading is packed with gems, with life, with hope!  What words pop out at you while you read?

I see-- mercy, love, made us alive, grace, saved, raised, faith, gift

The classic Lutheran tag line:  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

God loves us, shows mercy, brings life, we have the gifts of grace, we are raised and faith!  God has given us so much.  There is nothing we can do to make God stop loving us.  God gives the gift! 

Verse 10 goes on, and we need not forget verse 10:  For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Works do not save us AND we are created for good works.  We do what we do for others because of what God has done for us, not in order that we will get something from God. 

As we are in this season of Lent, I pray we will reflect on all that God has done for us, let it sink deep inside of us.  For when it does, good works will begin to ooze from our pores in response.

February 21, 2015--Public reflection

We are now in the season of Lent.  A time of returning to our Lord.  Return, in the word itself is about movement, turning back toward God.  In this past week, as I prepared for Ash Wednesday and for this season looking forward, I realized how I have let life get in the way, gradually turning me from God.  I’m not the only one, if you were honest as well, you could point to some things.  Now, granted, my “job” gives me opportunity to tend to some things, but even my job can get in the way of my relationship with God.

As we enter into this season, I want to reflect publically on the discipleship practices and where I see myself.  

Worship—getting to worship is a no brainer, it comes with the call.  However, I admit that I love worship.  Most of the time I really sense the power and love of God and the community in worship.  Preparing for the sermon is so different from preaching, and I know that the Holy Spirit is at work.  And I love the music, all of it.  I get goose bumps when we sing songs and I see people moving, clapping, closing their eyes.  I can’t believe I have the opportunity to help lead worship with such praise and thankfulness.

Giving—This has been a journey for me.  One of the things that moving toward tithing has done for me is to get my own financial house in order.  My dad was a stickler against credit card use, but honestly I got in the habit again in seminary—sometimes it was the only way to pay for something.  Now if I use it, I pay it off—no more wasting money on interest.  And I have found that when I put God first in my checkbook, everything else seems to work.  It did take some discipline.  Years ago I gave up some cable in order to pay off some bills.  I wait to get things that I can’t pay for.  It’s about choices.  I know in my younger years, I would take money from what I planned to give to the church for things I wanted.  I speak for myself, I never had enough money.  Now I live with a plan, and the plan is God first.  And it seems to me with God first, everything else falls in line, or at least my priorities do!  I live within my means!

Prayer—This goes in cycles for me.  Public and communal prayer is a given.  My own prayer life seems to come and go.  I recently purchased a new journal and I write in it each night before bed.  I write down who and what I’m praying for, and I pray.  I may write down something that struck me in my reading of Scripture that day and pray that as well.  I also go back to previous days to review my prayers and write any updates.  This has been helpful to me.

Study Scripture—Again, this comes with the territory.  However as a pastor, I need to be aware that I too am a disciple, first and foremost a disciple.  So I generally read something not related to the sermon or Bible study I’m preparing.  Sometimes I read an entire book of the Bible over some days, other times I read the text assigned for the day (and write the blog).  I enjoy the times with Ascension when we are discussing, I learn so much from you.

Invite—I love this part, but it is hard.  Again, as a pastor, I think people expect me to invite people.  When people discover I’m a pastor, they will either run for the hills or want to talk more about it.  I will invited waitresses, bartenders, anyone to join us for worship or something we are doing.  I also invited members of Ascension to join us for worship.  One of my favorite hymns is “I Love to Tell the Story”.  I love the two verses—I love to tell the story for some have never heard and then I love to tell the story for those who know it best.  The struggle with me inviting is that some feel it is my job.  I genuinely want you to worship, not because of my job, but because I love Jesus.

Encourage—Paul writes to the church of Ephesus to encourage one another.  I am so thankful for the work disciples at Ascension are doing.  I give thanks for those who venture into waters unknown.  I try to encourage, but honestly, I could do better with this.  I confess sometimes I just feel like I need to get things done.

Serve—This is a passion.  I love to share the gospel without words.  Whether it is with Ascension at the food pantry or the Back to School Fair, I love meeting people where they are and helping them move from there.  The Neighborhood House has a special place in my heart.  I wish I could do more, and as I’ve admitted before, I have been taken by my generousity.  However, my intern supervisor told me something I will always remember—I would rather be guilty of giving to someone who didn’t need it than to not give to someone who did.  I do my best.

As we go through this season, I encourage you to look at your disciplines as a disciple.  Where is it that you could focus some attention on.  It isn’t about getting a better grade or being a better disciple than someone else.  Each one of these practices has led me into a deeper relationship with God and with God’s people.  I know I am “closer” than I was in my younger years.  I can never out give God, out serve God, out love God.  But because of God’s love, giving and serving, I can respond.  I choose to respond. 

Thank you for letting me serve with you as pastor.

February 17, 2015--offer willingly

Psalm 110:1-4

¹The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

²The Lord sends out from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes.

³Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day you lead your forces on the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning, like dew, your youth will come to you.

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Your people will offer themselves willingly, or as another translation I read said, volunteer freely.  This caught my eye.  So often in the church we are looking for volunteers.  Sign up sheets are prevalent for almost everything.  And yet, so often slots remain open.  But when you ask someone specific to do a task, more often then not the answer is yes.

I don’t believe that this psalm is referring to sign up sheets, to volunteer to teach or go to an event, bring baked goods, or anything else.  This psalm refers to offering ourselves, all of ourselves to the Lord.  Yes, in some ways this is the work we do in the church.  It is also what we do in everyday life as disciples.  We offer ourselves in worship, in prayer, in study, in giving and in serving.  We offer ourselves, we open our full lives to be transformed, to be changed, to be filled.  

As we approach Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday tomorrow, we need to recognize how full we are.  Like Fat Tuesday, we are full of things that don’t really matter, full of things that are not healthy (or we will be, when we get our Paczki’s).  Tomorrow we open ourselves up, willingly, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the giver of life.  

At Ascension we begin Sunday recommitting ourselves to discipleship practices.  In addition, a discovery worship center will be in “The Quest,” one of our Sunday School rooms. In this room you will as individuals meditate, pray, and worship as you discover and encounter Christ in new and different ways.  

So enjoy Fat Tuesday, for tomorrow the real work begins!

February 14, 2015--Peace

Luke 19:41-44

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Our passage for today follows the preparation for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.  The shouts of “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” are resounding.  The Pharisees tell Jesus to make them stop; Jesus replies that if they don’t speak, the rocks will.

Peace. Sometimes peace seems like such an illusive dream.  Peace, the absence of violence, the absences of quarelling, quiet!  Yes, this is peace; but it isn’t all there is to peace.  I like the understanding of peace being about harmonious relationships.  It isn’t so much about agreeing about everything, being the same religion, political slant, liker of the same things.  Peace is about relationships, give and take, listening, seeking to understand, looking for how we are more alike than dissimilar. 

Yesterday I attended the memorial service for Yvonne Riggins-Thomas, the woman who directed the Neighborhood House in Saginaw.  Neighborhood House is on Saginaw’s south side.  I learned this is the only neighborhood in Saginaw without a Neighborhood watch.  Drugs, prostitution, gangs, all live on these streets, threatening.  Yvonne’s dream, Yvonne’s peace was that all are welcome.  As one person said, she said “you are welcome, leave your drugs at home, but you are welcome!”  Yvonne made Neighborhood House a place where there were expectations, and she expected something out of everyone who came in.  Yvonne saw who you are and who she knew you could be.  She accepted you where you were, but also knew that you could be more than you thought, or that others thought.  She loved, a love that was unconditional.  She loved her community, and she fought for her community, in peace.  One young man recalled how he wanted to play basketball in the gym, and she told him fine, but he needed to hit the library first.  The results of that instruction continues to benefit this young man.

Where do we see things that make for peace today, in our world?  What are we doing to bring peace, justice to our community?  How do we define community? 

I have been a believer that our community IS NOT broken down by arbitrary lines of townships. If Saginaw City falls, we all fall.  If Thomas Township falls, we all fall.  As a church leader, I admit pride when I think of how Ascension reaches out to help.  Could we do more?  Yes.  I also know that many of our members live and work with organizations that reach out in ways Ascension does not.  We have workers with United Way, teachers, people who coach in sports and academic endeavors, and on and on and on.  We can all be examples of peace. 

The true sign of peace is Jesus himself.  As we live out this day, look for the signs of peace.  They are there!