July, 2009 Pastor’s Monthly Newsletter Article

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

One of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther comes from his days in Wittenberg. In a sermon on March 10, 1522, Luther said,

I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.

Luther’s Works Volume 51 (Sermons); page 77

Luther had a strong belief in the power of God’s Word. For Luther, this was not just a theoretical principle, but a matter of personal conviction and spiritual discipline. He turned to the Word every day. He immersed himself in the Word. He believed that the Word was his strength. He believed that the Word was what kept him in tune with God’s will, and faithful to Christ’s call.

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First Words / Last Words

Lessons:
    Ezekiel 2:1-5
    Psalm 123
    2 Corinthians 12:2-10
    St. Mark 6:1-13
    Semicontinuous Series:
        2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
        Psalm 48

Prayer of the Day:
    God of the covenant, in our baptism you call us to proclaim the coming of your kingdom. Give us the courage you gave the apostles, that we may faithfully witness to your love and peace in every circumstance of life, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^6:1He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.²On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!³Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.⁴Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”⁵And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.⁶And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching.⁷He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.⁸He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;⁹but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.¹⁰He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.¹¹If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”¹²So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.¹³They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

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St. Mark 6:1-13 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

This week’s Gospel lesson always reminds me of the first time I returned to preach at my home congregation. I grew up in a river valley town, literally built on the side of the bluff that rises up above the west shore of the St. Croix River, on the eastern edge of Minnesota. My home church is built near that bluff. I was excited about the opportunity to preach my first sermon there… that is until I studied the text for the day and found that it was this same story about Jesus being rejected by his people when he returned home to minister to them. (Only it was St. Luke’s version of the story, which ended when the townspeople spirited him out of the synagogue and tried to throw him over a cliff.) As you probably can guess, my enthusiasm for the task waned a bit as I imagined the congregation re­spond­ing to my sermon by tossing me over the cliff.

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 This Generous Undertaking

Lessons:
    Lamentations 3:22-33 or Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
    Psalm 30
    2 Corinthians 8:7-15
    St. Mark 5:21-43
    Semicontinuous Series:
        2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
        Psalm 130

Prayer of the Day:
    Almighty and merciful God, we implore you to hear the prayers of your people. Be our strong defense against all harm and danger, that we may live and grow in faith and hope, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^8:7Now as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you-so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

⁸I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.⁹For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.¹⁰And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something-¹¹now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has-not according to what one does not have.¹³I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.¹⁵As it is written,

“The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.” 

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2 Corinthians 8:7-15 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

The Apostle Paul was one of the great church leaders in the first century. Converted to faith as a young man by a personal experience with Jesus Christ. Mentored in the faith by a group of deeply committed believers. The first traveling evangelist: responsible for the formation of dozens of churches throughout his travels. One of the first great theologians, whose writings continue to shape beliefs some two thousand years later. A strong pastoral leader. And in today’s passage: a passionate advocate of faithful financial stewardship.

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Who then is this, that even
the wind and the sea obey him?

Lessons:
    Job 38:1-11
    Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
    2 Corinthians 6:1-13
    St. Mark 4:35-41
    Semicontinuous Series:
        1 Samuel 17:[1a, 4-11, 19-23] 32-49
        Psalm 9:9-20

Prayer of the Day:
    O God of creation, eternal majesty, you preside over land and sea, sunshine and storm. By your strength pilot us, by your power preserve us, by your wisdom instruct us, and by your hand protect us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷ A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” 

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St. Mark 4:35-41 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

You have certainly heard the story of Job. It’s a very familiar story. He is a wealthy man, with ten children, 7,000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 oxen and 500 donkeys. Most of all, he is a faithful man. He loves God. Yet through a troubling series of circumstances, God allows Job to be tested. Calamity after calamity strikes. Job loses everything: his children, his animals and his servants. Finally, he loses his health.

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Scattering Seed Faithfully

Lessons:
    Ezekiel 17:22-24
    Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
    2 Corinthians 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17
    St. Mark 4:26-34
    Semicontinuous Series:
        1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13
         Psalm 20

Prayer of the Day
   O God, you are the tree of life, offering shelter to all the world. Graft us into yourself and nurture our growth, that we may bear your truth and love to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^4:26 [Jesus] also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸ The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
³⁰ He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
³³ With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴ he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

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St. Mark 4:26-34 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

In his book “Spicing Up Your Speaking,” Simon Coupland tells the story of Milton Cunningham. Cunningham and his wife, Barbara, were Baptist missionaries to Rhodesia and Zambia from 1957 to 1967, and he later served as a mass media consultant for the Baptist Foreign Mission Board in Africa. He was organizer and chairman of the board of trustees of Lusaka International School in Zambia. He had just settled in for a flight from Atlanta to Dallas when a little girl took the seat next to his. She turned to Milton, and in all her innocence, said, “Mister, did you brush your teeth this morning?” With a smile, Milton said, “Yes, I brushed my teeth this morning.” She said, “Good, ’cause that’s what you’re supposed to do.” Her next question was, “Mister, do you smoke?” Milton assured her that he didn’t, and she responded, “Good, ’cause smoking can make you dead.” Her third question was even easier to answer, “Mister, do you love Jesus?” He answered with confidence, “Yes, I love Jesus,” and she said, “Good, ’cause we’re all supposed to love Jesus.”

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Date: July 5, 2009
Liturgical Day: The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Sermon Title: The Difference Faith Makes

Summary:
The people of Capernaum trusted that God was active in Jesus, healing and teaching in their midst and great things happened. The people of Nazareth thought of him as nothing more than the boy who grew up next door, and very little happened. Will we be more like the people of Capernaum, or of Nazareth?

Download Sermon:  2009-Proper-9B

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Date: June 14, 2009
Liturgical Day: The Second Sunday after Pentecost
Sermon Title: Sowing Seeds of Faith

Summary:
Two parables of Jesus are featured in this weekend’s Gospel lesson. The seed grows secretly in the first one, and the tiny mustard seed becomes a great shrub in the second. With these parables, Jesus calls us to be bold and faithful as we sow seeds of faith in the lives of those we know.

Download Sermon:  2009-Proper-6B

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Date: June 7, 2009
Liturgical Day: The Festival of the Holy Trinity
Sermon Title: Who Is God?

Summary:
Holy Trinity — a concept created by the church long after the Bible was written — is an attempt to speak of the two truths we hold about God: that God is three, and that God is one. One is tempted, on this day, to wax eloquent about theological principles, but God is much more aptly introduced when believers tell stories.

Download Sermon:  2009-Holy-Trinity-B

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June, 2009 Pastor’s Monthly Newsletter Article

This is my commandment, that you love one another
as I have loved you.
St. John 15:12

I love summertime. I’ve always loved summertime. When I was young it meant sleeping late in the mornings, playing outside all day long, and in the long, cool summer evenings of Minnesota we were allowed to run around the neighborhood until the sun went down. These days it means not having to pack school lunches every morning, not having to be to school by a certain time each day, and the freedom to get out of town for some relaxed family time. There is a freedom to the summer months. Freedom to re-invent our schedules. Freedom to discover some new ways to spend our time. Freedom to re-evaluate the priorities of our lives.

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The Mystery of the Trinity

Lessons:
    Isaiah 6:1-8
    Psalm 29
    Romans 8:12-17
    John 3:1-17

Prayer of the Day
    Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

^3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ^2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ^3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ^4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ^5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ^6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ^7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ^8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ^9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ^10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
^11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ^12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ^13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ^14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ^15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
^16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
^17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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St. John 3:1-17 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

This coming Sunday is “The Festival of the Holy Trinity” in the Christian calendar. It is a day when we lift up the ancient belief that our God is one, and that our God is three. The Word Trinity is found nowhere in our Bible. It is a word that the church created years after the Bible was written. In a time when believers were arguing whether God was “one being” or “three beings,” Trinity - a word that combines “tri” for three and “unity” for one - professes the belief that God is not one or the other. God is both. (So, in one of my favorite elusive answers, when asked, “Is God three or is God one?” the correct answer is: “No.”)

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Today I spoke at a rally in support of “Single Payer Universal Health Care.” I accepted the invitation to speak for two reasons. My primary concern was that it seemed to me that the Obama administration had taken single payer off the table as an option to consider (I understand that may now be changing). I wanted to be part of the effort to apply some pressure on President Obama, hoping he might not rule out any options, as his administration decides how to move forward with health care reform.

My secondary concern is that I am deeply troubled by living a society where families can be bankrupted by medical bills, and where uninsured or underinsured children can go without adequate health care. Single payer is the option that makes the most sense to me now. I am not, nor do I desire to become an expert in health care issues. I will leave the decision-making up to those who know much more than I do, and will do my best to trust their decisions. But my conviction (and this is the focus of my remarks) is that we, as a community, must not let anyone fall through the cracks when it comes to health care. We must create a system that provides basic, quality health care to every member of our community. 

The text of my remarks is attached here:
     Health Care as Social Responsibility

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

Lessons:
    Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14
    Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
    Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21
    John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Prayer of the Day
    Mighty God, you breathe life into our bones, and your Spirit brings truth to the world. Send us this Spirit, transform us by your truth, and give us language to proclaim your gospel, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

^2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. ⁵ Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶ And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷ Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs-in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” ¹² All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” ¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵ Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸ Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹ And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. ²⁰ The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. ²¹ Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”

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Acts 2:1-21 New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

The Day of Pentecost is all about the Holy Spirit. On the fiftieth day after the resurrection of our Lord, the Holy Spirit showed up in visible form, blew through the room where the disciples were gathered, and pushed them out into the street, where their inspired testimony led to the conversion of some 3,000 people.

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