Jesus was right in the middle a critical lesson with his disciples concerning the importance of the presence of the Holy Spirit (Luke 12:1-12) when this guy in the crowd yells out, “Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me!” This was an incredibly rude public request to Jesus to settle a private family matter.

There are several words in the Bible that should immediately ring bells and one of them is when Jesus calls someone “friend.” Because when Jesus calls someone friend typically, they are not and what will follow is a “come to Jesus” moment that includes a huge amount of tough love.

Lessons interrupted by questions of money…again. And it’s not even Stewardship season – that’s NEXT month. It should come as no surprise that here in August we get this kind of lesson because in the gospels money is the number one topic that Jesus addresses. In fact, somewhere I read that 1 out every 10 verses deals with money. Perhaps the gospels speak to this because there really is no “stewardship season.” Stewardship of time, talents and treasures is a way of life, not a program.

In an effort to decrease your anxiety and to keep you reading for just a little bit longer, we’re NOT going to talk about increasing your level of giving, so take a breath and hang in there with me.

About that rich man – he’s not a cheat nor has he come by his wealth using unscrupulous methods. He’s a very good business man and has managed his wealth well. AND he’s been incredibly lucky with good weather, good soil in a land that can be harsh and unyielding.

With this abundance, he recognizes that he can retire and “relax, eat, drink and be merry.” But not quite yet – there is still more work to be done. Build bigger barns. Maybe then. But for now the construction begins.

“Fool!” That’s another bible word that should set the bells off, too. That was a fighting word and if you really, really wanted to insult someone to the max, in the 1^st century just call them a fool. And God just called him a fool and this guy has a really big problem.

Eleven times this guy uses personal pronouns. He’s a community of one and that does not a community make. That is this guy’s number one problem. He had isolated himself from the rest of the world. In a society that focused on relationship, family and community, the only one he had left to talk to was himself and no others. And now it’s too late.

His family whom he has alienated will never know he’s gone. The greater community which he didn’t want to be a part of will never miss him. And those neighbors, the ones with whom he couldn’t even be bothered to talk to, after a while, they will notice that the crops have not been harvested, the livestock have not been cared for and that the barns are in a state of disarray. And one day, someone will go over there only to find his dead and decaying body slumped over the counting table.

“So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

This guy’s problem was that he was filthy rich in possessions (treasures for themselves) but dirt poor in relationships (rich toward God).

God didn’t create us just to talk to ourselves. He created us to live in relationship with him in and among our family and community. Jesus never said that it was a sin to be rich. Jesus said that it was a sin to keep all of our time, talents and treasures to ourselves and not care for or to be in community and relationship with others.

In other words, this parable is not about what we have (or don’t have) but rather what we do (or don’t do) with the time, talents and treasures that we do have. It is meant to be shared, all of it, ourselves, our time and our possessions, ALL gracious gifts from God. And that is to be done in community.

And living in community isn’t easy. It means we have to talk to people we don’t like. We have to deal with those with whom we disagree, annoy the living daylights out of us and worse, have hurt us. Forgiveness and trust are vital components for a thriving community. And let’s face it, community is messy and it takes a lot of work.

But that is what makes us rich toward God – giving all that love and forgiveness.

So, here’s my shameless plug #2 for Real Faith for Real Life: Living the Six Marks of Discipleship. You guessed it. One of the marks is disciples live in relationship – with God, others and the community in which they find themselves.

Does that Pokémon Gym invitation sign begin to make more sense now?  We’re a part of this community and it is my hope and prayer that if something should happen tomorrow – the church burn down or worse – that the Leesburg community WOULD notice.

God’s will is that we are not alone but that we belong to the community of God. We are called to tend and nurture this community in which we gather around God’s word of grace, love and mercy. And in that sharing with our neighbors – the one’s we know and the ones we have yet to meet – we welcome all to the table.

There are a lot of exciting things going on here at Holy Trinity! Let’s get energized and excited for ministry and mission! Share with your neighbor and invite them to join you – this Sunday.

This parable is not about what we have (or don’t have) but rather what we do (or don’t do) with the time, talents and treasures that we do have. It is meant to be shared, all of it, ourselves, our time and our possessions, ALL gracious gifts from God.

Share the excitement, share the energy, share the good news of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, share what difference that has made in your life. Just share!

“How do you do that?” The disciples traveling with Jesus are noticing that he prays – a lot! Obviously it’s important and they realize that it makes a difference. They want to know how to do it, too! It is, after all, the most important mark of a disciple¹.  Click on the link above to continue reading… 

In Luke 11, when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray he answered with an invitation into relationship. Follow the typical Jewish prayer form that you’ve heard spoken in the temple – food, forgiveness and self-preservation BUT start it intimately, with “Daddy.” To God “abba” recognizes that to enter into prayer with God is to enter into a sacred space with the creator.

Most importantly, to do is persistently and shamelessly, as demonstrated with the parable of the friend at midnight.

Given the horrific deaths at the hands of terrorists all over the world coupled with law enforcement under siege, prayer is the first thing that we should be doing, does it do any good? Is it ever answered?

There are times when life is overwhelming, God’s must be on vacation because he certainly doesn’t feel in the midst of all this mess so why even bother to pray? Does God answer prayer?

Oh, I can throw all sorts of clichés out at that one: “yes, but not that way you would like” or “you’re just not praying for the right things” or my personal favorite: “of course he does, sometimes the answer is “no.”

Borrowing liberally from colleague Dr. David Lose, president of Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary, in his blog “In the Meantime”, he recognizes that prayer is really a passive act. You pray, then wait for something to happen – like sending an email and then waiting for someone to answer.

So think about this: God beckons us to “see, draw near and get involved” (my interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan). Prayer is relationship, an intimate conversation with the Creator.  When God gets involved things happen (and God is never NOT involved!)

What is stopping us from being bold, audacious, over the top confident and shameless in our requests? Do we not have the promise that God will respond and much more generously at that? Because it is not enough just to pray (yes, it’s the best start) but, like the lawyer was told in the Good Samaritan, seeing is not enough. We are called to draw near and get involved. Likewise with prayer!

As Lose asks in his column, “what is stopping us from living into the reality that we just prayed for?”  In other words, prayer is a way to get involved!

We pray for those who are lonely, and then we visit them. We pray for the end of gun violence, then we go to work to eliminate the loop holes that allow military-grade assault weapons on our streets. We pray that law enforcement would not use unnecessary force and then we tell a police officer THANKS and pray for his or her safety.

Imagine. Imagine the future for which we pray. Imagine that future is now. The work we do is prayer, when we work to preserve the dignity of the least, the last, the lost and the lonely. The work we do is prayer when we comfort the needy and feed the hungry.

We are being used by God to answer someone else’s prayer and to be a God-sighting for someone else no matter their gender, sexual orientation or Christian or not.

Prayers are words that we share with others. Prayers are doing the things that we prayed for.

We know how to give good gifts…how much so that God gives us. God gives us Christ and the Holy Spirit, to empower us to live into our prayers, to be bold, to be audacious, to be shameless! Just do it.

¹ Real faith for Real Life: Living the Six Marks of Discipleship. Michael Foss, Augsburg-Fortress, 2004. The entire congregation Holy Trinity has been invited to join the council and staff in reading this book. Groups forming in the fall.

² “In the Meantime…” David Lose http://www.davidlose.net/2016/07/pentecost-10-c-shameless-prayer/

The story of Martha and Mary – you know the one, Martha is doing all the work and Mary just sits there, at the feet of Jesus and receives praise for doing it. I must admit that I really, REALLY don’t like this story. Martha gets a bad rap.

Wasn’t it just a few verses before that Jesus implores the lawyer to “go and do likewise” and now we hear that Mary who is staying and sitting at the feet of Jesus has “chosen the better part.” So which is it?

It’s both/and. It’s both ‘go and do’ AND ‘stay and sit.’ And it’s finding that sweet spot and balance between the two.

For the lawyer, who sat around doing nothing except making sure that he had tittles and jots all in a row so that he KNEW if anyone asked that he would be saved, needed to “see, draw near and get involved.” For Martha who, in the original Greek (and I love this) was described as having a “spasm” or “spastic” and the on the verge of a panic attack because the pressure of the savior of the world and 12 of his buddies showed up unannounced for dinner, needed to just chill out.

In the Gospel of Luke, both learning AND service are important. Even better, ANYONE can stay at the feet of Jesus and sit in rapt attention, hanging on his every word. You see, in the 1^st century women weren’t considered disciple material and yet Jesus welcomed Mary to take the place of the disciple and stay at his feet. And he invited Martha to do the same. Step outside of the social expectations of being a woman and the hostess. Come, be a disciple and stay and sit at the feet of the master.

“Martha, Martha” Jesus says in a way that makes this conversation just between her and him.

He didn’t call her out in front of the others. Jesus never says that Martha is wrong, irrational. But he does say that he is not going to stop Mary from being at his feet. She belonged there! And so did Martha.

“Martha, Martha” is an invitation, not a rebuke. And Jesus calls our names, too! Come, sit at the feet of the master, be fed by the word made flesh and be the disciple that God has intended for us to be. No matter what. Aged 2 or 92, high in faith, low in faith, questioning everything about faith, man or woman, slave or free, gentile or Jew, straight or LGBTQIA, and the list goes on. Because when Jesus and God for that matter, say “all” that is exactly what is meant – “all means all” and all are welcome to sit at the feet of the master.

Believe that you are God’s precious and beloved child. No one is outside of the grace, love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen one. All means all!

Stay or go? It’s up to God! Just ask him…

First, Jesus admonishes James and John for wanting to bring down a hell-fire and brimstone end to the Samaritans for not being nice to them. Then Jesus tells a would-be follower that anyone who looks back isn’t fit for the kingdom of God. What happened to ‘nice Jesus’?

Jesus has set his fact to Jerusalem and the cross. I can understand why Jesus was frustrated with James and John. And they quickly forgot that hell fire and brimstone was NOT the Jesus’ way of doing things when people didn’t fall lockstep with Jesus’ message.

I bet that Jesus gets frustrated with us, too. We have got to be in control. When things don’t go our way, when people don’t think just like us, act the way we think they should follow our version of God, well then THEY and certainly not us will be deserving of an unsavory end.

Being in control makes us feel safe and when things don’t go our way, well then we have a meltdown that surpasses the maelstrom created by from a determined two or three year old who was told “no”.

The need to be in control is a fear response. It was the disciples’ fear that drove their response. It’s the Jesus way to respond with courage, compassion and trust. And Jesus bids us to leave the power trip and all that goes with it beside the road and follow him.

Jesus is telling those who were following him that he didn’t have time for all that foolishness and neither should we. Time is of the essence. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and there was still much to do. And lessons to be learned.

Three people approach or either approached by Jesus to follow him. Each time there is a reaction from the people.

“but first let me…”

These are legitimate requests – bury a parent, say goodbye to family and friends. No one could argue that they were not very good reasons for not immediately embarking on the Jesus’ journey, for not wanting to be a disciple today but perhaps tomorrow, when it’s just better timing. When I’ve got all ducks in a row, when I have all my stuff figured out.

There is no perfect time to tell someone about Jesus – the planets don’t have to align and what we say and do might make a difference in the life of one of the least, the lost, the lonely and the left-behind.

Right before I went into worship I posted on Facebook about where I was and that the community would be offering prayers. Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting anything. But I did it just the same and gave anyone who was reading the post just ½ hour to respond. And I received three prayer requests – heart wrenching and poignant prayer requests from outside of the state.

As Caroline Lewis, a leading Luther seminary scholar and professor, pointed out, “Perhaps Jesus simply says stop making excuses and start imagining experiences that invite “let’s see what happens” instead of “I need all my stuff figured out.”

Because the call to discipleship, the call to grow in faith, is a call TO follow Christ, a call to something. There will always be other things that will compete for the priority in our lives. Yet, that is what discipleship requires – prioritization.

That requires us to give up the illusion of control. Looking at the responses that Jesus gives, it’s all about control.

The son of man has nowhere to lay his head and neither will you. That’s life on the journey with Jesus. It takes courage.

You go and proclaim the kingdom of God because death is a part of life even though God never wanted it to be. That takes compassion.

Don’t look back. Trust that God is on this journey with us, that he’s part of the adventure, that he has our back, even if our plowing isn’t exactly straight because his promise of eternal life is eternal. That takes trust.

That’s the life of faith. We won’t always get it right or perfect, just like Jesus’ first disciples.

But unless we get on the road, get on the journey with Jesus, be a disciple, get our feet wet in the waters of baptism and live out our baptismal covenant, then we will never know what we can do, what kind of adventure through this chaotic thing called life will be like and where we will see, feel, hear, sense, or touch Jesus along the way.

Yes, some of the choices that we make have been, are and will indeed be heart-wrenching. That is what the transformative power of Jesus feels like. When courage, compassion and trust coalesce.

We might find ourselves with the courage to speak justice, call for righteous rather than waiting for someone else to do it.

We might find ourselves with the compassion to stand up for the least, the lost and the lonely – those that world would rather not think about.

We might find ourselves trusting in God as we risk telling the truth about the kingdom even if no one seems to be listening.

We too, are called with urgency, by Christ, to be on the journey, to be about his mission, to love God, serve our neighbor and grow in faith.

Jesus set his face to Jerusalem and never looked back. Jesus reminds us that now is the time to act.

Luther said, “Be little Christs in this world.”

See like Jesus. Do like Jesus.  Love like Jesus. And don’t look back.

Who us? Us change? Who would want to do a thing like that? And yet, that is exactly what Jesus calls us to do. And the best part, he offers to do the changing for us – he can change our minds, our hearts, our very lives. So what’s stopping us from saying, “Sign me up!”

Because this kind of change means a change, a transformation, of identity.  And the people around may just like us the way we are, even if they don’t like us the way we are. Let me explain.

This past Sunday through the Biblical narrative, we traveled to the land across the sea, the land of the Gerasenes. There we encountered the man possessed with a legion of demons. (Luke 8:26) Without being asked, Jesus heals this man, who up until this point hung out in the graveyard wearing only his birthday suit and screaming.

You would have thought the townsfolk would be happy to have this violent, asocial person restored in relationship to community, family, self. The townspeople responded with fear and asked Jesus to leave. What was up with that? Because it upset the status quo in that village. It messed with their homeostasis. Jesus showed up, got involved and that changed everything!

The Gerasenes defined themselves up and against this man. They were sane, he was not. They were clean, he was not, they were alive, this man was living death. We do the same thing. And like the Gerasenes, we don’t want Jesus casting out the legion of demons that kill relationships, we don’t want the change, the transformation that Jesus offers.

And we don’t like the fact that Jesus offers grace and salvation to anyone and everyone, just like he offered life to this man who was outside of the Gerasene society, the social norm, the “other.”  So the Gerasenes, filled with fear, looked upon Jesus as “other” as well and told him leave, that they didn’t want “his kind” around there no more. They didn’t want transformation and a new way thinking about other people. They certainly didn’t want any of what Jesus had to offer. They were scared – of Jesus, of change.

Just this past weekend, the first anniversary of the killing of the Charleston Nine at Mother Emmanuel AME church in Charleston SC was commemorated. Just one week ago, the horrible reality of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre was coming to bear.

Another week of terror. Another hate crime against a vulnerable population this time perpetrated by another member of a vulnerable population. How long, o Lord, how long?

And we remind ourselves that God is there, among those in the greatest pain and need. And we lower our flags to half-staff and we go to vigils and we pray – personally or corporately. And we talk about gun laws and the cover of Time magazine this week featured a picture of an AK-47 and the words, “Make it stop.”

We check the boxes and move on. And that’s not good enough. It’s time to cast out the demons. Time to cast out the bad spirits and replace it with life-giving ones. We are part of making it stop. Not just the guns, not just the violence, not just hate crimes, not just all manner of crimes perpetrated upon vulnerable populations.

It is time for transformation, to asking God to help us change our ways, our hearts, our minds, to cast out the demons, to empower us to make it stop.

And using the opening confession from synod assembly on June 18 it’s time for transformation.

It’s time to reaffirm our renunciation of the powers of this world that rebel against God.

It’s time to reaffirm our renunciation of the ways of sin that draw us from God.

Kick out the spirit of indifference that excuses our ignorance and is insensitive to the cries of anguish that come from the bodies and souls of our brothers and sisters.

Throw out the spirit of cowardice that claims us as bystanders.

Banish the spirit of falsehood which believes that some people deserve God’s love more than others by virtue of their gender, race, religion, or nationality.

Cast out the spirt of fear that feeds racism and keep us withdrawn from the fight for justice and peace.

Purge from our hearts the spirit of supremacy that denies the existence of white privilege.

Exorcize the spirit of entitlement that spiritually and literally kills people of different colors, religions, and sexual orientation.

Reject the spirit of pride that trusts we have no need to repent.

Transformation. That word is a hot button, a trendy word. It says change, new direction, a new future.

Transformation MEANS change. It’s hard for me to transform my thoughts, to enter into a spirit of mindfulness. I don’t want anyone to know what needs to be changed about me. And people see – just like everyone in Gerasene saw – the what needs to be changed.

Are we the townspeople who are too afraid to invite Jesus to stay and change, transform, us too? Will we send Jesus away too?

Or, following the example of others around, are we emboldened through the Spirit of life, to transform what we say, think, how we act, feel to reflect the call of Jesus to love God, love people and make disciples. Even if it’s as simple as going to a local gay bar to show solidarity and support.

Take time to read about the very moving experience of Ohev Shalom Synagogue in the Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/06/15/what-happened-when-an-orthodox-jewish-congregation-went-to-a-gay-bar-to-mourn-orlando/

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld concludes the article with message: “And I learned that when a rabbi and members of an Orthodox synagogue walk into a gay African American bar, it is not the opening line of a joke but an opportunity to connect; it is an opportunity to break down barriers and come together as one; it is an opportunity to learn that if we are going to survive, we all need each other.”

Transformation – it’s OK to be afraid, Jesus has our back and it will be OK. He’s cast out the demons and he bids us, come.

Do you see this woman?

Not one person at dinner with Jesus in the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36-51) saw her until she crashed the party, broke all the rules, crossed all the boundaries and touched Jesus.

But Jesus saw her – earlier in the day – when he had forgiven her. Now, after “creeping” on Jesus by following him to the Simon the Pharisee’s house, with the alabaster jar tucked carefully under her clothes, everyone saw her and what they saw, what they wanted to see, wasn’t good. They saw the sinner. And made a few assumptions.

Truth of the matter, doesn’t how Simon reacted describe us all? I confess that I can be a “Simon” more times than I am willing to admit. I make assumptions. I make judgements. I’ve been arrogant, self-righteous…the list goes on and on.

Then the Jesus in someone looks right past all of that and sees me like Jesus. She is a person working at Fairfax Orisman Toyota, and my God-sighting, who looked right past all the frustration over being stuck in traffic AGAIN as a consequence of Metro’s 300 day journey to safety and saw me and loved me anyway.

Jesus calls us to see and love like him. When we do, or experience others who show us that love, things change. Our demeanor, our attitudes, what we see, it all changes.

And as was pointed out, the verb form for “forgiveness” used twice in this passage in the original Greek text is one that suggested the action occurred in the past and continues into the present. In other words, the forgiveness of Jesus never stops.

And in that forgiveness we receive new identities as forgiven people and reconciliation and restoration and mended relationships and that never stops.

Jesus saw that woman and forgave her sins. He gave her a new identity. She was no longer “sinner” but “beloved child of God.” She had been freed. Her life, relationships, community had all been returned to her. And she breaks the neck of the alabaster jar and pours the ointment on Jesus’ feet in a marvelous act of love, gratitude and worship for the release to be free and to live into the possibilities that were now hers.

Where in our lives do we need forgiveness? Where in our lives does forgiveness need to be give? Where in our lives have we received forgiveness that creates a deep sense of gratitude.

When the woman broke the jar of anointment the aroma of freedom, gratitude and loved filled the home of Simon the Pharisee. It’s hard to miss that kind of joy, the expression of which may make us more than just a bit uncomfortable. 

Where have we broken or need to break the alabaster jar in thanksgiving and praise? Express our gratitude, love and joy to God? What difference will it make?

Take the first step this week on the interesting journey toward forgiveness. Think of someone who has hurt or disappointed you or maybe someone you have hurt and disappointed and pray for them. And look forward to that day when you can break the alabaster jar in praise and thanksgiving!

Pastor Heidi

Thank you all for such a warm welcome and exciting first Sunday in worship with you.

Our study of Luke 7:11-17 and supporting texts explored the intrusive and radical nature of God and the difference that it makes. God can and will show up uninvited and get involved. No one asked Jesus to come and help the widow of Nain out of her desperate situation. Jesus stopped the funeral and touched the bier – resuscitation and resurrection! Such is the intrusiveness and unpredictability of the grace and love of God.

There are other times where God shows up unannounced and uninvited to bring about change. Paul, the Pharisee formerly known as Saul, found that out! God changed him from persecutor to promulgator of the Gospel.

And in 1 Kings, like the widow of Zaraphath, we can ask (or even demand) God to show up. And he does though in a totally unexpected way. God was in Elijah, whom she had been hiding from Ahab and Jezebel and had been feeding with her meager oil and flour.

These are but a few God-sightings that are in the Bible. These are times when God showed up in an unexpected way, barged right in or made an incredible and improbably change. God is active in our lives and with us every day, loving and working in, with and through us.

“God sightings are moments when you undisputedly know that God is reaching out to you with a message, gesture, instruction or reassurance.” (Mark Daniels, mid-west Lutheran pastor)

At the conclusion of the sermon, I challenged listeners this week to seek out one “God sighting,” think about what difference it made to you or someone else and to tell someone.

So, how’s it going? Seen God yet? Told someone about it? If you haven’t you’re not alone – this isn’t easy. And know that God was, is and will be always here.

It’s important that we practice this vital skill. It is through sharing what God has done, is doing and will do for us that someone may come to know that God is in fact not dead but active and loose in the world. Part of our mission statement is “Grow in Faith.” We grow in our faith when we share our faith. AND one of the top four goals of Holy Trinity is for people to form meaningful relationships. This is a good place to start – by sharing your faith.

Now, a word about faith – it’s an up and down way of life. If we try to measure or assess, sometimes we’re on the top of the world and other times we are down in the valley. There might be days when you feel that all faith has abandoned you. That’s OK! God shows up anyway!

So, if you are really uncomfortable – start small. Share with someone that you trust. If you’re ready for the next step, look for God to open up the door to share your God sighting. He does. Remember, YOU might be the God sighting that someone else is looking for. YOU might be the one through whom God shows up uninvited.

If you need someone to “bounce” off of, you can always email me pastor@holytrinityleesburg.org, text/call 757 615 5752 or friend me on Facebook and IM with me.

Thank you all again for a great first week and a great beginning to our summer journey together!

God’s peace and blessings!
P. Heidi

The Council has approved Pastor Heidi Schakel Moore as our interim pastor for the summer. Pastor Heidi is an energetic, charismatic pastor with more than 15 years pastoral experience. She believes that God works through her as she lives out her baptismal covenant and call to love God, love people, and make disciples. Pastor Heidi will be joining us beginning on June 1, and will be here through the remainder of the summer. 

As most of you know, I love to fly. And as a pilot, I watch the weather closer than many. After the rains of the past couple weeks, I have seriously considered whether or not I ought to start building some sort of a boat. According to the Channel Four, we only have about 23 or 24 days to go before we hit that magical 40-day mark. While I was watching the rain and wishing for blue skies, I thought about what I could write about this month.

Watching what weather God sends and complaining about it does me no good. If I stop and consider, there are always things to do even when it is raining. I can go visit friends, I can help around the house, and I can get to some of those “honey-do” things which are always present. Instead of complaining, let me find a place to put my energy. In all of life, that is a good way to go. I’ve heard it said that when God closes one door, he opens another. So it is with the weather. If it is raining here, perhaps that rain is raising water tables so that our wells will be full. Perhaps the rain will prevent a forest fire, or a field fire, and save uncounted animals and trees. Just while I was wishing for less rain, I am sure that the people of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada were praying for more rain to stop the destruction of their town.

In our Congregation, if you feel that things are not going right, don’t just wish for change. To only wish things are different will probably do you little better than me wishing for the sun to shine. If you want some change, or if you wish that something was different, prayerfully consider it. For sure you will receive an answer. Look around, and if you can help someone or suggest a change for the better and make something better by doing so, do it!

Proverbs 14:30 says that “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”. We could easily change the word “envy” to discontent and not change the idea of the Proverb.  If you are not happy, take steps to get that way! Blessings to you each one.

John Sapienza

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability… So those who welcomed Peter’s message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. Acts 2:1-3, 41

OUTSIDE THE BOX

At the beginning of the Pentecost story the disciples are gathered in the upper room. At the end of the Pentecost story they have moved out of the safe little box of that upper room into the streets of Jerusalem.

We often romanticize the Pentecost story. We imagine the first disciples as super Christians with super powers who never struggled, doubted, or wavered. We say wistfully, “Weren’t those were the good old days?–with a single sermon Peter could convert 3000 people!”

Truthfully, the arrival of Holy Spirit didn’t make life easier for the disciples–it created new challenges. If the Holy Spirit had left them alone, they could have gone back to Galilee, gone back to their lives, their jobs, their families. Instead Holy Spirit’s arrival pushed them outside the box of a conventional life.

The disciples had to manage the growing pains of the young church. They had to deal with money issues, conflict, and the burdens of managing life in community. The Holy Spirit’s coming didn’t eliminate these challenges but it did give the disciples an outside the box purpose that enriched their lives and powered their sense of mission.

The Pentecost story is the story of Holy Trinity as well as the story of the early church. Like those first disciples, we struggle with money issues, conflict and the challenges of managing our common life together. And, like the disciples we have an outside the box purpose, bringing the life-giving love of Jesus Christ, to the community around us.

Can we think outside the box? Can we move outside the box and into the streets? The Holy Spirit says yes. After all, it is the Spirit who brings us to faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy One who proclaims God’s outside the box love for the world. And it is the Spirit who gives us knowledge of the God who thinks outside the box, who raised Jesus from the dead. Lastly, it is the Spirit who gives us the courage and power to break out of the box of our fears and hesitations.

Pentecost is coming and the Spirit says yes! Let’s get out there.

Pastor Margrethe

In Holy Baptism  

our gracious heavenly Father frees us from sin and death by joining us

to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.   

We are born children of a fallen humanity;  

by water and the Holy Spirit we are reborn children of God  

and made members of the church, the body of Christ.   

Living with Christ and in the communion of saints,  

we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God. 

Evangelical Lutheran Worship p. 27. 

“Christ is risen!” proclaims the pastor on Easter morning.

“He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!” responds the congregation.

But…what does this mean?  What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for us?  Equally important, what does resurrection mean for this congregation?

The church’s teaching on baptism points to an answer.  When Jesus was born in Bethlehem as the truly human and truly divine One, God identified with humanity.  In Jesus, God joined God’s very self to our brokenness, our sinfulness, and our death.  Christ’s identification with suffering humanity led to Good Friday and the cross.  When Jesus died—he died our death.

When Jesus rose on Easter morning, he lived our resurrection.  Baptism is the sign of this resurrection.  Through baptism God joins us to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  God frees us from sin and death.

We don’t have to wait until our physical deaths, however, to know resurrection.  With the future assured, this means our resurrected life begins now.

A resurrected life can acknowledge the pain of its past—including its sins, its failure to love God and the neighbor—yet not get stuck in guilt and shame, but move forward in hope.

A resurrected life is confidently rooted in the love of God, trusting that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”

A resurrected life is free.  Free to love.  Free to take risks.  Free to fail.  Free to experiment.  Free to learn.  Free to grow.  Free to ask for help.  Free to ask for forgiveness.  Free to claim a fresh start every day.

As human beings we will never get things right 100 percent of the time.  Resurrection assures us that life is not about perfection but growth.

I trust that this is reassuring for us as individuals.  I also trust that this is reassuring to us as a community of faith.  For baptism also applies to the church.  Baptism creates the church.  Baptism makes us Christ’s body in the world, living his resurrected life in the communion of saints.

The church’s resurrected life is one that can acknowledge its past, including its brokenness and its conflicts, its failures to love God and its neighbors, yet not get stuck in this past, but move forward in hope.

The church’s resurrected life is confidently rooted in God’s love, giving it the ability to share this love with the world.

The church’s resurrected life is one of freedom for the sake of the gospel.  It is a community that knows the freedom of taking risks, of failing, of asking for help, and of asking for forgiveness.  The church is free to reinvent itself for the sake of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ for each new generation.

The church is a human community.  It will never get things right 100 percent of the time.  But as it lives Christ’s life in the world, it will discover that resurrection is not about perfection but growth in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.

My prayer for Holy Trinity, as it calls a new pastor, is that it will live more deeply into the promise of its resurrected life.

“Christ is risen!” proclaims the pastor on Easter morning.

And the congregation responds, “He is risen indeed!  And so are we!  Alleluia!”

Blessings, 

Pastor Margrethe