No Ordinary Day…..Yet No One Could Have Known

It was an early Sunday morning in Jerusalem.  Under the risen sun and clear blue sky Jews and Gentiles crowded the streets awaiting this man they hoped would be their new king, the one who’d end the ongoing wars and usher in peace at last.  Folks were carrying Palms to welcome this long awaited king.  Can you hear the crowds?  ”Our king is coming!  Peace at last (the way we want it). Hosanna to the Son of David." The Jews had celebrated their Sabbath the day before and were busy preparing for the coming Feast of Passover as God had commanded.  Each year they recalled how God had brought them out of slavery. Each year just as strangers were invited to the Passover table so none would go without, one empty chair would be placed at the table for Elijah.  Could this man be their Messiah?  Had God finally answered their prayers?   Palms now held high, waving in the air would soon be laid to cushion the pebbled dirt road for this long awaited king, this man who called himself “I AM”.  Look!  Here comes; Jesus is perched on a donkey just like royalty, with his disciples following as servants would a king.  Clamorous excitement fills the air.  Jesus is here to celebrate the Passover feast!  Afterwards, as the Jews went about preparing their homes, the Gentiles got ready for a new week. No one knew or ever suspected the turn of events about to happen. Not even the one who would betray him or those who sought to kill him knew. No, not even the disciples. Their plans were taking shape for the present. As I envision the crowds, listening to the rumble and praises, I find myself wondering, ‘What thoughts were going through Jesus’ mind as he saw the crowds and understood their desires?’.  This man on a donkey knew why he was there. He had come for a reason far beyond anything one could have imagined.  The Eve of Passover would soon be here. A cup of wine and loaf of unleavened bread would soon be shared.  The accusations and his death would soon come.  Jesus knew.  He knew. He had come to celebrate his Last Supper with his disciples and then offer his life for all people. He knew his life would be sacrificed as the ultimate gift of God's Grace and Mercy. The mystery of these days was yet to unfold. Today the mystery of these days still leaves me in awe!   What will I do this Holy Week as I prepare to share this Last Supper, as I prepare to remember Jesus death, as I prepare to celebrate His resurrection?  God of Grace and Mercy, this year as I walk through this Holy Week of remembrance, I pray for your Steadfast Hope and Peace around the world, in our homes, and in my heart. May the Celebrations of this Palm Sunday and the coming Passover Last Supper remind you of God’s Steadfast Hope as you journey through this Holy Week. In Christ, Shalom,  Susan

The Face and Hands of Hope

Holy Whisper, open the ears of our heart. May I hear your voice within the silence as well as the noise of my life. Re-awaken me so that I can listen to you wholeheartedly.  May we trust your presence (and gift of hope) within the cycle of emptying and filling. Amen.   

from The Cup of Life by Joyce Rupp
 

I confess this is not an easy blog to write…not about the subject of Hope. My mind tends to travel through various reflections of pastoral care encounters, readings and conversations, global and local happenings and my own personal journey....all against and within the mystery of God’s presence.

So how does one define the word or meaning of Hope?  Here is a brief sampling of what others have told me throughout the years.  Hope means….

                Healing for the sick and troubled

                The cry of a newborn son or daughter

                The hoped for answer to a prayer

                Providing food for the hungry, clothes for the naked, shelter for the homeless

                Having contact with a loved one

                Receiving or giving an outstretched hand

                The desired answered prayer

                A good night’s sleep

                Watching the sun rise again

These are all valid and noteworthy definitions.  Yet, in the dailyness of our lives, where does Hope shine it’s light when prayed for answers don’t come, a loved one is gone from our sight, when a tornado or fire brings destruction, or our heart has been so bruised?

It might be easy to state “Well, hope just comes from our faith In God”.  Sounds nice, but I believe there’s more to this thing called Hope.  In 1982, I was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer.  Between the responses of “We’ll pray God takes away your cancer”, “I cannot deal with this”, or “How will you pay for your treatments”, I found it difficult to stir up a serving of hope.  I had just begun a new job in a new town (L.A. California), and at that time had only begun to learn about this 'Gift of God’s Grace'.  The path my life now took helped me delve further into what does and does not make up community, and how true Hope can reveal its face.

The book of Genesis speaks not only of how we are created in God’s image, also how we are created for relationships in communion with others and with God.  Otherwise how might you or I (the pronoun ‘you’ would not exist) know or recognize the face of Hope?

I have come to believe that true, eternal Steadfast Hope shines its light both in the mystery of God’s love and grace, and in the life and breath of community. It was during my journey with cancer that I gained a renewed glimpse of what Steadfast Hope might mean in the context of community.  

After encountering two physicians I’ve nicknamed “Bearers of No Hope”, an acquaintance pointed me to a faith-filled Christian radiologist who unintentionally helped me understand the partnership between prayer and living with life’s challenges.  In addition, the manager (Jewish) of the bookstore where I worked, put me on a part time schedule with a full time salary while paying for my health care premiums.  Another friend walked beside me, with her listening presence.

As my daily prayer life increased, I began to have a deeper sense of God’s presence. I lived 45 minutes, by bus, from the hospital.  During those five weeks of daily round trip travels, the bus seat next to me remained empty (really!).  As much as I tried to deny my senses, the mystery of God’s presence remained with me during my travels.  I gradually began to realize that whether or not I survived this nasty disease called ‘cancer’, that I was being healed.  The following year, I chose to be baptized. 

True and eternal Steadfast Hope shines its Light both in the mystery of God’s Love and Grace, and in the life and breath of community.   The God who loves you and me enough to show ‘just anger and righteousness’ is the same God who loves us enough to live among us, and to bear the challenges of our lives. This light of Steadfast Hope will not flicker out when fear or sadness raises its head.  

I would encourage you this week when you receive Communion, to listen to and reflect on the words of the Communion Giver.  Can you taste the Steadfast Hope in this Meal of  Bread and Wine which we share in community?

“Generous God, I come to you again, holding out my waiting cup, begging that it first be emptied of all that blocks the way, then asking for its filling with love that tastes like you.  

Joyce Rupp

In Christ, Shalom,

Susan M

HARD TIMES, HARD FACTS, HARD TRUTH

In 2008, the American Religious Identification Survey [ARIS]* found an 85% increase in people who self identify as atheists in less than 20 years. Virtually every main line church is reporting declines of 2-15% in membership over the same time.  15% of the US population now self identifies as “none.” The body of Christ is bleeding.

Adam Lee, who writes a blog called the Daylight Atheist, says “I’d love to say that [atheist’s] dazzling wit and slashing rhetorical attacks are persuading people to abandon organized religion in droves…But the truth is that the church’s wounds are largely self-inflicted."

The Barna Group has studied the Millennials to determine why they are leaving the church.** 59% of young adults raised in the church disconnect from church life for an extended period of time after age 15. The six main reasons were:

1) they feel they were getting an unsatisfying, shallow, inauthentic version of Christianity

2) they feel the church was overprotective

3) they perceive judgmental attitudes around sex and sexuality

4) they perceive “unfriendliness” to members grappling with doubt

5) they perceive “exclusivity” in Christian churches

6) the tense relationship between Christianity and science

Equally enlightening is a series of interviews of young adults who have maintained a connection to faith communities.*** They expressed that what they wanted was a community that encourages social justice, a place of creative and critical thinking, and a space free of judgment. And that churches should “ focus their engagement on actions that serve the common good or speak up for the oppressed rather than  opposing a controversial issue because of theological objections.”

Some Christians wonder if the church should change to meet the needs and desires of society before becoming irrelevant. That is a myopic, perilous and unnecessary train of thought.

As I look back at the issues raised by those who left and those who remained, I am struck by how perceptive they are about a church that has lost its way. We are being called back to our roots by this generation, to do and to be what is required of us. They “get it”. Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with God. Everything else is incidental.  They want us to focus on the main things and keep the main things the main things. They have taken the core values to heart and call us on it when we have become hypocritical about them.  They are asking us to put blood on the word. They are asking us to lead as a servant leads – with patience, kindness, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty and commitment.

Why Church? Because what we are called to do (see above) is HARD WORK! It is HARD to be just when we are confronted with choices every day between doing what is right and what is expedient/profitable/in our own self-interest. It is HARD to show mercy to everyone – especially the ones who hurt us or the ones we don’t think “deserve” it. It is HARD to walk humbly with God when we crave some certainty in our lives and when friends, co-workers or the culture dismisses our values.  It is HARD to practice patience, kindness, humility and so on -- ALL the time.

The church is the assembly of believers that nourishes and sustains me while I endeavor do the work of God in the world. It equips me, it centers me, it gives me strength in the proclaiming of the Gospel.  It picks me up when I fall.  It administers the sacraments to restore my soul.  If it didn’t/doesn’t do that then I’d have to agree that there doesn’t seem to be much point to it.

The Millennial part of the body of Christ is calling on the other parts to stop self-inflicting wounds and get back to doing what is required.

May the Lord so bless us.

Amen.

Paul S.

* http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/about-aris/ - if you want to learn about the survey

** See You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church.

*** http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Millennials-at-Middle-Chirch-Report.pdf

Church...matters?

This year, midweek Lenten services have focused on the difficult questions in the book "Why Christian?" Pastor Mark has encouraged and guided us through asking such questions as "why does the church matter?"

For me, this question resonates on a very personal level. I grew up loving church, but college really put me in a time of questioning as I learned about other faiths and types of Christianity. I started to see how ugly and cruel the church (as people!) can be, and sometimes, how difficult it can be to be a Christian. At one point, I renounced the church and decided I'd had it and just couldn't be Christian any more. A close friend saw my struggle, and invited me to church. I declined, again and again. Finally, she invited me to come just for dinner--and if I felt up to it, I could stay for worship after. There, I immediately felt welcomed and unconditionally loved, even as the shy and awkward 18 year old that I was at the time. For the first time, I realized church really is a home, a refuge, and where I can find people who will support and walk with me as I seek to follow Christ.

When I went to Chile for a year after finishing undergrad, I again found the church to be a lifeline. There, despite the language barrier and the initial shock of a five hour worship service, I found God and a tremendous support system. I found that the church was an outlet where I could make a difference while walking with others--whether that meant starting a youth group with friends, serving bread and coffee to the homeless, building a church and playing with children in an impoverished neighborhood, or playing piano with a praise band.

In graduate school, and again as I moved to La Crosse nearly two years ago, the church has consistently been my home, my refuge, and my greatest support. When I was temporarily homeless because of the tornado last spring, it was the congregation at ELC that prayed for and with me and offered me places to stay (even congregation members I didn't know at the time!). Perhaps most powerful of all, they allowed me to serve with them as we cleaned up and rebuilt my neighborhood. There is something very amazing about being a part of sixty people of all ages and across the economic spectrum gathering together to lovingly and joyfully do mundane tasks in His name: picking up bricks and sticks and carrying them to the curb, raking pieces of roofing and insulation, pulling weeds and leaves from wire fences. When I tried to express my awe and thanks to the organizer, she told me that it wasn't anything remarkable--just the church in action. 

Does the church matter? I would argue that it is needed to survive: that we cannot live as the body of Christ unless we receive strength, community, challenges and wisdom from each other.

As you show Christ's love to the world this week and act as His hands, I invite you to savor the strength that comes from being part of the church community. I pray that you would be challenged and supported by this community, and that together, we can walk closer to Him. May it be so. Amen.

Rachel

Ancient Words of Lent

I find stories passed down through generations have a way of breathing mystery into their narration. When a story’s soul bares passion and life, I like to imagine the scenery and how people looked and sounded, depending on the time, place, and culture of the story.

In our Women of Faith gatherings, we’ve been exploring stories from scripture, using the Book of Faith series. The study guide questions and commentaries help bring life to the characters as well as the scenes and culture. This winter, as we read through and discussed the epic of Hosea and story of Jonah, I found myself reflecting on the passion and voice of the author.

Forgive my sidestep here, but I find myself chuckling at a commercial phrase passing through my thoughts “Can you hear me now?”  The stories, poetry, psalms, and messages written into scripture bring to mind the voices of our long ago ancestors. People like you and me, alive with all the joys, passions, questions, sorrows, mishaps, losses, and challenges of life we know so well….longing for peace, alive with joy, and sometimes feeling lost, looking for hope and God’s mercy. Any of this sound familiar?

Like you, some stories or books in scripture call out to me more than others. And yes, some scriptural narrations come to life for me much more easily. Even still, sometimes as I turn the pages of a bible, or gather with others to reflect on our readings, I can hear those ancient voices speaking, perhaps very quietly. “The God we called out to, the God who spoke to us, who cried with us and admonished us: the God who showed us love beyond measure is with you now. The ancient words that guided us will carry you through…on through the ages.     

A thought…Next time you read the bible, let your mind travel back to those ancient times and imagine yourself in one of the villages listening to Joseph, or David or Jonah.  Can you hear them calling out, ”We were given God’s words for the sake of humankind, yet you have been given the everlasting gift of God’s Grace.  Bathe in God’s Grace and know you are loved as you process the gifts you have been given.

I close with pieces of a prayer shared one year during a Lenten Diaconal gathering. 

Holy God who searches for the lost: as our season brings the lengthening of days, and longer light reveals what has been hidden; cleanse our hearts as we spring-clean our dwellings and give away what is no longer needed, so justice and compassion have ample room to live on through you in us.

God, You created us in your image. Help us to live as beacons of your light, of your mercy, and of your hope and love, so that others may too come to truly know your Grace.

In Christ, we pray

Amen and Shalom

Susan M.

A Lenten Thanksgiving

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Well, I didn’t choose a Lutheran hymn and this may not be a tune you’re familiar with. So why am I including this song again this year?  Second time round is a charm?  No, not really. This is not a trick question, yet I’m going to leave the response to you.  I do hope you'll listen to the song and maybe even reflect on the words. What do you hear?  For me, the lyrics speak in a way to what it means to live my faith.

I loved Pastor Melinda’s message this past Sunday about living the Christian life with Joy! Yes, Lent is a more somber time of personal and communal reflection and prayer. Yet I also think it’s a season of thanksgiving. Not the typical American November Thanksgiving. But more like I am thankful for God’s grace, for God’s sacrifice, for God’s passionate, enduring love. 

I could say I think about this sometimes when I see a sun rise or set, or spring buds come into sight, or the ground barren once again during the winter months, resting between seasons of harvest and planting.  Yet these reflections also come alive in the presence of another's  forgiveness, of an ‘aha’ moment, when I see a person reach out to help someone else, or another prayer is uttered to a God who whispers “I am here”.

It is this which moves me to say “I will do this which You have called me to do”. Thank you God for a love which runs deeper than human understanding; for your Grace which strengthens me to walk in the blessing of my human-ness. 

      

Regarding this video version of  “I then shall live”; you can find a more professional rendition sung by the Gaithers or a church choir.  I chose this version because it was performed by a single person, sung well and imperfectly, yet with a full heart…reminds me of you and me.

In your Lenten journey, amidst the joys and challenges of life, may you sense the depth of  passionate love God holds for you now; and as a dear friend once told me, ‘forever and a day’.

Shalom,

Susan M.