Friday Five- Location, Location, Location

This post is about locations. Tell us about the five favorite places you have lived in your lifetime. What did you like? What kind of place was it? Anything special happen there?

First, I have to think about where I've lived for any amount of time: in North Carolina (Lakeview and Raleigh), in Alaska (Nome and Eagle River), in New York (Manhattan-ish), in Connecticut (New Haven), in Pennsylvania (Philly), and in England (Cambridge). Some of these addresses were of much shorter duration than others.

1. Nome, Alaska I moved to Nome just after graduating from college to work for KNOM radio ("Yours for Western Alaska"). I was the deputy news director. I loved living in Nome because it was right on the water (Norton Sound) and it was very small town. I knew people everywhere I went and I could walk almost anywhere I wanted to go. There was always something new to try, learn, experience or complain about. I met my (now) husband in Nome. Living in Nome helped me to come into my own and become the person I felt I really was. I was away from my family and got to establish myself as Julia, with little other connection. Between the personal formation, the tundra exploration, the romantic expansion and so many other things... there's no place like Nome in my heart.

2. Westcott House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, England I lived in Cambridge for three months in the fall of 2005 when I was an exchange student from Yale Divinity School to the Cambridge Theological Exchange- specifically Westcott House. This was a very hard three months for me because I had expected culture shock (the difference between being American and being in England), but I wasn't prepared for the level of spiritual and liturgical (church-related) culture shock I experienced. Because I knew many Episcopalians, I hadn't really expected the significant difference between Lutherans (ELCA) and the Church of England (Anglo-Catholic). Suddenly I was examining everything I believed in a new and different way. At the time, my experience was painful and frustrating, but then and now I was grateful. Living in Cambridge made me put into words how I felt about my denomination and my country in a way I never had before and might not have... without that experience.

3. Raleigh, NC I lived in Raleigh for two years while I was in college. This was my first "city life" experience. I had a bizarre sort of giddiness the first time I realized the road I was driving on was in the traffic report. (Oh, the things a country girl finds interesting.) Raleigh was my first "grown-up" city and will always have a special place in my heart.

4. Eagle River, AK I live in ER right now and I'm not sure I could move to another Anchorage community. I adore our quiet area and our proximity to so many outdoor activities.

5. Nuka Bay, AK My husband and I own almost 7 acres in Nuka... across the bay from Homer, AK and across the mountains from Seldovia. We hope to build a cabin out there and to live there for some portion of our retirement/sabbatical years. I'm looking forward to this address with all my heart.

I think I might need to follow this up sometime with a post about places I have been or would like to go. When I look at this list, it's representative of places I have lived, but not totally revealing of places that have a hold in my heart.

To Whom Shall We Go? (Sermon 10/19)

Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22


Once upon a time there were two groups of people. Both groups had a lot of power and they struggled against each other constantly. People got tired of hearing each of them complain about the other because it seemed nothing ever changed.

One group of people was very protective of their country, very interested in national security- if you will. They were also concerned with the lives of the people around them- what people did both in public and in private. This group was considered deeply religious, even though their religious focus sometimes kept them from seeing the forest for the trees.

The second group of people was known for aligning themselves with foreign powers. Their idea of peace came through sacrificing authority to leaders far away. This group was a great supporter of taxation. Even though they weren’t always seen as religious, they developed an interest in religious leaders and issues when it became politically expedient.

I’m sure we all know to which groups I am referring. I am, of course, speaking about the Pharisees and the Herodians. Representatives of these two groups tried to corner Jesus in the gospel passage we read from Matthew today. The Pharisees want Jesus to say paying taxes is lawful. If he does, then they will say he is disloyal to God, seeking to put Caesar above the Creator. The Pharisees are the first group: concerned about their home territory, the lives of people and worshipping God.

The Herodians, then, are the second group. They see Rome as making continued life in Palestine possible. They have been zealous tax collectors. If Jesus says that paying taxes is unlawful, they will know that he opposes Rome and they can denounce him as a traitor to Caesar.

The Pharisees and the Herodians despised each other, but we can see them teaming up here because it is in their interest to trap Jesus. If they appear together, he has to pick the side of one or the other. So they say, “Teacher, we know you are honest and no person seems to be able to influence you. So, let’s hear your opinion… should we pay taxes to the emperor or not?”
Jesus asks them for a coin, which they manage to produce, though it was illegal to have Roman money inside the temple. (That’s why there were moneychangers in the courtyard.) When they show it to him, the coin with the picture of Caesar and the words declaring Caesar, a son of the gods and a high priest… when they show this coin, Jesus, famously, says: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and render unto God, the things that are God’s.”

When both parties hear this, they are amazed and they walk away from him. Why was this such an amazing teaching? Is it because Jesus was slippery and confound both groups? Because he could play their game better than they could? Or could it be that he gave an answer to a question they didn’t ask. They asked the wrong question, but he gave the right answer.

Jesus’ words pointed to the reality that both the Pharisees and Herodians knew. Regardless of who is emperor, the level of taxation, the state of the city… they, both Pharisees and Herodians, belong to God. Whatever they have, coins, property, food, clothes… all that they have, all that they are, all that they can be… is God’s.

This is the hinge of history. It’s never about what we can do, to whom we give our taxes, how we vote, or what we accomplish. In the end, we will always come back to the knowledge that God has been at work in our lives and that all we have is because of God.

So, if God is in control… why do we have to do anything? If God’s will is accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit, why should we worry about it? Because the kingdom of God is at hand- our hands. God works through us for the good of the world. And we are called to be aware of that work… alert to it… active in it.

You see, God is not up for election. Ever. But when we put anything ahead of God… then we’ve voted. Like the Pharisees, we may think that some details are more important than the larger picture of God’s love for the world. Like the Herodians, we may be willing to offer our souls for the protection of our bodies, our physical safety. Daily, we cast our ballots through things done and left undone… and we forget the One to whom we belong.

And we don’t belong to God in the sense of being God’s possessions or even as creatures of God, whom he now ignores. Isaiah reminds us that God calls us by our name. Even beyond that, God gives us a surname, even before we know who God is. God pursues us and claims us. Through Jesus Christ, the holy Triune God has shared granted us all a last name. We are the people of God. That goes beyond being a Seymour… (other last names).

In a season of constantly being asked about our allegiance, our belonging, our preferences, the gospel passage calls us to remember Whose name we truly have, in Whose group we really belong, Whose mark we have truly received and Whose word we truly believe.

We vote, we pay taxes, we help organizations, we tithe to the church, but in the end… we belong to God. And in the end, belonging to God is not about bumper stickers or ballots, about tithing two percent or ten percent, about church or about state. Belonging to God is about remembering Who has the power- the power to forgive, the power to heal, the power to change and the power to make all things new.

Everyone wants to be on the side that wins. We cannot allow the world to trap us into categories that are too small, like Pharisee or Herodian. Through the living Word of God, we receive faith to believe that our God is the winner, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He has triumphed over princes and principalities, emperors and empires, death and the grave. Nothing can separate us from the love of the God who has given us His own name, through his Son.

While we might be running the race on the winning team, we are not yet to the finish line. When Jesus says, “Render unto God the things that are God’s”- we are challenged. Casting a vote for God, claiming the family name we’ve been given, requires nothing less than everything we have and everything that we are.

God’s everything includes sending the Son into the world that we might believe and have eternal life. God’s everything includes forgiving our shortcomings and offering us a fresh start daily. God’s everything includes sending the Holy Spirit into the world to guide us and all people. God’s everything includes, literally,…everything.

Today’s gospel challenges us to remember just that. That what we think of as going to the government, to the church, or what we keep for ourselves- it all belongs to God. And whether Pharisee or Herodian, whether sick or well, whether rich or poor, whether grieving or rejoicing, whether giving or withholding, we belong to God. We belong to God. Amen.

Mental Well-Being

Recently, someone brought it to my attention that October is Mental Illness Awareness Month. While I prefer to use the term "mental health", I think the intent is the same nonetheless. Many,many people, around us every day, struggle with mental health issues. They wrestle with depression, they fight suicidal ideation, they give in to inner turmoil, voices and struggles.

Not all mental illness is the publicized image of a homeless person mumbling to himself or a person screaming in a room. From mild depression to disorders of greater magnitude, the likelihood is that each of us will experience some mental struggle in our lives.

What can the faithful do in response? We can respond in three ways: 1) with logic , 2) with compassion and 3) with faith.

We can, logically, encourage and embrace scientific research and investigation into the real causes and solutions to mental illness. We can recognize the legitimacy of psychological disorders and psycho-social illness. We can seek genuine cures and helps- not fades of the moment that may hurt far more than they help. We can educate or support education efforts so that people understand mental health as a organic part of their lives- no different from physical health.

We can, compassionately, seek ways to use our gifts to help those around us whose lives are affected by mental illness. We can sit with a family after a suicide, even in quiet support (which is very different from silent judgment). We can bring food and clothing to homeless shelters and way-houses in our communities, recognizing that some peoples' struggles with mental health render them unable to live life in a way we might recognize. We can forward efforts to end bullying, support legitimate rehab programs and facilities, and refuse to find humorous jokes at the expense of the mentally ill.

Finally, we can, faithfully, pray for our brothers and sisters who struggle with their mental health. We can ask for guidance in the steps above and what we can do that goes beyond those realms. We can make our churches places that people believe they will find help and consolation. We can wrestle with the tension of the world as we wish it would be and the world as it is... and we can meant it when we pray, "Your will be done on earth as in heaven." Then we can dust off our knees and (to paraphrase Rabbi A. J. Heschel) we can pray with our feet, our hands and all else we have.

Chase (Sermon 10/12)

Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14

How many of you received a political phone call this week? Did anyone receive more than one call? How do you feel when you get them? Did anyone feel special? Pursued?

Pursue is an interesting word. How many of you feel worried when you hear the word pursue? (Negative connotation) How many of you feel excited or happy when you hear the word? (Positive connotation)

Today’s texts lead us toward thinking about God as our pursuer, which may stir feelings either way depending on how you feel when you think about yourself and God. This time of year in the lectionary cycle, between the end of summer and the season of Advent, the end of the long season of Pentecost, can have some difficult and frustrating texts. Yet, we can easily get caught up in the frightening parts, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, and miss the sections about God’s actions and movements toward us.

Last week, we read about God’s love song for the vineyard. This week, we hear about God’s invitation for all people to His banquet. This is not just a New Testament idea, but one appears in the First Testament as well- this week in Isaiah.

Hear again, the beautiful words of the passage from Isaiah, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all the nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgraces of his people he will take away from all the earth…”

And this passage from Matthew, “The wedding is ready… go…into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.”

Both of these passages offer glorious description and delicious imagery of the welcome banquet of God to all people in all places. Yet they can be overshadowed by the guest who doesn’t have the robe, the destruction of the city of the ruthless, the weeping and gnashing of teeth. When our minds are overcome by the frightening images, and the stresses of life, we can only more easily think of being chased by judgment, rather than pursued by Love.

The prevalence of that kind of pressure and worry in our lives is what makes the 23rd Psalm one of the most beloved passages in the Bible.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil.
Your rod and your staff comfort me.
You prepare a table before my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I think even saying this psalm together gives us one of the clearest understandings of how the Holy Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Even without thinking about the words, when I say this psalm, I feel calmer. Through the uttering of the verses, I begin to absorb the meaning of God’s care for me like a shepherd.

God leads us through pastures and to streams- providing our sustenance, our food and water. God is with us in fear and pain and provides healing for our spirits. God’s rules guide us and His gospel directs us. God’s generosity knows no ends and we have more blessings than we know how to use.

But for God, this is not enough. Though we have all this, we have a feast (a foretaste of the feast to come) and water for washing, we still wander away in our own paths. We, like sheep, go astray.

So God pursues us. In those last lines of the psalm, we usually say, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” But God’s grace and mercy aren’t like Mary’s little lamb. The Hebrew word here is better translated as pursue. Surely God’s grace and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.

Grace and mercy are like the servants in the gospel story… finding us wherever we are, pushing us beyond our excuses and steering us constantly back to the feast that waits for us in the Word, in the water and in the wine and bread. We are clothed again and again in righteousness through Christ.

Paul reminds the Philippians, that even in the midst of their struggles, “The Lord is near.” Let’s say that together now, “The Lord is near.” When you hang up from those political phone calls, when the newspaper makes you frustrated, when the money talk makes you worried, when you know you’ve heard it all before: say it again, “The Lord is near.”

The Lord is near- pursuing us with goodness and mercy, clothing us with grace and righteousness. No matter how the world may chase us, the Word of the Lord is sharper, swifter and eternal- pursuing the corners of our hearts and capturing our souls.

Our lessons today tell us that God’s welcome banquet is open for all, a healing and sumptuous feast prepared in true love. God pursues us through His Spirit, in the Word and in the world. Surely, God’s goodness and mercy will follow us all of our days. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Not because of ourselves, but because God will not have it any other way. Amen.

What the World needs now

This week marks ten years since Matthew Shepherd was killed in Wyoming for being gay. Not for forcing himself on anyone, for hurting children, for stealing, murdering, or any kind of crime, but for being who he was, other people decided they had the right to kill him.

I've thought a lot about whether or not to post anything regarding this anniversary because I did not want to seem **political**. However, an interview I heard this morning on the radio pushed me over the edge. I listened to an interview with a man who was beaten up this August for being gay.

Why was I worried about seeming to "radical" on my blog? I don't know, since what I am about to endorse should NOT be that shocking.

As a Christian, with my fellow believers in Christ, I am called to this: to love my neighbor as myself.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31

We should be past the spiritual milk stage of needing to focus on "loving ourselves so that we can love our neighbor." We are, plain and simple, called to stand up for the sheer humanity of all people! At the very, very, very least, we are called to stand for the safety of all people.

This isn't about tolerance. This isn't about fairness. This isn't even about sin. This is about the most basic commandments from Jesus Christ. If you love God, you cannot ignore your neighbor.

Our hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness. For those of us who lean on Jesus' name, we cannot stand by and watch our neighbors fall (or be pushed) into the sinking sand of invisibility, violence and hatred.

Stand up for Jesus. Stand up for the fact that Christ's light shines in all people. Stand up for the fact that God loves and longs for everyone. Stand up and let God's work happen through your hands.

Who Can Save?

1 Timothy 4:12-16

¹³Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to the reading');" onmouseout="return nd();">^*14 to exhorting, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. by the presbytery');" onmouseout="return nd();">^*1516 Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.


This past Sunday (9/28), I was installed as the pastor of the Lutheran Church of Hope (Anchorage, AK). The passage above was read directly from the ELCA's installation service as one of the scriptural charges to me. (The service doesn't actually include the youth opening verse, but it seems appropriate to me- so I included it.)

However, in preparing for the service- the last half verse caught my attention and gave me significant pause: "... for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers."

This made me stop in my tracks because I in no way believe that I save anyone. I believe that all salvific action is the work of God through Christ. We come to know that work and believe in it through the power of the Holy Spirit. So, what is this charge saying to me? I cannot save people... so what does this phrase mean? (Like its sibling verses, 1 Timothy 2:11-12, we cannot exorcise it from the canon, but we have to wrestle with it.)

That being said, I view being a pastor as working alongside and with fellow believers- encouraging them in the work of ministry, vision and hope. Nowhere in my vision, do I save anyone from anything? Am I even capable of that in any way?

I don't save from sin. I don't save people from themselves. I don't save from death.

Maybe the solution is this: in giving "attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhorting, to teaching,"... I can save myself from thinking that I know everything. The more I read and study Scripture and writings, the more I realize that the full comprehension of God is beyond my grasp. If I can, in some small way, help myself and those who are around me from believing that we can fully know and understand God- we will be saved from some of our greatest errors. If I can keep myself and a few others in awareness of God's grace and constant love for us, we may well manage to remember that we cannot save ourselves. Maybe the writers of Timothy are reminding me and others that salvation comes from God, but if we don't do the work of uplifting and supporting one another in faith- that one freeing truth will be the first thing we forget. And once we've forgotten that... nothing else matters.

Johnny Appleseed

Friday was Johnny Appleseed Day. I didn't get to post then, but here are some thoughts today in the form of the Friday Five, which comes from here.

September 26, 1774 was his birthday. "Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman) is one of America's great legends. He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania, but he was among those who were captivated by the movement west across the continent.

As Johnny traveled west (at that time, the "West" was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois) he planted apple trees and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew. A devout Christian, he was known to preach during his travels. According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received to churches or charities. He planted hundreds of orchards, considering it his service to humankind. There is some link between Johny Appleseed and very early Arbor Day celebrations.

So, in honor of this interesting fellow, let's get on with the questions!

1. What is your favorite apple dish?
This is hard for me to decide. I love apples, but I love them as apples. I'll eat almost any kind at any time. I ate a a delicious spice cake once with chunks of apples in it. If I could ever find a recipe for that... I'd be thrilled.

2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?
When I was in grade school, we used to receive little pine trees on Arbor Day. I remember planting a few of them in our yard. We moved away and now I live across the country from where I was raised, so I don't how the trees turned out.

3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?
There is some appeal to the idea of traveling and preaching, but I really like getting to know a congregation. I believe my preaching and teaching is better shaped by knowing the needs and joys of the congregation. Maybe when I'm much older, I'll enjoy a career as an Alaskan circuit rider. (On a sled?)

4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?
I love the story of the name "teddy bear". I'm fascinated by President Theodore Roosevelt. The story is told that he was bear-hunting and hadn't seen one. Finally his assistants managed to trap a bear and tied it to a tree, asking TR to shoot it. He refused to do so and the story hit the newspapers shortly thereafter. Then toy manufacturers came out with little stuffed bears- calling them "Teddy bears".

5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he traveled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to becheerful, or is there something else that you often do?
I love the hymn "My Life Flows on in Endless Song". See my sermon about it here and a separate post about it here.That songs shores up my strength and keeps me focused. It also helps me to cope with stress, sadness, fear and being afraid. "The Lord is good to me," sang Johnny Appleseed. I agree, so "how can I keep from singing."