At What Cost?

Scripture: John 2:1-12

A sermon is best presented as a smooth stone, something the Holy Spirit has worked on in me and then I present to you, with the Spirit’s help. You can then turn that stone over and over, seeing how it reflects brightness and absorbs shadows.  

A good sermon has heft, as well as tiny flaws- keeping you focused on the perfect God and not the imperfect preacher. If the standard for a good sermon is a smooth stone, as I just said, then today- I do not have a good sermon. Today’s words, with no less help from the Holy Spirit, have a ragged edge. This sharpness has snagged at me this week and resists polishing. 

 

It is not lack of preparation that has retained this unpolished roughness; it is the difficulty of the question at hand. The texts of the day bring us to a question that cannot be answered in this life, not without great risk to integrity and faithfulness. This is my content warning. While there are some smooth edges ahead, this sermon is more of a cutting tool than a polished comfort object. 

 

When Jesus’ ministry formally begins in the gospel, according to John, he is at a wedding with his disciples and his mother. In Matthew, Jesus preaches, heals, and casts out demons. In Mark, Jesus preaches, casts out demons, and heals. Same actions, different order. In Luke, Jesus preaches, escapes a death threat (Luke 4:28-30), casts out demons, and heals people. A little extra excitement there, but same story. 

 

Why, then, does John start with this sign of water into wine?

 

A small segue into vocabulary: The author of the fourth gospel does not use the term miracle, or any similar word, in this book. Instead, the writer employs the term “sign”. Water into wine, healing of a blind man, speaking to a Samaritan woman, raising Lazarus from the dead- all of these are signs of God’s presence in Jesus and in the world. They are not miracles- one-off demonstrations of power. They are signs- indicators of the holy in the world and divine power at work. John 1:16 notes “from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace”. The author does not use the word grace again but shows what it looks like through the signs Jesus works in the world. 

 

This sign, the sign of up to 180 gallons of good wine, is more than an indicator that God understands hospitality and reveals that understanding through Jesus. The sign of water into wine illustrates two very specific verses from John. 

 

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.

 

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

 

The sign of water into wine is a clear revelation through Jesus of the nature of God and the divine desire for us to have abundant life. God’s will is not for any person or other aspect of creation to scrape by a meager existence with little joy and rare celebration. God’s intention, as revealed through 180 gallons of good wine, is for us to live well, in harmony together, and with our needs met, so much so that we shall not want. 

 

None of this is difficult so far, right?  If I stop here, we have a smooth stone to hold. 

 

… but I’m going to go on. (You’re not surprised.) 

 

Here is the jagged edge in this story, the part that will not let go of me, the place where I continue to wrestle for a blessing in the hopes that I might limp away. 

 

When Jesus’ mother asks him to do something about the dwindling wine supply, he tells her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” And his mother tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 

 

His hour has not yet come. 

His hour has not yet come. 

His hour has not yet come. 

 

The gospel according to John is divided into two sections, the book of signs, which goes through the raising of Lazarus, and the book of glory, which goes through the post-resurrection appearances. In John, Christ’s glory is revealed in his faithfulness through death and God’s same faithfulness through the resurrection, thwarting death’s alleged power. When Jesus speaks of his hour coming, he is referring to this time of glory. Jesus knows, as does his mother, that once God’s presence is revealed in him, human resistance to God’s grace and glory will begin. Are 180 gallons of wine worth that risk? The beginning of what will stir up anger, rejection, and plots to kill him until one succeeds? 

 

His own mother says yes. She knows what her yes means. She knows the cost of this sign of God’s presence. She can look at her adult son, seeing the baby he was, the child, the young man… and still she says it is time. And she knows the cost. 

 

Jesus’ death is not inevitable in terms of being required. It is inevitable because people resist grace, stonewall against repentance, and will run toward false gods like a sense of control, political power in this world, and judgment of others before they will yield to divine mercy and abundant grace. 

 

This water into wine came at a high cost. From the moment the steward sips the wine and calls the bridegroom, the clock (sundial?) has begun toward human rejection of Christ and an attempt to kill God’s presence in the world. 

 

This is the jagged edge of this sermon. Do we truly ever consider what grace costs God? 

 

I have received some excellent questions lately about how we can discern if something that happens is from God. The tension in this question comes from the fact that just because God permits something to occur does not mean that God caused the thing to occur. I will say that again: just because God permits something to occur does not mean that God caused the thing to occur. 

 

In John, the word we use for world is actually cosmos. As in, “for God so loved the cosmos”. God is present in the cosmos. God is active in the cosmos. God is still speaking in the cosmos. 

 

But at what cost to God? 

 

When we are trying to discern what God does and how God acts, we must weigh the cost to the divine, even though we cannot fully understand it. 

 

We know that God in Jesus was willing to begin the dangerous journey to the cross with 180 gallons of good wine. Each healing, each sermon, each exorcism from there on out was a step toward human rejection and divine suffering because of brokenness. Yet, God considered it worth the cost. 

 

What does it cost God to heal some people through death, rather than through medicine or miracles? 

 

What does it cost God when people count material possessions as blessings, but reject the teachings of Jesus about caring for others? 

 

What does it cost God to pour out love for creation, but to see human beings only partially embrace their vocation of stewardship of the earth? 

 

What does it cost God to know that Jesus promised to draw all people to himself, and yet we fight over who is in and who is out? 

 

What does it cost God to witness some people being healed because of their access to medical care, while others suffer or live in fear? 

 

What does it cost God to desire, deeply, abundant life for all of us and to watch us hesitate, hedge, and hem and haw about irrelevant things? 

 

What does it cost God to have brought humanity to deeper and deeper understanding about the wonders and mysteries of all that is, only to see us reject science, medicine, and reason for our own misunderstandings? 

 

What does it cost God to bring forth grace upon grace, in creation, in our relationships, in possibility- over and over, year after year, until the end only God knows? 

 

This is the jagged edge of this sermon for me. It is the side of the solid rock which I cannot smooth out for myself or for you. 

 

What does it cost God? 

 

I have no idea. 

 

I cannot imagine. 

And, in this area, I am not willing to risk being wrong. 

 

All I comprehend, in the end, with this rough edge in my hand, is this small balm: 

 

There are costs to God, beyond our knowing. 

 

And yet God charges us nothing. 

And that alone is the only good sermon. 

 

Amen. 

In the End, We are Loved

         When you think of John the Baptizer, what do you consider? His strange diet of bugs and honey? His wardrobe choice of camel’s hair? The fact that he did not become a priest in the Temple like his father and instead went out to the edge of the civilized world to preach? 

         If I asked you, what is the point of John the Baptizer; why does he exist? Maybe you would say “to point to Jesus”, which isn’t wrong, but is definitely not the whole story. John’s life is more than simply to tell people that his cousin is God’s chosen One. John’s existence has a complex purpose and reason for being, just like each of ours. 

 

         Consider what his father, Zechariah, says in the blessing that we read today as the psalmody (Luke 1:68-79): And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way, to give God’s people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (vv. 76-79)

 

         John’s purpose, besides bringing delight to his parents as a child of their old age, is to tell people that they have received salvation, a restoration of wholeness, through the forgiveness of their sins. The people must know that this compassion is part of God’s nature in order to understand who Jesus is when He comes. 

         

         Did you get that? Zechariah understands a concept of salvation, of reunion with the creator, of wholeness and hope- before Jesus is born. Additionally, it is this message that John will proclaim in the wilderness. He is not saying that the Messiah isn’t necessary. He is pointing to the fact that God is already loving, already forgiving, already compassionate, already merciful, and the coming of the Messiah is the telos of the nature of God, not an anomaly. 

 

         Telos is a fancy church word. The writer Rachel Held Evans describes it best in her latest and last book, Wholehearted Faith. I will read her words to you, rather than reinvent a wheel. Evans says: 

 

“… Scripture reminds us, the end is never quite the end as we typically understand it; it’s only a beginning. One of the biblical words for “end” is telos, This Greek word doesn’t have the air of finality that the English word “end” has. In other words, it’s not a dead end. To the contrary, it’s full of life, because it has a sense of completion and contentment. It carries the satisfaction of doing what you know you’re called to do and the fulfillment of being who you were always meant to be. 

         The telos of an apple tree is to flower and to fruit, producing blossoms and apples and seeds that will propagate the next generation of tree. The telos of a honeybee is to collect pollen and produce honey, working in concert with other honeybees throughout seasons of plenty to store sustenance for seasons of lack. The telos of a surfboard is to help a surfer catch a wave. The telos of bread and wine is to sustain and to nourish, to delight the tastebuds and gratify the body until the next meal comes…

         The telos of a human- your telos, my telos, our telos- is to love lavishly and indiscriminately, as our God has loved us. Love is what we were made to do. But even more than that, love is who we were made to be.” (Evans, Wholehearted Faith. p. 177f) 

 

         This telos, this end which is not an end, matters. When John goes out to the wilderness to preach about the nature of God, he is doing so because the message matters. If he does not proclaim this word, which likely burns in his chest and keeps him awake at night, he knows people will fail to perceive and to understand the One whom God sends.

 

         The very same misunderstanding that John feared still happens today. Christians still tend to believe the God of the Hebrew scripture (Old Testament) is angry, vengeful, and in need of appeasement. No matter how many times we read in the psalms, in the prophets, and in the writings that God is “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love”. No matter how many messengers proclaim, “Be not afraid”. No matter how many times we read about the Divine Being always keeping promises, covenants, and commitments. Still, still, STILL- people hold wrong ideas about God the Holy Parent and, when they do, they form wrong ideas about Jesus. 

 

         The telos of John the Baptizer was and is to remind people, even the worst people, of the merciful and covenant keeping nature of God who creates and preserves a welcome to all prodigals in all places, at all times. 

 

         He points to a God whose telos is to make all things new, not to make all new things. The incarnation, the coming of Jesus- as God- among us, is one aspect of that telos. 

 

         Which brings us to our own selves, our own vocations, our own telos. As Evans wrote, “The telos of a human- your telos, my telos, our telos- is to love lavishly and indiscriminately, as our God has loved us. Love is what we were made to do. But even more than that, love is who we were made to be.”

 

         How do we be love? How do we live out this miraculous, hopeful, and holy way of being, doing, and resting in this life and into the life of the world to come with the help of the Holy Spirit? 

 

My inclination is to tell you that first we must reject the aspects of our lives that do not conform to God’s love and will. However, even as I think and write that, I realize that it is wrong. 

 

First, we must actually believe that God is love. We must lean into the gift of faith and believe that we have been made in God’s image- all of us and every person we know. We have to believe that God sees us as worthy of love, of compassion, of restoration. 

 

When we dare to believe that this love is true, true for us, true for all people, then we will be open to the repentance that John points to. The turning away from division, the rejection of injustice, the spurning of habits and ways that cause pain and bring death. 

 

          The chief purpose of our lives has never been to make ourselves worthy of the gifts of God. Rather, the chief purpose is to grow in the understanding of those gifts and how God equips and calls us to use them, with the help of the Holy Spirit, for Christ’s sake in the world. Comprehension of our telos comes through leaning on the everlasting arms and knowing that we did not earn our place there but have been gifted it through Christ’s faithfulness. 

 

         In this season of Advent waiting and preparation, in thinking about the celebration of Christ and the promise of Christ’s return, I invite you to consider your own telos, the fullness for why you have been created. It is not merely for your parents, your children, or even your neighbors. There’s a reality for why you specifically have been made, a special way that you specifically can glorify God and imitate Christ, a specific way that you are called to live and show love among God’s faithful people and in the world. 

 

         We have been called to love because we have first been loved. We were created from love, and, in the end, we return to the source of love. This is not a new thing since Jesus’ birth, but the reality of who and how God- Creator, Word, and Spirit- has always been. Love made us, made all things. And it is our telos to love with our whole being- in all we do and say- every moment of our lives. 

 

         This is not impossible. It is very possible and even probable, if we are willing to believe the truth about the nature of God. The truth that has always existed. The truth that we heard from our brother, John. 

 

Amen. 

10 Things to Know about Advent

 

 10. Advent is Latin for “come in” and the practice of observing Advent prior to Christmas goes back before the Middle Ages. For these many centuries, Advent was a penitential season, like a slightly shorter Lent. Christians were encouraged to fast, give to the poor, and devote themselves to other outward and inward signs of faith as part of the work of getting ready for the advent of Christ, for Jesus to “come in.” We as Lutherans no longer observe Advent as a season of repentance, but as one of joyful anticipation in the fulfillment of God’s promises. Each candle we light, hymn we sing, and prayer we utter is part of how we join in the Spirit’s preparation for what is to come.  

 

9. By the 1600s, northern hemisphere Christians adopted the practices of their non-Christian (usually pagan) neighbors, using rings of candles to mark the passing of the dark season associated with northern winters. We know that versions of these candle rings were being used in connection to the Advent season in the 1600s, especially in Germany. By the early 1800s, Advent wreaths that would look more familiar to us were in use in Europe as a teaching tool to help children mark time until Christmas. Such wreaths didn’t come into widespread use in the United States until the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

 

8. Since official church use of the Advent wreath is much newer than use of it in the home, “official” prayers and liturgies for lighting the candles in the congregation are still being developed, written, and adjusted. The most common themes for the four Sundays of Advent are “hope”, “peace”, “joy”, and “love”. Blue candles and blue church decorations are used for Advent in most Protestant and some Catholic traditions because of the connection between blue and hope. The Roman Catholic Church still officially uses purple for Advent, but both some Protestant and Catholic traditions use a pink candle for the third Sunday in Advent to go with the theme of joy. 

 

7. There are alternate themes to go with the candles. For example, the candles are sometimes lit to represent prophets, Bethlehem, shepherds, and angels. These connect to the other themes with the idea that the prophets had hope, Bethlehem (the City of David) had faith, the shepherds had joy, and the angels proclaim peace. Please note that it is difficult to use the word “traditional” around Advent themes when most of them are less than 150 years old. 

 

6. Speaking of traditional, the singular, oldest tradition we have around this church season is the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. This hymn was composed for use during vespers- evening prayer- services sometime prior to the 8^th century, The earliest printing we know of was in the 1200s. The verses, in Latin, spell out a reminder of Christ’s coming. They also lift some of the many biblical names and promises attached to Jesus’ birth as God coming among us. The tune is meant to sound both mournful and rejoicing, underscoring the themes of the season- both joyful anticipation and heavy longing. 

 

5. We often assume heavy longing is necessary because of the idea that Advent is an eschatological season. Eschatology is a fancy church word that means study or focus on the final things. In our day, right now, people use the word eschatological when they are talking about the last days and what will happen at the end of all things. However, that has not always been the case in Christianity. The development and use of the word, eschatological, in English only goes back to about 1850. Does this mean that people weren’t worried about what comes next before 1850? No, but it means they weren’t spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on pamphlets, books, movies, and television ads that promised to tell them exactly when and how things would end. They focused on their own families, their communities, and the faith that God had everything else under control. It wasn’t fatalistic way to live, but a trusting one with a deep, abiding consolation that God had kept promises before and would again. 

 

4. That kind of faith brings us to the other way to use the term, eschatology. In Christian mysticism, eschatology is a metaphor for the end of ordinary reality and a reunion with the divine. This means that readings and hymns about destruction and the end of the world as we know it are meant to help us dig deep, become more attuned to the Spirit, and find within ourselves and all around us a greater awareness of the presence of Divine love. I realize for super concrete-thinking Norwegians, practical Germans, and please make it plain Montanans of all descents, that sounds a little woo-woo and maybe like something you can pretend you didn’t hear in this sermon. (*Please hold while I look you all in the eye with my patented “Pastor Julia stare”.) 

 

There is a very real aspect to faithful living that is beyond our full explanation, but not beyond our comprehension. You’ve all felt it when outdoors, in a quiet moment of thought while moving a herd or a flock, or in a meditative moment doing dishes, sewing, gathering wood, or cleaning animals for the freezer. You know what it means to have an awareness both of yourself in a moment and of that particular moment’s connection to something larger, something more, something that both is the source of everything and welcomes all things home. That is the essence of real Advent eschatology- those moments that pause the ordinary reality (with its unnecessary hustle and bustle) and causes us to be connected to the very ground and source of our being. 

 

3. It is that particular moment and experience that pastors, teachers, musicians, and choir directors are striving for when they hold back on the Christmas music and keep Advent in place for all four weeks. The Advent hymns are not focused on getting ready to celebrate a baby; they are focused on Christ’s return, the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the hope we all hold for the time when all things are made new. Listen again, God has not promised to make all new things, but to heal, renew, restore, and resurrect- making all things new. This truth is the focus of Advent. This truth matters and it cannot, should not, and will not be rushed, not matter what the world tries to press upon us. 

 

2. If we rush, we will get the wrong idea about God. If we rush, we will miss the moments to perceive and understand the nature of the Holy to whom the psalmist prays, “Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.” (Ps. 25:4-6). 

 

If we rush, we will miss already with us glories of the one of whom Jeremiah proclaims, “⁶In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jer 33:16) 

 

If we push past Advent and all it brings, we will misunderstand the One whom Paul says can, “make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.” (1 Thess. 3:12) 

 

If we rush, we will forget the word of Jesus, word that tells us there are always going to be disasters in the world around us, yet our redemption, the kingdom of God, our own peace is near. (Luke 21:25-36) 

 

1. The number 1 thing to remember about Advent is that it exists for a reason. It has its own lessons to teach us besides waiting for Christmas. Advent has lessons about waiting with joy, about saying yes to what sounds impossible, about remaining strong in faith, about doing what’s right even when afraid, and about the ultimate truth that God is love. If we listen carefully, openly, and with mystical eschatological hope to the lessons of Advent, we will not come to the idea that we are sinners in the hands of an angry God. 

 

If we listen carefully to the lessons of Advent, then we will arrive at the manger with great hope, peace, and joy, looking down into the straw, and understanding all over again, “God so loved. God so loved. God so loves.” 

 

Amen. 

 

 

 

 

Expectations (Sermon)

 Sunday, 7 February 2021- Year B

Mark 1:29-39

We know that we are called to the imitation of Christ. Not only is modeling Christ Jesus part of our mission statement, but Ephesians 5:1 tells us to imitate God. This imitation happens through, and only through, the help of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is gifted to us, yet many of us struggle with the modeling we are called to for the sake of the world. 

In today's gospel, Jesus does something that most of us would find nearly impossible. On his first day in ministry, he calls disciples, he teaches in the synagogue, he heals a man possessed by demons, and then he heals Simon's mother-in-law. That's a pretty full day. 

When that day ends, word has circulated quickly enough that people are crowded up to the door of Simon's house with their own sick and demon-possessed people. 

Sidebar: what's the difference between sickness and demon-possession in Mark? It is likely that what people called demon-possession in Jesus' day were illnesses that seemed to have no external cause. Epilepsy, strokes, or even something like heart palpitations, alongside mental illnesses, would have seemed out of the blue and certainly caused by evil forces. Sicknesses that came from bad food, skin diseases, or the sanitation issues of the time might have seemed more self-evident, requiring basic healing as opposed to an exorcism. This is the end of the sidebar. 

Back to Simon's house, after the Sabbath has ended, the crowd is gathered with their sick and their demon-possessed. Jesus heals many of them. Many, but not all? Why doesn't Jesus heal them all? 

Jesus is capable of healing them all, but some people do not want to be well. I don't mean that in the sense that they would prefer to malinger and drag out their suffering and gain attention for it. I mean that some people have struggled for so long that they feel unable to imagine a life of wellness, a healed existence. It seems likely to me that there were probably those among the crowd who wandered up themselves or who were dragged by family members but had no interest in what Jesus offered. They didn't think it would work or they numbly submitted to healing prayers, but immediately dismissed the possibility of such efforts working. 

I am not saying that people don't get well in that time or in our own because they don't want to, even though that can happen. I am saying that Jesus offered a powerful gift of healing for them and, for whatever reason, they were unable to receive the gift. They were not more powerful than God, nor were their illnesses or nor the demons that possessed them. They had simply stopped believing anything could change and therefore nothing did. How often have you been in that situation? Believing that what exists simply is and nothing can be done about it. These simple sentences remind us that no one's suffering, pain, or possession is God's will, but suffering continues when we refuse to believe that healing, that wholeness, that a different way of being is possible. 

So, what is it that Jesus does that would seem impossible for us? It's not the healing. We are entirely equipped to be part of how God brings healing, including through exorcisms, in the world. What we would find difficult is something else.

After the full evening of healing people, Jesus appears to have slept and then awoken early to go and pray. Simon and the others hunt for Jesus. Though in English, our translations say they looked for him, the Greek implies that they hunted him down. He went to get away and they pursued him. 

Why would they do this? 

The night before, they get their first taste of Jesus-mania. Everyone wants to come to see Jesus and they are known as Jesus-adjacent. Perhaps they can trade their closeness to Jesus for favors, for funds, for fame. With stars in their eyes, they hunt Jesus down so he can come back and keep doing these miraculous things, acts with the potential to change the lives of these fishermen. 

But Jesus didn't come for fame and fortune. He hasn't called the disciples so that they can be his managers and his entourage. 

Here we see the contrast between how regular humans act and how Jesus acts. 

Jesus tells the disciples that it is time to leave Capernaum and to go to other villages. He wishes to go and carry his message, and his healing powers, elsewhere. 

You can easily imagine Simon and the others spluttering, "But, but, but... we have it good here. People will come to us. You don't need to travel, Master. Let's set up here. There's a crowd up at the house and Mom is feeding them. You don't want to disappoint them, Jesus." 

But Jesus is not focused on human disappointment. Then, as now, disappointment with Jesus doesn't come because Jesus fails, but because our expectations for Jesus are misplaced. 

Unlike most of us, Jesus can see the desires of the world, the desire to be liked or loved, the desire to be influential, the desire to be surrounded by people who admire you... Jesus can see all these things and turn away from them to do what God wills. 

God's will was not to make Capernaum into a destination city. "Come see the MIRACLE WORKER! Step right this way! See demons cast out before your very eyes! Just 1 shekel! Half-price for kids." 

God's will was (and is) for Jesus' power- his teachings, his healings, his provisions- to be spread throughout the region and the world. Jesus can reject what the world offers for the sake of God's desire, God's will, God's expectations. 

I cannot imagine how disappointed Simon and the others must have been to go back to the house, gather up their things, and tell the crowds, "He already left." The dreams of their own glory were fading before their eyes and as the gospel goes on, we see they didn't let go of those dreams so easily. 

Jesus moved on, not staying where the story would become just about him. He kept traveling to spread the gospel, the good news, of God-with-us, of the nearness of the kingdom to as many people and as many kinds of people as possible in the time he had. 

This brings us to what it means to model Christ Jesus. Are our actions oriented toward getting the most likes, being the most known, having the most glory? Do we make choices based on what is popular with our family or our friends or in our community? Are we willing to set those things aside if it means being more aligned with what God wants? 

This is a fine line to travel because it is easy for us to embrace an unpopular opinion and say, "Well, even Jesus couldn't please everyone." Modeling Christ Jesus, though, never calls for taking the devil's advocate stance. It calls for carefully reflecting on our choices, our words, and our actions. Is what we are doing, or leaving undone, part of God's will for the world? Does it bring healing, wholeness, or hope? Does it reveal and support the growth of the Spirit's fruits- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control? If not, perhaps it is a behavior or a habit that needs to be exorcised, cast out, for the sake of modeling our Savior? 

Also, what do we expect of Jesus? Are we like Simon and the others, hoping for glory on the Savior's coattails? Or do we trust that Jesus has already exceeded anything we could expect of a Savior- an inseparable connection with God, amazing grace, the sending of the Holy Spirit? What are our ongoing expectations of our Lord in light of what He has already done? 

As we go forth today, may God help each of us to live in and for Jesus, even more fully. May our faith in Jesus be increased such that we do not live for our own glory, but for His. And may we seek every opportunity to model His love in a world that needs to know such compassion, such mercy, and such peace. 

Amen. 

Still

 “Be still, and know that I am God! 

I am exalted among the nations,

 I am exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10

In discussing this verse with a friend today, it occurs to me how undervalued stillness is in many Christian traditions. In my experience, stillness can be a struggle because people find it difficult to quiet their minds from racing thoughts, pressing needs, and clamoring desires. The inability to be still or have a quiet mind then becomes a source of shame or guilt, instead of its own reflection point. 

In the Lutheran tradition, we value the tension that plays between positive and negative construction. This is most clearly evident in our interpretation of the 10 Commandments. While the written word is in the negative construction, "do not do this", the interpretation includes a positive construction, "Instead, do this".

Is there a way to put both positive and negative construction on stillness? 

Positive: Being still will help me draw closer to God. 

Negative: Being still will help me recognize the things that are not God. 

In that second construction, it is easier to realize stillness will help us reject the things that are not God. 

My to-do list- not God. 

My negative self-talk- not God

My stresses about things I cannot control- not God

My guilt over things done and left undone- not God

My frustrations with others- not God

As each of these things appears in my mind, I have the chance to acknowledge them and to note that they are not God. They do not get the space or the honor that I have chosen to give to my Creator. If they want time, they have to wait. They are not God. 

In acknowledging what is not God, we have the opportunity to sink into stillness and be present to God's presence in and around us. If God is neither all those things, nor in them, where is God? How is God speaking to us? How does stillness lead us more deeply into God's truth? 

In the days ahead, there are likely to be many things that wish to assert their dominance in our minds and lives. Be still for a moment. Do they bring life? Do they offer wholeness? Do they contain hope and true justice? If not, they are not God. Let them go. 

Continue in stillness that you may better recognize what is not God and embrace the One who is. 

Who Can Stand?

All Saints 2020

Readings: Revelation 7:9-17; Matthew 5:1-12

Revelation 6:15-17 Then the kings of the earth, the officials and the generals, the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the Lamb’s wrath! The great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

 

Who is able to stand? 

 

It’s a fair question. In the vision of the Revelator, six of the seven seals have been opened. Famine, war, pestilence, and death have spread through the earth. All of the natural worlds are acting unnaturally. And then- the kings of the earth, the officials and the generals, the rich and the powerful, and everyone else- enslaved and free- hides from what is happening, and they cry out to the mountains and the rocks- who is able to stand? 

 

They cry out to the mountains and the rocks, perhaps, because these entities are unmoved by all that is happening. 

 

They cry out, “Who can stand?” 

 

Then, there is a pause in the action, a pause before the opening of the seventh seal, a pause where the four angels of the four corners of the earth are seen to be holding back the elements for the protection of creation. This pause holds, the Revelator is told, until the angels have marked the servants of the Lord with a seal on their foreheads. 

 

Then comes the accounting of the tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:1-8), to whom God has kept and will keep the Divine promises. God’s promises are true and God’s covenant-keeping is an encouragement to us, even when the covenant was not made with us. All reminders of God’s faithfulness are good for our souls. 

 

After that section, the Revelator sees a great multitude, so many people he cannot begin to count them. He cannot even estimate them. Furthermore, they represent all tribes and peoples and languages. What always strikes me is that the writer of Revelation is likely from Asia Minor. If he has spent time in Rome, particularly in a Roman prison, he can recognize where people are from. Yet, we do not get a list here of countries known at the time. It occurs to me that the writer may genuinely be seeing, in this vision of the Divine realm, people of nationalities he has never seen before. He is hearing languages he has never heard before. There are tribal outfits and markings beyond his experience or comprehension. 

 

And, in a reversal of the scene around the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), all of the different peoples are united in their different languages to praise God. Here we have some of the most familiar liturgical language from throughout church history. It is not put in the mouths of the apostles or the church leaders from Acts. It is not Paul telling it to us or an early church historian explaining it. 

 

The writer quotes these words, these hymn fragments, in the mouths of people from all nations, tribes, and languages- noting that the scene around God’s throne, the culmination of God’s promises kept, the future of the redeemed is truly more than we can imagine. And at the very least we need to be prepared to be there with people we did not expect to see and who, maybe, didn’t expect to see us. 

 

It is important to note that the elder who speaks to the Revelator does not say that this multitude is gathered around the throne because they came through the tribulation. That they experienced the economic, social, political, and physical oppression of the Roman empire is part of their history, but that is not what brought them to the throne. 

 

They are surrounding God’s throne because of the sacrifices of the Lamb of God, Jesus the Christ, and it is his love alone that brings them there. They came through their ordeal by trusting in his word above everything else. Every ruler who promised to save them, every cultic practice that seemed helpful, every community expectation around false idols and religious habits- this multitude resisted and worshipped, instead, their Creator. 

 

Even as they worked, worshiped, had families, celebrated, and grieved- God was the center of their lives. Similar to those whom Jesus lists in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), these people were not suffering to be blessed, they were blessed because they suffered as they chose a life that put God first. 

 

Let me say again, the multitude did not suffer to be blessed, they are counted as blessed because they suffered in doing what Jesus asked of them- loving God with their whole hearts and their neighbors as themselves. 

 

If there are more people than the Revelator can recognize, then there are people who are not Jews and who are not from Gentile groups he knows. Some people may yet have been outside the spread of the Gospel as we know it and yet who were known to God. God decides who is in this multitude, God draws them forth, God chooses to bless them. The wideness in God’s mercy is not for us to boundary. 

 

We are the people who are drawn to that throne through Jesus. We are among the people who have been granted faith in the Lamb who is also the Shepherd. We are among the people who trust that because of Christ, we will someday come to a place where tears are no more. 

 

On this day, we remember our loved ones who have already been received in that place in peace. We carry the pain of missing them, which is real and should not be judged or downplayed. We also carry the hope of reunion with them. 

 

What would it be like, I wonder, to imagine their hopes for us? Not the ones they spoke in this life, but the ones they may have now- given what they know that we as yet only take on faith. 

 

In our present time of frustration and division, how might they advise us from that multitude around the throne? 

 

In our present time of change and uncertainty, how would they encourage us in turning away from idols who make promises to us that are not theirs to make and which cannot be kept? 

 

In our present time of injustice and unrighteousness, what story would they tell us about their present experience that would help us to center the love of God and neighbor in our everyday lives? 

 

Revelation is not merely a vision of what is to come. The entire purpose of apocalyptic literature is an unveiling of how God is at work in present troubles and how to remain faithful in those same difficulties. We cannot read Revelation as something that happens eventually but as a vision of what was true and encouraging for the early church and what is true and encouraging for us. 

 

The kings of the earth, the officials and the generals, the rich and the powerful, all people- enslaved and free- look at what is happening throughout the earth and ask, “Who can stand?” 

 

The ones who believe in Jesus, the ones who seek to comfort mourners, to bring peace and justice, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the ones who renounce the forces that oppose God, and resist making spiritual mountains out of earthly molehills- 

 

These ones, we, may still suffer, but we know that it ends with being comforted and with every tear wiped away from our eyes. 

 

With God’s help, like those who have gone before, with God’s help- we may stand. 

 

Amen.

Prayers for Ordinary, But Important Tasks

Paraments Changed from Green to Red

Sometimes the everyday rituals mean the most. I was pondering these while doing some necessary, but mundane tasks at church. Here is a series of prayers for church and home activities that help us connect more deeply to the activities. 

Waiting for A Hot Beverage to Be Ready

Water of Life, I give you thanks for this tea/coffee/hot cider/cocoa/etc that I am about to consume. Its warmth and comfort remind of the consolations and peace of your everlasting arms. May I rest in those arms forever and carry the peace of this moment into the rest of my day/evening/night. Amen. 

Changing the Altar Candles

Light of the world, you illuminate all existence with love and mercy. Even in the depths of pain and grief, You are present and do not permit us to walk alone. Strengthen our trust in your real presence and our perception of your works all around us. Amen. 

Washing Dishes or Loading the Dishwasher

Holy Provider and Healer, you have once again provided daily bread for me/us. Thank you that we were able to eat and keep me/us mindful of those who are hungry. The never-ending task of preparing food and cleaning up is a reminder of your never-ending love and mercy. Amen. 

Changing the Paraments (Altar cloths) 

Ruler of All Seasons, you have brought us to this celebration/observance of __________ (insert season, festival, or observance here). We give you thanks that you have sustained your church, through the Holy Spirit, through these many changes and that you will be with us in all that is to come. Guide our worship and praise, so that we may always be aware that you alone are due all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen. 

Changing the Toilet Paper 

Look, Lord, there are many things I take for granted, but this is not one of them. Thank you for this resources and the many others I may not even consider today. Guide me, through this life, that I may make choices that support the flourishing of the earth and all people- even in my most private moments. Amen. 

What are the other daily tasks that you can think of that might also benefit from small benedictions or prayers?