More about Sunday School Teachers

On the front page of our March Newsletter I wrote about how much Sunday School Teachers impact the lives of our young people (and older people too!) Here is another response I got from Carolyn that I didn't have enough room for in print. . .
She writes, "WOW, IT WAS SO LONG AGO!! I do remember Vernita Snieder (Sp?), she was the little kid's teacher, and I'm not sure if she had me but I do remember she always called you "kid" in a very special way and was always so happy to see you! Her class was in the basement and it was always the little ones. We even used the outside door to leave or pick up our sisters or brothers. Frank taught me one year and I do remember he gave me a Bible marker that I still have and he was so smart and I was very impressed with his knowledge. Pastor Wineman was the person that taught me the most. I loved going to Catechism classes and expressing my feelings and kind of knowing what I read in the Bible and I even learned more about the Bible from Bethel when Pastor Linda taught us!"

If you have a story to tell about a Sunday School teacher, please email it to me or post it on this blog! Our Teachers are so important and soooo special!

Journey toward a life of holy love

February 21, 2010 1 Peter 1: 13-25
With these words, “I now pronounce you husband and wife!” something changes forever. These words, once they are spoken, call something new into being. The words do what they say they will do- a new relationship is defined, a new reality occurs. In that new reality the parties involved are aware that there are certain expectations that will need to be met, for the sake of the other. Those expectations are hopefully negotiated before the vows are made so there is no misunderstanding later. It could be as simple as who will be in charge of the checkbook, and who will be the grocery shopper, who will mow the lawn and who will do the vacuuming. It could be more complicated though, such as who will stay at home working to care for the children once they arrive, and who will work to bring in the paycheck. Whatever the needs of the relationship are- they are negotiated by those in the relationship and expectations are either met or they are neglected. It all begins once the words “I do” are said. A pronouncement is made that there is a new reality for the two marriage partners.
On Ash Wednesday I spoke about how each one of us, by virtue of faith of Christ and his power in our lives, are made holy. It is not because of our own doing that we are holy, but simply because of Jesus who was pure, innocent and holy himself that we are made holy. And so we share in his holiness because of his love for us. What happens in a wedding ceremony in regard to the creation of a new reality is the same as what happens to us at our baptism, words are spoken, water is poured, community makes promises, and God creates a new reality. “You are now a child of God; a new creation; reborn into someone new through water and the word.” But it doesn’t end there. The words that are spoken at our baptism have power; they create something new for each one of us and as we become more mature in our faith, we embrace what that is and we go deeper into the life of God. These joy filled words mark the beginning of a new life in Christ, a new place in the family of God. And even though we are showered with God’s mercy and grace, there are expectations attached to this new life. These expectations are not put in place for the sake of salvation (that’s already happened), but for the sake of the community, for the sharing of faith with the world, for caring and tending to the neighbor in need, and for the spiritual growth of baptized child of God.
Today we continue to look at 1 Peter in the first chapter. As we seek to go deeper into the life of God we hear these words from the one that Jesus called, The Rock. . . “You call out to God for help and he helps- he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. . . Now that you’ve clean up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life.” (The Message)
As we go deeper with God on this journey toward the cross of Calvary this Lenten season, we begin to see that we can’t get by anymore with complacency, apathy, hard heartedness, jealousy, immaturity, or laziness! God is calling us into a new future, a future where we live lives that are marked by holy love. Just like being holy is doesn’t get accomplished by our good works so our love is not our own. Our love is nothing less than the lay-down-your-life-for-your-brother-and-sister-kind-of-love that Jesus showed us in his life, death and resurrection!
In the REVEAL study that we took as a congregation in the fall, there were a couple of questions that pertain to this holy love. You will recall if you took that inventory that as you read a statement, you were asked to answer by signifying whether you agreed strongly, agreed, were unsure, disagreed, or disagreed strongly. One statement said, “I desire Jesus to be first in my life.” 47% of you said “Yes.” I do want Jesus to be first in my life. I believe that answering yes to that question is the beginning of living a life of holy love. If Jesus isn’t first in our lives, how can we ever possibly love like Jesus loves? What else would we want to come first? Our job? Our lawn? Our children? I don’t think that Jesus would ever ask us to abandon our children in order to put him first! In fact loving our children or our spouse or our church family is done out of love for Christ.
Another question from the REVEAL study was “I exist to know, love, and serve God.” Only 27% answered yes to this question. Let me break it down a bit which might change your mind about how you answer this one next time. You were created in God’s image- we are told that in Genesis. And God created human beings so that God would have companions, to help and to tend the garden, to care for the animals and plants. God gave us this whole creation, not to own or exploit or use up, but to care for in the brief span of our human life--- for ourselves? No, but for God and when we serve others, we are serving God. Martin Luther said it this way, “We have no other reason for living on earth than to be of help to others.” Our existence is wrapped up in this holy love that extends itself to others and to God.
The last question that pertains to living a life of holy love is stated like this, “I am willing to risk to everything that is important in my life for Jesus Christ.” That one got an even lower response; only 18% of us said that we would risk it all for Christ. Perhaps you thought of all the things you wouldn’t want to lose when you read that question: your home, your family, your fill in the blank. The thing is. . . that’s not what God is asking you to do on this faith journey. And you don’t know what better things are in store for you if you are willing to put your complete trust in God. Living a life of holy love is about giving our lives away, just as Jesus gave his life away for our sake. I’m not talking about signing up for martyrdom here. Simply going deeper with Christ, exploring his will for your life, letting his love invade you so that you can share it with the world.
Jesus’ love is our love. When we really experience Jesus’ love then our love becomes Jesus’ love. That holy love fills us and makes us do things that we wouldn’t have considered before, like going on a mission trip, like sending money to “adopt” a child who is hungry and who needs an education, like really adopting a child, like going out of our way to lend a hand to a neighbor in need, or even deciding that even though there is plenty to do in our daily lives, we sign up to coach a team in order to teach kids softball or baseball or volleyball. Use what you have, use your life to live a life of holy love. Ask Christ to invade your life with his love so that you may be of service to the other. People will start to look at you differently, they will wonder what it is that they see and they will become to drawn to you because of that love- but we know that it is not us, it is Christ who lives in us, who is truly present in us just as he is truly present in/with/under the bread and wine, and waters of baptism. All that is Christ, becomes a part of us- he shares it with us, his holiness and love! And we share it with others as part of our new reality. Friends we are called to love one another deeply, constantly, completely and from the heart. Amen.

Journeying Toward Embracing Our Holiness in Christ

1 Peter 1: 1-12

There was a story recently in the Christian Century about two monks who lived and worked together in a monastery. The monks made a meager income by creating and selling baskets. One monk, on his deathbed, made a confession to his fellow monk saying, “I have to confess that over the years I have stolen some of your designs as well as some of your baskets and passed them off as my own.” The other monk who sat by his friend’s side replied with compassion, “I know. But because of you, over the years I was able to become more holy.”
Imagine overhearing a conversation where the subject of the matter is you. The two parties who are discussing, from the next room, your life and the way you live it mention the word “holy.” You don’t quite catch how the word is used, but you distinctly hear that word, “holy.” Unfortunately, you don’t know these two people very well so you aren’t sure which way to take it- are they saying that you think you are so holy- as in “So and so is holier than thou!” Or do they genuinely think that you live your life in a holy way. What is your gut level response right now as you imagine eavesdropping on a dialogue that is about you and your perceived holiness?

As we begin our Lenten journey and embark on the disciplines of Lent such as prayer, worship, study, and sacrifice, let us consider what it really means to be holy. You might not introduce yourself to a stranger saying, “Hello, I’m Tom (or Julie or Frank) and I am a holy person.” That would be rather awkward; in fact that would probably never enter your mind to say such a thing and especially as we hear the gospel lesson for today that reminds us not to be hypocrites, not to make a spectacle of ourselves as we fast or pray or give. As Lutherans we have totally internalized this message from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We would rather be tarred and feathered than for anyone to know about our spiritual disciplines—because that would be like bragging, wouldn’t it? And bragging for Lutherans is just downright a sin!
But tonight friends, on this night when we come here and are reminded of our mortality, of the briefness and frailty of human life, on this night when we confess our sins in a way that we only do once a year, a night where the faint of heart just stay home. . . I would like you to consider that what you are is holy! You are Holy. Sacred. Set apart for the work of God. Loved by Christ. Made right with God by virtue of being claimed by Jesus the Lord. Holy.
Now I’m not saying that you are perfect. None of us are perfect and we never will be this side of heaven. Some of us are prone to being perfectionistic- but that is much different than being perfect! Our human reality is that sin still exists and seeks to control our lives. We strive to be good, we strive to be perfect even, but that more often than not gets in the way of a true relationship with God—and it causes others in our lives to suffer because they know- that we are not perfect!
But that brokenness is only part of the story. The other part of the story, the good news of all of this is that you are holy. Not because you were able to do something, like forgive a thief who stole your ideas and artwork; not because you were tolerant of someone who was always causing you heartache; not because you gave selflessly all your life to those in need. But because of Christ--- because of Christ you are holy. As St. Peter writes to the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappodocia, Asia and Bithynia, “You are chosen!” “You are destined!” “You are sanctified!” (A fancy word for being made holy!) You may not feel holy, but you are holy! Through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, through faith in him, we are made holy. That’s all there is to it! It’s not something that we can do for ourselves, but it is Christ who lives in us that makes us this way. We have no bragging rights in this matter; without Christ we would not even be having this conversation! But because of Christ who loves us, who claims us in the waters of baptism, and who grants us a new birth, as Peter says, into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead—we are changed forever. That change that transforms us sends us out into the world as holy representatives of Christ. We don’t simply go in the name of Christ--- we go with Christ! Christ’s holiness is our holiness--- despite our frailties and failings—despite the old Adam and old Eve that live within us--- we are holy people in the world because of Jesus Christ!
So you see, this holiness has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. We can’t even choose to be holy, because left to our devices we would surely choose otherwise. In our broken humanity we are simply unable to “fear, love, and trust God above all things.” It is by our faith in Christ that we are holy but that faith is pure gift of the Holy Spirit, so we can’t even brag about having faith! Martin Luther reminds us that we are called to embrace this holiness. . . saying, “Hence you must believe and confess that you are holy, but by this blood and not by reason of your own piety.” The result of this holiness is not a halo above our heads tipping off our neighbors and friends that there is something special about us. The result is a deeper life in Christ, living in obedience to his will rather than our own will. The result is our being subject to what Christ has in mind for our lives: that we serve others in love and peace; that we put other’s needs before our own; that we step out in faith and risk something that we may not be all that confident about at first- but we do it because we hear God’s call on our lives.
Our holiness is a journey; the journey begins with a recognition that we are indeed holy people. In Christ’s loving embrace, we can embrace our holiness for the sake of one another and the world. Amen.

Lenten Sermon Series

Coming Soon: Lent!
I am working on a sermon series for Lent based on 1 Peter. In just five chapters, Peter says to "exiles" 'Discipline Yourselves.' What a concept! Our lives of faith are something that we have to discipline ourselves, dedicate ourselves to! It's just like preparing for a marathon or a triathlon or whatever, you have to be disciplined for the long haul. . . with that in mind here's what's coming to TLC in Lent:
Ash Wednesday: 1 Peter 1: 1-12 “Called to embrace our holiness in Christ!”

Lent 1: February 21st 1 Peter 1: 13-25 “Called to a life of holy love!”

Lent 2: February 28th 1 Peter 2: 1-10 “Called to be a holy priesthood!”

Lent 3: March 7 1 Peter 2:11- 25 “Called to be free!”

Lent 4: March 14th 1 Peter 3: 8-22 “Called to proclaim Christ!”

Lent 5: March 21st 1 Peter 4: 1-19 “Called to pray for the community of believers!”

Palm Sunday: March 28th 1 Peter 5: 1-14 “Called to live sacrificially!”