Joy in Manger Square, Bethlehem

Movies – TV specials – every year they come up with a new way to make it seem like Christmas is in trouble. What if Santa can’t get through the storm or crashes his sleigh? What if he falls off the roof top and Tim Allen isn’t there to take over? What if Ebeneezer Scrooge or all the children of New York lose the Christmas spirit?

A dozen years ago, in 2002, Christmas almost went by in the actual city of Bethlehem uncelebrated. There had been a major Israeli raid, The Church of the Nativity was occupied by snipers. And for half that year, the city was under a strict evening curfew.

Manger Square was undecorated, no glistening lights, no bells or holly…and very few pilgrims. There were many open inns, but almost no tourists to fill them.  It was as if Dr. Seuss’ Grinch had driven his sleigh into Bethlehem, into the heart and the very starting place of Christmas, and had taken everything, leaving it bare. Except that Christmas happened again anyway.

Now, today in the Holy Land, it is a completely different scene. The new Mayor of Bethlehem is named Vera Baboun. She is first woman elected to that position, an Arab Christian who has been encouraging Christians and businesses to stay in Bethlehem.

She is determined to make sure that Christmas is celebrated in Manger Square the whole month of December. In fact, it’s a bit over the top with dancing Santas and fireworks…filled with music and trumpets, and their “jing tinglers, their flu floopers, and tar tinkers.” You might think that the Mayor of Bethlehem has saved Christmas, or some think she’s lost it by going over the top with all the noise and hoopla.

Except that, right now, it is about 5:30 [9:30] AM on Christmas morning in Bethlehem, and people there are learning the same lesson that God has been trying to teach us for over 2000 years ago. The lesson is simple: nobody—no Grinches, no Scrooges, no soldiers, no lack of decoration, or packages, no crowded squares or empty inns, nor power hungry King Herods, or dancing Santas—nothing and no one stops Christmas from happening. And no one saves Christmas. …Christmas saved us!

Christmas in its most basic form was and is the will of God in the flesh.  And you cannot stop what God wills. God said, “Let there be light!”  And then there were suns and stars, reflections and rainbows.  It may have happened in an instant, or over billions of years; it’s all the same to God.  He wills it; …it happens.

God said, “Let there be salvation!”  And there was Jesus Christ.  God’s will, God’s love and joy came to us in the flesh. 

So, you cannot stop Christmas.  Christmas is Christ! But you can let Christmas get crowded out of your own heart.  That can happen if we  ignore all that God has given, or refuse to rejoice, or let our hearts get too cramped.

One of my favorite writers is John Ortberg.  In his book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, he wrote,

“The Bible puts joy in the nonoptional category.  Joy is a command.  Joylessness is a serious sin, one that religious people are particularly prone to indulge in.  It may be the sin most readily tolerated by the church… How much damage have joyless Christians done to the cause of Christ?”

The joy that you and I are called to have is not empty-headed.  We are not called to walk around with ding-a-ling smiles when we are faced with all the horrible stuff that happens around us, but an over-riding peace and an underlying joy in us that realizes that no one has the last word…except God.  God has and will always have the last word; and his Word from the beginning of creation has always been “Life.”  “Rise up!”  “Live again!”  “Live forever!”  “Life.”

Because of that Word of Joy, made flesh in Jesus Christ, our biggest responsibility as a church, our greatest call as Christians could be summed up in that Biblical commandment to “Rejoice!” And this follows: to help others rejoice with us, as we all discover and rejoice in the God who loves us to death and back again.

That is how we make room for Christmas. That’s how Christmas is reborn every year. Christmas has come.  Christmas is here.  Right here.  His name is Jesus Christ.  Let his love fill you with hope for those around you. Let it fill you with expectation each year and for all eternity.

I’ll say it one last time: Christmas cannot be lost, and Christmas never needs to be saved! Christmas saves us! Joy to the world!

Betrayed by Your Accent

'Foreign Towns - Loneliness' -Sergei Chepik;
'He went outside and wept bitterly.' -Mt. 26.75

Reflection on Matthew 26:69-75, Peter's Denial

Homily for an Ecumenical Good Friday Service - 
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Tacoma

 - April 18, 2014

I'm meeting most of you for the first time, so this is probably TMI, too much information, so I will refrain from saying exactly why. I will tell you, however, that this Holy Week, more than any other before, I can relate to Peter and his divided loyalty. And I am depending on the grace of God that loved and claimed Peter in spite of his denials.

Has anyone ever confronted you with the question, "What would you do if claiming to be a Christian would endanger your life? Would you deny your faith at the point of a gun?"

Well, look here at Peter, our beloved St. Peter, the Rock upon whom Jesus built the church! This was the same Peter who only days before had boldly stated "You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!"

This was the same Peter who only hours before had said to Jesus, "Even if all others deny you, I will never... never, never, ...never    ....deny you!"
But when he's asked:You're one of them, aren't you?
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know the man."

Here's the thing that has been echoing for me: when they responded to Peter with "Yes you are. Your accent betrays you." Your accent betrays you.
The double irony: Here Peter was, in the midst of betraying his faith, betraying his Savior, and his very heart, but no one was convinced. They refused his denial: "No matter what you say, your accent betrays you. Surely you are one of them, one of his followers."

Even in his most grievous sin, in spite of his attempt to distance himself with his denials and to hide his identity with his false and foul language, God--through those people--would not let him go... The cock finally crowed, and Peter was at once convicted and reclaimed. "Oh Peter, stop distancing and doubting... You are his. Your accent betrays you."

As we gather this noon at the very middle hour of Jesus' crucifixion the question is often raised, "Where are you; where do you find yourself in that crowd?" Are you one of the women standing nearby in grief beside Mary? Are you the disciple whom he loved offering presence and compassion? Have you ever been one of the disciples who abandoned, ran off, denied, ...or betrayed?

Surely not I? I'm here aren't I? Tho' all others might run and hide, I would never... never.

"Well, are you one of them, Greg?"
Well, yes, but I'm not religious, you see. I'm more spiritual. Loosely connected.

"But aren't you a pastor, Greg? You're a Christian."
Well, yes, but I'm a Lutheran Christian. I'm not like those others you see. I'm not like them. I even drink beer and listen to rock music! I swear once in awhile...when it's appropriate.

Ah, we still try to divide ourselves, even from each other, for fear of rejection or of being labeled.
But truthfully, the question of where or who we are in that beautifully diverse and deeply divided crowd is not nearly as important as whose we are. And at the foot of the cross--in spite of my distancing, in spite of my personal struggles--I am at once convicted, brought up short and reclaimed. The cock crows, and I am united with all of you, and united with everyone who needs him, especially when he looks over all of us and says, "Father, forgive them. They know not."

We are the Body. Different parts. Spread out. But pulled together, not by our doctrines or our pedigree, but only by the sinews of grace, forgiveness, and love that put Jesus on the cross. We belong to him. And He will work through us. May his accent always betray us. Amen.

Fear-free Beauty

Homily prepared for

Pacific Lutheran University Chapel Service - March 3, 2014
texts: Matthew 17:1-9; Isaiah 61:3

The three disciples were "Overcome with fear," petrified. And like the time Peter was sinking down in the waves, Jesus held his hand out and said "Get up, and do not be afraid." Actually, the original language says, "Be raised up and stop being afraid." Stop being afraid.

From the cloud God had said,  "This is my Son.  The Beloved.  Listen to him."  Listen to him. And Jesus' first words after that were to be raised up and to stop being afraid.

Near the root of Christian maturity is learning to trust what God sees in us, and from that vision learning not to be afraid.  The preacher Gordon Cosby once said, "When I reflect deeply on my life and what I really want, it is not to be afraid.  When I am afraid, I am miserable.  ...I restrict myself.  I hide the talent of me in the ground.  I am not deeply alive.  ...So, more than anything else, I want to be delivered from fear."

And that can happen when we start trusting that God loves what he sees when he looks at us. Growing up, was there anyone who nagged you to "Stand up straight!"? Grandma to Grandchild: "You're too pretty/handsome to slouch like that." It's too bad we never heard or believed the complement behind that command.  And really, it wasn't about external beauty.  I don't think anyone's grandma ever said, "Slouch down, you're too ugly to stand straight."

Don't you dare despise one whom God loves.  Not even yourself. Sometimes you need to step outside yourself enough to be the friend you need. Love your neighbor and do not despise yourself. God wants you to see in yourself and others what he has seen from the start.

I knew a kid in high school who slunk from class to class.  Call him Ted. He'd take hallways he knew had less traffic in order to avoid people, keeping to the edges with his head down. He had a hard time looking other people in the eye, because he was afraid of what he might see reflected back in their eyes. He nearly hit bottom. But somehow one day, he suddenly realized that he and the way he was acting, he was the greatest cause of his own lonliness and fear. with nothing to lose, he decided to make one last desparate experiment.

Ted decided that for one day, he would pretend--pretend he wasn't afraid or shy.  He had very little to lose; he forced himself to walk down the middle of the more crowded hallways.  He made himself look at people as he passed them, instead of the floor.  His heart was pounding, palms sweating.  It was so very hard to break those habits.

But in just one day or two, he was surprised.  Kids who'd never said a thing before, had said, "Hi."  Most passed unnoticing, but a few gave quick smiles.  After the first few shocks, he smiled back, said "hi" back.  He felt there was nothing to lose, and was surprised to find how much he'd been missing. It's not clothes, not hair or makeup, ...all of this is less about weight, physical beauty and age than we ever realized.

We are called to venture down scary hallways.  Grasping firmly, sometimes desperately, to our baptismal origins, we need to trust the way God looks at us, and we move out.  After all, we will not be able to lose our fears until we experience what it means to risk and love and share our faith.

The most attractive people are those who care about others and have the guts to show it in bold and sometimes impulsive ways.  They move through the world, not unaware of its dangers, but in their face.

In one of his last works, Henri Nouwen transformation, and he said that "we become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a part of our life ...all of our life."
"We become beautiful people." Beautiful people.  We know these people, whose faces of experience have been creased into smiles.  Or their eyes shine with an inner joy.

You know people like that.  They can be clumsy, make goofy mistakes, and yet they are graceful, they carry grace.  They have experienced life, and still they smile.  They love.  Beautiful. Old wrinkled Mother Theresa, if you could've kissed her cheek, you'd have kissed a most beautiful girl.  She slouched in age, but she rose in stature. There are others, less known or heroic, but just as beautiful.

This is Monday between Transfiguration Sunday and Ash Wednesday. I've been meditating on Isaiah 61:3 where the New Living Translation promises that we will be able to exchange our ashes for the beauty of God. "Ashes for beauty." Between now and Wednesday, think about what ashes those are, that you will make visible, and then wipe them away. What old hurts, what weights and fears will you leave to God, and leave behind on Wednesday night? Trade your ashes for beauty.

This is the grace that transfigures you and me.  First, we are given a place of origin; then, the promise of forgiveness as we act in spite of fears; and finally, we are given a place of destiny, where we will become more fully what God first saw in us: Beauty.  Listen to him: "You are my child, with whom I am well-pleased." "You are my child, with whom I am well-pleased." So, stop being afraid.

Let us pray:  Holy God, as you awoke the disciples to your presence in Christ, shake the sleep from our eyes, let the scales of cynicism and fear fall from our vision, and lead us now into the valley more aware of your love and our beauty.  Amen.

"Strengthened His Hand"

(Homily prepared for PLU Chapel, October 21, 2013)

Text: 1 Samuel 23:15-18

When I heard that your theme in Chapel this month for "The Journey" is "Better Together" I knew that I wanted to share this amazing relationship between David and Saul's son, Jonathan. Of all the heroes of the Old Testament, Jonathan is probably one of the less known, and yet one of the most noble, upright, and faithful characters in all of the Old Testament. I'm not exaggerating.

Before he ever met David, Jonathan alone trusted God’s advice and defeated a whole Philistine garrison by himself (1 Sam. 14:6-15). Jonathan had guts; but his guts came from one simple source: faith. Jonathan trusted his life, he trusted his friends, even his life and his nation in God's hands.

As the Bible tells it, Jonathan first met David just after David had killed Goliath. Few people knew that the prophet Samuel had already anointed David to be the next king of Israel. All Jonathan knew at that time is that he immediately liked this young shepherd boy, loved him like a brother (1 Sam. 18:1).

1 Samuel 18, verse 3, says that: "Jonathan made a covenant with David." To seal that covenant, Jonathan gave David his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt. He dressed David in his clothes, into his life and place. By all human right of succession Jonathan was in line to be the next king of Israel, but here he was already bringing David into his father's house, dressing him in his princely clothes and weapons, and pledging his loyalty to David. 

King Saul would get jealous of David. Several times Saul tried to kill him, chased David into exile, but Jonathan kept his covenant and promise to David, even when it became clear that it meant he would have to give his crown to David.

So, later, when David was in exile, afraid, demoralized, there is this powerful scene in today’s lesson, 1 Samuel 23  - "...David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh, and (verse 16) Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened David’s hand in the LORD."

That's it, right there. For me it’s one of the most powerful images I've ever meditated on.  Jonathan went to David, found him in his wilderness, and "strengthened his hand in the LORD."

In what wildernesses do we find ourselves, that we might need someone to figuratively, or even actually grab hold of our hand and strengthen it in the LORD? How might you strengthen some one's hand in the LORD?

I've experienced it personally. My wife is amazing at this, at turning me around, and reminding me of my own faith in God, my own words, and her confidence in our ministry, direction, purpose and mission.  Every time, all the time, God keeps sending people to me that remind me of all the aces I hold in my hand: grace, forgiveness, salvation, faith and hope.  But also professional and spiritual counselors, fellow pastors, my friends. Heck even my dog, Shyla, seems to know exactly when my hand or face needs a good tongue washing.

I pray this for you, especially if you are struggling, after a death, or a break up, or guilt, exhaustion, or indecision, to send someone, or to let someone else strengthen your hand, to hold it, and lift it. When we grab hold and pray together, or when we send an uplifting text, when we worship and sing together, this is strengthening each other's hands, just as Jonathan did for David.

I want that kind of strengthening in the LORD for all of you from each other. Even more than from this message today, I pray you get it from each other. Or that you find ways to offer it… today and the next few days.

My congregation hears me say this a lot: God didn't make us just to save us. We are here for purpose. The fact that we are saved by grace frees us for that purpose -  since we’re okay ultimately and eternally, we can take care of each other, to look out for others, to strengthen each other's hand in the LORD.

There's an old native proverb that says: when the toe has a thorn in it, the whole body has to stoop to pluck it out. Or, better yet, as Captain Kirk once told Spock in one of the older Star Trek movies: "Sometimes the need of the one or the few, outweighs the needs of the many."

On any given day, we are not necessarily here because you or I need something, but because, on any given day, there is someone who needs us to be there for her, or him, to sing, or pray, or study, or live or hope, or to see the light at the end of their tunnel. We are here to strengthen each other's hands in the Lord. Let’s see whether God will keep his promises. I have a very strong suspicion that he will not let any down! In the meantime, if you need help now , please find it, and reach out to someone. God has already reached for you.

Is Smoking Allowed in the Kingdom?

I felt a nudge to re-post an excerpt from a 2009 sermon manuscript...

...I smoked cigarettes for a few years, just prior to getting married, no more than a half a pack a day at my worst. It lead to my first real use of the Jesus prayer that Pastor Jon talked about last week, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Or, for me the shorter kyrie from the start of our service, “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.” I quit smoking at the start of my marriage, I’ll admit because Pauline explained my options, and I didn’t like the alternative. So, I used my cravings as a kind of trigger to remind me to pray that prayer. It’s harder to break your promises when you’re praying. Even with that, it took me more than five years before the craving stopped. I’ve done this for other temptations as my little way of saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan. Go bury yourself.” And that’s not bad, not a horrible thing to include in your own fasting or Lenten disciplines.

But here’s the downside. As my craving for cigarettes became less frequent, what do you think happened to my prayers? Because I had tied them so closely to my cravings, they became less frequent, too. Was I really developing my relationship with Christ, or using him as a patch? It’s amazing what God puts up with!

You know what he really wants? Do you know what God wants more than temptation-free, clean-nosed, non-smoking mini-Jesus’s running around? He wants people to know the height, breadth, depth and length of his love. He wants his relationship with us, his forgiveness, to shift the way that we look at ourselves, our bodies, and other people; he wants us to start seeing his love in them and in us. Of course, he wants that love for us to change bad habits. Obviously, he wants his love to inspire us as his Body to take active roles against violence, degradation, injustice, molestation, the works! What Almighty Father wouldn’t want that for his children?

...As the country song I listened to yesterday tells all the stuff of life that tries to tear us down, “You might win this round but you can’t keep me down, 'Cause I'll stand back up.” We will stand back up, every time and at the last. Not by our own might or even our own will to survive, but only because Jesus, for our sake, when the time was right, let himself get knocked down, grabbed hold of us, and with all the strength of the Father, Son and Spirit, stood up, leaving our accuser, Satan, to sink in his dust behind him. 

full manuscript:  March 18, 2009

When he said, "Forgive them."

The world has seen no greater love:

            to die for people who befouled His face with spittle,

                        or to pray for those who made His suffering their sport…

That was no bargain day at Calvary, when God was given in

exchange for Man!

            And yet, nobody else would do.

                                    . . .

            “Forgive them” is His last word,

                        mercy is the whole conclusion of the matter,

                                    and affection is the final sentence of His life.

            Here is the love you have been looking for.

                        If your poor life is lost for meaning,

                        If you think you are a burden dragging down society,

                                    Look to the Cross!

            So here,

                        There is no greater love in all the universe.

                        None quite so perfect, nor so vast,

                                    and none so intimate:

The story of Atonement is the story of a King who fell down for a slave,

            and of a Judge becoming his own prisoner.

-Wyn Blair Sutphin, No Greater Love, 1965

sermons on the Last 7 Words of Christ

Insufficient Courage

(John 16:25-33)

prepared for chapel service – Pacific Lutheran University, 11/28/12

I’m just discovering or constantly re-learning that there is a kind of freedom and courage that come out of insufficiency. I realize that seems to contradict all that you are striving to do as students and teachers in a university, especially as you face “dead-week,” studying, papers, and tests.

And to some degree this has got to be true: more knowledge, experience and skill allow you to say and do things, to understand and affect things, than ever before. I can’t argue; if you study for your psychology test, you will have more ability and confidence than someone who does not, and you will likely do much better. If I go into surgery, I would want a surgeon who has studied and trained and practiced in his or her field. Any person—before you set out in any kind of test or venture—a person wants to feel sufficient and prepared to face the challenges. We like or prefer to take courage based on our abilities and high likelihood of success.

On the other hand, if real courage and freedom is about acting in spite of our fears and stretching beyond limitations and boundaries, then there comes the time that relying on our own sufficiency and ability will limit and prevent what we are truly capable of doing.

I read a lot of fantasy novels. The characters I enjoy the most are the ones that struggle constantly with their internal sense of inability and lack of worth. Sometimes they discover some hidden ability, or they receive some magic device just in the nick of time that helps them overcome the obstacles, or defeat evil powers. Even better than that, I enjoy the characters that act—not from miraculous ability or power—but from desperation and a desire to do what’s right (even if it means failing or dying). Often, they reach out to others, their companions, and they take action regardless of the consequences.

They stretch beyond sufficiency. In fact, they find a strange kind of freedom and reserve to act from their limitations. Success is no longer the point. Justice is. Doing right is.

I recently read about a single mother who took so seriously the task of raising her children, the responsibility of starting a new generation weighed on her shoulders. Each day, it seemed overwhelming to her. In her prayers she insisted to God, sometimes with tears, “I can’t do this! I can’t do this, not alone… not without you!”

As a pastor, I can relate to how unsettled the disciples must have felt in this gospel lesson (John 16:25-33). I am constantly bouncing back and forth between understanding and feeling confident about my abilities and ministry, and then being faced with my insufficiency, between what I think I know and all I find that I don’t know.

At first, Jesus assures them that they can speak to and ask God for whatever they need in his name because they have loved and believed in Jesus. However, just as they respond, “Oh now we get it! Now we understand you and believe that you are from God,” Jesus responds, “What? Now you say you believe? In just a couple hours you are going to scatter and hide, each one of you, in your homes. You are going to abandon me.”

And why does Jesus tell them this? He says, “I tell you these things now so that you may find… peace! You will be afraid. You will face persecution and tests for which you will not be sufficient. I tell you all this so that you can stand. In the face of those fears and failures and insufficiency, you can take courage,” Jesus says, “because I have already conquered the world.”

It doesn’t depend on you. After all the studying, all the practice, reading and cramming, when you have hit your limit, then stop. Admit to God that you cannot do this alone. Use the people and resources he sends, and then take the plunge into the next moment with a certain sense of perspective and freedom. Your salvation, your Christian life, your dignity, and your worth do not depend on this.

Salvation life, Christianity, is a way of life that can seem or feel a bit reckless because it doesn’t depend on self-sufficiency and successes. We act when it is the loving and right thing to do. We are free to act and do amazing things together because it doesn’t depend on my ability or even successful outcomes along the way. In fact, it is our very insufficiency that often causes us to cross boundaries and ignore limitations, reaching out to God and to others to take part in amazing things like feeding hundreds of thousands, or bringing school, opportunities, and freedom to oppressed women, and unbinding those who are dehumanized by unjust laws. Find cures. Bring hope to the hopeless. We don’t do things like that alone.

The truth is, when we have spent too much time and energy trying to be or wishing we were sufficient, capable, and worthy, those are the times we end up feeling the most alone and isolated.

“Take courage.” Jesus says, “You are not alone.” He will not leave you orphaned. Use that time of fear and failure to reach out to those who can help. Let God speak plainly to you, without figures of speech. Put plainly, alongside of him, he loves you, and you matter. His victory is already yours!

100 Points!

I'm not preaching this Sunday, but enjoyed this sermon illustration that one of my friends shared with me today, especially paired with the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).

--By the way, why do these so often start "A man dies and goes to heaven or the Pearly Gates"? Where are the women? Maybe most are like my mom; they take the passing lane straight into heaven.--

Anyway...
A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates.

St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."
"That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points!"

"Three points?"

He says, "Well, I attended church every Sunday and supported its ministry with my tithe and service."
"Terrific!" says St. Peter, "that's certainly worth a point."

"One point? Well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."
"Fantastic," answers Peter, "that's good for 2 more points."

"Two points?" The man cries, "At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!"

St Peter smiled. "There's your 100 points! Come on in!"


(I'm sorry I couldn't find an author; it's available in various places on the web, and on Sermons.com.)

A Star, a Star! (Sunday before Epiphany)

Sermon
prepared by Pastor Greg Kaurin
for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA, 1/2/11


texts: Isaiah 60:1-6 & Matthew 2:1-12
A Star, a Star!

In October of 1962, Noel Regney, a songwriter, was walking in a park of Manhattan a little before dusk with a slight breeze. He had two things weighing on his mind, the first was weighing on just about every adult in the Americas: the Cuban Missile Crisis was escalating, an immanent threat.

Noel had already lived through the Second World War. In fact, he grew up in France and was forced to enlist in the German Army. He worked as an informer for the French Resistance, but after he had to witness some of his own fellow soldiers ambushed in a trap he had helped set up, he deserted the German Army and became a full member of the French Resistance.

The second thing weighing on him is that Noel had been commissioned to compose a new Christmas carol, and was coming up on a hard deadline. But how could he write a carol, when it seemed very likely that we were on the verge of another perhaps even more devastating nuclear war?

As he passed people in the park, he could tell that they, too, were pensive and afraid, not meeting each other’s eyes, no exchange of greetings. He noticed two mothers pushing strollers, one of them passed the other from behind, and then—like slow motion—he saw the two children make eye contact, smiles spread, and they started to wave at each other. As they passed.

It was in that moment that the inspiration and the song came to him. By the time he got home, he had the lyrics ready, and later that evening he and his wife, Gloria, had composed the music.

For us, it’s a carol. We usually hear it sung by Bing Crosby or Perry Como:
Said the night wind to the little lamb, “Do you see what I see, way up in the sky, little lamb?”
What does the night wind see?
“A star, a star, dancing in the night, with a tail as big as a kite, a tail as big as a kite!”

Of course it’s roughly based on the manger scene from Bethlehem. Noel himself said that the lamb represented Jesus, the Christ Child. The wind points the star out to the lamb, the lamb tells the shepherd boy to listen to the deep voiced song, the shepherd boy goes the warm palace of a mighty king, and tells him about the shivering Child who needs honor, silver and gold. This king is not King Herod from our gospel lesson. He decrees, “Listen to what I say: Pray for peace, people everywhere!”

For us, it’s a pretty carol. For Noel and Gloria, who both passed away in the last decade, it was a prayer for peace, it was a plea to the powers that be, and the people, to listen to a new song, a deep song of creation, to follow a better star, to listen to the lamb of God.

Isaiah 60:1-3 – Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

That’s a neat story. We may not seem to be on the verge of a nuclear disaster or war, and many of us even a bit numb to the constant barrage of possible danger from just about every corner: earthquakes, tsunamis, dams failing, volcanoes, terrorist attempts and precautions, …ancient Mayan calendars.

Or more individually, death or tragedy in the family. Lost innocence. Unforgiven past. Cancer. Struggles, doubts. It can get real hard to look our Savior in the eye, hard to look God in the eye. Almost like looking in the mirror and really seeing ourselves, as God must see us.

What star, what truth can we follow? Life is so crowded with grey clouds, where is this light shining in the darkness.

It isn’t the date, December 25, it’s not found on a train, or in a great big bag of gifts and toys. It is a song that has been sung throughout all of history. God’s deep voice, became a child’s voice, and smile, which spread from shepherds, and led foreigners to find hope, pay honor, spread to many people, even to kingdoms.

Peace on earth is something that we reach for and pray for… your kingdom come, on earth as in heaven, and may nations come to the light… And on earth we see glimmers, signs of the peace that passes all understanding.

But let me suggest while we’re waiting for God’s Kingdom to come in full, that this peace may come in bits like when we finally forgive ourselves or others, but doesn’t mean that there aren’t regrets or longing aches; it doesn’t mean that we don’t still struggle or see violence, or countries at war. Peace can be there in between tears of loss and even frustrated anger.

Look in the mirror, and if it’s a mirror to your soul, it can make you look like someone who would be hard to love. But God has placed his infant Son in your arms… Look at his love, and the smile stretching across his face, his hand reaches and touches your face. And the song high above the trees says to you, “Peace, be still.”

For now, the peace that can come over us, the healing peace is not an absence of regret or hurt or an absence of the losses we feel, but an acceptance of these, an acceptance of who we are, as God does.

But most of all the peace is seeing, following and trusting this Star of Truth: That God so loved the world that he did not condemn the world, but sent his only Son to save it.

That is why we can get up, and strive and feed others and remain kind and hopeful, even to ourselves. That is the message we can pass on, and lead others to see in us and through us as members of this church, as Christians and children of hope.

God will keep the promise that he has been saying since the day he formed each of us, and saved us through Jesus: I will be their God; they shall be my people.

What, then, shall come between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus? Nothing in all creation.

May the peace which passes all understanding keep your minds and hearts in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

A Sign for You (Christmas Eve)

Sermon prepared by Gregory Kaurin
for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA
Christmas Eve, 2010

A Sign for You

Do you know the comedian? His trademark joke is that some people should have to wear signs, especially people whose bulbs don’t burn very bright.

Bill Engvall. Like the day my brother and I came off the lake with a long stringer of fish and someone asked us, “Wow, you boys catch all them fish?” My brother answered, “Nope. We talked ‘em in to giving themselves up. Here’s your sign.”

Bill’s humor may be a bit mean or sarcastic, but signs in life and signs in the Bible are meant to do the same thing. Right or wrong, signs label; they warn or guide or give directions; they convey meaning. The angel could’ve said, “Go and look around in Bethlehem and you’ll find a newborn babe swaddled in a manger.” Instead, the angel clearly says to the shepherds that, “This will be a sign for you: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloth and laying in a manger.” It will be a sign for them.

Thirty years later, when Jesus was ministering the Bible says that he performed signs and miracles and that people came looking for those signs to prove that he was the Messiah.

John 2:11 – [After he turned water into wine,] Jesus did this, the first of his signs…

Matthew 12:38 - Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to [Jesus], "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." Prove yourself to us.

The Old Testament, in a few places, it says that when this or that happens, it will be a sign. Something specific happens here on earth as a sign of the bigger picture of what God intends. One of the famous passages we Christians associate with Jesus is from…

Isaiah 7:14. 700 hundred-plus years before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah was trying to convince King Ahaz that God was on his side, but King Ahaz was too afraid to even ask for a little sign. So, Isaiah said, “Is it too little to weary mortals that you wear God out, too? Therefore, God himself will give you a sign.” There was a young girl, the Greek version says she was a virgin, who was pregnant, and would give birth to a son named Immanuel, which meant God is with us, on our side. Isaiah said that by the time that child was born and could tell right from wrong King Ahaz and all of Israel would be victorious over their enemies.

So, long before Jesus, there was a child named Immanuel. God with us. He was a sign when Isaiah prophesied in about 720 BC… but it becomes a greater sign in the New Testament, Matthew’s gospel: Look, the virgin [a new young woman] shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel (which means, God is with us).

Of those signs or labels that the angels attach to Jesus are “Messiah,” or “Christ” in the Greek, which meanst anointed, as in the promised anointed King of Israel. But the Greek title “Savior” in Luke’s day was also startling; it was a politically charged word, especially when Jesus was born.

We talk about Jesus as our Savior all the time, but that title “Savior” for Jesus is only used a few times in the Bible, by Luke, once in John’s gospel, and once in Paul’s writing, because it was a Roman word and it made people think about the Caesar Augustus during the pax romana, the Peace of Rome. After a number of victories, when his reign was firmly established, about the time Jesus was a young boy growing up, Caesar Augustus was repeatedly called the “Savior of all people,” or the “Savior of the world.” It was chiseled in stone for everyone to read, …still is.

So, when the angels say it and when Luke recorded it about Jesus, they meant it in comparison and in stark contrast to Caesar who supposedly brought peace and salvation through his wars and political victories.

There, in the middle of this, the angels declare that Jesus would be the true Savior of all, the true peace, not chiseled in a stone, not by Senate decree, but to shepherds. Was it going to be through war or conquest? Would he prove himself savior through political victories or alliances? Would he become the next high priest of the Temple or a zealous rebel against the Roman government? No.

The gospels talk about the angels, and how the glory of the Lord shone about them, but against everything you’ve ever sung or seen in movies or postcards, the Bible says nothing about some blue glow from the manger or the Child. What made that scene special, important, what made it radiant was the simple beauty of a plain common girl holding her newborn baby boy. The radiance of the child was not some visible miracle, but its simplicity and truth.

It was no more or less miraculous than when I looked through a window and saw my wife, Pauline, holding each of our boys in the florescent lights at a hospital. There were babies and nurses and noises all around, but I remember nothing else than that simple scene, and my place in it.

So, when the angels say that this will be a sign for you, shepherds: “You go, find a child swaddled in a manger,” they mean that how you find him, where you find him, and the fact that we’re sending you, common shepherds, to the little town of Bethlehem to hail this birth, these are all signs about how God is choosing to save the world.

Not by conquest or decree, not even by a church Reformation, but through a simple, common birth, a girl and her child in an antechamber off from the rest of the house, with a borrowed feeding trough for his crib. His birth was probably not all that different than the shepherds’ own births. But God was choosing to save by relationship, by being one with his people, coming to people like shepherds, or to a young girl and her dazed husband. To people.

By joining himself to each person in Baptism. By calling each one of us his adoptive brothers and sisters.

Today, Christmas Eve, be honest, many of us are here, not because we are planning to grow deeper in faith, or because we are looking for a life change tonight. Most of us are here because Christmas is wrapped in traditions. This is how we do Christmas; there just have to be the right carols, the candlelight, the singing of “Silent Night.” It’s just not Christmas, otherwise. We even have traditional complaints every year about how the secular world is taking over or changing Christmas, or the greed of Christmas; I can prove to you that the same complaints and sermons against these have actually been preached for over a hundred years. How many movies are all about rescuing Santa or finding the true Spirit of Christmas and making it happen again.

It almost becomes a contest. People try to make Christmas “real” by overdoing all the trimmings and trappings, or by completely eliminating them. Who in your neighborhood puts out the most lights on their house and lawn? Boy, they must really have the Christmas spirit!

Or you talk to another couple who say, “Oh we don’t exchange any gifts with anyone; in fact, our whole family spends all of Christmas serving in a soup kitchen.” Wow, who can beat that? They must really understand the Christmas spirit…more than me.

But you know what? This isn’t a contest. You can’t win or save or discover the true Christmas Spirit. And the Christ child isn’t just a warm ritual snuggie blanket that you can pull on with hot cocoa and a yule log. The true Christmas Spirit finds you. He is God, wanting to lead each of us to lives that matter more and mean more.

I can only ask you for a moment to derail yourself from all the Christmas traditions, competitions or expectations for a few moments and consider that tonight, the sign of Jesus coming so plainly and simply points to the fact that he came not just to religious people or as some kind of Christmas myth, but for you, to be a part of your life, and to change your life.

God our Father so loved the world that he came to the world, and became your brother. This is a sign for you. The rest of the year, the rest of Christianity, is learning what that means: for you.

Repentance & Kingdom Interruptions

Sermon prepared for Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma WA; Chapel Service
Monday, December 6, 2010

Text: Mark 1:1-4

Repentance and Kingdom Interruptions

Mark used the prophet Isaiah’s words, and pointed them almost 600 years later to John the Baptizer: A voice cries out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, straighten his paths!’ Or, as we’ll hear in a few minutes from the brass, ‘Prepare the royal highway, a level road appear!’ Mark passed on all the nativity, and took us right to the wild and wooly John, coming out of the wilderness. He came preaching a baptism of repentance.

Repent. We sometimes think of repentance as this thing we do where we come to worship and we pause for about 5.3 seconds, then admit that we’ve sinned thought word and deed. Then having briefly admitted our sinfulness, we’re told that we’re entirely forgiven. Or, for a more intense experience, you could go to someone and admit specifically what you’ve done, what’s burdening you, for what you need forgiveness.

But no. repent means—not just to re-tell your sins—but to turn aside for a moment, from the path you are on and re-think your life in light of a new situation and message. Or, in our case, in light of your relationship with Jesus, re-consider what you’ve been doing. Is it life-giving, or life-draining, for you or for others? In light of Jesus, who does, in fact, forgive you all your sins, and who also calls you to walk a new path with him, how does your life reflect?

Make way for the Lord, a pathway, in your life.

Paul wrote to the Romans, 13:12, to get ready for the advent of Christ, "The night is far gone; day is near: ...put on the armor of light." Your Kingdom come, we pray, and our Advent prayer is to let it come in and through us. Let people feel God's love and passion adventuring through us. We are called to be examples of new paths, a new way of living.

A couple of weeks ago I was reminded of this. I went to work, to my church in Auburn. I was tired, grumpy, but knew I had a lot to get done in the office. A private school meets in our building, and as I approached the doors to our church, I could hear children. Now, normally I like kids. We have two little boys of our own… which is why I sometimes don’t like little kids so much. And that day, I heard those kids and paused, “Should I walk through, or go around these noisy kids?” I decided to just duck my head and walk quickly through to my office.

"Pastor Greg!" One little boy called out and ran over to wrap himself around my leg. "Look guys, it's Pastor Greg!" Then, after I peeled that boy off, a staff member of school greeted me with a simple smile, “Good morning, Pastor Greg.”

They brought Kingdom, even tho' I didn't deserve it, was even avoiding, and potentially working against it. But instead, through them God allowed his welcome, grace and love to flow into me. I was reminded of what Jesus said about God's Kingdom: "Whenever you accept a child like this," Jesus said, "you accept me." "Whenever you welcome one of my servants, you've welcomed me." Being prepared for the coming Kingdom isn’t so much about behaving 24 hours a day and keeping your nose clean, as it is being open and allowing his Kingdom to come to interrupt you and work through you.

The rest of that day was full of interruptions, some as good and delightful, others more difficult or sad. It’s life. Does my work suffer for it? I'm behind in many things, I have plenty to schedule and do... Many of you can relate! And I suppose if it's all about a weekly quiz or score, or presentation, or papers to grade, syllabi to finish or books to order, what we produce may suffer to some degree when we allow these kingdom moments to interrupt our plans.

Now, don’t think that I’m giving you—or that God is giving you—an excuse to sluff off or procrastinate, especially this late in the semester. But keep it in perspective. Take the stress off of the urgent thing, even off the grade, and rethink it in light of what is truly important and significant: your relationship with Christ, your call to be Christ for others. Don’t let these relationships suffer for the sake of projects, grades or success. Love kindness. Love the kindness God has shown to you, so much, and allow his loving-kindness to show through you.

It's not, in the end, about the grades, achievements or products themselves. It’s about the journey, our advent through life with Christ. It is about being open and ready to listen and care. It is about all of the people and the creation that these projects, classes, and tests are meant, finally, to serve. It is about being able and willing to take sudden course changes when necessary… and you will.

He will work through it all. Along this great venture, I pray that he is making me and all of us into people for his Kingdom to pour through.

Will you pray with me?...[ad lib prayer]

Adventurous

Sermon prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church
Auburn WA

by Gregory S. Kaurin, pastor
November 28; 1st Sunday of Advent
Texts: Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Adventurous

“Advent,” the word means going through an opening or doorway, going through it to a new time and place. It’s kind of appropriate; my mind’s been on the ‘new paths’ ahead for us, for Pr. Jon’s family, and the congregation they’ll be joining in a few weeks. The Season of Advent looks forward to the coming of that new time and place: the coming of the Christ child, but also the coming of his Kingdom.

Jesus would speak of that Day, an unpredictable Day that will come when people are at their normal tasks, and the message is to live prepared, because even more often Jesus would talk about how it is nearby, at hand, and that it happens, the Kingdom happens whenever we respond to God's mercy, forgiveness, kindness and generosity by being merciful, forgiving, kind and generous.

It's kind of like this word, adventure. It means going through an opening or pathway to something new, but some people are adventurous, they carry that sense of looking for, or--even better--being that pathway for others. When you're around adventurous people, you can get caught up in their excitement and enthusiasm. “Yeah, take me! I wanna go!”

Paul wrote to the Romans 13:12, to get ready, "The night is far gone; day is near: ...put on the armor of light" ...vs. 14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." And then he added, "Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." When Paul talks about gratifying flesh, he's not just talking about sex or gluttony, but all self-turned, self-centered concerns and actions. Turn outward, he was saying. Be adventurous; make ways for the Kingdom to come.

Thy Kingdom come, we pray, and let it come in and through us, make us pourous to the Kingdom, let it people feel God's love and passion through us, in other words, adventurous. Make us into openings to a new day, a new life, a new kind of living.

Only a week or so ago I was reminded of this. I came to work tired, grumpy, but knew I had a lot to get done in the office. As I approached the doors to the church, I could hear children from Gateway school. Should I walk through, or around? I decided to just duck my head and walk quickly through.

"Pastor Greg!" One little boy called out and ran over to hug my leg. "Look guys, it's Pastor Greg!" Then, a staff member of Gateway School greeted me with a simple smile.

They brought Kingdom, even tho' I didn't deserve it, was even actively avoiding, and potentially working against it. But instead, through them God allowed his welcome, grace and love to flow into me. I was reminded of God's Kingdom: "Whenever you accept a child like this," Jesus said, "you accept me." "Whenever you welcome one of my servants, you've welcomed me."

The rest of that day was full of interruptions, some as good and delightful, others more difficult or sad. Did my work suffer for it? Does it suffer? I'm behind in some things, and have plenty to schedule... I suppose if it's all about a weekly quiz or score, or a product, what I produce probably does suffer to some degree. But hopefully, I am opening up to a more authentic life. It's not about product.

This applies even to worship services. We'll talk about the centrality of worship in a congregation, or a Christian's life, and that's true. We need a regular touchstone, a reminder to worship, to turn ourselves and all we do toward God, and allow God to touch us, to be fed from Jesus' hands.

But, just as important as what we make or give or say or sing right here in this hour of worship, is what we bring to it did, who we were, up to this point, to get to this point. Our worship, at least from Christ's point of view, includes all that. We don't just worship Christ here in church; we bring our worship, we bring ourselves, to him: everything we've done right, and everything we've done wrong. If I've been mean-spirited or hurtful to get my way, if I've been abusing myself or neglecting others, then I am going to feel fake and disconnected here, like I'm wearing my Christian mask, and other people will probably feel it...

Unless. Unless I'm coming today in confession, ready to let go, receive forgiveness and start a new way, a better path. And it’s not about perfection, trying to live perfectly from this point out. That will pull us right back down into the mud. It’s about confession, humility and love, ready to bend and listen, to thank others as Pastor Jon spoke in last Wednesday’s message, to greet them, and make room for them.

God has made us into living pathways through Christ and for Christ. Just as we seek and find God's love and forgiveness for ourselves, we are called to be porous with those gifts to everyone: family members, friends, co-workers, tellers and cashiers, strangers. Otherwise, our worship is plastic and fake as the Santa on my neighbor's lawn.

We might look back on the past weeks and can be tempted to get mired in places where we messed up, where we hurt others to get ahead, or passed by people or charged through others' needs because we had our own things to do. But listen to this, in going forward, our worship includes laying down our sins at his feet, as if they were… gifts. Jesus accepts our praises, but he even accepts our admission of sins, our sense of shame, as worship when we give it to him.

He will work through it all. Along this great venture, I pray that he is making me and all of us into people for his Kingdom to pour through.

Will you pray with me?...[ad lib prayer]

May joy and peace surround you, Contentment latch your door, Happiness be with you now, and bless you evermore. Amen.

Raise an Ebenezer

Sermon
prepared by Pastor Greg Kaurin
for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA, 11/14/10

1 Samuel 7:10-14
Raise an Ebenezer

Some of you know that I spent a little time between calls as a bookseller. So, let’s try an experiment, to see how raising income in a church compares to booksales. Tell me how successful I’d be… Here’s a book. If you look it up on the web, you’ll find that you can buy it new from some sellers for about $22.00, used for as little as $6.00 including shipping. As college textbook, you might have to pay as much as $138.00 for it.

So, let’s say you’ve walked into my bookstore, a preacher’s bookstore, and found this on my shelf. Knowing what I’ve told you about it’s value, how much would you be willing to give me for this book? [Accept an offer or two.] …Are you kidding? Look at this title: Life’s Choices; Problems and Solutions. Wow! This thing will take care of everything for you! …Let me read to you from the back: “…Filled with case studies that show how others have handled career and work issues, relationship and intimacy dilemmas, family concerns, and other personal problems…You’ll learn to apply knowledge from psychological and social research to your own personal issues.” How much would you be willing to give to have solutions to all your problems?

Let’s try a different approach. Come on! This book I am offering to you has all these great answers to life’s question. And meantime, I have to pay for this bookstore, and all these staff. Don’t you care about them? Do you feel how warm and comfy I keep this store? We’ve got indoor bathrooms with running water, and complimentary coffee. Be generous! How about 10% of whatever you made this month? That’s a bargain considering what this book promises you. Come to think of it, considering how you’ll benefit after reading this as long as you live, how about I put you on an automatic withdrawal program for the rest of your life? …How long do you think my bookstore will stay open?

You are not my benefactors, and certainly not my customers. I’m not selling you faith or a slice of heaven. This is not what you have called me to do.

What is it that you have called me here to do? What is the main thing you think God wants me here to do as a pastor? ….Here’s a hint: When I was ordained, I was called into the ministry of “Word and Sacrament.” So, I’m here to… preach and teach, baptize and serve his Table. That is the center of what it means to be a Lutheran Pastor. Any other main tasks you expect from your pastor? [Visit, marry, bury, etc.] How far up on this totem pole of tasks is being a “fundraiser” for the congregation’s expenses?

Here, let me read from Messiah Lutheran Church’s own constitution regarding the duties of a pastor…

Chapter 9.
THE PASTOR
…*C9.03. Consistent with the faith and practice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
A. Every ordained minister shall:
1. preach the Word;
2. administer the sacraments;
3. conduct public worship;
4. provide pastoral care; and
5. speak publicly to the world in solidarity with the poor and oppressed, calling for justice and proclaiming God’s love for the world.
B. Each ordained minister with a congregational call shall, within the congregation:
1. offer instruction, confirm, marry, visit the sick and distressed, and bury the dead;
2. supervise all schools and organizations of this congregation;
3. install regularly elected members of the Congregation Council; and
4. with the council, administer discipline.
C. Every pastor shall:
1. strive to extend the Kingdom of God in the community, in the nation, and abroad;
2. seek out and encourage qualified persons to prepare for the ministry of the Gospel;
3. impart knowledge of this church and its wider ministry through distribution of its periodicals and other publications; and
4. endeavor to increase the support given by the congregation to the work of the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and of the Southwest Washington Synod of the ELCA.

There you go. What did you not hear in all that? Raising funds. As a member of this congregation, and one of its leaders, it is probably a part of what I need to help us do, but really financial support is what we all do together. Is it possible, though, especially during tougher times for a pastor and a congregation to get sidetracked? Can we sometimes find ourselves serving the budget and finances instead of the mission?

These past six weeks Traci, Jon and I have intentionally preached the wider message of Stewardship. Two weeks ago we heard Dr. Martin Luther talk about all that God has given in this message of the gospel, and our responsibility to pass it on. Last week, Pastor Jon spoke of God’s infinite willingness and ability to forgive, the promise of eternal life. Traci talked about the priceless gift of your church and the people around you, the abilities he has given.

Stewardship is simply all the resources and ways that God has called and given us as individuals and as a congregation to take part in the ministry and spread of his unqualified generosity to the world. Financially speaking, the Bible suggests practical amounts like the 10% tithe and offerings on top of that, or leaving some room and food for the poor. Jesus suggested that even more than that, calling for as much as your whole life, your everything.

However, when life gets hard, we can lose sight of the Kingdom that God has promised. The Israelites in our Old Testament lesson were outmatched, outgunned, and hopelessly outnumbered by the Philistines. They might’ve lost sight of the promises and faith. All reason told them to throw in the towel. Instead, they decided to trust and stake their small army on the promises of God. They decided to have faith and show it, even in the face of scarcity. They told Samuel to pray for them and marched forward. And on that field, after routing the Philistines, Samuel raised up a stone marker and called it Ebenezer, which simply means, “Rock of Help.”

The Ebenezer symbolized the day that they acted in faith, and the day that God didn’t let them down. It was their message of thanksgiving to God and a reminder to each other. It was a kind of spiritual boundary marker that reminded them to keep moving forward from that place in faith, trusting God, trusting their future in his hands, and not to retreat back into fear.

The 2nd stanza of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” sings, “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” I always thought it was a weird image to lift poor old Scrooge up on a pole. An Ebenezer, my “stone of help,” can be any prayer or symbol of faith, any reminder of God’s grace that encourages me to move forward. It is also a promise, a boundary line. It’s like writing our signature on God’s promise, accepting his grace and help, and showing our intention—with the strength of his Spirit—to go on trusting our present and our future in his Holy hands.

Through Jesus, God raised himself up on the cross. He is our Rock of Salvation, the Greatest Ebenezer. In response to that symbol, here’s what I suggest, for wherever you might be in your faith-walk. Today, raise a small Ebenezer in your heart and mind as a way of lifting that cross once again into your life and applying it to your life. I’ll give you a few ideas in a minute.

In tough times, when the odds seem against you, it can be easy to give into fear, to back off, not just from the luxuries of life, but also the things that are more important. Sometimes, during these times, we try pour ourselves into those luxuries at the expense of things more important. Don’t do that. Tough times call for firm faith. Raise your Ebenezer in the places, the family, the church, and the relationships where God has called you. You might begin praying in situations you don’t normally pray. Change at least one habit for the better, with the Spirit’s help. More important you might take one fear, one anxiety you have and decide—on this spot—to give it to Christ; let Christ join you there and begin helping you.

One more idea: if you get our weekly emails from church, you may have read what I suggested about these pledge cards. They are only one option, but as a discipline, they are an example of what I’m talking about. Here’s what I wrote:

WHY PLEDGE?
It is a both 1) a tangible prayer to God, and also 2) a signed message to your church leaders.

What are you telling God? You are telling him that you trust him, that you love this local church to which he has led you or in which he has raised you. You are asking God for the means to support it. You are telling God that you trust his providence. You are accepting responsibility as a church-family member. You are raising an "Ebenezer," a physical statement against doubt, and a message of your trust and faith in God.

What are you telling your church leaders?... you are encouraging your church leaders not to back down [either], not to give into human fear. You are telling them to continue to provide meaningful worship & messages, ministry to our youth & families, and Christian service to our community. You are telling your church leaders to remain faithful, and that you will back them up. You are raising an "Ebenezer," a physical stance against fear, and a message of...appreciation and commitment...

Are there other ways of doing all this? Yes: involvement through any gift of time or generosity, whether or not it is "documented." In all circumstances, how we live or lives speaks loudly to God and others. However, for many of us, tangible markers like "pledges" can be a discipline to help keep us and our church more honest, motivated, and faithfully active.

Like any other human invention, pledge cards are fallible; they can be misused, even harmful. If done with prayerful intent, though, and kept in right perspective they can be a good discipline, leading to maturity and growth in generosity.

On a wider level, God has gifted us with a congregation and calls us to be a congregation with 1) a strong worship and message, with 2) a powerful ministry for youth and families, and 3) a huge heart for care and social outreach to our community and beyond. These three things are both our treasure and our calling. They define our gifts and ministry in Auburn.

When funds grow scarce do we respond by backing off, cutting back what we offer, our worship or our dedication to our youth or services to the community, our mission and ministry? So long as we remain in faithful prayer to God, doing what he would have us do here on the corner of 4th and H Streets in Auburn, God will resource our ministry. Let this message be my Ebenezer. Against all fear, any doubts, I trust us in the Hands of God Almighty.

Tough times call for firm faith and courageous living. Amen.

The Message We Bear

Message prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA
Reformation Sunday; October 31, 2010.
Texts: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalms 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-35

The Message We Bear

FOR TODAY’S SERMON, imagine that you are in Wittenberg, Germany. It is October 31, 1522; exactly five years after Martin Luther posted his “95 Theses” against papal indulgences. Since that posting, he has been served papers and excommunicated by the Church (June, 1520). He defended his writings in Worms (April, 1521).

That May, he was taken into protection in the Wartburg Castle near Eisenach through February of 1522. He had already written some of his more famous publications including: A Treatise on Good Works, An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility, The Babylonian Captivity, The Freedom of the Christian Man.

In March of 1522, the ban against Luther was lifted and he returned to his congregation in Wittenberg, where some leaders—in their attempt to follow Luther, and shake off the Roman Church—had thrown the liturgy into confusion, were destroying furniture and iconography, and were harassing monks and priests who would not conform. Luther immediately launched a harsh sermon series, preaching daily from Sunday to Sunday, re-establishing the gospel message, priority, and order.

In September of 1522, at the age of 38, and a month prior to his preaching today, Luther published his translation of the New Testament from the original Greek into common German. His preface to Paul’s Letter to the Romans included these frequently quoted words on faith: “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that you could stake your life on it a thousand times.”

[This message was delivered in the costume and personage of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, and adapted from several of his own sermons: 1) a preface to “The Sermon Preached in the Castle at Leipzig,” June 29, 1519; 2) “The First Sermon,” “The Second Sermon,” & “The Sixth Sermon,” March 9-14, 1522, an 8-part sermon series delivered in Wittenberg; and 3) “The Sermon on the Sum of the Christian Life,” November 24, 1532. These are NOT meant to be taken as quotations from Martin Luther's works. Parts in brackets are longer additions of my own.]

[How good to be back with you here in Wittenberg!] It is doubtless known to you that I have been out among other churches, still speaking against the abuse of the Roman indulgence. I do this in Christian faithfulness and good intentions; since I have seen how the people were being misled by the excessive greed of some preachers, and the people were being deprived of what little they did have. …In all this, what has grieved me most is that this movement and my words have prompted so many Christian people to hatred, jealousy, backbiting, frivolous judgment, when—if it were not for this damnable greed—these indulgences…are not and cannot ever be worth the price of one heart poisoned.

…One can see why they have made such a hullabaloo and uproar against me …And though I might justly attack them in return I have refrained …seeing that God, who has forgiven me many thousands of times has commanded us to do the same. I am also at peace, knowing that though the envier and hoards of devils may battle against the truth, they shall never gain the upper hand. It seems right however, that I should do what I can to warn all Christians to guard their souls against these slanderous tongues, and I am willing, with God’s help and grace, to die for this gospel message.

For the summons of death comes to us all, and no one can die for another. All of us must fight our own battle with death…alone. We can shout into another’s ears, but every one must be prepared for the time of death, for I will not be with you then, nor you with me. Therefore let every one …know and be armed with the chief things which concern a Christian. And these are what you, my beloved, have heard from me many days.

In the first place, we must know that we are the children of wrath, and all our works, intentions, and thoughts are nothing at all. Here we need a clear, strong text to bear out this point. Such is the saying of St. Paul in [Romans 3: There is no one on earth who is good and who understands God and does good; rather they all need God’s grace. And since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”] they must be justified by his grace as a gift. So, please do not undertake to say: I have paid for or built an altar, given a foundation for the church, etc. It will not stand without grace.

Secondly, we must know that God has sent us his only-begotten Son that we may believe in him and that whoever trusts in him shall be free from sin and a child of God, as [Jesus declared in John’s third chapter, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free…And if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed]. We should all be well versed in the Bible and ready to confront the devil with many passages like these.

Thirdly, we must also have love and through love we must do to one another as God has done to us through faith. For without love faith is nothing, as St. Paul says in I Cor. 13: If I had the tongues of angels and could speak of the highest things in faith, and have not love, I am nothing.

Here let us beware lest our town become like the Biblical Capernaum [which Jesus cast into the depths of the sea for its lack of goodness and repentance]. I notice that many preachers and leaders these days have a great deal to say of the doctrines quoting scripture to back themselves up …And this is no wonder; a donkey’s ass can almost recite the lessons, so why would these others not be able to repeat the doctrines and formulas?

Dear friends, the kingdom of God,—and we are that kingdom—does not come in talk or words, but in activity, in deeds, in works and exercises. God does not want mere listeners and repeaters of words, but followers and doers, and this occurs in faith through love. For a faith without love loving action is not enough.

Fourthly, in bearing this message we also need patience. For whoever has faith—trusting in God, showing love to his neighbor, and practicing it day by day—must suffer persecution. For the devil never sleeps, but constantly gives plenty of trouble. But patience works, and patience produces hope. And hope through affliction and persecution, increases, and is strengthened day by day. A heart thus blessed with [God’s grace, followed by faith, patience, and then hope] can never rest or restrain itself, but rather pours itself out again and again for the benefit and service of the neighbor, just as God has done for us.

And here, dear friends, one must not insist upon rights, but must see what may be useful and helpful to the neighbor, as Paul says “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful.” For we are not all equally strong in faith; some of you have a stronger faith than I. Therefore we must not look upon ourselves, or our strength, or our prestige, but upon our neighbor.

Let me illustrate. The sun has two properties, light and heat. No king has power enough to bend or guide the light of the sun; it remains fixed in its place. But the heat may be turned and guided… Thus faith must always remain pure and immovable in our hearts, never wavering; but love bends and turns so that our neighbor may grasp and follow it.

There are some who can run, others must walk, still others can hardly creep. Therefore we must not look upon our own, but upon our neighbor’s powers, so that the one who is weak in faith, and attempts to follow the strong, may not be destroyed of the devil. Therefore, dear friends, follow my example; I have never been a destroyer. And I cannot run away, but will remain among you as long as God allows. I was the one to whom God first revealed that his true Word should be preached rightly to you. I am therefore sure that you have the pure Word of God.

Let us, therefore, let us act with fear and humility, cast ourselves to one another’s needs, join hands with each other, and help one another in walking onward. I will do my part… for I love you even as I love my own soul. For here we battle not against pope or bishop, [or doctrines and words], but against the devil, and do you imagine he is asleep? He is not, but sees the true light rising, and to keep it from shining into his eyes he would like to make a flank attack upon us—and he will succeed, if we are not on our guard.

[That is why we gather to hear his Word.] Dear friends, you know how earnestly God has commanded everyone to hear and to learn his precious Word in worship, for it cost him much to bring it to the world…even sent his own Son and allowed him to be crucified and to die for this. He permitted all the apostles to be persecuted and all Christians to be afflicted for this purpose, and he commanded some to preach the Word, and others to hear it. …This one reason would be sufficient, for as creatures we owe it to our Lord and Creator to be obedient to him.

But he does not leave it at that; he does not wish that it be imposed upon us only as a command or demand it as bound in duty, but he also promises that great fruits and benefits shall [be given through worship. The world is full of ways and places to worship God. The mother serves and worships God best through her care and upbringing of her children, likewise the father diapering an infant or teaching a child, or the carpenter or swine herder doing their work whatever it is. They do it to their best ability, for the sake of their neighbor, and for God who gave them ability. This is all good and true worship of God, as Paul says, “Everything you do, do it to the glory of God.”]

But God has also exalted and extolled this service of worship, both of those who hear and those who preach his Word. This day he has specially marked out and commanded that it be kept, so that all can expect and plan for it. He has also appointed special places, churches or houses, where we come together. He has instituted and preserved the whole priesthood of believers for this purpose, [and through their mutual treasures, efforts, gifts, God supports and] has given the world a special commandment and [a place to worship him and keep his Word alive and thriving in the hearts of people around the world.]

Now, as for a man who will neither listen to this nor gladly hear and learn from God’s Word whenever he can, I do not know how to advise him, for I cannot drag anybody in by the hair. Anybody who despises it, let that person go on despising it and remain the pot-bellied sow that he or she is!

[On the other hand, it is you my brothers and sisters, who will reach and change the world around you, through your families, children, servants and friends, even your enemies, by the grace God gave you, by turning around and giving the same to them. As Christ prayed for you, pray for them. As Christ taught and was patient with you, do likewise. As Christ did all for God’s glory, so you live and do your best, offering it with humility to the God who accepts all you do as forgiven, good and holy. This is the message we bear. And you, my friends, are not to keep this treasure to yourselves, but to share it out. We are stewards of the greatest treasure.]

[How then shall we bring the message we bear to those who need it so desperately? How shall we change lives? How shall we change our city, and make children and neighbor believe as we do? The same way Christ did. For he] allowed the Word to act and prayed for them. For the Word who created heaven and earth and all things; the Word must do this thing too, and not we poor sinners. In short, preach it, teach it, speak it, write it, live it, but …constrain no one by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank good Wittenberg beer with my friends, Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.

[How can we trust ourselves and the message to do such amazing things? We will do what we need to do. Sacrifice what we need to sacrifice: for faith and love.] Believe that God steps in for you and stakes all he has and his blood for you. It is as if he were saying: Fall in behind me without fear or delay, and then let us see what can harm you; come devil, death, sin, and hell, and all creation, [God shall protect you, God is our refuge and strength, a mighty fortress. Be still and know that he is God most exalted.]

In closing, faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that you could stake your life on it a thousand times.

That faith is the message we bear, and it is our greatest treasure. But we are commanded joyfully to break open this treasure to all who will hear it. Let this suffice for today’s message. I commend you to God.