Renewing Rural Life

[This message was shared this evening with the Hocking County Granges as they commemorated Rural Life Sunday in the chapel of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio.]

After I learned that today is Rural Life Sunday for the Hocking County Granges, I decided I need to poke around on the Internet to learn just what that entailed. I did know a little about the Grange. My mother-in-law grew up in Wellston, where her father was deeply involved with the Grange. It was a center for the community’s social life and an advocate for rural and farm interests.

But what, after all, does a city slicker who grew up in Columbus and graduated from a little college on North High Street—you may have heard of Ohio State—know about rural life?

A little bit. During my seminary years, Ann, our then-one year old son (he's now 26), and I lived in Benzie County, Michigan. I don't know whether this is still the case, but back in those days, Benzie County was the smallest Michigan county in population. Year round, 11, 500 people called the place home. But when the snowbirds came back to stay in the cabins on one of the county's 28 named lakes, the population ballooned to 36,000. The biggest town had about 1800 people. (Several years after we lived there, the ABC radio news network reported that Benzie County had finally gotten its first traffic light!) In spite of the loss of many businesses and industries, people still cherished and strove to hold onto living there. We learned while there that there's something special about life in rural communities where people know and look out for one another.

This was underscored during the six years I spent as pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church near Okolona, in northwestern Ohio. But I learned even more than that. It was while living at Okolona that my faith in Jesus Christ grew more than at any other comparable period of my faith life. In a very real sense, the people of my first parish taught me how to live as a Christian in the everyday world.

One of my teachers was John Baden. John was deep into his seventies when I met him, long retired from farming, but still in love with rural living. “You know, Pastor,” he told me, “if you’re a farmer, you have to have a lot of faith. You have no control over the sun and rain. You have to trust that God will provide.”

That’s really true of anyone who seeks to build a life in the Hocking County countryside or in small towns like Logan, Gore, McArthur, Rockbridge, or other communities that dot our area. You have to trust that God is going to renew towns and villages and rural areas just as He renews the earth every spring.

In fact, on my prayer list each day is a petition for not just the spiritual renewal of Logan and Hocking County, but also for its economic revival. I’ve come to appreciate the rural life as a life that helps people grow strong in their faith and in their love for neighbor and that allows them to enjoy a life less stressful than that lived by big city dwellers, a life in which it’s easier to see the stars in the nighttime sky and the power of God reaching right into our daily existences.

I want places like the communities of Hocking County to be able to provide the opportunities for making a living that will allow young people to stay in Logan, Gore, McArthur, and Rockbridge. I’m praying and I’m trusting that God will answer these prayers.

But in the meantime, how do we live?

In my exploration on the Internet, I ran across the thoughts of Judy Pressler, one time state chaplain of the Grange in Pennsylvania. Her message was called, “Step Into the Light of Springtime.” I really loved what she wrote. Listen to some of it:

…Spring. That is on everyone’s mind…how hardy those little daffodils, crocus and hyacinths are. They have peeked their heads out of the ground a couple of times already only to get slapped down again with a cold snap and get covered with snow and ice…

They are a good example of [a Scripture verse…Matthew 5:16 [where Jesus says:] ‘Let your light so shine before [others], that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven’…

Now, this is a particularly important verse for we Lutherans. It’s the verse we use every time someone is baptized. We present the baptized person, whether an adult or a child, with those words, urging them to live their faith in Jesus out loud in public. You see, Jesus and the Bible are insistent that our faith in Him is not a private, personal matter. Faith in Christ is a very public matter. We’re to love our neighbor, for example, out where the whole wide world can see it. We’re to tell others the Good News that God so loves them that He sent His only Son Jesus and whoever believes in Him will live with God forever. “A city on a hill,” Jesus once said, “cannot be hid.” Instead, people from miles around can see its light and its life. Similarly, our relationship with Jesus can’t be hidden. Like the daffodils and hyacinth that blossom like crazy in the spring, we’re to let the world know that Jesus is our Lord and our everything.

Jesus will be seen in the way we treat our spouses and our children, in the way we get along with our neighbors, in the courtesy we display for people while driving on Route 33 or at the meat counter in the Kroger store.

The wonderful thing about rural life for the follower of Jesus Christ is that it’s easier to have an impact, easier for others to see how much our Lord means to us.

The difficult thing about rural life for the follower of Jesus is that it’s easier to have an impact, easier for others to see us being hypocritical or, as is true for all of us, how we occasionally fall on our faces and live as something less than Christians.

But even when we fall on our faces, the great thing is that our neighbors will be able to see that, unlike an often cruel and heartless world, the God we know in Jesus Christ forgives us our sins and gives us brand new starts. God brushes us off and tells us He still loves us!

Judy Pressler also writes:

Those beautiful, fragile spring flowers sure do persevere to show off their beauty and bring a bright light after the long dark wintry days.

They won’t stay hidden under a blanket of snow very long! We can take a lesson from them.

Oh sure, we will get enthused with Spring chores: cleaning the windows, fertilizing the lawns, and washing our cars. That may be a first step....getting everything bright and shiny. But there is another step involved. We gotta let our lights and lives shine in ways that will get others curious about Who generates our inner light. We can’t let busyness, pride, gossip, jealousy and all those other “snows” cover our beautiful joy inside. The love in our hearts should melt all those distractions and serve as a beautiful light of hope in the future.

I agree. As we pray and work for the spiritual and economic renewal of our community, we need to let others see the light of Jesus Christ’s love shining brightly in our lives. When others see Jesus shining brightly in our love and service in Christ’s Name, they will be given an indispensable gift: hope.

Last week, a professor of meteorology named Edward Lorenz died. Lorenz was the scientist who came up with what’s known as “chaos theory,” called “the third great scientific revolution of the 20th. Century.” In a nutshell, chaos theory holds that “very small changes…can have very large and unexpected consequences.” The 1972 article in which Lorenz explained his theory was subtitled, “Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?” Lorenz answered his own question with a resounding, “Yes!” (See here. Subscription necessary.)

And today, what I want to tell you is that as we consider how best to strengthen and renew rural life here in our community, never underestimate the impact of a life faithfully lived for Jesus Christ here and now.

Even the smallest act done in Jesus’ Name can have a positive impact. Mother Teresa had her own version of Lorenz’s theory. She said, “Small things done in great love will change the world.”

You can believe that! Some years ago, I read an exchange of letters between a young woman who had attended a Christian rock concert and a member of the band she saw perform. The young woman revealed that she had never heard of the Christian band until her friend asked her one afternoon to go hear them that night. It just happened that at the moment her friend called, the young woman was planning her own suicide. She was going to take her own life that night. When her friend called, she thought, “I’ll go to this concert and then commit suicide afterward.” At the concert, she and her friend sat in one of the first few rows. Sometime during the evening, the member of the band to whom she wrote her letter looked at her…and smiled. I knew then, she wrote, that I wouldn’t follow through on taking my own life. Isn’t God amazing?, the rock musician wrote. God can take something as small and insignificant as a smile and assure us that He loves us. That one single smile saved a young woman’s life. Small things done in great love can change the world!

Own Jesus’ words as your own personal motto and mission statement, “Let your light so shine before [others], that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” If a butterfly in Brazil can set off a tornado in Texas, imagine the impact on Hocking County when you and I let Jesus Christ be seen in all that we say and do and are! Live and pray, serve and work in Jesus’ Name and the lives of all you know will be bettered not just today, but for all eternity!

Never Alone!

[This was shared during worship with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio this morning.]

John 14:15-21
Two stories, both true.

In the first parish I served as pastor, a member was badly hurt in an accident. For some time, his life hung in the balance, meaning many hours waiting in the hospital for his family and friends. His wife had just given birth to their third child and was breastfeeding him. Because she needed to be at the hospital with her husband, this meant that she often retreated to a janitor's closet there, usually with her sister-in-law, to use a pump to get the milk to be sent back home to her son. While she did this, her sister-in-law read to her from the Bible, Christ in Our Home, and Guideposts magazine. Between readings, they would pray together. The women came to see the janitor's closet as a cherished spot, a place where they were sure they met God. They even gave the small closet a name. They called it The Pump and Pray Room.

As I’ve told some of you, the first time I came to Saint Matthew to speak with the Call Committee, I did so almost on a lark. I felt little inclination to actually come here. I loved my former parish and though I sensed that it might be time for me to leave there, I was far from clear about where God wanted me to go. But after that first interview, I wondered whether what might be a lark for me was actually a call from God. I phoned Ann on the way home and summarized my impressions in two words: “Maybe. Maybe.” As the weeks passed, the sense grew stronger that this was where God wanted me to be. But I wanted to be sure. “God,” I prayed, “if I’m supposed to be at Saint Matthew, grant that Ann will tell me so.” Four weeks after my initial interview, Ann and I came here for a second conversation, her first meeting with the Call Committee. About halfway here from Cincinnati, Ann turned to me and said, “I think that if this whole thing can be made to work, you should take this call.” I was sure that God spoke to me in that moment. (Ann tells me that, if I will only listen, I can often hear what God is telling me when she speaks!)

Some people will hear those stories and dismiss them as mere coincidences. The women in their Pump and Pray Room, skeptics are likely to say, simply enjoyed one another’s company and the soothing words of Scripture. But, these skeptics would tell me, they didn’t really meet God. Similarly, the skeptics might say that Ann’s words to me weren’t guidance from God, just her opinion. The follower of Jesus Christ would say otherwise. And our saying so is more than wishful thinking.

Today’s Gospel lesson from John continues the words Jesus spoke to His disciples before His arrest. His ‘Farewell Discourse’ contained last minute instructions Jesus had for His followers as He looked ahead not just to His crucifixion and resurrection, but also to the days and years that would come after He ascended into heaven. Jesus wanted those first disciples—and you and me—to know that He would not leave His followers alone.

“I will not leave you orphaned,” He promises us. When we face the uncertainties of life, when we make decisions, when we wonder whether God can love us when we sin, this is an awesome promise to hold onto. God will never leave us orphaned! But how can it be true? How is it that the risen and ascended Jesus can actually be with us now?

In our lesson for today, Jesus gives two mega-promises to believers, promises that should tell us that when Christians sense that they’re being helped, guided, or accompanied by God, they’re not just reacting to coincidences. They’re experiencing God-incidences, juxtapositions of God’s presence and our needs that are very real.

I’ll talk about those two promises in a moment. But before I do, I need to point out something important about this passage. You may have noticed it already. It begins and ends with a condition for the promises Jesus makes. At the beginning, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” At the end, He says the same thing in reverse order: “They who love my commandments and keep them are those who love me.”

Now, folks, I don’t want to go too deep into the woods of Biblical scholarship. But it’s worth pointing out that whenever you have two similar verses bracketing a section of Scripture like this, it forms what the scholars call an inclusion, or an inclusio. Everything sandwiched between the two verses is related to them or amplify or explain them.

I once heard a preacher say that all the promises God makes in the Bible are like blank checks waiting for believers in Jesus to cash. The promises of forgiveness of sin and everlasting life for all who entrust their lives in Jesus Christ, for example, are promises that anyone who repents and follows Christ can cash. So too are the promises Jesus gives today. But in order to cash in on them, we must love Jesus by keeping His commandments.

Now, be careful here. Jesus is not rescinding what the Bible calls grace. There isn’t a single one of Jesus’ promises that we either deserve or earn. Every one of Jesus’ promises and blessings are free gifts we cannot earn.

Instead of concluding that Jesus is throwing grace overboard here, we need to pay close attention to the verb Jesus uses in both of those bracket verses. He talks about those who keep His commands as being the ones who truly love Him. Among the meanings of that word, keep, in the original Greek of the New Testament are: watch over, pay attention to, hold dear.

None of us can perfectly fulfill the commands Jesus or the Scriptures give. But every time...

you and I confess our sins together or in private, or
strive to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, or
forgive others as God forgives us, or
serve others as Jesus serves us...

we are paying attention to, holding dear, Jesus’ command.

We are living out our love and gratitude to the Savior Who died on a cross for our sins and rose from the dead to give us life.

We are, simply, giving first place in our lives to the Savior Who puts us first.

We are doing the hard work of loving Jesus each day.

All of this--holding Jesus' commands dear, striving to live our lives like Jesus--is the precondition for the two mega-promises Jesus gives in today’s lesson.

So, what are those promises?

First, Jesus says, to those who love Him and keep His commands, He will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word translated as Advocate is Paraclete. That’s not to be confused with a little bird. The word paraclete means called alongside. The Holy Spirit comes alongside believers in Jesus and makes the presence and love and power of God unmistakably clear to them. Believers in Jesus can experience the presence of the Holy Spirit with alongside of them every single day.

One of my favorite preachers, Pastor Craig Barnes became ill soon after being called to serve as senior pastor of National Presbyterian Church. “I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer,” he told a magazine interviewer. “The elders and I were tempted to keep it a secret. But we told everybody, and soon many people were holding me before God in prayer. It was great to be spiritually ‘held’ by a congregation — it cast out fear. My illness has been a tremendous life-changing experience: I try to live in the gift of the day, and not count on tomorrow.”*

You see what happened? Barnes owned his need and soon, a whole church was calling the Holy Spirit to come alongside him and his family. The Spirit transformed his response to his illness...and his life!

This past winter, the senior pastor of a large Pentecostal congregation in Chillicothe took a turn for the worst in his long battle with a killing disease. Throughout his long illness, I’m told that this pastor preached brave, faithful sermons in which he pointed out that no matter if he lived or died, Jesus was still his loving Lord. It was announced to the congregation that this pastor’s condition had worsened and that he probably wouldn’t live for long. The announcement was made right at the same time one of this past winter’s big storms hit. Worship had to be canceled. But the people of this congregation wouldn’t allow some snow to prevent them from doing what they sensed God called them to do. And so, on the night of a blizzard, snow accumulating all around, hundreds of them went to the pastor’s house. One of them knocked on the door and told the pastor’s wife that they had come to pray for him, for her, and for their family. “But I can’t possibly welcome all of you into the house,” the pastor’s wife said apologetically. “We don’t want to come in,” the church member said, “We just sensed God wanted us to pray for you. That’s what we’re here to do.” They then circled the house and did just that.**

Can you imagine the comfort that pastor and his wife felt at that incredible moment? The Holy Spirit, the One Who comes alongside God’s people sent the members of that Church, to come alongside and give His comfort to two people who loved the Lord Jesus and kept His commands. That fulfilled the first promise Jesus makes in today’s lesson.

There’s a second promise in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus says, “I am coming to you.” He goes on to say, “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me…” At one level, Jesus was telling His first followers that because they had believed in Him, because they had sought to love Him and keep His commands, they would see Him when He rose from the dead. Those who had rejected Him wouldn’t see Him. But at another level, He was saying that in succeeding history, the people who dared to believe in Him, people like you and me, would also see Him. Not physically. But in their lives, they would recognize His presence.

For decades now, many western European and North American Biblical scholars, skeptical about the Bible, have engaged in what has been called “the quest for the historical Jesus.” Some of these scholars claim to be able to decide what portions of the Bible are true and which ones are not. A few years ago, several of these scholars lamented “the fact that African-American scholars really have taken no interest in the on going discussion of the historical Jesus. A black pastor got up and said, ‘I have been listening to you worrying about why our people aren’t really talking much about the historical Jesus. You know, it is not a big issue in the black church. Because, you see, we ALWAYS knew who Jesus was!’” “We always knew,” he was saying, “that the risen Jesus is real and that He will not leave His people orphaned!” No matter how many well-to-do white scholars with too much time on their hands and too much hubris in their souls to accept God’s ability to bring about resurrections and to give new life, Jesus’ promise stands for all who love Him and hold His commands dear. He will come to us. He will be with us!***

Rosie was a member of Ann’s and my home church in Columbus. She was a sweet, hard-working person who rarely said anything in the adult Sunday School class. But one day, when a seminary student was teaching a lesson on the calendar of greater and lesser church festivals, she answered his question. “What special day might you like to add on to the Church Year that isn’t on the calendar now?” he asked us. Everyone was silent until quiet Rosie raised her hand. “I’ve always thought,” she said, “that we ought to have a day every year where we thanked God that we’re alive today. I’ve wondered whether I would have believed in Jesus back when He was walking on the earth.” We might all be able to identify with Rosie’s sentiments. But what really strikes me as I reflect on her suggestion three decades later is that what she said constituted the confession of faith of someone who loved Jesus and held His commands dear. In all the ups and downs of life, she’d found it to be true that in these times, two thousand years after Jesus died and rose and ascended into heaven, His promises are true.

Those who follow Jesus see Him working in their lives today. They’ve been comforted by the presence of His Holy Spirit. When they call out to Him, they’ve experienced Jesus coming to them.

Jesus’ message for us today is, I think, simple. But if we let it, can change our lives for all eternity. It’s this: Put Jesus first in your life. He will send His Spirit to you and He will come to you. With Him, you will never be alone. Amen

*I read about the interview with Craig Barnes at Homileticsonline.com.
**My Lutheran colleague, Pastor Rick Hinger, shared this true story with us several days after the incident happened.
***I found the account of this incident at Homileticsonline.com as well.

A Look at This Sunday's Bible Lessons (April 27, 2008)

[Each week, I take at least one "pass" at the appointed Bible lessons for the following Sunday. I do this to help my own preparation for preaching and worship. But I also do it to help the folks of the congregation I serve as pastor, Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, to get ready for Sunday morning. Because I almost always use the lessons of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) associated with the Church Year, used by most Christians each week, I hope that others will find these passes helpful too.]

The Bible Lessons:
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

The Prayer of the Day:
Almighty and ever-living God, you hold together all things in heaven and on earth. In your great mercy receive the prayers of all your children, and give to all the world the Spirit of your truth and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Comments:
1. This Sunday will be the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the next to last Sunday of the Easter season. Ascension Day, which remembers the return of thr risen Jesus to heaven, is this coming Thursday. May 11 will bring the Festival of Pentecost, when the promised Holy Spirit came to believers, just as Jesus promised. This Sunday's Gospel lesson records one of the times when Jesus made this promise.

2. I used to wonder why passages from Jesus' Farewell Discourse (see here and here) were appointed for the Easter season. After all, Jesus spoke the words in last week's, this week's, and next week's Gospel lessons just before He was arrested and crucified. Why would we look at these lessons on three of the Sundays in a season especially devoted to recalling Jesus' resurrection?

The answer is simple, I think: Jesus, as He spoke these words, was physically leaving His first followers. His death would bring about their separation from Him. His words, especially those in this Sunday's Gospel lesson, were meant to assure the disciples that He would not leave them "orphaned." He would send His Spirit to those who trust in Him.

Today, as we live without the physical presence of the risen Jesus, we could feel "orphaned." But the words in Sunday's Gospel lesson assure us that we are not alone.

3. The lesson from Acts is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It recounts what happened when the apostle Paul arrived in Athens to share the message of new life for all who believe in Jesus Christ. As a pious Jew who believed in one true God of the universe, the God he believed to be definitively revealed in Jesus, Paul would have been revolted by the way in which the Greeks worshiped many gods.

Instead, he accepted the Athenians where they were spiritually and, commenting on a statue devoted to an "unknown God," told them about this unknown deity.

It's a great example of sensitive Christian witnessing. Without condescension, but with a firm commitment to Jesus Christ, Paul met the Athenians at the intersection of his story, the Athenians' story, and God's story.

4. The psalm is a bold declaration that God refines our faith by taking us through adversity.

Today, we're called to trust an invisible God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In a reflection on Genesis 28:5, when Isaac sent his son Jacob away, Martin Luther discussed the patience this cultivated in the younger man:

Jacob waited many years for the promised blessing...

This is a wonderful example that shows us how God works. He requires us to trust his word and his promises even when the opposite of those promises is happening to us. Jacob had the promised blessing, but he had to hold onto it by faith and not doubt what he couldn't see...[This] example teaches us to live by faith. We should believe God when he promises to love and protect us, take care of us, and listen to us, even though we might not see it happening...

We must learn to depend on the visible Word of our invisible and incredible God...This is difficult for us because we are used to things we can touch, see, or feel. We have to learn to let go of what we can experience only with our senses and live according to what is invisible.

Fortunately, as we take the leap of faith into God's arms, we have the promises of a Savior Who, promises of life forever with God and of God's presence with us always. Jesus seals those promises with His death and resurrection.

5. The passage from First Peter, written to churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), is a reminder that following Jesus is no guarantee that our lives will go smoothly. People may reject us for our faith in Christ. We may even suffer for it. But, Peter reminds us, our hope is for a life with God that not even death will be able to destroy.

I love Peter's words in verses 15b-16:

Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

The Good News we claim in Jesus Christ is authenticated when our witness is loving, devoid of condescension like Paul's witness in Athens.

For more, go here.

Quote of the Day

"God has hope for us long after we have given up." (Daniel J. Simundson and David L. Tiede. Chosen: The Story of God and His People, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1976, p. 164)

Our Former Community in Our Thoughts...

For seventeen years, we lived in suburban Cincinnati, where I pastored the congregation I founded there, Friendship Lutheran Church.

While there, my wife worked in several different schools of the West Clermont Local School District. Our kids graduated from one of the district's high schools. I was involved with the school system, volunteering in one levy/bond issue campaign and chairing another campaign. We count several teachers and administrators among our friends.

In recent years, we've watched one tragedy after another befall the district. In March the string of sadness continued when a long-time administrator, John Abegglen, died suddenly of a heart attack while sitting at his desk.

I wrote about some of these sad events here.

Now, the district and community prepares for the funeral of Matt Maupin, a graduate of the same high school my kids attended and a young man with whom our daughter worked at the local Sam's Club. He was killed by a militia that had earlier kidnapped him. That happened four years ago, but his remains were only recently found.

My thoughts and prayers and those of our family are with Maupin's family and with all our old friends and neighbors in the West Clermont school district as they prepare for the funeral.

May God comfort all who mourn.

I'm praying.

Athens International Film and Video Festival

It starts tomorrow...in Ohio, not Greece. This festival has been an annual event since 1974.

Interesting...

Thanks to my son, Philip, who found this video and ran it on his Facebook page.

Happy Earth Day!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!


Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!


Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.


Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!


Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!


Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!


Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! [Psalm 148]

See here.

Boys and Girls Clubs Change Lives for the Better

A wonderful article. I dream that one day, there will be Boys and Girls Clubs here in Hocking County. In my former community, Clermont County, in the Cincinnati suburbs, I was honored to have served on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs. Regular readers of this blog know how impressed I am with the Clubs, which strive to be "the positive place for kids." Every community should have Boys and Girls Clubs units!

For more on the Boys and Girls Clubs, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

We've Been Bought

Speaking personally, I haven't always provided a good return on the investment. But I'm grateful for it nonetheless.

Don't Be Troubled!

[This sermon was shared during worship earlier today with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio.]

John 14:1-14
Is there anything troubling you today?

Chances are, if you’re breathing, something is bothering you.

It may be a problem with family members or your finances. It may be a concern from work or your neighborhood. It could be your health. If you’re a parent, you may be stewing over some issue with your child. If you’re a teen, you may be concerned about your future or about how you did on the test this past Friday.

To you and to me today, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” The words may seem unrealistic, like a motto on a Hallmark card or the words to that old Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t worry; be happy.” Fine sentiments, we may think. But how on earth does a person turn off troubles?

Actually, you can’t turn off troubles, at least not in this world. That, in fact, is something that Jesus Himself acknowledged more than once.

• For example, in telling us not to worry about the future, He observed that each day brings its own troubles.
• He also warned that those without any depth of faith will be swept away from God when life’s inevitable troubles come along.
• He even promised that when people follow Him, they would get troubles they wouldn’t otherwise have to handle.

Troubles do come to us and every person in this sanctuary can affirm the truth of that.

But Jesus’ words for us this morning suggest that even when troubles come, we need not be troubled.

In fact, Jesus gives us three absolutes that will, if we tap into them, prevent us from being troubled in the face of troubles.

First: Jesus reminds us that all believers in Jesus Christ have one destination. “In my Father’s house,” Jesus says, “there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”

These words of Jesus, along with the rest of our Gospel lesson, come to us as part of a long section in John’s Gospel which the scholars call the Farewell Discourse. Jesus is about to go a cross, where He will die. On the third day after His death, He will rise, but only be with His first followers for forty days after that. In the Farewell Discourse, Jesus gives final reminders. And the first one is this: All who believe in Him have a home. This reality can help us through troubled times.

True story. The Rogers family were devout Christians. During their family prayer times, the parents often asked the children in their family to talk about the eternity Jesus secures His followers through His resurrection. Seven year old Jimmy said: “[I think heaven will be like this.] One day when we all get to heaven, it will be time for the big angel to read from the big book the names of all the people who will be there. He will come to the Rogers family and say, 'Daddy Rogers?' and Daddy will say, 'Here!' Then the angel will call out, 'Mommy Rogers?' and Mommy will say, 'Here!' Then the angel will come down to call out Susie Rogers and Mavis Rogers, and they will both say, 'Here!' And finally, the big angel will read my name, Jimmy Rogers, and because I’m little and maybe he’ll miss me, I’ll jump and shout real loud, ‘HERE!’ to make sure he knows I’m there.”

A few days later, a car struck Jimmy Rogers down. He was rushed to the hospital and the whole family was called. The doctors said they’d done all that was possible. The family gathered around Jimmy, motionless and unconscious, and they prayed. Late in the night, Jimmy stirred. They saw his lips move and form a single word. But what a word. Jimmy rasped out, “Here!” and he died. We who live on the other side of Easter, the day on which the once-crucified Jesus rose from the dead need not be troubled by death. Through Christ, we know we have one destination, our home with God.

Jesus also gives us one direction. Pastor Craig Cristina tells about a business trip he took to Boston in 1998. It was the first time he’d been in the city and he wondered how we would get around. But the car he rented had GPS in it, a novelty in those days. It showed him the way around.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells His disciples, “You know where I’m going.” But Thomas said, “No, really, Lord, I haven’t a clue.” That’s when Jesus told him…and us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

A lot of people these days claim that they want to know God. But I doubt that. If they really wanted to know God, they wouldn’t, like the people who killed Stephen in our first lesson for the morning, cover their ears to Jesus’ claims that He and the Father are one, that the way to the Father is through Him and Him only.

Why are we so hesitant to follow Jesus? Above all, it has to do with the cross. Newsweek religion editor Kenneth Woodward pointed out several years ago that the cross of Jesus is offensive to every other religious tradition in the world. Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus all find it unthinkable that God, or even a big religious hero, would die on a cross. Some of the happy talking televangelists seem to feel the same way.

But Jesus and the New Testament insist that His death was essential. The perfect, sinless Lamb of God had to pay the price for our sin, erasing its power to keep us from living with God. In turn, we must accept the legitimacy of the death sentence that is rightly ours in order to accept what Christ has done for us in rising from the dead.

Anyone who truly believes in Jesus has, in one way or another, humbly confessed that they need Jesus more than anything or anyone! Jesus is our GPS. He’s our way through this life and into eternity.

As we face troubles, Jesus gives us one destination and one direction. He also gives one deity. One God. Jesus tells Philip, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Jesus is God, the complete and total disclosure of Who God is and what God is like. When we trust in Jesus, we are trusting in the one true God of the universe Who, according to Jesus, can be found nowhere else.

We live in a world in which troubling things happen. But we need not be troubled. Father Andrew Greeley tells a fictional tale of an Irish immigrant to the United States:

A young father decided that the only way he could support his wife and their three children was to leave for America. He would get a good job there, save his money, send most of it back to his family, and save the rest so that eventually he could buy them a house and bring them to the Land with the Golden Door. His wife, his children and his parents begged him not to leave. We’ll perish without you, they said. You’ll perish with me here, he said. I must go to America to earn a decent living. Well, they had an American wake for him, a sad party for a man they never hoped to see again. He survived the journey across the Atlantic, though many of his fellow passengers died. He survived a long trip to Chicago and his first days in the Stock Yards. It was a terrible bloody, smelly place to work, but he could earn more money in a couple of days there than he would in a whole year working his miserable farm. He sent home a letter every month with money that would keep his whole family alive. He stayed away from the pubs and ate very little in the crowded boarding house in which he lived. He went to night school to study accounting and eventually found a job which paid even more money than the slaughter house. Only a few letters came from home, because his children were too young to write, his parents didn’t know how, and his heartbroken wife would break down in tears when she tried to scribble a letter. After five years and several promotions, he had saved enough money to pay their first class passage to the United States and to buy a cozy house in which his family would live. While he waited for them to come – hoping that they would – he decorated and furnished the house. Back home the wife’s mother was urging her not to go to America. People died on the trip, she said. You’ll be taking my grandchildren away. He’s a real yank now and he won’t want country folk like you living in his house. The wife was torn between two loves, but she finally decided after much delay to risk everything on the trip to America and to the husband she still loved, though she couldn’t really remember what he looked like. The trip over was easy in first class as was the train ride to Chicago. At first none of them recognized the prosperous gentleman in the business suit that welcomed them when they got off the train. They were astonished by the house – running water, gas lamps, inside heating. Isn’t worth waiting for? The husband asked. You were worth waiting for, his wife replied.

Jesus Christ doesn’t promise that, as we go through this life, all our troubles will be banished. But He does promise us that our hearts need not be troubled.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says, “Believe [trust] in God, believe [trust] also in me.”

Those who trust in Christ find strength and hope bigger than their troubles, a Lord greater than their fears.

Trust in Christ. You’ll draw strength from the fact that Christ gives you one destination, one direction, and one deity.

You’ll find an eternity worth waiting for.

You'll find a God worth waiting with.

With Jesus Christ, you won’t go wrong!

[The three realities to which this sermon points are taken from an outstanding sermon by Pastor Craig Cristina.]

Presidential Debates: Can't We Do Better?

Scorn has been heaped on ABC News anchors Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos for their work on this week's debate between Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Obama, his supporters, and some pundits have been critical of the two for using more than half of the debate to pose what they regard as "gotcha" questions, rather than ones dealing with substantive issues.

Stephanopoulos defended the approach taken by he and Gibson, saying, "We wanted to focus at first on the issues that were not focused on during the last debates."

The "last debates" includes a body of twenty, count 'em twenty, previous encounters involving the two senators!

By this time, we've probably all heard what the two senators have to say about the biggest issues of the campaign--from Iraq to the economy, health care to special interests' influence on public policy.

In fairness to Gibson and Stephanopoulos then, a different approach was warranted. They're news people and it's legitimate for them to look for the candidates to "make news" by being forced to answer different questions.

And, it probably would have been unnatural to expect that in the wake of some of the comments and gaffes perpetrated by the candidates and their respective campaigns that there wouldn't have been some questions about their alleged elitism (Obama) or distance from the truth (Clinton).

But, it seems to me that Gibson and Stephanopoulos also missed a golden opportunity. "Senators, we've heard where you stand on some of the marquee issues," they might have said, "but how about if we spend some time on other issues the lay beneath the surface?"

For example, time might have profitably been spent on discussing the interrelated issues of suburban sprawl, white flight, energy costs and alternative energy development, and how the US can be a leader of Third Wave economic pursuits while still maintaining its agricultural and industrial bases. Or, given the candidates' critiques of current policy in Iraq, they might have been asked about the disintegration of realpolitik as a guiding principle for foreign policy in both parties and whether today the only alternatives are Wilsonian interventionism and isolationism.

Prior to one recent debate, I suggested 23 questions that might be posed to the candidates. Most of the topics I thought worthy of exploration were ignored.

There are too many debates and presidential campaigns are way too long. Those two facts no doubt play their part in yielding insubstantial "debates."

But if the two ABC anchors were serious about focusing on issues not focused on in previous debate encounters, they could have done a lot better job than they did this week.

Is Wright Wrong? Part 5

A busy life has prevented me from completing my series on Jeremiah Wright's public pronouncements. But maybe enough has already been said here on the topic. I've tried to be fair to Wright, who I believe has been a faithful Christian pastor for many decades, but who has also displayed a disturbing tendency toward antisemitism and what I regard as overpoliticization of the Gospel. I also find his willingness to embrace and applaud the bigoted Louis Farrakhan incomprehensible.

You might want to take a look at a few pieces that underscore these tendencies:
here
here
here

However, for the last word on Wright, I would point you to the fair-minded words of Pastor John Buchanan, editor of Christian Century. You'll find Buchanan's thoughts here.

Here are links to the first four installments in this series:
Is Wright Wrong? Part 1
Is Wright Wrong? Part 2
Is Wright Wrong? Part 3
Is Wright Wrong? Part 4

A Look at This Sunday's Bible Lessons (April 20, 2008)

[Each week, I present at least one overview of the Bible lessons for the following Sunday's worship. These passes are designed to help the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, where I'm privileged to be pastor, to prepare for worship. But since we use the common lectionary, or Bible lesson plan, for the Church Year, I hope that others find them helpful as well.]

The Bible Lessons:
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

The Prayer of the Day:
Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Give us grace to love one another, to follow in the way of his commandments, and to share his risen life with all the world, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Comments:
1. Each of the texts appointed for this coming Sunday are so rich and so deserving of explanation that I'm tempted to preach on all of them. But we don't have that much time together in worship!

2. The texts, as usual, are interrelated. Psalm 31 is quoted by Stephen in the Acts text. (He emulates Jesus in doing so. More on that momentarily.) Peter speaks of believers in Christ being built into the household of God and in the Gospel lesson, Jesus talks about preparing a place for us with the Father and Him, Who are one.

3. Please take a look at the comments of Chris Haslam for a good overview of all the texts. See here.

4. In Acts, in the chapter preceding our lesson, Stephen has made the argument that Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel's history, law, and prophets. Judgment is upon all, Jew and Gentile, who reject Jesus. Salvation belongs to those who trust in Him. Jesus makes the same point, but at an even deeper level, in the Gospel lesson. He and the Father are one, Jesus asserts. If you have seen Jesus, He tells the disciples, you have seen the Father. This is why Jesus is the one and only way to relationship, to eternal homing, with God the Father.

Great Thoughts from My Son

Yeah, I'm prejudiced, but he's got a great blog!

Brief Reflections on Domestic Violence

During yesterday's gathering of congregations from the Scioto Conference, Southern Ohio Synod, (ELCA), we heard an enlightening, if grim, presentation on domestic violence.

One stunning statistic shared was that within the adult population in the US, 25% of all women and 11% of all men have been the victims of such violence. The presenters reminded us that physical violence is just one dimension, the worst perhaps, of a deeper problem that crops up in many relationships: the insistence of one person on being the boss and the acceptance of that by the other.

Often in abusive relationships, one partner, more frequently the man, convinces the other that no one else would have them.

Sadly, as the speakers pointed out, abused people are encouraged to stay in relationships because they think the relationship's problems are their fault or because they want to keep their marriage or family intact.

As I reflected on the presentation, I grasped that this is a profoundly spiritual issue. People who feel the need to be "boss," dominating their relationships, are compensating for a deep sense of fear and inadequacy. Such feelings can only be increased in economic down times, such as the ones through which we're going right now. Abusers feel that life and the world are out of control. And so, they seek to control those around them.

People who submit to abuse are also wrestling with fear and inadequacy, willing to accept abuse--verbal and emotional as well as physical--as the price they must pay for having what they mistakenly believe is "love."

In essence, abusers make themselves gods to those they abuse and those who accept their abuse offer a twisted kind of "worship," allowing their abusers control over them.

Of course, as Christians, we pray, "Your will be done," believing that life is best when God is in control and when we place ourselves under His authority. People need to hear and experience the Good News of God, Who is for us, promises to be with us through good and bad times, and to hear our prayers.

It Does Feel Good to Give

See here.

The Shepherd's Word

[This sermon was shared during closing worship for today's gathering of congregations from the Scioto Conference, Southern Ohio Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, held at Faith Lutheran Church in Jackson, Ohio.]

Psalm 23
The author Flannery O’Connor once told a story which I first read in a retelling by the late Lutheran theologian, Joseph Sittler. Sittler loved it and after retelling it, reflected on its meaning.

It’s the story of an elderly couple who lived in the Appalachians, surrounded by breathtaking views. They were accustomed to sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of their home for as long as the weather allowed, simply taking in the same sights they’d seen hundreds of days before in their long married life.

One spring day, they were doing the same thing, silently rocking and looking. “Well, Sarah,” the husband said to his wife. “I see there’s still some snow up there on the mountain.”

Sittler then reflects: “Now they both knew that there would still be some snow on that mountain at this time of the year; there always was. So why did he say so? Because just to know that at times there’s snow, while at other times there isn’t, was to be able to embrace the shifting but eternal rhythms of life that had made them so content with each other’s company. In any marriage or intimate relationship you may say the same things, just like that, time after time; you may share a profound and compassionate interest in the same people. And while, on the one hand, this might seem...boring; on the other hand it is simply breathtaking in its way of affirming the joy of life, and of living with someone that you love.”

They say that familarity breeds contempt. It can also breed indifference. But if we let it, as was true of this old couple, familiarity can also breed things that are wonderful--”breathtaking,” as Sittler puts it—things like comfort, confidence, and assurance.

One of the most familiar chapters in the entire Bible is Psalm 23. To prove it, I’ll recite the first clause of a phrase from the psalm and out loud, you finish it. “The Lord is my shepherd....” “He makes me lie down in...” “Even though I walk through the valley of...” “Surely goodness and mercy shall...” You see, you are familiar with Psalm 23!

And yet, I wonder if our familiarity with Psalm 23 and with the entire Bible from which it comes has bred in us not comfort, confidence, and assurance, as it should do, but indifference?

In fact, I wonder if the same thing couldn’t be said of our attitude toward the whole Bible. Almost everybody owns a Bible. But not many of us read it, digest it, study it, absorb it, or give it a central place in our lives. I struggle to do this myself. We don’t, I suspect, allow the Bible the time it needs to help us know the God Who wants to be our good shepherd or to teach us what difference that makes.

If we did, more churches would be more vibrant centers of mission. More of we Christians would be making sounder decisions about our lives. More of us would be loving and serving our neighbors. More of us would be engaged in ministries, serving Christ through our churches. And more of us would be inviting others to worship and to know and follow Jesus Christ. Authentic faith, faith that helps us face everyday living and gives us hope forever, is strengthened when we live under the power of God's Word.

Another familiar passage from the Psalms confesses to God, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.”

And in the New Testament, the apostle Paul reminds a young pastor named Timothy [I’m using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase in The Message], “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of the Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”

Folks, I don’t mean to be flippant, but to be quite honest with you, I don’t know if God much cares who the next bishop of the Southern Ohio Synod, who we are to elect next month, will be. Speaking personally, all I expect from a bishop and bishop’s staff is that they assist congregations, which are on the frontlines of Christ’s mission for the Church, through their transition times and that they work to ensure that the ELCA neither embarrasses congregations or gets in the way of their primary mission, making disciples.

Those are tall enough orders in themselves. But the documents of the ELCA and our synod mandate page after page of work to be directed by the bishop. For all that though, I think that congregations led by faithful pastors will keep on doing the work of the Church no matter who our next bishop is. Or whether we even have a bishop.

But of this I am certain: Unless the Church—congregations, pastors, bishops, janitors, and physicists—unless the whole Church is attentive to God’s Word—the Word as it meets water, bread, and wine in the Sacraments, the Word as lived out when we serve others in Jesus’ Name, the Word as we share it when we invite our spiritually disconnected friends and neighbors to follow Christ with us, the Word as proclaimed by faithful preachers, and most importantly, the Word in Scripture, the authoritative source and norm of our life, faith, and practice—unless the Word of God is central to our life as a Church, we will be impotent in dealing with the real-life issues that face people in our parishes. Only the Spirit-empowered Word of God—Law and Gospel—will enable us to help people dealing with things like domestic violence, relational discord, and all the other sin-rooted maladies that afflict us and our neighbors.

It is the Word that convicts us of our sin and our need of a Savior.

It is the Word that shows us that the crucified and risen Jesus is that Savior Who will never abandon His people and is preparing a place for us with Him in eternity.

“The Lord is our shepherd. We shall not want.” People steeped in God’s Word know that!

Christians who don’t regularly attend to God’s Word are setting themselves up for disaster. So are church bodies. We live in an imperfect world. Bad things happen. Temptations come to us. Accidents and disease may come to us. If we’re not steeped in God’s Word, life will knock us flat.

In a way, the message of the whole Bible is summed up well in Psalm 23. Psalm 23 tells us five important things about God, our good shepherd: God provides for us; God He allows us to be at ease, confident that if we will let Him into our lives, He’s with us no matter what; that God gives us life; that God stands with us in dark times, even when we die; and God welcomes us to be with Him always.

I sometimes hear people say, “Well, I believe in God. What do I need to mess with reading the Bible or worshiping or any of the other so-called disciplines of the Christian life for? If I’m freed from sin and death simply for believing in Jesus, I don’t need all that stuff.”

Let me tell you a true story. Shortly after I learned how to ride a bicycle, I begged my Mom to send me on errands to Gus’ IGA near the corner of Central and Sullivant Avenues in the section of Columbus called the Bottoms, where we lived. I had a twenty-four inch, beat-up blue Schwinn bike. I’d grown tired of using it to tool around the neighborhood or the blacktop in front of the warehouse behind our place.

Besides, Gus had a daughter named Mary Ann and she made my eight year old heart go pitter-pat. My mother was resistant to the idea. Sullivant and Central were busy thoroughfares. But one day she started to fix Johnny Marzetti and realized she didn’t have a key ingredient: canned tomatoes.

My two year old sister Kathy needed attending. So, Mom sent me to Gus’ for the tomatoes. When she called me in from playing baseball in the alley, I was psyched! Here was an important errand I could run on my own...and I might get to see Mary Ann in the bargain. “Remember, sliced tomatoes in the can,” my mother called out to me as I pedaled off.

By the time I got to Gus’ five minutes later, I had forgotten what I was supposed to buy. I had to ask Gus to dial my home number, so that I could ask Mom to repeat her order. After I got off the phone and had paid for the tomatoes, I asked where Mary Ann was and learned she wasn’t even around.

On the way home, I decided to take an alley that rolled steeply to my street. I rolled down that hill without looking to my right or left. A car came along just as I approached the end of the hill. Boom! I hit the car’s side. Fortunately, neither I nor the car were hurt.

Now, here’s the point: In the blink of an eye, I had forgotten that I was supposed to get tomatoes. I’d forgotten that I should look both ways when turning onto a street. I’d even forgotten, apparently, how to use my brakes. I was so consumed with thoughts of being a big shot and of seeing Mary Ann that the important things I knew and needed to remember got crowded out of my brain.

The same thing can happen to you and me when it comes to the most important thing in the world, our relationship with Jesus Christ, both as a church and as individual Christians. We can become so consumed with everyday life that we forget our Good Shepherd and our daily need of Him.

Our attentiveness to God's Word is what God uses to daily remind us to keep building our lives on Him and His promises.

It would be a shame if the Church of Luther and Melanchthon and the Reformation forgot that. God’s Word is our great heritage. On its pages, we’re reminded again of the truth we must never grow tired of remembering: The Lord is our shepherd. We shall not want. He makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still waters. He leads us in right paths for His Name’s sake.

Never grow complacent about those truths! Never grow complacent about God's Word! Amen

The Shepherd, the Gate...and Oprah

[This sermon was shared during worship with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, this morning.]

John 10:1-10
I saw video clips of a world-famous talk show host this past week. Her initials are Oprah Winfrey. In these clips, Winfrey, who seems like a nice person, was holding forth on spiritual issues. She said, for example, that sin doesn’t exist. She also claimed, several times in several ways, that all religions and spiritual quests may lead people to God. Is that true?

Well, not according to Jesus. And in today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus uses two illustrations to point us to Who He is and to the relationship with God that you and I…and every person on the planet…can have through Him. But only through Him. Jesus calls Himself a shepherd and a gate. More on that in a moment.

First though, we must establish the context for these illustrations. How is it that Jesus came to speak the words we find in John 10:1-10?

It all started when Jesus gave sight to a blind man in John 9. It aroused controversy because Jesus had the temerity to do the loving will of God on a Sabbath day. The Pharisees accused Jesus of doing work when He shouldn’t have. It made them so angry when the blind man declared that Jesus, in spite of this Sabbath violation, must be from God. It made them so mad, in fact, that they excommunicated the guy.

Now, at one level, the Pharisees were nothing like Oprah Winfrey. Unlike Oprah, who seems to say that any religious belief will get you to God, the Pharisees believed that only by abiding by their extensive lists of religious rules could one be right with God. They differed in other ways as well. But, based on both the Old and New Testaments, both Winfrey and the Pharisees have one big thing in common. They are equally wrong.

Over the centuries, starting with a desert people to whom God gave a land and a promise that they would become a light to all the nations, through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of a Man Who showed Himself to be God in the flesh, God has revealed Himself and His plan for the human race.

From the beginning, the plan for a right relationship with God and for a life with Him that lasts forever has been the same. We are simply to believe in Him and only in Him.

Genesis says that Abraham, the patriarch of Biblical faith, believed in God and God’s promises and that God “reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Abraham was right with God through belief in God.

Now, the New Testament book of Hebrews tells us, God has revealed Himself in Jesus. All who turn from sin and believe in Him have the same blessings enjoyed by Abraham, rightness with God and life in His Name.

It isn’t because God is an egomaniac or because God wants to establish an exclusive club that the first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods.” It’s that God wants to give us life and only He can give it. All other roads are dead ends, literally.

In the words of our lesson for today, Jesus is trying to convey this truth to the Pharisees and others who may be listening to Him, the truth that salvation comes to those with faith in the God revealed to Israel and ultimately, in Him.

So, first He tells them that He is the shepherd. Only Jesus can lead us into God’s sheepfold. People who try to get into the kingdom of God by other means are, Jesus says, thieves and bandits. He says:

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.

Sheep are pretty dumb creatures, I’m told. But if a stranger comes among them, they will en masse, move away, alarmed. Once a person familiar to them shows up, they relax, knowing that this person won’t lead them astray. They respond to the voice of the shepherd who takes care of them.

We may be brighter than sheep. But it's not that different for us.

Have you ever noticed how you can hear the voice of someone with whom you’re close even in a crowded, noisy place? Both of our kids were in a 100-plus-voice choir in high school. I can remember when we accompanied the kids on a concert tour in England. I particularly remember listening to them during a performance in the Milennium Dome in London. Like all parents, Ann and I found that if we perked our ears just right, we could hear both of our children’s voices in the midst of the others. You can dial into the voices of those you love and those you know love you.

When you allow the God we know in Jesus Christ to communicate with you through His Word, the Bible, through prayer, through the fellowship of other believers, and through Holy Communion, you begin to know His voice. You go to Him when He calls you. And when other voices call you to walk away from God’s will, you ignore them.

Jesus, our Gospel lesson tells us, called Himself the shepherd of God’s sheep. But his listeners “did not understand what He was saying to them.”

So, like many a frustrated communicator, Jesus tried another illustration to make His point. Now, He wasn’t a shepherd. “Very truly,” He says, “I am the gate for the sheep…Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief [which can include perfectly nice people who follow some other path in life, like Oprah] comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Jesus is the gate to eternity. Years ago, Ann and I went to a Halloween costume party. She went as a man, coat and tie and Mascara beard. It was the era of the first Battlestar Gallactica the sci-fi series on TV. So, I went as some interplanetary character, my costume composed of a Hefty bag around my torso, cinctured at the waist by a wide cloth belt, and…I hate to admit it…leotards. Leotards!

Now, if you made a list of the worst time for us to forget our house keys, this particular night would have been it. But, of course, we did lose our house keys and when we got home, struggled to find a way to get into the place.

Picture this, folks: Ann is in drag and I’m in leotards. Leotards! We began working our way around the first floor of the place, trying every window. Finally, on one side of the house, I stretched up and could tell that one of the dining room windows, which set about 7-feet off the ground, was slightly ajar. If I could hoist myself up, I might be able to slide the window open, throw myself into the house, and let Ann in.

The previous occupants had left behind half of an old pickle barrel they'd used as a planter. It wasn’t very big. But by standing on it and letting Ann push me from behind, I was able to throw myself through the window. I was halfway into the house, my hosed-legs still hanging outside, Ann no longer able to help me, when a thought crossed my mind: How would I explain this to a passing cop? You see, if you belong somewhere, you don’t have to break in. You go through the front door.

Some people think that getting to God happens as the result of a long spiritual quest. The Christian life does have its challenges. Belonging to Jesus doesn’t insulate us from the difficulties of this life, for example. And sometimes, as our second lesson for today points out, we face rejection precisely because we follow Jesus.

But we know too, that Jesus is the front door, the only door—the only gate—to life with God, to the abundant, everlasting life that God wants to give to all people. The real quest of the Christian life is to get to know God, which isn’t an onerous task, but a joy as wonderful as falling in love.

That’s why I hope that every member of Saint Matthew will not only regularly worship and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord, but also get involved in a Bible study, whether in Sunday School or the next offering of the Witnesses for Christ class or the WELCA group. I also hope that we’ll all make prayer a daily priority and that you’ll choose to participate in the upcoming Pentecost Prayer Vigil, when we’ll invite Jesus to enter even more deeply into our life as a church.

Jesus once told Thomas and the other disciples, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you know Me, you will know the Father also…”

After mouthing the famous words of John 3:16, He told Nicodemus, “…God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Those who believe in Him [that is, in Jesus] are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.”

And after Jesus became the only Savior in the history of the world to die and rise so that all who believe in Him will not suffer the consequences of our sin, eternal separation from God, His first followers proclaimed the same message about Jesus. When the religious authorities in Jerusalem arrested the apostles Peter and John for bringing healing to a man in Jesus’ Name, the two disciples told them, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the good shepherd and He is the gate—the front door—to eternity. Let yourself get to know Him better. As you do, you’ll hear His voice over the din of an often confusing world and He will lead you to a life prepared for you, a life that never ends, a life filled with the presence of God.

A Pass at This Sunday's Bible Lessons (April 13, 2008)

[These passes are designed to help all worshiping with us at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio to prepare for Sunday worship. Because we use the Revised Common Lectionary, as slightly modified by Lutherans, I also hope that these brief ponderings will help others too.]

The Bible Lessons:
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10

The Prayer of the Day:
O God our shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, that we may walk in certainty and security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

General Comments:
1. The Fourth Sunday of Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday on the Church calendar. The Gospel lessons for these Sundays are all different for the three years of the Church Year. But all come from John 10.

2. The first lesson for the week, as is true throughout this Easter season, is from the New Testament book of Acts, not an Old Testament book, as is usually the case. More on that text below.

3. The Acts passage and the one from First Peter present an interesting contrast. We read that in the very first days of the Church's life its members enjoyed "the goodwill of all people," maybe not to be taken literally, but certainly reflective of the high esteem in which the first Christians were held. Having come through Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection and the first Pentecost with their faith not only intact, but made stronger by God, they were appreciated by the Jerusalem community.

But by the time Peter writes his letter to the dispersed churches of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), Christians are subject to official persecution and social shunning. Peter writes his letter while imprisoned in Rome. It had become illegal to be a Christian, the Church's confession, "Jesus is Lord," called atheistic, because Christians would not acknowledge either Roman deities or the emperor as "Lord," ultimate boss.

In any and all circumstances, whether accepted or not, Jesus Christ is our Lord.

4. Three of the four appointed Scripture passages refer to Christ as our shepherd. It's a little tough for us today to identify with this imagery. Even few people who live in the countryside these days have much connection with livestock. More on the possible meanings of the imagery below.

5. Acts 2:42-47: The text begins on the first Pentecost. By this point in the narrative, Peter has preached, the people have asked what they must do to be reconciled with God and so have life, Peter has told them to repent and be baptized in Jesus' Name, and 3000 heed this call, powered by the Holy Spirit.

The text tells us then about something of the life of the early Church and how those around them responded to it.

6. Two things especially should be noted here, I think.

First of all, the first Christians, through the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church, were engaging in the wonderworking that made up part of Jesus' ministry. Jesus never performed His signs or miracles in the same way twice and there were a diverse numbers of signs He performed. There was a similar diversity in the signs performed by the early apostles.

As applied to church life today, I think that it's important for us to remember that, through the Holy Spirit living in Christians, Christ is still in the miracle making business. But it is, in my estimation, to think that miracles, meant to be signs of Christ's lordship over sin and death, are meant to be commonplace. As someone has said, if miracles happened all the time or any time we took it into our heads that they should happen, we wouldn't call them miracles; we'd call them ordinaries, as in ordinary, everyday stuff.

Furthermore, the unique character of each Biblical miracle should caution us against ready acceptance of the absurd spectacle, seen on some televangelist's shows, of assembly line miracle working, seemingly desperate souls, "slain in the spirit" by microphone-wielding charlatans who "heal" all comers in precisely the same way.

The second thing to note is how the Church is obeying Christ's directive in Acts 1:8. There, Jesus, about to ascend to heaven, tells the first disciples:

...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

After the Spirit came, Jesus said, the Church would be empowered to do its mission in the world, being His witnesses with the aim, of course, of making disciples.

But they were to start their work in Jerusalem, among God's own people, the Jews (or Judeans). (This underscores Luke's particular emphasis on the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. In fact, I doubt that Luke would even like the terms Old and New Testaments. To Him, Jesus was simply the fulfillment of what God had planned for the whole human race from the beginning. To work reconciliation between Himself and alienated humanity, God always planned to call a people of His own into being, the Jews. He always planned to cultivate faith among these people so that the world would know that our lives are made right not by what we do, but by trusting in and being reconciled to God. He always planned to send a Savior among these people in order to bring salvation, life, and hope not only to them, but to the whole human race.)

After establishing itself in Jerusalem, the Church called the Spirit's prompting to move out in Judea at large, then to Samaria, the onetime "Northern Kingdom," and to the ends of the earth.

I like the way Leonard Sweet describes the mission of the contemporary Church. We are to be "glocal" about our mission, local and global. We begin, in the case of Saint Matthew, with Logan. But we also reach out to Hocking County, the United States, and the world. We do that not only with the dollars we give to local ministries, the World Hunger efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and so on, but also through our personal participation in sharing Jesus right here.

7. Psalm 23: Chris Haslam has a brief, thorough summary of this familiar psalm. He writes:

In the ancient Near East, the king was seen as shepherd (vv. 1-4) and as host (vv. 5-6). God faithfully provides for his sheep, and constantly cares for them. He revives our very lives (“soul”, v. 3), and guides us in godly ways (“right paths”). Even when beset by evil (“darkest valley”, v. 4), we have nothing to fear. God’s “rod” (a defence against wolves and lions) protects us; his “staff” (v. 4, for rescuing sheep from thickets) guides us. The feast (v. 5) is even more impressive, for it is in the presence of his foes. Kings were plenteously anointed with oil (a symbol of power and dedication to a holy purpose.) May God’s “goodness and mercy” (v. 6, steadfast love) follow (or pursue) him (as do his enemies) throughout his life. He will continue to worship (“dwell ...”) in the Temple as long as he lives.

8. 1 Peter 2:19-25: I wrote this a few weeks ago regarding the New Testament book of First Peter:

First Peter, one of my favorite books of the Bible, is a letter meant to be circulated among Christians living in Asia Minor, located in what is today Turkey and part of the Roman Empire. Traditionally, it's been believed that this letter was written about 62AD to Christians facing persecution and marginalization for their faith in Christ.

9. Our lesson from First Peter is part of a bigger section of the letter, running from 1 Peter 2:11 to 3:12. This section is an example of what New Testament scholars call household codes.

Household codes existed as a literary form in the secular Roman world. They outlined the duties of subservient persons to their superiors.

But in the hands of first century Christian writers, the codes which employed the established literary form discussed responsibilities all Christians had toward one another and toward those with whom they interacted on a daily basis. They envision all Christians, irrespective of their status within society, treating one another with mutual submission: husbands and wives, parents and children, slaves and masters. For the sake of being a positive witness to outsiders and giving non-Christians no cause to reject Christ, the codes commend imitating Christ in relating to all people.

The codes that existed in the larger Roman world carried implicit threats of punishment, underscored by the fact that they were never directed at the superior member of a two-person relationship, only at the subordinate. For example, slaves were subject to the typical Roman household code, not the master.

But the household codes of the New Testament are significantly different. They might fall under a category of what some Lutherans--including this Lutheran--call the "third use" of God's law. The "law" in Christian terms, incorporating both the Old and New Testament, can be summed up as God's commands that we love God completely and love our neighbor as ourselves. On these two Old Testament laws, Jesus says, all of God's law is built. The law cannot bring a person a right relationship with God or eternal life because none of us is capable of keeping the law. That can only happen through the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, most famously summarized in John 3:16.

But the law has three main uses:

1. The Law is a mirror showing us the true state of our own lives and the distance we are from God, no matter how many religious works we may do or how wonderful we may appear to others. Here, the Law is meant to drive us to Jesus Christ. Knowing that we cannot save ourselves, we turn to Him for salvation.

2. The Law is a check on sin in the world, even among those who have no respect or knowledge of God. The Bible says that God's law is written on our hearts. While we are often deaf to it, we implicitly acknowledge its call for us to love God and love neighbor. As C.S. Lewis says, most human arguments involve disputes between parties, each of whom claim that they're in the right. But unless there were some implicit of understanding of what is right and what is wrong, the two parties would have nothing to argue about. Unless the law was written on their hearts, their tangle would be no different between the battles between two male bucks over a doe or a hyena fighting off a lion, a mere battle of wills and power. Without an agreed-upon set of standards, you couldn't use the term "argument" to describe their confrontation.

When oppressive or corrupt governments pull power moves, they may be flouting God's Law, but they always have a rationale at hand for their actions. Those rationales always implicitly acknowledge the existence of some objective standard of right and wrong and claim that they are either abiding by them or that, in a particular instance, a higher standard overrides the one violated.

3. The Law is a guide for those who are in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and, grateful for forgiveness and everlasting life, seek to live in ways that are pleasing to God. This last use of the Law is, I think, what the psalmist has in mind when he writes:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

This is what Martin Luther called living in "daily repentance and renewal," regularly bringing our lives before God and, in a process the great spiritual guides called examen, asking God to show us our sins, draw us to repent, and to renew our relationship with God.

The Law cannot bring life or forgiveness or hope. Only the Gospel can do that. But the Law, in all its uses, clears a path for the grace of God, offered in Christ.

10. The four major examples of New Testament household codes are Colossians 3:18-4:1, Ephesians 5:21-6:9, Titus 2:1-10, and the section identified in First Peter.

These codes, I feel, get misunderstood, misused, and misappropriated.

Some Christians, for example, claim that they mandate a male-dominated marriage and family structure. They overlook the mutual servanthood in the codes dealing with marriage. The codes have bigger fish to fry than changing the laws of the Jewish or Roman worlds on marriage, which were tilted to the man. Rather, they subversively posed the question, "Given the realities within which believers may live if married to non-Christians, how can the Christian, particularly the woman, win a hearing for Christ with their spouse?"

Some outside the Church and even those within who are trying to score debating points say that the codes endorse slavery. But acknowledgment doesn't confer endorsement. First century Christians lived in an environment in which slavery was the norm. The question before the members of this small, subversive movement that claimed Jesus as Lord was not how to go about abolishing slavery, but how to be a witness and to live faithfully for Christ in the midst of existing society. Slavery was a given. How then to live for Christ if you were a slave or a master?

11. Peter's basic point in our passage is that if you are a slave--slaves are who he is talking to here, as we see in verse 18, just before it--then make certain that you never suffer punishment for doing the wrong thing. Christ is glorified only when we suffer innocently. Let Christ's example hearten you in those circumstances, Peter says.

[For a great discussion of the New Testament household codes, see here.]

12. John 10:1-10: As I've said many times in these "passes," context helps us understand content. In other words, we better understand a particular passage of Scripture by noting what's going on the passages that come before it and after it. John 9 helps us understand our lesson. There, Jesus upbraids the Pharisees blind to what the once-blind man saw, that Jesus is Lord. Now, he talks about these blind shepherds who sometimes are misled by those who really don't know the Good Shepherd, confusing their words of religious legalism for the voice of Jesus. His true followers, His sheep, Jesus says, will never be mistaken about Him. They have come to know Jesus well. "I know my own and my own know me," Jesus will say in verse 14. In short, religious fakes can't pull the wool over Jesus' sheep!

[That's enough for this week.]

Aline De Walt Reynolds

I'd never heard or seen the name Aline De Walt Reynolds until tonight.

For the second time in several days, I caught a particular elderly woman in a movie featured in a movie on Turner Classic Movies.

The first was the 1944-released, William Saroyan-crafted The Human Comedy. In it, Reynolds played a kindly librarian. My second sighting of her was at the tail-end of a 1941, James Stewart-Heddy Lamarr film called Come Live with Me.

I wondered tonight who that elderly woman was and what sort of a long and venerable career in show business she might have had?

It turns out that Come Live with Me was Reynolds' first picture. One of my favorite web sites, imdb.com, says of her:

She survived the death of her husband in 1905, the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 and raising four children and no money. In 1926, when she was 64 she became one of the most mature freshman ever to enter the University of California. She graduated 6 years later with her B.A. degree. In 1940 she went to Hollywood, where she began her acting career. Best known for her role in Shirley Temple's Storybook production of "Sleeping Beauty".

Reynolds lived until 1961, a month shy of her 99th. birthday. Her last acting gig happened in 1960, a live television performance.

I don't know about others, but that brief biographical sketch inspires me! Trite as it may be, Reynolds' life confirms for me that it's never too late to take on new challenges!

God gives us life. What a shame when we waste it or stop living it!

'The Challenge of Forgiveness'

That's the title of this short piece by the ever-amazing Philip Yancey.

Rice for Vice President?

Back in February, 2005, while guest blogging on MSNBC, Ann Althouse speculated about Condoleezza Rice as a candidate for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. Those old enough to remember all the way back to 2005, may recall that there was something of a Rice boomlet at the time. As the early months of that year wore on, the newly-installed Secretary of State felt compelled to respond to questions about the possibility that she would be a candidate. Her schedule was scrutinized for events deemed more political than diplomatic. I remember that one of my relatives got so caught up in the Condi for President moment that he stuck a bumper sticker with that sentiment on his pick-up truck. The sticker is still there, but now, the presidential nomination fight well behind Republicans, speculation is that Rice is angling for the vice presidential slot on John McCain's ticket this fall.

For McCain to select Rice would, in some ways, represent an act of defiance and chutzpah on the Arizona senator's part. It would underscore his reputation as not just an unapologetic supporter of the war in Iraq, but as one intent on continuing it with the help of one of its primary architects. It would signal that McCain intends to continue the Bush departure from traditional Republican realpolitik in favor of a Wilsonian interventionism in the world.

But I don't think that Rice will be the vice presidential nominee of the GOP, at least not in 2008. Back in February, 2005, I reacted to Althouse's speculations regarding Rice for president. Much of what I wrote there seems appropo to the current speculation:

I don't think that Condoleezza Rice will be nominated for President and here's why:

First, because she's secretary of state. In the early history of our country, that was a more overtly domestic political office and secretaries of state were seen as natural presidential timber. Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams all were secretaries of state before going to the White House.

But the nature of the job was quite different in those days. America was a stay-at-home country. The primary function of US diplomacy was to give the country the breathing room to establish its nationhood, expand across the continent unencumbered by foreign impediments, and remain free from the thicket of what Washington called "entangling alliances." (Even Jefferson, for all his pronounced prejudice for France, pursued this Washingtonian policy both as the first president's secretary of state and as President.)

Secretaries of state didn't trot the globe. That wasn't just because of crude transportation systems. It was because the "stay at home" country didn't require a lot of globe-trotting from its chief diplomat.

This in turn, left secretaries of state more time and opportunity to do the things contenders for the presidency must do for the three years prior to an actual campaign: campaign.

Today, a secretary of state's most valuable contacts reside in Baghdad and Moscow, not Boise and Manhattan. Contemporary secretaries of state must accept that, if they want to be President, they will enter the fray with a decided disadvantage.

A second reason that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Condi Rice to become a presidential nominee is that she's secretary of state.

In this case, that means that she has spent her lifetime in academia and foreign affairs. What she does is vitally important and she may very well prove to be good at it. But both academia and diplomacy can be arcane stuff and each has developed a specialized vocabulary.

It's difficult to imagine Rice talking about bread and butter issues in Scranton or Peoria, isn't it? Even if she did, it would be difficult for her to not sound like a wifty, inaccessible wonk. State-speak may be even more impenetrable than the Senate-speak that many feel hurt John Kerry last year.

A third reason I suspect Rice can't be nominated for the presidency is that she's a secretary of state who's never held elective political office.

We may occasionally elect a general to the presidency without the benefit of elective political experience. Think: Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight Eisenhower. But we have never elected a former secretary of state to the presidency who hadn't first been an elective office holder.

We may argue with that seeming prejudice. But it's there nonetheless. Americans like their presidents to be people of action. Whether it's unfair or not, diplomats are not seen as people of action, no matter how esteemed they may be.

There may be some historical warrant for this. John Quincy Adams did serve in elective political offices, first in the Massachusetts state senate and later in the US Senate, prior to becoming President. But his tenures in both legislative bodies were disastrous. He showed the same petulance in those gigs as he later would show in the White House. He served for one term in the White House. (Adams served long in the US House of Representatives after his presidential term. Though celebrated for his stance on slavery today, he was largely ineffectual.)

But as a diplomat and secretary of state, Adams felt less constrained to stubbornly dig in. For him, diplomacy was primarily an academic discipline, which suited him intellectually and tempermentally. (It's interesting to note that when, as secretary of state, Adams made his most important policy pronouncement, he did so wearing academic regalia.) He is considered by many to have been our finest secretary of state. That didn't serve him well as president.

Generally speaking, for all of our disdain for politics, we like our Presidents to be accomplished politicians. Secretaries of state without elective political experience are not seen as politicians, even if they are advanced practitioners of the political arts...

The two things that I don't think hurt Rice's prospects of being a nominee for President are that she is a woman and that she is African-American. I believe that this country would willingly elect an African-American woman to be president at this time. I just doubt that it will be Condi Rice...

The reasons I advanced for Rice not being a presidential contender apply to her as a vice presidential candidate. I'm not sure that she will connect with voters and I'm doubtful about what state she can bring in for the Republicans in the fall, the most critical political question regarding a vice presidential running mate.

Check Out Carol's New Blog

Carol is a member of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, where I'm privileged to be pastor. She's started a a new blog featuring both her thought-provoking writing and photographs from our beautiful Hocking Hills. Check out Carol's blog here.