John 14:15-21
15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."
Chapter 14 of John's gospel is set in an interesting context: the Last Supper. In this long speech (that goes on for several chapters) Jesus seems to be telling the disciples several things he probably told them already, but this is his last chance to make sure it stuck.
Jesus has just told the 11 disciples (Judas has left the table to betray him) that he is leaving to prepare a place for them, and he, the way, the truth, and the life, will lead them there to be with him. In this part of the story, he promises that he will not leave them "orphaned" but that he will come back, AND another Advocate will also be with them.
There is a contrast here between those who are connected with/identified with Jesus (those who keep the commandments) and those who are disconnected ("the world"). Greek cosmology depends on dualism, and we see that creeping into the Christian Testament writings: Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, the flesh or the spirit. Here John labels those who are not connected to Jesus "the world", although of course those who keep the commandments and thus are connected to Jesus live in the world as well.
Christians have sometimes said "We don't need the law, we have Jesus" or "The Hebrew Testament and all those laws don't apply to us, we're saved". Jesus, a faithful and educated Jew, says no such thing; yet in our time, we Christians do not observe Jewish law (except for rather many of them which we know to be good for our life!)
What, do you think, is the role of God's law in the life of a person of faith, today? What does it mean to "keep" a commandment, and what do we do when we fail? How are we known as Christians--is it because we keep God's law, or by something else? Are there some commands that we have to keep, and others that are optional?
(To comment, click the "comment" button at the bottom of each post, and you'll be directed to a box for comments. Thanks!)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Is There a Pastor in the House?
I'm always interested in, sometimes even amused by, people's response when "The Pastor" walks in. There's a range of responses:
"Hurry and stop sinning; the pastor's here and she'll tell God what we're doing."
These people obviously do not know me well, but if they'd give me a chance I might join in the so-called "sinning" (they could at least buy me a margarita, don't you think?). Besides which, God does not need me to tattle; nor do I stand in the place of God, certainly not to be judgmental about cussing, drinking, smoking, dancing, or playing cards (one of the many things I love about being Lutheran!)
Followed closely by: "Let's be polite, but not too nice; maybe she won't stay long."
A related story: when I was in seminary, one of my high school friends said, "I hope you'll forgive me, but if I ever see you walking around with one of those things around your neck, I'm crossing the street!" Well, I do wear a neckband clergy collar when I want people to know the pastor IS in the house; but hardly ever just for walking down the street! And not in my hometown.
"Guilty! How many reasons can I think of for not having attended worship for so long, and will she buy any of them?"
My role as pastor is really not to be an attendance clerk; you don't get an award for perfect attendance, you don't get penalized for less. I do take attendance, of course, for the purpose of pastoral care: if your worship pattern is different from "the usual", I might check in with you to find out why. Worship attendance is important to me because it's the only way I can be faithful. Left to my own devices, I would not remember to believe in God, but the community and the rhythm of the week, including Sunday worship, keep me accountable to my own spiritual well-being and my connectedness with the Divine. That isn't true for everyone, probably, but for some, yes. (I do appreciate hearing the reasons, by the way; good way to catch up, even in a store aisle.)
"Thank God, she's here!"
Sometimes, there is actually relief that I have arrived at all, even if the people don't know me, even if they weren't sure they wanted me there, even if they won't see me again. Funeral homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions can be scary places, and if you're there and you've called me, it probably isn't your best day. I have wondered why pastors become so important in those moments, what I can really do, what it means for people who are otherwise disconnected from me or any other spiritual community. But there is something about the official-ness of the pastor--we call it "the office of pastor"--that reminds people that God indeed is present. I didn't bring God with me in a way God was not before; but awareness is heightened, attitudes shifted, hope increased when I, a visual reminder of something spiritual, walk in. I do believe all of us who are faithful, who know, at least part of the time, that we belong to God, have this awesome privilege and responsibility. We carry Christ with us, living our lives in ways that Christ is made known, made visible, to people who so long to encounter him.
So don't be surprised to see me. I go a lot of places in the course of a day. You might want to practice your response, or think about why you respond the way you do, as I expect it has more to do with you than with me. I'll be around, and I look forward to seeing you.
"Hurry and stop sinning; the pastor's here and she'll tell God what we're doing."
These people obviously do not know me well, but if they'd give me a chance I might join in the so-called "sinning" (they could at least buy me a margarita, don't you think?). Besides which, God does not need me to tattle; nor do I stand in the place of God, certainly not to be judgmental about cussing, drinking, smoking, dancing, or playing cards (one of the many things I love about being Lutheran!)
Followed closely by: "Let's be polite, but not too nice; maybe she won't stay long."
A related story: when I was in seminary, one of my high school friends said, "I hope you'll forgive me, but if I ever see you walking around with one of those things around your neck, I'm crossing the street!" Well, I do wear a neckband clergy collar when I want people to know the pastor IS in the house; but hardly ever just for walking down the street! And not in my hometown.
"Guilty! How many reasons can I think of for not having attended worship for so long, and will she buy any of them?"
My role as pastor is really not to be an attendance clerk; you don't get an award for perfect attendance, you don't get penalized for less. I do take attendance, of course, for the purpose of pastoral care: if your worship pattern is different from "the usual", I might check in with you to find out why. Worship attendance is important to me because it's the only way I can be faithful. Left to my own devices, I would not remember to believe in God, but the community and the rhythm of the week, including Sunday worship, keep me accountable to my own spiritual well-being and my connectedness with the Divine. That isn't true for everyone, probably, but for some, yes. (I do appreciate hearing the reasons, by the way; good way to catch up, even in a store aisle.)
"Thank God, she's here!"
Sometimes, there is actually relief that I have arrived at all, even if the people don't know me, even if they weren't sure they wanted me there, even if they won't see me again. Funeral homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions can be scary places, and if you're there and you've called me, it probably isn't your best day. I have wondered why pastors become so important in those moments, what I can really do, what it means for people who are otherwise disconnected from me or any other spiritual community. But there is something about the official-ness of the pastor--we call it "the office of pastor"--that reminds people that God indeed is present. I didn't bring God with me in a way God was not before; but awareness is heightened, attitudes shifted, hope increased when I, a visual reminder of something spiritual, walk in. I do believe all of us who are faithful, who know, at least part of the time, that we belong to God, have this awesome privilege and responsibility. We carry Christ with us, living our lives in ways that Christ is made known, made visible, to people who so long to encounter him.
So don't be surprised to see me. I go a lot of places in the course of a day. You might want to practice your response, or think about why you respond the way you do, as I expect it has more to do with you than with me. I'll be around, and I look forward to seeing you.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Bible study, Easter 5/May 22, 2011
So, welcome to The Bible Study. I'm going to post some thoughts about the preaching text for this week, and rely on your comments to help me shape the sermon. So, please--make some comments!
Here's the story for May 22:
John 14:1-14
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 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. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
I can only imagine how exasperating it must be for Jesus to have to keep answering the same questions, asked by the same disciples, over and over again. They still don't get it, and things are moving along at a fast pace toward his end.
Yet Jesus keeps these same people near him, still trusts them for the work he has called them to, even though it turns out maybe he should have called some references. But God has made some promises, and Jesus is here to fulfill them. For this sermon, I'm thinking about how God is loyal to US, how God keeps promises even when we don't keep ours or don't claim the ones God offers. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life; Jesus prepares a place for us to live with God; whatever we ask will be given. These are amazing promises.
Why do you think God bothers with us at all?
How have you seen these promises fulfilled in your life?
How do we still struggle with the "not yet/already" nature of God's promises, as Thomas and Philip seem to do?
What does it feel like when God "takes you back"?
Thanks for your input!
Here's the story for May 22:
John 14:1-14
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 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. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
I can only imagine how exasperating it must be for Jesus to have to keep answering the same questions, asked by the same disciples, over and over again. They still don't get it, and things are moving along at a fast pace toward his end.
Yet Jesus keeps these same people near him, still trusts them for the work he has called them to, even though it turns out maybe he should have called some references. But God has made some promises, and Jesus is here to fulfill them. For this sermon, I'm thinking about how God is loyal to US, how God keeps promises even when we don't keep ours or don't claim the ones God offers. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life; Jesus prepares a place for us to live with God; whatever we ask will be given. These are amazing promises.
Why do you think God bothers with us at all?
How have you seen these promises fulfilled in your life?
How do we still struggle with the "not yet/already" nature of God's promises, as Thomas and Philip seem to do?
What does it feel like when God "takes you back"?
Thanks for your input!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Labyrinth: A Walk with God
Well, today I began work on the labyrinth at Living Word. After a couple hours in the sun we have 12 concentric circles painted in the grass, but it's recognizable as a labyrinth. The neighbor came over to check things out and is very excited about having a labyrinth next door.
So, why a labyrinth? I got turned on to labyrinths at my first call theological education (FCTE) event--so turned on, in fact, that I have acquired several in many forms and sizes, and took a workshop to learn how to create them. A labyrinth is different from a maze in that it is one continuous path. There are no choices to make about which direction to go; once you're on the labyrinth, you just keep walking to the center. There are many metaphors for life on this simple circular path: sometimes you think you're headed one direction and end up turning 180 degrees. Sometimes a partner is walking parallel to you, then someone turns and you're going in opposite directions. You think you know how to get to God, but the way is longer or in another direction than you thought.
Some people do well to sit and pray quietly by themselves. I can do the quiet and the praying; it's the sitting I have trouble with. A labyrinth allows my body to be occupied so my mind can focus, much like rosary beads or knitting needles do. I don't have to focus on walking, and since my body is occupied, my head and heart can focus. In this way I pray, and since I have been known to take an entire hour to walk a full sized labyrinth, I even have time to listen (which is the better part of prayer).
The labyrinth at Living Word will be open to the public after Holy Week. If the gate's open, so is the labyrinth. We'll be developing the area around it with some plantings and landscaping, but when the basic form is ready, please come walk! (And in the next week, if you have some time, come and set some rocks in place to finish it!)
May you be blessed by some time walking with the Holy One.
So, why a labyrinth? I got turned on to labyrinths at my first call theological education (FCTE) event--so turned on, in fact, that I have acquired several in many forms and sizes, and took a workshop to learn how to create them. A labyrinth is different from a maze in that it is one continuous path. There are no choices to make about which direction to go; once you're on the labyrinth, you just keep walking to the center. There are many metaphors for life on this simple circular path: sometimes you think you're headed one direction and end up turning 180 degrees. Sometimes a partner is walking parallel to you, then someone turns and you're going in opposite directions. You think you know how to get to God, but the way is longer or in another direction than you thought.
Some people do well to sit and pray quietly by themselves. I can do the quiet and the praying; it's the sitting I have trouble with. A labyrinth allows my body to be occupied so my mind can focus, much like rosary beads or knitting needles do. I don't have to focus on walking, and since my body is occupied, my head and heart can focus. In this way I pray, and since I have been known to take an entire hour to walk a full sized labyrinth, I even have time to listen (which is the better part of prayer).
The labyrinth at Living Word will be open to the public after Holy Week. If the gate's open, so is the labyrinth. We'll be developing the area around it with some plantings and landscaping, but when the basic form is ready, please come walk! (And in the next week, if you have some time, come and set some rocks in place to finish it!)
May you be blessed by some time walking with the Holy One.
Monday, March 21, 2011
First and Best Communion
Yesterday a young girl in our community took Holy Communion for the first time. Before the service I took her into the chancel, and we looked at the wine and the bread, and reviewed what we talked about in our class. Her mom said she was so excited, she woke up early and put on "just the right dress" she had picked out the night before. She was all smiles as she came forward, practically bouncing up the aisle, to receive a taste of God's love.
I serve communion to children as young as the parents will let me because I think the adults have it all wrong. We used to commune on the day of confirmation (9th or 10th grade); then we moved it to 5th grade, the (arbitrary!) "age of reason"; now it's the discretion of the pastor and the family. Our communion practices have changed to reflect more accurately our theology of communion: what is God really doing here? We used to think a person had to "understand" what was going on in communion before they could receive it.
Well, if we really believe the bread and wine are tangible means of God's grace to us; if they are really ONE MORE WAY God is reminding us of God's unfailing love for us that not even death can interfere with; if a sacrament is a holy act of which GOD is the subject... you get the point.
And if a 5-year-old bouncing down the aisle with a grin on her face isn't an apt expression of the joy we feel in being surrounded by God's love, then we are lost.
Maybe we should start communion earlier and take it away when we forget what it's all about.
When I asked her what she will always remember when she takes communion, she proclaimed excitedly, "GOD LOVES ME!!"
Amen, sister!
I serve communion to children as young as the parents will let me because I think the adults have it all wrong. We used to commune on the day of confirmation (9th or 10th grade); then we moved it to 5th grade, the (arbitrary!) "age of reason"; now it's the discretion of the pastor and the family. Our communion practices have changed to reflect more accurately our theology of communion: what is God really doing here? We used to think a person had to "understand" what was going on in communion before they could receive it.
Well, if we really believe the bread and wine are tangible means of God's grace to us; if they are really ONE MORE WAY God is reminding us of God's unfailing love for us that not even death can interfere with; if a sacrament is a holy act of which GOD is the subject... you get the point.
And if a 5-year-old bouncing down the aisle with a grin on her face isn't an apt expression of the joy we feel in being surrounded by God's love, then we are lost.
Maybe we should start communion earlier and take it away when we forget what it's all about.
When I asked her what she will always remember when she takes communion, she proclaimed excitedly, "GOD LOVES ME!!"
Amen, sister!
Monday, March 14, 2011
God knows!
Recently I was driving along the highway, minding my own business, when I was passed by a truck with this decal taking up its back window:
Kill ‘em all, and let God sort ‘em out!
My heart broke.
I am discouraged to know that someone in my community holds this belief, and holds it strongly enough to pay money to display it on a vehicle.
And I am heartbroken to know that people believe God thinks so little of humans. Are we, in God’s eyes, interchangeable, disposable, worth so little? Are the distinctions between individuals, which seem to be the cause for so much concern among us (gender, race, language, location, sexual orientation, etc) really unnoticed by God, that God would find any gathering of people expendable—just kill them all and let God sort them out?
And I am pissed off that people who don’t bother to know God so freely speak for God. For if this person did know God, s/he would remember something we all need to remember, which, fortunately, shows up in the readings for worship (January 16): The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. (Isaiah 49:1). God knows each of us, and loves each of us, and values us for who we are, which is, after all, who God created us to be.
When I was a campus pastor, we had a conversation on campus about “visual pollution”, which was bombarding the campus in the form of T-shirts which some people found offensive. We love to express our views in secondary discourse: T-shirts, bumper stickers, special apps for our Facebook pages. Sometimes we wear words we would not dare speak.
I’m not sure who “they” were, whom the driver was so upset about existing; perhaps “they” change from day to day. But I do know that God knows every “they” on the planet—the ones we know and love, and the ones we will never know, never love, and especially the ones who don’t seem to be known or loved by anyone. God has already sorted us out, and knows us each by name.
THAT is something worth declaring!
Kill ‘em all, and let God sort ‘em out!
My heart broke.
I am discouraged to know that someone in my community holds this belief, and holds it strongly enough to pay money to display it on a vehicle.
And I am heartbroken to know that people believe God thinks so little of humans. Are we, in God’s eyes, interchangeable, disposable, worth so little? Are the distinctions between individuals, which seem to be the cause for so much concern among us (gender, race, language, location, sexual orientation, etc) really unnoticed by God, that God would find any gathering of people expendable—just kill them all and let God sort them out?
And I am pissed off that people who don’t bother to know God so freely speak for God. For if this person did know God, s/he would remember something we all need to remember, which, fortunately, shows up in the readings for worship (January 16): The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. (Isaiah 49:1). God knows each of us, and loves each of us, and values us for who we are, which is, after all, who God created us to be.
When I was a campus pastor, we had a conversation on campus about “visual pollution”, which was bombarding the campus in the form of T-shirts which some people found offensive. We love to express our views in secondary discourse: T-shirts, bumper stickers, special apps for our Facebook pages. Sometimes we wear words we would not dare speak.
I’m not sure who “they” were, whom the driver was so upset about existing; perhaps “they” change from day to day. But I do know that God knows every “they” on the planet—the ones we know and love, and the ones we will never know, never love, and especially the ones who don’t seem to be known or loved by anyone. God has already sorted us out, and knows us each by name.
THAT is something worth declaring!
Here or Later
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without you nothing is strong, nothing is holy. Embrace us with your mercy, that with you as our ruler and guide, we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. - Prayer of the Day for Sunday, November 14
This prayer came to me as a little bundle of grace as I sat in front of my altarcito at home. I actually stopped speaking mid-prayer to let it sink in: “that we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal”.
Being faithful in our time and place requires double vision. We see the world we live in, with its ups and downs, good days and bad, things we can control and things we cannot. In the US we look at the world through privileged lenses, still able to see what isn’t quite right but not in too much danger of it setting up shop in our own living rooms.
But we are also called to see the world as God sees it, which we glimpse through scripture and from experience, but we have to imagine a lot, admittedly. I believe God has both a vision OF the world and a vision FOR the world, and invites us to see both. God knows how we suffer, how we sin, how we hurt; when and why we rejoice and are well. But God also sees how things could be, if we lived differently with and among one another; God sees a world that gives life rather than taking it or wasting it through war, hunger, disease.
So on our way through “what is temporary”, we could get discouraged and wait for that land of milk and honey, the city of gold with the pearly gates, and simply bide our time here. But why wait? God gives us a vision of the way things could be, and we can see how we could be instrumental in getting them there. It’s one thing I love about being an ELCA Lutheran: we focus so much on being saved by grace already, so we don’t have to worry about that--we can spend our energy in this life not getting to God but getting into what God is doing here, now, among us, in this life, this world. It takes balance: seeing what’s and who’s around us for what it is, seeing what God calls us to be as communities, seeing what heaven might look like so we can build it here on earth. Why do the hungry have to wait to die to be satisfied, when we have the resources right now to eradicate hunger around the world? Why do people have to live in sickness when there is clean water running in springs below their feet? Geography is a blessing to us, but not an exclusive privilege. We are called to BE the body of Christ, which means to live as Christ lived. It isn’t easy, but it’s the right thing to do.
This prayer came to me as a little bundle of grace as I sat in front of my altarcito at home. I actually stopped speaking mid-prayer to let it sink in: “that we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal”.
Being faithful in our time and place requires double vision. We see the world we live in, with its ups and downs, good days and bad, things we can control and things we cannot. In the US we look at the world through privileged lenses, still able to see what isn’t quite right but not in too much danger of it setting up shop in our own living rooms.
But we are also called to see the world as God sees it, which we glimpse through scripture and from experience, but we have to imagine a lot, admittedly. I believe God has both a vision OF the world and a vision FOR the world, and invites us to see both. God knows how we suffer, how we sin, how we hurt; when and why we rejoice and are well. But God also sees how things could be, if we lived differently with and among one another; God sees a world that gives life rather than taking it or wasting it through war, hunger, disease.
So on our way through “what is temporary”, we could get discouraged and wait for that land of milk and honey, the city of gold with the pearly gates, and simply bide our time here. But why wait? God gives us a vision of the way things could be, and we can see how we could be instrumental in getting them there. It’s one thing I love about being an ELCA Lutheran: we focus so much on being saved by grace already, so we don’t have to worry about that--we can spend our energy in this life not getting to God but getting into what God is doing here, now, among us, in this life, this world. It takes balance: seeing what’s and who’s around us for what it is, seeing what God calls us to be as communities, seeing what heaven might look like so we can build it here on earth. Why do the hungry have to wait to die to be satisfied, when we have the resources right now to eradicate hunger around the world? Why do people have to live in sickness when there is clean water running in springs below their feet? Geography is a blessing to us, but not an exclusive privilege. We are called to BE the body of Christ, which means to live as Christ lived. It isn’t easy, but it’s the right thing to do.
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