Sermon Archive -- Summer Pentecost -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
July 1, July 8, July 22, July 29, August 5, August 12, August 19
__________________
July 1, 2007 -- Pentecost 5, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST READING: 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
PSALM: Psalm 16
SECOND READING: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
13For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
GOSPEL: Luke 9:51-62 Glory to you, O Lord
When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55But he turned and rebuked them. 56Then they went on to another village.
57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God ." 61Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Very early on in my childhood, I learned what liberty, and freedom, were all about, at least I thought I knew what they were all about. It happened one day when I was playing with my sister who is two years older than me. I do not remember the demand I made on her, but I do remember her response. She said, "You can't boss me around. We live in a free country. I can do whatever I want."
Have any of you ever had discussions like that? I am sure it happens more often than not, and I have even heard it from my own kids! I find it interesting that we can all grasp the concept of freedom and liberty, even from a very early age. I have come to realize that the pursuit of liberty by human beings is a gift of God and it is the Holy Spirit that continues to move each person's heart and mind toward freedom.
Sometimes
we think that our country's pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is a new
concept on the world stage. Our brand of liberty is 231 years old come
this Wednesday, but humanity's pursuit of liberty is not new. I made this
realization a couple of months ago as I was reading in Exodus. You are all
familiar with the story of how the Israelites were slaves in
Let my people go so that they may worship me. This theme is recreated in the very beginnings of our nation. Now I know our government is currently struggling with what to do about immigrants coming to this country. But do you remember who were among the first immigrants who came to this land? The Pilgrims. When we hear the word pilgrim we often think of those men and women who wore those funny hats and had to turkey all the time. But the word 'pilgrim' is a religious word. A pilgrim is someone who is takes a journey for religious reasons. Our Pilgrims were seeking a safe place where they were free to worship the Lord without fear and persecution. Even the beginnings of our land the goal of our freedom was to worship the Lord.
The Apostle Paul gives us a clarification and warning about our freedom in Christ. Yes, it's true, Christ has set you free, so do not enslave yourself to self-indulgence. You have been freed by Christ in the waters of baptism, so don't cling to sin; cling to the Lord and through love, serve other people.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am afraid that our liberty has become the self-indulgent kind. In a world that wants its freedom, but not its obligations or duties, Deitrich Bonhoeffer called that 'Cheap Grace.' We want our freedom, but we do not want the responsibilities and obligations that come with that freedom. We want to say – just like my sister said so many years ago – you can't boss me around, we live in a free country, and I can do whatever I want. This self-indulgent faith; is not faith at all. It is an illusion. It is sin working in us telling us that we are free and have no further obligations. The good news says otherwise. The good news says, YES, you have been freed by the love and grace of God. But even that freedom came at a cost, not to you, but through Jesus Christ's sacrificial love on the cross. We, in turn, as Christians, are not to squander our freedom through faith, but we are to replicate that sacrificial love. We replicate Christ's sacrificial love by freely giving our time to help a neighbor in need. We replicate that sacrificial love by freely giving of our skills and abilities to move forward Christ's mission of love to the world. We replicate that sacrificial love by freely giving our resources – monetary gifts and durable goods, perhaps things we no longer need - to care for others in our community and in our world. But more than anything else, we replicate Christ's sacrificial love by daily dying to sin and rising to new life. You have been freed to worship the Lord.
Statistics show we are a nation who overwhelmingly believes in God, yet the majority of people do not have a church to call their home, or even attend worship. We are a nation that has confused personal devotion with communal worship thinking they are one and the same. They are not. All too often we think that worship is just what we can get out of it. That is self-indulgence. Worship isn't about us, is it? It is about God. We have been set free, so let us worship the Lord! Come let us gather together and worship the Lord, as a people, as a community.
Today, I want you, me, and all people, to accept our duties and obligations that come from the freedom won through God, made visible in Jesus Christ. If you do nothing more at Messiah and St. Mark's, I want you to worship. Worship is appropriate no matter what:
Do
you want to witness your faith to your neighbor? Come to worship.
Do
you want to demonstrate what duty, and obligation, and responsibility are as
a fruit that blossoms from our freedom? Come to worship.
Do
you want to give thanks and praise to God for all the blessings in your
life? Come to worship.
Do
you want to grieve and cry out for the tragedies that have occurred in your
life? Come to worship.
Do you want to be released from the guilt and shame that weighs on your heart and soul?
Come to worship.
As we gather this 4th of July, let us not forget the origins of our freedom. We are all pilgrims. Our whole life is a religious journey. Beginning in the waters of baptism we make our earthly journey, finally coming to rest in the fullness of God's eternal promise and hope as we take our last fleeting breath. We have been freed by the love and grace of God; Come, let us worship the Lord! Amen.
Back To Table of Contents -- Sermon Archive Main Page
__________________
July 8, 2007 -- Pentecost 6, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST READING: Isaiah 66:10-14
PSALM: Psalm 66:1-9
SECOND READING: Galatians 6:7-16
GOSPEL: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 Glory to you, O Lord
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' "
16"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
7The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
PSALM: Psalm 66:1-9
Last week's Gospel reading [Luke 9:51-62] is intimately tied to today's reading. Last week's reading was about plowing; this week's reading is about commissioning the seventy new disciples and sending them out to proclaim the good news, heal the sick and bring peace to communities. While they do not sound like they have a lot in common, they do.
Have any of you ever plowed a field? I have. You want to have a straight line, a straight furrow, especially the first time you strike out a field because everything will be based off of that first furrow. The first time I tried it, it was terrible. I was looking down at the front wheels of the tractor trying to keep them as straight as possible as I am going over bumps, knolls and hills in the field. When I got to the other side of the field, I looked back thinking I had done a super-job at keeping the wheels straight. My first furrow looked like a snake. I was dumb-founded; "How could this be?" I wondered. "I did everything I could to drive as straight as possible; keeping the front wheels pointing straight."
Then my dad came and told me the secret; and I will share it with you. It doesn't matter if you are plowing with a team of oxen, or a large tractor, the technique is the same. You don't look down. You don't look back. You look off on the horizon and you pick a spot; it could be a neighbor's silo, a tree, or a fence-post. You focus on the spot way off in the distance, and you aim for it without changing direction, without wavering.
The early church had a clarity of mission like that: they knew what they were to do. First of all, you look to the future. The Jewish faith honors the memory of its people, recounting who they are and where they came from. They look back to inform them of their identity. The early Christian church wasn't looking back; they were looking forward and that became our identity. Christians were called to see possibilities in impossible situations; we were called to see into the future of what can be done for God's people.
Eberhard Arnold writes in his book, The Early Christians In Their Own Words, (p.17) says: Whoever receives the Spirit and becomes a new person by virtue of the second birth [in the waters of Baptism] is free and confident, radiant and serene, invested with a power which makes feasible what is most difficult and even impossible. In his longing for those old times, Origen, [one of the great early theologians of the late second and early third centuries] cries out:
Oh, that the Lord Jesus would lay his hands upon our eyes, too, so that
we too begin to look not at the visible but the invisible!
Oh, that he would open our eyes, too, to see not the things of the present
but the things of the future!
Oh, that he would unveil to us too that vision of the heart which perceives
God in the Spirit through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Plowing, and proclaiming the peace of the Lord through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, require the same frame of mind: we are to look to the future with the eyes of Christ, focusing intently on some point in the distance, never wavering from the goal, never doubting its 'correctness;' if it is born of the Spirit it is correct.
This is the context in which the seventy were sent out in mission. They were to bring the peace of Christ to homes and communities in other lands. They were to heal the sick and let both those who were hospitable, as well as those who were hostile, know that the kingdom of God has come near. And then they were sent on their way. Go! Don't go back and bury the dead. Let the dead bury the dead; you are to look to the future. Don’t go home and make a list of things you may need on your journey; don't bring a staff to protect you, don't pack your bags, don't bring a pair of shoes for every occasion, don't bring your purse filled with money so you can buy your meals and lodging; No, just get going! Trust in the Lord to open up peoples' hearts to welcome you. Trust in the Lord to open up peoples' doors to be hospitable to you.
If you were one of the seventy, wouldn't you be sacred? Do you travel like that? I don't. I need the security of my credit card and wallet, clean clothes and a couple of pairs of shoes, and the security of my own car where I can lock the doors in a rough part of town, or I want to take a taxi to the hotel in which I am staying. Jesus was asking them to become vulnerable to all of the idols we create to build false security. Jesus was asking them to trust in the clarity of mission, just like he did. Jesus kept focused on the kingdom God is creating in the world and he never wavered from that vision, even to the point of death on the cross. On the cross, Jesus still proclaimed God's vision for the world; "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." And again, to the thief who came to faith on his own cross, Jesus said, "Today, you will be with me in paradise." Jesus was plowing. Jesus was focused on a point in the distance, a point he might not have seen clearly, but a point he looked toward nonetheless.
Today's Church and its many denominations and congregations are being called to be everything to everybody. We are being spread too thinly. We are looking down at our front-wheels thinking we are going straight only to realize later that we have been plowing curves in the field. I am going to ask the Executive Committees and the Church Council to adopt an interim mission statement. I am proposing a statement used in the ELCA in the 1990's, and is still used for some of its appeals. It is Making Christ Known. Three words. Making Christ Known. It is short. It is simple. It is evangelical. And it is something each person can remember. But most importantly, Making Christ Known is that silo, that tree, that fencepost off in the distance that keeps us driving straight.
Why is this so important for us? Kelly Fryer in her book, Reclaiming the 'L' Word, [pp. 9-10] reports from a study that was done in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, that when you look at which congregations are growing and which ones aren't, it comes down to one thing. It doesn't matter what your bulletins and newsletter look like, or how many doors you knock on, or even how much people like the pastor's sermons. It doesn't matter if you worship in a traditional style with a pipe organ and old, favorite hymns, or a contemporary style, with piano, drums, flutes, guitars, singing hymns from Africa, Asia or South America. The only thing that mattered was whether a congregation has a clear enough vision of where God wants it to go and that it is willing to do whatever it takes to follow where God leads.
It is that clarity of vision that enabled the seventy to go out, clearly knowing what it was to do. They were endowed with Christ's vision of peace and healing, in short, they were Making Christ Known. Given the vision of Making Christ Known they were empowered by the Spirit; they had a clear point in the distance and then they went for it.
In the coming weeks I will be going to the Executive Committees and Councils to use this interim period wisely. All too often congregations put the ministry "on hold" and do only what is necessary until the new pastor arrives. That is unacceptable. You still have a pastor. But most importantly we are still given a mission to carry out by our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a great opportunity to try things as we seek a new senior pastor. If we are successful, if it helps in Making Christ Known, it is only going to make the church a better place for the new pastor.
Go out this day and don't delay. Let us embrace the vision Jesus gave to the seventy as they went out Making Christ Known to the communities they visited. And may the Holy Spirit be with us as well in Making Christ Known to this community in which we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
Back To Table of Contents -- Sermon Archive Main Page
__________________
July 22 -- Pentecost 8, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST READING: Genesis 18:1-10a
PSALM: Psalm 15
SECOND READING: Colossians 1:15-28
GOSPEL: Luke 10:38-42 Glory to you, O Lord
Now as [Jesus and his disciples] went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." 41But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
[Note: throughout the worship service I have been stopping to take care of different tasks: making sure I have deacons for communion, the paraments are straight, the organist knows what hymns to play, the acolytes know what to do, etc.]
How did it feel as I have tended to many tasks instead of worshiping Christ? I am sure some of you took pity on me, "Oh, Pastor Tim is just so busy now since Pastor Nancy has retired." Or, some of you were angry, "Can't that pastor get it together so that he is ready for worship. What a loser." Or, some of you were bewildered, "What is he up to? Pastor Tim is up to something." (Those of you who thought that know me too well!) I want to suggest that the root of your emotions –whether it was pity, anger, bewilderment, or something else – was not that I had these tasks to do, but that I was distracted from what I was to be doing; that I wasn't clearly focused on what we have gathered for.
While today's texts can be seen as texts that beg us to be hospitable to all who come to us because we could be entertaining the Lord and not know it, what strikes me even more is the single-mindedness of faith to which Jesus calls us.
We have to be careful as we look at this text. Too often Martha's service to Jesus gets condemned while Mary's devotion to Jesus gets praised. Good Mary; bad Martha. Thinking like this makes this text too simplistic and moralistic. Isn't it true that we are called to serve in Christ's name - to do things that demonstrate hospitality and care - much like Martha did? So it is not Martha's busy-ness that is the problem. The problem is the many distractions. It is not her service to Jesus that is problematic, but her worry over the many things she feels she has to do to make herself look needed, look worthy, look obedient.
To help put this story into its context so that we can decipher it's meaning, I must remind you that Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. He has a clarity of mission. He knows that Jerusalem is the seat of religious power and the seat of political power; and that religion and politics are two of the biggest idols in the world. But more than anything else, he knows that God calls us to have no other gods. Remember, the beginning of the Ten Commandments? God says to Moses, "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods." Jesus' mission is commanding that we put all other powers in their proper perspective. There is no greater mission in life than to serve our Lord.
And so, Jesus is going to Jerusalem to confront these temporary, institutional powers and to reveal the eternal power of God. Jesus trusts the clarity of vision he has been given by God and nothing is going to deter him from his mission. Nothing. Those foreign Samaritans can't do it. The demon-possessed, the ill, the blind, the lame, the imprisoned, nothing is going to deter Jesus from his mission, not even death on the cross. Nothing.
So he visits the home of his long-time friends, Mary and Martha. Martha is busy taking care of her guests, as was the custom of the society, but she was distracted by many things. The Greek word translated as "distracted" literally means "to be pulled, or dragged away." Martha was being pulled away from what mattered the most – her life with Christ. She was concerned about many things, all of which made her look like a good, upstanding person in society. But these distractions were her idol, her sin. She used the distractions to hide behind so that she did not have to worship Christ. She used life's worries to avoid really getting to know and trusting Christ Jesus. She used the blurriness of sight so that she did not have to see who is our God. She could continue to build herself up based on her own hard work, her own efforts, her own determination, and her own willpower. She did not need really need God to justify her behavior or her existence.
I recently heard the true story about a movie set that was built some years ago in Hollywood. It was set up to look like filling station. Some innocent person drove up and asked to be filled up. The actors decided to play along so they pretended to fill the car with gas. The man drove away thinking his tank was full and when the gas gauge still read empty, he figured the gauge was broken.
False gods make us feel full when we're really not. False gods pretend to give us meaning when they are really keeping us from finding our true meaning. False gods distract us keeping us from knowing who God really is. Martha's god was her schedule, her 'to-do list,' her wristwatch and calendar, all gods she could control, but chose to become a slave to. She even tries to get her sister to believe in her god – Come on, Mary, help me with all of my things to do. She even asks Jesus to help her get Mary to adopt the 'god of many tasks.' But Jesus doesn't bite. He is focused on the cross and the fulfillment of his mission. Mary sees the clarity of Jesus' mission, sees the faithfulness of Christ, sees the kingdom of God, and worships the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Prince of Peace. The following of false gods muddles our clarity of vision, following gods of our own making keeps us blind to kingdom come, keeps us blind to what we are to be about, keeps us blind to who we really are.
A couple of weeks ago I was in a hurry to get the lawn mowed and trim this one hedge in my backyard. I got out the shears and, in haste, whacked away at the hedge. Up close I thought I had done a good job considering the time I spent on it. Days afterward, as I looked at the hedge from the deck, I was disgusted. It was uneven, crooked, lopsided, and downright ugly. It looked like I had taken a hockey stick to it.
Yesterday afternoon I got out the shears once again. I was not in a hurry, and took my time. I had a clarity of vision and a purpose; and I found that trimming it was easy; everything that was not level got cut, everything that stuck out on the sides further than I wanted got cut. Now it looks healthy, cared for and loved.
Taking our time to sit at Jesus' feet helps us know who we are and what we are about. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I am asking our Councils to adopt an interim mission statement, Making Christ Known, to help us keep focused. Like the hedge, everything that is necessary for good healthy growth at Messiah and St. Mark's we will keep; everything that is sticking out, crooked, and lopsided, we will cut out. We will be using Making Christ Known to determine if we are level, to discern if we are plumb, to ensure we are following Christ and not a god of our making. If something comes before our Councils or committees and it will help in Making Christ Known, then we will do it. If an offer comes before us that seems just too good to be true and will not help in Making Christ Known then we will not do it. It is that simple.
Today, let us examine our own hearts and minds to determine if we have the clarity of vision that Mary had. Let us determine if we are sitting at Jesus' feet,
clearly seeing the cross up ahead,
clearly seeing the One God who demands our allegiance,
clearly seeing those who suffer in our midst,
clearly seeing those who hunger for more than bread and are wanting the Bread of Life,
clearly seeing those who thirst for more than water and are wanting the Living Water,
clearly entering into the dogged pursuit of justice and peace for Christ's sake, not for our own self-preservation.
Has anyone ever told you, Don't just sit there, do something! Jesus turns this around for us and says, Don't just do something, sit there! Let us not be too anxious, too worried, too distracted or too scattered; let us all sit at the foot of the cross so that we can clearly see what Making Christ Known means in our personal lives, as well as our life together. Amen.
Back To Table of Contents -- Sermon Archive Main Page
__________________
July 29 -- Pentecost 9, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST READING: Genesis 18:20-32
PSALM: Psalm 138
SECOND READING: Colossians 2:6-15
GOSPEL: Luke 11:1-13 Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." 2He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial."
5And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him
at
9"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
I remember when we were teaching the Lord's Prayer to our oldest son. We would get two-thirds of the way through it, and then he would include the names of these parishioners who sometimes watched him; their names were Emil and Deloris. This went on for weeks and we couldn't figure out why he always remembered Emil and Deloris. So one day I deconstructed the Lord's Prayer, line by line, having him repeat after me. It was only then that I realized what he was doing. The line, "And deliver us from evil" became "And Deloris and Emil!"
He was confused with what he was to pray, and so the disciples asking Jesus to teach us to pray, makes perfect sense to me.
We all know that life is filled with ambiguity and that there is also tension inherent to our faith tradition. We, as Lutheran Christians, hold many things in tension: We believe that we are simultaneously saint and sinner. We believe that God's Word comes to us in the Law (that convicts us of our sin) and the Gospel (that forgives us of our sin). We believe that God has "already" revealed the fullness of God's plan for humanity through Jesus Christ, and yet it has not been fully realized in the fullness of time. It is holding onto this "already, but not yet" belief in which Jesus teaches his disciples to pray.
The disciples had been called – chosen - to follow Jesus; to live with him, learn from him, and grow from him. Naturally, they had questions. "What are we to do?" "How are we to do it?" These types of questions kept surfacing. On this day they asked, "Lord, how are we to pray…"
Jesus doesn't say, "OK. Take your left hand, place in your right, interlock your fingers, bow your head, close your eyes..." Yes, Jesus does give them words, but more importantly, in the process he teaches them what prayer is.
Prayer in the Christian tradition is not just giving God a laundry list of wants, but it is a living connection to our God; it is entering into God's unfolding plan of creation. Paul writes in Romans, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." (Romans 6:3-5, italics mine) Through our baptisms we are linked to Jesus Christ. We are connected to our living Lord. What Christ's mission is, is also our mission. That is what makes us Christians.
Prayer, then, becomes the way in which we remain in communication with Christ; the way we remain focused on Christ's mission and the way we will persist until the last day. Specifically, we live in the "already, not yet" through the Lord's Prayer. In today's Gospel, Christ teaches us to ask, search and knock, and if that fails, keep asking, keep searching, keep knocking. It is our persistence that allows us, that begs us, to participate in the fullness of Christ's mission, and it is our dogged persistence that will one day help God usher in the fullness of God's grace to all creation.
And so we are persistent in our prayer, never wavering from what Christ asks of us. Through the gift of the Lord's Prayer:
We persist in our beliefs that there is one God in the midst of a world of many idols and false gods.
We persist in our worship knowing that God's name alone is holy, but that it may also become holy among us.
We persist in our work of God's kingdom,
seeking justice from abuses of power,
seeking peace in a world of war and violence,
seeking love that is not manipulative, coercive, and abusive,
seeking hope for a brighter tomorrow.
We persist in our advocacy of daily bread for all people. Daily bread is everything our bodies need such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright workers, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, and faithful neighbors. Those are not options from which we pick, nor are they fringe benefits only for the wealthy. Those are basic human rights. And that is not my list…it is Martin Luther's. He wrote those in his Small Catechism in 1536.
We persist in forgiving others, knowing that since God forgives us, we are to forgive those who sin against us, or are indebted to us.
We persist in God's security – the only security that we can truly depend upon and trust – knowing that as sin and evil confronts us, surrounds us, undermines us, knocks us on our feet, and takes the wind out of us, that God may preserve us and keep us.
Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer we are re-committing to Christ's persistent mission.
Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer we are remembering whose we are, and whose we aren't.
Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer we strengthen our resistance to those forces that defy God.
Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer we are pledging our loyalty as Christ's disciples who are working together in Making Christ Known.
Prayer, in general, and the Lord's Prayer, specifically, is entering into the dogged persistence of faith, believing in God no matter what our broken, divided, and hurting world says to us. For I am convinced that as we keep asking, minds will be opened to new realities; as we keep searching, hands will open up in service to our Lord; and as we keep knocking, the principalities and powers of this world will give way to Christ's gracious yoke of acceptance for all sinners, even you, even me. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. This is our persistent faith. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Back To Table of Contents -- Sermon Archive Main Page
__________________
August 5 -- Pentecost 10, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST READING: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
12I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. 14I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
2:18I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me--19and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? 23For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
PSALM: Psalm 49:1-12
SECOND READING: Colossians 3:1-11
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
GOSPEL: Luke 12:13-21 Glory to you, O Lord.
Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus,] "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." 16Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
We, pastors, often get some really odd questions. One of the recent odd questions I received was this: Pastor, when bridesmaids walk down the aisle what is the appropriate height in which they should carry their bouquets? I told her that my colleagues and I have been discussing that very point for months now and cannot come to agree.
And then there is the infamous odd question: Pastor, which color of carpeting do you think should go into the fellowship hall? Sometime I need to say, "You know ever since I took interior decorating at seminary I have just been waiting for someone to ask me. Thank you!"
The same thing happens to Jesus. Here he is, the person who is the interface, the connection point, between heaven and earth, between God and human beings, trying to help make us seek the things that are above. One day while he is doing just that, he has an odd request tossed at him: Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance.
Jesus is dumbfounded, so he responds, "Who sent me to be an arbitrator over you?" Not trying to get pulled down to their level, he tries to elevate the problem. He warns against all kinds of greed and then tells this parable:
There was a rich man whose land produced abundantly. He asks himself, "What should I do for I have no place to store my crops?"
Then he responds to himself, "I know. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones." Then he continues to talk to himself, "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods stored for many years; relax, eat, drink and be merry.'"
God calls the rich man, 'a fool.' God does not tell the rich man, "You're going to hell for being greedy," but calls him a fool, and continues to say, "for this very night your life is demanded of you."
Jesus answered the odd question with a lofty answer. The rich man's sin was greed for monetary wealth and material goods. The truth is we are all greedy for something; so much so that we orient our lives around whatever that something is. In the church we call that something, sin. The rich man's sin was money. Yours and mine might be something else. It could be watching TV, drinking alcohol, over-working, over-commitment to sports, or a whole host of other sins; any behavior can become a sin. You might be questioning why is watching TV a sin? What is wrong with TV? Nothing is wrong with TV (other than there are over 200 channels and you cannot find anything good to watch!). Nothing is inherently wrong with TV, except for the person who plops down in front of the TV and totally ignores the people God has placed in his, or her, life. Then it is a sin.
That is the slippery nature of sin, it does not matter what your sin is – they all reveal our separation from God and how turned in on ourselves we can be. Sin becomes a vanity of vanities as though we are chasing after the wind. And this, to me, is the key to this text. Notice how the rich man - the person whose sin is money – talks to himself. He asks himself questions then answers them. He calls his soul by name, Soul. The same is true for us. When we are turned in on ourselves, it is like we are talking to ourselves, as though no one else is around, as though there are no other people in the world.
Jesus exposes the greed of the rich man, exposes his sin. This begs us to look at the sin in our own lives. Are we just talking to ourselves as though we are the only ones in the world? If so, we are wallowing in our own sin; so focused on what we are about that we fail to recognize the needs of others in our midst.
Or, let's look at ourselves as congregations. What is our communal sin? Are we, at Messiah and St. Mark's, just talking to each other and amongst ourselves thinking that is what we are to be about? Or, are we going to rededicate ourselves to grow in the faith, both as individuals and as a community of faith, so that we can work together in Making Christ Known? We cannot be greedy with all of what Christ has given us.
The final words of the parable reveal another higher truth: our mission is urgent! There is no time to waste! What good is it to have a beautiful church building with no one in it? With whom do we leave it to then? The truth is we must begin today, this very moment, now! We do not need to wait for a senior pastor to tell us it is time to rededicate ourselves to Christ. We can do that today. We do not need to wait to make a New Year's resolution telling us it is time to take seriously growing in the faith as we share the faith. No, we do not have to wait, in fact, we cannot wait; Christ is inviting us to begin our new life, right now! Like in the parable, the rich man's life was demanded of him that very night. Christ does not want you to miss out on all the good things God gives through faith in Christ. Christ wants you to be in relationship with God, and then to nurture that relationship your whole life long.
As you care for and nurture your relationship with Christ, may we as congregations do the same. There is no time for us to chase the wind. Now is the time to Make Christ Known. Now is the time to proclaim Christ, crucified and risen, to a community that is eager to find new life! Now is the time. Amen!
Back To Table of Contents -- Sermon Archive Main Page
__________________
August
12 -- Pentecost 11, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST
READING: Genesis 15:1-6
PSALM:
Psalm 33:12-22
SECOND
READING: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old--and Sarah herself was barren--because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."
13All of these died in
faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and
greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the
earth, 14for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a
homeland. 15If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind,
they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better
country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called
their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
[Jesus said:] 32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
What is in your bag?
Growing up I used to watch the show Let's Make a Deal, and the host, Monte Hall, would go into the audience and give money away for the oddest things. "I'll give you a hundred dollars if you have a hard-boiled egg in your purse," he would say. "Or, if you have a razor in your bag I will give you fifty bucks."
What is in your bag?
I recently heard about people who are professional trackers. They get asked to leave in a moment’s notice to track adults and children that have gotten lost in the wilderness. Time is of the essence; there is a plane ticket ready, a sheriff’s escort to get them quickly to the airport. To be prepared at all times, they will keep by the front door in their house a ‘Go-Bag.’ This bag is packed with everything needed to go away immediately and begin the mission of searching for the lost.
What is in your bag?
Is your bag more like the first, filled with useless oddities you hope you can exchange for a possible payday? Or, is your bag like the second, filled with the essentials needed for mission? Jesus instructs his disciples to make purses for themselves that do not wear out, to carry an unfailing treasure in heaven. And so, Christians today are required to have a ‘Go-Bag’ of sorts, prepared and ready in the present for the infinite possibilities of the future.
So, what do we keep in our Go-Bag? How prepared are we to enter into the Father’s service? Some suggest that the contents of our “Go-Bag's” are our spiritual, interior skills. These are developed through prayer and daily faith practices, so that we - when called upon to act – can call on our tools of faith that will carry us through.
While each of us has unique gifts, and each person's individual Go-bags are filled with their own experiences of the divine - experiences of both the power of God and the compassion of God. While these experiences are worthy and necessary, we are not called to live as individuals apart from others. We are called to live in community with others. We are called to share our faith and live our faith.
So how about us? How about us as Evangelical Lutherans in Marquette, what is in our "Go-bags?" Today, I want to suggest that we carry some things as people of faith in the Lutheran tradition that need to be in each person's Go-bag, in addition to your own unique skills and experiences.
The first thing that needs to be in our Go-bags is the Bible. We as Lutherans do not worship the Bible – we worship the God revealed through the Bible. We lift up the Bible as an essential tool for the development of our faith.
We, as Lutherans, have been moving away from reading, hearing, studying and understanding the Bible. This past week at the Churchwide Assembly in Chicago, our Church voted to begin a five-year initiative, Book of Faith – Lutherans read the Bible. This is a pivotal time for our Church. Our Church is not going to lower the bar to make membership its goal, but is raising the bar to make discipleship it goal. In the coming years, our Church is going to ask more from you, not less. We will become individuals, congregations and synods, dedicated to reading the Bible. We will be asking you to gather in small groups, or as families, or friends, to read the Bible together. We need to re-claim the gift that has been passed down to us and that Martin Luther worked so hard to get into everybody's hands, so each child of God has access to read, study and understand who God is, and what God asks of us.
The first treasure in heaven we place in our Go-bag is the Bible.
The second thing we need in our Go-bags is Luther's Small Catechism. This short, little book, written by Martin Luther summarizes the essentials of our faith. He not only teaches us the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the sacraments, but he explains what they mean for us today. While you may say, “Well, you mean what they meant to Martin Luther in the 1600’s.” Yes. But as I read through this little treasure I am amazed at how his explanations are as relevant today as they were then.
The word catechism literally means, "to echo, or sound back." Over the generations since Luther wrote this book, Lutheran Christians have memorized these words. Over time, however, some thought memorization is too difficult for some of our youth, so we no longer required memorization. This fall, I am going to begin requiring our youth to memorize the Small Catechism as a part of their confirmation experience. Then, they will have the opportunity to join the generations before them who knew Luther’s words and could echo them back.
The Small Catechism is the second treasure of heaven we place in our Go-bag.
The third item we place in our Go-bag is prayer. To me it doesn’t matter if you use a prayer book or a devotional book (where you read a prayer) or if you pray off the top of your head. The important thing is that we do it.
Prayer is that opportunity we have to nourish the relationship we have with God. For me, prayer is our attempt to be open to the movements of the Spirit, so that we can grow in our understanding of who God is, and what God is asking of us. Being open to grow in understanding has changed me significantly over the years, and I am sure, will continue to change me as I grow in my baptismal promise. I can only believe the same will be true for you as well.
Prayer is the third treasure of heaven we place in our Go-bag.
The fourth item we place in our Go-bag is our community of faith. As it says in Hebrews, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Then the author outlines how various people have been faithful servants of God’s redeeming work in the world and have participated in Making Christ Known. I could do the same, and many of you could as well. You can name individuals who were powerful witnesses of the faith that inspired you. You can name individuals who could envision a new church building on this empty lot. You can name those individuals who have left us with this great treasure in which we are to use to the glory of God in service to our community.
So how do we participate in transferring our faith to the next generation like those before us? Each year, about this time, we are seeking teachers who will step forward to teach Sunday school. By and large we get a lot of “No, I am sorry, but I just can’t. I am too busy with ______ (well, you can fill in the blank).” We need members to step forward and say, “Here I am, send me.” It doesn’t matter if you are a male or a female, a parent, grandparent, or if you have never had any children, God is still calling you to serve in this vital ministry. Without faithful people committing first and foremost to the church – before any other activity - we will be in danger of losing all that has been entrusted to us. We will not have been faithful to the preceding generations who left us in charge, but more importantly, we will not have been faithful to the succeeding generations.
I was talking with a gentleman a while ago whose family has been with another congregation in town for over a century and he was considering joining Messiah. When I asked him how he felt about ending his family’s legacy in that congregation he said, “If I do not do something to awaken the faith in my children, there will be no legacy. Legacies don't look to the past, they look to the future.”
It is this community of faith where we are called by name, gathered in community, enlightened with the gospel, made holy through the body and blood of Christ, and sent out to help heal a broken, and hurting, world. It is through our act of worshiping our Lord that the Lord cares for us, feeds us, and challenges us to join in his sacrificial mission of loving the world. This is what our ancestors did when they left us with the Bible, with the Catechism, with their Prayers, and with their whole being… their very lives. That is why I include the Community as the fourth treasure of heaven we place in our Go-bag.
What is in your bag? Is your bag filled with rubber-chickens, teaspoons, sugar cubes, and a big nose and glasses? Is it filled with things that will bring you only temporary enjoyment?
Or, is your bag filled with the treasures of our faith? Things meant to nourish your own soul, and the souls of our brothers and sisters in Christ, for all eternity?
For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Amen.
Back To Table of Contents -- Sermon Archive Main Page
__________________
August
19 -- Pentecost 12, Year C -- Rev. Timothy LH Bernard
FIRST
READING: Jeremiah 23:23-29
PSALM: Psalm 82
SECOND READING: Hebrews 11:29--12:2
By
faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the
Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30By faith the walls of
32And
what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- 33who through faith conquered
kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
34quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of
weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received
their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in
order to obtain a better resurrection. 36Others suffered mocking and flogging,
and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned to death, they were sawn in
two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats,
destitute, persecuted, tormented-- 38of whom the world was not worthy. They
wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39Yet
all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was
promised, 40since God had provided something better so that they would not,
apart from us, be made perfect.
12:1Therefore,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with
perseverance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus the pioneer and
perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right
hand of the throne of God.
GOSPEL:
Luke 12:49-56 Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus
said:] 49"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already
kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am
under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to
the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on five in one
household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they will
be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
54He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you
immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. 55And when you see
the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens.
56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?" The gospel of
the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
All
too often we think of Jesus as being "Mr. Nice Guy." At
Christmastime, we hail him as the "King of kings, the Lord of lords, the
Prince of Peace." One of the earliest drawings or depictions of Jesus
is on a catacomb wall. It is an image of Jesus carrying a lamb on his
shoulders, of course, symbolizing Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Today, we
get a very different view of Jesus; Jesus is no longer Mr. Nice Guy. Today
Jesus boldly announces, "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to
the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!"
This
is one of those days that I am extremely thankful for the other readings!
Not because I am going to preach from one of those texts to avoid the Gospel,
but because they allow us to better understand this troubling Gospel.
The
author of Hebrews is, most likely, a Jew who had converted to Christianity and
is now using his great knowledge of Judaism to help others who are struggling to
understand the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most
likely, the author, himself, is dealing with a huge division in his own family
and his own community of faith. He was born a Jew and by ethnic heritage
and lineage he is an heir of Abraham and Sarah, and one of God's Chosen People.
But the author has broken ranks, and has freely come to believe in Jesus Christ.
He says that what makes us People of Faith is not our lineage, not our ethnic
heritage, and not our nationality. He says that it is our faith. He
goes way back to the beginnings of Scripture, lifting up all those individuals
who have been a part of God's unfolding plan of acceptance, forgiveness, love
and grace, and lifts up how they have been faithful servants of God. What
is important, he says, is our faith; it is all about faith.
For
example he shares that Cain and Abel had the same lineage, but it is the faith
of Abel that is lifted up by God so that by faith he still speaks today, while
Cain's violence is utterly rejected. The same goes for others:
Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. What they have in common is not
their lineage or their nationality, but it is their faith for which they are
lifted up for moving forward God's redeeming grace.
But
therein lies the rub – as loving, and accepting, and forgiving is the good
news of Jesus Christ, there are people who will reject that message.
Different leaders, tribes and nations throughout the course of history have
tried to hinder God's redeeming grace. While they may have slowed its
progress in some areas, God wins out in the end. And, for all the beloved
children of God who, by faith, came to believe that Jesus is Lord, they have had
to suffer the pain of faith in Christ. Through their faith in Jesus Christ
they have had to endure the mouths of lions, raging fires, and the sword. Others
were tortured, suffered mocking and flogging; chains and imprisonment.
Some were stoned to death, sawn in two, and killed by the sword. Still
others went about hiding in skins of sheep and goats, were destitute,
persecuted, and tormented. Others wandered in deserts and mountains, living in
caves and holes in the ground. Our ancestors of faith endured so much that
most of the time; we cannot even believe our faith survived.
The
truth Jesus proclaims today is that the sin that lies in each and every one of
us causing us to reject the redeeming grace of God. There are those who
will reject the gospel because they do not like that the gospel calls us to
change our ways. That is one of the problems with sin; we think everyone
else is sinning, so we call on them to change their ways, without looking
within, seeing how we need to change. We can see the speck in their eye,
but cannot see the log in our own.
The
gospel calls us to repent, to change our ways; to change our direction.
And until we change our own hearts, fall on our knees, repent and believe that
the forgiving grace of God is truly for all people, until that happens, we will
be divided. Until we become like our ancestors, who by faith stood up to
all kinds of opposition, oppression, injustice and persecution, our world will
be divided, our nation will be divided, our community will be divided, our
congregations will be divided, our households will be divided, and all because
our own hearts are divided.
We
are divided, that is the truth. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America even stated at our churchwide assembly
that we are never of one mind. In a more humorous vein, he said that even
if a statement, such as Jesus is Lord, were to be voted on, there would be some
who would reject it due to a procedural objection.
The
same is true for this congregation. We average 30% worship attendance
throughout the year, and since that is the average of other ELCA congregations,
as well as for churches in the Presbyterian, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod, and Methodists traditions, we don't do too much to change
that. One out of three worshiping our Lord on any given weekend does not
demonstrate unity, but division. There are hundreds of excuses that
demonstrate our divisiveness.