On the Way to Wonder

Luke 15:1-7

We start this week pondering the character of the King of the Kingdom.  Before you dismiss this as “religious kool-aide,” let me point out that the evening news points to the “war” going on in Ukraine as a battle between authoritarian leadership versus democratic leadership.  We know and live out the debates about what constitutes leadership that we as Westerners are willing to follow and support.   We want “voice” in our government and we do not want dictatorships where the beliefs of the elite are imposed on the majority.

         Jesus adds a bit of a twist on this debate.  He tells a parable, a story, of a shepherd with 100 sheep who looses one.   Lest we are tempted to think this is a dictator who has lost one of his countries and is trying to reclaim in, let us remember that Jesus is telling this story in response to criticism by the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were muttering about the company Jesus kept.  The shepherd is not forcing a rebellious sheep back into the fold against its will, but the shepherd is looking for the lost and hurt that he carries on his shoulders to rejoice with friends and neighbors.  He is not slaughtering the sheep to bring it home.  The tone is compassion.  The “kingdom” is not just for people of one flavor or world view or one economic status, people who look like us but Jesus is making the point that the king is inclusive and is willing to be involved in the dirty places of our lives, to find us and carry us to safety.

         So the parable that seems to have strong overlays to our world today challenges me in two ways.  I am challenged to look into my heart and see if I demand that all people “look like me,” be part of my herd, my crew, one of my peeps, doing life the way I do, or can I open my mind and heart to those who tackle life a bit differently.  I might even label them “lost” and yet the Shepherd is willing to find them and bring them back to be loved by me.  But I am also challenged to ponder to what extent differences are dividers that prevent me from looking out for others.

         In any case, God goes out of his way to find us and his desire is that we be in his kingdom, be well fed and cared for, not lost.  As we pray over our world conflicts and the clash of leadership philosophies, may we pray that we can see beyond to a kingdom that is not political and where all, even the lost, are included.  Lord, have mercy on our world.

         Lenten challenge: “In Bolivia, two rural cheese factories help 1,000 local milk producers and their families. Give 25 cents for every dairy product (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream) you ate today.”

The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended,
The Darkness Falls At Thy Behest;
To Thee Our Morning Hymns Ascended,
Thy Praise Shall Sanctify Our Rest.

We Thank Thee That Thy Church, Unsleeping
While Earth Rolls Onward Into Light,
Through All The World Her Watch Is Keeping
And Rests Not Now By Day Nor Night.

As Over Each Continent And Island
The Dawn Leads On Another Day,
The Voice Of Prayer Is Never Silent,
Nor Dies The Strain Of Praise Away.

The Sun That Bids Us Rest Is Waking
Our Brethren Beneath The Western Sky,
And Hour By Hour Fresh Lips Are Making
Thy Wondrous Doings Heard On High.

So Be It, Lord; Thy Throne Shall Never,
Like Earth’s Proud Empires, Pass Away;
Thy Kingdom Stands, And Grows For Ever,
Till All Thy Creatures Own Thy Sway.

A friend whom I have known for over 40 years visited this evening.  They traveled several States to get here and shared this song as one of their favorites after a long exhausting week.  After battling medical challenges, listening to discouraging war reports, I too was comforted by the thought that as the sun travels around the world waking people the result is that people are praying.  There are always people praying about the war, about the pandemic, about politics and about so much more.  I pray as you listen to this mellow hymn, it will bring peace to your heart knowing that not only is God never asleep, some of his people are always praying.   As the last verse shares, empires may pass but God’s Kingdom endures.  Blessings.

Yesterday we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.  Last night we grieved on the news of the destruction of culture in the bombing in Ukraine, the loss of art, of history.  We celebrate the contributions of the Irish to American culture and we grieve with those who are seeing their cultural heritage destroyed.  Lord have mercy!

         St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is believed to have died on March 17, 461.  Since the 10^th century the Roman Catholic Church has celebrated this saint who is actually not Irish.  He was born in Roman Britain but captured and sold into slavery on a pig farm, escaped but returned to evangelize Ireland.  He is credited for explaining the Trinity, the Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by using a shamrock with three leaves that was native to Ireland.  I believe he is also credited with ridding Ireland of snakes.

         The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was not held in Ireland but in St. Augustine, Florida, March 17, 1601, by a Spanish vicar!  In 1772 English military marched in a parade in New York City to honor the saint.  The tradition has grown since.  How very multicultural the story grows.  According to the Internet the parade is “the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants.”  Wow!

            Today the United States is being challenged to absorb immigrants from around the world who will bring with them new traditions, foods, and language that will be absorbed into our culture.  And so that thought challenges me to ask ourselves if we are “cultural Christians” or do those traditions, understandings of life and the value of people, really speak to something deeper inside how we look at the world?  Lent is a time when we reflect not on Jesus as more than a healer and teacher, which indeed he was, but we also look at him starting to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven that calls us to allegiance to a God who loves all cultures and created all people.  Even as St. Patrick returned to Ireland to tell his former owners about Christianity, we too today tell others about a kingdom that does not spread by bombing and destruction leaving ruined museums, rubble and death in its path.  Let’s think today of a Christian tradition that means a lot to us and helps us focus on a hopeful future.  Blessings.

         Lenten challenge:  The ELCA Hunger Appeal provides money to build concrete wells in Niger, West Africa, to help turn desert into garden plots.  Give 10 cents for every garden tool your family owns.”

Luke 14:15-24

Jesus does not give up trying to help us understand the kingdom of heaven.  Yesterday we talked about who will be saved, who will be in the Kingdom, to which Jesus gives us a picture of entering a narrow door. It will not be like working for good grades or like trying out for the Olympics.  Our idea is rewards for performance, works and looks.  The door is narrow because it is not based on us but on God’s grace, admitting we need help. 

         Jesus goes to a Pharisees home to eat and gives another picture.  The kingdom is like a great banquet.  But the guests start to make excuses.  Some can’t come because of financial commitments.  Some can’t come because of employment commitments.  Others have family commitments.  Sunday morning we hear all these excuses that also include the late Saturday night socializing or perhaps the type of music.  For some there is that person who hurt their feelings and the old wound is festering.    Not only is the door to the kingdom of God narrow and involve relationship with the owner of the house, the invite to go through that door is often just not convenient for “our” agenda.  Ooops, and there we have the problem.  I want life on my terms for my benefit. 

         Perhaps, though, rather than focusing on that, we might focus on the promise of a future banquet.  Banquets imply fun, food, and fellowship.  Jesus is contrasting the Kingdom of Heaven to the evening news with missels, destruction, and pleas for help.  The contrast is real but the invitation to attend must be accepted,

         So, what are some ways we say “tomorrow” spiritually.  Being tired is one of my favorite.  I don’t know what to wear is another.  The owner of the house has not closed the door and dynamics of our world need prayer.  I pray I will meet you at the banquet!  Blessings.

Lenten challenge: “Every day 34,000 children under the age of 5 die from hunger and preventable diseases.  That’s 24 children a minute!  Give a quarter, 25 cents, and pray for these children.”

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem and the cross.  A random person asks if only a few people will be saved.  That’s a good question.  Many are gambling that all roads lead to God and so the margin of error is pretty big.  Generally it boils down to being good (like me) is all that is needed.  The qualification to enter the kingdom of heaven is based on my actions of kindness and not on faith or a personal relationship with a God that cannot be seen.  How much wiggle room is there in this dynamic we call faith?  Do we need just a mustard seed of faith or faith that moves a mountain?  Jesus talks about the “narrow door.”

         The desire for the good life is a dream for all of us whether we call it heaven, Nirvana, or Paradise.  For some of us this looks like financial success while for others it may look like social success and unfortunately for many it is defined by power.  We list the most influential people at the end of the year, the most successful, the most talented, the most-you name it.  But the person in our text is asking about being saved.  Being “saved” means being included in the kingdom of heaven.

           Jesus answers that “the owner of the house” makes the decision.  It is not based on our actions but on God’s.  Once God closes the door, the final deadline has been reached.  No excuses – I meant to…, I wanted to…., I’m a friend of…., I tried once but got confused…  All our excuses will be useless.  Jesus continues to say that all sorts of people we did not even know will be included and people we thought so highly of will be excluded.  We do not know who is in or out because we are not the owner of the house.  We do not see the big picture.  The margin or error is not about our behavior but God’s grace. It is not about whether we act good enough.  It is about relationship. 

         It sounds harsh to our Western ears but in fact we can name so many situations where parameters are set on membership in whatever.  We even use that kind of thinking with our families as we ponder how far to bend with that alcoholic child, that child that does not follow the family values, and that child that is just different.  We, as humans, understand “belonging.”  We use the word “adoption” to talk about people included by the grace of the “owner.”

         Today’s text is serious.  We do not want to think of some included and some excluded or that the door is narrow.  It is hard to trust the owner of the house to make that decision.  Grace, faith and trust are hard.  We want to qualify based on our qualifications and our wonderfulness.  But the truth is that we are all sinners and all are welcomed into the kingdom of God by his grace.  The stories we cover during Lent draw us to the truth of our need for God and characteristics of the kingdom Jesus is ushering in.  Reflect this morning on how a “works” thinking sneaks into your thoughts towards yourself or towards others.  Thank God for his grace and that the “door” to heaven is wide enough for sinners like you and me!

         Lenten challenge: “In India, community health workers provide free medical care.  The ELCA Hunger Appeal helps pay for their training.  Give 25 cents for each time you visited a doctor this year.”

Luke 13:18-21

“Then…”  Luke tells us that on this trip to the cross, Jesus has just healed a woman crippled by an evil spirit on the Sabbath and that the leaders in the synagogue objected.  Work cannot be done on the Sabbath they claim but Jesus reframes the objection to, “But kindness can be done on any day.”  “Then…” Jesus turns everyone’s attention to the kingdom of heaven.     Kindness and Kingdom are related!  Being crippled and being harassed by evil spirits is a big thing.  War is a big thing.  Disease and famine and cruelty are big things.  The issues we are facing are big things.  An act of prayer, an act of kindness even done on the Sabbath, changed that woman’s life and included her back into society.  It is a taste of the kingdom of heaven coming to earth.  Not only her life was changed but also the Jewish people were changed. The good deed trickled down through the centuries, teaching us. 

         The kingdom of God starts like something small, like a mustard seed or yeast, a kind deed and the course of history is changed for the good.  We could probably say a cruel deed changes the course of history also, for the worse.  Who can replace all the history and culture destroyed by the bombs in civilian areas and the killing of lives in war?  Good and evil have a ripple affect.  They are like yeast in our soul and history.

         We may debate whether the mustard seed is truly the smallest seed or we can embrace the truth that a kindness done has far-reaching benefits that we may never live to see.  Let us spend a few minutes pondering a kindness, a mustard seed that could be planted today.  A smile or an unexpected email or phone call can change the direction of today for someone.  Maybe we cannot fight the war but we can sow kindness.  The kingdom of God is like those small deeds that ripple throughout our culture and help make our world a better place to live.  Blessings as you do an act of kindness today.  Blessings.

Luke 13:10-17

Merriam-Webster defines “pushing the envelope: 

         To push the envelope means to surpass normal limits or attempt       something viewed as radical or risky. It comes from the   aeronautical use of envelope referring to performance limits that       cannot be exceeded safely. The phrase was originally limited to      space flight, before spreading to other risky physical        accomplishments, and finally metaphorically to any boundary-  pushing activity, such as art.”

Jesus is a well-known healer.  The Gospel of Luke is full of stories.  But as Luke tracks Jesus headed to Jerusalem, Luke notes this incident where Jesus heals a woman “crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.”  There is a spiritual aspect to this sickness.  The problem, though, is that the synagogue leader objects that this deed was done on the Sabbath.  It is a good deed but done on the wrong day because “work” had been defined as wrong on a day of rest. Work was not done on the Sabbath.

         Jesus reframes, renames the “envelope” and asks if deeds of kindness cannot be done on any day.  He pushes the envelope.  How often are we trapped and critical of others and ourselves because we are working with envelops that need redefinition?  The outpouring of humanitarian concern and outreach in the midst of war is redefining “aid” as people have gone to public media, broadcasting the inhumanity of war, and ordinary people are responding.  We may well be redefining the morality of war.

         One example I can think of is the condemnation we pour on ourselves for our wrongs, our sins.  We try to call them mistakes but in our heart we know we have done wrong in thought, word and deed.  Jesus redefines sinner to forgiven, disease to healable, and death to life….but we have not got that far yet.  Today Jesus is showing that kindness is doable on any day and that evil does not have the last say in our health.

         Perhaps today’s challenge is to reflect on whether you have been beating yourself up or a loved one about something that could be redefined as “forgiven.”  Don’t be foolish but also don’t be stubborn.  Jesus wants to help, even on the Sabbath!

         Lenten charity challenge, “Hungry people often don’t have homes.  Give 5 cents for every hour you slept in a bed last night.”  Maybe count the total of hours your household spent in bed and put the money in your jar!   

Luke 11:1-4

We started this week pondering the Lord’s Prayer.  The above music video is a modern musical version based on the Lord’s Prayer done by Hillsong.     Perhaps one of the most remarkable parts of the prayer for me is the we invitation to call the God of the universe, ”Father.”  That does not roll easily off my tongue.  We can run to him in the middle of the night or anytime an unexpected need arrives at our doorstep.  God does not fight against himself, casting out good for another good. He’s not like a double minded lover who switches devotion if something better comes along.  God desires a real family relationship with us, not master servant but father to child with all the growth and independence and self expression that implies.  When that relationship is marred by lack of transparency, cheating, and deception both parties experience woe.  We can’t say one thing and then act another.  Many of us have been hurt by phony promises of devotion and commitment only to discover it was a lie.  God doesn’t double deal like that.  As amazing as it sounds, a being so very different than us, incarnated to understand us better and open the way for us to choose relationship with him.  Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹ not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

         Listen to the song and reflect quietly on the gift of relationship.

Lenten challenge for March 12: “In Laos, children learn to garden and raise animals so that they can provide their own food  Give 5 cents for each kind of fresh vegetable and fruit in your kitchen.”  Put it in your Lenten jar for charity!

Luke 12: 35-48

“Undercover Boss” is a TV serial with its at least 8 seasons.  It is a “two-time Emmy Award winning reality series” according to the Internet overview.  It portrays executives leaving their high status positions and slipping anonymously in with the working employees of their own organizations.  The “boss” wants to examine the nuts and bolts of the workings of his organization.  This sounds terribly familiar to our text today.  Jesus is telling the crowds that they should act like servants who realize the boss might come home at any moment, or worse yet, might be in disguise among them.  The sounds like Jesus, God Incarnate, warning people that it is possible for God to be among them and they might not even realize it!

         So why is this important?  As the TV series shows, the boss sees who is responsibly handling their assignment and those workers will be  rewarded, get raises.  The undercover boss also sees who the lazy workers are and which workers take advantage of fellow workers and abuse the trust they have been given.  Those servants, employees, will be punished severely.  God is able to be undercover, seeing, rewarding and punishing.  Jesus is speaking in language we understand only too well.  Our relationship is not based on being hired but is based on being family, should we choose to be adopted.  But it is true, as the God of the universe who incarnated that God also sees our treatment of the world and responds.

         As we travel through Lent, it might be wise to take a minute and write down three main responsibilities you feel you have.  You could divide the paper and write ways you try to be responsible on one side and “room for improvement” on the other side.  Pray over both sides with thanksgiving and prayers for improvement!  Blessings.

         Our Lenten prayer: “ Many children can’t afford breakfast.  Try skipping that meal today and see how it feels.”  An alternative idea would be to put the cost of a cup of coffee at your favorite spot, into your charity jar.