On the Way to Wonder

As we come to the end of the fourth week in Lent I’ve pondered what hymn we might listen to for comfort. The parables we looked at this week dealt with a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son and a shrewd manager accused of mismanagement.  We ended with a rich man in hades pleading for relief and help for his family on earth.  How might that lost coin or sheep or son comforted itself?  What hymn might a refugee turn to?  What hymn comforts us when we feel lost or misunderstood?  That’s a heavy week of thinking.  Our news on the TV was very heavy also with the continuing war in Ukraine.     So what comforts my soul when I am feeling defeated and discouraged?  I love the hymn “Be Still My Soul” that encourages me not to look at my plight but to remember that God is still in control, working for my best, and forming his kingdom.  It was written by Katharina von Schlegel, 1752 during the German pietistic movement, translated by Jane Borthwick into English 100 years later and set to the tune of Filandia.

         Be still, my soul, The Lord is on thy side.  Bear patiently, the cross of grief or pain.  Leave to thy God, to order and provide.  In every change, He faithful will remain.  Be still, my soul, thy best thy heavenly friend.  Through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end

         Be still, my soul, thy God doth undertake .To guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake. All now mysterious shall be bright at last.  Be still, my soul, the waves and wind still know.  His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

         In You I rest, in You I found my hope.  In You I trust, You never let me go.  I place my life within Your hands alone,  Be still, my soul.  Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on.  When we shall be forever with the Lord

         When disappointment, grief and fear are gone.  Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.  Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past.  All safe and blessed, we shall meet at last.  In You I rest, in You I found my hope.  In You I trust, You never let me go.  I place my life within Your hands alone’

         Be still, my soul.  In You I rest, in You I found my hope.  In You I trust, You never let me go.  I place my life within Your hands alone.  Be still, my soul.  Be still, my soul.  Be still, my soul.

Luke 16: 19-31

Between yesterday’s story about the shrewd manager and today’s story about a rich man and a poor man, Luke whispers an aside to let us know he is shifting direction.  He reminds us that the kingdom of heaven, God’s way, has been preached by the law and the prophets from the very beginning.  Lent is not a new message that suddenly appeared as a spiritual challenge.  In the law, Ten Commandments, God tells us how life works best … but we don’t follow them.  We don’t love God with our whole heart, mind and strength and we do not love our neighbor as our self.  Prophets have spoken through out history calling people back to God.  We cannot claim, “We did not know the gun was loaded.”  Ignorance is not an excuse.  Luke then relates a story Jesus told.

         A rich man lived in luxury and ignored the poor man living at his gate.  They both die.  Here the story twists.  The poor man is in paradise, in “the bosom of Abraham,” where we expect to find good people, surely the rich man.  The rich man however dies and goes to Hades, where we think bad people go.  We know of no crime the rich man did in his lifetime and we are surprised this man who seemed so blessed is now suffering.  The man calls out to Abraham and begins to bargain for help.  Even as he was seemingly insensitive to the poor man, Abraham is insensitive to this man. What’s the deal?  First, Abraham cannot send the poor man with water to ease suffering for there is a chasm between them.  The door has been closed.  Nor will Abraham send the poor man back to life to warn the rich man’s brothers.  The rich man reasoned that someone from the dead will convince them.  Abraham gives the chilling response.  If we cannot listen to the testimonies of Moses and the prophets, we will not listen to someone raised from the dead.  The coming resurrection of Jesus who will walk through death is foreshadowed.  Will we believe him. The rich man is not condemned for not sharing his wealth but for not listening.  The kingdom of God will belong to people who are in relationship to God.

         So what touches my heart today and can cause me to repent and turn to the cross?  Who do I allow to speak into my life?  Is there someone I can turn to for spiritual direction?  God’s kingdom will not be forced on us.  God’s kingdom is not the reward for a life lived making smart financial decisions but is a place where relationships developed in life are lived to complete fulfillment.  Perhaps write down the names of three people who have helped you spiritually and perhaps write a letter or text or call one of them to say, thank you!  Blessings.

Luke 16:1-14

Luke moves on to another day on the journey to the cross. Jesus is talking about a “shrewd manager.” My teenagers would have said, “That was a sly guy.”  It means being deceitful but not in a bad way.  A manager was accused of mismanaging possessions and told he was going to have to give an account.  He was going to loose his job so with his remaining time he created begging rights with the people whose accounts he managed by cutting their debts in half.  Jesus rather than condemning the man for his dishonesty, surprises us by commending the man’s use of money to solidify relationship rather than taking advantage of people to insure his future.  Jesus commends him!  Very interesting.  Jesus does not create a right-wrong line of definition about stealing but rather looks at the heart, the intent of the manager. 

         We like the manager are entrusted with resources.  We are given gifts.  We call it talents or that which makes us unique.  Maybe we are not operatic or Olympic but we each have a purpose and a life to live here.  I would wager to say that none of us live up to our potential.  We all fall short.  In fact, that is the definition of sin.  Sin with a capital “S” is being separated from God because of our sins, small “s.”  The things we do wrong whether intended or whether by default, separate us from God and each other.  There are things I have done wrong and things I have left undone.  We all fall short and like the manager deserve to be fired.  Lent challenges us to look at that manager and realize that it could be me.

         Grace is not having our debt cut in half as the manager did but it is the owner looking at our heart and our intentions.  Are we living with integrity and being trustworthy with the gifts God has given us?  God does not ask if we are the best but looks at us through eyes of understanding and love.  The shrewd manager knows he cannot work and do it by himself and throws himself on the mercy of the community.  We throw ourselves on the mercy of God.  We hold on to Jesus who goes to Jerusalem to represent us.

         The beautiful verse in this story is verse13, “No one can serve two masters.  Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.”  During Lent we take our time to examine our hearts and honestly ask ourselves who we love and who we serve.  But never forget it is not our evaluation or our friend’s evaluation that counts but the evaluation of a God who knows us through and through and surprises us with grace.  Blessings as you draw close to him and trust him!

     Lenten charity challenge: “To earn money to feed their children, women in Zimbabwe started raising chickens.  The ELCA Hunger Appeal helped provide a loan to start this project.  Give 15 cents for each time you ate chicken or eggs this week.”

    As we travel through Lent, I find it interesting that Luke shares three parables about lostness that Jesus gave responding to the tax collectors and teachers of the law who were muttering about who Jesus associated with.  All point us to the cross.  Monday we looked at a lost sheep sought out by the shepherd. Tuesday we looked at a lost coin sought for by a distraught woman.  Today the parable ramps up the intensity to make a point about the kingdom of God.  A father has two sons.  The younger claims his inheritance early and the elder stays and dutifully serves his father.  In the parable, both sons are having trouble with their “father figure.” 

         In fact, this is the text for Sunday worship so I do not want to give away too much but just enough to wet your appetite for Sunday.  We would think that the older, obedient son is the model and the frivolous younger son is the delinquent.  We would think that God cherishes his existing church more than spending time with sinners.  In fact though, both sons are struggling with burdens that bring them to the cross and the need to seek forgiveness.

         To wet our appetites I am going to offer Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare.  We know it well.  The two animals race and we would think the hare should win but he doesn’t.  Both the hare and the tortoise are slowed down in the race.  The outcome is a surprise even as Luke tells us that we will be surprised whom we will meet in heaven.

         So let us ponder what weighed down the younger son, the older son and what weighs us down and slows down our relationship with God.  So many excuses we know and hear all the time.  I’m tired on Sunday morning from working so hard and need to take a nap like the hare.  Or perhaps we have too many things to do and just cannot get them done fast enough to have time to meet with God.  We are slow like the tortoise.  What slows down your roll with God?  Be honest!  The father cares about and reaches out to both sons.  God wants all to come to salvation.  Lent challenges us to refresh, renew, and revive our relationship with a God who journeys to the cross for us.  Blessings.

         Lenten Challenge for your charity jar for after Easter: “A woman in the Philippines began her own sewing business thanks to a small loan from Lutheran World Relief.  Give 5 cents for every shirt your family owns.”

         Luke goes on to share another parable about a woman who had ten silver coins and loses one.  She turns on the lights, sweeps the house, and searches carefully.  When she finds the coin, she calls neighbors to celebrate with her. I lost my remote control to the DVD player last week.  I know it could not walk away.  For a week I pulled the living room apart.  I called a friend to help me look cause my eyes are getting old.  She got on her knees.  She turned on the flashlight on her cell phone.  Perhaps I carried the remote with me for a potty stop and checked all unlikely places.  I did not find it!  It still niggles at my mind.  Where is it?

         Lostness left me feeling out of control, something was missing.  I had to experiment to figure out which button on the machine controls on and off and I could not control fast forward or rewind.  The machine and I were having trouble communicating properly.

         I suspect when I am off balance spiritually it is similar.  When I have to start the day on the run because I have overslept, my day is off.  I’m not in sync with God.  Interestingly the focus of the parable is not on the feelings of the coin but on the emotions of the owner and the extent the owner becomes frustrated and activated to find that coin.  The coin may not even realize it is lost.  It may think it is suppose to sit in a pocket of the coat to be spent at the store.  The coin does not know but the owner does.

         Lent tells us the danger the owner is willing engage to return communication with the coin.  The journey to Jerusalem and the cross is a journey to bring us light and understanding.  It is a journey that cleans house and limits the power of evil.  It is a journey to rescue us, not just enlighten us, not just to make life easy.  The result will be joy but we have not reached that part of the journey yet.

         Let’s ponder today our communication system with God.  Are we in sync or are we busy thinking we know where that coin is?  Perhaps we don’t even know if we are lost.  May we realize we are valued and God know wants us!  Blessings.

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.”