“Let My Words Descend Like Dew”

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Meditation for June 30, 2013

***

     When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When 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?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.  As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And 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.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Luke 9:51-62

***

       This week, Jim and I were blessed to spend time with our close friend, Marylynn. We met on Friday for lunch, prayer, and conversation at a Mankato restaurant while our son attended college orientation.  As we talked, though I had been feeling discouraged that morning, I felt my spirits lifting.  Her joy was infectious! Afterward, I considered the power and importance of words—and especially words spoken by a friend in person, face to face.

      It is true that ministry in the 21^st century involves many forms of communication.  Email, Facebook, and cell phone texting have made it possible to communicate with people virtually 24 hours a day, without uttering a syllable.  And it is true that, since Jesus’ time, ministry has always been not just about our words; it is the example of our lives.  And we know that it is also true that sometimes we say more when we say nothing at all and seek simply to be the caring, peaceful presence of Christ. 

      But as we drove back from Mankato, I considered how our conversation would not have been the same if we had communicated instead by phone, letter or email, as we often do.  We all know the power of the spoken word—how loving words can encourage, strengthen, and stir us on to good deeds. And how angry speech can wound and hurt for a long, long time.  We can’t ever take back what we say—can we?  Words—for better and for worse—are forever etched in our memories.

     During our 2-hour journey home, I thought about a passage of scripture I read long ago and treasured in my heart.  When we arrived home, I looked it up and found that it was in Deuteronomy chapter 32. Moses speaks to the assembly of Israel after the Lord has commissioned Joshua, Son of Nun, to take his place as leader.  God has told Moses that he is nearing the end of his life, preparing to “lie down with” his ancestors. And Moses, with all Israel gathered to hear him speak, recites a song, part of which goes like this:

     “May my teaching descend like the rain; my words…like dew; like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth; for I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God.”

      Words that descend like dew don’t disturb the earth or its creatures.  They aren’t like a flood that drowns or washes away, scattering and destroying life. Words like dew gently stimulate growth—build up and not tear down. They are life-giving words that heal, and don’t hurt or wound. They are words that draw God’s people closer to one another and to Him. 

     Jim and I had been blessed by just such life-giving words from our friend Marylynn—words that encouraged, refreshed, and even brought about healing as they descended “like dew, like gentle rain on grass.”

***

     In today’s gospel in Luke chapter 9, we don’t encounter words that descend like dew.  We have, instead, an example of Jesus’ chosen twelve behaving badly and misunderstanding what it means to be his followers.  At verse 51, we begin what scholars call Luke’s travel log –when Jesus single-mindedly turns toward Jerusalem. He is now preparing to serve God through his own suffering, humiliation, and death on the cross.

      Jesus has attempted to teach his disciples the true meaning of discipleship before he goes home to be with the Father.  He has tried to teach them that being his disciple means serving God, seeking Him in prayer, submitting to the Father’s will, denying oneself, and enduring humiliation and rejection for Christ’s sake. Disciples do not return evil for evil; they reach out with love and compassion for the lost and help people in need. And they are always kind to one another.

       But just six verses before the travel log begins, it is obvious that the lessons of humble, self-giving service have not been learned. The disciples argue over who among them is the greatest.  And Jesus sets them straight.  He says, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.”

    The journey to Jerusalem begins with rejection. Jesus sends his messengers on ahead of him to a Samaritan village, which refuses to welcome him. James and John respond in anger.  “Lord, do you want us to command fire down from heaven and consume them?”      

     Jesus corrects them again, trying once more to teach them about discipleship. His followers don’t return evil for evil!  They submit to God’s will and have compassion for the lost. And if rejected, they move on, without looking back or being distracted from the call. And they are always kind to one another, faithfully continuing on with the Kingdom work as Christ beckons, “Follow me.”

 ***

     Friends, like His original 12 who struggled to understand just what it meant to be his disciples, we, too, struggle to understand what the Lord requires of us.

      The healing conversation I experienced on Friday with my friend, Marylynn, provides a glimpse of what discipleship can look like in the 21^st century—when two or three gather in His name to encourage one another along their journey of faith, draw nearer to the Lord, and renew their strength and joy.

      Friends, I urge you to consider this week and give thanks to God for the people whom the Lord has placed in your life to help you along your faith journey.  And I urge you to consider the power of your words and how you might use them to encourage someone else. 

        Is someone you know discouraged?  Are they in need of your life-giving words and Christ’s loving presence that dwells within you? 

      Let us hope and pray, like Moses, that our words, with God’s help, will descend like dew; like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth. May we always proclaim the Lord’s name; ascribe greatness to Him!

       May we, with the Spirit’s help, live together in unity, gratitude and obedience to Him as we learn what it means to be His disciples.

       May we never lack compassion for the lost and always be kind to one another.

       And may we be faithful to continue on with the Kingdom work as Christ beckons, “Follow me.”

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for your Spirit that lives within us and guides us each day.  Forgive us when we have not been faithful to you and have not sought to be Christ’s disciples. Unite us in His love and shared mission to the world. Open our ears so we hear Christ beckoning us to follow Him—and open our hearts so we obey. Open our minds to understand what it means to be His disciples today.  And Lord, help us to do what we know is right, to live as Christ would have us live. May we use our words only to build up and never to tear down—to heal and never harm. Give us courage to be kind and forgive as you so generously forgive us. Fill us with your joy and strength as you draw us nearer to you and closer to one another.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.

“Now That Faith Has Come”

Meditation on Galatians 3:23-29

June 23, 2013

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     Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

***

      When we left Pennsylvania on June 20, 2011, it was hot and muggy – our usual summer weather.  Our plane touched down at the Minneapolis/St Paul airport, and the weather was wet, windy, and cool. The sun barely shone during those four days of my first visit to Minnesota. When I saw the country church, it looked on the outside like the pictures the pastoral nominating committee had sent, but since we were not here during Sunday morning worship, the church seemed empty and strangely silent. And I only met the members of the committee that brought me here—not the wider congregation.  We saw the manse, but it was in the midst of a pretty substantial remodeling project. And it was hard to picture as our home without our furnishings inside.

     What Jim and I saw wasn’t the reality of our lives when we came here to live and serve year round.  During those four days of our first visit, we had only a glimpse of what was to come. 

     And yet after we went home to Pennsylvania, and the committee called to ask me to come and be your pastor, I said yes with all confidence.  We had prayed and we knew that this was God’s will, though we couldn’t have imagined all that would happen in the future.

     Faith had come—a merciful gift from our Lord!  We had to trust in Him.  Trust that everything would be as He had promised us. No, life wouldn’t be a picnic.  The ministry life is hard work and emotionally and physically draining because it requires all of our being—and it means going against the flow, seeing things and doing things differently than the world would have us do. Doing things differently than even we Christians used to do because the Spirit is moving us ever forward in the way He wants us to go. And change at any age is never easy. 

     But God promised that He would be with us and never leave us. His Spirit would make us His church, and He would reveal His will and guide and strengthen us to do it.

     And we had to believe that everything, in the end, would be all right.

***

    

     The Apostle Paul has his hands full with the Galatian believers.  They are struggling with Christian doctrine and practice. Other teachers arrived after Paul and have led the church astray. Part of them wants to believe in God’s grace in Jesus. But another part of them also wants to hold onto the past, the so-called safety net of the Old Testament laws and the habit of separation from the wider community. They are like new swimmers, who after learning all the strokes and how to stay afloat, still cling fiercely to the edge of the pool, fearing they will drown if they let go. They lack the courage to use their new understanding of God’s love and mercy to enjoy the glorious freedom of the gospel, now that faith has come.

       Throughout his letter, Paul is trying to move the Galatians to see that nothing is the same anymore—because of Christ! Why are they turning back to the bondage of the old life, back to the frightened, hopeless people they used to be?

     “You foolish Galatians!” he scolds at the beginning of chapter 3. “Who has bewitched you?!”

    Everything is different now, now that faith has come! They aren’t of the world anymore! Not like they were before. They aren’t Jews and Greeks or Gentiles.  Ethnicity, culture, and nationality don’t matter; they don’t exist in the kingdom of God! No one is better than anyone else because ALL are children of God, heirs of salvation in Christ! Forgiven in Him, clothed by Him, and loved by Him.

     Life in God’s Kingdom begins not at our death but the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior!  And the Kingdom isn’t like this world at all!  There is no rich or poor. There are no social classes or distinctions of any kind! Even gender can no longer divide because there is no male and female in the kingdom of God.  There is ONLY FREEDOM AND EQUALITY in Christ!

    The Galatians are Christ’s church, His Body—not because they are following the laws, rules, or traditions of religion, but because a loving and merciful God has given them His Spirit that is making them One in Him!

***

    Friends, let us not fall into the same trap as the Galatians! We have the Bible—we have the Words of Jesus Christ! We have God’s Spirit with us to reveal His Will and help us to obey! We know that we are called as Christians to be gentle servants of the Lord and one another.  So let us never cling to the old, worldly, divisive attitudes—the ones we had before Faith had come.  And God’s Spirit made us One!

    Let us never forget that we are saved by grace and called to live in the same grace by which we are saved! In the Kingdom, there are no distinctions! No social classes or any other manmade category that places one person or group above another.

     Not religion or wealth. Not native language or country of origin. Not gender or education. Not age or generation.

     Not occupation or place of residence; not town, country, or city dweller.  Not immigrant or native-born citizen. Not homeowner, landowner or renter. Not family ancestry, nor history with the church.

    Brothers and sisters, that same faith that we all had to bring me here 2 years ago will be the same faith that moves us as a church of Jesus Christ past any of our struggles in the future and ever closer to Him.

    We have to make a decision today and every day to trust in Him and follow Him as He leads us on the right path.  Together!  As One Church, not torn apart by opinions, but united in Him!  We can trust that everything will be as He has promised us in His Word, though the ministry life for every Christian is hard work and emotionally and physically draining because it requires all of our being!

   And it means going against the flow, seeing things and doing things differently than the world would have us do. Doing things differently than even we Christians used to do because the Spirit is moving us ever forward in the way He wants us to go. And change at any age is never easy. 

     But friends, God will always be with us and never leave us, despite our struggles. His Spirit is now in our midst. And His Spirit—and not any of our manmade rules or traditions—will make us His Church.

     He will reveal His will to us and guide and strengthen us to do it. And everything, in the end, will be all right.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your love and mercy for sinners like us.  Thank you for the gift of your faith in Christ’s work on the cross for our sakes—so we don’t have to keep on trying and failing to make ourselves good enough for you. Lord, change our hearts and minds and make us more like your Son.  Give us a passion to hear and know Your Word as always relevant to our church and life today. May your Spirit unite and strengthen us as One Body, ready to do your will as soon as you reveal it to us.  Give us grace for one another so that our church will always be a place of safety, freedom, and equality for all people—where all people are respected and no one is more important than another. And our greatest ambition is to be your humble servants, loving God and neighbor all of our days.  We look forward to when Jesus comes again for His Church and your good work in us is complete.  We look forward to when everything, in the end, will be all right. In Christ we pray.  Amen.

      

“If He Were a Prophet, Then He Would Know”

Meditation on Luke 7:36-8:3

June 16, 2013

***

      One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 

     Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “Speak.” 

     “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 

     Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 

     Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 

    Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 

    But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

   Soon afterwards Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

***

     June is proving to be a busy month for weddings here at Ebenezer. I had the pleasure of presiding over the wedding of Megan Dikken and Jordan Hegna yesterday.  And next Sunday, I look forward to presiding over the wedding of Amy Kulberg and Tom Bakker.

        The couples that come to me to be married complete about 12 hours of pre-marital counseling to meet a new state requirement.  While at first I was surprised by the requirement, I have come to believe that it is a very good thing. It allows for more time to get to know the couple, discuss many important topics, and especially to bear witness to God’s mercy and grace and our forgiveness in Jesus Christ. This forgiveness is undeserved, so it humbles us and shapes our attitudes, relationships, and the way we live our lives.

      Some churches have strict guidelines about who may be married in their churches.  Some require both husband and wife to be baptized in their denomination and at least one of them to be a member. Others have fewer rules about who may be married, but pastors have the right to decide that it is unwise for a couple to marry if they feel they lack the maturity, commitment, and understanding of the faith.  This is true for our denomination.

      When a couple requests that I marry them, the first time we meet I try to put their fears to rest. I assure them that I trust that the Holy Spirit is in their decision, that their love for one another is a gift from God, and their coming to me is a work of the Spirit drawing them closer to Him. Then I make a commitment to pray for them.

       I know that some pastors have turned couples away, sometimes for reasons that aren’t scriptural, simply because they lack mercy and grace for a fellow servant of the Lord. The hurt from this goes deep and lingers long. The couple is left feeling judged and rejected by the pastor, the church, and perhaps God Himself.

***

    In our gospel today, Jesus is eating at Simon’s house with the other Pharisees, trying to bring them back to the true faith of the Lord God of Israel.  They have, most certainly, turned away from our loving and merciful God to serve a false religion of their own making that reaffirms their own sinful attitudes and selfish way of life.  Their self-importance leads them to look down on other people.  Instead of demonstrating God’s love, mercy, and grace to people in need and seeking to help them, the Pharisees refuse to associate with them or even acknowledge them if they pass them on the street. They scorn, judge, and separate themselves from people whom they label as “sinners.”

       And then this “woman of the city” shows up at the meal and makes a scene.  Crying, pouring expensive ointment on Jesus’ feet and wiping his feet with her hair. And Jesus, who knows the thoughts and intentions of the human heart, hears Simon thinking, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 

     So Jesus tells a story about a creditor who cancels the debts of one who owes him much and one who owes him little.  Who would be more grateful and loving in such a situation?  Of course, the one who owes the larger debt.

     The woman of the city knows that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, whom God has given the power to heal and forgive people for their sins.  And she longs to be forgiven, healed, and reconciled with the Lord.  

      Jesus, knowing the sorrow of her heart and the sincerity of her faith, tells the Pharisees “that her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.”  The Pharisees, who believe that their judgmental attitude is what their religion requires of them, don’t understand that Jesus is talking about them when he says “the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 

 ***

       It is interesting to me that this lectionary reading ends not with Jesus telling the woman that her sins are forgiven, but goes on to when Jesus is traveling and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, with his 12 disciples and the women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities. Women such as Mary Magdalene, whom some say was the woman of the city who cried and anointed Jesus’s feet. Also with Jesus were women of means who use what they have to care for the others.

    Friends, this scene is a glimpse of the present and coming Kingdom of God, a place where repentant sinners seek to love and serve our Redeemer and Lord. God welcomes all to the Kingdom who trusts in His Son; therefore our church, as a church of Jesus Christ, should also be welcoming to all who trust in Him. 

     We cannot expect others to heal themselves and fix their broken lives before they come to Christ and commune with His Church. We come to the Lord just as we are. Sinners in need of a Savior!  We are all the children of God, chosen for His work, but still human and flawed. We are people with broken hearts needing mending and lives bruised by sin.

     We come so that God’s love will heal us and His Spirit will guide us onto the right path.  We come to be strengthened to begin to repair our broken lives, change our sinful ways, and learn to forgive one another as God forgives us.

     We come so that the Lord may use us—new creatures in Christ—as instruments of His unconditional, healing love.

Let us pray.

    Father, thank you so very much for your healing love, shown to us in the sacrifice of your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Annointed One.  Forgive us for our many sins that we continue to commit every day, despite our desire to walk in your ways.  May your Spirit strengthen, guide and empower us to live righteously—to seek you daily to renew our minds and cleanse our hearts of all unrighteousness.  And Lord, we pray for our church and our communities. Bind us together in your love. Help us to be welcoming to all people. Build up our faith so that we are empowered to share the gospel through words and deeds.  Give us compassion for people in need, for people who may be difficult to love, and for those who don’t know you as their Lord. Move us to reach out to them with your unconditional, healing love.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.