“Do You Believe?”

Meditation for the Funeral of Henry Bruns

March 4, 2013

***

      When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.

      When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”

     Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

     Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

     Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

      Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” (John 11:17-27)

***

   When I first met Henry and Jeanette in fall 2011, they were going through a time of transition.  They were adjusting to their new life of 7 or 8 months in an assisted living community after moving from their single-family home of around 18 years. The move meant downsizing and letting go of many belongings that stirred happy memories of their life of 47 years on a farm in Ericson Township. 

      Concern for Henry’s health and mobility prompted the move. Fiercely independent and private people for their lives, Jeanette and Henry now needed a little more help. 

    The couple still attended Ebenezer every Sunday. And as they filed out of the sanctuary with the congregation at the end of every service, Jeanette would smile kindly and give me a warm hug. Henry would grin and say “Hello.” One hand held onto his walker as the other took my hand in a firm handshake.

   I always asked him how he was.  He usually said, “Fine.” Or, he made a face and said, “Not bad, I guess.”  When he felt more comfortable with me, he’d say, “Well, could be worse. Better than some.”

     He never told me that he had pain, though I would find out about it later—when Henry had to go a nursing home in Olivia.  It was an even more difficult transition for them—their first time apart since they had been married in 1944. But Henry needed more care.

    Our prayer was for Henry’s healing, that Henry would feel the Lord’s loving presence with him and that He would make a way for Henry and Jeanette to be back together again.

    The Lord answered our prayers. Henry soon came to RenVilla—where he could receive the nursing care he needed and Jeanette only had to walk a few hallways and take a short elevator ride from Meadows to be with him.  Anyone visiting would find them together every afternoon—he resting in bed, and she in a chair beside him, reading, doing a puzzle, or just quietly holding his hand. 

     With Henry’s fragile health, they could no longer come to Ebenezer where he had been a lifelong member and had served in a variety of roles.  But Henry’s faith had deep roots.  He attended chapel services Sunday afternoons at the nursing home with Jeanette when he was well enough. He continued to read church bulletins, sermons, and daily Upper Room devotions.  He was happy to partake in communion and was always eager to pray whenever I visited.

     I knew that Henry wanted to go home to be with the Lord. He wasn’t afraid of death, he said. He was ready!  His earthly body was wearing out.

    But it wasn’t his time, yet.  God had other plans.  I know this was frustrating for Henry—being patient and accepting that the Lord was still in control and wanted what was best for Henry and Jeanette—and for the witness to God’s Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

    I prayed the Lord would help Henry persevere during this transition period of waiting and enduring a life not of his choosing in a body that could no longer do all the things he used to do on the farm, including making furniture, toys, and other beautiful things out of wood.  I know he longed to be out of the bed and tiny room that was his home during his final months with us.

     I prayed he would hold onto his faith and never stop trusting in the One who showed us the way to everlasting life when he died on a cross for our sins—and then rose again.

***

    In our gospel today, Mary and her sister Martha are the ones who have to wait and suffer, when they expected the Lord to respond immediately to their cry for help and heal their brother as they had seen Jesus do many times during his ministry. And Mary, Martha and Lazarus were like family to Jesus; they were good friends and loyal followers.

   When our Lord finally reaches their village, Lazarus has been in the tomb 4 days. But Martha does not give up. While Mary stays home and gives in to grief, Martha runs to meet Jesus on the road. 

    She says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”

    This is Martha, the one who once complained to Jesus when her sister was sitting at his feet and Martha was the one doing all the work in the kitchen. But now Martha is the one with a stubborn faith that can endure—not Mary. Martha believes that although their brother has been dead 4 days, Jesus can still bring about a miracle because of who Jesus is and his special relationship with God.

       And Jesus doesn’t let Martha down. He tells her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

     And then he asks her a question to which he most certainly already knows the answer,

     “Do you believe?”

    Martha says, “Yes I believe.  You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

***

      With the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus demonstrates that He is who Martha believes He is.  And that all that has happened is part of a larger plan for the glory of our Lord and the salvation of the world. Many others hear that Lazarus has been raised from the dead—the most miraculous healing Christ has ever done. And they, too, come to believe!

    And friends, in God’s time, He answered our prayers for Henry. He and his family endured in faith till the end, and Christ surrounded then with His love and peace. Henry held tightly to Jeanette’s hand and to the cross of Jesus as he passed into the next world and went home to be with God.  No more weariness.  No more suffering.  No more frustration with a body that no longer did what he wanted it to do.

      I can imagine Christ asking Henry the question to which our Lord already knew the answer.

     And Henry replying like Martha, “Yes, Lord.  I believe.  You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

    And I ask you now, my friends, what will you say if Christ asks you,

    “Do you believe?”

Let us pray.  Lord, thank you for your faithfulness to use each of us and our lives as a witness to your glory.  Thank you for using us to achieve your larger plan for the salvation of the world.  Forgive us when we are impatient.  Help us to persevere through suffering, trials, and grief in faith and trust you till the end.  In Christ we pray.  Amen!

“This Fellow Welcomes Sinners”

Meditation on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

March 10, 2013

***

      Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

 So he told them this parable:

      Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

      But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ”

      So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

     But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.

      ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then the elder brother became angry and refused to go in.

      His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!”

      Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’

**    

    Ten years ago, Linda Shuler was running errands on a Saturday morning, traveling a country road in Pennsylvania in her minivan, when a box spring fell off the back of a truck and crashed through her windshield.

   Linda, 52, was killed.  She was a schoolteacher, the wife of a pastor, and mother of four.

   The 48-year-old driver of the pick up fled the scene when he saw what his carelessness had done. He had not bothered to secure the box spring on the back of his truck.

     I met Linda’s husband, Pastor Jim Shuler, a few months later. I was a religion reporter writing a follow up story on how a small town pastor copes with such a loss.

     Pastor Shuler was gracious and kind, answering my questions honestly—telling me he did not know how he would find the strength to go on.  That his first reaction to his loss was wanting to leave the place filled with memories of his wife and their ministry together. How could he continue on without her?

     The congregation was also gracious and kind, willing to talk about the wounded pastor whom they loved—and his wife Linda, whom they greatly mourned.  They were committed to supporting him, giving him some time away from the pulpit so he could begin to work through his grief. They told me how they were different because of Pastor Jim and his friendly, down-home hospitality and “plain” preaching. Before he and Linda came in the 1980s, the members hadn’t always gotten along. But with Jim’s encouragement and humble example, they were learning how to love and forgive, and their ministry and outreach to the community had grown stronger.

     Five years later, I came to Pastor Shuler’s church to serve as his parish intern. It wasn’t a coincidence.  I had seen something in his rural ministry that touched my heart.  Sure, they had their struggles with finances. Their membership was aging and dwindling like many other small, rural churches in America. But it was a church where people cared about one another, and cared about their pastor as a human being.  A place where people didn’t pretend to be someone different on Sunday than they were the rest of the week.

     One day, while Pastor Shuler and I were talking over lunch, I asked him what happened with the man who was driving the pick up. Pastor Shuler had spoken in his defense. And when the man reached out his hand to him, Pastor Shuler shook it, though it was a difficult thing to do.  He knew that God wanted him to forgive, though he still struggled with his anger and sorrow.   

     Because of Pastor Shuler’s words, the driver served no jail time. He pled guilty to homicide by vehicle and failure to secure a load and received 5 years probation and community service.     

    The driver was a recipient of God’s extravagant grace. He had a second chance, an opportunity for a fresh start, a new life.  What would he do with his freedom?   Would he live any differently?  Would he extend God’s grace to others?

    Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I were in Pastor Shuler’s situation. Would I be able to forgive the man who had fled the scene while my spouse lay dying? 

    Would I take the man’s outstretched hand?

    I know what Jesus would do.

***

    In today’s gospel, the Pharisees and scribes grumble that “this fellow,” Jesus, “welcomes sinners” and eats with them, too! The “sinners” with whom he associates are untouchables; unclean and defiled.  A religious person could not touch, eat or speak with a “sinner” without also becoming unclean and being barred from worship in the temple and life in the community. Thieves and prostitutes are “sinners,” but so are people who are sick, blind, deaf, or lame.  Most people believe that illness, tragedy, and sometimes poverty are God’s judgment on sin.

   Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ accusations with 3 parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.  All end with heaven rejoicing over the one repentant sinner.  Only in the prodigal son do we hear of the so-called good son, who is unable to forgive the sinful son. And only in the prodigal son does the father humiliate himself by running through the streets to meet his sinful son while he is still far off. The father receives the disobedient son as if he never sinned against him—hugging and kissing him and calling for the finest robe, a ring for his finger, sandals for his feet, and a fatted calf for a feast—as if the sinful son is the most beloved of all.

    When the older son complains, his father assures him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”

***

      The Father in the prodigal son story is so like our heavenly Father, who did not hesitate to humiliate himself for our sakes.  He eagerly came to us while we were still far off and could not go to Him. His love led him to sacrifice His only Son, who was without sin, so that sinners may be saved.

      Friends, all who repent and believe on Jesus Christ receive God’s forgiveness and unconditional love. No one is turned away. And like the parable of the prodigal son, it is as if we never sinned at all.  We are God’s beloved, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

     And like the foolish driver whose carelessness resulted in a fatality, we are undeserving recipients of God’s extravagant grace. Each morning, we have another chance to follow Christ more closely, an opportunity for a fresh start, a new life!

    What will we do with our freedom? 

     Will we be like the prideful older brother, unable to extend grace to his sinful younger brother?

    Or will we welcome sinners as if they never sinned—and eat with them, too?

    I know what Jesus would do!

Let us pray.

 Holy God, we thank you for your Word that gives us all we need for our salvation and equips us daily for our lives of faith.  Please forgive us when we have been ungrateful and selfish, like the prodigal son.  Thank you for reaching out to us while we were lost so that now we are found. And please forgive us when we have been like the prideful, self righteous older brother, unwilling to forgive and love another human being like you have loved and forgiven us!  Empower us with your Spirit this day to always seek and do your will and follow after Christ more closely.  Give us courage to move forward, with a fresh start, without looking back with regrets or self-pity.  Give us humble hearts that rejoice with the angels when just one sinner repents and comes back home to You. In Christ we pray!  Amen!

“A GRACE-FILLED LIFE”

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Meditation on Romans 5:1-11

March 6, 2013

***

         ¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

       ⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11)

***

      Pastor Dean was unable to be here this evening because of illness.  We will keep him in our prayers.

      I did not learn until noon today that Pastor Dean would not be able to make it tonight, so what I am going to share with you is something the Lord has been working on in me. This is not a well-polished, rehearsed sermon that some pastors are capable of pulling off at the last minute. But what I share with you comes from the heart.

     I have been thinking about God’s grace. I don’t think I began to learn about His grace until I was an adult—and still I have so much more to learn about what it means to accept and receive God’s grace and live a grace-filled life.

      My parents had high standards and expectations for me growing up.  They still do, God bless them! I know they love me very much.   But these high standards led me to learn that only “All A’s” would do. Anything less showed I wasn’t trying hard enough—or wasn’t good enough. I didn’t take risks and try new things because I might not do them well.  There was a certain shame in that.

    These high expectations weren’t limited to school.  They were applied to all areas of my life. The unhappy result of unrealistically high expectations and criticism by those closest to me is a person who is overly self-critical—and not easily satisfied with my own efforts. 

     I am a perfectionist. And you know what?  There are plenty of us in this world!  Some of you are perfectionists, too.  On a job application, we are the ones who can truthfully answer “yes” to the questions of being detail-oriented, conscientious, responsible, reliable, punctual...  Many perfectionists are also workaholics because their own sense of worth comes from what they do. They are not finished a job until their own performance or product meets their high standards.  And perfectionists tend to be planners and worriers—people who fret that they may have made a mistake or something terrible will happen if they don’t try to work out a problem in their mind before it has even materialized as a problem.

     The good news is there is hope for us in God’s grace!

      The apostle Paul was also a perfectionist.  He had high expectations for himself and for others. He was a worrier.  He was known to scold a bit when congregations fell short of his vision. He said things like, “You foolish Galatians!”   This served him well as a church leader who wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions, though they may be unpopular.

        But his perfectionism was something with which he struggled, especially when the Lord revealed to him the error of his ways.  In II Corinthians 12, Paul tells the story of the “thorn in his flesh” and how he prayed repeatedly for God to remove it. Scholars speculate that this thorn was a physical problem—illness or handicapping condition; others say the thorn was sin.

   

      In any case, God did not remove the thorn.  He answered Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

***

     What does Paul mean by “God’s grace”? It is the undeserved mercy and forgiveness of the Lord. Undeserved! God’s grace is freely and lavishly offered to all people.  This grace is more than enough to redeem all sin.  God’s grace is what has achieved the work of our salvation and reconciliation with Him. 

     In Romans, Paul emphasizes the Lord’s grace as opposed to our own works of penitence or goodness that “earn” or “achieve” our salvation. Paul writes, “ ¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, (meaning, since we are made righteous and forgiven of all our sins by faith) we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this GRACE in which we stand.”

     God’s grace is demonstrated to us by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, for our sakes! Paul says,   ⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

     What I am telling you, my friends, is that being a perfectionist is not what God wants for you and me.  Being a perfectionist falls short of God’s glory! It turns our focus to serving our own expectations and standards, instead of looking to God and seeking to serve Him through our thoughts, words, and deeds.  What we think is “perfect” for us may not be God’s perfect Will!  He has things planned for you and me—that we don’t even know about, yet!  

      When you are a “perfectionist” you are really saying that God’s sacrifice of His only Son isn’t enough for your salvation.  That God’s grace falls isn't good enough. There’s more YOU have to do! That you can only be pleasing to God if you meet some other human standards—of which God may not even approve!

    

     Friends, during this holy season of Lent, as you seek to draw nearer to the Lord, don’t be surprised if you hear Him say, “Why are you worrying about all these things? Don’t lose your peace over things that don’t matter.

    

    “There is only one thing that matters for eternity. And I freely give it to you, because I love you!

   

      “My GRACE. 

       “MY GRACE. 

       “MY GRACE is all you need.”

Let us pray.

     Gracious Heavenly Father, forgive us for our self-critical ways, for wasting time and energy on things to please ourselves and other people, but are not important to you.  Thank you for your grace and love that has redeemed us!  Draw us closer to you, Lord, so we can hear your perfect Will, and you can show us a new way of living—a grace-filled life.  Remind us that we are pleasing to you not because we work hard or are smart or any other earthly measure.  Open our ears and hearts so we may hear you say, “I love you. My grace is all you need.” In Christ we pray.  Amen!

“Come to the Waters”

Meditation on Isaiah 55

March 3, 2013

***

     Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

      Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

      For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.  (Isaiah 55)

***

    Jim and I are still trying to get acclimated to Minnesota winters.  Exactly when does winter begin?  And when does it end?  The snow comes whenever it wants.  It doesn’t look at the calendar and say, “Oh, today is the first day of spring.  Time to go.”

    We never expected Minnesotans to complain about snow and ice—and yearn for spring.  But they do. Gardeners are making plans and buying seed and garden decorations.  Farmers are getting equipment ready and dreaming of fields planted with corn, soybean, and sugar beet.  

     And I, like other Minnesotans, have been dreaming about warmer weather, too. And summer vacations.

     The other day, I stepped out my door and the wind blowing across the fields sounded just like the ocean! I remembered going to the beach as a child. I think the memory was a gift from God.  As if the Lord was saying, “Be patient.  Winter won’t last forever.” It lightened my burden to think about my many peaceful walks along the shore.  I remembered how the ocean changes color with the light and hues of the sky. And how the Atlantic is a murky greenish-brown—not the deep blue children use when they color a crayon sea.  But the sound of the ocean is my most vivid memory. It’s a wild, natural noise. Loud, like the roar of a lion, so that if you try to shout to someone a little ways off, your voice is a whisper in the wind.     

        When I stand and gaze at the ocean, I feel very small, as it seems to go on and on. But at the same time, I feel safe and secure. The ocean reminds me of our Creator—and how I am always in His presence, no matter where I go.  I am comforted that He has plans, purposes, and ideas that are so much bigger than you or I can dream.  

      I know that all the broken places inside of me will eventually be made whole. I place my hope in His Son, who has been with us, interceding for us, since before the very beginning.

         Someday, Christ will come again for us.  And we will go out in joy and be led back in peace.

***

       I was thinking about the ocean this week, an image God used to encourage me when I felt weary of winter that seems to go on and on. I read this week’s Old Testament passage from the prophet Isaiah. And I sensed God drawing me nearer to Himself, as He longed to draw nearer His people during their Babylonian exile.

    

      “Ho, everyone who thirsts!” The Lord says through Isaiah. “Come to the waters!”

    

       The waters are a metaphor for God’s healing power, an image Israel can understand. They already think of God’s Word, His Commandments, as bread—nourishment for the soul. The image of the Spirit as cleansing, life-giving water that cannot be bought with money but is something God freely gives reminds them of their wilderness wandering with Moses. God provided for them, then, with cleansing, life-sustaining water and manna, bread from heaven.

    

       In Isaiah’s time, Israel is brokenhearted—exiled from their homeland and held captive in Babylon. Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed. From what they can see, God has abandoned them. “Reality” to them is their daily experience of deprivation and sorrow, anger and pain, and hatred for those who conquered them and destroyed what they loved—their land, religion, and way of life.  

    

      In their brokenness, they have lost sight of the Lord, who is not a religion and has never been tied to one land or one building—not even the Temple.  God called out Abraham when he was far off from the promise land, telling him to leave his home and kin and go as He led him.  The reality for Israel is that God is still with them and is still loving and caring for them, just like He did when they were lost in the wilderness.

   

   Losing their faith, Israel turns to worshiping the idols of its conquerors. But Isaiah tells them it’s not too late. God’s grace has not run out.  God wants to heal and forgive them and make them whole!

   

    He says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon…

   

   “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts…”

***

       Israel doesn’t listen to Isaiah.  Many go their own way.   They want the things of the world, the things that money can buy.  They can’t see the reality of the ever-present God whose love is steadfast, no matter their earthly situation. And because they lack mercy and grace, they don’t understand the reality of the God who abundantly pardons those who repent and turn back to Him.    

      But it’s not too late for us, my friends. Let the God who loves you nourish you with His cleansing, life-giving Spirit. Come to the waters and drink deeply.  His grace is enough.

      Be patient.  Hold onto your faith. Winter won’t last forever.  Take comfort in knowing that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours.  That God is much bigger than the ocean that seems to go on and on.

      The reality is that you and I will experience His healing. All those places in us that are still broken will be made whole. Someday, Christ will come again for us. And we will go out in joy, and be led back in peace.

Let us pray.

Loving Lord, We come to Your waters now.  We draw nearer to you.  We want to drink deeply of your Spirit and be changed, be made new, in Christ’s image. Give us passion for Your Word that feeds our souls. Help us to see and experience the reality of your Kingdom that is already here and is to come. Thank you for being ever present with us, wherever we wander in this world.  Thank you for being steadfast in your love and ready to abundantly pardon those who repent and return to You. We eagerly await the coming of Your Son, whose work on the cross is sufficient for all our sins.  We ask that you would continue to heal us and look forward to the day when your work in us is complete—when all our broken places are made whole and we see you face to face.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.

“No Greater Love Than This”

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Meditation on John 15:9-17

Feb. 27, 2013

***

           “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

      “‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” John 15:9-17

***

     Jolanta Staron grew up in a tiny village in Poland. Growing up, she heard that her mother and grandmother had saved their “friends.”

    Jolanta and her brother and sister received Christmas packages from some of these “friends” for many years—boxes filled with M&M’s, toys, clothing, and other goodies—without Jolanta and her brother and sister ever meeting the “friends” face to face.  Every year, the packages came, and bits of the story were told again.  But important details were left out until Jolanta was older.  Details waited until she and her brother and sister could understand the full significance of what her Polish Catholic grandmother, Francisca, and their mother, Helena, had done when they lived in Sokal, Poland, during WWII. How they had quietly risked their lives so that others who were despised and rejected might live.

    When Jolanta was a child, she didn’t know the “friends” were Jewish.  Those who hid Jews during the war didn’t talk about it when so much prejudice against Jews lingered even after the war.  Jolanta grew up in a tiny apartment crowded with extended family and was shocked to learn that her grandmother and mother, who barely had enough food for themselves during the war, had hidden, fed, and cared for 16 men, women, and children for 20 months as the Nazis terrorized their city.  Six thousand Jews lived in Sokal before the Nazi occupation in 1939; only 30 survived by 1944; 13 of them had been hidden in Francisca’s tiny hayloft above her pigsty; three more (a man, his wife, and their young son) were hidden in a hole dug beneath her kitchen floor.

       Judy Maltz grew up in New Jersey. Every year she helped her parents and grandparents prepare packages for Francisca’s family at Christmas time.  She enjoyed filling the boxes with M&M’s, toys, clothing and other goodies.  Judy had never met Francisca or her family. And she never questioned why her family sent Christmas presents when Judy’s family didn’t celebrate Christmas.  They were Jewish!

       Every year, bits of the story were told again.  Some details waited until Judy was old enough to understand the enormity of what Francisca and her daughter Helena had done, how they had risked their lives so others who were despised and rejected might live.

***

        The cross awaits Jesus as our Lord speaks in John of what it means to love as God loves.  Jesus tells His disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”  But love without obedience to God’s commands, is not the love of Jesus. Christ says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”  Abiding in His love will bring the blessing of Christ’s joy for Jesus says, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

        Those who confess Christ as Lord and Savior, but do not have Christ’s love for others and do not live in love, are not keeping His commandments or abiding in Him.  

      Christ’s love is one that is willing to take risks and lose everything.  A love that holds nothing back.  That has no fear.  That seeks to gain nothing for oneself, but only to do what God requires.

     This kind of love is rare in a world that tells us we don’t have to love everybody all the time.  Some people don’t deserve our love.  And love doesn’t have to last.  We can choose to love with certain conditions or for only a little while, when loving is beneficial for us. Most of us would hesitate to love if it meant putting our own families in danger.

      Yet Christ commands us to love as He has loved us. This love He speaks of is possible if we abide in Him.  If we cling to Him heart, mind, and soul and seek the Spirit’s power to follow in His footsteps. This love requires faith.

      Jesus tells us there is no greater love than the love he has shown us—a love that led him to the cross.  Christ became for us the one despised and rejected, so we, who deserved God’s wrath, might live.

     

*** 

     

      As Judy’s family prepared the packages for Francisca’s family every year, her grandfather would take from his wallet the picture he always carried of her.  She was the “angel,” he said, who saved the entire family.

       Francisca’s granddaughters, however, remember her as no “angel” in the traditional sense. She wasn’t overtly religious. She was tough, didn’t “take any punches from anybody,” and liked to sniff tobacco. But she was a woman with compassion and the courage to live by her convictions.

     Why did she do what she did—when so many of her Christian neighbors assisted the Nazis? The key is in the word Francisca used to describe those she helped. She called them simply her “friends.”

    As we continue our Lenten journey together, seeking to draw nearer to God and walk in Christ’s footsteps toward the cross, Francisca’s story reminds us of the extraordinary love and grace God has shown us.

     Francisca died in 1960 without ever having revealed her secret. Jolanta did not hear about the courageous thing her mother and grandmother had done until she and her family moved to the United States in the 1980s. The Israeli government contacted them when they recognized Francisca and Helena in 1986 as “Righteous Among the Nations.”  

    

      Jolanta and her sister finally met Judy Maltz and those who had survived because of their grandmother’s bravery. A few years ago Judy decided to make the documentary film, “No. 4 Street of Our Lady,” so the world would know.  They traveled together to Francisca’s former home in Poland. Jolanta and her sister were seeing it for the first time. The “friends” wiped away tears when they saw the tiny, dark, smelly loft above the pigsty and the hole dug beneath the kitchen floor. Sixteen people had huddled, trembling in silent fear for nearly 2 years as the woman who was their angel risked her life so they who were despised and rejected might live. 

 

      “For there is no greater love than this—to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

     My friends, let us pray.

Holy God, we thank you for your amazing love that led you to provide the sacrifice for our sins through your only Son.  During Lent and always, move our hearts to gratitude for what you have done for us who do not deserve your love.  Remind us that we are saved not by our works but by Your grace through faith, which is also a gift from you.  Move us to cling to you heart, mind and soul, and abide in Christ, so we might keep your commandments. Build up our faith and give us courage to take risks and love those who are despised and rejected as you have loved us.  In Christ we pray.  Amen!