I am the Lord

I've been thinking about that phrase this week, appearing as it does multiple times in the Old Testament reading from Leviticus that will be read on Sunday. I am the Lord. How do you hear those words?

I am the Lord = I am sovereign, almighty, so do as I say!

or

I am the Lord = I am the one who brought you out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and am leading you to the promised land.

Big difference there! Law and Gospel. And I think mostly we hear those words the first way, rather than the second. But I think they mean the second.

So that's in the sermon for Sunday. Make sure you come and listen! :-) Or if you cannot, listen later online here or here.

Does God Answer Prayer?

What a question for a pastor to ask! Does God answer prayer? Of course the answer is yes. He has said so in His word. That settles it.

So . . . why this blog post?

Well, because I included some prayers in the Thanksgiving sermon I preached this year. [Click here to read that sermon - the prayers are the second half.] After I did, I had a parishioner say to me: "I wouldn't pray those prayers!" Well, God seems to be answering those prayers. I've been struggling a bit of late. Things too big for me, humbling me. Sadness, anxiety. God seems to be answering my prayers to strength my faith and work me in. It's been tough. But I know it is also good.

Thanksgiving

A couple of pictures . . .

With my Dad earlier in the day.

Around our table just before we dug in.

And if you're interested, a link to the sermon I preached for Thanksgiving Eve.

Hope you are yours had as nice a day as we did!

The Day Before . . .

Our congregation is having a joint Divine Service with Immanuel Lutheran Church in Alexandria this coming Sunday, so I do not believe I will be preaching. Nevertheless, I had some thoughts about this Sunday's pericope, the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). What do you think?

What do you think the three servants were doing the day before the master called them and gave them those talents? Going about their business, doing their work, all the regular things of life, right?

But the master interrupted all that with His gift. A divine interruption of their lives. Were the servants glad to be so interrupted? I don't know about you, but I usually don't like interruptions!

Well, the first two servants did what the master had gifted them to do. Didn't they have to stop what they were doing before, their regular life and work, to do something new and different? But, apparently, they saw the gift as an opportunity, and when the master returned, were glad to tell him the new things that they had done.

It was the third servant who did not want to be interrupted - and he let the master know it! He did not see what he had been given as a gift, but as a burden and an obligation. So he didn't do what his master had gifted him to do, but continued doing the old.

What is God gifting you with? How is He interrupting your life with something new and different, in order to bless you? Maybe it doesn't seem like a gift but more like an obligation. Are you resisting? Are you missing out on blessing because you aren't receiving what He's giving as a gift and with joy?

I think there's some good preaching stuff here. Maybe I'll get to use this in three years when the reading comes back again . . .

Tuesday Morning Coffee

Just some thoughts on a Tuesday morning . . .

My wife and I are transitioning to using an electronic calendar for all of our stuff. I have been resisting and using my paper one, but it is getting harder and harder to coordinate her stuff, my stuff, and family stuff that way without one central calendar that I can access wherever I am. So, we're moving. It'll take some getting used to, but I know will be beneficial in the long run.

Preaching. I was privileged to preach at my District's Professional Church Workers Conference last week. Know what I noticed? How much easier it is to preach in a church, from a pulpit, than preaching in the house church that we are forced to use at the moment, due to our building still being under repair. I have found it quite challenging preaching in that environment. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it was just so much easier in the church.

And speaking of our church, no, repairs still haven't begun. The contractor is still talking with (haggling?) the insurance company(ies). Hopefully soon. I am getting very worried now about mold in the building, and that even when repairs to the roof are made, that will only be the beginning of the problems.

I also think I understand why District Presidents tend to be full time and not also serving as pastors - it's not the time it takes so much as the emotional toll. A pastor hurts for his people, and a District President hurts for his pastors and congregations. I experience some of this as a Circuit Visitor. It's not easy. You can insulate yourself to a degree, but its still tough to bring bad news to a congregation, or to work with a pastor who is hurting.

My wife - what would I do without her? Without her forgiveness, understanding, unwavering support, encouragement, management, care, and wisdom? I don't even want to think about it. :-)

I Should Have Known . . . and other thoughts on a Monday

In my sermon yesterday I used the example of a coral snake and a corn snake, two snakes that look alike, but one you don't want around (coral snake, poisonous) and one you do (corn snake (good and helpful). The point was that sometimes we see what God sends us as a coral snake (harmful) and not a corn shake (helpful). But Jesus promises that the Father gives only good gifts to His children - even if we cannot see aright.

Well, I guess I could have used a different example also - email. Sometimes you get an email that look fine, but turns out to be harmful. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference. It happened to me last night and I got tricked. Fortunately, what happened to me doesn't appear too malicious and was taken care of by a password change. It could have been worse. I should have known better. I usually do know better. Let your guard or better judgment down for one moment . . .


But that's how evil works, isn't it?

Today (after fixing my email problem and sending out apologetic emails to everyone who got a bad email from me!) was hymn picking day. I didn't get a far as I hoped, but did make progress. This is a tough time of year for picking hymns, for there are readings and Sundays that just no one has written hymns for! So it is quite difficult to try to select hymns that will fit the readings and strengthen the message of that Sunday. But if I can just get through October, it gets much easier for a while. Reformation, All Saints, End of the Church Year, Advent, Christmas - lots of good hymns to pick from then!

Preach the Word . . . In Season and Out of Season

Due to the weather, Saint Athanasius will not have Divine Service in Vienna tomorrow. The likelihood is that even if we could get to the church building, neither the driveway nor the parking lot will be plowed, and there may or may not be power.

HOWEVER, there WILL be preaching! We will have a brief and adapted order of Matins online at our regular time, 10:15 am. Click here to go to our web site and get instructions for how to log in and join us.

The Lord bless and keep you, especially safe as we await the end of the snowfall and begin digging out.

Wedding

The wedding here at Immanuel Lutheran in Bristol went off without a hitch. Well, actually one hitch, as we "hitched" the happy couple! :-)

The old church is beautiful. It was my first time preaching from an elevated pulpit. The organist was amazing. And I didn't get lost driving! (Okay, my wife drove to the reception . . .) But all in all a good day. We spent the morning relaxing and visiting with my sister who drove up from Stamford for the morning. Today we leave for Springfield, MA to visit my son at college and go to church with him. Then we'll drive home. So looking forward to another good day!

And Deeper Still . . .

Building on this post ("A Little Deeper") of a few days ago . . .

As I was working on one of my presentations for the Higher Things conference next week, it occurred to me that replacing creation with evolution also means that your value is also constantly evolving. What are you worth? What is your value?

creation (physical) - God's careful plan, meaningful, purposeful
new creation (spiritual) - carefully redeemed (re-created) by God's Son, who trades His life for yours!
All God, all gift. Unchanging, steady, reliable.

evolution (physical) - gradual, self-guided process, survival of the fittest
your value - gradual, society-guided process, survival of the fittest
                       whatever is valued by the world at the time
All man, all our doing. Constantly changing.

So years ago, the elderly were honored and revered. Now, just in the way and use up health care dollars.
Years ago, teachers important. Now, athletes.
Years ago, a beautiful woman meant meat on the bones, curves, shapeliness. Now, extreme thinness is considered beauty by many.

And these are constantly shifting, changing, elusive. So if your value, worth, and self-esteem come from the world, you're chasing after the wind. But if your value, worth, and self-esteem come from God and the fact that you are worth the life of His Son, that's something you can count on.

A Little Deeper . . .

Yesterday in my sermon I mentioned how when God created everything in the beginning, He spoke - or preached - to the formless and void creation and ordered it. In the New Testament, Paul uses the term "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17) to describe what we are in Christ. This is not novel. The foundation of the New Testament is the Old Testament and when you hear the New Testament you should hear echoes of the Old ringing in your ears. Another example is when Jesus talks about His resurrections as "the sign of Jonah."

Those, therefore, who deny the validity and truthfulness of the Old Testament are impacting the New also. If no creation, then no "new" creation. If no Jonah, then no "sign of Jonah." If no first Adam, then no second Adam. And there's lots more examples that could be listed here.

But it occurred to me yesterday to then take this a little deeper . . .  Those who deny creation usually do so in favor of evolution of one sort or another. But in addition to "no creation, no new creation," what other impact could this substitution have on theology? If creation is really evolution, then by extension is "new creation" really evolutionary as well? Follow along:

creation (physical) -> God speaks and it is so
new creation (spiritual) -> God speaks and it is so
All God, all gift.

evolution (physical) -> gradual, self-guided process, survival of the fittest
spirituality -> gradual, self-guided process
                       decisions, progress, morality, survival of the fittest
All man, all our doing.

What do you think? Does this pattern hold? What other ramifications could there be?

A Good Day

Yesterday was my Christmas shopping day. Apart from the items I had ordered online and which were soon to arrive in the mail, yesterday was spent driving around and looking for the elusive present or two - and to find them at the right price! It was an exhausting day at the end of which I had a raging headache, but I managed to find what I was looking for. So I was pleased. I may need to go out Monday to get a thing or two, but should be mostly set now.

Today, however, is a completely different day! Today I am sitting in my living room, looking at our tree, drinking tea, listening to classical Christmas music, and writing Christmas meditations and sermons. It is relaxing and refreshing, not exhausting, and so much joy in the Word! And if I can get enough done today, the next number of days will be spent with family and church family, rejoicing in the gifts of God with them, and as the gifts of God they are to me.

Perfect!  :-)

Would Anyone Notice?

Would anyone notice if you just disappeared? Would anyone care? Of course, your family and friends would notice and care, but most of us are quite unknown outside of this. There are only a few folks like Nelson Mandela, whose death a world mourns. Many people come and go every day quietly and anonymously.

So it is also in the cyber-sphere. Web Sites, Blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds come and go and few notice. They disappear into the ether and we go on with our lives. For (perhaps) all the work that went into them, they were hardly noticed.

So I was greatly encouraged and gratified that when our church web site went away for a time, people noticed. I received quite a number of e-mails asking about the sermon archive in particular, from pastors, vicars, and laymen, asking when it might be restored. It was missed. That's nice to know! For all the work that goes into creating and then maintaining a web site, you have to wonder: Is anyone looking at it? Is anyone using it? Does anyone care? It's nice to know that the answer is yes.

I started archiving my sermons like this - and there are now some 11 years of sermons on the site - not because I consider myself such a great preacher, but because I greatly appreciated other pastors who did this. Some weeks sermons come easily and writing them is a joy. Other weeks sermons are quite difficult and writing them is quite arduous. Those weeks, I was (and still am!) truly blessed to be able to go and read how other pastors have preached the text and get ideas from them. These often kick-start my mind and get my thoughts flowing. My hope was that by posting my sermons in the same way, I could do so for others as well.

I am still working on rebuilding the archive - 11 years is a lot of sermons to have to convert into the right formats and upload! - but its coming along. Advent and Christmas is complete, and hopefully Epiphany will be soon too. Little by little. But at least I know it's worth it.

Some Weeks . . .

Some professional golfers consistently do well on certain courses. They say that the course just "fits their eye." I think the same is true of pastors, at least this one. There are some Sundays in the church year that I seem to have an easier time preaching on than others. I wonder if other pastors feel the same way . . .

Bishop Omolo

We were very privileged to have Bishop Joseph Ochola Omolo from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya and his wife Ruth as our guests this weekend. Bishop Omolo has been in the United States about 5 weeks, thanking supporters, attending the International Lutheran Theological Conference in Atlanta, and gathering support for the church in Kenya, and especially Matongo Lutheran Seminary (of which he is the president) and his work with widows and orphans. We had a nice day walking around Washington, DC on Saturday so that he and Ruth could see the Capitol and the White House (though it was pretty windy and cold!) and then we were blessed to listen to him preach the Word of God for us as we celebrated All Saints Day. [Go here to listen to the sermon.] I looked forward to perhaps going back to Kenya to teach with Joseph again, should God so will. We will also soon have links, information, and opportunities for you to help the church in Kenya on our web site. Watch for updates!

Preaching Challenges, Part Deux

To follow up on my post of yesterday, about the struggles that I seem to have every year to preach on Good Shepherd Sunday . . . it seems like this should be an easy Sunday to preach on, but for me it's not. I think this is so because I am conscious of how easy it is to preach an unchristian message this day. What do I mean by that? A sermon where the forgiveness of sins is not central. The picture of the Good Shepherd is one of feeding and care and rest - God is taking care of you, providing for you, and protecting you. That's all true, of course, but is it the Gospel? Is that not a sermon you could also hear in many other religions that are not Christian? Indeed, it is. So there must be more to the sermon than that. There must be the theology of the cross.

So the challenge I face each year is to take a true, but incomplete, picture of the Good Shepherd and expand it in the minds of my people, so that they think of the true care we receive from Christ in His death and resurrection and in the forgiveness of their sins. And I think that is where I have been a bit clumsy or challenged. This year I took the approach that we have a Good Shepherd, but He may not always seem good, because we don't always know what good is. Like when parents force their children to eat their vegetables - the child thinks that's horrible, but the parents know this is good. It is at those times when we think our Shepherd isn't being good that we are tempted to wander and look for greener pastures (Law). But even then, our Good Shepherd is good, leaving the 99 to go after the one and bring us back in forgiveness (Gospel).

So far, so good, I think. But notice - the cross still isn't there. Oh, yes, it's implicit in the forgiveness of sins, but it needs to be explicit. I could just add it - forgiveness earned and won for us on the cross, but that seems forced and artificial. Better, I think, to try here to use the analogy given in the Gospel of the satanic wolf and that Jesus stood between us and the wolf to save us from him; to save us from death. That works, but now notice that the cross still isn't linked to the atonement, but to rescuing us from death and satan. Again, true enough, and there's an implicit connection there . . . but can you see how I am having trouble tying the whole bundle together?

Anyway, I wonder if other pastors have similar problems on this or other weeks? The challenge isn't bad - it forces me to think and study and pray to proclaim the Word better, and that's all good. And as I said yesterday, it is a great comfort to know that the Spirit works through my meager and often clumsy proclamation. That's not an excuse for bad sermons! But it is a comfort. The harvest is His, and He will work. He promised.

Preaching Challenges

Well, it happened again. I was not pleased with my sermon yesterday. I say again because it seems like I have trouble every year with Good Shepherd Sunday. Which seems strange to me. You'd think this would be an easy week, but for some reason, I don't ever feel comfortable or satisfied with my sermons on this week. There are other weeks in the year when it seems I am consistently happy with my sermons - the First Sunday in Lent and the temptation of Jesus comes to mind. But there are other weeks that I often seem to struggle with. Maybe it's like that for other pastors too. I know that God will bless the Word that was preached and proclaimed, not just in the sermon but also in the readings, liturgy, and hymns. It is a great blessing to know that and rely on it. Still, I pray the Lord help me get better every week in my proclamation of His Word. And as I have often said, one of the good things about preaching every week (though I get this coming Sunday off because Dr. Wenthe from the seminary will be preaching for me!) is that you never get to obsess about how good or bad you think your sermon was - you have to move on to the next week and the next sermon. That's good. It helps me to rely more on God and His Word and Spirit and promise to work through even a sinner and a pastor who often falls short, like me.

Maybe I'll write tomorrow about some of the challenges I think come with preaching on Good Shepherd Sunday . . .

Who Is Easter About?

Who is Easter about: Tim Tebow or Jesus?

I'm sure most of you have heard that Tim Tebow was "preaching" at a Texas megachurch on Easter Sunday. They were expecting 30,000 that day - it was like an outdoor rock concert, with a large stage set up in a big field. Turns out they got "only" 15,000. Hmmm. I wonder . . . did they get that many because of Tebow, or that few because of Tebow? From interviews I saw on the news, many came to hear him; but did others stay away because of him? Because they knew Easter should be about someone else . . . ?

Well, turns out that Tebow didn't really preach after all - he was interviewed by the pastor for about 20 minutes. I didn't hear the whole thing, but what I did hear certainly didn't focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sad. Then the news cast mentioned that after the Tebow interview, many of the thousands began leaving . . . before the pastor preached his sermon! I guess for them, hearing about Jesus' victory and resurrection wasn't as important as hearing from Tebow? (Assuming the pastor's sermon was about the resurrection, which I will assume, to put the best construction on it.)

I find the whole thing very, very odd. I don't agree with interviewing folks in church or focusing on celebrities - but even if you do that, why in the world on Easter? Do it some other Sunday!

Update

Haven't blogged lately - too much going on. Church, school, home. Hard to find time to get it all done. Classes are interesting but demanding. Spring break should really be two weeks: one week to rest and one to catch up! But it'll all get done. It always does.

Not really happy with how I preached today. I think I was just out of sorts. As I've said before, preaching every Sunday means that no matter how well or how poorly I think I did preaching each week, I have to put it behind me and start preparing for next Sunday. (And these weeks, for Wednesday night.) That's good. Can't get too high or too low - just have to keep preaching the Word and trusting that the Lord will work through His Word. And He does. He always does.

Finally:  Lehigh 75  Duke 70! My alma mater did well! I did not fill out a bracket this year, but if I had, I was actually toying with picking Lehigh. I probably wouldn't have, but I knew they had a really good player, but didn't think he'd be enough. They play Xavier tonight. For some reason, I think it will be a tougher test. Maybe not. We'll see. I should be home in time to see the second half.

Time to get to work.

Preaching

Two items about preaching:

First, Issues, Etc chose my sermon from this past Sunday (Advent 1) for their "Sermon critique" segment on Monday. Happily, they did not equate it to something from Joel Osteen! Besides being quite humbled and honored at their selection, I think even more it shows that it must have been a slow weekend for sermons being posted . . .  :-)

Second, check out this post by Pastor Hans Fiene. He addresses the topic of predictability in preaching. Is predictability good or bad? His take is quite interesting. Take a look and post a comment.

A Great Day

A great day yesterday . . . the Feast of Pentecost with a full Divine Service with processions and incense . . . a narrative sermon which I think turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself!) . . . some visitors that added to our joy . . . welcoming back Grace, who interned in our area last summer and now has a full time job here . . . the wedding of Elizabeth and Rich in the afternoon - not even the severe thunderstorm at the end of the service could remove the smiles from faces . . . and then a wonderful reception with a wonderful family. It made for a long day (which I wouldn't want to do every week!), but a great day. What blessings God continues to show upon us!