February 25, 2015

“All this is from G*d, who through Christ reconciled us to himself…not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:11 – 21

“This process of surrender – this movement full speed astern – is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good (person) to repent. And here comes the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person – and he would not need it.” C. S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) Mere Christianity

To repent is to turn around – to change direction – to follow a new path, but in the opposite direction. All our lives we follow certain paths – so much do we travel the well-worn path that we wear down the terrain – we trudge it down so much nothing else can grow there. All that remains is what we want there – what we are comfortable to have there – what we have spent our whole lives cultivating. And then one day something jars us awake to realize that what is existing all along our path is devoted just to ourselves – self-serving, selfish wants, needs, behaviors, and interactions. We realize that we need to change – but as simple as that sounds, it may turn out to be much harder. It means unlearning what we have taught ourselves for so long. It means finding new paths, ones that we have never trodden – developing new behaviors, ones we have never considered. It means doing what we absolutely do not want to do, and what we desperately need to do.

But we need not travel this new path alone. No matter how much or how little change we need, we all need the Holy Spirit who will help us trudge onward. Coming to the realization that we need to change, that we need to repent, is the beginning of our spiritual wisdom, the beginning of our spiritual growth, and the opening to our new path. Jesus came to proclaim the message “Repent and believe – the kingdom has come near.” Here is your path for Lent – it won’t be easy – but the road less travelled is never easy.

Pastor Dave

February 24, 2015

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“It is well that there is one person who is the same. It is well that there is one stable rock amidst the changing billows of the sea for life…

Let us here recollect that Jesus Christ is the same to sinners today as he was yesterday. Jesus is the same today as he was yesterday in the teachings of his word. Jesus Christ…will be the same forever.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) “For All The Saints” volume III

Lutherans are people who do not like change. In fact, I am sure that the Christian Church is replete with people who want things to always remain the same. But the church is constantly changing. From the language to the styles of worship, the church has been changing in many ways for two millenia. If you only do some research in the area of hymnals, you will find a host of worship books that have been tossed aside for newer versions. What has changed with each new edition? Mostly the language, but also the music and more options for the liturgy. As much as we say we do not like change, there is very little that remains the same from one generation to the next. Except for Jesus.

One of the most difficult changes for our churches in the last 40 + years has been the frequency of Holy Communion. When I was a child, we only celebrated Holy Communion four times a year. In the beginning of the church, Holy Communion would have been celebrated every time the community gathered for a meal – and that would have been every week. So What happened that we lost the tradition of celebrating this Sacrament often? The Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648) happened, which was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history, fought mainly in the territory we now know as Germany. The destruction was so immense that it sparked the migration of people to the “New World” to escape the devastation. In the process, not only were the people losing their homeland and cultural identity by coming to America, but many of their religious practices were also temporarily augmented because of circumstances. One of the first structures that settlers would build would be a church – usually at the center of the community. However, while many of the congregations were founded by lay ministers, there was a severe shortage of ordained Lutheran pastors to fill the pulpits every Sunday. While the lay ministers often read “tracts” or sermons sent over from Germany in the absence of a regularly called pastor, the churches would rely on circuit preachers like Henry Melchior Muhlenberg to preach and provide the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion whenever they could attend. Therefore, over time, the practice of every Sunday communion was relegated to four times a year, first beginning out of necessity, and continuing on after so many generations as regular practice. It literally took some churches almost 350 years to reclaim this practice – the change came gradually alright. Jesus never changed in the process – he continued to be in the meal of bread and wine – we needed to see that this sacrament was so special to us that frequency would not mean it would lose its efficacious nature – but instead it would be held more sacred because it would be our “regular practice”.

Yes, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”, says the writer of the book we call Hebrews. There is nothing about Jesus that has changed for two millenia. Jesus still loves the little children; Jesus is still the One; Jesus is still the Son of G*d, the Word Incarnate, the Way the Truth and the Life. No matter how many changes come about in the Church, we know that G*d’s love never changes. And for that we say “Thanks be to G*d.”

Pastor Dave