Monthly Archives: February 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:24 am on February 19, 2015  

Wrestling With G*d – Rev. David J. Schreffler

February 19, 2015

“The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream. And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” Genesis 32:22ff

Have you ever had a night where you wrestled with one thought or another for most of the night? I have had many, many nights like that. Wrestling with one thing or another seems to happen more frequently at night since there is less and less to divert our mind’s attention from the things that worry us. Some people call these nights the “long dark night of the soul”. When I graduated from Gettysburg Seminary in 2005, I met with the Bishop from the Synod I had been assigned. After a week or two, I was given the name of a congregation to consider for my first call. That first night that I prayed and considered the call of the Bishop, it was a night like that of Jacob – wrestling with G*d about the past, the present and the future. They all seem to collide in hours of wrestling and battling unknown and known foes – and often these long hours come in the darkest time of the night.

When Jacob realizes he will not prevail over his adversary, and his adversary realizes he will not prevail over Jacob, they have reached an impasse. His adversary wants to leave, and Jacob wants a blessing. “Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed.” (verses 26-28) So Jacob receives more than a blessing – he receives a new name. He is told he will now be known as Israel because he struggled with G*d and and with men, and won.

Have you been struggling with G*d lately? G*d allows us to struggle – encourages us to wrestle with issues – wants us to care deeply about our faith and our relationship with G*d. It is not a sin to wrestle with G*d – but we miss out on some quality struggling when we don’t care enough to question. Again, have you been struggling with G*d lately? Take time in Lent to wrestle with G*d – G*d’s word and G*d’s will for your life – it will be a struggle worth your time.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:41 am on February 18, 2015  

Ash Wednesday – Rev. David J. Schreffler

February 18, 2015
Ash Wednesday

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill”. But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of G*d, so that the Son of G*d may be glorified by means of it.” John 11:ff

How can a death bring about the glory of G*d, we wonder? Isn’t death the one thing we all want to avoid above anything else? We spend lots of money trying to look younger, feel younger, be healthier and add years to our lives. Very few people I encounter are gleefully counting the days until they die. We can only assume that Lazarus was not looking forward to death, but was looking forward to Jesus coming to his side. His only hope, he knew, was in the presence of Jesus. And when Jesus held off for two days before even leaving to come to his side, Lazarus eventually would lose his battle. And the sisters of Lazarus were indignant. Oh they don’t throw many invectives at Jesus, but they do hit him with the inevitable “If you would have been here, Jesus….”

But Jesus was there – he was there in thought, in anticipation, if not in body. He knew that his actions would have a greater impact on the world if he waited just a little longer. After all, which impacts us more: witnessing the healing of someone close to death, or bringing someone back from the dead? Both in 1st century Palestine would have been amazing – someone coming back from the grave – unimaginable. Who else but G*d could make this happen?

We have become so skilled in the medical arts today that we expect miraculous healings even in the most difficult situations. Every day we see stories about people who have been brought back from the brink of death, it is almost routine. But we have not reached the point where we expect people to come back from the dead on a regular basis. Of course, from our Ash Wednesday perspective, “we are dust and to dust we shall return.” In other words, we are already dead because of sin. But because of the events of the cross, G*d has finally, once and for all, given us what we need to wash out, blot out, and remove permanently the stains of the sin in our lives. And here’s the good news: the cross acts just like “Tide Stain Release”, that magical laundry cleaner – it seeks us out, or I should say Jesus seeks us out – and removes our sin. Oh we can try to hide from it, but we can’t forever – eventually G*d makes G*d’s presence known to us through the Holy Spirit. How? Well, that can be as mysterious as the way the “Tide” laundry product works. But it is not important how we might experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, as much as knowing it is the will of the Father to want to “Wash us Clean through and through”.

And so the journey of Lent begins. Like Lazarus, we know that only Jesus can raise us to new life – and like Lazarus, Jesus says the new life he gives is for the glory of G*d. So we begin Lent with the reminder that our only hope is in Jesus Christ, who daily washes us clean and raises us to new life.

Pastor Dave