Monthly Archives: April 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on April 7, 2015
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Living in Relationships – Rev. David J. Schreffler

April 7, 2015

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments…He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” John 14:15, 21

“We cannot love G*d unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other. We know Him in the breaking of bread, and we know each other in the breaking of bread, and we are not alone anymore. Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship. We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. It all happened while we sat there talking, and it is still going on.” Dorothy Day (1897 – 1980) The Long Loneliness: An Autobiography

Jesus was taking the time, during his last supper with his disciples, to give them some lessons about life in community. Love is the overarching lesson that is necessary for a community to thrive – not just survive but to thrive. Jesus tells us to love one another – and our love for G*d begins with our love of each other. Just as our love of G*d begins and is strengthened within relationship, our love for each other requires that we do the same. Dorothy Day is stating that exact point in her comment, “It all happened while we sat there talking…” Relationship begins with talking to one another. Talking with one another begins with respecting each other enough to listen to one another – which means we allow the other to speak.

One of the ways that we can be in community with one another is to break bread frequently. When my wife and I were first married, we were members of a large Lutheran Church. When you are a member of a large church, it is hard to develop relationships with other members – because there are so many people – it becomes overwhelming. It is easy to slip into worship un-noticed – and to slip away after services un-noticed. So, the church must work hard in developing opportunities for members to get to know one another. At this church, we were placed into a group that would get together once a month, in one of the member’s homes (which rotated every month) to have a meal and time to talk. The groups were developed by age, marital status, and life activities. For example, we were put together with other young couples who either had no children, or were just having children. This gave our group some common ground for our discussions – and allowed our relationships, and our love for each other to grow. As Dorothy Day said, “…to love we must know each other.”

But all relationships take work. If you are willing to work on your relationships in church, strengthened by your relationship with G*d, then all of your relationships will benefit. You can live life alone — but your life will be lonely. But if you take the time to allow the love of G*d to fill your life, your relationship with G*d will grow, and your relationships with others will also grow.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:52 am on April 6, 2015
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The Cross – Rev. David J. Schreffler

April 6, 2015

“Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:3 – 8

“Neither the accumulated wisdom of all the earth and the skies, nor languages, the Church Fathers, and daily reading of the Holy Scripture, nor immense learning and eloquence make a good theologian or pastor if the cross is not added. Through the cross, G*d purifies, cleanses, strengthens, and perfects the light of His true knowledge, of true faith in Christ, of true understanding of the divine promises, proper prayer, hope, humility, and all the virtues which He has first planted in the heart through the Word. Accordingly we should equip ourselves for the Cross, which is just as necessary for those who wish to serve the Church as air and food are for the maintenance of the body…How can a person be able to understand the Gospel or teach it to others if he himself has not experienced the power of the Gospel in the midst of sorrows and trials?” “A Meditation on the Cross” David Chytraeus (1531 – 1600) “For All The Saints” volume I p. 990

One of the best preachers I have ever heard it Joel Olsteen. He is a great preacher, but his message is not always one I can believe – and that is because of my life experiences. What do I mean? Well, Pastor Olsteen is a believer in the “Prosperity Gospel” – a theology that if we have strong enough faith, good things will fill our lives, especially prosperity. I wonder how this gospel message would have been heard in 1931 America, in the midst of the Great Depression? I wonder how this message would have been heard in the era of the Dust Bowl? I agree with David Chytraeus that a person most fully experiences the power of the Gospel when we are experiencing the trials and tribulations of our lives. Why? I have found that the difficulties of my life have taught me more about myself, and my faith, than any period of prosperity. When everything is good, I tend to allow other things to take away my attention and focus on G*d. When times are tough, and I am struggling, I more fully realize my need for G*d. I have found what Paul says to be true: suffering produces endurance, which eventually leads us to hope. If my life was all roses and sunshine, I might only hope in myself, or hope in the “things” that make my life good. When I am suffering, my hope is in what rescues me from the suffering – and ultimately, what rescues me from suffering is G*d, through Jesus Christ. Christ suffered for me – so that when I suffer, I am connected to Christ, and rescued by Christ.

Pastor Dave