Monthly Archives: December 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 17, 2015
Tags: , Waiting   

Divine Presence – Divine Absence? —- Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

ready or not

December 17, 2015

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids* got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids* came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:1 – 13

“It may be that G-d speaks to us most clearly and is closest to us simply in the awareness of his absence…For isn’t it so? The only time we can know that his “grace” is “sufficient” is precisely when he’s not at our beck and call? I suspect that if we in the church are going to be heard by those outside the church, we’d better make it crystal clear that our faith includes our experiences of G-d absent as well as present; that we know, as they do, what it means to live in a world which gives precious little evidence of the presence or reality of G-d. Maybe then they’ll listen to us for a change.”

…The Advent season…is a season of expectation, full of hints and intimations of “comings”, and we are reminded of the necessity of being “ready” for G-d’s breaking into the world, to “watch” for his visitation. All well and good. I suppose it all adds up to whether in the face of the question, “Are you in heaven, Father?” we can take the reply, “Address not known” and hang in there and wait.” (From Death to Birth, Edmund A. Steimle (1907 – 1988), “For All The Saints”, volume III, p. 88)

Advent is the season of waiting. Many in the secular world might be wondering what we are waiting for other than Christmas Day. But Christmas is more than Christmas Day – yes, it is anticipating the coming of Christ, the birth of Christ, and it is the anticipation of Christ coming again. So the weeks leading up to Christmas are important. We need to reflect how G-d works in our lives when we are most aware, and when we have forgotten to pay attention. There are moments of divine awareness, and moments of divine absence – or so it seems. Is G-d’s absence divine sagacity, or are we being taught something about “waiting”?

We live in this world aware that G-d is present, and G-d is absent, according to the divine mystery of the universe. When we tell the stories about both, we have stories to tell about how we persevere with divine presence and divine promise of presence.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 16, 2015
Tags: Welcome,   

Welcoming Spaces For Worship — Rev. David J. Schreffler

barn worship

December 16, 2015

“In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” Haggai 1:1 – 4

“But it is locally true that G-d has always chosen a place for His local habitation with men. The place where His people meet with Him should be suitable for such an occasion, neither in barn nor opera-house, Jewish Temple nor…Mosque, factory nor theater, but in a Christian Church. On such an occasion church should harmonize with the divine purpose in worship. Architecture, sculpture and painting tell the pictured story, while the other arts, poetry, music, and eloquence, tell the same story to other sense-perceptions and fill the storied temple with the words and spirit of worship.” (“Fundamental Principles of Christian Worship” in Memoirs of the Lutheran Liturgical Association, Volume I, 1906;  J. C. F. Rip (1856 – 1933), “For All The Saints” volume III, p. 66)

It has been an honored tradition for Lutherans to hold their worship services in a church. This honored tradition has held together for almost 500 years. When the early German Lutherans came to America following the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648) they came to escape disease, famine and starvation. Upon arriving, they built churches in the center of their living spaces. It soon became clear that their faith lives, critical to their survival, we’re not adequately being met with the sparse number of pastors coming from Germany. Pastors like Justus Falckner, the first Lutheran to be ordained in America (November 24, 1703), came to see to the spiritual needs of the people. Even in the earliest times in this country, worshiping in a church with ordained leadership was the norm and practice.

Today, well, we are seeing the emergence of alternate worship services and alternate worship spaces. It is no longer possible to maintain large worship spaces that require large sums of money for upkeep. With the change in the numbers of worshipers, it is becoming clear that the worship space must also change. But, whether it is in the home, in the fire hall, or in the barn, in this day and age all can be transformed in music, art, picture, and word to be welcoming spaces for worship.

Pastor Dave