May 29, 2016

“After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. when he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.” Luke 7:1-10

“By and large, I’ve typically read the story of Jesus and the centurion as a tremendous story about the nature of faith. To the question, “What is faith?” this story offers a clear answer. I mean, here’s a guy who so trusts Jesus’ ability to heal that he sends a servant to tell Jesus to just say the word. That’s right, he tells Jesus not to even bother showing up, but simply to give a command. Why? Because based on his position as a centurion, he knows what authority is and he believes Jesus has it. Now that’s faith!” (David Lose, working preacher website)

“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” This is a quote by Martin Luther — who understood what faith means in our lives. Faith is not just a band-aid in our lives trying to hold us together from one disaster to another. Instead, faith is that part of our lives that keeps us moving into, through and beyond each disaster with our heads held high, our hearts sustained, and our actions displaying trust. Faith moves us forward when we want to stop. Faith keeps us afloat when we just want to sink. Faith allows us to soar when we want to crash and burn. Faith dares us to look evil in the face and say “I am not afraid because I believe in Jesus.”

This interaction between Jesus and the centurion reminds us that there are people all around us who like the centurion their faith just soars above their problems, and those who do not believe as we do. What we should do each day is pray for those who have no faith. And we should pray a prayer of thanksgiving that they are in our lives, and that G-d would use them to do G-d’s will in the world even if they have no idea that this is what they are doing. And finally, let us pray that we would have the grace and courage to encourage their good works – because G-d can use them just like G-d seeks to use us.

Pastor Dave

May 28, 2016

“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.  If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.  My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.”  1 Corinthians 16:19-24

The Cha Cha Latte sounds interesting, and apparently is very interesting. This Latte combines “Matcha” green tea and chai to give you a drink that combines interesting flavors that compliment each other. Matcha is a special type of powdered green tea that is grown and produced in Japan (in most cases). The green tea leaves are shaded from the sun for the last few weeks of their growth, increasing the chlorophyll content and creating a rich green color. Then, the leaves are carefully ground with stone grinding wheels to produce a fine powder. The powder can then be used to brew an antioxidant rich frothy green tea. This Matcha powder gives the original green tea latte an extra kick. Either hot or iced, this drink is an interesting option for the Chai lover.

The NRSV of 1 Cor 16:22 (here translated as Come, Lord!) translates the word Maranatha as: “Our Lord, come!” but notes that it could also be translated as: “Our Lord has come”; the NIV translates: “Come, O Lord”; the Message version puts it differently as: “Make room for the Master!” As understood here (“O Lord, come!”), it is a prayer for the early return of Christ. If the Aramaic words are divided differently (Maran atha, “Our Lord has come”), it becomes a credal declaration. The former interpretation is supported by what appears to be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Book of Revelation 22:20 “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Wikipedia explanation for “Maranatha”).

Now, why did I mention the word Maranatha? Well, this tired pastor was looking for something to say about Jesus, and since Matcha is probably not well known, I thought I might be able to find another word in the bible that is not that well known and begins with the letter “M”. Maranatha, as is mentioned above, became an early prayer if not an early lament for 1st century Christians. Just like the “Prayer of Jabez” and other 20th and 21st century fad, we need to find easy prayers or statements of faith that we can repeat when our lives feel threatened, or we are at our wits end. Maranatha, “O Lord, Come”. Just like Matcha powder, Jesus is full of faith antioxidants, or in other words, Jesus does a body good.

Pastor Dave