September 5, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
John Lennon (song Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy))

“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”

“Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’” Luke 10:30-35
There is this saying that I have often heard in the church that I wonder what the origin of the saying really is. But here it is: If you want to make G-d laugh tell him your plans for the future.  Maybe you have heard someone say something similar. Of course, for many of us in the church, we know that this is a truism about our lives. For all of the plans that we make for the future, what will eventually happen is truly in G-d’s hands, not ours. And this can be as much about our long-term future as it can be for just today. I often have looked at my schedule for the day thinking “Not much happening today” only to have the wheels fall off completely in many, many ways. Think of the man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. He wasn’t planning on being robbed and beaten half to death when he set out after kissing his wife and children good-bye. And the Samaritan, he too was not expecting to find someone who looked dead lying along path. Each one of them had one set of plans, but something else happened that would change the course of their day, if not their lives.

You may have great plans today, or you may still be deciding your plans. Remember, G-d is in charge, and though you may think that not much will happen today, there is always the chance that G-d will surprise you and challenge you in ways you would never have considered. And in the process, you can learn a lot about yourself and your faith.

Pastor Dave

September 4, 2016
16th Sunday After Pentecost Year C

“Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” Luke 14:25-33

“Christianity, I’ve come to realize, is a way of being, a way of living, a way of doing things differently because of living “in Christ” (to borrow Paul’s favorite phase). Yet for much of my ministerial career I’ve preached and written as if it’s primarily a way of thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I love theology and believe it has an important place in the church. But sometimes I wonder if part of our decline is that we’ve spent so much time stressing what we need to think and believe instead of talking about what we can and should — indeed, are called to — do.  That is why this passage — this difficult and demanding passage — has so much to offer. Because in this part of the story, Jesus asks his disciples both then and now to sacrifice. Actually, he doesn’t ask. He tells us that he expects, even demands, undivided loyalty (and it’s where the hyperbolic language of hating comes in). This is why we are asked to count the cost — because the Christian life is expensive, it demands our commitment in terms of our time, attention, and money. Again, let me be clear, I’m not talking about salvation. That’s done, over, finished and completed by God’s grace alone. So can we move on? Can we talk not only about justification but also discipleship? Because that’s what Jesus is talking about here, the cost of discipleship.” (David Lose, working preacher website, The Cost of Discipleship, Monday, September 02, 2013)

As David Lose says so eloquently, there are texts that the preacher would rather run away from then run towards – and this Gospel is one of those texts. And yet, we need to take this reading into our hearts just like we do all of the others. Yes, we do not like to sacrifice anything, and American advertisers keep telling us that we deserve so much. As a pastor I am called to preach just the opposite – the thing that is most valuable to us is something we do not deserve. And yet it is ours because we trust in the resurrection of Jesus – and so it is a gift. We can do nothing to deserve it or earn it. So we live into the gift – which means we find ways to live differently from what society and advertisers tell us to live. And sometimes that means that we sacrifice – we give away things we hold most precious, like money, time and service. As servant leaders we take what we hold most precious and we give it away expecting nothing in return – and what we hold most precious is time, money and our very lives. It is a foundation we can build upon our entire lives. And when others stand to talk about us, on our resurrection day, they might say “his or her foundation was Jesus Christ, and it was a life worth knowing and a story worth sharing, because he or she knew the cost of discipleship.”

Pastor Dave