April 25, 2022 – Words From Merton

Accused of Our Own Emptiness

“Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives,but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.  “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”  They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, sir,” she said.  “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  John 8:1-11

“Those who love their own noise are impatient of everything else. They constantly defile the silence of the forests and the mountains and the sea.  They bore through silent nature in every direction with their machines, for fear that the calm world might accuse them of their own emptiness.” Thomas Merton (The Pocket Thomas Merton, p. 72)

Accused of Our Own Emptiness

“Those who love their own noise….fear that the calm world might accuse them of their own emptiness.”  This is why we not only need to read the words of Thomas Merton, but to meditate upon them, for they have such rich and deep meaning for our lives. Think about it….I am sure you know someone who likes their own noise – so much so that they never listen to anyone else. People who love their own noise most likely have a deep emptiness in their own soul. Several years ago I was having a conversation with a friend who was lamenting to me about the people he worked with.  He told me that he was having a hard time with them because his co-workers played the radio so loud while they worked (he worked in a construction related trade). He said to me, “They probably are so afraid of their own thoughts that the radio helps to drown them out.”

I have taken fishing trips to Canada and hiked the Presidential Ranges in New Hampshire. I must say, sometimes the best thing about these trips was the silence…sitting in the back woods of Canada without the noises of day to day life in our community, and appreciating the world of nature that G-d has created. Silence is the absence of noise – but it does not have to be the absence of substance.

When Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees in the scripture above, he initially did not say anything. Was he forming his thoughts?  Was he waiting to see what else they might say? Or was he hoping they may see the “emptiness” of their own motives?  We may never know, but it was in the silence of the moment that the woman stood “un-accused” and un-condemned by Jesus.

We need more silence in this world, not more noise. We need opportunities to fill our lives with silence that will allow G-d opportunities to speak to us, the Holy Spirit to lead us, and the love of Jesus to remind us of our status as people who live in Grace.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, our world is filled with so much noise. We know how difficult it is to find silence in our lives. Help me today to carve out some time to sit in silence and listen for your voice. Amen.

Pastor Dave

April 24, 2022 – Easter 1C           

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:19-29

What doubts did you wake up with this morning? Did you doubt you would make this meeting? Did you doubt anyone would show up? Did you doubt I would remember this meeting was at my church? What doubts are you wrapped up or locked behind today? Let me share some of my doubts with you:

I doubt we will ever know if there is life on Mars.

I doubt I can drive to church without someone passing me doing 100 mph.

I doubt this devotion will make any inroads on alleviating your doubts.

Those are just a few of my doubts. So, with all of the doubts that are swimming through our brains, locking us behind doors of fear, the question is—will we allow Jesus in behind our walls and our doors of doubt and fear? Is there a difference between a doubter and a cynic? By definition, the doubter is someone who questions things. The cynic, on the other hand, is someone who believes that others are mainly motivated purely by self-interest. The cynic questions if something is worthwhile at all.

Here are the names of some famous cynics:

George Carlin, once said:

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.

Woody Allen said:

Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable.

Jesus said “Blessed are those who do not need to see to believe”, but there is no fault and no foul in wanting more. Why else do we all keep coming back for more every day, or each Sunday? You see what I am saying, I hope. Why do we keep coming back for more and more sermons, and bible studies, if we believe it all? Is it more accurate to say that we also need more? Are we willing to admit that we need:

More experiences, more proof, more insight, and more love?

The way history has treated Thomas, you would think that anyone who says “I want more” is not a true believer. What part of that makes sense to us as followers of Jesus? If we were good enough in understanding everything about G-d and faith then who would need to come to church at all – to hear another sermon, or service, or bible study? No one would need more proof, Amen?

But, that is not how faith works, especially from our Lutheran perspective. Faith is dependent upon the Holy Spirit—and is cumulative. The more we hear, read, see, taste and touch, the more the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to build faith. You know what I think? Thank G-d for Thomas—Thomas set the stage for the true seeker—the one who can’t quite take it all on what others have experienced—the one who needs, well, more.

Pastor Dave