August 29, 2022 – Luke 12:32, The Funny Shape of Faith

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

“Heaven-a gated community with twenty-four-hour security and a short list of people who can be allowed on the premises? Well, no … and we can thank God for that! In God’s eternal kingdom, there are no gates or “No Trespassing” signs. There’s no security officer keeping people out or letting them in. There’s just Jesus, gathering people in left and right, never even taking time for a break. What a way to run the place!”  (Laurie Hanson. The Funny Shape of Faith: Devotions for the Rest of Us (Kindle Locations 225-228). Kindle Edition.)

I Forgot the Password, Again!

Do you have trouble remembering your passwords? I do. There are so many websites with usernames and passwords that I have to access my money, my bills and so many other sites where I need to access information on a daily basis; how many unique passwords can one person create. I even have an app on my phone where I keep my passwords, but if you do not update the information regularly, well, what is the use of having the app. I think my least favorite kind of password is the jumble of letters, capitalized and not, with numbers and symbols mixed in. My life is too busy for such nonsense.

I like the cartoon associated with our reading today. Notice the little figure who is supposed to be Satan, I presume, just hovering in the background. If I were a betting man I believe it was Satan who came up with the idea of usernames and passwords. Of course the message behind this cartoon is all too familiar – many people believe there is some combination of username and password they must know to enter the kingdom of G-d. Of course, as Lutherans living by Faith and Grace we know this not true.

There are no “NO Trespassing” signs in heaven – only the open arms of Jesus welcoming those who have died. Thank the Lord none of us will need to remember a password when approaching the throne of G-d – all G-d asks for is a penitent heart.

Let us pray,

God, your kingdom is eternal and your love is unconditional. We wait that day when you will bring in your kingdom. Amen.

Pastor Dave

August 28, 2022 – Pentecost +12C, Luke 14:1, 7-14

“On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Did you ever find yourself in a rut? Lately, I have felt like I am in a rut. I don’t like feeling like I am in a rut, but when it happens it usually affects everything I do. Now, it is no surprise or coincidence that my ruts often come in the colder, darker seasons of the year. Once summer is upon us, I usually think I will get rejuvenated. So usually summers help me break out of a rut. But this summer has blown past us so quickly, well, perhaps the Labor Day holiday will help me recover. School has started again, which always puts me in a better mood….or maybe our text can help.

When I look at Jesus observing the guests coming to the meal, I notice that perhaps he noticed that these people were also stuck in a rut. But as it turns out, their behavior had deep societal and religious roots. Let me explain….

When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, a parchment was also uncovered which included a document scholars have come to call “The Messianic Rule”. They dated the parchment to about 75 BCE which means it is a Pre-Christian document. The document describes how their community was to deal with the “end days”. In particular the document describes a banquet with their King that was to mimic the coming Messianic Banquet. It goes on to list those who were invited to the banquet:

“All the wise men of the congregation, the learned and the intelligent, men whose way is perfect – the men of renown”.  But that is not all, for it continues with who is not invited: “no man smitten in his flesh, or paralyzed in his feet or hands, or lame, or blind, or deaf, or dumb, or smitten in his flesh with a visible blemish; no old and tottery man unable to stay still in the midst of the congregation, none of these shall come…”

Even from the earliest days, there has been an emphasis placed on lifting up those in our communities who are the strongest, the wisest, the most learned – and there has been exclusion of the last, the lost, the least, the lame, and the little. Perhaps this is why Jesus felt it necessary to teach something about the behavior he observed from the people gathering for the meal – but then again, Jesus was always seeking to get to the root of our ruts. Just like you and I can get into a rut, the church can also become “rutted” – stuck in patterns that may not always meet the mandate of the church of Jesus Christ. That is why we need to always be seeking to be rooted in the “Word”, not rutted in past successes or failures or patterns of behavior.

Always putting yourself first or living just for the sake of being noticed or getting affirmation is a “rut race” we should not buy into in this world. So, to get out of the “rut race”, we first need to remember where our true identity comes from. Our true identity begins in our baptism, where G-d claims us as one of G-d’s children – loved beyond all measure – loved and valued enormously.

Pastor Dave