October 1, 2022 – Trusting the Spirit

“Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in their belts – and to put on sandals but not to wear two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the area. If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” Mark 6:7-11

“Wallet, keys, phone…” Many of us have a mantra we recite as they leave home, to ensure we are ready for the day. Jesus sends us out with less, inviting us to trust, to be ready to engage with and respond to the world around us. Many people allow themselves to become defensive and protective, aware of slights and insults. Jesus invites his followers to shake off and leave behind acrimony, resistance and unfriendliness. We ask Jesus to help us to keep our eyes on him and his heart rather than letting our hearts be restricted or narrow.”(Sacredspace.ie)

Trust….it is a funny thing. We like to think we live with trust in our hearts. And yet we have our mantras about what to take wherever we are going because we do not trust our memories any more. How willing are we to venture out without the things that we use as crutches in our lives — cell phones, credit cards, GPS devices, items of comfort and luxury that we are told constantly that we cannot live without? When we have exhausted all of the other devices that trick us into thinking we can trust them, hoping and trusting they will give us direction, we may finally learn that the Holy Spirit is the most difficult to use, but gives us the clearest direction — but it takes time and trust.

The Holy Spirit is easy to tap into, but requires time, focus, and determination to understand where it is leading us. When you got your first GPS device, it took time to understand how to use it. The same is true with the Holy Spirit, however, you can use the Holy Spirit anywhere, anytime, any way you discern. But it takes time, and trust.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, help me to learn to place my hope and my trust in you and your guidance through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Dave

October 2, 2022 – Pentecost +17C, Luke 17:5-10

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”  Luke 17:5-10

“I just love the Dilbert cartoon strips by Scott Adams. They are one of that
very select company of cartoons that have achieved ‘classic’ status by their satirical and witty take on life. They feature the office workers Dilbert, Alice and Wally and the rather thankless tasks they are frequently occupied with. One of the strips seems to speak directly to today’s gospel reading:The annual appraisal interview is due and Alice waits for it in the office of the pointy-haired boss. The boss begins, ‘Alice, your performance this year is “meets expectations.” You get a two percent pay increase.’ Shocked, Alice shouts, ‘MEETS EXPECTATIONS?! I worked eighty hours every week!’ The boss replies, ‘Yeah … Well, I expected that.’ Defending what she has achieved, Alice stands up and imploringly holds her hand up, saying, ‘I earned three patents this year! The company will make millions!!’ The boss says, ‘Really? Wow. ….I mean … I expected that too.’ Absolutely beside herself, Alice continues, ‘I donated bone marrow to our biggest customer!!! TWICE!!!’ To which the boss replies, ‘I noted that under “attendance problem.”’ We hear the echoes there from our text, or at least so it seems at first sight: ‘So you also when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!”’ These sayings from Jesus are just too near the appraisal comments of the pointy-haired boss for comfort. Do our heartfelt and taxing efforts at discipleship really amount to nothing more than ‘Meets expectations?”’ (George Herbert, Preacher Rhetorica website)

Thank goodness our salvation is not based on how well we achieve the things that Jesus commands, because the life of the disciple is hard – very hard. It is almost unachievable. It is unachievable if we try to do it on our own. My friends, we will fail more often than we will be successful in doing what Jesus commands, but that is not the point. The point is not that we keep track of what we achieve, but that we practice our faith, no matter where we are on our faith journey. We all fall short of the glory of G-d, we are all worthless slaves who are called to do the Master’s bidding.

But we are not worthless – we are loved. We are loved – and so we take that love and we stop thinking or worrying about deserving a reward for our good deeds, but simply go and follow Jesus, modeling the example of Jesus to love our neighbor, forgive limitlessly, and share our faith.

Pastor Dave

September 29, 2022 – The Words of Eternal Life

“Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, said, “This is a difficult saying! Who can understand it?” When Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) So Jesus added, “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.” After this many of his disciples quit following him and did not accompany him any longer. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You donʼt want to go away too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!” John 6:60-69

‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ I too sometimes find the Eucharist difficult to accept. My faith in the clear words of Jesus, and my experience of the consolation it gives me help me to believe. What looks like bread and wine, are the body and blood of Jesus, given to me as my food and drink. I thank Jesus for this most wonderful of gifts and ask him to strengthen my weak faith. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’ I stay with these words, let them resound in my heart, challenging and encouraging me as I find myself uttering them to Jesus.”  (sacredspace.ie web site)

“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The words Peter speaks are words I have put my faith and hope in for they point to the reality of eternal life – a life that is intended for all people. They were intended for Peter, Andrew, James, John, Judas, Paul, Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, Hobbes, Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Queen Elizabeth II, and your greatest enemy. We may think that these words of eternal life were only for “those worth saving”, but these words are all inclusive words — because Jesus thinks all people are worth trying to save. We cannot give up on Jesus, no matter how wrong we think our lives have turned out, because Jesus will never give up on us.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, help me to live into your words of eternal life and to turn to them again and again when life gets me down. Amen.

Pastor Dave

September 30, 2022 – The Mercy Rule

“For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!” Romans 11:32-33

“The Mercy Rule is God’s plan for disobedient sinners to know that our only hope is his endless mercy. Kristen Talbot won a spot on the U.S. speed skating team in the 1994 winter Olympics. To be an Olympic speed skater she had to stay on a rigid practice and training schedule; any interruption threatened her chance for a gold medal. Yet that’s exactly what Kristen did when, only weeks before she was scheduled to compete she donated bone marrow to her critically ill brother. During an interview she said skating and the Olympics are important, but not as important as helping others. She went on to compete in the Olympics and came home without a medal. That’s The Mercy Rule. Who needs your mercy? Make it more important.”“The Mercy Rule” (gracedowntown website for Grace Lutheran Church,Milwaukee, WI)

“What does it mean that God consigned each group to disobedience? In Romans 1, Paul described God’s reaction to the sinful unbelief of the Gentiles. He gave them up or turned them over to their own sinful desires (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). In a similar way, God is described as having hardened the Israelites in their initial unbelief in Christ for a season (Romans 11:25).” (BibleRef.com)

“The Mercy Rule is God’s plan for disobedient sinners to know that our only hope is his endless mercy.” Many of us know something about a mercy rule in sports. Sometimes it is called a “ten run rule” where if a baseball or softball team scores 10 runs more than their opponent by a certain inning, the game ends immediately. Sometimes it comes in the form of a team taking one or more players off the field once they have scored five more goals than the opposing team. The Mercy Rule is put into effect to bring about more parity among teams — to even the playing field, so to speak.

G-d’s mercy rule is not that different, because it also evens the playing field. Because of G-d’s mercy we all have the chance for eternal life — people may think they are better than others, but G-d’s mercy comes equally to all, no matter who thinks they are better, have done more, or are more righteous. Thank goodness for G-d’s Mercy Rule or we all would be losers.

Let us pray,

Lord help me remember today that we are all depending on your Mercy Rule. We cannot be saved by our own works – only through your Grace. Amen.

Pastor Dave