March 13, 2022 – Lent 2C

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Promises Promises

On Lent 1C, I asked the question “What is Authority?” Today I ask the question “What is a Promise?” Now, the strict definition of a promise is a word given now that binds the maker of the promise to actions or relationships maintained into the future. Making a promise, however, can be tricky business. So much about the times and the events when the promise is made can change. The context might change. The individuals or circumstances upon which the promise is made can change. As such, the original promise may need to be reconfigured or changed completely. The promise G-d makes with Abram is a promise where G-d goes to great lengths to place G-d’s claim on the promise, and on Abram as well. G-d’s love is not just set upon some kind of a promissory note—G-d’s love and presence is bound to G-d’s pledge and promise. In other words, when G-d “Cuts a deal”—G-d keeps G-d’s word. G-d’s promises of love and fidelity are not conditional—they are not temporary—they are unconditional and eternal.

G-d is not going to renege on a promise.

But, the bible is filled with many stories where people were unfaithful—where they lied and deceived—where people have fallen short of the love, faith and fiduciary responsibilities we are to hold toward G-d. And those stories begin with people like Jacob and Esau—and then Jacob and his uncle Laban—then on to the Israelites. They are relationships that are filled with lies, deceit, greed, and selfish ambition. Jacob steals his brother’s birth-right. Jacob is deceived by Laban to marry the wrong sister. Jacob’s sons sell one of their own to Ishmaelites. G-d seemingly forgets about the Israelites while they are slaves in Egypt only to have Moses rescue them and lead them into the wilderness toward the Promised Land. All the while, each one of these people have a tendency toward more disobedience than obedience. They broke more promises than they kept.

And yet, G-d remains faithful and we can trace this fidelity back to Abram—whose faith in G-d and G-d’s promises is reckoned to him as righteousness. Abram—the one of doubt and faith. Abram—the one of questions and trust. This is the one G-d binds G-d’s self to for perpetuity. The descendants of Abram, soon to be named Abraham, well three religions can trace their lineage back to him. There is good news then in this reality—it means that G-d welcomes our questions—our searching doubts—and our cries of “G-d now what?” and “G-d, I thought you promised?” And G-d is open to those questions—as such you and I need to be open to uncomfortable answers to these questions.

You see G-d promises to be with us for eternity—the same G-d who binds G-d’s self to us in our baptisms—G-d does not leave us, but G-d also does not promise us a Rose Garden. To struggle in our relationship with G-d is a Lenten experience—it means we are to wander in our faith struggling with the mysteries of G-d—but also the promises of G-d—and the purposes of G-d for our lives. For, this is the G-d of the Cross—a paradoxical revelation that reminds us the great length G-d went to save us—through G-d’s Son—nailed to a cross.

Pastor Dave

March 11, 2022 – “Pull Yourselves up by your Bootstraps”

“Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.” Luke 13:10-17

As I have said in my previous devotions, the phrase “Boomer” has become a catchall phrase for someone who was not necessarily born into the “baby boomer” generation – they just have to be seen as representing the characteristics of someone born to that generation. And recently the phrase “OK Boomer” has become a repudiation of all people who are older, who believe they are the most informed, while the new generation feels as if boomers are out of touch and condescending. For example, boomers often say “…in my day, we put in our time and so you young people need to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and get on with life.”

To pull yourself up by your bootstraps is physically impossible. In fact, the original meaning of the phrase was more along the lines of “to try to do something completely absurd.” Etymologist Barry Popik and a linguist have cited an American newspaper snippet from Sept. 30, 1834, as the earliest publishing of the phrase to lift oneself up by one’s bootstraps. A month earlier, a man named Nimrod Murphree announced in the Nashville Banner that he had “discovered perpetual motion.” The Mobile Advertiser picked up this tidbit and published it with a farcical response: “Probably Mr. Murphree has succeeded in handing himself over the Cumberland river, or a barn yard fence, by the straps of his boots.” Bootstraps were a typical feature of boots that you could pull on in the act of putting your boots on. But no one could actually pull themselves over anything – it would be physically impossible.

If we continue to tell future generations to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps”, we are presenting them an impossible task. No past generation was able to make it without the help of the previous – at least since the Great Depression. Each presenting generation had the hope and the expectation that things would be better than the previous. It appears that this is no longer the case. Generations “Z”, “I” and “Millennial” are simply seeking a relationship with us boomers – they are not seeking to remove us from the equation. Unless we are willing to work together, not only will they be people without faith, they may also continue to be people without hope.

Jesus not only frees us from our sins, but Jesus can also help free us from our ways of thinking and behaving – so we can work together to make this world a better place for all.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, we cannot pull ourselves up by our bootstraps if we have no boots. In other words, what we have today would not be possible without the work of those who came before us. Help us work together now so we can provide for the generations to come. Amen.

Pastor Dave

March 12, 2022 – “Know Your Place”

“Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.”  Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” Mark 3:1-6

As I have said in my previous devotions, the phrase “Boomer” has become a catchall phrase for someone who was not necessarily born into the “baby boomer” generation – they just have to be seen as representing the characteristics of someone born to that generation. And recently the phrase “OK Boomer” has become a repudiation of all people who are older, who believe they are the most informed, while the new generation feels as if boomers are out of touch and condescending. For example, boomers often say “let these young people earn their way, besides, they should know their place.”

I find it interesting that the Pharisees are waiting in the synagogue to “see” if Jesus “Knew His Place” – if he would heal the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. It is amazing to me that the “people of the law” were so mired in it, that when the miraculous occurs, when a physical healing such as this, something that you and I would never expect to see — let alone someone living in the first century — when this wonderful event occurs in their presence, all they can do is worry about whether this healing breaks the commandment of honoring the Sabbath.  Personally, if I watched a faith healer restore a withered hand, I would be completely astounded, and amazed, and would give glory to G-d.  When the miraculous happens right in front of our eyes, do we let the details of our daily lives keep us from seeing how great this G-d of ours really is? Or do we sit back and give praise to G-d.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, your miraculous acts should not scare us – they should offer opportunities to offer prayer, praise and thanksgiving to you. Amen.

Pastor Dave