This is a special musical presentation of He Knows My Name by the Singing Sinners at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Transfiguration Sunday – 02/11/2024

Do we desire to know Jesus more intimately? You may say, of course all Christians do. What could that look like? Jesus does desire an intimate relationship with each one of us.

One way to begin answering this question is to look at our experience in relationship with human beings. Some people only have one best friend their entire lives, others have had a number of them. Hopefully if you have or have had a partner/spouse, they have been your best friend on many levels and this involves intimacy. We learn to appreciate these relationships, but it has not always been easy. It does mean being honest with each other and this doesn’t always make us comfortable. Even though Jesus knows everything about us, it is often difficult to be honest with him.

Having intimacy with another means that we need to be honest with ourselves. Who are we? Intimacy with another means that we trust them enough to tell us the truth even if it hurts. This is why we don’t always have a lot of best friends. There is pain and hopefully always affirmation in each of our relationships.  A best friend walks with us through the celebratory times and times we would rather not have to walk through. Could Jesus be shining his light through our best friend?

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus takes his disciples up on the mountain. They have no idea why Jesus is taking them up there. Mark doesn’t waste any time and Jesus is transfigured before them. He was lit up along with Moses and Elijah. Moses represent the law and Elijah represents the prophets.

I question how Peter, James, and John knew who Moses and Elijah were, as I am sure they never had met them. Jesus is having a conversation with Moses and Elijah, but Mark doesn’t say what they were talking about. Since Peter could never be quiet, he suggested to Jesus that building three booths would be a good idea in order to prolong this vision. All three disciples were scared, James and John seemed to be too scared to speak.

Jesus did not even answer Peter as a cloud overshadowed them and a voice was heard from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him.” That ended the whole scene in front of them, only Jesus and the disciples were left. It was time to leave and go back down the mountain. Jesus told them to tell no one about what they had just experienced, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. It is thought that people would not understand this scene until Jesus’ resurrection. I’m sure that can be said of the disciples also.

There seems to have been a connection there between Jesus and his disciples. This scene tied together what they would have known from their oral history and writings there may have been at that time. Jesus said he came to fulfill the law and not to abolish it. Jesus came to explain the law once again as people were not getting it. God gave these laws to guide us in how to be in relationship with them and others.

The law has not changed, and this is the original law that God gave to Moses. What came after was made by human beings and often paralyzed the intent of the law first given. Jesus summed up the law into two commandments, You shall love the Lord your God with all of you heart, soul, and all your mind and the second to love your neighbor as yourself.

These commandments help us to be in relationship with God in Jesus Christ and other human beings. Unfortunately, we have one word for love, where in the Greek there are at least three words for love. There is the philios which is the sibling kind of love; eros which is the sexual kind of love; and the agape which is a sacrificial love.

Each one of these types of love can have different levels of intimacy also. Each one takes a little bit different kind of work. This means time, thought and energy. There is only so much time in each day and we are all responsible for something or someone else. Thus, we are compelled to make decisions on how we spend our time, energy and thoughts.

The busier we get the less intimacy there is including with ourselves. Sometimes it is an event, for our disciples in the Gospel lesson it was a mountaintop experience that made them stop. There was a connection there that was not easily understood. It was a place where they were stopped and challenged to reflect on their relationships.

There was a connection that was building a foundation for the disciple’s relationship with Jesus and their neighbors. With Moses and Elijah there it connected the faith that they had grown up with. Then God came in and said Jesus is my Son, listen to Him.

I would gather that the disciples pondered this event for some time. Jesus even told them not to tell the others as they may not understand. That connection between the disciples themselves and then with Jesus was strengthened in that event. Jesus only asked Peter, James, and John to go with him and consider how they were using their time, energy and thinking in their relationships.

Jesus calls each of us into relationship with him. This relationship begins at baptism. We as the beloved community are called to model what it means to be in relationship with God in Jesus Christ and each other. At confirmation we make a public affirmation of this relationship with Jesus.

Every one of us has a different kind of relationship with Jesus. God has made each one of us to think and process differently. Thus, we relate to Jesus in different ways and may use different names to address God in Jesus Christ. In my experience in the Lutheran church, I don’t feel that we have spoken enough about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It really is a balance between a corporate and personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

When I was in fifth grade, I remember watching a Billy Graham Crusade on television. At the end of his preaching when he had the altar call, I knelt down and prayed. There was a connection there that I did not fully understand.

As I have grown in my faith, I now look at that as a time of connecting in that moment. Yes I had been baptized and I was a Christian and on that night I was affirming my personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. Last Sunday we had a healing service and whether you came up for prayer or not, I believe what we were doing in worship is affirming that we believe God in Jesus Christ is a healer and that with the help of the Holy Spirit we are drawn to connect and reconnect with God in Jesus Christ.

Everything that I have described as to what goes into a human relationship is challenged even more with Jesus. With Jesus, we can’t literally see him. Thus in a sense it takes more time, energy and thinking.

Next Sunday we will be doing a few different things. We will be begin reciting the bible verse that I have chosen from our lessons in worship and wrote a newsletter article on. We will do this at the end of the announcements. Also, we will be doing the prayers of intercession a little differently. I will ask that prayer requests that are made on that Sunday are written on a card and the ushers will make sure that I get them.

We will sing a prayer song, I will then pray including these and some of the intercessions that we normally use and at the end we will sing the prayer song again. While I am praying, Bruce will be playing.

I would ask that you use this time to focus on your personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. On Wednesday, we gather together to say that we are nothing without God in Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to step back and examine our relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

God in Jesus Christ calls each one of us by name to foster our relationship with them. Reflect while we are here in worship, maybe the mountaintop, how intimate our relationship with God in Jesus Christ is?         

This is a special musical presentation of They Shall Soar Like Eagles by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Epiphany 5 – Healing Service – 02/04/2024

Today we are going to do something new. This is what the time of transition is about, trying new things. Can I see a show of hands, how many have ever been to a healing service? By the end of the service today, you can all say that you have.

I remember my aunt and uncle taking me to one in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was after Christmas and I was supposed to play Christmas carols. We did not get to that until later in the evening. There was a pastor laying hands on people and praying for them. Sometimes they fell backward, and people had to catch them.

Even at my age at the time, I wondered what was going on. I have no doubts that some of the people may have been healed. The Holy Spirit can definitely move people in this way. I would dare say that most of us would not be comfortable with this and wonder if it was partly a show.

This is not what I am expecting to have happen here this morning, but that is not up to me. I do believe that the Holy Spirit has been, is and will be alive and active here. The question is what do we expect when we pray for healing?

\We can ask God to do anything. Often we would like to determine God’s answer. When it doesn’t come out the way we want it to, we can get angry, disappointed and may even think that God doesn’t care. It is easy to forget that God never promised to fix everything. What God promised is to be with us.

\God has not said, only ask for certain things. God does listen to all of our requests. Depending on what shape we are when we ask, will determine the options that we are able to see ho9w God is answering

\We can learn early on in our lives that we do not always get what we want. Parents do their best to give their children what they need. What is needed changes definition depending on who is defining it.

\As we learn to trust God, we also learn that God gives us what we need and not always what we want. I remember a story about a man who was running an orphanage in England. They sat down to eat breakfast in the morning and had no milk. The man prayed and thanked God for the milk. They finished praying and a milk truck broke down in front of the home and they then had milk.

\I believe that God always answer prayers. In the case of the milk, it was what they needed, and the man thanked God before they even had it. The man believed that God would meet their needs. It could have been in a different way. In this case it was what was needed.When we pray for healing and are able to trust God, we are better to able to see the answers. If we are stuck on what we want, it may take us a while to see God’s answer. For me the key is trust In the bible we learn that God gave to people what they needed, not always what they wanted.

In our Gospel lesson for today, Simon’s mother in law had a fever and was in bed. They told Jesus at once. I believe that they had an expectation that Jesus could heal her. and he did. Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Immediately she began to serve them.

 This was Jesus’ first healing in the Gospel of Mark. By that evening word had passed and there were many people waiting to be healed. The whole city was gathered around the door. Jesus cured many and cast out demons. This was Jesus proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Every one of us has times in our life that we need to be healed. I want to define healing this morning as reconnecting with God in Jesus Christ. As human beings we are broken people. We are not perfect. Thus, we connect, disconnect and then feel the need to reconnect with God.

This is not to say that healing could not happen here in this place at this time. Some of you have specific healing requests. Again, part of this healing service is to remind us that God in Jesus Christ walks with us in every part of our lives. When we are able to trust God to give us what we need, a healing has taken place. We have connected with God in Jesus Christ. As I lay hands on you today, may you also hear God saying I love you my child. Rest in that love.

Today we are being invited to reconnect with God and receive a healing. God will decide what healing we receive. Our lives become so busy and sometimes exhausting that we are called to stop. God in Jesus Christ is always standing ready to take our hand and lift us up, just as he did with the woman in today’s Gospel lesson.

It is in this reconnection, this lifting us up, that brings us new life and vitality and an assurance of God’s love for each one of us.

Let us pray: Gracious God, we thank you for always listening and answering our prayers. We desire to connect with at this time and place. May your Spirit help us to trust that you know what we need. Thank you for always walking with us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This is a special musical presentation of Open the Eyes of My Heart by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Luke 10:25-37; RIC Sunday; January 28, 2024

Additional texts: Amos 5:21-24; Romans 8:31-39

Amos and Romans texts from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation, ©2007 Future Church

Gospel from First Nations Version, ©2021 by Rain Ministries Inc.

Rich Weingartner

Grace to you and peace from God our parent, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Welcome to RIC (Reconciling in Christ) Sunday. As noted in your bulletin - this is a Sunday where we, and hundreds of other RIC congregations across the nation celebrate, remember, and rededicate themselves to the commitments they made when they became RIC. Those commitments are outlined in our welcome statement on the front of your bulletin. More information about RIC, a little history, and the reason we keep focusing on RIC will be in your February newsletter. On a personal note, this congregation and our RIC status and journey, have been a true blessing for me. To be able to fully be myself in the presence of God and this community is such a freeing feeling. To be able to lead worship with other members of the LGBTQIA+ community is amazing - something I would have never even thought would be possible 10-20 years ago. Yes, we’ve come a long way, but as always, there is still a journey ahead of us.

ReconcilingWorks, the organization that manages the RIC program, always provides resources to guide congregations in their planning of their RIC service. This year's theme is “Roll Down Justice”. What a fitting theme for our congregation here at Faith. Over my time here, I have only seen our love of justice grow. All types of justice - social justice, refugee justice, justice for the hungry, justice for the LGBTQIA+ community, justice for our BIPOC siblings. As we continue on our transformation journey to prepare to complete our ministry site profile and begin to seek out candidates for a pastor, it is important to know who we are, and in our conversations so far, our justice work is always front and center.

So what is justice?  According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary: “the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments” or “the quality of being just, impartial, or fair.” Yawn. While dictionary definitions are accurate, they are often boring. Which is why I love the theme for this Sunday, “Roll Down Justice”.  It has action! “Roll Down”. Which started me thinking more about Justice as not just a noun or a concept or something to strive for; but instead viewing justice as a verb - an action - something to do and get engaged in. Now it is starting to sound exciting!

The theme of justice. Our readings walk us through the What? The How? And the Why? First, in the old testament reading from Amos, we hear what we should be doing. We hear that God doesn’t just want our solemn assemblies, burnt offerings and sacrifice, and general noise making. No, God asks us to “let justice flow like a river, and righteousness flow like an unfailing stream.” (Amos 5:24) God wants justice to flow in God’s creation - never ending - never ceasing. God is asking us to constantly work for and do justice.

This is reiterated in the Psalm today when it says “The works of your hands are faithfulness and justice” (Psalm 111:7). Now this is saying that the works of God’s hands are faithfulness and justice - but who does the work of God’s hands? As the ELCA slogan tells us: “God’s Work. Our Hands.” It is us who are called to carry out the work of faithfulness and justice.

Now we get to the “How?” part.  How can we do this?  A little later I’ll focus more on this, but for now I want to focus on the aspect of the question “How can we do this? What if we get it wrong? What if we mess up? What if we get push back? What if we upset people?” In today’s new testament reading from Romans, we receive reassurance that no matter what happens, God is on our side, “If God is for us, who can be

against us?” and “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Trouble? Calamity? Persecution? Hunger? Nakedness? Danger? Violence?”  This is the good news of Jesus Christ and God - no matter what - God will not leave us, God’s love and forgiveness are given to us already and nothing can take that away. As it says in the final part of today’s reading from Romans: “For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither heights nor depths—nor anything else in all creation—will be able to separate us from the love

of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Savior.”

This is How we can do justice. We are freed from sin by the love and action of Jesus Christ, so we can focus on doing work and following the example of Christ, without worrying if something we do will take the love of God away from us or that we might not “earn” our way into the glorious kin-dom. All that is already done for us.

So now that we know what we should do, “let justice flow like a river,” and how we are freed from sin and worry about earning God’s love and forgiveness, we can look at the “Why?” Why should we care? Why should we do something? Won’t other people do it? Why should I even try, it probably won’t make a difference anyway. As the Bible reminds us over and over, the law or commandments we are told to follow are, as noted in today’s Gospel reading from Luke, “You must love the Great Spirit from deep within, with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart, and you must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves.”  Or as we typically hear it, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, NRSVUE) The “Why” is because it is God’s commandment, and in my personal opinion, simply the right thing to do.

To further emphasize the Why - a few other passages come to mind. First from James 2:14-16, from the First Nations translation: “What good is it, my sacred family members, if a man says “I have faith,” but has no deeds to show for it? Can that kind of “faith” set him free and make him whole? If a family member or any human being has no clothes to wear or no food to eat, and you say, “Go in peace, stay warm, and eat well,” but fail to give what is needed, what good have you done?”, Here is the last verse again as we commonly hear it from the NRSVUE, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”  Yes, we aren’t saved by our works, but are saved by faith through grace. However, how valuable is that faith if we don’t actively live it in our lives.

Turning to 1 John 3:16-17, again from the First Nations translation, “The Chosen One laid down his life for us. This is how we know what love is. In the same way, we should lay our lives down for each other. If someone who has many possessions sees another in need and shows no pity, how can Creator’s love remain in that person?” If we truly want to feel the life giving love of our Creator, then we must do justice in the world to have it roll down among all God’s creation.

Yes, we at Faith Lutheran, certainly do Justice, it is a constant river of work flowing through our community of faith. From the micro pantries (don’t forget the Culver’s fundraiser tomorrow evening!), to the refugee house - and all the help we give those living there, to climate justice with advocacy, solar panels, and rain gardens, to participating in Pride events, and holding racial justice protests/rallies on our sidewalk, we certainly do a lot of justice work. Reading our annual report is a great reminder of how much we do as a community. Tthis is a good look at who we are.

However, we aren’t just called to do justice work together as a community. We are also called to do justice work in our daily lives outside our community of faith. This is clearly shown in our Gospel reading today, the story of the Good Samaritan. This story is familiar to many but shared today from a different translation, which I love, because it lets me be part of the story in a new way by helping me think about what it means. The way this translation is written, helped me remember that the first two people that passed by were Holy people, people that you would think would do the right thing because they were part of, and leaders of, a community of faith, but no - they are the ones that passed by the injured man. It was a complete outsider, an “other”, a person who “was not a Tribal Member but a mixed blood despised by the tribal people” that stopped to help. This person, who based on society would have every right to ignore the injured man, made justice happen. Not just in some superficial way, but became committed to justice for this one person. As it says in verse 35, “The next day,” the man left with instructions to the keeper of the lodging house to continue to care for them.  Yes “The next day”.  This “other”, the “outsider”, set aside whatever plans they had and spent the night with the injured man taking care of him.

This parable is told to answer the question, “Who are my fellow human beings?” or as also translated, “Who is my neighbor?” This again is a question the transition team, along with the congregation, will be looking at as we work through this transition process. As we look toward where Faith Lutheran will be heading in the coming years, we are reminded of who are are called to be, by also reflecting on the question Jesus asked at the end of the parable, “‘Which one of these three acted as a fellow human being to the man who was attacked by the thieves?’ The scrollkeeper answered, ‘The one who had pity on him.’ ‘Go,’ Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said, ‘and walk in the same way.’”

Yes, we are commanded to “Go and walk in the same way,” and as shown in the parable, this is in our everyday lives in addition to the work we do as a community with Christ.  It is sometimes harder to do justice work in our own lives instead of with a group. However, it is vitally important to do so, and the work comes in many ways. Do you defend people when they aren’t able to? Do you correct people when they are incorrect and thus causing damage to people? Do you write and call your legislative representatives to let them know how you feel on issues - whether or not you know they’ll agree with you? Do you vote for people who prioritize justice in their work and laws they introduce and vote for? Do you actively promote these people to encourage others to join you in your justice work?

There are many ways to work on justice in your own lives, and I personally think a good place to start with any of it, is education. The more you know about the oppressed communities and their history, the better you are able to understand their point of view and know ways to advocate for them without having to constantly be told by them what they need. We work to provide some education here at Faith, but doing your own learning is also important. Read books by authors of a diverse background. If you are on social media and you don’t have any friends or organizations you follow that keep you learning something or challenging your thoughts, I encourage you to find some people or organizations to follow. I am on Facebook a lot, probably more than I should be, and I have a lot of friends and groups that I see posts from, most I just quickly scroll by, but there are a few friends and groups that I will always take the time to read or listen to their post - since I know it will give me information that I’m not hearing elsewhere, and often learn something new.

Just as in the story of the Good Samaritan, he didn’t need to be told, “Hey - there is this person hurting, they need help, go and bandage their wounds, then take them to the local inn and care for them overnight and make sure they are cared for after that.” No, he knew what to do on his own, it was ingrained into his personality - and that is our hope and prayer here as a community of Christ, in that we will continue to learn, both from society and from the word of God, so that justice becomes fully part of who we each individually and as a community are. This way we will be able to “lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring, ring with the harmonies of liberty,” so that Justice may continue to “flow like a river, and righteousness flow like an unfailing stream.”  Amen.

How you stepped outside of your comfort zone lately? Our lives can become so much in a rut, and we stay there, because it is comfortable. Each of our jobs or activities can become predictable. If we have been doing it long enough, we often know what to expect.

We are studying the Old Testament in confirmation right now. It seems history continues to repeat itself. From the beginning human beings have had a choice, listen to God or tell God that we know better. Are we willing to trust God or do we let our anxiety listen to people who want to keep others under control?

We continue to have many voices to listen to today and some are louder than others. It continues to be apparent that some people are following voices that don’t make sense to us. As Christians answering Jesus’ call to follow him, we are called to listen with keener and keener ears. The messages that we hear in our culture are going to become more confusing and not truthful.

This is where I challenge you and I to stop and listen to the message and to see if they line up with what Jesus’ teachings are as we understand them. If the message does not affirm all of God’s creation, then it is most likely not a message to follow. All Christians will not agree, and this is the tough part.

There are Christians who read and understand the Bible differently than we do. Thus, we are called to continue to study God’s Word. We do have a Bible study every week online and the Holy Spirit is alive and active in it, challenging us in our faith journey.

Our study is during the day; thus, it cuts out people who work during the day. I wonder if when we are not studying the Bible in some way that when we are challenged by other Christians who study the Bible, how will we be able to answer? Everyone is busy and I understand that. There is only so much time and energy that we human beings have.

When the disciples were called to follow Jesus in our Gospel for today, what were they leaving? What were they risking? They were working with their father which meant their business supported families. Their business was tied into the commerce of their area. Not only did their families depend on them, but the whole area relied on their work.

In a sense they were tied into the government which meant their father and others would have to carry on the business without them. The fisherman were leaving a big hole, and their family was probably wondering how they could leave them and their work. The pull to Jesus seemed to be stronger. They heard and felt something that allowed them to take the risk and follow Jesus.

Mark even says that they immediately left. Unless it was an emergency, can you think of anyone or anything that would cause you to answer a call immediately? As Christians, we can look at this and say, God through the Holy Spirit had to have been at work.

In Mark, all that Jesus had said up until this point was “Time’s up, God’s kingdom is here, change your life, and believe in the good news.” Now this is something that they were waiting for. Immediately doesn’t involve much thought. That’s it, times up, here we go.

The fisherman were in a rut. They probably fished almost every day and had family responsibilities. As comfortable as they must have been in knowing what came next for the most part, they stepped right out of it to follow Jesus.

Most of us have called someone or made a request of someone and we often wait for a response. The length of time may depend on whether it is something that they want to do or don’t want to do. It may depend on how busy they are and if they want to change their schedule, let alone change their lives.

I would dare say there are not many requests made of us in life that we would immediately say yes and get up and follow. Especially ones that would upend everything that we have known. Leaving a job that gave some sense of security and family is not something we are often willing to do and the older we get the less we are willing to take that risk.

Jesus was asking these fishermen to step outside of their comfort zones and take a huge risk to follow him. Jesus needed people who were willing to learn in order to teach others. Jesus knew that they would be in for the ride of their lives. Even though it seems that they were following blindly, they sensed that Jesus was hopefully the Messiah who was proclaiming that God’s kingdom is here and that the good news needed to be shared with all people.

Here at Faith Lutheran Church, we have heard the good news in many different forms here in worship. We have it in print. We sing the good news, read it and proclaim it. We do it in deed or action outside of these doors too. But how are we telling or proclaiming the good news outside these doors in words?

God is not calling everyone here to leave your families and your jobs in order to proclaim the good news to all people. I do believe that God in Jesus Christ is calling us to assess how we are doing it, how we are telling others of the good news outside of these doors. As individuals, I have no doubts that we are doing this, but I am talking about in the name of Faith Lutheran Church.

During this time of transition, this is what we are being called to do, to answer the questions: 1) Who are we? 2) Who is our neighbor? 3) How is God calling us to share the good news inside and outside of these doors?

We have our first conversation with the congregation on March 3 where we will be working on answering the question who are we? I am working on getting information for us to answer the question, who is our neighbor? The transition team is working on a creative way in which to answer the question, how is God calling us to share the good news inside and outside of these doors?

When we seek God for the answers to these questions, I believe God will answer them. Most likely, God will be asking us to step out of our comfort zones, some of the ruts that we are in. Jesus calls us every day to share the good news with all people through word and deed.

Jesus is calling each one of us today as individuals and as a community of faith to share the good news. There are many voices in our culture today that share words more of judgement and a lack of inclusion. These are the voices that we are called to counter act with God’s love.

As human beings with a spotty track record with God, we will be tempted to stay in our comfort zones, in our comfortable ruts. Thankfully Jesus continues to call us and promise us that we are not alone in sharing the good news. God sent the Holy Spirit to give us direction in our individual lives and the life of Faith Lutheran Church.

Our country is in a very tenuous place right now. Part of this call will be to listen for the truth. When we answer this call we are saying to God in Jesus Chrit that we are going to listen for his truth. The kingdom is here, but we may need to work harder to find it and hear it. We will probably be called to uncomfortable places to share the good news as we hear it.

Some days we may answer the call immediately other days we may not, but the good news for us is that God continues to love us and forgive us. Jesus says to us today, “follow me and I will make you fish for people” How will you be answering that call and sharing the good news?  

This is a special musical presentation of Wade in the Living Water, performed today by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with a solo by Chris Lewis at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Second Sunday after Epiphany

January 14, 2024

Faith, Okemos

I Samuel 3:1-20, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, I Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51

O God, you search me and you know me.  All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.  When I walk or lie down you are before me; ever the maker and keeper of my days.

You know my resting and my rising.  You discern my purpose from afar, and with love everlasting you besiege me; in ev’ry moment of life or death you are.

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you have known its meaning through and through.  You are with me beyond my understanding; God of my present, my past, and future, too.

Although your Spirit is upon me, still I search for shelter from your light.  There is nowhere on earth I can escape you; even the darkness is radiant in your sight.

For you created me and shaped me, gave me life within my mother’s womb.  For the wonder of who I am, I praise you; safe in your hands, all creation is made new.

                                                                                    All Creation Sings, 1082

I was struck this week as I read and pondered the texts for this Sunday, especially Psalm 139 and John 1, struck by the awareness that God knows, Jesus knows, my every thought.  This was especially evident on Thursday morning when I noted with alarm an email that I had just purchased some software for well over $200.  Included in the notification was a number I could call if this was in error.  That began an hours-long journey through a thicket of multiple layers of fraud, cleverly masked as legitimate enterprises.  I was increasing anxious when one purported helper noted that nearly half of my saving account had through the night been withdrawn.

In the words of Psalm 139 and John 1, the Lord knew my every thought, every emotion; knew my increasing anxiety. 

Enter Mara, our middle child, whose family has been living with us as they, after moving from Virginia, look for a new home.  She sat next to me as we made call after call to finally purge the threat.  I know that I, and I think all humans, can’t think clearly when we are anxious.  Mara was much less anxious: “Dad, this doesn’t feel right.  I think we should hang up on this caller.” 

We learned that hackers are masters of deceit.  We learned that they can mimic credible organizations like Pay Pal and Microsoft and Amazon and even our local bank.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me…you discern my thoughts from far away.  You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways…  

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit…

God know us intimately.  Jesus knows me intimately.  This is both disconcerting and immeasurably comforting.

The psalmist writes:  Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.  For me on Thursday, Mara was a little Christ, God’s knowing what I needed, hemming me in, so to speak, preventing me from falling into the hands of those who would exploit me.  And God was in the credible security folks we finally reached who placed new guard rails to protect me.

God who “fearfully and wonderfully” made each of us, loves us, all of us, quirks and all.  Sins and all. We know this best because, in the words of St. Paul in Romans 5, “God proves his love for us in that while still were sinners Christ died for us.”

Who of us has been and/or is not hard on ourselves?  We may be ashamed of how we look or how we act or how dumb we feel.  We may feel guilt for words spoken in unbridled anger or for our indifference to those neighbors who need our help.  Or like those masters of deceit I experienced on Thursday, we may lie to protect ourselves or to benefit from other’s innocence or naivete.  “While we were still sinners…”   

Here a word about Jesus and Nathanael about whom Jesus said, “truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”  You may remember the story of Jacob and Esau.  Jacob deceived his blind, dying father, Isaac, receiving the blessing of the birthright that rightly belonged to his elder brother Esau.  Just before the brothers were reconciled when Esau forgave Jacob after years of deep hatred and estrangement, God came to Jacob in the night in the form of a man and wrestled with him until daybreak…

When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.  Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.  But Jacob said “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?”  And he said, “Jacob.”  Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.”

When Jesus said to Nathanael, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you,” he saw not just his physical body but, I think, also his heart.  Which led Nathanael to proclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!”  When Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Jesus knew his thoughts, his skepticism, knew he was an Israelite, one who struggled with God and humans with perseverance and honesty.  “Truly,” said Jesus, “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”

I so love these texts for today.  I love that God loves us so much that in the Son God has taken into Godself all of our darkness, all of our hatred and anger, and died on our behalf as a criminal.  I love that the LORD of Psalm 139 and the Jesus of John 1, one and the same, knows my every thought, my every emotion, my every word.  And in the words of Professor Craig Nessan, whom I heard in a talk at Bethlehem Lutheran Friday afternoon:  through Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, God enables us to transmute the energy of our darkness, our hatred and anger, our alienation from one another into words and acts of mercy and forgiveness, of kindness and generosity.

I love that Jesus comes very near to us, certainly through the bread and fruit of the vine in Holy Communion, but also through those sisters and brothers sitting near to us this morning, whether physically or virtually.  I love that Jesus was sitting with me on Thursday in the wisdom of Mara.

The challenge for all of us this afternoon and tomorrow and beyond is to remember and trust that the Son of God and King of Israel is hemming us in, behind and before, in every moment of our lives.

God, be the love to search and keep me; God, be the prayer to move my voice; God, be the strength to now uphold me; O Christ, surround me; O Christ, surround me.  Walking behind to hem my journey, going ahead to light my way, and from beneath, above, and all ways; O Christ, surround me; O Christ, surround me.  Christ in the eyes of all who see me, Christ in the ears that hear my voice, Christ in the hearts of all who know me; O Christ, surround me; O Christ, surround me.  

                                                                        All Creation Sings, 1084, vss. 1, 4 and 5

Amen.  

The Baptism of our Lord – 01/07/2024

          We make decisions every day of how close we want to get to someone, physically and emotionally. How much do we want to know about another person’s business? What will be expected with having this information?

          There are times that we are drawn in and find ourselves entangled and wonder how we got there. There are other times, especially if we can learn from those entanglements that we then draw boundary lines and filter or maybe even choose not to associate with a person.

          It is about taking care of ourselves. Caretakers often have a problem with getting taken advantage of. We can easily forget that God did not say that we are responsible to take care of everyone’s needs. Healthy relationships involve people who are able to have a give and take which involves constant communication.

          Today we are challenged to look at our relationship with God. As Lutherans we believe that this can happen at infant baptism. Although we also believe that one can have a relationship with God without being baptized. Baptism is a public recognition that we are God’s child and we are saying out loud.

          As infants, we rely on others to teach us what it means to be a child of God. As adults, if we have not been baptized as infants, we come to a place where we are ready to publicly affirm that we are a child of God and to state this out loud. Baptism is about relationships with God in Jesus Christ and each other.

          God created us to be in relationships with God and each other. Baptism states this publicly. Everyone is a child of God, but baptism says it out loud. It is a means of grace. God claims us as God’s own and baptism affirms this claim.

          Through baptism God offers us forgiveness, salvation and new life as gifts. It is how God says I love you, even though we don’t deserve it. This is where grace comes in. Through baptism we receive God’s grace, God’s love.

          If we are saying out loud that we are God’s child and we are still infants, it is done for us. At confirmation and hopefully many other times, we affirm that we are God’s child. But what does that mean?

          One thing it means is that we are in a relationship with God in Jesus Christ and God has a lot to say about how we live our lives. At times it is hard to hear God’s voice because we get in the way with what we want. Also, we allow ourselves to get caught up with people and things that block out our hearing of God’s voice.

          I am here to remind us that God will not stay away from us. God will continue to speak to us even when we are choosing not to hear. In our Gospel lesson for today we hear that the heavens were torn apart symbolizing that God had, and was coming to earth. The Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus and God said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

I added the first four verses of the Gospel of Mark to our Gospel lesson to remind us that this is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This good news is what we are called to share with others as children of God, that we are God’s child and so are they.  John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus’ baptism. First of all, to help them understand that his baptism was one of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and that Jesus would be baptizing with the Holy Spirit. Second that once they were baptized by Jesus that they would be believers in Jesus and saying this out loud.

          It is quite interesting that Mark says that the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to John the Baptist. They were going out to be baptized in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. This sounds like a lot of people. John was telling them what they were doing, but there was no way that they could fully understand it at that time.

          John the Baptist says to the people that he had baptized them with water for the forgiveness of sins, but Jesus will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. John doesn’t say maybe, but will. I wonder if the people may have sensed that Jesus was the Messiah and they were ready to say out loud that they were God’s children, followers of Jesus Christ.

          This is the beginning of the Good News, but we know as we continue to hear about Jesus encounter’s with people and church and governmental leaders, that it did not all seem like good news. There may have been times that the people did not want to hear what Jesus had to say. It may have gone against their culture, against what many were doing. They may have wanted to distance themselves from Jesus, from God’s voice. Times where they didn’t want to say out loud that they were God’s child, followers of Jesus.

          I do not believe that we are any different from the followers of Jesus day. Saying out loud that we are God’s child, followers of Jesus sometimes goes against the grain of our society, even other denominations. The more that we allow God’s voice to be heard in our lives, the more changes that we will be called to make. We make decisions of how close we choose to get to God in Jesus Christ, just as we do with others.

          Thus, I wonder if there are times we would like God to stay away or at least be quiet. That may sound harsh, but is it any different with fellow human beings at times. Sometimes there are things that we need to do and or say that are not easy.

          I believe all of us know how to be deaf and blind when we come upon things that we do not want to deal with. The loving thing about God is that God in Jesus Christ walks with us and sometimes carries us through the tough times. Could it be that when we realize this that we are ready to say out loud again that we are God’s child?

          As children of God sometimes we are called to engage with people, other children of God. Sometimes it gets messy. As we move forward in our transition, there will be changes that are made.

          God says to us, I’m here to walk with you, are you willing to hear my voice and follow my direction? God’s voice will come through different people and occurrences. I will be the one asking the questions and will encourage you to ask questions also.

          God calls and invites us into God’s beloved community, and the world has changed around us. Many churches are struggling to make ends meet and lack volunteers. Does that sound a little familiar? God is calling us to something new.

          Are we willing to trust God? Are we willing to listen for, and to God’s voice?

Are we willing to say out loud that we are Children of God?

This is a special musical presentation of When the Angels' Song is Silent, performed today by the Faith Lutheran Singing Sinners Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Mary Did You Know, performed today by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Christmas Eve 2023

          Throughout this past year, we all have had our joys and struggles. Some of our experiences we have considered good news and blessings and others not. Tonight, we gather together to hear the story, maybe a few for the first time and for others, we may have lost count. What might the good news or blessings be in this old story?

          This old story is about the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, our Messiah, God coming to earth to save us, God’s people. It is easy to glamorize this story, but when we do that, we may miss the good news of the story. The time period that Jesus was born into was not an easy time. Transportation had not been developed and there were many laws or customs that were expected to adhere to.

          When we begin to look at how Jesus’ birth came to be, it rocked many boats. Mary was a teenager who had not had sex with Joseph, and they were not married. Mary’s family could have disowned her, and Joseph could have told people that he was not the father. Was this conception good news and a blessing or was it a curse?

          When the angel Gabriel came to tell Mary, of course Mary was asking, ‘how could this be?’.  I am a teenager and have not even been with a man. It seemed that when Gabriel told Mary that her aunt Elizabeth was also pregnant and she was quite old, Mary felt that she could affirm this conception as she would not be alone.

          Since some of Mary’s fears were allayed, she was able to reframe it. Mary was able to see this conception as a way to serve God. She really did not know what she was in for, but she was honored to be a servant for God. Mary looked at this as good news and a blessing. She sang a song of praise to let God know that she was joyful to be able to serve. Something that could have caused her to be stoned she reframed into a blessing, good news.

          Then there is the census that caused them to have to travel. Could the census have been good news and a blessing? Our first thought could be that it caused a hardship for Mary and Joseph. As the census required them to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Remember Mary is pregnant. The distance is ninety miles and there were no cars. The story tells us that she rode on a donkey. Have many of us have walked ninety miles, let alone with someone who is pregnant?

          Does this sound like good news, let alone a blessing? For us this would be like walking from Okemos to Holland or Grand Haven. The census was actually bringing them back to where Joseph grew up. This established Joseph as being in the line of David, which was foretold in the Old Testament to be where the Messiah was coming from. When we can reframe the census, it can become good news and a blessing.

          It gave Mary and Jospeh a sense of belonging and status, which they may have been struggling with. It became good news and a blessing when this information came together. If they were going back to where Joseph grew up, they probably had family and friends around to support them. Thus, the census could them be viewed as good news and a blessing.

          So often we have heard of the angry motel keeper who wouldn’t let Mary and Joseph into his motel. Jesus was place in a manger, possibly then in a family room of a family member.  What if placing Jesus in a manger was a provision for safety and security? Could this be looked at as good news and a blessing as God provided what they needed at the time? Again, reframing a situation that seemed to be of lack, but could also be seen as abundance.

          As we can reframe these different parts of this familiar story, can we begin to see that even in what may seem like the darkest moments in our lives, that when we can reframe them, they may become good news and a blessing? In each situation in our Christmas story God provided what was needed. In each situation in our lives, can we see where God has provided what we needed at that time? This is good news and a blessing for us to share with others.

          It also reminds us that God is always with God’s people. Even in what may seem like our darkest moments in life, we can see God’s love shown for us. God loves us enough to come to our messed up world and continues to show up and be with us and our stories into good news and blessings.

          God provided for Mary, Joseph and Jesus throughout this old story. As our stories continue to unfold, God continues to provide for us. At times we may need to do some reframing in order to see God’s presence in our stories. The good news and blessing is that God came to earth out of love and continues to love us by providing for us what we need, when we need it.

          We have gathered to hear this old story again to be reminded that God walks with us in our stories continuing to love and provide for us. God continues to turn our dark moments into good news and blessings. This is the good news for us and the good news that we have to share with others.

Let us pray: Loving God, we have looked anew at the story of your Son’s birth. The story tells of many challenges that Mary and Joseph had. A story that also shows your presence with them in many ways and providing what they needed when they needed it. A story that shows how your love for them allowed them to reframe challenges into good news and blessings. Help us tonight to be able to see the good news and blessings in our lives that you have given to us out of love. Help us to share the good news of your love and blessings with all people. Amen

Today was the 2023 Christmas Pageant . Come and celebrate the Christmas season with youth from Faith Lutheran.

Endings have beginnings and beginnings have endings. So often we dread endings. The endings of a life, sometimes the endings of a school year, a graduation or position. As emotionally difficult as they can be, there can also be a sense of celebration in each one.

Normally when there is an ending, there will be something or someone that we will be missing. This is when we come more to the realization that hopefully we can be thankful for these people and times. At 63, I have been through a number of seasons in life as many of you also have been. We learn to savor moments with people and things.

Beginnings can be difficult also, but it is what keeps us going and moving on to new moments to savor. In our gospel lesson today, we hear the beginning of our first Gospel ever written. In Mark we hear, The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Context is always important. This Gospel was believed to have been written in AD 70. This is when the Roman Empire destroyed and looted the temple and Jerusalem itself. This event ended the revolt and huge numbers of Jews left Judaea to make a home elsewhere.

Mark’s Gospel is the shortest. He doesn’t start out with a Christmas story as Mathhew and Luke do. I’m wondering if he felt he needed to get some good news out as soon as possible. He begins by announcing that this is the beginning of an account of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. Mark was putting down Jesus’ story.

Mark immediately moves on to John the Baptist by using the prophet Isaiah who prophesied John the Baptist many years before. In our Old Testament lesson, we hear the prophet Isaiah reminding people that Jerusalem needs comfort. They have just returned from exile. This time it was the Babylonians who had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.

The prophet Isaiah in this section of the book is trying to give the Hebrew people comfort, hope and joy. Even though it was their behavior that led them into exile, God was still there for them. We hear those familiar words of comfort hope, and joy, “Comfort, O Comfort my people, says your God. Isaiah also says, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. This was first prophesying John the Baptist and then Jesus, God coming to earth.

Now in Mark, history is repeating itself and the people are looking again for God to come and comfort them and walk with them. Mark is reminding them of Jesus by retelling Jesus’ story from his point of view. God had come to earth in Jesus in order to prepare God’s people for the restoration of their lives, land and temple.

God has promised to be with God’s people and has never given up on this promise. God’s people then, in Isaiah’s time, Mark’s time, and now us, need constant reminders of God’s expectations and promise of comfort, hope, and joy. Might John the Baptist be giving us the stance or posture that we need to constantly be in the process of restoration?

First of all, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness. He was not in a town, nor in the temple. One could say he was different, dressed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He was preaching a baptism of repentance, but yet there was someone coming who was greater than he. John said he was not even worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of this person’s sandals.

The statement about his sandals must have been important as all four Gospel writers have used it. John was making the point that the focus should not be on him. He was the messenger. Jesus was the savior that the people were looking for. He was the one to bring comfort and joy.

Even though John the Baptist was baptizing, he said it wasn’t the full baptism. The one coming would be baptizing with the Holy Spirit. We are in the first chapter of Mark, in the first eight verses and we are already hearing about the Holy Spirit. Did they even know who the Holy Spirit was?

John the Baptist was out in the wilderness telling people to get ready for this one who is greater than he. Mark identifies this person who is coming as Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and that he is bringing good news. This is what the people needed to hear as Jerusalem had been demolished and they wanted to restore what had been broken. John’s posture or stance was one of repentance and being vulnerable in order to recognize Jesus in the unexpected places.

Good News came to the Hebrew people in Isaiah’s time, came to the people in Mark’s time and continues to come to us today. God fulfills God’s promises to bring comfort, hope, joy and walk alongside God’s people to restore what has been broken. Sometimes the brokenness comes from decisions that have been made and sometimes it just happens.

Each one of us makes decisions and will continue to make decisions that cause brokenness in our lives and other’s lives. There will be things that happen to us and the ones we love that we do not have any control over that cause brokenness. I am sure that every one of us here and online can think of someone and maybe ourselves who are experiencing brokenness right now.

The good news is that regardless if it was because of decisions that we made or someone else has made or just because it happened, that God in Jesus Christ comes to comfort us and walk beside us. Many of us have received comfort, hope and joy in our times of brokenness and we have offered words of comfort to others in their brokenness.

The prophet Isaiah reminded the people that regardless of Jerusalem’s choices that may have gotten them into exile originally, God still loved them and wanted to help them be restored to wholeness. When we read Jesus’ story, he never turned anyone away, especially if they were seeking restoration, wholeness.

This is the good news for us and good news that we are called to offer to others. This Advent season is about remembering the comfort, hope and joy that we can have in Jesus. People seem to repeat history. God in Jesus Christ remains constant in comforting us, giving us hope and joy and walking beside us through our brokenness into wholeness which brings us joy.

It is when we receive the words of good news, of comfort, hope, and joy, a reminder of God’s constant love that we can move from endings into beginnings.

This is a special musical presentation of Climb to the Highest Mountain, performed today by the Singing Sinners at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Waiting for Bethlehem's Light, performed today by the Chancel Choir with Gwynne Kadrofske on flute at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Happy New Year!! We had our New Year’s Eve gathering at the Williamston Theater last night. We usually don’t stay up until midnight to welcome the new church year in. Part of what the church year has done is to try and offset the regular calendar. This is how we got December 25 for Christmas, as it used to be a pagan holiday.

So, what do we do differently in Advent? In some sense it is a penitential time, similar to Lent. We always talk about slowing down, but how often do we really slow down. It often gets busier. Even though we hear the words in our Gospel lesson this morning to stay awake, be alert, do we? The busier we are the less that we see and are able to experience.

Jesus paints quite a picture in our Gospel lesson today of what his second coming may look like. Quite stark language, During the days after this trouble comes, the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give its light.
The stars will fall from the sky. And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Jesus had just told his disciples prior to our Gospel lesson, that the temple would be destroyed, not one stone would be left. Up until this time the presence of God was thought to have been in the temple, thus this was a radical departure from what they grew up with. Can you imagine the anxiety that this must have created? Then Jesus paints this picture of the Son of Man returning. I am not sure the disciples fully understood what Jesus was talking about.

How and when all of this would take place, Jesus says no one knows except God. In the meantime, stay awake, keep alert. We could read this as don’t go to sleep, but we know that is not the way God made us.

There are some people who will focus on, “you will see these things taking place” and then you will know the time and the hour. Many people have waited at a certain place at a certain time, but Jesus did not return at that time. Thus, I don’t believe waiting and keeping alert means that we stand still.

In Mark, Jesus is changing the focus of where we will find God’s presence. God’s presence is not only found in the temple, but out in the wilderness, outside the doors of the temple. In the next few weeks, we will encounter John the Baptist who was out in the in wilderness. People left their cities and towns as they were seeking something more than what they were finding from the church leaders in the temple.

Since Jesus has not come back yet, we can easily become complacent. We only talk about Jesus’ second coming at the beginning and the end of the church year. When we talk about it, I would like to suggest that it can encourage us not to be fearful or complacent, but to continue seeking God’s presence in our lives. For me, this is what it means to be awake and alert.

Our Old Testament lesson from the prophet Isaiah, may help us be in a posture to do this. Some of the people have returned from their exile. They returned to a demolished temple and plundered land. At least now they were home, and not under the Babylonian authority.

The prophet Isaiah is not happy with God and kind of feels that God has abandoned them. Isaiah says tear open the heavens and come down to us and help us get back on our feet. Although, he recognized that God had done awesome deeds that they didn’t expect. He recognized that God intervened for those who waited for God.

At the same time, Isaiah was blaming God for their sin as God hid God’s face from them. This may seem quite bold to blame God, but if we are honest, there are times we blame God for things also. Isaiah was asking God, since you are angry with us, where does that leave us?

Yet, says Isaiah, since you are our parent, we are your clay, and you are the potter. This can be good news, but what does it mean for us to be clay. Clay is a lump of wet gooey stuff. Is this what we want to be? Is this what we are called to be?

For us to be clay means that we are vulnerable and flexible. It means that we will continually be reshaped until the day we are made perfect and go home to God in Jesus Christ.

The Potter's Hand

Verse 1

Beautiful Lord wonderful Saviour I know for sure all of my days are

Held in Your hand crafted into our perfect plan

Verse 2

You gently call me into Your presence, guiding me by Your Holy Spirit

Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life Through Your eyes

Pre-Chorus

I'm captured by Your holy calling, set me apart I know You're drawing

Me to Yourself Lead me Lord I pray

Chorus

Take me mold me, Use me fill me, I give my life to the Potter's hand.

Call me guide me, lead me, walk beside me, I give my life to the Potter's hand

CCLI Song # 2449771

Darlene Zschech

© 1997 Wondrous Worship

For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com

CCLI License # 720217

When we allow ourselves to be molded by God’s hands, the potter, we will be awake and alert. It also means that we may need to slow down in order to see people and situations through Jesus’ eyes. In order to be molded, we are called to be vulnerable and flexible.    

During this Advent season, there may be things that we need to let go of, that are holding us back from more fully experiencing God’s presence. Where are we looking for God. We often find God in the unexpected places. This will mean changing our hearts and minds being clay and allowing God the potter to be remolding us.

May we pray the prayer together printed in your bulletin:

Change My Heart, O God

          Change my heart, O God; make it ever true.

          Change my heart, O God; may I be like you.

          You are the potter; I am the clay.

          Mold me and make me; this is what I pray.

          Change my heart, O God; make it ever true.

          Change my heart, O God; may I be like you. Amen

In some churches when I say that we have come to end of our stewardship campaign, people often breathe a sigh of relief. The thought may be that we don’t have to hear money talk again for another year. If you have noticed here at Faith, the past two Sundays have not been about money. It has been about how Faith has embraced people and how we use the resources that we have been given to take care of and are shared with our neighbors.

Over the years, stewardship has gotten a bad rap. It is all how we define stewardship. I have said once or twice that the word comes from the old English and means keeper of the pig sty. To be a steward means that we take care of what has been entrusted to us.

What has been entrusted to us is time, talent and treasure. This really does include our relationships, with ourselves and others. So, stewardship is about how we take care of all of these things and people. The bottom line is that we as Christians believe that we do not own anything, God owns everything.

This way of thinking does not fly too well in our society. We all work hard to get what we have. As Christians, we are called to think about we and not I. We were created to live in community. This is what God in Jesus Christ has been trying to teach us how to do since God put human beings on this earth.

Somehow when we can focus on what we are thankful for, it is easier to have the we way of thinking. Thus, it is more than appropriate to celebrate Stewardship/Thanksgiving Sunday together. Stewardship is about living our lives in thankfulness.

I would like us to think about how often we have talked about giving back what we own, where in reality, we don’t own anything. I would like us rather to think about, how we use what we have been given to manage. Nothing is permanent, in reality everything is temporary. We are challenged to use our time, talent and treasure to the best of our ability to glorify God in thanksgiving and in consultation with God in Jesus Christ.

Worshipping here together is one way in which to express our thankfulness. When we gather in thankfulness it can refocus our way of thinking in order to navigate the week ahead. It can put our hearts in a place to think of we and not I.

Psalm 100 offers some suggestions on how we can worship together. I believe when we gather that there is a combination of individual and corporate worship. When we all focus our hearts and minds on thankfulness to God, there creates a connection that brings us to a place of peace and openness to experience Jesus together.

Psalm 100 was used as a processional by the Hebrew people into the temple. I would like to read you a different paraphrased version.

^1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into God’s presence.

³ Know this: God is God. God made us, and we belong to the creator.
    We are God’s people and God’s well-tended sheep.

⁴ Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Give thanks to God. Bless God’s name.

⁵ For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.

I’ve asked in a few groups that I read this in, what would happen if I asked the congregation to applaud God and they looked at me like I was crazy. We applaud human beings, but what about God. Our applause normally comes when we are overwhelmed by a performance or a talk or sometimes just showing our thankfulness.

Worship can be a place where we let it all hang out, but we usually don’t. Some of you have clapped on some songs with the beat. We applaud at the end of the postlude and sometimes after other musical pieces. Why not for God?

Then there is laughter. So, what about bringing a gift of laughter? What does laughter do, but to relax us and open us up and allow us to be freer. Laughter is a release. It is acceptable to laugh in a worship service. Most likely God laughs at some of the things that we do.

The Psalm goes on, Know this: God is God. God made us, and we belong to the creator. We are God’s people and God’s well-tended sheep. God knows us as God has created us. God desires us to be in relationship. This knowing is an intimate knowing. Have you ever been overwhelmed by God that you were brought to tears, that you wanted to raise your hand, wanted to express your thankfulness in some way, but then felt what would people say?

When we intimately love someone with our whole heart, we often do things out of our character. I often think of parents doing things with their kids that they would not normally do. There may be something that we do for our partners in life that is out of our character. Why not for God?

One of the reasons that we gather to worship is to say thank you to God with our time, talent and treasure. God invites us to worship, to be at home, talking praise, giving thanks and blessing God’s name. Thus, the password, thank you, can flow out of our hearts. It is not a password that is easily forgotten.

I would challenge us to express our thanks, maybe in ways that we have not tried and may feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe a better way to say it is that I give you permission, or better yet that God gives you permission. I’ve never turned down an amen either.

We can be healthy stewards in showing our thankfulness through our time, talent, and treasure in worship as well as in every area of our lives. When we come with an attitude and realization that everything including ourselves and relationships are given to us to care for, our approach to life is different. We are better able to think more about we than I. The good news is that even though we will always struggle with this, God’s lover never leaves us.

When we bring our pledge cards up today or return them at some time, remember that it is really a commitment of how we are going to use one part of what God has entrusted us with, to take care of. This commitment is between you and God.

The time and talent sheet will be coming out soon. In the closing prayer of the sermon, I am going to ask God for us how to use what God has entrusted to us. God can tell us how to use our time, talent and treasure that will help us to think more about we than I. It will also be then what is best for the community.

Stewardship is about thanking God for what God has entrusted to us to take care of for God. It is how we are called to live our lives as Christians.

Let us pray. Gracious God, you have given us everything that we need to live our lives for you. We have often forgotten that we are stewards and not owners. Today we ask you how you want us to use what you have given to us to take care of, our time, talent and treasure. You have blessed us as individuals in so many ways as well as us as Faith Lutheran Church. May your Holy Spirit speak to us now and every day as how to use what you have entrusted to us to take care of.

In Jesus name, Amen.

This is a special musical presentation of For the Beauty of the Earth, performed today by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with Gwynne Kadrofske on flute at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Today we are celebrating the resources that God has entrusted to us to use in the community. We have heard from three of those ministries. Our Noisy Offering that was taken today goes to support another important ministry and that is our Micro-Food Pantry. These ministries all are in obedience to the command to love our neighbor as ourselves.

 Unless we our visible in the community, it is difficult for people to see Jesus at work. I want to state that we do not do outreach to gain members. This may be a possible outcome, but not the reason we are called to be present in the community.

Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, we have been hearing the Kingdom of Heaven is like…. It is like sharing what God has entrusted to us with those who are in need. While we are waiting, this is what we have been called to do.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus talks about waiting. He tells a story about 10 bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom. Part of this waiting is being prepared. All 10 bridesmaids have lamps. But five have no oil as they did not think ahead that the bridegroom may be late. He is often late as he sometimes has to finish up the arrangements with the bride’s family.

The five with no oil asked the five with oil if they could borrow some and they said no. They suggested that they go and find some themselves. The bridegroom came and the five bridesmaids who had the oil went in, and the doors were shut. When the other five returned, they could not get in as the doors were locked.

One could easily interpret this passage to say that this is an ends time message that if you are not ready you won’t get into heaven. For us the good news is that Jesus has does the work for us to get into heaven. We are asked to acknowledge this in the way that we live our lives.

Jesus is challenging his disciples to be ready and that includes you and me. The ten bridesmaids could represent the church and being exhorted to do good works. This is only on the surface level. We could easily say that we are doing good works, thus we are ready.

I believe that we would be too easy. O Wesley Allen, Jr, in his commentary suggests that we ask the question, “In what ways are we not prepared to meet Christ ever anew?” as opposed to simply, “Are you ready?” 

This is what we are called to ask especially during this time of transition. I believe to experience Jesus anew means change. Doing the same things over and over again doesn’t challenge us to stay awake. Our leadership has looked at the system we have in place in which to do our ministry here. It is only the beginning. A report on this conversation will be in our December newsletter.

It has been said that the church is often 10 years behind the world around us. I don’t believe that is where we are. Because we choose to share the Gospel in a way that welcomes and affirms all, we think and do things differently. But we need to have a plan in which to do this on a broader basis so that people in the community know this. This is where we can meet Christ anew.

Today we can celebrate the opportunities that God gives us to share the resources entrusted to us. This is what Jesus continues to challenge us to do as part of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are also challenged in our Gospel lesson to discover other ways to do this, that others may know of Jesus’ love for them in order to meet Christ in new ways.

In order for us to do this, we are challenged to ask ourselves the question “In what ways are we not prepared to discover Christ anew over and over again?

Today we gather to remember the saints who have lived and served faithfully. This body of Christ meant something to them, and this is what kept them active here. Today we have heard from present saints who have found a home here and are active.

On this All Saints Sunday, when we come to the table, remember that we will all be together around Jesus. My mother has always said that when she takes communion she is taking it with those saints who are already at home. We are the communion of saints gathering around Jesus to be strengthened, to be reminded that we have and continue to receive forgiveness, salvation and new life.

Everyone is welcome at this table. Today In our second lesson from Revelation we hear about one of John’s visions. Picture this - There was a great multitude of people gathered before the throne. They were from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, robed in white with palm branches in their hands. What a picture of diversity and inclusion!

Gathering before the throne can be for us gathering around the altar. It reminds us that in Jesus’ eyes we are all viewed equally. It is where we remember that God’s agape, sacrificial love was poured out through Jesus for all of us. The white robes in this lesson can remind us of this. It is one of the reasons for the white pall that some churches use at funerals to remind us that Jesus sees all of us the same.

The altar is also a place where we can bring ourselves just as we are. It is where we can bring our joys and concerns. The place where we can bring it all, what we are confused about, people we are concerned about, victims of injustice. It is a place where the voices of suffering can be heard.

We can gather around the altar in solidarity with all of the saints. This is what it means to be the communion of saints, the body of Christ, the beloved community. As the people gathered before the throne, and for us the altar, we can all shout “ Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

Can you imagine if for just a moment, if we could recognize the beauty in the diversity of God’s creation? It is where we are centered on bringing worship to God in Jesus Christ on the throne, around the altar along with those saints who have gone before. This is what we are doing today!

So today we gather around the altar as the communion of saints. Those of us worshipping here today and those who have gone before us. Each of us, all together have come to worship Jesus. In this body of Christ, Faith Lutheran Church, we are strengthened by Jesus in the bread and wine, his body and blood, that we may go out and tell others about Jesus who offers all forgiveness, salvation and new life, to continue sharing the Gospel as our saints did who have gone home and they are now cheering us on.