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Your Faith Journey

All of us are on a journey of faith in our lives. At Faith Lutheran in Okemos, Michigan we bring people one a journey of faith each week and share that journey with the world.
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Now displaying: June, 2021
Jun 20, 2021

As we adapt to a new normal, while hopefully coming to the end of Covid-19, we are facing yet another challenge, a new form of social anxiety. Over the past year and a half, we were forced to physically distance from family and friends, and many of us spent most of that time in our homes, with video calls and Zoom events becoming the primary means of socializing.  Consequently, many now feel anxious and have a degree of social unease after living through this global pandemic.  Therapist, Leslie Adams, writes, “Dealing with long periods of isolation can increase social anxiety. Even those who would consider themselves naturally more extroverted could be struggling. Being outside our bubble will feel overwhelming because it is a drastic change.  We will notice all the subtle things that we don’t see or hear on video calls. We will feel like we are struggling, like our senses are on overdrive, because they are.”  As my friend, Bill Uetricht, says, “This pandemic has been one of the most anxious times in recent memory for all of us, and anxiety has a way of lingering, affecting our behavior and our interactions with others.  This happens even if it is not fully rational.” 

You see, throughout this pandemic, we have placed boundaries around ourselves and around the way we function.  We have imposed artificial boundaries with the intent purpose of staying away from others. The anxiety some people now face is very real, and it is rooted in a newly developed fear of being with or encountering others

Anxieties over crossing boundaries and encountering others are nothing new in human history.  In fact, such anxiety was very real in Jesus’ lifetime.  In Biblical times, the Sea of Galilee was a well-defined geographical boundary.  The Jewish people were on one side of the sea, and on the other side you would find those despicable, contemptable Gentiles in the country of the Gerasenes, those vile “others” with whom the Jewish people did not want to connect.  As we move through Mark’s gospel, we find many of the recorded events that begin in chapter four take place on alternate sides of the Sea of Galilee.  And, the most direct route from one side to the other was across the sea.  In today’s reading, when we hear Jesus say to the disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,” he is indicating more than just a change of venue.  This is Jesus’ first venture in Mark’s gospel to what would be considered a dangerous, even inappropriate, destination because that is where the Gentiles resided.  Good Jewish people did not go there.  The rabbis did not go there.  Remember, the people on the other side were considered “other.”  Yet, today, early on in Mark’s gospel, we see Jesus deliberately demonstrate his claim that his mission extends beyond the Jews.  And, by carrying his ministry into Gentile territory, Jesus reaches out to strangers, those despised “others,” those who were considered enemies of the house of Israel.

On the way to the “other side,” a place and experience which created great anxiety within them because they would have to encounter those considered “other,” their boat struggles with a great windstorm.  Now, the storm itself is not an unusual occurrence on the Sea of Galilee.  And, the disciples who are accompanying Jesus in the boat, are accustomed to the unpredictable nature of the sea.  After all, several of them were experienced fishermen.  But, the disciples become afraid and, in their fear and desperation, they wake Jesus and cry out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  Jesus then speaks saying, “Peace!  Be still!” as he rebukes the wind and the waves.  God’s Word, embodied in Jesus, speaks to the chaos and the storm is stilled.  The very Lord who, in our first lesson, told Job that God is the one who conquers the power of the sea, is the same One Jesus embodies as he speaks, and the storm is stilled.

Friends, for the past several years we have been experiencing a raging storm in our culture and, over the past year and a half, a raging storm throughout the world because of this pandemic.  There have been times when it has felt as though we are in a small boat on a stormy sea.  We have seen acts of violence and oppression in this country – political violence, racial violence, and rising gun violence in our communities as the number of mass shootings just seems to escalate.  The evils of systemic racism and white supremacy are plaguing our country. These challenges, in addition to the global pandemic, have at times left us feeling helpless as we attempt to navigate this storm. Yes, we have experienced and are experiencing an intense storm.  And, quite frankly, this storm will intensify as we face mounting threats from climate change. There has been and is much chaos, and I believe many of us have been and are scared.  And, in the depth of the storms we face, the pain and suffering we see causes us to cry out, “God, do you not care that we are perishing?”  I say this honestly – there is a feeling of betrayal as we cry out amid these experiences in the face of what often seems to be the silence of God.

When looking at this gospel story, it is important to note that Jesus never says, “There is nothing to be afraid of.”  He asks, “Why are you afraid?” Jesus’ question is very different from simply saying, “There is nothing to be afraid of.” The storm the disciples faced was fierce, as are the wind and the waves of chaos that threaten us. Jesus’ question does not deny the chaos that is present.  Instead, Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”  And, it is interesting that time and time again, we hear the words of scripture say to us, “Do not be afraid.”  You see, the hard truth is that fearsome things are very real, things like pain, illness, rejection, failure, violence, meaninglessness, losing one’s job, money problems, and death.  As we grow in faith and name such fearsome things as real, we also discover they do not have the last word.  They do not have ultimate power over us, because reigning over this world of fearsome things is a God who is mightier than they.  Time and again in scripture, the word given us is, “Do not be afraid.”  In fact, you might say it is the first and last word of the gospel.  It is the word spoken to a young girl named Mary, it is the word spoken to Joseph, it is spoken to the shepherds, and it is the word spoken to the women when they discover an empty tomb.  “Do not be afraid.”  Not because there are no fearsome things on the sea of our day and our lives, not because there are no storms, fierce winds, or waves, but rather because God is with us!  Like a mother comforting her child, God speaks to us and says, “Don’t be afraid, because you are not alone.  I am with you.”

In times like these, it is easy to forget that God’s all-powerful Word is still spoken amid the noise and chaos of our lives and world.  Like the disciples and like Paul in our second reading, we articulate and list the challenges we face as we look to rediscover our faith in the promise of God’s powerful Word.  And, like Jesus’ word of peace spoken over the raging storm, God’s word still can calm our deepest fears.  As Martin Luther wrote in his great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” one little word above all earthly powers can fell whatever darkness threatens to undo us.  Friends, we cannot navigate the storm alone, but that living Word is with us and in us and God is calling us to live that incarnated Word in our present context.  We may feel fear, but the incarnational Word of God is present in the Body of Christ.  And, the Church – the Body of Christ in this world – is also called to rebuke the storm.

Friends, the deepest truth in life as we live these days – as we again encounter others, as we encounter all those we consider “other,” as we regather, and as we face the storms of life – is a truth that only faith in a God who raised Jesus from the grave can teach us.  It is this:  even though there are real and fearsome things in this life, they need not paralyze us; they need not have dominion over us; they need not own us; they need not have the last word, because we are not alone in the boat!  Present to us in the boat is the One who, with gentle authority, speaks and rebukes that which threatens life. And, that Word gifts us with what we need the most, with what is called for – peace that passes all understanding.

Jun 13, 2021

This is a special musical presentation of Didn't My Lord by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

Jun 13, 2021

I do not know the origin of this phrase, but it has been said that “Jesus told so many parables he became one.” Jesus truly embodied everything he taught.  And, those parables, the stories he told, are continually breaking open our understanding of the reign of God.  In his use of parables, Jesus seeks a shift in our imaginations, a shift in the way we see ourselves, see God, and see others. I think far too often we misunderstand what Jesus’ parables are meant to do because we are people who like to solve problems. And, as we look at the parables of Jesus, we often find interpretations of these stories presented as problems to be solved – problems that once solved can offer us “instructions for living.”  However, as Pastor Nadia Bolz Weber suggests, “Parables are not neat little moralisms dressed in narrative. They are meant to be swallowed whole. Parables are living things meant to mess with our assumptions and subvert things we never even thought to question.”  And, as I have mentioned to you before, theologian, Eugene Peterson says, “Jesus’ parables are like explosive, narrative time bombs.”  We hear Jesus’ stories, and they are designed to tick away in our minds as we wonder about their meaning.  We may think we finally understand it, yet it stubbornly continues to tick away and make us ask more questions.  We walk away, but over the course of the next day or so it just continues to tick, tick, tick away.  And then, suddenly, the truth Jesus meant to convey strikes home and kaboom, it explodes in our mind!   The parable explodes, opening new pathways of understanding as we are surprised and almost overwhelmed with its implications.

Well, in today’s gospel reading Jesus is again teaching, using the storytelling device of parable.  Jesus is describing the reality of the kingdom of God, the reign of God, God’s dream for this world, that is unexpectedly breaking into our lives and bursting in upon us.  Friends, God’s dream for this world is very counter to the reality we live as we go about our daily lives within the context of present culture.  And, Jesus knows we cannot really understand what the kingdom is like all at once.  Such understanding takes time.  So, Jesus begins teaching about the inbreaking reign of God by using parables that are meant to be explosive.   His stories challenge the comfortable status-quo, and they challenge our thinking as they turn our thinking inside out and upside down.

Today’s first parable tells of this unusual, weird, bizarre farmer who indiscriminately sows seed upon the ground, throwing it out anywhere.  This action does not really make sense from a rational point of view.  This crazy farmer does not prepare the soil or tend it with fertilizer.  He does not even water the seeds or pull out the weeds.  He just indiscriminately throws out the seed and waits to see what happens.  The emphasis in this parable seems to be placed upon who or what causes the growth to occur after the seed hits the soil because the farmer simply goes about his life of regularly sleeping and rising, night and day.  So, what is this really about?  Well, it might possibly be about the wonder of faith or the need to be ready to bring in the harvest.  Or, just maybe, it is about our complete inability to control or dictate the coming reign of God that unexpectedly breaks in upon us in various ways whether we or others believe or not.  I have to say this possibility leaves us unsettled and uncomfortable because it leaves us in a place where we are not in control.  It leaves us vulnerable, and we don’t like it.  We don’t like it when we see decline in the church, something that is happening throughout the country.  We do not like it when we see only a handful of people attend our new Saturday in-person service, and so our anxieties mount.  We want to build the church, build God’s kingdom, and restore it to what we remember of days gone by, maybe some thirty years ago.  And now, we want the church to be what it was before Covid-19.  We want things to be like they were in February of 2020!  Friends, the truth is, God’s kingdom will come and does come regardless of our efforts and our mounting anxieties. God’s kingdom cannot be manipulated by our attempts to control because God’s kingdom can only be received.  It is all gift!  In a very real sense, the kingdom or reign of God is something that comes from outside of ourselves and grabs hold of us whether we want it to or not.  It is all gift and not dependent upon us or anything we do.  It is God who builds the kingdom, and it is Christ who builds the church.

This is a difficult lesson for those of us in the church who are doers and problem solvers.  It is difficult for those of us who have such a hard time with letting go, for those of us with type A personalities who want to be in control and in charge of what is happening.  Yet, we are not responsible for making the church grow.  That is God’s work.  We are not responsible for making sure everybody “gets saved.”  That is God’s work and, quite frankly, God has already done that!  We are not responsible for making God’s kingdom a smashing success.  No.  Our job, our calling, is to simply plant the seeds and trust God to do the work of growing the kingdom. 

Yes, we live in a world where people are so very afraid of losing control.  We have been taught and continue to teach others that, in order to succeed, we must have a plan with well-defined outcomes and strategies for achieving those outcomes, and we so desperately want to be able to measure our success.  And, quite honestly, our understanding of success always seems to be measured in numbers.  However, this is so very contrary to God’s kingdom of grace.  The work of grace, mercy, compassion, peace, and justice is the work that truly matters in life, and it follows a totally different outline than the plans and strategies we try to impose.  All we are called to do is live God’s grace, live the gospel, and live and share the good news of God’s love for this broken, needy world.

The next parable Jesus tells is about the mustard seed.  Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”  Now, if we really look at what Jesus is saying, we need to think about the mustard he is talking about.  You see, the thing about mustard seeds is that while some varieties were used as spice and others medicinally, in general they were considered at the very least pesky and often somewhat dangerous. Why?  Because wild mustard is incredibly hard to control, and once it takes root it can take over a whole planting area. That's why mustard would only occasionally be found in a garden in the ancient world; more likely you would find it taking over the side of an open hill or abandoned field.

So, knowing this, pick your favorite garden-variety weed – crabgrass, dandelion, wild onion, or those obnoxious thistles that Ken and I are trying to get rid of.  That is pretty much what Jesus is comparing the kingdom of God to – obnoxious thistles!  Oh, and that part about the birds seeking refuge. Maybe it's meant as a comforting image – birds finding shelter from the elements. Or maybe, it suggests that once mustard shrubs take root, all kinds of things happen including the sudden presence of "undesirables."

If we understand this, Jesus' parable is a little darker, even ominous.

As John Dominic Crossan puts it:

The point, in other words, is not just that the mustard plant starts as a proverbial small seed and grows into a shrub of three or four feet, or even higher, it is that it tends to take over where it is not wanted, that it tends to get out of control, and that it tends to attract birds within cultivated areas where they are not particularly desired. And that, said Jesus, was what the Kingdom was like: not like the mighty cedar of Lebanon and not quite like a common weed, [more] like a pungent shrub with dangerous takeover properties. Something you would want in only small and carefully controlled doses – if you could control it (The Historical Jesus, pp. 278-279).

Friends, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like…..”  May these parables mess with your assumptions and subvert things you never even thought to question.  It is my prayer that these parables stick in our minds like ticking time bombs. And, when they surprisingly explode, I pray they continually work to change us and make us ever new, so that we too may embody the inbreaking reign of God in our everyday lives.  o

Jun 6, 2021

When my three boys were young children, the middle one seemed to always be getting himself into trouble.  He tended to cross boundaries and do naughty things more frequently than the other two boys.  And, when he did something wrong, he would often hide, or he would inevitably blame his brothers for what happened, for what he had done.  Thankfully, he outgrew these behaviors.  However, I will always remember that if he was blaming his brothers for something that happened, he usually was the one who was responsible for the incident and, if he was hiding, he had probably done something he should not have done.  In fact, I vividly remember calling out to him on multiple occasions, “Chris, where are you?”  Well, today as we hear this reading from Genesis, we hear the words, “Where are you?”  And, these words echo right down through the centuries into our very lives. 

The Genesis story we hear in our first reading is part of the second creation story we find in the Bible.  Yes, there are two very different creation stories in this first book of the Bible.  Today’s reading comes from what is known as the Yahwist narrative.  It is just one among many of the early story threads gathered from multiple traditions that became sewn together to compile the book we now call Genesis.  And, as with many familiar Bible stories we think we understand, we often read into this passage and deduce ideas that really are not there.  You see, this whole slithering, deceptive snake portion of the story likely was originally told to explain the animosity that exists between humans and serpents.  Furthermore, as scholars have studied these writings, theologians now agree that the snake insertion into this story was also likely meant to provide an explanation for the Israelite rejection of the Canaanite goddess Asherah, who was imaged as a snake in a tree.  Asherah was the great Canaanite fertility goddess, so one can detect here a not too subtle polemic against Canaanite pagan religion.  And, yet another aspect that we usually do not grasp is that this serpent who appears in the story is never even identified in scripture as Satan. 

As today’s story begins in verse eight, the serpent has already deceived Adam and Eve into disobeying God’s command, and these two human beings are now engaged in a hiding activity of their own, and the stakes are very high.  As they hunker down in the garden like children attempting to hide while fleeing the implications of their own actions, God seeks them out, fully aware that something has gone wrong.  God goes walking in the garden like the whimsical pursuer.  And, we get to listen as God calls out to them saying, “Where are you?” 

Now, it is fascinating that this is the first question God asks in Scripture.  And, what makes this question so important is that, as in every great story, this question is asked not just of the characters on the page and in this scene, it is a question that is asked of each one of us.  You see, the stories of the Bible are our stories!  The Bible itself is such a great story because it is not so much a story of what happened to our ancestors in faith, but of what happens to each one of us.  This story is no exception.

Notice that God does not accusingly ask, “Now just what have you done?”  No.  God simply and graciously asks, “Where are you?”  This question, a question God is always asking of us, exposes our futile attempt to hide from God.  And, at once, that question assumes an answer, an answer that reminds us we often are not where we should be.  In fact, it causes us to think about asking ourselves, “Where should we be?”  It is also important to notice that when they answer, God just lets the excuses flow on until all the characters of the story have fully implicated themselves and each other.  And, only then does God announce the sanctions.

Friends, this story is a tale about the human predicament - sin.  Something has gone wrong.  We are not where we should be.  You see, we sense that there is an estrangement from our essential, created selves that is rooted in alienation from our Maker, and it gets expressed in behaviors that alienate us from one another.  That is what sin is, alienation from God, from one another and from our very selves.  This story in Genesis is not a literal story of what happened to our first ancestors but the story of what happens to each one of us.  This is a story that addresses our loss of innocence as we grow up and become more aware of the world around us.  It is about our alienation from our fellow humans, from creation itself, about our yearning for independence, and our fear of alienation from God.  This story helps us understand the way in which sin alienates us from God and from one another because the hard truth is that we are sinners.  That does not mean we are rotten to the core.  Sin is the human predicament.  And, even though we try to hide while fleeing the implications of our predicament, God knows where we are.  The truth is that we cannot hide from God.  God knows us through and through and the most amazing thing is this – if grace meets us anywhere, it meets us in our sin!

Notice in this story from Genesis we miss the fact that grace permeates this entire story.   When suddenly, these two earth creatures find themselves exposed, they are worried about not having clothes, and God graciously says, “Well, let me take care of that; I’ll give you clothes, even though I made you to be naked.”  That action of God in this story, just one of many other actions, is a clear statement of grace. 

Yes, it is in the places of deepest struggle, pain, and alienation where grace meets us and where we discover the Good News that God loves us no matter what and that God works through our weakness.  We do not have to hide from God for any reason.  When grace meets us, we learn that God considers us to be a treasure, just as we are, and God works in our lives, even in our deep brokenness.  That is the good news of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul understood this so well.  He had experienced this grace and God’s power in his own life.  Grace met him in the place of deepest sin and transformed his life.  Paul understood that the destructiveness of human sin is resolved finally and only by acknowledging our human limitations, and by placing our total dependence upon the love and grace of God.  In his second letter to the Christians who lived in Corinth, Paul says to his fellow disciples, “What we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive.  Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory:  more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!  So, we’re not giving up.  How could we!  Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.”  (The Message; 2 Corinthians 4:14-16)

In our gospel reading for today, Jesus also addresses the destructiveness of human sin.  The writer of Mark’s version of the Jesus story asks us to take with utter seriousness the power of evil in this world and in life and then, along with all those who do the will of God, trust in the power of God that Jesus so fully embodies.  And, the power of God is always, always shown through inclusive, healing love and unfathomable grace, often at those times when we think we least deserve it.

The Good News is that ours is a God who, no matter where we wander or try and hide, already sees us, and lovingly pursues us.  And, God will take every detail in our life and work through it, using it to our advantage for our good.  We do not have to hide because of who we are or what we have done.  God loves us, and God has already found us.

So, while we tend to be so like my middle son and try to hide if we have done something wrong, God will always pursue us to shower us with grace.  While we may think we are hiding, our gracious God already knows where we are while lovingly calling out to us asking, “Where are you?”  And, this God of grace upon grace, this God of grace and more grace, is always inviting us back to God’s very self.  May we eagerly listen to God’s call and joyfully respond because, the truth is, in Jesus we have already been found by this God of grace.

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