This is a special musical presentation of See What a Morning! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
This is a special musical presentation of Gaelic Alleluia by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
This is a special musical presentation of Run, Mary, Run by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
In a few of the churches that I have served for a period of times during worship, people were given an opportunity to share God moments. God moments were where they had seen God at work in the past week. Another way we can ask the question is to ask, “Where have you seen Jesus this past week?”
Often, what we hear and see news today it is often negative, it doesn’t help through the day. It may make us angry, sad or depressed. We know the news does not always give us the good news. Although, at the end of a broadcast and sometimes only on Fridays, they do share a good news story.
As Christians, it is important for us to stay connected to Jesus and one hour a week does not do it. We are bombarded with so many different things even in a day. There are family issues, work issues, school issues, health issues, whatever group we may belong to will have some issues or negativity.
In this Easter season, in order to experience and be connected to our risen Savior, I challenge us to ask this question at the end of every day, “Where have I seen Jesus today?” What a positive and healthy way of connecting with Jesus at the end of the day.
It may be much easier to hand all of those things that have stressed us out during the day over to Jesus. By asking this question, the answer can remind us that we were not alone during the day. Jesus was there walking beside us and in us. Could this be where the peace comes in?
In our gospel lesson today, we find the disciples locked in a room for fear of the Jewish authorities. Just as we made it clear on Good Friday, it was the Jewish authorities who enforce they what they feel was God’s law. We can’t lump everyone into a category.
In the Gospel of John, the disciples had heard that Jesus had risen from Mary Magdelene. Peter and the other disciple, who may have been John, ran to the tomb and saw what Mary Magdelene had seen. It says the other disciple believed and they went back home.
Since they had not seen Jesus, they still didn’t know how the Jewish authorities were going to respond to this. They could be out looking for the disciples. Jesus knew that they needed to have some tangible evidence that he had risen. Thus, he appeared to them through the locked doors.
Jesus first words were, “Peace be with you”. He then showed them his hands and side. At that point the disciples believed it was Jesus and they rejoiced. Jesus said to the again, “Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I send you”. He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In a sense this is John’s account of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, the part of the trinity that would live within them and empower and guide them in continuing Jesus work on earth. There was one disciple missing, Thomas. We don’t know exactly what he was out doing, but even if he was fearful, it didn’t stop him from going outside the doors.
When Thomas returned, the disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”. Thomas said, “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe”. He has often received the nickname , ‘the doubter’. But was he really any different than the other disciples? He had even gone outside the locked room.
Jesus came back at that point and offered to let Thomas touch his hands and side and said do not doubt, but believe. Thomas made a statement of faith, “My Lord and my God!”. The other disciples rejoiced, but had still not left the room. Jesus did not have to come back, he could have relied on the other disciples, but Jesus knew that Thomas needed this reconnection.
Thomas is not any different than any other follower of Jesus. It was and is hard to believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. It is hard to believe that Jesus takes the time to love each person on this earth. It really is a divine thing and definitely not humanly possible.
It is when we doubt that we begin to ask questions and can begin to learn and grow. We can learn things by rote, but then they are only facts and often do not sink in as reality for fus. What do we usually say, “The only stupid question, is the one that is not asked”. Jesus knew his disciples were questioning his resurrection, thus he came to them and was commissioning them to continue his work.
He knew they were fearful and would not be able to continue his work unless he reassured them that he had risen and was still there for him. They need his peace to break down the walls of fear. It was in their reconnection with Jesus that the walls of fear began to be broken down and they once again experienced his peace.
We are no different. There are days that we struggle to experience Jesus and receive his peace. Sometimes we need to look for Jesus activity in our world. Jesus does and will come to us as we seek him. Jesus knew his disciples were seeking him and his peace to begin to break down their walls of fear.
Our Lutheran theology says that we cannot even come to Jesus on our own. Luther’s explanation to the first article of the Apostle’s Creed says that – I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith.
Thus, I believe the Holy Spirit is prompting us to ask questions and draw us closer to Jesus. The Holy Spirit can help us break down our walls of fear in order to experience Jesus and his peace. Thankfully we are not on our own. Jesus model for us was to let go and realize that it is not all about us.
As followers of the resurrected Christ, I challenge each of us to find or continue finding a few minutes every morning to remember who we are and whose we are. In reality, remembering our baptism at the beginning of worship during the Easter season, helps us remember who we are and whose we are.
I have chosen a few verse from next week’s Gospel lesson for us to recite every morning or at some point during the day.
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:45-48 NRSVU Please detach this from your bulletin to use this week.
Then at the end of the day ask the question “Where did I see Jesus at work?” I would be happy to hear them. Please e-mail them to me. The Holy Spirit will be with us to encourage us and help us to see Jesus at work. This is what will bring Jesus’ peace to our lives. Doing these things will help us stay connected to Jesus and not get bogged down in the crap of our world.
Let us pray, Gracious God you are always wanting to connect with us. You came down to earth through your son Jesus. He continues to model for us how to connect. Today we were reminded that your Holy Spirit is always with us to help us be connected to you. We thank you for this as we cannot do it on our own. May your Spirit prompt us to read the Bible verse at least at the beginning of the day and to help us reflect at the end of the day where we have seen you at work in us and others. In Jesus name, Amen.
This is a special musical presentation of See What a Morning! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Where are you finding and hearing ‘good news’ today? We are hearing it here today through the Word, music and Sacrament. But what about out in our world today? There are some days that we really need to strain to find it and hear good news.
As our country gets heated up between now and November, we need to keep straining to find and hear the good news. We here at Faith Lutheran will continue to provide God’s word, God’s presence here in this beloved community. We will continue to hear God’s Word read and sung and experienced in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Today and through the Easter season we will be remembering our baptism, which reminds us that we are God’s children, loved and saved through grace.
Good news is often experienced in the daily things that we do. It provides us with a structure that brings comfort and support. The women in our Gospel lesson today are experiencing grief, confusion and uncertainty. They are trying to move forward by doing what is normally done that is to take care of a body that is dead. This body happens to be their friend and teacher. There was no embalming fluid in those days, thus they would in a sense anointing the body with perfumes and spices and redressing the body.
In their conversation on the way to the tomb, they wondered who would help them roll away the stone that had sealed the tomb. When they arrived, the stone had been rolled away. They probably were wondering who did this and what did this mean? Did someone do their job? Did someone take away the body?
I can imagine they wondered if they should enter the tomb as they did not know who had rolled away the stone. Who or what would they would find? Maybe they approached hesitantly and slowly peeked in. None the less they needed to know what the story was. When they entered, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side.
We can only imagine that they were alarmed. Was this an angel? The women were probably vacillating between terror and amazement. It stopped them in their tracks. They said nothing, but the young man seemed to know what they wanted to ask and how they were feeling.
He told them not to be alarmed, that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they were looking for, who had been crucified, had risen. He showed them the place where Jesus had been laying and said, see, he is not here. The young man told them to go and tell Jesus’ disciples and Peter that Jesus had gone ahead of them to Galilee.
He reminded them that Jesus had told them that is where he would be. Jesus had started his ministry in Galilee and did the majority of his healings and teaching there. It sounds like he was back at work again. At the beginning of Mark, we hear this is the beginning of the Gospel or good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now we come to the end of the Gospel of Mark and might want to hear how the good news was still being told, how it would continue.
But, after we hear of the women’s experience, we might wonder if they would be running to tell the disciples and Peter what they had experienced, and that Jesus was back to Galilee, in order to continue sharing the good news. Mark tells us that they ran out of the tomb as terror and amazement had seized them. They said nothing as they were afraid. Usually when we hear that people are afraid it is not usually good news.
Even after they heard the good news that Jesus had risen they were afraid and according to Mark didn’t say anything to anyone. So, after I read the Gospel lesson today and proclaimed it as the Gospel or good news you responded with Praise to you, O Christ. It seems that we both agreed that this was good news. When it ends with, ‘for they were afraid’, it doesn’t really sound like good news, does it?
The good news was in the lesson, it was stated by the young man in the white robe, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look there is the place that they laid him. So yes, we did here the good news, but often the last words of something are what rings in our ears, for they were afraid. In the Greek it literally says they were afraid for… as if the sentence was not finished.
The women were struggling with what do with this news, it sounded good, but was it really true. If it was true, it was definitely good news. Mark doesn’t really say how the good news carried on, and thus leaves it open ended. What can we learn from the women experience? What is Mark trying to telling us about the furtherance of the good news?
The women heard the news and were quaking with fear. They had already experienced a trauma, the loss of Jesus, their friend and teacher in the most painful way possible. Now they are confronted with this news that Jesus had risen. How is this possible? Would anyone believe them? Do we not struggle with how to share this good news that we hear and experience here?
It says that they were seized by amazement and fear. In the Greek the word amazement is ekstasis, ecstasy. It literally means throwing the mind out of a normal state. This is what the women were experiencing. Should they be afraid or just go with it? When we go through difficult times in our lives such as the death of a loved one. Is this not what we experience? So many feelings all at one time. Yet to move forward in our lives, don’t we learn that we need to work through these feelings and begin to let some of them go? It is when we give these feelings of uncertainty to our risen savior that we begin to feel whole again and are able to see, experience and be the good news for others.
Mark gave the responsibility to the reader, all of his disciples. You see Jesus continues to share the good news through others, you and me. Most of us who have experienced the death of a loved one, hear and experience the good news through the love and support of others.
Today we are challenged to continue sharing and being the good news to others. I know we do hear it in our beloved community, and we have our Micro Food Pantry, our Parish House, our Caring committee, the fact that we welcome and affirm all people and there are other ways that we invite others into experience the good news that we have here. But, we are called to tell the good news, the resurrection story everywhere.
I believe that God is calling each one of us in our schools, work, groups that we participate in to be and share the good news. The good news is in each one of us. What we experience here in this place through Word, Sacrament, music and each other is what we are gifted with and are challenged to share with others outside of these doors.
Stop straining to hear and see the good news, it is within in us and around us in this beloved community.
Our world needs to hear and experience this good news, the love that Jesus has shared with us through his death and resurrection. We are the continuing story of sharing the good news of his love.
Manudy Thursday – 03/28/2024
Tonight, I am going to wash at least one foot symbolizing Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Thus, it is important for us to understand at least partially why Jesus may have washed his disciples’ feet. This is not a practice at all churches on this night. Many people say, “I don’t want people seeing my feet”.
I had never done it until I went to Ishpeming a few years ago. Tonight, I will invite anyone who wants to come up. Jesus’ disciples were not too sure about Jesus washing their feet either as it was not really appropriate for a Teacher, their leader to wash their feet. It was the custom to wash one’s feet when coming into a home as they normally wore sandals, and their feet were dirty. In some homes there were servants who did this.
This whole scene took place before the Passover, Jesus knew his hour had come to soon depart from this world and go back to his father. There was a lot going on in that room and only Jesus knew all of it. He knew Judas was going to hand him over to the Roman authorities. The other disciples thought they were just having a nice meal with their teacher. I wonder if they may have thought more was going on when Jesus took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself, poured water into a basin and began to wash their feet?
Most of them were quiet and maybe in shock, except Peter. It seems Peter was always filled with anxiety and had to say something. So, when Jesus came to Peter, Peter asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus said, “You do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.” At first Peter spoke what the other disciples may have been thinking, “Lord, you will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you will have no share or part of me.”
Jesus knew that Peter did not understand.
The only other time that the word wash is used in the Gospel of John is in the story of the healing of the blind man. He washed in the pool of Siloam and his sight was restored. This gave the man more of an ability to see Jesus, to recognize who Jesus was and is. Thus, this is not really about sin, doing wrong as we often define it. In John, sin is about not believing.
Remember Judas is reclining at this table and Jesus washed his feet too, even though Jesus knew that Judas would be handing him over to the Roman authorities. Jesus stated that not everyone was clean and of course he was speaking about Judas. Judas’ uncleanness is about not believing. Could Jesus washing of his disciples’ feet be about being better able to see who Jesus was and is?
Jesus put his outer robe back on and returned to the table. He still had more to teach them, to help them understand what he had done. Think about it, Jesus says, if I am your Lord and teacher and have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. He said, “I have set you an example.”
I wonder if they had ever washed each other’s feet, let alone the one who is not clean. Don’t you think they were wondering which person was unclean? They had been travelling with Jesus for a few years now and one of them may have chosen not to follow Jesus, to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
I go back to the question, “Do you know what I have done for you? In the paraphrase of the Bible, the Message we hear Jesus saying, “I am only pointing out the obvious, A servant is not ranked above the master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I am telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.”
So then, Jesus may be asking us tonight, who is your master?, who is your employer? If Jesus is our master, how are we carrying out this example that Jesus has set in the humbleness of washing their feet. It was totally out of the norm for Jesus, their leader to wash his disciple’s feet including the one who would hand him over. This washing of the feet was Jesus’ example of loving one another.
In a sense it is not a brand new commandment, as the ten commandments have been broken down to two, love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. Maybe one thing that is new is that here was God in Jesus Christ carrying out this loving act of washing their feet in person. The disciples probably did not realize until later that God had washed their feet.
Of course, I am not God, but tonight we wash feet to remind us that God humbled Godself to come to earth for each person out of love. Acts of love in reality are about washing feet. This symbolic act reminds us what Jesus is asking of us, as to how to live in community, loving one another, washing each other’s feet. As we love one another, we are better able to see Jesus in each other.
But it doesn’t only mean the people in this beloved community, but in the world. For God so loved, that God came to earth in human form, in Jesus. God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn it, but to love it. Unfortunately, we see a great deal of condemnation and not love. If Jesus did not come into the world to condemn, then that is not we are commanded to do. We are reminded tonight by Jesus’ example that we are called to love one another as we are loved.
This is a bit overwhelming as there are people we do not want to love. In the months to come we are going to be challenged more and more by Christians to condemn others and we may feel condemnation ourselves.
Tonight, we are reminded of Jesus’ example of how to love. It doesn’t mean being a doormat, but it does mean speaking the truth in love. He has shown us what this sacrificial, humbling love is about and he says to each us, if you try and follow my example by washing others’ feet, people will know that you are my disciples, and the world will be loved.
This is a special musical presentation of All the Room Was Hushed and Still by Ryan Thompson at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
This is a special musical presentation of Hosanna, Hosanna! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Last time I was here was the weekend of the birth of my Grandson – 6 years ago. So much has happened since then. Covid – change in pastors, and so much more.
Through it all we pray and hope that Jesus has walked with you and me and that we have noticed his presence and we have shared him with others.
I don’t often share personal memories in sermons but today there is a relevant thread.
I started seminary in the fall of 1976. Young, newly married, first apartment, and starting seminary. Preaching Class. I had grown up my whole life in the church and heard sermons every Sunday. (cause I had to be dying to not go to church) But now I was to be the preacher and say something profound in a sermon. My first sermon - I was assigned Jeremiah 31:31-34 for Lent 5
I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
A few years later, I graduated from seminary and received my first call in this synod. I went to my first congregation where I began visiting an active member of the congregation, dying of cancer. Her death was my first funeral, the little country church was packed. Again to preach and say something profound. Text – Lent 5 John 12:23-25, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
I don’t remember much about either sermon, but these texts for Lent 5 always stuck with me – because in the end it didn’t matter much what I said, what matters is – Did the hears see Jesus? Did they know Jesus’ presence, compassion, love, grace?
The history of the protestant reformation has a written record, but also a record by artist Lucas Cranach. He was a friend and colleague of Martin Luther, lived in Wittenberg, and was also under the protection of Elector John of Saxony; he was the Elector’s court painter of Saxony.
He has a painting that also was reproduced by virtue of the newly invented printing press – which catches the essence of preaching, and this text – We wish to see Jesus. It shows Martin Luther preaching, and the congregation listening, but between Martin and the congregation, is Jesus on the cross. The point is: as Luther is preaching, the congregation is seeing Jesus, not Luther. That is the goal of preaching – helping everyone – including the preacher to SEE JESUS!
Today is the last regular Sunday in Lent before Palm Sunday and Holy Week. We read from John, Jesus has been anointed by Mary Magdalene, entered Jerusalem with palms, and now begins his last teaching before the LAST SUPPER.
Some Greeks – foreigners, seek to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew, Andrew tells Jesus.
The Greeks were thinkers. They had witnesses the rituals and sacrifices in the temple. They had experienced all the rules and regulation that the priests and religious leaders has put in place. They had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. They had heard about Jesus, and this new thing God was doing, and they asked to SEE JESUS. They did not want another ritual, they did not want another sacrifice. They wanted to see Jesus.
The ancient scriptures have a way of still being relevant today.
The Greeks were troubled by all the things religious leaders and worshipers were doing in the temple that did not relate to God. TODAY we have rising numbers of people – either nones (who have no religious preference, or – spiritual, but not religious, those who don’t find Jesus in today’s church, or those wounded by the church.
People are still looking for Jesus.
Lots of things happen in today’s churches, and not all of it points to Jesus.
We have the rise of Christian Nationalism on one hand and on the other hand we have churches working on issues of justice, that can’t articulate the rational about how that relates to Jesus.
If the preaching of the church, if the ministry of the church, if the outreach of the church does not point to Jesus, then what is its purpose?
In all we say and do, it is about Jesus.
Just like when two children are talking about the children’s sermon. The pastor asks questions, and one kid says to the other – the answer is always Jesus.
Our Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton once said, “We have to be able to articulate Jesus or we look like the action wing of a political party. “
It is not just about SEEING JESUS from afar. It is about seeing Jesus, knowing Jesus is present in the world, knowing Jesus cares and loves us, and knowing that forgiveness, grace, and acceptance are offered to us without us having to deserve, pay, inherit, or earn it. The price is paid, the cost carried by Jesus.
It is not just seeing a visual picture of Jesus. It is about seeing and hearing Jesus in our words and our actions. Seeing Jesus in the face of the refugee, the homeless, the abused, the grieving, the hunger… Them seeing Jesus in us and hearing Jesus as we reach out to those in need and to all of us as we seek to navigate this crazy world.
WE TOO need to see Jesus. There is a crisis of mental stress in the world, loneliness, fear, anxiety, and all the rest. We need to see Jesus in our lives, in the community, in the world – in church, in preaching so we can be empowered to continue to be Jesus and share Jesus with others. And find see Jesus and his work for ourselves, to remind us of God’s grace, love, forgiveness, and hope.
My guess is that the Greeks that come to see Jesus are looking for something more. Something that would transform them. Something that would change their life, help them lose their current life and gain something new!
That is the heart of Jesus response to them and the crowd.
One of my favorite theologians, Frederick Buechner, put it this way:
Doing the work you're best at doing and like to do best, hearing great music, having great fun, seeing something very beautiful, weeping at somebody else's tragedy—all these experiences are related to the experience of salvation because in all of them two things happen:
(1) you lose yourself, and
(2) you find that you are more fully yourself than usual
A closer analogy is the experience of love. When you love somebody, it is no longer yourself who is the center of your own universe. It is the one you love who is. You forget yourself. You deny yourself. You give of yourself, so that by all the rules of arithmetical logic there should be less of yourself than there was to start with. Only by a curious paradox there is more. You feel that at last you really are yourself.
The experience of salvation involves the same paradox. Jesus put it like this: "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it."
You give up your old self-seeking self for the love of others and thereby become more yourself at last. You must die with Christ so that you can rise with him, Paul says. It is what baptism is all about.
You do not love God so that, tit for tat, God will then save you. To love God is to be saved. To love anybody is a significant step along the way.
We do not love God and live for GOD so we will go to Heaven. Whichever side of the grave you happen to be talking about, to love God and live for GOD is God’s Kingdom here, now. A taste of heaven.
It is a gift, not an achievement.
You can make yourself moral. You can make yourself religious. But you can't make yourself love.
"We love," John says, "Because GOD first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
Jesus is in Jerusalem, he is looking ahead to the Last Supper, his arrest, dying on a cross on Good Friday, and then the gift of NEW LIFE that comes on Easter morning as the stone is rolled away.
Jesus demonstrates God's love for us, giving his life so that we might have life. It takes a life time then for us to contemplate that love and transform ourselves to be giving that love away.
I am here today to make a presentation after lunch on the demographics of your community. What are the folks that live here like, folks who drive by, who see the church, but may not know what goes one here.
The projections say that of the folks that drive down Dobie Road, 61% either do not know that life giving love of Jesus, have drifted away, or have been wounded by a church – especially churches that rely on legalism and shaming – instead of sharing the life giving love of Jesus. That is your mission field, sharing Jesus with one another, and finding connections to share that love from here out into the lives of the people that drive by every day. Let them see Jesus!!
This is a special musical presentation of Mercy by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Join us for the Lenten Service this evening.
What Wondrous Love Is This?!
“This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made, we will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it…”
For me singing this simple song is sometimes a helpful antidote in the days when my mind and heart seems dominated by harsh, sorrowful, cynical, judgmental, or angry thoughts and emotions. Sometimes my thoughts and feelings about myself or about my family, or about our governmental leaders, or about pretty much everybody else are more negative than positive. Sometimes that has included my thoughts and feelings about God. I can be pretty good at grumbling.
The story of the Israelites in the wilderness is one of four ancient stories of God’s children grumbling, murmuring, complaining about how tough they had it on their long journey to the promised land. Though God had provided water to quench their thirst, manna and quail to satisfy their hunger, a cloud to guide them during the day and a fire to guide them during the night, they would have much preferred the equivalent of a hamburger at Culver’s or an Olive Garden salad, and a Hampton Inn for nightly lodging. They were good at whining against both God and Moses. [“We detest this miserable food.”]
Their situation only worsened when at one point in their journey they were afflicted, many of them fatally, by poisonous serpents.
Sometimes it takes something deeply frightening, something life-threatening to make us aware of our negativity, our griping, our “bitching” if you will. Here, I think, humbling and desperately “the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.”
And here, as always, when we recognize our failure to trust that God has never forsaken us, has never misled us…and never will, even in the worst of circumstances, the wondrous love of God about which get to sing after this sermon is graciously, wonderfully, and powerfully given to us.
And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it in on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
And in John’s gospel, Jesus says, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
It was in wondrous love that God gave his wilderness children a visible sign that his love, his grace, was greater than their rebellion, greater than their murmuring, their complaining, their failure to trust him. The wondrous mystery of God’s love is that even and maybe especially those things we most fear, like being bitten by a poisonous snake, or fear that we might die of thirst or hunger, or die at the hands of those who hate us, all are transformed by God to become signs of healing and of new life.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
Now Jesus says to us (in the third person), “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Here is the wondrous love of God: Jesus takes into himself all the poison, all the vicious hatred, all the cunning lies, all the grumbling, all the fears of the world; and is lifted up on the cross. There the Son of Man and Son of God dies for us.
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?
And through his dreadful death on the cross, the antidote for the poison of the world, the poison in our own hearts and souls is given to us.
When you and I think about the cross, maybe either before and/or after we receive Holy Communion, when we take into ourselves Jesus’ body and blood, we make the sign of the cross…, may we remember and know that we have eternal life.
The serpents may still abound, the lies we hear, and yes, the lies we tell about ourselves, the lies that we and all the peoples and creatures of this world are not radically loved, all these lies are neutralized by Jesus’ death on the cross. We and all people are radically loved. We know this by receiving and embracing the God’s gift of faith day after day: everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
The writer to the letter to the Ephesians, probably a protege of St. Paul, wrote these beautiful words:
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
What to me is so beautiful about these words is two-fold: 1) the very capacity to believe what Jesus did for us on the cross is a [daily] gift from God, not our own making; and 2) the outcome of this God-given faith each day is a life of good works which God has already set-up for us to do! [To me this is eternal life, a life filled with love, filled with good works created and enabled by God to be our way of life.]
Made newly alive every day, we do what comes naturally out of that newness. After worship last Sunday many of gathered around tables, and we talked about the various ways God drew us to this congregation. We talked about how over and over again we get to be our new selves in giving and receiving love for each other and for the world around us. We shared, albeit briefly, about how each of us in our own unique way is doing good work as we grow and mature in grace.
Our God-given work in the months of transition still ahead is actually pretty simple: it is to prayerfully and thoughtfully discern before we call our next pastoral leader, the good works which God has already prepared beforehand to be our future way of life together.
Looking at Jesus lifted up on the cross, we daily confess our sins, our alienation from God and from each other, whether family or friend, stranger or foe. We confess our grumbling. We hear anew each day, in our souls, through that death we are forgiven. We get to live a forgiven, grateful, joyful life of good works prearranged by God.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
[Let’s sing it together.]
Amen.
Join us for our Lenten Service at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan
This is a special musical presentation of There Is A Green Hill Far Away by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Worship is about connecting with God in Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament there were a number of temples in Jerusalem. God gave King Solomon the task of building the first temple. It was a sacred place that specific sacrifices were carried out to God by a priest. It was where God was believed to be present, where God wanted to connect with people.
As temples were demolished and built up God’s presence was not confined to the temple. The temple of course was still a meeting place for God’s people, and they still did sacrifices, but as we heard in today’s lesson, they were using it to make money. Jesus was not happy about it and this is one of the only times in scripture that we see Jesus angry.
Can you imagine Jesus with a whip of cords chasing the merchants out of the temple? On one hand it was customary for people to buy animals for a sacrifice, but they were extorting people. Jesus tried to tell them that this system was not what God wanted anymore. Jesus was God’s presence.
Of course, the Jewish leaders then asked Jesus, what authority do you have to say this? Jesus answer was not literal. He said, destroy the temple and in three days I will raise it up. They responded, the temple has been under construction for forty-six years, so how he could it be raised up in three days.
Jesus was speaking of his body as the temple. After he was raised, his disciples remembered that he had said this. This helped them to believe the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
There was also a group of Jews who had chosen to believe in Jesus. They had been basically kicked out of their community. Jesus’ actions and words sustained them in their belief in Jesus. They then further believed that God’s presence was in Jesus.
Jesus was trying to introduce a new system, a new way or place to experience God’s presence. On one hand Jesus was pointing out to the people in the market place that they abused the system and were more interested in exploiting people in their practices. But on the other hand, Jesus was turning their system upside down and the Jewish authorities were wondering who the person was that seemed to be changing what God had taught them.
In reality, God had been trying for thousands of years to get people’s attention. He provided leaders, judges, kings and prophets and they still continued to break the covenant that they had agreed to. God decided that God needed to come down now and try to help them get back to their covenant. It seemed the only way to get their attention was to turn the system upside down and in this case, literally turn the tables over.
Most of us have been brought up coming to church to learn about God in Jesus Christ. Lutherans have not always been good about teaching how to share what we learn outside the doors of the church. Thus, today I would like us to think about the importance we place on the sacredness of this building and specifically today the sanctuary.
This past Tuesday we had the presidential primaries here. Someone did not like the fact that they were being held in a church. Technically they were not even in the sanctuary. Somehow just the building represented something that they were uncomfortable with.
For us this is a place to gather to worship our Creator, Redeemer and sustainer. It is a place that the beloved community comes together to be strengthened and nourished through word and sacrament to carry out Jesus’ work. We believe that through word and sacrament that Jesus is in us. Thus, when we leave the doors of the church, Jesus then goes out into the world.
So even when we believe that we come to meet Jesus in this worship space, Jesus leaves with us when we leave. Jesus is in people not objects. I had a conversation with a colleague this past week about how we think about reverencing the altar. I pondered the question, are we reverencing an object or is Jesus presence in the altar? I often do it, but do I know why.
Maybe we should be reverencing each other. If we believe that Jesus presence is in us, how do people sense that? How does our life, through word and action represent Jesus?
It is very easy to compartmentalize our faith into this building, just as the people did in our Gospel lesson for today. How often do we talk about Jesus outside this place? Our building and our worship time together, is a gift to be able to have what we need, to bear the cross together.
Sometimes the older that we get, the easier it is just to come and worship the same way that we have always done it. It is comfortable and yes it’s familiar, but does it motivate us to enliven Jesus in us and stay enlivened in us when we leave worship. My experience thus far in worship here, is that we are kind of in the middle of the road.
There are some who do not like sung liturgy. There are some who will sing more lively songs, but it is not always what they are comfortable with. It is not about right or wrong, but it is about what people experience when they come to worship.
Today after worship we will have food and fellowship and begin to answer the big question: who are we by discussing these three questions:
I believe that what we are trying to do is describe who we are and really what Jesus likes look to others here and out in the world. How do we represent Jesus as Christians who worship at Faith Lutheran Church? This sounds like something that is difficult to do.
In reality, it is, but remember that we are not producing Jesus. God in Jesus Christ is in us as individuals and has gifted Faith Lutheran Church with all of you and those who are not able to be with us today. It is about sharing the gifts that have been brought together in this beloved community in the best way that we can. We will never be perfect at it and God knows that. I don’t believe most people are looking for any perfect group or person.
Our challenge today is to rediscover our giftedness and how we share it. We gather to be strengthened through word and sacrament here in worship to experience Jesus. Jesus then goes backout with us into the world. This is how we allow Jesus to shine through us that others may experience his love and be invited in his presence.
This is a special musical presentation of Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Lent 2 – B 02/25/2024
Most of us have played the game, “Follow the Leader”. It involves making choices whether to follow a person or not over and through things. There are some whom you can trust to keep you safe, there are others whom you need to be careful with. We have many people today who say, come, follow me.
What kind of criteria do we set up for whom we decide to follow? Number one, it is a good idea to look at their history and what kind of choices they have made in the past. Number two, how have they treated people especially those who have little. Number three what have they gained, knowledge or money, power and control.
There are no perfect human leaders. This week we will be the site for 3 precincts for the presidential primary elections, even though we probably know who the candidates are. As I said last Sunday, I would not tell you who to vote for, but these are criteria that I would use in making a decision. Above all ask God.
Healthy leadership in our work places are more and more difficult to find. There is so much anxiety on whether you have a job and how you look to the boss. Who is trying to please who? Doing a good honest job is not always the ticket today. We have experienced in many different forms a lack of work ethic.
That leads me to the question, “Who are people following?” As Christians, I believe that we are called to have a healthy work ethic. I worked at a Friendly’s while going to seminary. After having worked the middle shift as a manager, the dishwasher for the night was a high school guy. He came in to pick up his check and quit on the spot. I felt that was irresponsible on the part of he and his parents. Yes there could have been extenuating circumstances, but at least 2 weeks’ notice. I worked half of the shift then as the dishwasher.
Of course, as Christians, we are called to follow Jesus. Which we can never fully do. In our Gospel lesson for today Jesus is trying to let his disciples know what will be coming, that he must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Peter was not looking for this in a leader, one to follow, thus he took Jesus aside and said no this won’t be happening.
Jesus said, Peter your anxiety has gotten the best of you, you are setting your mind on earthly things and not trusting me, your leader. Thus, if you really want to follow me, you must let go of your anxiety and wanting to have it your way and take up your cross and follow me.
Now too often this gets interpreted to be, look at me, I have to do this all by myself. This is not what Jesus is saying. He is saying that we can’t rely on ourselves for direction. We are called to rely on Jesus which means studying God’s word and listening to others to discern how to carry the cross together.
Jesus models what it means to carry the cross until he physically has to do it. Jesus is trying to clue them in that following him and carrying his cross together may not be what we are looking for. It will mean realizing that we don’t have the all the answers and focusing only on us is not following him.
Jesus is not asking us to throw our lives away when he says we need to deny ourselves and lose our lives. It is giving our wills over to Jesus. It is realizing that we own nothing in God’s eyes as in reality, God owns everything. It is about forever trying to discern God’s will for our life and living that out.
This is not what saves us, but it is a response to God’s love in Jesus Christ. We are called to live our lives for the sake of others. This is what Jesus modeled for us, as recorded in our Gospels. Even to the end Jesus lived out God’s will.
It is not easy, and it creates anxiety as it did for Peter. There are times we would like to say, no Jesus it’s not supposed to be this way. Anxiety comes when we are trying to protect ourselves. Not all anxiety is bad. It can be a red flag, but it can also be something that clouds our view of God’s will for our lives and life of our community of faith.
Change brings anxiety. We are in the process of transition, and we just lost one of our faithful witnesses. Walter was becoming the president of Faith Lutheran Church. When I think of the criteria that I suggested in looking to follow a leader, Number one, it is a good idea to look at their history and what kind of choices they have made in the past. Number two, how have they treated people especially those who have little. Number three what have they gained, knowledge or money, power and control. I believe I can see Walter fulfilling these to the best of his human ability.
He was also a valued voice on the transition team. From what I have heard and seen, Walter was a sure and steady leader. He listened to people, he helped guide Faith through some conflicted times. Walter was not out for glory as I believe what he prayed for is that this beloved community would become healthier and more focused on doing God’s will at this time.
Walter saw changes that could be made to make Faith a healthier beloved community. When a trusted and valued leader moves on, it is important for us to stop and consider what he taught us by the way he led. It looks like our newly elected vice president, Randy Royalty will be taking over as president. Walter asked Randy to serve as vice president, not knowing that his life on earth was drawing to a close. I do believe Walter relied on God for direction here also.
What Jesus is calling us to do is to bear the cross together. We need leaders and we need followers. At certain times in our lives, we are called to be one or the other. Whether we are a leader or a follower it is all bearing the cross together.
God has been teaching through leaders, including Jesus, that we are called to put our wills aside for the care of God’s people.
Thomas Shepherd, pub.1693
v. 2 by Anonymous/Unknown
v. 3 by George N. Allen, pub.1844
Jesus calls us today to follow him first, to bear his cross together. As we are deciding who we follow, consider these criteria: Number one, it is a good idea to look at their history and what kind of choices they have made in the past. Number two, how have they treated people especially those who have little. Number three what have they gained, knowledge or money, power and control.
Jesus modeled this for us and now calls us to follow him and that bearing the cross together we may model what it means to follow Jesus to carry and model his life giving love to this power driven world.
Join us for the Lenten Service this evening.
This is a special musical presentation of Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley / Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan
Lent I – B 02/18/24
Our Gospel lesson today puts Jesus in the wilderness. It is not a wilderness that we are used to in our part of the country. In our wilderness we think of different kinds of trees, streams or lakes. It is a place where hopefully we can experience peace and calmness. This is not the wilderness that Jesus was experiencing. His wilderness is often described as a desert with probably only small bushes, if even that and little to no water close by. It also says in our Gospel lesson that Jesus was tested or tempted by satan. It doesn’t sound like peace and calmness to me. Instead, it sounds like constant agitation and a climate that can be difficult to survive in.
So then, how can we relate to this type of wilderness, where there was probably no snow. One of my Old Testament professors at the Moravian Seminary suggested that this wilderness is akin to the world we live in. Not the physical climate necessarily, but the cultural and political climate that we have today.
The division in our country continues to grow. I fear for our country while going through this presidential election. We will have strong people on both sides and many who will be apathetic and think what is the purpose of voting. Voting is important. I would never tell you who to vote for, but only what to consider when you vote.
Gun violence continues and this past week was the one year anniversary of it at MSU. We heard about the gun violence in Kansas City this past week and this past week another college. This has become a political issue and Christians are divided on this and so many things. A threat to our national security was in the news this past week. All of the isms are alive and active.
The world is filled with war, Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Hamas, the bombings in the Red Sea and our retaliation. Our government can’t decide on how to or not to assist. It has become more about politics. Please notice that I have not said democrat or republican. I believe all parties need to put aside something in order to work for the safety and betterment of our country which may then be more in line with God’s law.
I do believe satan is alive and active in all of this unrest. We are being tested. Might God be saying to us how are we going to keep our covenant based on the two great commandments? Now, does this sound like the wilderness that Jesus was experiencing, where there was not much peace or calmness as he was being tested or tempted also not to live according to God’s law, God’s covenant.
What else does Mark say about Jesus’ time in the wilderness? Matthew and Luke elaborate on three specific temptations. Mark says he was with the wild beasts and the angels waited on him.
There are a number of ways that we could look at the wild beasts. One is that they were in harmony with Jesus and maybe even somehow served him. Another way is that Jesus learned to live with wild beasts. In our wilderness there are people that we are required to interact with that we don’t trust or clash with and we need to learn some way of relating to them.
The angels waited on him. We might picture the angels bringing him food and water. They may wash his feet. Whatever ways that we can imagine that could have happened as Mark does not define how they waited on him. Are there not days that we could use someone to wait on us? Frankly even going out to eat, where you don’t have to cook or clean up can be, being waited on. At night, maybe even a libation. I believe if we are ready to receive it God does provide angels waiting on us through others.
This wilderness that we live in also brings us pain and sickness. Most of us have been there or are there and have experienced this. One of our own families, the Kopf family has experienced pain, sickness and death. This is when we can be lifted up on Eagle’s wings and be held in the palm of God’s hand. This comes from the familiar Psalm 91 which will the Psalm for Lent 1 next year.
God can and does all of this, but what can we do here and now in the wilderness? The Psalm for today is one to pray. Some have suggested that it is possible that Jesus prayed this Psalm in the wilderness.
This Psalm is classified as a lament. The Psalm singer begins, To you, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul. Soul is defined as whole being. I am turning my whole being over to you God, is essentially what they are saying. I don’t know where else to turn.
When we can do this we are ready to say, Make me to know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Yes this is our verse for Lent. This ‘to know’, is not only knowledge, but it is asking God to teach us to the very core of our being. This relates to the intimacy that I was talking about in last week’s sermon.
It is when we open ourselves up that we are better able to see God’s path for our lives and for our beloved community. Our ability to be taught is that we acknowledge that we do not have all the answers and are open to learning. When we look at our wilderness, our reality is that we are still sinful people, and we are not seeing God’s way clear enough.
Have we figured out yet that if and when we are willing to learn to God’s ways, that it involves change on us as individuals and as a beloved community? When we learn new things about groups of people, our thinking changes as well as our language and actions. In order for growth to happen in any area of our life, first we learn and then we make changes.
Changes have been made here at Fatih and will continue to be made. This only occurs after we learn to know God’s ways. I challenge us during this Lenten season to practice turning our lives over to God in Jesus Christ. Then we are more ready to pray, make me to know your ways, O God. Teach me your paths.
In order to live in our wilderness today this is what we are called to do.
This is a special musical presentation of A Clean Heart by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Ash Wednesday 02/14/2024
How can this be, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday on the same day? The last time it happened was 2018. At first they really don’t seem like they go together. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be affirming love to people on all different levels of relationships. Ash Wednesday seems to be dark and gloomy and dealing true reality that we are sinners. We hear the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”.
Some people choose not to deal with this day. Not all people come up for ashes. It is looked at by many as the beginning of a dark and dreary season called Lent. Yes, tonight we begin the season of Lent. We do hear the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”.
Well then, how does this fit into Valentines Day. We think of this day as a day that we share love in many different ways to many different people. There are often cards given, candy, special meals, etc. In elementary schools, boxes are decorated, and valentines and candy are shared with class mates. Some spouses/partners try and think of something special to do or buy for the other. A day of love in which we remind others how much they mean to us.
When it comes to colors for Ash Wednesday we think of black with the ashes. With Valentine’s Day we think of red and hearts. The words we hear, Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” do not sound like “I love you”. I would like to propose that we are talking about different ways of showing and remembering who loves us and whom we love.
Ash Wednesday, the imposition of ashes is a ritual or symbol to remind us that God loves us. We began the service with Psalm 51. David prayed this psalm after Nathan told him a story.
David had raped a commander’s wife and then had the commander sent to the front line where he was killed. Rape and murder, but David did not really see how far off he was from God’s law. Thus, God had Nathan tell David a story so David could get it.
Nathan said that there was a rich man who had many animals and a nice place to live and had what he wanted. There was a poor man who had one lamb, that was more of a pet, barely a roof over his head and little to eat. The rich man had a visitor and told his servants to go and get the poor man’s lamb for a feast.
David said the rich man should be killed for how he treated the poor man. Nathan said, you are the rich man. At that point David realized what he had done that was not right in God’s eyes. David had surrendered his identity as God’s chosen king and betrayed the trust of the nation through rape and murder. He then prayed Psalm 51.
David was sorry for what he had done but was not able to fully comprehend the depth of his sin. He hoped God would forgive him. We hear David praying, Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew in me a right spirit. He was asking God to make him clean again.
Out of love God forgave him. God chose to forgive him. Even though David’s life was never the same. He was not allowed to build the temple. On his deathbed though, he told his son Solomon not to stray from God’s covenant, God’s law.
At the base of all the covenants that God made with God’s people are the two great commandments, You shall the Lord your God, with all you heart soul and mind, and your neighbor as yourself. We are back to love.
It’s a balancing act to keep our relationship with God going as well as our relationship with others. God says the foundation of these relationships are built on love. Tonight is a night that we are reminded of God’s love for us, regardless.
Once on a church sign was “Forgiveness guaranteed, repentance optional”. At first we might say that no, we must repent in order to receive forgiveness. Think of it this way, forgiveness is always offered, and it is not based anything that we do or say. Forgiveness is freely offered by God in Jesus Christ. Repentance may be a response to love.
We repent and say that we are sorry for things that we do or say that creates brokenness. Even though, just as David did not comprehend the depth of his brokenness, neither can we. We repent out of love for God and each other. As human beings we often have problems forgiving, God does not as God loves us unconditionally.
Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday are both about love. Shared loved between us and others and God and us. This love is expressed in different ways. Valentine’s Day may be about cards, candy and many other things. Ash Wednesday is about us remembering how much God loves us unconditionally by sending Jesus and how we then respond to that love.
Could God be sharing a valentine with us tonight through unconditional forgiveness out of love
This is a special musical presentation of He Knows My Name by the Singing Sinners at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.