Faith

Dangerous Wonder

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I just finished the book I spoke about in my last post, Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith.  This is about the 6th time I have read this book and each time I highlight something new and make new notes in the margins.  If you want a book that’s not about theology but rather about living this is your book.  It is about breaking the rules and living by the spirit of the law rather than by the letter of the law.  It is about being "reckless" in your faith – reckless in such a way that your faith shines through in helping and serving people rather than through dogma and rules.  It is about being amazed and blown away by the love and grace of God.  Dangerous Wonder shatters the myth that you MUST "color inside the lines" and shows how God encourages and welcomes "outside-the-lines coloring".  This book slapped me in the face with the reality that following Jesus is fun, wild and dangerous; and the only way to grasp that reality is by re-claiming our "childlike faith". 

"Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:15)

As I was reading I jotted down some quotes, from the book, that really struck me and I would like to share a couple of them with you.  I am curious how they strike you:

"Predictability and faith cannot coexist…take surprise out of faith and all that is left is dry and dead religion.  Take away mystery from the Gospel and all that is left is frozen and petrified dogma.  Lose your awe of God and you are left with an impotent deity." (pg.28)

"Could it be that one of the significant problems in the church is noise?  Modern faith might be undermined more by activity and noise than by immorality and lack of commitment.  Maybe we have become so active and noisy that we have drowned out the thin silence of God." (pg.81)

Right now I am thinking I need to be a little more "childlike" in my faith.  I need to slow down and focus on listening to the still, small voice of God (the thin silence)…

-edh-

Suffering

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:1-5)

When I was preparing my sermon on Thursday I stumbled across the sermon I preached three years ago.  It was the very first sermon I preached at Salem Lutheran Church on June 6, 2004.  The text that Sunday was also Romans 5:1-5.  This means that I have finally reached the point in my ministry here where I get to repeat the lectionary cycle.  So I decided to read that first sermon partly because I wanted to see how I interpreted the text back then but mostly to see how (if any) I had grown over the last three years.

I then got to thinking about how I, the community, the church and the world has changed over the last three years.  I got to thinking about the sufferings we have experienced.  I then got to thinking that even though we have gone through sufferings, we are still here and we are stronger for them. 

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God."  It is because of this peace that we can endure and overcome suffering.  It is because of the promise from God, that when we go through the fire we will not be burned (Isaiah 43), that we can face suffering with hope.

…but when I go through suffering, I don’t always think about this hope…

I know there will be times when I will complain about any suffering I may experience.  I will whine and be miserable.  But in those times I pray that God may slap me in the face with the reminder that I am not alone and therefore make me stronger.  I thank God for this "refining process".  I thank God for strengthening me through the years.  And I thank God for the opportunity to share in his glory.

"Oh God, slap me in the face with your love and grace when I whine in suffering.  Remind me that you are there to strengthen and guide me through the fire.  Through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord I pray, Amen!"

One more thing…
My wife and I have a wedding today and a graduation tomorrow (Sunday).  After that we head on vacation for a few days to visit friends, so I may not be able to update this site until Thursday.  Take care and may God bless your comings and going.

-edh-

Hope does not disappoint

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5)

I have read this text a number of times.  I have preached on this text and have studied it in Bible study, but now I see it differently.  In light of Andrew’s situation, recovering from a roadside bomb blast in Iraq, I wonder how Andrew would hear this text.  And as I wonder about that, I find myself wondering how we as Christians should hear this text.

We are reminded very quickly by Paul of OUR situation because of God’s love through Jesus Christ.  Because Jesus died and rose from the grave (which he did FOR YOU and FOR ME), we have access to a peace and grace beyond all understanding – a free gift given through faith.  And through this faith, we look forward to our ultimate glory that we will share with God someday…

…but we live in the here and now — with suffering…

I have a hard time thinking that one should "boast" about their sufferings – especially when one is faced with a life without their God-given legs.  Does Andrew "boast" in his suffering?  I don’t know.  Would I boast in that kind of suffering?  Part of me says "I hope I would", but another part of of me says "I don’t know what I would do". 

Another question that comes to mind is this:  Does one have to suffer in order to experience hope?  Is it only through suffering that we truly understand God’s grace and love?  And as a close friend of mine asks, "Do I suffer enough?"

Being a good Lutheran I understand Luther’s comments that we are not to search for "our cross" or our own sufferings.  That is not the point.  I understand that suffering will naturally come our way.  Maybe it has to do with how we approach suffering – how we respond to it.  Do we become bitter and angry or do we look at it as a way to grow closer to God – a reminder that we NEED God?  Maybe I am asking the wrong questions or looking at this the wrong way.  But maybe the point is that any suffering we face on this earth is nothing compared to the glory we will experience with God someday through faith.  We live here for but a moment, but our New Life with Christ is forever.

I am not sure how Andrew is responding to his "suffering" but my prayer for him is that he knows and has assurance that he will experience a glory with God that one cannot fully imagine.

So I guess hope does not disappoint.  "Suffering"…take your best shot, I cling to my faith in Christ – anticipating a life that you cannot take away.  Praise be to God and AMEN!
-edh-

A Prayer of Martin Luther

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

"Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled.  My Lord,fill it.  I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.  I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.  I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and I am unable to trust you altogether.  O Lord, help me.  Strengthen my faith and trust in you.  In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.  I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.  I am a sinner; you are upright.  With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.  Therefore I will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give. Amen" (ELW – pg. 87)

I stumbled across this prayer as I was paging through a copy of the ELW (Evangelical Lutheran Worship).  We are in the process of exploring this new worship resource.  I am not sure why I was paging through the prayers at 7:30 on this Sunday morning, but I was.  As my eyes glossed over the various prayers, my eyes stopped at this prayer.  My eyes did not stop because I saw it was by Martin Luther (maybe that caught my attention) but what held me was the opening sentence –"Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled." 

I am always amazed at the humility of Luther.  He never thought himself worthy of the calling to preach, teach or lead worship.  And as he says in his sacristy prayer – one I use every time I prepare to preach, teach or lead worship – "if it were left up to me, I would surely bring it all to ruin."  And even more than that, Luther never felt himself worthy to call himself a Christian.  I can definitely relate to that – not his humility, but not feeling worthy to be called a Christian.  I sometimes feel weak in faith and cold in love.  I need God to strengthen me and warm me with his love.  I need God to speak to me.

Then this morning a 3 year old showed me love that energized me for worship.  As I was greeting people before worship, a 3 year old from my congregation came running out of the sanctuary to show me her Scooby Doo fruit snacks.  I bent over to speak to her face to face and showed her my genuine excitement because I love Scooby Doo fruit snacks — something I told her.  She immediately ran back into the sanctuary.  A couple minutes late she came running back out and handed me a pack of fruit snacks.  I looked up and her mom smiled at me in approval.  My heart was filled with love by a tiny act of love by a 3 year old little girl who hides behind mom’s leg when I come to greet her.  Who knew a 3 year old and Scooby Doo could prepare me for worship.

"Thank you God for warming my heart with love, for filling this ’empty vessel’ and for strengthening my faith through a simple act by a 3 year old"

When we need it, God provides.  I am indeed not worthy to be a pastor in his church, but God empowers me to lead his people through the Holy Spirit.  Thank you, God and Amen. -edh-

Believing in God vs. Believing God

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

A parishioner of mine stopped by my office on Saturday morning.  He said he had heard something on the radio and wanted to share it with me — to give me something to think about.  So I offer this comment to you as something to think and/or talk about. 

The comment was heard on a secular radio station and he did not remember the exact context but a guy called in and said, "I don’t believe in God — I believe God."  I was intrigued when I heard that.  I am not sure if I have ever heard a comment like that before, but later I thought what a confession of faith.

My initial thoughts are these:

(1) Believing in God — This seems to mean that one basically believes in the concept of God at the very least.  You can say "I believe in God" but do you really follow God?  You can believe God exists but not follow him.  With a statement like this a person can give the impression they follow God without actually saying it.

(2) Believing God — This seems to mean that you not only believe in God but that you believe what God has to say.  You believe the Word that Jesus Christ has died for you and for me and has broken the bonds of death.  Believing God means action, because if you believe God has saved you through Jesus Christ, then why wouldn’t you want to tell others?

(3) Maybe I am reading to much into these two phrases —  Now that is a distinct possibility.  When people say "I believe in God" are they also saying that they believe God?  For some I believe this to be true, but not for all. 

(4) John 3:16 — "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that all who believe in Him may not perish but have everlasting life."  Now I am running into a contradiction.  Maybe saying "I believe IN God" is good enough.  Now I don’t know.  Maybe if your belief is IN God then that automatically means that you believe God.  But then again, sometimes I have a hard time believing that God forgives ALL my sins.  So maybe there is something more to this.

What are your thoughts?  Do you believe in God or do you believe God?  Is there a difference for you?  Am I reading too much into this?  What else would you add? 

This is just something to think about so I offer this to you.  God bless you and take care.  -edh-

Virginia Tech shooting

/ The Pastor

By now many of you have already heard about the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech.  If you have not, I break this news to you with a heavy heart.  Follow this link for more information.

First and foremost our prayers are needed for the family and friends of the victims and the students at Virginia Tech.  I can not even begin to fathom what they are feeling and going through.  I can only imagine there is fear and uncertainty, pain and sorrow, anger and confusion; among a list of many other emotions.  And even though you may not have been on campus today at Virginia Tech, you still may feel for those students.  My heart is racing right now trying to figure out "WHY?"  What possesses a person to do something like this?  What are they trying to communicate? 

I have so many questions but I can’t help but to also feel for the person who pulled the trigger.  They must have been in so much pain to do something like this.  It makes me wonder if they knew the love of God through Jesus Christ.  I can’t speak to what was in this person’s heart but if Christ was there I find it hard to believe they would have even pulled the trigger.  Maybe Christ was there, but nobody told them about Jesus.  If that is the case it saddens me and make me wonder.  Have I done enough to share the Gospel with the people around me.  Could I be doing more?

Please take a few moments right now to pray for the students at Virginia Tech.  Remember their friends and family and all those affected by this tragedy.  Also remember the shooter and all those who are hurting; those who do not know Jesus Christ.  How can we afford to remain silent with the Good News of life eternal?

In the midst of this tragedy I find comfort in knowing that Jesus is right there on campus at Virginia Tech.  Jesus was in that dorm room and classroom.  Jesus is with those grieving families and friends.  But more importantly, Jesus was with those who died.  We are never alone.  Share this Good News and never stop praying for the Kingdom.

Virginia Tech…you are in our prayers. -edh-

A Masters faith statement

/ The Pastor

I am a huge golf fan, but I don’t sit and watch too many golf tournaments, except for the Masters.  This year the Masters happen to fall on Easter weekend.  Saturday afternoon consisted of me watching about 3 1/2 hours of golf.  And Sunday afternoon (after our dinner guests left) consisted of me watching another couple hours of golf.  Both days had exciting action (as exciting as golf can get).  On the final day (Sunday) Tiger Woods was in the final group so you had to give him the edge.  But it was a no name guy from Iowa, Zach Johnson, that held off Tiger to win his first Masters.  It was only his 2nd PGA Tour win…an amazing story.  But here is the part that made me proud — as they were talking to Zach afterward he starting thanking various people.  Zach thanked his coaches and trainers and his wife and family.  Then Zach said, "But most importantly I have to give all the credit to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus was with me the whole time out there." He said this with tears in his eyes.  You could just feel his faith radiating through the T.V. screen and into your heart.  What an incredible witness. 

I have heard other people say similar things after receiving an award or some other accomplishment, but with Zach, I truly believed him.  His statement of faith came directly from his heart and was not said in passing as a nice thing to say.  I wish more people were that authentic with their faith.

What made me sad was when T.V. stations were replaying Zach’s interviews from that day, nobody replayed Zach’s faith statement (at least not that I saw or heard of).  Why were they so afraid to do that?  That interview was the best one he gave because he did not think about it.  It was a natural response to something that he achieved with God’s help (not that his other interviews were artificial).  Zach spoke from his heart (and faith) in that first interview.

Thank you, Zach, for sharing your faith like that.  It meant a lot to me and I know to many others.

My prayer for all of us is to remember God in not only the bad times but in the good times as well.  Don’t just cry out to God for help, but give God credit in your victories.  Jesus is the reason we can even begin to celebrate in the first place; for Jesus gave us the ultimate victory through the empty tomb.  Praise God ALWAYS and Amen! -edh-

Saturday Christians

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Today is Saturday…between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday.  And this is exactly where we live as Christians.  But why do we like to jump straight to Easter morning?

I recently read a couple blogs that talked about this very issue.  Check out "Good Friday" at HERE I STAND and "Post 5: Isaiah 53:10-12" at curious notions.  I was intrigued by this question and want to ponder this with you for a couple moments.

This year, the combined Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship attendance was the lowest I have seen since I began serving at Salem in 2004 (and this was the second year with Salem AND Belmont worshipping together).  Good Friday attendance was the highest I have seen, but Maundy Thursday took a big hit.  Last year our Easter services (Salem Lutheran Church) saw the largest attendance in about 7 seven years (Belmont was about average).  So I am curious what tomorrow will bring. 

My point is this:  Are more and more people ignoring the "dark" side of life; ignoring the cross and focusing on the resurrection alone?  For me Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are very powerful.  It makes me think about the person I am and the great passion our of Lord.  I don’t think I could blow off Holy Week and jump straight to Easter (outside the fact that I am a Lutheran pastor and cannot blow off Holy Week).  I need to be reminded of my sinfulness and the darkness of our Christian walk.  I need to be reminded of what Jesus went through for me.  It is through this dark journey that the love of Jesus Christ truly shines forth.

Last night (Good Friday) I led a worship service of contemplation.  We took a journey that started in the Garden of Gethsemane and ended at the tomb.  Along the way we took some "pit stops" to contemplate and listen.  I allowed for long moments of silence to think about the scripture that was read and to listen to God speaking to us.  I had never done anything like this in worship before and personally it was a powerful experience for me.  I saw Good Friday in a whole new light.  I think Easter will be different for me this year.

If you skipped over Holy Week or any parts of it, I urge you to go to scripture and read the Passion story.  I urge you to not forget about the darkness of our lives and sinfulness that encompasses it.  We have to go through the cross to get to Easter. 

Today is Saturday…and this is where we live.  But we live here in the hope of the resurrection.  That is the Good News so there is no reason to be in despair.  Have a joyous and blessed Easter.  AMEN! -edh-

Amazing Friday

/ The Pastor

God is awesome and never ceases to amaze me.  When God wants something done, God gets it done.  When God has a word to speak, that word gets spoken.  When God has a message for his people, that message gets delivered.  And there is nothing in my power that I can do to stop that (not that I would ever want to or try).

Yesterday I wrote about "Irony Thursday".  I was trying to write a sermon but found myself at a loss for words as I sat and wrote a post (how ironic huh?).  Anyway, as soon as I published that post I grabbed my Bible and piano books and proceeded to the sanctuary.  I go to the sanctuary when I want to get away and focus without distractions.  I also practice piano to settle my mind down (I have been taking lessons for nearly 2 years now).  After some practicing and praying, I started to listen.  After some time of what looked like me talking to myself (I was actually talking to God and talking through some ideas) I returned to my office.

Now this is the cool part.  I started typing and before I knew it the sermon for Sunday was done.  I entered a zone and the words just flew from my fingers onto the keys of my keyboard.  God never ceases to amaze me.  God is able to break through any writers (preachers) block.  There is no way I could have done this on my own.  Like Martin Luther says in his sacristy prayer "If it were left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin".

There are many Thursday mornings when I have no clue what I am going to preach on Sunday, but every Sunday a sermon is born; not of my doing but of God’s.  And every Sunday I sit (or stand) in amazement of God’s awesome power.  So I sit here in my living room, on my day off, enjoying another amazing Friday with my God wondering what God is going to do next.  I am not sure what it will be, but if God is involved I am ready to hang on for the ride.  -edh-

The Lost Tomb of Jesus

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Well…I guess it is my turn.  By now the blogosphere is full of posts about the Discovery Channel special this past Sunday (March 4) titled, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus".  If you have not seen it just follow this link, http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/tomb.html and you will be up-to-date very quickly.

Basically the claim (or hypothesis as the director, Simcha Jacobovici, puts it) it that this tomb that has been found is the family tomb of Jesus.  Ossuaries (bone boxes) have been found with inscriptions.  The claim is that the inscriptions refer to Jesus and Mary Magdalene (who were supposedly married), Jesus and Mary’s son and James the brother of Jesus; among others (10 in all).  The filmmaker goes to great lengths to prove all this through DNA testing and probability studies.  He says the chances are 1 in 30,000 that this isn’t the family tomb of Jesus.  I have no clue how they come up with those probabilities, but they sure sound good and place more "strength" behind their argument.  I for one am not convinced…and never will be (more on that later).

Simcha Jacobovici claims to be a journalist and a filmmaker.  I will call him a filmmaker at the very least but not a journalist.  He claims to be bias and open minded, but that never comes across in the documentary. 

Simcha also has another title (at least as far as I am concerned).  For those of you who are offended, angry, disgusted, disturbed, <fill in your own adjective> about what he is claiming, consider this.  Simcha, I believe, is an agent of God.  Why would I say something like this?  Why would God allow a person to report something that would seemly contradict the resurrection of Jesus?  You see…throughout time the church has faced challenges to its system of beliefs.  This is how and why our creeds were developed (Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian).  Heresies were developed and the church was forced to re-think and communicate what it believed.  Challenges to our faith were presented and people were forced to look into their hearts.  I believe God is challenging us through Mr. Jacobovici and it is no coincidence that this is coming during Lent.  Lent is a time of reflection and preparation.  We are suppose to re-examine who we are and (more importantly) whose we are.  Mr. Jacobovici is forcing Christians to speak up and re-examine their faith.

As Christians we have become so complacent.  A lot of people grew up in the church (I am one) and have always believed.  I cannot look back and give you a date when I became a Christian.  I can tell you significant dates in my faith development, but basically, I have always been a Christian.  With this kind of faith (one that has been passed down to us) we have a tendency to to accept what we have been taught.  For many people the only real challenge to their faith is when a loved one dies or some other traumatic event happens in our lives.  But even that is often times not enough to shake us to our core.  I don’t know if we are being shaken to our core with this wild hypothesis of Jesus’ family tomb, but our faith is being challenged; and we are being forced to clarify what we believe.  Our faith is being dragged out of our dark closets to be dusted off and viewed again.  Hopefully this time we do not pack our faith away.

My faith tells me that Jesus died on the cross; was placed in tomb; and three days later rose from the grave.  When the women and the disciples arrived at the tomb it was empty…no bones…only Jesus’ burial clothes.  That is it…nothing more and nothing less.  Jesus died and rose (completely) for the forgiveness of my sins.  Jesus died and rose (completely) that I may have new life.  Jesus died and rose (completely) to give us hope in this cold dark world. 

Jesus died and rose…COMPLETELY…FOR YOU and FOR ME!

No amount of evidence is going to deny that or prove it wrong.  It is just not there.  So I thank God for challenging me.  I thank God for kicking me in the butt.  I thank God for helping see (again) the incredible gift we have in Jesus Christ.  My faith has not been shaken…only strengthened.

My encouragement to you is to go back to your Bible.  Read the Gospel accounts.  Pray and then listen (prayer is a two way street).  Pull out you catechism and read it through.  Ask questions.  Explore.  Re-examine your faith.  But in the end, know that:  "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not died but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Bring on the speculation…bring on the statistics and probabilities.  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, died and rose for you.  That fact will never change.  Praise be to God always and forever…Amen! -edh-