All Saints Year c -conclusion

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

My good friend, Pastor John Foster of Shepherd of Life Lutheran Church, planned his funeral service years ago but at some point decided he’d like to be there so every year on the Sunday closest to his birthday the people of Shepherd of Life celebrate John’s service while he is still in the flesh. I suppose it’s not that different from Lisa, love of my life, saying the only person she wants to hear preach at my funeral is me. In many ways All Saints Sunday is about celebrating the future in the present as we remember the saints who’ve gone on before as if they’re still here, which of course they are. On the other hand All Saints is about being saints before being saints, if you know what I mean. Despite Daniel’s troubling visions one trusts the kingdom come. The praise the Lord psalm ends on the couch and not with the two edged sword. The Ephesians eyes of the heart enlightened live the hope of the future in the present. And the Blessed are you anticipates what will be while living what is.

All Saints Year c - Luke 6:20-31

Luke 6:20-31

Luke’s version of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a little more difficult to deal with than Matthew’s, depending on which side of Luke’s line drawn in the economic sand you are standing. Poor or rich, hungry or well fed, weeping or laughing, despised or rejected? Like many of the stories and sayings in Luke’s Gospel the plight of the poor gets special attention and the Good News for the poor is generally Bad News for the rich. But that’s not to say it’s all good news for the poor, for the down payment on future rewards is rejoicing in being hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed, all the while turning the other cheek and doubling down on coats taken away. As my seminary professor Walter Bouman liked to say about such things, “Yes, but will it play in Poughkeepsie?” So what do we of the God loves everyone, saved by grace party do with such a seemingly partisan text? Unfortunately we have to say the Bible is very clear. God takes sides. We can choose to ignore that or soften it but we cannot escape it. On the other hand what if God’s taking sides is to counter the sides we take? It may be that God as ultimate parent is not that different from human parents who in loving their children equally attempt to create and maintain environments where siblings are encouraged to share. So no matter which side of the line you currently stand God’s ultimate purpose is for us all to stand on the same side because in the end that is a parent’s greatest joy.

All Saints Year c - Ephesians 1:11-23

Ephesians 1:11-23

Knowing the hope to which you have been called is the inheritance we have obtained. It is more than a panacea for whatever present difficulties one might be enduring, like that old school practice of delayed gratification. Just wait for it. It is an “already” as in a present reality. But the hope to which we are called is also a “not yet”. It is why Paul gives thanks for the faith of the Ephesians which allows them to possess what is not fully realized. For the power of Christ is at work in this age in the same way it is in the age to come - at the very same time for Christ is not bound by time or space. On All Saints we celebrate the reality that the saints in light are never far from us and that when in a dream, or a chance encounter, or a memory, or a vision, they draw even closer our not yet becomes an already and their already becomes, if only for an instant, a not yet. With the eyes of our hearts enlightened this hope to which we have been called transforms us to live in faith the not yet as if it were already, which, of course, in Christ it truly is.

All Saints Year c - Psalm 149

Psalm 149
The singing, dancing, melody making, tambourine praise the Lord psalm was going along quite nicely until the people in whom the Lord takes pleasure picked up two edged swords to execute vengeance on people for whom the Lord presumably holds no affection. One minute they’re singing for joy on couches and the next they’re binding kings and nobles with fetters and chains, which by the way always involves collateral damage aka people like you and me just trying to mind our own business and stay out of the way. I understand the historical context of a humble people picked on wanting to be adorned with victory but I’m just going to say “No” to verses 6 – 9 of Psalm 149; no to religiously justified violence; no to exacting revenge; no to an image of God who delights in some people and despises the rest. And the reason I can say no to that image is because God provided another. “Put away your sword,” is what Jesus said to Peter when the mob surrounded the King of Kings and bound him with iron chains to execute the judgment decreed. Crucify him! So I think it best to end the psalm with verse 5, even if that means I’m a liberal couch potato.

All Saints Year C - Daniel 7:1-3; 15-18

Daniel 7:1-18

I started blogging Living the Lectionary one year ago during the week of All Saints and truth to be told I’d prefer to blog on last year’s text again. There is nothing troubling or terrifying about the fine wine feast of fat things on God’s holy mountain in Isaiah 25:6-8. Unlike Daniel’s troubling visions, which misread, prompts people to preach terrifying versions of the future where God condemns the vast majority of humanity to eternal punishment while saving a pitiful few who possess the secret password to paradise. That troubles me because I think I’d prefer to be left behind than be a part of a vision that contradicts the cross of Christ – God so loved the world. But then maybe I’d hear it differently as a persecuted minority longing for home while held captive in a foreign land. The popular notion is that prophecy is prediction but it is first and foremost proclamation. This prophetic word is a promise to the holy ones, who in Daniel’s context are the lowly ones, a promise that despite their present circumstances they will possess the kingdom, while powerful kings who persecute them will be brought low. In that sense it is a word for all who live through overwhelming circumstances that trouble the spirit or terrify the mind in the lonely watches of the night. “Do not fear little flock,” is how Jesus spoke the same word to his disciples, “for the Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” “Has been pleased” as in already has given the kingdom. Jesus takes Daniel’s “wait for it” and proclaims the forever future kingdom in the present which means nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten, which of course is what we celebrate on All Saints.

Reformation - conclusion

Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36

I suppose I should have said something about being Lutheran this week, after all Reformation is the Lutheran 4^th of July and you wouldn’t celebrate independence without some flag waving and fireworks. So here is a Luther quote that might make a bang, “If I am not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.” Which I think he was only able to say because of this flag waving quote, “Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.” Radical trust is what it means to be a Christian of the Lutheran flavor even though Lutherans, like everyone else would prefer a cross the t and dot the i system where God had to play by rules we understand and ultimately control. But to trust that God loves with no strings attached, no down payment required, because God’s very nature is love means God’s love is truly free. I don’t mean all paths lead to the same truth. Only Jesus crossed the t and dotted the i in the way that means no one else has to. There is only one way, only one truth, only one life that makes this life and forever life possible. So what if we were to say this Reformation Sunday that we’d be willing to risk death a thousand times if the laughter in heaven came from more people than our limited knowledge and doctrine allows for? But then why wait? A bold trust in God’s grace means we don’t have to wait for heavenly laugher for whenever we are so certain of God’s favor to live at peace with all people, especially those who disagree with us – even fellow Lutherans – the laughter in heaven is God’s.



Reformation - John 8:31-36

John 8:31-36

What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free?” It is a good question even if those asking aren’t looking for an answer. They believe their heritage is the only truth that matters, though their ancestors were slaves in Egypt and they themselves are subject to Roman occupation. And these are Jews who believed in Jesus! But before one can understand the truth that frees, one must know the truth about oneself. The trouble with coming to know the truth about oneself is our inherent gift for self deception, rationalizing attitudes and actions that conflict with being disciples continuing in the word. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So Jesus tells the truth about them and about us which when heard is the beginning of being set free by and for a greater truth. Living the truth of the Son that sets us free from our everyday being in bondage to the true word about us is what it means to be disciples remaining in the word which is to say, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Reformation - Romans 3:19-28

Romans 3:19-28

God is the one who is just and the one who justifies; period, end of sentence. So why do we work so hard for what is none of our business? I don’t mean sin, we don’t have to work at disobedience or doubt or self centeredness or disregard for the needs of others or neglect of the planet or any of the ways we are guilty of being less than human. No, sin is all about us, which is why the just one who justifies the creation gone its own way enters the fray to contend with the inevitable consequence of human rebellion, death. Faith does not activate or complete what God has already done in entering the human story. Faith means we enter God’s story in the Christ and stop working for what is already ours because we no longer doubt what is beyond comprehension. We are already justified, made right with God, because God won’t have it any other way, which means we are free to be fully human.

Reformation - Psalm 46

Psalm 46

No Fear. It is more than a bumper sticker declaration of one’s willingness to engage in reckless behavior. The “No Fear” of Psalm 46 is not found in bravado but in being still in the refuge and strength of God’s very present help. Be still when mountains tremble. Be still when waters roar and foam. Be still when nations collide and kingdoms totter. Be still when your place on the planet is less than secure, when troubles rise and circumstances conspire against you. Be still. The help that comes in the morning is available through the night for the Lord of Hosts with us, stills us. Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty to fear and much to lament. But God in our midst, like a stream making glad, enters times of trouble turning them and us into holy habitations. No fear does not wait for a day to come but living fully into the present pauses in stillness inviting the eternal into the everyday so that with the psalmist we will not fear even if…

Reformation - Jeremiah 31:27-34

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Every now and then the prophet Jeremiah was given a good word to speak and that makes the promise of “the days are surely coming” noteworthy. Even so none of the people to whom these words were written saw the day that would surely come. They died in the land of their enemy sitting by the waters of Babylon weeping the songs of Zion. Or they were the remnant who returned home only to find ruins not easily rebuilt and vineyards destroyed difficult to replant. But because “the days are surely coming…” was believed despite sour grapes setting teeth on edge it was more than just a fairy tale ending for a people plucked up and broken down. Believing the promise was the difference between giving up or going on, between living in spite of or dying because of, and whether they knew it or not it is what it means to know the Lord. And so it is for us who endure hardship and persevere through difficult days knowing in part and seeing dimly all the while waiting for another day that will surely come, when we catch up with the least and the greatest who have gone on ahead of us and know the Lord fully for they see Him face to face.

Pentecost 22c - Conclusion

Jeremiah 14:7-10;19-22; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

Aubrey, the Thursday morning boot camp instructor at LA Fitness, said yesterday that we’re not afraid of change or what it takes to make it happen which is why we come to boot camp. That was right before some body changing torture disguised as exercise. When in the middle of a leg numbing lift your boot camp instructor cries out, “Oh my GOODNESS!!!” you think to yourself I’ve changed enough, thank you very much. The lessons for Pentecost 22c are about the change which comes only when one does the hard work to make it so. The children of Israel doing the hard work of honest confession set their hope once again in the God they had forsaken. The Psalmist having come through the Valley of Tears is strong in the Lord because of it. Paul, experiencing hardship, desertion and attack has none-the-less fought the good fight and finished the race. And though the tax collector is lifted up and the Pharisee brought low both, perhaps, are in need of change; the Pharisee a change of heart and the tax collector a change of behavior. That kind of hard work always leads one to cry out “Oh, my goodness!” which is as much a prayer as it is an exclamation.

Pentecost 22c - Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee standing by himself is imprisoned by his piety and for all his tithing and fasting and righteous living he is farther away from God than the tax collector standing far off. The tax collector in the company of thieves, rouges and adulterers is equally imprisoned by his impiety but closer to God because of his humility (or is it shame?) which is entirely appropriate for the life he lives and the company he keeps. Of course he is still far off, physically and spiritually, despite being justified for knowing who he is. He will never be able to lift his head or give his breast a break until being justified goes beyond saying I’m sorry. But the parable is not about the tax collector nor does it encourage us to “go and do likewise.”  The parable is about people whose pride in practicing religion makes the practice of religion meaningless despite all the effort put into ordering life by religious practices. One cannot be close to God standing by oneself. So perhaps being close to God is to live like a Pharisee and pray like a tax collector?

Pentecost 22c - 2 Timothy 4:6-8; 16-18

2 Timothy 4:6-8; 16-18

The lectionary skips verses 9 – 15 but as usual I think the lectionary people have made a mistake. The laundry list of names and places and the cloak and books and parchments left in Troas make Paul’s fighting the good fight and finishing the race sound a lot like ours. Granted Paul accomplished more than we have but verses 9 -15 reveal the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament as a man who forgets his cloak in Troas and asks a friend to bring it to him because presumably he’s cold. But more important than identifying with his forgetfulness we understand how faithful friends become the agents used by the Lord to rescue us from the lion’s mouth. Paul, deserted by Demas and harmed greatly by Alexander, is rescued from evil attacks because of friends like Luke who is with him and Mark who is useful and of course Timothy who sends cloak and books and above all the parchments which may have become the letter that includes the verses the lectionary people left out.

Pentecost 22c - Psalm 84:1-7

Psalm 84:1-7

If you Google the valley of Baca you’ll find out we’ve all been there. Baca is Hebrew for weeping, but the point is not that we are familiar with the geography but that in the passing through God promises to turn the valley of tears into a place of springs and pools of peace. It is not a pie in the sky the sun will come up tomorrow bet your bottom dollar promise, but God’s guarantee for souls that long for lovely dwelling places. Strength in the Lord will not disappoint. It is in the “as they go through” that we “go from strength to strength” and though the song of hope might be sung for a time with weeping eyes through clenched teeth joy will come on the morrow as pilgrim clasps the hand of pilgrim and the song of victory swells to fill the valley of tears with shouts of joy for the living God.



Pentecost 22c - Jeremiah 14:7-10:19-22

"The Prophet Jeremiah" by Marc Chagall, 1968

Jeremiah 14:7-10; 19-22

There are some who would connect current events in this country with these passages about the Israel of Jeremiah’s day. Both nations chosen by God forsake the tried and true Jehovah for false (little g) gods and subsequently pay the price as (big G) God stews in silence and then vents in violence. I don’t buy it and Lord forgive me if I’m wrong but I don’t think the God who goes to the cross rejects, loathes, spurns or dishonors anyone, let alone those who actually believe in (big G) God. On the other hand there are times in our individual and collective lives when our apostasies are many and loving to wander we do not restrain our feet from places that corrupt. When our wandering leads us into lost and lonely places it seems to us as it did to Jeremiah; God is a stranger in the land, a traveler turning aside for the night, a mighty warrior who cannot give help. Looking for peace we find no good, yearning for healing we find terror instead until at last we come to our senses and stop rejecting, loathing, spurning and dishonoring God returning to the One who is our hope and our Savior in times of trouble, especially when the trouble is trouble we have created for ourselves.

Pentecost 21c - Conclusion

Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8

We live in a time when a good number of people have opted out of the religious life.  But that should not surprise us when religion is reduced to a rigid set of rules dividing the world into us and them, good and bad, saved and damned. But the opposite is equally unconvincing as religion seeking to be all things to all people ends up being no-things speaking to no one. The compelling truth is somewhere in between rigid rules and self-indulgence. The lessons for Pentecost 21c acknowledge the difficulties life presents and paint a more realistic and compelling reason for the life of faith. Wrestling through the night with the One who cannot be overcome leads one limping to do what both know must be done. Lifting eyes to the hills where there is little hope leads one to see the just in time Lord in the midst of trouble. Persistent faith means we hear and more importantly live the truth despite hard of hearing itching ears. And praying always without losing heart is where faith makes the waiting life a life worth living.

Pentecost 21c - Luke 18:1-8

Luke 18:1-8

The promise of a quick response to the cries of the chosen ones would seem to contradict the point of the parable. We are to pray always and not lose heart, like a widow wearing down an unjust judge with continual coming, but then the day and night cry gets an answer without delay. So which is it? Pray for a long time with no answer or justice granted quickly? Maybe finding faith on earth is what the praying parable is really all about. We focus our prayers on everyday needs and as important as those things are to us and others the more important point of the parable is the persistence of faith that waits when the return is long delayed with no end in sight. And if waiting faith remains for the return of the Son of Man, then day and night cries can go without immediate answers in the same way unjust judges can resist persistent widows for some time. That means praying is more about persistent faith than results and the act of praying becomes the faithful answer to whatever prompted prayer in the first place. Or in other words, pray always and do not lose heart.

Pentecost 21c - 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5

2 Timothy 3:14—4:5

The trouble with itchy ears is you can’t hear very well and wandering into myths that distort the truth is bound to follow when one creates God in one’s own image. The God who is love, first last and always, also puts limitations on liberty and demands more than just the desire of one’s heart with consequences to come should one fail to live up to the sound teaching of the truth. Sound teaching doesn’t always sit well with us, partly because we prefer not hear the truth about ourselves. But the sacred writings reveal the God who is both and. Both the one who is just and the one who justifies is how Paul puts it to the Romans. Which is why the sound teaching of the Lutheran doctrine of Law and Gospel is the cure for hard of hearing itchy ears. The Law is not diminished by the Gospel, rather it is the necessary first word about us and our world so that convicted by the just God we are drawn to the God who justifies for the Gospel trumps the Law and its demands and reveals the ultimate truth of God’s desire that all would be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)

Pentecost 21c - Psalm 121

Easter window at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Irving TX designed by Robert Werberig
The window tells the story of the wounded God who at the crack of dawn keeps His promise, raising the Christ who died for our redemption. Since then, people who bear the mark of the Son follow in His tradition, engaged in the tasks of raising others from death. Each such resurrection here is a small signal of the great resurrection yet to come.

Psalm 121

Psalm 121 is read at funerals during or right after the procession from hearse to graveside. It is spoken by the living on behalf of the one whose eyes closed in death now gaze upon the maker of heaven and earth. It is a defiant declaration that death will not have the last word for the help that comes from the Lord turns the isolation and darkness of the grave into the gateway of the communal life in light everlasting. On Sunday the living faithful gathered at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Irving TX to remember and give thanks for Robert Werberig, pastor and theologian of the church. I remember he once told a group of pastors that ministry wasn’t all that complicated. Just preach the Gospel and pray like a dog. I’ve tried to do both ever since. But more important than remembering Bob was remembering the Lord who was not slow to help him but arrived just in time so that hearing the last line of the 23^rd psalm Robert’s final breath here was his first breath in the place where the Lord neither slumbering nor sleeping preserves his life from this time forth and forevermore. Godspeed, Bob. You will be missed until the day when we who know in part and see as through a mirror dimly will know fully and see face to face even as you do now.

Pentecost 21c - Genesis 32:22-33

Genesis 32:22-33

It is the story of a younger brother who stole from his older brother and then ran away. After a long time he comes home and anticipating the worst puts off meeting with his brother one more day. All night long he wrestles with a man he cannot overcome and in the morning blessed by the struggle he crosses the river to do what must be done. It may be that the story is literally true and a cage match with God was necessary for Jacob to be Israel, but I think on another level we’ve all camped by that river and wrestled with that man until finally sick and tired of losing sleep we did what needed to be done.