Author Archives: John Keller

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About John Keller

I am a retired Lutheran pastor whose intention is to consent to God's gracious presence and actions within.

Singin’ in the Rain

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To Sing and Dance with Joy? Put down the umbrella!

Su Sorenson, a member of Resurrection, wrote a devotional that I neglected to place in our congregation’s Lenten devotional.  I truly appreciated her image of taking down our umbrellas.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Roman 8:38-39

These verses have strengthened me and carried me through tragedies, suffering, and loss.  I have been assured that whatever is happening to me, to those I love, or even to this world, God is still present.  God is still showering me and the world with His love. 

However, there are still times when I am separated from the love of God.  Those times when I build a wall around myself and don’t let God in.  Those times when I put up my umbrella and don’t allow the rain of God’s love and grace to shower me.  I might put up my umbrella when I get busy with my own “to-do list” or begin to feel self-important (how will the place run without me?)  I put up the umbrella when I am exhausted, in times of self-pity, in loneliness.  Yet, God’s love is still there. 

To live in God’s grace I need to step out from the umbrella.  I need to stand in the rain, to be washed each and every day with God’s love and power.  Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God when we take down our umbrellas.  Will you take your’s down too?  Enjoy the shower.

Dear God, continue to tug at my umbrella so I may be fully washed in your love and grace, each and every day.  Amen

St. Patrick’s Day and the Vibrant Life

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Vibrant Life is at the heart of Resurrection Lutheran’s mission.  We are called to live in Christ, to vibrate on Christ’s frequency.  St. Patrick is someone who vibrated to Christ within him.  Born in Roman Britain ca 389, he became a slave in Ireland as a child when  captured by Irish raiders.  After escaping back to Britain, he felt God’s call to preach the faith to the Irish people.   He became an evangelist to his captors.

Are you ready for the True Parade?

Now his Saint Day is celebrated with parades, parties and green beer, and the Protestant pietist in me grates at the excess of desire and appetite.   But I recently read a short section by another Irishman, C. S. Lewis, in his sermon, The Weight of Glory, that gives a different perspective on such desires,

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith.  Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when inifinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.   We are too easily pleased.

The phrase, We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when inifinite joy is offered us, strikes me hard today.   St. Patrick Day celebrations are not a bad thing, but even at their best they are pale imitation of what God has prepared for God’s children.  God created us with a “God-shaped vacuum” that we long to fill.  Alcohol, sex, wealth, and ambition can not fill the vacuum.  We have a thirst, a desire, for God’s joy that we only partially fill in this life.   Heaven is where we will be fully what God created us to be and our celebration will have no end.  In heaven all life will be vibrant.

How have you experienced Vibrant Life?

Bet the Farm on Jesus

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My blog’s name, Trust Live Serve, comes from Resurrection Lutheran Church where I am  pastor.  As a congregation we are called to Trust in Jesus as Savior, Live the call of God’s Word, and Serve the World God loves.   The first phrase, Trust in Jesus as Savior, gives centrality to Jesus Christ.  Without Jesus’ life, death and resurrection there would be no reason for any church to gather.  As we move towards Holy Week and the mystery of the cross and empty tomb, I am mindful of how Jesus trusted the Father throughout the passion.  Jesus is not only the object of our trust, but a model of what trust looks like.

The Oehlke farm house remains on church property

Yesterday, I met another example of trust.  Inez Oehlke was the former owner of the farm on which Resurrection Lutheran is now built. She had been a faithful member of a neighboring Lutheran congregation, Gethsemane, and she wanted to make a contribution to her congregation.  She also knew that her farm, on the corner of Bailey Road and Woodbury Drive, was prime commercial real estate because, in time, it would be adjacent to a major intersection in this growing suburb.   She had been approached by various commercial vendors who wanted to purchase parts of her farm, but she had a different vision.  She wanted and prayed for a church on the corner.  And her prayers were answered twice.

Resurrection Lutheran from the farm buildings

Not only was Resurrection Lutheran able to purchase this prime location at a very reasonable price, but St. Ambrose Catholic church as well (St. Ambrose is across the street from Resurrection).  Inez used the purchase price to benefit her own congregation and Luther Seminary.  She now lives in a modest apartment here in Woodbury and, at the age of 91, continues to give “talks” or testimonials on the value of being generous.   After my visit with her, I came away blessed by her trust in Jesus.  Inez continues to live a vibrant life of faith.   Trust in Jesus is in the very foundation of this congregation, even in the soil itself.

Who has been a model of trust in Jesus for you?

Your Will Be Done RIGHT NOW!

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Learning to Pray Anew

On coming to Resurrection Lutheran Church four months ago, I discovered that the congregation had adopted the contemporary translation of the Lord’s Prayer.   I appreciated this because the only time I used “thee” and “thine” in prayer was in the Lord’s Prayer.    Praying “forgive us our sins” makes much more sense than “forgive us our trespasses” as does “save us from the time of trial.”  But I knew that it would be a challenge to change my interior prayer life to the new translation, just as it is for congregations when they embrace the newer version.  The old is deeply imbedded.

I have had little trouble during public worship, since it is projected on the screen to read.   The real challenge is for me to pray it in non-worship settings.  After our annual meeting, I wanted us to close with the Lord’s Prayer.   I started off strong, but after praying “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” I crashed and burned, stumbling over “lead, ah, save us from time,  . . temptation, No,  of trial?”  My voice trailed off.  Fortunately strong prayer leaders picked up the congregation as I fell.  It was a congregational prayer after all.

With this in mind, I decided to practice the prayer through Lent, using it as part of my drive to church.  My intention was not to simply recite the prayer, but to pray it with all my heart and mind. Still I would keep eyes open as I drove.

Am I praying or driving?

So last Saturday morning as I pulled onto the partially plowed freeway,  I began to pray.  Suddenly I saw the car next to me pull to the shoulder,  and at the same instance an ambulance dashed by, its lights blazing.   Also I was surprised to see a police car stopped to assist two cars in the ditch; I touched my brakes and realized that road was more slick than I anticipated.  I was praying the petition, “your will be done,”  and it struck me, “God’s will is for me to be a non-distracted driver RIGHT NOW!”  I stopped praying and immediately gave full attention to driving my car.  Later I could give God full my full attention.

How has prayer impacted your life?

Tsunami of Grace

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How will you respond?

Like so many, I have been overwhelmed by the pictures, video and stories coming out of Japan.   Last week’s earthquake and tsunami were horrific.  Prayers for mercy, compassion and strength are lifted up to God on behalf of the survivors and victims.  Two thoughts rise in my heart and mind.

First, I realize that some people may be asking, “Why God allow this tragedy to happen?  Could He not stop it? Or is it some kind of punishment from God?”  Jesus faced such a question once when asked about eighteen people who were killed when a tower fell on them.  “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Luke 13:5.   The people of Japan are no worse sinners than you or I.  We are not entitled to prosperity and safety.  Each day of life is a gift from God that easily be lost.

Part of our repentance, transformation, is to recognized the potential folly of our human enterprise.  I took basic geology in college.  The professor stressed two points for all the non-geology majors: don’t build your home near a geological fault-line nor on a flood plain.  Japan is located near a major fault: earthquakes and tsunamis have and will happen there.   Even with the best technological structures, humanity continues to build where such destruction can/will happen.  We can not blame God for our folly.

But a second thought rises as well.   This is again our opportunity to love our neighbor and to show grace and compassion.   We each can participate in some way in the restoration of Japan and other devastated lands.  I am a citizen of a nation that is already sending support; I can inform my elected representatives that I support such aide.  I am also a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and I have given financial support to its Disaster Response fund. We are called now to act with the compassion of Jesus so that a tsunami of grace can touch Japan.

There are many agency by which you can help the victims of Japan.  If you want to use the ELCA disaster relief fund or learn more about it, go to https://community.elca.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=631) 

How has the earthquake shaken your life?

“As we forgive others”

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Forgiveness

Thursday it was a challenge.   I attended a meeting outside of church.  Prior to going, I had decided that I would practice my Lenten discipline of listening, more than speaking.   I thought that should be easy. Usually I am a good listener.  I was doing well until we broke into small groups and one person began to dominate the conversation.  I would have appreciated the one-way conversation if I had heard clear, wise, helpful  ideas.  But the whole time I listened, I kept thinking, “this is not valuable to me. This person is too self-absorbed to help me.” As I listened,  I began to realize the hardness of my own heart towards another’s life journey.

Since that conversation, I have been wondering if that might not be how God hears many of my prayers, as self-absorbed drivel.  There are times when I pour out the deepest parts of my heart to God, but too often it is the superficial complaints of a spoiled child.  Still God promises to be gracious to me, to listen and uphold me, to seek my presence.  Can I not do that with another?   Can I simply be gracious and attentive to God’s children around me?

The heart of the Lord’s Prayer speaks volumes for my relationship with others.  Forgive me my sins as I forgive those who sin against me.    Yesterday I discovered once again how challenging it is to love my neighbor as God has loved me.  Yet I am forgiven and can start fresh today.

What does forgiving others mean for you?

Daily Multigrain

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Daily Bread

Okay, yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Yesterday many of us went to church, confessed our sins, received the promise of forgiveness and went home.  Now what?  How are you going to allow God to work in your life today?

It does not have to be some big spiritual feat or sacrifice.   A simple prayer asking God to start your day with grace and gratitude.  For example, take one petition from the Lord’s Prayer, such as “Give us today our daily bread.”   Reflect on that as you eat your breakfast, drink your morning cup of tea, as you start your car or turn on your computer. All that we have, all that we use each day is a gift from our Creator. 

Martin Luther answered the question, “What does ‘daily bread’ mean?”  in the Small Catechism. 

Everything included in the necessity and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors and the like.

Slow down and see the amazing grace all around us.  Our daily bread is truly multi-grain and nourishing.

 Where was God for you in the second day of Lent?

The Folly of Ashes

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"From dust you come, to dust you shall return"

Ash Wednesday brings the strange custom of placing ashes on the forehead of  Christians.  This custom was not so strange in ancient cultures.  People would sit in ashes as a public confession that they had done wrong, that they deserved to be punished and that they seek God’s mercy.  Jesus noted this custom when he cursed two cities that did not receive him, For if the deeds of power were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes (Luke 10:13).

Ashes are a symbol of our sinful, broken, self-serving character and our desperate need for God’s mercy.  Unless we acknowledge and confess our sin, God’s grace has no power, Christ’s death has no purpose.  But with such confession comes the brilliant healing light of God’s love.

The most powerful (even ridiculous?) image for the use of ashes comes in the book of Jonah.   The King of Nineveh heard of Jonah’s preaching on Nineveh’s impending destruction.  He rose from his throne, removed his rob, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  He even declared all men and animals to be covered in sackcloth, with the hope that God would be merciful.  The king showed his wisdom in this foolish behavior.

 This morning I read something on a blog that took God’s mercy deeper.

With that in mind, I’ve been wrestling the last few days: Isn’t it ironic how casually we are willing to talk about God’s mercy, as if we deserve it? As if it’s owed to us? At the same time, we cringe at the idea that God might be calling us to live on less; to give some stuff up. We pile on excuse after excuse about why God would want us to live cushy, comfortable, safe lives… Yet, the God we follow wasn’t willing to cling to the glory he deserved, because he was so moved by his love for us. We, on the other hand, don’t even deserve the breath in our lungs. It’s a gift. How, then, could we ever justify our security?

via Perfect Choreographed Dance. « The Trees Will Clap.

How does God’s mercy impact you?

Colorful Vegetables for the Spiritual Life

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Whats more colorful or spiritual than VeggieTales?

Every week I receive an e-mail from Mayo Clinic on how to live a healthier life.  Recently it recommended that my dinner plate become more “colorful” with a variety of vegetables and fruit.   Yesterday when I visited my mom, she and the other residents were served a plate bright with red pepper, yellow squash, green beans and orange carrots.  Mom was eating healthy.

Afterwards I made the connection to yesterday’s post and my disparaging comments about zucchini.  As I thought more, zucchini grows into what God created it to be: zucchini.    It adds color and nutrition,  if not taste, to many meals.   It can be part of a healthy diet.

So I want to stretch the vegetable analogy.  Perhaps, as Christians, we need variety in our spiritual disciplines to live healthy lives with God.  We need to add color or spice (even zucchini?) to the ways we open our lives to God.  

Certainly, if one has no discipline, no method of reading scripture, saying prayers, or attending worship, then the simple acts of reading Matthew or John, saying the Lord’s Prayer and participating in Sunday worship are a great beginning.  But if such a pattern is already established, then variety may be needed.  Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Instead of praying a list of prayers,  light a candle and sit in silence, listening for God
  • Instead of reading a Bible chapter, do research on a favorite word in the Bible: love, joy
  • Instead of praying at your desk or table, go for a walk outside and converse with God.
  • Instead of attending your normal church, worship in a church of a different tradition: charismatic, Quaker, Roman Catholic (this is very hard to write as a pastor, but I do it when I am on vacation, so why shouldn’t you?)

In other words, change your pattern of spiritual discipline, with the intention of opening your life in a new way to God’s presence.   You may discover that the old ways are still the best, but you may return with a fresh perspective.  Or you may discover a new spiritual practice that you can embrace fully.

Lent starts tomorrow; what new spiritual disciplines might you embrace for the journey?

Integrity of Patience

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As I reread Robert Roberts’ The Strength of a Christian, I notice my own impatience rising to the surface.  I want to glean some quick insight into the practice of patience, so that I can immediately apply it to my life.  I want patience NOW.  Roberts provides instruction on the practice of patience (that I will post tomorrow, be patient), but first Roberts makes a wise observation on the necessity of patience for becoming a whole person.

Patience is also a condition for the integration of the person. Like other strengths, patience gives our lives continuity and autonomy, enabling us to live not by impulse, or at the beck and call of environmental stimulus, but by some design.  The Christian design is of course the love of God and neighbor.  It is one thing to have noble sentiments, such as compassion and concern for one’s neighbor and gratitude to God, but quite another to be in the appropriate sense the author of these, the kind of person who through “interior strength” has etched this design upon life.  Only someone self-present in the way a patient person is can practice Christian life as a spirit does. (p. 56)

The strength of an oak tree

When I was in my twenties, I remember reading a Christian article about how God is more interested in growing mighty oak trees than in zucchini.   Zucchini are rather amazing plants in that they grow from seed to fruit rapidly. Yet they will not survive a hard frost.  Oaks take considerable more time.  Yet it is the oak that survives the winter and summer storms and bears witness to God’s glory, year after year, by being the oak it was created to be.    In the same way, as Christian, we are called to serve God faithfully, becoming fully what God created us to be.   Growth in Godly character is often seasonal, with long stretches where one wonders if God has forgotten you. This is where the integrity of patience comes to bear, trusting God is at work, even in the times of waiting and hoping.  I continue to pray and seek patience as God works on my character of becoming a strong oak (see Psalm 1).

Who has been a model of patience for you?