Category Archives: grace

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?

Papa in Heaven

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Brother David and Grandnephew Troy

I saw this picture of my brother with his first grandchild and proud PAPA jumped to mind.  It seemed to fit with last night’s confirmation class on the Lord’s Prayer.   The prayer’s introduction, Our Father in heaven, became special when I learned that Jesus used the word “abba” for father.  It was a term of endearment, more like “daddy” or “papa.”  “Father” seems a bit stiff.  

The power of the Abba prayer came home to me in a strange way when I was in college.  I was home for Christmas break and wanted to get a Christmas gift for the family.  I had recently been introduced to C. S. Lewis and thought that a box set of The Chronicles of Narnia would be a good gift, but I had no money.   I decided to pray about it and ask God to help.  As I entered the Christian bookstore, I was asking God to provide me the money so that I could buy the books.  I picked out the books, got in line for the cash register, waiting, hoping for some miracle.  How was God going to intervene?  A stranger noticing my need, cash on the floor?   But as I waited in line, nothing seemed to happen.  When I finally reached the register, I stepped out of line and put the books back.   I was deeply disappointed that God had not helped me.

The Christian bookstore was directly across from the offices were my dad worked for a local newspaper.   I walked across the street to see if he was there.   He was and he asked me how I was doing.  I am not sure now exactly how the conversation went, but somehow I asked for a few dollars and he gave me enough to buy the books.   Abba had provided after all, just not the way I expected.

The lesson I learned that day was that prayer is not magic, but a relationship.  There are Christians who have their prayers answered in miraculous, amazing ways.  I tend not to be one of them.  Instead, God uses the means around me to provide for my daily bread and to save me from the time of trial.  Papa in Heaven is at work through my brothers and sister who live here on earth.  And that also means that at times I may be God’s answer to someone else’s prayer.  And I thank God that I am one of His beloved children who can call him Papa.

How have you experienced Papa‘s answer to prayer?

Apples and Friends

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Is Your Apple Finished?

Yesterday’s I mentioned my childhood friend, David Brown, and our logging adventures.  Our friendship had many ups and downs.    He was bigger and more athletic than I was and so he was often selected for playground teams when I was not.  I thrived in the classroom, where he often struggled.  On most days these differences did not bother us. We were best friends.  Occasionally, however, we get into intense disagreements over trivial matters. 

I remember the day my mom gave us each an apple to eat.  I ate my apple down to the core, savoring every bite.  David nibbled around the outside and said it was finished.

 I said, “Your apple isn’t finished.  You barely started.”

“Oh, my apple is done.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes it is!” 

He stormed off home and I swore we would never be friends again.  But the next morning, I stopped at his house on the way to school and we picked up as if nothing happened, until the next argument erupted.

In Simply Christianity, N. T. Wright describes our hunger and deep desire for relationships and yet our daily struggle to make our relationships work.  Wright writes, “We are made for each other.  Yet making relationships work, let alone making them flourish, is often remarkably difficult.  We all know that we belong to communities, that we were made to be social creatures. Yet there are many times when we are tempted to slam the door and stomp off into the night by ourselves, simultaneously  making a statement that we don’t belong anymore and that we want someone to take pity on us , to come to the rescue and comfort us.  We all know we belong in relationships, but we can’t quite work out how to get them right.  The voice we hear echoing in our heads and our hearts reminding us of both parts of this paradox and its worth pondering”  (p. 30). He goes on to suggest that the “echo” we are experiencing is the love God created us to experience with God and our neighbor, but our human sin has clouded and twisted our capacity to give and receive love.

How have you struggled in your relationships? How has God been faithful?

A Logger’s Confession

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Red Alder Woods

When I was in elementary school, my best friend was David Brown.  Every morning I would stop by his house so we could walk the last five blocks to school together.   We attended the same church and sang in the children’s choir.  After school we would usually end up at his home or mine for whatever adventure we could dream up.

One of those adventures involved the deep woods across from my house.   We lived near a lumber mill and logging trucks rumbled by throughout the day.  We aspired to be loggers, so at the tender age of nine, we “borrowed” my dad’s hatchet and started chopping.  It took us three days of swinging our mighty hatchet to finally watch the tall red alder begin to wobble.  When it fell, David and I leaped out-of-the-way to watch.  Unfortunately the woods were thick and the tree did not crash to earth, but came to rest on another tree.   So David and I would climb the half-fallen tree, bouncing up and down, pushing it to the earth. We left the tree to rot on the ground and went off in search for some new adventure.

Over the next couple of years we probably chopped down 10-15 trees.   Our parents never knew of our “adventures.” David and I both moved away in sixth grade and our logging days were over.  

I write about this experience, because at the time it seemed so innocent, yet now it troubles me. It was a secret I kept from my parents.  Our chopping trees was simply for our pleasure and served no useful purpose.  Our behavior could have hurt either of us seriously.  We had no respect for the creation God had given to us nor for our neighbor’s land.  Perhaps most troubling, at the time we had no idea we were doing anything wrong.  Could I be doing something today that I don’t realize is harmful to God or my neighbor?

As we prepare to confess our sin on Ash Wednesday, let us be mindful that sin can come in various forms and disguises.   Let us ask God to cleanse us of known and unknown sin, and to lead us out of darkness into light.

 Has sin every troubled you?

Bible Favorites

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What are you?

Recently I asked members of Resurrection Lutheran to write brief devotionals based on their favorite Bible verse.  These devotionals will be assembled into a booklet to used during Lent by members and friends of the congregation.  I am excited with how the writers have engaged Scripture and its interplay with their lives.  Each person has a unique perspective, reflection, or idea that opens up a verse or story in a new way.

When I was growing up, the Bible was a storybook filled with fascinating characters and plots.  It was exciting, lively and challenging.  As a teenager I sometimes went down strange tangents, looking for new interpretations that would catch my fancy.  I remember reading the “wheel within a wheel” passage in Ezekiel 1 and wondering if it was describing a spaceship!    The wonder and mystery of the Bible was alluring to me.   

 Then I went off to college and I was challenged to see the historical context of the authors, to learn the Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek, and to understand the literary motifs and forms within the Bible.  At times I was fascinated with this knowledge, gaining tremendous insight into this ancient collection of books, poems and laws. To read Genesis 1 and 2 in light of the Babylonian creation myths brought me new wisdom and excitement.   But I also was disturbed by this avenue of learning because it seemed to make the Bible into an artifact to be dissected and classified.  The Bible lost some of it awe and wonder.

I know that some of my classmates lost their faith during this time of critical examination.  I waffled from time-to-time in my own grasp of  truth and faith.   Yet the sheer power of God’s glorious grace continued to shine through to me.  God’s love was evident in the midst of the history, language and myth of the scripture.   I remember hearing a quote from the great Swiss theologian, Karl Barth.   When asked how one could best summarize the Bible, he said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”   

I am excited to see how the Lenten devotional will touch and influence the culture of Resurrection.  We are all called to engage scripture, to listen for God’s voice in God’s Word.  

How or when has a Bible story or verse impacted your life?

Slow Lent Movement: Part Two

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Slow down for Lent

Yesterday I introduced Bishop Payne’s concept of a Slow Lent.   Here are five slow spiritual disciplines that complement traditional Lenten disciplines.

1. Traditional: repentance 
    Slow: speak less, listen more.

In our hurried culture, we often are so quick to speak, to get our words out, that we rarely take the time to listen to what others say, especially those that we disagree with.  We rush to judgment when we need to listen and possibly to change the direction of our thinking, planning, and acting.

2. Traditional: forgiveness
   Slow: let go of one “should.”    

Many of us carry various kinds of “ought’s or should’s” that overload our schedule. We need to “forgive” ourselves.   For example, as a new pastor, I feel I should be involved in different local community activities.  One piece of wisdom I received recently is that a new pastor should not be involved in local community activities during the first year so that he or she can fully enter into the life of the congregation.   So I have given up that “should” even before Lent starts.

3. Traditional: catechesis (teaching)
    Slow: re-learn one basic of the faith

Rather than focusing on the newest spiritual discipline, simply re-focus on some basic spiritual discipline.  This year at Resurrection Lutheran, we will be re-learning the Lord’s Prayer and its meaning for prayer and life.

4. Traditional: fasting
    Slow: choose one way to ‘unplug’

For some Christians, Lent means giving something up so that one can better focus on God.  The usual items are chocolate, desert, alcohol, or meat.   Bishop Payne suggested that perhaps we “unplug” from the internet or turn off our smartphones or television.  We might not be able to do it 24/7, but we might choose to turn it off every evening or every Saturday.  Of course, the purpose is to open our time and our lives in a fresh way to God.

5. Traditional: almsgiving
     Slow: simplify

Certainly we need to be as gracious as our God and give to people in need.   Lent is a great time to practice such giving.  Yet our culture is so focused on the accumulation of things, perhaps we can shift our attention from accumulating to letting go.  My uncle Jerry lived for several years during his retirement in an RV.  Whenever he considered buying something, he had to consider what he would give away to make space for the new.  It made him think twice before buying.

Which discipline might help you slow down this Lent?

The Slow Lent Movement

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Slow Lent Movement

This morning I attended a ministerium meeting for Lutheran pastors from the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Area Synods.  After worship, our presenter, Bishop Margaret G. Payne of the New England Synod, spoke on her passion for a Slow Lent Movement.  

Inspired by the Slow Food movement which calls us to step away from fast food and re-learn the values of thoughtful shopping, local foods, time spent in preparation and even more time spent in sharing food slowly with family and friends. The Slow Lent Movement has similar goal. Some of her questions are

  • How does our culture’s addiction to hurry stand in the way of spiritual growth?
  • Do we have too much ‘fast worship?’
  • How could this Lenten season provide an antidote to the weariness of too much to do at the same time that it offers strategies for recovery?

She spoke on how pastors have bought into the seduction of our culture’s three A’s: Accomplishment, Adrenalin, and Affirmation.   As pastors we think our worth is based on how much we accomplish in our congregations and we enjoy the adrenalin rush that comes from having much to do and being needed by many people.   And we relish the public affirmation that often comes from having our hands in many programs and ministries.   I found myself nodding my head several time, recognizing my own self-delusions being exposed by her words. 

But I don’t think her words are limited to pastors.  In spite our  professed trust in God’s grace, so many of us who are Christians still  seek our self-worth based on our accomplishments.  We rush about trying to fulfill the many “shoulds” we carry inside our heads.   We seek public affirmation even as we feign humility.   We have bought into the prevailing culture without seeing our need for a new way of life.

How have you been seduced by the Three A’s: Accomplishment, Adrenalin  and Affirmation?

Tomorrow, I will post on Bishop Payne’s Five Slow Disciplines for Lent.