Luther and the Devil

To Martin Luther the devil was real.  He was present in the Garden of Eden and he is present in your backyard as well, although Luther would have said that Satan prefers the bathroom.  Apparently the devil is closely linked to bathroom functions.  Vulgar language is useful in defeating the devil. Always, always, always be on your guard.

Now this may explain two phenomena I've observed.  First, Martin Luther should not be taken at face value.  There is much in Martin Luther's prodigious writing that 21st century people of faith should ignore.  Second, now I know the reason there is so much vulgar language during football games.  Apparently the devil occasionally takes the form of an official.

Happy Reformation Day.

In for a nickel, in for a dime

Do you know this saying?

It means, once you've decided to do something, there is no point in holding back.  Give it a good effort, a full effort. Do what needs to be done.  Spend what needs to be spent (penny wise and pound foolish fits here too).  If you're going to have fun, have fun!

Or, you could say.....if you are only going to spend what you aren't going to miss you'll probably end up with something that gives little pleasure.  In for a nickel, in for a dime.

This applies to being a servant of God as well.  If you are going to serve, serve.  Experience the power of giving more than just the leftovers, or the ends of the loaf of bread, or the broken cookies, or (my most famous example) canned peas.  Give.  Step out.  Risk that little bit more.  Serve.

When you are ready, let's sit and reflect on what it was like to give more than you planned, maybe even more than you thought was possible.  Good?  Too much?  Changed your perspective?  Left you exhausted?

What wonderful conversations these would be.  Let me know.

And the people of God say.....Alleluia

                             For what are we thankful?  How has God moved us to say Alleluia?

Couldn't help but notice that joy is a characteristic of Luther Memorial this past Sunday.  Lots of folks stood up and shared their answers with everyone and the whole congregation responded with an Alleluia.  All ages, all kinds of circumstances, all kinds of stories....lots of people wanted to say out loud that they have met God through Luther Memorial, or grown in their faith, or been cared for, or learned to pray.  New members, long time members, multi-generational members, young members.

This community, called together by the Holy Spirit is a vibrant, moving community.  God has called us together through the Holy Spirit, to worship, to be fed, to share and to serve.  God calls us beloved and sends us out to share that good news.  Isn't it time you invited someone to come and see what this God is all about?

How about this Sunday?

What does freedom look like?

"If you continually live in my Word....you will know the truth and the truth will set you free"  Jn8.31

Freedom.
To a 2 year old it looks like an open space where running is encouraged.
To a 14 year old it looks like a weekend without parental restraints.
To a 30 year old it looks like a job you like doing.
To a 45 year old it looks like no more college education to finance.
To a 60 year old it looks like retirement.
To a 80 year old it looks like a ride to the grocery store.

To a Christian it looks like the cross.  There we learn that God's love frees us from the crippling of sin in our lives and sets us totally free to be God's people everywhere, every time, and with every person.  We've got nothing to prove and God's love isn't going to run out.

Freed to be a child of God.  To love.  To serve.  To heal.  To forgive.  To share.

Lord, help me to live
as the person you know me to be.  Amen

What's in your treasure chest?

What is it you treasure?

Family
Friends
Health
The joy that reading provides
Meaningful work
Beauty in nature, painting, music

All this in a world where God holds me fast and calls me beloved.

My 'treasure' pays the electric bill, my health bills, my mortgage, the car.  All of these things make my life much more comfortable......but none of them is true treasure.

Take a moment and decide what is true treasure in your life....and then go about living out that truth.

Make me that leper

Boy are we embarrassed when someone calls us out....especially when we are caught being ungrateful.  Well, at least when we have failed to say Thank You for a gift received.  It's embarrassing because it is the mistake of a small child who hasn't learned the first lessons of human interaction.

So a Bible story that focuses on failing to give thanks.....most especially when it is Jesus himself that hasn't been thanked...has a tendency to leave us red faced.  We have a thousand blessings and we have failed to give thanks for most of them and most often we have failed to thank God.

Could we possibly drop the guilt and look for the gift?  Is it possible for us to look at the One Leper with longing?  Could we eliminate all the talk about the  trivial, day to day blessings of our lives and focus on One Big Thing:  one person who was lost in the land of in-between, who was not accepted here and not accepted there;  one person whose skin betrayed him, had no where to hide, with all his brokenness evident to everyone to see; one person who had been cast out for being the wrong race, religion, gender, nationality; that one person was healed.  He knew it.  He knew who gave him the gift.  Now he cemented the gift with thanksgiving.

I want to be that person.  I am already a leper.  My brokenness is evident to all I encounter.  I have been caught in the great divides of this society and  I've created some myself.  I have been cast out and have thrown myself into the dark places where evil lurks.  On my own I am unremarkable, living in a wilderness, wanting to plant a garden of grace and cultivating weeds instead. .

Now Lord, make me to fall at your feet in thanksgiving for the bountiful blessings of forgiveness and mercy and life which you pour upon me.  Let me not open my eyes to a new day without the joyous memory of the gift you have given.

I am already a leper.  Now Lord I need to learn  how to rightly give thanks. Amen.

Those bad, bad, bad lepers

It's the familiar story of the healing of 10 lepers.  Only one returned to Jesus' feet to give thanks for his healing.  Maybe it is just me, but my reaction to this story over time has been two fold:  1) you bad, bad, bad 9 lepers who didn't give Jesus thanks.  Didn't your mother teach you anything?  and 2) you must always give thanks to God.  Wow!  For those familiar with Lutheran theology, that was all Law, Law, Law, and Law.  No gospel to be found here.

Gospel means good news.  Gospel points us to Jesus.  Gospel is gift, mercy, grace.  Where do we find gospel in this story.....after the Law has helped us figure out how often we fail to turn towards Jesus to give thanks for the overwhelming blessings of our lives?

We find gospel at the feet of Jesus.  The leper fell to his feet to give thanks.  Makes sense.  When you realize that someone has forever changed your life; someone has called you from the outside and restored you to a community; someone has singled you out for a blessing to be found no where else; someone has asked nothing of you and yet healed you.....well, falling at their feet seems a logical thing to do.

And if that isn't gift, mercy and grace enough then consider this: there is no quid pro quo.  Jesus is not waiting with his hand out expecting equal value in return.  That is what gift means: this healing was given to you because God is that kind of God, and relationships based on healing is what God wants for this world.

What do you do now?  Having tasted mercy will you be merciful?  Having drunk deeply of grace will you be gracious to others?  Having rejoiced in the presence of God will you continue to give thanks?  Maybe, some days, not all the time.  It takes us a long time to live into the reality of this kind of relationship.

If you think that this was a story about healing the skin of a leper, well, you've only scratched the surface. The healing goes much deeper ....much, much deeper.  Come and find out for yourself.