Thought for Sunday

Even though Jesus has been doing precisely what he announced during his first sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4)- healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, releasing the captive, and bringing good news - questions about who he is and what he is doing continue to nag at his heels. Today’s questioners are the disciples of John the Baptist who have been watching him, but instead of believing in him they run back to John wondering if Jesus is the one they have been waiting for. John’s whole purpose was to point people away from himself and toward Jesus, but in their questioning, John’s disciples have the whole thing backward. In some way, they think Jesus should be carrying on the ministry of John, but from the very start, Jesus has been about something greater. Where John expects judgment, Jesus has been giving mercy. Where John expected fire and brimstone, Jesus has been opening the kingdom of God. It’s no wonder that nobody can tell who he is, for Jesus doesn’t conform to anyone’s hopes and expectations. He doesn’t cooperate with the goals of priests, princes, Pharisees, or the disciples of John the Baptism to change the world for the better. But that is exactly the point. Jesus has come to bring in a new creation, one given to the unrighteous, the sinners, and the unworthy, which means that he hasn’t come to make the world a better place, but rather to bring the world to an end to make the new kingdom. That is, to give the favor of God to all who will hear. Too bad everyone is too busy taunting one another and trying to carry out their own hopes to hear the gracious Word of God in Jesus Christ.

Word of God, Word of Life: From Mourning into Dancing

(I Kings 17:8-24; Psalm 30:11; Luke 7:11-17)

Have you, or are you now, experiencing a season in life when you feel like the wind has been knocked-out-of-you? Times when Murphy’s Law seems to weigh-down-on you like a ton of bricks: grieving a loss, a sadness which you just can’t seem to shake, or a long stretch of disappointment or illness that just flattens your body ‘n soul? And do you find yourself asking: “Why is this happening to me?!” Or perhaps – to get theological – “Is God punishing me for something I’ve done … to deserve this?!” Or “What can I do to get out from under all this?”

Our Old Testament text for this coming Sunday is the classic story of “The Widow of Zarephath” (I Kings 17: 8-24) – one with whom, to some degree, we can all relate. First, she loses her husband. Now, widowed without any social security system or family to lean on, she just tries to get by – she and her little boy. But then death seems to stalk her down again, as a devastating drought and famine strikes the land. She goes to gather “a couple of sticks” (v. 12b) to prepare her last bit of food. One might call it a “last supper” for her and her young son.

And then this crazy ol’ bearded character, Elijah comes into her life … “man of God” he calls himself (v.18). Don’t worry about food,” he says. “God will take care of you.” And so she tries to scare-him-off (better yet, “gross-him-out”) by having the dogs lick the plates after dinner; but Elijah just smiles – looking for-all-the-world to have something in his mouth.

He moves into her little apartment upstairs. And behold, the food never runs out (v.16). It was so good to have this man around the house that she even starts wearing her favorite dress again, with matching hat and kerchief. However, her little boy grows ill and dies. “But I thought I had God living right upstairs?!” Hmm? … Biting down hard on her handkerchief (see the excoriated face of Picasso’s evocative “Weeping Woman”), she goes native and asks Elijah, with tears just pouring down her face: “Is God punishing me? ‘Man of God,’ why did you do this to me? Did you come here to remind God of my sins and so cause my son’s death?” (v.18).

This was the retributive theology of her day. And yet, deep down … if we’re really honest with ourselves … it’s the QED, quid pro quo thinking of every generation; that is, if something bad happens, God must be punishing us. Right? … Join us this Sunday, for the rest of the story and “hear for yourself” what is meant when the good widow says to Elijah: “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Word of the LORD in your mouth is truth” (v.24). And Elijah smiled once more – looking for-all-the-world (cf. John 3:16-17) to have something in his mouth. What might this have to do with/for you?

dr. j.r. christopherson
Senior Pastor 

The Challenge in Jesus

Consider the following famous Christian quotes:

“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” – Billy Sunday

“Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.”
– William J. Toms

Have you ever encountered quotes like these and nodded your head in agreement? Then you might have more in common with the Pharisees than you think!

Now hold on there, dear reader! Don’t “x” out on me just yet! I know that referring to most of this reading audience as, essentially, “a bunch of Pharisees” is a risky strategy. But I read an article this week, written by O. Wesley Allen Jr. for the website workingpreacher.org, that really challenges our understanding of these religious leaders who so often found themselves at odds with Jesus throughout the Gospels. Professor Allen helps us understand that the Pharisees might not be so different from you and me after all. He writes:

“(One could say that) Pharisees were the liberal, mainline Protestants of first century Judaism. While other Jewish sects claimed the people needed the priesthood and the temple to mediate between them and God, the Pharisees democratized religious experience.

Often described by Christian preachers as jot and tittles of rules and regulations of religious observance, the Pharisees offered to people modes and means of devotional practice that could be followed anywhere by anyone without direct oversight or mediation by religious leaders (clergy). This means that we can assume the challenges which the Gospel writers present them as having to Jesus’ actions are sincere concerns about the welfare of the people and the shared ritual practices available to them.”

In this Sunday’s gospel passage (Luke 6:1-11), we will observe Jesus clashing with the Pharisees once again, this time over the observance of the Sabbath. Set aside as a holy day of rest, the Pharisees were deeply concerned with what was permitted on this day, in the interest of living righteously and staying closely connected to God. First, they engage in a minor tussle with him over the activity of plucking grain with his hungry disciples. His parting words to them must have sent a chill up their collective spine: “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Surely, they thought, he could not be referring to himself? Consider how this claim of ultimate authority clashes with Pharisees’ noble, even Reformation-like idea of a “democratized religious experience.”

On another sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the temple in the presence of the Pharisees, and in the midst of the congregation there was a man with a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him…ready to make an accusation against him if the situation escalated. Jesus asks them: “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” And with the simple act of Jesus speaking to him (speaking, of course, was not forbidden on the sabbath), the man’s hand was miraculously restored.

Why were the Pharisees so full of fury after this encounter? Perhaps fury is experienced when a religious system, like the one the Pharisees had so carefully and thoughtfully crafted, begins crumbling down. A “democratized religious experience” like the one they knew faces an insurmountable challenge in Jesus Christ. This radical preacher, whose teaching and healing powers are unmatched, is a very real threat to their life of faith. He claims for himself the authority to forgive sins, sees himself as “above the law” in encounters such as these, and continually surrounds himself with sinners whose disregard for the law is brazen and alarming.

Does the Son of God still threaten our carefully crafted religious beliefs today, with his claims to authority, and his insistence that we live by his forgiveness and grace instead of our merits and accomplishments? What does life look like when we give up the struggle of trying to live by our own righteousness and rest in his graceful lordship instead? These are the questions I am considering as I prepare the sermon for this coming weekend. But I think that life lived in him looks something like this: a blessed rest in the peace of faith, a restoration to abundant life….a sabbath beyond compare.

Pastor Katherine

(Photo courtesy of www.lds.org)

An Offer We Can't Refuse

Sometimes remarkable things come to light in the most unlikely of circumstances. Simon provides his fishing boat for Jesus to sit in as he teaches the crowd gathered at the shore. Afterward Jesus directs him to deeper water to fish. As a professional fisherman, Simon obeys only out of respect for Jesus, pointing out their complete futility the night before. But when Simon’s net begins to break from the sheer weight of the fish, and he must signal his partners to help with the haul before his boat sinks, he recognizes more than a miracle. Overwhelmed, it is not the enormous catch itself that brings Simon to his knees, but the One in whose Presence he suddenly recognizes. Fearful awe and the awareness of personal sin are human reactions to the Holy breaking through in glory. Often a call to obedience follows, this one – to fish for people – one of the most consequential invitations in human history. Everything will change for Simon in his leaving the boats to follow Jesus! Is the invitation of Jesus not an offer we can’t refuse?

Growing Pains: A Reflection on the weekend’s Scripture Texts

Growing Pains: A Reflection on the weekend’s Scripture Texts
Jeremiah 1:4-10; Luke 4:21-30

Our Scripture texts for today remind us of a well-beloved Sunday School song from days of yore. Recall the song with me:

“It’s about love, love, love (re-Pete)
Cuz God loves us we love each other:
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother.
Everybody sing and shout!
Cuz that’s what it’s all about.”

 This “all about” word, that’s at the very heart of God (I John 4:7-12) calling the young prophet, Jeremiah out of his comfort zone to proclaim God’s Word “to all the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5,10). Further, this “all about” word, that is at the heart of every human longing, is re-emphasized, even re-defined by Jesus in our gospel text today, such that people begin to see cross-eyed (Luke 4:28). So, how is God’s Word causing us, in this “season of surprise” (in the light of Epiphany) to be stretched-out: from LUV to LOVE? What are some of the “growing pains” that we’re experiencing as the body of Christ – among the family of First Lutheran Church? Will we play it safe and simply sing the old “repeat,” or will we risk some new verses? I think it’s more than just a coincidence that the picture of the Carol Choir pictured here has some empty risers? These are special places, just waiting with joy, to be filled with more … “sisters and brothers” in Christ. “Cuz” … in Jesus’ teaching for us, we are called with all of our growing pains to reach-out in ministry and mission beyond the simple boundaries of 12th Street and Dakota … “Cuz, that’s what it’s all about.” AMEN?!

j.r. christopherson