ILC Devotion - 1 April 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 1 April 2013

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ESV John 20:30-31  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

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After the resurrection the disciples have a distinct advantage - Jesus comes to them and does many signs in their presence. They are the nucleus of the Church which will proclaim the risen Christ to the world. We are removed by 2,000 years of time and 10,000 miles. We rely on the written word of the Gospel writer of John to kindle in us faith in the risen Christ. We have heard it preached, we have read the Gospel of John and yet - do we believe?

This Sunday’s Gospel lesson is about unbelief; the Apostle Thomas is the person who is the foil in this lesson. He does not get to see the risen Christ. The rest of the Apostles tell him what occurred. He makes an idle boast regarding how he has to not only see the wounds of Christ, but place his fingers in the wounds. Thomas not only has to see but touch the wounds.

What do we need to see, or feel to believe? If Jesus came into our presence and showed us his hands, his feed, his side, would we believe? If Jesus spoke with us, would we believe? If Jesus touched us, would be believe? Belief is not an intellectual pursuit; belief a is very emotional conviction we have. We do not know it; we feel it. Yet many of us believe without seeing, or touching. Is it because any of us may have had an encounter with the divine - where we were spoken to, where we were touched? We do not come to  belief on our terms. The Holy, the divine comes to us and we are changed, transformed, and we believe. The power of God comes into our lives, and it makes all the difference in how we then live our lives. Yes, we rely on the Word of those who personally and physically experienced Jesus. But Jesus through the power of God comes into our lives and we experience, and we believe Jesus lives - he is indeed risen.

Alleluia - Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed - Alleluia.

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We Pray: Dear Lord, there are times when we do not believe, we have our doubts. Help our unbelief; be present with us. When we are in need of your presence - speak to us, touch us - may we experience you with us. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen

ILC Devotion - 25 March 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 25 March 2013

David Hansen, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church Prairie Hill, Brenham, Texas, writes about not passing up a teaching moment - and a chance to pass along the faith. In May of ‘06, David and I graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg. Taken from The Lutheran E Newsletter, March issue: www.thelutheran.org/article/article.cfm?article_id=11300

God is dead?

Like pastors' kids everywhere, my daughter spends a significant amount of time in church: in the sanctuary, in the classrooms and meeting rooms and, of course, in Daddy's office. I remember those days, being in Dad's office at the church. I knew where everything was - what pictures he had on the wall, what pieces of artwork he had around. I knew that office like it was just another room in my home. Which is why I am surprised when, from time to time, my daughter notices something in my office for the first time - as she did while we were preparing for an evening worship service during Lent.

I was sitting at my desk, hastily reading a few last minute things to help me get my thoughts together for the service. My 3-year-old was playing with the stash of toys that stay in my office for just such an occasion. And then, from behind me I heard her declare, “God is dead.”

This is not exactly what your pastor wants to hear his child proclaim, no matter what her age. But I've been to this rodeo before, and I knew that the worst thing I could do was overreact. Maybe I misheard her. Maybe she was talking about something else. Maybe her words got jumbled, as often happens for 3-year-olds. So I asked, “What was that?” She walked over to me, “Is God dead, Daddy?”

OK, less of a proclamation, more of a question. “What do you mean?” She crawled onto my lap as I turned around in my desk chair. And then she pointed to the crucifix that hangs on my office wall, “Is God dead, Daddy?”

Ah, now this makes sense. She is a good Lutheran who understands Good Friday. This wasn't a crisis of faith in my toddler - it was a teaching opportunity. And so, all rushing to prepare for the service stopped. Now was the time to stop everything and answer her questions. We talked about Good Friday and the fact that Jesus died on the cross, and how sad that was. And then we talked about Easter, and how Jesus rose again, lives forever and we don't have to be sad anymore.

The point of this is not that my daughter is amazing (though she is), but about the importance of parents talking with their children about faith. Keep objects of faith around the house — crosses, Bibles, artwork. Bring your children to church to see the people gathering and hear the stories. Do those things, live your faith and they will ask you about it.

Just like grown-ups, children are trying to make sense of their world. The first place children are going to turn with their questions is to parents. Make the time to answer those questions. If you don’t - if you’re too busy to answer their questions, if the questions make you uncomfortable - then your children will learn there isn’t enough time for faith and God is not something we talk about. And, well, a faith not talked about will die out and not be passed on to a new generation. A God not talked about from generation to generation may as well be dead.

Is God dead? Not in my house.

ILC Devotion - 18 March 2012

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 18 March 2012

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Mark 11:7-10 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! 

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Luke 22:47-53  While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, "Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

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Humanity is such a fickle creature. One minute we praise those we think highly of, the next minute we seek ways to betray them. As a student of history, I am always amazed as to how this is continually played out. I sometimes view history with a romantic flair. I read about a group of people - such as the Irish, the Scots, the American Indians, French Protestants of the 16th century. Take your pick of peoples documented and I view them in charitable and glowing terms. Then I study the powers that be who try to subjugate them - I view them in less than glowing terms. But even as I set aside the rose colored glasses, I discover the minority groups are never that cohesive or united. They struggle for recognition and political power, but in the end there are people who will side with the majority power against their own. For whatever reason they sell out, betray, support the ruling group in power. There is a time when the struggle comes to a head and the ones engaging in the struggle are defeated soundly and dispersed. The ruling power maintains and tightens its grip on the people who struggled against it.

Jesus comes into Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! These same people disperse and scatter when those who represent power and authority come and arrest Jesus. They know who to arrest when one of his own disciples comes and betrays him with a kiss. No one will stand with him, no one will come to his defense, no one will rouse the faithful to come and support him. No, everyone will scatter, and hide, and disavow ever knowing him. So much for being faithful followers of Jesus. Have things changed in the past 2000 years? Can we really say we would behave differently? Jesus will pay the ultimate price for us; even those of us who would flee, scatter, hide and disavow ever knowing him, when faced against those who wield brutal power and authority. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

ILC Devotion - 11 March 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 11 March 2013

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NAB John 12:7-8  So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial.  You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

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Many of you have grown up in protestant churches. If you are 50 years old or older, and you grew up worshiping in a rural congregation, and had access to old Sunday School hymnals, chances are the hymn In the Garden, will be familiar to you. This is a classic Rodeheaver Company published hymn; it is not that old - the copyright is 1940. This hymn offers to us a romantic, idealized setting where we are with Jesus. Yet how many of us desire and wish in the deepest recesses of our heart, that we could engage in conversation with Jesus, just as the refrain states: And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. I seek that singular joy, I want to spend time in the garden with Jesus engaged in conversation, where he tells me he loves me and I am his own. But the last half of the 3rd verse tells us we cannot spend all our time at Jesus’ feet: But He bids me go - thru the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.

Jesus speaks to his disciples and us quite honestly when he says: “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” As much as we want to be with Jesus, we only have the promise of one day being with Him and joining with the saints who have gone before us around the table, sharing the banquet that has no end. But until that time, in the meantime, we have the words of Jesus revealed to us in Holy Scripture, we experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus promises that we will have many opportunities to serve Him, by serving the least of these our brothers and sisters in this world. This is our opportunity to minister to others as Jesus has taught us. This is where we will find Jesus caring for the poor who are with us always.

Being a follower and seeker of Jesus is not idol worship, it is not putting Jesus on a pedestal and idolizing Him. Being a follower of Jesus is active, engaging, work. Jesus bids us to roll up our sleeves and turn away from idle chit chat in the garden, and enter the world of those who are hurting, suffering, seeking and caring for them, helping them, being with them. It is not easy work to follow Jesus, but in following Jesus we find Jesus in the face of those we care for and look after, and serve. There are plenty of opportunities in this world to be with Jesus.

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We pray: We long to be with you Lord. Yet you call us into the world to help, care and serve those in need. Open our eyes, open our hearts so we may respond as you have taught us. Help us to be your hands, your feet to those in need. Help us to see your face in those we care for. In Your Holy Name we pray.  Amen.

ILC Devotion - 4 March 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 4 March 2013

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NRSV 2 Corinthians 5:18  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

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During Lent repentance, confession and forgiveness, are marks of the season we try to cultivate in our lives. Rather than just giving them lip service, we actually make an effort to live out these tenants in our lives. On this 4th Sunday of Lent we have this lesson from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians regarding reconciliation. What is reconciliation? This is a word we think we all know what it means - but what does it mean to us? I looked up reconciliation in the dictionary. The definition: 1) to cause to be friendly and harmonious again; 2) adjust, settle differences; 3) to bring to submission or acceptance. So how do we cause a relationship to be friendly and harmonious again?  Repentance, confession and forgiveness will lead to a repairing of a relationship. But adjusting or settling our differences, seems to me as a negotiated peace - a dialogue where a mutual understanding is reached. Will it cause for a friendly or harmonious relationship? Maybe. But to bring to submission or acceptance, seems to me to be rather one sided. If you use enough force, or have the upper hand and can dictate the terms - yes the lesser one will either have to submit or accept the terms given. Does this cause for a friendly and harmonious relationship? I doubt it. Victor and vanquished do not usually live in harmony with each other. One is trying to regain their past standing, the other is always watching their back.

For us during Lent, and all through our lives this third definition defines the heart of our relationship with God. Jesus submitted to God’s will and obeyed God. Jesus prayer in Gethsemane: NRSV Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Jesus submitted and accepted his fate for our sake. So we could know what it is to be in a harmonious and loving relationship with God. So we could have an example of what kind of character it takes to bring about the Kingdom of God. We submit and obey Jesus, when he tells us to love one another, as I have loved you - the New Commandment we will receive on Maundy Thursday. By our obeying and submitting to God’s will, can we be ambassador’s for Christ, living God’s love for others as we share God’s love to all.

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We pray: Your dear Son submitted himself to the our anger and accepted pain, humiliation, and death on a cross for us. Empower us to share and live this same reconciling love for each other, as Your Son has offered to us.

In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.

ILC Devotion - 25 February 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 25 February 2013

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RSV 1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

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This is one of the more abused passages of scripture. The New Revised Standard Version substitutes the word test for tempt - this makes a big difference in how we understand and regard this passage of scripture. The original Greek uses the word: peirasmo.j it can be used as both test, tempt or trial. Here is where translation and word choice is very critical as to how we regard this text. For me, there is a big difference between being tested and being tempted. When we are tested we are evaluated - how well did we perform; were we properly prepared; did we successfully learn? Being tempted is not the same as being tested. Temptation is an allurement, an urge to capitulate, give in to this desire which would deviate us from our desired goal or direction we choose to take.

So how is this passage of scripture abused? If you use the NRSV version and have this idea of being tested, and you offer counseling to someone who is suffering any of life’s trial’s and tribulations - God becomes the stern taskmaster teacher, critically evaluating our performance regarding the test we are suffering. If someone is suffering from cancer, if they lost their job, if their child was injured, if as a couple they are going through a divorce - is it helpful to them to say God is testing them and that God will not let you be tested beyond what you can endure? If I were on the receiving end of such counseling I would say, “I don’t want God to test me. I didn’t sign up to be tested.” But if they counsel me not to be tempted, what is the temptation I face? Am I tempted to ask God, “why me?” Am I tempted to turn away from God, when I am in the greatest need of having God with me? It boils down to these questions: Is life a test? Or, is life a path I journey, am I being tempted to deviate from the way to God? I believe there are many temptations in this world both great and small that try to lure me from the path leading to God. The devil is always lurking waiting for a weak moment when we can be lured off the path away from experiencing a full relationship with God. I earnestly pray to God for guidence and strength, help me resist anything that would lure me from my journey with God. The temptation is to believe God has abandoned us. God does not test us or tempt us; God promises through Jesus, to be with us and lead us on the way.

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We pray: We are so easily diverted and led astray. Help us resist - help us turn away from temptation and turn and follow where you lead. May we never doubt your being with us when we are most in need of your presence with us. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.

ILC Devotion - 11 February 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 11 February 2013

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^NRSV Luke 4:9-12  Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ ¹¹ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” ¹² Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

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When I was growing up as a young elementary student, it seemed to me I was always being tested. I was in 3^rd grade when I encountered the dreaded Iowa tests, where we had to take our No. 2 pencil and darken circles corresponding to our response to the questions on the test. To this day, I hate taking a test where I have to darken circles on a testing form, I would much rather take an essay test. We are tested in so many other ways - the copier always seems to not cooperate when we are in a hurry to make copies; when we are in a hurry and busy cleaning up, we spill the coffee grounds over floor and counter; we are running late to an appointment and we encounter traffic. Life gives us plenty of opportunities to be tested. Our patience is tested, our persistence is tested, our temper is tested - we do not always pass the test. At such times when we are in a desperate situation, we may even want to test God - we bargain with God. We offer a prayer to the effect: “O God, if you get me out of this fix, I will promise to go to church every Sunday.” We may or may not get out of the fix we are in. But regardless of the outcome, do we ever keep up our end of the bargain?

Jesus is being tempted by Satan. These are not your every day, run of the mill temptations - these are pretty grand temptations. The devil is challenging Jesus Identity and bargaining with Jesus. I will give you all of this, if you fall down and worship me; if you are the Son of God, turn stones into bread, or God will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. These are pretty compelling temptations; any one of us would have capitulated after the first one. Who among us is able to resist responding to anyone who would challenge our identity?

Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness struggling, wrestling with His identity and His call to ministry. Jesus is being tested. This is a stringent and severe test. But it is a test that will prepare him for what he must endure when he sets his face to Jerusalem and the cross.

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We pray: Dear Lord, we face many tests in our life. Help us to endure them, help us to struggle through them. We may not be successful in our being tested. Forgive us and help us, as we face new tests in life. In Your Holy Name we pray.  Amen.

ILC Devotion - 4 February 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 4 February 2013

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Luke 9:28b-31^NRSV Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰ Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. ³¹ They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

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It is ironic this season of Epiphany - a season of light - is celebrated during winter, when at least in the Northern Hemisphere it is mostly dark. Epiphany starts with the magi coming to celebrate the new light which comes into the world - which no darkness can overcome. The season ends with Jesus shining with the glory of God, and God saying to Peter, James and John: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

Jesus is basking in the glory of God, but there is an ominous foreshadowing going on here as well. Jesus will go from the mountaintop experience and we will walk that lonesome valley with Jesus as he sets his face towards Jerusalem. The prophets Moses and Elijah speak to Jesus of his departure which is to accomplish in Jerusalem. This is the last Sunday before we celebrate Ash Wednesday and our journey through Lent. Jesus is recognized by God the Father and claimed as His Son. On Good Friday, Jesus will wonder where his Father is, as he dies on the cross. Two mountain top experiences, one glorious, the other is ignominious, sad and heart wrenching. The disciples, through the transfiguration as well as at Jesus betrayal and crucifixion, are a rather clueless. Jesus indeed has taught them, been with them, they have witnessed the signs, and manifestations of God’s glory through Jesus, but they do not understand what Jesus will have to go through in Jerusalem or why he will have to suffer and die.

There is something about Epiphany - we don’t want it to end. It starts with Jesus receiving gifts from magi from the east. It ends on the mountaintop full of light. In between we have witnessed the sign of the water turned to wine at the wedding feast of Canna. Jesus is welcomed at his hometown synagogue. It starts well at first but soon becomes ugly. Again, more foreshadowing of what Jesus will face in Jerusalem. Some of us welcome the light, especially during the darkness of winter. But there are some people who have embittered hearts who would rather live in the darkness and shun the light. Jesus comes for both, and there are times when we are both types of people. At this one last shining moment when Jesus is with us on the mountain, share the joy of the light, God’s proclamation to us of Jesus, His chosen one, His Son.

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We pray: Lord God, only you can turn us away from the darkness and share the joy of the light of the world - your Son, Jesus. Forgive us our hardened hearts and help us to see the joy of the light which comes into our lives - your Son Jesus. In His Holy Name we pray.  Amen.

ILC Devotion - 28 January 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 28 January 2013

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^NRS 1 Corinthians 13:3-8a  If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. ⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never ends.

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The above text is part of the 13^th chapter of First Corinthians. The 13^th chapter is often selected by couples and used in their wedding. Sometimes families select the 13^th chapter for use in a funeral service. Maybe we need to apply the above text to our daily lives, rather than saving it for weddings or a funeral. Before writing my Monday devotion, I saw a TED talk on domestic violence - see link:

http://www.ted.com/talks/leslie_morgan_steiner_why_domestic_violence_victims_don_t_leave.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2013-01-27&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email

Leslie, the speaker, offers a compelling narrative of her experience of domestic violence. Domestic violence is what happens when Paul’s 13^th chapter is not heard, honored or followed. In domestic violence, love is perverted, love is desecrated - turned into a demonic caricature of control, anger and abuse. There are two victims: the abuser and the one being abused. For whatever reason the abuser has lost this ability to love and forgive. Love becomes a manipulative tool, used to control and intimidate. The abuser has lost any sense of the beauty, trust or comfort love brings to a relationship. Likewise the one being abused sees love in a distorted sense where the warmth, trust and beauty of love has been transformed into something grotesque and damaging rather than edifying.

The only way to save love is for the one being abused to leave, escape the abuser. Both need to find healing. But all too often the abuser continues abusing others. The one who was abused has to work to rebuild their confidence in love as Paul represents it. Paul presents the ideal of love, as God intends it for us in our daily living. Love is a bright light proudly shining in our lives. Abuse of love hides in the darkness. In darkness is the power to deceive.  It [love] does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Paul calls upon us to live in the light of love as God intends it and to shine the light of truth in situations where abuse takes place.

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We pray: Loving God, you bestow upon us your perfect love and call upon us to share this love with everyone. Forgive us when we distort this precious gift. Help us to live in your love and faithfully share it with others. In your Holy Name we pray.  Amen.

ILC Devotion - 21 January 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church Weekly Devotion

Monday 21 January 2013

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^NRS Luke 4:16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

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When we hear scripture read to us, or read it ourselves, how many of us truly comprehend what we hear or what we read? How does the scripture speak to us? Engaging scripture can be hard work at times, demanding our concentration, time and thought; asking us to change. It is not always easy trying to discern what the writer is telling us, let alone responding to God’s call to us through scripture.

 Jesus’ proclamation rings true with the same promise Isaiah proclaimed to the exiled Jews in Babylon. Just like Isaiah, Jesus is God’s messenger. Jesus is also God’s agent, God’s Son, who will offer the promise of redemption. The Spirit of the Lord does rest upon Jesus; Jesus comes to announce release from bondage - the bondage of sin. Jesus will give sight to the blind - he will reveal God’s glory to the people. Jesus will speak for the oppressed - declaring they are favored by God. Most importantly Jesus will proclaim the love of God is present with them - he will personify God’s love to the people.

Now Jesus makes this declaration in his home town. But in this passage from Luke, Jesus is rather skeptical, critical of his fellow Nazarites. Maybe he knows them all too well. For Jesus says to them: “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country.” Yes, Jesus comes for the lost sheep of Israel, but we see a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ministry and God’s, reaching out beyond the people of Israel - God’s chosen people. God’s love is offered to all humankind, all who is willing to hear it and accept it are welcomed. There are no ethnic limitations regarding God’s favor. Any who are poor, captive, blind, and oppressed, who hear, believe and follow - are people of God. Yet, those of us who feel like we are the privileged people of God, how do we  hear and respond to Jesus? The invitation to follow Jesus is offered to all - no exceptions. We may think we are privileged, but how are we held captive, what are we blind to, how are we poor, do we oppress? This is where hearing or reading of scripture gets difficult. We are asked to change - change our minds, change how we act, change how we think, change how we respond to Jesus call to be part of our lives. It is hard work. If we respond to Jesus, Jesus will help us work through our difficulties; with Jesus transformation and change is not only possible but guaranteed.

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We pray: Lord, we come before you poor, blind, held captive to sin. Forgive us, open our eyes, release us to realize the freedom we have to act through you. We ask this in your Holy Name. Amen.