Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
Midweek Lenten Reflection Week 5
7 Deadly Sins: Envy Our final capital vice (or deadly sin) that we will discuss is envy. Please read the questions and think about your answers to them (Perhaps discuss them with a friend or loved one!). After you have answered all the questions please scroll down to see my reflection on Envy.
1. To help define envy, how is it different from greed? What are your two definitions? Greed wishes to own, collect, and earn more and more until it has everything. It will never be satisfied because it only ever wants more. Envy is angered by what others have and wishes it had it instead of them. For example, Jim wishes to own a mansion to satisfy his urge for more things and the status that comes with it (greed). Bill sees Jim in his new mansion and is angered. Bill believes he works harder than Jim, deserves that mansion more than Jim, and therefore sees Jim as standing in the way of what Bill believes should be his (envy). 2. Two of the 10 commandments cover envy (covetousness). Please look them up and read them before answering this question. Why do you think God deemed the sin of envy worthy of taking up to spots in The 10 Commandments? Interesting note: It is believed that the 10 commandments are in order of importance. You follow the first, “You shall have no other gods”, and the rest will fall in line. Does this mean God didn’t think envy was important? Certainly not! It was important enough to separate into envy for property/inheritance (9) and envy for possessions (10). The 9th commandment is for the purpose of protecting what people will get, and the 10th commandment is about protecting what people already have. Either way, when you envy a neighbor’s belongings you may get so consumed by envy that you break other commandments in order get what they have. For example, Bill kills Jim (5th) to get his mansion, Bill devises a scheme to swindle Jim out of his mansion (7th), or Bill gives false testimony to the police or Jim’s boss so that he gets fired and cannot afford the mansion anymore (8th). 3. Being competitive is not necessarily a bad thing. At what point does being competitive switch to being the deadly sin of envy? It is true that competition drives our economy. It drives all our favorite sports. So what can be wrong with being competitive? Heck, I like to win, too. Being competitive is only wrong when it become an unhealthy obsession. For example, someone with a healthy sense of competition will train, work, and try their hardest to win at everything they do. Someone with an unhealthy sense of competition will seek to game the system, focus on making others lose, cheat, lie, and steal in order to win. Healthy competition seeks to make itself the best. Unhealthy competition seeks to game and tear down in order to end up on top. 4. How does envy get in the way of our relationships with other people? The sin of envy builds a wall between us and those we envy. It seeks to convince you that you not only should have what the other person possesses, but that you deserve it. The sin of envy does not care about the person it envies, only the attributes and possessions it seeks. It seeks to dehumanize and belittle the person it envies, and thus belittles our ability to have a relationship with them. How can Bill and Jim ever have a true friendship if all Bill can think about is how Jim’s mansion should be his mansion? 5. How does envy get in the way of our self-image? The sin of envy tries to convince you that you are incomplete. It not only dehumanizes your neighbor, it dehumanizes you as well. It convinces you that your life (what you have and who you are) is not good enough, but it can be if you just had what your neighbor had. So it seems the self-image brought upon by envy is self-hatred. 6. Based on answers 4 and 5, how does envy get in the way of our relationship with God? John 3:16-17 speaks of how God so loved the world that God sent the Son to die for it so that it might be saved…not judged, but saved. If God loves the world then God loves you. If God loves the world then God’s loves your neighbors. The sin of envy tries to convince you your neighbor has gotten too much share of love and that you have gotten too little. This can distort our faith in God and cause us to disobey what Jesus commanded, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)” 7. What virtue is best suited to combat our temptation to fall into the deadly sin of envy? The words of Jesus should be a dead (but risen three days later…haha) giveaway to the virtue necessary to combat envy: Love. It seems almost every Christian wedding has 1 Corinthians 13 as a passage. “Love is patient; love is kind, slow to anger…etc.” This love Paul talks about is the love Jesus showed us on the cross. It is the only pure love we can ever know. That is the love Jesus calls to share with others. His call to love others is a call to see them as worth helping, see them as important, and see them as worth protecting and living for. That love does not care what everyone else has. It only cares about the people themselves. I want to conclude with this prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for all you have done for me. Help me to not be envious towards my neighbors and friends but rather to be happy for them and encourage them. Cleanse me of anything that breaks Your heart and breaks the hearts of my neighbors. Amen.
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Midweek Lenten Reflection Week 4
Seven Deadly Sins: Anger/Wrath One of the Seven Deadly Sins Pope Gregory pointed to was anger. Anger can also be lumped together with hatred, wrath/rage, violence, yelling, and offensive behavior. It does seem that a lot of our world is on a short fuse and easily angered. People seem to keep rubbing people the wrong way. Facebook and Twitter seem to provide gasoline to fuel the mass fire even more. So what is this anger? What does it do to us? How are we called to fight it? Please take time to answer the questions below. Discuss them with a friend or loved one. Once you have discussed, scroll down further to see my reflection and answer to the questions.
1. How would you define anger and/or wrath? Is it a feeling, emotion, or both? What is the difference? Anger can be an emotion characterized by animosity towards someone or it can be something you feel has deliberately done you wrong. In this sense, anger is both an emotion and a feeling. A fundamental difference between feelings and emotions is that feelings are experienced consciously, while emotions manifest either consciously or subconsciously.[i] Put simply, emotions are what happen first and we don’t always know why. Feelings are a reaction to an emotion. Either way, when we emote or feel anger we lose a sense of self-control. That is when anger becomes a deadly sin. 2. What makes you tick (angry)? The list for what makes me tick could go on for a while. Some of the things that make me mad are inconsiderate people and being belittled. Interesting enough, as follows the theme of every deadly sin, we are genetically hardwired to experience aggression and anger. Our reptilian brain, where we get our most primal attributes, has the ability for wrath. It’s a survival instinct built into our bodies to fight if need be. While this ability for anger and aggression can save our lives, most of us are not in life or death situations. Therefore, it mostly contributes to misuse towards our fellow humans, world, and situations when we are frustrated about things not going our way. 3. Would you consider yourself hot-tempered? Why or why not? I do consider myself to have a short temper. To be honest, I think I have always had it. I do not know if it is genetic or learned, but what I do know is that I have a low tolerance for frustration. That’s really what it means to be hot tempered. Someone who “flies off the handle” consistently has a lower tolerance for things not going as they intend or think it should. 4. Can “righteous anger” really exist?Can anger be good? Certainly! Anger spurred on by injustice can certainly be a righteous anger. This is an anger driven by something good, righting a wrong. 5. Doesn’t it seem like God gets angry a lot in the Bible (especially the Old Testament)? God gets very angry countless times. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit…God gets angry and banishes them from Eden. Cain kills his brother, Abel…God get angry and rebukes Cain. The whole world, except for Noah and his family, becomes overly wretched and sinful…God gets angry and brings about a flood to destroy everything. The Israelites lack the faith and fortitude to go to the Promised Land after they are freed from Egypt…God gets angry and forces them to wander 40 years in the dessert. Jesus got angry, too. The people hard turned the temple into a place of commerce…Jesus got angry and kicked everyone out for making the temple into a “den of robbers”. Do you see the pattern? The anger that comes about is righteous anger. The action may seem harsh in our day and age, but it is always spurned upon God after the people were doing the wrong thing. 6. How can we tell the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger? As humans we do not have the divine capability to achieve 100% righteous anger. We have people who are always fighting for the greater good, but sometimes the anger and loss of self-control takes over and makes the anger and actions not so righteous. We can especially take righteous anger too far when the mob mentality kicks in. When acting in anger please ask yourself, “Why am I angry? Is my reaction causing harm rather than good?” Imagine this scenario. Someone is bullying your loved one. (1) Out of righteous anger you go to stand up for them and let that person know what they did was not okay. (2) You go on to cuss that person out, maybe even lay hands on them to beat them up, so that they can feel the same pain your loved one felt. While point (1) started out with righteous anger, point (2) became vengeance instead of justice. 7. How can anger/wrath get in the way of our relationship with God? We are called to love God by loving our neighbors (Luke 10:27). Anger gets in the way of loving others. It doesn’t allow us to see the person we are angry at as another beloved child of God, just as loved as we are. When we lose self-control through anger we lose our ability to really think and know. Someone consumed by anger, vengeance, rage, or violence no longer has time to love their neighbor as Jesus loved us. They no longer have time to love God. This doesn’t mean that we can fully get rid of anger. It means that when we let ourselves be consumed by anger we make it our idol. 8. What virtue should we cling onto when we encounter our anger or the anger of another person? Ellen DeGeneres has a tag line, “Be kind to one another.” Kindness is the virtue that combats anger. Kindness is more concerned about the other person. Kindness is less concerned with the “I” and more concerned about the “you” and “we”. We see this in James 1:19-20, “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.” When we are hurt and experience anger towards someone it is important to remind ourselves that Jesus died for that person and called us to love that person. Jesus deemed them worth loving and it is your job to see why. Also, acts of kindness cannot only provide good for the world but feel good, too. Martin Luther always liked to say that there is nothing better to combat the devil than to do good things for others. St. Paul also pointed to this in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” In conclusion, anger is a part of life and it is a part of us. It can do good for the world, but only when it is guided by kindness. When we learn to take a step back, speak out our anger in a non-derogatory way, take a deep breath, and/or see the bigger picture we will know that we are in control. And when we are in control we know that we can love God and God’s people to our fullest! [i] https://counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/ Seven Deadly Sins – Week 3
Glutton and Sloth In order to get through all the deadly sins during our Wednesdays in Lent we had to have one week where we discussed two deadly sins at the same time. I chose to pair Gluttony and Sloth together for two reasons. (1) They have a lot in common. (2) I believe both of them are the most common and longest running sins I commit from week to week (more like day to day!). I have been a glutton every since I was taught to have pride in finishing my plate of food. I have practiced laziness ever since my brother got a Playstation for his birthday. Below I have questions I’d like you to consider. Please call or sit with someone to talk through these questions together. If you scroll down far enough, you will get to my answers and conclusion on the topic. Gluttony: The excessive desire to consume
Sloth(Laziness): The desire to do, feel, and/or know nothing.
Gluttony and Sloth:
My Thoughts – Gluttony (1) Our country is getting fatter and fatter every year. Almost 40% percent of Americans today are obese. I think it is safe to say gluttony is the most practiced deadly sin in the United States. (2) Anything that can be consumed by a person can result in someone acting in gluttonous behavior. This is more than just food. One of gluttony’s effects is addiction. People have their different addictions. There are people addicted to smoking, drugs, caffeine, exercise (yes that too!), alcohol, phones, devices, television, streaming services, social media, and even food. (3) Mentally we receive food as a reward. It’s a biological response for our brains to positively reward our eating so as to push the body to continue to seek satiation. This is a wonderful thing to have as hunters and gatherers, but we live in a time where food is more readily available. We do not have to track down a herd of deer in order to eat that week. Instead we can drive to the grocery store and stock up on copious amounts of items that are both good and bad for us (unless those supplies are toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but that’s the realm of GREED). The point of saying all this is to show that I believe consistent unhealthy eating is a form of gluttony. It is our bodies wanting to feel happy with the goodies that touch our tongue rather than taking the mental steps to understand that we are stewards of our bodies. We are called to take care of them. (4) For gluttony-of-food’s sake, many people die prematurely and go through health problems because they give into a life of bad eating and unhealthy diet. For addiction’s sake, countless people do a lot of harm to themselves in others when caught into the spiral of addiction. It is something that consumes us rather than the other way around. In doing so, it limits our ability to love God and others because it fixates us on that addiction. (5) The traditional name for the virtue to combat gluttony is temperance. Temperance be known in two different ways: moderation or self-denial. Moderation, the ability to have just enough of what you need and not over consume, is a wonderful way to consciously not fall into the pits of gluttony. An example of moderation is to set a time limit on how long you will be on your phone. Another example is setting aside only one “cheat” meal a week while staying relatively healthy the rest of the week. Self-denial is a way of removing the addiction or problem area from your life temporarily or altogether. This is where the spiritual practice of fasting comes in. Fasting is the spiritual practice of removing something from your diet or life. This is a prayerful opportunity to really self-reflect and pray to God as you cut off that problem area in your life. Another spiritual practice when it comes to our addiction to technology is the spiritual practice of simplicity. This would be taking a week or month to live as simply as possible, no tv, limited internet, limited clothing selection, and limited food choices. We then feel relief by taking away the plentiful options we normally have. My Thoughts – Sloth (Laziness) (1) I believe it is the second most practiced sin and the sixth most dangerous sin. (2) “Vegging Out” watching television is what comes most to mind. (3) I believe productive laziness can exist. This would be cleaning the house when you are supposed to call someone on the phone. It is a sort of evasion technique some people do. I think a lot of people in my generation and younger watch streaming services like Netflix or stare are a screen to feed our temptation of sloth. I am also reminded of a comedy bit of John Mulaney in which he speaks the truth that adults love nothing more than a weekend when they didn’t have to do anything. (4) Connected also to being hunters and gatherers, it is believed that our brains are built to want to rest so that we would not burn too many calories when looking for the next meal. For today Sloth, or laziness, is really an escape technique from living life. Someone constantly trying to escape living has no time to care, to act, to love, or really take the time to believe in something. That’s a scary proposition to think about in terms of our relationship to God. Our temptation to be idle keeps us from loving God and loving our neighbors. (5) The traditional name of the virtue to combat sloth is zeal. I think this can be better understood as passion or eagerness. Passion for God, neighbor, and life. Eagerness to take the opportunities given to you in the world to share time and attention to God and neighbor. Not always finding an excuse to say no to an invitation or avoid seeing people, instead saying yes to any opportunity to interact with our world and the people in it. In our current physical restrictions due to COVID-19 this means calling up friends, family, and neighbors since we cannot always see them face to face. My thoughts – Gluttony and Sloth (1) I sometimes feel that gluttony and sloth are like the chicken and the egg. I find myself overeating and doing nothing, but I do not know if it’s the inactivity that led to the overeating or the overeating that led to an engorged stomach that doesn’t want to get around. Every day I fight the urge to be lazy and the urge to stop at Casey’s at 3:00 pm to cash in on the free 32 oz. soda if I get two slices of pizza. (2) I believe the picture perfectly shows how you can commit two sins at the same time. “vegging out” while binging shows and food is killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, those two birds are your drive and body. Closing Thoughts: I do realize that I am writing this while sitting next to a bag of Sour Patch Kids. I am reminded that it is not so easy for everyone to be active and healthy. The struggle against these two sins is real and very relatable. Perhaps through the application of fighting these two sins and asking forgiveness when we stray we can better apply what it means to combat evil and the devil in our world today. The past two weeks our adult education hour has discussed Luther’s explanation of the Apostle’s Creed found in his Small Catechism. In the 10 Commandments we are told what to do, but who is this God that is ordering us around? The Apostle’s Creed is a good summation of what the Bible teaches us about who God is. 1st Article of the Apostle’s Creed: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Luther’s Explanation: I believe that God has created me together with all that exists. God has given me and still preserves my body and soul: eyes, ears, and all limbs and senses; reason and all mental faculties. In addition, God daily and abundantly provides shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and farm, spouse and children, fields, livestock, and all property—along with all the necessities and nourishment for this body and life. God protects me against all danger and shields and preserves me from all evil. And all this is done out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all! For all of this I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true. What we discussed: This is a nice reminder that God did more than create the universe. God is still creating everything in our lives today. This is all the way from the big and small things, things we can see and cannot see. In the midst of all the stuff we buy and earn in our lives it can be hard to remember this part of the Creed. In remembering that God created everything we gain perspective on the fact that we do not truly own anything. 2nd Article of the Apostle’s Creed: I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. Luther’s Explanation: I believe that Jesus Christ, true, God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with this holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true. What we discussed: Jesus is not strictly God or strictly human. Jesus is both God and man. This article expressed belief that Jesus Christ is our Lord. That means Jesus is our ruler. Who was our ruler before Jesus? Sin and death. There are the rulers of the world that would only lead us to destruction. Luckily, Jesus paid for the rights to rule over us with his blood. Because of this, we have hope that the kingdom we live in is one of love, peace, and eternity. 3rd Article of the Apostle’s Creed: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Luther’s Explanation: I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true. What we discussed: Simply put…the Holy Spirit makes us holy. How does this happen? It is through the Holy Spirit that we receive faith, forgiveness, and resurrection. Luther’s explanation is a strong point that we cannot and will not come to know and believe in Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit sharing us the gospel. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is an active member in the Lutheran train of thought because it is the only way we can have faith. On top of all that, the Holy Spirit enlivens us with gifts such as wisdom, desire to help, compassion, and the ability to live a godly life. In this Creed we see who God is. Martin Luther felt the Creed contained everything we need to know about God. Upon understanding that, a Christian can then delve deeper into Scripture to find out even more who God is. We find in the Creed that God is constantly giving of God’s self in all three persons. “…the Father gives us all creation, Christ all his works, the Holy Spirit all his gifts.”[1]
[1] Martin Luther. Book of Concord, “Luther’s Large Catechism”. (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2000). Page 448, Paragraph 69. This is a continuation of Adult Education held at Augustana Lutheran Church on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. The Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and mother. Luther’s Explanation: We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents and others in authority, but instead honor serve, obey, love, and respect them. What was discussed: This commandment is for more than children. It is not just about respecting parents, but also all in authority. We are to follow the laws of our world on top of obeying our parents. What if your mom, dad, or anyone in authority asks you to do something that is wrong? (e.g. Dad tells you to go steal from the grocery store.) Interestingly enough, the call to honor parents and authority assumes the parents and civil authority are worth honoring. Our first loyalty is to God. Therefore, if we are being asked to do something that goes against the love of God then we are not breaking this commandment. The Fifth Commandment: You shall not murder/kill. Luther’s Explanation: We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all of life’s needs. What we discussed: Is it kill or murder? The two are very different. Killing is the broad term for ending another’s life, but murder has a more nefarious tone to it. You can kill someone in war or in self-defense. Is this breaking the commandment? The Hebrew translation, rather than Martin Luther’s German translation, leads us to believe it is murder instead of kill. The interesting thing about Luther’s explanation is that he adds in that we must also build up and protect the lives of those around us on top of not harming them ourselves. The Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery. Luther’s Explanation: We are to fear and love God, so that we lead pure and decent lives in word and deed, and each of us loves and honors his or her spouse. What we discussed: Marriage is a pathway we take with our spouse. It is a commitment to walk that pathway and not wander off to another person. When we wander off to another and break our vows we break the promises we have made before God. What about divorce? What if I was the one who wanted to try to save the marriage, but my ex-spouse wanted to end it? Am I still a sinner? Divorce is a sin because it is the sign of broken vows before God, but the severity of one’s part in the sin differs. The Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal. Luther’s explanation: We are to fear and love God, so that we neither take our neighbors’ money or property nor acquire them by using shoddy merchandise or crooked deals, but instead help them to improve and protect their property. What we discussed: Following this commandment is similar to the fifth commandment. We are not only commanded to not steal. We are also commanded to protect and build up our neighbor’s belongings. The Eight Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Luther’s Explanation: We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light. What we discussed: This commandment is not only anti-gossip. It goes so far as to promote optimism and positive conclusions when one doesn’t have all the facts about another person. What would it look like to speak well of someone you can’t stand? Do you think if you spoke well of them long enough you might actually feel that way to? The Ninth and Tenth Commandments: You shall not covet your neighbor’s property or stuff.[i] What we discussed: What does it mean to covet? To explain, the group talked about how it differentiates from envy. For example, your neighbor lives in a very nice house. To envy your neighbor’s house is to want a house similar to your neighbor’s house someday. To covet your neighbor’s house is to want to be living in the exact house they are living in instead of them. If one gives into coveting they are heading down a path to possibly break commandments 5, 7, and/or 8. Conclusion: Commandments 4-10 teach us how to live out our lives with our fellow human beings. By living them out to the best of our ability we ensure to bring harmony and peace to our lives and our world. The commandments get to the crux of how we are to believe in one God and live out our lives. We are to fear and love God so that we follow them, but who is God? The next part of Luther’s Small Catechism covers the Apostle’s Creed. Martin Luther felt this was a good transition in order to answer the question about who God is. Next Week: The Apostle’s Creed, Luther’s Explanation, and Report of What We Discussed [i] This is my summary of the final two commandments, For the foreseeable future this blog will be used as a tool for people to participate in learning what I am teaching at Adult Education. It is my hope that these blogs will have both my thoughts and the thoughtful points parishioners make during the class. The first thing our Adult Education will cover is Luther’s Small Catechism. This Wednesday (September 11) we discussed the first three commandments along with Martin Luther’s explanation of what they mean.
Why the first three commandments? Because Commandments 1-3 are about our relationship with God and 4-10 are about our relationship with each other. The First Commandment: You are to have no other gods. From Luther’s Small Catechism: What does this mean? We are to fear, love and trust God above all things. What we discussed: All people have things they put before God: money, job security, family, things, etc. If you put something ahead of God you are in turn making that thing or relationship a god. When we step back and realize that all we have and all we have done is because God created us and provided us the gifts to be who we are then we will come to realize where our trust needs to lie first and foremost. (e.g. That job pays the bills, but it is God who bestowed you with the gifts to have such a job.) The first commandment informs all the other commandments. It essentially says to put God first and then spends the next 9 commandments telling you what that looks like. The Second Commandment: You are not to misuse the name of your God. From Luther’s Small Catechism: What does this mean? We are to fear and love God, so that we do not curse, swear, practice magic, lie, or deceive using God’s name, but instead use that very name in every time of need to call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God. What we discussed: Ways we misuse God’s name is by using It while cussing, swearing to God that you did not do something, using God’s name to justify heinous and ungodly acts (e.g. Some churches picket the gay pride parade and have derogatory language on their posters about who God hates. During the Civil Rights movement there were people trying to keep races separated on the bases of their own twisted religious ideologies.) God is all-powerful and all-loving. When we use God’s name in the wrong way we are committing identity theft against God. We take God’s all-loving identity and replace it with our own faulty self-perception. The Third Commandment: You are to hallow the day of rest. From Luther’s Small Catechism: What does this mean? We are to fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching or God’s Word, but instead keep that Word holy and gladly hear and learn it. What we discussed: This is commonly seen as the “Go to church!” commandment. It is true that part of the intention of keeping the Sabbath is to go to worship with your fellow Christians, but there are a couple caveats. 1) If you go to church but are not really present during worship then you are not necessarily following this commandment. If you spend your worship only thinking about other things you need to get done, annoyed that the hymn or reading has too many verses, and/or hoping that a sermon or worship service would get done already then you are despising God’s Word active in worship. This goes against what Martin Luther is talking about. 2) At its best this commandment is given a whole day in which people rest and focus on God (not just a morning!). If someone works on a Sunday it is important to set aside time later in the week for Godly rest. This means more than a day off. It means actually delving into God’s written Word (the Bible) and spending intentional time with God how you see fit. All in all, both caveats relay the importance to set aside time for God. In conclusion, the simplified and modernized version of the first three commandments is 1) Step Back 2) Do not commit identity theft against God 3) Set aside time for God. Points to Ponder:
For many congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) this coming Sunday will be “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday. This is a Sunday where we work to build God’s kingdom in order to keep it holy. We do not build the kingdom by knocking on every door and asking the people of their town if they’ve found Jesus (FYI “finding” Jesus is heretical works righteousness based theology that disregards the fact that Jesus finds us…not the other way around.) Instead, we build kingdom by putting ourselves to work…or better said…God’s work. On “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday we seek to help our community. We clean the park, clean the grounds of the Jenny Lind chapel, make tie blankets for a local hospice care facility, and write letters to people to let them know they are in our hearts and minds and we care about them. All of this is done in God’s name. We do not do this as regular humans. We do this work (God’s Work) on behalf of our Creator, Savior, and Sustainer. God’s mission of building the kingdom (i.e. making the world a better place until Jesus returns) throughout the world is accomplished when God’s children use the gifts they have been given and help their communities and world. If you have or will be partaking in something like “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday, do not forget who you work for. May God bless you as you do God’s work. Blessings to all that seek to make the world a better place in the name of Christ. Points to Ponder:
During the 2019 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Churchwide Assembly there was a vote to become a sanctuary denomination. What does this mean? What does this look like? Using the official resources provided by the ELCA[i] it is my hope to answer these questions.
What does it mean to be a sanctuary denomination? ELCA Talking Points: “In its simplest form, becoming a sanctuary denomination means that the ELCA is publicly declaring that walking alongside immigrants and refugees is a matter of faith.” My take: This is not a political stance, but it does have political ramifications. This is a public stance to follow God’s call to take care of travelers and those who are oppressed (i.e. immigrants and refugees) (Deuteronomy 10:19; Leviticus 19:34; Psalm 146:9; Matthew 25:35; Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:1-3; 3 John 1:15). The ELCA makes a firm declaration that this is an issue of faithfulness to God rather than faithfulness to country or a political party. Is there a historical precedent for doing this? ELCA Overview: Christians have offered sanctuary for two thousand years, continuing an ancient biblical practice in which cities and houses of worship provided refuge and asylum for people fleeing injustice. Started in the 1980s, the Sanctuary Movement was a faith-based initiative to protect Central American refugees fleeing civil war and seeking safety in the U.S. Today, the New Sanctuary Movement is a revived effort for communities of faith to walk alongside immigrants in the U.S. ELCA Taking Points: Except for our members whose ancestors were here before European settlement or others who were forced to come to the U.S. against their will, the ELCA is an immigrant church. Our decadeslong work with immigrants and refugees is how we practice our faith in the world. Lutherans started Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of the nine refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S. My take: The Christian Church has always been one to provide safety for those seeking it. The Lutheran Churches in the United States have been at the forefront of helping immigrants and refugees. Our present time is no different. What does sanctuary actually mean then? ELCA Overview: While there is no uniform definition of sanctuary, its overall purpose is to faithfully and openly act to ensure that all feel safe and welcomed. ELCA Talking Points: Being a sanctuary denomination will look different in different contexts. It may mean providing the space for people to live; providing financial and legal support to those who are working through the immigration system; or supporting other congregations and service providers. We cannot mandate or direct our congregations and ministries to respond in specific ways. Each must work out what this means for them in their context. My take: The definition of sanctuary is meant to be defined at the congregational level. The ELCA is not forcing any of its churches to act in a certain way. This stance as a denomination invites congregations to see how they can help (if they even want to).Being a national denomination the ELCA understands that a church in Arizona may have different definition of providing sanctuary than a church in Andover, Illinois. Is the church asking us to break the law by harboring illegal immigrants? ELCA Overview: One controversial activity that some sanctuary congregations engage in is physically hosting a community member at risk of deportation. While there are varied views as to the interpretation of the law, knowingly concealing, harboring, or shielding (or attempting to conceal, harbor, or shield) an undocumented immigrant from detection by the authorities is illegal. Similarly, knowingly transporting or moving (or attempting to transport or move) an undocumented immigrant from one place to another, where the transportation helps the immigrant remain in the U.S. unlawfully, violates the law. Congregations or individuals that engage in legally controversial practices often view their actions as civil disobedience — knowingly violating a law to shine a light on its injustice. Civil disobedience also has an important and rich history in faith traditions all over the world, but civil disobedience includes accepting the consequences that naturally flow from breaking the law. ELCA Talking Points: Being a sanctuary denomination does not call for any person, congregation or synod to engage in any illegal actions. My take: The ELCA does not require illegal harboring of immigrants, but it also doesn’t criticize it. If you want to provide physical sanctuary, consult a lawyer and move accordingly. If you are willing to break the law as an act of civil disobedience be ready to accept the consequences that come with it. Points to Ponder:
[i] All of this information can be found at https://www.elca.org/SanctuaryChurch. Mel Brook’s Broadway musical, “The Producers”, can best be described as delightfully inappropriate. It’s a musical about making a bad musical. Recently seeing Matthew Broderick on “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” reminded me of the second movie version in which he starred with the likes of Nathan Lane, Will Ferrell, and Uma Thurman. Uma Thurman played a Swedish beauty whose big song is the title of this article, “If you got it flaunt it!” The whole point of the song, “If you got it flaunt it!” is to boast in one’s greatness. It makes the claim that one should 'strut their stuff'. Pride is what lies at the base of this boasting and therefore it is a sin, but all boasting is not put in that category. The song itself is wildly hilarious but definitely not the inspiration for this rambling. It is the title that reminds me of a few passages about how God intends us to boast. Jeremiah 9:23-24 1 Corinthians 1:28-31 These passages make it clear that the only thing a Christian is permitted to truly boast in and flaunt about is God. God is the ‘stuff you can strut’ for the world to see. Wisdom and strength dwindle with age and the money we make won’t go with us when we die. Because of this, all boasting in such matters is futile according to God through the prophet Jeremiah. God made sure to use the lowly shepherds to witness the Christ Child, women (who at that time were seen as lowly) to witness Jesus’ death and resurrection, and children as the image of what it means to be God’s follower. In doing this, St. Paul points us to this truth again that where we can boast is in the Lord. I don’t want the main point of this to be seen as judgment for those who boast in other things. It is true that boasting in such things is like boasting in the taste of a cheesecake sitting outside in the hot sun. It may taste good now, but sooner rather than later it’s going to spoil. I want the main take away to be the title of this reflection. You have the love of God on your side. You have the cross on your side. You have Jesus’ life giving victory over death and sin on your side. You have the hope of living with God eternally on your side. The amazing thing about all of this stuff is that it can be shared with the whole world. The Holy Spirit can work through your actions to spread the good news to everyone you interact with that God is on their side, too. Conclusion: You got God…And if you got it…FLAUNT IT! Point to Ponder:
As a child I went to church camp at Lake Okoboji in Northwest Iowa. Fun times were had at Concordia Cub Week, but in the midst of it all I didn’t realize the truth to what was happening. As a kid I thought I was being sent to camp to learn about God they way you would in Sunday School. While in the moment it seemed I did a lot more activities like swimming and basketball, what the camp was instilling was faith building in action. It was not until I went to confirmation camp with a confirmand of my own that I was able to take a step back and see the Kingdom building that can take place. For four and a half days a confirmand, Ashley, and I joined about 45 youth, a dozen camp counselors, and a handful of chaperones for Faith Works week at Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Camp (LOMC). We got in Sunday afternoon and left after lunch on Thursday. In between that time was adventure, nature, team building, and a lot of time learning and seeing God outside of the pages of the Bible. The theme for Faith Works week was ‘Salt and Light’. This theme was inspired by Matthew 5:13-16: 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. The lesson trying to be learned is what it means to be salt and light for the world as described in this passage. How does one be salt? How does one be a light that cannot be hidden? Through action! To be salt you must add flavor to this world. The flavor we add is the love of Jesus. Similarly, to be a light we must understand whose light we are really shining; the light of the love of Jesus. So what happened at church camp that enforced this lesson? Bible Study: The camp counselors had a different Bible story each day that they would read, reflect, and share about. Each reading had something to do with the ‘Salt and Light’ theme. This was a minor part of the day, but it allowed for the kids to reflect upon Scripture among peers rather than in a class setting where you may need to come up with the right answers. These Bible Studies commonly reflected nature and were down outside. This allowed for the kids to not just talk about God creating the world, but experience it as the wind moved through the leaves of the trees. Team Building: While Bible studies were a minor part of the week, team building was the most prominent part of the week. Throughout the week were physical and mental challenges. Here’s the thing though…they were always group and team challenges. All of the puzzles that needed solving couldn’t be done alone. Sometimes they needed to be done in silence. Groups sat together. They cleaned up after every meal together. What does this have to do with being 'Salt and Light' and to learn about God? Spreading the love of Jesus is not a solo mission. It is done with and to others with the help of the Holy Spirit. When we work together on behalf of Christ we can achieve so much more. We can model the early church and how God intends us to interact with one another. When people learn to work together to share the love of God they not only share a message of love, but they also show the message of love in action through community. We are all many parts of the Body of Christ and I believe this is the biggest learned (sometimes unknowingly) at church camp.
Ashley was put with five other kids that she did not know. By the end of the week she has their cell phone numbers, Snapchat accounts, and friendship. This reminded me of the many friends I also made during church camp. All the camaraderie seemed organic and outside of the purpose of church camp, but in the end it is the crux of learning how to help build the Kingdom of God on earth today. By learning how to work as a team the kids, counselors, and chaperones alike witnessed how greater work can be done together. A pinch of salt can add flavor, but a mound of salt can overtake the whole world. A flashlight can shine in the darkness, but 1,000 flashlights can shine brighter. Kingdoms aren’t built by one person. The Kingdom of God is no different. With the help of our Creator it is my hope that all of us can learn this lesson of being salty together and joining our lights with one another. Points to Ponder:
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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