Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
The old saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” Even though the grass gets green in April, it seems that May is when the trees and flowers really start to pop. A mixture of Mother’s day, graduations, prom, and many more occasions call for flowers to be used in May. I know my dad and brothers still keep the tradition of planting flowers at my parent’s house for my mother. I have never really been too interested in flowers other than looking at them. Planting and taking care of flowers is definitely not an interest that I hold. In honor of May I want to share about my favorite flower: The Luther Rose. Also called the Luther Seal, a colleague of Martin Luther, Sir John Frederick of Saxony, charged Lazarus Spengler with creating this rose as a representative of Martin Luther’s teachings. Martin Luther loved it and stuck with it as his seal from then on. In fact, Martin Luther even gave an explanation of what it all means and stands for. (Please note: the following information was taken from Luther’s Works volume 49). The Black Cross in a Red Heart Martin Luther saw the cross as a constant reminder of the Crucified Jesus who saves us: “Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17) but by faith in the crucified.” The White Rose “Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives (John 14:27). That is why the rose should be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and the angels (cf. Matthew 28:3; John 20:12).” Blue Background “Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed.” Golden Ring “And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end. Such blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable, most precious and best metal.” I hope you find the same fondness for the Luther Rose as I do. As I reflect on the works of Jesus and the role of God in my life, I can think of no more powerful symbol. The Luther Rose cannot be planted in the ground as most flowers are planted. Instead, it is a message of truth, joy and life that is planted on our hearts. Points to Ponder:
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This past Lenten season a community of churches from our school district banded together to have noontime ecumenical services every Friday. Each church would host a service and invite a minister from a different church to preach. I was unable to attend all of the services, but I did make many of them. What these ecumenical services did was give our churches the practice of being the Church. The Church (notice the capitalization) is the community of all believers of Jesus. For some they call it the Christian Church. For others (including the ELCA) they call it the catholic (notice the lack of capitalization) Church. This is not the Roman Catholic Church, but rather it is the catholic (meaning universal) church. All in all, the Church is the meta-version of believers which exists above any denomination. There is a common misconception that the Church used to be one singular entity of believers. Anyone who reads the epistles and the book of Acts can see that this is not true. Through the history of the Church it has spurned denominations. The denominations of the Church are vast and numerous. Today there are even denominations within denominations (e.g. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod). There is even a denomination which claims to be non-denominational. All these denominations are then made up of churches. A church (non-capitalized) is the ground floor of ministry. I serve the Church by serving a church, Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church. While all believers are part of the Church, some also belong to a specific church. Each church has its own identity, location, and history. The Church, on the other hand, is identified with Jesus and the story of his life, death, and resurrection. The Church has no set location. Instead, like Christ, it is everywhere. I am saying all this to get to a point: the Church, and thus Jesus, is greater than our churches. This is most certainly true. So how often do we treat it in the reverse order? How often do we choose not to interact and try to understand people of other denominations because they interpret Scripture differently? Ecumenism (working together across denomination lines) is the center at what it means to be the Church. When we can sit down and praise Jesus together as children of God we make a statement that Jesus is the true center of our identity. I do not want to belittle denominationalism. As a proud Lutheran it would be hypocritical of me to do so. I believe that people should attend church and learn about God from a church and denomination that best helps their faith pilgrimage. I also understand that some denominations have non-negotiable stances that don’t play well with others. Imagine you are gay or a woman and the church a couple blocks down does not think you have authority to be there. I am an ELCA Lutheran because I could not see myself in any other denomination, but I also recognize my membership in the community of all believers. That is why I believe it is important that we can work ecumenically as a church so that we can truly be the Church. Whatever our differences, it says more about the power of the love of Jesus when we can work together rather than strictly stay only to ourselves. Points to Ponder:
A dear friend of mine recently passed away. He was only 65 years old but Parkinson’s disease had weakened his body and it finally gave into the rest of eternal slumber. This is extremely sad for me, because my friend, Peter, was the first person to get me to think critically about faith and the Bible. He taught me it was okay to laugh at the funny jokes comedians make about Christianity and the Bible without feeling like a heretic. As I grieve Peter’s loss I have come to realize that as we walk with others through the dying and death process we are reliving Holy Week each time. Maundy Thursday – Seeing them for the last time On Maundy Thursday we remember the Last Supper. This was the last meal Jesus had with his disciples. This was the last time he spent with all of them before he would be betrayed killed. When my wife and I were informed of Peter’s failing health we wanted to make sure to see him. The very next day we drove a few hours so that we could be there for Peter and his wife, Jette. Even though he was already on hospice and couldn’t really speak, it was a powerful meeting to see my friend one last time alive. Sometimes we get our Maundy Thursday moment and we know it. Other times, like the disciples, we only realize it was the Last Supper with that person in hindsight. Someone dies unexpectedly and you have to think back to the last time you were able to spend with them. I can tell you the disciples did not know this would be their last time with their beloved rabbi. Good Friday – Their body betrays them and they breathe their last breath On Good Friday we remember Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus was handed over to the religious authorities. Jesus was then handed over and sentenced to death by the Roman authorities. Jesus hung from the cross and took his last breath. My wife got the news in a text. Peter had died. She shared that information with me. I felt like I got punched in the stomach. Perhaps, we, like the disciples who fled Jesus before he died, are unable to be there when that person dies. Whether for work, location, or family’s wishes you cannot be there. Someone has to share the news to you that someone has died. Maybe we are like the women who followed and watched all the way to Jesus taking his last breath. Either way, the life in this world is gone and we are only left with grief. Easter – We recognize and lift up the eternal life they have with the risen Lord at their funeral On Easter Sunday we remember the women who went to anoint their dead Messiah. They were welcomed with an empty tomb. Death and grief no longer filled their hearts because Jesus had risen. Their Savior had completed his act of conquering death and thus instituted our eternal life with God.
Peter’s memorial service will probably be a private affair. I am not sure if I will be able to be there to accompany his body and memory to God. God willing, I will hopefully be able to be part of it. Funerals are definitely sad. I am not trying to say that they aren’t, but in the funeral liturgy we do more than mourn our dead acquaintances. Interestingly enough, we gather at a funeral because of the deceased, but the whole worship service done within the Lutheran context is centered on the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. Why is this? It is through the eternal Jesus Christ that we are promised an eternal life with God. We lift up the deceased, but we also commend and commit them to God’s loving care. We make a bold proclamation during funerals following the words of Paul, “When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:12) In conclusion, being with someone as they are dying is not easy. Grieving for those who have passed away is not easy. Luckily, as we relive Holy Week with them we can hold onto Jesus’ promise that they are forever with God and we will see them again. Points to Ponder:
Tax season approaches (unless you are a farmer than you’ve been done for a month). Some may be getting refunds and some may realize they owe the state a federal government a bit of money. When it comes to refunds it seems that some people rely on that money to pay bills. For others they may use that tax refund to go towards paying future taxes. Then for others the tax refund is like “free money” that can be spent towards a vacation or other fun purchases. This rambling is for the third group. Have you ever thought of using that “fun and free money” towards helping others and the glory of God? Yes, that refund may get you airfare to Florida, but what if it helped people eat that week? Yes, that refund may help you get that jet-ski you’ve been churning for, but what if it helped provide water for a village? Yes, that refund could pay for the weekend road trip and hotel stay in the next state over, but what if it was put in the collection plate on Sunday to go towards the church’s ministries? How you spend your money is how you spend your money. I am not trying to tell people what they should or should not do. I just want to highlight another way that money could be spent. Points to Ponder:
“Every person dies two deaths, when they breathe their last breath and somewhere in the future when the last person to remember them dies." Have you heard something like this quote before? I was unable to find the true etymology of this quote and others like it, so I decided write out my own version. The point of it is that we die again when we are no longer remembered. This is the basis for the movie, “Coco”. In the movie people in the land of the dead vanish forever when they are no longer remembered. This may be true for the “Mulan” universe as well considering the Great Stone Dragon is destroyed when Mushu accidentally destroys his statue. The need to be remembered (or not forgotten) is what drives a lot of people. It pushes people to do great things. It pushes people to do heinous things. Statues, paintings, and buildings are made to set a person’s name in the history books, so that they can live on forever. The need to honor those who have died is the whole reason we have memorials. You might see, “In honor of so-and-so please donate some money in their name to this cause or this church.” These actions are taken so that a person can be remembered. (Side note: church memorials are meant to honor God first and foremost in memory of the deceased. Unfortunately, more often than not honoring the memory is more important than honoring God when memorials are being decided upon.) I think the fear of not being remembered is really just an extension of the fear of dying. The great thing about Jesus’ death and resurrection for us is we are promised to live forever. As Jesus hung from the cross he was being mocked and rebuked by the Roman soldiers. He was also being mocked by one the men being crucified next to him. The other person being crucified next to Jesus defends Jesus and accepts his own fate before God. Then he asks something of Jesus: Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [Jesus] replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” –Luke 23:42-43 In living forever with God we are remembered forever, too. This is something to chew on as we move forward into our lives. This rambling does not and is not trying to discourage us from attempting to do great things in our world to make it a better place. Instead, let this rambling is a reminder that you will always be remembered. Even if nobody knows who you are, God does. 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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