Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
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:
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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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