Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
I celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary with my wife, Megan, on October 26. Three days later I celebrated my one year anniversary of ordination. I was trying to figure out which to reflect on for this week’s ramble and decided that they share a lot of similarities. On October 26, 2013, my wife and I stood in front of a lot of people for our wedding ceremony. The worship service was centered on our commitment to each other and God’s commitment to us. On October 29, 2017, my colleague Chris Lee and I stood in front of a lot of people for our joint ordination service. We both made a commitment to serve God’s church through Word and Sacrament. The bishop and laid his hands on us and we received God’s blessing to be ministers. Both instances involved commitment and a blessing from God. I thank God every day for my wife, Megan, because she is a wonderful person and partner. On top of that, I pray that God continue to guide both of us as we learn to love the people we are and the people we will become. I also thank God every day that I get the joy of this wonderful call to ministry. It is truly an honor and a blessing to serve in God’s name, especially in a wonderful congregation like Augustana Lutheran Church. Both anniversaries remind me that there is so much more to learn and experience. I look forward to the time when I can talk about my 20, 30, and 40 year anniversary in both marriage and ordination to others. I pray prayers of thanksgiving to God for the call of husband and pastor. It seems, as is custom at anniversaries, I find myself being very unapologetically sappy. Here’s to another year in God’s grace! Points to Ponder:
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This last Sunday we celebrated WELCA Sunday. This is a Sunday where we uplift Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA), but we also uplift womanhood and celebrate the many ways that it can be expressed. As a man. I do not have the experience of what it means to be a woman. Instead, I want to lift of some women of the Bible that were lifted up this Sunday. They are not lifted up because they needed a man to be great. They are not lifted up because they were subservient as society would like them to be. These are certified badass women who are to be reckoned with and not overlooked. Rahab: Joshua 2:1-14 Joshua is attributed with tearing down the great walls of Jericho, but it is in this scene that we learn of how his spies received help from Rahab. Not only is Rahab an unlikely helper due to her profession (prostitute), she is a non-Israelite. She is not part of God’s chosen family and yet God speaks to her and her family to ensure protection and perseverance over Jericho. Because of her bravery, her family is spared. Ruth: The Whole Book of Ruth Ruth’s words to her mother are heard many times at marriages (Wherever you go I will do...). Her strength and commitment to her mother-in-law brings about encouragement for a similar attitude toward our own relationships, and it can be heard as Jesus’ words to us this very day. Although Jesus’ or God’s name is not spoken in this book, we receive a whole story centered on two women in their search to regain wholeness together after losing so much. Let us lift of both Ruth and Naomi as women who show us the way of love. Martha and Mary of Bethany: John 11 and 12:1-8 Although Jesus is late, the only reason he heard that his friend was ill was because Martha and Mary sent word. Martha and Mary owe much to Jesus because he resurrected their brother, Lazarus, from the dead. Martha is annoyed that Jesus did not come in time to cure her brother’s illness, but at the same time she holds faith in Jesus and what he can do. Mary, who also mourned her brother, is a symbol of true thankfulness as she anoints Jesus’ feet after witnessing the miracle. So it seems these sisters are symbols of faith and thankfulness and they witness a glimpse of the true power Jesus has over death. Lydia: Acts 16:11-15 Lydia is a professional woman and believer in God. Because she was open to listening to Paul speak of Jesus Christ her whole household was baptized. Normally the pattern was that a man would be converted and his household would be baptized, but this text shows us that Lydia must have been the head of her household. That is not enough, though. Lydia nominates her own home to be a place devoted to Christ. Isn’t it amazing what this dealer in purple cloth was able to do in the time period she lived in? Priscilla: Acts 18:1-28 and Romans 16:3 Many times in scripture the wife is not given a name. Instead, she is given the label of wife. Think of back in our own time at a wedding when the pastor would announce, “I now declare them Mr. and Mrs. John Smith!” But both of the members of this husband and wife duo get a name. Priscilla stands out as not just a woman tied to her husband, but someone with agency, someone memorable. In fact, Paul, the father of the Christian church, in his letter to the Romans goes out of his way to say, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life.” How amazing that Paul attributes the saving of his life to this female disciple of Christ. WELCA has a mission, "Mobilizing women to act boldly in their faith in Jesus Christ." I hope these women from the bible inspire all of us to continually act boldly in our own faith, to push for change when women are not treated as equals, and to read the Bible through a lens that uplifts women rather then trying to limit their abilities. Points to Ponder:
When I was in confirmation there was a moment where the pastor asked us questions as we sat in front of the whole congregation. I had a rather large confirmation class so we luckily didn’t have to answer too many questions in front of all those people. My pastor gave some advice. He said that if you get a number question the answer is usually 3, 7, or 40. I would have preferred there to just be one answer so I wouldn’t mess up (e.g. you are always correct in Sunday school if you say Jesus!), but I figured I could weave through those three numbers. A robot’s life can be broken down in to 1’s and 0’s. Many would say that our own lives could be broken down the same way like Neo in the Matrix. Numbers do have an importance when we think about how the world works. Calculus was invented to be the language for physicists trying to explain the world and to make high schoolers wet themselves when trying to figure out relative rates (the second part may be an exaggeration). Many people have a favorite number. That number usually has meaning. For me, my favorite number is 1. No, it is not because I think that highly of myself. It is not because I believe in the one God. It wasn’t even a number I ever wore in sports. The truth is I almost died when I was one. I had a tear where my stomach and small intestine met and if it weren’t for quick thinking doctors I’d be with God rather than rambling away with this blog. So my favorite number is one because every birthday I have is an anniversary of life from when I was born and when I almost died. The number one reminds me of the miracle of modern medicine and how I need to appreciate life. So what is so important about the numbers 3, 7, and 40? Let’s dive in and do some biblical numerology (yes that is a thing). 3
What are the implications of this? Three can stand for completeness. Perhaps that is why many baroque composers wrote their music in ¾ time? 7
It seems again, that there is a form of fulfillment period. Did God really create the world in 7 days or could the author of Genesis 1 be trying to tell a story in which God works for a period of time, 24 hours, 6 times and then rests on the seventh day to show that the Lord’s creation had been fulfilled? 40
The number forty seems to reference a time of trial. The flood was the trial of keeping faith that water would subside. Jesus’ temptation is self-explanatory. The Israelites had turned away from the Promised Land, so God made them wander as the cursed generation died off. 40 days of being told to turn away from their sins seemed to do the trick for those in Nineveh. I hope if you didn’t find this fun (numbers are fun!) you at least found it interesting. It brings up the question…what is your favorite number? Why? Is it because it seems complete? Because it is a fulfilled number? Does it have to do with trials? Do they match any of these “holy numbers”? Please leave a comment! I want to hear about your favorite number! [i] http://www.turnbacktogod.com/biblical-numbers-1-10/ [ii] Ibid. [iii] http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/40.html There are many instances in the Bible that speak of walking with God:
These are just three bible verses speaking of walking with God and I can assure you there are a lot more that sound very similar. So what does it mean to walk with God? Does it mean God wants us to get our 10,000 steps in? Does it mean God wants us to walk a mile in somebody else’s (maybe even Jesus’) shoes? The Micah verse seems to point to following or obeying God as a form of walking with God. 1 John seems to point towards walking in the light as walking with other people and also following Jesus who died for us. 2 John has a more “walk the walk, talk the talk” kind of vibe. If you say you are with Jesus, then do like him. These three verses and the many like them point to this reality: Walking with God is about following God’s commands and living in God’s promise of eternal life. It does not just mean obeying God. It also points to who we walk with (others and God) and why we walk with those people (Jesus has cleansed us by claiming victory with his own blood). Walking with God is about walking in love, “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.” (2 John 1:6) As we do this we can know we never walk alone because Jesus Christ assured us that he will be with us always to the end of the age (Matt 28:20). So go walk humbly with God! Don’t worry about the cracks on the sidewalk (I am sure your mother’s back will be fine). Perhaps, much like the 10,000 step challenge from our Fitbits, the call to walk with God is a call to get off our butts and go do something in God’s name. Maybe go help someone or share God’s love with someone. Crazy concept I know. 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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