Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
A common pet peeve for pastors is a misrepresentation of the season of Advent. Advent is about welcoming and preparing for Christ’s return, but it is commonly seen as a sign to prepare for Christmas. What can end up happening are people in the church wonder why we don’t sing Christmas carols until December 24th when the Hallmark channel has already released 10 new Christmas specials before the beginning of December. Christmas is an exciting holiday for many reasons: presents, family, day off, presents,…oh and I guess the birth of Christ. That excitement leads to wanting to prolong the holiday cheer and jump right into the birth of Christ and Santa Claus celebrations. I am one of those people too. That is why this year Augustana is going to give a little slack and buy into the excitement of Christmas. If you can’t beat ‘em then join ‘em. These are the smart words Augustana will be abiding by for this “Advent/Christmas” season. Our church services will be about “Getting Excited for Christmas” instead of preparing ourselves for the coming Last Day. My hope is that the Christmas cheer can last the whole month of December as we countdown to Christmas Day. What is Christmas cheer? It’s not peppermint mocha lattes or candy canes. The holiday cheer is God’s love shone to us through the birth of Jesus. My idea and challenge to you this month is to share God’s love at least once a day in order to spread the Christmas cheer. This means you can help out somewhere, donate to something, pay a compliment to someone, or give somebody a hug!!! If it is at the end of the day and there is no opportunity to share that love with someone then think about what you are grateful for and give thanks to God in prayer. God’s blessings to you this Christmas! Spread that holiday cheer!
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One of my favorite movie scenes involved a man trying to rob Crocodile Dundee at knife point. Unphased, Crocodile Dundee says his famous line, “That’s not a knife. This is a knife.” The man scurry’s away because he realizes he is not equipped for the fight he was getting into. A similar phrase in movies is, “You don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.” We are not to be ill-equipped for the fights, arguments, and discussions we enter in this world. As Christians, what do we have as we enter the world which is turning away from God at an exponential rate? Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, tells where are safety and defense lies. Another hymn, “Our Church’s One Foundation”, speaks of the church being built on blood of Christ. Many times we attribute the church as a place where we can come to worship God, but what do we have when we leave the church and live our day to day lives? If we stick with the battle imagery, what are we equipped with as we run William Wallace (or John Snow) style head first into the battle to spread the news of Jesus? St. Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians talking about the Armor of God (Eph 6:10-17). In it he says we have these things:
Looking at this wonderful attire (which I picture to be very shiny in my head) I cannot help but notice the thing they all have in common: God’s love shown in Jesus Christ. The truth wrapped around our waist is that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son to die for us. By dying for us we are made righteous through Jesus. This gift of love is meant for all people, therefore it is meant to be shared with all people. When people ask how we can know such things we lift up our shield of faith which points of to God’s love in Christ. We point to salvation we have received through him. By sharing this with others we are inviting the Holy Spirit to pierce their hearts and bring the love of God to their knowledge through faith. We enter the fray equipped with God’s love. Equipped with God’s love we enter the fray not only to share about Jesus, but also to speak against those who use hate and vitriol in the name of Jesus. Notice that God does not equip us with picket signs to be placed outside military funerals or to demean any person because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. God does not equip us with burning crosses to symbolize a pure race. God does not equip us with hate. God equips us with love. Jesus had all the power in the world, and yet when he was hit across the cheek he didn’t fight back with violence and hate. He presented his other cheek. He presented his unrelenting love. He offered his life over vengeance and destruction. So when someone comes to you with the knife of hate they are looking to rob you of your joy. Instead of giving in and pulling out a knife of hate we pull out the big Bowie knife of God’s love and say, “Goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death; victory is ours through God who loves us!” Or you could say, “That’s not a knife, this is a knife!” Points to Ponder:
Last week’s gospel text involved Jesus warning against the religious leaders who seek glory, fame, and compliments over the focus on serving God. “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Mark 12:38-40 As a pastor, these words from Jesus are a gut check to my calling and to the calling of the church. This warning from Jesus calls us to question if we are actually doing God’s mission (spreading the love of Christ to the world through words and actions) or if we are performing church in a way that is self-serving.
It is easy to point to the mega-millionaire pastors and churches always asking for money. These are the ones that say God wishes for them to have a second private jet, so we need to give them money. Not all televangelists are like this, but many of them seem to fall in line with this warning from Jesus. This text has me asking myself if I use my time and resources as the leader of Augustana Lutheran Church for the benefit of spreading God’s love or if I am only doing all of this for my own recognition. This text is personal to me because I know if I do not leave my ego in check than my head will not be able to fit through the church’s doors (I am sure my friends and family can concur). Pastors are entrusted with a big role as spiritual leader and head shepherd of a flock or flocks we call congregations. If they are unwilling to follow through, be of good use in God’s name, and avoid unsavory actions then I truly agree with Jesus that there is a greater condemnation waiting for us. That’s just me. Although I am the leader, I am one person in my church. What about the church as a whole? Are we doing church in a way that promotes and benefits all people in our communities? If not, how does the call to share God’s love call for changes in our congregations. Is how we do church only beneficiary to those attending Sunday services? If so, why would we ever expect anyone to actually be interested in God’s love? An interesting thing about answering the question of whether or not the church and the pastor are serving God’s mission is that if the answer is “no” then action is needed. So let me ask again. Does the church you serve or used to be a part of share a love for God and share God’s love with the community around it? If yes, how does it do that? If no, what needs to be changed and how are you willing to help make that change? If we answer no and are unwilling to help make the changes necessary then we are like a person who wants to change the way the country is run but never votes. Maybe you are scared of the time commitment of what it takes to change a congregation. Maybe you are pessimistic about whether the church can actually change from its old ways. Maybe you are tired, busy and not up for the challenge. Just as not voting is a vote for whoever wins, not being active in your church is a vote to keep things the same (this also assumes that everyone in charge wants to stay in charge). I do not want myself or any church to be the kind of place that abuses the love of God for our own benefit. I want the whole church to truly serve the goodness of creation. So if you see me or any pastor being quite full of themselves and in ministry for the wrong reasons, tell them about it. If you see a church unwilling to serve its community and only focus on preserving itself, call them out. Sometimes we need truth tellers to disrupt the status quo before we can address the necessary change. Remember…the church of God does not have a mission. Instead, God’s mission has a church.[i] [i] This saying is the basis of missional theology. The priest at my grandmother’s funeral stuck on to this verse from Bible: But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 The amazing thing about what Jesus Christ did for us is that he gave us hope. The promise of eternal life and being part of the eternal Body of Christ (Community of Saints, Kingdom for Heaven or whichever way you like to think of it) reminds us that there is a future for us after we die here on earth. Paul writes further in his letter to the Thessalonians: For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 There is not only hope of our own futures after death, but there is hope of seeing loved ones again. This does not diminish the grief we feel at funerals. Paul does not say, “Stop crying and feeling pain!” Instead, Paul asks them to not grieve as if there is no hope for our deceased family and ourselves. Feeling grief in the present is part of life, but we can also lean on that future promise life eternal. This is why Paul finishes this paragraph with these words, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (v. 18)
These words are meant to be encouraging rather than discouraging. Do not get mad at someone who grieves over a loved one, but instead stick by them and be their comfort and encouragement when they have none. As I mentioned in my sermon this past Sunday, we do not deny death but we defy it. As Christians we do not deny that death exists. Jesus certainly did not deny it existed for he too succumbed to it on the cross. Instead, as Jesus did three days later, we defy death’s final say over our lives. Jesus’ power over death is ours too. That’s pretty encouraging to think in the midst of grief and pain. 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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