Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
Not-So-Crazy Concept: Church is where people should find God. Sad Truth: That’s not always the case.3/12/2019 I was recently at a resourcing event held by our synod. The keynote speaker, Pr. David Daubert, presented on discipleship in the church today. He also presented much of the research he had gathered when collaborating on this topic with others. I will be honest; I had to go to the bathroom during his opening talk in front of the whole conference. I was waiting for him to go down a rabbit hole I had already heard about or to speak of a problem of which I already knew the solutions he would say, so I could go to the bathroom. Instead, I had to hold it because everything he said and spoke of was captivating. It was also full of sad truths about the church today and hope for the church in the future. “When un-churched people visit a church they are looking for God.” This statement was made in light of talking about why people go to church. The truth is that most people who regularly attend church (especially in smaller churches) do so for the people. They love the people who also attend that church and they go to walk through the ritual of worship with them. As for un-churched people or people who have fallen away from regularly attending a specific church, these are people who need a reason to actually try to attend a worship service in the first place. If one of them attends church service they are probably going through something troubling and in deep questioning. This is what brings them to the church. They are looking for God. The sad truth is that a lot of times a person looking for God goes to a church and sees a lot of nice welcoming people. They might even see a nice welcoming pastor, but they don’t find God. They are looking for answers and yet they only see smiling faces. They want to engage God in worship and yet all they see is everyone just going through the motions during service. Pr. David Daubert went on to say that the church (Lutheran Church specifically) needs to reclaim discipleship. It needs to be more intentional with how it approaches following, believing, acting, and speaking about Jesus. It cannot be a place or strictly friendliness. It needs to be a place that intentionally follows Jesus in all facets of life. What might worship and daily conversation look like if the disciples of Jesus lived that way? If you are someone who regularly attends a worship service and you find yourself in a conversation about why people don’t go to church, ask yourself, “Who is Jesus to you? Who is Jesus to them? Why is that important? What are you and your church going to do about it?" Points to Ponder:
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There might be a little dust on the forehead, but don't let it fool ya about what's inside.3/6/2019 March 6, 2019, is Ash Wednesday. It is not a day of grand celebration of Christ’s birth or resurrection like Christmas and Easter. Today is the day where we remember our eventual deaths. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” These words are said as a cross of ash is made on our foreheads. They reflect God’s words to Adam and Eve after they defied God’s command to not eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Out of God’s anger he banishes the two from Eden and gives them different punishments and warnings about their lives outside of God’s paradise. God tells them a truth that we will all return to the ground because that is where we came from. This is not to say God has molded all of us out of clay as he did Adam, but it points to the fact that we are created and mortal. Many people do not like to think about their mortality, but on Ash Wednesday we openly celebrate it as we kick off our Lenten journey. We claim it as reality. We are called to accept the cross of ash, remember our lives on earth have an expiration date, and focus on the one who gives us life beyond death. Eternal life is what truly lies inside of us thanks to Jesus. It is by his grace that our dustiness does not define who we are, but rather we are defined by the one who claimed victory over death for us. As you remember you are mortal and your body has an expiration date, do not forget what truly lies inside each and every one of us. To use the words of David Lee Murphy, “There might be a little dust on the bottle, but don't let it fool ya about what's inside.” Points to Ponder
My lovely wife turned me on to a song by Lauren Daigle called, “Salt and Light”. This song calls back to Matthew 5:13-16: Salt and Light These words from Jesus are pointed towards his disciples, but as we read this text we can also insert ourselves into the picture. He tells the believers of Christ they are the true salt of the earth. By calling us salt of the earth he lets us know that we are the representation of graciousness and goodness for the world. By calling us the light of the world he lets us know that we are to be seen. We are supposed to eliminate the darkness of this world by shining the light of graciousness, goodness, and love to the whole world. Do you think the last two paragraphs reflect the Christian church today? Can you say that the people of Christianity are the salt of the earth and the light of the world? I believe I can comfortably say that the people of Christianity do not always live up to Jesus’ words. How do we, the followers of Jesus, become more salty and shine brighter? Lauren Daigle helps us out through her song. Here is her refrain: For You are salt and light Jesus is the saltiness. Jesus is the brightness. If salt has lost its taste then it has lost its whole purpose. Salt, like any seasoning, has a single purpose of bringing more flavor to something. When Jesus tells his followers to not lose their saltiness he is telling them to look to him for direction and strength. If Christians fall away from Jesus and his purpose to bring salvation, graciousness, goodness, and love to the world, then they lose their saltiness. So the seasoning (purpose) we have in this world is to let the flavor of God’s love be known and shared. We are only true representatives of graciousness and goodness when we represent Jesus instead of ourselves. As for light, we find a similar theme. This Sunday we get the Transfiguration text in which Jesus shines bright (Luke 9:28-36) and God’s light makes Moses’ face glow (Exodus 34:29-35). Jesus also calls himself the ‘Light of the world’ (John 8:12). The light we are shining is Jesus. He is the source of our brightness. As we work to share his love to the world instead of hiding that light under a bushel basket, people will be able to see the work of God shining through us. Lauren Daigle finishes the song with these words: Let my eyes see Your kingdom shine all around Representing Jesus and shining the light of Jesus are one in the same. This is done by letting people know about the love of Jesus. It seems to be done even greater when it is shown through action. When we help those in need we represent Jesus. When we support ministries and charities trying to make a difference for the betterment of our world we shine the light of Jesus. By tasting and seeing the love of Jesus, which is done when our lives reflect who God is to others, Jesus promises that witnesses to this salt and light will come to give glory to our Father in heaven.
Points to ponder:
This week’s rambling is an adaption from my sermon last Sunday based on Luke’s version of Jesus’ Beatitudes (Luke 6:17-26). Jesus Teaches and Heals Lord Acton was a 19th century British historian who famously penned, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This phrase helps us think about the intentions of those in power. I bring this up because just before the blessings and woes people are attempting to latch onto Jesus because “power came out of him and healed all of them.” This can bring light into Jesus’ following words commonly known as ‘The Beatitudes’. Perhaps, blessed are the poor, hungry, weeping, and hated because they seek the power of Christ for restoration. That is what Jesus promises in the blessings. What about those who belong to the woes that were grabbing for power from Christ? Perhaps, Jesus lets them know woe to the rich, full, laughing, and loved because they only seek more of what they already have. They do not seek restoration. Instead, they seek to increase their own power instead of seeking to restore those who have none. Does this mean Jesus hates all of those in power? According to Lord Acton, does this mean anyone with means is corrupt? Psychologists did a study to test if power truly corrupts everyone. What they found was that the characteristics and personality of a person became intensified the more power someone had. Both good and bad characteristics intensified. The characteristics of loving, caring, and helping intensified but so did lust, jealousy, greed, need for control, and a need to be liked. What seems to happen is that many of the negative characteristics do not get acted upon when a person has no power because they require power in the first place for those negative characteristics to take hold. For example, someone with no money may try to steal to get some, but that does not necessarily mean they are greedy. Someone who has a billion dollars and always wants more of it would be considered greedy. For the first person there is a need and the second there is a desire. To those people who have a stronger ideology towards helping the greater good than their own desires they seem to increase in their caring and helping the more power they get. So…it seems that not all people with power are corrupt. (Even Acton uses ‘tends’.) If it were true that everyone with any power in this world were corrupt we would never be able to trust anyone. Democracy would fail. Capitalism would fail. The point of all of this power talk is to recognize the only being which has Absolute PoweràGod, Almighty. If we go back to Jesus’ words of blessings and woes and insert God into the equation they begin to make sense. Who is bestowing the Kingdom of God to the poor? Who promises to fill the hungry, bring laughter to the weeping, and reward those who are hated because they believe in Jesus? God. God. God. God. Why is it woe to the rich? What is their consolation? Their consolation is their wealth, but wealth does them no good after death. The full will be starving for grace and mercy. The laughing will weep for they did not know the true joy of Christ. The loved will suddenly come to understand that God’s eternal love is way greater than that of any human. This is important to remember because we can be found in both groups of people. There are times when we truly thirst and hunger for God, but there are also times where we trust in what we have more than what God has for us. Any time you have spent money frivolously when you could have given it to someone who needed it, Jesus says, “Woe to you”. Any time you have walked away from a meal absolutely stuffed even though you know there are people starving around the world, Jesus says, “Woe to you”. Any time you back off from talking about Jesus’ love for you so that other people will love you more, Jesus says, “Woe to you”. Even though we falter and come up short to God’s expectations Jesus came down to us. Just as he did in Luke 6:17 for the crowd he did so for the whole world. Because of that love shown to us through the cross and empty tomb the forgiveness and blessing of Jesus claims us first and foremost. We are guided to live for God and others, but for the times when we find ourselves in the “woes” of Jesus’ preaching I leave you these beatitudes: Blessed are those who sin and seek God’s forgiveness for it will be forgiven. Blessed are those who come to partake in the Body and Blood of Christ for you will receive his benefits. Blessed is the whole world for Jesus died and rose again for it. Points to Ponder:
February 14th marks the world day of love in the Christian world. It is also extremely secularized and monetized to convince people to spend money to show our loved ones just how much we care. Men, show you love your partner with diamonds, chocolates, teddy bears, and flowers. Women, show your love by getting him a nice pair of socks or testosterone supplements! (I will admit I am not sure what is commonly advertised for women to get men. I will say that I like flowers, too! My apologies for the heteronormative examples. These are just the ones I see in advertisements.) I remember bringing a fun size Valentine’s Day candy for all my homeroom classmates every year in elementary school. Even as a child we are instructed that showing love is done through giving things. Is this really what love is all about? So many businesses try to teach about what love is and so many authors try to unravel its secrets. This leads to the question many preachers sermonize about at weddings and philosophers, poets, and musicians try to describe in their work. It’s the question the title of this rambling calls back to: Haddaway’s, “What is Love”? St. Paul writes very clearly about what love is: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. -1 Corinthians 13:4-8a The question then becomes how this love plays out in your own life. What does this love look like in the real world rather than just in a letter? It certainly seems more than just giving things to others. For those fortunate to have someone you love, which moments in your relationship were highlighted by some of these characteristics? Do you remember the things or the moments themselves? Love is not about the giving of things. It is the giving of one’s own self to another. When St. Paul writes of love he understands there is only one person who fully embodied this love, the incarnate Son of God, Jesus. Jesus agrees about what the noblest form of love actually is: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. -John 15:13 Human relationships have highs and lows, but Jesus’ love for the world was a constant to the cross and grave and is still a constant in our lives today. Whether you have a special sweetie to enjoy Valentine’s Day with, just the memory of a deceased loved one, or no one at all, please know that Jesus celebrates this Valentine’s Day with you as he does every day. He laid down his live for you. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things for you. The love of Jesus endures forever. Feel free to answer any of the questions posed in the comment section! February 5th in the ELCA calendar commemorates the 26 martyrs who were crucified in Japan back in 1597. These people were killed by the Japanese government the way Jesus was crucified by the Roman Empire. They, like the many martyrs before them, were killed because of their faith. They didn’t turn away from God. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego they chose the possibility of death over turning away from our Savior, Jesus Christ. Unlike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the 26 martyrs didn’t survive and change the heart of the king. Commemorating martyrs reminds us of the bravery which past disciples of Jesus had. It also reminds us of the deep cost their faith had on their earthly lives. They could and would be killed for believing. Nowadays that is not the case in the United States and most of the western world. You may be able to point to a small number of individual instances where people were murdered for their faith in Jesus, but today the majority of the Christians in the United States are safe. What is the cost today for believing in Jesus? I fully understand that Jesus requires nothing from us to receive his love and forgiveness. I understand that works do not enable the eternal life we have. Jesus enacted it when he died and rose from the dead for us. That is not the point of the question. More specifically, the question is this: What does it cost to be a Christian who belongs to a church today? You may be asked to help out or participate in special events, committees, and worship. Again, this is not required. The category of costs for a Christian in the United States today seems to be broken down into time, money, and effort, but you would be amazed at how low the cost actually is. The church I serve, Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, requires at least one donation and/or one time receiving communion in a calendar year to keep one’s official membership. At Augustana Lutheran Church it literally can cost as little as a penny and/or an hour of your Sunday in one calendar year to say, “I belong to Augustana in Andover.” Jesus’ love is a free gift and it costs very little time, money, and effort to be considered a member of a church. This makes me wonder if Christianity has become cheap. It no longer has the danger it once had in the early church and in late 16th century Japan. There is no pope calling for your execution because you challenge the use of indulgences. Jesus only calls for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. So is being a Christian just some cheap country club with extremely low standards? Could this be another reason why people do not find being active in our churches worthwhile? The cost seems so low that perhaps people just don’t find it important anymore. Perhaps this cheapening of Christianity is why so many people swarm to do something else with their time, money and effort during the week and especially on Sundays. Why worry about the hour I could spend at the cheap country club on Sunday when I could get my rest? Why waste a day or evening devoted to the cheap country club when my child’s possible sports and academic career could be boosted by a different activity? Why would I ever want to be on the board or a committee of that cheap country club when I have more important things to do? I find that churches and church leaders can have a tendency to buy into this cheap mentality too. They carry themselves as if they do not matter in people’s lives. They worry about requiring too much effort because they do not want to scare away the members that are still coming to the weekly meetings at the cheap country club. I want you to know that Jesus’ love and life for us is free, but it’s not cheap. Calling the gospel cheap is like calling a $325,000 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan cheap because you didn’t have to pay for it. Just because it is free doesn’t mean it’s a junk car or a/an __________________ (please insert whatever you consider to be a bad car brand). How we treat that glorious and gracious gift is where we can go wrong. We live out our faith by driving the car. Driving the car, living out our faith, is done by devoting our time, money and effort to God and the world in need. Every time we do that we get to experience the power, class, and awesomeness of God’s love kicking our bodies back into the seat. If we never drive the car, don’t keep up the oil change, and occasionally take a bat to the headlights of that Rolls-Royce it can be cheapened. It is still an amazing car. It is still free. Yet, we have chosen to not use it as it is meant to be used. Christian churches are the living Body of Christ which get to celebrate, praise, and enact God’s love for the world. It is the place where we get to actually do the Work of God. It is not a cheap country club. It is a Rolls-Royce owners club. (I am assuming these exist and that they are full of rich people). The only reason the club is so easily affordable is because the Rolls-Royce was free!!!! What does the club do? The members live out their faith. They get into their cars and drive. Dear God I give thanks for those willing to sacrifice themselves for the one who gave his life for the world. Specifically, I give thanks for the 26 Martyrs of Japan who died in 1597. Thank you for the dope car of your son’s love. Please allow for your Holy Spirit to inspire me to drive this car for Your sake. When I forget how valuable my faith and my church are help remind me of the power of Jesus’ love for me and the whole world. Amen. Points to ponder:
I joined a group of pastors last week and the question arose about feeling God in the present. Most of us answered that knowing God is always present is absolute, but feeling God in the present is a definite place for growth. Sunday morning I had a discussion with parishioners about this same question, “When have you felt God’s presence in your life?” I was struck by some of the answers. In the long run, like with the pastor group, I found people mostly using language of the head (knowing) rather than language of the heart (feeling). I am not trying to belittle or undermine what it is to know the truth of God and of God’s presence in our lives. I would just like to also bring to your attention the importance of feeling God’s presence in our heart, soul, and bones. This is a more mystic approach to interacting with God, but in the Lutheran tradition it is commonly thrown to the side because it is uncomfortable. What does it mean to feel God’s presence? Can you think of a time when you felt overcome with a deep sense of awe, peace, love, or feeling God right there with you? There’s a story from a previous parishioner of feeling God literally pushing her in the back to go see her friend who may not live to see the next day. She felt God pushing her to be her friend’s support. Upon her arrival her friend thought she was an angel telling her to keep fighting. Her body miraculously recovered thanks to doctors, but also thanks to her body’s newfound spiritual determination to be healed. Personally speaking, I remember the feeling and fire of God’s call to “do something!” upon listening to my home pastor’s sermon. I don’t remember the sermon but I definitely remember the feeling. This is the same feeling which grew into a full blown call to ministry. For our high school youth who were surrounded by 30,000 kids just like them praising God, you have no choice but to feel God’s presence. In the middle of silent prayer and meditation you can feel God helping you answer the questions on your heart. God’s presence and direction in my life is often seen in hindsight. I look back at moments in my life and I can see how God was with me, supporting me, and loving me. Hindsight is all well and good, but I strive to maybe listen and feel God in the moment better. This means allowing myself to welcome interruptions. This means making time to pray God rather than trying to find it. This means accepting God’s hand and direction in my life at all times. In the moment asking how God might be calling me to share the Love shown to us for others. This means constantly thanking God for the gift of the spectacular now. This is a growth area for me and perhaps it is a growth area for you. Please take a look at the ‘Points to Ponder’ to see if there is anything you would be willing to try to be more active in feeling God’s presence. Blessings and peace be with you always!!!! Point to Ponder:
Please note: If you want to watch a good movie (and love Miles Teller) give ‘The Spectacular Now’ a chance. It’s a high school Romance drama worth your time. Too often I have heard of colleagues being told to not bring politics into the pulpit by parishioners. Many times this reaction comes when a preacher repeats Jesus' words in response to something happening in the world today. While it is true that one cannot tell you who to vote for from the pulpit (unless you want your non-profit status stripped), this statement about politics in the pulpit makes the false assumption that Jesus was not political. Political From Birth Even before he could speak the Magi and Israelite scholars pointed very clearly to the Messiah being born underneath a star in the town of Bethlehem. “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:1-6) Why was Herod scared? He was not worried about Jesus, the Messiah. He was worried about Jesus, the proposed king and true heir of David. (Even though Herod was king of the Israelites, his family was a group of outsiders who converted to Judaism. They were not true heirs of King David.) He sent his men to murder all the boys in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger to try to rid the world of the boy who was his political opponent (Matthew 2:16). Clear View on Leadership Jesus made it clear about what it means to rule and be a leader. It is not done with force and lording power over others. It is done through service. “Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28) This is an interesting message for the political leaders of their time and for our political leaders today. Leading is done by serving others rather than ourselves. Jesus’ Kingdom Talk Was Political Jesus spoke time and again of the coming Kingdom of God/Heaven. As a person living underneath the rule of an empire imagine how this might be received? Jesus is openly speaking of a realm that will come and take over the world. A realm which favors the poor, welcomes the outcast, heals the sick, loves the enemy, uplifts the oppressed, feeds the hungry, blesses those who are weeping, says woe to the rich who seek to sit on their money instead of using it to help those in need, says woe to those who are full and do not share their food, and says woe to those laughing at those who mourn. (Luke 6:20-26) Jesus does not just promise this to us, but he also asks that we help prepare the Kingdom of God/Heaven as we await the return of Christ. In the parable of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46) Jesus makes a claim about who is in the right and who is in the wrong. Those in the right looked after those in need. In fact, by serving the hungry, thirsty, and homeless Jesus makes the claim that you are actually serving Jesus, himself. Those in the wrong ignored the troubles of the oppressed, outcasts, and thus, Jesus, himself. Let Us Strive To Follow Jesus Please note these words from Jesus as you think about how our government is run. Many might point to the sheep and goats parable and Jesus’ words to be about individual acts. While he is talking to individuals I think it is important that we do not miss out on the big picture. What would it look like if on a large scale we could try to get as close to the Kingdom of God/Heaven as possible? What if we voted and spoke out for leaders that seek to actually serve others rather than themselves? What if we actually would strive, vote, help, and advocate in ways that actually supported our fellow humans who suffer? In the midst of this government shutdown over a wall I invite you to think about these questions and words from Jesus. While our government continues to be shutdown Jesus’ political view of love for all people continues on for the followers of Christ to share. Points to Ponder:
Too often it seems New Year’s resolutions start with self-hate:
What do you not like about yourself? (Body? Personality? Job? Friends?) Now change it. While this may work for some people, it usually winds up meaning busy gyms, better attitudes, and a new job search for the first two weeks of January. This is then followed by a week of feeling down about failing the resolutions and 49 weeks of forgetting you even had one. The New Year’s Resolution that I think we be more helpful for this coming year is to invest. More importantly and specifically, invest in God’s love. Investing in God’s love does not mean having faith in Jesus. This resolution is actually for those who already have faith in Jesus the Christ. This is for those who, like the shepherds and wise men, understand the all-powerful and all-saving Jesus. If you believe in Jesus and believe what he has done for us through the cross and resurrection then my challenge would be to invest in that love. Why? Because if you believe in God’s all-powerful love then you know the returns on that love are out of this world (some might say, “Heavenly”). What does it mean to invest in God’s love? When I say invest I do not mean only money. Investing connotes devoting time, energy, and effort towards God’s unfailing love. This is done through prayer, meditation, fasting, worship, reading the Bible, and any other spiritual practice that brings you closer to God. This means investing in Jesus’ commission to love our neighbors as he loved us (John 13:34). This means investing in ourselves too, because God loves us as individuals, too (Romans 5:8). God loves you so much he sent his Son to die for you. God loves everyone around you so much that he sent his Son to die for them too. Try investing in that love a little more this year. This means focusing more time towards God and others. This is a resolution that does not seek to belittle or demean. It is a resolution with the reward of getting to be with God and help others. May God bring you peace, blessings, and presence in 2019!!!! Points to Ponder:
Oh, what a night! This is not about late December back in '63. This is my sermon talking about the true meaning of Christmas and what Jesus' birth tells us about who God is. In between speaking I sing one of my favorite Christmas songs, "Oh Holy Night". Please give it a watch and a listen.
God's blessings to you this Christmas! Jesus is the reason for the season! |
AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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