“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

It may be left over from our grade-school days, but many of us continue to equate summer as a time of rest and relaxation. As many of us have discovered as adults, relaxation can be hard work. Rest is not always easy. Even more of us probably consider rest a synonym for sleep (especially when we are not getting enough).

Oxford lists three common definitions for ‘rest’ when used as a noun.

1. an instance or period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity.
2. music – an interval of silence of a specified duration.
3. an object that is used to support something.

Each of these definitions gives insight into the ‘rest’ Jesus gives.

Sabbath rest is the intentional break in routine to experience mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical respite. Jesus does relieve us of the strain of daily activity. Luther describes Sabbath as time to “gladly hear and learn” God’s word. Rest can come as the daily stresses of life are set aside (however briefly) to focus on what God is doing and saying in our lives.

Jesus also gives intervals of silence. If anyone feels like thumbing through the hymnal, they might notice the rubrics (italicized in red) scattered throughout the liturgy calling for ‘silence for reflection.’ During and prior to prayers, following the sermon, in our daily prayers, and other random moments in life – Jesus gives us the space for silence. In a world full of noise, Jesus relieves us of life’s cacophony with intervals of quiet reflection. The Holy Spirit gives us the capability to pray “with sighs too deep for words” and commune with God in those silent spaces. Christ’s ‘rest’ allows us to know God is listening even when we do not have words to express ourselves.

Finally, God’s rest functions as a yoke. God carries our burdens and gives us strength. We ‘rest’ on God’s power. Our lives ‘rest’ in and on the love of God. Faith supports us through all things. We can be as certain as Paul was when he informed the Philippians, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) We can do all things, because Christ gives us rest – in every sense of the word.

The grace and peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

3 For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

The words of Ecclesiastes 3 are familiar to many. If not from the Bible, then a generation and the two on either side of it know it from The Byrds. Attributed to King Solomon, known for his great wisdom, these words are a reflection of what we experience here on earth. It is a very poetic rendering of ‘life is not static’ and ‘change is a part of living’.

During May, we see gardens change (sometimes seemingly overnight), we prepare for students to graduate en masse, we witness  the change of season and weather (although in Minnesota that can happen several times in the course of one day), campgrounds begin to open, shops start to remove their ‘closed for the season’ signs, the orange cones and barricades take up residence on the roads, birds and butterflies migrate, other animals wake from hibernation, and countless other examples. There are signs of metamorphoses all around us this time of year. Through those signs, we are reminded that there is a time for everything under heaven. Every sign we witness has its own time.

The greatest metamorphosis we celebrate in the Spring is Christ’s death and resurrection. If we were to format it into the cadence of Ecclesiastes 3, it would read,

For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to die and a time to rise.

This ‘time’ would not only refer to Christ’s death and resurrection, but also to your own. Day by day, you die to sin and rise to new life in Christ. That metamorphosis of grace, given to you in baptism, is one of your own. You were baptized into Christ’s resurrection. Each and every day, you experience that transformation that God’s forgiveness has on you. Each day, God forgives you. Every day, the Holy Spirit guides and comforts you.

We are also reminded that in the midst of change, there is a vital constant. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Throughout all the changes around you, God remains faithful. Christ’s promises are forever and unchanging. God’s presence does not leave you. The Holy Spirit continues to dwell within you. The Lord continues to bless you, now and forever.

The grace and peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

This time of year, in both the church year and the meteorological year, we are reminded of death and new life. We watch for those little green shoots to pop through the dirt (or decaying leaves or snow). We look for new buds on the trees. Farmers keep vigil over ewes and cows. The mornings are rich in the (mostly) sweet melodies of songbirds. And of course, critters awaken from long winter’s naps to wander the countryside looking for grub (often in the garbage cans of their human neighbors).  

All these signs of Spring also serve to remind us of new life. Whether it be in literal birth, rebirth, or awakening, we witness life arising in places that seem desolate and deserted. Energy springs forth from barrenness and stagnation. New life emerges amid remnants of death and decay.

We are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. God gives us new life each and every day. Paul reminded the Romans, “Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4) Our sinful self has died. We have been freed from our bondage to sin and raised in the image of Jesus Christ.

Freedom comes in the form of forgiveness. Luther’s remarks in his explanation to the benefits of the Lord’s Supper, “where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” Christ makes us new by granting us life and salvation with the forgiveness of sin. Each day we undergo this transformation as we journey on this earth. We experience the death and rebirth of forgiveness.

Paul continued his advice, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11) You live to God. You have been blessed with new life. Luther concludes his explanation to the Second Article (On Redemption) of the Apostles’ Creed, “He (Jesus) has done all this so that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.” Let us live new life in Christ, lives lived to God, now and forever. The grace and peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, ⁵ and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace from God our heavenly father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

During the season of Lent, we focus on the amazing gift of life Jesus gave for and to us. The musical Godspell has a haunting song titled, ‘By My Side.’ It refers to the disciples walking with Jesus toward Jerusalem, even before they knew where the journey would take them.

It also describes the journeys we take as disciples. Jesus walks by our side. We walk by Jesus’s side. We walk alongside one another. The term we commonly call this whole walk – ministry. Ministry is the technical term for those varied gifts and activities working together for the common good.

On Ash Wednesday, we gather to confess and receive absolution. We begin our Lenten journey by acknowledging not only our failings, but also our desperate need for God’s mercy. We mark our existence in a broken world. We also witness God’s zeal seen in Christ Jesus to bless the world with healing and wholeness.

Our Lenten Journey continues with Wednesday evening services using Holden Evening Prayer worship service. Holden Evening Prayer is, as the name suggests, a vesper (Latin for evening) service written by Marty Haugen while in residence at Holden Village in the mid-1980s. It takes the form and structure of the traditional Vespers liturgy and combines it with more modern language and musical composition.

As we once again lift our voices in familiar musical arrangement, we will delve into fundamental aspects of shared ministry. This Lent, the youth group will begin training as Peer Ministry Leaders. They will explore some of the fundamental gifts, services, and activities manifested among them. During Wednesdays in worship, we will be taking up this mantle and exploring some of the same Scripture and topics.

God has blessed Our Savior’s Lutheran with a variety of gifts, services, and activities. How is God activating and manifesting them among us for the common good? Where do we sense Jesus walking by our side? How are we walking alongside one another and the larger church?

These questions are best couched in prayer, Scripture, and reflection. None have easy answers, but all are part of the journey God calls us to travel together. Jesus takes us by the hand and walks by our side as we embark.

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7-12)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

The shops have cleaned up the Christmas decorations and decked themselves in shades of pink, red, and white with candy hearts and cards. February 14^th commemorates St. Valentine, one of two 3^rd century martyrs named Valentine. It has become a secular holiday celebrating romantic love. Though later legends surrounding the Saint Valentines arose with some romantic overtones, one of the earliest legends involves the healing of his jailer’s daughter.

This legend illustrates the power of God’s love that overcomes human inclinations of enmity. Jesus taught, “⁴⁴ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:44-45) Healing the child of the person persecuting you is an amazing expression of love. It did not spare Valentine of Rome from execution. Yet he demonstrated and shared a love inspired by Christ, an act of love only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. This kind of love is an extension of God abiding within us and empowering us to see (and love) through the eyes of Christ.

Loving one another with the self-sacrificing love that Jesus loved us is not easy and never has been easy. It is counter cultural. It is, in many ways, counter intuitive. That kind of extreme love goes against our innate instinct for self-preservation. The command of love for our enemies is challenging. Enemies, by their very nature, are not easy to love. Yet, Christ managed to love friends and enemies alike. With God’s help and guidance, we try to obey that command to love as well.

We pray that Christ’s love is ignited within us for the sake of the world. We pray that we are empowered to love, especially when it is challenging for us. We pray God’s kingdom comes among us and God’s will is done among us. We pray God’s love abides and is perfected in us.

The grace and peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

¹⁴The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 33:14-15)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

We think of the holidays as a time full of traditions and nostalgia. Ironically, Advent anticipates the fulfillment of something entirely different. The reason we have our traditions and celebrations is because God fulfilled the promise to bring the ultimate change.

God entered a broken world to bring wholeness. The promise of a “righteous branch” executing “justice and righteousness” was coming to fulfillment – in the form of an infant, born on the fringes.

The promise God fulfills in Christ is completely different from what the people expected, Jews and Romans alike. The status quo was a leader who used force fear to subjugate the people. People were accustomed to experiencing power that was buoyed by military force, economic influence, even cultural intimidation and religious coercion. Power attained by instilling fear was the norm.

God promises a Messiah. God promises a ruler who is just and righteous. God promises a “suffering servant” (Isaiah 53), a savior who walks in peace and light (Isaiah 9), a new joyful reality where the lion and the lamb feed together (Isaiah 65). God promises something very new. God promises an astonishing change to this world.

This year, Advent will also mark a change in pastorate for this parish. It is an exciting time of discernment and newness. You will be voting on a candidate to be the first called pastor of this parish. I will be beginning a new interim elsewhere. Even in the midst of great excitement, change can also instill fear and anxiety. Even the wondrous birth of Christ had shepherds trembling.

Remember that amid change, God is constant. God’s love and promise of guidance is constant. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) God will lead you through discernment and guide your ways according to God’s will.

The Savior comes, “and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.”  (Matthew 1:23b) We celebrate God infiltrating our world and brokenness to bless us, to walk with us, and to save us. God is with us. We pray, confident God does come. As we celebrate the greatest change to the reality of creation with our myriads of traditions, may our prayer always be, “o come, o come, Emmanuel.”

Thank you for your partnership in ministry and God’s blessings on this next leg of your journey together. The grace and peace of the God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, ¹⁸ because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen, for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:1, 16-18)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Ironically, early Autumn is often focussed on renewal. As nature outside is winding down, Sunday School is re-starting, school is once again in session, confirmation classes are beginning. Even those of us who are far removed from the academic calendar, catch ourselves in the excitement of a new school year.

There is often a sense of hope and newness that accompanies a new school year. Plans and dreams for the next several months emerge. Nine months of the year fall into almost a sylabus-like order. We see hope in the structures and new beginnings in the schedules. Most students experience some nervousness, but also some excitement when a new school year begins. There is both trepidation and anticipation in taking that next step.

That hope and newness extends into our individual lives and into our expression as a community. Both the fear of the unknown and the hope of what the unknown might bring are present in our communal lives. God is making us new each and every day – as individuals and as a community of believers. God makes each day like the first day of school. We look forward with both excitement and nervousness.

We are now again at a point in our joint venture of taking another step in our journey. The parish has been formed, the call committee has been formed, paperwork is complete and submitted, and we wait with both trepedation and anticipation for the next step in the journey. Like a new school year, we embark on this journey one step at a time. We cannot guantee what tomorrow will bring and there will certainly be surprises along the way.

We can guarantee that the Lord will continue to be present and guide us to do the will of God. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) God will provide and lead us to ventures yet unknown – and will journey with us each and every step of the way.

The grace and peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

I will lead the blind by a road they do not know;
by paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
    the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
    and I will not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:16)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

The world is changing and has been changing. The church is in the same boat. In an ironic way, we are fortunate to be officially recognized as being in transition. As much as change causes anxiety, at least we can be up front about it. We are very aware that change is part of our existence.

It takes a ton of energy to hide the fact (or hide from the fact) that things are changing. Many congregations are exhausted by trying to return to a time that is never returning (and was probably not nearly as idyllic as the memories are). There are no magic bullets or programs that will turn back time. For that matter, as much as we honor our histories and learn from them, we are called to be the church now – in this time and place.

In June, I attended a mini-retreat introducing ‘Faith+Lead’, a ministry of Luther Seminary. The following are Six Commitments of the church as identified by Faith+Lead team. These ‘commitments’ are timely reminders of ‘non-negotiables’ for congregations in a changing religious climate. I noticed that these same commitments also highlight truths often taken for granted.

1. The Triune God is actively creating, reconciling, healing, and restoring the world.
2. God is with us in Jesus and invites us to join in what God is doing.
3. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death for the whole world.
4. The Holy Spirit gathers and sustains the local church—and will continue to do so.
5. God is the primary leader of the local church.
6. All Christians are called to follow Jesus by joining God’s work in daily life.

Anyone notice a common denominator in those commitments? (Hint: GOD) God is active. God is in charge. God is gathering. God is inviting. God is guiding. God is sustaining. God is empowering. God is inspiring. The non-negotiable for the Church (on earth and in heaven) is very simple – God is at the center. As simple as it is, it may be historically the most frequently forgotten characteristic of the church on earth.

I remember a family whose children (& later grandchildren) learned early on to make sure they were all in the car before mom left the church parking lot. Sometimes Christians try to drive off without God. It can be difficult to remember that not only should God be in the car, but also driving and navigating.

We are called to follow where God leads. Yes, the world changes. Yes, change impacts the church. Yes, we trust that God, who has promised to lead us, will actually do so. As the Hebrew congregations were reminded centuries ago, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)

The grace and peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.