Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
What would inspire you to travel by foot (or camel) across thousands of miles of rough terrain and desert? What fills you with ‘great joy’?
Over the centuries we have merged many of the details in Matthew and Luke into one account of Christ’s birth. Then we usually throw John’s version into the mix on Christmas Day and wax poetically about pre-eminence and pre-existence. On top of all that merging and waxing, we also mix in some musical ‘embellishments’ from beloved carols. That whole mix emerges as our Christmas story.
Unfortunately in all that mixing, the magi often wind up as tagalongs to the shepherds. When picturing a typical children’s pageant, the wise men usually look rather similar to the shepherds – just slightly nicer bathrobes, paper crowns, and tardy. Epiphany gets swept away in the Christmas clean-up and loses its proper place within the church year and the story of Christ’s manifestation in the world.
In reality, the shepherds and magi were about as different from one another as could be and the emphasis of the two Gospel versions of Christ’s birth very telling. Luke emphasizes the immediate arrival of the local shepherds. Matthew emphasizes the eventual arrival of foreign kings. Both visits are important to understanding Christ’s purpose in coming to earth. He came for those both far and near. He came for both the rich and the poor. Christ’s birth was for all – regardless of ethnicity or status.
The prophet Isaiah tried to highlight the great magnitude of the coming God’s Messiah. In an era where ‘gods’ were often associated with only one nation or ethnicity, the assertion that God’s Kingdom is all encompassing was novel. The idea of ‘one god’ was odd enough, but ‘one god’ for everybody – most likely laughable to many of Isaiah’s hearers. Yet Isaiah makes the assertion – there is one God and the Messiah will be for all the nations. No one gets exclusive rights to God.
The scope God’s Kingdom exceeds all space and time. The reach of God’s love demonstrated in Christ extends beyond all human constructs and limits. Paul writes to the congregation in Ephesus, “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19) Darkness surrounds us, yet the Light of Christ shines through.
The love of God “that surpasses all understanding” is stronger than the darkness. The love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus is greater than the hate and distrust in the world. Christ is your light. Christ is the light of the world. (And to wax poetically from John) “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it…9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:5,9) Jesus is that true light…and He is here. That light embodied in Christ shines in your life. That light shines in the world – to all nations and all people. Rejoice “exceedingly with great joy,” and worship Him, Christ the Lord!
The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

…and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:9b-11a)

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,

the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

the majesty of our God. (Isaiah 35:1-2)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

The promises made in Isaiah had been partially fulfilled. The exiles did return to Jerusalem (or at least their descendants did). They made that procession into the Holy City. They rebuilt. And they sinned again. They were conquered again.

As Christians, we hear the prophet Isaiah with a two-fold promise. We hear the original promise to those exiles. We also hear the promise to us in Christ Jesus. We hear the promise to all those who are living ‘in exile’ in lives plagued by sin, death, and evil. A time is coming, realized in its fullness in Christ, when suffering and sorrow of this ‘exile’ world ends. We hear the promise of an end to our ‘exile’ from God.

The coming of Christ alters reality. The promised Messiah not only comes to save the world, but in doing so transforms it. Reality in Christ is different from earthly reality. It heals the relationship between us and God. It ends our ‘exile’ from God.

Jesus does not follow traditional human standards. He does not enter this world draped by purple robes and jewels. Jesus does not receive a royal decree accompanied by resounding trumpets – not even any blue candy cigars. There was no huge family gathering, no baby shower, no birth announcements. For a modern analogy — Jesus’ birth does not even warrant a facebook post.

No, Jesus is born in a stable reserved for the animals of travelers, in a strange town, to a teenaged, unwed (albeit engaged), peasant girl, and wrapped in whatever cloth was available. He was born in poverty, a stranger, into uncertainty. He entered into our ‘exile.’  He was born into a world plagued by sin, death, and evil.

Other than Mary and Joseph, his first entourage consisted of the barn animals whose space He had invaded. His second ‘callers’ were shepherds who had most likely been out in the wilderness with their animals for months and most likely smelled worse than the actual barn animals. Yet they were the ones chosen to visit the Son of God first. God chose to reveal His Will to them before all the ‘more socially acceptable’ people and leaders in Israel.  The magi to the East followed a star to pay homage despite their vastly different racial, cultural, and religious background. God even revealed His Coming to foreign heathens before the ‘more socially acceptable’ Israelites.

Those ‘socially acceptable’ leaders were less than pleased when they finally did hear the news. In a move reminiscent of a pharaoh long ago, King Herod ordered the death of every baby boy born in Bethlehem around the time the star appeared. Joseph, warned in a dream, escaped to Egypt with the newborn Son of God and His mother. Later, the scribes and the Pharisees again issued a death sentence on the Messiah, this time temporarily succeeding. Content in their own ‘exile’ from God, the ‘more socially acceptable’ folks did not want Jesus altering their reality. In rejecting the new reality in Christ, they rejected God Himself.

Yet we prepare. We prepare and wait for the coming of the Lord. We wait with joyful expectation to march in the procession on the royal way at the second coming.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

and it shall be called the Holy Way; A highway shall be there,

the unclean shall not travel on it,

but it shall be for God’s people;

no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.

No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there. (Isaiah 35:8-9)

…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. (Romans 3:23-25a)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

As we celebrate the Reformation each October, we can be tempted into commemorating a historical era. While the ‘Protestant Reformation’ is indeed an era in the history books, reformation cannot be relegated into the past. Reformation is an ongoing movement and work of the Holy Spirit that continues in our lives and in our world.

God did not cease His salvific work. We do not cease being changed by God. We are re-formed regularly. Our faith is re-formed. Our congregations are re-formed. The Holy Spirit continues to influence our lives and our choices – re-forming the people whom God has called and chosen. We pray that we do not remain static – and God’s ongoing Reformation continues in us and among us. We pray that all the world be able to confess with the full confidence of the Holy Spirit … Jesus Christ is Lord!

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

…because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.  (Romans 10:9-10)

¹Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
² Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³ Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

 (Psalm 33:1-5)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

There are strong Biblical correlations between praise, righteousness, joy, justice, love, and faithfulness. Witnessed throughout many of the Psalms, worship is an expression of that correlation. Worship is where we intersect with living faith. Worship is not intended to stand alone in our lives or be separate from our lives. It is an opportunity to express our faith, hear God’s Word, and be strengthened for our daily journeys.

Luther’s explanation to the 3^rd article of the Apostles’ Creed includes the oft memorized line, “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.” The primary function of the Holy Spirit is to call, gather, enlighten, and make holy (aka sanctify) the whole Christian Church on earth. The Holy Spirit calls and gathers us together to praise God.

Worship is best accomplished in community. We join our voices in praise and lift them to God. We draw strength from the voices around us. We proclaim God’s Word to one another. We listen and discern God’s promises together.

While personal devotions and prayer time are well and good, they cannot offer satisfactory replacement communal worship. One does not sing songs of praise in 4-part harmony alone. Responsive readings do not work well with one person. One does not experience the magnitude of communing with the whole Body of Christ in isolation.

What we take for granted – the opportunity to join our praises with others – is often the most lamented aspect of being homebound. They miss the chance to sing together, even if their voices are weak. They miss the sense of being surrounded by other believers as they pray. They have to make a conscious effort to maintain a sense of connection to other believers at Holy Communion.

Even flawed communities (which all earthly communities are) are better than isolation. Human beings were created to be in community. They were created to give praise in community. They were created to be in relationship with God and with one another. They were created to experience the love of God together.

There are many times when we rely on the faith of others. During personal times of lament, we rely on the voices of others to praise God. When our faith is weak, we lean on the faith of other believers. When our voices feel weak and tired, we draw from the strength and energy of the worshippers around us. When we are feeling strong, energetic, and at the tumult of faith, we emanate that strength to those who are not. Together our voices praise God for the whole of His everlasting love and faithfulness shown to us in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 33 begins with an exhortation to the people to worship. The psalmist then moves through a lengthy explanation of how to go about that worship and lists many and various reasons why to worship. It concludes with a communal confession of faith and trust in Him. The Psalmist moves from exhortation to accomplishment of that very command. The Psalmist moves from telling the people to worship to actually worshipping with the people. Tens of centuries later, Psalm 33 demonstrates worship to us. It does exactly what it sets out to do – praise the Lord. We add our voices to the mix as we express our faith in song and spoken word, prayer and praise – praise the Lord.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Breaking down the etymology of the phrase ‘transformed community’ provides us with this insight: A ‘transformed community’ is a group of individuals who together move beyond their current identity.

Transformed: adjective form of the past tense of the verb ‘to transform’

trans-: prefix from the Latin preposition trāns meaning across or beyond (on the other side of)

form: from the Latin noun forma meaning Form, shape, beauty

Community: a unified body of individuals

Com-: prefix from the Latin preposition cum meaning ‘with’ or ‘together’

Munus: (from the Latin) a service, office, employment

‘Transformed community’ is a function of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit changes us as individuals & communities into the image of Christ in order that we serve as His Body here on earth. Our campers experienced this as cabin groups, program groups, & a parish group this past month. They experienced how God changes communities and individuals – calling us together into one. They now return into their congregational, school, family communities bringing an awareness of God’s transforming power in those communities.

This transformation is ongoing. God is continually transforming each of you into faithful, loving children of God – calling you together into ‘transformed communities.’ By His power you are made new; your communities, many and varied, are made new. The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;  love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. (Romans 12:9-13)

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

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Years ago, one of the confirmation students (who shall remain nameless) asked why I wasn’t eating any snack at the beginning of class. It happened to be one of those Wednesdays that had involved a lot of visitation and had already included a fair dose of goodies and coffee (probably way more than is considered healthy). She then declared that she wanted to be a pastor too — so she could drink coffee and eat treats all day. As amusing as that anecdote is, I do not discount the gifts of eating and drinking coffee because it is so often integral to hearing people’s stories. Those are two gifts that have served me well over the years (even if my primary physician thinks otherwise).

Oftentimes we do discount many of our own gifts. Some we take for granted. Others we simply do not associate with ‘church’ activities and especially not with ministry. Yet much mission work is made up of seemingly mundane tasks done out of love for God for our neighbor.

We also tend to have difficulty appreciating the gifts of others. It takes building a relationship with someone to really appreciate the variety of gifts they bring to the Body of Christ. Relationship involve vulnerability and vulnerability can open us up to pain or rejection.

It can be challenging to identify means of service in seemingly mundane gifts and talents in ourselves and others. In those instances, we not only do limit ourselves, but we are attempting to limit the Holy Spirit – which usually doesn’t work very well.

The challenge is in discerning and using those gifts to serve God and neighbor. This challenge can only be met by listening and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We rely on the Spirit not only to strengthen us but also to lead us. The Spirit gives us gifts and helps us use them to the glory of God.

We have been given the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is alive and active in the world, in our lives – and in the Church. The hard part is listening to the Spirit’s guidance. Discipleship depends upon listening to that voice. Congregational life is intended to serve the efforts of the community to listen to that voice together. We listen together. We share those ‘varieties of gifts’ to serve God and neighbor. We move as one in the world to make disciples of all nations. We trust in Christ’s presence in our midst as we go out into the world. We see His presence in the presence of our fellow believers.

Something as simple as helping a neighbor turn to the correct ‘red hymnal’ is a form of evangelism (and can spare them a fair amount of grief and embarrassment). That is just one example of how mundane actions can be used to glorify God. Here are some other various gifts (very loosely categorized) that can be used to shine the light of Christ into the world:

Teaching

• Telling Bible Stories
• Skills
• Sports
• General
• Relationship building
• Marriage mentoring
• Parent mentoring

Music

• Teaching
• Performing
• Leading
• Planning

Evangelism

• Visiting
• Drinking (serving) Coffee
• Greeting
• Sitting w/ someone during worship
• Inviting
• Hymnal guides
• Writing

Caring ministries/service

• Sewing
• Crafts
• Cooking
• Repairs/ maintenance
• Building
• Cleaning
• Organizing
• Gardening
• Visiting
• Reading (to elderly)
• Childcare
• Sending cards

This list is only a sampling. There are many other gifts and talents that we can use to serve God. There are varieties of gifts and varieties of services, but one Holy Spirit. Christ has promised to be with us. He has sent the Holy Spirit to work among and in us. He has given us authority to be His Body in the world. Trust Him. Let us go out into the world to serve God with confidence.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20

Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

The three days between death and resurrection probably seemed like an eternity to the disciples. Their grief and fear would have been palpable. Confounded by the present, terrified of the future, and perplexed by the past, their faith experienced the greatest test of all. The one whom they had trusted and loved, the one they truly believed was the promised Messiah, was dead.

Jesus was ripped from this earth and their lives in the most humiliating and painful means available. Crucifixion was reserved for the worst of the worst criminals. The purpose was to make the suffering of the accused so great that it deterred all sympathizers from committing similar crimes. The challenge of re-evaluating all of Jesus’s teachings and the life the disciples shared with Him in light of the condemnation of the religious and state authorities would have been daunting. How do you reconcile the reality of the person you loved and believed to be the Son of God is branded and executed as an enemy of both Rome and Israel? How do you make reconcile the all He taught you with the violence done to Him? Making any sense of how events transpired from Thursday evening through Friday noon would have been both arduous and horrifying for this group of followers. How do you move into tomorrow when yesterday and today are so full of conflict, worry, and suffering? How do you face the future mission of your group while struggling to come to terms with the complete upheaval?

The wait for Sunday morning would have been excruciating. Especially since they managed to forget Sunday morning was coming. Despite Jesus’s promises and teachings about His own death and resurrection, despite the teachings of prophets like Isaiah, the disciples are depicted as being too paralyzed by grief and fear to remember the promise. Christ told them He would rise, but they either forgot or they never really got it. When faced with grief and fear, their hearts were hardened to the very promise that could ease their pain.

How do you comprehend the Will of God in the midst of pain and grief? It has been commented by theologians, particularly those specializing in pastoral care, that most of our lives are spent ‘living in Holy Saturday.’

Some scholars are describing faith with this metaphor. They posit our faith existing somewhere between the crucifixion and the resurrection. We have experienced the pain. We are expecting the joy. We are waiting for the fullness of God to be accomplished in us.

Others are describing human experience. We all have times in our lives we consider ‘highs’ and others we would say are ‘lows.’ The bulk of our time is spent somewhere around the middle of those times.

Either way, ‘Holy Saturday’ time describes a time with some degree of uncertainty and waiting. It is time spent trying to comprehend the past and present while imagining the future. It is a time of testing. It is a time of reflection. It is a time to listen for God. ‘Holy Saturday’ time is sacred.

While hiding in the caves, Elijah recognized God in “a sound of sheer silence.” (2 Kings 19:12b) For the disciples, that “sound of sheer silence” was Holy Saturday. That was their time to listen for God’s voice. It was their time to remember all that Jesus had taught them. Our ‘Holy Saturday’ times provide us the opportunity to listen for God’s voice and listen in the midst of ‘sheer silence.’ We too have time to remember all that Jesus has taught us. And, so we wait. We wait until that time when we, having been united to Him in death, are raised in Christ.

‘Holy Saturday’ is not forever. Easter Sunday comes. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. …  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. (Romans 6:5,9)