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 live in a region in which the seasons are part of our experience of time. We watch leaves change color and fall. We watch the temperatures vacillate as they sojourn from one season to the next. We notice the leaves begin to change, the first frost, the tiny sprout of green peeking through the snow, the buds forming on trees, and the humidity getting stuck at a ridiculously high percentage. We may complain (about most of them), but we accept these changes as a part of nature’s cycles.

The cycle of the liturgical year is an ongoing reminder of the cycles of life in faith. As we enter October and begin to watch for the end of the Season after Pentecost (aka the long green season) we are nudged into change. We begin to look toward Advent and a new liturgical year.

Congregations also have seasons. Throughout the past Change can be exciting and change can be scary. God uses change to give growth.

Paul reminded the Ephesians,

⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁹ For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. (Ephesians 3:6-7, 9)

He later expands the construction imagery describing the church as God’s building.

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Let each builder choose with care how to build on it. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 3:10-11)

Whether the botany or construction imagery engages you more, the point remains the same: the church is dynamic and multifaceted. This often contradicts our own nostalgia which tries to memorialize a static, two-dimensional snapshot of the church. Bluntly stated, the church experiences change just as much as any other gathering of living creatures does.

At the end of the month, we will celebrate Reformation Sunday and witness six of our young disciples will make affirmation of their Baptisms. Even in the titles there are notes of change. Reformation Sunday celebrates a moment 508 years ago that set events into motion that forever changed the church on earth as experienced in the West. Affirmation of Baptism is a pivotal transition in the lives of young people and their families, mentors, and sponsors. They are publicly stating, “I believe.” That Sunday will also be my last Sunday leading worship. Next month you will welcome a new settled pastor and adapting to the changes that come from that transition.

Through all the changes you face personally, as families, as communities, as a congregation, God has made you a promise – the Holy Spirit will strengthen and guide you. As Moses was directed to say to the Israelites, so I now say to you:

²⁴The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. (Numbers 6:24-26)

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Be still, and know that I am God! 
I am exalted among the nations; 
I am exalted in the earth. 
(Psalm 46:10, NRSVue)

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

I remember singing a choir anthem years ago based on Psalm 46. “Be still” was heavily repeated, especially in the soprano line. In retrospect, it was an interesting arrangement – there is something paradoxical about singing, “Be still!” with a crescendo.

As paradoxical as it may seem, how do we live out the command, “Be still and know that I am God” with gusto? It may be the ultimate example of active listening. The first challenge is to identify our own thoughts and preconceptions – that static that muddles our hearing. Once we name the crackling clamor within ourselves, we might have a shot at silencing it (or at least dialing down the volume).

On top of the noise we each carry, we also live in a pretty noisy world. There are countless voices vying for our attention, energy, and allegiance. We are constantly hearing messages about who we are (or can or should be). Weeding through (and out) the many messages we ‘hear’ each day can be daunting.

Recently, the weather mentioned a ‘derecho’ hitting South Dakota. Curiosity won. I googled what exactly a derecho was. This is the oversimplified definition. Apparently, it is a widespread, destructive storm system that can occur when multiple (already strong) storm systems are shoved together and propel forward as one mega system. Sometimes, all the ‘noise’ in our lives feels like a derecho. The distractions inside our minds and out in the world coalesce into a deafening cacophony.

Elijah waited for God’s voice to come to him while hiding from Jezabel and her cronies. 1 Kings relates Elijah’s experience of hearing a great wind, then an earthquake, and then a fire. In none of those three did God speak. God’s voice emerged out of sheer silence. Then Elijah relayed all the ‘other noises’ interfering with his hearing – his fears, his grief, his despair. And God spoke. God spoke a word of hope to Elijah out of the silence.

God is still speaking. Sometimes we need to wait patiently for the silence to emerge. There is a lot of noise in the world and in ourselves. Remember…God has the power to silence the noise. God’s voice does not become louder. God’s voice overcomes and conquers. That voice speaks hope to you. That voice claims you as God’s beloved child. Nothing can silence the hope spoken to you in Christ Jesus.

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

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:9-10)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Spring comes with renewed hope, but also a lot of work. As snow cover melts away, the less desirable underside of winter is often revealed. If leaves did not coordinate their falling well enough with the first snowfall (or the wind ruined the best laid piles of humans), there are well tamped mounds of decay, vaguely resembling vegetation that once adorned trees. Weaker limbs and twigs, previously disguised by summer’s foliage or winter’s icy blanket, have since collapsed to their own demise and lay scattered among other debris. As the ground thaws from the top down, that fertile dirt congeals into mud and infiltrates the freshness of Spring rains. The resulting labor is the sweeping (or tilling or shoveling) away of everything steeped in decay, freeing new life to emerge.

Our lives in Christ are similar to the onset of Spring. The Holy Spirit sweeps away all that opposes the will of God from our lives. God’s Word acts upon our hearts, clearing out the decay of sin and evil. We are forged into new beings – forged into children of God. Just as Spring takes work to clear the way for newness of life, so do we. The Spirit executes that work by dwelling within us.

The result of the Spirit is a new perspective. It entails viewing others as children of God and seeing the world through a lens of forgiveness and grace. The work of the Spirit is transforming. The work of the Spirit is ceaseless. Day by day – you repent and receive forgiveness. Day by day – you hear the Word of God.  Day by day you pray and discern His Will. Day by day – the Spirit makes you righteous. Day by day – “there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” 

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. ¹⁷ So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom Angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and Archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But only His Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.  -Christina Rossetti – 1872

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

As winter takes hold, we oftentimes grow impatient for Spring and yearn for winter to pass. Yet we are reminded in this popular Christmas Carol, God is present in all seasons – of the year and of our lives. God meets us where we are and continues to nurture and sustain us through all adversity. Even in the midst of the (seemingly) endless cold, Christ is with us, warming our hearts.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

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)