Uncategorized

July-August 2022

⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. ⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

¹²Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 12)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

As we enter into the depths of the season after Pentecost (having earned the nickname ‘long green season’ by clergy and altar guilds) we have a chance to focus our attention on what it means to be the church on earth. The church began dramatically on that first Day of Pentecost. It has continued through persecutions, scandals, schisms, divisions, and trials as well as joyous conversions, world-wide expansion and welfare advancements.

Luther describes the Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy” me and all believers. The Holy Spirit gathers us into the one body. The Holy Spirit transforms individual believers into the community of believers. Community is far from easy. The book of Acts chronicles both the triumphs and tribulations of the earliest Christians. Sometimes, they just did not want to be in community with one another. Being in community with one another was – and is – challenging.

The disciples throughout Acts dealt with disagreements and disparities over the direction of the church. The earliest congregations experienced dissension amongst themselves. The Holy Spirit blessed the church with the gift of variety. Each believer was unique and blessed with unique abilities, roles, and vocations within the community. Variety within the context of a still sinful world eventually leads to conflict. Reports of conflict often resulted in a Pauline letter. (Paul himself was not immune to conflict. He and Barnabas had a falling out over who to include on a mission trip.) Life in Christian community is demanding work.

In modern American (or Western) culture, faith is usually regarded by people as individual and private aspects of life. Unfortunately, that attitude is not support by Scripture. The Christian faith has a strong communal and public aspect. The Holy Spirit landed on all the apostles gathered in Jerusalem. They then proclaimed Christ to all the people gathered in Jerusalem. “Those who accepted his (Peter’s) message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” All of this was out in public and brought people into fellowship with one another. The second chapter of Acts continues to describe how the apostles and the daily added new believers lived in community with one another.

The loss of our awareness and experience of Christian community is a hardly new. Throughout the centuries, Christians have experienced the dichotomy of personal and communal expressions of faith. Historical emphasis tends to resemble a pendulum between the two expressions. As Christianity became more socially acceptable, the emphasis swung toward the individual. During times of duress, it swung toward the communal. The monastic movement combined the two elements by forming small, reclusive communities.

In the 20^th century, Bonhoeffer conducted an experiment while teaching on behalf of the Confessing Church’s concept underground seminary at Finkenwalde. While living in community and studying under the threat of arrest, Bonhoeffer attempted to initiate a modern style of monasticism. Influenced by both contextual and theological motives, this project sought to nurture intentional Christian community. (A Gestapo raid on the seminary concluded the project.) Bonhoeffer chronicled this project, along with his theological stance espousing the necessity of intentional Christian community, in his book, Life Together. A highlight of his proposal is that Christians need to be intentional about community precisely because it is challenging.

Community has always been challenging, is still challenging, and for as long as we are on this earth, it will always be challenging. Human beings tend to want more than just one commonality and where diversity of ideas, gifts, or talents arise, there is a push for conformity. Yet, to (very loosely) paraphrase Paul, a body consisting of only eyes, or only ears, or only arms, or (insert body part ad infinitum) is useless.

The Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies” you. The Spirit places you in community. Jesus is the one ‘common’ element we share. We do not need anything else. Christ is enough. The Holy Spirit has blessed us with diverse gifts and diverse people. The very things that make community difficult for us as human beings are precisely what makes us strong as the church.

November-December 2022

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

As one liturgical year concludes and another begins, it is an opportune time to review the cycle of the church year. This cycle gives us a rhythm to guide us through the Biblical narrative and focus our attention on what God has and continues to do in the world.

Much in life is cyclical. Each year we go through the seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. (In Minnesota, we can even go this cycle in the span of a few days.) Vegetation and animals go through life cycles of birth, growth, and death. Our own lives go through regular cycles as well as the overall human life cycle.

God’s Word also generates cycles in our lives. ”You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23) Forgiveness and repentance are cycles of death and renewal. God’s Word both creates and works on the cycles of our lives.

The church year reflects similar life cycles. Advent through Easter move us through the Biblical stories from the expectation of a coming Savior to birth to life and ministry to death to resurrection to ascension. This cycle takes us on a journey each year through the gift of God’s incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. Beginning with the Day of Pentecost we journey through the growth of the church on earth, and concluding with the reminder of who reigns over God’s church.

Even as we hear many of the same passages and hear familiar stories, we also hear with new ears each time because the cycle of the church year intersects with our own life cycles. As we grow and experience different seasons in our own lives, those stories impact at varying points and speak to us in new ways. As all the cycles in life continue, God’s Word continues to intersect those cycles and transform the world and us.

Season	Special day(s)	date		focus
Advent		4 Sundays prior to 12/25		Preparation for 1^st & 2^nd coming of Christ
Nativity of Our Lord	Eve	December 24	12 days	Birth of Christ
	Day	December 25
Epiphany		January 6		Arrival of Magi
Season after Epiphany	Baptism of Our Lord	1^st Sunday after Epiphany		Jesus baptized
Lent	Ash Wednesday	40 days prior to Easter w/o Sundays	40 days + 6 Sundays	Repentance
Holy Week	Palm/Passion Sunday	Sunday before Easter		Journey into Jerusalem – -to the cross
(Easter Triduum)	Maundy Thursday	Thursday before Easter	3 days	Last Supper
	Good Friday	Friday before Easter		Crucifixion
	Easter Vigil	Day before Easter		Tomb
Easter		1^st Sunday after the Spring full moon after 3/21	50 days	Resurrection
	Pentecost	50 days after Easter		Coming of the Holy Spirit
Season after Pentecost	Holy Trinity Sunday			Doctrine of the Trinity
	Reformation Sunday	Sunday before or on Oct. 31^st		Ideals of the Reformation
	All Saints Day	Sunday on or after Nov. 1^st		Communion of saints
	Christ the King Sunday	Last Sunday of the Church year		Christ as king

September-October 2022

¹²When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

A couple earworms were kind enough to embed themselves in my brain during my recent driving adventures. At first, they seemed very unrelated. One was a song from the 70s musical Godspell, while the other was an 80s pop hit by Mr. Mister. When they both got stuck on autorepeat in my brain, the similarities emerged.

The first verse of the Godspell tune are as follows, “Where are you going? Where are you going? Can you take me with you? For my hand is cold And needs warmth. Where are you going?” The song continues with the vocalist’s request and commitment to follow Jesus following being forgiven.

The chorus of the Mr. Mister song actually utilizes a phrase that should sound at least vaguely familiar, “kyrie eleison.” It is the same words we sing during the creatively titled, ‘Kyrie’ toward the beginning of worship. Translated from the Greek, it means, “Lord, have mercy.” The chorus goes, “Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel; Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night; Kyrie eleison, where I’m going, will you follow? Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light” The vocalist asks for reassurance of God’s companionship in life.

Although coming from very different vantage points, both songs are making the same basic request most of us have deep down – God’s guidance, protection, forgiveness, and love as we journey through life. We experience God’s love and forgiveness. We experience the uncertainty of life on earth. We long for God’s presence in our lives. We pray for God’s presence in our lives.

Lives of following Jesus can be unpredictable and even daunting. Life is unpredictable and discipleship is risky. Most of the early disciples were martyred. Disciples are still martyred. Following Christ means taking risks for the sake of the other, loving as Christ loved, and asking for forgiveness when we fall short (and we will all fall short at times). We trust in God’s strength and guidance as we travel through life on this earth. We cling to the love and mercy shown us in Christ to carry us and propel us to live as His disciples.

This is just as true for congregations as any of us as individuals. Congregations face change and unpredictability. Congregations grieve and face anxiety. Congregations even make mistakes and sometimes sin. Constitutions or buildings do not insulate congregations from the realities of life. Jesus promised to be there if two or three were gathered, not transport us into a fantasy world. The promise is to be with us, forgive us, and strengthen and guide us as communities.

Let us pray: Lord, you have put us on a journey to which we cannot always see what lies ahead. Strengthen our faith to trust you undying presence that sustains us and guides us. Have mercy on us when we falter and uphold us when we feel like we are falling. Send your Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and minds that we may always walk with you in the light. Amen

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

December 2021

Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
The coming of Christ is a joyous occasion for all of creation. The Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ (anointed one), comes into a broken world to save it. The words of the popular Advent hymn by Isaac Watts reflect that joy.
Henri Nouwen once described joy with the following words. “Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing—sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death—can take that love away.” No matter what circumstances surround us, God sent His Son into this world and into our lives to assure us of His unconditional love. The knowledge of that love fills us with the joy and strength to share it, and the news of Christ’s coming, with the rest of the world.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior, our joy is made complete. We give thanks. We make God’s deeds known to the nations. We sing praises to the Lord, our God. We shout aloud and sing for joy. God is in our midst. Joy to the world! The Lord is come!
The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

⁴ And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
⁵ Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.
⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 12:4-6)

October 2021

³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (Romans 6:3-8)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Ironically, most of us are familiar with Romans 6 from funeral experiences. While this passage does have can apply to eternal life after physical death, Paul was primarily talking about a struggle in this life. The Romans were struggling with the concepts of sin and grace. Some folks wanted to experience more grace so they figured they needed to sin more. While on some level, there might be a sliver of logic there, they were assuming grace was a quantifiable resource.

Grace is not a quantifiable resource. It cannot be sold in the market or traded on Wall Street. Grace is a powerful force bestowed upon us by God. As an expression of God’s goodness and love, it cannot be contained or measured by human beings. Paul is calling the Romans (and us) to an awareness of the ongoing reformation God compels in our lives. God’s power works on us and in us. It transforms us from sinners into saints.

As a force, grace is constantly reforming your lives on earth. Faith changes you. Christ transfigures you into His image. God’s Word transforms you. All this is accomplished to the glory of God. (Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Christus, Sola Scriptura, Sola Deo Gloria) The mantra of Martin Luther and the other 16^th century Reformers was a call to daily rebirth in Christ. It continues to be a call to each of you to undergo constant change from sinful humans into Christ’s image. By God’s power this transformation continuously reforms each of our lives. “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) His reforming power will keep you in that fellowship.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

September 2021

³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” (John 4:34-38)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

We are workers together for the sake of the Gospel. Together, the whole church on earth goes about the business of sowing and harvesting under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We share that privilege with the rest of the church. This endeavor requires trusting God and fellow believers throughout the world.

Unlike the planting and harvesting of vegetative crops, which complete their growing cycle in the span of months, souls take much longer. It is extremely rare to see this particular crop grow from start to finish. This crop grows over the course of lifetimes.

We plant the seed in some and witness the harvest in others. Those moments usually seem more noticeable to us. Most of the time, we simply witness the Spirit causing undramatic growth in those around us. It can feel a little bit like staring at the corn during July, trying to determine how much it grew since the day prior. Just like micromanaging corn during July can lead to unnecessary worry and anxiety, micromanaging spiritual growth markers can do the same thing for both the workers and the crop.

The Spirit is leading us. The path may not be exactly as we imagined or even planned, but the Spirit has greater resources than just our little corner of the world. Sometimes we plant, sometimes we reap, sometimes we grow by little bits and pieces – but Holy Spirit always guides and manages. Praise be to God!

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

August 2021

¹I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³²and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:1-6; 30-32)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

In a world fraught with turmoil, the church on earth has a sacred calling. We are called to love. We are called to love one another, friends, strangers, and even enemies. We are called to proclaim peace and wholeness into a hostile and broken world. We are called give a tumultuous world what it so desperately needs – Jesus Christ.

Oftentimes when we consider the brokenness in the world, we picture distant locations teeming with a myriad of tragedy and violence. Yet, chaos looms closer. Within each of us exists similar ailments that afflicted the Ephesians. None of us are void of bitterness, anger, or any other malice.

Brokenness and hostility are not confined to distant places. The daily struggles of our lives breed fear, doubt, and isolation. We, our families, our communities, and even our congregations are in just as much need the hope given in Christ Jesus as any distant land.

Together we do the work of the one who calls and sends us. We proclaim hope to one another. Not only do we bring the Good News of peace and wholeness to all whom we encounter, but we receive that Good News from the words and actions of others.

You are the Body of Christ. Let your words and actions reflect the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. Bear with one another in the love of Christ that conquers all. Pray for guidance and mercy as you build and nurture community in dissentious world.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

June 2021

⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. ⁹For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:7-11)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Oftentimes we disregard our own role in God’s activity in the world. We either underestimate the calls we have received or overestimate our own authority in fulfilling those calls. Whether we neglect that call or strip the glory away from God, we do a disservice to God, neighbor, and ourselves.

We are both builders and the building. We are God’s servants called to labor upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. We are called to labor together under God’s tutelage. God is the one with ultimate sovereignty. We pray regularly to God, ‘Thy will be done’. That prayer asserts that God is in control.

The challenge to follow Christ and use our God-given gifts is not a new one. Neither is the challenge to integrate those individual gifts into the church for the blessing of the world around us. God calls and challenges us to be blessings in the world. The Apostles struggled. As testified by Paul’s letters, not only did the Corinthians struggled with those challenges, so did the churches in Ephesus, Galatia, and Rome. The Church Fathers struggled. The Reformers struggled. The church has struggled with those challenges unceasingly.

The Holy Spirit has guided and strengthened the church with those challenges unceasingly as well. We meet those challenges because the Spirit is with and in us. Christ does not call us to any impossible endeavors. We face all the challenges that come with being the Body of Christ in a broken world because the One who calls us is faithful. As the angel reminded Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” God caused a virgin to conceive. God caused the dead to rise. God will lead the church.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

March 2021

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!”
(John 12:13b)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
Huge crowds line the streets of Jerusalem. A cacophony of praise and shouts of Hosannas permeate the air. Blessings, palm branches, and cloaks shroud the road impeding the rise of the dust. He comes. Seated atop an unbroken colt, surrounded by shouts of joy and promise, He rides through the gates and into the throng of hopeful devotees. They have waited generations for His arrival. Their hearts full of joy and exultation, they welcome the One whom they pray is the Messiah.
Yet, humans are fickle creatures. Days later, the tone is altered. From the depths of night emerges a mob. With morning’s light commences a farcical trial decrying a fated verdict sanctioned in the darkest hour. The dust is now tinged crimson with His blood. Shouts of praise are replaced by demands for death. No palms or cloaks impede the cries of frenzied fury and unbridled animosity. Even the sun withdraws from view, taking with it the comfort of the day.
“It is finished.” (John 19:30) It is done. The Lord exhales His spirit forth.
The women wail with unrequited grief. The dust now quakes with seismic tremors as rocks split, tumble, and hurtle through the city and the countryside alike. The Temple curtain is ripped asunder. Tombs burst open wide freeing desperate souls.
The Messiah comes. The Christ is killed. The Lord will rise again.
Meanwhile, we fickle humans wait. We wait as the excited devotees, the angry mob, the wailing women, the restless souls – we wait as both believers and doubters – we wait as both sinners and saints. We wait and watch… as God’s only Son dies that we may live. And we wait for His rising, the light consuming the darkness, love crushing hate, life conquering death. For all these things, we wait.
The streets paved with gold fill with risen souls. Angel voices lift to God praise for all that He has done. Rising ever with the Lord, the savior of us all. Raise our voices, ever prayerful, to join the saints as one.
The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelations 7:9)

Annual Report 2020

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

Tradition can be a blessing. It can also be a curse. Especially during difficult times, many of us seek comfort from traditions. It is vital to remember though, that traditions are no substitute for Christ Himself. Traditions do not and cannot supersede the Gospel.

Tradition has always been a comforting crutch for humans. And they have their rightful place in the church. That place however is not to replace Jesus Christ. That place is not to displace the mission of the Church.

Jesus warned the Pharisees with this saying attributed to the prophet Isaiah, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’” (Matthew 15:8-9)

The specific occasion incident provoking this warning was the Pharisees’ criticism of the handwashing ritual (or lack thereof) of the disciples. The tradition revolving around sharing a meal had become more important than the participants and fellowship of that shared meal. Their love of tradition displaced their love of neighbor.

The broader context provoking this warning is anytime we let tradition become overly important. Traditions’ ascent to a position higher than warranted can at worst turn the tradition into an idol; and at best, preclude and thereby hinder the proclamation of the Gospel. Phrased more simply, when traditions become too valuable to us, we are tempted to either replace God altogether or bury God under the tradition making it more difficult for others to witness His grace and mercy.

The challenge is identifying and retaining the focus on our mission as a congregation. This is not a new challenge. Church bodies and congregations have been struggling with various versions of that issue for roughly two thousand years. Do we consider our mission the maintenance of our traditions? Is our mission to return to a previous era or assuage our own consciences? Or is our mission to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

The same struggle plagued the Corinthians. People with different traditions and perspectives were brought together by Christ and they had to determine whether it was Christ or the traditions that united them. The challenge was discerning the means to always prioritize the Gospel above all else.

We are called to be the Body of Christ and proclaim Him crucified and risen. Some years will be more challenging than others. Some years will offer greater temptation than others. Our identity is in Christ. Paul’s explanation to the Corinthians is just as valid today as it was back then. Our mission is to reveal saving power of Jesus Christ to all the world. Sometimes shine the light of Christ requires us to set aside our wants, comforts, and expectations. We do so not for our own glory (or martyrdom), but for the sake of the Gospel. If we truly believe in the life-changing power of God, it is worth our own discomfort to share that gift with others.

We have already seen and heard the promise of truth, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5) God’s glory has been revealed to us – we are called to help others see than glory as well. John the Baptist was given a vital role. “He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.” (John 1:7-8) We, the apostle Paul, the disciples, and all believers participate in that same mission. We are called and sent to testify to “the true light, which enlightens everyone…” (John 1:9)

In some ways, reflection on 2020 evokes (somewhat facetiously) the passage in Revelations, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelations 7:14b) It has been a year fraught with challenges and temptations. Yet, 2020 also prompts this passage, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35) It is a valid question for all believers, congregations, and church bodies. As challenging as 2020 was, were you separated from the love of Christ?

We do not know what the future will bring. We will certainly face more challenges and temptations. We will also certainly be led by the Holy Spirit. We will continue to explore creative means to proclaim the Gospel in Word and Deed. We will continue to repent and receive forgiveness. We will continue to pray for guidance and strength. We will continue to be fed by Word and Sacrament. We face each day confident that no matter what 2021 brings, we will not be separated from the love Christ.

Christ’s light shines brighter than any darkness. Let that light emanate through you. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:6) As you testify to the light, keep before you Christ’s parting promise in Matthew, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla