¹ God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
³ though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalm 46:1-2, 10-11)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Each year we set aside a day of civic mourning – Memorial Day. We remember the loss of lives given during service to the United States Armed Services. We thank God for strengthening and calling them to lay down their lives in defense of our own.

Sparked by the high casualties of the American Civil War, a day set aside to remember the lives lost was initiated by both sides (albeit differing days & names) following the war. The purpose was to honor, remember, and grieve those many lost lives. Especially due to the domestic nature of the war, many families had lacked the closure (or even timely notice) at their loved one’s time of death. The tradition grew and it evolved into a communal memorial for the nation.

With each passing war, the national cemeteries expanded. Each generation added its own grief, hopes, and traditions to what we now know as ‘Memorial Day’ alongside the graves of its compatriots. Poppies were a contribution of the First World War, courtesy of the poem ‘In Flanders Field’ by Canadian soldier John McCrae. In the aftermath of World War Two, Truman signed a proclamation in 1950 (ironically during the Cold War and just shy of the onset of the Korean War) proclaiming Memorial Day’ a day of ‘prayer for permanent peace.’ During the Conflict in Vietnam, finally the official law was enacted making Memorial Day a Federal holiday. In 2000, between the two Gulf Wars, a ‘Moment of National Remembrance’ at 3PM local time.

We continue the traditions of our ancestors as we continue to honor the many lives sacrificed in service. We decorate the graves of servicemen and women who are no longer going about their daily lives here on earth. We offer comfort to those families who never had a ‘welcome home’ celebration for their loved ones. We come together as citizens to honor all those who have lost their lives defending our civil liberties. Most of all, we rest assured in the conviction that God did ‘welcome’ them home. We give praise to God for being their ‘refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ – just as He is for us. “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Psalm 46:11)

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷ And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:25-28)

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

In our present circumstances, many people could describe their prayer life in one of two ways. On one hand, we have person A, who is exhausted and worries about having enough time or energy to properly pray for all the troubles in the world. They feel like their list of prayer concerns continues to grow exponentially. On the other hand, we have person B, who feels paralyzed by the overwhelming uncertainty of it all. They wonder where and/or how to even start to pray. There are probably even more of us who feel like we are riding a roller coaster between those two descriptions.

Paul’s reminder to the Romans speaks to all of us. God promises to hear our prayers. He listens to our inmost fears. God hears our unspoken (even unspeakable) prayers. He knows the inmost yearnings of our hearts. Even when we cannot find the words, God is listening. God promises to hear our prayers even when we do not have the strength to verbalize them. That promise gives us the power to pray.

We do not need the ‘right’ words or form or posture. God is listening. God hears our prayers no matter how chaotic they feel to us. The Holy Spirit does intercede for us. We can have confidence to approach God in all circumstances. Even when we feel overwhelmed or paralyzed, God is listening.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

⁴⁶ Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42, 46-47)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

God’s presence is with us during this time. The trick is to find ways to lean on the support of our community in new ways. Human beings were created to be in community and need the relationships we form with one another. We are not built to exist in isolation.

Communities of faith are blessings from God to help us face circumstances in life as people of faith. Paul had a poignant reminder about the function of community for the Corinthians as they struggled. “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26) The Holy Spirit ‘gathers’ us into community to ‘keep us in the one true faith.’

As opposed to generations before us, we have a larger and more immediate menu of methods to undergird faith communities. Many new ways of forming and nurturing community have traditionally been underutilized by congregations. There is an old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Our traditional methods of forming faith communities worked well enough for most of us.

Historically in the church, the practices of forming faith communities have developed due to existing conditions. For example, Union churches formed prior to the American Revolution primarily as a consequence of widespread immigration to the New world from various German speaking provinces and a comparatively low level of immigration of pastors. The German-speaking Lutheran immigrants and the German-speaking Reformed immigrants had a common goal – a pastor who could speak German. That common desire to hear the Gospel, coupled with their circumstances as immigrants, led to those Lutherans and the Reformed sharing resources and formed joint communities. They changed how their practice of forming faith communities to meet the context they in which they abided.

Often these adaptations within the church take place gradually over generations. How many of you can pinpoint an exact date your home congregation switched worshipping English? I can tell from the church records, at least with St Olaf and Zion, it did not happen overnight. Some of the records are an interesting mix of Norwegian and English from the same pastor. I strongly suspect that a gradual transition is similarly reflected in records of our neighboring congregations (and the records of most non-English speaking immigrant congregations). The transition followed the trend and aging of the generations. As less adults were fluent in the former language and more adults were fluent in English, the language of the worship services transitioned. The transition of language followed the needs and context of the community.

Other times change to adapt to current conditions comes about much more abruptly. That same transition to English in worship was anything but gradual for congregations in Iowa. The Iowa legislature banned the use of any language other than English during World War I. The only language permitted to be spoken in the state was English. Their former method of conducting worship services no longer worked. They did not have the option of adapting slowly. Overnight, with the signing of a bill into law, their choices were cancel worship or learn English. Imagine how many sermons were preached in broken English to people who barely understood the language. Yet, there are still Lutheran congregations of non-English descent in Iowa. God helped them overcome that challenge for the sake of the Gospel.

Our current situation also has to do with language and worship. Even though we are deeply immersed in English, our practices have not included a lot of technology. Despite the ‘language’ of the internet growing over the past few decades, most congregations have not sensed an urgent need to use a whole lot of technology in the past. Most of us dabble, but would prefer a more of a gradual shift similar to our (non-Iowan) ancestors adopting English during the early 20^th century.

When the old way no longer works for whatever reason (like a global pandemic), we switch to a more abrupt model closer to our sister-congregations in Iowa during World War 1. We are discovering new ways to be community. We are learning new technologies and adapting them to our own context. And like those Iowan congregations way back when, we are not yet fluent.

The more abrupt the change is, the steeper the learning curve tends to be. There will be glitches. There will be anxiety and fear. No matter how steep the learning curve, the Holy Spirit will continue to ‘call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify’ us. Even on those days when we feel as human beings the challenge of being in community is unsurmountable due to our circumstances, we remember who is in charge.

Prior to conceiving Jesus, the angel reminded Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 2:37). Jesus healed countless diseases, banished demons, performed miracles, and even brought a couple people back to life. Jesus rose from the dead. In comparison, our challenges to form community in these days seem rather minor. God can and does handle all our challenges. The Spirit will continue to gather us in these new ways. We continue to trust that God is working through all the gifts He has given us – even the internet.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” (John 4:21-26)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

That feeling that we need to worship in a specific location is hardly new. Places have been deemed ‘holy’ for thousands of years. Worshippers throughout the generations have had spots they were convinced were more suitable to God’s presence than others. That sense that God is present in some locations is not new.

Cruising through the Old Testament can be like a road-trip of ‘holy places.’ Whenever someone encountered God or felt God’s blessing, they made a sacrifice, gave the spot a new name, and christened it ‘holy.’ Over time, many of these places came to signify either an increased presence of God and sacred awe that either caused humans to seek them out or avoid them.

The Jews who were not taken to Babylon, called Samaritans following the return of the exiles, adjusted to their circumstances. Jerusalem was destroyed. The Temple lay in ruins. The priests and former leaders were off in Babylon. They, as shepherds, had been spared. They began to worship God on the mountain of their forefathers. Not only was it a safer worship experience (invaders often find mountain passes to be a nuisance), but it was in those mountains that they had experienced God’s saving presence during Jerusalem’s demise.  With the return of the exiles, this question of ‘where is God’ became problematic (along with other issues). The deeper issue was ‘with whom’ is God. The Samaritans held that God stayed with them. The Jews, on the other hand, believed God had gone into exile with them.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include the tearing of the Temple curtain in their depiction of the crucifixion. Oftentimes people interpret the tearing of the curtain as allowing everyone into the presence of God, but it also depicts God getting out. The time comes “when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” God’s presence is not restricted to a certain area of the Temple or a mountain.

As followers of Christ, we know God is not restricted to the places we deem appropriate. God is not restricted to either the mountain top or Jerusalem. God is not restricted to a building or a location. Our knowledge of this does not always easily translate into a sense of God’s presence outside our expected ‘norms.’ We can forget the purpose of our ‘Holy Spaces.’ The buildings were built as places for humans to gather as community, not to house God.

It is always amusing when I ask children, whether it be at Children’s Time or Confirmation Class, that basic question, “where is God?” I might disguise it as a variation such as, “where can you pray to God?” or “where can you praise God?” or some other form of the question, but the general overarching question boils down to “where is God?” The first answers tend to be along the lines of worship, Sunday School, maybe even at home. Then someone inevitably calls out, “everywhere!” The fact that God is everywhere is one of those things we know, but do not always process immediately. There seems to be a time lapse in human realization that God is not confined to any particular locale. Even though we do firmly believe God is indeed everywhere, we do not always keep that fact in the forefront of our everyday thinking.

This can translate into looking for God in all the ‘usual’ places and overlooking those encounters in places our brains consider less likely. We can be tempted to confine God to certain places in our brains. Those places built to offer a convenient space can become crutches. We are currently being challenged to expand that thinking.

Our current circumstances compel us to keep the fact that God is everywhere in the very forefront of our minds. (Sometimes the Holy Spirit utilizes a gentle nudge & sometimes a swift kick.) We cannot help but be aware that God is not confined to the inside of any building when we are supposed to be avoiding public gatherings for the safety of others. Suddenly a virus has taken away our crutch and we are compelled to adapt. We find new ways to gather as believers.

God is with us during this time. The trick is to find ways to lean on the support of our community in new ways. As opposed to generations before us, we have a lot of new tools that have underutilized by congregations. The former ways worked well enough for those circumstances. Now that those former methods are less effective in bringing us together, we adapt. We adapt for the sake of the Gospel. The church has been adapting for the sake of the Gospel for centuries. Christians have adapted for the sake of the Gospel since God sent Peter to break bread with Cornelius and his household (all Gentiles). It will not be easy or painless, but we too will use the gifts God has given us and follow His call.

The world’s need for God has not diminished. Our call to proclaim Christ in Word and Deed has not diminished. With our fellow believers in Christ, we shall continue to be the Body of Christ. That body may not look or move the same way as it did a few months ago, but the One giving it life is the same. God is still in control. God is still present among us. Christ is still the head of the Church. He will continue to provide us with the Holy Spirit to guide us into new frontiers.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

(the following was published in the St James PlainDealer, 4/30/2020 edition) 

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

We are tired. We are tired of waiting; tired of watching the latest news reports and statistics; tired of doing things differently; tired of fear and anxiety. We are tired.

Many yearn to go back to the ‘way it was,’ forgetting the complaints we had prior to the ‘way it is.’ Now, experiencing our current weariness, we view our previous weariness with nostalgia.

Human beings are funny creatures. In winter we complain about the cold. In summer we complain about the heat. We can always focus on something less than desirable in the present and remember something more desirable from the past. Even the Israelites managed to recall their time of slavery and oppression in Egypt through eyes of nostalgia while wandering the desert.

There is weariness in every time and in every place and always has been. The disciples experienced weariness. They were tired of being rejected; tired of being confused; tired of waiting. Christ said to them, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

No matter what the cause for the weariness, the ability of Christ to carry those burdens remains the same. Christ carries your weariness and gives you rest. Christ carries your burden of sin and death to the cross. He frees you by the resurrection. His yoke is new life. Jesus places that yoke upon you and gives you rest – now and forever. Amen.

Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:7-11)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

We are living in an anxious time. We are weary, afraid, confused, uncertain, and concerned. We are inundated daily with an overabundance of fluctuating facts, statistics, theories, and speculations. This fills our ears and brains with uncertainty and worry.

Anxiety is defined by the dictionary, “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.” Right now, many of us have feelings of worry, nervousness, and unease. We are anticipating the imminent worst possible outcome, while agonizingly aware that the outcome is very uncertain. On top of this, we have the sense that the outcome may depend largely upon our own actions. We then multiply this feeling of anxiety over the masses and we have our current situation.

We have heard a little bit about how viruses mutate, especially at the beginning of this crisis. Anxiety, especially mass or cultural anxiety, can also mutate. That sense of worry and unease can easily turn into other destructive emotions. How often does anxiety mutate into hysteria, hopelessness, despair, apathy…? What effect on a community commence when those emotions become widespread?

The early disciples were quite familiar with anxiety. They lived in fear of the Jews, the Romans, even their own family members. It was not uncommon for family members to out their loved ones as followers of ‘the Way’ (as early Christians were dubbed) in last ditch efforts to ‘bring them back to their senses.’ They faced arrest, persecution, and rejection from their peers, families, and civic leaders. Many even faced physical death.

In spite of anxiety and persecution, ‘the Way’ did not dissipate. It flourished. “Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord” (Acts 5:14a). God was still in control and God was using those anxious early Christians to bring more people to faith. In the midst of all those anxiety producing challenges, God gave grace and peace.

Both Paul and Peter experienced this firsthand. They both faced arrest, sufferings, hardships, and eventual physical death. Peter was crucified. Paul presumably died in Rome under house arrest. Yet they saw these hardships are opportunities to share the Good News in Jesus Christ. They knew a force more powerful than the hardships of this world. No matter what befell them, God was with them.

It takes discipline to combat anxiety before it mutates into anything worse. Peter’s words in his letter are still applicable today. In the face of anxiety, we stay alert and discipline ourselves to face whatever hardship or faith challenge that may come our way. We use the gifts God has given us to resist the lure for that anxiety to morph into something more detrimental to our very souls. We find ways to remind one another that there is a savior infinitely more powerful than anything we can imagine. We retell one another that God is in control – God is fighting for us. We cling to those words, “my grace is sufficient for you.” God’s grace is sufficient for you in all our weakness and anxiety. His grace makes you whole. As we face the coming days, never forget – the power of Christ dwells in you, cast all your anxieties on Him.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

 …but he (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰ Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We cling to His promises in times of need. We cling to Him in times of need. Even more importantly, we know that He holds unto us in all time, including times of need. We know that God overcomes all adversity. We know Jesus. We have seen the glory of God as revealed in Christ Jesus.

Recently a colleague posted ‘this is the Lentiest Lent ever.’ In terms of ‘giving up’ and experiencing the darkness of Christ’s death, that is a pretty accurate (albeit linguistically grating) statement. In terms of stripping bare known incidentals that detract from the grace of God, we have definitely gone above and beyond this year. We have given up a lot and we are not sure how much more ‘giving up’ will come.

Christians throughout the world are scrambling to develop creative ways to proclaim and celebrate the joy of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. I suspect we will see some of the most jubilant ‘Easter’ celebrations of modern times when we are able to gather in person. This time in our communal lives will alter our comprehension of the resurrection. Teaching theorists sometimes talk about ‘object lessons’ and ‘experiential learning.’ Our current lives are an advanced course in death and resurrection on a large scale. Our eventual celebration will reflect that heightened awareness and appreciation of the Christ’s resurrection and the power it exerts in our lives.

We all experience death and resurrection on a smaller scale as individuals and families. Paul reminded the Romans, (Romans 6:4) “Therefore we have been 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 too might walk in newness of life.”

We have times of personal health struggles, conflict, despair, fear that push us beyond our everyday comprehension of life. There are times when we have to let go of our old ways and habits and experience God in new ways. Individuals and families all undergo those moments that redefine their understanding and experience of life. God constantly brings new life out of death and loss. The resurrections in our lives always follows the crucifixions.

Rarely does the whole world participate share in this experience communally. This pandemic does not discriminate by nationality, ethnicity, faith, or any other qualifier. The tagline of ‘in this together’ not only describes the approach to battling the virus by social distancing, but also our communal experience of death and resurrection. The world the way we imagined it several weeks ago no longer exists. It has passed and a new reality is in its place; the reality that is to come will not look like the reality of yesterday. The world emerges from this experience transformed by its shared experience. The world’s resurrection will always follow the crucifixion.

As Christians, we know that this current reality is not the final one. This too shall pass and another new reality will emerge. This is the experience of death and resurrection. We anxiously await the day when the final reality comes to pass as John described his vision to the seven churches, “And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5a) Until that day, our days will be a flux of death and resurrection.

As the world assaults us with uncertainty and fear, Christ gives us confidence and peace. We know that His resurrection followed His crucifixion. We know that we have been baptized into His death and resurrection. This means we know and believe certain truths. Death does not conquer life in Christ. God’s grace, mercy, and love prevails over evil. Sin is trounced by forgiveness. The resurrection always follows the crucifixion.

God does not give as the world gives. “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” The peace of the Lord be with you always.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

The original letter was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota. This crisis is proving to be such an apt example of ‘living in Holy Saturday’ I decided to publish as is.

Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.  After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.  Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Matthew 27:50-54)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

The journey marked by the Triduum is the crux of Christian faith. God gave His son unto death. Jesus died. His body lay in the grave. He rose from the dead.

Literally the Latin for ‘three days,’ the Triduum is the bridge between the experience of repentance during Lent and the joy of absolution of Easter. It straddles across Christ’s death and life. These three days are set aside for the church to recognize and commemorate the unity of Christ’s death and resurrection. Oftentimes during the church year, we lean more toward His death or resurrection. Christ’s death and resurrection go hand in hand. The Triduum links those two seemingly polarized events into one act of salvation.

We begin on Thursday with Christ’s command to love one another. At the Last Supper, Jesus inaugurates a new standard for community. He also prepares the disciples for the trauma they are about to witness. In a prelude to the crucifixion, Jesus redefines the Passover and institutes the Lord’s Supper. “Do this in remembrance of me.” It is no longer the blood of a literal lamb that grants redemption, but now it will be the Lamb of God, His own Son.

On Friday, we move forward with the ultimate expression of self-sacrificing love – the crucifixion. Jesus gave up his earthly life for the sake of the world – for us. Jesus Himself foreshadowed this action by teaching His disciples, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) On the cross, He embodies that dramatic and extreme love that God has for His people.

Then we wait. Holy Saturday is a day to live in between death and life. Having moved through Christ’s crucifixion, we now wait for the fulfillment of the promise of the resurrection. There is that paradoxical space where exists simultaneously the greatest sorrow of the crucifixion and the greatest joy of the resurrection. It has been asserted that most of our lives are actually lived as a “Holy Saturday’ kind of existence. We spend our lives aware of the reality of death yet anticipating the hope in resurrection – simultaneously grieving and hoping.

Then comes the joy in encountering the risen Lord. The hope of things unseen is realized. The promise of salvation is accomplished. The choruses of resounding ‘Alleluias’ and church bells fill the air. The wealth of hymns proclaiming, “Christ is risen! Alleluia!” reverberate out of Saturday’s silent vigil.

Those three days, the Triduum, have fused together the everlasting salvation given to us in Christ Jesus. We have now witnessed what we are commanded it is to “remember” – the whole of those three days. Those three days are full of grace and love. The resurrection is moot without the crucifixion just as the crucifixion is merely a tragedy without the resurrection. The union of Christ’s command, love, death, and resurrection…is the power of God.

Our death and resurrection are also inseparable. Paul wrote to the Romans, “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… So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:5,11)

Paul also reminded the Corinthians, “When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

We may feel like it is ‘Holy Saturday’ more often than we like, but our promise is the entirety of the Triduum. Our salvation is the total sum of the three days. Even when we feel suffering and death, we know we will have peace and life. In death and in life, we hear Christ’s promise, ^“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” (Matthew 28:5-7)

¹ By the rivers of Babylon—
    there we sat down and there we wept
    when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there
    we hung up our harps.
³ For there our captors
    asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴ How could we sing the Lord’s song
    in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

We oftentimes skip over some of the less ‘happy’ passages in the Bible in communal worship. I admit, even in citing the above Psalm, I stopped before the revenge portion of the Psalm. Yet the Bible illuminates the lives of God’s people. This includes both the joys and the sorrows. God’s people are confident enough in God’s faithfulness to approach Him with all the aspects of their lives. We are confident enough in God’s faithfulness to share the whole of our lives.

A lament is defined as “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.” (Oxford dictionary) Sixty of the 150 Psalms are laments. The Book of Lamentations is primarily…a lament. The Israelites were confident that God was listening even when they were full of grief or sorrow. When they were experiencing hardship or tragedy, they turned to God.

Psalm 137 is a communal lament over the (first) destruction of Jerusalem roughly 2600 years ago. The leaders, the craftsmen, the prophets, the priests – basically those whom the Babylonians saw as either a threat or useful – had been hauled off to Babylon. They were removed from everything they found familiar. They were immersed in an unfamiliar location, a different culture, and a foreign language. This new reality caused them angst and sorrow. They lamented their situation.

Some of the more familiar Bible stories from this period of exile include Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, and the Book of Esther. Those tales illustrate the struggle of the Jewish exiles to continue to serve and worship God. It was not easy. They made choices that were punishable by death. They struggled with the choice of whether or not to identify themselves as children of God in public. They struggled with the basic question posed by the Psalmist, “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” The Psalms were the cornerstone of Jewish worship. This question could easily be rephrased, “How do we worship the Lord in a foreign land?” Worship was fundamental to their identity as God’s people. The question for those exiles was, how do we live as God’s children in this new reality we are facing?

Those questions translate well into our current climate. Although we are not exiled into a foreign country, we are exiled from our regular habits and routines. We are living in a foreign reality, filled with angst and wondering. We ask those questions: How do we sing the Lord’s song in an unfamiliar territory? How do we continue to live as God’s children in times of fear and uncertainty?

While none of us is facing a fiery furnace, a lion’s den, or genocide decree, there are moments that challenge us. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. News programs are probably getting the highest ratings in years. In this age of instant news and social media, we can be unsure about what is indeed fact and what is exaggerated or misleading. In this scientific era, we are troubled by how much we do not know about COVID-19 and its spread. Like the exiles 2600 years ago, we are coping with the strangeness of the unpredictability of a new reality. We are sojourners in a foreign land, even if that foreign land is our own residence.

We, like those Biblical heroes, face difficult choices as we seek to discern how to live as God’s children in uncharted territory. How do we adapt our current habits and routines to protect the health of our neighbors? How do we foster community while practicing social distancing? How do we live as God’s children in this new reality? How do we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

We lament. We take the cue of our ancestors in faith and express our fears and grief to the Lord. We share their cries from so long ago and make them our own. We have confidence in God’s faithfulness to know that he hears our prayers. We trust God’s promise that He will lead us out of this challenge and whatever challenge may lie ahead.

One of the most amazing elements of a Biblical lament is that it concludes with praise. Our Biblical ancestors trusted that no matter how passionate their grief or how dire their current situation was, God was still God. Even when they were suffering, they remembered God’s promise to them. They pinned their hope on God.

Paul reminded the Corinthians, “God is faithful. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) That reminder is for us as well. As we face days when we feel tested beyond our strength, experiencing the weight of uncertainty and isolation, we remember. God is with us. God is faithful. God’s love endures forever. God promises to be with us through whatever grief or anxiety the days may bring.

Even in our sense of exile, we know and believe the promise of Christ found in the Gospel according to John: (Jesus said) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3) Cling to that promise for it is trustworthy and true. Cling to Christ for He is trustworthy and true.

The peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

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

As I mentioned on Sunday, God promises to provide for both our physical needs and our spiritual needs. We, as the Body of Christ, are called to participate in that mission. We are called to proclaim Christ in Word and Deed in this particular time and place.

In this unprecedented period of history, many of our previous habits and practices of ‘how to be the church’ are challenged. This does not negate or lessen God’s call to us to embody His love in the world. As Paul reminded the Romans, “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” (Romans 12:4-5) No virus (or other disaster) can diminish our identity as the Body of Christ nor can it weaken our bond to one another in Christ.

Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves. In order to love our neighbor as ourselves, we are abiding by the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and the Minnesota Department of Health. We are suspending all gatherings in both church buildings through the end of March. At that time, we will reevaluate based on updated information expected to be made available by March 27^th.

In our conversation on Sunday, your two presidents and I were hoping to continue to gather in person for worship as long as possible. We hoped our size would enable us to maintain social distancing recommendations if all activities other than worship were suspended. That plan remained viable for about 30 hours until the recommendations changed.

Oftentimes, we feel insulated against ‘big city’ problems like epidemics. While it is easier for us to maintain social distancing in our area due to our smaller population and abundance of space, our healthcare infrastructure is also smaller. This means the threshold to overwhelm our local healthcare systems is much lower. In addition, we depend on ‘big city’ medical care for serious health issues.

The measures being recommended by medical and civic leaders are for everyone’s protection. These measures are not only intended to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, but also influenza and other viruses. They are intended for the protection of our healthcare workers. They are intended to help sustain the level of health care for everyone struggling with any illness now or in the near future.

The suspension of ‘in person’ gathering and activities is one way we can love our neighbor by attending to his or her physical needs. God’s call to love our neighbor is not limited to the church building. We are the Church. We embody Christ in the world. I encourage all of you to take care of your own health, avoid close contact with others, stay home as much as possible, and, of course, wash your hands.

Both buildings will remain unlocked as usual to help facilitate some of our ministry adaptations. The janitors will be focusing on sanitizing ‘high contact surfaces’ (most used doorknobs & light switches). Hand soap is available by each sink and hand sanitizer is available in both narthexes. Please use hand sanitizer or wash your hands upon entering and exiting the building and (like always) please remember to turn off the lights when exiting.

We are also called to love our neighbor by caring for his or her spirit. As I stated earlier, the ‘way we’ve always done it’ is facing new challenges these days. Here are some ‘adaptations’ that we are in the process of implementing.

• Digital Resources
  • Later today, I will attempt to record last Sunday’s sermon and post to the parish facebook page.
  • Fortunately, this year’s Lenten dramas naturally lend themselves to recording. I will be contacting the individuals who had volunteered to read them about recording them instead.
  • I am also looking for volunteers to digitally record Scripture readings or music to build a digital library of worship materials. I am compiling a list of music that we can legally broadcast. Augsburg Fortress has expanded all Sundays and Seasons subscriptions to include streaming of all Augsburg copyrighted liturgies and music. There is also a variety of public domain at our disposal. (interested readers and musicians, please email sozparish@live.com.)
  • Daily Prayers and Scripture readings
  • Sunday School is currently working on producing and sharing some online materials for students and their families to be posted in the Sunday School facebook group.
• Both buildings will remain unlocked (as usual). Please feel free to utilize this space for individual prayer. The buildings will also serve as a point of exchange for physical (non-digital) resources.
  • The following resources are currently available in each building:
  • Christ in Our Home devotionals
  • Lenten Kits (including the Pattern for Daily Worship at Home and Daily Scripture Readings for Lent)
  • Address list of parishioners residing in ‘restricted access’ facilities & at highest risk
    • They can still receive mail. (please contact family members for phone numbers as some are more proficient than others at retrieving messages)
  • The following resources will be available in each building:
  • Hard copies of this letter
  • Additional resources for prayer and worship
  • April’s ‘CrossWords’ (newsletter) will be published as scheduled & placed in mailboxes
  • ‘Pocket Prayer Square’ patterns & yarn (interested persons who knit or crochet, please email sozparish@live.com)
  • Children’s craft kits (from previous Sunday School crafts) will be located in Zion’ entry.

At this time, we are discovering creative ways to be the Church in a world that desperately needs tending to its soul. We will continue to struggle and overcome with God’s help. At times it may seem inconvenient or tiresome, but we serve as ambassadors of Christ’s love and mercy. We are examples to the world in what it means to love one another as Christ has loved us. That is a mandate we live out each day. We do the best we can with the knowledge and resources we have available to serve God and our neighbor. We do so with God’s help and guidance. We cling to the assurance of His promise, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I give thanks to God for the faith of this community and its commitment to the Gospel. I have confidence that the God will guide and strengthen us through all the challenges of the coming days. The grace and peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Psalm 121 (NRSV)

I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 

³ He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.