June 24, 2018. Have you ever had any fearful experiences on the water? Pastor Stephanie preaches today on the story of Jesus calming the storm. She reminds us that there is no storm that we face, personally or as a community of faith or in any other realm, where we are actually alone. *** Transcript *** I'd like you to say a brief prayer with me, please. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be acceptable in your sight, O God. Amen. I introduced myself a bit last week, and I know that every week I'm going to need to do a little bit of that. I probably won't do that so much from the pulpit today, but I do look forward to meeting each and every one of you. My name is Pastor Stephanie Doeschot, as a you've probably read about somewhere or heard, and I'm looking forward to spending this time with you as your interim pastor, and look forward to what God will do in and through this congregation, and as we work together in partnership to ascertain where God is taking this congregation, and to just be still and be the people of God in the meantime as we continue on loving God and loving one another. I have a question for you, much like I did for the children: have any of you ever had any fearful experiences, this time on the water? Well, bodies of water can be so beautiful and inviting, but then there are times when they are mighty forces to be reckoned with. Several years ago, my husband and I were on a pastoral sabbatical concluding with a lovely week at a beach cottage south of Monterey, California. If you've been there, I need say no more. That is one of God's finest designs over there. The Pacific rolls in and there's so much beauty to enjoy, and it's very peaceful and wonderful. Well, it was peaceful until we decided that we would like to try our hand at sea kayaking, which had been highly recommended to us. We made an appointment for the last day of our stay there. It was the only one still available. This was about three weeks after Labor Day. The season was winding down at the rental shop and to have guys go out with you. So we showed up on that Friday morning only to find out that the guide who was to take us on this adventure had not shown up for work. This was our last day. We were flying home the next day and we were determined to take advantage of this opportunity. The manager of the store had to stay nearby to rent out the kayaks, but he told us with a short tutorial by him that we should be fine. And we fell for it. Well, it was not without difficulty and several attempts, that we did make our way through the first line of the waves that break into the shore, and I assure you on the Pacific Ocean those are no small force to be reckoned with either. My husband made it a little better than I did. But you had to put your kayak perpendicular, heading straight out into the water to break through the waves, and I had a couple of times I have to admit that the waves had the better of me and I would be flipped over. And I would have to get myself up and get the thing readied again, and stand and try to push out, and make it through about four or five layers of these breakers. Well, we eventually got to do that, and then we were delighted to enjoy a long stretch of peaceful water where the harbor seals would playfully pop their heads up and make their little sounds and look at us, and then they'd pop down to swim. It was idyllic. But the instructor had told us that what we really wanted to do was to go out further, where the kelp beds lie and where we would see more wildlife. He said we would know we were there when the water turned green all around us. And he was right. What he did not tell us was that when we would get out that far, we would also be likely to be caught up in swells that were for the first twenty seconds rather fun. But after that, sheer terror set in. I know for me much of that was in my head. As I said, I'd already overturned two to three times near the shore when the small but intense waves pitched me out of my kayak. Suddenly now, in the face of these enormous swells where I found myself sometimes at the bottom looking up at what seemed to be 15 to 20 feet of water (maybe I exaggerate but it seemed like it) and then riding up the side of that wave only to be cast down to the bottom of the next swell, panic set in. I envisioned myself being overturned by a subsequent one, and either not being able to get back into the kayak before some unfriendly sea creature started nibbling at my body parts, or that I would be completely upside down and unable to breathe. Oh, the dangers we can imagine. Often at least based in some reality, but just as often magnified beyond the bounds of that which is likely to happen. I did not wait to find out how my deepest fears might be realized. At this point I could barely maintain eye contact with my husband, carried away as he was by swells somewhere out of my eyesight, but my lungs still worked. So I called out to him that this was no longer fun, and I wanted to get back to the shore ASAP. Surprisingly, no argument came from him, and we each managed to turn those kayaks into the direction that they needed to go, because at this point we were still facing Asia. But we managed to get them turned around and headed back to the shore. These kayaks looked to me like a child's toy compared to the size of these gigantic waves. As you can see I'm here today, so we made it safely. But not without sending my pulse into higher regions than ever, I'm pretty sure. Well, surely you have your own stories. You can relate to times of feeling at the mercy of some powerful force of nature, or a situation where you wonder about the outcome. In our gospel lesson today a storm arises. As you recall, Jesus has been teaching on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, and the disciples have been getting a chance to get to know him, and who he is about, and marvel over him already, and yet not completely understand him. But when he says to them, let's get in the boat we need to go to the other side, they do it and they fish. Skilled fisherman that they are, they probably don't think of thing of what lies before them. And then a storm comes up, the likes of which shake them to their toes. As you recall, panic sets in for the disciples. Jesus is sleeping. Sleeping through all of this. And yet they are encountering a storm that has created deep fear in their hearts and their minds, and so what really hooked me this week in responding to this passage was Jesus' response to the panic of the disciples who, with accusing tones in their voices said Jesus, don't you care about us? We are perishing here and you seem not to care. This is a crisis. So what does Jesus do? He takes charge of the situation, speaking to the wind and the waves and commanding them to be still. And they do calm down. But you get the sense that the storm is still raging inside of his companions. Maybe they're asking themselves: are we really safe with this guy? How do we know he really has our backs? We had to wake him up to pay attention to this, remember? What if he sleeps through the next crisis, or if we can't find him when we need his help? Then what? Well, the response we have through our English translation doesn't fully carry the full weight of the care and desire that Jesus has in his words to them to stretch them, and to stretch us into another way of framing his relationship with us in times of trouble. Asking them and us why are you afraid doesn't mean that he doesn't get that many things are fearful. He's prodding them to dig deeper into the reserves of the heritage of their faith. Remember the other passages we just heard this morning? He's reminding them that they would probably have heard them, not in so many words, but he's digging into their heritage where they would have heard this oral tradition of stories passed down, through their families of faith, through their worshiping community, around the campfire, maybe the stories of God addressing Job such as this which is already read, where God says, "Have you people commanded the morning till your days began and caused the dawn to know its place? Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Who of you has cut a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt to bring rain on a land where no one lives and to make the ground put forth grass?" Our fears can be real, for there are many dangers and difficulties. But God, the one who is over and above all circumstances that can threaten us is still, as from before the dawn of time, in charge of it all. Then Jesus asked a second question: have you still no faith? Because when the disciples anxiously accused, "Don't you care, Jesus, that we are perishing?" they indicated that they did not understand the very nature of who it was to whom they were speaking. Jesus' actions, teaching to the crowds and conversations with them up to this point, were to help them connect to the God that they exalted in the Psalms. As an example from Psalm 107 today, we saw the words that dealt with the fact that the psalmist is extolling the praises of God, who calms the sea, who calms the storm. That would have been their literature. That would have been their context, and yet the connection is not yet made between who this Jesus is, and who is the God whom they worship? So when Jesus is dead asleep and the disciples call to him, it's a good illustration for us to see because we can find ourselves in the same place. At times, we are in the storms, and in the difficulties. And we too wonder if God just might be taking a nap during this time. We too know the stories of faith. We too know that God is much bigger and mightier than we, and yet don't we also wonder if God is going to rise up in this occasion and change these circumstances for us? I don't have to prompt you with too many thoughts, because I'm sure our intercessory prayers and the prayers that you offer every day, and the wonderings in your hearts and minds, arise from the situations that are troublesome to us. No need really to mention what's going on in our Southern borders, and yet we as people need I believe to call out to God and say, "O Lord do not sleep through this." Not that we think God will, but to remind ourselves that we are calling on God in the faith tradition of those who have come before us and, I think, honoring God in a very special way to say, "Only you, God, can give us the peace that we need in this process and the peace that we pray for the many people who are troubled by such things." We have friends who have been in difficult times because of medical conditions. I won't dwell on this, but if I seem a little sleepy this morning it's because last night I had to take my husband to the emergency room. And that's not a common thing. He's the kind who will tough out anything that comes his way if he possibly can, and he's been having some esophageal issues and been under medical care for that. But last night about 8:30 he said, I think I'm having a heart attack. Don't you just love it when you're teaching or preaching a passage, and then you get a chance to put these words to the test yourself? Yeah, so fear. So anxiety. So a sense of calling on God: God help us. Do I call 911 right now, or will he in half a minute say no no no, I'm fine? Anyway, I did. I didn't call 911, but I did persuade him to jump in the car with me and I took him to the ER. And he's fine, after lots of medication and lots of time and tests to show that indeed, it was not a heart attack. He just needs to go see a GI specialist. Fine, we can deal with that. But only to illustrate that we all have those moments where something comes up suddenly, or something is pervasive and stays with us a long time. And we so want to see the hand of God bring peace and change of the circumstances to us. Because there are legitimate fears about things that are too big for us. Jesus doesn't ever say, "Your fear is unfounded. What what do you mean, everything's rosy." But he does give us the proper perspective of how to deal with that. Rest in Me. Rest with me. Rest in me, Jesus seems to say. He offers instead, and dearly wants disciples at the stormy sea and disciples here present with us, to take that offer to live in what another penned as the "peace of God that passes all understanding, keeping our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." From this place of peace, a person, a community, a movement can thrive in the midst of any storm. I promise I won't talk about him every week, but our grandson I mentioned last week is about to celebrate his second birthday. And he's an even-tempered child. He smiles affably and seems to be making good progress in his development. One thing did cause a bit of concern: on the days that I would take care of him around his nap time, as soon as he was awakened from his nap he would cry out and make all kinds of sounds that he normally didn't make. And he would be seeming to express panic if someone wasn't in the room with him right away. It was almost like him saying, "Where is everyone, who's here for me?" Of course, I would rush in and comfort him and pull him out of his crib. And I'm happy to say that as time has gone on he has learned to soothe himself and awaken without anxiety. He seems to have internalized the fact that whatever dream he had (or nightmare) or initial concern for his own safety that he had upon awakening, he is not alone in the larger sense of the meaning, and someone is always nearby for him. As we grow in faith, may we notice just how true it is that someone is always nearby for us. We can also recount with the psalmist that we have called upon the Lord and found God faithful and true to be with us in all things. Even though, granted there are fear producing situations in our lives, they need not paralyze us. They need not have dominion over us. They need not consume us. They need not cause panic because we are not alone in our boats. A scene from the end of John Bunyan's classical allegorical novel The Pilgrim's Progress finds the chief character Christian, the archetype of a person struggling to lead a life of faith, nearing the end of his symbolic journey. This journey requires him to cross a great and fearsome river. He is desperately afraid. Together with his friend Hopeful, they wade into the waters with trepidation. Christian cries out, "I sink in deep waters. The billows go over my head. All the waves go over me." Hopeful replies with these grace-filled words: "Be of good cheer, my brother. I feel the bottom and it is good." Be of good cheer, friends. There is no storm that we face, personally or as a community of faith, or in any other realm, where we are actually alone. The careful, watchful eye of one whose might and compassion is always upon us, let us call upon the name of the Lord for help in times of trouble. For God's mercy is everlasting, and God's peace is able to calm every storm. Thanks be to God. *** Keywords *** 2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Stephanie Doeschot

June 3, 2018. Our sermon today is from Jim Bennett, who is a hospital chaplain. He preaches on the metaphor of earthen vessels, healing, and how leaving the hospital is like leaving church on a Sunday morning: you come out better than when you went in. *** Transcript *** Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Now, some of you may be thinking to yourselves, "What is he doing up there?" I have to tell you that's a question that's gone through my mind a few times this week too. I'm a pastor. I'm a Lutheran Pastor who's served congregations for about ten years, before I responded to what I felt was God's call for me to move into chaplaincy ministry, and eventually education. And so it's been many years since I've preached a sermon, contrary to what my wife tells me every now and then. But when I was contacted and asked to preach today, I was a little nervous because I'm out of practice. And so that's why I'm going to stay up here in the pulpit. The pulpit's nice and protective. But I was also really excited when I read the lessons for today, because the lessons are just filled with great preaching themes. You know, we have the gospel lesson where Jesus heals the withered hand of a man in the temple. We have the Old Testament lesson that depicts God bringing God's people out of slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand. And in our second lesson, God has bestowed a treasure in earthen vessels. And the psalm, "You called out in distress and I delivered you." Great preaching themes. But there's an overarching theme that I really want to focus on today, and it follows what I said with the children this morning about the people of God being the church, and how God cares for his people. That ought to be reassuring, right? It is for me, most of the time. Yet if we read the entire second lesson that Paul was sharing with the people in the Corinthian Church, he goes on to write as servants for Jesus' sake we are afflicted, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not forgotten. So even as we may be reassured that God cares for us, we may not always feel that care in a way that we expected or hoped. And that is exactly where a lot of my ministry comes into play. I try to show people that God cares, when they don't really feel that God cares, when they feel perplexed or afflicted, when they feel struck down or when they're persecuted. Because you and I and many of the people that I minister to, we are these earthen vessels. Earthen vessels. I noticed in the lesson today that the version of this translation said we are clay jars. And you know, I was thinking about earthen vessels and clay jars, and which would be a better metaphor today. Last evening my wife and I and some friends went to the Webster art show at Webster University in Eden Seminary. And my wife and I are always drawn to the artists that do clay jars. They have earthen vessels there, and they're beautiful. And we always think about perhaps buying a piece or two. And as I was there I remembered the second lesson for today, that we are like earthen vessels. You know that earthenware is very durable, but sometimes it gets cracked. Sometimes it may get broken, chipped. And it wears out over time. That's like the metaphor of our bodies as earthen vessels, that sometimes we abuse our bodies, or over time they're worn out. And we are breakable. So when those parts wear out or we break, we need to be fixed. And it's amazing to me. I think about when those body parts wear out or we need a new part. (I myself have had a knee replacement. And I know of others here who've had the same, or a hip replacement. Some of you may even have had an organ transplant.) I'm simply amazed that when our bodies are broken, they can be repaired. There are times when I converse with others and the topic of vocation comes up and people say, "What is it that you do?" And I say I'm a hospital chaplain. And they look at me and say that must be a really tough job. And I say to them, sometimes it is. But you have to keep in mind that many more people leave the hospital in better shape than they arrived in, than otherwise. And you know, I feel kind of the same way about church on Sunday morning. When I come here to worship, sometimes I'm still a little bit asleep and I'm not too sure about things. But I always leave church better than when I first arrived. More often than not, when I see people in the hospital they are hoping for healing. Some of them may even hope for a miracle. But healing miracles today are more often performed by modern medicine. We place our trust in the wisdom and knowledge of God as bestowed on physicians. Yet healing is a process that even modern medicine is not an exact science. So I have found that people of God may be challenged when those purveyors of modern miracles acknowledge that nothing more can be done to heal or to make one whole. Now, there are times when people then turn to God and they want a miracle more like what occurred in our gospel lesson today. The section of Mark. If you had read earlier portions of Mark you might realize that our gospel lesson today comes at a time after Jesus had performed many healing miracles. He had cast out demons. He had healed the leper and a paralytic. And you may remember that one of the titles that Jesus was known by was the Great Physician, because he healed people. Jesus was God. But today, even though we have some very talented physicians whose work sometimes seems miraculous, they are not God. We wait for the Good News to come to us from God to proclaim a miracle like Jesus did. Healing a withered hand. Or, as the writer of Deuteronomy says, God brought you out of the land of Egypt. Or the psalmist, "In distress you called and I delivered you." A responsive God that seems to answer our every need. But then I'm reminded of an old tune as a child that I became familiar with. It's about Humpty Dumpty. And it says Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. So where is God when we need God most? Jesus taught us that, "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there with you." I didn't ask the children today in the children's sermon where they thought God was. It might have been interesting to hear some of those responses. It might have been a bit too confusing, but I can ask you: where is God? If you think about it, maybe you'll come to the conclusion that it's not as confusing as one might first think. Where is God? Actually God is right here. When I'm doing my other job as an usher here on a Sunday morning, or when I'm reading the lessons, or when I'm taking up the collection -- you know ushers have the responsibility of counting the number of worshippers on a Sunday morning, and I'm in the practice when I'm doing that at the end -- I always add the number three. Why would I do that? I add the father. Why would I do that? Yes, because of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I'm not just padding the attendance record. It's theologically sound! Just think about it: God is with us on Sunday morning. And God is not with us just on Sunday morning. God is with us wherever two or more are gathered in God's name. A few weeks ago the church celebrated the holy day of the Ascension of the Lord. It's when Jesus was taken up into heaven. The disciples were worried that when Jesus would go away they would be left alone. But Jesus told his disciples not to worry because he would be sending them the Holy Spirit. Another name for the holy spirit is the Great Comforter. And the Great Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would be with them. Now, the Holy Spirit has a role in our lives as well. Just like it's been a long time since I've preached, it's also been a long time since I taught confirmation. So I may need some help from some of you. In terms of what we learn about the role of the Holy Spirit In our lives, any recent confirmations here who can name off the four or five things the Holy Spirit does for us? Uh oh, somebody in the back. Yell it out. What does the Holy Spirit do? Okay. The Holy Spirit calls us. The Holy Spirit gathers us. The Holy Spirit enlightens us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, and keeps us. The five things: calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps. All of you coming up for confirmation, remember. That's a good thing to remember. It's good Lutheran theology. But I practice my ministry in a setting that is multi-faith or no faith at all. So I don't serve just Lutherans anymore. So I practice what we call more of a practical theology. And there is, in practical theology, several roles that God serves. And that is to sustain us, and to guide us, and to reconcile us, and to heal us. These are actions that show that God cares. Now, I have to admit if my loved one was sick and they could not be made whole again, I would expect the function of God's healing to take place. And if it didn't I would be angry about that. In our lesson today, Jesus was angry at the Pharisees. Well, I would expect I would be angry. Any one of you probably would as well. But once I could move past my anger, my hope and prayer would be that God would sustain me or God might guide me or God might in some way reconcile me to those I love. Those would be actions that God could show God's care. In my years of ministry, I have witnessed great resilience and courage, both in parishioners and patients who may be in pain or suffering for days and and weeks, and maybe even years, waiting for God's healing. Or maybe knowing that that healing may not take place. And sometimes I talk with people who feel hopeless. Hopelessness can be a disease. It can be a disease almost as bad as many others that we are aware of. It can lead us to despair. So I sometimes tell people as sincerely as possible that as a pastor, my chief title is I'm in the hope business. I'm in the Hope business. Now, I don't mean that I'm going to try to dispense some pie-in-the-sky hope. But what I try to do is to resurrect hope -- that hope that is within us, the hope that is what Paul talks about in our second lesson, the treasure that is in earthen vessels. You know in Corinthians, Paul talks about faith, hope, and love. These are treasures that we possess within us as earthen vessels. We all have it but sometimes it needs to be resurrected. Those earthen vessels that may be afflicted but remember, Paul said, not crushed. May be perplexed but not driven to despair. May be persecuted but not forsaken. Or struck down but not forgotten. God will not leave us alone. When we pray to God, we often want God to change things. And sometimes God does change things, but sometimes God changes people. And that's what happens when I come here on Sunday morning. I am changed. I leave better than when I arrived. I teach as part of my ministry. I just recently completed a class on pastoral care skills for community clergy, and one of the clergymen who was enrolled in the class, he was a pastor in the Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee. That pastor's denomination is known to have a rather conservative theology. And part of the training of these clergy who come to me, they are required to visit patients in the hospital. And six months ago when his training began, the pastor wrote that "I've always worked toward the goal of ministry where a person is brought to their knees to the point of asking Jesus into their heart so miracles can take place." Well, I want to reassure you, I would never allow him to do that to patients in the hospital. But that is the mindset in which he entered this training. But when he left just a few weeks ago, he wrote something very different that almost brought tears to my eyes. He wrote, "In the end, the most important things in life have been relationships with people." In the end, the most important things in life have been relationships with people. And I believe if we look at our lessons again for today, God feels the same way. God cares for God's people. God is with God's people. And we are the church together. Amen. *** Keywords *** 2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Jim Bennett

May 20, 2018. As Pastors Penny and Keith retire, they leave us with a twofer sermon. These are their parting words to the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church. *** Transcript *** [Pastor Penny] Well, you're getting a twofer for today. We decided we would do everything together. So you'll have two messages, but they'll be short. And it will seem strange after we retire when Sunday comes and I won't put on my clergy shirt. But sometimes I've worn that clergy shirt outside of worship, and I don't wear it very long without remembering that I have it on. If I go to the grocery store, this being a predominantly Catholic community I always get a few looks. And I know they're thinking, "A woman priest?" Or maybe a smile or two and right away I remember I'm wearing a clergy shirt. And my demeanor and my actions might change. I hope not, but they probably do because I realize that I am a witness, or as our gospel said, one who testifies to our Christian faith. But in truth, whether you're wearing a blue t-shirt or not, we are all witnesses. We all testify to our faith by our demeanor, by our actions. And that's good because the gospel today says we really should testify to the world. But what exactly are we supposed to testify? What is it that we want to convey to the world about our faith? I was at Rolling Ridge nursery in Webster Groves last week and a friend came up who was buying mint. His mint died. We had a pretty rough summer last summer, even though that's a hardy plant. He looked at me and said, "You're a woman of the cloth. Maybe I should have just had you come over and resurrect my plant." And then he said something really interesting. He said, "Resurrection, that was a one-time thing, wasn't it? It was kind of a 'one-off.'" And I thought he was right, that really is the heart of our faith. And that's what we hear in the gospel: that the world does not really get Jesus because he was so different, because he really was a "one-off." And in fact a lot of times we don't get Jesus because we are really part of the world. The world of nature is beautiful, especially at this time of the year. Everything that can bloom is blooming. But the laws of nature are not so beautiful: survival of the fittest, dog eat dog. The natural law is that we are born, we decay, and we die. Even where we live, the accident of where we happen to be born, sets something in motion that doesn't seem to be able to be changed. Being born in the United States gives us a much different path than if we were born in a Palestinian refugee camp. So the world seems to move with laws that just keep going along. And then there's human nature. And there too, we are kind of set. We know as humans that we are born selfish. Of course, sometimes we can do things that are better. Often our minds and our bodies lead us to hurt people, and later we feel bad. The church of course has words for this: original sin and guilt. But if you just set those church words aside, the simple truth that we all know is that we are human and we are born selfish. And so we hurt people and we hurt the world. In short, we are caught. With the laws of nature and the laws of human nature, we are trapped. We are in this machine that seems to go on without any sense of justice, that just keeps moving along. And we are caught up in it. But God would not tolerate that. God interceded. Intervened. God threw a wrench in the machine and stopped that cycle, first by giving unmerited goodness to the people of Israel as we hear in the Old Testament, but most perfectly we see that God intervened in the life of Jesus Christ. He lived for justice, and in truth he gave everything and died for justice. And with Jesus, his life defies selfishness and his resurrection defies death. Now on this Pentecost, we are celebrating that the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' followers long ago. But we also celebrate that it came to us when we were baptized, and that it is with us daily, giving us the strength to testify to the world. And we testify by our actions, by the way we treat people, by the way we raise our children, by the way we spend money, by the things that give us joy and the things that make us sad. We testify. We testify something amazing. We testify that in a world that is caught and trapped in inevitable selfishness and death, Jesus brings grace. And what that means is there is forgiveness. There are second chances, do-overs. There is the opportunity to turn your life around a hundred and eighty degrees. With Jesus there is mercy for those who don't deserve it and bread for those who haven't earned it and salvation for all, and life. Life here and life after this life. So in short, we testify. We testify that there is grace in the world. By the love of God and by the life of Jesus Christ there is grace, and that changes everything. [Pastor Keith] In our gospel today, Jesus says I will not leave you bereft. He's preparing his disciples for the fact that he will not be visible to them anymore, but that the Holy Spirit will come to them. And through the working of the Holy Spirit, they will have his presence to be with them all the time. The red banner that's before us today is one that was made by my mother on the occasion of my ordination back in 1974. And on that day, I acknowledged the call of God to let the Holy Spirit work through me as a minister of the gospel. The banner shows the main tools that we have to work with as they have the spirit working through us, the word and the sacraments of Communion and of Holy Baptism. And so it's through these ways the spirit works in the congregation. So as Pastor Penny and I take leave from you, there will be others who will come with the consecration of the spirit to preach and to teach and consecrate Holy Communion. These gifts of the Spirit will continue to be with you. We need to remember that the Holy Spirit doesn't just work through pastors -- that's the main thing -- but works in the congregation through the people of the congregation. Those of you who are gathering here as a people of Christ Lutheran Church, God's spirit will continue to work through you. While it's not completely accurate because it doesn't really capture the spirituality of the work, I often think of my role as a pastor of being like a coach. The coach brings guidance to a team, but the real playing is done on the soccer field or on the football field or on the basketball court, whatever the sport is. It's the players who do the playing and score the points. At the church, it's the spirit who works through all the people to do the real playing of the church in the world. The pastors kind of guide as coaches. So we've been here and we've endeavored to be good coaches for Christ Lutheran. We've spoken God's word to you the best that we know how to as you're gathered on Sunday mornings. Maybe worked and hopefully coached you well enough. We've worked with you in different ways through committees, and confirmation classes. We've been with young people. In all kinds of ways, we've tried to exert the influence of the spirit. We've encouraged the music of worship which helps people to internalize the work of God's spirit in us and to lead people to live in that spirit. But as we know one person can only do so much. When many get involved a whole lot more can be done. So our goal has been to lead in a way that all of you, or many of you, will become more and more involved in different ways of living out the gospel, not only here at church but especially out in the world. Just this week we heard of yet another person in the congregation say, well I do this and I do this and I do this in service in the community, another member of Christ Lutheran. We've been hearing that for years. We've been hearing people saying, I do this, I do that. And that's the key thing. It's mostly not what happens here on Sunday, but happens Monday through Saturday. That's the important work. You come here and then you go into the world to serve, and that's what we've been about. That's the court. That's the playing field. That's where things happen. We hope that our coaching here helps you be the church out in the world. Coaches have different styles. Some do everything but play the game, as they point out every little play that's supposed to be done on the court or on the field. Other coaches do their work in the locker room where through the work we can do all the preparations -- say this is where we're at, this is a strategy. Now you go do it. We know that the Holy Spirit has been unleashed upon the world. Jesus says, I'm only one. It's much more effective, Jesus says, that I leave and that the spirit comes so that you can be out there in the world living in my name, sharing my word in the world. And so it is with pastoral leaders. Pastors are only one. They can't do all the living of the Holy Spirit on Earth, but they can coach and teach and inspire others to live the Christian life. And I have no doubt that the spirit will continue to be active among you as you continue to accept your role as people of God in the community and in the world. So as I speak my parting words to you, I want to remind you of that phrase. Really Pastor Penny was kind of talking about this too, we hadn't coordinated quite well enough, but there's that phrase we are saying a lot last fall especially: live generously. So on the Thrivent and t-shirts, live generously. I think that's a key phrase I want to leave with you. I preached about that several months ago as well. I just really think that's a key phrase for where we are: to live in the spirit of the gospel. God was so generous that he gave us the life of Jesus. There's no greater gift or sacrifice one can make than what Jesus made for us. God has shown us that and God said to us: live generously. I've been generous to you. I gave you my son. Now with that same spirit of self giving live generously to the world. Luther reminded us of that original sin that means that we're basically selfish people. Adam and Eve were tempted right away and they succumbed to the temptation that was come to them to live for their self-interest. We as human beings are so inclined to turn in on ourselves. Jesus has given us a different way, as ones forgiven to live generously for the sake of others. This congregation has strived to do that and done it. Endeavor to do that in the spirit of generosity that lives this life that way, and I pray that you continue to do that -- to live generously as people of his congregation and as a congregation in the world. That will be a sign that indeed the Holy Spirit is alive and well among you. Because the Holy Spirit calls you to do this, I have no doubt that you will live in the way of Jesus. Amen. *** Keywords *** 2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, podcast, sermon, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, Pastor Keith Holste

May 6, 2018. Pastor Penny tells us today that Jesus has chosen us. When he told his followers that he would be leaving them and asked them to carry on his work, they were devastated and scared. But he reminded them and he reminds us that he chose us, and he loves us, and that carrying on his work will bring us joy. *** Transcript *** It's halftime. The team is losing and their morale is very low. So the coach gathers them all around him. And he looks carefully at them in the face, each one of them, and he gives them a pep talk. Now, have any of you ever had a halftime pep talk from your coach when you were involved in sports? I don't see any heads nodding. Oh there is. All right. Did it work? Yes, it worked. Okay. Well, I'm glad I worked because that's exactly what's happening in the gospel this morning. The followers of Jesus for three years have been with him, and when they first encountered Jesus they were probably drawn to him because he was very charismatic. He was popular, but he was a miracle worker. And not only that, but when they met him he looked at them in the eye and said, "I choose you to follow me." Now, they might have been drawn to him because of his charisma, but they stayed with him because of his love, because of the friendship that developed over those three years as they walked from town to town, as they sometimes had to sleep out under the stars, sit around campfire at night. They could see his love for them. He listened to them and he shared his dream -- his dream that people would begin to care about each other, that there would be no more hatred. And that love they had for him, that friendship also grew into admiration as they watched and saw how he was always willing to help, even when it cost him. When his feet were sore from walking or his stomach was very hungry and he'd rather eat. Or when he was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. If someone came and needed to be healed, he did it. He was there. So after these three years of this love and admiration and friendship, all of a sudden there is this blow to them, to these followers, because Jesus says, 'I am leaving you, and where I go you cannot follow this time. And I want you to carry on my work." Well, they were devastated like Jimmy in the puppet show. They were devastated. They were heartbroken to lose Jesus. And not only that but they were afraid -- afraid to lose their leader. And then they weren't at all sure that they had the ability to carry on his work. And it's been two thousand years, but I think we probably can understand that feeling that they had. We have it at times in big ways and small. Our hearts are broken, when we lose someone we love or when we are afraid for our own health. Our hearts get broken when we see our children make decisions that we know will hurt them. Our hearts are broken when we see people in the inner city, innocent people living in a trap of violence with no way to get out. Our hearts are broken and we are scared too at times, sometimes with distinct fears. Sometimes just a general sense of anxiety about what's coming next. And I think we also do share times when we're not sure we're ready for what's coming next. We're not sure that we will handle it well, whether it's college or a first job or getting married or being parents for the first time or a change in career or retirement or as you look to the last years of life and you consider your death, we're not always sure we're prepared to handle those things. So that's why we have these verses today in the gospel. They are for Jesus' followers back then and they are for Jesus' followers now. It is his pep talk to us, words of encouragement and above all words of promise. Jesus' pep talk starts probably differently than most coaches. I don't think Mike Matheny would start this way. He looked at each one and said, "I love you. I love you." And then here's his twist on it, a strange request. He says, "Don't just think from time to time and remember that I love you." He says, "Abide in my love. Stay in it. Rest in it. Depend on it. Live in my love." You know, there's a difference between living somewhere and visiting that place. Maybe some of you have visited a small town. Maybe a nice little town by the river. You stayed in a bed and breakfast and it was charming and quaint. It's a whole other thing to live in a small town. And I remember being very surprised the first small town we lived in. Right away I'd walk down the street and people who I didn't know -- teenagers, adults, didn't matter -- would look at me, smile, and say hello. They didn't look the other way or kind of shyly look back. They greeted me as if they knew me, and they didn't. And pretense at appearance was not as important as it had been growing up in the suburbs. I remember women could wear their hair in rollers at the grocery store and people would think nothing of it. They wouldn't be embarrassed. And everyone knew what everyone else was doing, for better or for worse. But what I found after living there for a while is that you learn you can trust people. And their values become your values, and it changes you. So Jesus said, "Live in my love. Don't just visit it on Sunday morning, but stay in it. Think of it every moment of your life. Depended on it. Let it change you." So that was his word to us. And then he went on to say, "To live in my love this is what you need to do: you need to keep my commandment." Well now, that sounds very dictatorial, "Keep my commandments." You know, we don't like to hear that, and not that we shouldn't but it really isn't exactly what Jesus was saying. The word "keep" has a lot more meaning than we think. He was saying, "Revere my words. Treasure my words," much as you would revere the advice of a favorite coach or your favorite grandpa. And this was the word that he wanted us to revere. This was the command: "Love one another as I have loved you, and be willing to lay down your life if need be." Those are strong words and yet we understand, and we do. We do in small ways -- sometimes in large ways -- but in small ways certainly we do know how to lay down our lives for someone else. I think of when I was a teenager and I was a nurse's aide in a nursing home and one of the other young women thought nothing of taking her day off to go with the residents to the parade because she had so much joy in watching them enjoy the parade. Or a father who had a fairly good job, but he got tired of missing his kids' ballgames and finally he just quit and took a job that was much lower pay, feeling that it was better to work hard to put food on the table, but to stay with his kids. Or the woman who gave up a job without another job to fall back on, because she felt that her company was asking her to do unethical things. Or the caring acts that we do, and we saw it in the puppet show where Jimmy sought out his cousin and knew how to comfort her. We know how to lay down our lives in little ways, day by day, for others. And this is what we can expect, Jesus says, when we do it. Joy, not necessarily happiness. Not necessarily comfort, but joy. And that's because as we risk ourselves for others, we make relationships and we learn to depend on God above all else. And I know that you have all experienced that, whether it's tutoring children after school, or parenting foster children, or giving people rides to places like church. You know that when you risk your time and your energy for others it builds relationships, and that brings joy. In the last council meeting we talked about how our congregation can not only give money to people who need help, which is very important, but how we can also get involved in their lives -- learn from them, form relationships -- because we know that it is relationships that bring joy. And above all we know that those relationships that we enter into out of love for each other bring joy to the one who gave his life for us. And then Jesus leaves us with one last word of encouragement, and it's very simple. He says, "I chose you. I chose you." And it's good to be chosen, isn't it? I mean don't we all feel good about that, whether we're chosen for the team or chosen for a scholarship or chosen for some recognition or honor. Don't we all imagine as adults getting that phone call, "Our company thinks you would be so good when you come in for an interview," but they would come to us that we would be chosen. Jesus says you did not choose me. But I chose you. There is no good reason that God would become human and suffer and die to relieve us of the consequences of our selfishness. God simply chose to do that, and God continues to choose to do that in every baptism that we have. So little Paige will experience that because what happens in baptism is that God says, "I choose you. I love you. And I appoint you to reveal my love to the world. And as you do, I promise you joy. Not just any joy. My joy. Complete joy. The joy that only I can give." Amen. *** Keywords *** 2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, Pastor Penny Holste, transcript

April 15, 2018. Pastor Penny preaches on Jesus' purposes when he appeared to his followers following his resurrection. *** [Keywords: 2018 Christ Lutheran Church Gospel Greek I am alive again I say no I want to convert to Judaism I will be left out Jesus Jewish rabbi Mark Zuckerberg Muslim Imam Pastor Penny Holste RSV Romans accept his mission accept this mission admitting your sins all eyes on Jesus all suffering was part of God's plan allow to be held captive anger and selfishness attitude baptized in the name of Jesus become Christian become a Jew being released from captivity blinking blood running through both good and bad bought for us bound to pole breaches in security break Passover bread cavalier changed college class sociology of religion congress convince crucifixion death itself doubt and dread dust all over eat enabled to bring release to the world enemies evangelism tactics extremities eyes of joy facebook feet on the ground final say first Easter evening first reasons flawed as we are flogged followers founder freedom friend values you ghost tests in antiquity gift give them a mission glowing with joy of seeing him again good news and bad news hands and feet hands wash their feet he was present higher purposes holding food hopeful hovering how do you recruit new members impose on ourselves imposed upon us instant coffee invited to baptism inviting your best friend over it's me jewel entrusted to us join your congregation just the opposite kids fighting large group lawn isn't mowed leads to forgiveness life death resurrection live in the water loved and cherished made an appearance make sure they have bones makeup more honest more important to be quick than careful motto move fast and be willing to be broken move fast and break things myself nailed to a cross narrowed with fear or disbelief not just the twelve only way they can receive forgiveness open a door open the scriptures painful process panel persecution in recent times popcorn all over preach repentance and forgiveness to the world purposes really seeing him really there really was alive release from captivity religious leaders repentance for forgiveness requirements risk same clothes second purpose seeing a ghost share it shoulds slogan something good about suffering stamp of God's approval strength students sure you want to join us take time teeth think very highly of me third purpose translated treasured undergo suffering as well very different motto victorious warned them it might be difficult washed and blessed way of living way of operating we are all captive we have his presence what eyes of God look like what might come in what they had seen what you're getting into when we fail wide eyes with astonishment women there as well]