Sermons Archive - Page 18 of 35 - Christ Lutheran Church

May 13, 2018

Romans and Christians

Series: (All)

May 13, 2018. How do we as Christians live in a society that is so politicized? That is so anxious? That is so materialistic? That tells us again and again that we should look out for ourselves first? How do we live out our lives as children of God? How do we live in the world and for the world without being of the world? Pastor Penny takes on these questions today and offers some thoughts. Jesus gives us all we need.

*** Transcript ***

We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As some of the people in the congregation know from their own experience, one game that is played at Confirmation Camp, probably every year, is called Romans and Christians. In this game the counselors, and many other adults that happen to be around, make makeshift togas out of bed sheets and they have spears that are cardboard with foil wrapped around, and then they wander around a very large area in this large camp looking for Christians.

If they find Christians then they take them to jail or prison -- a special building on the grounds. They are re-enacting the persecution that the early church suffered at the hands of Rome. The Christians, of course, are the campers. So their first goal is to avoid the Romans, and avoid them long enough, to find the underground church, which will be hidden in some Grove of trees somewhere with a candle that's lit. Once they find that area, they're safe from the Romans.

But safety isn't the only goal of the Christians. Once they get to the underground church where they're safe, then they are encouraged to think about those other Christians wandering out there who haven't found the church and are still in danger, and to willingly leave the safety of the church and go out and bring them in.

There's still a higher goal for these campers as Christians, and that is to consider that once they are in the safety of the church, they might leave it. Not for the other Christians, but to willingly interact with the Romans and possibly, in conversation, convince the Romans to become Christian, and then they would all go to the safety of the church.

And you know, even today churches do have a sense of an aura of safety about them. I think this church in particular, with its big stone walls. We feel that we are leaving day-to-day life for maybe a more sacred, safer place than arched doorways, and the stained glass windows all remind us of that. And of course that's good. You know, we need to on a regular basis extract ourselves from the everyday concerns and spend time here together, hearing the word, praying, receiving Holy Communion, and being sent out as those campers were with the faith into the world.

Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis had a fire a number of years ago. It's a church that's bigger than ours, but similar, with stained glass windows. When they rebuilt or remodeled, the stained glass windows had been destroyed. And rather than replacing them with new stained glass windows, they replaced them with plate glass, clear glass. So the front of the church is a clear window. And so while they are hearing the word and singing and coming up and receiving communion, they are seeing city buses drive by and people walking their dogs and people biking by and homeless people. So they are always aware that they're being nurtured to be sent out to bring that love to the world.

Well, it occurred to me that the game of Romans and Christians would be quite different if the Romans didn't wear costumes. Because you wouldn't know who was who then, at least not from a distance. You wouldn't know where the Christians were, who the Romans were, and Christians would be very tempted to just blend in with the Romans for safety's sake.

And I think that is our challenge today. Just on the radio this morning, I did hear of Christians being killed in other parts of the world, but in general we are not being persecuted the way the Romans for 300 years persecuted Christians in the early church. We are not taken to jails. We are not forced to fight gladiators and lions. And that is exactly the problem for us because we are in a position to be tempted to blend in.

You don't really know who's a Christian or isn't a Christian in this world. Unless you're a priest and you wear your clerical to the grocery store as some pastors do, you don't know. And so this world, rather than persecuting us, is much more likely to ignore us and leave us alone. We can blend in. But that's the problem. There is a greater danger in blending in than in being persecuted physically, because while we won't lose our physical lives, we can lose something even more precious: our identity, our soul.

It is very easy to blend in with the values of our society. To not say anything. For instance, when a friend makes a racial slur. Or to join with the media when they demonize one political party or the other. It's so tempting to feel inferior around people who are attractive, gifted, and successful by the standards of our society

And I think it's very easy for us to feel anxious for ourselves or a family member if they don't get into the right class. If they don't get into the right team. If they don't get the right career that would ensure their future happiness. As if God doesn't have promises of happiness and joy for us in our futures.

The writer of the Gospel of John really thought the world was dangerous. While you read in John that God loved the world, John also says the world is enslaved by the evil one. And that is exactly our challenge. How do we as Christians live in a society that is so politicized? That is so anxious? That is so materialistic? That tells us again and again that we should look out for ourselves first? How do we live out our lives as children of God? How do we live in the world and for the world without being of the world?

Well, that's why we have the gospel that we have today, because Jesus says I will help you. And the first way Jesus promises to help is to give us a name. A name that sets us apart and a name that protects us. His name: Christian. We get that name when we are christened and baptized, and in baptism a seed is planted. We are given Jesus' identity. We are given his value. We are given his power. And that seed has DNA in it that, all through our lives, as we water it and nurture it spiritually, we grow and flower and are able to live out our identity as Christians, even in this world. So Jesus gives us the name.

The other thing Jesus gives us is, he makes us one. He gives us Christian Community. The Presbyterian USA church is having their biennial convention in St. Louis this summer, and they expect there'll be about 5,000 people attending. So they've told the Presbyterian churches in our area: we want you to be prepared to host on Sunday morning some of these attendees.

Well, one church is small, predominantly white, and they were a little apprehensive. How will our guests feel? Will they be disappointed if they outnumber us in worship, we're so small? So they looked to a neighboring church, which happened to be predominantly African American, and said let's co-host. But then it became clear that if they were going to both work together to be inviting people, they needed to know one another. So they have set up a number of events this spring to become one community.

God has strange ways of making us into one community. And it's not just that there's strength in numbers. It's that when we are in community -- especially with Christians who don't always see things the way we do, especially with people who come from a different background -- we grow. We grow in our strength. We grow in our ability to maintain our Christian identity.

So Jesus gives us a name and he gives us community. And the last thing we see in the gospel today is that he holds up the power of prayer. Now, you may have recognized the fact that the whole gospel today is a prayer. Jesus is praying to his Heavenly Father for the disciples, who are listening in. And if you've ever been in that situation where someone prays for you, sometimes even you didn't expect it and there you are hearing them pray for you. It's a very uplifting experience. So I want to read a few verses that come right after our gospel lesson. Toward the end of Jesus' prayer he says to the Heavenly Father, "I ask not only on behalf of these," his disciples, "but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word that they may be won." And then he explains this a little later on when he says, "I in them and you and me, Father, that they may become completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

In the gospel today, Jesus is not only praying for the disciples. He is praying for us. And we know from Romans 8 that he continues to pray for us and be our advocate at the throne of God throughout our lives.

It is not easy to live out our values as Christians in our society, but we have nothing less than the power of God through the prayer of Christ to protect us and to empower us to carry this love out into the world.

Amen

*** Keywords ***

2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, Pastor Penny Holste, transcript

WatchNotesDownloadDateTitle

May 13, 2018Romans and Christians

May 13, 2018
Romans and Christians

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
May 13, 2018. How do we as Christians live in a society that is so politicized? That is so anxious? That is so materialistic? That tells us again and again that we should look out for ourselves first? How do we live out our lives as children of God? How do we live in the world and for the world without being of the world? Pastor Penny takes on these questions today and offers some thoughts. Jesus gives us all we need.

*** Transcript ***

We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As some of the people in the congregation know from their own experience, one game that is played at Confirmation Camp, probably every year, is called Romans and Christians. In this game the counselors, and many other adults that happen to be around, make makeshift togas out of bed sheets and they have spears that are cardboard with foil wrapped around, and then they wander around a very large area in this large camp looking for Christians.

If they find Christians then they take them to jail or prison -- a special building on the grounds. They are re-enacting the persecution that the early church suffered at the hands of Rome. The Christians, of course, are the campers. So their first goal is to avoid the Romans, and avoid them long enough, to find the underground church, which will be hidden in some Grove of trees somewhere with a candle that's lit. Once they find that area, they're safe from the Romans.

But safety isn't the only goal of the Christians. Once they get to the underground church where they're safe, then they are encouraged to think about those other Christians wandering out there who haven't found the church and are still in danger, and to willingly leave the safety of the church and go out and bring them in.

There's still a higher goal for these campers as Christians, and that is to consider that once they are in the safety of the church, they might leave it. Not for the other Christians, but to willingly interact with the Romans and possibly, in conversation, convince the Romans to become Christian, and then they would all go to the safety of the church.

And you know, even today churches do have a sense of an aura of safety about them. I think this church in particular, with its big stone walls. We feel that we are leaving day-to-day life for maybe a more sacred, safer place than arched doorways, and the stained glass windows all remind us of that. And of course that's good. You know, we need to on a regular basis extract ourselves from the everyday concerns and spend time here together, hearing the word, praying, receiving Holy Communion, and being sent out as those campers were with the faith into the world.

Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis had a fire a number of years ago. It's a church that's bigger than ours, but similar, with stained glass windows. When they rebuilt or remodeled, the stained glass windows had been destroyed. And rather than replacing them with new stained glass windows, they replaced them with plate glass, clear glass. So the front of the church is a clear window. And so while they are hearing the word and singing and coming up and receiving communion, they are seeing city buses drive by and people walking their dogs and people biking by and homeless people. So they are always aware that they're being nurtured to be sent out to bring that love to the world.

Well, it occurred to me that the game of Romans and Christians would be quite different if the Romans didn't wear costumes. Because you wouldn't know who was who then, at least not from a distance. You wouldn't know where the Christians were, who the Romans were, and Christians would be very tempted to just blend in with the Romans for safety's sake.

And I think that is our challenge today. Just on the radio this morning, I did hear of Christians being killed in other parts of the world, but in general we are not being persecuted the way the Romans for 300 years persecuted Christians in the early church. We are not taken to jails. We are not forced to fight gladiators and lions. And that is exactly the problem for us because we are in a position to be tempted to blend in.

You don't really know who's a Christian or isn't a Christian in this world. Unless you're a priest and you wear your clerical to the grocery store as some pastors do, you don't know. And so this world, rather than persecuting us, is much more likely to ignore us and leave us alone. We can blend in. But that's the problem. There is a greater danger in blending in than in being persecuted physically, because while we won't lose our physical lives, we can lose something even more precious: our identity, our soul.

It is very easy to blend in with the values of our society. To not say anything. For instance, when a friend makes a racial slur. Or to join with the media when they demonize one political party or the other. It's so tempting to feel inferior around people who are attractive, gifted, and successful by the standards of our society

And I think it's very easy for us to feel anxious for ourselves or a family member if they don't get into the right class. If they don't get into the right team. If they don't get the right career that would ensure their future happiness. As if God doesn't have promises of happiness and joy for us in our futures.

The writer of the Gospel of John really thought the world was dangerous. While you read in John that God loved the world, John also says the world is enslaved by the evil one. And that is exactly our challenge. How do we as Christians live in a society that is so politicized? That is so anxious? That is so materialistic? That tells us again and again that we should look out for ourselves first? How do we live out our lives as children of God? How do we live in the world and for the world without being of the world?

Well, that's why we have the gospel that we have today, because Jesus says I will help you. And the first way Jesus promises to help is to give us a name. A name that sets us apart and a name that protects us. His name: Christian. We get that name when we are christened and baptized, and in baptism a seed is planted. We are given Jesus' identity. We are given his value. We are given his power. And that seed has DNA in it that, all through our lives, as we water it and nurture it spiritually, we grow and flower and are able to live out our identity as Christians, even in this world. So Jesus gives us the name.

The other thing Jesus gives us is, he makes us one. He gives us Christian Community. The Presbyterian USA church is having their biennial convention in St. Louis this summer, and they expect there'll be about 5,000 people attending. So they've told the Presbyterian churches in our area: we want you to be prepared to host on Sunday morning some of these attendees.

Well, one church is small, predominantly white, and they were a little apprehensive. How will our guests feel? Will they be disappointed if they outnumber us in worship, we're so small? So they looked to a neighboring church, which happened to be predominantly African American, and said let's co-host. But then it became clear that if they were going to both work together to be inviting people, they needed to know one another. So they have set up a number of events this spring to become one community.

God has strange ways of making us into one community. And it's not just that there's strength in numbers. It's that when we are in community -- especially with Christians who don't always see things the way we do, especially with people who come from a different background -- we grow. We grow in our strength. We grow in our ability to maintain our Christian identity.

So Jesus gives us a name and he gives us community. And the last thing we see in the gospel today is that he holds up the power of prayer. Now, you may have recognized the fact that the whole gospel today is a prayer. Jesus is praying to his Heavenly Father for the disciples, who are listening in. And if you've ever been in that situation where someone prays for you, sometimes even you didn't expect it and there you are hearing them pray for you. It's a very uplifting experience. So I want to read a few verses that come right after our gospel lesson. Toward the end of Jesus' prayer he says to the Heavenly Father, "I ask not only on behalf of these," his disciples, "but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word that they may be won." And then he explains this a little later on when he says, "I in them and you and me, Father, that they may become completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

In the gospel today, Jesus is not only praying for the disciples. He is praying for us. And we know from Romans 8 that he continues to pray for us and be our advocate at the throne of God throughout our lives.

It is not easy to live out our values as Christians in our society, but we have nothing less than the power of God through the prayer of Christ to protect us and to empower us to carry this love out into the world.

Amen

*** Keywords ***

2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, Pastor Penny Holste, transcript
May 6, 2018Pep Talk

May 6, 2018
Pep Talk

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
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 ***

We begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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
Apr 29, 2018Pruning

Apr 29, 2018
Pruning

By: Pastor Keith
Series: (All)
April 29, 2018. Pastor Keith preaches today on Jesus preparing the disciples for his departure by using the image of grape vines being pruned. Like the earliest Christians, cut off from Jesus and going out into the world to spread the gospel, we too are God's vineyard. God cares for us one by one, as a vigneron lovingly prunes grape vines by hand. *** [Keywords: 2018 Christ Lutheran Church Easter Garden of Gethsemane Good Friday Gospel of John Holy Communion Island of Patmos Jesus is with us Jesus' first miracle Last Supper Matthew Maundy Thursday Pastor Keith Holste Prophet Isaiah Sermon on the Mount abide in me abide with me as I abide with you abiding in you acting in his stead address disciples argument arrest arrested assurances attached to him authorities balance baskets full left over being pruned bereft best wine better things down the road better wine brain disease branch by branch branches extending broken for us budget stay in the black celebration come to life common cup communal meal condemned connected to him convert sunlight crucified cut off cut off from others cyber bullied deeper roots deepest roots of all drink the wine early Christians eat the bread employment endure most intense pruning everything changes exiled faithful fed a crowd flourish followers of Jesus forewarns them forgiven fruit of life fruits we produce gathered in his name gracious words of presence grafted to him grape orchards grape vine grapes planted on marginal soil grieving process growing of grapes hard to bear harvested haters his roots are our roots holding us hope of life for all image important for community improve upon grapes individual care interpret their lives isn't worst thing job prospect last meal led to hill left there to hang life cut off life for all people life gets hard living out this love lonely love one another low unemployment lush and wet make ends meet makes life better in end merged together miraculously more character wine most severe pruning mowed down by life multiplied no machines not cutting but pruning not letting us go oneness in community pays off persecuted person by person plant by plant planted us prayer preparing disciples for departure produce the fruit profound loneliness pruned beyond bearing pruned by hand pruned from human race pruned on the cross pruning pure promise pushed and pulled receive new life receiving bread and wine renewed promise robust economy rocky on hillside sermon set apart single mom or dad soil strengthening tastes better terminated they will know we are Christians by our love thrown down tough soil tried trivia night questions vineyard we are God's vineyard what we were to suffer whispered in moments wine and bread wine at wedding wine left over won't be the same words of comfort]
Apr 15, 2018Released From Captivity

Apr 15, 2018
Released From Captivity

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
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]
Apr 8, 2018Resurrection As Relationship

Apr 8, 2018
Resurrection As Relationship

By: Pastor Keith
Series: (All)
April 8, 2018. Christians are a diverse group, but we are all gathered together in the risen Lord’s offer of peace, wholeness, and newness. For us, the resurrection is more an experience than something to be proved. Pastor Keith discusses this idea today, and suggests that maybe the resurrection is not about something to believe, but about the someone who makes believing possible.

*** Transcript ***

Well we reflect further on this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

It's quite an assortment of people and emotions who gather in that Upper Room with Jesus after the resurrection. There are those who had deserted him, those who had denied him. Some had watched him die from a distance. Some watched him die close up. There are folks in that group maybe who came to see an empty tomb. One of the people there believed right away, and one was confused by what he saw. So there were all kinds of people together. But they all seem to be fearful. The doors are locked tight. After Jesus appears, there is joy and there's testimony, as they can tell one another what they've seen, and they now believe that indeed he is the one risen from the dead. But in the midst of all this, especially between the two weeks when they meet, there is the skepticism of Thomas, who had not been there to see what the others had seen. There are so many different emotions, moods, reactions, impressions. Yet all are gathered together in the embrace of our risen Lord's offer of peace, wholeness, and newness.

This really is a picture of the resurrection community: all kinds of distinctive and diverse people, bound together in the promise of the resurrection in such a way that the whole is larger than the sum of its parts. As Christians gathered together, they believe in the resurrection and coming together that makes them bigger than what each one could do. So we may talk today about that very early Christian community, gathered around the resurrection. But that is who we are today. We all gather, having had that death and resurrection in common of Jesus. Yet we're all different: in who we are, how we are moved by the resurrection, and how it has an impact on what we do each and every day. And so we come together on Sundays, the day of resurrection, to gather ourselves and to remember what we hold in common — and then to go into our activities during the week mindful that we have this community of people gathered around the risen Lord to sustain us. We come together on this first day of the week, as did the early disciples.

In the last decade, an insight of professor Sandra Schneiders has changed some thinking about part of this passage we heard today. We heard the verse read that Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." And that's often been troubling to people: what do we do with this retention of sins? But looking more carefully at the original Greek writing of this verse, she has noticed that the word "sin" really isn't there in the Greek in the second part of the verse. And so in her view it's not really accurate to say, "If you retain the sins of any, they are retained," because the word "sin" isn't there. She also has noticed that the word that we use for "retain" can also mean "hold fast" or "to embrace" someone. It's not just to keep in your mind, but to come close to someone. So with this in mind, the verse translated would be more like this to her mindset: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; and anyone you hold fast is embraced and is held fast as well." So anyone who is close to you is someone you hold onto.

And so when we think of Thomas in this case, the verse means something more like this: "If you forgive someone who has struggled to believe, they are forgiven; and if you hold fast anyone who is struggling, that person will be held onto and not let go of, nor lost or abandoned." So Thomas is there, someone struggling. But the disciples don't diss him. They don't do anything bad to him. They embrace him and say Thomas, come in here and come and see, and this will make sense to you. And so this seems to be a sensible way to look at this passage in the light of Thomas. Even though he questions the resurrected Jesus, he's not criticized by them or shunned or excluded. They include and retain him, hold onto him, until he has his own encounter with Jesus the next Sunday. It makes sense to think that this is what John wants for all of us. John, the gospel writer, wants us all to be able to forgive each other, to hold onto each other, to embrace each other — especially when we struggle — until we are caught up with the common experience of the risen Christ ourselves and share that in our community of faith.

Perhaps this experience of the disciples starting so fearfully, not judging each other but thinking about what the resurrection means for them, describes who we are as we gather on Sunday. We are a diverse group of all kinds of people who will hold onto each other and retain and embrace each other, especially when we struggle, until we are caught up in the experience of the risen Christ — and we do that together. And it helps us hold up and support one another.

We see here that this resurrection thing is more of an experience than it is a poof. Thomas was looking for his own encounter with the risen Jesus. He wanted to see Jesus alive again, so he could be assured that the promise of his relationship with Jesus would never be taken away. And Thomas helps to see that this resurrection, then, is experienced in different ways. It's more than a scientific proof that Jesus is alive or that the resurrection happened. There's no poof for that. Rather, the resurrection is among us, whether we see it or not. It's in the midst of us, whether we're able to point to it or not. When we're looking for the proof that it happened, we've missed the point. The truth is that it isn't something to be believed, but someone who makes the believing possible. And that someone we are talking about is someone who sees believing in terms of relationship, and who creates community through relationships. By the rising of Jesus, we know that we might have relationship with God and with one another and have life, and have it abundantly.

When we see resurrection as relationship, then we begin to see our lives in terms of what we saw described in our first lesson today from Acts. Life in the name of the resurrection looks like what Acts describes. Here were the Christians gathered together of one heart and one soul. That can be us. We live together with no one claiming any private possessions, but all having things in common. We can be free to give testimony to the risen Lord and to receive God's grace. We're able to live without anyone being needy in our midst. We're free to lay our possessions at the feet of the church leaders and have it distributed as any had need. That was the lifestyle in the beginning of Acts. That's seeing resurrection as a relationship. While we may not do all those things in that way, we too are free to lay our possessions at the foot of the altar, to say these are the things I want to share with the world and the people around me. When we see resurrection as relationship, we know how good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity, as our Psalm proclaimed today. And we know how we strive for fellowship, as our second lesson mentioned as well.

Seeing resurrection as relationship, it becomes a way to measure what we do in life. Our life in faith becomes a lifestyle for us. It's a way to live in a world where we can live simply and non-violently, in a shared style and in a loving style. It's not so much belonging to a certain organization called the church, but a way to live — even though we have membership and we'll be celebrating that today. But it's a group of people, it's a community. Not so much: are you on the rolls or not? How will our way of life help the world to come and believe, is what we want to ask as we live in this lifestyle of the resurrection. What will we help the world to see? Will the world be able to see the resurrection in each one of us, in all that we do, and all that we say? Then seeing what we do will be the way to believing for them.

This past week there was a lot of recognition of the 50th anniversary of the violent death of Martin Luther King, Jr. And as they remembered that event, most of them played the highlights of his speech in Memphis, where we heard that brief section from his very famous speech: "I've been to the mountaintop. I've seen what we need to see, and that inspires me to live the life I live." That speech is based on his own religious experience of seeing something God had put before him. The disciples were seeing Jesus. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw and had another kind of vision of what God meant for him. I've mentioned other times this spring how what he saw led him to do things in his life. Seeing this vision of God is what inspired his faith and action.

It's generally believed there were probably only a few hundred people who saw Jesus alive after the resurrection, yet thousands and millions have come to follow him. They obviously didn't see it with their own eyes, as we haven't ourselves. Yet Jesus has spoken to them and been heard in the voices of others, and been seen in the lives of others, which has inspired so many to believe. Through what we have seen in the faith lived out by others, and as we have heard the words of Jesus passed on through those others, we live as though we have seen Jesus too — because we have. We've seen him in the modeling and inspired lives of others. We've heard the words of Jesus to start with. We've had the witness to him. So now we join others to live out this resurrection, and he now lives through us, in this congregation, and in the world.

Three times in this reading Jesus says, "Peace be with you." He comes to us and presents himself to us as the one who is alive to give life to us. It's not to be a fearful thing, but it is something that gives peace. He's come to give his life for us. Indeed, to know that Jesus has risen — and risen for us — gives us peace. It takes away our stress and our fear about living well enough. It gives us the freedom to live out the resurrection in the world around us. With this peace, like the peace of having a mountaintop experience with Jesus, we're able to live boldly in the world and to live with hope in the world. It's the one who was killed and then rose to life who urges us on. With him as our faith leader, we can live with peace, and live out the joy and the promise of the resurrection. Amen.

And now may the peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ, that passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

*** Keywords ***

2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Keith Holste, John 20:19-31, Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133, 1 John 1:1-2:2
Apr 1, 2018Who Played the Fool

Apr 1, 2018
Who Played the Fool

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
April 1, 2018. Easter and April Fools' Day fall on the same date this year. Some say we Christians are foolish to celebrate a man who came back from the dead. How believable is it after all? But Pastor Penny tells us that in this story it's Jesus who plays the fool. He allows himself to be arrested, doesn't speak for himself when given the opportunity, and while being crucified he prays forgiveness for those taunting him. Why does he do all this? For us. In playing the fool for us, Jesus took away our fear of death so that he can help us with life.

*** Transcript ***

We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I saw an Easter card that had a picture of Jesus on the front, and the words, "They thought I was dead." And then you open it up and it says, "April Fools." Have any of you played an April Fool's joke yet today? Anybody have one played on them? Was it a good one? No, it was not a good one — which is kind of how we feel when the joke's on us. We typically don't want to be fooled, or to feel foolish, or to play the fool, you might say. Now, there are many people who would say we're pretty foolish this morning, as Christians, to come together and celebrate a man who came back from the dead. They would say that's pretty unbelievable. And you know, it always surprises me because most people believe in God. And God is a force that is able to do amazing things, like bring people up from the dead. But somehow it's hard to make the jump from God to Jesus. And you know, I understand. It's hard to believe. It's hard for us to believe at times too. But I think if there is someone who has played the fool in this whole story, it's Jesus. It's God.

Because how foolish for a god to come to earth as a human being, and be born even into a poor family at that. How foolish for Jesus, once he was an adult, to leave everything — to leave his job, to leave his family, to leave his home, to leave the chance to live a normal life, get married and have children — and instead spend three years on the road, on his mission, eating wherever he could, sleeping wherever he could, really pushing himself to go to every town he could get to, to give his word of love and forgiveness. And then how foolish of Jesus to rub the important religious leaders the wrong way, to heal a blind man on the Sabbath and get their ire up. Or to befriend people they considered to be unclean. Or to stop the buying and selling in the temple, which was overshadowing the true worship. All these things made the religious rulers, who are very powerful, angry. How foolish. And how foolish of Jesus to let himself be arrested. And then when he was given the opportunity to speak for himself in his defense, he was silent. How foolish to let himself be crucified, and while on the cross to pray forgiveness for the very people who were taunting him as he believed. Why? Why did Jesus play the fool? It was for us. It was to give us something. It was to give us life that begins here and goes into eternity.

I remember the first time I went to Chicago, and our family went up to an observation deck on the then tallest building in Chicago, which was the Prudential Building. And I looked out at the city and I was amazed. There were streets and cars and trees and houses as far as I could see. In my mind the city had no end. And that is like the gift that we are given on Easter: a life that has no end. Death is simply a portal to a new and better life. And so Easter reminds us that we do not have to be afraid to die. But we have a lot of other fears besides death to contend with. Fears in life, fears that often are revealed in our complaints or our self accusations: my grades aren't good enough, my resume isn't strong enough, my body isn't thin enough, my performance isn't good enough. I don't have enough time, I don't have enough money, I don't have enough strength, I don't have enough authority, I don't have enough friends, I don't have enough years left in my life. All these fears keep us from seeing others. They turn us in toward ourselves, keep us from seeing and caring what's happening in other people's lives.

There is a church historian (she has died now) with the strange name of Phyllis Tickle. She was a wonderful woman. We were able to hear her when she came to Eden Seminary and speak once. She writes about the time that she had a near-death experience at age 21. She was on a new medication to prevent miscarriages, and she stopped breathing. And she said as they were working to resuscitate her, she was above, looking down at herself. And all of a sudden the ceiling opened up and she found herself in that tunnel they always talk about. And in that tunnel she experienced absolute peace. And then a voice asked her, "Do you want to come?" And she said, "No, I want to go back and have my baby." And then she began to breathe again. But after experiencing that death, that amazing peace, she was never afraid to die again. To her dying day she was not afraid. And she said it made a difference in her life. And this is what she says: "Once the fear of death goes, then you're not so afraid of life. And you're free to love. You're just a different person."

If Jesus has taken away the sting of death as we believe, then he certainly has the power to help us with life. You know, the resurrection isn't the end of his story. He is here. He is with us. And when we know that he felt we were precious enough to die for, it also takes the sting out of the feelings we have if we don't like our body, or we don't like the gifts that we've been given. And when we know he is with us, it gives us courage to take risks for other people. It gives us the strength to stand up for people if they're being abused or bad mouthed, people who are different, they look different, they speak differently, they have a different sexual orientation. We have courage to stand up for them. Jesus gives us the power and the desire to help. And we find ourselves spending time helping someone, even if we will never see the results of our efforts.

Christians live differently, not because we feel we're so much more open-minded or more honest, more caring or better than other people. That comparison game, you know, that's part of the the fears we've left behind. No, we try to live as Christ lived — for the same reason that we wear a T-shirt or have a bumper sticker that promotes a certain team or a certain school or a certain political view. We do it because we want to be associated with Jesus. We want to be with him. We want to be part of his mission. And so our whole lives are a tribute to this loving savior, this loving God. We hold our lives up as a tribute to God. We say to Jesus, who played the fool to give us life here and eternally.

Amen.

*** Keywords ***

2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, Eden Theological Seminary, LGBTQ
Mar 25, 2018Break Down Our Prison Walls

Mar 25, 2018
Break Down Our Prison Walls

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
March 25, 2018. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the adoring crowds shouted, "Hosanna!" On this Palm Sunday Pastor Penny preaches on that word, which means "save us." We not only need to be saved from our fears, we also need to be changed so that we can reach out beyond ourselves. *** [Keywords: Chief of Police Willoughby played by Woody Harrelson Christ Lutheran Church Easter Sunday dawns God leads us Greek word Hebrew Jesus has won Mildred Hayes played by Frances McDormand Palm Sunday Palm Sunday crowd Pastor Penny Holste Roman occupation Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri adoration affecting us alcohol led to violence be the kind of police detective you want to be believe in himself beyond their own lives break down our prison walls chief of police city comfortable consumed contribute to low level anxiety council met Tuesday country criticized crowds darkness daughter had been killed dealing with cancer dissolve like shadows of the night don't cry out for help don't look beyond don't want to be changed ecological future as a planet emerge from their prisons expression failed failure family fear of future fears fears tend to trap us focus on ourselves follow Jesus to Good Friday friend go beyond ourselves guilt had to look it up he would save them health issues here at the cross holy are you hopeful hosanna hunker down important messages impossible to improve lot in their lives jubilant keep us awake at night lack of money lashed out lead us leave Palm Sunday like to know lived up to father's expectations living with his mother make it all his responsibility meaning meant neighborhoods not doing his duty not free in their own country own prison of shame own schedules paralyze us parts of this country passionately desires perpetrator prevent it prone to violence publicly shamed him reached out retirement rigid social system rush to Easter satisfy our deepest desires save us saved from their poverty see clearly see other people selfishness sermon setting bombs in Austin shouting singing start loving people stop hating suffers with us and for us talk only to people they know tendency terrible price terrorism they felt trapped through his life and his death took words to heart trying new things trying to teach us turn us inward victory over death evil violence terror guilt shame violence violent movie want to be saved from our fears we will be changed what that word means when Jesus came why would they say that won't appreciate amazing gift world wrote in a letter you have it in you young police officer 2018]
Mar 18, 2018The Car Stuck In the Mud

Mar 18, 2018
The Car Stuck In the Mud

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
March 18, 2018. If we were witnesses of the crucifixion -- the blood, the violence, and the inhumanity of it -- would we be able to see the glory in it? Pastor Penny preaches today on how the world looks different to us once we realize that through the cross, Jesus bought us a life we wouldn't have had otherwise. *** [Keywords: 2018 Adult Forum African American woman Christ Lutheran Church God bless us that day God is there God is with us Gospel Greek speaking people Jeff Bezos Jesus is the one who pulls us out Jesus used the cross Jesus was famous Jesus' crucifixion Keith serving rural parish LeBron James Meryl Streep Muslim woman Pastor Penny Holste Pastor Regina Gray Wednesday Bible class admit failure after he was dead another town answer the call to die as we realize assumptions be my follower becomes evident big house big yard birthmark on their face blood bottom of the hill buy us into the family of God can't do it on our own car stuck in the mud caucasian group clearly see color of skin corn could we see glory country roads instead of highway cross becomes real cross bought us priceless gift deeper point did not sound like the Lord difference we see disciples discover amazing new thoughts and ideas doing miracles drive around that sign driving by in tractor each one of us entrusted to youth of congregation eternity everyone needs to be seen failure farmer fears for the Son of Man forgiveness gift themselves for others go into the mud go to college great guest on talk show has to die to produce hate he bought us a life higher paying job hijab hook up chain to bumper hopelessly stuck in the mud hour of glory identity ruined if a grain of wheat if they really want to see me if we were there important part inhumanity it had rained just raised Lazarus from the dead knew her parents needed her know real life know that we are forgiven leisurely Sunday afternoons lifelong friends lifted out from earth lifted up little engine that could looked very intently looks different makes a difference man who loved God so much marry meet someone my soul is troubled nervous next words he spoke not be torn apart not otherwise have had not something we can do not the person nothing less than imminent crucifixion of course open house our color differences out of the grave party pulled him out real estate agent reject parts of this life religious university request road closed see glory in my cross see her point see how it has touched my life see the world differently sell any product sermon set aside prejudice shame sheer will power showing houses sign society speaker speaking about death spent years caring for ailing husband standing in front of me stay at home mothers strengthened faith such a privilege suffer test the hour has come theology time for hobbies to be glorified touchstone truly see person turn away uncomfortable until you get to know them very divided world violence wake up in the morning we can't see her we know who we are we want to see Jesus weakness what wearing wheelchair who would want to follow him will draw all people to myself willing to die without saying anything worked world will never look the same again worship]
Mar 11, 2018For God So Loved the World

Mar 11, 2018
For God So Loved the World

By: Pastor Keith
Series: (All)
March 11, 2018. It may be the best-known verse in the Bible. "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16). In his sermon today, Pastor Keith discusses how this verse applies not specifically to us, but to the whole world including us. Jesus calls us to love the world in the same way God does. God loves the world through us.

*** Transcript ***

We begin in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our gospel today includes what may be the best known and repeated verse in the New Testament, and even of the whole Bible. If we were in childhood religious education as in Sunday School or home devotions, we most likely learned this verse very early on in life. And if we've watched a professional football game, chances are good that we've seen references to it as people hold up posters that say John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that God gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." It is a great verse of comfort that reminds us of the good news of the gospel. God does indeed love us, and God loves the world, and God promises life everlasting.

Our tendency is to apply this verse, I think, to either ourselves or to the people who are around us. We get warm feelings because we have the assurance that God loves us. We think God loves me, and that's great! And that's true and we should celebrate the fact that we can be assured of God's love for each one of us. But as I look at the passage this time, I'm noticing that it doesn't spell out exactly the word "God loves me" but that "God loves the world." God loved the world so that he gave his Son. We as individuals are included in that world certainly, and definitely can believe that we're included in that group that is loved by God. But when we look at it more closely we see that because God loves the world, and we happen to be in the world, God loves us. God's love is bigger than just loving you and me and other human beings. God's love is as big as the world.

The Greek word for "world" is one we know and use: it's "Kosmos." We could say God loved the cosmos so much that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. That God loves the cosmos, the world, is exceedingly great news. We're given the assurance that God loves this world around us, even though it doesn't present itself very well to God. Original sin, which is with everyone, is about being self-centered and ignoring God. And so even to this world where people choose to go against God, God wants to love. Even where people would rather satisfy their own desires, do what they want to do — to that world God brings the good news of love and life.

We think of our first lesson this morning. We hear the children of Israel in the wilderness. God has led them from slavery by inflicting ten plagues on the Egyptians so that they could be freed from Egypt. And he led them to the Red Sea. When they were up against the Red Sea and they didn't have any way across it, and the Egyptians were coming after them, God opened the sea for them so that they could get across. And then they had come into the wilderness and it was tough. But they couldn't stand it in the wilderness, and didn't remember hardly what God had done for them, and forgot about God really, and were just angry to be out there in the wilderness and did say well, we'd just maybe like to be back in Egypt again. Did they really mean that? But God sent Moses, who prayed on their behalf, and who was given a clear order from God to make a snake out of bronze and put it up on a pole, so the people could look up to it and be saved from the snake bites that they were getting out in the wilderness. Moses did that. He put it up on the pole, and it was true that when the people looked up at it and believed the message of Moses, they were healed from their deadly snake bites. And we know how, time after time in their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, the people turned against God and either adopted other gods or tried to figure out other ways on their own to do things, rather than to trust God or to trust Moses. Yet God had made a promise. And God kept the promise. And we know eventually how God brought them to the Promised Land.

So when John tells us that Jesus now is lifted up on a pole, for all to believe in him, he's calling his audience and us to notice the fact that God provides the same salvation now that God did when the bronze snake was on the pole in the wilderness and the people were saved from their snake bites. The two stories connect. As God has saved before, God saves now. God loved then; God loves now. When we think of God loving the world and saving it, we think about how we're involved in this plan. Jesus doesn't just call people to believe in me and now go do what you want. He calls us instead to love the world in the same way that God does, and to show the world and the people in the world, by our love, how God loves them. But not just the people, but Creation, and the place where God has called us to love, this whole round ball and the space around it, is what God loves and what we're called to love too. Called to love Creation, called to love the world, called to love all the people in this world. We are indeed called to love the people. God loves this world that has been made. God cares for us and all the people in it.

And being the ones called by God, we hear that Jesus wants us to be part of the restoration of the world. We are the ones called to share the love of Jesus. We may get looked at with disdain when we do that, or maybe feel embarrassed as we do it. But we are the ones to be God in the places of the world where we are. We bring God's love, God's promise, so that when others see us and see our attachment to Jesus, healing can come to them. This may happen in one-on-one situations, but love for the world is also shown when we organize and work together to help others, or to help them get away to find a sustainable way to live. Or our care may be in ways so that we urge those who have office or the place to change things to do it. And we urge them to make changes so the world is better. We may help people organize, so that they can help their situation. All these ways are giving care to the world. God loves the world, and God loves the world through God's people on earth. So as faithful ones of God, we are those stationed to be in places where we can help and shape things around us to be better. God loves the world through us. God through us loves the world.

Well, Albert Einstein and other physicists have dealt with the interrelationship of time and space. They figure the movements of planets and other objects in space, and see what their speed is in time, and make formulas and predictions about where things in space have been or will be in the future. Jesus uses time also, besides space, to explain about God. In our lesson today he invites his audience to look back and remember what they've heard about when their ancestors were in the desert, and God saved them by means of that bronze snake on a pole that they could look to for healing. That was back in time. That was a long time ago for Jesus to be talking about. Yet it had been kept fresh in their memories, and he could bring that image from the past and use it to explain the healing mission that he had as he would go high on a pole himself and die on a cross. That would be forthcoming. Jesus could have them look back to understand what was happening in the present. That mission of his which is ahead of him is not just a matter of earthly time also. It's a matter of eternity. Jesus speaks of himself on the cross as a gift of eternal life. So it's in time, but also timeless as well.

We live out our mission in Christ in time. We make the best use we can of the past and what has been handed down to us. It may be what we've observed with our parents or others, and maybe life experiences that we've had which show us how God works. Maybe times we have been forgiven or have forgiven others ourselves, which have tied us closely to God in Christ. We live in time. We live in the present. We think back to the past, but we also point to the future. If we prepare ourselves so that we can do the best each day, living out what it means to be a person of Jesus, we act in loving ways and plan with others, so that in a timely way we can reflect God's love in our style of life. So we live in a place and we live in time. And where we are and how we live is in God's world. Our time is given to us by God. We endeavor to live with the mission of Christ's name, which makes Christ better known in the world, which demonstrates the way of a follower of Christ as we live that way, and which brings healing to the world.

Jesus said God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. Jesus has shown us the way. Only the kind of love which he has shown to us can be completely selfless and completely done for the sake of others. Only that will bring healing and wholeness to the world. And having shown us this kind of love on the cross, Jesus calls us to follow him and to bring healing to all the worlds that we are involved in. He calls us to be in a process that ends hate and injustice and oppression, and replace it with justice, compassion, mercy, love, and equality. He calls us to love the neighbor as ourselves. He wants us to make for a better present world and a better future world.

Like the Israelites in the desert, we can look up to the cross — the cross Jesus was on, the one that was actually put there to give us complete life. By looking in faith at Jesus on the cross, the love of God has made clear to us, and we know that God's forgiveness and God's love is there for us. And so we respond in love, loving the world as God has loved it, in every place, in every time, letting Jesus live through us so that there might be a healthy world in all ways. Amen.

And now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

*** Keywords ***

2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Keith Holste, Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-21, John 3:16
Mar 4, 2018Cleansing the Temple

Mar 4, 2018
Cleansing the Temple

By: Pastor Penny
Series: (All)
March 4, 2018. The sermon today is on the story in John 2 of Jesus cleansing the temple. Did that system of animal butchering and sacrifice make people feel as though they were in the presence of God? And what about the people walled off from each other: women, Gentiles, tax collectors? Does our temple need to be cleansed? Pastor Penny offers some thoughts on how we can be welcoming to everyone.

*** Transcript ***

We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reuben had waited for this day for 12 years. He was finally old enough to accompany his father to sell their cows at the Passover festival in Jerusalem. There were four of them — perfect, unblemished cows — just the way the priest required them to be. And Reuben and his dad would carefully herd these cows the ten miles into Jerusalem. And when they got there, people would buy them to offer as sacrifices to the Lord, and they would pay well. Before this time, every time Reuben's father came back from Passover he would say well, now we have money for the next year. And he would feel happy, and he would bring a treat back for Reuben. Well Reuben's excitement built as they got closer to Jerusalem, because more and more people were joining them. But he couldn't believe it when he entered the city gates. He had never seen so many people in his life as there were in that city! And then they went into the temple, and as they came into the outer courtyard of the temple, Reuben read the sign: "Court of the Gentiles." When they walked in, he looked around to see if there were people that didn't look like him. He said father, where are the Gentiles? And his father said there's no room for them today. And when he looked around he could see why: it was full of people like his father and him, selling their cows and having them judged and inspected to make sure that the priest felt that they had no blemish. And then there were people changing money from the unclean coins to the half shekel of Tyre, which was what the priest required you to use. And then there were people who were buying the cows and the sheep and the doves as an offering to the Lord.

Well Reuben was so exhilarated by the smells and the sounds and the sights, that as soon as they got their cattle settled and his father gave him permission, he went out to explore the temple. As he left the outer court he read the sign: "No Gentile should walk beyond this side, under penalty of death." Of course he wasn't a Gentile, so he continued walking. And he began to see other signs around the building. "This is the court of the women." "This is the court of the lepers," who would be people who were cleansed of leprosy. "This is the court of the Israelites." And then he was drawn into an enormous room where a couple dozen families were all jammed in, each with an animal. And they were involved in the continuous progression of butchering these animals, as the priest would come and take the blood in a huge basin and pour it on the altar. And then once the animals were butchered they would be skinned, parts would be separated out and given to the priest for a burnt offering, and the rest of the animal was sent home with the family to roast and eat. And then their sacrifice was done. And as soon as they stepped out, two dozen more families would come in and take their places. And it was a continual procession of slaughtering and sacrificing all day long.

Well, it was time for Reuben to go back and find his father. But on his way there was a great commotion. Animals were running. People were running after animals. And there was a man, an angry man with a whip, who was shouting at people. Well, Reuben got back just in time to catch one of their cows, but not before it had crushed its foot. And when he came back to his father, his father was cursing. His father was glaring at that man with the whip. His father said this animal can't be sold. It's maimed. We've just lost our income. And Reuben knew that this year there would be no treat for him after the Passover.

Well, what do you think it was that made Jesus so angry, to take up a whip and shout and make such a commotion? What was it that made him angry enough to cause harm to innocent people like Reuben and his family? Because it surely must have happened. It wasn't that he was complaining that the merchants were being dishonest. In some of the other gospels that is the accusation Jesus makes, but not here. Here, he is disparaging the entire temple system, the entire sacrificial system. And when you think about it, if people were involved in that system of inspection of animals, changing the money, and the assembly line slaughter of animals which was part of the ritual, would they come away feeling that they had been in the presence of God, that they had been able to bring their offering as a thank offering to God for God's saving work, which was the purpose of the Passover? And then most likely they wouldn't because it was so different from what God had wanted. God had always chosen to be close to people. God spoke to Moses in the burning bush. God accompanied the children of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness. Where was that God in all of this? Where was the God that wanted to be close to the people? That God was hidden by layer after layer of ritual and commerce in the temple. And worse than that, this temple process, this ritual, this religious system designated some people as less worthy of having a relationship with God — women, Gentiles, cured lepers, tax collectors — and they were walled off from God. Where other people, a select few — the priests who came from generally five important families — they were allowed in the inner sanctums. They were therefore allowed access to God.

I suppose when you're in the middle of a system, you really can't critique it. You can't see the problems. And I wonder if that's why this story has been saved for us these two thousand years. I wonder if God is wanting us to do some soul-searching and ask: are we, without realizing it, building walls up, designating some people as less able and less deserving of a relationship with God? Something that comes to my mind is I wonder what it signals to the community that we have a fence in our yard. And I'm sure there were problems that required the building of that fence in the past. But this is a new time, so in my musings I wonder what would happen if we made a gate, a second gate on the Lockwood side, and then made a sidewalk between the gates and put a few benches. What would that say to the community? Would it say that the people who worship in this beautiful stone house also want the community to be part of us? I don't know. Or should we, as some have suggested, offer an additional, different kind of worship service for people for whom the words "hymn of praise" and "Apostles' Creed" and even "gospel" have no meaning? I think the only way we're going to know the walls that we do build without realizing it, is to talk to people who are outside of the system, people who have no religious loyalty — maybe a coworker, maybe a child or a grandchild who does not attend church, and ask them: what does church mean to you? What is it that that whole structure says to you? And maybe we will get some answers that will help us.

Because Jesus came, as he said, to draw all people to himself. He intermingled. He loved, he ate, he laughed with the very people that were walled out and cut off by the religious system of his day: the women, the Gentiles, the tax collectors, the prostitutes. And for our part, Jesus' life and death means that no sin that we have ever committed, no mistake we have ever made, will ever cut us off or wall us out of God's love — that because of Christ, God's arms are always open to us. May we find a way to share that picture of God and that picture of the church with the world.

Amen.

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2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, John 2:13-22