5-7-2021

             Good Morning All!

          1 Cor. 4:1; “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

     There are some types of people who really can drive us nuts.  One type of person is the guy at work or on a board who thinks that he is the smartest guy there.  He thinks that he has all the answers, his jokes are always funny, and his opinion is enough to settle any type of discussion.  He is the kind of guy who you can almost hear him end each statement that he makes with,” I have spoken, the issue is settled.”  That guy thinks he knows it all and gets real upset when it is blatantly obvious when he does not.  This guy has a very bloated opinion of himself and his value.  The only thing worse than trying to work with that one guy; is trying to work with 2 or 3 of them.  That is where Paul finds himself when he writes this first letter to the Corinthians.    

    Paul spends the three chapters before this condemning the divisions within the Church at Corinth.  Some of the members thought that what they said was what was to go.  And the phrase members (with an “s”) is important.  There was the equivalent of political parties lobbying for control within the church.  So, Paul uses a different tactic in chapter 4.  He calls himself a servant of Christ.  That sounds pretty good.  We should be regarded as servants of Christ.  That sounds nice enough, even gives us a little sense of pride in our place in life.  Unfortunately, if we read it that way, we miss the whole point that Paul makes.

    Here is a case where our English misses the real point.  Paul actually calls himself an “under oarsman”.  This was the galley slave who rode on the big Roman warships.  There were three levels of oarsmen.  The bottom level was where the under oarsmen would be lashed to their rowing stations.  You can only imagine the conditions here.  No real good ventilation, there were no bathroom breaks for the slaves and the food and water would have been suspect.  So, all the human waste, the vomit, etc. would have washed down from the top two decks onto these “under oarsmen”.  It is as low on the power totem pole as you get, and Paul calls himself one of these.

    Here Paul is clearly pointing out to the Corinthians that what they bring to the table when it comes to their salvation is complete garbage.  All our righteousness is from God.  All that we have or possess is a gift from God.  The Good News of our salvation through Christ is given to us and Christ, in his mercy and grace, has raised us from this under oarsman to be a steward.  A steward was the most trusted household slave.  He took care of the family business while the owner was away.  He was entrusted with the power to make deals, to buy and to sell just like the owner.  We went from totally nothing to being the most trusted servants of Christ given the mysteries of God, the Gospel, and the sacraments, which the world sees as foolish, but we know to be true.  We do not fully understand how these mysteries work but we know that they do. 

    So, Paul tells us, “see that you do not inflate your own worth but look to Christ Jesus as your only hope of salvation, trusting in his promise and blessed with his mysteries to have, to hold and to share with others in faith.  We are cleansed by the blood of Christ to be his stewards entrusted to do his work until he returns.

Father in heaven, keep us humble as we look at the blessings which we receive from you.  Lead us to see that it is your great love that sustains us and not our knowledge, skill, or wisdom.  Lead us to share those great mysteries of faith with all that we meet.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-6-2021

 Good Morning All!

          John 1:29; “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

     “Look out!!”; “look where you are going.”; “are you even looking?”  Some very common phrases which we use and hear every day.  There is a greater emphasis on “looking” then there used to be.  We have the tragedy when someone is distracted, texting or otherwise, and causes an accident which kills or severely injures someone.  Of course, us old fogeys lament about these crazy kids while we read the paper or drink our coffee or put on our make up or whatever we do while we are driving.  We do not look as well as we should. 

     I can look all over my office and never find the book that I want.  I can look all over the basement for a tool that I was using.  I can look all over for the place where someone lives.  I can look a lot and never see what it is I am looking for.  There are lots of reasons for this.  I have a cluttered office.  I am not sure where the tool I want is anyway.  Who really asks for directions?

     In our verse, John the Baptist knew who he was looking for.  He was looking for the Messiah, the Anointed One.  With a whole crowd of people around him, John pointed and yelled “Look (Behold), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  That probably got everyone’s attention.  Many thought John the Baptist was the Messiah, but John makes it very clear, “Look, the Lamb of God.”

    We can almost sense the second part of this line.  John starts with “Look, the Lamb of God”; he could have finished with “Don’t look away or anywhere else!!”  When you have the Savior in your sight, do not look away.  The Book of Hebrews tells us to “Focus your eyes upon Jesus.” always have the Savior in your line of sight to be sure of where you are going.

     But it is really easy to lose sight of Jesus; we do it a lot.  Perhaps our lives are too cluttered with “stuff”; the worries and the challenges, the temptations and the desires of this world can cause us to not see what we are looking for.  Maybe it has been so long since you looked that you forgot where to look and now you do not want to ask for help.  All these and more, the devil wants to toss in your line of sight so that it is difficult to see Jesus.  We all know the saying,” out of sight, out of mind”; the devil wants that to occur in your life.  He wants Jesus out of your sight so that he can lead you astray.  This is part of the reason that attending worship service is so valuable; Jesus uses this time to help correct your vision and to help us to remember to look to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, more importantly, he takes away your sin and mine and gives to us the blessing of salvation through it.  So, look to Jesus, whether in times of trouble or times of success; keep Him as your one true focus.

 Father of all mercies, your grace flows over us like a raging river.  We can never see the height or depth of your love.  Forgive us when we look elsewhere for our hope.  Keep us in your sight and hold us close to you that we may always see you clearly and look to you, the fount of all our hope, for all our good gifts and blessings.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

 God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

5-5-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Jeremiah 17:14; “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.”

    A few weeks ago, I was listening to a radio program where the host was interviewing a recovering addict.  That is how he referred to himself as “recovering”; he said,” The beast is never far away.”  As I listened, in my cynical judgmental fashion, I thought he really has a way with words.  Yet I kept listening and his story got more intriguing.  He had tried to defeat his addiction many times and many times he failed.  He was addicted to cocaine for over 26 years and with his family’s encouragement and demands; he went through 8 different rehab stints.  None of them lasted longer than 9 months before he was back using cocaine.

    The interviewer asked him how he finally won.  The man’s answer was refreshing.  He told her that he did not win but that Jesus won for him.  He told her that until he accepted Jesus as his personal savior (not exactly a Lutheran phrase but it was his phrase) his battle with the beast was always won by the beast but Jesus is stronger than the beast.  The interviewer was a little shocked and taken aback but continued with the interview.  Then he ended the interview with an observation that intrigued me and really flustered the gal interviewing him.  He said,” we are all addicts; we all have destructive beasts within us which we can never defeat on our own.  As long as we battle them by our power we will lose, we need something else to win; for me it is Jesus Christ.”

     We are all addicts; Paul said we are all sinners.  Yet I really like how he phrased the idea that we are all “addicts”.  We all have those sins which just seem so hard to shake.  We maybe are not addicted to drugs or even too many other sins but there is always one or two which seem to really pull us down.  The early Church used to speak of the seven deadly sins, wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony, as the fallen human tendency toward sin.  If we look at this list; it pretty much gets to all our issues.  In today’s world we may have some subsets that have appeared given our technology and current style of living but for the most part we can find our self in this list. 

     There are a lot of things that can be said about this list but one thing I hope we all take away from this is that we are ALL in this list.  You might be a one sin and I might be at another, but we are all sinners and thus we should not judge others for where we think they sit in the list.  I may think that one person is greedy, or another is lustful yet if I am envious of my neighbor; I am no different than they are. 

    So, what do we do?  First, we see life as Jeremiah does, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed, save me and I will be saved.”  Jesus is our only true salvation and our only way to defeat our addictions, our sins.  So, we struggle on as recovering addicts, fighting the beast within, our sinful nature.  When we can, we should, with God’s love as our motive, help our fellow believer fight his addiction as well.  With Christ, we are all in this together, offering each other comfort, hope and consolation because of Christ’s free gift to us.  We are all recovering addicts and we need each other’s prayers and support. 

Divine God, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.   A prayer of St. Francis.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-4-2021

 Good Morning All!

      Gen 12:7; “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

     So, do you build altars to the Lord in places where you experience a blessing from God?  I would wager probably not.  But it is an interesting concept.  We find this happening often in the Old Testament, especially in Genesis.  It was to serve as a reminder of God’s mercy or grace being shown to his children on that spot.  This way, it was a marked place so that whenever Abram or his family passed by this spot, they would remember God’s mercy. 

    The State of South Dakota, and other states, put up signs where traffic fatalities occur to remind us to be watchful, safe drivers.  It reminds of the dangers on the road and that, as the driver, you are to be alert at all times.  We see them erect monuments and memorials at places where there is great loss of life, like the World Trade Center or the federal building in Oklahoma City.  We mark places of tragedy but why don’t we mark a place where we experience God’s grace?  If a storm destroys a house but no one inside is harmed; why isn’t that a time to mark God’s grace?  Buildings can be rebuilt; personal belongings can be replaced but we cannot restore life; why isn’t that marked as a place of God’s mercy?

     Isn’t it true, that too often, we refuse to see God’s grace because we only see the small picture?  Too often we are like the elderly grandmother who was walking with her only grandson on the beach.  Suddenly a huge wave came and washed the little boy into the sea.  The grandmother fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollable crying out her prayers,” God please rescue my one and only grandson.  I will never ask for anything else if You would only bring him back to me.”   Suddenly, out of the sea, there appear a couple of dolphins and they are carrying the little boy back to the shore and the dolphins come so close to the shore that the boy can walk to his grandmother.  The grandmother grabs the little boy and hugs him and begins to kiss him all the while sobbing that she was afraid that he was lost forever.  After a couple of minutes, the grandmother holds the little boy at arm’s length and looks him over to see if he is alright.  She pauses, looks to heaven, and says,” He had a hat!”

     God mercies are so great that we often miss how great they are.  Too often we only see that the hat is gone; we do not see the little boy standing there in front of us.  So, we complain that our knees ache when we get out of bed.  But we can get out of bed; we have a bed to get out of; we have a voice to complain about our knees; we have someone who will listen to us complain about our knees.  We can eat breakfast; we have a home to live in.  Why don’t we build an altar to the Lord?  It could remind us of the mercy that God has shown to us. 

     Part of the reason is because the devil and our sinful nature do not want us to.  We are less likely to be separated from God when we recognize his mercy.  If we were to build an altar every time God shows us mercy; that is all we would get done.  Even in times of storms and destruction, God is there to protect us.  Things can be replaced; God’s love is present even when we do not see it.

    We do not really have to build altars to the Lord, but we do need to remember all the great mercies that we receive every single day.  We need to see his grace and not the missing hat.  We need to be a thankful people who recognize God's blessings.  Then we need to be a loving people who shares those blessings with those around us.

 Gracious Father, your mercies flow over us like a raging river.  We are inundated by the love that you give us.  Lead us to be a thankful people who see your mercies.  Lead us to be a loving people so that we will share these mercies with those who need your mercy.  As you have showered us lead us to shower others with your abundant mercy.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

5-3-2021

 Good Morning All!

      1 Peter 5: 7; “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

  The fishing verse: this is how we help the Sunday School and confirmation class try to remember this verse.  Cast all your anxieties.  When we think of casting it is usually along the line of the way a fly fisherman casts his lightweight fly onto the stream trying to trick the trout into biting it or maybe the bass fisherman who casts into the lake to catch a bass or two.  The only problem with this image is that, at least on TV, it is easy.  It only takes a little flick of the wrist and the bait and the hook go sailing into the water at the exact spot that the fisherman wants it.  But the image that the Bible wants us to see is a little different.

     There are a few ways to look at this.  First we can see it as casting as in casting those big fishing nets which the fishermen who do it for a job use.  In Jesus’ day, that was back breaking work.  The nets were heavy and casting and pulling them in all night took all the energy one could muster.  The second way is to think of casting out some refuse or garbage.  Think of having cleaned up an area of dirt and sweeping it onto a plastic garbage bag, tying the bag up and then casting or throwing the bag into the dumpster.  A third way is to think of gathering up your possessions in a bag and then throwing the bag over your mule or donkey and having the donkey carry the load. 

    The idea is that the burdens of our life; we do not have to carry them all by ourselves.  God is there to carry the load for us all because He loves.  Sometimes we think a little too simplistically with this.  We think that nothing in our life will ever cause us pain because we have cast our troubles to God.  Then when we face the pain of death of a loved one, illness, job loss, relationship failures, etc.; we blame God.

     However, God shows his love and care for us in some ways that, if we trust in Him, to face the challenges of life.  We will face these challenges, but we do not have to fear or be anxious about them.  First, God gives us the courage to face our trials head on and not try and run away.  We know that God is with us and will see us through.  Second, he gives us some wisdom or understanding about the challenge.  He will help us to see that through this trial, God is molding us and shaping us into the disciple that He wants us to be and that he is drawing us into a closer relationship with Him.  The third thing God does for us is to give us strength to face our challenges.  Some of you have faced incredible challenges these past couple of years, the death of loved ones, health concerns for you or a loved one, fickle weather, financial ups and downs just to name a few.  Yet God has given you the strength to continue on, usually day by day to start, but to continue on your journey.

     Finally, and most importantly, God gives us the faith to trust in Him to take care of it all especially the parts that we just cannot handle.  God sends his Spirit of comfort arriving in the hands of those around us who love us and are God’s hands at those times when we need a hand to hold or a shoulder to lean on or cry on.  God cares for you so do not carry the burden all by yourself, cast your anxieties on him for he cares for you.

 Father of grace, your loving kindness lifts us up every day.  You guard us through your love to protect us as your dear children.  When I feel pain or fear, send your Spirit to me that I may know comfort and rest.  When those around me feel pain and distress, use me as your hands to comfort them with your love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

5-2-2021

 Good Morning All!

     Isaiah 64:8; “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

     Many years ago, we used to watch a show PBS. Called “The Potter’s Wheel”.  The host of the show used to make pottery out of clay by throwing the lump of clay on this spinning potter’s wheel and then, using a lot of water, he would mold and shape whatever the project of the day was. 

    Then one show, they showed his shop where he stored the finished products.  He had thousands of bowls and vases and coffee cup sets.  Some of those items were over ten years old.  I always thought that if I were a bowl, I would be that bowl; the one that was ten or twelve years-old sitting way in the back in the dark collecting dust.  Not real useful, just sitting there collecting dust.

    Sometimes in our faith walk we feel that way.  We watch as others in the church can sing in ways that has to be the way angels sound.  We listen to the organist make the organ sound like a symphony.  We listen to the preacher and cannot imagine standing up in front of a group of people and talking like he does.  We just feel like that bowl that sits there and collects dust. 

    The truth is that God gives all his children gifts and talents; those gifts and talents are just different from other talents.  He shapes us into the vessels that he needs and wants us to be.  Some can sing like angels or speak with ease or play a musical instrument with all the skill of the greatest musicians.  For some the talents and applying them to service to God is easy but for some of us we need to look a little harder.  We only need to realize that God wants us to do works which give glory to him and serve the needs of our neighbors. 

     Maybe you like to sew, there are organizations that remake clothes for veterans who have lost limbs in the war and need their clothes altered.  Maybe you like to fish and hunt; there are dozens of boys and girls who need time with a loving Christian to share that hobby.  Maybe you are a pretty good mechanic; there are families who cannot afford to always take their car to the shop and could use a little help now and then.  Maybe your talent is having experienced what the next person is going through and you can offer comfort and support and even a little guidance.  Maybe your talent is “knowing who to know”.  You know someone looking for a job and you know someone who is looking to hire; connect those two people.  You can offer to babysit, or go to visit shut ins.  You can mow lawns.  You can plant a bigger garden and give the produce to someone in need.  You can mentor someone who is trying to get started and needs some advice. 

    In all these things, and many more, we are the clay that God molds and shapes into the bowls and vases that he knows that he needs.  We just need to stop listening to the whispers of the devil and instead listen to the call of the Spirit and answer as Isaiah did,” Here am I, send me.”

Father of grace, you mold and shape us into the disciples that you need and want us to be.  Help us to look and to see the works which you have laid out for us and give us the courage to follow that path.  In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret             

5-1-2021

 Good Morning All!

     Matthew 5:9; “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

    Peace is a unique experience.  It has been the longing of man since Cain killed Abel.  Much of our popular entertainment, whether books, music, movies or whatever, will have “peace” as a theme somewhere in the story line.  Sometimes it is easy to see such as the Beatles and “Give Peace a Chance” or Peter, Paul, and Mary with “Blowin’ in the Wind”.  Sometimes it is forceful like in Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” (an attack on Nazism).  Sometimes it is a little more subtle.  One of the most powerful anti-war movie/TV shows during the Vietnam War was a movie about the Korean War called MASH.  We all claim to want peace just like we all claim to be tolerant; it must be on our terms.

     That is the trouble with man’s definition of peace.  You and I can be at peace if you do what I want.  Since I do not really trust you anyway; I am always making sure that I am stronger than you and ready to “enforce peace” (can anyone say oxymoron?).  Too often, peace is just the absence of fighting, a lull in a battle that will always rage in the hearts of sinful man.

    Jesus calls us to a different reality.  He calls us to be peacemakers, true peacemakers reconciling man to man and being God’s hands in reconciling the world unto himself.  This is no easy task; we will not do it by our own will or volition but only through God’s grace will this occur.

     Peacemaking is not a passive act.  It requires us to get our hands dirty.  It requires interrupting injustice without resorting to injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer.  It involves neither fight nor flight but the careful, Spirit-led, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice.  It forces us to see the face of the oppressed in our own faces, and the hands of the oppressors in our own hands.  Remember this when confronted by those who advocate policies and lifestyles which oppose God’s Will but also remember it when they ask what our motive is.  We see this when we stand against abortion and homosexuality but do, we see it when God’s calls upon his people to be compassionate to the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the aliens in our lands?  God wants all to be saved and calls us to show compassion and love to all that we meet even those who are “wrong”.

    We are called to be faithful to Christ and his teachings.  When in the Garden, when Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus; Jesus rebuked him and healed the man whom Peter struck.  Even on the cross, Jesus prayed for his enemies as well as his family and friends.  Do we pray for our enemies or those whose views are different than ours?  Do we ask God to forgive them?  Do we forgive them?  “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”       

 Gracious Father, too often we are slow to be peacemakers.  We seek retribution instead of reconciliation.  We seek to make gains and not give grace.  Forgive us for our failures.  Use us and give us the courage to be your voice for those who have no voice, your hands for those who need your comfort.  Send your mighty Spirit to move us, as your kingdom of priests, to ever praise your name.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret