1-15-2022

 Good Morning All,

            Proverbs 27:23; “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds”

     For many years, I coached baseball. From little T-ballers through teeners, I coached them. There are many things which go into coaching kids, patience helps, and a sense of humor helps but probably one of the most important is being able to count.  If you take a team of 12 to a game, you want to bring 12 home!  You might snicker at that, but I have seen it happen. We were at a midget tournament. It was for ages 12 and under. There was a team from about 75 miles away and about an hour after the rest of the team left; we saw this youngster with that team uniform. This was before cell phones. I am not sure how it turned out, but the hosts of the tournament were scurrying around trying to figure it out.

     Sometimes, the most important thing a coach can do is make sure everyone is on the bus on the ride home. Sometimes, you have to bandage up a scraped-up knee.  Sometimes, you have to be sure no one is getting too hot.  Sometimes, you have to buy supper for someone who forgot their money.  Sometimes, you just have to have a pair of ears.  The most important quality a coach can ever have is not how many games he wins; it is to know the condition of his flock.

     The same can be said of the Church. Many people think that the church is worried about buildings. Many think the church worries about how much money comes in or about how many people are in the church on any given service. Many think that the church is more concerned with exercising power and influence or how it looks and ranks in the community. It may be true that some churches are worried about the image it projects, how many games it wins. Yet the true Church truly pays attention to the condition of the flock.

     This is because this is what Jesus did; he worried about his flock. He is the Good Shepherd looking after you. He is the Shepherd who left the 99 to look for the 1 lost sheep. He is the Shepherd who gave up his life for the sheep. He is the Shepherd who knows his sheep and his sheep know him and they know him by his voice. Isn’t that a wonderful image, knowing someone by their voice.  We know our Savior as we hear him speak to us. We hear his voice whenever we hear the Gospel expressed when we hear the good news of the forgiveness of our sins. We hear his voice when we share in Holy Communion with our fellow believers. This care, this concern, this knowledge of the condition of the flock; Jesus has given to the Church to attend to while we wait for Christ to return.

     So, if you are a member of Christ’s Church, a true believer, God calls on you to know the condition of the flock. Know how your fellow believers are feeling and what they are experiencing. Love your fellow believer as Christ loves you. This is how we help each other to survive and to thrive in God’s loving grace.

Dearest Lord Jesus, you love your flock and call them your own. Give us the ability to love as you love and move us to care for your flock. Guard us from all harm and bring your hope to those who do not know it. In your precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

1-14-2022

 Good Morning All,

        Philippians 1:20; “as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” 

    Courage is always a trait in a movie that the hero has. The hero runs through the attack of bullets from the enemy to get help. The hero dives back into the icy cold water to save the last passenger on the ship.  The hero carries his wounded buddy for many miles to save his friend.

     We also admire courage in real life. The fireman who saves a life; the policeman who saves a life; the serviceman who shows courage under fire are all heroes to us.  We look to the people like Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark who ran into a burning building to save a neighbor. We look at Captain Sullenberger who landed the airplane in the Hudson safely. We go back even further to Audie Murphy or even further to Alvin York. We all admire courage. We admire that willingness to risk body and limb to protect or save another person.

     One thing about courage is that there really are two types of courage. There is the “burst” type of courage. This is the one that we read about and often have the deepest admiration for. The thing about the “burst” type is that it is quick, often engaged in without a lot of thought or preparation. The person often just reacts to a situation. The heroic nature is truly there and is deserving of our adulation but there another type of courage which, in many respects, should be admired as well.

     This type of courage is often quieter and more subtle but is still an act of courage. This type is when you stand for what is right no matter what. The student who refuses to cheat on a test even though everyone else does. The person who refuses to take shortcuts on his or her taxes. It takes courage to take a stand. It takes courage to stand up for your faith. When others attack or run down another person, it takes courage to walk away from the conversation. It takes courage to stand with that person after he has ridiculed. It takes courage to do the right thing. It takes courage to point out the unfairness of an action against someone who is not as popular as everyone else.

    Yet it is this kind of courage that Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about the courage to live your life in faith and not hide it. It takes courage to tell the coffee klatch that it was not luck that brought the rain; it was God’s grace. It takes courage to invite your new neighbor to church with you. It takes courage to choose going to worship over a basketball tournament. It takes courage the courage which God gives us to live the life He has called us to live as a light to the world. Have that courage; trust God’s grace to sustain you and help you exhibit this kind of courage.

Dear Father, we are weak, but you are strong. Give us the courage to stand tall for you to stand for your downcast and beaten people who need a voice. Move us to be that voice, those hands, or those shoulders in order that we may serve you in your kingdom. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

1-13-2022

 Good Morning All,

      Luke 23:43; “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

    Do you remember the song “All My Trials”? It was recorded by Joan Baez; Peter, Paul, and Mary; The Kingston Trio, among others. It is a very plaintive ballad about the struggles of life. It starts with the haunting line,” Hush little baby don’t you cry; you know your mother was born to die.”  

    This is one of those songs that when you hear it and listen to the word; you either love it or hate it. There are many people who despise this song because, to them, it is a negative song with a negative attitude toward life. They see it as fatalistic and dreary and gloomy.  It is based on a Bahamian lullaby where a mother on her deathbed is comforting her children. The key line in the song is “all my trials soon (will) be over.” 

    While some find this song problematic, it tells of a truth of life. Our life is one long trial, and it will soon be over. Some see this as fatalistic; some see it as depressing. It is an accurate view of life; we were born to die.

    The story of Christ’s crucifixion really is a microcosm of the life of man. As Jesus hangs on the cross, there are two thieves, one on each side, being crucified with him. One is defiant and mocks Jesus; the other repents of his wrong doings and believes that Jesus is Lord. Both men are dying but one will live to be in paradise.

    We like to think that our life will last a long time; perhaps in our mind it will last forever.  Yet we are sinners, we are dying. In essence, we are already hanging on the cross; we are dying.  Our life is slowing draining away. We will all eventually die; the question is which cross do you hang on?

    Many in this world hang on the cross of the scoffer. They deny Jesus as Lord; they do not believe that He can or will forgive their sins. They do not believe that God would do this out of love for them. They hang on that cross refusing to see their own death coming. They deny that they are truly helpless and incapable of changing their lot, their future, in any way. So, they join the sinful world in scoffing and denying Jesus and sealing their fate and certain eternal death.

    Then there are those who accept life. Even though they are hanging on the cross, they look to Jesus for salvation. Even though they are facing earthly death, they trust in God’s promise of forgiveness and of eternal life. They have faith in the words, “you will be with me in paradise.”  They have eternal life so they are able to face death knowing that the trials of the cross will give way to life everlasting.

    So, the question is which cross do you hang on? Is it the one which scoffs at Jesus and does not believe in his promise, or do you hang on the cross which is forgiven and has received the promise of salvation?

Dear Lord, we hear your promise of forgiveness and salvation. Give us the faith to trust in your promise; give us faith. Hold us close to you and when our time on the cross is done, bring us home to you in Paradise. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

1-12-2022

 Good Morning All,

           Proverbs 18:13; “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”

    How old were you when you first were told, “You have two ears and one mouth; use them in that ratio”? Many elementary students hear it often; at least a variation of it any way. It may sound cute or quaint, but it is an accurate view of life.

    St. Francis of Assisi, in one of his many prayers, asked that he may, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  This is the kind of advice to take; this is the kind of prayer to pray. When we are faced with a challenging situation, listening is almost always the most difficult thing.  We usually are spending our time trying to formulate our response. We fail to really hear what the other person is saying, and this causes a tremendous problem in our communications.

    One of the professors I had at the seminary tells his students to always answer any question about doctrine or theology with the question, “Why do you want to know?”  Initially this seems somewhat abrupt, but the goal is to get to the real question, to listen to what someone really wants to know and getting to what a person is really asking or saying is crucial in addressing problems.

    This issue comes to mind as I listen to the national debate about some gun control issues. It truly seems like both sides are not really listening to each other. They spend more time talking about and at each other than with each other. Both sides are driven by fear and until both sides listen to the true fear of the other there will never be any resolution.

    We see the same in the Church. When issues or concerns are raised, do we listen and truly hear the concerns or are we looking for some pat answer? Do we truly see the needs of our fellow man? We often fail to listen; fortunately for us our heavenly Father listens to us and hears our cries clearly.

    God has promised to hear our prayers to hear our cries. He hears our words even before we speak them. Even though our communications with our fellow man may be broken; God hears us and listens to us. And as he listens to us; he promises to answer us. God will listen and answer our prayers. He does this out of his love for us and he calls us to listen to the cries and the needs of our fellow men of our neighbors. He calls us to continue the ministry of reconciliation of our neighbors. In order to do this, we have to speak; we need to speak the Gospel of Jesus; the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Jesus.

     Yet as we speak, we also need to listen, truly listen to the needs of our neighbors especially those who are hurting. If they come to you in pain or sorrow, give them a shoulder, a hug, a sympathetic ear; give them God’s comfort. Listen close and give them the answer of God’s undying, unending love. This is what they need and what we can give to them.

Dear Father, give us the wisdom to listen to our neighbor. Give us the ability to hear the cries of our fellow man and to give to them the comfort and the grace which you give to us and call us to share with those around us. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-11-2022

 Good Morning All,

   Micah 4:6; “In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted;”    

     I remember watching a movie about the Civil War a few years ago. I do not remember the name or even the general plot line. I just remember one scene in the movie where they showed a bucolic scene of sunlight dancing through the leaves of the trees filled with birds and there was a hedge lined road with a rabbit hopping along the road. Then came the line of soldiers, but not the regular army, these were the maimed, the wounded, those who had lost an arm or a leg or were blind and were heading home from the war. The contrast of the beauty of the day and the scenery was shattered by the tattered bodies trying to go home.

    In many ways, this image can haunt us often. When you watch the news, you see the bodies of blown-up soldiers returning home. You see communities destroyed by fire or storm. You see unimaginable events, indescribable pain, and hopeless remorse. We see the lame and those who have been driven away.

    Many times, we are those who are lame or driven away. The cares of this world, the pain of broken relationships, the fear of tomorrow, can cause us to feel like we have had limbs ripped from us. There is something that is missing in our lives, and we feel the effect of it every day.

    Sometimes these events can have the effect on us where we look aimlessly into the distance, not at anything in particular, but with that vacant, lost look of someone who has lost everything.  We have the look of someone who has no hope. You see that look often. There is that picture of an Okie farm wife from the Great Depression that really sums up the pain of an entire generation with that vacant hopelessness.  That look is on many people’s faces today as well.

    The problem is that too often we look for hope, for truth, for comfort, for our sense of security in all the wrong places and just like the soldier who steps on a landmine; we are blown back, blown away and blown apart. Our sin destroys us to our very core down to our very being. We are lost; left to limp our way back to what we think, and hope is home.

    Into this mess, God comes with his words of comfort, his words of promise, and his words of hope. God comes to rescue you and me from all that the world has done to us, from all that we have done to ourselves. Jesus came to proclaim the good news of reconciliation. Jesus came to proclaim the good news of forgiveness of sins. Jesus came to pay the debt that you and I cannot.

    Through our Baptism, God calls us, the lame, the blind, those who were driven away, back into his family. We are called back to live in his saving grace under his watchful eye, safe in his loving arms.  In that day we are assembled in His grace waiting for the final day when we will be ultimately assembled before the throne of heavenly glory.      

Dear Father of all grace, your mercies are new to us every day. Heal us, your wounded and broken people with your wondrous love. Give us hope and give us courage to withstand the devil’s attacks and keep us safely in your arms. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

1-10-2022

        Good Morning All,

       Hebrews 4:15; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” 

     I have always had a theory about education and teachers. I have always felt that teachers should teach the subject that they were the worst at in school instead of the class that they were the best at or liked the best. My theory is based on the observation that if teachers teach the classes, they enjoy the most, they have more difficulty having empathy with students who struggle in class. The subject matter comes so easily when you enjoy the class it is difficult to understand how it can be hard for someone or how someone could not like the class.

     I remember observing this firsthand when I was in college. We were all in the intro to math class. It was the most elementary math class there was. The person they hired to teach this class had a doctorate in math and the summer before was teaching advanced calculus at the Naval Nuclear Propulsion School. He would explain the material as simply as he could but there were still people who did not understand.  The look of frustration on his face was amazing.

     You see the same in sports. The great coaches were rarely great players. The great coaches are the ones who had to work at the skills to be good. They learned the craft and in so doing so the learned how to empathize and to use different methods of trying to teach the game. The ability of the coach or the teacher to empathize with those who struggle at the task at hand creates a stronger team or student.

    You and I have that type of “Coach.”  The writer of Hebrews tells us that our high priest (Jesus) is able to sympathize with us as he too walked in our shoes.  He faced all the temptations of this earthly life just as we do. He knows what it is like to be jostled when you are tired or how you feel when you have a ton of work to do and suddenly more shows up. He knows what it feels like to have family members question you and what you are doing. He knows the pain of rejection, of disappointment, of sadness in death, or the temptation to try and cut corners to success.

    Jesus experienced all this; yet he did not sin. He dealt with our struggles and managed. However, he does not take the smug, superior attitude towards us. He looks out to us and on us with the love and compassion of a loving parent or brother. He knows our struggle and prays for us and sends his Spirit to us so that we can face those battles head on. This is part of why Jesus became man; in order that he might experience what it means to be human. This shows the love which God has for us in that the Creator joined the created. As we go through life, we do not go alone; we do not have a God who does not see what we live with. He loves us and has compassion for us and sympathizes with us.  He gives us the strength to battle on.

Gracious Father, your tender mercy protects us all day and all night. Give us comfort in the knowledge that we face no trial which you have not conquered. Guide us with your gentle hand. Gently bring us back to your ways. Guard us with your truth. In Jesus’’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

1-9-2022

 Good Morning All,

          Matthew 20:16; “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

    Do you remember the TV show “Maude”? It starred Bea Arthur and Bill Macy. Maude was supposed to be Edith Bunker’s cousin. She was the knee-jerk liberal to Archie Bunker’s blind-sided conservatism. Maude’s “catch phrase” was “God will get you for that.”  Anytime one of the other characters would get a leg up on her; that was her response.

    That is a phrase that many Christians like. They may not say it aloud, but they think it. We like to think that God is keeping score of all the little slights that have occurred against us. We like to think that, in the end, God will “get even” for us. That is why many people really like this verse; the last will be first and the first will be last. We might even call this verse “the great even-er” or maybe “the equalizer.”  We want it to be something that shows we win. All those people who ever slighted me, “dissed” me, showed me too little respect, laughed at me, or in some other way put me down; well, “God will get them for that.”  At least that is how I see it.

    The trouble with seeing it this way is that somewhere; there is a Christian who wants me brought down a peg or two and there is a Christian who thinks the same about you. The real trouble is that we have God keeping score; that is keeping track of sin. I do not think we really want that to happen; we can only lose that deal. Yet we really do not want to read this verse this way. I think if we really want to read it properly; we look not at what is said but at who is saying it.

    Jesus tells his disciples this after the parable of the vineyard workers who all get paid the same thing regardless of how long they worked and right before the mother of James and John asks Jesus to let her sons rule with him. Yet what Jesus is talking about here is not equality of saints but of the plan of salvation.

    Jesus is God’s Son who laid aside his majesty and glory and humbled himself to be a man even unto death on a cross. Jesus, the firstborn of the kingdom, became last, the bearer of all sins. Jesus, the first became last so that you and I, the last among all because of our sin and failings, might become first; forgiven of our sins. We are among the first to get our heavenly rewards. Not by time or by rank but by grace we are God’s holy people, a royal priesthood, and a chosen nation. We are the apple of God’s eye.

    This verse is really a snapshot of Christianity. We, who should be last, are first because He who was first chose to be last to save us.

    Dear Father, we give you thanks for your grace and mercy. We thank you that Jesus gave up his glory to humble himself to save us and exalt us. Help us to share this wondrous message with all those around us. Be with those who are being tested and keep them strong.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen            

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret