Pastor's Notes

Can we trust God if we do not trust each other? Because the God who became incarnate in the flesh and blood of Jesus is a God who works primarily through people, does it not follow that we have to put trust in one another?

Of course there are many people proven to be untrustworthy. We cannot be naïve and accept whatever someone else shares with us. We ourselves have had times when we were not trustworthy. Some of those times we knew we were not; some of those times we may have even fooled ourselves into thinking we were. This, of course, raises the question: “Can we trust ourselves?” After all, to trust another we must first have to trust our discernment ability. But be warned: if trust stops with oneself, we are like the lawyer who represents him/herself and therefore has a fool as a client.

I am thinking of the current dilemma regarding vaccinations. To be transparent, I have been fully vaccinated well over four months. I put my trust in science, medical personnel, my doctor, and, yes, even a government whose political and economic survival depends on a healthy nation. I trusted my judgement in examining the trustworthy claims of those calling for vaccinations. I used my judgement as an individual person as I turned to the arguments of medical and scientific authorities. I did not and do not trust politicians or social media with medical advice.

Trust is at the heart of this all. In less politically divided times, there was no controversy over polio, TB or smallpox vaccines. Science and medical personnel were trusted. Again, this is not a call for naiveté on the part of we lay people….that is, those of us who are neither scientists nor doctors. Thinking, asking questions are excellent partners in trust. Often trust is deepened when our questions are well answered.

Where might God be in all this? In Jesus we see God is a God of healing. Like you, I have heard some Christians they do not need a vaccine. All they needed was faith. God would take care of them. Are we unable to see something like a vaccine as God taking care of them? Why do some seem place more trust in COVID more than a vaccine? Why can’t we see God at work in helping us create and administer a vaccine?

As we look to God, we might say we have an unvaccinated God. That is, we have a God who has no safety nets, no measures of protection, to keep sinful people away and no protection for God’s self from the harm of hurt humanity’s sin can do to a God who cares and loves. In Jesus we see the one who healed, did not receive healing. Jesus’ wounds led to death. Yes, he was risen. The risen Jesus, however, still had wounds….apparently open wounds as Thomas was invited to put his fingers in them.

Among other things, what I see in those opposed to the COVID vaccine is bad theology. Their only trust is in themselves. For some this misplaced trust might be expanded to “Me and you, God.” That is not the God of the Bible nor the God of Jesus. God made a covenant with a nation, a community. God, in and through Jesus came for all the world. We as disciples, along with untold others, are gathered together under the vast umbrella of this God called the church. It is about me as a part of those others. It is about you as a part of these others. That too is part of the vaccination issue. Vaccinations are not primarily about me or you. They are about loved ones, they are about love of neighbor. They are about us all, including you and me.

Yes, there are risks in vaccines. Numbers tell us there is far greater risk minus a vaccine. We need to place our trust in God somewhere in this world, somewhere in some people of this world. To trust God is to be able to trust others. To trust in the Healer, we need to put a certain trust in those others who bring healing.

Let God go on as one unprotected. Let God continue to take the risk of being wounded by our sin. Let us trust, care, and protect one another.

Uncle Sam wants you! Years ago post offices and other government buildings would have a picture of the mythical Uncle Sam in his, white stovepipe hat with blue sash and star, and a blue coat. Uncle Sam had a very determined countenance and an extended right arm with a finger pointing directly at those viewing the poster. Usually this poster was to recruit soldiers and sailors for the military. Occasionally it was used to drum up business for US Savings Bonds or some other program of the Federal Government.

Too often the church’s vision of evangelism is not much different. You and I have probably all experienced someone at our door or on a street corner exhibiting an attitude about Christianity similar to what seems expressed in Uncle Sam posters. How attractive does such an approach “market” Christianity to you? Were you attracted to the church community using this form of “evangelism”?

The problem is the church too often thinks its task vis a vis evangelism is to attract people to their church. I am convinced this is not nor has it ever been the church’s call. After all, we are being called to follow a crucified leader….not initially an attraction! Yes, this one has been raised, but most folks often would prefer to skip the crucifixion part and just remain how they are, thank you very much! Most folks, particularly new to Christianity, need to be mentored and guided until they get a better understanding of such things as “dying and rising” in baptism and in Christian discipleship.

No, if we think what we or any church needs to do is attract people, we may be in trouble. The church is not called to be like flypaper. What the church is called to do is serve, not attract. In such service, however, many frequently become attracted. My go-to example is a Presbyterian church in Colorado Springs. Deciding to not worry about being all things to all people, this community saw itself as gifted to reach out to singles. All were welcome, but singles were to be their focus.

They developed an excellent divorce recovery program, a caring ministry to children caught up in divorce, and many programs for singles of all ages. With American families changing, they grew to about 6,000 members. Yearly I sent members from my Lutheran church in that community to be served by one or more of their ministries. This church was well-known throughout the city of Colorado Springs and began to receive national attention.

The above is, of course, a very atypical story. Most churches who put their emphasis on service do not experience anything on this scale. Yet it is important for a church to be known for some service given as part of their discipleship. . It provides both identity to the congregation and the community surrounding it.

In my time here what I have heard from people are two things we have been known for over the years. One is the former pre-school once on our property, the other is for being a “peace center”. Multiple times I have heard the story of a letter received simply addressed to “The Peace Center”, Tempe, with no address or mention of even Lutheran on the envelope.

What service might we be known for now? In the years ahead? We have a certain reputation for campus ministry on campus and around our synod. What might we be known for in serving the community of Tempe? What needs are there that match our gifts? It is good we have been working on such plans for our future. What gifts have we as a community been given? Where and how might we make best use of them in serving others?

Horace Walpole, an 18th Century English “Man of Letters” once wrote: “This World is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel.” So, I will ask you, “What do you think about this statement?” Perhaps, instead, your first reaction was not an intellectual response but a feeling.

How do you react to most situations that confront you? Emotionally or intellectually? Do you find the world to be a comedy or a tragedy? Maybe neither of these narrow definitions fit your picture of yourself. Many of us were raised in homes where there was much conversation, discussion, and a sorting out of issues and situation. Many were also raised in homes where discussion rarely took place and those things that would occur “out of the blue” in life were met primarily by emotion; perhaps anger or joy.

Did Jesus think life a comedy or tragedy? Nothing we have in the gospels would be good material for a sitcom or the Comedy Club. On the other hand Jesus displayed some anger as he upset tables in the temple and when in seeming contempt he called Herod a fox.

Certainly there is nothing comedic about a world where there is war or a Holocaust. However, all is not tragic in a world where relationships can have love and heroic deeds are performed. There is much to laugh at in life. Too often we take ourselves too seriously. There is also much that is tragic and there is no room for laughter or even smiles.

God created us as emotional beings with a brain. Or did God create us as intelligent beings who have emotions? However we wish to phrase it, we humans are both. I have even noticed many times the choice to be intellectual about things can be an emotional choice. Likewise living primarily as an emotional person can be a choice to not be a thinking person.

It would seem humanity in the world is stuck with both. Maybe this is God’s sense of humor at work watching to see how we handle it all. There is much to laugh about as we continue to repeat the same mistakes. There is also much to cause grief as we continue to repeat the same very serious mistakes.

We are those created with the unique ability to think abstractly as well as concrete thinking. We are those created with the ability to be angry, joyful, frustrated, lonely, and sad. We are not created as those who are to think without consulting our emotions or react without thinking. Intellect and emotions are not enemies, they are partners.
We actually can think our way into a new way of feeling. We can also feel our way into a new way of thinking. Many times we have to adopt new ways of behavior when we find old ways do not work and often times get us in trouble. Sticking with a new way of behavior despite some intellectual or emotional misgivings can change the way we feel and the way we think. The Christian faith has called such “new life.”

Where is it that you need to be made new? Maybe you need to laugh a bit more at yourself or some other. Maybe you need to take a few things more seriously. Maybe you need to explore why you think the way you do or feel the way you do about yourself. Some trusted other(s) might be needed in the process. Those who remember they both are a forgiven people and a people called to forgive can risk this. We can risk putting our thoughts and feelings out there unafraid we or others might get a deeper glimpse into who we are.

You and I need to frequently (constantly?) have our personal emotions and our individual intellects engage in conversation with each other. We need to give ourselves permission to laugh at ourselves and allow our emotions to be expressed. We as followers of Christ are neither comedians nor doomsayers. We are hopeful children of God, hoping above all God will help us become the one and the ones God created us to be. What do you think about that?

I find little to excite me about Arizona’s blistering summers. Part way through my 22^nd Arizona summer, I discover I am have not gotten used to the heat. Yet there are a few things to enjoy even while living in a blast furnace. Eating corn on the cob is one of them. Each year the same dilemma: How to eat it? Typewriter style, left to right? Hop Scotch method? Surely not right to left; that would be un-American! Maybe a zig-zag pattern?

As a young boy growing up in Pennsylvania it was common to see pickup trucks or station wagons (students…ask me and I’ll explain later what a station wagon was) with tailgates down displaying a load of fresh picked corn. Now we scan grocery fliers looking for the magical “6 ears for a dollar” sale. By this stage of my life, I have pretty much settled down to the typewriter style of gnawing the kernels off the cob.  Methods may have changed, but the summertime ritual has remained!

Our church year has systems and certain rituals built into it. Advent is a time of preparation and hope as we look forward to the coming of the Christ Child. Epiphany begins with the Wise Men following the star and continues its season by telling us just whom this stable-born child is. In Lent we pray and repent as the shadow of the cross draws closer. Each season has its own color, its own décor, and its own message. I can’t help but wonder if some of this all evolved from the early church simply decorating and using the colors and decorations of the season to enhance their worship and worship setting.

Currently we are in “Sundays after Pentecost”, not a very exciting or creative name. The Roman church and some Lutherans and Episcopalians call it “Ordinary Time.”

This is the longest season, beginning in spring as winter’s brown turns to green and ends when summer’s green begins to brown. Not coincidentally the color for these Sundays is green. Green signifies growth. Many of the scriptures chosen during these many weeks tend to do with discipleship and growth as a follower. Some years the scriptures include the story of the mustard seed, a widow giving her all, the Samaritan called good, or Nicodemus asking what he as a follower of Jesus must do.

Ordinary time. Is giving our all ordinary? Just how ordinary is it for you to see all the world as your neighbor? How often do we ask the question of Nicodemus: “What must I do?” Perhaps this season in the church year is somewhat misnamed. Perhaps a better title might be “Extraordinary Time.”

Certainly many of the scriptures in this season call us to a faith and to tasks we might not otherwise have or do. It does not seem natural to work toward loving one’s neighbor or to see all the world as our neighborhood.  Many times we are successful in growing our faith and doing the work of discipleship. Many times we are not. All of this can be seen as a life of faith that is ordinary. We both succeed and fail as followers of Jesus.

There is another side to the scriptures during Ordinary Time. This is the God who is extraordinary in all times and all seasons. To quote Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, “Just in case we don’t get it, faith is not for our glorification.”  That is, our faith sometimes needs to be brought down to earth so we can live together on earth. This is no ordinary effort. It cannot be done without our extraordinary God.

The rhythm of the church year goes on. It will continue to go on at times turning that which is day-to-day into a life of faith that is more than mundane. But that is a story best left to All Saints, another part of the church year’s rhythm.

Have you ever said something like, “I know I am a sinner…..” and then added to that beginning statement by pointing out some fault in another or, perhaps, even some specific fault in yourself? I am certain you have thought about yourself as a sinner, and done so very much more than once.

Many times people claim they do not go to a church because of all the hypocrites there. When this is said to me, my response is, “Yes, we are, come join us!” You and I worship in part because we realize we are hypocrites. We wish to be or do one thing, but seem far too often to be or do something else….something we may greatly dislike.

Talk of sin in the church and among Christians generally is about individual sin; personal sin. It is about sin I or another has committed. Sometimes it may be extended to a certain group, say the KKK or the New York Yankee and their fans…( just kidding on the latter…well, a little).

The word systemic  has come into vogue as of late. Most often we hear of systemic racism; that is racism built into various cultural and societal systems. Many protest this claim. It is often thought systems may be functional or efficient or not functional or efficient, but certainly they cannot contain sin in their structure. Structures are neutral and, in a sense, secular; that is they have nothing to do with God.

Ah, but who designs systems? Who puts systems into place and make them function? People. Sinful people. People who design systems to serve their ends. Sinful people put them together from their own perspective, leaving out other understandings and needs. The stain of sin in us can be like a finger print or DNA deposit we leave on systems in which we design or take part. This is especially so when those of power operate, drive, and participate in these systems. If sinful people design and take part in the systems of our culture (and yes, this includes the church) why would these systems be without sin?

Sin can be corporate as well as individual. Groups have their own often unique deposit of sin. When I become a pastor to a congregation I listen, look, and reflect to discover what unique gifts this community might have. I also do the same to locate the distinctive sin that may lurk within the community. And I realize as I cannot as pastor distance myself from my new community, I too will become touched by its gifts and infected by its sin.

What is the task at hand for followers of Jesus in a world with many and various systems? It is to look, listen, and think about not only those within a system, but, perhaps especially those outside. It is to notice who may not share in the power of designing and implementing systems….who is missing? It is to understand sin is more than just something I have….it can be contained in some of the systems we most cherish. Our task, literally our call, is to confront and work to change the sin that may hold down or leave out some who may be seen and understood as “other.” 

Jesus was put to death by a systemic issue. It wasn’t just Judas, Pilate, Herod, the Sanhedrin, the Romans, or the crowd who had Jesus killed. There was also very much a structure of power at work that was threatened by the Jesus who challenged it. The system worked, but it did not work for God and the ways of God. Thankfully God allowed neither the people nor the systems involved in putting Jesus to death have the final word.

We hypocrites need to come to understand sin is not just my personal struggle. In the church it is our struggle. In the world it is also our struggle. It is the struggle of sinful humans along with the structures they create, inhabit, and from which they benefit. We hypocrites need to look past our mirrors to see sin and hypocrisy. God grants us forgiveness in the one put to death by people and systems, but risen by God alone. God grants forgiveness so we can recognize and change that which is found to be sinful in our systems. Take heart. God still rises God’s people from even deadly systems.