Oct. 30, 2016 Reformation Sunday

On this the beginning of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation my posting is going to be a selection of quotes by Martin Luther.
When Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg church (Oct.. 31, 1517)
he started what became the biggest revolution in the history of the world, religiously, economically, and even politically.  His words echo down through the years and have been a rally cry for freedom of religion “ I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against
conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”

For centuries Reformation Day was a time to attack the Catholic Church and beat the drum for Luther’s three major emphasis :  the Word Alone, Faith Alone, The Priesthood of all Believers.

Today we find Reformation Sunday being observed in the Catholic Church (maybe not celebrated but at least recognized) and there has been great progress in seeking unity in the whole church.  Pope Francis is even attending the opening commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden.
So Luther’s words about the Pope being the “anti-Christ” are not worth remembering.
As are his words about the Jews, for which the Lutheran Church some years ago made formal apology to the Jewish people.

But many of his words are worth remembering for they speak to our life of faith today.
So here are some I find both helpful and inspirational.

Lets start with what I had to memorize in confirmation - long before I knew I was going to be a pastor.  The meaning to the  Second Article of Creed.

“I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
This is most certainly true.”

Now to some Luther quotes to cherish in the life of faith.

“Forgiveness is God's command. “

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

“Every man (person) must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.“

“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.”

“Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.“

“The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid. “

“Nobody is in this life is nearer God than those who hate and blaspheme him. He has no more dear children then they.”

“There is more honest faith in doubt than all the creeds of Christendom.”

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

“Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”

“If I am not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.”

“Pray, and let God worry.”            














Prayer thought for the week:
                               “Ah, dearest Jesus, Holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft undefiled
Within my heart, that it may be,
A quiet chamber kept for thee.”
Martin Luther

Oct. 23, 2016, 23rd Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 18:9-14  (The Message)
9-12 He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
13 “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”
14 Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”


This parable seems to be clearly good or bad, right or wrong.
But it isn’t.  And we have to see ourselves in both men; see the good and the bad, or evil as Campbell puts it in our quote.

For there is good and bad in both.  The pharisee is everything we might wish to be in terms of religious commitment and dedication.  But it carries him to self righteousness, the last thing we want to be.  The Publican is everything we don’t want to be in terms of life style yet his prayer of the heart is the best he or we can pray.

Both need God’s grace; neither deserve it; both get it.

The parable is to wake us up to the truth that there is “nothing, nothing, nothing I can  do to earn, deserve, be worthy of, or pay off my debt, - it is all grace.”

Grace is not reserved for those who are close to God; grace is for all and those who admit they need it are the first to receive it.

Grace is not about a nice God being nice to nice people.  It is about a loving God being gracious to hurting people, no matter who. It’s about receiving what I do not deserve and never can deserve no matter how holy I become.

To live in God’s grace is to never stop praying the prayer of the tax collector even as I live with the zeal of the pharisee - knowing that a God of grace will never let me down, never let me go, nor never let me off.  And praying that there might be more good then evil in my life!






"You yourself are participating in the evil,
or you are not alive.  Whatever you do is
evil for somebody.  This is one of the
ironies of the whole creation."
Joseph Campbell








Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, keep me from being so sure of myself that I can’t see my own wrong.  Help me to see that I am both ‘saint and sinner’ so that your grace can flow through me to others.”

Oct. 16, 2016, 22nd Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 18:1-8  (The Message)

18 1-3 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’
4-5 “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’”
6-8 Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”


This parable is not about God and how God answers prayer.  It is about us and how we pray.  It is not about God and what God will do for us if we beg him long and hard enough;  it is about us and what we can do to not lose heart, when all around us goes smash.

We can pray!  And keep on praying until something good happens!  And it will!

It may not be a healing: it may be the strength and faith to match the burden.
It may not be a solution to a problem, solving it for us; it may be the strength, insight and determination to solve the problem ourselves.
It may not be a bolt of lighting, like Martin Luther; but it may be a gradual awareness of a pull and tug towards God’s will for our lives which will not stop until we go with it.

It takes persistent faith to pray persistently .  Faith which will not give up, give in, or throw in the towel no matter how impossible things seem to be.

The faith which is able to hang in there, persisting in God’s goodness, justice, fairness, love, mercy and kindness even when there seems to be no evidence that God even exists!

As it was for Elie Wiesel and many other Jews in Nazi Germany.  He writes:

“There were many periods in our past when we had every right in the world to turn to God and say, ‘Enough.  Since You seem to approve of all these persecutions, all these outrages, have it Your way: let Your world go on without Jews. Either You are our partner in history, or You are not.  If you are, do Your share; if You are not, we consider ourselves free of past commitments.  Since You choose to break the Covenant, so be it.”

“And yet, and yet...We went on believing, hoping, invoking His name...We did not give up on Him...For this is the essence of being Jewish; never to give up--never to yield to despair.”  A Jew Today, p. 164

This is also the essence of being a Christian!  To never give up no matter how bad it gets.  To persistently confess with the unknown person in a cellar in Cologne during the bombing of WW II:

“I believe in the Sun even when it is not shining;
I believe in love even when I feel it not,
I believe in God even when He is silent.”
Unknown









Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, I believe, help me to never not believe in Your
love, or despair over what seems too much to endure.”

Oct. 9, 2016, 21st Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 17:11-19  (The Message)

It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

Life tastes better when we are thankful.  It takes the bitterness out of life.
The one who returned was not only healed; he was also made thankful.
He was made whole.  Jesus healing touched not only his body but also his heart.

He knew he didn’t deserve what he was given.  It was a gift.  And the only response was to turn back and give thanks.  His heart was healed as well as his body.  He felt good…happy…whole again.  That is the way it it is with  God’s healing grace.  It does more than we ask for and it never fails to make a difference in our lives.  Even if the difference is facing our illness with hope in our hearts because God is with us and no matter what happens, we cannot loose!

So turn back and thank God. Be happy for God’s healing grace where ever and however you have experienced it in your life.

"The best and most beautiful
things in the world cannot be
seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart."
Helen Keller










Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to see that life and all that is precious in it is first of all a gift which warms the heart before it can be said to be a right, which enrages the mind.  Keep me thankful for the giftedness of life and Your healing grace.  A gift indeed!”

Oct. 2, 2016, 20th Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 17:7-10  (The Message)

7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

When we have done every thing we can do we have only done our duty, and even then we are not worthy to be called children of God.  We are never good enough to be worthy of that!  For it is ALWAYS by grace that we are saved…become worthy of being called children of God!

It is our duty to do what God calls us to do - to forgive as we have been forgiven!  Too love as we have been loved.  To be a blessing as we have been blessed.  And we are reminded today that we are also to be a servant, not a celebrity!

That is, to live by grace, and not keep score.  When we have done everything expected of us, and maybe even more, we are only doing what a servant is called to do - and the thanks we receive is in the doing.  No big deal.  No praise to inflate our ego.  Just a job well done, and something of God’s grace at work through us.  What an awesome joy that is!  The joy of being a servant!






“He (Jesus) sat down and
summoned the Twelve.
‘So you want first place?
Then take the last place.
Be the servant of all.’”
Mark 9:35








Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me be a servant who isn’t caught up in keeping score or getting credit.”