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February 16, 2014 Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 5:21, 22, 33, 34. (The Promise)
21 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' 22 I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
33 "And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. 34 You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true.

Our living, our righteousness, is to exceed that of the most obviously religious.

We are to go beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of the law.
We are to read the Bible looking not for a rule to live by but a hope to live with.
We are to hang in there - practicing a  lot of confession and forgiveness - always choosing the way which has a chance to lead to life - no matter what.

Our challenge is to try love no matter what!  For God is love and love is the closest thing we have to perfect on this side of the grave.  We are to live with love at the center of our lives.  Love born of God’s never ending grace.

For no one can make it without grace.  There is no religiousness which makes grace unnecessary!

Feb 9'14. Epiphany 5

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 9, 2014

Matthew 5:13-16  (The Promise)

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
   14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
 
With God we always get more then we bargained for.  We get more love, more forgiveness, more acceptance, more grace.
And we are asked to give more then we bargained for.
For God never lets us go, never lets us down, nor does God ever let us OFF!

We are to be salt;  salt brings out the natural flavor; gets lost in the ingredients; and too much of it spoils the taste.  Our love for our God is hidden in our living.  It enhances someone else's living. It dare not be overdone (self-righteous living) lest it spoil the good we seek to accomplish.

We are to be a light on a hill - so it cannot be missed.  A light which shines in the darkness and the darkness can not overcome it because it comes from He who IS the light of the world.

We are to be salt and light in a real way.  So that what we say and do might be a part of the real world; might be something of God’s grace at work in the real world.

“We can’t just talk it; we have to live it!”

Picture:  Amy Sykora


Concordia students filling sandbags for Red River flood.

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February 2, 2014 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew  5:2-12  (The Promise)

2-12 Then (Jesus) began his teaching by saying to them, “How happy are the humble-minded, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs! “How happy are those who know what sorrow means for they will be given courage and comfort! “Happy are those who claim nothing, for the whole earth will belong to them! “Happy are those who are hungry and thirsty for goodness, for they will be fully satisfied! “Happy are the merciful, for they will have mercy shown to them! “Happy are the utterly sincere, for they will see God! “Happy are those who make peace, for they will be sons (and daughters) of God! “Happy are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of goodness, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs! “

The Beatitudes describe how it is with happy people, not how to become happy.  How it is with those who have discovered the gift of happiness in the process of living.

Happiness is something we all desire, live for, seek out and desperately want.
Yet happiness is not something we can possess, take, create.

Happiness is a serendipity -”the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”  It is a gift, a byproduct, a consequence of our living.  To pursue it is to miss it.

Happiness comes by losing oneself in usefulness.
It is found outside ourselves.
It is living for more then my own happiness.
It is being caught up in that which makes others happy.

Happy people are good people to be around.  Their happiness is contagious and it creates more happiness, for them as well as for others.





Picture:  Sarah Pearson

January 26, 2014 Third Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 4:12-17  (The Promise)

12 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. 13 He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. 14 This move completed Isaiah's sermon: 15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, road to the sea, over Jordan, Galilee, crossroads for the nations. 16 People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up. 17 This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “(Repent) Change your life. God's kingdom is here."



Repentance is a positive not a negative word.  It means ‘change from within’.  It has to do with opening life up, changing ones mind, being open to new possibilities; being open to live from the heart.  It is a180 degree turn.

“Repentance is a180 degree turn.”

Picture:  Lyle Feisel

January 19,’14 Second Sunday after Epiphany

John 1:35-39, 41-42  (The Promise)
    35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
   37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
   They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
   39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
  41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Faith in Jesus as the Son of God is not something which happens in isolation.
It is not something we do by ourselves; it is something which happens in the human encounters of life.

It is something we walk into more than create by ourselves.
And we help each other believe what is otherwise too incredible to believe.

"He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake side, He came to those men who knew Him not.  He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me!"  and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time.  He commands.  And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is."
Albert Schweitzer-"The Quest for the Historical Jesus”

“He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me!"  and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time.” Albert Schweitzer


Picture:  Sarah Pearson

January 12,'14 Baptism of Our Lord

Matt.  3:13-17  (The Promise)

13 Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. 14 John objected, "I'm the one who needs to be baptized, not you!" 15 But Jesus insisted. "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." So John did it. 16 The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God's Spirit - it looked like a dove - descending and landing on him. 17 And along with the Spirit, a voice: "This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life."

Jesus baptism was uniquely different from all other baptisms.  For Jesus knew no sin.
It identified who he was and what he was all about.

A suffering servant who “ will bring forth justice to the nations.”
A humble servant who “will not cry or lift up his voice...”
A gentle servant, “going about doing good and healing all who were oppressed...”

Baptism is not so much about what we get as it is a sign of who we are to become.
It is a sign that we are to be something more then we dare to think we can be.





Picture:  Carolyn Pearson


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