Oct. 27, 2019 Reformation Sunday

On this the 502nd 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 even attendied 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. 20, 2019, 19th 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. 13, 2019, 18th 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. 6, 2019,17th 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.”

Sept. 29, 2019, 16th Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 16:19-31  (The Message)

19-21 “There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
22-24 “Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’
25-26 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’
27-28 “The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’
30 “‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’
31 “Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”


The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus does not tell us it is a crime to be rich.
Or that those who have a good time of it here will get their suffering in eternity.

It sounds like it does, but it doesn’t!
Nor does it give us a clear picture of the way it is in heaven.
Anymore than our jokes about heaven do.

“To use this story as warrant for a doctrine of a brimstone hell, or to deduce from it the dogma of the absolute and irrevocable separation of the good and the bad hereafter, is to transplant it violently from its native soil of parable to a barren literalism where it cannot live.”   Parables of Jesus, Geo. Buttrick, p. 140

The point of the parable is that life is to be lived, not evaded.  The rich man was guilty of evasion; running away from real life into his pretend world where he didn’t have to see Lazarus - really see him.  He was afraid of the smell of poverty and used his riches to evade facing the poverty all around him.

Like it or not, we are the rich man.  We too run away from life, evading those places and people where our God has chosen to meet us, even as God meets us in Jesus who said, “What so ever you do for the least of these, you do it unto me.”

Living in the Kingdom of God is not a matter of having heaven all figured out; or the mysteries of death and eternity solved.  It is a matter of loosing oneself in life, giving oneself away, hurting with those who hurt, weeping with those who weep, laughing with those who laugh, and discovering that life comes not by evading but by jumping in.

This takes faith; faith which comes by hearing the Word of God, and doing it.
Faith for living, not just for dying.





The parable of The Rich man and Lazarus
is about indifference and idolatry;
about how easily we ‘miss the mark’
for which life and possessions are intended.







Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me figure out how to lose myself in living, so life becomes more than just consuming.  And what I have,  who I am , (my riches) becomes a gift to someone somewhere, close or far away.”

Sept. 22, 2019, 15th Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 16:1-9  (The Message)

16 1-2 Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’
3-4 “The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’
5 “Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’
“The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’
7 “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’
“He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’
“He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’
8-9 “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”


The master praised the dishonest servant  “because he acted shrewdly” (other translations of why the servant was praised) that is he was…“sharp-witted, perceptive, smart, wise, savvy, clever, canny”.

“This is the most difficult of all parables and no interpretation is wholly satisfactory.”
And if we get stuck in trying to figure out what is happening and how Jesus could
use such a scoundrel to make his point we will miss the point of it all.

What Jesus is dramatically laying before us is that we are to be as shrewd and cunning as those who don’t care - and we are to do it as those who do care, because we have a God who cares.  As those who live by grace and know it is the only way we can make it - in this life or the life to come.

As children of the grace we are to work hard at being shrewdly graceful in how we live with the priorities of God’s Kingdom deeply imbedded in our heart, soul, mind and being.  How we live with faith as “a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life.”  A power and passion born of grace which means we live not to get even but to forgive;  not to judge and condemn but to be compassionate as our God is compassionate!

“The point of the parable is not to approve what the steward did wrong, but to applaud how rightly he did it.  We are to do rightly what is right, even as he did rightly what was wrong.

"If he doesn't disturb us,
then he's not Jesus."
Andrew Greeley










Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to be shrewdly graceful in all I do, letting compassion rule my heart and my actions.”      

Sept. 15, 2019, 14th Sunday After Pentecos

Luke 15:1-10  (The Message )

The Story of the Lost Sheep
15 1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.
4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

The Story of the Lost Coin
8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

We who are religious like to see repentance first, then God will forgive.

Is it not the other way around?
God forgives - that is God offers love and forgiveness to the lost - to help them repent.

God is open to the lost and rejoices on their being found.  It is in the process of the celebration that repentance really takes place.  Because I have been found, when I didn’t think anyone, certainly not God, would want me, or bother looking for me.

What a joy to be found and loved before I deserve  it.  To have a party thrown for me before I could even mumble my repentance.

To be saved is to trust that God loves me enough that I dare risk getting lost again, not because I am indifferent to God’s love, but because I am trying to let  love be at the center of my life, and sometimes that gets dangerous and means I have to do what I don’t want to do.  And I get lost trying to find my way through life’s dilemma’s.
Yet God will find me again, and again, and again, until I get it right.




The parables of Jesus are about
"a passionately, desperately,
insanely forgiving God."
Andrew Greeley









Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, don’t give up on me.  I will get it right eventually,
and love as you love me.”