Independence at Last! Thank God!

A little over a week ago we celebrated the birth of our nation.  235 years ago our forbearers fought for independence and freedom.  About 4,400 people sacrificed their lives for the cause in the fighting that took place.  Today, we enjoy the fruits of their decade long struggle.  As we look back, we see the hand of God at work in the midst of the pain and despair, bringing freedom to many people who had not known it before! 

This past Saturday, I had the honor of celebrating the birth of another new nation: The Republic of South Sudan.  In my work with new ministries that I do for Bishop Usgaard I spend a lot of time with Sudanese refugees.  These men and women have taught me much about the struggles that they faced in the civil war that raged since 1983.  They talk about being machine gunned while worshipping.  They talk about children eaten by alligators as they fled the fighting.  The talk about the staggering death toll: over 2.5 million people died in the conflict.  To put that in perspective, if you add together all of the war-time deaths from every war that America fought in our history, from the Revolution to the Civil War to World War II to the Gulf War…less than 1 million Americans who have died.  When you hear of the horrific deaths in Darfur (another part of Sudan), somewhere around 300,000 have died.  Against that perspective, 2.5 million deaths is hard to even imagine.  Few in South Sudan have not been touched by the pain.  Entire villages were wiped out.  Families were shattered.  People starved.  Despite all the pain, people fought on.  People prayed that a new day would dawn: a day of peace and hope.

On Saturday, July 9^th, God answered their prayers!  Following a peace agreement in 2005 and a referendum in January of this year, the Republic of South Sudan joined the nations of the world.  No longer will the Africans be second class citizens to the Arabs who controlled Sudan for decades.  No longer will the Sudanese government be able to send troops into the villages of the south, killing people with abandon.  The South Sudanese have the opportunity to choose their own leaders and their own freedoms.  God worked to bring peace!

Last Saturday I was honored to be invited to a gathering in Rochester where the people of South Sudan who live in southern Minnesota got together to celebrate! Tears flowed as the flag of South Sudan was raised.  Some elderly women slowly walked to the front and then burst into dancing with their canes held high.  I couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment!  After years of amazing hardships, God had acted to bring peace and independence.

We proclaim a God who works in the world…but we also proclaim a God who gives humans the freedom to make choices.  The Sudanese government made choices that led to 2.5 million deaths.  Choice has consequences.

After decades of pain, despair, and death, God has worked through imperfect people like Omar Bashir and John Garang to bring peace.  May God continue to use imperfect people to bring about peace in places like Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan.

Living in the Past?

Last week, while on vacation in Virginia, I entered the realm of the 1700’s.  Colonial Williamsburg has been rebuilt to look much like it would have looked around the year 1776.  For a time, Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia, and when we toured governor’s palace and the state capital building the tour guide took us back in time, reflecting on important points in Williamsburg’s history.  Colonial Williamsburg goes out of its way to make sure that the experience is as authentic as possible.  Everyone working at Colonial Williamsburg dresses in clothes from the period.  We watched the blacksmith make nails that would be used in building construction.  The shoe maker made shoes for the workers, using original tools to hammer the shoe nails into place.  The wig maker dusted the wigs that the ‘gentry’ wore.  We were fortunate to be in Williamsburg on a reenactment weekend, so the town teemed with ‘Redcoats’ who captured the town.  As a history buff, I soaked it all in.   Life has changed so much since the 1770’s.  We no longer have slaves doing our work.  We no longer put lead powder on open sores to help them heal.  We no longer have governors appointed by a far off king.  We no longer draw water from wells and use outhouses!  While I enjoyed living in the 1770’s for a day, I’m glad that I don’t live in them!  The past remains the past.  We can’t go back and live in it again.

Last month I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Gillaspy, the demographer for the State of Minnesota.  It was fascinating to hear him talk about the changes that are taking place around us.  We live in a state (and nation) that is aging.  The number of retired people will soon expand greatly.  The population continues to grow more and more diverse.  The day when ‘minorities’ outnumber the ‘majority’ is just over the horizon (if there are more minorities, might we have to call it something else??).  Mr. Gillaspy talked about the changing work force as well.  While many jobs were lost due to the recession, he pointed out that many of the jobs lost won’t come back when the recession ends.  Some jobs just won’t exist anymore.  Jobs that can be automated (even in check out lanes!) are going away.  People long for the day when manufacturing jobs abounded, but factories are now run by machines and not people.  As much as we might wish that we could bring back the past, we can’t do it.  Times have changed.  There’s no going back.  It will never be 1980 again!

There’s something in all of us that longs for the past.  We look at the ‘Good Old Days’ (usually from when we were young) and wish they could return.  Complaining about how life has changed from those days has become a favorite pastime for many! 

The church is one place where people want to relive the past.  Many people want their churches to look just as they did 20…30…40…or 50 years ago.  I hear people talk about the days when churches were filled every week, when Sunday Schools burst at the seams, when the church held a central place in society.  Like it or not, those days have come and gone.  Church attendance in ALL denominations had dropped significantly in the past decades.  Some throw up their hands in despair, saying, “People just don’t care about God like we used to.” 

I disagree!  We live in 2011, not 1776, 1950, or 1980.  We live in exciting days to be God’s people!  The world has changed…we have the opportunity as God’s people to adapt to these changes.  The Gospel we proclaim does not change, but the WAY that we proclaim it adapts to fit the current era.  How might the Holy Spirit lead us out of our desires for the past into God’s future?

Getting This Temple Moving!

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I sit way too much!  I spend countless hours in front of this computer.  Cookies that find their way into the church office stand no chance!  When I was younger, my body could handle all that.  No longer!  Even though I played basketball a couple times a week, in the past year I found myself attracted to ‘comfort band’ pants…ones with elastic that let me delude myself I was the same size as I’d always been.  Something had to give!

Because of this, a few months ago I set a goal: to run in the Eyota Days 5K road race in July.  For experienced runners, a simple 5K is just a warm up.  For those of us who haven’t run that far in years…challenges abounded.  I’ve run off and on (mostly off) over the past years.  Even when I did run, the runs were short and intense.  I had to find a way to slow down and stretch the run to be able to survive a full 5K (which amounts to 3.1 miles).  I don’t think that I’d run that far since my high school cross country days (and I only ran cross country back then because my basketball coach made me!).

In April I finally strapped on my running shoes and dragged myself out of the house.  It took all my energy just to breathe!    I found myself walking for a while because my lungs just couldn’t take it.  I’d stagger home feeling miserable.

 After running for a few weeks, my lungs felt better … but my legs gave out.  It felt like I had lead weights dragging along under me.  I again had to walk a bit to allow them to rest.  I could barely take it!

Suddenly, a few weeks ago, everything seemed to fall into place.  For the first time in my life I began to understand the ‘second wind’ that many runners talk about.  Breathing now comes easily.  My legs continue to gain strength.  When I run, I enter a ‘zone’ where I can just keep chugging along for quite some time.   I know that I’m not breaking any world’s records, but I’m getting into shape.   

God has given me this body to care for!  I’m finally taking that seriously.

Who wants to join me in the Eyota Days 5K on Friday, July 15^th (or, if you’re from out of town, who will get themselves into shape for a 5K where you live!)?   

Old or Young?

The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair (or no hair) the splendor of the old

(Proverbs 20:29 – with a slight editorial addition!)

I can remember the conversation vividly.  I’d only been a pastor for a few months, a whopping 26 years old.  During a special church season, I joined some local pastors in a ‘round robin’ of preaching, meaning that I wrote one sermon and took it to a different congregation every Wednesday night.  One night, as we sat eating cookies after the service, an elderly woman sat down to talk to me.  She looked me over very carefully, then declared, “Aren’t you too young to be a pastor?”  I thought that at age 26 I had ‘arrived.’  Apparently she wanted a pastor with a bit more experience under his belt.  I wanted to be seen as the ‘wise pastor.’  I was too young for that.

Now I sometimes live under the delusion that I am still a young pastor.  The Lutheran Church abounds in pastors of the Baby Boom generation, and they sometimes think of me as ‘just a kid.’  When I do my work at the synod office I’m often referred to as the ‘young whippersnapper.’   But I get together with pastors who are fresh from seminary and suddenly don’t feel quite as young.  I remember back to my junior high days.  My dad was my pastor, and he seemed pretty old.  He’d been a pastor for 14 years.  What a geezer!  Hold on!  Now…that’s me.  Yesterday was the 14^th anniversary of my ordination.   I have a teenager of my own now.  I’m no spring chicken anymore. 

In our culture, the young wish to be older…and the older wish to be younger.  Kids desperately try to act mature…and middle age people (and for me, the definition of middle age keeps rising!) try to smooth wrinkles to look 21 again.  We spend a lot of time wanting to be something that we are not.  

Is it possible to simply be content with how God made us?  We get so caught up in what we wish we were that we forget to appreciate the gift of what we are. 

The JOY of faith

Oh, what a silly week!  Last night I turned a couple green towels into a cape and bandana & did a spoof on Batman and Robin (Holy Parody!).  On Monday night I sported a lovely floral dress (which I have to admit looked AWESOME with the goatee) as I became a shrieking teenage girl!   I’ve jammed to cardboard guitars…fist bumped three year olds…danced with reckless abandon.  And I’m a pastor?  Shouldn’t a person of faith be serious?  Aren’t there rules against cross dressing and frivolous activities? 

It’s Bible School week here in Eyota!  For people who’ve never experienced it, Bible School must sound like a pretty somber event.  Think about it!  The Bible is the Word of God…essential stuff.  School is all about learning…and what’s more important than learning about God and how God works in the world?  Bible…School…put those two things together and you get teaching bout ultimate things.  It sounds intense…so how dare it be so silly?

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are free to be goofy!  We proclaim a God who seeks us out.  We insist that this God loves us enough to die for us and forgive all our failures.  Living a Christian life isn’t just about following God’s rules or believing just the right facts about God!  We’re called into a relationship with the God who has created us…and who gave us our sense of humor.    Jesus constantly ran up against religious people who thought Jesus should do a better job at following the religious rules.  These were serious men who worked hard to get people to follow God’s law!  Jesus refused to buy into their system!  Instead, Jesus constantly demonstrated God’s love and grace.

Churches are places where fun, silly things SHOULD happen!  When we don’t live in fear of being ‘zapped’ by God for every little thing we do wrong, we’re free to experience life to the full. 

While Bible School is a time to teach some information about the faith, it’s a lot more than that.  Bible School week is a time to demonstrate the joy of the Christian faith.  We let people know that being a follower of Jesus can be a wacky experience.  I’m willing to do whatever it takes to demonstrate the joy of the Lord!

What fun, goofy things have you experienced in a church setting?

Memorial Day Reflections

On Memorial Day we honor those who have served our nation, those who have given of themselves, sacrificing their time, their careers, and their families to stand in the gap to defend our freedom.  It is a day for thanking those veterans who have lived among us, those who were discharged from the service with honor and distinction.  I remember three of my now-deceased grandfathers, George Reuss (Marine, Pacific Theater, WWII), James Bantz (Medic, WWII and Korea), and David Meier (Army, European Theater, WWII).  They experienced something akin to hell on earth and lived with those horrific memories the rest of their lives.  I also recognize the veterans I know at Peace Lutheran Church: Jon Tangen, Phil Sorom, Paul Spafford, and Aaron Szuberski.

Memorial Day is a day for thanking those who currently serve in our military. I personally thank Pastor Bill Tesch (currently chaplain in Kyrgyzstan), Joe Urquhart (who just returned to Germany from a tour in Afghanistan), Tanya Reiman (currently in the reserves, previously serving a tour in Iraq) for their service.

Memorial Day is also a day to remember those who do not live among us…those who now rest in graves throughout our world…those whose service ended with a bullet…or grenade...a mortar…a roadside bomb...or other tragic end.  These did not serve for a few years and move on in life.  They sacrificed everything for the cause of freedom.  They left behind wives and husbands, children and neighbors and friends.  Today, we honor them and vow to remember what they have done.  I personally remember my grandfather Charles Dodd, killed in France on October 31, 1944.  My mother hadn’t been born at the time of his death.

War is inherently evil.  It serves to kill and destroy.  Unfortunately, at times war is necessary.  It is never something to enter into lightly, for the effects are long lasting.

A prayer from the United Church of Christ is quite appropriate:

Gracious God, on this Memorial Day weekend, we remember and give thanks for those who have given their lives in the service of our country. When the need was greatest, they stepped forward and did their duty to defend the freedoms that we enjoy, and to win the same for others. O God, you yourself have taught us that no love is greater than that which gives itself for another. These honored dead gave the most precious gift they had, life itself, for loved ones and neighbors, for comrades and country – and for us. Help us to honor their memory by caring for the family members they have left behind, by ensuring that their wounded comrades are properly cared for, by being watchful caretakers of the freedoms for which they gave their lives, and by demanding that no other young men and women follow them to a soldier’s grave unless the reason is worthy and the cause is just. Holy One, help us to remember that freedom is not free. There are times when its cost is, indeed, dear. Never let us forget those who paid so terrible a price to ensure that freedom would be our legacy. Though their names may fade with the passing of generations, may we never forget what they have done. Help us to be worthy of their sacrifice, O God, help us to be worthy. Amen

Isn't it great that God agrees with me?

“If God has made us in his image, we have returned him the favor.” Voltaire

Last week I attended a pastor’s lunch with evangelical speaker Tony Campolo which really got me thinking.  When we think of God, do we proclaim a God who likes what we like and hates what we hate?  When we worship God, are we really worshipping … ourselves? 

Of course we claim to worship Jesus Christ!  We proclaim the basics: Jesus died for our sins, we do not earn our way to God, God loves God’s people.   Do we add layers to all that, worshipping the ‘version’ of Jesus that fits with our worldview?

If I’m on the political right, do I worship a Jesus who focuses on personal responsibility and moral action? Do I gravitate to Scripture passages that talk about discipleship and consequences for our actions? 

If I’m on the political left, do I worship a Jesus who focuses on loving the neighbor?  Do I gravitate to Scripture passages that talk about caring for the poor, the widow, and the orphan? 

If I live in a wealthy nation, do I worship a Jesus who wants His followers to be happy and successful?  Do I gravitate to Scripture passages that talk about God blessing faithful people?

If I live in poverty in a Third World country, do I worship a Jesus who fights against oppression and who cares specially for the poor?  Do I gravitate to Scripture passages that talk about God’s wrath against those who oppress? 

Do we use the Bible to create the God that we want?  It’s easy to say, “The Bible says this,” and then pick out some verses here or there that fit with what we want to believe.  We attack anyone who thinks differently than we do.  We KNOW that we worship the correct God because God agrees with US.

What happens when we stop picking and choosing verses (often verses that people we agree with tell us to look up)?  If you can read the Bible and not get REALLY uncomfortable with the way that God is portrayed, you’re not reading the Bible!  God doesn’t fit into our little boxes.  God is not limited to liking what we like and hating what we hate.

How do we open ourselves to hearing God speak in ways that make us uncomfortable?  How do we let God…be God?