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Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church |
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Helping our community experience a new life with Jesus |
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The
Blessings of Community Driving home from a meeting the other
day, I listened to part of an interview with an author who had recently
written a book on the subject of suffering.
By way of introduction he mentioned that he had been an active
Evangelical Christian, but because he felt that the Bible did not provide him
with satisfactory answers to questions raised by suffering, he abandoned his
faith and became a self described agnostic.
Certainly the subject of his book was interesting, but what really
caught my attention was the final question the interviewer put to the author:
“Do you miss anything from your former life as a Christian?” Without hesitation he replied, “I miss the
Church.” He went on to explain that
now, being separated from a faith community; he was pretty much on his
own. He half joked that he really had
to pay attention to his friends and family because he was no longer sure
there was now any group of people who would be obliged to care for him
regardless of his shortcomings. The Church being a human institution is frequently riddled
with imperfections, but in its concept and often in its reality the Church is
the place where diverse types of people come together and, among other
things, care for each other. We do
this because of the example of Jesus Christ.
During his earthly ministry Jesus lived out God’s care for people, not
in the isolation of a hermit, but in the midst of real people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, wept
with those who mourned and was friend, teacher and traveling companion to a
community of imperfect men and women.
We also care for each other because Jesus told us to do so. In Matthew 25 Jesus reminded us that those
who would share in the I heard another news report later that same week that
seemed related to, but in someway was the mirror image of, the agnostic’s
experience. This report stated that a
growing number of people who identify themselves as Christian, at least in
name, did not feel it was important to belong to a worshiping community. Well if you’ve been around any church for
very long you know that being in community can, now and then, be difficult
and sometimes it can be very difficult.
It requires a little faith and a lot of work to care for and, in turn,
be cared for by imperfect people. It’s
understandable to want to shy away from the heavy lifting of life
together. But, as the agnostic author
pointed out, there is a blessing to be found in a place where, even on your
worst day, people will care about you, not because at that moment you are
loveable, but because you are beloved by God and we, the Church, are just
doing our best to follow Jesus.
Ah Ha Moments for Everyone Early
Christians measured the year differently than the world does today. For the ancient Church the year cycled around
the events of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death and resurrection. Therefore, the Church began its year near
the first of December looking forward to the celebration of the birth of
Jesus and anticipating the return of Christ at the end of time. That season, Advent, continues to be
celebrated by Christians and for many still marks the beginning of the Church
liturgical calendar. Advent is
followed by the season of Christmas, beginning with the Nativity of our Lord
on Christmas Day and going for 12 days.
Christmas season ends with the feast of Epiphany on January 6th. A major theme of Epiphany, and the weeks that follow all
the way to the next Church season, Lent, is that Jesus is the Word made flesh
and has come to dwell among us. And by
“us” we mean everyone. Given his
ancestry, it would have made sense had Jesus to come only for the people of God’s grace continues to be revealed. Christians believe that God remains active
in the world and that the Body of Christ, the Church, is an agent of God’s grace. But there are also those very personal
epiphanies when we suddenly realize that we have experienced God’s
grace. Where have you experienced such
grace recently? Perhaps it was in
answered prayers; perhaps it was, as the Garth Brooks’ song reminded us, in
unanswered prayers. Sometimes we just
suddenly realize, like a light unexpectedly breaking into the darkness, that
God is Emmanuel, the God who is with us.
In that epiphany we find strength, comfort and meaning. Thanks be to God.
“I’ll
Pray for You.” Praying for Those Who Cannot I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer
these last few months. This is not to say, however, that I have been praying.
My prayer life has actually been pretty dry. When I learned of the necessity
of open heart surgery followed by eight weeks of recuperation, I thought,
“well the silver lining in all this will be the eight week enforced retreat
filled with reading, study, and prayer.” The reality has been that my focus
and concentration has been mostly insufficient to practice any of those
spiritual disciplines. So, rather than actually praying these last few
months, I have been thinking about prayer. I have come to know that even when
prayer cannot be apparently willed to happen, it can still spring, unaided,
from somewhere deep inside. Its expression, in one case within my recent
experience, was disguised to a degree that I did not recognize it as prayer
for several days. In the hospital, having been moved from intensive care,
with the fog in my brain beginning to clear, words from a song began to
occupy my mind. I wish I could report that the words came from the Psalms, or
some great hymn by Martin Luther or Charles Wesley, or a Casting Crowns
praise song, but the words repeating in my mind were: “Had my hands on a
dollar bill, and the dollar bill blew away.” It was very irritating. Those
were the only words that came to mind, and while I could not name the
song, I vaguely remembered that I
didn’t much care for it back in the seventies. Perhaps a week later I made a
connection between the song and successful heart surgery, when the chorus of
this song by Rare Earth finally came to me: “I just want to celebrate another
day of livin' I just want to celebrate another day of life.” Thanks be to
God, another day of livin’! Martin couldn’t have said it better. Having
solved the mystery, the prayer became mine.
Perhaps this subconscious exclamation is the verbal expression of when
“the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we
ought, but that very Spirit intercedes (for us) …” (Romans 8:26). Still, I have been troubled that my
prayer life did not seem to progress beyond cryptic Spirit inspired oozings
from my subconscious. There is so much in need of lifting up in conversation
with God: the economy, wars, H1N1 flu, among other illnesses, grief, joys and
successes in the congregation and more, yet I could not accomplish even so
simple a task that required little physical strength and minimal mental
faculties. Then I remembered all the people who were praying for me. I have
always taken and used the expression, “I will pray for you,” to mean that the
speaker is making a commitment to pray for one’s healing or well-being. But
as the Church, “I will pray for you,” can also mean the speaker will pray in
one’s stead. If I am not able to uphold my obligation to the Church to be a
pray-er for the sake of the Church, the world and others, my brother or
sister in Christ can, for awhile, bear that burden for me. Paul’s instruction
to the Galatians suggests that burden bearing is part of being Church: “Bear
one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). This way of looking at prayer is a new idea
for me. In the future when I promise to pray for someone, I intend to pray
not only for their concern but also to offer my prayers as a “designated
pray-er,” along with the Holy Spirit’s sighs, in his or her place as a way to
help bear their burden. I’ve been thinking recently that as
Church, the body of Christ, we are empowered and cared for far beyond what we
can do and experience alone. As I begin to feel the Easter of my prayer life,
following a prolonged Lenten desert journey, along with the renewed strength
and mental clarity which comes with healing, I give my sincere thanks for the
many prayers offered for my well-being and in my stead.
“Here I am.” Saying Thank You to God Recovering from
heart surgery, I have been the recipient of many consoling words. I have also
received some words of challenge. My dentist, a wonderful Christian
gentleman, in addition to being a very fine dentist, is one who has given me
something to think about in the wake of my illness. I was told that on the
day of surgery Dr. Challgren and his staff prayed for me at their morning
office meeting, so I was not surprised at their interest in my condition when
I arrived at their office for a regular check up a few weeks after leaving
the hospital. As our session ended Dr. Challgren said, “You’ve been through a
lot. God must have something very special for you to do.” These words were
given as encouragement, but what first came to my mind was, “Great, I can’t
make it through a day with less than three naps and now I am suppose to be
alert to new ways in which God is calling me.” Frankly, I was too tired to
think much more about the doctor’s prophecy, but his words have stayed with
me. Actually, I think
Dr. Challgren’s words made such an impression on me because they echoed a
sentiment I experienced as I began to regain consciousness in the hospital.
At one point I remember thinking with great relief and joy, “I’m alive! Thank
you God!” I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. And it is out of a
sense of gratitude that a person gives his or her whole life to being the
person God created him or her to be. It is out of a sense of gratitude that
we stay alert to the new ways God is calling. Meanwhile, other
words of challenge came in the form of a book, The Call by Os
Guinness; which was a gift from my friend Gale Wuollet. Among the challenges
in the book which offers mediations on the nature of being called by God, is:
“Calling reminds Christians ceaselessly that, far from having arrived, a
Christian is someone who in this life is always on the road as ‘a follower of
Christ’ and a follower of ‘the Way’.” In other words, a constituent part
of being alive for the Christian is continually discerning God’s call to us.
With the gift of life comes a unique summons to God’s service. Another element of call
is that it takes place within the community. As Guinness wrote, “The call
of Jesus is personal but not purely individual; Jesus summons his followers
not only to an individual calling, but also to a corporate calling.” And
so I wonder how my calling interweaves with your calling. How is my
post-surgery call connected with our call as Gloria Dei, as community, as
Church? I realize I can only follow this line of thought so far; this is a
group activity. I hope you will help me discern our continuing corporate
call. Dr. Challgren’s gracious words related to my
experience were reinforced by one final statement from The Call. “Calling
is a reminder for the followers of Christ that nothing in life should be
taken for granted; everything in life must be received with gratitude.”
And so as I contemplate and keep alert to what might be the next special
thing God has in store for us (I do believe that my calling is linked to
Gloria Dei’s calling), I join my song with that of the psalmist: “You have
turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed
me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God,
I will give thanks to you forever” (Psalm 30:11-12). My forever thanks
necessarily includes, “Here I am Lord.”
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is a congregation of the |
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