Advent, Day 2: Wondering and Wandering, again

Today I must admit, I did not wander, much.  I didn't wander as much as I do on a normal day off, when we are flitting around getting errands done and pursuing fun.  We try to do some of each on a day off.

Today I laid pretty low, surrounded by mounds of kleenex, blowing my nose and sneezing and drinking tea.  I did go out, briefly, but knitted and napped mostly.

It rained and rained and rained all day, a cold cold rain, which I hear will freeze sometime tonight.  I did go out, briefly, to meet a grieving family and to plan a funeral.  We shared memories of a woman who loved to make hand-made gifts, who advocated for children in her school system, who teased her husband relentlessly, and who died too soon.

And today I wondered this:  I wonder what it means for our lives, for how we live our lives to know the truth that nothing will separate us from the love of God.  I wonder what it means for how we live to know that love is stronger than death -- which means as well that love is stronger than hate, and love is stronger than injustice, and love is stronger than prejudice. 

What does it mean for us to believe this?

One thing it means:  we sing.

Advent, Day 1: Wandering and Wondering

This year our congregation has taken our midweek Advent theme from the carol, "I Wonder as I Wander."  Every week we will offer a reflection based one, "I wonder about...."  This Wednesday, we will wonder about hope.  Next Wednesday, we wonder about love, and for the third week, we will wonder about joy.  (I know, there is a 4th Wednesday this year, but we will just have 3 advent services, as usual.)

During the days of Advent, I thought I would try to reflect, as much as possible, on the theme.  I won't promise you every day (though I'd like to), but I will reflection on where I wandered on this Advent Day, and what I wondered about. 

Today I wandered over to my mom's house, as I took vacation days over Thanksgiving.  My mom and I went to her church together, St. Barnabas Lutheran in Plymouth.  It's a great congregation. 

I drove up the highway this morning, taking a much different route than usual on a Sunday morning.  I am usually presiding or preaching right in my own neighborhood.  But today I got out on the road, listening to the radio station that someone else had tuned in the other day. 

There was Christmas music on, already.  I am usually opposed to such things, but I kept the station on, and my eyes got blurry, a little, as I listened to a piece by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, based on Pachelbel's Canon.  I remembered that my dad and I sang Christmas carols on Thanksgiving this year, because it seemed he knew the words to more Christmas carols than Thanksgiving hymns. 

I enjoyed everything about the service this morning, singing with my mom (even with my stuffed-up nose), listening to the sermon, hearing the "witness moment", and how the choir came from the congregation to the choir loft as part of the offering, sang their piece, and returned to their seats. 

After church my mom and I made lefse all afternoon.  She had prepared it beforehand, so when I say that we "made lefse", she had done most of the work, although we worked as a team on the rolling and the flipping of the lefse.  She could do it by herself, if she wanted to, but she'd rather have me there with her.

I wondered a little whether that is the way it is with God, as well.  God has done most of the work, and, to be truthful, I suppose that God could do it all without our help, if God wanted to.  But that's not what God wants.  God wants us on the team, partners in doing justice, showing mercy, making the world more beautiful.   It's not an imposition, it's a privilege, working side by side with God, helping people know Jesus, know God's love, believe they are God's children, and walk in that light.  It's a privilege, not an imposition.

If I thought I had to make the lefse by myself, I would probably be depressed.  If I thought I had to shine God's light in the world by myself, I would give up.  But I don't.  You don't. 

And the best part?  Somehow, the light shines in us.

Thanksgiving

Every two years since just before we were married, we've been able to spend Thanksgiving with my husband's sister and her family in Chicago.  This year, for the first time, we are not able to go.  There are just too many conflicting schedules to juggle.

The first time we went down, someone in the family asked me to give the blessing.  (I suspect this may have been because I'm a pastor.)

In order to take a little of the heat off of myself, I decided to ask everyone to name something they were thankful for in the past year, and then design a prayer around our real "thanksgivings."

This year, here are some of mine:

-I'm thankful for my family.  I'm especially thankful that my dad can be with us at Thanksgiving.  My mom is taking him home from the nursing home for dinner.
-I'm thankful that my husband didn't break his wrist when he fell on the ice on Sunday.
-I'm thankful for all the talented people in my family:  especially my nephew the musician, my stepsons who both are talented musicians, my sister the artist, my niece who draws manga and plays the violin
-I'm thankful for people in my congregation who get what it means to be part of the body of Christ, who pray for one another, weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice, and dream big dreams
-I'm thankful for the hope we have in the gospel, especially when I have to preach a funeral sermon
-I'm thankful for singing, and for the songs that we sing
-I'm thankful for chicken chili, popcorn, old movies, artichoke pizza, blueberries
-I'm thankful for babies who babble during the worship service
-I'm thankful for my beautiful, sweet, lovely dog Scout
-I'm thankful that I saw someone from my office wear the scarf I made for her last year. 
-I'm thankful for grace. 
-I'm thankful for these smells:  cardamom, cinnamon, peppermint, garlic, ginger, balsam fir.
-I'm thankful the broken sewer pipe finally got fixed.

What are you thankful for?

Sunday Sermon: "A Different Kind of King"

A couple of years ago on this day – Christ the King Sunday – the end of the church year – I had the children’s sermon.
I had some of the children come up, and I asked them to think about what they knew about kings.
What do kings look like?
What would a king have?
Kings rule, so they thought first of all, that kings must have a kind of a staff for ruling, called a scepter.
So we got out a scepter, and we had someone carry it.
Then they thought they had seen pictures of kings that were wearing beautiful, and plush robes.
So, of course, we had to get out a robe of our own, and have someone wear that as well.
Finally, we thought that kings should have crowns.
Luckily, we also had a crown available, and we had someone put that on, too.
Then we had a real king standing in front of us! All dressed up and ready to lead his people.
What a good way to begin Christ the King Sunday!

Except for two things: That king didn’t remind us very much of Jesus.
And of course, we had to admit, no one had seen anyone dressed up like that lately, with a robe, and a scepter and a crown.

The main problem with this day – “Christ the King” – is really that we don’t have that much experience with kings
– real kings, that is.
There are a few modern kings, we may know about them vaguely – except in the case of one (possible) king – Prince William, who has recently gotten engaged, I hear, and who will someday be King of England.
I think he will wear the robe and crown and scepter then, but only on special occasions.
So what does it mean for us to say that Jesus is a king, that he reigns in our lives, or in the world?
What difference does it make?
We could try being more modern by trying to say “Christ the President”
– but  as soon as I say it, you know that wouldn’t be right.

Of course, there was a time long ago when everyone had kings.
All the best countries had kings, which was why Israel – God’s people – wanted one too.
They wanted a king, just like all the other nations!
The wanted a king, because having a king meant that you were and Important Nation.
Kings provided security for the people.
Kings fought battles (although they were usually the ones giving the orders, not the ones fighting and dying).
Kings made decisions.
Kings made you important. Kings were powerful.

And then you have Jesus.
We say he is a King.
We believe that he reigns.
But if you really pay attention, you will see that he’s a different kind of king
– a different kind of king than the modern figureheads we know
– a different kind of king than the those in ancient times
He doesn’t wear a robe, or a crown, or have a scepter in the Bible stories – except when people are making fun of him.
He says impractical things like “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.”
He does provide a certain kind of security, but not the kind we usually think of, or prize.
He provides the security of knowing that our lives are in God’s hands, but not the security of knowing that we will win every battle.
And of course, if it’s a feeling of Being Important that you want, you might want to check out Jesus, down on his knees, washing his disciples feet.
Doing the dirty work.

So today – on this last Sunday of the church year – and on the Sunday when we are also going to have our annual meeting
We have the story of Jesus on the cross, between two thieves.
People are calling him a king, but they’re making fun of him.
Except for one person, and I think this is really remarkable.


There is one person who recognizes that Jesus is a king, a different kind of king and who wants to live in his kingdom.
It’s that second thief.
He says to Jesus, the king hanging on the cross,
“Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”
He says to Jesus, “When you are king, and where you reign – that’s where I want to be.”
I wonder why. Why does he say, “Jesus, remember me...”

I can’t help wondering if it’s because he heard Jesus’ other words from the cross, those other strange, unusual words Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus said these words to the soldiers who were crucifying him.
“Father forgive them, forgive them.... for they don’t know.”
To be forgiven, to forgive – is not so common in this world.
It’s more common to hold grudges, to keep score, to get even.
A friend of mine told me long ago, “I’ll forgive someone once, but after that... forget it.”
Right?

But what would a world (a kingdom) be like where forgiveness was abundant, where mercy ruled, where kings washed feet, where the hungry were fed, where captives were set free?
What would the world be like?
No wonder he said, “Jesus remember me,”

“Jesus, remember me.” Can this be our prayer too, on Christ the King Sunday? “Jesus remember us, because we have tried to manage the world and our lives and most of the time, we just made a bigger mess. But Jesus, remember us.
Remember us when we die, and remember us right now, in the middle of our messed up lives. Help us to see your kingdom, among us.
Help us to love our enemies, and our neighbors, and to be your people
Even – especially – in the middle of our annual meeting, because we want to be your people, your disciples.
Jesus, remember us, when you come into your kingdom.

One Sunday I told the children, “Jesus was a king.”
But then I asked them: did he have a crown?” “No!” They answered. “Did Jesus have a robe?” No! They answered.
Did Jesus have a scepter? “No!” they answered.

What did Jesus have? I asked.

“Love,” one child answered.

I was going to say a cross.

But I liked their answer, better.

AMEN

What You Missed

For the second week in a row, we have had Winter Weather Issues here in the upper midwest.  Last night and this morning it was freezing rain.  In the middle of the night, one of my stepsons was unfortunate enough to be out driving, watching cars who couldn't get off the freeway ramps because of the ice, and many many accidents.

As you might imagine, church this morning was a smaller crowd than usual.  We had a few adult children call their parents and tell them not to come to church.  But enough people ventured out to have worship, a few more at ten than at 8:45.

Here's what you missed:

1.  The hymns.  We sang a lot of good hyms, including Lift High the Cross, My Song is Love Unknown, Just as I am, and Jesus Shall Reign.  I love the third verse of "Jesus Shall Reign."

People and realms of ev'ry tonge dwell on his love with sweetest song;
and infant voices shall proclaim their early blessings on his name.

(there was a young couple with their 10 month old baby at the Saturday evening service.  The baby sang along, appropriately, during this verse.  And here's one thing I love about being a pastor:  during that verse, I caught the eye of the young father, and he caught my eye, at the same time, and we both smiled.)

2.  At 10:00, one of our older elementary students read the lesson from Colossians.

3.  The children's message, where all of the children present got Burger King Crowns.  Since there was no Sunday School today, several of them wore their crowns when they came up for communion.  I got to bless them by saying.  "You are sealed by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is your king."

4.  Even though it was a small crowd at 10:00 a.m., the worship felt lively and life-giving to me.  There were people of every age group present, from little kids to teenagers to parents and grandparents.  During one part of my sermon, our talented pianist played "Jesus, Remember Me" softly underneath.

5.  In that small, eclectic crowd this morning were my mom and mother-in-law, who ventured out, and two of my former confirmation students (one of them lives in Shakopee now).

6.  You missed my sermon too.  I'll post that a little later....

Friday Five: Unexpected Thanks Edition

Jan over at Revgalblogpals has this Friday Five for us:

With the American holiday of Thanksgiving being less than a week away, I tried to think of some questions for Friday Five that could be connected to this, but in a new way. So here is my one try:

Name five things that were unexpected in your life that you are now grateful for.
1.  My husband.  After 41 (or so, but who's counting) years of singlehood, I got married.  Very unexpected.  But very good. 

2.  Our Dog Scout.  Before Scout, I was a cat person.  I was the kind of cat person who let my cat sleep on the bed at night.  And I had a cat who loved to curl up in my lap.  But, the first thing that happened was that my husband was allergic to cats.  The second thing that happened was that we met Scout.  Now, we are Totally Bonded.  And I am Very Grateful.

3.  Being a Pastor.  When I was a little girl, women could not be pastors.  I am surprised and grateful that women can be pastors, that God called me, and that a congregation also called me to be their pastor.

4.  New friends.  I am grateful for Fran, Terri, Lindy, Marsha, Stephanie, Jan, Amy (Dogblogger), Robin, etc. etc.  Some of you I have met.  Some of you I still hope to meet someday.  I never imagined that I could be good friends with people I have never met (or met just once).  (sorry no links right now, maybe a little later....)

5.  Knitting.   I've known how to knit since the 7th grade, but I've never made any progress - until the past year.  I'm surprised at myself, and grateful, because my progress is due to patient people willing to work backwards with a left-hander.

What do you do with a Sunday called "Christ the King?"

I ask you.

I'm supposed to preach on the last Sunday of the church year, called "Christ the King Sunday" in our lectionary.

I'm supposed to keep it short, too.  Because our annual meeting is on Sunday, and so is an Important Football Game.  So we hope to have a short annual meeting, with information, a little voting, a good feeling, and an adjournment.  (Also, prayer.  We will begin and end with prayer.)

So, what do you do with a Sunday called "Christ the King?"

I'd like to give a practical message, that applies to our daily lives, but the word "King" does not, in general, apply to our daily lives.  We don't have kings.  In fact, we fought a war a couple hundred years ago or so, just so we would not have kings.

Oh, we keep an eye on the celebrity Royalty of Great Britian, and I'll bet everyone knows that Prince William is engaged -- and to a commoner!

The the words "Practical" and "King" very rarely go together in the same sentence.  For the most part, our knowledge of kings comes from fairy tales, where there are kings and queens, and elves and fairies, and magic wands. 

Of course, there was a time when everyone had kings.  All the best countries had kings, which was why Israel wanted one too.  They wanted a king, just like all the other nations!  They wanted a king, because having a king meant that you were important, and kings provided security for the people.  Kings fought battles (although they were usually the ones giving the orders, not the ones fighting and dying).  Kings made decisions.  Kings made you Important.  Kings were powerful.

At the time, it was a matter of practical necessity to have a king.  Or so people thought.  Now, not so much.

And then you have Jesus.  We say he is a king.  We believe that he reigns.  But if you really paid attention, you will see that he is not the most practical kind of king to have.  He doesn't wear a robe, or a crown, or have a scepter, except when people are making fun of him.  He says impractical things like, "Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you."  He does provide a certain kind of security, but not the kind we usually think of, or prize.  He provides the security of knowing that our lives are in God's hands, but not the security of knowing that we will win every battle.  And of course, if it's a feeling of Being Important you want, you might want to check out Jesus, washing his disciples' feet.  Just like a servant. 

And there he is, on a cross, of all places.  This is not the place you would expect to find a King, even if we thought we needed one. 

and yet, some of us find ourselves singing, or humming to ourselves, "Jesus, Remember me, when you come into your kingdom."    Some of us find ourselves longing to hear the words he said to those who crucified him, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  We have the sneaking suspicion that we are the ones who don't know what we are doing, that in all of our practical attempts to manage our own lives (and the world) we have botched it up royally. 

Jesus, remember us. 
Jesus, forgive us.

And the prayer, "Jesus, remember me" isn't just a prayer for security when we die.  It's really a prayer that somehow, in the middle of our botched-up lives, we will see God's kingdom,  We will see that impractical, necessary kingdom where the Kings kneel and serve, where the poor are lifted up, the dying are raised -- and where forgiveness is the best, the most precious treasure there is.

On Christ the King Sunday, I pray that even in our annual meeting, we'll serve the impractical King.