Growing Grass, Growing Faith

Filed Under Pastor's Blog by St. Paul's Church Office

Earlier this summer, I tried to grow some grass in the front yard of the parsonage. Now, I will admit upfront that I am not much of a gardener, but figured that even I could handle a little bit of grass seed. I scattered the seed on the lawn and waited for something to happen. You have to water it everyday, people kept saying to me.

I was quite diligent the first few days about watering my little seeds. Each night I would go out, turn on the hose and stand there watering. Quickly, however, this routine grew tiring and before long I realized that it had been several days since the hose had been turned on. Needless to say, my grass seed never sprouted.

Growing faith, it seems, is a lot like growing grass. We have each been given seeds of faith, planted in us by God, the heavenly gardener. These seeds are then left to us to be tended and nurtured. They need to be fed regularly with the bread and wine of Holy Communion, nurtured by study of scripture and cultivated by gathering as part of a community of believers for worship. These are not meant to be occasional things, but regular parts of our daily lives. How are your faith seeds growing? Hopefully, much better than my grass!

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Posted August 1st, 2007 | Leave a Comment

My Favorite Bible Verse

Filed Under Pastor's Blog by St. Paul's Church Office

Jonah 2:10, “Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.”

If I ever write an auto-biography, the title of the book is going to be “Spewed by God: Stories of Faith and Life.” I don’t know about you, but there are plenty of moments in life that I feel like I’ve been spewed up!

Here is a quick recap of the events leading up to Jonah’s spewing: God told Jonah to go to speak to the people of Ninevah. Jonah doesn’t want to do it, so he runs in the opposite direction. He jumps on a boat, gets caught in a terrible storm, is thrown overboard into the sea and gets swallowed by a fish. He sits in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights and then realizes that he has made a mistake by defying God. He prays to God. God listens and then God speaks to the fish and spews Jonah out on dry land. Then, God tries again to send Jonah to Ninevah.

I draw comfort from the biblical characters of old who ran from God’s call. All those ordinary people who messed up and found themeselves in trouble. All those ordinary people to whom God gave second, third, fourth and sometimes even 100th chances. Yes, that’s the kind of God I need!

We rarely get God’s call right the first time and we often times find ourselves in trouble. Yet, God is always there, ready to provide us with a safe place to sit for a while until we are ready to be spewed up and try again. Thanks be to God!

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Posted June 18th, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.

Filed Under Pastor's Blog by St. Paul's Church Office

Each Sunday I end worship by saying, “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.” The congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.” Then we shake hands and everyone goes on with their day. Maybe it is out to brunch or home to mow the grass and, if you are anything like me, you do not think about that closing dialogue until the next Sunday when you hear it at the end of the service again.

When we leave worship, though, we are given marching orders. First, to go forth in peace. What does that mean? Well, for starters, probably not to immediately go home and fight with our spouses, kids, parents, or anyone else for that matter. It means living in ways that promote peace in our homes and communities. Advocating for peace instead of violence throughout our world.

Second, we are told to serve the Lord. We are to provide for those in need by offering shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, medical attention to the sick and love to those who are hurting. We are to do this not just on Sunday, but throughout the week.

This summer St. Paul’s will be holding “Six Sundays of Service in the Summer.” It is a chance for young and old alike to spend an hour after church serving God by serving our neighbors in need. I hope that you will join us as we go in peace and serve the Lord!

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Posted June 1st, 2007 | Leave a Comment

First Holy Communion Thoughts

Filed Under Pastor's Blog by St. Paul's Church Office

This Sunday, St. Paul’s will welcome six children to the Lord’s Table to receive their first Holy Communion. As we prepare for this special day, I cannot help but think back on my own first Holy Communion.

One night many years ago my parents and I gathered with other fifth grade families in the sanctuary of my home congregation for first Holy Communion instruction. I remember that the kids sat on one side and the parents sat on the other. There was an overhead projector, used by the pastor I presume to teach us everything that we needed to know about the sacrament. Truth be told, I do not remember a single word he said. The only thing about that night that I can recall is that at the end we all made a single file line to get a taste of the communion wine, after which, we all made faces and loudly remarked how gross it was. What can you say? We were only in the fifth grade!

I have to wonder what these six children will remember about their first Holy Communion instruction. Will they remember throwing flies around the classroom as I retold to them the Passover story? Will they remember standing behind the altar talking about how Jesus is truly present in the wine and bread? Of, will they just remember making yuck faces after tasting the wine?

Here’s the thing, though. Even if they remember nothing at all about what they have been taught, the sacrament in which they will partake this Sunday will still bring about the forgiveness of their sins. It will still remind them of God’s immense love for them. The bread and wine of Holy Communion will still help them to feel connected to the larger body of Christ of which they are a member.

Holy Communion is a gift from God to us with no strings attached. There is no age requirement to receive it. No length exam that has to be passed before one can partake of it. Holy Communion is God’s way of assuring us that we are loved and forgiven, even when we do not remember that is the case.

I hope that these children will remember a little bit from their first Holy Communion instruction, but if they do not, they will be reminded week after week of God’s love for them as they eat the bread that is Christ’s body and the wine that is Christ’s blood. That is something to celebrate to be sure!

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Posted May 3rd, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Where is God?

Filed Under Pastor's Blog by St. Paul's Church Office

The news from this morning’s events at Virginia Tech have left people around the world shocked, saddened and asking the question, “Where is God?” It is the question that we often ask when faced with such unexplainable tragedy.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, offered the following prayer as part of his statement released earlier today, “Holy One, you do not distance yourself from the pain of your people, but in Jesus you bear that pain with all who suffer at others’ hands. With your cleansing love bring healing and strength to the Virginia Tech community; and by your justice, lift them up, that in body, mind and spirit, they may again rejoice. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

This is the prayer that our church council will prayer together when we meet just a short time from now for our monthly meeting. It is the prayer that I would encourage all of us to pray in the coming days, weeks and months as we struggle to make sense out of something that is senseless and as we offer our support to those whose lives have been forever changed today. May we trust that tonight and for many nights to come that God will be right there, in the dorm rooms, classrooms and across the Virginia Tech campus. May we trust that God will be right there alongside the family and friends of those who have died or been injured. May we trust that God will be right there with the law enforcement and university officials who investigate today’s events. May we trust that God will be right there, right here, right now.

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Posted April 16th, 2007 | Leave a Comment

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