Dear friends and members of Resurrection,
A friend of mine recently lamented: “I’m afraid that the end of the world is almost here. Look at all the wars and all the disasters happening. It’s just like in the Bible.”
“There’s no way to know,” I answered, “ but if the end of the world is near, how do you want to spend today?”
This is not the first time someone has said something like that to me in my nearly 30 years of ordained ministry. So far, everyone has been wrong.
Though many throughout history have tried to figure out the exact date of the world’s end, Jesus himself said that he did not know that date, only his Father in heaven knew.
And more precisely, the Bible doesn’t speak about the end of the world, but of the transformation of the earth—of that day when heaven and earth meet and are one and God reigns all in all.
Rather than a fearful picture of gloom, the end of things as we know them is really a picture of hope when all things will be transformed into what God intends them to be!
Of course, if you are a person of violence, resentment, hatred, stinginess, etc. that transformation may be a painful one. And who among us isn’t some of those things some of the time?
It is somewhat like birth: there is no easy way for a baby to be born—it is a painful process. But it is so worth it!!! (Just ask Katie or Jonathan, who practically glow as they carry little Amy around!)
Just so, being “born” into the person God intends us to be is a painful process. We feel those “birth-pangs” even now as we work to change broken relationships or old prejudices.
But do we need to fear that transformation? I don’t think so. As we live this life, we learn through experience that we are given the strength we need to live, even through painful times.
Instead, of fear, hope may be a better response. There are so many wars and disasters—if the day is coming when all destruction ends, isn’t that cause for hope?
Don’t just take my word for it: join in our summer Bible study at RLC of the book of Revelation, the book most commonly cited to predict the world’s end. Learn together what the message of this writing is—for its own time and for our time.
We will be meeting the first, second and third Tuesdays of June, July and August from 7:00-8:15p.m. Bring any translation of the Bible with you, and bring any friends or neighbors who you think might be interested in this exploration.
No prior knowledge of the Bible is required. Just an open heart and open mind. Hope to see you June 4th!
Peace and hope,
Pastor Mary
Dear friends and members of RLC,
As I write this, the 40 days of Lent are nearing completion: soon we will enter the holiest of weeks, culminating in the celebration of Easter—the “queen” of the church year. On the other side of Easter day, we in the church will celebrate the season of Easter for 50 days—the celebration lasts longer than the preparation!
But what is it that we are celebrating? Is it simply the historical Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? As wondrous as that event was, would it really be worth 50 days of celebration each year?
What does it have to do with us in 2013? The Christian church believes that what happened to Jesus so many years ago has changed everything for everyone for all time!
How, you may ask? That is a question with many answers, depending on who is doing the answering. It is like trying to define God: we can’t do it precisely, but nonetheless, we need to use whatever images and language are available to us to come near to the truth of God.
How did one man, Jesus, do something in his dying and rising that altered the course of all creation? There are many explanations that help us to approach the truth of this event. I want to share just one such explanation.
Imagine the world as God intended it—a place of love and beauty and plenty. Next think about the world as it is—a place filled with strife and suffering and need. What went wrong? How did the course of human history get so off-track, so altered from God’s original intention?
Imagine there is an enemy of God loose, preying upon God’s beloved creation—sometimes called Satan, which means “the adversary.” The chief weapon of the enemy of God is death: with it he cuts down God’s children and fills them with fear, knowing that it is ahead.
Jesus comes and does battle with this enemy; in his living he destroys all those things that diminish the beloved creation—sickness, hunger, isolation and even dying. But then, it seems as if the enemy of God has won: Jesus is killed on a cross.
Yet three days later, something miraculous happens—God raises Jesus from the dead: the power of death is broken!! The enemy loses once and for all. He can continue to tempt people to disbelieve the truth about God, the truth that nothing in all creation can ever separate them from God’s love and presence—but it is a lie.
The truth, as proclaimed using this explanation to understand Christ’s death and resurrection, is that the final battle has already occurred. God has won the battle and with it, the war! All we can do is believe it and so, live unafraid. It is the truth about our lives whether we believe it or not—it just doesn’t give us the same peace and courage in this life if we don’t believe it.
I love this image! And so, the Easter message I hear—in seven words or less—is this: The war is over—pour the wine!
To victory! Cheers!
Pastor Mary
Dear friends and members of Resurrection Lutheran,
This month, Lent begins on Wednesday, February 22nd. Lent is the season preceding Easter: “Lent” is from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “springtime” and so is to be understood as the holy springtime of the soul, a time for preparation, planting, and growth.
Within the Christian community, since at least the fourth century, certain disciplines have been associated with this season whose purpose has been to lead persons deeper into the life of Christ. These disciplines have included prayer, confession, fasting and giving. I encourage each one of you to think about how you would like to intentionally live the 2012 Lenten season such that your life becomes more deeply united with Christ’s in his death and resurrection.
On Ash Wednesday, a prayer is spoken over the ashes: “Lord, bless these ashes by which we show that we are dust. Pardon our sins and keep us faithful to the discipline of Lent, for you do not want sinners to die but to live with the risen Christ.” That last phrase of the prayer, “for you do not want sinners to die but to live with the risen Christ,” is of utmost importance. Whatever we do, whatever we face during this season—or during our lives—we do so in the faith and hope that God’s desire is forgiveness and life, not vengeance and death.
This year, a primary focus at RLC during Lent is going to be on confession and forgiveness—not as an obligation, but a gift. In the Large Catechism, Martin Luther had this to say:
Confession consists of two parts. The first is my work and act, when I lament my sin and desire comfort and restoration for my soul. The second is a work which God does, when he absolves me of my sins through a word placed in the mouth of a person…..We should set little value on our work but exalt and magnify God’s Word……You dare not come and say how good or how wicked you are…..But what you must do is to lament your need and allow yourself to be helped so that you may attain a happy heart and conscience.
With this focus, I invite you to “hear” the words of the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness at the beginning of each Sunday morning worship service. I also invite any who would like, to come on any Tuesday night during Lent for Individual Confession and Forgiveness. I will be at church between 6:00-8:00p.m. each week, available for conversation and for this sacramental act. The sanctuary will also be open for any who would like to stop by for personal prayer.
In addition, on Wednesday nights, we will be having Evening Prayer from 7:00-7:30p.m. followed by a Bible study entitled, “Forgiven and Forgiving.” All are welcome; you may come for one or all five sessions. The study will begin on February 29.
I pray that this Lent will indeed be a “holy springtime” for our souls.
Peace,
Pastor Mary
Dear Friends and Members of RLC,
We have begun the Advent season; Advent is the four weeks preceding Christmas. The color for all of our worship hangings (paraments) during this season is blue; blue is designated as the color for hope.
I mention this because it seems like a good reminder for many of us. This is the season of hope. Are you feeling hopeful this year? Or are you feeling discouraged and weighed down by memories, events or relationships that seem too heavy to bear?
Either way, it is worth asking why it is that the church sets aside a season and encourages us to hope. It’s not because Christmas automatically puts us in a good mood—actually, many people find this the most depressing time of year. It’s not because we’re going to get so many great presents—some of us may, many will not.
Rather, the church reminds us to hope no matter what because Jesus is with us now and always. And this world is headed in the direction that God wants it to go because it is God’s beloved world and God gets the last word!
Do our memories of loss and heartache hurt? Yes, but we don’t have to bear them alone: Jesus is with us. Have events happened that are beyond our control that have changed our lives or the lives of our loved ones? Perhaps, but we don’t have to face them alone: Jesus is with us. Are we in the midst of relationships that we can’t even imagine restored? If so, remember we are not alone: Jesus is with us.
How will it all turn out? In the short run—who knows? But in the end, there will be healing and love and light, for that is what God has promised.
In the meantime, stay open to the possibility of surprise. Who would have thought that God would come to the earth as a helpless infant? Who would have thought that the pathway to salvation for the world would have gone through a cross? Who would think that the savior of the nations would come to us over and over again through bread and wine? Or a word? Or a hug?
A lot of the time, it’s not easy to hope. Try to do it anyway; be brave, be daring, trust the One who has called you into being and knows you by name. He is with us.
“Look, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
Peace and hope,
Pastor Mary
Dear friends and members of Resurrection,
Thank you so much for your generosity and spirit of love and joy throughout Harvest Sunday/HarvestFaire. It was a marvelous day of giving and prayer and laughter: our partners in Milwaukee and Tanzania will be blessed through our efforts. I especially want to thank this year’s chair of the Outreach Task Force, Ron Reichert. He, and all who helped him, allowed us to do good ministry together that day. Thank you again.
This month we will spend some time reflecting on how we give thanks to God for the blessings that have been given to us. These reflections will be framed around the gift of “Blessed Partnerships” with God, with one another, and with our partners at Reformation and Kikwe. Watch your mail for a letter from our Stewardship chair, June Gumm, in the upcoming days; it will explain this theme more fully as a backdrop for our preparation of our 2012 pledges of time, talent and treasure.
“Thanksgiving” will also be the theme of worship on November 20th; we will be anticipating the national holiday that morning, singing traditional thanksgiving hymns and having an opportunity for some of you to share what you are thankful for this year. Worship will be followed by a pie social.
The following Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent (can you believe it?!); a good deal of the worship service will be led through dance that morning. Invite your friends and relatives to come to this special service!
Wednesday, November 30th, at 7:00p.m. will be the first of our Advent Holden Evening Prayer services. Give yourself the gift of this half hour service of candlelight and singing during the four weeks leading up to Christmas. It is truly a time of reflection and refreshment. The service will be followed by an hour-long bible study from 7:30-8:30p.m. for all who would like to stay.
Early in December we have two events that you won’t want to miss. On Saturday, December 3rd, Resurrection Lutheran will be marching in the New Berlin Christmas parade. Several of our partners from Reformation will be joining us and we will be carrying a banner that reads, “Resurrection Lutheran Church; a Reconciling in Christ Congregation.” We hope to have a large group of us participate and give the larger community a glimpse of who we are here at RLC!
The next morning, we will celebrate Kikwe Sunday in worship. Following the service, our friends, Jim and Tim, from Bella Café will be here with coffee treats and soups from the Soup Market. In addition, we hope to have some African dancing and to see slides from our delegation’s recent trip to Tanzania. Mark your calendars now: they fill up so quickly during December!
As the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians: every time I think of you, I give thanks to God. It’s true: thanks for who you are and what you do!
Peace and Joy,
Pastor Mary
Dear Friends and Members of Resurrection,
Our fall schedule is underway and a lot of exciting things are happening. Many of them have to do with faith formation and community. On Wednesday evenings, several of our youth and those from our partner congregation, Reformation, meet together at 6:30 p.m. to learn about some of the basics of the Christian faith. We are currently working on the 10 Commandments and will move on to the Lord’s Prayer, the Creeds and the Sacraments. We are not just studying these topics as historical teachings, but as means of guidance and faith formation in our own lives. Any who would like to join in on this study are warmly invited!
Also, on most Sunday mornings after worship, the whole congregation—all ages—are invited to stay for a brief time of focused conversation around a topic that is connected with that morning’s worship service. The hope is that we will continue to learn together as we converse. A “home assignment” will be given each week to encourage continued learning and prayer at home. Please join us in this “Caring Conversation Café” in the Fellowship Hall. The coffee and hot chocolate will be served there, as well as the occasional “sweet treat!”
This idea of viewing our homes as a source for faith formation leads me to another idea. I would like to see us begin SPA groups this winter: small groups that would meet in each other’s homes to Study, Pray, Act. Some of you have had the experience of being a part of a small group before: this can be such a gift as a place of trust, prayer and mutual encouragement. I would also like to see these groups become springboards for involving others outside of the church in concrete actions for the good of our larger community. This will be a topic I will address with you in upcoming Sunday morning “Caring Conversation Cafés.”
But first, we have a major event in our congregation’s life coming up on October 23rd: Harvest Sunday. This is the Sunday when we prayerfully give a financial gift to be used in the ministry of our partner people of God committed and connected to those whose outward conditions are different from ours, yet whose inward selves are the same. We are all beloved children of God with something to share; we are each less than God intends us to be when we do not receive from, as well as give to, one another. And so, I invite all of you to be present at worship on October 23rd. Bring your gift to the altar: offer yourself for God’s service and expect to find new opportunities before you in the upcoming year. None of us are “completed creations” until the day our bodies die; until then, God is continually creating us into someone more beautiful than we can imagine. Following worship on October 23rd, plan to stay for awhile and enjoy each other’s company as we share a meal, enjoy(?) our men’s home-baked desserts and have some fun together at HarvestFaire.
It is a blessing to be a part of this congregation: this particular expression of the living body of Christ. Thank you for all that you do and all that you are.
Peace and Joy, Pastor Mary
|
RSS Feed