Beautifully Imperfect

SnowCrystals.com

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, "Then who can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible." (Matt 19: 21-26)

This morning I woke up at 5:30 to a barking puppy who needed to go out. I threw on a sweatshirt over my pajamas and out we went, into the snow. It was puppy’s first experience with snow. She was delighted, I was not.

But we live in Minnesota. We know that there are certainly a lot of wonderful thing about snow. In his amazing book “Snowflakes,” Ken Libbrecht writes, “Many people are under the false impression that all snowflakes are beautifully formed and all are almost inexplicably symmetrical. To dispel this myth, spend a mere ten minutes with a magnifying glass during any snowfall. The quintessential, well-formed snowflake is actually quite rare. The vast majority show imperfect symmetry, if they show much symmetry at all…. There are many potential problems that can interfere with symmetrical growth.” (p. 48)

As Libbrecht says, perfection is quite rare. Jesus gives the rich young man a radical idea – a way to attempt human perfection. “Sell all your possessions and give your money to the poor.” And the rich young man walked away because he couldn’t do it.

What is Jesus doing to us when he speaks these difficult, law-like words? He is giving us commands that we can’t fulfill. We know that even if we sold everything and gave all of our money to the poor, we still wouldn’t be perfect.

It is an ideal. Jesus is teaching us that this is what we should strive for. He doesn’t call our wealth evil, or make any judgment on wealth at all. What Jesus is calling evil is what our wealth is doing to us – causing us to be dependent on what will not save us, instead of trusting completely in him. He is teaching us that we need to change our focus, to change our definition of what gives us life.

Perfect or not, we are not saved by what we do, or by what we give, or by what we have. We must learn to trust God, who loves us so much in our beautiful imperfection that he overlooks what we can’t do, even as he rejoices in what we actually do. It is impossible for us, but all things are possible with God.

“Snow crystals are wonderful examples of nature’s art, even as they are wrapped in the cold winds and dreary skies of winter. When you stop to notice them, snowflakes are a delight to find on your sleeve and are absolutely fascinating when viewed under a microscope. Their complex structures grow and develop as they tumble through the clouds, each design ephemeral and never again to be repeated.” (p. 111, Libbrecht)

Why do we have to read that? Mark 10: 2-12

Yesterday, my sermon was about Jesus’ words on divorce. As I prepared to preach about this difficult topic, I consulted some resources and commentaries, and I also spent time in prayer trying to understand what Jesus was teaching us. One commentator said, “If you are going to read this text in church, you need to preach about it. You can’t just leave it hanging out there.” The tension between our Lutheran understanding of law and gospel seemed particularly important to discern in these complex passages.

I want to be clear about WHY I chose Mark 10: 2-12 as my sermon text.

The sermon is the tool that we, as pastors, use to proclaim the gospel to our congregations during worship. Our sermon preparation always starts with a text from scripture. These texts are not randomly chosen. We preach using the Revised Common Lectionary, a collection of readings or selections from the Scriptures, arranged and intended for proclamation during the worship of the people of God. Lectionaries were known and used in the fourth century, where major churches arranged the Scripture readings according to a schedule which follows the calendar of the church's year. This practice of assigning particular readings to each Sunday and festival has continued through the history of the Christian Church.

These common texts are used by churches worldwide, and across all denominations. If you visited several different churches on a Sunday morning, you would probably find that most of the pastors and priests were preaching on the same text. It would be an interesting study of theology! There are many reasons to use the lectionary, but one of the best, I think, is that by using the lectionary, we are invited to address all different kinds of texts and not simply choose our favorites week after week.

And sometimes, a text pops up that we would rather skip because it makes us uncomfortable, or it is difficult and harsh. It is our job as pastors, to work and to pray and to study so we can find the grace in even the most judgmental sounding scripture. And we know, because of our trust and faith in the unconditional love of God for us in Jesus that grace, the gospel, is always found there.

I hope that you all heard a word of grace yesterday if you were in worship. It is never my intention to hurt of offend anyone with my preaching, but God calls us to look at ourselves in the mirror and to realize our brokenness (with the law) – we are all broken in one way or another. It is that brokenness that shows us our need for a savior. Thanks be to God for giving us once for all, what we so desperately need – Jesus Christ – unconditional love, and forgiveness, and grace (it’s the gospel!).

Be Quiet!

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him Psalm 62:5

Last weekend I gave the 9th graders at the confirmation retreat a very difficult assignment.

We were at Green Lake bible camp. At around 9:30 on Saturday night, our education time was done, and we were finally outside, and preparing for evening worship. We had to walk on a path through the woods in the dark of night to our destination, the outdoor chapel.

Walking through the dark woods, imagining what could jump out at us, hearing all of the night noises, was both frightening and thrilling. But we all made it safely. A bonfire was blazing by the time everyone arrived at the chapel, and spirits were high. And there was a lot of noise.

Chattering, laughing, singing, shouting, we were in God's great outdoors and the energy was boundless. As everyone sat down for worship, I gave this simple (yet difficult) instruction. Everyone must be quite. Completely silent. It is impossible, I told them, to listen to how God is speaking to you if you don’t sit quietly, at least for a little while, and listen. And so we sat, quietly. I had to shush them a few times. But it was beautiful – the night noises were clear and comforting, and I hope that some of those kids had a chance to listen to something that God was saying to them that night.

In an article called Why Be Silent?, Margaret W. Jones reminds us of the importance of taking time to be quiet to listen for God.

"Silence is a lost art in a society made of noise. What God works with in my silent times is ME. It is only with ME that God deals when I permit myself to be quiet.”

God is always speaking to us, but how much of what God says to us do we hear? If we are always in conversation, or listening to the news on the TV or the radio, or even listening to religious music on our IPOD, we are drowning out the voice of God, who might have a very important message just for us.

Take some time today, and every day, to be quiet and to listen. God is trying to tell you something that only in the silence will you be able to hear.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. James 3: 13-18

Yesterday God spoke to me as I was sitting in church listening to these words from the book of James. I believe that it’s important to pay attention when God has something to say – especially when God is speaking directly to you.

It’s a busy time of year for all of us. School is starting; programs at church are being kicked off. My daughter is filling out college applications and planning campus tours. And then, forgive me for being a broken record, but, the dogs… A puppy, Rosie, and her five year old sister, Penny. Two dogs in the house create some stress. I know that things will get better, probably very soon, but my husband tells me that I’ve been unusually crabby lately.

So this week, God had a message for me. “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.”

God has given us many gifts, and one of those gifts, wisdom, actually does work in us if we pay attention and let it work. With wisdom from above, we can be peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, and full of mercy.

Yesterday after church I was exhausted. I’d spent Saturday night with the confirmation kids at Green Lake bible camp, and by 6 am Sunday morning, I was on the road from Spicer so I could be back to Orono in time for 9 am worship. The first 10:10 was kicking off – subject, Lutheran Basics, teacher, me. After visiting with a few people following 10:45 worship and stopping for a quick errand, I arrived home later than expected, famished, and discovered that I missed lunch. A perfect storm – there could have been harsh words exchanged that would have ruined a peaceful afternoon.

Thank you, God, for giving me what I needed yesterday, for your wisdom, for your Holy Spirit working in my life. Thank you for reminding me that I can be peaceable, gentle. It is ok to be the one to yield.

After taking a deep breath, I greeted my family with a cheerful hello, ate some leftovers, and, along with the dogs, took a much needed and wonderfully refreshing nap. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. Amen.

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6



The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Ecclesiastes 7:8



When I went out with the dogs this morning, I noticed how beautiful the morning glories have grown around my lamp post. I started these lovelies from seeds way back in March, and it took the longest time for them to get going. Even up until the middle of July, they still looked spindly and I had almost given up any hope of flowers. Then all of the sudden, with the late July rains and some warm weather, they simply exploded. We will enjoy their bright pink blossoms until the first hard frost.

Last week, my daughter Sophie and I attended the funeral of our beloved friend, and Sophie’s piano teacher, Marilyn. Sophie only took piano lessons for a couple of years, and then the demands of teenage life, school, sports and a job made it hard for her to find the time to continue.


Marilyn, however, had planted musical seeds in Sophie that have been germinating and growing. Unbeknownst to either one of them, in the months that Marilyn was her weakest, Sophie would sit down at the piano almost daily and play for an hour or so. Sometimes she would practice a song that she and Marilyn had worked on together, and sometimes she would try something new and work at it until she could play it through.


Before she died, I sent Marilyn a note telling her that the good work that she started in Sophie, although she was not able to hear it for herself, was sprouting new growth. I pray that it will continue to grow. It is the way that Marilyn will live on in our lives.


We don’t always get to see the results of the seeds that we plant. But it is our job to plant the seeds nevertheless, when we share our faith, our talents, and our stories with the people around us. It is by God’s grace that the seeds sprout and grow, that the good work that is started will come to completion.


Thanks be to God!

A Humble and Sincere Expressin of Faith

Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. Mark 7:24-30


We will always have questions about what Jesus the person was really like. When we imagine him in the world, we think of him as love and peace and grace personified. The gospel of Mark, however, shows us a very different picture of Jesus. He is a strong and compassionate leader, but he is sometimes stern, harsh and impatient with the Gentiles, and even with his disciples who don’t seem to understand much of what Jesus does, or what he teaches them.


The story of the Syrophoenician woman’s faith shows us that Jesus is driven by his mission to the people of Israel. It’s possible that Jesus was responding to this Gentile woman’s plea for help with a well known proverb similar to our saying “charity begins at home.” Jesus was on an urgent mission to the Jews, and his initial response might be the same as ours would be when we need to prioritize and take care of first things first. Even some of our very important work might have to be put on the back burner because we can’t be all things to all people all of the time.


The difference with Jesus is that he stopped and recognized the woman’s faith, and he made time to help her. He made an exception to his rule. He patiently and lovingly responded to her humble and sincere expression of trust in him, and by doing so, he acknowledged that she, the Gentiles, and all of us are included in the promise, and in the kingdom. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Fear Not

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body. (Proverbs 3: 7-8)

It’s the beginning of the program year at Trinity, and at churches everywhere. Adult education, confirmation, and choir are revving up and there’s wonderful energy around here. It’s exciting – and scary. Most of the legwork goes on behind the scenes, weeks and months before the first class, or the first rehearsal, or the first Sunday of TK. Curriculum and music are planned, calls are made, postcards are sent out, publicity gets written and published and then we pray.

What if nobody shows up? What if the speaker bombs? What if the topic is a dud? What if what if what if…

There are lots of things to be afraid of and to be worried about. I’m sure you all can think of things in your jobs or in your life that worry you, that you think you may fail at.

And we are living in fearful times. We fear terrorists, we fear job loss, we fear the weather. We fear sickness and loneliness and anything that is strange, uncertain or new.

We know that fear has its place, of course. It is wise for example, for the Californians in the path of the fire to fear it and evacuate. But when fear is the guiding principle of our lives, when we fear so much that we can’t live, that is a path that leads to our death.

In his book Hope Against Darkness, Richard Rohr observes, “People more easily define themselves by what they fear, by what they are against, by who they hate, by who else is wrong, instead of by what they believe in and by whom they love. It’s much easier to build our identity on our group, our wounds, our angers, our agenda, our fear; that’s the more normal way, unless you’ve been taught by the way of Jesus.”

That “way” to which he refers is both radical and hard. It is nothing less than living in the faith that God is God and we aren’t. It is knowing in our bones that God is good, and that in spite of appearances, evil and hate don’t have the final say. Does such knowledge guarantee that we will never again be afraid? Not at all. What it does do is enable us to live with confidence and joy and hope in spite of the things we fear.


God is God and we aren’t. So let God be God. One of my favorite bits of wisdom from Martin Luther goes like this. "Pray as if everything depends on God, but act as if everything depends on you." We do have responsibilities. There are some things to fear. We may fail, and things may fall apart, but God never abandons us in our struggle. And God has arranged for us this promise – no matter what we fear, or how we fail, finally we will succeed safely and joyfully in the arms of Jesus, who gave himself for us, to sooth our minds, to calm our fears, and to save us. Ultimately, we have nothing to fear because our lives are encompassed in the love of God, by the protection of the Holy Spirit, and with the salvation of Jesus.