Weddings in Unusual Places

Tonight I got to do a wedding at the James J. Hill Library in downtown St. Paul.  Generally, I'm not a huge fan of doing "off-site" weddings...they tend to be a lot of work.  However, tonight was a little different.

First, it was a great couple.  Congratulations to Aaron and Kara!

Second, just a few minutes after the tail end of the wedding, we were serenaded by the unbelievably loud screech of the tornado sirens.  Storms hit the Twin Cities (again) tonight.  But I got to see the most amazing wall cloud I've ever seen...it looked literally like it was "churning" as it went over.  We also saw funnel clouds.  No tornado, but there was some pretty serious rotation going on.

But the final thing that made it cool was the location.  The James J. Hill Reference Library is an amazing place.  I've never been there before.  But the architecture is absolutely amazing.  It was very cool  They quite literally could not build facilities like this again...there is no way anyone would/could pay for it.  

Giant pillars...towering book stacks...amazing, dungeonlike tunnels down below.  

I could spend some serious time wandering around in there.

The change business

I just read in Kelly Fryer's blog a great line.  I'm not sure if it's hers or not, but I'll happily give her credit for it.  She says "Jesus did not come to maintain museum-like buildings, or..."

I'd even just shorten the line to "Jesus did not come to maintain..."

It strikes me that one of the fundamental truths about Jesus is that he was change.  Incarnate.

He changed everything.  Internal/external/perception/reality/death/life/crucifixion/resurrection/sin/grace....the list goes on and on.  

So those of us in ministry?  We are change agents.  Across a broad spectrum:  individually, socially, spiritually, organizationally, communally, congregationally.

This, I have discovered, is hard work.  And frankly, it's not what we are trained to do.  The seminaries of the ELCA do not change organizational dynamics, or organizational psychology.  They do not instruct people new to ministry in how to not only navigate and survive, but to direct and thrive change.  People either learn it or they do not.  Those that do, do it.  Those that do not, eventually wind up in places that are not interested in change.  While convenient for them, it winds up perpetuating the problem.  

Change.  How do we create a culture adequate, and with the capacity, to complete this call?

The Problem When Something Goes Well

I have to admit to a certain amount of disappointment tonight.  We hosted the MGSH Baccalaureate service, and it went really well.

No, that's not disappointing.

What's disappointing is that this means we'll be doing it again next year.

Friday, Saturday and today, I was ready to chuck it.  It wasn't worth the hassle, people had dropped out of some tasks they were doing, and I was convinced we needed to complete this year, declare success, and then NOT do it again.  (Sometimes the best decision you can make is to discontinue something...even when it isn't terrible.)

So I was ready to pull the plug.

Then the unexpected happened:  It went really well.

The talks were great.

The music was great.

The fellowship was great.

The other congregations with whom we partner on it are all in.

I guess it's happening again!  Who'da thunk it.

"Breathe"

Breathe

John 20:19-23

Pentecost

Todd Buegler

May 10-11

Lord of Life

Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, and our Savior who brings the gift of the Spirit!  Amen.

 I spent the better part of the day on Thursday with my Mother down at Abbott Northwestern hospital, where she was having a medical procedure.  In the past, I have spoken about how she has been dealing with breast cancer and has done the full gamut of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.  Thankfully, she is cancer free now…the procedure on Thursday was going to kind of “close the book” on the medical journey she has been on for the last 15 months.  Now she moves from treatment, to monitoring.

 As I drove her to Abbott, I had to laugh.  At one point in our conversation, she said something like “Todd, I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry about what this has done to your schedule.” 

 Right.  My schedule.  My mind immediately jumped back to my childhood.  My father’s work caused him to have to travel quite a bit, and my Mother was often put in the position of having to ‘single-parent’ 3 boys who were…well, now-a-days we might use the euphemism: Active.

 That means that in addition to chasing us around the neighborhood, Mom spent lots of time driving us from place to place, lots of time at Dr’s offices, time at sports practices, band concerts, emergency rooms, principal’s offices…for my brothers…church events, scout meetings, the list goes on and on and on and on and on…

Yeah Mom.  You should feel pretty bad about messing up my schedule. Riiggghhhttt…  No.  In the cosmic balance sheet of how we spend our time, I am pretty seriously in the deficit column in terms of what I’ve been able to do in my relationship with my Mother. 

That’s why I find it interesting that this weekend in the church we celebrate two important events:  First to mind:  we celebrate Mother’s Day, when we remember and are grateful for the love given to us by Mother’s.  And today in the church we celebrate Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit, that manifestation of God that we most closely associate with nurture and care, Motherly characteristics, came to the disciples in quite literally a whirlwind, that gifted and formed the church.  

Of the three aspects of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit that has always been the most confusing and mysterious to us.  Just out of curiousity, I googled the phrase “Holy Spirit” and came up with 12,300,000 different web pages about the Holy Spirit.  I gave a read through the first 2-3 million pages that popped up…what I discovered is that there is very little consensus on the Holy Spirit; and there is a huge variety of experiences.  I’m sure you’ve experienced God’s Spirit in different ways.  I certainly have: 

Years ago, when I was a college student, I worked in the media services department at my school as a media specialist.  My wife insists on using the phrase “AV Geek”, but I really prefer media specialist.  One weekend, I was asked to set up and run sound for a visiting group from a Pentecostal denomination for their worship service.  After a fiery sermon, the pastor called people forward for special time of healing.  I’d never seen anything quite like it. 

The preacher, with one hand on the mic, would place the other hand on the forehead of the person desiring healing…he’d pray…he’d speak in tounges…a language none of us could understand, and then the preacher would push back on the forehead and the person would fall straight back, into the waiting arms of assistants, who would lower them down to the ground, where they would lay, sometimes for a long time, twitching occasionally.  Let me be clear, I don’t mean to diminish or discount this form of healing.   It is an important part of the faith of many different traditions.  But for someone who grew up with a traditional, stoic, Scandinavian Lutheran church background, well…this was all a little weird.  At that time, it was just outside of my definition of the word “normal”. 

After awhile, one of their ushers noticed me at my sound board.  Obviously I was the only person in the room who was not from their church.  I’m pretty sure he thought that made me a candidate for recruitment.  He smiled and approached me and said “so do you have any questions?  Is there anything I can help you with?”   “No, thanks! I’m all good! I’m just running sound!”  He smiled as if he was partially disappointed, and then asked, “well, are you a Christian?” “Yep!  Yep I am!”  “Ahhhh…Well, have you been baptized in the Spirit?”  I didn’t really know what he meant by that and I suddenly got a little nervous that he was going to put his hand on my forehead and push, …so I just said “Oh yeah…sure!  The Spirit!”  and then I pretended that I had knobs on the sound board that needed adjusting.  He smiled and left…but I could tell that he wasn’t convinced that I was going to make the cut. 

It seems that people are able to create an image of the Holy Spirit that best meets their needs, wishes and desires. 

• For some, the Holy Spirit is a warrior, or a guardian, whose sole job is to protect us and to fight against the powers of darkness. 
• For others, the Holy Spirit is a power source…it is where we get our spiritual energy. 
• For others, the Holy Spirit is a healer who brings health and wholeness.
• for many, perhaps going back to the old-school phrase “Holy Ghost”, the Spirit represents the mystery that is God…it is the “behind the scenes God”, the invisible God. 

We all have our own ideas, shaped by our own history and our way of thinking about the Holy Spirit.  But our Gospel for today guides us: 

It begins in John 20 immediately after the resurrection.  The disciples are gathered in a closed room.  The doors are locked because frankly, they are terrrified and bewildered.  If the Jewish people were willing to have Jesus crucified, wouldn’t hesitate to have the disciples arrested.  Jesus was dead, and his body had vanished.  Mary reported having seen a resurrected Jesus, but the other disciples hadn’t seen any proof yet…so they were confused, and worried.  So the doors are locked and the windows were closed.  They were regrouping.  Suddenly, in the middle of the room, without warning, Jesus appeared to them.  They had to be shocked and maybe scared.  But Jesus’ first words?  “Peace be with you!”  To prove who he was, he showed them his wounds, and they rejoiced. 

Then he repeated himself:  “Peace be with you…as my Father has sent me, I am sending you” and he did something unexpected:  he breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  He breathed on them.  And in that single moment…in that single act, the world…our world, was changed.    

Jesus breathes.  And says “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  And the Hebrew word he uses for Holy Spirit is the word “Ruach Hakkodesh”, which literally translates to wind, breath or Spirit of God.  “Receive the breath of God.”  Here, Jesus uses the same word that is found throughout the Bible to describe the Spirit of God. 

• In the creation story of Genesis 1, when the Spirit of God, the Ruach Hakkodesh hovers over the waters when the earth is formless and empty…
• In Genesis 2, when God breathes the Ruach Hakkodesh into the nostrils of Adam and Eve to give life to the first humans…
• Throughout scripture, in the Psalms, in Isaiah, in Ezekial, in the story of Jesus’ baptism… whenever God’s Holy Spirit is referred to, it is as Ruach…the breath of God. 

Jesus is saying that God’s work in the world is quite literally, breath.  Like the human body depends on breath, the world depends on the breath, the Spirit of God.  God’s Spirit surrounds us and quite literally brings life. 

Then, after Jesus breathes, and after he gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples, he gives them a charge:  He says “If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  

When you think about it, this is a tremendous responsibility.  He is telling his disciples, you now have the power to proclaim forgiveness to those around you…and you have the power to withhold forgiveness.  I do not think it is an accident that these two acts: the giving of the Holy Spirit, and the command to forgive others are linked together.  Forgiveness of sins is not a human act.  Ultimately, it is God alone, through the Holy Spirit, and then proclaimed by God’s people, who forgives.  Jesus is saying to the disciples, and then to us: “as I have forgiven, I empower you now to forgive.”  And so we can forgive in God’s name.  We can reach out to each other to wipe away the dried and dirty tears of pain and guilt from one another's faces and pronounce God's forgiveness, giving power and courage to live in a world of hurt. When we forgive someone, the Spirit of God is literally breathed out on them and those who sin experience freedom and life.  When we do not forgive, we all remain bound by sin. 

On April 20, 1981 I celebrated my 16^th birthday.  On that same afternoon, I received my driver’s license.  On that same night, my parents handed me the car keys for the first time.  (I had to run back to school to get something that I had “forgotten” in my locker.  Riiiiggghhhttt.)  I remember that it was raining that night.  I had no idea at the time, what a leap of faith that must have been for my parents.  It was an incredible transitional moment.  For the first time, I was being given a great responsibility.  I was being given an adult responsibility.  But my parents believed and trusted me.  I am certain now, that my parents were probably pacing the entire 45 minutes that I was gone.  I am certain now, that there was a giant sigh of relief when I pulled the car back into the garage. 

In this Gospel Jesus does something very similar for His followers. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you." He blesses them with the Holy Spirit, and he gives them the power to forgive.  Jesus is handing the keys to the kingdom to His disciples. He is demonstrating to them that He is entrusting to them the message of the gospel. He gives to them a great privilege, and a great responsibility.  He is showing them that He believes in them.  And he is giving them the “Ruach Hakkodesh”, his breath…his Spirit…his life… 

My friends, today, we gather here in this place, like the disciples did 2000 years ago.  And we are the inheritors of that same promise, and that same responsibility.    And Jesus says to each of us “As my Father has sent me, so I send you.”  Jesus promises that we do not go alone.  The breath of God blows through this place.  God’s presence is here.  And because our God is a God of love and Grace, this promise is for you.  Each of you.  

God comes to you.  God breathes on you his Holy Spirit.  “Ruach Hokkodesh.”  God promises you the inheritance of peace and blessing.  And God sends you out, strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, to continue His work in the world.  To care, to serve and to proclaim to people the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ. 

Breathe in deeply, and receive the Spirit of God.

Amen.

Being Remarkable

Less Does Not Equal More

I love politics...and I love to talk/debate/argue politics.  And I generally have pretty strong opinions about politics.  But, generally, I choose not to write too much about them.  While I love having these conversations with friends and family, my role is quirky enough that I don't want to take a chance on a political view getting in the way of an important (and often ministry-based) relationship that I want to maintain.

So, all that being said, I'm going to now break my rule, though I'm going to do this in as non-partisan a way as I possibly can.

I've watched with some amazement in the past year as government has operated more and more from a scarcity mentality, instead of from an abundance mentality.  

"No new taxes.  No new fees.  The answer is to cut/reduce spending...only."

"We can stimulate the economy by cutting taxes."

Why do we really think this might work?  Has it ever?  (hint: the answer is 'no')

So now, because the state has cut funding to education, forcing school districts to rely on referendums, and when the referendums fail, my son's first grade class (which has 19 people in it this year) will have 33 next year.

I believe that you get what you pay for.  I have no problem paying taxes...even paying more than my fair share (assuming some can't pay their fair share) if it ensures a quality standard of living, which means education/health/human services/etc...  Don't get me wrong...I'm as anti-waste as anyone.  But that's not what we're talking about.  We're talking about 33 2nd graders in a class designed for 22-24 max.  We're talking about 188 teachers being cut.  We're talking about services for special education, and for early childhood education, being slashed.

Less does not equal more.  Less equals less.  It's simple.

I'd rather be about the more; and our society is definitely a culture of abundance.  Let's steward that abundance instead of acting like it needs to be defended.