Lutherans are accused of having a non-demonstrative faith, and often with justification. We could all stand to be a little more honest about the amazing role God plays in our lives. No doubt.
On the flip side, I have seen faith that is over demonstrative. Demonstrative faith is not bad…far from it. The question becomes “why do we deomonstrate?” If it is a genuine expression of an experience of grace so powerful that we cannot help but share it, that’s great. If it is to place ourselves/our faith/our identity as a child of God on a pedestal, well, that’s a different story.
Faith that demonstrates to show ourselves becomes idolatrous, and places ourselves squarely in the center of that faith. If the root of human sin is the desire to be God ourselves, then the risk is great and periolous.
Treading that line….finding that way to be honest and genuine…that is the challenge.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Cinderella man
The DVD sat on my kitchen counter for probably a week. I wasn't in a hurry...it was from Netflix. It could go back at anytime.
I just wasn't that interested in seeing the movie...a boxing movie didn't interest me that much. We finally got around to watching it on Friday night.
Wow. Was I wrong. What an amazing movie. It really isn't a boxing movie. Not at all. Not even close. It is a movie about life, tragedy, glory, family, values, and what it is to be a good man. A really good man.
I wonder sometimes about men losing their role models for how to be men. I wonder how generations learn how the values of providing for, and caring for their loved ones. This is a great movie all about men living up to their responsibility...doing what is difficult when it is right.
The best line? When Braddock is asked about why he's suddenly turned his career around for the better he says "Now I know what I'm fighting for." "What's that?" asks the reporter. Pause. "Milk." In a depression era film, it makes all the sense in the world.
What are men's responsibilities now? It's not just to work, though that is what we sometimes think. That is a role confusion...it is the tail wagging the dog.
Much to think about.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Chemo Round 1
The first major step is over. My Mother had her first round of chemotherapy this morning/afternoon. There were some initial tests that had to be run first, but then around noon she sat down in the chair for the treatment.
It was a fairly surreal experience, sitting with her. Kind of like I was outside of myself "looking in." The staff and nurses at Fairview Southdale were great, and did a nice job reassuring her and answering her (millions of) questions.
For the first hour or so, a guy came into the treatment room and played guitar. He never really played anything, he just sort of noodled around. It was kind of funny...nobody seemed to pay any attention to him...he just did his thing. To be honest, I never even really noticed when he left.
I've noticed a desire in my Mom to want to pull back and isolate herself. I've seen this before in people I have worked with who were in similar situations of crisis. My sense is that they want to isolate others (and possibly themselves) from the emotional and psychological pain that they experience. I haven't really noticed it before in such an intense way...I haven't walked through this with a family member before.
The reality of suffering is a little more vivid for me right now. The power of emotional pain is tangible.
The treatment went well. Many of the understandings I had are old and out-of-date. It's not a picnic, but it's not, according to the nurses, as acute as it used to be in terms of reactions. However, that's easy for me to say.
I find myself looking for theological meanings in this experience. But they are not clear to me yet. I think it's all just too new.
It was a fairly surreal experience, sitting with her. Kind of like I was outside of myself "looking in." The staff and nurses at Fairview Southdale were great, and did a nice job reassuring her and answering her (millions of) questions.
For the first hour or so, a guy came into the treatment room and played guitar. He never really played anything, he just sort of noodled around. It was kind of funny...nobody seemed to pay any attention to him...he just did his thing. To be honest, I never even really noticed when he left.
I've noticed a desire in my Mom to want to pull back and isolate herself. I've seen this before in people I have worked with who were in similar situations of crisis. My sense is that they want to isolate others (and possibly themselves) from the emotional and psychological pain that they experience. I haven't really noticed it before in such an intense way...I haven't walked through this with a family member before.
The reality of suffering is a little more vivid for me right now. The power of emotional pain is tangible.
The treatment went well. Many of the understandings I had are old and out-of-date. It's not a picnic, but it's not, according to the nurses, as acute as it used to be in terms of reactions. However, that's easy for me to say.
I find myself looking for theological meanings in this experience. But they are not clear to me yet. I think it's all just too new.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
A Punch to the Gut
It is cancer. My Mother has cancer.
They don't know much in the way of details yet. Test results are coming. But they think it is an aggressive form.
I've spent much of the last two days kind of in a daze. It feels like I've been punched hard. When Mom called with the initial test results, it kind of sucked the breath right out of me. It doesn't feel like I've caught up again.
Emotions? Sorrow...anger...confusion...fear...
Much to work on.
They don't know much in the way of details yet. Test results are coming. But they think it is an aggressive form.
I've spent much of the last two days kind of in a daze. It feels like I've been punched hard. When Mom called with the initial test results, it kind of sucked the breath right out of me. It doesn't feel like I've caught up again.
Emotions? Sorrow...anger...confusion...fear...
Much to work on.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
That word
My mother received a possible diagnosis this morning. The word: cancer. It's a word that I've never heard before in regard to a member of my own family. It's a word that puts a shiver down the spine. It's a word that brings fear.
Today it's a word that I heard in connection with someone I love.
It's not a done-deal. There is the inevitable waiting for tests results. However we think we'll know more in 24 hours.
Mom is...shall we say...on the edge of frantic. The problem is, as an RN, she knows just enough to make her dangerous, at least to her own psyche.
So there are no answers, and there is surprisingly little to grip/clutch/hold on to. We pray, but this is going to be a very rough ride.
Today it's a word that I heard in connection with someone I love.
It's not a done-deal. There is the inevitable waiting for tests results. However we think we'll know more in 24 hours.
Mom is...shall we say...on the edge of frantic. The problem is, as an RN, she knows just enough to make her dangerous, at least to her own psyche.
So there are no answers, and there is surprisingly little to grip/clutch/hold on to. We pray, but this is going to be a very rough ride.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Want to be a Sheep?
“Want To Be A Sheep?”
Matthew 25:31-46
Todd Buegler
March 3-4, 2007
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, who is the Good Shepherd! Amen.
As a young boy, probably 7 or 8 years old, I feared the moment. It was the moment I’d have to face my parents. It hadn’t even really occurred to me when my friend and I crouched down to use a stick to write our initials in the fresh, wet concrete of the sidewalk that it was a bad idea. We didn’t do it out of malice. It was wet, shiny and huge…a giant eternal chalk board. It seemed perfectly logical to me at the time. And we were so intent on doing a good job with our handwriting that it totally took us by surprise when the owner of the home, who had walked up behind us, cleared his throat. Immediately my “fight or flight” reflex activated and I wanted to run. Unfortunately, I’ve always had slow reflexes. His hands came down on each of our shoulders and lifted us up. We were so busted.
The worst thing was when Mom said “we’d talk about it when Dad got home.” So I sat in my room waiting in a kind of a “pre-grounding” mode. I was guilty…no question. I sat there like a criminal awaiting judgment.
I’ve always had anxiety about being judged. Moments like that, awaiting the inevitable, or any of the other thousands of times I got caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing. And there are other forms of judging: taking tests, an institutionalized form of judgment, was always stressful for me. I remember playing piano in the state “contest”, or trying out for a “chair” assignment in band…reciting memorization when I was in confirmation…interviewing for jobs…defending a master’s thesis…pitching a new proposal…all moments of fear and anxiety. Being judged makes me nervous.
I don’t think that I am unique in my nervousness around being judged. I’m guessing it’s a pretty universal response, and that many in this room share my anxiety.
Actually, the more I think about it, maybe it’s not the moment of judgment that makes me nervous, but rather is the separation that comes at the end of it. Separation into winners and losers…into the good and the bad…into the “first chairs” and the “also rans”…into the smart and the not so smart…into the guilty and the innocent… We’ve even turned it into entertainment. “American Idol” is based on judging and separating people into the talented and the untalented, with the untalented becoming the victim of Simon’s wrath. None of us like to be separated. We all want to be included. It is one of our base hopes and needs. Nobody likes to be excluded.
Unfortunately, that’s just not how the world works. Humans are experts at separating ourselves: Not only into winners and losers, good and bad. We find other ways to separate ourselves: by economic class, by race, by religion, by region, by gender…we make judgments and separations all of the time. We judge every single day.
During the season of Lent, we are looking at “Servant Sayings” of Jesus. The words he spoke that told us about serving others, and ultimately, serving him. Our Gospel for today is one of those texts. But there’s more to it than a simple and easy, “hey, you should serve.” There is an element of judgment that ties into it, and frankly, that makes me nervous and a little uncomfortable.
Jesus is speaking about the “final judgment”, when God will separate us. The analogy Jesus uses is “sheep” and “goats.” And he makes it clear which one he wants us to be. Jesus is telling us that we will be judged based on how and who we have served. If we have done well, we are sheep, and we will be blessed. If we do not, we will be goats, and Jesus will say to us (and I quote): “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Wow. No pressure there!
Why sheep and goats? People who lived during Jesus’ time knew exactly what Jesus meant: It was good to be a sheep. It was bad to be a goat. Sheep were animals that people wanted. They were easy to care for, they produced wool, and at the end of their usefulness, they were tasty. Goats? Not so much. They were difficult to care for and required time and patience. They didn’t listen or mind as well. They were unpleasant. They didn’t have as much hair and were more susceptible to the cold. That required extra work. Every night the shepherds would have to separate the goats from the sheep and move the goats to shelter, out of the cold. Because they were lower on the social “food chain”, they were used as a sacrifice to God to pay for people’s sins. Goats would be placed on the altar and killed to pay for the sins of the people. It was believed that God demanded a blood-sacrifice. This is, by the way, where the phrase “scape-goat” came from. Because of the goats, they would “escape” punishment. Nobody wanted goats when you could have sheep…and certainly no one wanted to be compared to a goat.
Jesus is quite clear that his call for us is to be concerned for the hurting people in the world. We know that when we care for the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned, we are actually taking care of Jesus. And in this piece of scripture, Jesus is describing how the final judgment will go. Jesus is going to gather the people and is going to ask a simple question: “What have you done?” And on the basis of the answer to that question, we are going to be separated: Sheep and goats.
I’ve got to be honest…this is kind of a difficult text for us. Lutherans have never been comfortable with the idea of God as judge. We much prefer the image of God as Savior. We know that we are saved by grace alone; that we do nothing to inherit eternal life; that none of us dare brag about our good works because we know down deep inside that we are sinners who are saved by grace. Lord of Life spent the entire last year studying and learning about grace. And we know that if we make it through the pearly gates, it is only because God is good, not because we are good. It is God’s goodness that saves us. We can never do enough to merit eternal life. It is pure gift. We know this. It is deep within our Lutheran DNA.
But this judgment scripture still hangs out there in front of us. Jesus doesn’t make it easy for us; he doesn’t let us off the hook! There is still judgment ahead. So how do we reconcile God’s grace and God’s judgment? If we take seriously Ephesians 2:8, which says “For by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not your own doing, it is a gift from God”, then what’s the deal about being separated into sheep and goats? It’s about God’s grace and our belief, not about what we do. Right?
Yes. It is about God’s grace and our belief. But what Jesus is saying in this text is that what a person does for the poor and the suffering reveals what, and in whom, they believe. If a person believes, they obey. If a person believes in Jesus Christ as God and Savior, they live as God would have them live.
I had a teacher once who used to say that the two best indicators of a person’s values are their calendar and their wallet. He would say “show me where a person spends their time, and where a person spends their money, and I can tell you what they believe.”
In Jesus’ words, he is calling us out. He is saying “yes, your salvation is dependent on grace through faith. Show me your faith…show me what you believe…Do you really believe what you say? Are you all talk? Are you putting your money, or your calendar where your mouth is?”
When Jesus judges, he will ask “what have you done?” The answer will reveal our faith. When Jesus asks us the question, “What have you done for the least of these, my brothers and sisters”, this does not contradict the grace of God, that salvation is pure gift. It is a question that asks for evidence of our faith in that belief.
Let me illustrate: I love my children completely. Is that true for anyone else here? Do any of you love your children to the unconditionally? To the extreme? Immensely? Graciously? That is just the way it is. I would do anything for them. I would die for them. But I still ask them “did you do your chores?”, “did you remember to make your bed?” “Did you pick up your toys?” “Were you good for Mom today?” My love for the boys is great, but I still ask the question: “What did you do today?”
This is also true of God. God’s love for you is great, but God still asks you and me the question: Did you do your chores today? Did you take care of the sick, the poor, the orphans, the starving, the thirsty, the refugees, the homeless, the hungry, the lonely in the nursing homes? Have you done your chores today?” That God asks you that question does not mean that God does not love you. It is just the opposite. Because God does love you unconditionally, God then asks you that question.
“What did you do for the littlest of people? What did you do for those in need? What did you do for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned.” Whether we like it or not, Jesus tells us that he does judge. Jesus will separate us: the sheep and the goats. We all want to be included with the sheep, the blessed.
But here’s the truth: We all fall short. If the question is “what did you do?” The point of that question isn’t a list of our activities. The point of the question is “do you really believe…enough to do what I ask? In reality, none of us can measure up. We are all goats. We are all deserving of punishment.
Let’s fact it: I do not serve like Jesus asks…you do not serve like Jesus asks. I want desperately to be a sheep, and I try. But I fail. If all Christians who believe in God served as he asks, there would not be hunger…no one would be homeless…no one would be lonely…
Jesus knows this. And Jesus knows that we are bound by sin and cannot free ourselves. Jesus knows that we cannot make ourselves sheep. So he judges, and he asks the question “What did you do?” Like a guilty child facing a judging parent, we know that nothing we can say can justify ourselves to God. And so Jesus judges. He says “you are a goat.” But then he does something amazing. Instead of casting us out...instead of cursing us…he himself becomes a goat…the ultimate scape-goat…he is punished for what we have done, and for the things we should have, but haven’t. For three days he suffers that pain of ultimate separation on our behalf. On the cross, when he says “My God, why have you forsaken me” he’s not just wondering where God is…he is experiencing the ultimate separation from the God of love.
He experiences this, so that we do not have to. And ultimately, through his resurrection, he defeats death. Because of Jesus, we are all made sheep. We are all made worthy.
And so we serve. We care for people. We do this not because we fear being separated from God, but because God has already promised that when the separation comes, we will be included with the sheep…the blessed…the inheritors of eternal life.
My fellow sheep, we serve, not because we fear judgment, but because we are grateful.
Amen.
Matthew 25:31-46
Todd Buegler
March 3-4, 2007
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, who is the Good Shepherd! Amen.
As a young boy, probably 7 or 8 years old, I feared the moment. It was the moment I’d have to face my parents. It hadn’t even really occurred to me when my friend and I crouched down to use a stick to write our initials in the fresh, wet concrete of the sidewalk that it was a bad idea. We didn’t do it out of malice. It was wet, shiny and huge…a giant eternal chalk board. It seemed perfectly logical to me at the time. And we were so intent on doing a good job with our handwriting that it totally took us by surprise when the owner of the home, who had walked up behind us, cleared his throat. Immediately my “fight or flight” reflex activated and I wanted to run. Unfortunately, I’ve always had slow reflexes. His hands came down on each of our shoulders and lifted us up. We were so busted.
The worst thing was when Mom said “we’d talk about it when Dad got home.” So I sat in my room waiting in a kind of a “pre-grounding” mode. I was guilty…no question. I sat there like a criminal awaiting judgment.
I’ve always had anxiety about being judged. Moments like that, awaiting the inevitable, or any of the other thousands of times I got caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing. And there are other forms of judging: taking tests, an institutionalized form of judgment, was always stressful for me. I remember playing piano in the state “contest”, or trying out for a “chair” assignment in band…reciting memorization when I was in confirmation…interviewing for jobs…defending a master’s thesis…pitching a new proposal…all moments of fear and anxiety. Being judged makes me nervous.
I don’t think that I am unique in my nervousness around being judged. I’m guessing it’s a pretty universal response, and that many in this room share my anxiety.
Actually, the more I think about it, maybe it’s not the moment of judgment that makes me nervous, but rather is the separation that comes at the end of it. Separation into winners and losers…into the good and the bad…into the “first chairs” and the “also rans”…into the smart and the not so smart…into the guilty and the innocent… We’ve even turned it into entertainment. “American Idol” is based on judging and separating people into the talented and the untalented, with the untalented becoming the victim of Simon’s wrath. None of us like to be separated. We all want to be included. It is one of our base hopes and needs. Nobody likes to be excluded.
Unfortunately, that’s just not how the world works. Humans are experts at separating ourselves: Not only into winners and losers, good and bad. We find other ways to separate ourselves: by economic class, by race, by religion, by region, by gender…we make judgments and separations all of the time. We judge every single day.
During the season of Lent, we are looking at “Servant Sayings” of Jesus. The words he spoke that told us about serving others, and ultimately, serving him. Our Gospel for today is one of those texts. But there’s more to it than a simple and easy, “hey, you should serve.” There is an element of judgment that ties into it, and frankly, that makes me nervous and a little uncomfortable.
Jesus is speaking about the “final judgment”, when God will separate us. The analogy Jesus uses is “sheep” and “goats.” And he makes it clear which one he wants us to be. Jesus is telling us that we will be judged based on how and who we have served. If we have done well, we are sheep, and we will be blessed. If we do not, we will be goats, and Jesus will say to us (and I quote): “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Wow. No pressure there!
Why sheep and goats? People who lived during Jesus’ time knew exactly what Jesus meant: It was good to be a sheep. It was bad to be a goat. Sheep were animals that people wanted. They were easy to care for, they produced wool, and at the end of their usefulness, they were tasty. Goats? Not so much. They were difficult to care for and required time and patience. They didn’t listen or mind as well. They were unpleasant. They didn’t have as much hair and were more susceptible to the cold. That required extra work. Every night the shepherds would have to separate the goats from the sheep and move the goats to shelter, out of the cold. Because they were lower on the social “food chain”, they were used as a sacrifice to God to pay for people’s sins. Goats would be placed on the altar and killed to pay for the sins of the people. It was believed that God demanded a blood-sacrifice. This is, by the way, where the phrase “scape-goat” came from. Because of the goats, they would “escape” punishment. Nobody wanted goats when you could have sheep…and certainly no one wanted to be compared to a goat.
Jesus is quite clear that his call for us is to be concerned for the hurting people in the world. We know that when we care for the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned, we are actually taking care of Jesus. And in this piece of scripture, Jesus is describing how the final judgment will go. Jesus is going to gather the people and is going to ask a simple question: “What have you done?” And on the basis of the answer to that question, we are going to be separated: Sheep and goats.
I’ve got to be honest…this is kind of a difficult text for us. Lutherans have never been comfortable with the idea of God as judge. We much prefer the image of God as Savior. We know that we are saved by grace alone; that we do nothing to inherit eternal life; that none of us dare brag about our good works because we know down deep inside that we are sinners who are saved by grace. Lord of Life spent the entire last year studying and learning about grace. And we know that if we make it through the pearly gates, it is only because God is good, not because we are good. It is God’s goodness that saves us. We can never do enough to merit eternal life. It is pure gift. We know this. It is deep within our Lutheran DNA.
But this judgment scripture still hangs out there in front of us. Jesus doesn’t make it easy for us; he doesn’t let us off the hook! There is still judgment ahead. So how do we reconcile God’s grace and God’s judgment? If we take seriously Ephesians 2:8, which says “For by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not your own doing, it is a gift from God”, then what’s the deal about being separated into sheep and goats? It’s about God’s grace and our belief, not about what we do. Right?
Yes. It is about God’s grace and our belief. But what Jesus is saying in this text is that what a person does for the poor and the suffering reveals what, and in whom, they believe. If a person believes, they obey. If a person believes in Jesus Christ as God and Savior, they live as God would have them live.
I had a teacher once who used to say that the two best indicators of a person’s values are their calendar and their wallet. He would say “show me where a person spends their time, and where a person spends their money, and I can tell you what they believe.”
In Jesus’ words, he is calling us out. He is saying “yes, your salvation is dependent on grace through faith. Show me your faith…show me what you believe…Do you really believe what you say? Are you all talk? Are you putting your money, or your calendar where your mouth is?”
When Jesus judges, he will ask “what have you done?” The answer will reveal our faith. When Jesus asks us the question, “What have you done for the least of these, my brothers and sisters”, this does not contradict the grace of God, that salvation is pure gift. It is a question that asks for evidence of our faith in that belief.
Let me illustrate: I love my children completely. Is that true for anyone else here? Do any of you love your children to the unconditionally? To the extreme? Immensely? Graciously? That is just the way it is. I would do anything for them. I would die for them. But I still ask them “did you do your chores?”, “did you remember to make your bed?” “Did you pick up your toys?” “Were you good for Mom today?” My love for the boys is great, but I still ask the question: “What did you do today?”
This is also true of God. God’s love for you is great, but God still asks you and me the question: Did you do your chores today? Did you take care of the sick, the poor, the orphans, the starving, the thirsty, the refugees, the homeless, the hungry, the lonely in the nursing homes? Have you done your chores today?” That God asks you that question does not mean that God does not love you. It is just the opposite. Because God does love you unconditionally, God then asks you that question.
“What did you do for the littlest of people? What did you do for those in need? What did you do for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned.” Whether we like it or not, Jesus tells us that he does judge. Jesus will separate us: the sheep and the goats. We all want to be included with the sheep, the blessed.
But here’s the truth: We all fall short. If the question is “what did you do?” The point of that question isn’t a list of our activities. The point of the question is “do you really believe…enough to do what I ask? In reality, none of us can measure up. We are all goats. We are all deserving of punishment.
Let’s fact it: I do not serve like Jesus asks…you do not serve like Jesus asks. I want desperately to be a sheep, and I try. But I fail. If all Christians who believe in God served as he asks, there would not be hunger…no one would be homeless…no one would be lonely…
Jesus knows this. And Jesus knows that we are bound by sin and cannot free ourselves. Jesus knows that we cannot make ourselves sheep. So he judges, and he asks the question “What did you do?” Like a guilty child facing a judging parent, we know that nothing we can say can justify ourselves to God. And so Jesus judges. He says “you are a goat.” But then he does something amazing. Instead of casting us out...instead of cursing us…he himself becomes a goat…the ultimate scape-goat…he is punished for what we have done, and for the things we should have, but haven’t. For three days he suffers that pain of ultimate separation on our behalf. On the cross, when he says “My God, why have you forsaken me” he’s not just wondering where God is…he is experiencing the ultimate separation from the God of love.
He experiences this, so that we do not have to. And ultimately, through his resurrection, he defeats death. Because of Jesus, we are all made sheep. We are all made worthy.
And so we serve. We care for people. We do this not because we fear being separated from God, but because God has already promised that when the separation comes, we will be included with the sheep…the blessed…the inheritors of eternal life.
My fellow sheep, we serve, not because we fear judgment, but because we are grateful.
Amen.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Thoughts on a Question
Thanks for your note!
Regarding your questions: Good ones...ones I wrestle with all the time.
I don't think kids necessarily select a particular issue to rally their energy around as to why they don't continue in/join a church. I've never even heard a kid say anything about the war in Iraq or "religion is behind all wars" as an argument. I think they are sophisticated to differentiate between religion and religious extremism.
Rather, I think there is a broader theme. I think young people do not continue in a faith community or join a faith community because there is a sense of "it's not for me." If it's not relevant...if it doesn't address the issues and questions that are important to them... if they don't relate to the worship experience... then they don't engage.
Young people's time is valuable (like it is for all of us). If they don't engage, they don't feel like they would want to spend their time their. (Time is their primary form of currency.)
I feel like the church has done a disservice to young people in two ways:
1. We haven't adapted our faith communities to make them feel engaged, vital and important. We don't "involve" them in worship in ways that are meaningful (as a leader or a participant), we don't invite them into other ministry roles, and we perpetuate the one-eared mickey mouse.
2. We haven't taught them that the fundamental question should not be "is this engaging to me?" but instead should be "how can I engage?" The point of worship is not entertainment, but we fall into that trap. Then, when we don't entertain and they don't participate, or even show up, we act surprised.
If we treat young people like they are an audience, then that's how they will react. If we instead treat them that in worship, they are a primary actor in the worship of God, and it's not there for them to be entertained, I think they would react differently.
I'm not sure if this is helpful or not, merely my mental wanderings as I've been thinking about your e-mail.
I hope all is well!
Peace,
Todd.
Regarding your questions: Good ones...ones I wrestle with all the time.
I don't think kids necessarily select a particular issue to rally their energy around as to why they don't continue in/join a church. I've never even heard a kid say anything about the war in Iraq or "religion is behind all wars" as an argument. I think they are sophisticated to differentiate between religion and religious extremism.
Rather, I think there is a broader theme. I think young people do not continue in a faith community or join a faith community because there is a sense of "it's not for me." If it's not relevant...if it doesn't address the issues and questions that are important to them... if they don't relate to the worship experience... then they don't engage.
Young people's time is valuable (like it is for all of us). If they don't engage, they don't feel like they would want to spend their time their. (Time is their primary form of currency.)
I feel like the church has done a disservice to young people in two ways:
1. We haven't adapted our faith communities to make them feel engaged, vital and important. We don't "involve" them in worship in ways that are meaningful (as a leader or a participant), we don't invite them into other ministry roles, and we perpetuate the one-eared mickey mouse.
2. We haven't taught them that the fundamental question should not be "is this engaging to me?" but instead should be "how can I engage?" The point of worship is not entertainment, but we fall into that trap. Then, when we don't entertain and they don't participate, or even show up, we act surprised.
If we treat young people like they are an audience, then that's how they will react. If we instead treat them that in worship, they are a primary actor in the worship of God, and it's not there for them to be entertained, I think they would react differently.
I'm not sure if this is helpful or not, merely my mental wanderings as I've been thinking about your e-mail.
I hope all is well!
Peace,
Todd.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Amazing Place
I'm writing this from Bozeman, Montana where I'm out with a group of sr high youth on a ski retreat.
Being out here every year is an amazing experience. I am reminded of the breathtaking nature of creation. Really...it is amazing...
I know that this kind of beauty exists elsewhere...why don't I have eyes to see it? Do I just take it for granted? If I lived here, would I lose my appreciation?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Back again
I think I'm just going to have to come to terms with the fact that I am not very disciplined about my blogging. I definitely write in streaks.
Things I'd like to blog about and might try to get to:
- How cool the Extravaganza was.
- Some thoughts on leadership
- Kendall Payne: An amazing musician I just tripped over
- Some response to Hal's thoughts on passive aggressive behavior in the church.
I'll get to it...
Things I'd like to blog about and might try to get to:
- How cool the Extravaganza was.
- Some thoughts on leadership
- Kendall Payne: An amazing musician I just tripped over
- Some response to Hal's thoughts on passive aggressive behavior in the church.
I'll get to it...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
To Teach
I begin teaching again today. Prepared? No, not really. But it's going to happen anyway. The course is "Congregation as Confirming Community." It's usually intersting conversation. It usually generates thoughts... More will come.
Monday, January 01, 2007
"You Have Arrived"
“You Have Arrived”
Luke 2:41-52
Todd Buegler
Dec. 30-31, 2006
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, the gift who dwells within! Amen.
Beginning (Monday) tomorrow, we will all be faced with the annual challenge: learning to write the new year date on all our important papers, letters & checks. '06 will become '07. As much as we sometimes want to resist the idea, New Year’s reminds us that time continues to march on.
Every parent here can testify how much of a difference one year makes in a child. In one year a child can shoot up with 4 or 5 inches of new growth, speak up with a new voice and with new insights and knowledge. Our boys, Nathan and Samuel, who are 5 and 4, are constant reminders to us that God continues to create. Nathan now has a half-year of Kindergarten behind him, and every day I am surprised by new things he’s learned…The kid is doing calculus…who’d have thought it! And as kids enter adolescence, one short year can transform a child into a young man or a young woman in body, mind and spirit.
This week's gospel is a sneak peak into Jesus' childhood. In our gospel last week, Jesus was a new-born. Next week, he will be a grown man. This is the Gospel’s only up-close and personal view of Jesus as a boy not a baby, as a child not a messiah. And we all can understand the emotions experienced by Mary and Joseph in today's Gospel.
Have you ever lost track of a child? Traveling together in the safety of a family caravan, at the end of the first day's travel back towards Nazareth, Jesus' parents are horrified to discover that their son is not among them. Immediately Joseph and Mary turn around and travel back to Jerusalem, frantically searching for Jesus.
Think of all the possible scenarios that must have haunted the panicked parents on that return trip to Jerusalem. The possibility of being lost, or of having someone you care about be lost, is, one of our base fears. When lost, we simply feel too far out of control.
I hate feeling lost. When I travel, and have to rent a car, I now always select the “NeverLost” option. Have you seen these things? This talking GPS interactive map literally guides me from place to place. It tells me, “Turn right on highway 7 in two miles…” or to “Keep to the left, in ½ mile…” Occasionally I’ll hear “At your first opportunity, please return to the highlighted route…” (which is it’s polite way of telling me, “you’re lost”) and my all-time favorite, “You have arrived.” “You have arrived” means my journey is over. I am there. I’ve made it. NeverLost helps me get from place to place in a strange city. But even more importantly, it makes me feel more comfortable when I am, off of the map. At least someone (or something) knows where I am!
There are times when I think that it would be nice to have a NeverLost system for the other parts of our lives. Family? Career? Education? Big decisions? For us to have a voice, a guide that could tell us the direction to go when faced with difficult choices. It could spare us from the angst that comes from the process of deciding: What should I do after high school? “Go to a 4 year school”. What should I study? “Get a degree in math.” What about this relationship I’m in? “Marry your childhood sweetheart” and when we have made the right decision, “You have arrived.” With a guide like that, we’d always feel connected. We’d always feel watched over. We’d never feel lost. But we don’t have such a guide. We have to figure out these things on our own.
And Jesus’ parents didn’t have NeverLost either. They didn’t know where Jesus was. For them, there was no comfort.
Three days after they first left Jerusalem on the way home, Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple, calmly sitting there, absorbed in learning at the feet of his elders. An emotional Mary said "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
Jesus' response to his mother's furious outburst is full of a refreshing (if aggravating to parents) adolescent honesty: "Didn’t you know I’d be in my Father’s house? Why were you searching for me?"
Why? DUH!?! You’re 12 years old!
The first words the young Jesus utters show the unique intimacy of his relationship with God. Even at the age of twelve, Jesus felt the embrace of divine love, the special closeness of God the Father. Jesus understands that he must be "in my Father's house." There, in the midst of the holy temple, Jesus felt God's presence most fully and as a result felt completely at home. Jesus response, in classic NeverLost style, was “Calm down Mother, I have arrived.”
The twelve year-old Jesus revels in the relationship that he feels between himself and his divine Father. He knows that wherever he is, whoever he is with, he is always in the presence of God, His father. He literally “has arrived.” He feels at home. He knows that being in the presence of God is the right place for him to be. In a time when the rest of Jewish culture was focusing on trying to be worthy of being in God’s presence…of trying to follow the directions…of trying to live up to the law…of working, striving to be worthy of God’s love, Jesus knew that God’s love didn’t work that way. Wherever God’s people are, God’s love would come to them. It wasn’t a matter of following directions: They didn’t have to do works to receive God’s love. They had already arrived in God’s love.
Yet despite Jesus' words, despite the sense of rightness he felt in the temple, Jesus left the temple with his parents. The gospel says he "was obedient to them". Although the twelve year old child could not understand his parents' frantic search for him, later, the adult Jesus surely understood how powerfully their love for him had driven them.
Let's try a little experiment, shall we? Let's read Jesus' story of the lost sheep, from Luke 15, keeping this temple experience in mind.
So Jesus told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them 'Rejoice, with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'"
Mary and Joseph taught Jesus how hard love will search for the lost. As an adult, he took the knowledge of this intimate, unbreakable bond between himself and the Father on the road.
After his trip to the temple, Jesus had learned to take his Father's house with him wherever he went. Jesus could never be lost or alone:
Even as he argued with the scribes and Pharisees he used to learn from, he knew he had arrived.
Even as he separated himself from his confused and doubting family. He knew he had arrived.
Even as he felt the heat of the political power's anger. He knew he had arrived.
Even as he faced his betrayal by those he loved most. He knew he had arrived.
Even as he hung on the cross at Golgotha. He knew he had arrived.
Always and everywhere Jesus was at home. “He had arrived” because he was always in God's presence and love. Everywhere Jesus went was home. Everyone he encountered was family. He abided…lived in…God’s grace.
And this same Jesus wants to make his home in us -- in you and in me. Jesus wants you to know that wherever you are, wherever you go, you too have arrived...you too abide in God’s grace. We receive this gift because in the same way Jesus lived in the presence of the Father, we live in the presence of the Christ. Quite literally, “you have arrived.”
Our family spent Tuesday with my extended family, all visiting my grandmother, who lives in a nursing home in Trimont, Minnesota. My grandmother is 98 years old, and until 3 years ago, spent her entire life on the farm. As I watched Nathan and Samuel interact with their great grandmother, I was struck by the powerful contrast. Samuel the four-year old sat on her lap, and stroked her hand with his. These two people are at very different points in their life journey. Yet there is one thing they both have in common: My grandmother received the promises of God, and first heard “You have arrived” in her baptism 98 years ago in Story City, Iowa. Sam received the promises and was first told that he had arrived four years ago, here, in our font. Yet they both heard the promise. They both received the gifts of God. None of us will fully understand what it is to arrive until we are reunited with God in death and resurrection. But we hear the promise, and the promise does not depend on who you are, how old you are, or what you do.
Whether you are 4 like Samuel, 12 like Jesus, 41 like me, or 98 like my grandmother, this New Year, is the perfect year to begin a fresh journey in your own unique relationship with God. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ took down the barrier of sin that keeps you separated from God. Christ makes it possible for you to experience that same immediacy, that same intimacy, with the Divine as Jesus himself did throughout his life. The gift of relationship with God, it is for you.
Travel boldly through 2007, then. Don’t be afraid of being lost. Wherever you may journey -- through adolescence or assisted living, on wilderness walks or urban commutes, into your first home or into your last resting place -- God goes along with you. Jesus says to you "I will never leave you or forsake you. Wherever you go, you are here with me." Feel the presence of God and be reminded of His promise for you: “You have arrived.”
Amen.
Luke 2:41-52
Todd Buegler
Dec. 30-31, 2006
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, the gift who dwells within! Amen.
Beginning (Monday) tomorrow, we will all be faced with the annual challenge: learning to write the new year date on all our important papers, letters & checks. '06 will become '07. As much as we sometimes want to resist the idea, New Year’s reminds us that time continues to march on.
Every parent here can testify how much of a difference one year makes in a child. In one year a child can shoot up with 4 or 5 inches of new growth, speak up with a new voice and with new insights and knowledge. Our boys, Nathan and Samuel, who are 5 and 4, are constant reminders to us that God continues to create. Nathan now has a half-year of Kindergarten behind him, and every day I am surprised by new things he’s learned…The kid is doing calculus…who’d have thought it! And as kids enter adolescence, one short year can transform a child into a young man or a young woman in body, mind and spirit.
This week's gospel is a sneak peak into Jesus' childhood. In our gospel last week, Jesus was a new-born. Next week, he will be a grown man. This is the Gospel’s only up-close and personal view of Jesus as a boy not a baby, as a child not a messiah. And we all can understand the emotions experienced by Mary and Joseph in today's Gospel.
Have you ever lost track of a child? Traveling together in the safety of a family caravan, at the end of the first day's travel back towards Nazareth, Jesus' parents are horrified to discover that their son is not among them. Immediately Joseph and Mary turn around and travel back to Jerusalem, frantically searching for Jesus.
Think of all the possible scenarios that must have haunted the panicked parents on that return trip to Jerusalem. The possibility of being lost, or of having someone you care about be lost, is, one of our base fears. When lost, we simply feel too far out of control.
I hate feeling lost. When I travel, and have to rent a car, I now always select the “NeverLost” option. Have you seen these things? This talking GPS interactive map literally guides me from place to place. It tells me, “Turn right on highway 7 in two miles…” or to “Keep to the left, in ½ mile…” Occasionally I’ll hear “At your first opportunity, please return to the highlighted route…” (which is it’s polite way of telling me, “you’re lost”) and my all-time favorite, “You have arrived.” “You have arrived” means my journey is over. I am there. I’ve made it. NeverLost helps me get from place to place in a strange city. But even more importantly, it makes me feel more comfortable when I am, off of the map. At least someone (or something) knows where I am!
There are times when I think that it would be nice to have a NeverLost system for the other parts of our lives. Family? Career? Education? Big decisions? For us to have a voice, a guide that could tell us the direction to go when faced with difficult choices. It could spare us from the angst that comes from the process of deciding: What should I do after high school? “Go to a 4 year school”. What should I study? “Get a degree in math.” What about this relationship I’m in? “Marry your childhood sweetheart” and when we have made the right decision, “You have arrived.” With a guide like that, we’d always feel connected. We’d always feel watched over. We’d never feel lost. But we don’t have such a guide. We have to figure out these things on our own.
And Jesus’ parents didn’t have NeverLost either. They didn’t know where Jesus was. For them, there was no comfort.
Three days after they first left Jerusalem on the way home, Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple, calmly sitting there, absorbed in learning at the feet of his elders. An emotional Mary said "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
Jesus' response to his mother's furious outburst is full of a refreshing (if aggravating to parents) adolescent honesty: "Didn’t you know I’d be in my Father’s house? Why were you searching for me?"
Why? DUH!?! You’re 12 years old!
The first words the young Jesus utters show the unique intimacy of his relationship with God. Even at the age of twelve, Jesus felt the embrace of divine love, the special closeness of God the Father. Jesus understands that he must be "in my Father's house." There, in the midst of the holy temple, Jesus felt God's presence most fully and as a result felt completely at home. Jesus response, in classic NeverLost style, was “Calm down Mother, I have arrived.”
The twelve year-old Jesus revels in the relationship that he feels between himself and his divine Father. He knows that wherever he is, whoever he is with, he is always in the presence of God, His father. He literally “has arrived.” He feels at home. He knows that being in the presence of God is the right place for him to be. In a time when the rest of Jewish culture was focusing on trying to be worthy of being in God’s presence…of trying to follow the directions…of trying to live up to the law…of working, striving to be worthy of God’s love, Jesus knew that God’s love didn’t work that way. Wherever God’s people are, God’s love would come to them. It wasn’t a matter of following directions: They didn’t have to do works to receive God’s love. They had already arrived in God’s love.
Yet despite Jesus' words, despite the sense of rightness he felt in the temple, Jesus left the temple with his parents. The gospel says he "was obedient to them". Although the twelve year old child could not understand his parents' frantic search for him, later, the adult Jesus surely understood how powerfully their love for him had driven them.
Let's try a little experiment, shall we? Let's read Jesus' story of the lost sheep, from Luke 15, keeping this temple experience in mind.
So Jesus told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them 'Rejoice, with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'"
Mary and Joseph taught Jesus how hard love will search for the lost. As an adult, he took the knowledge of this intimate, unbreakable bond between himself and the Father on the road.
After his trip to the temple, Jesus had learned to take his Father's house with him wherever he went. Jesus could never be lost or alone:
Even as he argued with the scribes and Pharisees he used to learn from, he knew he had arrived.
Even as he separated himself from his confused and doubting family. He knew he had arrived.
Even as he felt the heat of the political power's anger. He knew he had arrived.
Even as he faced his betrayal by those he loved most. He knew he had arrived.
Even as he hung on the cross at Golgotha. He knew he had arrived.
Always and everywhere Jesus was at home. “He had arrived” because he was always in God's presence and love. Everywhere Jesus went was home. Everyone he encountered was family. He abided…lived in…God’s grace.
And this same Jesus wants to make his home in us -- in you and in me. Jesus wants you to know that wherever you are, wherever you go, you too have arrived...you too abide in God’s grace. We receive this gift because in the same way Jesus lived in the presence of the Father, we live in the presence of the Christ. Quite literally, “you have arrived.”
Our family spent Tuesday with my extended family, all visiting my grandmother, who lives in a nursing home in Trimont, Minnesota. My grandmother is 98 years old, and until 3 years ago, spent her entire life on the farm. As I watched Nathan and Samuel interact with their great grandmother, I was struck by the powerful contrast. Samuel the four-year old sat on her lap, and stroked her hand with his. These two people are at very different points in their life journey. Yet there is one thing they both have in common: My grandmother received the promises of God, and first heard “You have arrived” in her baptism 98 years ago in Story City, Iowa. Sam received the promises and was first told that he had arrived four years ago, here, in our font. Yet they both heard the promise. They both received the gifts of God. None of us will fully understand what it is to arrive until we are reunited with God in death and resurrection. But we hear the promise, and the promise does not depend on who you are, how old you are, or what you do.
Whether you are 4 like Samuel, 12 like Jesus, 41 like me, or 98 like my grandmother, this New Year, is the perfect year to begin a fresh journey in your own unique relationship with God. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ took down the barrier of sin that keeps you separated from God. Christ makes it possible for you to experience that same immediacy, that same intimacy, with the Divine as Jesus himself did throughout his life. The gift of relationship with God, it is for you.
Travel boldly through 2007, then. Don’t be afraid of being lost. Wherever you may journey -- through adolescence or assisted living, on wilderness walks or urban commutes, into your first home or into your last resting place -- God goes along with you. Jesus says to you "I will never leave you or forsake you. Wherever you go, you are here with me." Feel the presence of God and be reminded of His promise for you: “You have arrived.”
Amen.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
The Golden Calf of Happy
This morning, Samuel, our almost 4 year old, got fairly mad at me when I wouldn't let him watch tv all morning. Cries...sobs... Normally we really don't watch tv, but he's been sick and inside for something like 5 days. So we watched about 45 minutes of Seseme Street.
At the end, he wanted to keep going.
Nope.
"But Daaaaaaaaaddddyyyyy!!!!"
Nope.
So as he left the room, angry and crying, closing the door he said "If I don't I won't be happy!"
And he left.
But wait...I want my kid to be happy. Don't I?
Nope. I don't.
In our society, we have elevated "happy" to the level of golden calf. We worship happy. We are all about immediate gratification, about self-fulfillment, about completing ourselves.
Tony Campolo said: "My Mama didn't care if I was happy; she wanted me to be goooooood. If I was good, happy would follow."
It seems that we've put the emotional cart before the horse.
Sam, I'm sorry you weren't happy. But I hope that you're good. Happy will follow. Be patient.
At the end, he wanted to keep going.
Nope.
"But Daaaaaaaaaddddyyyyy!!!!"
Nope.
So as he left the room, angry and crying, closing the door he said "If I don't I won't be happy!"
And he left.
But wait...I want my kid to be happy. Don't I?
Nope. I don't.
In our society, we have elevated "happy" to the level of golden calf. We worship happy. We are all about immediate gratification, about self-fulfillment, about completing ourselves.
Tony Campolo said: "My Mama didn't care if I was happy; she wanted me to be goooooood. If I was good, happy would follow."
It seems that we've put the emotional cart before the horse.
Sam, I'm sorry you weren't happy. But I hope that you're good. Happy will follow. Be patient.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Sunday, December 03, 2006
"The Gift of Wonder"
“Gift of Wonder”
Luke 1:5-25
Todd Buegler
Dec. 2-3, 2006
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, who comes as gift! Amen.
A couple of weeks ago, we held our 7th and 8th grade confirmation retreats. The retreats went really well…they were great! There was all the normal stuff…music, large group sessions, small group sessions and some wicked games of “dodge ball.” One of the new things we did this year was a session called “Ask Pastor Todd anything you want.” The kids could put any questions about life and faith anonymously into a box and we took turns pulling them out and answering or discussing them. There were a few questions like “What’s for supper?” or “How long is this going to last?” and of course, my favorite, “How old are you?” To which I made the classic mistake and asked “How old do you think I am?” All I can say is, based on their answers, some of those kids aren’t getting confirmed until they’re my age.
But by far, most of the kids asked unbelievably great questions. Questions like:
• “So if God created everything, who created God?”
• “What if I’m not sure I’m good enough to go to heaven?”
• “Why do people get sick and die?”
• “How do we know that the whole Bible is true?”
We had great conversation together. In the end, my observation was that these kids are in the process of “wondering” about their faith. This is an important stage of faith development. When you begin to wonder about your faith; when you begin to ask questions and to try to understand, you move towards a deeper faith, one that experiences the “wonder”, the awe, of God. We all are constantly moving from a simple, question based faith to a “wonder” based faith.
We don’t think much about “wonder” in our culture. And when we do, we think of it as a question; as in “I wonder what’s for supper…or I wonder what movie we’ll go see tonight.” It’s a simple kind of wonder. These were many of the questions the 7th and 8th graders asked me. “Why do people get sick and die” is an important question; an “I wonder” question. But there is a second way of using the word “wonder”. As in, the deeper sense of wonder that we mature into, that borders on awe. At this stage, we ask things like “How can God’s love really be for me?” It is not just a simple question, it is a deep wonder. It is positive. It looks forward to what God is doing.
I made sure the 7th and 8th graders understood that it is good to ask questions. It is good to wonder, both in terms of asking simple questions, and of being in awe at things we can’t fully understand. Most of us have times in our lives when we ask hard questions of God. This is an important step for us as we grow in faith. Our Gospel lesson for today is all about the difference between the kind of wonder which focuses on questions, and the kind that focuses on awe. And the author, Luke, is telling us which of the two God would like us to experience.
Our story serves as a kind of a “prequel” for the Jesus story, focusing on two fairly obscure characters from the Bible, Zecheriah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist.
Luke sets the story up in an interesting way. First, he tells the story of the Angel Gabriel visiting Zecheriah, and telling him about the upcoming birth of their Son, John. Then immediately after this story is told, he launches into telling the story of the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling her of the coming birth of her son, who is also John’s cousin, Jesus. Then he tells of John’s birth, followed by the telling of Jesus’ birth. There is clearly a pattern here: Announcement of John, Announcement of Jesus, birth of John, birth of Jesus, with a link between the two pairs as Elizabeth and Mary, pregnant with these two unexpected children, finally meet each other.
With this pattern, Luke wants to compare and contrast Jesus and John, and to compare and contrast Zechariah and Mary.
There are similarities in the stories that are obvious:
• Both children are announced in advance by the angel Gabriel;
• Both births are unnatural or miraculous.
• In both cases the angel Gabriel tells what the name of the child should be.
But today, I want us to pay attention to the contrasts.
• John was born to an aged couple…I’m not talking about Todd on a confirmation retreat old, I mean really old. And they were never able to have children.
• Jesus was born to a young woman who was a virgin.
• John was given a name which means “God is gracious.” Jesus was given a name which means “savior.” John describes grace; Jesus is grace.
• John was to prepare for the Lord, Jesus was the Lord who would reign forever.
How did Zechariah respond when told what was happening? You have to know a little bit about Zechariah: He was a priest and he had just been given the honor of entering into the temple, an honor for which he would only be selected once during his lifetime. And now, inside that temple, face to face with Gabriel, he is given a gift. He is told that at his age, he is to become a father. He can’t bring himself to believe. Zechariah had been a priest for a very long time. He was a good man, and had followed the rituals, traditions and laws faithfully. But when confronted with God’s working in his life in an unexpected way, old Zechariah just couldn’t think himself outside of the box. He said he couldn’t believe. He couldn’t move beyond the wonder that asks questions, into the wonder that is in awe at what God would do. Zechariah was stuck…stuck in an immature faith where if he couldn’t get the answers he wanted, he wouldn’t believe.
How did Mary’s faith express itself? When the angel was finished predicting the miraculous birth of Jesus, Mary said in verse 34, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” Note the contrast: Zechariah said “This can’t be.” Mary says “How can this be?” Zechariah asks for more evidence, while Mary asks for an explanation. Zechariah says he can’t be sure…he doubts; Mary says she can’t understand. This is an important distinction. Zechariah doesn’t believe. As an old man, he is stuck in an immature faith. Ironically, it is the young Mary, who demonstrates mature faith. She may not understand, but she believes. Gabriel’s response to Mary? “Nothing is impossible for God.” That’s it. No deeper explanation than that. That’s the way it is for many of us. Often we don’t find the answers we seek. But we believe.
And Gabriel’s response to Zechariah? Gabriel, who apparently takes his cues from the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” school of thought, tells Zecheriah: “…you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words...” Zecheriah was silenced, muted, until the birth of his Son, 9 months later. Apparently, Gabriel did not appreciate his disbelief.
Contrast this with Mary. After she is pregnant, Mary sings the Magnificat…the song of Praise to God.
This points out another thing that I think Luke wants us to see: There is a right way and a wrong way to respond to God’s promises.
Luke clearly wants us to follow Mary’s example, not Zechariah’s.
I think this story teaches us that it is possible to demand too much evidence before you believe God’s promises. When we do this, we risk slipping into disbelief.
God wants us to believe, and to wonder with awe. Mike Yaconelli has a great image of wonder. In one of his books, he writes of his two year old nephew, who lived in a snowless part of the country. When the nephew came north to visit Mike and his family, they choreographed the moment perfectly.
Mike writes that “…they opened the screen door and set him on the deck. His eyes stretched wide with astonishment, as though the only way to understand what he was seeing was for his eyes to become big enough to contain it all. He stood motionless, paralyzed. It was almost too much for a two year old. He twitched and jerked each time a snowflake landed on his face…His mind was a confusion of strange conflicting realities: …causing an overload so great, so overwhelming, he fell backward…a slow-motion landing in the billowy whiteness, the snow tenderly embracing him. He had given up trying to understand snow and had given in to experiencing snow. It was a moment of pure wonder.”
This was the wonder of Mary, when Gabriel explained to her what she was going to experience. Her words? “How can this be?” And she gave herself to the experience. It was a moment of pure wonder.
God calls us to a faith like Mary. God calls us to wonder. Zecheriah had the right resume…he was a faithful priest, a religious leader…but when confronted with the grace of God, he buckled under the weight of doubt. He couldn’t believe God.
Mary had no resume. She was an unmarried pregnant teenage girl in a culture where she had everything to lose. And she was carried away by the grace and the wonder of a God who loved her.
My friends, I believe that God speaks to us in the same way. Jesus’ birth has been announced, and like Mary, we await the day. God offers you a gift. He says “my grace, my love, my forgiveness…it is for you, in my Son.” Sometimes our natural reaction is to look at such a gift with doubt; to say “How can I know this?” Don’t. Look at it with wonder. Say “how can this be?” Accept that we won’t understand it. Whether you are a 7th grader, are as old as me, or are approaching the age of Zecheriah, accept that nothing is impossible for God…and let the grace of God create in you moments…no…full lives…of pure wonder.
Amen.
Luke 1:5-25
Todd Buegler
Dec. 2-3, 2006
Lord of Life
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, and from Jesus, the Son of God, who comes as gift! Amen.
A couple of weeks ago, we held our 7th and 8th grade confirmation retreats. The retreats went really well…they were great! There was all the normal stuff…music, large group sessions, small group sessions and some wicked games of “dodge ball.” One of the new things we did this year was a session called “Ask Pastor Todd anything you want.” The kids could put any questions about life and faith anonymously into a box and we took turns pulling them out and answering or discussing them. There were a few questions like “What’s for supper?” or “How long is this going to last?” and of course, my favorite, “How old are you?” To which I made the classic mistake and asked “How old do you think I am?” All I can say is, based on their answers, some of those kids aren’t getting confirmed until they’re my age.
But by far, most of the kids asked unbelievably great questions. Questions like:
• “So if God created everything, who created God?”
• “What if I’m not sure I’m good enough to go to heaven?”
• “Why do people get sick and die?”
• “How do we know that the whole Bible is true?”
We had great conversation together. In the end, my observation was that these kids are in the process of “wondering” about their faith. This is an important stage of faith development. When you begin to wonder about your faith; when you begin to ask questions and to try to understand, you move towards a deeper faith, one that experiences the “wonder”, the awe, of God. We all are constantly moving from a simple, question based faith to a “wonder” based faith.
We don’t think much about “wonder” in our culture. And when we do, we think of it as a question; as in “I wonder what’s for supper…or I wonder what movie we’ll go see tonight.” It’s a simple kind of wonder. These were many of the questions the 7th and 8th graders asked me. “Why do people get sick and die” is an important question; an “I wonder” question. But there is a second way of using the word “wonder”. As in, the deeper sense of wonder that we mature into, that borders on awe. At this stage, we ask things like “How can God’s love really be for me?” It is not just a simple question, it is a deep wonder. It is positive. It looks forward to what God is doing.
I made sure the 7th and 8th graders understood that it is good to ask questions. It is good to wonder, both in terms of asking simple questions, and of being in awe at things we can’t fully understand. Most of us have times in our lives when we ask hard questions of God. This is an important step for us as we grow in faith. Our Gospel lesson for today is all about the difference between the kind of wonder which focuses on questions, and the kind that focuses on awe. And the author, Luke, is telling us which of the two God would like us to experience.
Our story serves as a kind of a “prequel” for the Jesus story, focusing on two fairly obscure characters from the Bible, Zecheriah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist.
Luke sets the story up in an interesting way. First, he tells the story of the Angel Gabriel visiting Zecheriah, and telling him about the upcoming birth of their Son, John. Then immediately after this story is told, he launches into telling the story of the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling her of the coming birth of her son, who is also John’s cousin, Jesus. Then he tells of John’s birth, followed by the telling of Jesus’ birth. There is clearly a pattern here: Announcement of John, Announcement of Jesus, birth of John, birth of Jesus, with a link between the two pairs as Elizabeth and Mary, pregnant with these two unexpected children, finally meet each other.
With this pattern, Luke wants to compare and contrast Jesus and John, and to compare and contrast Zechariah and Mary.
There are similarities in the stories that are obvious:
• Both children are announced in advance by the angel Gabriel;
• Both births are unnatural or miraculous.
• In both cases the angel Gabriel tells what the name of the child should be.
But today, I want us to pay attention to the contrasts.
• John was born to an aged couple…I’m not talking about Todd on a confirmation retreat old, I mean really old. And they were never able to have children.
• Jesus was born to a young woman who was a virgin.
• John was given a name which means “God is gracious.” Jesus was given a name which means “savior.” John describes grace; Jesus is grace.
• John was to prepare for the Lord, Jesus was the Lord who would reign forever.
How did Zechariah respond when told what was happening? You have to know a little bit about Zechariah: He was a priest and he had just been given the honor of entering into the temple, an honor for which he would only be selected once during his lifetime. And now, inside that temple, face to face with Gabriel, he is given a gift. He is told that at his age, he is to become a father. He can’t bring himself to believe. Zechariah had been a priest for a very long time. He was a good man, and had followed the rituals, traditions and laws faithfully. But when confronted with God’s working in his life in an unexpected way, old Zechariah just couldn’t think himself outside of the box. He said he couldn’t believe. He couldn’t move beyond the wonder that asks questions, into the wonder that is in awe at what God would do. Zechariah was stuck…stuck in an immature faith where if he couldn’t get the answers he wanted, he wouldn’t believe.
How did Mary’s faith express itself? When the angel was finished predicting the miraculous birth of Jesus, Mary said in verse 34, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” Note the contrast: Zechariah said “This can’t be.” Mary says “How can this be?” Zechariah asks for more evidence, while Mary asks for an explanation. Zechariah says he can’t be sure…he doubts; Mary says she can’t understand. This is an important distinction. Zechariah doesn’t believe. As an old man, he is stuck in an immature faith. Ironically, it is the young Mary, who demonstrates mature faith. She may not understand, but she believes. Gabriel’s response to Mary? “Nothing is impossible for God.” That’s it. No deeper explanation than that. That’s the way it is for many of us. Often we don’t find the answers we seek. But we believe.
And Gabriel’s response to Zechariah? Gabriel, who apparently takes his cues from the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” school of thought, tells Zecheriah: “…you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words...” Zecheriah was silenced, muted, until the birth of his Son, 9 months later. Apparently, Gabriel did not appreciate his disbelief.
Contrast this with Mary. After she is pregnant, Mary sings the Magnificat…the song of Praise to God.
This points out another thing that I think Luke wants us to see: There is a right way and a wrong way to respond to God’s promises.
Luke clearly wants us to follow Mary’s example, not Zechariah’s.
I think this story teaches us that it is possible to demand too much evidence before you believe God’s promises. When we do this, we risk slipping into disbelief.
God wants us to believe, and to wonder with awe. Mike Yaconelli has a great image of wonder. In one of his books, he writes of his two year old nephew, who lived in a snowless part of the country. When the nephew came north to visit Mike and his family, they choreographed the moment perfectly.
Mike writes that “…they opened the screen door and set him on the deck. His eyes stretched wide with astonishment, as though the only way to understand what he was seeing was for his eyes to become big enough to contain it all. He stood motionless, paralyzed. It was almost too much for a two year old. He twitched and jerked each time a snowflake landed on his face…His mind was a confusion of strange conflicting realities: …causing an overload so great, so overwhelming, he fell backward…a slow-motion landing in the billowy whiteness, the snow tenderly embracing him. He had given up trying to understand snow and had given in to experiencing snow. It was a moment of pure wonder.”
This was the wonder of Mary, when Gabriel explained to her what she was going to experience. Her words? “How can this be?” And she gave herself to the experience. It was a moment of pure wonder.
God calls us to a faith like Mary. God calls us to wonder. Zecheriah had the right resume…he was a faithful priest, a religious leader…but when confronted with the grace of God, he buckled under the weight of doubt. He couldn’t believe God.
Mary had no resume. She was an unmarried pregnant teenage girl in a culture where she had everything to lose. And she was carried away by the grace and the wonder of a God who loved her.
My friends, I believe that God speaks to us in the same way. Jesus’ birth has been announced, and like Mary, we await the day. God offers you a gift. He says “my grace, my love, my forgiveness…it is for you, in my Son.” Sometimes our natural reaction is to look at such a gift with doubt; to say “How can I know this?” Don’t. Look at it with wonder. Say “how can this be?” Accept that we won’t understand it. Whether you are a 7th grader, are as old as me, or are approaching the age of Zecheriah, accept that nothing is impossible for God…and let the grace of God create in you moments…no…full lives…of pure wonder.
Amen.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Microsoft redesigns iPod packaging
| Let's hope that this never becomes a reality... Original video: http://www.arctic.org/~patrick/misc/ms-ipod-parody.wmv | |
Sunday, November 19, 2006
A Retreat
This weekend was the 8th grade retreat at Lord of Life. It went well. We used the theme "Eyes Wide Open" and focused on the scripture of the disciples on the road to Emaeus.
One piece of the program is a Q&A session called: "Ask Todd whatever you want."
Great questions...
...about creation
...about families
...about sexuality
...about sin
...about grace
Fundamentally, the root of many of the questions came down to "what if I'm not good enough."
Imagine the look of surprise on their (and some of their adult leader's) faces when I said "You're not good enough."
It has nothing to do with us. Quite simply we are not good enough. Not at all. So how do we communicate that it is God who makes us good enough.
They heard me. I'm not sure if they believe me.
One piece of the program is a Q&A session called: "Ask Todd whatever you want."
Great questions...
...about creation
...about families
...about sexuality
...about sin
...about grace
Fundamentally, the root of many of the questions came down to "what if I'm not good enough."
Imagine the look of surprise on their (and some of their adult leader's) faces when I said "You're not good enough."
It has nothing to do with us. Quite simply we are not good enough. Not at all. So how do we communicate that it is God who makes us good enough.
They heard me. I'm not sure if they believe me.
Friday, November 17, 2006
There Is No Simple Answer
I just had a fun conversation with a friend and colleague. We were discussing "The Model", and how at the institution where he teaches, "the model" they are supposed to teach is done, often at the exclusion of all else, and with a sense that it is THE way of doing things in congregations.
It's not.
Far from it.
We look for single, "one-size-fits-all" solutions to problems. Life is full of adaptation. I am wary of those who tell me how to do things, especially those who do not know my context.
There is no model...no simple answer. And when those models begin with the presupposition that because I am not doing "the model", I must be doing it wrong...well...that just annoys me.
Life was not created to be simple. And people of faith, more than everyone, need to recognize that life is full of opportunity to "make good". God did not choose to give us an owner's manual for the world...lprobably mostly because we don't own it...we are tourists on the earth, living lives that are completely dependent on God.
It seems like we should get over ourselves.
It's not.
Far from it.
We look for single, "one-size-fits-all" solutions to problems. Life is full of adaptation. I am wary of those who tell me how to do things, especially those who do not know my context.
There is no model...no simple answer. And when those models begin with the presupposition that because I am not doing "the model", I must be doing it wrong...well...that just annoys me.
Life was not created to be simple. And people of faith, more than everyone, need to recognize that life is full of opportunity to "make good". God did not choose to give us an owner's manual for the world...lprobably mostly because we don't own it...we are tourists on the earth, living lives that are completely dependent on God.
It seems like we should get over ourselves.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
A political upheaval
How interesting were the elections last night?
The debate is: was it a referendum on George Bush and the current direction?
Sure it was. To argue otherwise if foolishness.
People are not happy with the direction of the country. People are not happy with the war. People are not happy with the economy. People are not happy that the government seems to be more about maintaining power than sharing, or giving away power.
I think the American people spoke clearly last night, whether or not we choose to hear what was said. The question remains: Can the President and those in leadership listen and interpret?
The debate is: was it a referendum on George Bush and the current direction?
Sure it was. To argue otherwise if foolishness.
People are not happy with the direction of the country. People are not happy with the war. People are not happy with the economy. People are not happy that the government seems to be more about maintaining power than sharing, or giving away power.
I think the American people spoke clearly last night, whether or not we choose to hear what was said. The question remains: Can the President and those in leadership listen and interpret?
Red
I read about the campaign that Bono, Oprah and others have kicked off called the "Red" campaign. There are selected items, (i.e. the iPod) being sold in a new red version. If you buy one, proceeds go towards the One Campaign. I am a big fan of Bono. I am a huge fan of the One campaign. But I find the Red program troubling.
From what I understand, the stars are basically saying "Hey, we know that you're going to buy stuff. We know that we can't defeat consumerism. So go ahead...buy...get more stuff...and we'll try to take some advantage of that to raise some money. Now, this may or may not actually be what they are saying, but from my angle, it is what it sounds like.
This bothers me. I don't think we need to sell out to consumerism. Is this not merely treating the symptoms of the problem, rather than treating the problem? Is this not "buying into" buying? It seems to me that much of our problem really is rampant consumerism. It is the attitude that "I can buy happiness...if that takes resources away from someone else, well then, so be it."
I'm troubled and a little disappointed.
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