One of my favorite authors throughout the 40+ years of my ministry has been Frederick Buechner. Over the years his work has found its way into my writing and preaching. However, I am reminded again I am not alone in my admiration. A memorial article published in the October issue of The Christian Century observed “During the 1980s and 1990s, [Buechner] was quoted from American pulpits more often than anyone [else] alive at the time.”
“Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.” (Prayer for Advent I)
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1)
A memory from several years ago animates my heart and the mission we share at St. Luke’s this Advent: A crash language course in the narthex. Tell me how you say “In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit in Arabic.” Pastor Khader El Yateem whispers something unintelligible. I take out a pen and ask him to repeat it slowly. The incense is swirling to the heavens. The opening hymn, “Love Divine, all love’s excelling,” has begun. The kids wearing the Church Reeboks are lifting up the cross and torches to lead the procession. I scrawl on the back of the bulletin, in wobbly English, a transliteration: “Bism’el ab; wal eben; waroah el qudus; el elah; eluahied; Amin.”
On the liturgical clock, this Sunday, traditionally called Christ the King, is the Church’s equivalent of 11:59 PM on December 31. Next Sunday, November 27, we begin the new Church Year with the first celebration of the season of Advent, the season of hope.
“It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 130) These words from the Great Thanksgiving Eucharistic prayer give us a wonderful summary of the life of a Christian steward. Duty and Joy.
A pandemic wreaking havoc across the land. Social unrest leading to fires and violence in the streets. A politically divided people, seemingly on the verge of fracture. New information technologies bringing radical changes to mass communication, causing people to question what is true.
Early in October Judy and I took our Miata on a 16-day, 3200-mile road trip we referred to as the “Southwest Tour.” Our route included stops in Hamilton, Missouri, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Corrales, New Mexico, and McKinney, Texas.
Some Lutheran Dimensions of Faith:
1. Vocation is sacred. Being a student, a friend, one’s job, an adult member of a congregation, are all vocations. The “priesthood of all believers” strengthens the fundamental dignity of the rhythms of our lives as our arena to praise God and love our neighbor. To help “flesh out” the vocation of church membership I stressed five tangible things when I taught confirmation:
1. Regular worship and reception of the sacrament.
2. A regular money offering.
3. A piece of ministry all their own (taking an elderly neighbor shopping, teaching Sunday School, etc.)
4. Some form of continued growth in the word (at home, Bible class, etc.)
5. Daily prayer for the ministry of the church and those in need.
In the Gospel for Reformation Sunday in John, chapter 8 Jesus says to us: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Those who are grasped by the truth of the Gospel have the freedom to be for the world, to serve the neighbor. That, finally, is the power of the reformation. What began as a crisis in pastoral care, in a concern that we not seek to escape from a confrontation with our mortality and a life apart from God (which we call sin), is a powerful word to us: the Gospel sets us free for truth, for service, for living for others. That alone authentically renews and reforms the church. St. Luke’s future will not come through schemes for survival, but from the truth that we are set free to serve in an always renewing and reforming mission.
“On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance, who lifted up their voices…” Lepers who stood at a distance. That is the heartbreaking thing about leprosy. It is a disease which not only attacks the body, but also isolates the soul. A leper is extremely contagious.
First, I want to join the participants of the Adult Forum and the children in Sunday School to come together for a brief opening worship in Henderson Hall at 8:30. It will be a great blessing to “Connect in Christ,” across the generations. The children all wear Name Necklaces so that we can greet them by name and get to know them. So let’s join them at 8:30 for prayers, a brief lesson based on the Gospel for the day, and joyful songs. This invitation is to any adult at St. Luke’s, whether you attend the adult forum or share conversation around a cup of coffee. Let me repeat the invitation. Adult Forum will join Sunday School for opening worship at 8:30, then begin the Bible study in the conference room at 8:45