Zion Lutheran Church

The Trouble With Wanting

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s stuff.” Exodus 20:17-18 (paraphrased)

One sign of maturity is knowing when enough is enough (and when too much is too much). People who have recently moved or are contemplating moving in the near future become very aware of just how much stuff they have. On moving day and for the weeks and months that follow, all that stuff is often more burden than blessing!

The fact that even lower income Americans have too much stuff while lacking many essentials is a sign of a culture that makes stuff readily available to us and encourages us to be sure to get our fair share, while forgetting much of what is most important in life.

Coveting is the practice of “unhealthy wanting.” It is not wrong to want or need things you don’t have. But when this gets out of proportion it can be life diminishing. We begin to think, “If only I had… then I would be really happy.” Usually it is a lie and often coveting encourages us to pursue unhealthy ways of getting it. Many of the things we do that are not life giving are motivated by pursuing things that we shouldn’t be pursuing.

Two things to consider this week:

• Look through your life and the things you “want.” Are any of these motivated by something unhealthy? Work on refocusing.
• Go through your “stuff” and assess if there are some things you don’t need. Can you set 5 items aside to give to someone else? Doing this each week would reduce the things in your home by over 250 items in one year!

Coveting encourages us to put our happiness in the hands of other things and people (as yet out of our control – how dumb is that?). Faith encourages us to be thankful for the things we receive from the God we meet in Jesus.

Walking the Extra Mile

One thing Lutherans are clear about. We don’t do anything because it will earn a reward from God. We don’t have to. God who is gracious and good simply loves us and offers life to us because God is gracious and good. That’s the end of that!

However, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care what we do. Quite the contrary. God has invested everything in us (even the life of Jesus) in order to free us up from being overly cautious or selfish about ourselves. There is no reason for us to worry or fear that somehow there isn’t enough life or love to go around. The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection reminds us how persistent God is. Even at our worst God pursues us with love.

We’ve been looking at the 10 Commandments for the last few weeks and this week we will hear the ones that relate to personal ethics. They include things like not lying, stealing, committing adultery, and killing each other. These are pretty much the common sense basics for human ethics. When we want to believe we have done enough to measure up we can look at the list through the easy lens. If we haven’t cheated on our spouse or shot someone today, we feel pretty good about how we are doing.

But Luther looks at these commands through the eyes of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Each commandment is not just a standard to be attained. It is the minimum place from which we start. Freed in Christ we are free to go the extra mile and do more than the minimums. We can ask in each situation, what does God desire most here and how can my actions help? To have received life in Christ is not only to know that God loves you. It is also to reflect that love as fully and completely as you can in all that you do.

So go and have fun being an extra mile person. God won’t love you any more for it (God already loves you completely). But God’s love will shine through you in new and meaningful ways. Who knows, that may change someone’s life.

Can You Unplug?

“In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.”  Exodus 20:11

We live in a busy world. People work seven days a week. Part of the work done by many is to provide for things to do for the free time of others  – we are even busy doing things when we are “off!” Cell phones ring and beep to acknowledge the receipt of yet another text message in the middle of almost everything. Email keeps us in constant contact with everyone. Social media gives us the impression that we are always relating to some “friends” somewhere. Except when we are asleep it is as if we are almost never off.

There is a myth in our society that laziness is one of the biggest sins. Well to do people love to blame people who are struggling economically with not working hard enough (even though many of them have two jobs to try to make ends meet). But laziness may not be our biggest issue. The drive to always be doing something may plague more of us than laziness ever will.

It may be that our unwillingness to unplug and just exist for a while makes us less productive when we are at work. Studies routinely show that perpetual busyness and distractions in the middle of what we are doing make us less effective (in spite of the illusion that we are doing more).

Sabbath is one of God’s commands. We put people in prison for lying and stealing. We sue one another over slander and adultery. These commandments shape us in ways that when someone violates us, we want justice. But for some reason, we usually honor people who work too much. We celebrate people who over function and won’t shut down for a while. While some of these commandments are lifted up as important, the call to take Sabbath time is one that we just blow off without much thought.

This week, take a few moments to look at your life and your lifestyle. Do you have practices that make time for both hard and productive work as well as complete and uninterrupted rest? How can you find ways to unplug, meditate, relax, practice prayer, be mindful, read scripture, and just watch the world go by?

God apparently takes time off and rests. God calls us to do the same.

Indeed, the whole earth is mine. But you will be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)

This week we turn to our summer scripture. It will be a chance to explore a few series of texts and dig deeper into a few important themes. It will also tie in with lots of important things happening in our midst. Our Sacred Living small groups are beginning to meet. Our capital campaign to lift up the importance of the resources we use for ministry and to gather what we need to make the entrance welcoming and handicap accessible is underway. This summer will be unlike any summer we have experienced at Zion!

The series we begin is based on the 10 commandments. We will spend a few weeks looking at these. But interestingly enough, the first week of the series we don’t mention a single commandment. We will start talking about the commandments without talking about any commandments!

The verses above explain why. The commandments were first grounded in the work of God and in the people’s relationship with God. They aren’t a list that just drops out of the sky with no back-story. And they aren’t intended to be just randomly applied apart from that relationship. God has done amazing things for the Israelites in helping them escape captivity in Egypt. But God isn’t a one and done kind of God. God wants a long-term relationship and to bear long term results with the people.

So today’s question is a simple but profound one. In a world preoccupied with the question, “How are you doing?” (where the religious scorecard is based on whether you can claim to be a “good” person or not), God’s question would be, “How is your relationship with God going?” Is your relationship with God helping you to be thankful for all that God has done in your life already? Are you able to remember with gratitude those things and times when God has strengthened you for whatever you faced in life? And are you open to be useful to God in the future?

The 10 Commandments were given to shape the identity of the people so their lives would be a witness to the world about how amazing God is. They are about God’s love before God’s law. God wants to do the same with each of our lives: lovingly shape us and mold us into thankful people and then call us forth to live lives that bear witness to the goodness of God. The 10 Commandments were one way that God did this with the ancient Israelites. The grace we receive in Christ calls us to both give thanks and be transformed in our lives and world today.

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)

Jesus had told them to wait for the Spirit to come. They didn’t know what to expect – they just went where Jesus told them, gathered in someone’s house to pray, and waited for whatever was going to happen. It is probably safe to say that no one knew what was coming and no one expected this! The Spirit’s arrival meant they found themselves no longer in the house but in the streets. They were no longer simply praying together as they waited. They were also out in the public, sharing the good news of Jesus and meeting people they had never met before. The line between “inside” and “outside” had been blurred.

This week we are going to try to blur the lines between inside and outside as a congregation. The early service will be “inside” the sanctuary. We’ll unveil the “old” altar that has been hiding under boards and a tablecloth for over a decade. You can see it in the picture above. The celebration of the Spirit will make the old new again as we seek to improve the ways we pay attention to God in worship.

The late service will be at Wing Park and be “outside.” Then we’ll stay outside and in the midst of the park spend time eating, talking, singing and playing games together. What is often more privately done in the coffee and snacks in the overflow space will be publicly done in the park as we picnic together with people all around us. Who knows what connections we’ll make with our neighbors and how the Spirit will move!

Being outside for the late service will also allow us to remember that the first work of the Spirit happened, not at Pentecost, but millions of years before when the Spirit moved and God spoke and the world was formed. The gift of creation and the beauty of the earth are signs of the Spirit’s work. As we begin to focus on Sacred Living and our relationship with the rest of creation, what better way to begin than with a chance to gather as God’s people outdoors?

See you Sunday – inside and/or outside. Either way, the Spirit will be moving among us and it will bring us life!

Paying Attention to the Right Things

When Jesus had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)

Today is Ascension Day – the 40^th day after the resurrection. On this day we celebrate the ascension of Jesus. It is the last day we light the paschal candle for the Easter season. It honors a puzzling story about the disciples seeing Jesus disappear into the clouds. As they watch, an angel chastises them for being so caught up in the moment (who can blame them, really?). The angel promises that Jesus will return and urges the disciples not to get to distracted by the amazement of it all. Instead, they should get back to the work that God has prepared for them to do here and now.

Often, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves distracted from the things that God wants us to be paying the most attention to. It takes discipline (that’s the root word for discipleship) and sometimes it takes an outside reminder (that’s what the angel provided for the disciples). Even though this is not complicated, this is also not a simple thing. It requires us to be attentive to the task.

Part of the story of the ascension is not just about Jesus leaving. It is also about his coming to us in a new way. Through the power of the Spirit, Christ tells us that rather than being limited to the physical person of Jesus, he will now be able to be present to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Jesus leaving is also about Jesus being present. You don’t have to travel to Israel to be with Jesus. You don’t have to transcend thousands of years to be with Jesus. Through the power of the Spirit, the Son of God is present with you always – wherever you find yourself. The key is no longer, “Is God here?” The key is, “Did I notice?”

This coming week we will begin a six-month journey of paying attention. Sacred Living by Grace Clunie will shape the journey but there will be a lot more to it than reading through a book together. In fact, the book is really just a framework for us to preach, teach, pray, discuss, gather, and explore together. With small groups forming and monthly special events to try a new thing, the chance to grow is being provided in some new and meaningful ways. The goal is to live out the urging of the angel in the ascension story that we be sure to pay attention to the right things and find the direction and support we need to do so.

If being more than religious is important to you – if you also want to be a better disciple and deepen your spirituality – then this is a wonderful chance to pay attention to God in your life and journey with others who wish to do the same.

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

I do a lot of ministry coaching and I find that often people who I am coaching feel a bit overwhelmed about the possibilities that lie ahead. Someone I was coaching today was really struggling last month with a few things that just weren’t coming together very well. We thought the issues through, developed some ideas to make course corrections, and he got to work on them.

Today we met again and he shared what he has been working on since we last talked. Three things that all looked doomed last month have all taken place and came out well. He works on a synod staff so has responsibility for working with a couple hundred Lutheran congregations. One thing he was thinking of cancelling because only two people were registered, we reworked the publicity for. The event happened and there were 52 people present! And the event was transformational for people. The majority of people who came were young adults and new leaders in the church. He was thrilled.

One of the keys to our work together is being willing to be hopeful for each other. Sometimes, I have too little hope about how things are going and what the possibilities are. When that is the case, I am blessed to have the friendship and support of others who can see what I have lost sight of. Their hope buoys me and I am able to do things that I might have given up on otherwise.

Part of our sharing together in the body of Christ is the responsibility we have to each other. We KNOW that God is at work in and with us in all that we do. Sometimes we need to reframe our work, refocus our minds, and reprogram our attitudes in order to better serve as God’s agents in the world.

The above verse, which has been our verse of the month, is a reminder that Paul started with trusting that God was at work in the lives of the people of Philippi. He begins by encouraging them in the opening chapter of his letter. Reminding people that God is at work in their lives is the basis for helping them see God at work and learn new things about God.

So here are questions for you. How hopeful are you about God’s promise to work in your life and the lives of others around you? How often do you share an encouraging word with others? And when you see God working in someone’s life, how open are you to sharing a word about what you see or offering a thank you for the work you see?

Paul learned to speak words of encouragement and hope (and in doing so helped change the world and start the church). How can we learn from him and change lives around us, too?

Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. Acts 17:22

Life in our time is not so different from life in other times. Sure, there are new technologies and things look different. And yes, the pace of life seems to be racing by at a much faster clip than in some previous ages. But the basic concerns of people remain the same: Can I find love? Does my life have meaning and purpose? What does it mean for me to be mortal? Does God exist or not? If God does exist, what is the nature of that God? And so forth.

We live in a time when religion has declined in influence and in popularity compared to even a few decades ago. But religion is still an important part of our culture and if you are reading this blog post, it is probably an important part of your life. Spiritual curiosity has not declined and so many people who don’t participate in religious life do search for the answers to their spiritual questions and wonder about many of the same questions that we wrestle with from a place of Christian faith.

The above quote is from Paul speaking to a group of people in the public square of his time. He sees signs of their religious and spiritual curiosity. He understands some of the questions they ponder and worry about. He then uses the things he sees to connect their concerns with his witness to the risen Jesus. He doesn’t just spit out a canned speech. He takes what he knows about the God he meets in Jesus and connects it to what he sees in the community around him. It works – people who have questions about life long for the chance to hear about and discuss where they might search for the answers.

In our time, each of us has this same opportunity. We know something about what we see and learn about God from meeting the risen Jesus. We know some of the things that our friends, families, neighbors and co-workers wrestle with and wonder about life. We simply need to spend some time reflecting on how to make those connections and with gracious and gentle spirits share the connections we see and the faith we have.

This week, spend a little time thinking about what you know about the God you have met in Jesus. Also spend a bit of time reflecting on the main concerns of some of the people who are closest to you. How can you connect the two in ways that are meaningful for you and may be helpful to others?

And Lydia said, “If you have judged me to be faithful, then come and stay with me and my family at my house.” And she persuaded us.  Acts 16:15

With faith comes the call to new relationships. People who would likely never meet encounter each other in Christ and become brothers and sisters of Jesus. In the process they become brothers and sisters for each other. The connection is one the world would never make. But in Christ it is real and powerful and life (and world) changing.

In the above passage Lydia was a well to do woman who had a little prayer group at the edge of town. The Apostle Paul has come to town and shared the message of Jesus. They meet and Lydia becomes a believer – Jesus is the risen Lord! She is baptized along with her family and joins this group of people who are known at that time as “followers of the way.” These people follow the way of Jesus.

Her invitation reminds us that whether someone is a long time member of the church or a newly believing person who just arrived, in Christ we are all equals. We have gifts and talents and all are invited to use them. She takes charge and says to Paul that she will offer something to him – food and shelter while he does his missionary work. His accepting it is a sign that he acknowledges her faithfulness, her gifts and her connection to Jesus.

How are you at both using your gifts in the work of the church and accepting the gifts of others there? Are you offering your best to further the work of Christ? Are you accepting and encouraging of others when they offer theirs? As “followers of the way” we are all called offer ourselves to the work of the gospel. We are also to celebrate when others offer theirs as well.

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;” Acts 9:13

Perhaps you have had something like this happen to you. There is something that you just know God wants you to do. And you don’t want to do it. It seems like it is either ridiculous or dangerous or something. But the fact that you think God wants you to do it doesn’t increase your enthusiasm for the task. You still just plain don’t want to do it.

The above quote is from a man named Ananias. He was approached by God to heal another man whose name was Saul. Saul (who most of us know now as Paul) was an oppressor of Christians and a dangerous person. Just before God approaches Ananias, Jesus has appeared to Saul and in the process, Saul has been struck blind. As dangerous as he had been, he is now somewhat helpless without his sight. For Christians, this seemed like a good thing. Saul had been persecuting Christians and now he is blind and helpless. Finally, relief from his dangerous pursuits.

But God has another idea and Saul was part of the work. Healing Saul was important to God – it would allow him to get on with the work God had planned for him. And in order for this work to happen, Ananias has been asked to heal him, to give him back his sight. If you read this whole story (Acts 9:1-19) you’ll see that Ananias gives in to God’s direction and Saul gets his sight back. You’ll also know that Saul (or Paul) goes on to be the great ambassador for Christianity as he starts dozens of churches all around the Mediterranean. God’s desire to heal him and charge him as a missionary was more important than Ananias’ well-founded fears. Ananias gave in and healed Saul; Christianity was blessed as a result.

In your own life there are probably many times when you are resistant to doing God’s will. You may sense what you think it is but also find it difficult, confusing, or maybe even think it is just flat out ridiculous. This lesson is a chance for all of us to reflect on our willingness to listen to God’s guidance, even when it is hard and not what we want to hear. It may just be a chance to be a part of something amazing.