Zion Lutheran Church

See Jesus – Glimpse God

Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. (John 5:19)

The verse above is in response to Jesus being challenged for healing on the Sabbath. A man is crippled and needs help. Jesus has the chance to help him and so he does. But is the Sabbath and not what some people would have liked. They would have preferred that Jesus had left the man a cripple.

God tends to be less concerned with our preoccupations with how things are “supposed” to be and more than willing to mix things up a bit. In this case, Jesus decides to stretch the taboo of working on the Sabbath in order to demonstrate his connection to God. When you see Jesus at work – you see God at work.

This week, reflect on the ministry of Jesus. He was a teacher, a healer, a prophet, a priest, and many other roles. In his carrying out each of these roles, we see not only Jesus working but get a glimpse of the God who has come to us in Jesus. Where have you seen Jesus? What does that encounter show you about the God who has come in Christ?

“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” John 4:29

The above quote was made by an outcast woman who met Jesus while getting water at a well on the outskirts of town. She would come at noon to get her water so that the other women, the ones who teased her or shunned her, would not be there when she arrived. They went in the morning to get the day’s water while the temperatures were cooler.

In meeting Jesus, this woman discovered that even though she did not know him, he already knew her. If she dodged a question or changed the subject, Jesus was able to focus in on the truth about her life. It had been a rough life. She was ashamed of how it had gone. She felt safer not letting other people know the truth about who she was.

But Jesus knew anyway. But, instead of shunning her or shaming her, Jesus gave her insight and hope that changed her life. It changed how she felt about herself and in the process, it also changed how she related to other people. Instead of hiding from her neighbors, filled with excitement she ran to them with the news that she had met the Messiah. She was so transformed by the encounter with Jesus that even those neighbors who wouldn’t give her the time of day took notice. In the process, she changed their lives as well.

So here is a question to ponder this week. How has your relationship with God changed you in life giving ways? Wherever this has happened is a place where you can learn from this woman. Therein lies an opportunity to bear witness to the unbelievable love of God – a God who loves us as we are and in the process transforms us into what we are becoming. Part of our witnessing to the goodness of God comes from recognizing where God has touched us, known us and been life giving for us. Where is that place in your life and how can you share it authentically with others?

Martin Luther called this verse “the gospel in a nutshell.” What he meant was that if there was any single sentence that captures the nature of God, this verse gets the job done. There are many things in this that help us to understand the nature of God and guide us as we live our lives.

First, God loves. While there are many images of God that we cling to, the promise that God is love is the one we cling to in our faith. All that God does and all that God is, is grounded in love.

Second, the world is what God loves. There are beliefs that the world is evil and to be avoided and even despised. The goal for these people is to escape and get out of here – to get to heaven. But God isn’t in the escape business but loves the world and has come to bring it life in Christ. God made the world and lovingly wants it to do well.

Third, we see this lived out in God’s generously coming to be with us in Jesus. What we receive from God does not come from us or because of us. It is a gift. Martin Luther emphasized the gift as the central element of the gospel. God gives freely and calls us simply to take what is offered with thanksgiving and with praise.

Fourth, this gift is ours when we believe it – when we trust that God simply loves us because it is who God is and it is what God does. Faith doesn’t make God love us. But it does tell us that God does. Believing matters and it changes everything.

Finally, through the eyes of faith, everything looks different. Even death is but a doorway to eternity for those who know and see what God has done in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The fruit of God’s work is life. Believing that is life-giving in itself

Now, that is one verse – all that in just a few words. But it is a verse filled with love, and life and hope. No wonder Martin Luther called it “the gospel in a nutshell.”

Justice Matters to Jesus

He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”  John 2:17

We often think about Jesus as healer, teacher, savior,… In all these things Jesus takes the problems that he encounters and fixes them in some way. If people are broken he heals them. If they are guilty he forgives them. If they are hungry he feeds them.

But here we see another side of Jesus that we too easily forget. Sometimes Jesus doesn’t just fix someone’s problems. Sometimes he challenges the systems that cause problems for people – especially people who live on the margins and have few reserves to rely on if something goes wrong in their lives.

The temple system had become more and more corrupt. The temple marketplace offered animals for sacrifice to people who came to the temple for a particular need or for an annual pilgrimage. Animals we overpriced on the premise that an animal bought at the temple was somehow more pleasing to God than one from someplace else. People paid a premium price for an ordinary animal. It wasn’t that there was money involved but that it was a rip off. It made Jesus mad. He felt a need to say and do something about it.

We often think of Jesus as the bringer of mercy – and he is. But he is also one who works and speaks for justice. When someone is treated unfairly and being taken advantage of, Jesus takes their side. When the system is stacked against people and in favor of a few, Jesus takes it on in order to expose the injustice.

A healthy Christian faith includes mercy. When people have problems we are called to feel the compassion of Jesus and act to heal, feed, or do whatever else we can to be helpful. But a healthy Christian faith is also concerned with justice. Faithful Christians do more than charity. They also speak out and work to make the world a fairer place to live – especially for the weakest and poorest among us.

Are You Paying Attention?

“Jesus did this, the first of his signs, at Cana in Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:11

“Give me a sign,” we often say. Dried up and tired we wonder if God is paying attention to our circumstances and if God cares. Of course, demanding a sign doesn’t always result in one! We don’t always get our wish.

At the same time, God is at work around us all the time. Life is happening and miracles are unfolding all around us. Just breathing each breath and experiencing life is an amazing thing – it can help us sometimes to just stop for a bit and pay attention to our breathing and take stock of the miracle that is our life.

At Cana, Jesus does the first of his seven signs in John’s gospel. Each sign is for a reason and not always the one you might expect. This change from water into wine is (oddly enough) not for the benefit of the wedding guests who will drink the wine. It is to demonstrate to the disciples – newly recruited followers of Jesus – that he is something special and can do amazing things. Rather than being a public miracle for the benefit of the crowds, only a few people know what has actually happened to produce such fine wine. The real audience is Jesus’ new recruits. They are paying attention and he gives them something to think about.

You have been recruited to follow Jesus. So, here are a couple of questions for you. In the process, God is at work in your life and all around you. Are you paying attention? If so, what are you noticing about God at work in your life?

The Call to Transformation

A skeptic once said, “Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God and all he ended up with was the church.”

What he meant was that the vision Jesus has is often not seen in the lives of the people who claim to follow Jesus.

This week’s text will come from John 1:35-51. It is a text where John the Baptist urges people to pay attention to Jesus and declares him to be the “Lamb of God.” Jesus will invite people to begin to follow him. Some will. Some will even go bring their friends and families and invite them to join in following Jesus, too. There is energy and passion and excitement as encountering Jesus leads people to new hopes and dreams for their lives and for the world.

The key is that people who followed Jesus did not just join a club. They were at the front end of a movement that would change the world. They sensed that following Jesus would be one of the most significant things they would do in their lives. Jesus was not just someone to watch and enjoy from the sidelines. He was someone who was changing people deep in their core.

One of the new followers, a guy named Nathanael, was a bit of a skeptic. But hearing an invitation to “come and see” he meets Jesus and is amazed at how Jesus seems to know him already. Jesus responds by basically saying, “you ain’t seen nothing, yet.” Then Jesus declares that far greater things lie ahead

One key for all of us who follow Jesus is to not just assume that belonging to the church was Jesus’ main goal for our lives. A meaningful church life helps each of us attend to a meaningful spiritual life. Encountering Christ is about life transformation and a way of life that changes everything.

As the new year begins, one of the goals for the coming year is to continue to build on the base we began in the past year – attending to our spiritual lives and helping all of us continue on the life changing journey that following Jesus always brings.

“When King Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.” Matthew 2:16

One of the first things that happened after the birth of Jesus is the people in charge were threatened by the news. King Herod sent soldiers into Bethlehem where Jesus and his family were living. Unable to be sure which of the toddlers was the coming king, Herod ordered all the boys under age two to be killed. The story is troubling enough to bother many of us – even today after all these years. So often, children pay the price for the struggles of the adults in their lives. The birth of Jesus triggered anxiety in many – it was not received as instant good news. And as a result, children were killed. Traditionally, the Sunday after Christmas is in remembrance of these children and is named “The Slaughter of the Innocents.”

That may be why this week’s concert with the Asante Children’s Choir from Rwanda in Africa seems so appropriate. To see the choir’s web site click here. With short notice, we have only a few days to get housing together and get the word out to the community. But these kids grew up in Rwanda – living in the aftermath of war and genocide in our own time. If you saw or heard about the movie Hotel Rwanda then you know some of the horrors of the place where they are from. But these kids have somehow emerged with hope and life and will share that with us on Sunday night.

So hear is our plea:

1. We still need at least one more family to house 3 or more people in order to make the housing work smoothly. If you have a double bed and any other place to sleep someone, then three works since two kids of the same gender can share a double bed. You’ll most likely have a chaperone plus 2 kids with you on Saturday and Sunday nights starting with supper on Saturday. If you can help then please call the church at 847-888-2882 or email pastor Dave at dtothe3rd@wowway.com to let us know.
2. We need people to both come to the concert and invite friends and family to come as well. There is not time for a media PR campaign with advertising – this will have to be word of mouth!
3. If you have Facebook or Twitter, go to bottom of this blog article and click the appropriate share button to post this on your account page. That will help get the word out!
4. Pray for this event and the people involved. With God’s blessings, even a short notice scramble may produce some amazing things.

We want this to be a great event. The concert is FREE and a Free Will Offering and a table of items you can choose to get will be ways you can support the choir if you choose. The proceeds from this tour will all go to help build schools for children in east Africa.

Throughout the world, children continue to suffer for the sins of the generation before them. This is nothing new. The “slaughter of the innocents” was but one example. But in a serendipitous way this year, the Sunday after Christmas for us also includes a chance to participate in hope for children.

Finally, this is our Thursday Thought for 2013. If you’d like to make an online year end donation via PayPal, you can do so by clicking the “donate” button at the bottom of this web page. Thanks and have a blessed 2014!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1

Both Jews and Christians have ways of understanding God that include God speaking and things happening. God’s announcement is the starting point for God’s work unfolding. It starts in the Bible with the phrase, “And God said…” and then what God says begins to occur. For Jews, this concept is the “Torah” or the Law – the word that contains the identity of God’s people and God’s dream for their lives. In Christianity this is contained in “the Word” that shapes the life of the world in which we live.

As Christmas approaches we will be spending more of our time in John’s gospel. It is the story of “the Word made flesh.” John understands that when you see and hear Jesus you see and hear God’s dream for the world. If you want to see what real, abundant life looks like – look at Jesus.

Ultimately, the old saying, “Actions speak louder than words,” is slightly challenged by meeting Jesus. In a sense, Jesus is the Word in action.

This Christmas, in the midst of all the busyness of the season, stop and ponder the greatest truth of the Christian story. In Christ, God has come in the flesh. Love has come down from heaven. May each of us encounter the love of God in Jesus and find ways to proclaim the good news: Christ is born! God is with us!

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8)

Are you listening for God’s direction? Often we find ourselves in a tough spot and can’t figure out how to work our way out of it. We think during the day. We toss and turn at night. But the best we can come up with seems inadequate.

Contrast that with the approach that Martin Luther took. He said that the more difficult the day that was ahead, the earlier he would wake up – not to get a head start on the work but to pray! Only with a meaningful prayer life could he have what he needed to deal with the most difficult things that came up.

Isaiah’s message from God to us is that rather than settling for the best we can come up with ourselves, we would do much better to listen for God’s guidance. The best we can come up with is a mere fraction of what God has to offer. Take time to listen for God’s voice in your life – especially regarding the most difficult things you face. You will discover a rich source of wisdom and strength that may change your life in ways you could never dream up for yourself.

Finding Purpose in Your Life

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. (Ezekiel 37:1)

One of the great questions of life is, “Why am I here?” Young people ask it as they try to decide what to do with their lives. Middle-aged people ask it – often in a midlife crisis. Older people ask it – often looking back at the legacy they are leaving behind.

The Bible gives us great insights about the answer(s) to this question. In the story that you can read in Ezekiel 37:1-14 a man named Ezekiel is given a vision of a valley filled with dry bones and God asks him, “Can these bones live?” Wisely, Ezekiel answers, “God, you know.” What unfolds answers God’s question but also shows us something important about how God works and why we are here.

Each step of the way, God makes it clear what is to happen next. If Ezekiel will let God guide him, the bones will indeed live. God shares a direction. Ezekiel carries it out. God shares another direction. Ezekiel helps do that as well. Step by step the thing unfolds. Life begins to happen!

There is great insight in this text. Perhaps God COULD make the bones live alone. But God prefers not to work alone. God invites and instructs us so we can participate in what God is doing and be part of making it happen. Humanity exists in order to join with God and become part of what is unfolding.

Why are you here? You are here to join in with God to bring life. Where you do that varies because we all live and work in different settings. But the key is to find ways to listen to God. Here are a few questions to ask and reflect on that may help you listen more closely for God’s guidance where you live and work:

• What does God want to see happen in this situation?
• What steps would God like to see happen along the way?
• What is God calling me to do so that I can help that happen?

Finding our purpose in life starts with listening and reflecting. Our spiritual life matters. The more lost we feel on the outside, the more time we may need to spend on the inside. As we listen to God, we may find that like Ezekiel, God wants to use us to do important work and having a willing spirit can allow us to find meaning and a sense of accomplishment in our lives.