Why We Need Advent

This reflection was inspired by a comment on a friend's Facebook post. He was reminding us that the 12 days of Christmas begin with Christmas rather than some grand countdown to Christmas. Someone replied that pastors are fighting a losing battle with Advent, especially when it boils down to simply not singing Christmas hymns during Advent. She suggested that we move Advent back to November and celebrate Christmas the whole month of December. I took this to mean, "Since the culture celebrates Christmas from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, why not take advantage of this?"

Without weighing in on these particular issues, I would like to make a case for keeping Advent. And I would like to approach it from a simple perspective: Even when it comes to Christmas, do we simply want to do what the world around us is doing? When it comes to cheerily singing carols: sure. When it comes to trimming the tree and putting up decorations: sure. But when it comes to the madness of "pre-Christmas"--at least as I observe it--I don't think so.

There is a dark side to celebrating Christmas from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, and we all know it. It is the hatred that spews forth in a parking lot as we all rush to get those gifts to put under the tree. It is the unkind word spoken from a parent under the weight of too many expectations, impossible to fulfill. It is the mad clamoring after things visible, when the deepest hunger of our souls is for the One who is invisible. It is, at its worst, the sheer emptiness of sin.

Advent is like a splash of cool water to wake us up. It is like the tender glow of a candle to give us true light. Advent refuses to be satisfied with all this pre-Christmas madness. Advent invites us to lift our eyes heavenward: to marvel at the God who has become human and to long for his coming again. Advent strips down all the decorations and busy-ness so we can join the shepherds in the humble manger. Advent prepares us to be a people fit for our King.

Perhaps Advent is best described, ironically, in the words of the Christmas carol which sings: "... and fit us for heaven to live with Thee there."

Happy Advent. And Blessed Christmas (a little early!).

Advent Decluttering

I don't know about you, but my house is filled with a lot of items I don't need. I suppose I am more aware of this during Advent than any other time of the year. I spend much more time indoors as the weather grows colder. And as I consider the twin purposes of Advent, to prepare for the celebration of Christmas and to ready myself for Christ's second coming, I have a heightened sense of what is necessary and what is not for these two things.

So part of my Advent discipline this year is going to be decluttering, combined with early gifting. Some of my stuff will be donated. Some will make its way to the dumpster. Some will find its way as early, second-hand gifts to others. And, of course, most of it I will keep. And some of it I will hoard.

What I am finding, as I begin this process of giving things away, is how incredibly freeing this all is. And the less I have, the more I have. Such is the logic of the Gospel.

In a few weeks, on the Third Sunday of Advent (December 13), we will be invited to consider the practical dimensions of John the Baptist's preaching as we prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He calls the people to repent and prepare, but they won't let him off the hook. It is almost as if they are saying, "Preacher, help us out here. What does it mean for us to repent and prepare?"

And the crowds asked [John the Baptist], "What then should we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." (Luke 3:10-14)

Decluttering. Renunciation. Almsgiving. Simplifying. Being content. Not taking more than we need. There seems to be some connection between these things and preparing for our Messiah, who first came in simple circumstances, in a manger, because there was no room for Him.

I don't want to add to your to-do list this time of year. But you may just find that giving things away might just be the way of life we're all called to, the way of the Gospel, the way of Jesus. For this same Messiah who came in a manger and who is coming again in glory, says,

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it (Luke 9:24).

Blessed Advent to you all!

Time Change

I don't know about you, but the time change weeks always mess me up. Just when my physiological clock was finally in sync with the rising and setting of the sun, my world gets turned upside down with a crazy thing we do to ourselves called Daylight Saving Time (or Standard Time, or whatever we're on now).

This whole upending of the clocks and the routine have invited me this week to think again about how God sanctifies time, setting it apart for his own purposes.

Christians inherited from the Jews the regular marking of the day with prayer in the morning and in the evening. They also added other "hours," such as the noon hour to mark the remembrance of the Crucifixion.

So, whether you are thrilled for the time change or still adjusting to it, I offer this prayer called "The Dial" by Lancelot Andrewes who lived from 1555-1626. It marks the hours of the day in a way that involves our "regular days" in the context of God's grand plan of salvation. I find it helps me to raise my mind and heart toward the things of God, even as I live on this earth and in this time.

Anyway, here it is. I have updated most of the language in the copy I have (for example the "Thees" and "Thous" to "You", etc.), hopefully to make it more readable/pray-able.

*References to the hours, (example: "the third hour," etc.) can be best understood if you think of "zero hour" as being about 6 a.m. So, the third hour is 9 a.m., the sixth hour is noon, etc.

The Dial by Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626)

You who have put the times and seasons in Your own power: grant that we make our prayer unto You in a time convenient and when You may be found, and save us.

You who for us and for our salvation was born at dead of night: give us daily to be born again by renewing of the Holy Spirit, till Christ be formed in us unto a perfect person, and save us.

You who very early in the morning while the sun was yet arising did rise from the dead: raise us up daily unto newness of life, suggesting to us ways of repentance which Yourself knows, and save us.

You who did at the third hour* did send down Your Holy Spirit on the apostles: take not away the same Spirit from us, but renew Him daily within us, and save us.

You who at the sixth hour and on the sixth day did nail the sins of the world with Yourself on the Cross: blot out the handwriting of our sins which is against us and taking it out of the way, save us.

You who at the sixth hour did let down a great sheet from heaven to earth, a figure of Your Church: receive us up into it, sinners of the Gentiles, and with it receive us up together into heaven, and save us.

You who at the seventh hour did will that the fever should leave the nobleman's son: if anything abide of fever or sickness in our soul, take it away from us also, and save us.

You who at the ninth hour hour for us sinners and for our sins did taste of death: mortify in us our earthly members and whatsoever is contrary to Your will, and save us.

You who willed the ninth hour to be an hour of prayer: hear us while we pray in the hour of prayer and make us to obtain our prayer and our desires, and save us.

You who at the tenth hour did will Your Apostle, when he found Your Son, to declare with great joy: "We have found the Messiah": make us also in like sort to find the Messiah and when He is found in like sort to rejoice, and save us.

You who at evening did will to be taken down from the cross and buried in a tomb: take away our sins from us and bury them in Your sepulchre, covering with good works whatever we have committed ill, and save us.

You who did grant even at the eleventh hour of the day to send workers into Your vineyard and to fix a wage, notwithstanding they had stood all the day idle: do unto us like favour and, though it be late, as it were about the eleventh hour, accept us graciously when we return to You, and save us.

You who at the hour of supper did will to institute the most sacred mysteries** of Your body and blood: make us mindful of the same and partakers of the same, and that, never unto judgment but unto remission of sin and unto acquiring the gifts of the new covenant, and save us.

You who late in the night did by Your breathing confer on Your Apostles the authority as well to forgive as to retain sins: make us partakers of that authority, yet that it be unto remission, not unto retention, O Lord, and save us.

You who at midnight did awaken David your Prophet and Paul the Apostle to praise You: give us also songs by night and to remember You upon our beds, and save us.

You who with Your own mouth has declared that at midnight the Bridegroom shall come: grant that the cry "The Bridegrooms comes" may sound evermore in our ears, that so we be never unprepared to meet Him, and save us.

You who by the crowing of a cock did admonish Your Apostle and make him return to penitence: grant us also at the same admonition to do the same, to go forth and weep bitterly the things in which we have sinned against You, and save us.

You who has foretold that You will come to judgment in a day when we look not for You and at an hour when we are not aware: make us prepared every day and every hour to be ready for Your advent, and save us.

Amen.

**"Mysteries" was the term used by the early church for the sacraments.

Sin and Human Nature

In my sermon on Sunday I invited us to consider the central move Jesus makes in the Gospel text (Mark 10:2-16): namely, drawing us back to God's intentions from the beginning. I want to expand upon that a bit in this week's reflection.

I read books on parenting a fairly regular basis. In the one I'm reading now, the author begins with the premise (and here I'm paraphrasing) that children are bad by nature. I bristled at that starting point, not because I have difficulty imagining that children--and adults, let's be honest--behave in disastrously bad ways on a fairly regular basis, but because his account of the relationship between human nature and sin is a best imprecise and at worst, simply wrong.

Are we really bad by nature? And, if not, what is the relationship between human nature and sin? An old order for confession (the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal) invited us to pray, "We are by nature sinful and unclean" (emphasis mine). Really? By nature sinful and unclean?

The story for us as Christians begins in Genesis 1 and 2. Christians cannot fully and finally say that human nature and sin are one and the same, for God created all things (including human beings) as good. And yet we know on a very practical and intuitive level what we confess from the green Lutheran Book of Worship, that we have sinned "and cannot free ourselves."

[Note: The part of the Order for Confession in the Lutheran Book of Worship about being "in bondage" to sin is yet another topic that was hotly debated as the Lutheran Book of Worship was being assembled... but not a topic that I'm going to address today. I think it can be solved by simply saying, "We confess that we have sinned and cannot free ourselves," with the main point being that we are sinners and we cannot do something about it on our own.]

So we need to say (because God says so) that we are not sinful by nature. Being sinful is not intrinsic to what it means to be human. Our Lord Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human, lived a human life without sin, the life that was intended for us from the start. He is not less than human, not 98% human or something like that. Yet he did not sin. So sin is not a necessary part of what it means to be human.

And yet we find ourselves knee-deep in the muck we call sin, and we cannot free ourselves. Sin so permeates our lives, our relationships, our world that we find ourselves stuck in it, infected by it, surrounded by it. The depth of our immersion in sin calls to mind the movie the Matrix; it is everywhere, in everything. Since the Fall in Genesis 3, there is nothing in creation untouched by sin. It is an infection deeply embedded into the entire fabric of creation. But it is also "not the way it is supposed to be," to borrow a book title.

A classical understanding of sin goes something like this: sin and evil are not realities in and of themselves; they are always "less than" what God has intended. Sin is like the rot on a piece of fruit or the rust on the car in a junkyard. Is like the infection that has made the body sick or the stink of decay. Sin has no life of its own; its ways are parasitic.

So what then are we as Christians to do? How do we take seriously Genesis 3, without letting it be the story and also take seriously Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation 21 and 22?

I suggest that we take sin very seriously... and take God even more seriously.

Whenever I hear a new philosophical theory or psychological paradigm, my benchmark is the same: "Does this [system/thought] take sin seriously enough? Does it take God even more seriously?"

Taking sin seriously means struggling against it at every turn. Our whole lives as Christians are to be lives of repentance, turning from sin and toward God, allowing the Holy Spirit's burning fire to cleanse us from our sin and warm us with divine grace. Taking sin seriously means an ongoing internal battle against all that keeps us from walking in the Way of Jesus.

Taking God seriously means never believing Satan, because he is the father of all lies. Taking God seriously means clinging to the truth that Christ's victory over sin and death on the cross is the final world, even when evidence in the world around us seems to suggest the opposite. Taking God seriously means knowing the final chapters of the book of Revelation like we know the Lord's Prayer, and trusting in those same promises.

Or, as a wise teacher of mine once said, it goes something like this: "Hi, I'm Matt, a sinner, redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb." May that be our prayer and conviction today and always.

Technology, T-Metals and the Task of Being a Christian

I probably write a bit too much on technology. Truth be told, it's always been a mixed bag for me. I love my laptop because it makes my work portable... but I hate that I do a lot of extra work because I can take it with me. I love that my cell phone allows me to make calls whenever and wherever I want... but it makes it harder to truly "be away" for vacation, etc. I love that posting a document online (or sending this to you via email) can save lots of paper... but email spam drives me crazy.

At a conference I attended in July on preaching, one of the groups that did relief work around the world highlighted the impact all our consumption of new technology has upon the lives of those who live in third-world countries. Read about what our hyper-consumption of "T" metals (Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten) used in cell phones is doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example. [*Note: I do not know enough about the organization that wrote this piece to recommend it or not; I am simply sharing it as one example of the problem.] In simple terms, our consumption of new technology is never neutral.

Part of our calling as Christians is a call to renunciation, of saying "No!" to the things the culture around us may unflinchingly embrace. I wonder how a simple act of prayer might inform the way we embrace or decline new technologies. What might it mean to make the sign of the cross or pray together with your spouse or teen or friend before considering whether or not to get that new cell phone, iPod or laptop? [Of course, making the sign of the cross and praying in the cell phone section of Best Buy might catch on and people may wonder when they can get their own jPhone!]

The other part of our calling as Christians is to say a resounding "Yes!" to things that are of God or bring God glory (see the last Psalms, 148-150, where the whole creation is invited into one grand "Hallelujah!"). In this spirit, here are a few ways that we as a congregation are using new technology for the sake of the Kingdom of God:

@ Bethlehem now has a Facebook page. Click "become a fan" to receive updates.

@ Pastor Matt has a public Facebook page [also click "become a fan" to receive updates] and a Twitter account [MattMusteric].

@ Sermons are available now on our website for download in MP3 format. My sermons are also available via podcast on iTunes (search for "Matthew Musteric podcast").

@ Our church newsletter is available online as a PDF file. This may mean future savings of time, resources and money.

@ On the front page of our church website you can look ahead to the readings for Sunday [left column], read news about our denomination [right column], and check the calendar.

@ And finally, these devotional reflections come to you free of charge and are posted on my blog.

Are all these things we should necessarily be embracing? I don't know. But it is our task together to continue to discern that, so that we may build up one another in love.

And if all of this technology makes you dizzy, that's OK too. Remember that even books and newspapers were once "new technology."

If you have suggestions for creative ways to use (or avoid) this technology for the glory of God, send me an email.

Empty Altar Table

Very recently a group of Lutheran pastors in the area were invited to take a tour of Holy Rosary Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. The ecumenical officer of the diocese, Father Jim Peiffer, was our gracious host. I won’t go into all the details of this magnificent building, but I do want to share a moment that moved me at the end of our time there.

We concluded with a short devotional service that mirrored the service pastors take part in as they begin in a new congregation. We began at the baptismal font, moved to the pulpit and finally to the altar. As we gathered around the altar table, a friend of mine read the Words of Institution as recorded by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11. It is the first time I have ever heard those words read behind an empty table, a table without the Sacrament, an altar without Holy Communion. Father Jim shared his lament that for a number of reasons we were not able to yet share this table fellowship, the deepest fellowship Christians know.

I was moved deeply too. For I too long for the day when all Christians—not just “some” or “most”—but all Christians gather together and the share the realized, concrete fellowship that our Lord Jesus intended (see John 17 and Acts 2:42).

In 1961, the World Council of Churches issued a statement on Christian unity. My favorite paragraph is this one:

We believe that the unity which is both God’s will and his gift to his Church is being made visible as all in each place who are baptized into Jesus Christ and confess him as Lord and Saviour are brought by the Holy Spirit into one fully committed fellowship, holding the one apostolic faith preaching the one Gospel, breaking the one bread, joining in common prayer, and having a corporate life reaching out in witness and service to all and who at the same time are united with the whole Christian fellowship in all places and all ages in such wise that ministry and members are accepted by all, and that all can act and speak together as occasion requires for the tasks to which God calls his people. It is for such unity that we believe we must pray and work.

This October we celebrate with our Lutheran and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This document was signed by members of Lutheran Churches around the world and the Roman Catholic Church on Reformation Day, 1999. It essentially proclaimed that on this central issue (justification), we are putting down our swords and no longer fighting.

I suppose for me the sound of a sword being dropped makes the sight of an empty altar table a bit less harsh. But I long for the day when the sound of that sword dropping is matched by the sound of wine being poured and bread being broken and all of Jesus’ faithful followers gathering at his Holy Communion feast.

Please join me in working for and praying for the unity of Christ’s whole Church.

Building Up... or Tearing Down?

As the first of the construction crews arrived this morning to begin putting up walls to prepare for the renovations to our church building, I was reminded that we're going to see a lot of demolition and construction in the next few months.

The "building up of the church" seems to be a pervasive them in the Letter to the Ephesians (see 4:11-16) and is worth reflecting on... if for no other reason than the simple fact that demolition is almost always easier than construction when it comes to buildings. In a similar way, it is far easier to demolish and destroy one another than it is to build up one another.

Instead of my own reflections, this week I offer an essay by Walter Wangerin, Jr. titled "Edification or Demolition." Wangerin reflects on how simple acts, here an encounter at a gas station, can wildly transform us for better or worse.

Pray for the building up of Christ's holy church. May we work toward this edification in all our relationships.

Eat this Book

In my sermon yesterday, I encouraged all of us to eat the word of God, to digest it daily that it may nourish us. We confess that Jesus is the Word of God (capital "W") who comes to us both through the word of God in the Holy Scriptures and in the Sacraments. Today I'd like to reflect on the regular practice of Christians eating and digesting the Holy Scriptures and allowing the Holy Spirit to nourish us through them.

As little as a year ago, if someone were to ask me how often they should read Scripture, I would have begun the conversation with something like, "Well, how often do you read the Bible now?" and then offered some suggestions for growing. If you are reading the Bible weekly, let's work on moving to daily, and so on. Now I am of a different mind.

If someone were to ask me today how often to read Scripture, I would ask them, "How often do you eat?" and encourage the same frequency for Bible reading as for eating. Every time you eat, every time you snack, match that with an equal time and frequency of reading Scripture. [You may actually want to track, just for one week, how much time you spend preparing and eating meals.]

I know it's daunting, that much Bible reading. But just as I would not encourage you to skip two meals a day, I don't think it is healthy for us when we regularly avoid digesting God's word. This food of Holy Scripture is more important, more dear to us, than even regular bread: one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD (Deuteronomy 8:3, cf. Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4).

Here are a few reflections and guidelines to aid in our feasting:

Fourth meal. What if you are an insomniac, like I am occasionally? Taco Bell advertises "Fourth Meal" as that meal between dinner and breakfast. Why not make a late night snack of God's word? Pray the Psalms.

Eat with others. Why not eat with others? Meals are always better with company, so why feast on God's word alone? Find a Bible study group that meets regularly and jump right in. Eat together.

Chew loudly. Try this practice if you have never done it before: read the Scriptures out loud for home devotions. The Word is meant to be heard. And try at worship to put down your bulletin and listen to the Scriptures.

Avoid junk food. All of what passes for devotional material is simply spiritual junk food. There may be a Bible verse but the reflections that follow often have little to do with the depth and breadth of God's word. Try lengthier passages of Scripture first, then good, solid food to supplement.

Snacks on the go. I imagine many of us have more than one Bible. Why not put one in different parts of the house, in the car, at the desk at work or school, etc.? This way God's life-giving food is always available.

Watch out. Daily engagement in the Word of God will transform us... making us over into the image of Christ. This can be a dangerous thing, loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us...

Invoke the author. One of my favorite theologians suggests that reading Scripture is the second most dangerous thing a Christian can do, for when the Bible is opened the devil is nearby, whispering into our ears, tempting us. So when we read, we should invoke the name of the author, the Holy Spirit, to guide our reading and understanding. You may be wondering, what is the most dangerous thing a Christian can do? Not read the Bible.

Go online. One of the gifts of recent innovations in technology is that there are thousands of Bible reading plans right at our fingertips. Check the back of the Bible you have now; chances are there is a reading plan there.

Eat up, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Other Events Coming Up...

Let's Talk About Sex

There are two opportunities to discuss recent decisions made by our denomination regarding human sexuality and standards for ordained ministers. The first one, with our synod Bishop, is this Tuesday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at First Lutheran Church, 109 E. Lincoln St., Findlay, Ohio. The second opportunity is here at Bethlehem, September 16 (Wednesday) from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. You are welcome to join us for either, or both.

Church at Cherry's

We received an overwhelming response to our "Church at Cherry's" theological discussions, so we hope to continue those this fall. Tentatively, we will meet once a month (probably the fourth Tuesday: so September 22 @ 7 pm). If you have topic suggestions, please send them. Oh, and BYOB (Bring Your Own Bible).

Ephesians 5: Getting Drunk

Getting Drunk

In Ephesians 5:18-19 (the text for this coming Sunday) we read:
Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your heart (NRSV).

Those who have struggled with addiction to alcohol are some of my favorite Christians, because they seem to get grace, repentance and redemption in a very deep way.

The easy part of the text above is the "don't get drunk" part. However, I am concerned that we often read this as simply a word about too much alcohol. I think we need to say more than that. Many of the sins in our culture are sins of excess, sins of gluttony, sins of simply "too much." In other words, even for those who can count on one hand the number of times they had too much alcohol to drink (or perhaps have never had "too much"), most of us regularly "get drunk" on all sorts of things: excessive shopping, too much TV, too much technology... the list is probably endless. As a relative of mine once said: "Everyone has their vice."

What all of this excess leads to, as with alcohol, is a dulling of the senses, a lack of awareness of God and of the world around us. In other words, regardless of the object, "too much" is nearly always spiritually dangerous.

In contrast, Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians (and us!) to drink deeply of the Spirit. The verse above locates this deep drinking of the spirit in the center of the worship life of the Church: in particular in singing: hymns, songs and Psalms. The Psalms are a rich collection of prayers to God that form not just the first hymn book of the people of Israel but also for us as the Church. If you do not already have a weekly or daily practice of praying the Psalms, I would encourage you in that direction.

What are some other ways we drink deeply of the Spirit? Christians throughout space and time have centered on three or four disciplines of faith that put us in the right places and frames of mind to receive the Spirit:
1.) Prayer (daily, or multiple times daily)
2.) Fasting
3.) Works of Mercy/Charity
4.) Scripture Reading

But there is also a sacramental way that we drink deeply of the Spirit. In the Sacrament of Holy Communion we literally drink of the Holy Spirit as we receive the precious Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. We believe by eating and drinking.

May God the Holy Spirit fill you enfold you this week and always!

A few housekeeping items:

+ The "Church at Cherry's" Theology discussion continues this evening at 7 pm at Cherry's Pub on Front Street. This evening's topic will be: "The Way, the Truth and the Life?" exploring what it means that Jesus is the Way and how Christians relate to other religious traditions.

+ I am a bit behind in posting sermons from the past several weeks due to the New Orleans youth gathering and vacation, so please be patient. I am hoping to post Pastor Jim Miller's sermon from the Community Worship Service this past Sunday, but I have not yet checked the audio quality.

+ I am hoping to at some point consolidate this blog with my other one (revmatt.blogspot.com).

I am Bourbon Street

Our youth and adults traveling to New Orleans arrived back safe and sound on Monday, after a few glitches with an early morning canceled flight. You can read all about our adventures on this blog and at another unofficial Gathering blog. Thank you for all of your prayers while we were gone.

I am Bourbon Street
I have chosen to title this post-Gathering reflection "I am Bourbon Street." Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is of course famous for many things, most of them revolving around what I would all "excess." Bourbon Street is, of course, almost a parody of itself. Because of so much excess, it is easy for most people, I imagine, to speak of Bourbon Street as some place those people go to do those things. But what if we all admit that deep down we are all Bourbon Street. The interiors of our lives are plagued with sins known and unknown, things done and left undone. It turns out we are all Bourbon Street.

But here is the great news. You see, each morning a full crew of garbage collectors and sanitation workers with soapy, pressurized water descends on the French Quarter to clean things up. They don't ever consider not doing this. It is simply what they do, day in and day out: clean things up. So it is with God's forgiveness of us. Not because it is something that God has to do, but because it is fitting with the very nature of God: It is something God chooses to do and wants to do. God descends upon the Bourbon Streets of our lives in Jesus Christ and cleans us up. Sometimes this cleaning is with gentle scrubbing, sometimes it is with the blast of pressurized water. These sanitation workers presented for me an image of Baptism: the life-giving water that rescues us from sin and cleanses us through daily repentance and forgiveness.

And, grace upon grace, the wonder if all this forgiveness and washing is that it precedes our sin. God's forgiveness is the first act. Jesus Christ is not Plan B. Before the foundations of the world, the Cross stands looming.

I am Bourbon Street, caked in sin. But I am also Bourbon Street, new every day, washed in the waters of Holy Baptism and made new in the blood of the Lamb.

Channel 11 News Feature
Our Church at Cherry's theology discussion made last night's evening news. I want to be clear about a few things. First, neither Pastor Jim Miller nor I nor the bar owner invited the news. It was not done as a publicity stunt. Second, I want to give due credit to where we got the idea: We swiped it from Pastor David Nevergall in Elmore who got it from the Roman Catholic Diocese with their "Theology on Tap" program. And I'm pretty sure that they got the idea from Jesus himself.

While it would have been nice to have a heads up, I am thankful, not for the publicity for our community, our churches or even Cherry's, but rather that the Gospel was spoken publicly.

Baptismal Remembrance and Footwashing

This evening we read from Romans 6 and John 13. It was raining as we waded into the fountain behind our hotel. [It had been there the whole time and none of us had noticed it before.] We remembered our Baptism with watery crosses on the forehead and then washed one another's feet.

Worship

In less than two hours we will gather for worship, 38,000 strong. We gather as sinners, desperately in need of healing, of a word of forgiveness, of our Lord's precious and life-giving Body and Blood. We gather as servants of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, that we might be found worthy to be found in Him, always seeking the very last place. And we gather as saints, not by what we have done (or left undone), but because that is how God, through the life-giving waters of Baptism, chooses to name us and regard us and treat us and call us. And we gather as the hungry, to feast upon the Christ who is our Bread, that by his hand the world might be fed.

Oh, and I was wrong about the number. Turns out there are those around the world in the Church on earth who also Gather this morning to sing praises to our Lord Jesus. And turns out there is a heavenly multitude beyond number, whose ceaseless praise of the Most Holy Trinity is quite deafening. So join us, as we join into worship that is already in progress...

Gathering Worship

In a few hours we will be off to the last official act of the Gathering, worship at the SuperDome. If you have already worshipped at home, you can also watch the live streaming video feed of the Gathering, beginning at 10:00 am EST (pre-worship music) or 10:30 am (worship). They have been streaming the evening events and I imagine will also stream Sunday morning worship.

From that page you can also find links to a whole host of things: pictures, summaries, etc.

Crazy Hair Day

I am not sure if this qualifies as a bad hair day or a fantastic hair day. Skyscraper hair maybe.

Ribs

After a great evening at the SuperDome, a local vendor set up rib shop on Poydras Street. I couldn't resist. Love those ribs!

@ the Dome

The happy bunch at the Dome on Friday night.

Ninth Ward

Much has been written about the now famous Ninth Ward, completely submerged and destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Here are a few photos of some of the "missing houses." It is almost a no man's land. While there are houses here and there, it is largely a series of vacant lots and overgrown yards. Imagine several square city blocks with only a few houses on each.

Plantations

While some groups were given some hands on (construction or clean-up) service projects and others were given human interest (reading to children) service projects, others were sent on more of what I would call a "learning adventure." We visited two plantations west of New Orleans.

Serving Day

Friday was our service day. Here we are decked out in our orange serving shirts.

Day 3: Bourbon Street and Forgiveness

Most people have a good idea of what happens at Bourbon Street in the evenings, but what may not be as well known is that a tireless band of sanitation workers powerwashes a good part of the French Quarter every morning. The picture of these cleaners is at St. Joseph's square. As I walked along these roads and snapped these photos, I couldn't help but think of forgiveness. It may be a longer essay someday, but what struck me is how faithfully and thoroughly these workers work each day to clean and to make things new.

May forgiveness wash over us today!

T-Shirts and Identity

This year I've seen a remarkable number of t-shirts. I am amazed at the amount of creativity that went into many.

God's Work. Our Hands.

The ELCA's "theme" this year is "God's work. Our hands." You can see it emblazoned on our servant t-shirts. This theme I think attempts to draw on the rich imagery used in the New Testament that names the Church as the Body of Christ. As the Letter to the Ephesians so richly testifies--and what I have so deeply witnessed here--is the variety of members that make up the Body and the rich variety of gifts that animate the same Body in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have missed some of the "connective tissue" in the Gathering so far. We have participated in acts of serving in many places throughout New Orleans. And we have heard a lot about justice, serving the poor, etc., but not enough about why and how we do that precisely as members of the Body of Christ, joined to Jesus himself in the mystical waters of Baptism. It is our union with Christ that not only saves us but animates our serving in his Name and as his Body.

Consider adding the letter to the Ephesians to your devotional reading list this week.

SuperDome

Here's a shot of the SuperDome from the outside. It looks surprisingly like a spacecraft. We will "launch" from here tomorrow for our servant event.

Lost and Found

Band Lost and Found at the Interaction Center. Check out their song "Give Us Ears," a wonderful summary of the Gospel of Mark at NewSongsforWorship.com.

Fun Hat Dude

What I love about youth gatherings, among many things, is sheer amount of fun and energy teenagers bring to the table. Props to this guy who had a great hat and graciously allowed me to share this photo.

_________, Justice, Jazz

When I first had this idea of multiple people blogging (unofficially) the Gathering on the ground a friend of mine asked if he should be nice. What he meant, I think, was how to handle those awkward moments when you need to constructively criticize what is happening. So I guess I'll just jump right in and stick my neck out.

While our three speakers this evening has some great things to say (and one had incredible presence), I found it disturbing that Jesus was not explicitly mentioned until the third speaker. Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for loving acts of service, of Jesus' work being done by whomever and whenever. But I think as Christians we have not only an obligation but a deep desire to ground what we are doing in the One who animates our serving, in the One who gives us new life. And his name is Jesus.

Also, what is up with Lost and Found not headlining this event? Their music is good, their theology is both sound and deep, and they know how to work a crowd. And Jesus appears rather regularly in their work.

Sand Volleyball at the Interaction Center

Change for Change Brick

Working on a brick for the offering for World Hunger ("Change for Change").

Tall Guy

This one guy in the Arts and Culture entrance venue was really tall.

New Orleans - On the Ground

I had some profound conversations with several people who are native to New Orleans. The woman I met this morning was here from New York for a funeral of a family member. She was able to give me a sense of the devastation of Katrina beyond the news stories and the hype. The security guard I spoke with this afternoon told her story of having been taken in with ten others by a family in Tennessee during Katrina, only to have the same family take the money that the small town had collected as a donation for them. The cook at Mother's restaurant shared his story too.

It is amazing to be honored to be a part of listening to someone else's story. And in the process, we find ourselves transformed.

Interaction Center

Getting ready for our "Jazz" day the Interaction (convention) center.

Jazz Day

Today was our "Jazz" day, I think. The Gathering theme is Jesus, Justice, Jazz and each day corresponds to one emphasis. Since we are on the purple track, we got to explore the Interaction Center at the convention center. Think of the interaction center as a venue for exploring creatively arts, music, service, sports and everything else under the sun.

T-Shirt

Opening Gathering

The opening gathering went well. We heard from Bishop Hanson and two speakers that spoke of what "faith in action" looked like in their lives.

What struck me most, however, was the evidence of Katrina that remained on the exterior of the Superdome and the adjacent building. Hope penetrating despair and despair penetrating hope.

Jazz

Jazz is at the heart of New Orleans. What will it mean to improvise a new/old song to/for the Lord?

Called Saints

The earliest Christian writers (including St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, a focus text for the Gathering this year), calls Christians "saints" or "holy ones." Rather than a description of pious people, these earliest Christians knew exactly what they were doing: testifying to God's action in "setting apart" (a definition of "holy") a people for God's purposes.

I'm looking forward to being with the Saints from our neck of the woods, seeing some old Saints and meeting some new ones, locally grown and from around the country.

City Bus

Instead of taking a shuttle from the airport, we took the city bus with a group of 38 from Staples, Minnesota. It was quite a long ride in from the airport (especially when you're sitting on the heater/engine in the back of the bus) but it gave us a chance to see a variety of things, including homes still damaged from Hurricane Katrina. I'm sure it will be overwhelming to hear the stories of those who lived here during the storm.

Ice Crystals

At first glance this may seem like an odd picture. I think it was taken at about 35,000 feet somewhere between DC and New Orleans. The ice crystals on the window struck me. We must be high in the air, I reasoned, for ice crystals to form on the window.

To think that God is above and beyond us is almost incomprehensible. I wonder how our conceptions of God will be expanded and deepened and changed this week.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles

This is a shot of our shuttle bus ride from the "outlying area" at the Washington, DC airport where we had our connecting flight. As I hear from friends around the world flying, driving and riding buses from all over the country (and beyond), I am reminded that "Gathering" is not just a noun, it is a verb.

Light

This was one of those "lucky" shots. Better: one given by grace. The light bursting forth from the stage beneath the large cross gives me pause as I reflect on Christ, the uncreated Light who is in our midst, even as we gather in his name.

Opening Evening at the SuperDome

Being Present

This is going to be the most blogged about, Twittered about, techno-fiddled Gathering in history. Heck, I'm even joining the fray. But as I look around and see the youth texting and plugged into iPods and the adults quick to draw their cell phone as soon as they have a free moment, I wonder: What is all this technology doing to us?

Shane Hipps has recently convinced me, in his book Flickering Pixels, that no technology is neutral; all of these things deeply form and shape us. The key is understanding what is happening and then embrace or reject (or both!) each form of technology.

As I look around and ponder these things, here is what I observe: These new technologies are...

1. connecting us, though I imagine in ways that are not entirely neutral (nor always positive). On the positive side, many of those who could not make the trip can be a part of it virtually in a variety of ways. Perhaps all this technology helps to connect us more deeply as local congregations.

However, there is a strange twist to this. Because we are so electronically connected, instead of immersing ourselves in this new place away from home we are connected virtually to a dozen other communities back home. This is related to my next concern...

2. making us less present... to the moment, to those surrounding us. Instead of being right here, right now we are engaged with someone else, often somewhere else.

3. potentially undermining a strong belief in the incarnation. A central confession of the Christian Faith is that the Lord Jesus, fully God and begotten eternally from the Father, is also fully human, born of Mary. Flesh matters. Bodies matter.

And so AT & T was ironically wrong many years ago when the company invited us to "reach out and touch someone." An embrace is not possible virtually. Wiping a tear is not possible virtually.

It's not as if I'm immune from these pressures. But during this I'm going to try to keep my cell phone in my pocket as much as possible [except when I'm Twittering--see how difficult these waters are to navigate?], so I don't miss the God (who is everywhere present and fills all things) right in front of my face. Wait, is that my cell phone?

Philippians 2

The Gathering theme this year is drawn from Philippians, chapter 2. Verse 5 invites us: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus..." and then describes Christ's self-emptying (kenosis) for us and for our salvation. I wonder what it will look like for us to empty ourselves, in the Way of Jesus, during this Gathering.

Jesus, Justice, Jazz UNofficial Blog

I have set up the UNofficial blog for the New Orleans youth gathering and have invited several "on the ground" authors as contributors. While this page will feature some of our group's adventures, the other blog (http://jjj09.blogspot.com/) will hopefully give a variety of perspectives from authors from around the country.

Blog, Tweet, Pray: New Orleans Youth Gathering

Our contingent from Bethlehem will be joining about 37,000 other youth and adults from around the nation in New Orleans for the National Lutheran Youth Gathering. The theme this year is Jesus, Justice, Jazz.

You can follow along (virtually) in a couple of different ways:

1. I hope to post at least a few blog posts here on this site (http://7daydevos.blogspot.com/).

2. You can also follow the Twitter stream on Twitter (username: houseofbread) or in the right hand sidebar of the same site (http://7daydevos.blogspot.com/).

3. The Facebook Page (search for Bethlehem Lutheran Church) should also capture these feeds as status updates.

4. No promises, but I might be able to upload pictures or audio.

5. This should really be #1: Please pray for all attending this Gathering, that we all might grow in what it means to walk in the way of Jesus.

Levitcus 25 and Matthew 18: Jubilee and Forgiveness

In my morning prayers this past week I was reading through the last chapters of Leviticus. Chapter 25 has always been one of my favorites, with its detailed description of the Year of Jubilee. This was a "sabbath of sabbaths," the great 50th year following the sabbath of sabbath years (7 x 7). The emphasis of this Jubilee seems to be the return of everything back to how God intended it. Land is returned, relationships are restored, etc. It is a literal enactment, though perhaps only a taste, of the final Day of the Lord where God will be all in all.

The Jubilee Year got me to thinking about forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21-22 Saint Peter asks our Lord Jesus how often he should do this forgiveness thing. Some translations give Jesus' answer as: "77 times." I once heard someone say: "Anyone who has been married for more than a year has already hit that number!" A better translation is the more difficult 70 times 7, pointing us not just to 490 times (still keeping track!) but to an impossibly perfect number. If seven is the number of perfection, then 70 times 7 points us to perfection squared... and then some. In other words, something like the Year of Jubilee. Perhaps even a Jubilee of Jubilees.

The emphasis seems to be not just on "keep forgiving" (although that is certainly the point too), but on forgiveness as the main thing, the central thing, forgiveness as a way of life, forgiveness as God's intentions for the whole creation. In choosing to forgive, we choose not just a set number of times (How many times as a parent have I begun my threats with "Next time..."?), but to enter into a pattern, a way of life, a Jubilee year that points us toward God and to God's final plan for the fullness of time.

In other words, when we forgive like God forgives, we walk on holy ground, we glimpse and taste the Divine.

Want to read more? See the verses that follow: Matthew 18:23-35.

Forgiveness

Preaching Conference
The preaching conference (Poets, Prophets, Preachers) I attended early this week was outstanding. The only downside, I suspect, is that expectations are automatically raised when you go to one of these events. :) Perhaps by the grace of the Holy Spirit I'll be able to deliver.

Church at Cherry's
Join us for "Church at Cherry's," a series of theology discussions at Cherry's pub in town, hosted by Pastor Jim Miller and me. We begin this Tuesday with a discussion of the End Times. We'll continue on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of July and August (all at 7 pm).

Forgiveness
This week I'd like us to begin to think about and practice forgiveness.

Sometimes the best thing I can do as a pastor is direct you to someone who teaches/preaches better than I do on a given subject. So... rather than give you a long series of written reflections on the topic, I suggest you listen to Pastor Rob Bell's June series on the subject of forgiveness. I think he does an outstanding job. Simply go to the the Mars Hill Teaching Page and click on each of the titles (also listed below) to listen to the audio. You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes if you are into that kind of thing.

06.28.09: It Stops Here! - Rob Bell
06.21.09: Tortured By Books - Rob Bell
06.14.09: Drop the Jawbone - Rob Bell

May the Forgiving God who loves you and restores you in Jesus Christ begin to work that forgiving love in you.

Haiku for Herod's Banquet

This coming weekend we will hear the gruesome telling of the story of the beheading of John the Baptist in Mark 6:14-29. It is a tough text to wrestle with. I think it is best understood in its juxtaposition with the Feeding of the 5,000 in the verses that follow it (Which we will hear about for the next six weeks in Mark 6 and John 6). The implicit question seems to be: Do you want to go to this (Herod's) meal that ends in death, beheading and love of self... or do you want to feast with Jesus, at his banquet, that ends in life, where there is food for all?

I offer this Haiku as a meditation on the text.

Herod's Birthday Feast
Quickly descends: gruesome death
Contrast Jesus' Meal

[Image (c) 2009, used with permission, Augsburg Fortress Liturgies, annual license #20800]

Technology and Faith

I just finished reading Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps last week, in preparation for a preaching workshop I will be attending in July. The first several chapters were review for me, but the last 2/3rds were helpful and insightful reflections on what technology is doing to us--especially if we are not paying attention.

I have ventured into Facebook Land and am even on Twitter. I own a cell phone (prepaid), but am no texting champion.

One of Hipps' central arguments is that the medium and the message are inseparable. In other words, what we are watching on TV is not as important as the fact that we are watching TV and what TV, as a medium, is doing as it shapes our brain and how it receives information.

His argument has enormous implications for preaching and worship.

What are your thoughts on technology and faith?

Children

This week is Vacation Bible School for us, so I'd like to consider children as our topic for this week.

Our culture is a bit neurotic when it comes to children. On the one hand, we try to protect them and indulge them, often in ways that are completely over the top. On the other hand, we still want them to be "seen and not heard" and present a most unwelcome posture toward them in certain places and spaces.

But rather than consider what we think about children, what does God think about children?

Children Show Us the Unity of God
Did you ever wonder about the deeper meaning of the Scripture that says that "the two shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5)? We often call to mind the physical coming together of a husband and wife in marital intercourse, but the "one flesh" also points us to the fruit of this act: children, literally the "one flesh in person" from the two. A child gets literally half of her DNA from her father and half from her mother.

The same word is used in this "one-ness" that is the fruit of marriage and the oneness that is internal to God. In John 10:30 and 17:11, Jesus says that he and the Father are "one," using the same word. In a wonderful and beautiful way, children in their very being, show us the "oneness" of God. And, of course, as human creatures we all bear God's image (Genesis 1:26-27).

Children Show Us Faithful Dependence
Children are utterly dependent on their parents and other caregivers. They remind us that it is God who gives us our daily bread, our breath of life, that we live only by God's gracious care and provision.

Children Show Us How to Be Present
Have you ever noticed how children--especially small children--get from point A to B? Answer: With lots of little stops along the way: pick the flower, watch the squirrel, laugh at the breeze.

Children Show Forth the Resurrection
Some of the first Christians also saw in children a foreshadowing, a "type" of the Resurrection. For children usually outlive their parents, they "continue" the live of their parents in their own lives. They "live beyond death," our death. And in this way they are literally hope incarnate. In their very being they show forth and remind us of the promise we have in Christ for Resurrection, for new life!

Jesus' words to the children, of course, are a word of welcome: Let the little children come to me! (Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16).

Terms: "Children" vs. "Kids"
One final word about what we call our children...
A Mennonite pamphlet I read raised this issue and I think it is worth consideration, because how we name others shows, to a large extent, how we regard them. Do we call children "children" or do we call them "kids"?

I would venture to guess that most of us refer to children as "kids." I have tried to make it a personal discipline to use the word "children" instead--at least as often as I remember to. I find it to be, on the whole, more honoring to children. "Kids" carries with it at least a slightly negative tone, as in "kids these days," where the word "children" conveys a mix of innocence and vulnerability.

May we tend to our children, who are God's children, in a way that is honoring to our Creator. And may we see in them the life that God intends for us all.

The Lectionary

By the way, our website is back up and running, virus clean! So browse on!

The Lectionary
Just where do we get the Sunday readings? And why? The Lutheran Church, along with Roman Catholics and many Protestant denominations, all follow the Revised Common Lectionary or something very close to it.This three-year cycle of readings is meant to expose us to a broad sweep of the Holy Scriptures.

[It has actually been proven that Christians that attend churches that use some form of a Lectionary get a broader exposure to more of the Bible in worship than those that attend churches where the Pastor selects the Scripture each Sunday. However, the other side of this argument is that in many non-lectionary churches, members participate more extensively in Bible study and Sunday school, an area in which we as Lutherans could stand to grow.]

From the earliest days, Christians followed a pattern of readings, a pattern we inherited from our Jewish forebears. The Revised Common Lectionary was developed to meet the desires of many Christians (and God: see John 17) to be "one" with their brothers and sisters in Christ.

But how does the lectionary work? And what will we be hearing for the next several months?

The lectionary is divided up into three years. We are in Year B, the year of Mark (Year A is Matthew, Year C is Luke), so most of the Gospel readings are drawn from St. Mark's Gospel, although we will occasionally hear from John's Gospel since Mark's is the shortest gospel.

To understand how the readings fit together, think of a periscope and how it uses several mirrors bouncing light so that the person in the submarine can see what is on the surface. The first thing that is "reflected" is the Gospel. The Old Testament reading (which we confess proclaims Christ as much as the New Testament does) "reflects" the Gospel reading, echoing and reflecting backs its central themes. Then the Psalm "sings back" or reflects the Old Testament reading. The Epistle (New Testament letter) reading is the odd man out. Usually, the Epistle reading follows a continuous pattern of reading through parts of a New Testament letter over several weeks or months.

The Light, of course, that is reflected in the whole Bible (Luke 24:44) is Christ our God.

So... from now until the end of November, the Gospel readings will be drawn from St. Mark's Gospel, primarily chapters 4-13 (we got chapters 1-3 during Advent and Christmas and 14-16 during Lent and Easter, coinciding with these seasons). We get a treat this year with readings from the 6th chapter of St. John's Gospel for 5 weeks this summer (7/26-8/23). This is the famous "Bread of Life" discourse and speaks deeply about Holy Communion and how Jesus is, quite literally our Bread. The Old Testament readings will reflect the Gospel themes and then the Psalms will "sing back" to us those same themes, reflecting and amplifying both the Old Testament reading and the Gospel. It's Jesus, three times amplified!

In the New Testament letters, we will hear from 2 Corinthians (6/14-7/5), a wonderful letter to a troubled Church. Next we will be treated to Ephesians (7/12-8/23), a wonderful letter about what it means to be the church. Finally, the letter of James (8/30-9/27) and the letter to the Hebrews will round out the year (10/4-11/15).

The lectionary can be confusing, but I prefer to think of it like a rich banquet, a "three year banquet" as a book I recently read suggests. Come and feast!

Online and Adult Education
I am hoping to post sermons online from the last several weeks. I have a backlog of those and some Sunday school teachings. In the meantime, I'd like to invite you to try to the new calendar feature on our website and to consider attending one of our summer Sunday school courses for adults. We will study "Poverty and the Poor in the Bible" from June 14 - July 5 and the book of Ephesians from July 12 - August 23.