Claimed, gathered and sent

  This is the sermon I am preaching tomorrow at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text is Revelation 7:9-17 . I am a saint and so are you! Today is All Saints Day, ALL SAINTS : those who have gone before us into the church triumphant and those still living--all of you in our parking lot [toot your horns!] and in our sanctuary, and those unable to attend. Did you know you are saints? You may not feel like it and that’s ok. Martin Luther wrote that we are simultaneously saints and sinners, in other words, a mixed bag. That gives me hope when I mess up and helps me to not be so harsh in judging others. In John’s vision, we don’t find a mere handful of people standing before the throne of God and the Lamb. There is a “great multitude.” This multitude was innumerable, uncountable. Today, there are those whose faith is so exclusive, with such a judgmental God, that there are more outsiders than insiders, while our God of mercy and grace has this great throng before him.

With the outbreak of COVID 19, the church as the community of faith, has had to get creative. Many churches use Zoom for worship while others pre-record worship. St. Timothy has started having drive -in worship services. Here is the article that was in the local paper. https://www.post-journal.com/news/community/2020/06/st-timothy-church-holding-drive-in-services-sunday/

This past Sunday, 1/3, we observed Epiphany. I preached this sermon at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church. The scripture text is Matthew 2:1-12   What in the world is Epiphany and why do we celebrate it? Epiphany means "showing forth." It names the day that the church tells Matthew's story of the magi from foreign lands who follow the light of the star and "see" Jesus as Christ. This is important because this acknowledges that the greatest gift given by the God who comes down to be with His people, is to be shared by Jew and Gentile alike. The irony here is the wise men who were not Jewish scholars were the first to recognize the sign of the star in the sky and the importance of its meaning. It's commonly believed that the star would have also been seen in Jerusalem and Judea but somehow the Jewish scholars were asleep in the temple. Even if they saw it, they either ignored it or didn't look in the Jewish scriptures to find

This is the second installment on a series on reforms from the Reformation that we enjoy today. Prior to the Reformation, worship was in Latin, no matter the native language of the people. Most did not understand what was being said and were unable to participate in any meaningful way in the mass. Any singing that was done was also done in Latin and by a choir. There was little, if any, lay participation in the service. The people were passive observers. Those of us who were raised Roman Catholic and are old enough to remember the Catholic Church prior to Vatican II may well remember that time. With this reform came understanding of the service and of the gospel because of hearing it in the vernacular. German chorales and hymnody were also written for use in the service (with parts sung by the people) so that by still another means the Word would be declared and more easily learned by parishioners. Worshipers moved from being passive observers to active particip

Because yesterday was part of Thanksgiving weekend, I did not have teaching parish at Rural Lutheran. I love being involved there, but had forgotten how wonderful it is to simply participate in Sunday worship and not be responsible for anything in the service! I enjoyed sitting with Ray and friends. I have heard how important it is for pastors to intentionally make opportunities for worship and sabbath. Though my responsibilities on Sundays are nothing compared to Rural Pastor's, I'm beginning to have a better understanding of why I keep hearing that. After worship, we went to lunch with a classmate and h er parents. It was so relaxing and enjoyable.--and yummy! The day was then crowned with LTSG's annual Advent Vespers which is a beautiful, amazing service. We had a wonderful ushering in of the Advent season. fllickr and Music Gettysburg! pictures

Please take a look at this post on Dream Awakener. A prayer of Walter Brueggeman's was posted which is incredible. It's not about us, was the message as we gathered today for orientation. The center of our life together in this place is worship, as it should be. Flickr picture.