Yoke of Freedom

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Luke 9:51-62

In one of the ministries I served, we had the idea of posting pictures, articles and reflections that illustrated the way the people who were part of the ministry lived out their faith.  We knew that there were people doing amazing things nobody knew about, and wanted to recognize them for their service and lift them up as examples of faithful discipleship.  We announced the project in bulletins, newsletters, and announcements.  Guess how many pictures and articles we received?    Not one.   I encouraged a few people  I knew were doing exemplary things to submit something.  They turned me down.   Lutheran humility?  Perhaps.  But, a number of people didn’t see a connection between their faith and what they were doing in their lives. 

One woman, who I knew did many acts of kindness, simply said, “We are saved by grace, not works.”  She was right, of course.  The freedom we have in and through Christ is nothing we can earn nor anything we deserve.  It is a gift.  It is grace.  It was given to us while we were still weak – as weak as an infant at the Baptismal font.  

But, sometimes I worry that we have fallen off the other side of the font.   “Works” have become so anathema to some Lutherans that, while we might do them, we fear talking about them will make us appear self-righteous (and somehow anti-faith).  The problem with that is, to those looking from the outside in, it looks as if we practice a faith that has no real impact or bearing on how we live our lives.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Once we have been grasped by the gift of God’s grace, it can and does have an impact on how we live our lives day by day.  It has to!  Once we are yoked to the freedom that is ours in Christ, our lives can never be the same!   Paul tells the Galatians that once the Holy Spirit gets a hold of us we will live with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Not a bad way to live, if you ask me.

In the reading from Luke, Jesus encounters three people who want to follow, but who want to do so on their own terms.  None of them is willing to change or be changed by the one they wish to follow.  What about us?   How does the Grace of God change us?  How does it impact our lives?   And, can anyone around us even tell?  Are we willing to tell them?

Perhaps asking people to post their good works on a bulletin board was a bad idea.  (OK, it was.)  But, if the impact of our faith and God’s grace is invisible…   If it has no discernible effect on how we live…   does it really matter?

Peace,

Bishop Mike

Perfect Love Trumps Hate

1 John 4:18

For the past several weeks, I have been reflecting and meditating on 1 John 4:18 -  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love -- in light of the vitriol and invective and fear-mongering of the current presidential campaign. 

And then, there was Orlando.

I have been struggling to find the words to express what I am feeling about that horror which don’t seem vacuous or clichéd.  It seems to me that the massacre in Orlando reflects the constellation of hate, fear and paranoia that has been rotting out American society like a cancer in recent years;  the perfect storm of our dehumanizing of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, of our demonizing of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and our neglect of the reality of mental illness and the many who suffer from it in silence.  Perfect love casts out fear, but hate always, always results in violence.   With all too much frequency in the history of humanity, with unspeakable, horrible violence.

Perfect love trumps hate.  I believe that.  We need to live like we believe it.  We need to ACT like we mean it.   Instead of attacking one another in Facebook posts and tweets, we need to be doing whatever we can to build relationships of understanding, hope and compassion.  That means getting out of our church buildings, putting down our devices, opening our ears, listening to the pain and sorrow of our brothers and sisters and then acting in partnership based on that listening.  This year, our Synod passed a resolution calling on all our congregations to take on the scourge of racism.  How many of us have started to respond to that call (which passed with no dissent)?   How many of us have sat down to listen, really listen, to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, or our Muslim brothers and sisters, to hear their stories and see the image of God in them?  What are we doing to identify and walk with those who suffer silently in our midst with mental illness?

Perfect love trumps hate.   Not OUR perfect love.  (Which ours never is.)  But God’s perfect love.  A love which took Jesus to the cross.  A love which conquered death.  A love which still empowers God’s people to overcome hate and fear and invective and vitriol and oppression and bloodshed…   in spite of the many times those things have been perpetrated in god’s name.

The God I believe in is a God of reconciliation, not judgment.   

The God I believe in is a God of love, not hate. 

The God I believe in is a God who weeps with us in the face of unspeakable violence, and then brings life from death. 

All too often, I confess, I am complicit in perpetuating systems that perpetuate hate.   I succumb to fear.   But, perfect love casts out fear and I pray that the God of Perfect Love, will use me in that holy work.  I pray that the horrors of Orlando, and the daily horrors that shatter our world with violence, will compel all people of faith (all faiths) to join together in God’s holy work of reconciliation and healing the world so desperately needs.

Peace,

Bishop Mike

Widows and the Way

Pentecost 3

Luke 7:11-17

What does “compassion” look like?   Jesus’ reaction to the dead son of the widow of Nain shows us. But wait!  Jesus was Jesus and we clearly are not.  How can we expect to be compassionate as he was compassionate?  We certainly can’t raise widow’s sons from the dead!  On the other hand, Paul writes, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 11:1)

So, what does Christ’s compassion look like in this story?  First, Jesus is out on the streets when this miracle takes place.  He is not sitting in a synagogue waiting for the widow to come to him with her sorrow.   In the same way, we need to get out of our churches and into our communities – looking for the widows and widows sons who are all around us all the time, yearning for new life to touch them in the midst of death.  Second, Jesus sees her need…  and acts. He doesn’t get the disciples together for a committee meeting to discuss what should be done. He simply acts.  We cannot sit in our churches debating what we should do about the suffering and searching people around us.  We need to get out there and act.  We need to let our neighbors set our churchly agendas.  We cannot try to impose our agendas upon them.  Finally, like Christ, we need to give life.   Judgment, recriminations, demands and legalism do not have a place in Christ’s work of compassion.  The woman does not even ask for Jesus’ help!  His action is driven by compassion.  Nothing more.  Sure, we may not be able to resurrect the dead, but we are able to bring life into the dark places in people’s lives and in a world where death too often reigns.  We are resurrection people  and we believe in a God who can and does bring life, abundant life, in even in the face of death. 

Jesus does not raise the widow’s son in order to add numbers to his disciple band.  That is not his goal.  That is never his goal.  His goal is to make the Reign of God known in word and deed.   When people’s lives are changed by that gift of compassion, mercy, grace, forgiveness and love, they cannot help but follow.  In the same way, we do not go out into the world in compassion, service and love to fill our pews.  We go out because compassion is what Christ’s disciples do.  We go out because we know the power of God’s Reign to change the world and know we cannot in good conscience keep it to ourselves.  People will want a piece of that!  Guaranteed!  But, as soon as recruitment becomes our primary goal, we will fail.  Every time.

What does “compassion” look like?  We only need to look at the life and ministry of Jesus to find out.

Peace,

Bishop Mike.