Profit Margins

Matthew 16:21-28

For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?  --Matthew 16:26

A church is not a business. 

In the last week or so, I have spent more time than I would have liked dealing with businesses.  Big businesses.  Corporations.  It hasn’t been pretty.  These are organizations that claim to care for people.  But, in truth, the bottom line for them is not people, but profits.   They are cold, calculating profit machines.  Their job is to make money for their stockholders and those at the top of their management hierarchies.   Nothing more.  

A church is not a business.

And I, for one, am glad for that.

The church is not profit driven.  Though, I have seen too many churches that seem to think they are.  They seem to worry most about their offerings (revenues), and about how many members (customers?) they have (or don’t have).   This bottom line drives decisions about what they do or don’t do as a congregation.  A lot of church conflicts emerge from this view of church life and the anxiety it produces.  And why wouldn’t it, when so much of the world around us lives in the anxious, profit driven grind of the business world?

But the church is not a business. 

It is driven by something quite different than profit.  Or should be.

It is driven by the cross.

Like Peter before us, we can and often do, let the expectations of  the world around us define our understanding of Jesus and Jesus’ mission in the world.  Like Peter before us, we can say the right words but then balk at the implications of those words when Jesus spells them out.   The point of the church is not profit, but loss.  Extravagant, sacrificial, loss.   The point of the church is not to build up reserves but to give it all away in acts of love, compassion, caring,  service, and mercy.  Just like Jesus did.   The point of the church is to open our hearts to the world, not to sit in our buildings wondering why the customers are not coming.

The truth is, if the church were a business, and were judged on strict business principals, it would have closed down a long time ago! 

But it hasn’t.  And it won’t.   

Why?

Because, the funny thing about following the Way of Jesus is that when you give your life away you find it.  Resurrection follows the cross.  Life springs from death.  Joy from sorrow.  The jar of meal is not emptied, neither does the jug of oil fail. (1 Kings 17:14)  Five loaves and two fish feed a multitude.  (Matthew 14:13-21).  Lazarus emerges from the tomb.  (John 11:44).  The murderous Saul becomes Paul.  (Acts 9:1-19).  You and I experience the fruits of Christ’s abundant and eternal life.

At its best, the Church is a community of the cross.

It gives life away without counting the cost, or worrying about the profit.

And that’s a way of life worth taking up and following.

In Jesus’ Name,

Bishop Mike

Join me in praying for our brothers and sisters in need along the Gulf Coast.  Share what you can to help them out.  Donating to Lutheran Disaster Response is just one way.  Check with your local church for others!  Thanks.

Thank-you for reading.

The Keys to the Car

Matthew 16:13-20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Like many kids, when I was sixteen years old, I got my driver’s license.  Shortly after passing my driving test, my mom handed me the keys to the car.  There was power in those keys!  Freedom.  Independence.  Status.  Adventure.  Then, my mom said something like, “If you’re old enough to drive, you’re old enough to get a job.  Why don’t you drive yourself into town and fill out some applications?”  Deflation.  But, she taught me a valuable lesson that day:  with freedom, comes responsibility.  She managed to let me loose and bind me all in one motion!  It was a masterful act of parenting wisdom.

Jesus took his disciples to a place called Caesarea Philippi and asked them a seemingly simple question, “Who do people say that I am?”  Peter gets it right.  “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”   He blurts out.  Through Peter and his confession Jesus promises to build his church and gives Peter, and by extension, the whole church, the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” to do it.   There is power in those keys.  Keys to loose and to bind.  Keys that give freedom from sin, death and evil.  Keys that open the way to heaven and the way of life that Jesus invites his disciples to follow.  

But, with those keys also came responsibility.   Peter didn’t fully understand it right there in Caesarea (he proves that in the following passage), but, eventually, he does.  Paul tells us we are set free to be ambassadors of Christ and ministers of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:20).  We are released from the power of sin and death so that we might proclaim the Good News of the Messiah, the Son of the Living God and God’s Reign in the world.  In other words, we are set loose because we have a job to do. 

I took the keys from my mother, drove into town and eventually got a job cleaning tables and washing dishes at a local restaurant.  It was hard, dirty work.  But, happily, I got to drive the car and make a little money too.  Holding the keys to the Kingdom is not always easy work.  In fact, it demands our whole lives.  The ministry of reconciliation, and living out the Good News of God’s love, grace and forgiveness in Christ can be very challenging.  The power of sin, death and evil are usually close at hand.  But, we can rejoice in the fact that Christ is always closer.  Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, is the Key.  The cross and the resurrection assure us of that. 

Peace,

Bishop Mike

Thanks for reading.  

A Disturbing Week

Matthew 15:21-28

The Canaanite Woman’s Faith

 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

It has been a disturbing week.  At least, I have found it to be.  I would guess that last Saturday’s events in Charlottesville, VA and President Trump’s response has been on most of our minds this week.   They have been on mine.

I was thinking about all that when I read the appointed texts for this coming Sunday.  I have always found this week’s Gospel Lesson disturbing, and it seemed all the more so in light of Charlottesville. 

In this story Jesus seems so un-Jesus like!   His words and actions don’t square with pretty much everything else we know about his life and ministry!  Do you hear the discord?  The Canaanite woman comes and asks him for help and Jesus pretty much blows her off.   His response to her is so…  so…  exclusive!   “I have only come for the lost sheep of Israel!”  He says,  “Sorry, you’re not included.  No Canaanites allowed.”  Ouch!

I know, disturbing, right?

As disturbing as I find this story, I’m glad the Gospel writers didn’t edit it out.  Because, in this story, Jesus starts right where we humans all-too-often live (whether we admit it or not):  Suspicious and even derisive about the “other.”   Afraid and hostile to someone who is not like us.

Too often, even in our churches, it’s “No Canaanites Allowed.” 

But, as the story goes, this woman manages to break open Jesus’ heart.  He is moved by her faith and responds by extending healing to her and her daughter.  She is included.  She is cared for.  She is loved.  And I think that’s really the point.  That’s the lesson.  That’s why the Gospel writers kept this in the story and didn’t edit it out.

Like Jesus, our hearts need to be broken open by our encounters with the “other.”  With those who are different than we are.  With those who don’t look, think or act like we do.  If we are open to the encounter, if we truly strive to KNOW the other person, if we truly LISTEN – the other person can break our hearts open to the richness of God’s grace and mercy for us all.   And ultimately, to the common humanity that unites us despite our differences (a commonality that does not erase the differences, but helps us to appreciate and celebrate our diversity all the more.)

Neo-Nazis, the KKK, and other white supremacist groups are most to be pitied, because, for whatever reason, they have missed this and have instead succumbed to hate, and fear and violence.   To hate or exclude another person because of the color of their skin, or their religion, or their language or because of who they love is such an empty, life-less way to live.  And I am pretty sure it makes the Devil smile.

Like our sisters and brothers in Christ in Charlottesville last Saturday, we need to unequivocally stand up against all claims of white supremacism (or any other kind of supremacism for that matter), to all kinds of racism, and to anything that crushes another human being rather than building them up.   

I have to admit, I’m still learning and working on figuring out how to do that most effectively.  But, every morning when I say the Lord’s Prayer I pray, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN.”   I am pretty sure there isn’t going to be any racism in heaven, that the Canaanite woman will not be left out, and, before God’s throne one group is not going to be preferred over any other.  That’s the vision of the Kingdom, and I, we, all of us together, need to keep working at it.

And it is my prayer that God would make it so.

Peace,

Bishop Mike

Thank-you for reading.  Please pray for our nation, for our world, and for reconciliation and understanding to grow among us.

Together

Mathew 14:22-33

When [Jesus and Peter] got into the boat, the wind ceased.   –Matthew 14:32

I just spent the last four days at the first ELCA Rostered Leaders’ Gathering in Atlanta, GA.  Somewhere around 900 pastors and deacons from across the church spent our time worshipping, in bible study and presentations, workshops and fellowship. The event was truly inspiring.  The speakers were stellar, the workshops I attended were helpful, the worship powerful and the opportunity to network and listen to other ministers was a gift.  I met some new friends, rekindled relationships with some long-time companions on the journey and got to know some synod colleagues a lot better.  I am hopeful we will be able to do this again in three years’ time!

Throughout the Gathering, we heard and experienced again and again the importance of being together.  God does not and never has intended for us to be alone on life’s journey.  God intends for us to walk together, to strengthen one another and to care for one another.  Even more, God promises to be with us on that journey and to never abandon or forsake us.  As we are reminded week in and week out as we gather together for worship:  not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  (Romans 8). 

Being together in Christ is even more important when the seas around us are rough, the storm winds are blowing and the tiny boat we call life is tossing about on the waves.   In this week’s Gospel lesson, the reader usually focuses on Peter, and his getting OUT of the boat.  But, as Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminded us in Thursday morning’s sermon at the Gathering,  maybe we need to focus more on Jesus getting INTO the boat.  It is only when Jesus gets INTO the boat that the fear subsides and the relief overflows in worship.  It is only when Jesus gets INTO the boat that the mission can continue to the far side of the lake. 

Few would doubt that we live in stormy times.  The winds and waves of change continually batter our little boats.   I frequently sense a lot of fear and anxiety in people, and in the churches that results in frayed and fragile emotions, and “fight or flight” responses that leave us separated and broken at exactly the time we need each other the most.  

We need for Christ to come walking toward us through the storms in our lives.  We need to hear again the good news that the one who conquered death lifts us up from the waves.  And he does.  We need to pray for Christ’s Holy Spirit to heal and guide us as we travel to far shores we still cannot see.  We need to pray that Christ’s Holy Spirit will bind us together on this perilous journey. 

This past week in Atlanta, I saw evidence of Christ doing just that.  And for that, I give thanks.

Peace,

Bishop Mike

Thank-you for reading.