Amazing Grace
A recent book titled American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam examines the role of religion in the public life of our country. The book has many powerful observations about the state of religion in America these days. It uses detailed and comprehensive collections of survey data about religious belief and practice to come up with some surprising conclusions. One I would like to share with you is the role that simple mealtime grace has in the life of faith of contemporary Christians.
According to Putnam and his team, the one faith practice that has the strongest correlation with religious participation and belief is saying grace before meals. The correlation is stronger than Bible reading, financial giving, small group participation, volunteerism and the like. Those who say grace more often are more likely to be actively involved in a faith community. Please understand me I am not advocating that mealtime prayer has more or less value than any other Christian practice. A committed life of Christian discipleship will have multiple practices that help keep it alive. However, there seems to be something powerful in the ordinary act of giving thanks to God for the food that is set before us.
Grace matters
If you are concerned about the state of your faith life, a reasonable recommendation for action is therefore simple and direct. If you don’t pray before meals, start now. If you only pray at home, try praying at the diner next time you are out. I do it often and nobody seems to stare or care. Quite the opposite, servers tend to be respectful. If you don’t have family prayer before meals I encourage you to do so.
If you want to pass on the faith to your children grace is an easy starting point. If you already say a simple standardized grace like “Come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these gifts to us be blest. Amen”, try a spontaneous grace. A common and fruitful practice that encourages dialog at the dinner table is to ask people around the table to give thanks for one thing that happened that day. The prayer leader of the family then prays for each of them and gives thanks to a Gracious God for providing good food to eat. Please come see me if you need some practical suggestions for encouraging mealtime grace.
Grace for Faith
Despite being one of the simplest faith practices, saying mealtime grace rests on the firmest theological foundation. The name itself gives away the key “grace”. Grace comes from the Latin word gratis or gift. So the daily bread that sits at your dinner table is a gift from a loving and providing God. When we are saying grace at a meal we are doing two things, we are first giving thanks to God while simultaneously saying something about God. The act of saying grace before meals reminds us of the true nature of the God who sent Jesus Christ. As Jesus speaks Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26 NRSV)
The saying to mealtime prayer is not some magical incantation to keep a distant god happy, but a simple witness to the loving Father who provides our daily bread. Often used by Christians as a basis for mealtime grace Psalm 145 states: The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings (Verses 15-17 NRSV).
In verse 15 The word translated as “look” is shavar, which more is commonly translated as wait or hope. So when you pray before meals you are also expressing your hope in the actions of the God who sent Jesus to bring salvation to all. In verse 17, the word translated “kind” is one of the most important words of the Hebrew Scriptures. The word hesed can mean steadfast love, faithfulness, kindness or mercy, and is often used to speak about how God acts. Most importantly for our discussion can be at times faithfully translated into the word “grace,” meaning that God is gracious.
Bread for the World
As Holy Week and Easter approach, I am reminded of the grace I speak each Sunday at the altar before we celebrate the meal of Jesus. The prayer is technically called the Eucharistic Prayer,which just means a prayer of thanksgiving. I would argue however that it is also “Grace.” For we give thanks to God and we are witnessing how gracious God is for sending Jesus to be the hope of all the world.
I am encouraging you therefore to take the gifts of Jesus’ meal into your homes. The life-giving Word of Jesus, that we have a gracious Father who loves us, and a Holy Spirit that abides with us, can be used before each simple meal to create community in your home. Mealtime grace creates a bond between you and God and those who share their bread with you. No wonder it is so central to faith formation. I wish you all a blessed Lent and Easter so that we may all know the God of grace.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Playing at Prayer
Why Play?
People love to play games. Some like board games, others like cards, and others play athletic games long into adulthood. Recently I have been thinking about why people play games, everything from professional baseball to Candyland with their toddlers. While there may be a plethora of reasons people play games, they boil down to two basic needs. Some people play because they are competitive, either against others, or against themselves (like the drive to get a faster time in individual sports).Others play because it allows them to spend time with friends and families, or even make new connections.
In short, some play to win, others play to have fun and relate to people; in reality most of us do both. How the mix of competition verses interaction “plays out” when you play games may have an affect how you experience the game. Without completion you may get bored, without interaction you may become miserable (especially when you lose!). Therefore, healthy play involves a creative balance between these two competing poles.
Why Pray?
There is often a similar dynamic at work in prayer. Although, prayer is no game there are also two competing poles in prayer participation. Some pray to have a result and some pray to be close to God. Those who emphasize the results we expect from prayer tend to be more “religious”. Religion involves engaging in spiritual practice for a specific result. Prosperity preachers teach people pray so they will get rich. This is classic religious thinking. It sets up a quid pro quo with God. If I do this, God must do that. This thinking sets up God as an impersonal machine whose code can be cracked so one can get the results he or she wants. Their god becomes no God at all but an impersonal force to be manipulated.
People who pray without thinking about the results at all tend to be “mystics”. The good vibes, warm fuzzies, and intimacy are paramount. The problem with mystics is they tend to become too detached from reality. God only occupies space outside the world not within it. Thus, their god becomes a false god who only has limited power. Whenever God has a challenging word, they think they can retreat to the world where they can escape. When the world beats them up some more, they come back to their safe place and hide. Then they never become transformed into the person God has created them to be, and stay stuck in a tragic cycle of jubilation and despair.
Why Jesus?
When Jesus taught prayer, he taught us to care about the results. For example, he told us to pray in Matthew 6:11 NRSV “Give us this day our daily bread.” However, Jesus also taught us to care about the relationship. "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. (Matthew 6:7 NRSV) Therefore, in Jesus, there is something more than a religion, or a mystical experience, there is the One True God who relates to you through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus, both the results and the relationship are held together in His person.
In a healthy prayer life, there will be times when you will need to be focused on the results. There will also be times when you just need to be present with God. The key for the disciple is to open oneself to God’s Holy Spirit to see where God is leading you at this place in time. The point is to hear the voice of Jesus through his Word and then apply it to your life. The Bible will be your most valuable asset in this task.
A living relationship in Christ will have concrete results, but it will also be intimate and even warm as all good relationships are. The goal directed life of the disciple is always focused on the next step of the way. Paul writes in Romans 8:26-27 NRSV; Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Come Pray!
This Lent as we seek to lead people in prayer, we will be offering a five-week prayer course Tuesdays at 7:00PM starting March 15th and Wednesdays at 1:00PM starting March 16th. The goal will be to introduce some different ways of praying that help maintain the creative tension between praying for results and being present with God. We hope these tools will help you have a more fulfilling relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you seek to find Him this Lent.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht
People love to play games. Some like board games, others like cards, and others play athletic games long into adulthood. Recently I have been thinking about why people play games, everything from professional baseball to Candyland with their toddlers. While there may be a plethora of reasons people play games, they boil down to two basic needs. Some people play because they are competitive, either against others, or against themselves (like the drive to get a faster time in individual sports).Others play because it allows them to spend time with friends and families, or even make new connections.
In short, some play to win, others play to have fun and relate to people; in reality most of us do both. How the mix of competition verses interaction “plays out” when you play games may have an affect how you experience the game. Without completion you may get bored, without interaction you may become miserable (especially when you lose!). Therefore, healthy play involves a creative balance between these two competing poles.
Why Pray?
There is often a similar dynamic at work in prayer. Although, prayer is no game there are also two competing poles in prayer participation. Some pray to have a result and some pray to be close to God. Those who emphasize the results we expect from prayer tend to be more “religious”. Religion involves engaging in spiritual practice for a specific result. Prosperity preachers teach people pray so they will get rich. This is classic religious thinking. It sets up a quid pro quo with God. If I do this, God must do that. This thinking sets up God as an impersonal machine whose code can be cracked so one can get the results he or she wants. Their god becomes no God at all but an impersonal force to be manipulated.
People who pray without thinking about the results at all tend to be “mystics”. The good vibes, warm fuzzies, and intimacy are paramount. The problem with mystics is they tend to become too detached from reality. God only occupies space outside the world not within it. Thus, their god becomes a false god who only has limited power. Whenever God has a challenging word, they think they can retreat to the world where they can escape. When the world beats them up some more, they come back to their safe place and hide. Then they never become transformed into the person God has created them to be, and stay stuck in a tragic cycle of jubilation and despair.
Why Jesus?
When Jesus taught prayer, he taught us to care about the results. For example, he told us to pray in Matthew 6:11 NRSV “Give us this day our daily bread.” However, Jesus also taught us to care about the relationship. "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. (Matthew 6:7 NRSV) Therefore, in Jesus, there is something more than a religion, or a mystical experience, there is the One True God who relates to you through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus, both the results and the relationship are held together in His person.
In a healthy prayer life, there will be times when you will need to be focused on the results. There will also be times when you just need to be present with God. The key for the disciple is to open oneself to God’s Holy Spirit to see where God is leading you at this place in time. The point is to hear the voice of Jesus through his Word and then apply it to your life. The Bible will be your most valuable asset in this task.
A living relationship in Christ will have concrete results, but it will also be intimate and even warm as all good relationships are. The goal directed life of the disciple is always focused on the next step of the way. Paul writes in Romans 8:26-27 NRSV; Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Come Pray!
This Lent as we seek to lead people in prayer, we will be offering a five-week prayer course Tuesdays at 7:00PM starting March 15th and Wednesdays at 1:00PM starting March 16th. The goal will be to introduce some different ways of praying that help maintain the creative tension between praying for results and being present with God. We hope these tools will help you have a more fulfilling relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you seek to find Him this Lent.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
End Time Truth
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6NRSV)
Apocalypse?
According to basic cable television, we only have one year left because the Mayan calendar runs out in 2012. According to the weather channel, the “snowpocalypse” is upon us, and as the Middle Eastern revolutions take hold, I am sure that there will be much talk of an upcoming battle of Armageddon.
In common parlance, the word “Apocalypse” means ultimate destruction. This is quite unfortunate, for the Bible uses the word in a completely different way. A Greek word, “apocalypse” simply means “revelation,” an open showing of the true situation and nature of things. The Apocalypse of John is in fact a common and accurate name of the last book of the New Testament. It is probably because of superficial readings of the book of Revelation that the word apocalypse has had a change of meanings over time.
One of the main themes of Revelation is that our current world is mortal. It, like us will have an end. The cause of that end will be the sin that has led ultimately to death. Focusing on that truth to the exclusion of the rest may lead us to confuse apocalypse with destruction. However, when we do this we limit the truth of what the Bible is trying to reveal to us. So when we read the Bible do not just focus on the big picture, but look for what God wants us to know about the little daily things that may have an impact on our selves, the world, and others.
Real Time Help
Before John even begins to speak about the end times, he teaches the seven churches whom he writes to about how to deal with their contemporary circumstances and daily challenges. Far less ink has been spilled and press given to the first three chapters of Revelation as the more dramatic visions that will come later in the book. This is unfortunate because they contain a key Biblical truth. The current state of your faith relationship matters.
How you treat people in this very moment is important. If you are not walking closely with God now, then how will you have any hope when things get bad? John gives each church both a word of affirmation and a word of challenge because the closer you hold to God, the less likely you are to be rattled by the headlines. For example, he writes to the church in Ephesus “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance…. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Revelation 2:2-4) It as Rick Warren has spoken “your character today matters in eternity.”
Walking in the Light of Christ
A central premise of the book of Revelation is that the closer you walk with God the less you have to fear. The book and the Bible as whole close with John of Patmos’ vision of the New Jerusalem where “there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)
When we participate in the classic practices of the Christian Faith, such as prayer, Bible reading, and service to the vulnerable, we work on living in God’s light. When we do this, we are reminded that we can be close to God. Whenever we are close to God, we understand the hope that has been given to us through Jesus our savior. So I invite you to keep the faith and continue to live hope in the light of Christ with us as we follow Jesus, the Christ.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht
Apocalypse?
According to basic cable television, we only have one year left because the Mayan calendar runs out in 2012. According to the weather channel, the “snowpocalypse” is upon us, and as the Middle Eastern revolutions take hold, I am sure that there will be much talk of an upcoming battle of Armageddon.
In common parlance, the word “Apocalypse” means ultimate destruction. This is quite unfortunate, for the Bible uses the word in a completely different way. A Greek word, “apocalypse” simply means “revelation,” an open showing of the true situation and nature of things. The Apocalypse of John is in fact a common and accurate name of the last book of the New Testament. It is probably because of superficial readings of the book of Revelation that the word apocalypse has had a change of meanings over time.
One of the main themes of Revelation is that our current world is mortal. It, like us will have an end. The cause of that end will be the sin that has led ultimately to death. Focusing on that truth to the exclusion of the rest may lead us to confuse apocalypse with destruction. However, when we do this we limit the truth of what the Bible is trying to reveal to us. So when we read the Bible do not just focus on the big picture, but look for what God wants us to know about the little daily things that may have an impact on our selves, the world, and others.
Real Time Help
Before John even begins to speak about the end times, he teaches the seven churches whom he writes to about how to deal with their contemporary circumstances and daily challenges. Far less ink has been spilled and press given to the first three chapters of Revelation as the more dramatic visions that will come later in the book. This is unfortunate because they contain a key Biblical truth. The current state of your faith relationship matters.
How you treat people in this very moment is important. If you are not walking closely with God now, then how will you have any hope when things get bad? John gives each church both a word of affirmation and a word of challenge because the closer you hold to God, the less likely you are to be rattled by the headlines. For example, he writes to the church in Ephesus “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance…. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Revelation 2:2-4) It as Rick Warren has spoken “your character today matters in eternity.”
Walking in the Light of Christ
A central premise of the book of Revelation is that the closer you walk with God the less you have to fear. The book and the Bible as whole close with John of Patmos’ vision of the New Jerusalem where “there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)
When we participate in the classic practices of the Christian Faith, such as prayer, Bible reading, and service to the vulnerable, we work on living in God’s light. When we do this, we are reminded that we can be close to God. Whenever we are close to God, we understand the hope that has been given to us through Jesus our savior. So I invite you to keep the faith and continue to live hope in the light of Christ with us as we follow Jesus, the Christ.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Built up For Peace
Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (Acts 9:31 NRSV)
Back on track!
When I went to the gym this week, I noticed that I was not alone. In December, I had free run of the place, and at night it could almost be a place of contemplation as only the truly dedicated were around. Now the gym is full, it is noisy from the equipment being used and the conversations people are having while trying to get in shape. People seem to be using the New Year to get back on track. To build themselves up again, perhaps so they can feel better about themselves and have peace.
The verse in Acts above serves as a simple transition between the story of the conversion of Paul and the story of Peter bringing the Gospel to the gentiles for the first time. Luke who wrote Acts often uses verses like this to provide for a smooth transition between parts of the church’s story. However, they do more than that; they communicate the virtues and values of the early church that Luke finds so important.
Built up for peace!
Luke tells us that the church was built up and had peace. Since so many of us are looking for these exact two things in our own lives, perhaps we should look to what he says. What we find in Acts 9:31 is that being built up and having peace in our lives is conditional. The condition that allowed for this to happen in the churches of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee was that they were “walking in the in the fear of the Lord.” They understood that God was present and close. They understood that God was working with and among them. They also respected what God was doing with them.
Just as important, they were walking “in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” The word we translate to mean “comfort” in the original Greek version of the Bible also means to counsel, to advise, or to advocate. Thus they were allowing the Holy Spirit guide and direct their decisions every moment of the day. The results were startling they were built up to become the people God had created them to be and they had peace, which in biblical terms means that they were completely whole once more.
Where to turn?
That the gym is full is sign to me that people are looking to be built up and have peace. That the churches are empty in January is a sign that people are looking in the wrong direction. The myth that you can whip yourself into shape without God and the power of the Holy Spirit is a lie of our culture. If you accept this temptation, you do so at your peril. For in reality the true Christian knows that there is in reality no self-help; there is only a path to follow. The path that our Savior trod to the cross and resurrection. By the first week in February most will abandon the gym again and it will quiet once more (good for me!) as people learn that being built up and having peace requires more than exercise.
For self-help will never be answer to our mortality, and until there is answer for that you will have no peace. So don’t leave the church just for the truly dedicated, come be built up and have peace which the world cannot give, but Jesus does.
Back on track!
When I went to the gym this week, I noticed that I was not alone. In December, I had free run of the place, and at night it could almost be a place of contemplation as only the truly dedicated were around. Now the gym is full, it is noisy from the equipment being used and the conversations people are having while trying to get in shape. People seem to be using the New Year to get back on track. To build themselves up again, perhaps so they can feel better about themselves and have peace.
The verse in Acts above serves as a simple transition between the story of the conversion of Paul and the story of Peter bringing the Gospel to the gentiles for the first time. Luke who wrote Acts often uses verses like this to provide for a smooth transition between parts of the church’s story. However, they do more than that; they communicate the virtues and values of the early church that Luke finds so important.
Built up for peace!
Luke tells us that the church was built up and had peace. Since so many of us are looking for these exact two things in our own lives, perhaps we should look to what he says. What we find in Acts 9:31 is that being built up and having peace in our lives is conditional. The condition that allowed for this to happen in the churches of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee was that they were “walking in the in the fear of the Lord.” They understood that God was present and close. They understood that God was working with and among them. They also respected what God was doing with them.
Just as important, they were walking “in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” The word we translate to mean “comfort” in the original Greek version of the Bible also means to counsel, to advise, or to advocate. Thus they were allowing the Holy Spirit guide and direct their decisions every moment of the day. The results were startling they were built up to become the people God had created them to be and they had peace, which in biblical terms means that they were completely whole once more.
Where to turn?
That the gym is full is sign to me that people are looking to be built up and have peace. That the churches are empty in January is a sign that people are looking in the wrong direction. The myth that you can whip yourself into shape without God and the power of the Holy Spirit is a lie of our culture. If you accept this temptation, you do so at your peril. For in reality the true Christian knows that there is in reality no self-help; there is only a path to follow. The path that our Savior trod to the cross and resurrection. By the first week in February most will abandon the gym again and it will quiet once more (good for me!) as people learn that being built up and having peace requires more than exercise.
For self-help will never be answer to our mortality, and until there is answer for that you will have no peace. So don’t leave the church just for the truly dedicated, come be built up and have peace which the world cannot give, but Jesus does.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Merry Christmas 2010
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory…. John 1:5 & 14 NRSV
Many Christians can tell you from experience that it is truly wonderful and inspiring to share the story of Christmas with others. In John’s Gospel, the essential point of the Christmas story is made without the details we find elsewhere in the Bible. He simply states that Jesus came to live with us in our sometimes-dark world so He could bring us back into the light of God our Father in Heaven. When we hear the message of hope that Jesus brings, we do not lose heart even when our world may at times seem dark.
This Christmas we will celebrate Jesus who is the light of the world. This light cheers our spirits, reveals to us the truth of who we are, shows us where we need God, and invites us on the way to go forward in faith. If you sometimes feel that the world is dark and hurting, look to the light that is Jesus. He has come to give light to all who call on him. The people of the Bible and Christians today have hope because we know that there is light in Jesus our Savior.
As Senior Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. We hope that the Spirit of Jesus Christ may enlighten you this Advent and Christmas season and that you may be filled with the joy of knowing our Lord and Savior.
We of Holy Cross Lutheran Church invite and welcome you, your family and friends to come and see the glory of Christ as we worship him on Christmas Eve.
We hope you can be with us to experience the wonder and the joy of the season with your family and friends. We hope that you will hear, taste and see God’s message of hope for our world. The carols we will sing and Candles we light remind us that Jesus is “the true light which enlightens everyone.. (John 1:9).
Our Friday, December 24th Christmas Eve Schedule is as follows.
3:00PM Living Nativity on the Church Lawn
4:00 PM Family Christmas Eve Service
7:00 PM Christmas Candlelight Worship and Communion
Wishing you a blessed Christmas in the name of Jesus Christ,
Pastor Knecht
Many Christians can tell you from experience that it is truly wonderful and inspiring to share the story of Christmas with others. In John’s Gospel, the essential point of the Christmas story is made without the details we find elsewhere in the Bible. He simply states that Jesus came to live with us in our sometimes-dark world so He could bring us back into the light of God our Father in Heaven. When we hear the message of hope that Jesus brings, we do not lose heart even when our world may at times seem dark.
This Christmas we will celebrate Jesus who is the light of the world. This light cheers our spirits, reveals to us the truth of who we are, shows us where we need God, and invites us on the way to go forward in faith. If you sometimes feel that the world is dark and hurting, look to the light that is Jesus. He has come to give light to all who call on him. The people of the Bible and Christians today have hope because we know that there is light in Jesus our Savior.
As Senior Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. We hope that the Spirit of Jesus Christ may enlighten you this Advent and Christmas season and that you may be filled with the joy of knowing our Lord and Savior.
We of Holy Cross Lutheran Church invite and welcome you, your family and friends to come and see the glory of Christ as we worship him on Christmas Eve.
We hope you can be with us to experience the wonder and the joy of the season with your family and friends. We hope that you will hear, taste and see God’s message of hope for our world. The carols we will sing and Candles we light remind us that Jesus is “the true light which enlightens everyone.. (John 1:9).
Our Friday, December 24th Christmas Eve Schedule is as follows.
3:00PM Living Nativity on the Church Lawn
4:00 PM Family Christmas Eve Service
7:00 PM Christmas Candlelight Worship and Communion
Wishing you a blessed Christmas in the name of Jesus Christ,
Pastor Knecht
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Party on!
First, I wish everyone a blessed thanksgiving! I hope that your holiday will be blessed with good food, good company, and lively fun. Yes fun! Whether you celebrate thanksgiving with your family, friends or even strangers I pray you have fun. This is not merely a good wish. This is health for your spirit and rest for your soul. Genuine thankfulness always leads to fun. If you give thanks in a dour or dreary way, are you really being thankful?
When Jesus preached his first sermon in his hometown, Luke tells us that he started from the following text from the prophet Isaiah:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor… Isaiah 61:1-2 NRSV
The most succinct sermon ever delivered simply said: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:21 The plain meaning that the Messiah had arrived to bring the Good News to life is all that needed to be said. So it’s time to party!
The hoped for response sadly did not occur as people were not able to get the party started. Jesus, setting the example for his later teaching, would move on to the next town in Galilee to find some more lost souls to party with. Sadly I must confess that at times I have behaved more like those sticks in mud at Nazareth than a joyful disciple of Jesus. My sin turns me inward to worry too much about tomorrow rather than being thankful for what God has so richly blessed me with right now.
In his book “the Church in the Power of the Spirit” the German theologian Jürgen Moltmann makes the point that when we through the Holy Spirit meet the risen Jesus we join the party without end. This party is the celebration of the freedom from sin and death won for us at the Cross. Our earthly lives are then transformed by our anticipation of our attending Jesus’ unending party in the next life. Through Jesus we are always free to have a twinkle in the eye and cheerful voice.
For this reason I pray that Jesus be the center of your thanksgiving and you realize the joy that comes from knowing him. I also hope that his Spirit will be with you. The Bible reminds us that during his earthly ministry he rarely passed up a good meal, so invite him into your heart and home this thanksgiving. Then you too can party on!
First, I wish everyone a blessed thanksgiving! I hope that your holiday will be blessed with good food, good company, and lively fun. Yes fun! Whether you celebrate thanksgiving with your family, friends or even strangers I pray you have fun. This is not merely a good wish. This is health for your spirit and rest for your soul. Genuine thankfulness always leads to fun. If you give thanks in a dour or dreary way, are you really being thankful?
When Jesus preached his first sermon in his hometown, Luke tells us that he started from the following text from the prophet Isaiah:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor… Isaiah 61:1-2 NRSV
The most succinct sermon ever delivered simply said: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:21 The plain meaning that the Messiah had arrived to bring the Good News to life is all that needed to be said. So it’s time to party!
The hoped for response sadly did not occur as people were not able to get the party started. Jesus, setting the example for his later teaching, would move on to the next town in Galilee to find some more lost souls to party with. Sadly I must confess that at times I have behaved more like those sticks in mud at Nazareth than a joyful disciple of Jesus. My sin turns me inward to worry too much about tomorrow rather than being thankful for what God has so richly blessed me with right now.
In his book “the Church in the Power of the Spirit” the German theologian Jürgen Moltmann makes the point that when we through the Holy Spirit meet the risen Jesus we join the party without end. This party is the celebration of the freedom from sin and death won for us at the Cross. Our earthly lives are then transformed by our anticipation of our attending Jesus’ unending party in the next life. Through Jesus we are always free to have a twinkle in the eye and cheerful voice.
For this reason I pray that Jesus be the center of your thanksgiving and you realize the joy that comes from knowing him. I also hope that his Spirit will be with you. The Bible reminds us that during his earthly ministry he rarely passed up a good meal, so invite him into your heart and home this thanksgiving. Then you too can party on!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Pastor's Letter to Holy Cross Summer 2010
"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (NRSV)
Ask
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us some simple and direct recommendations for prayer. The first component is simply to ask God for what it is we need. The presupposition of this recommendation is that God is good. Martin Luther recommended in his Small Catechism that we do this boldly and confidently because God is a good and loving Father. For example, since the annual congregational meeting in June I have been asking for God’s favor that we reach 220 in worship a year from now. I do this because I believe that God has given us a mission to proclaim Jesus Christ as the light to the world. I also believe that people who know Jesus need to be part of a community of people that help them live out their hope and remain in Christ’s light. In your personal prayer life, you can be direct about what it is that you need. One need not be embarrassed to ask God for anything.
Search
Jesus then instructs us to search. Searching paradoxically requires both action and waiting. It requires action because we need to be paying attention. Active listening through prayer is used so we remain humble and hopefully we learn that we are not just asking God to simply acquiesce to our wishes or desires. Searching through Scripture reading, worship, prayer, and faith conversations is all about being open to God’s Word for your life. It is a test to find out if what we are asking for is what we really need. Therefore, in our searching we need to be diligent in seeking the Holy Spirit’s answer, but also still enough to hear His voice so that we are not just confirming our own selfishness.
As I bring my prayer for 220 in worship at Holy Cross, I must be humble enough to receive the Holy Spirit’s answer. If the Spirit tells us that this prayer is only about our pride, then we must be gracious enough to listen to the truth. If however God responds that this is a genuine prayer for what we as a church need, then we must work to make it so. Sometimes the Spirit may actually be leading us into a place in between, so that for which we pray may be transformed into something holy. So in asking God’s favor for 220 in worship we are asking that each person who arrives is coming for God’s reasons and that each will genuinely find healing, hope, and renewal through Jesus. Following Jesus’ recommendations in the Sermon on the Mount ultimately means asking God to transform our longings to conform to His purposes.
Knock
Jesus teaches that once we have asked and search then we must knock. We are called to embrace God’s reality as presented to us. We do this by responding to what God is telling us. For example, since starting to pray for 220 in worship, I have become more proactive about inviting people to church. In social situations and casual encounters where previously I would have been content just to be friendly, I now directly ask people to come to Holy Cross and give them my card. What made the change was the simple setting of the numerical goal and praying for it. The Spirit immediately laid on my heart that I had previously been too passive. God is inviting me and giving me the privilege to work for what I am praying. I have used an example from my ministry to provide an illustration of Jesus’ principles of prayer, and to invite you to join with me in this prayer for 220 in worship.
Please know that the most important aspect of this article is following the pattern of prayer laid out by Jesus. This pattern of prayer will have unlimited applications in our daily lives. If you pray for a new career, to raise healthy children, to understand the purpose of your life, to be healed, given peace, or anything else concrete, or abstract, the same pattern will apply. As Christians we boldly ask, we search to find God’s answer, and we knock so that we can work with God along our path of discipleship. As those of us who have been doing this a while will tell you, God will not always give us what we ask, but our loving Father in heaven will always give us what we need. The truth is that we will never know the difference until we ask. Therefore, I invite you to ask, search and knock for anything that is on your heart to bring to Jesus this day.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht
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