An M.A. in marriage. :)

Six years. That's like getting your B.A. then going on for  your M.A, right? :) Believe me, we are no masters, but I think that we've done pretty well for ourselves making it to 6. Maybe we should think of it more like our marriage can now go to kindergarten!

We celebrated early by spending the 4th holiday in Philly, which was pretty cool beyond cool for these two mid-westerners. We sat outside of Independence Hall and watched the the festivities and dignitaries, which was surprisingly sparsely attended.  My theory is that all the locals stayed home, and the audience was full of non-jaded people like us, tourists or people not from the East Coast. It was fun to be there and see the commemorations, speeches by Mayor Nutter and his wife, and a performance by a marching band from Wisconsin and also Ben Taylor. Then came a parade that was fun - full of performances by cultural and ethnic groups around the city - but it never seemed to end! We had lunch nearby, and when we went back outside, it was still going on!

Later that night we were going to be at the big concert in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art - with the Roots!! and other bands. But it was so hot, and so crowded, and kind of smelled, and it was loud but we couldn't hear anything, so we went back to our cool, quiet hotel room, and watched it on TV. Great sound. Best decision ever.

The next day we went to Love Park - of course.

Last night we watched our wedding video, I think for the third time ever. Though we figured out that the service itself was actually only 50 minutes or so, we still apologize to everyone who was there for not shortening the communion liturgy and prayers! What were we thinking, including ALL the parts of "Now the Feast" in an un-air conditioned church service in July! But we promise, that was the only time we'll ever get married, and we'll never do it again. ;)

We still agree that our reception was the most fun reception we've ever been at, before or since (yes, we are probably biased). My maid of honor's toast was still the best: "...and to top it all off, she's LUTHERAN"! (she was quoting Beau). And yes, he is still my Mr. Darcy.

Left To Our Own Devices

Devotion – Midweek Service – Wed. June 19, 2013

Text: Isaiah 65:1-9

It was raining heavily on highway 78 that day, when my husband and I found ourselves suddenly tailing a slow car in the left hand lane. At first I couldn’t quite tell, but as we pass her my sight confirmed my gut feeling – sure enough, she was texting while driving. HeLLO! I wanted to tell this woman. Didn’t she know that not only was this illegal and dangerous, but also downright rude? Sure, she may have been connecting to a long lost friend or a family member in need, but it was at the expense of the safely of those around her. It was as if the rest of us didn’t exist, or at least didn’t matter enough to warrant her consideration. For her, following her device mattered more.

Now, in Hebrew, the original language for this text, there is no word for smart phones or iPods or laptops, but the beauty of the word of God is that it is alive. Because the biblical scholars who dedicate their lives to this work decided to translate a particular Hebrew phrase a particular way, and because English is a nuanced and ever-changed language, these words written thousands of years can speak to us today.

Humanity has been inattentive to the words of God since the beginning of time, but never before had we so many devices, so many activities, so many plans to distract us before. Summer especially seems to be a time where too many voices vie for our attention, where it is easy to notice that God is calling out and reaching out to us. Because who really needs God when there are beaches to lie on and sports to be played and movies to watch and places to go and people to text?

Understandably, God sounds a little annoyed at getting the brush-off over and over again from the very same people who God saved from slavery in Egypt and set apart as a holy nation. Any parent would feel the same in a similar situation - showing nothing but love to a child who returns nothing but… nothing. It might be tempting to disown such an unresponsive child. But instead, though hurt and frustrated, God shows his children the patience of a gardener.

A friend of mine, avid gardener herself, recently bought a house with her husband, and in the backyard was a patch of what looked like unruly weeds near their compost pile. She had been on her husband’s case about cutting down a small tree in the patch… until just the other day day she noticed small purple berries growing on the tree. It turns out it was a mulberry tree, and she’s been making delicious jam ever since.

A more logical God might have given up on his easily distracted and impatient people. But luckily our God thinks in the future tense. While we only see clusters of grapes, hanging on the vine, a gardener can imagine the wonderful wine that will be the final product. While we may only see a crazy mess of weeds today, God sees what we cannot – that in the mess that we often create for ourselves, God is still calling our name and reaching out a steadying hand.

We may not be fine wine yet – we may yet have a lot of growing to do – but God is going to stick it out with us. God’s not going to stop reaching, and he’s not going to stop calling, day or night, winter or summer. Amen.

Jesus, you are soooo unreasonable.

Sermon, June 30th, 2013

Grace and peace to you from God our father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, Amen.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding

In all your ways acknowledge him.

And he will make… your path straight!”

That song is from a Vacation Bible School year, way back when I was young. I don’t remember exactly what the theme was for VBS that year, but I still remember this song. How many of you who’ve been to VBS as a kid still and find yourself occasionally humming a song or two?

Now, I’ve participated in quite a few Vacation Bible school curriculums over the years, and I’ve started to notice a pattern. No matter what the “theme” of the week is, be it rainforest, down on the farm, castles and kings, wild west, beach party, Babylon, or Everywhere Fun Fair, just about every single VBS talks about putting our trust in God. And over the course of a lifetime, hopefully a child will grow up having this message reinforced year after year, so that when life does hand them a tough situation, they may find themselves humming that maddeningly catchy VBS tune from their childhood.

Just last year at this time, we were concluding VBS 2012, singing songs with words like: “The storms of life will push and pull, but we are standing on the Rock that never rolls.” We had no idea that a few short months later we would be facing a real-life storm, the likes of which we had never seen before. We had no idea that some parts of our lives will never quite be the same again.

For a week, or more for some, our lives were on hold. Any plans we had made went out the window when Sandy rolled in. As we waited for the electricity to come back on, we realized that when it got cold outside, we were cold too. We realized that when the sun set at night, it would be dark inside as well as outside. We realized it was harder to get in contact with family and harder to stay connected to the outside world. We realized that without gas and working traffic lights, driving had become very tricky. For a week, we knew full well that we were not in control. And for most of us, that is a very scary feeling, one that we would do anything to avoid feeling every again.

But for some, that feeling of powerlessness could descend at any moment. Your world can change out of the blue, be it from sudden illness, pay cut or job loss, accident, or any other sudden change in plans.

Sometimes, it just takes one tragedy to reveal to us the truth: that we are not in control, no matter how much we think we are. No matter how many precautions we take or backup plans we make, we simply cannot plan for every contingency, and we will drive ourselves crazy with worry if we try. But we still cling so tightly to what little control over our lives that we do have that it’s hard to let go, even when it is Jesus who is asking us to.

Do you remember that face your mom or dad made growing up that told you it would be useless to argue with them? Their mind was made up, end of story, thank you very much. Jesus must have been wearing that kind of look when he decided it was time to get down to business and head for Jerusalem in order to complete the mission that God had given him.

Because of this, the Samaritans in a town on the way wanted nothing to do with Jesus. And so, his disciples, being wonderful examples of loving Christian behavior, turned the other cheek, right? Well, actually…Two of his followers, James and John, were so angry that their rabbi had been insulted that they were ready to wipe this sorry little town right off the map. And they probably weren’t too happy that Jesus wasn’t flattered at their show of devotion. They were probably disappointed that Jesus was actually pretty annoyed, and instead puts the kibosh in their plans for revenge.

No biggy, they’ll just find another town on the next exit along the Jerusalem highway. But along the way, a man recognizes Jesus and is so excited to meet him that he instantly promises to follow Jesus “wherever he goes.” And Jesus turns to him and says, “Yes, that’s the spirit! I like that show of eagerness – come on along with us!”, right? Not exactly… Instead, Jesus responds - not by saying, “poor me, I have no home,” but by revealing that this man may not have completely thought through the implications of such an important decision, and thus might not be ready for the reality of the life of a disciple.

Here, Jesus is saying to the man that following him is not a life of ease and comfort. Discipleship means living a life that the world is uncomfortable with, a life that means you will not find comfort in the ways of the world. If I were this man, I might have responded, “Wow, way to rain on my parade, Jesus.”

The second man they encounter actually gets a personal invitation to follow Jesus – how exciting! Does he drop everything at the chance to follow, like James and John and Peter, and the rest? No, he doesn’t. First he must do what any good and loyal son would do – honor his dead father’s memory. First he must honor his previous commitments, THEN he will be only too glad to follow Jesus.  Is that really too much to ask?

Is it also too much for the third man to ask for just a little down time before his career as a disciple begins, in order to explain himself to his family and say goodbye? Even though, his family may try to talk him out of going - because surely this is too drastic of a change in lifestyle to make, and yes the call DID come from Jesus, but surely this position doesn’t have good pay or adequate benefits, and how will they hear from him to make sure he’s safe and well-fed?

You are right if by now you are thinking that Jesus is being completely unreasonable. After all, we all have commitments to keep and obligations to fulfill. Doesn’t Jesus see that we have convinced ourselves that we are in control of our own lives, that we are the ones who make the plans and sets the schedules? And doesn’t Jesus see that we are ok with that, at least until the next life-shattering event threatens?

Of course Jesus knows that. And he also knows that when we make plans under the yokes of our own desires, the end results are often selfishness, divisions, addictions, suffering, indifference, hate, and fear. The tighter we grasp at control over our lives, the more out-of-control we actually are. Jesus knew all this, and still he submitted himself to humanity’s control. For that is why he had to go to Jerusalem in the first place – to show that there is another way to live.

There is life beyond fear, free from all the reasonable obligations and plans we’ve create for ourselves. Free from the fear that death and suffering are in control of our lives. Free from the burden of thinking that everything depends on us.

Jesus lived that by giving up control over his own life, to show us that our lives are in the hands of God. And Jesus shows us that there is another side, and that Jesus will see us safely there.

That’s what following Jesus means – trusting that he joins us in this adventure that we call life, trusting that we don’t have to have our lives together in order to follow him, trusting that something good is going to come out of all of this.

I’ll admit it – working with children, especially large groups of them, often contains an element of chaos. Sometimes it can be exasperating, but other times I have been pleasantly surprised at how much some kids absorb during one crazy week at VBS. One minute, they might be running around and yelling, and the next, they might be telling one kid not to be mean to another. This just one way God is using us to plow the fields for the Kingdom of God. This is just one way that God is using us to make disciples and change lives. And our lives are being changed in the process. AMEN.

Faith and Social Media (my two cents)

This was my article for our June newsletter.

In April, I attended a workshop held at Crossroads camp about engaging young adults in ministry. Now, you may be thinking, “But Pastor Lydia, YOU are in that category, right? Shouldn’t you naturally KNOW how to minister to your peers?” The trust is, I am rather an anomaly in my generation. While my confirmation class was the largest in my home church’s history (17), almost none of my fellow confirmands has been to church since. But it is also true that, like the rest of my generation (called “Millennials” by many social physiologists) I grew up navigating technologies that were unheard of even in my parent’s generation. 

We are living in a historic moment, where technology is exploding all around us and the world is changing faster than we can keep up with it. Where in the world is God in the mists of Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pintrest, Pandora, iPhones, texting, and Twitter? 

I recently heard a story about two shoe salesmen who traveled to Africa during its colonial era. The first salesman, depressed that the local people went barefoot, wrote home “Bad news. No one here wears any shoes.” The second scribbled his letter home in excitement: “Great news! NO ONE here has shoes!” This story comes from a fantastic TED talk given by Benjamin Zander (click HERE), which can be found on the TED website (TED talks are short, interesting talks given by experts and creative people around the world), Though Zander‘s talk is about classical music, this story he used has much to say about the world that the church finds itself in today.

We can look around us in dismay and think about those “darn kids” on their phones all the time, or we can wonder along with them about how to use what is available to us to connect TO people. It is true, technology can be an isolating distraction, but it is also a powerful tool that connects and engages people. This workshop I attended opened my eyes to the awesome potential at our fingertips, and the possibilities for ministry with people of all ages. For example, I post my sermons on my blog: 

www.likealutheran.blogspot.com and I’ve been trying out Twitter and Instagram.

 God has endowed us with creativity, curiosity, and the desire for connection. I hope that you will be exploring, trying, failing, testing, wondering, and discovering along with me, and that we can all find ways to grow in our faith together. 

Post-Assembly Sermon

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Let’s say you want to save for the future, to make sure that you will be provided for when you are no longer working, whether in the event of a planned retirement or for an unforeseen illness or accident.  You currently have plenty of options before you that you could invest in: insurance policies, pensions, 401(k)s, the equity on your home, and different kinds of savings accounts, not to mention social security and Medicare. The idea is one or many of these options can help in the event of “a rainy day.”

During the time of Jesus, none of these options existed. For people, especially women, looking to invest in their future, most had only one choice: to have children, especially male children. I’ve heard people make quips like “be nice to your kids, because someday they will choose your nursing home!” In those days, your children WERE your nursing home, because there was no other option.

Imagine for a moment that you are the woman in this story. Though your husband has died and can no longer provide for you, you were fortunate enough to have had a son who survived to adulthood. After your husband’s death, it would have been his job to take you in and support you. You would have been safe living under his roof while he had the opportunity to earn a living. While you lived with him, he would have taken a wife and had children of his own, and you would have helped care for them. You might have had the satisfaction of seeing your son have a son of his own, and you would have died happy, knowing that he and your daughter-in-law would be provided for when the time came.

Now imagine you are instead standing next to the casket of your only son, knowing also that any chance at future security died with him. Your rainy day has arrived, and you are filled with grief for your son and fear for your future.

And just then, Jesus showed up on the scene.

We’ll get back to Jesus and the widow in just a moment, but first I want to tell you about something I heard while at the New Jersey Synod Assembly this weekend. During the Bishop’s report, we heard about how different organizations are responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. One pastor shared about how one particular shelter and soup kitchen in Union City was able to feed and house people because of their generator on the cold nights after the storm. They were nearly full when suddenly over 90 homeless people were dropped off by bus on their doorstep from another part of the city. These people had been removed from another shelter and were expected to be able to fend for themselves on a cold and snowy night in a city that was already lacking power and shelter. Someone had even given them the name, “the homeless homeless.”

The people at THIS shelter were appalled. And though they were already nearly full, they were able to squeeze over one hundred people in a heated dining hall that was built to seat seventy five.

The homeless people didn’t have equity or 401ks, but that night it wouldn’t have mattered even if they had. That night, everyone who was cold was given a warm place to stay. Everyone who was hungry was fed a hot meal. That night everyone was homeless, and everyone was provided for.

Jesus showed up on the scene that night, working through people who cared for those who are the most vulnerable. They gave shelter to those who had been cast aside by others. They had compassion for people who had no one to speak for them and nowhere to go.

When Jesus saw the widow’s grief, he had compassion for her. His heart went out to this woman who had lost everything, the complete opposite in every way to the centurion Jesus helped last week. Man, woman. Powerful, powerless. Member of the occupying army, part of the population being oppressed. And yet, Jesus helps both. Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, and in the next town over, interrupted a young man’s funeral in order to make it unnecessary. 

And Jesus is just getting started. Because wherever Jesus shows up, things happen. Storms are calmed. Demons are cast out, people are healed. The hungry are fed. The blind receive sight. Children are blessed. Health is restored. Mourning is turned to joy. A dying criminal next to Jesus is given hope. A tomb is now empty, and the stone is rolled away.

The widow in this particular story experienced Jesus intruding into her most intimate grief and she was never the same again. She didn’t ask for Jesus help; she might not even known who he was. But she was experiencing a great loss, and Jesus restored to her what had been taken away. 

She could easily have spoken the words of today’s psalm after her son was given back to her. Yes, it was her son that was restored to her from the grave, but not having anyone to care for her must have felt like a fate worse than death. She must have been filled with fear.

But because of what Jesus did, her wailing in sorrow was turned into dancing for joy. She was no longer shrouded in clothes of mourning, but instead was overcome by happiness.  Last night she wept, but today joy is here to stay.

But also those “homeless homeless” could have had this psalm on their lips as well, when they were rescued from a night as cold as death out on the Sandy damaged streets. Because the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus, reached out to show kindness and mercy to the least of these. Because when Jesus shows up in our midst, amazing things happen.

What about in your own life? How has Jesus shown up and surprised you? …

When in your own life has Psalm 30 been the song of your heart? …

When were the times when you DIDN’T want Jesus to show up, because if he did, your comfortable, secure life would never be the same?

You should know, though, that nothing can deter Jesus, nothing can get in his way – not lack of space or resources, not enemies or fear, not security or comfort. And not even death can get in the way of the love and mercy of God. Amen. 

Why I really liked "Iron Man 3"

We went to see this movie with friends on a whim, so I really had no anticipation and nearly no expectations - the previews made the movie look like one long explosion. I liked the other two movies, too, but I was very very pleasantly surprised. And yes, there were a lot of cool explosions, too.

In no particular order:

1. The plot was complicated and surprising, but not overwhelmingly so. For an action movie, it was pretty balanced between action and plot (you know, those annoying slow bits with no explosions).

2. The kid. Wow. the perfect combination of innocence with cute chutzpah with just a touch of annoyance and childishness that really made me believe in this character. And I laughed a ton. This kid should get best actor.

3. Non-sugar coating of mental illness. Hopefully it's not too much to give away that Tony Stark suffers from anxiety attacks throughout the film, when he is reminded of some pretty traumatic stuff from The Avengers (like almost dying and stuff). It made him seem more real, more human and down-to-earth that such a cocky and genius super hero like Iron Man could still be psychological effected by all the crazy stuff he has been through. How this character struggled with his anxiety and insomnia I think helps to take away some of the stigma, so we do not see this as weakness, but rather as a sign that he is a normal person reacting to his life.

4. Pepper kicks some bad-guy behind. And I'm not talking about being inside the Iron Man suit (which is like for all of 30 seconds). But I can't say more because it's pretty much essential to the ending. I didn't like that she was a damsel in distress for a while (in a sports bra top) but she did participate in her own rescue (and help save the day).

5. I was shocked to discover that this movie passes the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test is an indicator of how well women are represented in a particular movie. It's pretty straightforward - there are three criteria that must be met. A) There is more than one woman who has a speaking role in the film. B) Two of these women have a conversation that C) is not about a man, most likely the male lead. Simple, right? But you would be surprised how many movies are made every year that do not pass this simple test. And, yet, in this film, Pepper DOES have a conversation about Tony with Maya, a scientist/one-night-stand from Tony's past, but later have a conversation about... I can't tell you. More spoilers.

6. The airplane scene. If you've seen it, you know what I'm taking about. I was actually sweating during it, and I don't think I breathed for a full two minutes (or so).

7. The end was pretty epic. And Tony finally gives Pepper a present that she actually loves (again, can't say what - spoilers).

So if you like action flicks, this one is worth seeing. Or at least renting, when it comes out.

May 12 Sermon: Channeling Rob Bell

Grace and peace to you from God our Father from our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. Amen.

I’m a really big fan of Rob Bell. He’s the one who produced the NOOMA videos you may have seen. His is also a brilliant writer and preacher, and his books remind us why God still matters.

So when I saw recently that he had a new book out, I couldn’t resist. It’s called “What We Talk About When We Talk About God,” which is great because the title is long and slightly confusing, sort of like the prayer we just heard Jesus pray a moment ago from the Gospel of John. And also like the Gospel of John, Bell is a master at taking things and experiences that on the surface seem to have nothing to do with one another and making them into more than the sum of their parts. Bell says to us, “Look at this…” “Now look at this…” “Now check THIS out…” “And now look at the whole thing…” And you’ll never think about those things in quite the same way again.

In this way, today I’m going to try to channel Rob Bell and the writer of the gospel of John. I’m going to tell you about monkeys, then I’m going to tell you about Lutherans, then I’m going to tell you about one of our shut-ins, and at the end, hopefully we’ll have learned something about Jesus and ourselves in the process.

In his new book, Rob Bell describes a fascinating study of the brains of monkeys done in the 90s. Italian scientists wanted to know what happens in the brain when the monkeys experienced something pleasant, like being fed a treat. They observed that, when a monkey ate a peanut, the pleasure centers of their brains lit up like a Christmas tree. Well, duh. That’s not exactly rocket science, right. But they also discovered that the same parts of the brain also lit up… when the monkeys watched the scientists eat a peanut.

What the scientists did affected the monkey’s brain. …

And our brains are wired that way too, wired for connection. For example, have you ever yawned when someone else did? Have you ever felt the rush of elation when your favorite sports team wins a brilliant victory when you yourself have not thrown a single pass or swung a bat even once to help them? Have you ever felt like you’ve gotten more out of an experience because you were with someone enjoying it right next to you? This is how God created us, for connection, for oneness.

But we don’t always act like it, do we?

When I was in seminary, I remember reading a very long and complicated article on the history of the Lutheran church in the United States from eighteen hundred to the present day. I know, really fascinating stuff. It went something like this: these two groups formed a synod, but later a small group left and joined this other synod, which after a while split into two, but a few years later rejoined, and teamed up with another synod, but soon after another group left and formed their own group, who joined up with this other group, who later split….

And on and on this went, for pages upon pages, decades upon decades. I still remember that article, because it taught me one thing – human beings, yes even Lutherans, find it difficult to get along with one another and love to have conflicts over the littlest things.

And if you keep going back in the history of God’s church on earth, you will find schisms and splits and fighting and conflicts, going all the way back to the early church, all the way back to Jesus’ own disciples.

When Jesus is praying for the unity of his followers, for them to all be one, you have to wonder what in the world he was thinking. Peter seems to suffer from chronic “Foot-In-Mouth” disease, Judas hands Jesus over to the authorities to be killed, and after the resurrection Thomas refuses to believe until he sees it with his own eyes.

Within a few years of Jesus’s resurrection, different factions were embroiled in conflict over things that we would now find very strange – like whether or not to become a Christian you had to become a Jew, or whether or not Christians could, in good conscience, eat food sacrificed to idols like Zeus or Athena.

In our day and age we are caught up in our own conflicts, such as the inclusion of those who are gay/lesbian/transgendered, the ethics of abortion and women’s reproductive rights, just to name a few of our current hot-button issues. Things can get pretty nasty between those of us who claim to follow the way of Jesus.

Jesus had to have foreseen that we really struggle to get this “oneness” thing. But still he prayed for his disciples… and he prayed for us to, for those of us who have believed through the words of Jesus’ followers down through the ages. He prayed that we would all be one, just as he and God the Father are one. Because God is Love, and oneness is the sign of this love.

The ultimate expression of that love was when Jesus, who was one with the Father, became one of us. This makes the question posed in the well-known song by Alanis Morrisette very easy to answer. “What if God was one of us?” Well, he would be born of poor parents and grow up to teach love and peace.  He would heal the sick and feed the hungry and talk to the outcast. He would pray for his followers, even when he knew that the moment the “amen” left his lips he would walk out the door and into the garden, right into the waiting arms of Judas.

Jesus became one of us so that we would become one with one another. And though we are still far from fully living into this calling, every so often God gives us glimpses of what this can look like, if we are really paying attention.

Many of you may remember Mavis Baker. She hasn’t been around in a while, at least physically – about eight years ago her husband died and not long after that she went to live in Hamilton at Care One. Unfortunately she often has trouble being present mentally as well. Her long-term memory seems fine, but she no longer has a firm foot hold on the present – whenever I visit her she often speaks about her parents and husband as if they are still with us.

The last few times I’ve visited her, I have brought her communion. Now whenever Pastor Egan or I bring communion to someone, whether they have had a long illness or are just unable to come to worship, we use the communion liturgy found on this leaflet. And as you can see, these have been well used over the years – this one is creased and has bent corners, but is still in good working order.

Mavis noticed the creases and the bent corners, as I got her wafer and wine ready. I told her that these had been well-loved, because these were used whenever we brought communion, to the many people who had been visited over the years.

Mavis looked thoughtful for a second, and then smiled a big smile. “Well, I’ll just think about how by holding this, I’m holding hands with all those people.”

That day, we all were holding Mavis’s hand, and every time we come together to celebrate Holy Communion, she is holding our hands too. But what if we lived the rest of our week, outside of this building, as if we were still holding Mavis’s hands?

In this prayer on the night of his betrayal, Jesus is flipping the script on us. May God daily give all of us the strength to be the answer to his prayer. AMEN.