Get out the Map

By Rev. Mark Lepper (a colleague – serving at St. John Lutheran Church in MN)

Pastor Mark Lepper’s blog link: http://pastormarksday.blogspot.com/

My life has become much easier since the concept of GPS has been introduced to my life. I'm not quite sure how I really got much of anywhere before I had a little computerized person in my car telling me where and when to turn. Especially since moving up here closer to the Twin Cities where I'm often required to drive into Minneapolis or the suburbs for various synod events and committee meetings. I jokingly tell people that if it weren't for my GPS I would probably still be driving around trying to find my way home.

But, because of my GPS system, I now have a nice, British woman guiding me to my destination. She tells me where to turn, and even alerts me when my next turn is coming up. If, for some reason, I am unable to turn when she tells me, or take the exit off of the highway that she wanted me to, she'll quickly figure out a different route. It has been pretty great to have that service at my finger tips.

Sometimes I wish that God would give me a GPS for my life. It would be there to guide me, tell me what decisions to make, which way to go. I wouldn't have to worry about what to do and when to do it, because the GPS (Godly Positioning System) would tell me. I wouldn't have to wonder and worry if I'm lost, if I'm somehow not on the path intended for me, or that I might have made a wrong turn back there at Albequerque.

It would make life's decisions pretty easy, I think. There'd be no risk. I'd always know, for certain, that I was on the right road because there would be that nice, British voice telling me so.

But, when I think about it, maybe that's not such a good thing. Sometimes the joy of driving is just seeing where you end up. There is adventure in trying to find a place on your own. And one thing I've noticed is that if I rely on my GPS to give me turn by turn directions, I often don't pay as close attention as I should to where I'm going, and I miss street names and landmarks that could help me figure out how I got there in the first place.

So, maybe we're not given a GPS from God because the destination isn't what's important. It's the journey there that is.

Sing!!

I remember worshiping in Suriname, South America during the Lent season. In Lent it’s a liturgical rule not to say Alleluia. It makes the Easter morning Alleluia even more magnificent. As we were gathered in Suriname, in a little church about to worship, the opening song had so many Alleluias in it I didn’t know what to do. We aren’t supposed to say Alleluia, it’s Lent. I thought, “Maybe I should not sing.”

Then my heart sank as those thoughts ran through my head. It’s Lent and I’m worshipping with my brothers and sisters from Suriname! I couldn’t think of a better reason to belt Alleluia from the top of my lungs! So I sang.

If I hadn’t sang that day I wonder what my brothers and sisters would have thought my actions were saying. Sure I was breaking a Lenten rule but it was out of joy and love. It was about an encounter with God in a new place with new people.

I often find when talking to people about who God is and how God works in their life we often get caught up with a God of “morals” and “right vs. wrong.” Yet, God asks us to do one thing – Love your neighbor! I hope on this year’s Lenten journey you encounter the living and transforming God of grace and love. Now that’s something to SING about!

Lenten Fear

Fear is real! It is something that can paralyze us and change how we experience the world.

Something I love to do is SCUBA dive. I have had many experiences with friends and realize that SCUBA diving can be a scary thing, people feel out of control breathing underwater, but I love it. The first time in the water I honestly can say there was no fear. I was a fish waiting to get in the water, I belonged there! It is exciting the colors of the fish, sponges and coral…

I was on a dive trip in Honduras. We were there for a week doing three dives a day. I was a serious diver and had seen it all wrecks, reefs, walls… BUT I quickly learned that I had not seen it all. We were going on a cave dive. I geared up, jumped in the water with excitement of a new experience. I entered the cave – it was much smaller than I expected, I maybe had 5 inches on each side of me. There was no light in the cave so I clung to my flashlight. I began to become aware of things I wasn’t before. My senses heightened; flashlight in one hand and now my mask in the other. I didn’t want the person in front of me to kick it off. There was no way up if something went wrong and we had a good 20 of us in the cave. I now was holding onto my flashlight, mask and gage looking at it every few moments. Yep, I still have air, Yep we’re still 80 ft. under water. My goal was only to get out of the cave! My heart was racing and there was nothing that went unnoticed!

I then saw the light at the end of the cave. In a moment I would be out and free! As I swam out of the cave my heart didn’t stop beating fast, it started beating faster. Suddenly there was nothing when I swam out of that cave. No bottom below me and I could barely see light at the top. There was nothing in front of me or at my sides; no people, no fish, no coral. I was literally floating in what felt like an abyss of endless depth. I didn’t know where everyone went and I froze, helpless, I froze.

My diving buddy noticed my stillness from behind and he knows I love to dive. He swam in front of me and gestured to see if I was okay. I thought about it for a moment and didn’t want to freak him out because I was still breathing and gestured back, I’m okay. He then gestured to me to turn around.

When I turned, my world changed! I saw the most beautiful wall of sponges and corals, there were schools of vibrant colored fish everywhere. I honestly believed I had never seen anything so beautiful! The fear I experienced enhanced my senses – enhanced the colors – the experience. Why? Because I chose before, when diving, to do only what was comfortable. I always had a bottom and always could see the top. The fear from that dive opened my eyes to something I was not willing to see in the water before. It was the part of the water I always had my back to or ignored. Experiencing those parts enhanced the beauty of what I had seen 50 times before.

Fear enhances what is good in life. We are told to take up our cross in Matthew 10 & 16 – and if we want to save our lives we must lose it and if we lose our life we will save it. WHAT? Isn’t that the ultimate fear? Losing our life?

It’s what Jesus did and what did we do with him? We buried him in a tomb. But the story doesn’t end there because three days later Jesus breaks out of the tomb – and overcomes for each Child of God the ultimate fear - death.

"Follow Me"

By Sarah Teichmann

The other day I was on the phone with a friend. She was flying into the area and we were making plans for her visit. She planned to rent a car and drive to Naples, but she didn’t know how to get from the airport to my home. I offered to meet her at the airport so that she could follow me. There was a pause—a hesitation of sorts. I could tell that she was a bit nervous about this plan, so I asked her what was wrong. “I’m nervous about following your car, losing sight of you.”

I could totally understand her nervousness. How often have we tried to follow someone, lost sight of them, lost track, and ended up just plain lost. There is something very basic in our make-up that fears getting lost. Think back to when you were a child and out on a shopping expedition with a parent or guardian. Your attention is diverted, you turn around to look at something else, turn back and you realize with dread that you are alone. You cannot see your loved ones. Oh no you’re lost!

No one wants to be lost—regardless of age, wisdom, or experience.
Sometimes the dread and fear of being lost keeps us from moving forward. We know where we are, so why can’t we just stay there. However, life is about moving forward. God’s call in our life is about moving and growing, as well. There are several times in Jesus’ ministry that he calls to people and says, “Follow me.” Some passages that come to mind are:

“Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

We are invited to follow Jesus, but are you like me and sometimes feel that little child inside of you who fears where you may go or if you may get lost?

I find comfort in the John 10:27 verse where Jesus is the good shepherd—protecting his beloved flock. There is a deep relationship between the shepherd and those for whom he cares and protects. Remember the comforting words from Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…He leads me beside quiet waters…Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Have you ever been on a trip or a tour with a good guide or leader? That guide knows the terrain and the surroundings. They will walk backwards ahead of you so that you never lose sight of their face-so that you may always be in their view. They guide you to places where you may rest and find shelter.

When Jesus says “Follow me” he invites us to part of an incredible journey through life, faith, and love. God will never forsake us. We are treasured children in the eyes of God!

May you feel the blessing of God’s goodness this day and every day in your journey!

Lenten Journey

I was driving in this crazy traffic that seems to fill our streets these days. As I was waiting at one of those extra long stop lights I was getting antsy and frustrated because I needed to get to my next destination. It was a nice day and most drivers had their windows down. I noticed the man next to me started to whistle. His whistling came through loud and clear and instead of annoying me it began to relax me.

I began to let him share his excitement and energy with me. He had no clue the peace that his whistling brought me, but I began to remember how important it is to live in the present. I was busy trying to rush to the next place. If I hadn’t stopped to listen to him whistle I would have missed the moment that brought me peace. I don’t know about you but I often spend so much time preparing and running for the future I forget to live in the now.

This Lent let’s not rush to the cross and the resurrection as we look forward to Easter. Let us embrace this day and what the Lenten story has to share with us in our lives now.

We are Stardust!

Have you ever wondered, Why me God? Why is my life so good? Why do bad things seem to follow me around? Why did you put breath in me? What is the meaning of life? In a universe so vast how can God hear my prayer?

William Burger in Perfect Planet, Clever Species: How Unique Are We? writes,

…it is only in an “older” universe that complex life forms can come into being. Based on the analysis of minute grains found associated with meteorites, Armand Delsemme suggests that our solar system was enriched by “at least four different stars. A star rich in carbon. A star rich in oxygen, a star rich in magnesium and silicon, and a star rich in iron.” Clearly, our glorious star was generously endowed with the materials needed to build living things. Together with a liquid medium such as water, complex life-forms built largely by the common and versatile carbon atom also require a variety of heavy elements to act as the energy centers of their most critical enzymes… Humankind is the product of that history; hydrogen, the original stuff of the universe, makes up about 8 percent of our body weight – all the rest of us is stardust.

We are stardust! All of the living things on this earth are a product of the elements Burger describes. When things that were very different from one another, things that had different characteristics, different goals, and different properties came together, something new and beautiful was brought into being. Various materials along with energy and a “liquid medium,” went into our origins, and they might very well not have seemed to “belong” together. But look at the product!

Look at yourself! There are times you may not feel like you fit into this world as you seek for meaning and purpose. But, even science shows us how connected we are to all of creation and to one another. You are a beautiful, unexplainable, gift of God’s! Is there something more we’re searching for?

Church is Messy!

When I was a child I loved to get my hands in the soil of the earth. I was always digging for worms, making mud-pies, and trying to dig all the way to China. The older I get it seems I’m less likely to get my hands dirty. This past week we were weeding a parishioner’s yard and before I could eat lunch I had to wash my hands. It actually required a couple of times with the soap and water before most of the dirt was removed and it was finally acceptable to eat. When I was a child I would not have thought twice about picking up a sandwich with the newly mud-pied hands. I might have even tried to eat the mud-pie.

I fear that age teaches us the reality that life is out of our control and so we counteract by controlling the few things we can. In the midst of this we lose our playfulness. We try to clean things up. I believe that this phenomenon seeps into the church. Who has the best youth program? Who has the best attendance at worship? Who has the most money? Who has the best choir? Who has the most contemporary worship? We want things to be so controlled and perfect that we lose the passion behind what it means to gather in the name of our Creator. God knows life is messy. God sent his only Son into this messy world so we would know the power of God’s love. Maybe the question we ought to ask is, “Is the church getting messy?” “Is the church playing in the gift of creation?”

This playfulness is where God’s passion seeps into our lives. It is what draws people into the faith. Maybe as people of faith we need to stop washing our hands to be a perfect church and start digging for those considered the worms of the community. Start digging for those who need to know of God’s love. Start digging for those who are trying to get above ground. After all, God rose from the grave to dig us out of sin so we are free to play in love and grace.