Archives for June 2013

The Olive Branch, 5/26/13

June 26, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

Slave

On June 5th of 2002, a young girl was sleeping in her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was abducted in the middle of the night. Many of you may remember Elizabeth Smart. She was all over the national news and shortly after she was abducted a state-wide manhunt was underway. For awhile, it didn’t seem like the world would ever hear from Elizabeth Smart again, but nine months later Elizabeth was found walking out in the open with her abductor (though in disguise) and one other woman.

When Elizabeth was found, the first question many people asked was, if she was out in the open, how come she didn’t call out for help? After all, Elizabeth was basically enslaved and violated daily. How could she be so near freedom and not cry out for help? Over the course of the next few months sociologists began explaining what happened to Elizabeth. They said that over a long period of time abduction victims can come to have an affinity for their captor, despite anything their captor may do or say to them. It’s called “Stockholm Syndrome,” and it happens because the captors often make their victim believe that they are the only ones that care about them, that the victim’s families have given up looking for them, and that they are the victim’s only hope. Over long periods of psychological torment, victims can actually come to believe these lies, or at the very least are to afraid to believe otherwise.

If we examine ourselves closely, this is not far from our own experience with sin. In Galatians Paul writes that Christ has set us free from sin. But if Christ has set us free, then why is there still so much sin and evil in the world? Why do we all continue to sin everyday if we are free? Like an abduction victim, sin has a powerful grip on us. We cling to ways of being in the world that have harmful consequences for our communities, our environment, our families, and our selves. We eat, drink, lie, cheat, fight, lust, etc. on a daily basis, clinging to its power over us.

While none of us will ever be without sin, Paul’s letter in Galatians reminds us that we cling to old ways of being that work against bringing the fruits of the Spirit into the world. Like an abduction victim, we do this because this is how we’ve learned to cope with the world around us. We fear that even in the face of overwhelming hope that sin cannot be defeated. But as Paul teaches, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Therefore, trusting in Christ and being guided by the Spirit, sin has lost its power over you.

Thanks be to God.

– Vicar Neal Cannon

Sunday Readings

June 30, 2013 – Time after Pentecost: Sunday 13
I Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 + Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-25 + Luke 9:51-62

July 7, 2013 – Time after Pentecost: Sunday 14
Isaiah 66:10-14 + Psalm 66:1-9
Galatians 6:1-16 + Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Fourth of July Potluck

Coffee hour following the liturgy on Sunday, July 7 will be a 4th of July potluck! Bring a dish to pass and plan to join us for a mid-summer meal together. Pulled pork sandwiches, lemonade, and coffee will be provided. The potluck will be held inside the church, so that weather doesn’t become an issue.

The Bargain Box

Each August, Mount Olive Neighborhood Ministries sponsors The Bargain Box, an affordable way for neighborhood families to obtain good quality clothing (new and gently used) for children of all ages to wear as they return to school in the fall. This year, the Bargain Box will be on August 3, from 8-11:30 a.m.

You can help by donating new or gently used children’s clothes or money to purchase clothes (please include “Bargain Box” in the memo line of your gift), before August 4.

If you have any questions about Bargain Box, please contact Irene Campbell at 651-230-3927.

Book Discussion Group

Mount Olive’s Book Discussion group meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at church. For the July 13 meeting, they will read The Violent Bear It Away, by Flannery O’Connor. And advance notification (because of its length) and for August 10 we will discuss Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Olive Branch Summer Publication

Please note that during the months of June, July, and August, The Olive Branch is published every other week. The next issue will be published on July 10.

Adopt a Plot

Would you be able to adopt a section of the landscaped area around the Mount Olive Church property? We need volunteers to help with the up keep of the planted areas and grounds. With the abundant rain this spring, the weeds and grass are growing like crazy! William, our Sexton, does the mowing, but even with our relatively low maintenance landscaping there is a good deal to keep up. A sign up chart is in the gathering area with various plots mapped out for you to choose from. We ask that you check the area you adopt weekly and attend to new weeds or other needs. Gardening tools and trash bags are available for your use along with instructions. For information call Carla Manuel (612-521-3952), Andrew Andersen (763-607-1689), or Steve Manuel (952-922-6367).

Remember the Hungry and Homeless

In your summer travels, please remember to save unused complimentary toiletries for homeless persons. These, as well as trial size toiletries that can be purchased, are ideal because of their small size. Please bring your donations to the coat room at Mount Olive.

Also, food needs are even greater in the summer months when children are not in school receiving free lunches. Please keep this in mind when making your food donations. CES (Community Emergency Services) has a food shelf to which we contribute. Here are some needed items: chili, sugar, beef stew, salt, canned beets, cooking oil, pudding cups, Jello gelatin cups, coffee/tea, toilet tissue, cocoa, macaroni & cheese and microwaveable cups of food.

Your usual generous response will do much to help provide for hungry children. Thank you!

Godly Play for Grownups

Join storyteller Diana Hellerman to experience Godly Play just as the children of Mount Olive do. A sampling of stories will be presented after Sunday morning liturgies this summer. We’ll cross the threshold into the Godly Play space. We’ll build the circle one at a time, hear a story, wonder together about the story and share a feast. Enjoy a quick cup of coffee after liturgy if you wish, and then come downstairs to Godly Play Circle One. We’ll start 15 or 20 minutes after the service. Come to one session or as many as suit you.

Schedule: June 30: Creation; July 14: The Great Family; July 28: A Parable (you’ll have to wait and see which one); August 18: The Faces of Jesus. Questions? Contact Diana at 612-581-5969 or diana.hellerman@gmail.com.

Twin Cities Pride

Each year on the last weekend in June, the Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival takes place at Loring Park in Minneapolis. For the past eight years Mount Olive has joined a group of area churches to sponsor and staff a booth at the Pride Festival. The booth/tent is a place where the various welcoming churches provide printed information and resources about their congregations. We are scheduled for staffing the booth/tent on Saturday, June 29, 2013, from 2 to 4 pm. If you would be willing to be a host at the booth/tent, handing out printed material and answering questions, please call the church office (612-827-5919), or Andrew Andersen (763-607-1689).

New Pictorial Directory

Work has begun on a new Mount Olive Lutheran Church Pictorial Directory of members and friends.

With 21st century technology, we plan to develop a secure online edition located in the Members Only section of our website. There will be the option of requesting a print version for persons who do not have computer or internet access.

The Vestry, in approving the new online photo directory, included in the authorizing motion that the directory must be secure. The directory will be password protected. It will not be out on the web for just anyone to view or mine contact or family information.

Using the online digital method of producing a pictorial directory allows for continual updates throughout the year as new members join and as updated photos become available. It also reduces the cost of production significantly.

Our target date to roll out the directory in mid-autumn.
Members and friends will need to secure a password for access to the online edition. The passwords will be assigned through the church office. The date when members can start requesting passwords will be announced in an upcoming Olive Branch as the project proceeds.

Paul Nixdorf will take the lead on the photography portion of the project. Evangelism Director, Andrew Andersen, and Congregation Life Director, Sandra Pranschke, are working on scheduling times for taking photographs of members and friends. We have proposed that time slots to shoot photos be set up before and after Sunday liturgies with additional time slots scheduled as needed during the week.

If you are able to volunteer to help with scheduling and or assist with registration at the time of the photo shoots, please call the church office at 612-827-5919.

Watch upcoming Olive Branch publications for further information on this project.

Calling our Property Helpers

The Property Committee asks for your assistance in two important areas:

1. Exercise your gardening skills with “Adopt-a-Plot.” Look for the poster board and sign-up sheet in the West Assembly area inviting you to do weeding and light clean-up at one area of our landscaped areas around the church and around the 31st Street and Chicago Avenue parking lot during the summer.

2. Saturday, July 13, the Property Committee will host a work day to install two bicycle racks with a new paver surface near the Parish Hall entry doors. If you can assist with groundwork, setting pavers and two bicycle racks, please join us. More information will be included in the next Olive Branch. These bicycle racks are made possible by a generous grant from the Mount Olive Foundation.

Thank you for your consideration! If you have any questions, please contact Brenda Bartz at 612-824-7812 or rookwd1@aol.com.

Made One

June 23, 2013 By moadmin

In crossing boundaries to be with us, Jesus destroys every human construction in order to bring God’s grace and mercy into the world. By doing so, the Triune God makes we who are many one.

Vicar Neal Cannon; Time after Pentecost, Sunday 12, year C; texts: Isaiah 65:1-9, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

One thing that never really grabbed my attention until someone pointed this out to me as an adult is that really young kids (think pre-school or younger) don’t particularly care about the accuracy of their drawings. For example, if you give a kid a blank piece of paper and have them draw, most likely what you’ll end up with is a bunch of scribbles that if you were to give it a name you would title it “Chaos Cloud”. But if you asked the kid who drew the picture to tell you what it was, they might tell you that it’s a princess unicorn named Sparkles. The funny thing is, little kids don’t have a care in the world whether or not their drawing looks like a “real” unicorn or not. They are perfectly content with their outside the lines, imperfect rendering of a mythical creature.

To a really little kid it doesn’t usually matter what they’re drawing on either. Whether it’s a blank piece of paper, a coloring book, or construction paper, really young kids are happy making their scribbles and imagining what those scribbles could be, rather than concerning themselves with what it is.

So all this brings up the question, why do we give little kids coloring books? I mean, if little kids are content with making scribbles, why do we give them books where they are asked to color within precise boundaries? One reason, of course, is so they don’t draw on the walls. But another reason we give kids coloring books is for us, so we can understand what they are drawing and be able to say, “What a nice bird”, or “Cinderella”, or “princess unicorn”. We give little kids coloring books to help us understand what we’re looking at.

You see, as adults we have an insatiable (innate) desire to define things. We get immense satisfaction from drawing careful and precise lines in coloring books and in the world. We draw maps of the world’s national borders. We carefully divide our country into red states and blue states. And we create all sorts of social boundaries, norms, and etiquette that help us to draw lines in the sand that help us define what we’re looking at.

In many ways, this is a good thing. It is a God-given gift to be able to name and identify things in our world as they really are, or as Luther would say, “to call a thing what it is”. But sometimes boundaries only serve to divide us and misinform us about each other; creating all sorts of stereotypes and presumptions that serve us in negative ways. Regardless, boundaries can be a source of comfort for adults, which is precisely why Jesus can make us a little bit uncomfortable at times.

Just before our Gospel lesson today is the story of Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee. At the beginning of this story Jesus says to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake”. Now in many ways, this seems like a throw away line, much like the line, “Now they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee,” which begins today’s Gospel lesson.

But to the ancient hearer, these words contain important significance because they give the context of where Jesus is. Most scholars believe the city that Jesus and his disciples land in is either Gergesa or Gedara, both of which were on the “other” side of the Sea of Galilee; both of which were gentile, or non-Jewish cities. In other words, Jesus, a Jewish man and teacher, chooses to go into Gentile land where there were all sorts of unclean things that a Jewish person would be forbidden to touch according to law.

One such law that many of us may be familiar with is that Jewish people aren’t allowed to eat pork or for that matter even touch a pig. Yet the land that Jesus enters is full of swine and swine herders. What’s more, in this story we’re told that Jesus is approached by a man with an unclean spirit, who is naked, and has been living in the tombs among the dead. For Jesus to be in the country of the Gerasenes as a Jewish person is to risk being unclean himself and outside the boundaries of the Jewish religion and the Jewish people.

Our reading from Isaiah reflects the discomfort many in the Jewish faith had towards this Gentile region. Isaiah says, “I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks; who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels.” This verse in Isaiah tells the story of a people who live in opposition to God and do all sorts of things that God hates. This is the story of a people who are actively turning away from God, refusing God’s mercy and justice.

In this land that Jesus goes to, he is spiritually and religiously out of bounds. So one might ask, what is Jesus doing here? Jesus is literally in country which is ‘opposite’ to many of the laws and practices that that are acceptable to Judaism. As if to confirm that Jesus is not supposed to be here, as soon as Jesus arrives on the other side of the Sea, a man who embodies the Gentile uncleanliness found in Isaiah, approaches Jesus.

Even this demon-possessed man thinks that Jesus shouldn’t be there. The text tells us that this man says to Jesus, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” What have YOU to do with me? That’s the question that we overlook as a modern audience because we forget that Jesus isn’t supposed to be here. Holy people aren’t supposed to be in Gentile territory, even demons know that.

It’s clear that Jesus knows something that we don’t and sees something that we don’t see. Maybe Jesus understood what immediately follows our text in Isaiah today which says, “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating.”

God is doing something new; God is creating a New Heaven and a New Earth and changing the boundaries along the way. So when Jesus comes into the country of the Gerasenes, maybe he doesn’t see what is, that is, the Old Heaven and the Old Earth. Maybe Jesus sees what could be in the New Heaven and the New Earth. Maybe Jesus is there to create hope, and love, and grace for all who would have it, not just for those within the boundaries.

This sounds like an amazing proposition, to be remade by the grace of God. But our struggle with this is that for the new to come in, first the old has to pass away and sometimes we’re pretty attached to the old.

After the demon possessed man speaks to Jesus for the first time the text says, “for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man,” and it sounds as if Jesus had already commanded the spirit to come out. Yet the demon didn’t come out of the man right away. If Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man before the demon spoke, which the text seems to indicate, why didn’t it happen right away?

One way to look at this is to say that maybe this man is pretty attached to his demons, unwilling to let them go. Think about this from the perspective of the possessed man. This is a man on the fringes of society. This man can’t function normally, he can’t interact with people, he can’t live within the city because he’s a danger to those around him. This is a man who doesn’t fit into Jewish society, he doesn’t fit into Gentile society, and really he doesn’t fit in anywhere.

He’s all alone, so what friends does this man have other than his demons?

Now, this may sound strange but in a way this isn’t too far-fetched from our modern experience. People cling to their demons because it’s all they know. Think of this in terms of addiction. People with drug, alcohol, or any form of addiction aren’t addicts because they think that their drug of choice is good for them and will really benefit their lives and careers. They’re addicts because they’ve become chemically dependent on their drug of choice and can no longer cope in the world around them without that drug, regardless of how their addiction affects others. And so to an addict, the thought of life without the drug is scarier than the thought of life with the drug. In a way, the addict’s demon is their only friend too.

This is true for all of us. Our demons are sometimes our best friends. They are those things in our lives that we hold onto despite the fact that they harm our relationships, our neighbors, our families, our friends, and ourselves. And despite the consequences, we think we cannot cope without them no matter how much they divided us from God and from the world.

For us, the thought of following Jesus is scary because holding onto Jesus means letting go of our demons and the status quo. Unfortunately, we’re comfortable maintaining the status quo because even when the status quo is bad, at least we’re used to it.

But by crossing the sea into a Gentile land, Jesus comes to this tormented man who by law is unclean and out of bounds and casts out his demons. And through Jesus the man is able to embrace a new love, hope, grace, and friendship that says, “God is with you, you don’t need your demons anymore”.

And by following Jesus the boundaries that divide us are destroyed. As St. Paul teaches, Jesus crosses every barrier, boundary and human construction in order to bring healing, salvation, and forgiveness into this world. Jesus crosses the boundaries of divine and human, Gentile and Jew, male and female, slave and free, Democrat and Republican, Garasene and Galilean with the power to make us one.

What an incredible promise to be made one; especially to this Gerasene demoniac named Legion, who was many but was alone.

And what an incredible promise this is for us too – that in Christ our demons are sent out so that we too may embrace a relationship to God. And in this beautiful friendship, the barriers that made us many come tumbling down so that we may be made ONE also and live as a part of God’s new creation.

Thanks be to God.