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Archives for February 2014

The Olive Branch, 2/16/14

February 26, 2014 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

Alleluia, farewell

Hallelujah – praise ye the LORD.  Literally, “all of you, praise Yahweh.”  That’s what the Hebrew word Hallelujah means – “all of you praise the one who is named I AM WHO WILL BE”.  It’s such a short word that urges so much.  Latin didn’t pronounce it with or write the initial “h” so we also say, after the Latin, “Alleluia.”  Praise the Lord.

And this is the last Sunday for a long time that we will be able to say it.  For centuries it has been the practice of the Church to forego the singing or saying of Alleluia during the Lenten season.  We put aside the word of praise of almighty God that is so important to our worship, and we focus on our repentance.

It’s so helpful that our last day of Alleluia for a time is the Sunday of Transfiguration.  In some parts of the Western Church, namely among the Roman Catholics, Transfiguration is celebrated during the summer.  But our tradition places it here, the Sunday before Lent, and what is most helpful is that the experience of Jesus on the mountain of Transfiguration and what happened after is imitated by our singing Alleluia Sunday and then putting it aside.

Our Lenten discipline of setting aside Alleluia also reminds us of this truth: it’s often very hard to find a way to praise God in a difficult, painful, confusing, and often hostile world.  The psalmist in exile in Babylon said it this way in Psalm 137:  “On the willows there we hung up our harps, for how could we sing the LORD’s song, Yahweh’s song, in a foreign land?”  That, indeed, is often our question, isn’t it?  The reason we’re so enamored of Transfiguration, of this scene on the mountaintop, is that we can go long stretches of life without such beautiful inspiration, such wonderful confirmation of our faith.  The reason Peter wants to make tents for the three amazing personages is that he wants that moment to last.  And it never does.

Even so, we will leave the mountain, leave our Alleluias, for a time, that we might enter the wilderness of this world with our Lord.  We will set aside our fullest celebration for these forty days as we consider our lives and need for repentance.  We will take the song up again, yes.  We will once more learn to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.  For now though, after Sunday, we will listen for a different song, that the Spirit might continue to shape us into children of God through this journey, this discipline.

In the name of Jesus,

– Joseph

Sunday Readings

 March 2, 2014: Transfiguration of Our Lord
 Exodus 24:12-18
 Psalm 2
2 Peter 1:16-21
 Matthew 17:1-9
_____________________
March 9, 2014: First Sunday in Lent
 Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
 Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
 Matthew 4:1-11

This Week’s Adult Forum 

March 2: “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis,” part 2 of a 4-part series, presented by Scholar-in-Residence, Prof. Earl Schwartz of Hamline University.  

Lent Begins Next Week

     Wednesday, March 5 is Ash Wednesday. Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes will be celebrated at Noon and at 7:00 p.m. that day.

     During the season of Lent, midweek worship will be held on Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist at Noon and Evening Prayer at 7:00 p.m.

     A soup luncheon will follow the Noon liturgies, and a soup supper will precede Evening Prayer, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

     The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper will be held on Tuesday, March 4, from 6 to 6:45 pm.  Everyone is invited for an evening of pancakes, costumes, games and fun. At 6:45 pm we will observe the burning of the palms for the Ash Wednesday ashes.  Bring your dried palms from last year and leave them in the basket in the narthex.  Kids can wear costumes, and adults can dress festively in any way they choose!

     Help is needed from people 6th grade to 12th grade to assist with the pancake races.  If you are able to come and help with this event, please call or email Beth Sawyer at 651-434-0666 or mikebethsawyer78@gmail.com.  If you would like to help decorate the church basement on March 4 during the day, please also call Beth Sawyer to let her know.

Bring In Your Palms

  If you have a palm branch from last year’s Palm Sunday liturgies, please bring it to church. Last year’s palms will be burned following the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday liturgies.

Palm branches may be placed in the large labeled basket in the narthex.

Thursday Evening Bible Study Session Postponed and Rescheduled

The final session in the current Thursday Evening Bible Study was cancelled last week, due to inclement weather. That session has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 6, 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel Lounge, beginning with a light supper.

Lent Procession to be held Sunday, March 9, 4:00 p.m.

     All are welcome to this contemplative service of lessons and hymns for Lent. This service is offered as an opportunity to withdraw from the busyness of life to pray, sing, listen, smell, and to fully enter in to the season of Lent, a time to renew our lives as baptized children of God.

2014 Lenten Devotional Books

     Susan Cherwien has prepared another Lenten devotional booklet for our use during this upcoming season of Lent.

     Copies of Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office. Pick yours up soon! If you need a copy to be mailed to you, just contact the church office.

     Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5.

Centering Prayer Group to begin March 4

     Hello, my name is Sue Ellen Zagrabelny and I am a member of Mount Olive and an oblate or lay associate at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, WI. One of the monastic disciplines practiced at the monastery is centering prayer, an emptying of oneself in prayer in order to be accessible to the Spirit. A Centering Prayer Group will be offered at Mount Olive at two different times over a period of 5 weeks.

     A brief introduction of Centering Prayer will be provided and written material about the discipline will be made available.

     On Tuesday, the group will meet after Bible Study, from 1:15 to 1:45 March 4, 11, 18, 25 and April 1.  On Wednesday, the group will meet before the Lenten Supper at 5:30 to 6:00 on March 12, 9, 19, 26 and April 2. Both sessions will meet in the library.

     If you have questions, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or via email to skatzny@yahoo.com. Please join me in this meaningful discipline of Lent.

A Farewell Celebration

     March 14 will be Donna Neste’s last day as our Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator.  Donna has served God and Mount Olive admirably for many decades and it’s time to bid her a fond farewell. We invite members of the congregation to donate to a gift in Donna’s honor. Please make checks payable to Mount Olive Lutheran Church (be sure to designate them “Donna’s Gift”), and bring or mail them to the church office by Friday, March 7. There will be a meal and celebration after the second liturgy on Sunday, March 16.  For questions, contact Carol Austermann or Kathy Thurston.

Friendly Calling Program

     Mount Olive began a Friendly Calling Program last May.  There are currently about 15 people called on a regular basis by trained Friendly Callers to offer companionship and support. We need another caller to complement the current group.  If you are interested in making one or two calls on a regular basis and are willing to attend a brief training session, please contact Sue Ellen Zagrabelny at 815-997-6020 or by email to skatzny@yahoo.com.

To the Wearers of Albs

     Please sign your name and list your alb number on the chart provided on the inside of the alb closet door! We need to know which albs receive the most use to assure that we have enough of them in the appropriate sizes. Thanks for your help!

– Carol Austermann

New Event Tables

     Perhaps you have noticed the new event tables in the Chapel Lounge! These were purchased to help provide a place for people to set their refreshments on while they are visiting at coffee hour.

     Thanks to the awesome and generous members who contributed toward the purchase of all 12 tables, we did not need to use money from the budget for them. So many thanks to them for their generosity, and to Gary Pagel, who did the research and found the tables online.

     I am sure these tables will be well-used at coffee hour and in other fellowship activities.

– Gail Nielsen

Bread for the World Workshop

     One of three annual Bread for the World workshops will be held at Mount Olive this year this Sunday March 2, beginning 1:00 p.m.  A light lunch will be served in the Undercroft after the late liturgy for those who plan to stay for the workshop.  If you plan to attend please call Donna Neste at church so that the servers can plan accordingly.  More information about the workshop is written below.  There are also brochures available on the Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board directly below the stairs by Donna’s office.

Sign Up For Coffee!

     The coffee time following each Sunday liturgy is a great time to meet new friends and to enjoy conversation with friends already made. Coffee hosts make this happen and we need folks to sign up on the new sign up board. If you would like to host but want to serve with another person, contact Carla Manuel at 612-521-3952 or see her at coffee most any Sunday morning. Thanks from Carla and the Congregational Care Hospitality Team.

Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Banner

     In the parables, the shepherd finds the sheep and the woman finds the coin, however, the Neighborhood Ministries Committee has been unable to find Mount Olive’s banner for the May Day Parade. Have you seen it? It was last seen at church in its labeled bag, which is about 40 inches long. The banner is 36×120 inches, and has our name and church logo on it.
     This May, Mount Olive’s neighborhood celebrates the 40th anniversary of the May Day Parade. With our banner or without it, we plan to walk, wave flags, cheer, picnic, and have fun at this year’s May Day Parade. Plan now to join us!

Luther College Cathedral Choir Coming to Mount Olive  
   
     The Luther College Cathedral Choir (90 singers!) will  perform a tour concert here at Mount Olive on Saturday evening,  April 5, 7:00 pm.

     We will be looking for hosts to house these young singers,  so watch for detailed information about how you can help.  It is a large number of students to host, but it’s our turn, and I’m sure we can be successful helping them get warm rest and hospitality for that night!

– Cantor Cherwien

Filed Under: Olive Branch

In the Image

February 23, 2014 By moadmin

We are the image of God.  It’s time to start living that way, time for us to seek the Spirit’s grace in maturing and growing up in faith that we might see God’s way as our way of life and the way of life for the world.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, year A; texts:  Matthew 5:38-48; Leviticus 19:1-2, 19-18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23; Psalm 119:33-40

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

I wonder what would happen if the Church started to take seriously the Biblical claim that we, that humanity, are created in the image of God.  What it would look like if we – you, I, this congregation, the Church – if we actually expected that to be true, and lived into that truth.  If we let that reality shape our teaching, direct our decisions, even make a claim on our individual lives and presence in the world.

We certainly don’t seem to show much desire to do this yet.  While I doubt you would find any Christian who would deny that we are made in God’s image, the depths of what such a truth actually means seem far beyond our willingness to dig or dive or probe.

What would it mean for this world if that were not our way?  If we acted as if we believe that the Triune God was serious about this, and about what it means for us?  We hear this from God’s Word today: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”  And from Jesus, the Son of God himself, today: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  What would it mean if we embraced these commands instead of wincing at them, hiding from them?  What would it mean if we took God’s Word seriously – as, by the way, we claim to do – and saw such claims on our identity as our hope and our future, not as something from which we run?  If we found joy in such commands, as our psalmist does today, not seeing them as something we need to parse and dissect until they don’t mean for our lives what they clearly seem to mean?

These weeks with the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, alongside various similar teachings from the Torah and the prophets, have been calling us to find a greater growth in our faith and lives, to recognize that we can often persist in an immaturity when it comes to the way of life God has set before us, and so we miss the fullness of life God intends for us.  Today we face the full scope of that call to “grow up”: that we learn to find joy in this promise of our identity as the image of the living God, and learn to eagerly seek the Spirit’s strength in living into that identity, for the sake of the world.

Today we see a powerful glimpse of what this image of God looks like across the Scriptures.

We begin with the words of Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who describes a way that is God’s, but that is laid out as our path as well.

The path Jesus describes is one where we resist evil and violence not with more violence and evil, but with the strength of standing in the face of it non-violently, peacefully, strongly.  A way where we never retaliate when wronged.  Where if someone wants to deprive us of something, even by taking us to court, we get ahead of them and give freely.  A way where if someone needs something, we give it to them.  And a way where we stand against the way of the world and treat our enemies with love, where we lift them up in our prayer as much as we lift up those who are dearest to our hearts.

Now you can see what I mean about our problem as the Church.  Does this look at all like the public face of the Church in the world?  The center, driving force behind our teaching, our life, our work, individually and collectively?

But Jesus, the Son of God, only continues in the great tradition of God’s people Israel, for we hear much the same from the LORD God in Leviticus today.  To be holy as the LORD God is holy looks like this:

It is to live with wealth in such a way that we do not consume all, but share with those in need: here it’s sharing the edges of fields, the grapes of the vine we do not need, but we can supply the metaphors that work for our way of life.  That we do not rapaciously consume what we have and what resources the world provides as if it is our right and ours alone, but see ourselves as one with all and the resources we have as shared, communal.  This is the way of the LORD God.

And God’s way also looks like this: that we do not cheat or steal or lie to one another.  That we live justly, giving laborers a fair wage and not keeping it ourselves, that we do not profit from the blood of another.  That we do not take vengeance, or even bear a grudge against anyone, but love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Not surprisingly, Jesus sounds very much like this, and not surprisingly, this is also not the way, the image, we see in ourselves and in the Church.

Let’s keep this very simple today: clearly we fail to live as the image of God shown here.  But there are different ways to fail, and that difference is critical.

One way to fail to live in this way is simply to fail to live in this way.  That is, to live in such a way that the fullness of this graciousness isn’t always how we act and react, how we present ourselves.

And if there is anything in what we heard from Leviticus and Jesus that you realized you didn’t live into fully, you know what I mean.  We call this sin; we could call it failure.  It’s a truth about our human nature that we do not always live in the way we are called to live, the way we were created to live.  We know this, and when we are honest, we confess such failings, such sin, and seek God’s grace and forgiveness.

Another way to fail is a truly problematic one, though, because it is a failure of intent and desire and design.  This is the way that fears the law of God, that seeks to mitigate it, reduce it, explain it away.

To say, “Jesus might have preached non-violent resistance to the evil of the world, but we live in a real world where sometimes you just have to fight back and harm.  Where war can be justified.”  (As if Jesus, the Son of God who was present at creation, doesn’t know about the “real” world.)

Or to say, “realistically, you can’t run an economy where people share equally and there is no profit incentive, where people aren’t allowed to accumulate capital; in fact, that way, we say, will eventually lift all to a better standard of living.”  (As if the God who created all things doesn’t know what to do with the gift of creation, doesn’t know what’s best for the creatures so lovingly made and planted on this earth.)

We do this kind of thing all the time with the teachings of Jesus, the way of God.  We cut them, shape them, cleverly explain why they can’t work fully, why the Bible really didn’t mean that anyway.

Do you see why this way of failing to reflect God’s image is the dangerous one?  In the first way we fail, but we know it.  We seek forgiveness that we might continue to learn the better way, God’s way.  In the second, we don’t even have it as a goal.  We find any number of ways to avoid facing the truth that the Triune God lays before us about what we actually look like in the world and what God would have us look like.

And for we who are Lutheran, there is an especially potent temptation to this second path, ironically.  We proclaim so loudly that we are saved by God’s grace, forgiven of our sins, but we can easily let that become for us only the thought that we are out of trouble, we’re not punished.  When in fact the Biblical model of forgiveness is restoration to relationship with God so that we might once again live as people of God, become the image of God in the world.  Sometimes we forget that, and rejoice in forgiveness as if it’s the end goal, crisis averted, punishment set aside.

But it’s not the end goal.  It’s the beginning of new life.

The Good News for us today is that God’s Word tells us that not only are we created in God’s image.  God will also continue to shape us to be so.

This is the promise our Lord gives through the working of the Spirit: we will be made new, changed into people who look like our God once again.  We don’t have to do this alone.

And so we gather weekly to hear God’s Word because that’s how we are shaped and made new.  By hearing it again and again and finally having it sink in, “this is God’s way”.  By speaking it to each other, teaching each other, listening together, discerning together, so that we never forget these words, this call, this claim God has on us, and so that we continue to understand better and better what it might mean.

And we gather, we gather: we come together in community because we need each other and God works through the community to shape us into the image of God.  We need each other because we pray for each other, encourage each other, support each other as we all seek to reflect this image in the world.  We especially need the community because we each need people who are truth-tellers to us, who can name the behavior of the community, or our behavior as individuals, or the direction of the Church, when any stray from God’s image, move into ways that are not of God.

But the truly deep mystery is that we are shaped as we gather to worship through the very grace of God we come to find, and are made into the image of God.  It is no coincidence that we see the community of the Church as the Body of Christ and we gather to be fed by the Body of Christ, because the latter creates the former.

As we are fed and nourished by these gifts of grace, and by God’s Word, we become what we are given.  We become the grace of God, the body of Christ, the image of the Triune God in the world.  So we leave here and our Lord says to the world about us: Take these, they are my body broken for you.
And we will be broken, let’s not pretend otherwise.

One of the reasons we sometimes run from the command to be like God is that to be like God is to lose, to give away, to let go, to love even when no one thinks we should.  You know this, if you’ve ever forgiven someone who truly hurt you, forgiven and loved them.  That costs, that hurts.  It’s what happens when we are like God.

You know this if you’ve ever stood with love and grace in the face of evil and been run over by it, hurt by it.  That costs, that hurts.  It’s what happens when we are like God.

Make no mistake, there’s plenty of reason for us not to seek this.  If we are called by God to be like God, we will find great cost in many ways.  But what we need to hold before us this: where else do we ever want to be but with God?  What life could we ever imagine being real without God?

A life lived fully as Leviticus and Jesus speak today, a community, a world, shaped like this would be astonishing to see.  Life-giving, rich, abundant.  Living with the Spirit of God inside us, as if we were a temple of God, as Paul describes today, is not just the way we are given the power to be new people, it is a place of joy and hope and grace for us, because God is with us and in us, and that is life.

This is where we want to be, even if it costs us everything.

It did, after all, cost the Son of God his life, too.  And it is in his resurrection life we most dearly wish to live, even now.  It’s tempting to run from this, because it can seem hard, too much.  Because we realize how much we fail at this.

But we can grow up, mature, with God’s help.  As we do, as the Spirit lives in us and moves in us, more and more we see this light as the way we need to go, the way we want to go.  More and more we learn that the cost is negligible compared to the alternative, not being with the God whose love for us and for the world is overwhelming and is life.

We are the image of God.  That’s the truth.  God give us the grace and strength, and forgiveness, and courage, to actually start looking like it.

In the name of Jesus.  Amen

Filed Under: sermon

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3045 Chicago Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55407

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