moadmin – Page 32

The Olive Branch, 3/11/15

March 12, 2015 By moadmin

Godly Promises Kept

Our readings from the Old Testament this Lent have been a journey through a series of covenants the LORD God of Israel made with the people of Israel. To Noah, to Abraham and Sarah, and to the whole people of God at Sinai and in exile, God promises a relationship, and commits to do certain things, including hold these people in loving faithfulness forever.

This week is the outlier, the story not of a specific covenant but of God’s way of keeping these promises. The people have sinned in their wilderness journey, again. (Isn’t it helpful how much like us they are?) Angry at Moses, angry at God, they complain, not for the first time. “There is no food and no water.” Forgetting they’ve just said there is no food, they add, “And we detest this miserable food.”

Strangely, serpents then come amongst the people and bite them, and many die. The writer attributes them to God. If that’s so, then even more strangely, God immediately instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, so that if the people look at it they will live, recover from the venom. And so it is. The people survive, in spite of their sin.

It’s a weird story. Yet Jesus refers to it in Sunday’s Gospel, comparing himself to the serpent on a pole. He says he will be lifted up so all may see him and live.

Setting aside the questions around the snake attack, for Israel this moment in the wilderness was a clear sign God had not abandoned them. When they were in peril, admittedly of their own making, God provided a way to life. A thousand years later, God’s keeping of the promise of everlasting faithfulness and love to the people leads to the very Son of God being lifted up on the cross to provide a way of life.

The challenge in God’s covenants with us is our persistent inability, unwillingness, and failure to keep our part. What we hear on Sunday is, regardless of our failings, we belong to a God who always keeps promises, always, and provides a way to life. Even if it means dying to do it.

In Jesus’ name,
– Joseph

Sunday Readings

March 15, 2015: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

March 22, 2015: Fifth Sunday in Lent
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

Sunday’s Adult Forum: March 1-22, 2015

Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Craig Koester, on the book of Revelation.

Save the Date: Saturday, April 18, 10:00 am-Noon
End of Life Decisions: The Conversation Continues

The conversation began at the February 1 Sunday Forum (to view Pastor Crippen’s presentation online, visit http://youtu.be/npRfQf8TTJg) and the February 7 workshop at Mount Olive.

We will continue to look at how we as people of faith approach our deaths and the deaths of our loved ones by specifically addressing the Honoring Choices Health Care directive. How do we know what we want and what are the options? How, when, and with whom do we have the conversation?
These and other questions will be addressed. Help with completing the form will be available, as well as a notary to finalize any documents that are completed on that date.

Scheduling this workshop is dependent upon the demand for it. If you would like to participate, please let Marilyn Gebauer or the church office know in advance. You can contact Marilyn at 612-306 -8872 or gebauevm@bitstream.net, or the church office at (612) 827-5919.

Some suggestions made previously for future workshops include:
• Estate planning – with or without an agent
• Funeral planning – burial rites, “green funerals”,
the Columbarium
• Writing a will
• Assisted suicide – ethical and faith considerations
• Establishing a volunteer group at MO to serve as
healthcare proxies for fellow members who are
without close family, friends, etc.
• Near death experience
• You may have ideas for future topics of discussion.
If so let Marilyn or the church office know.

Book Discussion Group Update

For the March 14 meeting we will discuss The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho; for April 11, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; and for May 9, The Boat of Longing, by O. E. Rølvaag.

Paschal Garden

Volunteers will be on hand for the next three Sundays (March 15, 22, and 29) before, between, and following the liturgies to receive your donations to purchase Easter flowers for this year’s Paschal Garden.

Midweek Lenten Worship
Wednesdays during Lent
Holy Eucharist, at noon
Evening Prayer at 7 pm

A Note of Thanks

Adam and Thomas wish to thank the Mount Olive family for the many kindnesses shown them at the recent death of Adam’s father, Al Krueger.

The many prayers offered before, during and after his illness, cards received, email and Facebook greetings posted, and tutor substitutes are all an immense witness to the love we feel from this congregation and her staff.

From the depths of our hearts, we say thank you for your love and support during these times. It’s always great to be part of such a caring community, but especially so when you experience the loss of a loved one. God bless you all!

– Adam Krueger & Thomas

March is Minnesota FoodShare Month!

Donate cash or groceries to the local food shelf during Minnesota FoodShare month in March!

A donation of money more than doubles the amount of food available to food shelves, because food shelves can purchase food at discounted prices. If you choose to give in this way, make your check payable to Mount Olive and write Food Shelf on the memo line. If you prefer to donate non-perishable groceries, they may be brought to the grocery cart in the coat room.

Chancel Cleaning Day

The Mount Olive Altar Guild invites interested persons to participate in the chancel cleaning to prepare for the Easter season. The cleaning will take place on Saturday, March 28, from 9 am – noon. If you would like to help, please contact Steve Pranschke at 612-803-0915 or by email to hspranschke@gmail.com.

Your helping hands are truly appreciated. I find it is enjoyable to work alongside one another in preparing our worship space at such a special time. Thanks!

– Steve Pranschke

Mount Olive Music & Fine Arts Presents Jearlyn Steele on Sunday, March 15, 4 pm

A native of Indiana, Jearlyn relocated to Minnesota and, after much encouragement, ventured out singing in churches, community centers, and nightclubs. This eventually led her to theater where she has performed at such venues as Penumbra Theater of St. Paul, the Old Log Theater in Excelsior, The Historical State Theater in downtown Minneapolis, The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, and the world-renowned Guthrie Theater. Over a decade ago, Jearlyn, along with her siblings, “The Steeles,” began a successful run of the pop/gospel musical Gospel At Colonus, which made its way to Carnegie Hall.

Come to see and hear Jearlyn – and bring your friends! A reception will follow the concert.

Action Alert

Sign up now to visit Guatemala and our Common Hope partners. One or two groups will be going. Pick your dates and get in on the action. Leave your name at the office, sign a yellow info sheet or contact Judy Hinck either by email to judyhinck@gmail.com or by calling 612-824-4918. Teams will be set by Easter.

Opening Reception for the Paul Granlund Exhibit to be Held This Sunday

This coming Sunday, March 15, there will be an opening reception for the Paul Granlund sculpture exhibit from 2:00-4:00 pm, prior to the Jearlyn Steele concert. A video will be presented at around 3:00 pm in which we see Paul Granlund at work in his studio and view parts of the foundry process for creating the finished metal sculptures.

Members of the Granlund family will be at the reception. Please invite your friends and family and especially artists you may know to join us.

Holy Week at Mount Olive

Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
Sunday, March 29
Holy Eucharist, 8 & 10:45 am

Monday-Wednesday of Holy Week,
March 30-April 1
Daily Prayer at Noon, in the side chapel of the nave

Maundy Thursday, April 2
Holy Eucharist at Noon
Holy Eucharist, with the Washing of Feet, 7:00 p.m.

Good Friday, April 3
Stations of the Cross at Noon
Adoration of the Cross at 7 pm

Holy Saturday, April 4
Great Vigil of Easter, 8:30 pm, followed by a festive reception

The Resurrection of Our Lord
Sunday, April 5
Festival Eucharist at
8 & 10:45 am
Easter Brunch at 9:30 am

Vestry Listening Sessions Continue

Vestry Listening sessions continue this Sunday, March 15. This is an opportunity for the congregation to discuss the Vision Expression statements introduced earlier this month.

This week’s focus will be on Worship and Finance. Following both the first and second liturgies, Al Bipes (Worship) and Kat Campbell-Johnson (Business & Finance) will be available in the East and West Assembly rooms to hear your ideas on the work of their committees.

Grab your coffee and join the small group to talk. Each session will last 30-45 minutes, and you may move in and out as you wish.

Opportunities to BE involved:

Check out the information located in front of the main office or in the Olive Branch for more details. There is also a sheet listing coming events and opportunities throughout March. Post it on the fridge or door and pick at least one in which to participate!

• Needed: Food donation deliverer! As food is being donated for Minnesota FoodShare month, is anyone available and willing to take a load of food to CES at 1900 11th Ave. S.? A drop-off time can be arranged and helping hands to load. Please let Anna K. know.

• “Bottom,” a play about sex-trafficking – Saturday March 17, 7 pm Minnehaha Upper Academy

• Better Halves Couples’ Workshop – Saturday March 21, 9:00- 11:30am at Mount Olive

Who We Are, Where We Are Map

Have you “pinned” yourself yet? If not, please do so by letting us know where you live, using the map hanging in the East Assembly room. Instructions are posted by the map – please contribute your pin!

Peace With Justice Forum

All are invited to a Peace with Justice Forum on Sunday March 15, 2015, 12:30-2:00 pm at Central Lutheran Church, 3rd Ave and 12th St, Minneapolis, next to the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The topic is “Immigration is in the News: A Faith Response.” The presenter for this forum is Reverend John Guttermann. He will discuss President Obama’s proposals for executive action on immigration reform and the court decision that delayed the President’s executive action, and the current realities for area immigrants and their families and work being done in Minnesota. He will describe the program that visits detained immigrants here in the Twin Cities and give some direction on how our churches can helpfully respond.

Reverend Guttermann has been an advocate for immigrants and their families and sees the immigration reform and the immigrant rights movements as connected to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights for all people.

Lunch is available ($7.00). Validated parking is available in the Central parking lot/ ramp on the south side of the church.

JRLC Day on the Hill: Dignity in Democracy
Submitted by Connie Marty

Dignity in Democracy! was the theme of the 2015 Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) Day on the Hill on Tuesday, March 10. Six members of Mount Olive joined over 700 people of faith from across Minnesota to use their gift of citizenship and civic engagement to speak out on social justice issues. In the morning we listened to speakers, prayed together, were updated on key legislative issues and met by legislative districts to plan our meeting in the afternoon at the Capitol with our legislators.

We advocated on the following social justice issues:
1. Support affordable, accessible Child Care for all Minnesota families;
2. Raise MFIP grants by $100 per month (they have not been raised for 30 years);
3. Restore the Vote that would remove barriers that limit offenders’ from voting after they have
served their time in prison;
4. Safe Harbor Funding for Victims of Human Trafficking;
5. Reform of the Payday lending industry.
(If you would like to see more detail on any of these pieces of legislation currently being introduced at the Capital, check out JRLC.org or our Neighborhood Ministries bulletin board.)

Senator Jeff Hayden represents District 62, the neighborhood around Mount Olive. Some of us met with him and he had some insights to share with us as members of the faith community:
“These are human issues that affect real people and real lives. The faith community can lead the way. It’s a perception– a way we model and talk about how and what we value as we live with one another. We have to remember that we are a community and these are neighborhood issues. All the churches in the neighborhood should work together. Our faith is our commonality that breaks down barriers between races and erases our differences.” (paraphrased)

He told the story of how one constituent asked him to sponsor legislation that would affect the neighborhood. Senator Hayden told that person that if he would go to the three other churches in the area and ask them to join in coming to the capital and advocating for the legislation then he, as their Senator, would sponsor the bill. But he insisted that the people of his district bring the call to action to the capital and not just assume Senator Hayden could accomplish it by himself. The community can lead the way.

JRLC invited us continue to take action and engage on these issues until they become law:
to sign up to get timely action alerts, to communicate with our legislators throughout the session about issues we care about, to write letters to the editor of our neighborhood papers to educate the general public on these concerns, to form a social justice email tree in our faith community, and more.

Mount Olive members who attended were: Mary Rose Watson, Kathy Kruger, Judy Hinck, Carol Austermann, Connie Marty and Anna Kingman.

(Photos from Day on the Hill are included in this newsletter)

Sabbatical Information, part 2

Pr. Crippen will be on sabbatical from April 6 through July 15. He will be taking time to put together and reflect on the work he’s been doing on preaching, some of which was presented in January forums here. The scope is covering the theology and heart of preaching as well as the craft and art of preaching. Part of the work is to see if there’s something publishable, or usable to the church in some way. There will also be time for relaxation and rest, including a couple trips with family.

Next week: more about who is serving as interim during this time.

Church Library News

In response to a request for library materials on parenting, which might be helpful to the Youth Committee as they were engaged in a Listening session Sunday, I found the following books, which could be quite helpful to couples and/or families:
• Five Cries of Parents (new help for families on the issues that trouble them most), by Merton P. Strommen and A. Irene Strommen
• Families Where Grace is in Place (getting free from the burden of pressuring, controlling and manipulating your spouse and children), by Jeff Van Vonderen
• Mothers and Daughters Together (we can work it out), by Kay Strom and Lisa Strom
• Stepfamilies (living in Christian harmony), by Bobbie Reed
• How to Parent Your Tw/Teenager, by Dr. Mary Manz Simon
• Parenting Your Disabled Child, by Bernard Ikeler
• Nine Challenges for Parents, (leading your child into responsible adult-hood) by Lucy and William Hulme
• Firstborn, by William Hulme
• WHY JOY? (learning to love my special child) by Jane Jennings
• Family Planning on a Crowded Planet, by Wilton Yates
• Be Good to Each Other (an open letter on marriage), by Lowell and Carol Erdahl
• Marriage to a Difficult Man, by Elisabeth D. Dodds
• Helping Your Children Feel Good About Themselves (a guide to building self-esteem in the Christian family), by Kenneth A. Erickson
• When Children Ask About Sex (a guide for parents), by Joar Graham Selzer MD
• Superkid? (raising balanced children in a Super Kid world), by Dr. Elaine McEwan
• The Strong-Willed Child (birth through adolescence), by Dr. James Dobson
• What a Son Needs From His Dad, (how a man prepares his sons for life), by Michael A. O’Donnell, PhD
• Different Children-Different Needs (the art of adjustable parenting), by Charles F. Boyd, w/David Boehe and Robert A. Rohm, PhD
• When Your Child Hurts (hope for parents of children undergoing long-term medical care), by Charlotte Adelsperger
• Where Does a Mother Go to Resign?, by Barbara Johnson

These books are on display in the library in two places — on the wall directly across from the check-out desk and also in a smaller group near the left-hand window. There is also a display of good Lent and Easter reading near the window on the right. Stop in soon to browse among these areas or any particular need or interest you may have at this or any time.

As we close this article, I will provide a smile for your day with two questions posed from Corny Humor: More Wit and Witticisms, published by the National Federation of the Blind, as follows: “Why did the book join the police?” (So he could work undercover!) and “What is the smartest insect in the world?” – (a bookworm!)

– Leanna Kloempken

Midweek Lent 2015 + Clay Jars Filled with Grace (Paul’s second letter to Corinth)

March 11, 2015 By moadmin

Week 3: “So We Do Not Lose Heart”

The Triune God opens our hearts to care about our own sin and the world’s pain, fills our hearts with grace and mercy that cannot be killed, and so makes our hearts God’s heart for the world that will change everything.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Wednesday, 11 March 2015; texts: 2 Corinthians 4:1-16a

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

You have to have a heart to be concerned about losing it.

Paul’s beautiful encouragement today in 2 Corinthians only matters if we are so engaged in our lives and in the world that our hearts are committed and open.

There is much about our lives that is not what we are created to be. We are not always the loving person toward God and toward our neighbor Christ Jesus calls us to be. If we care about that, our hearts are at risk.

There is much about the world that is not what it was created to be. The suffering, pain, and evil we see in our city, nation, and world has damaged the good creation the Triune God made. If we care about that, our hearts are at risk.

There is much we fear about what we can’t control, including death. If we care about that, our hearts are at risk.

When our hearts engage with our own lives, with this world and its problems, with our fears, we risk losing them, having our courage fail us, falling into despair. But if we don’t engage our hearts, we lose everything of value to life in this world.

There’s a tremendous grace that helps us here, received when we gather together as Christ’s community: we find our hearts in the heart of God.

Here our hearts are opened and aligned with God’s.

Unlike most of the rest of our lives, we are called outside ourselves when we come here. We hear a Word from the God who made us, an external voice that calls to us to open our hearts to the truth so that we care.

Here we are reminded of our sinfulness, our flaws, our brokenness. That we keep coming back, knowing we’re going to hear more of that, means our hearts are being engaged. We are learning to care that we aren’t what God would have us be. Instead of ignoring that pain and pretending we’re just fine, as much of the world would, we come here for the truth, and it opens our hearts.

Here we are reminded of the good of God’s creation and the broken mess we have made. That we keep coming back, knowing we’re going to hear more of that, means our hearts are being engaged. We are learning to care about how God would have the world be. Instead of looking only to ourselves and ignoring the rest of the world, as much of our culture would, we come here for the truth, and it opens our hearts.

Most importantly, here we find the truth answering those deepest fears about what can harm us, what we can’t control. For here, in Word and Meal and community we receive the heart of the Triune God. We receive the love of God for us and for the world that led God to take on our existence and even suffer death on our behalf. Here we learn that God brings life to the world in Jesus’ resurrection, and we are loved fully, in spite of our flaws, our death, and the world is loved fully, in spite of its flaws, its death. We learn God’s heart is even more engaged with bringing life to death and brokenness and sin than ours ever can be.

We come here and are changed by this. Our hearts are shaped to be like God’s, to care as God cares.

That’s when the pain starts. The only way to avoid pain is to stop feeling. We can’t do that, now we care about our own brokenness and the world’s. So now we’re ready to hear Paul’s good news.

It sounds like Paul starts with the opposite. He says we’re fragile.

We’re like clay jars, easily broken. We face affliction, perplexion, persecution, even death, he says, because our hearts are engaged in the ministry God calls us to do, in ourselves and in the world. Fragile sounds like a bad thing.

It’s not. Paul’s helping us let go of that last protection we want. He’s saying if our hearts are engaged as Christ invites, expect it’s going to hurt. In other parts of the world Christians know this, as some are persecuted in horrible ways for living their heart-led, Christ-shaped ministry. In our safe country we’ve taught ourselves to expect no negative impact from committing our hearts and lives to serve Christ in the world. Paul says that’s foolish.

We’re fragile, breakable, clay jars. We’ve got no power or strength on our own. Which of course we already knew. The reason we shut off our hearts toward growing deeper as disciples or shut off our hearts toward the pain of the world, is that deep inside we realize we aren’t very strong. Imagining how we could become more Christlike in our loving in our personal lives, how much work that would take, how many things we’d have to change, is daunting because we know we aren’t strong enough. Imagining how we might make a difference in a world of evil and pain, how much work that would take, how many things would have to change, is daunting because we know we aren’t strong enough.

Paul says, Good. Now you’re starting to get it. You don’t have the power to do this. Now you’re ready to hear what’s really good about this news.

Here it is: we don’t need to have the strength because we are filled with the treasure of God’s grace and mercy.

This isn’t about us. It’s about God’s hope and dream. When we consider our own brokenness and sin or the pain of the world, no matter how huge a task of healing it seems, it doesn’t matter. We, fragile, clay, jars, carry in our hearts the death-destroying, eternally forgiving, unstoppably loving heart of the Triune God. We can risk our hearts engaging ourselves and the world because even if we are wounded, even if it costs a lot, even if we break to the point of death, we have God’s heart inside us giving us life.

We do not proclaim ourselves, Paul says. It’s not about us. We are vessels of the grace and mercy of God we have come to know in Christ Jesus, and that is all we need.

This treasure transforms us into completely different people.

We see everything now through the lens of God’s grace and mercy that is poured in us.

So we never look at our own problems the same again. So many, even in the church today, see their own issues and sin and difficulties and rarely ask, “What is God going to do about this in me?” There is nothing wrong with us and our lives that God cannot heal and transform. This is God’s truth that changes us.

We never look at the world’s problems the same again, either. How often, even in the church today, do people discuss what needs to be done, what problems ail society and the world, and rarely ask, “What is God going to do about this through us?” There is nothing wrong in this world that God cannot heal and transform. This is God’s truth that changes us.

So we do not lose heart.

We do not lose heart, even when we consider the work we each need to do to be people who love God and love neighbor with our every breath. God will make this happen in us. We do not lose heart, even when we consider the depth of work that needs to be done in this world to make it whole and at peace. God will make this happen through us. We do not lose heart, even when we see all the fearful things we can’t control, even death. God will bring life to us and the world in Christ Jesus; God will make this happen.

It is by God’s mercy we are engaged in this ministry, and we have this treasure in clay jars so that it may be made clear – to us and to the world – that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. It’s in God’s hands, always has been. We’re just blessed to be the vessels, fragile as we are, carrying God’s healing of the world and of our lives.

Now we get to see that grace extend to the whole world.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

Midweek Lent 2015 + Clay Jars Filled with Grace (Paul’s second letter to Corinth)

March 11, 2015 By moadmin

Week 3: “So We Do Not Lose Heart”

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

You have to have a heart to be concerned about losing it.

Paul’s beautiful encouragement today in 2 Corinthians only matters if we are so engaged in our lives and in the world that our hearts are committed and open.

There is much we fear about what we can’t control, including death. If we care about that, our hearts are at risk.

There’s a tremendous grace that helps us here, received when we gather together as Christ’s community: we find our hearts in the heart of God.

Here our hearts are opened and aligned with God’s.

We come here and are changed by this. Our hearts are shaped to be like God’s, to care as God cares.

It sounds like Paul starts with the opposite. He says we’re fragile.

Paul says, Good. Now you’re starting to get it. You don’t have the power to do this. Now you’re ready to hear what’s really good about this news.

Here it is: we don’t need to have the strength because we are filled with the treasure of God’s grace and mercy.

We do not proclaim ourselves, Paul says. It’s not about us. We are vessels of the grace and mercy of God we have come to know in Christ Jesus, and that is all we need.

This treasure transforms us into completely different people.

We see everything now through the lens of God’s grace and mercy that is poured in us.

So we do not lose heart.

Now we get to see that grace extend to the whole world.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

Heart’s Joy

March 8, 2015 By moadmin

God’s words – God’s Word – speaks into existence good and beautiful and life; this is counter to the world’s wisdom, but in Christ Jesus we are invited to trust the path of God’s words as our heart’s joy.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Third Sunday in Lent, year B
texts: Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; John 2:13-22

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

In the beginning, God spoke, and it was good.

God’s words were uttered into darkness and chaos and from them came light and order and beauty and life. This is what God does with words. God creates. God creates good. God creates joy. God creates life.

Exodus says: “Then God spoke all these words.” The God who made all things, who called Abraham and Sarah and their family, who rescued them from slavery in Egypt, this God now speaks words to the people at Mount Sinai. In Hebrew the Ten Commandments are “The Ten Words”.

If God creates good with words, creates joy with words, creates life and beauty and light with words, why do we fear God’s law, God’s words? Why is our theology so thick with language about how the law kills, cuts, destroys? Why are God’s words our enemy?

We sang with the psalmist that “the statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart.” When was the last time you heard the law of God and your heart rejoiced?

Mount Sinai is a moment of grace and promise for God’s people.

The Hebrews knew God desired a relationship with them, sought out their ancestors. Centuries of slavery and hardship in Egypt must have felt like abandonment. Has the true God forgotten us? Then came Moses, and rescue from Egypt, and even with hardships along the way, the people arrive at Sinai in hope of a new life in a land promised to be their home.

To these people, in that place, with this hope, God speaks a word of covenant promise. God has already fulfilled the divine part of the covenant: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” they are told. I am the one who has saved you, who is with you.

Now, God says, as my people, loved and saved, here’s the good path, your way of life. God’s not threatening to withhold grace: they’ve already received life and freedom. As always, God’s words are creating good, and beauty, and light, and life.

Seeing this giving of the law as grace and hope for Israel could set aside our ancient fear.

Our fear of God, seeing God as bringer of judgment and criticism, while we cringe. Our fear of God’s law, seeing the law as forbidding, harsh, judgmental. Afraid of God, of God’s words, we find ourselves enemies of the law, enemies of God.

Consider these people at Sinai, still learning about the Creator God who has just saved them from oppression and slavery, who now gives them direction for life.

In a world where people use violence, and kill to get their way, this God says, “that’s not a path of life. You won’t kill if you are my people.” What a grace for them.

In a world where people betray those closest to them and aren’t faithful, this God says, “that’s not a path of life. You won’t commit adultery if you are my people.” What a grace for them.

In a world where old people feel like burdens and fear not being able to care for themselves, this God says, “Honor your father and mother, that’s the path of life. If you are my people, you will take care of your elders.” What a grace for them.

In a world where it’s hard to know whom to trust, where people lie to get what they want, this God says, “Don’t witness falsely about each other. That’s not a path of life. Tell the truth and be honest, if you are my people.” What a grace for them.

In a world where people don’t know God, don’t believe in God, assume God is the cause of all suffering, this God says, “I have saved you, so get to know me. Don’t worship other things, only me; take time to rest as I do. That’s the path of life for my people.” What a grace for them, to be given the promise, the command, of a relationship with the eternal God.

God speaks and good things are made. God speaks what is good, and beauty, and light, and life. Just as it brought joy to the hearts of Israel – as it did the times they understood instead of the ones they resented, as we do – this confidence in God’s words can bring our hearts joy, too.

Especially when we remember what God’s Word has become for us.

God’s Word, the Word that creates good and beauty and light and life, took on our human flesh, became one of us.

All of God’s Word – creation and law and grace, everything God speaks – is now incorporated – embodied – in Jesus. His life and presence is the Word of God in the world. His voice is the Word of God. His actions are the Word of God.

But he also is one of us. Jesus not only is the entire speech of God in the world, as a human being he can carry our part of the conversation with God as well. Speak for us to God when we are afraid, when we hide, when we can’t see God’s Word as good. Jesus teaches us to speak with God freely, without fear.

Jesus holds the conversation between God and humanity in his own person. He teaches us in our own words that God’s good word for us and the world is still good, and beauty, and light, and life. In Christ Jesus we are reconciled to God, Paul has told us, because both we and God are brought together. Christ is God’s temple, as John tells us today, where we meet God.

At the cross God’s Word absorbs all our bad words, all our breaking of the law, and destroys death’s power over us. God’s Word creates good even in dying, and fully joins us to the life of the Triune God forever. There is no need for us to be enemies anymore. In Christ Jesus there is no way we can be enemies with God.

Look at God’s law, then, and rejoice: here’s the path to life.

In Christ we see God’s path – love of God and love of neighbor – as the only way we want to live. We understand God’s forgiveness in Christ not as avoiding punishment but as putting our feet right, our hearts right, our eyes right, our heads right, on the path God’s Word shows is life.

God’s law, Christ reveals, is the instructions for how we’re designed to live in happiness and love, the operating manual for humanity to live in joy and hope. It’s the wisdom to how we can live in a world of peace for all, the answer to the suffering of this planet. If we lived according to the Ten Words, adding to them Jesus’ deepening in the Sermon on the Mount and Luther’s expansion of them into positive actions toward God and neighbor, this world would be an astonishingly good place to live in. That’s our heart’s joy.

Today God still speaks and it’s still good.

God’s words are uttered into the darkness and chaos and evil of this world and from them come light and order and beauty and life. This is what God does with words. God creates. God creates good. God creates joy. God creates life. God creates a path that is good, and beauty, and light, and life, for all people.

When we understand that, we can really start to sing our psalm. We become people living in the heady world of joy in God’s goodness.

We can sing “the teaching of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul. The statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart. The commandment of the LORD is clear and gives light to the eyes.”

We can sing it because we know now it’s true. Because we know now this is the path of joy we’ve been looking for our whole lives.

And because God spoke this Word. And when God speaks, it is good.

In the name of Jesus. Amen