moadmin – Page 72

Turning our Minds, Hearts

September 22, 2013 By moadmin

Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, became one of us to turn us to the way of God in the world, a way which is diametrically opposed to the way of the world; we cannot live in both ways.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Time after Pentecost, Lectionary 25, year C; text: Luke 16:1-13

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

Well, that’s a strange one, and no mistake. That might be the oddest and most confusing parable Jesus tells.

Before we can talk about this parable, though, we need to remember a little bit about Jesus.

We can just stay with what Luke says, to keep it simple, since he’s the Gospel the lectionary for this year is using, and the one who relates to us today’s parable by Jesus.

Luke from the beginning tells us that Jesus is the Son of God, the anointed one of God. Jesus is filled with the power of Holy Spirit from before his birth, and certainly during his life and ministry. And he has come to save us.

And from the very beginning of this story, we are told his coming was intended to overturn the way of the world in favor of the way of God. The proud will be scattered and the lowly lifted up. The hungry will be filled and the rich sent away empty. This Son of God came with a radical overturning of the way this world works, and invited all to join him.

In fact, for Luke, that’s central. As much as Jesus is God-with-us, filled with the Spirit, turning the world upside down to reflect God’s true values, so much so are we called to share that role, also filled with the Spirit.

Let’s also then remember some other key things about Jesus’ ministry in Luke so far. He has healed many, even of demon possession. He has forgiven people of their sins as if he had God’s authority. He has spent time with people whose sinful lives were public knowledge and scandal, and even sought them out. He’s declared that God’s blessing and new life, this overturning which leads to the salvation of the world, is for all people, both Jews and Gentiles.

So that’s where we stand now as we hear this story Jesus tells. We understand that Jesus is God’s definitive message to us, God’s very presence among us, and he is declaring a way of life that is completely opposite the way of the world.

And he’s inviting people to follow him in that way, completely. It is a way where we win by losing. A way of love over hate. A way of giving, not taking. A way that doesn’t count wealth by money but by trust in God. A way of grace instead of judgment. A way where enemies are loved not feared. A way where dying leads to life.

And now we’re ready for Jesus’ brilliant parable that is very confusing unless we understand that context.

One more piece of context to remember: Luke has placed this parable immediately after chapter 15, the three great parables of grace, the parables of the lost being found. And the last image we have from chapter 15 before we hear this story is the elder brother and the father standing eye-to-eye, but not seeing in that way at all.

And then Luke relates this parable of Jesus.

It tells of a dishonest manager who works the system to make sure when he’s fired he still lands on his feet. And what seems to confuse everyone who reads or hears this parable is that there are no redeemable characters in it, and there is this incredibly strange commendation at the end: the cheating manager is commended for his shrewdness, by his master, and by Jesus’ comment which follows.

But listen to what Jesus actually says: He says, “the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”

Do you see? No? Then look at the parable once more: The manager is cheating his owner and is caught. He has to give an accounting. He’s scared – too proud to beg and too lazy to dig ditches – so he cooks up a plan. He connives with people who owe his master money and re-writes their debts. All so that when he’s fired, these grateful people will welcome him into their homes.

And his master commends him for his cleverness. But that’s not really all that odd.

Commending someone for their cleverness doesn’t mean you approve of what they did. Consider any movie or book you’ve experienced and enjoyed where the hero of the book is the classic archetype of a rogue thief or charming criminal. Of course we don’t condone their thievery or whatever crimes they commit. But when the person is clever, and works the system, and has a little panache, we at least have a bit of admiration for their skill and focus, if the story’s told well.

That’s what’s happening here. The master is impressed: he thought he had this guy on the ropes, and he figured a way out. It doesn’t mean what the manager did was right.

But there’s still Jesus’ commendation to consider. Why is he telling this story at all?

The answer is in what we’ve already said about the way of God he has come to lead us into. From the Pharisees to the confused and half-committed disciples, Jesus constantly is running into people who are attracted to what he’s saying but aren’t ready to commit to it whole-heartedly.

So earlier he tells parables of seeds that start to grow but fall away because of cares and concerns of the world. He tells of servants who fail to be at their work when the master returns. He tells of people who want to follow him but keep turning back to their affairs.

Then he tells this parable, about a man who never turns back from his vision, his way of life, his code. The manager knows what his priorities are and he constantly works for them. He will be comfortable and happy, that’s his goal. So he cheats his owner, and when caught, cheats him some more to make sure someone else will care for him. He knows how the game is played and he plays it fully, no holds barred.

And Jesus says, “why can’t the children of light be that shrewd?”

Do you see? He’s saying that the people of the world know where their bread is buttered and they do everything they can to make sure they get their butter. From Wall Street to Main Street, if you are living by the rules of the world, by the rules of making money, by the rules of winner take all, you follow those rules faithfully.

But Jesus keeps finding people who seek the way of God, but not fully. They still want to keep one foot in the way of the world. They divide their focus. The world never does, Jesus reminds us.

Jesus keeps encountering elder brothers who are staring into the face of pure grace, pure forgiveness, the face of a father who says, “Everything I have is yours, and I am always with you,” and still want to play by the rules of “Those who do the right thing should be blessed and those who do not should suffer.”

Jesus is saying to the disciples, to the elder brothers, to us, “Follow me and live. But take a cue from the world: commit your everything to this. You can’t be partially in my way and partially in the way of the world.”

He throws in a little ironic statement in verse 9 to make this point: “Make friends for yourselves by dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes,” Jesus says. In other words, live by the world’s ways if you want. But good luck if you expect the world to save you. They’re not going to be able to give you eternal homes, that’s for sure.

Remember Jesus’ previous parable, as proof: the younger son found no welcome from the friends he made with his wealth once it ran out. He only found welcome in the arms of his astonishingly loving father who loved him without condition or hesitation.

You cannot serve both God and wealth. That’s Jesus’ last word today, and his main point.

And it is about money, in part. The rest of this chapter tells that.

From another confrontation with the Pharisees, again over money, to the story of the rich man and the poor one who sat at his door with the dogs eating scraps which concludes this chapter, Jesus points out that God’s way is not the world’s way of seeking security and wealth.

Trying to follow Christ but still trying to make ourselves secure by the way of the world – by gaining more wealth, by gaining more status, by having all sorts of rules about who’s in and who’s out, by caring more about institutions than people, by trying to limit where the Triune God can and cannot move – all of this is a vain hope.

Only when we lose everything, all sense of our status, all our sense that we’ve earned anything, all our belief that we have some rightness to bring to this party, only when we lose everything can we see the face of the Father looking at us in love saying, “all that is mine is yours, and I am always with you.”

If we are going to try and live by the way of the world, and cling to the things we think make us secure, be they material or emotional or spiritual things, and then also try to live by the way of Christ, we will find we cannot do both.

You cannot go both east and west in the same walk. And you cannot serve two masters.

This is not easy for us. It never has been. Pretty much every follower of Jesus has had to face this struggle, we see that even in his first followers.

But in the end, we know where we need to be. We need to be with the One who seeks us forever, no matter how lost we are. The one who himself died that he might take up his life again and offer it to the world. The one whose love will always welcome us home.

The clarity of purpose we seek as his followers is that we see as he sees, we live as he lives. Risking all, not worrying about anything, but trusting always that we are in God’s hands. Loving all, not trying to put limits on it, but trusting always that it is the truth that we are so loved by God. Offering this new way to the world as our mission, and inviting all to follow Christ into this life as well. So that the world might actually be saved.

In the end, our Prayer of the Day has it right, though: we can only ask God to make this so among us.

It’s part of that paradox of losing means winning that we can’t secure ourselves in this way of God, either. But we can pray, as we did, that God “turn our minds to your wisdom and our hearts to the grace revealed in your Son.” We can pray that the Triune God so fill us with the Spirit that we, children of light that we are, can be as shrewd about living in the way of Christ as the people of the world are in living by the rules of the world.

Because God has come to be with us, to show us the way of life, and to walk alongside us in that way. Why would we ever want to go a different direction?

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 9/18/13

September 18, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

Individuals have distinctive character; so do communities. What is that distinguishes Mount Olive? What is the core of that distinctiveness?

Consider recently joined members. The attraction of Mount Olive appeals not to just the young, the elderly, or other group.

My admittedly unscientific surveying has received responses such as:

• “I felt welcome here from the beginning.” That was our experience, as visitors seven years ago. Many folks approached Elaine and me, introducing themselves and inquiring about us. Very soon, we felt very welcome.
• “The liturgy is reverent, and beautiful. Nothing distracts from God during worship.”
• “The singing. It’s amazing!” Not everyone here is a graduate of a college choir. But when the song of the people begins, even the least talented voices can become caught up in it and find their part.
The responses echo our familiar three-word motto: “Musical. Liturgical. Welcoming.” It sums up what is distinctive about Mount Olive. But which is the core of that distinctiveness?
• The Welcome? Do we sing as we do because we all feel so close to one another, like harmonizing ”Kum ba yah” with friends around the campfire?
• The Liturgy? Do we warmly welcome and sing so heartily together because we all were bred high-church, the smell of incense in our nose calming infant colic or the discomfort of a damp diaper? Not likely.
• Or, is it the singing? I wonder…

This past summer, National Public Radio broadcast a piece titled “When Choirs Sing, Many Hearts Beat as One.” Researchers in Sweden attached pulse monitors to individual singers, to measure choir members’ heart rates as they sang together. What struck Bjorn Vickhoff, who led the project, was that it took almost no time at all for the singers’ heart rates to become synchronized. The readout from the pulse monitors starts as a jumble of jagged lines, but quickly becomes a series of uniform peaks. The heart rates fall into a shared rhythm guided by the song’s tempo.

Quoting now from the broadcast:
“The members of the choir are synchronizing externally with the melody and the rhythm, and now we see it has an internal counterpart,” Vickhoff says.

This is just one little study, and these findings might not apply to other singers. But all religions and cultures have some ritual of song, and it’s tempting to ask what this could mean about shared musical experience and communal spirituality.

Is this a clue to the core of Mount Olive? Is it something beyond ourselves that inspires us to welcome, to worship with a liturgy of communal responses and movements and rhythms? Is it the singing, the gift of a unique and spirit-filled individual named Paul Manz, who inspired this congregation and so many others of us to the pure joy of singing? Which the Holy Spirit continues to use?

Once again, from the broadcast:
“When I was young, every day started with a teacher sitting down at an old organ to sing a hymn,” Vickhoff says. “Wasn’t that a good idea — to get the class to think, ‘We are one, and we are going to work together today.’ “

Hmm…In the bad old days of the 1970’s, congregations across the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod were fracturing over supposed “doctrinal differences”, At Grace, River Forest, IL, partisans on each side had worked with vigor to rally members to their position, and to attend the meeting for the vote, Before the ballot, someone called for a prayer. But, who would be an acceptable voice in this divided assembly to lead the prayer?

While leaders and pastors conferred, Paul Bouman, their beloved musician, went to the organ and introduced, “The Church’s One Foundation.” And, the people began singing. And as the singing continued, and grew, many voices choked with emotions, tears flowed from many eyes.

I suspect many were thinking, “What are we about to lose in this vote? Is this worth the cost?” The congregation survived that night. Was it the singing?

The song goes on at Mount Olive, now with our third cantor and fifth pastor since the days of Dr. Manz. As our future unfolds, above all, let’s keep on singing.

– Art Halbardier

Sunday Readings

Sept. 15, 2013 – Time after Pentecost: Sunday 24
Exodus 32:7-14+ Psalm 51:1-10
I Timothy 1:12-17 + Luke 15:1-10

Sept 22, 2013 – Time after Pentecost: Sunday 25
Amos 8:4-7 + Psalm 113
I Timothy 2:1-7 + Luke 16:1-13

Freedom of the Christian: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Begins Tomorrow!

The first Thursday Bible study series of this year begins tomorrow evening, Thursday, Sept. 19, and runs for six weeks. Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Pr. Crippen will lead a study of the book of Galatians, one of Paul’s most vital and important letters. As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!

Adult Forum Offerings for September

• September 22: “Celtic Vision: The Trinity in Daily Life,” presented by Brad Holt

• September 29: “Julian of Norwich’s Vision: Transforming Love,” presented by Brad Holt

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 October 12 meeting they will discuss The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and for November 9, Parade’s End, by Ford Madox Ford.

New Members To Be Received October 6

At Mount Olive we welcome people who are at many different points in their Christian faith journey. That welcome is expressed in any number of ways. Some folks need a place to worship coming and going quietly. We provide that. Some seek friendship within a community of Christian believers with whom they share common faith convictions. We work at doing that. Some need to observe for a while to see if what is said about and within this community of faith is reality. That is just fine with us. Some desire a place where they can more fully share their faith and live lives of service. That is Mount Olive, too. To have a place to officially call my church” is important for many people of faith. Mount Olive is that. What works for you is fine with us.

If you are seeking a place to call your church home, we welcome you at Mount Olive. New members will be received on October 6, 2013, during the second liturgy. A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members, their guests, and Mount Olive members.

If you are interested in becoming a member at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, please contact the church office at welcome@mountolivechurch.org or 612.827.5919. You may also speak with Andrew Andersen, Director of Evangelism, or contact him at andrewstpaul@gmail.com or 763-607-1689. Pastor Crippen is also available to discuss membership. He can be reached at 612.827.5919 or via e-mail at pastor@mountolivechurch.org.

Mount Olive Greeting Cards

A set of three greeting cards with photographs taken around Mount Olive Lutheran Church have been designed by Paul Nixdorf. Cards will be available for purchase beginning this Sunday, September 22.

Single cards are priced at $2.50 each. For quantity of 5 or more the purchase price is $1.75 each. Pricing covers production costs. The cards are being made available through sponsorship by the Evangelism Committee.

Way to Goals Tutoring to Begin Soon

If you would like to help as a volunteer tutor of one or two elementary school students call Donna Neste at Mount Olive for all the details.

God’s Work. Our Hands.

On September 8, Mount Olive families worked at Community Emergency Services in Minneapolis. The children and adults cleaned, shelved and organized food, worked in the garden, and helped make a mosaic from tile. We did this in celebration of God’s Work Or Hands Sunday, and also to establish a working relationship with Community Emergency Services. We hope to continue work with this organization by making Thanksgiving cards for Meals on Wheels recipients and holding a hygiene item drive this fall.

Families, please mark your calendars for our next event on October 13. We will prepare food for the evening meal at Our Savior’s shelter after the late service. Plan to stay for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. The meal will be served by Mount Olive members later that evening.

Community Emergency Services would also like to invite Mount Olive members to a fundraising concert on Sunday afternoon September 22 at 3pm. There will be a brief reception prior to the concert at 2:30. The concert will feature the Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church choral and bell choir. It will be held at CES, 1900 11th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404. www.cesmn.org.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
Blessing of Animals
Friday, October 4 + 7:00 pm
Bring your pets and your friends (and your friends’ pets!) to this annual service of blessing!

Prayer Chain Ministry

Mount Olive Prayer Chain members pray for confidential prayer requests made by congregation members. This ministry is separate from the prayer requests listed in the Sunday worship folder and The Olive Branch. There are currently twelve members – and no formal meetings. Members simply make a commitment to pray for the received requests and to keep all requests confidential. If you would like to become a member of the prayer chain, or if you have a prayer request call Naomi Peterson at 612-824-2228.

Te Deum laudamus: Let us praise God:
A Hymn Festival Celebration in Honor of Paul Westermeyer

Join Master of Sacred Music graduates as they come together to thank Paul, wish him well in his retirement, and celebrate the gift of music. This hymn festival will be held Saturday, September 28, at 4:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Incarnation in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary, St. Paul.
Featured participants will be musicians James Bobb, Catherine Rodland, John Ferguson, and Mark Sedio, with reflections by Susan Palo Cherwien. Plan to come and sing, and bring your friends!

A Note of Thanks

Thanks to Steve and Sandra Pranschke, Cynthia Prosek, Bonnie McLellen, Tom Olsen, and Peggy Hoeft for spending their Saturday afternoon this past weekend cleaning and polishing to make the altar and chancel furnishings shine.

Meals on Wheels Keeps on Rolling

Many thanks to those from Mount Olive who are delivering Meals on Wheels for TRUST during the third quarter of 2013: Gary Flatgard, Art & Elaine Halbardier, Bob & Mary Lee, and Connie & Rod Olson.

An Afternoon of Music

Recently, our Flentrop chamber organ has been installed in its new home, The Baroque Room in Lowertown, St. Paul. The organ has recently been voiced to baroque chamber pitch by The Dobson Organ Company.

All are invited to a gala opening afternoon of music on Sunday, October 6, beginning at 3:00 pm. Featured artists include Jacque Ogg, Henry Lebedinsky, Asako Hirabayashi, Paul Boehnke, Bruce Jacobs, Don Livingston, and Tami Morse. A reception will follow the music.

The Baroque Room is located on the second floor of the Northwestern Building in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood at 275 E. 4th St., Suite 280, St. Paul, MN 55101.

– Elaine and Art Halbardier

Church Library News

After a more relaxing summer, we are glad to bring you some welcome news in that a new display of children’s DVDs is now available for your check-out. They will be in one of our usual display spots first, and then they will gradually be moved to the revolving DVD rack, so look for them in either of these two locations. Included are the following DVDs:

• Veggie Tales — The Little House that Stood (The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders) — a Lesson in Making Good Choices
• Veggie Tales — Gideon — Tuba Warrior –a Lesson in Trusting God
• Veggie Tales — Where’s God When I’m S-Scared? — a Lesson in Handling Fear
• Veggie Tales — Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella — a Lesson in Confidence
• Veggie Tales — Princess and the Pop Star — a Story of Trading Places — a Lesson in Being Yourself
• Veggie Tales — Abe and the Amazing Promise — a Lesson in Patience
• Veggie Tales — Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men — a Lesson in Handling Hurt
• Veggie Tales — Moe and the Big Exit — a Lesson in Following Directions
• Veggie Tales — Bob Lends a Helping Hand — the Importance of Helping!
• Veggie Tales — Lyle, the Kindly Viking — a Lesson in Sharing
• Sheila Walsh’s Gigi — God’s Little Princess Series (God Made Princesses in All Shapes and Sizes)
• Sheila Walsh’s Gigi — God’s Princesses Can Always Trust the King
• Hachi — a Dog’s Tale (based on a true story)
• Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

This summer I stopped at two of the Little Free Library boxes stationed in neighborhoods all across our city. I left a few books that I thought might be useful in those locations. You may remember that I wrote about this project in a prior column. There are perhaps 10,000 Little Free Libraries scattered across the nation, even though the effort was only started some 3-4 years ago. Look for one of these special places in or near your own neighborhood and stop by to visit before the “snow flies.”

Plan to visit your church library soon, especially to view the new children’s DVD section. Start off the Fall right — make a splash — read!

– Leanna Kloempken

The Nature of God

September 15, 2013 By moadmin

The true nature of the Triune God is opened up to us by the Son of God himself: God is a loving, merciful God who relentlessly searches for all who are lost, and who will not rest until all have been brought home in joy.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Time after Pentecost, Lectionary 24, year C; texts: Luke 15:1-10; Exodus 32:7-14

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

The glimpse we see of God in our first reading is terrible to consider. In reaction to the idolatry of the people of Israel, God’s anger is as hot as the blast of a furnace. “Get out of my way,” God says to Moses, “so I can burn with anger against these people and destroy them.” It’s only by the intervention of Moses that God is deterred from executing this judgment.

The Pharisees and scribes who witnessed Jesus in today’s Gospel would appreciate such a God, such righteous anger. When Jesus, who is supposed to be a godly teacher, spends time with openly sinful people, they grumble, they complain. If ever there was a sign to them that Jesus was not of God it was this association he had with clear, unabashed sinners, and his offering of God’s love to them.

It’s a little more complicated for us. We confess that Jesus is the Son of God. We call him Lord, we say he is the Eternal Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Christ, the Savior of the world. What he reveals to us about the reality of the Triune God is the definitive truth we have about God; that’s what we claim. As John the Evangelist says, it is the Son who reveals to us the truth about the Father. So Jesus’ welcome of sinners, his willingness to touch those who by religious standards are untouchable, all this should tell us this is the very nature of God.

But we also hear this story of the God of creation prepared to wipe out the people of God in the desert for their sinfulness. Only after the desperate pleas of a human being, Moses, does God change his mind. This seems a very different God.

So which is the true nature of God?

This is a tremendously important question. There are plenty of people who boldly claim God’s retribution and judgment on those whom they call sinners. There are plenty of people who claim God’s grace and love for all as well. We can’t simply choose a version of God which doesn’t threaten us. There is no value, no hope to claiming God’s grace for us and for all if we aren’t assured that is actually true.

What Jesus reveals to us today is a God of mercy and relentless searching for any who are lost.

The question in these parables actually has almost nothing to do with why the lost are lost. The Pharisees and scribes are angry that Jesus consorts with sinful people. Doubtless they would like further conversation about the proper types of people for a Jewish rabbi to befriend, and why these are unsuitable. This is typical of those who value and wish to highlight God’s righteous anger at sin. Long conversations about what sin is and why it is unacceptable to God are the order of the day.

But in these first two parables, nothing is said about that. When Jesus defends his practice, his associations, he tells a story of a lost sheep that is all about the shepherd. A story about a lost coin that is all about the one who lost it. And a story we already heard last Lent, the next one in this chapter, which, while it does outline in more detail why the son got lost, is still a story that is all about a welcoming father who never demands an accounting for the lostness.

And surely it cannot escape our notice also that nothing is said in these stories today about how the lost need to get themselves found. By all appearances, the sheep just sits wherever it is until it is brought home. And we have yet to see a coin that can hike its way back to our nightstand and join its comrades.

So these parables are all about the searcher, and the joy in finding that the searcher and the searcher’s friends share. They are all about the nature of God, not the nature of sin.

And the nature of God, revealed by the Son of God himself, is that the Triune God cannot stand to lose a single child. Remarkably, the only percentage of children present that is acceptable to God is 100 percent.

When Rachel, who is now 19, was 3 years old, Mary and I lost her for 15 minutes in a mall. And not just any mall. We were in what was then Camp Snoopy at Mall of America. I had gone off to do another errand, and as Mary and the children were cutting through Camp Snoopy to meet me, somehow in the huge crowd Rachel took a turn in a different direction. But you know our Rachel, and won’t be surprised that “somehow” had nothing to do with it: Rachel has always had a sense of her own will. She did not think she was lost; she was going wherever it was she thought she needed to go.

We were absolutely terrified as the minutes dragged on. I felt sick to my stomach immediately. When it was five minutes, then 8, then ten, it got worse and worse. I have never felt more scared or sick in my life. I literally began to think about having to put up missing child posters, and wondering how you go about doing that, where you put them, that sort of thing. Then, at about ten minutes, I was hit with this realization: I had no idea how I would live my life without this little girl in it.

That’s what Jesus says God is like. That’s God’s true nature.

And it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care about sin. It just seems that according to Jesus God’s highest priority is how to get us back when we do sin. The sinfulness, the lostness of those whom God loves is a problem that is solved only when they are found again. At three years old it was hardly sin for Rachel to go her own way. But as a parent, why she was lost was the absolute last thing I could think of. In fact, it made no difference. That she was lost was everything. And finding her was the only goal.

And in these parables, when the lost are found there is still no retribution, only joy in the finding. In each of these parables Jesus claims joy in heaven over the lost being found. In each of these parables Jesus has the searcher, now the finder, throw a party with the words, “Rejoice with me!”

Finally on one of our frantic trips around the park area, Mary saw Rachel with a woman, and the woman was leading her up to a security guard. There are good people in the world. As quickly as our fear had come, our joy and relief were overwhelming. We know this. It’s how God has made us to care for others. Perhaps that also is a sign that this is God’s true way.

But what are we to do with God’s righteous anger? Because it is righteous, and deserved. And it is fearsome to behold.

But look at that story again. What Moses is interested in here is not the sin of the people. What Moses is interested in is what we are seeking to know. He cares about the true nature of God.

It’s not that he doesn’t recognize the people’s sin. Read the next verses to follow our story today, when Moses actually gets to the camp of the Israelites. He is furious at what they have done.

But what’s interesting, what’s powerful here, is that like Jesus, the only issue for Moses is not why the people sinned, or whether God is right in being angry. No, as with Jesus’ stories, the sin is never in question. It’s just not the main thing.

Moses reveals what he considers the important, main thing, as he calls God to account for God’s own, true nature. Moses talks to God as if God is exactly as revealed by Jesus. And he talks not about the people, but about who God is in relation to those people.

He claims they are God’s people, “your people,” something God had forgotten in wrath. Why would you want to destroy them, your people? Moses asks.

He reminds God that others will see this and believe the wrong thing about God’s nature: why should the Egyptians think you had evil intent and took these people out in the desert only to kill them?

But most importantly, Moses recalls God to God’s own promises to the ancestors of these people. Moses says, “Remember.” Remember how you promised to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, that they would be a blessing, and numerous, and God’s children forever.

This is a marvelous thing. Moses knows all he knows about justice, mercy and love from the God of his ancestors who called him to lead these people. Now he turns to that God and recalls all of that.

It’s not hard, in this context, to understand God’s anger. As much as a parent fears the loss of a child, anger at what they did to get lost can often bubble up along with the fear. Anger and fear are partners, co-workers.

Jesus doesn’t mention it, but in the three parables of chapter 15 in Luke, is it hard to think that the shepherd was angry that this one sheep got lost, that the woman was angry at herself for losing the coin, or that there were moments for the father who was waiting for his son where the father felt anger at this wayward child?

What Moses understands is that just because God is angry it doesn’t mean that is God’s true nature. And that’s the powerful gift here. Moses trusts God’s nature is that of love and mercy, what he has learned from God over the years.

And he is so confident in that true nature of God he puts himself between the people and God and says, “Lord, this is not what you want to do. I know you and your love for these people. Think. Remember.” If Moses is wrong about this he will die. That is how confident he is that he knows truly who God is, and the love God has for the people.

So it is what Jesus has said: the true nature of the Triune God is to relentlessly search for the lost and welcome them home.

We can live in this world in that reality and make it shape our lives and our witness. Because it is not always the witness God’s people make in the world.

For us, a challenge will be when we are in the position of the scribes and Pharisees, and even Moses, and we see people whose sin is obvious and hard to find empathy for. Nothing here says we shouldn’t care about their evil, or the harm they are doing. Moses cares. Jesus, the Son of God cares.

But the true nature of God is to find a way to bring them home, forgive them, and bless them with life. That needs to be central to our lives, our witness. Even when it’s hard for us to see it or want it for some.

And it is also part of our witness to each other and to the world that there is no one outside the loving search of the God who made all things. Some of us might find ourselves feeling lost from God for any number of reasons. It’s unlikely that any one of us would have a hard time thinking of others who feel lost and separated from God. Our witness is to be part of the search team, and help bring people back to the God of all who loves each one, not just the group.

And perhaps, as people who also know what it is to be lost, this is where the conversation about sin best takes place. Elsewhere Jesus says that he has not come for the healthy but for the sick, the only ones who need a doctor. Of course he says it to people who are also sick and lost, but who refuse to believe it.

Maybe the reason Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them,” as the scribes and Pharisees complain, is that they’re the only ones who know their need, and they see the loving welcome of Almighty God in the Son of God’s eyes. Perhaps we can become a people who help each other and the world recognize what lostness looks like, what sin can do, what it means to separate ourselves from God. That would be a gift, because then we could help ourselves and others know the love of God.

But the ultimate good news here is that regardless of whether or not the sheep or the coin knew they were lost, they were being searched for. Maybe only the sinners knew enough to look for Jesus and hang out with him.

But Jesus was looking for the scribes and Pharisees, too. And in the economy of God, even those lost ones need to be found and brought home.

That’s the best news we could ever hear.

In the end, for the people of Israel, for the sheep, for the coin, the only thing that mattered was what God was going to do. The only thing that counted was the nature of God.

And it is the nature of the Triune God to care about every last one. Every last one. It is in the nature of God, even if we might sometimes need to remind God about this, it is in the nature of God to love and to seek the lost and bring them home.

All the lost. Every single one.

And that’s why we call this Good News.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 9/11/13

September 11, 2013 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

The Parables of the Lost

Think of that which is most precious to you. Now, what if that were lost? What would you be willing to risk—how far would you be willing to go to be reunited?

In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear the parables of the lost, in which Jesus reveals to us who our God is and just how far our God has gone and continues to go to reclaim us.

Good news, right? Not so for the Pharisees. The Pharisees’ complaints about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners are reminiscent of the prophet Jonah, who griped at God’s decision to have mercy on the Ninevites: “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing” (Jonah 4:2). Whereas Jonah gripes, “Predictable!” however, the Pharisees grumble, “It doesn’t make sense! How can this fellow be from our God?” Through his parables, Jesus reveals that their God—our God—most certainly rejoices over repentance. How could a gracious God that is merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing not gain back the sinners whom God loves?

In our own day, there are many who continue to question Jesus. And yet, as Paul writes, “the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The cross is now the hinge between the Old and the New, between being lost and found, between death and life. This Saturday is Holy Cross Day, a festival that witnesses to us just how far Jesus was willing to go to bring back the lost: through death itself.

All who would otherwise perish will not be abandoned, for our God is one who seeks out the lost.

Our God is one who relentlessly pursues us until we are brought home.

Our God is one who risks everything, that whoever believes in him may no longer be lost to the darkness of death, but have eternal life in his name.

Because of the cross, we now know without a doubt that there is no forest too thick, no night too dark, and no chasm too deep that can separate us from this God of love. And God will continue searching, and pursuing, and carrying sheep home until all who are lost are found.

Now that calls for a celebration! And so we shall when we gather together on Sunday.

– Vicar Emily Beckering

First MFA Event for 2013-14 Season
The Portland Cello Project
This Friday, September 13, 7:30 pm

Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts presents cellists doing innovative things with music!! The Portland Cello Project has wowed audiences all over the United States with extravagant performances. The group has built a reputation mixing genres and blurring musical lines and perceptions wherever they go. No two shows are alike, with everything from Beethoven to Arvo Pärt to instrumental covers for Adele, Kanye West and Pantera. Check them out at www.portlandcelloproject.com.

A reception follows in the Chapel Lounge. This event is free and open to the public, and a free-will offering will be received to support the Music and Fine Arts program.

Keeping Up with the Cantor

Anyone who is interested in seeing what Cantor Cherwien is up to during his sabbatical leave should check his blog: www.cherwien.blogspot.com.

Christina Habibi Art Exhibit at Mount Olive

We are pleased to announce an Art Exhibit by Minnesota Artist Christina Habibi (www.habibiart.com.).

The exhibit opens at 7:00 pm on Friday, September 13, in the gallery area of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in conjunction with the Portland Cello Project Concert, and runs through October 1, 2013.

Way to Goals Tutoring to Begin Soon

Tuesday, October 1st is the first day of our school year program, Way to Goals Tutoring, and we will be meeting most Tuesday evenings after that until the last Tuesday in May. We begin at 7:00 p.m. with an hour of tutoring followed by a half hour activity and snack time, and ending at 8:30 p.m.
If you would like to help as a volunteer tutor of one or two elementary school students call Donna Neste at Mount Olive for all the details.

Freedom of the Christian: Bible Study on Thursday Evenings Starting Sept. 19

The first Thursday Bible study series of this year begins on Thursday, Sept. 19, and runs for six weeks. Meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Pr. Crippen lead a study of the book of Galatians, one of Paul’s most vital and important letters. As usual, there will be a light supper when we begin. All are welcome to this study opportunity!

Altar and Chancel Cleaning Day to be Held September 14, 12 noon – 3 pm

Several times each year members of the Altar Guild gather to clean the altar and chancel. This involves dusting (lots of dusting, including some pretty high places!), polishing all the brass, and scraping wax from the floor, to name just a few of the tasks. This cleaning day is open to all members of the parish. You do not need to be an “official” member of the Altar Guild to participate. Please join us on Saturday, September 14 at 12 noon.

Pictorial Directory Information

Photography for the new Mount Olive online Pictorial Directory will begin in earnest the first week of September.

We will be producing an online digital directory. This online directory will be password-protected so that access is limited to Mount Olive folks who are issued a password through the church office. For those who do not have computer access a hard copy will be available.

Photography sessions will take place at Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Arrangements will be made for photographs of shut-ins.

An email will be sent to each household of the parish giving instructions as to how you can sign up for a photography session. There will be time slots for photography sessions during the month of September on weekday afternoons and evenings. Time slots will be available on weekends.

For those households that do not have e-mail, a letter will be sent via U.S. Post Office with instructions for scheduling a photography session.

After the initial period of self-initiated photography session sign up, follow-up contacts and phone calls will be made to arrange for those households that have not scheduled their session.

In the week following your photography session, you will be asked to select one of the photographs taken of you or your household for the directory. Each person/household will be given a digital copy of the photo selected for the directory. There will be an opportunity to purchase prints and/or digital copies of your photos should you want to do so.

We need volunteers for the following jobs related to the project:
a) Hosts during the photo sessions at the church
b) Data entry and photo management that can be done from your home online
c) Follow up phone scheduling.

If you are willing to assist with one of these jobs, please contact Andrew Andersen at andrewstpaul@gmail.com, or Sandra Pranschke at spranschke@gmail.com.

South Africa Learning Tour

Christ the King Lutheran Church (Bloomington), a congregation that also supports the ELCA mission work of Pastor Phil Knutson, will sponsor a trip to South Africa, February 14- March 1, 2014. They will be visiting Johannesburg, Phil Knutson’s base for his work, as well as other areas including Durban and Cape Town. The goal is to broaden visions and perspectives. The cost is approx $5099, including flights. Mount Olive members are invited to join this group. For more information, contact Pastor Hans Lee of Christ the King at 952-881-8600 or hlee@ctkb.org

Adult Forum Offerings for September

• September 15: “Meet the Vicar! Getting to Know Vicar Emily Beckering”

• September 22: “Celtic Vision: The Trinity in Daily Life,” presented by Brad Holt

• September 29: “Julian of Norwich’s Vision: Transforming Love,” presented by Brad Holt

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 September 14 meeting they will discuss Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, for October 12, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and for November 9, Parade’s End, by Ford Madox Ford.

Visioning Update

Having taken a brief hiatus due to summer travel plans for many of the Vision Task Force Leadership Team, it’s been a while since we shared an update of the work being done. We are once again meeting bi-weekly. Such a wealth of history, information, and data you have given us with which to work—we don’t want to waste a bit of it. Putting it into “buckets” that can be used and reused as we look at God’s vision for us in terms of programs, staffing, and the many ways and places ministry occurs takes time. But we are making progress and coming to some consensus in a number of areas. For example:

1. We know that we draw our energy, or fire, for all that we do from our worship together.
2. We know that our “neighborhood” is much greater than a 2-mile radius from our building; reaching into every neighborhood in which our members live, play, and work and beyond.
3. We know that to continue, and perhaps expand in new directions, we must at least maintain current staffing levels.
4. We know it will be important for the members and friends of Mount Olive to reaffirm their commitment to “own” the ways in which we continue our worship by serving and being neighbor wherever we are.

And still there is much we continue to explore before making a formal recommendation to Vestry and Congregation:

1. How do we best embody and proclaim the Christ we meet in worship as we engage the world for peace and justice in his name?
2. What is the connection between our experience of God in the nave and our experience of God in the world, between our sense of call to be the body of Christ in this building, at worship, and our sense of call to be the body of Christ outside, also at worship?
3. In what ways do we meet Christ in our neighbors, friends, and especially those with whom we are less familiar and continue our worship of God in lives of faithful service with and to (or from) these people?
4. Upon Donna’s retirement, what kind of staff person will best illuminate God’s vision for us in this, building upon the relationships Donna has forged; helping people connect in meaningful ways?
5. What kind of training, skills and education should we expect of prospective applicants that will best enable this staff person to help us recognize and act on God’s vision; what should (and should not) be a part of this person’s job description?
6. How do we continue to gather people around this vision in coming months and years to be the people God is calling us to be?

As with anything of this magnitude, there are always more questions than answers. Even seeming answers often raise additional questions and the need for faith in moving forward. We continue to grapple with both questions and answers and seek the Spirit’s leading in making the best use of the treasure of information and wisdom entrusted to us before making any recommendation to the Vestry. Please remember the Vision Leadership Team and the work entrusted to them in prayer, even as you pray for our parish, our staff, and our Vestry.

– Adam Krueger, chair of Visioning Leadership Team

Lutheran College Fair

A Lutheran College Fair will be held on Monday, September 23, at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake, from 7-9 p.m. Admissions representatives from all Lutheran colleges will be on hand to answer questions about financial aid, academic programs, student life, and admission at these schools. Students of all ages and their families are welcome to attend.

Please visit www.lutherancolleges.org for more details regarding specific workshops and programs available at the fair.

Te Deum laudamus: Let us praise God:
A Hymn Festival Celebration in Honor of Paul Westermeyer

Join Master of Sacred Music graduates as they come together to thank Paul, wish him well in his retirement and celebrate the gift of music. This hymn festival will be held Saturday, September 28, at 4:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Incarnation in the Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary, St. Paul.

Featured participants will be musicians James Bobb, Catherine Rodland, John Ferguson, and Mark Sedio, with reflections by Susan Palo Cherwien. Plan to come and sing, and bring your friends!

Mount Olive Greeting Cards

A set of three greeting cards with photographs taken around Mount Olive Lutheran Church have been designed by Paul Nixdorf. Cards will be available for purchase starting on Sunday, September 22.

Samples for viewing will be available for viewing this Sunday, September 15.

Prayer Chain Ministry

Mount Olive Prayer Chain members pray for confidential prayer requests made by congregation members. This ministry is separate from the prayer requests listed in the Sunday worship folder and The Olive Branch. Organized by former member Kathy Sherer, there are currently twelve members. There are no formal meetings. Members simply make a commitment to pray for the received requests and to keep all requests confidential. If you would like to become a member of the prayer chain, or if you have a prayer request call Naomi Peterson at 612-824-2228.

A Word of Thanks

Thanks to Hospitality Team members Gail Neilsen, Carla Manuel, and Tom Olsen for the delicious brunch they prepared to kick off the ELCA Day of Service last Sunday. We estimate that between 75 and 100 people attended.

Thanks also to those attendees who participated in the “God’s Work Our Hands” exercise. Watch for a poster displaying results.

EPES Chile Update

One of Mount Olive’s missions is the Chilean organization EPES and its North American affiliate, Action for Health in the Americas. EPES has its roots in Lutheran community health initiatives to empower the poorest residents of Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship. In the past days, leading up to September 11, our brothers and sisters in EPES, along with other Chileans, are recognizing the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Pinochet to power. Many Chileans feel that their country has still not come to terms with the legacy of the dictatorship and those who suffered loss have not found justice. The September 8 issue of The New York Times quotes the calls for justice by Victoria Garcia, one of the health educators from EPES. Mount Olive members are urged to keep the health outreach workers of EPES and other Chileans in their prayers as they mark this anniversary and work for justice and peace.

Lutherans and Syria

News of the civil war in Syria and its effects on civilians, including large numbers of refugees fleeing the conflict, has been at the forefront of the news. The Missions Committee wanted to make sure that Mount Olive members had updates about how the leadership of the ELCA and the Lutheran World Federation has responded.

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson has continued his call for a diplomatic solution instead of immediate military strikes. In a letter to President Obama, he wrote: “I agree with your clear renunciation of any use of chemical weapons. Such weapons have no place in our world, and their use by any party is unacceptable under any circumstances….we weep for the victims of the most recent incident … I am nevertheless convinced that any U.S. military intervention within Syria will potentially release even greater suffering on an even wider scale.” The Lutheran World Federation has issued a similar statement urging diplomatic engagement.

Bishop Hanson has also urged Lutherans to contribute to efforts that support assistance to those affected by the war. Over 2 million Syrians have fled their country . The ELCA Disaster Respons has been assisting Syrian refugees in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan and the Lutheran World Federation has been providing funds for the Lutheran World Federation-Jerusalem to take on additional responsibilites in caring for Syrian refugees. More updates can be found on the ELCA website and the website of the Lutheran World Federation.

If Mount Olive members wish to contribute to refugee assistance, you can make a donation, payable to Mount Olive, with Syria in the memo line and the Missions Committee will send it on behalf of Mount Olive for Syrian refugee support. The Missions Committee will try to provide periodic updates as to statements and actions by ELCA and Lutheran World Federation leaders.

Vestry Update, September 9, 2013

For the second Vestry meeting in a row there has been a new staff member to introduce. At the September 9 meeting the Vestry welcomed Interim Cantor William Beckstrand. Cantor Beckstrand has been living up north for the past ten years and is looking forward to his time at Mount Olive. He commented that he truly loves the moment when an assembly gathers and feeling the energy that is generated by everyone being together in worship.

The Vestry heard updates on the visioning process that is in process. The Visioning Committee is working hard and as they do the vision is coalescing and evolving into something much more than the observations and interviews. On a macro level the process is revealing a greater vision for what might be and what role God is calling the people of Mount Olive to play in the near future. The committee continues to work to develop a sense of language that will resonate with everyone in the congregation and help to guide us as we move toward the future. An update from the visioning group will be in the September 11 Olive Branch.

Much of the meeting revolved around finance. As we move toward the roll-out of the Mini-Capital Campaign approved in April, we learned that an update and timeline will be presented at the October 20 Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting. A good portion of the meeting was spent developing the 2014 budget which will also be voted on at the Congregation Meeting. Leading up to the meeting, members should look for copies of the budget that will be sent out electronically and also be available in print. On Sunday, October 9, there will also be a question-and-answer session on the budget after the second liturgy, so and members are encouraged to look over the handout and come with questions and comments.

Several of the committee reports highlighted all that is being done in the building and in the neighborhood. Jobs After School’s summer session ended with a field trip to the Mall of America. Their summer project was a mural painted on the wall of the Diaper Depot; all are encouraged to stop down and check it out! The Property Committee continues their work throughout the building and grounds. This includes a new piece of art that was installed in the office as well as new bike racks outside.

The next meeting of the Vestry will be October 14, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Discipleship: Cost and Freedom

September 8, 2013 By moadmin

Paul’s letter to Philemon gives us a picture of what Christ has done for us and what it costs to be a disciple. In Christ, God has set us free from our possessions so that we might live as Christ in the world.

Vicar Emily Beckering; Time after Pentecost, Sunday 23, year C; texts: Philemon 1-21(22); Luke 14:25-33

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

It is an uncommon and even illegal practice in our country to read other people’s mail. And yet, here today we find ourselves reading the personal correspondence from Paul to Philemon and to the church of Philemon’s house. Because it is personal communication regarding very specific circumstances, the letter might seem cryptic to us today. Questions arise: How did Onesimus come to Paul and what exactly is Paul asking Philemon to do? How does this private conversation regarding a specific situation in one household apply to us?

The Church decided to add it to our canon of scripture, most likely because it was circulated between the early churches, and in those communal readings, Christians found the gospel to be at the heart of Paul’s argument. As such, this letter gives us a picture of what Christ has done for us and what that means for how we are to live as his disciples. When we listen in on this letter, we, like early Christians, might also hear Paul’s words to Philemon as God’s words to us.

Paul, who has been instrumental in Onesimus’ and Philemon’s conversion, is writing this letter to Philemon from prison. Onesimus is a slave in Philemon’s household. Because the letter does not explicitly tell us, we cannot be sure as to whether Onesimus is a runaway slave, or if Philemon found him useless and sent him to serve Paul who was dependent on his friends for food and resources while in prison. Nor can we know with certainty if Paul is asking Philemon to free Onesimus from slavery. It is clear, however, that the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus is strained, and that Paul seeks to redefine that relationship. This relationship is no longer what it once was. Before, Onesimus was useless to Philemon. Now he is useful to both Philemon and to Paul. Before, Onesimus was a slave. Now, he is no longer a slave but much more: a brother. The term brother signifies a very different relationship than master and slave, for now Onesimus and Philemon are to treat each other as equals who love one another as deeply as brothers.

What has occasioned this change? Christ. Christ has changed everything between Philemon and Onesimus, and everything between them and Paul. By naming them each as a “brother,” Paul challenges the ordering of the traditional familial structure in the Greco-Roman culture in the 1st century and smashes it together: in Christ, there is no longer a hierarchical ranking, but a sibling relationship. The Old Structures—master and slave, have and have-nots, dominator and submitter—these structures that once defined Philemon and Onesimus and their relationship have passed away and no longer hold any power over them. Christ has transformed their identities, their relationships, and their obligations to one another.

If they are faithful to Christ and what Christ asks of them in this new relationship, then there is also risk. As a brother in Christ, Onesimus cannot lord his new identity over Philemon. Discipleship requires him to seek reconciliation with Philemon on the basis of love. At the very least, he risks chastisement and rejection. If he is indeed a runaway slave, he risks his life because Philemon would be entitled to punish him physically or put him to death.

However, Christ also requires something new from Philemon. As a brother in Christ, Philemon cannot use his status to dominate Onesimus or treat him like a possession. Discipleship requires him to receive Onesimus as his beloved brother. If he does so, he risks giving up the security of his position as the dominant overseer of the household and risks ridicule from his peers for treating a slave as a family member. What is more, I had the lector read verse 22 today so that we could also hear that Philemon is accountable to Paul, for Paul hopes to return to them once he is released from prison.

Not even Paul is free of responsibilities. As a brother in Christ, Paul cannot keep Onesimus as his possession or use his apostolic authority to control Philemon. Discipleship requires him to send Onesimus back, to appeal to Philemon on the basis of love, and to trust Philemon to do the same.

And so we see that Paul’s letter to Philemon is a real-life example of what it costs to be a disciple. Being liberated through Christ does not mean that we have the freedom to do whatever we want. Discipleship is a costly path that has real consequences for how we must live. What God has done in Christ for Philemon and Onesimus determines what they must do for one another. In the same way, what Christ has done for us changes everything about us: our identity, our relationships, and what is expected of us. No longer are we slaves to sin: we are free and reconciled with God. As a result, no longer can we be captive to the patterns of this world where we advance our own interests at the expense of others. Instead, we are called to align ourselves with God’s vision and God’s purposes.

This is precisely what Jesus calls for in today’s gospel. By using the hyperbolic expression, “hate,” Jesus calls for uncompromising loyalty toward himself and his Father. To hate our possessions means letting go of the world’s empty promises and instead clinging to what we have been promised in Christ. The call to hate our father and mother, brother and sister—even our own selves—does not mean that we cut our families out of our lives or that we abuse or neglect ourselves or those whom we love. No! Instead, Jesus’ call to “hate” is a call to turn away from the old ways of measuring ourselves according to wealth, prestige, praise, and how valuable we are to others, and instead to turn towards Christ, who Christ would have us be, and what Christ would have us do.

This turning is what God demands of disciples, and yet God has found a way to make it possible for us to hate our possessions. God has found a way to set us free from their grasp on us: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through our baptism into his death and his resurrection, we too have died to those possessions and their powers over us and have risen to new life in Christ.

This new life isn’t promised to be easy or without the pain of persecution, rejection, or ridicule; these we will experience if we are living like Christ. But what Christ does promise us in this new life is that all of those things that we once perceived as risks—even death itself—do not threaten us for they have power over us. Just as Christ offered Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul freedom from fears about reputation, retribution, and self-preservation, so too have we been freed from the burden of our possessions: our reputation, our financial security, our intelligence, our talents, our credentials, our academic or athletic achievements, what other kids at school think about us, our value to others, or our power to influence. All of these things no longer define us: we are defined by Christ alone and Christ’s love for us. We are freed to do what Christ would actually have us do, which is to listen to his voice and respond to his call. This is discipleship.

Because God has done all of this for us, it is evident that in writing his letter to Philemon, Paul follows in the way of our Lord, for our God also appeals to us out of love: a love lived out unto death on a cross. Rather than overpower, punish, or destroy us for our waywardness or force us to obey, God has instead chosen the way of love: a self-emptying love through which we have been given God’s own self.

And now, having listened to Paul’s letter to Philemon and to Jesus in today’s gospel, I wonder if we might hear their words as God’s words in a letter to us. Could it possibly sound like this?

Beloved,

I know well of your love for all the saints and your faith toward me. The faith that you have been given will deepen your understanding of all the good that belongs to you in Christ. I indeed have much joy from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my children.

For this reason, though I am bold enough to command you to do your duty, I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love, and I do this as your Father. I am appealing to you through my child, Jesus. Formerly, you did not know him, but now he has changed everything for you and for me. I sent him, that is, my own heart, to you in order that your good deeds might be voluntary and not something forced. This is the reason he was separated for you for a while, so that you might have him back forever. Now you are no longer a slave. Do not live as one, but much more than a slave, you are a beloved child, especially to me.

So, if you consider me your Father, your savior, your partner, welcome others as you would welcome me. If you come to me but do not listen to my voice or if put your reputation, your money, your security before me, you cannot be my disciple. Give up all of these possessions. Take up your cross and follow me.

If you have been wronged in any way, or if anyone owes you anything, forgive them on my account. I have written this on your heart and in my own hands for the world: I have redeemed it. I have made you new and set you free; you owe me even your own self.

Yes, child, let me have this benefit from you. Refresh my heart as my disciple. Confident of your obedience, I say all of this to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

One thing more, prepare room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.

Amen.