Blog – Page 359

The Olive Branch, 2/12/14

February 12, 2014 By moadmin

Accent on Worship
Pastor Joseph Crippen

Seeing Truly

Monday, over the lunch hour at the Midtown DMV, I bought the license plate tabs for the car Martha drives, but we own. Her tabs expired in January. It is February. The tenth of that month. I walked over to Midtown Market with some trepidation, knowing that I was in violation of the law, suspecting that the people at the DMV would likely be a little harried, and intent on being as pleasant as I could be that I might avoid a scolding.

Now, my mother, of blessed memory, would doubtless say with irony, “It’s too bad that the DMV sent the renewal form in February so that you had to be late getting these.” Of course, the truth is otherwise. The renewal notice has been on my desk at home for some weeks now, and I’ve been “meaning” to get to it. The point is, one of our vehicles was in violation of state law, and I am the only one responsible for that violation. I knew that accounting must be made.

This month in our Sunday liturgies, we might carry some of the same trepidation into our hearing of the Gospel readings. Jesus is in full Sermon-on-the-Mount preaching, and he’s saying hard things about how we live, how we think of others, how we show ourselves in the world.

There is no room for us to wiggle, either. As with my tabs, we know that these standards he sets – hatred of others is like killing, thinking of sins is like doing them, no law of God is to be set aside –we know that we regularly do not meet them with our lives.

What makes everything different for us is that it is our Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, whose love for us is profoundly greater than we ever could have imagined, in whose death and resurrection we live and hope, it is our Lord Jesus who is saying these things. This gives us two reasons not to fear. First, we rest wholly in the forgiveness and grace of God the Son of God reveals to us. We don’t need to come in with trepidation. Second, Jesus isn’t trying to make things harder for us, he’s simply telling the truth about our lives and showing us the way of living that is life in God’s kingdom.

It is that second one in which we want to live for awhile, pondering, thinking. Just as I know that our car needs up-to-date licensing, regardless of whether or not I take care of it, regardless of whether or not I want to take care of it, we also know that our lives are best lived fully as God intended and designed, regardless of whether or not we do it, regardless of whether or not we want to do it. These words in the Sermon on the Mount, were we to live them fully, would create a world of beauty and grace, of life, not death. They are the gift of God to us, were we to live them fully, because they show a life and a world as God made them to be.

There’s no reason for us to fear Jesus this month, but let’s at least try to see that he’s only telling the truth about our lives, and how we live them. Denying one is outside the law when the opposite is true is just foolish. Rather, we could try listening to Jesus, accepting the truth of our situation, seeking his grace and help to live as he is inviting, even while we ask forgiveness for our shortcomings. The path of wisdom lies in seeing the truth our Lord reveals and moving toward that truth, not denying it.
In the name of Jesus,

Joseph

Sunday Readings

February 16, 2014: 6th Sunday after Epiphany
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 119:1-8
I Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37
_____________________

February 23, 2014: 7th Sunday after Epiphany
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Psalm 119:33-40
I Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
Matthew 5:38-48

This Week’s Adult Forum
February 16: “The Lament Psalms in Prayer and Devotional Life,” presented by Vicar Emily Beckering.

A Farewell Celebration

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

Taste of Mardi Gras Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of “Taste of Mardi Gras: A Celebration for Lutheran Volunteer Corps.” Thank you to all the people who cooked, decorated, invited guests, and enjoyed themselves. It was a fun time.

Our partners from Lutheran Volunteer Corps and guests from Luther Seminary enjoyed themselves. We learned more about LVC and gave their good work a boost financially. Remaining food was offered to the Lutheran Volunteer Corps members and served at Our Saviour’s Shelter during the evening meal.
We’ll have more details about the Taste of Mardi Gras and our contribution to Lutheran Volunteer Corps in a forthcoming Olive Branch. Stay tuned.

(Remember: If you prepared and brought a dish, please remember to pick up your personal pots, pans and serving dishes from downstairs.)

Scholar In Residence

Beginning on February 23 and continuing through March 16, Professor Earl Schwartz of Hamline University will make presentations to the Adult Forum as the first Mount Olive Scholar in Residence. He will engage the Forum with presentations he has titled “From Earth, to Eden, to Ground: The Opening Chapters of the Book of Genesis.” Professor Schwartz has led Bible studies for the Adult Forum in the past, and he never fails to excite, inspire, and educate. The Scholar-in-Residence program is made possible by a generous grant from the Mount Olive Foundation. We will all be grateful to the Foundation for this grant and to Professor Schwartz for his contribution to the knowledge and spiritual formation of those who hear him.

100th Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, February 23, all are invited to join Paul and Ted Odlaug and their families for coffee and cake as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dorothy Odlaug. Dorothy’s birthday is February 22, President’s Day.
The reception will take place in the Chapel Lounge after the second liturgy. We know that Dorothy is eagerly looking forward to seeing all of you at this time as she has been unable to be among you now for almost a year. Please, no gifts. Cards or just greetings would more than welcome.

Thank you,
Paul & Ted Odlaug

2014 Lenten Devotional Books

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

Copies of Journey Into Lent 2014 are available in the narthex and in the church office. Pick yours up soon! If you need a copy to be mailed to you, just contact the church office.
Lent begins March 5.

Gift Giving

The Board of Directors of Mount Olive Lutheran Church Foundation soon will meet to recommend the designation of its annual gift to the congregation. It appears that this gift again will break another record, allowing more to be done in and for our congregation.

The Foundation Board actively solicits gift designation suggestions from the Pastor, Cantor, Director of Neighborhood Ministries, and every member of the Vestry. Individual congregation members also can be part of this process. If you know of a worthy project or need at Mount Olive, please speak with the Vestry member whose program area applies to your suggestion. He or she will share your recommendation with the Foundation board for consideration.

Since its 1972 inception, the Mount Olive Foundation has distributed over $300,000 to benefit our church. It is our privilege and joy to further Mount Olive’s meaningful mission, now and far into the future.

– Keith Bartz, President

Stories for the Journey: Thursday Evening Bible Study

The Thursday evening Bible study meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. continues this week. Pr. Crippen is leading a series on the parables of Jesus and how they provide us a vision of God’s reign. As with all these Thursday series, there will be a light supper when we begin. The series runs through February 20.

Attention Worship Assistants

The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2014 (April – June) will be published at the beginning of March. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 14. Please send your requests to me at peggyrf70@gmail.com.

-Peggy Hoeft

Book Discussion Upcoming Reads
For their meeting on March 8, the Book Discussion Group will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster, and for April 12 they will read Elizabeth and Hazel, by David Margolick.

Bread for the World Workshop Coming to Mount Olive in March

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

Bread for the World Workshop

“Hunger-No More!! Hunger-Know More!!” is the title of the series of Bread for the World metro area workshops this year. They start with an abbreviated workshop from 7 to 9 pm on Monday, February 24, at the Eastlund Room of Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive in Arden Hills. Amelia Kegan of the Washington, DC, Bread for the World National Staff will be the keynote speaker on Saturday, March 1, from 9-Noon at Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville (southwest corner of Fairview Avenue and County Rd. B), and on Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at Mount Olive Lutheran on 31st and Chicago in Mpls. She will talk about hunger globally and in our own country. Anyone concerned about hunger and about learning effective methods of response will benefit. Registration is 15 minutes prior to the start. A freewill offering will be received. No pre-registration required.

National Lutheran Choir to Host City-Wide Hymn Festival

On Sunday, February 23, at 4 p.m., the National Lutheran Choir will join forces with hundreds of Twin Cities’ church choir members for a City-Wide Hymn Festival to be held at Central Lutheran Church (333 South 12th St., Mpls.). Mark Sedio, Cantor at Central Lutheran, will conduct the massed choir. David Cherwien and the NLC will lead and perform.

Tickets for this event are $25/adults; $23/Seniors; and $20/Students, and can be obtained by calling the NLC office at 612-722-2301 or by visiting them on the web: www.nlca.com.

Fulfillment

February 9, 2014 By moadmin

Christ Jesus became one of us to begin a relationship between us and the Triune God, a relationship of love which shapes our love of God and love of neighbor and makes complete all God’s intention in the law.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen, Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, year A; text: Matthew 5:13-20

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

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

How are you doing with that? How is it sitting in you, in your heart, in your mind? Those are harsh words, scary words. How do we go on when our Gospel reading ends with such words?

Sometimes you can speak the same language and hear the same words and completely misunderstand what is said. These words of Jesus are clear English, and are well-translated from the Greek. We think we know what Jesus is saying. It frightens us. Sometimes it makes us angry. Sometimes we would like to walk away from what those words seem to mean and deny their truth.

But what if we’re misunderstanding what he’s saying? What if, as we consider all of who Jesus is as the Christ, the Son of God, and we consider all of what he said when he was with us, what if, in that light, these words don’t mean what we thought they meant?

Words can always be taken out of context, in a number of ways, but the context that always matters is the person who says the words. How can we hear these words clearly without stepping back and seeing who is saying them, looking at the whole of what we know about our Lord? Sometimes, maybe a lot of times, we take Jesus’ words away from Christ Jesus himself, and understand them apart from his suffering and death, his resurrection, even apart from claims he repeatedly makes about what he wants us to know and do.

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Why aren’t we asking Jesus what he means by these words?

We can ask him, you know. That’s the gift of this Incarnation, that the Son of God is approachable, accessible.

This written Word of God, these Scriptures call out with God’s longing to have a relationship of love with us that is reciprocated by us and shared among all people. Through Abraham and Sarah and their family, through judges, priests, and prophets, God sought better acquaintance with us, with all God’s children.

The coming of Jesus, the Son of God, whom believers after the resurrection began to realize was eternally one with the Father and the Spirit, who was present at creation, the coming of Jesus as one of us quite literally made relationship with God humanly possible. He was a human being, this Son of God. He could talk with people, love people, hug people, rebuke people, teach people, heal people, and they could respond back.

Maybe Jesus became Incarnate among us because we can’t understand relationships in the abstract. For all the Triune God hoped for in having a relationship, maybe being one of us was the only way we could understand it.

Now, there’s truth that gleams from that, isn’t there? The key to understanding Jesus’ teachings may be to hear them in relationship with him, and to hear them as God’s call to a new relationship.

We sometimes package salvation as some kind of abstract concept, usually centered around whether or not we go to heaven when we die, and we understand Jesus’ teachings through that lens.

But if the Son of God is telling the truth, that wasn’t the main point of God coming to be with us. God came to be with us to bring us back into a relationship with God and with each other. Coming in person was the way we’d be able to see, touch, feel, know, hear, understand God’s love in concrete ways, something humans had longed for and dreamed of.

Understanding Jesus’ goal as Jesus describes it sheds an interesting light on our Gospel today. We see some juxtapositions of truth in that light: one truth answered by another. Seeing these for the truth they are makes all the difference in how we understand what Jesus is saying, all the difference in how we live, whether in hope or fear, whether in relationship with the Triune God or in a different place entirely.

The first juxtaposition of truth is this: checklists don’t make good relationships, but righteousness isn’t about checklists.

Checklists don’t make good relationships, but righteousness isn’t about checklists.

The scribes and Pharisees don’t understand this.

They’re good people. We need to remember that. They are people who try their hardest to live every aspect of God’s law, and who live their lives with the vocation of teaching others to do the same. They’re doing their best to keep up a checklist of what God wants, and making sure they check off boxes regularly. “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it,” that’s what they say.

It’s hard not to admire that. Not everyone cares about God’s law that much, or works that hard at keeping God’s law.

But this isn’t how true relationships work.

You don’t give your loved ones checklists to accomplish so that you will love them, or so that you will not punish them, or anything like that. None of us wants our loved ones to be with us under those terms, to be people obsessed with keeping track of what we want and when we want it. And doing just that, no more, no less. Looking for loopholes wherever possible. “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it” sounds horrible from someone we love. We’d rather they did what they did because they wanted to, because they knew it would please us, because they loved us.

Why would God be any different?

God seeks righteousness from us, yes, to “be made right with God,” have God’s “right-ness.” But not from a checklist.

We know this from the Son of God, who reminds us often that all God seeks is that we love God with all we are and that we love our neighbors as ourselves. This, he tells us, sums up all the law and the prophets.

Yes, the law was a list, given to God’s people to show them the way to live with God. But in coming in person (and actually hundreds of years before Jesus Jeremiah said this would happen), in coming in person God said, “Lose the lists and do it all from your heart.”

“Love God with all your heart, soul mind and strength. Love your neighbors as yourselves. “Do this, and you’ll know what life really is. Do this, and you’re doing all I ever asked. “Do this, and you’ll be living in the relationship with me and with each other for which I’ve longed for centuries.”

That’s what the Triune God says to us through the Son.

The second juxtaposition of truth is this: seeking reward doesn’t make good relationships, but the kingdom of heaven isn’t a reward.

Seeking reward doesn’t make good relationships, but the kingdom of heaven isn’t a reward.

This is our greater difficulty. We’re not so worried about lists these days. But we don’t want to miss out on the lottery prize.

So much of the Church seems to motivate people to live by God’s rules that they might get a good place in death rather than a bad one. Follow God’s laws, do everything commanded, so that your reward isn’t lost. The motivation is purely self-centered: I don’t want to go to hell.

But this isn’t how true relationships work.

Which of us wants our loved ones to do whatever they do for us and with us solely for a prize, a reward? To have someone spend time with us because they’re being paid, or they’ve got a promise of later gift? To have someone act toward us only that we might give them something? We’d rather they loved us honestly, openly, truly, not for profit.

Why would God be any different?

God promises that the reign of God, the kingdom of heaven is ours, is something we can enter, something deeply valuable, it is life-giving, life-sustaining, yes. But it’s never a reward for a good life, it’s never withheld due to a bad life, it’s not even an end of life issue.

We know this from the Son of God, who spoke of the reign of God, the kingdom of heaven as being with us now, inside us, near us, real to us. The kingdom of heaven is when people live in loving relationship with God and with each other as God intended from the beginning. So it can be real now, and will certainly be real in the life to come. It’s not a prize to be earned or won, it’s a gift of life that we can live in right now, this moment.

In coming in person, the Son of God said, “walk with me, love with me, love God and each other, and you will find life.” When we live as the Triune God made us to live, in such loving relationships, we are already living in the kingdom, we already have the prize.

This what God teaches us through the Son.

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Ah, Jesus, now we understand: living in love of God and love of neighbor would be complete righteousness. And entrance into the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God: you’re not talking about a reward but the reality that living in such a relationship is living in the kingdom.

Jesus is telling us the truth, that when we live fully as God’s law had hoped to describe, when our love for God is with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, when our love for our neighbor is as for ourselves, we have already entered the kingdom of heaven.

And we have found a righteousness that far exceeds anything a checklist can give us. Because it is a righteousness of our heart, a forgiven and restored spirit, given by the One who in dying and rising actually fulfilled all this already, and now makes it possible for us.

Do you see? He came not to abolish but to fulfill, that we might also fulfill and not abolish. More than anything, this we see in Christ Jesus, the Son of God: that he fulfilled love of God and neighbor in offering himself fully to us, to the world, even unto death. But he is risen from the dead, and gives us the same Spirit of God that we might be able to walk the same path, and so live even now in God’s kingdom, God’s reign.

No, nothing can be removed from what God asks of us: this is complete love, not from a checklist but from our heart, and it is a love that calls us to serve, to give away, to lose ourselves both to God and to others, even to die. Jesus is right in giving a warning that he’s not removing anything.

But that’s only because he knows where real life is lived, in such loving relationships with God and neighbor, and deeply desires each of us to know it, too.

It does make a difference who’s saying this to us.

It makes all the difference in the world. Because this is life. The only life. It’s not easy, it’s not casual, it’s not dismissable. But it is life. Christ Jesus give us hearts able to live this now and always.

In the name of Jesus. Amen

The Olive Branch, 2/5/14

February 6, 2014 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

Salt and Light

You are the light of the world.

This is what we will hear from our Lord this Sunday.
We do not hear: “You might be the light” or “If you ___(fill in the blank)____, then you are the light” or “You will someday in the future be the light,” but “You are the light.” Here. Now. Today.

You are the light of the world and you are the salt of the earth because the Word of God makes it so. As Jesus speaks this to us, we are made into the salt and the light. This being made into the salt and the light of the world is a gift.

The gift is a call.

Neither light nor salt exist for themselves, but for very specific purposes. Salt disinfects, heals, purifies, preserves, and adds flavor. Light shines, not in order to be seen, but to let things be seen as they are. This is the very nature of salt and light. We are made the light and salt of the world, not for ourselves, but for the sake of a dark and hungry world.

Jesus says, “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.” In the same way, none of us, in a power outage would turn on a flashlight just to put it back into the drawer or box from whence it came. Neither would we buy salt just to let it sit on the shelf or to throw it straight into the trash. We buy it to make our food tasty! We point the flashlight where we need to see.

What does it look like to be the salt and light? What we will hear from Isaiah on Sunday gives us a pretty clear clue: “to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them…then your light shall break forth like the dawn.”

Neither Isaiah nor Jesus say that we become the light when we do good works but that we who are already the light, shine—that is, do what light does—when we live a life of love, forgiveness, mercy, and
caring for our neighbor. The gift is a call.

You are the light of world, so shine.

– Vicar Emily Beckering

Sunday Readings

February 9, 2014: 5th Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 112:1-9
I Corinthians. 2:1-16
Matthew 5:13-20
_____________________

February 16, 2014: 6th Sunday after Epiphany
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 119:1-8
I Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37

This Week’s Adult Forum

February 9: As part of the Taste of Mardi Gras celebration, representatives from Lutheran Volunteer Corps will be with us to share information about their work.

Annual “Taste of” Festival This Sunday

“A Taste of Mardi Gras celebrating Lutheran Volunteer Corps” will be held this Sunday, February 9.
The Adult Forum will feature guests from Lutheran Volunteer Corps, sharing the history of LVC, its impact, and its current mission and initiatives. Guests will include the Regional Director of Lutheran Volunteer Corps, the Development Director, and several current volunteers who are serving in the Twin Cities. Following the second liturgy, join us for a Mardi Gras celebration with gumbo, jambalaya, slaw, dirty rice, macaroni and cheese, and bread pudding–all prepared by Mount Olive members. Feel free to invite others.
In places like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated over the weeks ahead of “Fat Tuesday.” So let’s kick off Mardi Gras right (and this event will be a good bookend for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, planned with our youth.)

Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC), is one of the supported missions of Mount Olive through our congregational giving. Each year, the Lutheran Volunteer Corps provides opportunities for young adults and others to complete a year of full-time service work at select nonprofits in cities across the country, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. During their year of service, participants live in community and have opportunities to reflect on their commitments, their spiritual journeys, and the ways they hope to put their values into practice.

Book Discussion Group Upcoming Reads

For its meeting on February 8, the Book Discussion group will read and discuss The Bell, by Iris Murdoch. For March 8 they will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster.

Neighborhood Ministries Newsletter

The final edition of Greetings from Mount Olive Neighborhood Ministries is now printed and will be available this Sunday, Feb. 9. The ushers will distribute them after each liturgy, and they will also be available for pick up in the church office.

Attention Worship Assistants!
Schedule Request Deadline

The Servant Schedule for the 2nd quarter of 2014 (April – June) will be published at the beginning of March 2014. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 14, 2014. Please e-mail your requests to me at peggyrf70@gmail.com.

-Peggy Hoeft

100th Birthday Celebration

On February 23, all are invited to join Paul and Ted Odlaug and their families for coffee and cake as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dorothy Odlaug. Dorothy’s birthday is February 22, President’s Day.

The reception will take place in the Chapel Lounge after the second liturgy. We know that Dorothy is eagerly looking forward to seeing all of you at this time as she has been able to be among you now for almost a year. Please, no gifts. Cards or just greetings would more than welcome.

Thank you,
Paul & Ted Odlaug

Godly Play Needs and Opportunities

Godly Play, our Sunday morning program with children that takes place between liturgies, is in need of people to assist on Sunday mornings by helping the children “get ready” to enter the Godly Play classroom (where we “talk more quietly and walk more slowly”) and to help with our work time and feast. Training will be provided. Please consider whether you might be able to serve in this wonderful ministry. Your service would be needed only once every 4-6 weeks. For more information, or to express your interest, please contact me at diana.hellerman@gmail.com or at 612 581 5969.

In addition, the pre-school class is looking for Arch Books Bible Stories. Do you some at home you’d like to donate? Please bring them to church.

It is a pleasure to spend Sunday mornings with the children of Mount Olive. Together with Patsy Holtmeier, Carol Austermann and Marilyn Gebauer, I thank you for this blessing and privilege and I invite you to come and be a part of this.

– Diana Hellerman

Bible Study at Becketwood

Vicar Emily Beckering is offering a second run of the six- week Bible study on human suffering at Becketwood Cooperative on five Tuesday afternoons (January 7 through February 11) from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm. This study examines the Biblical witness to suffering and who God is for us in the midst of that suffering. All are welcome!

2014 Lenten Devotional Books Now Available

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

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

Lent begins March 5.

Synod Voting Members Needed

Mount Olive is entitled to send two lay voting members (one woman and one man), in addition to Pr. Crippen, to attend the 2014 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly May 2-3 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ramsey. This is the event that deals with the business of the ELCA on both a local level and beyond.
The theme this year is “Sent Forth By God’s Blessing.” If you are interested in attending – even if you’ve never done so before – please speak to Pastor Crippen or Lora Dundek (651/645-6636 or lhdundek@usfamily.net). The congregation pays registration fees for voting members.

National Lutheran Choir to Host City-Wide Hymn Festival

On Sunday February 23, at 4:00 p.m., the National Lutheran Choir will join forces with hundreds of Twin Cities’ church choir members for a City-Wide Hymn Festival to be held at Central Lutheran Church (333 South 12th St., Minneapolis). Mark Sedio, Cantor at Central Lutheran, will conduct the massed choir. David Cherwien and the NLC will perform with the help of the mighty Casavant organ.

Tickets for this event are $25/adults; $23/Seniors; and $20/Students, and can be obtained by calling the NLC office at 612-722-2301. or by visiting them on the web: www.nlca.com.

Living in the Promise

February 2, 2014 By moadmin

In the story of Simeon and the Presentation of our Lord, God assures us that God keeps promises. We can wait for God to fulfill God’s promises to us and to all of creation with courage and hope.

Vicar Emily Beckering; The Presentation of our Lord; text: Luke 2:22-40

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

“Could this be the day?” He wondered. “Will it happen today?”

This is the way that he started every morning: wondering, waiting, hoping.

“Could it really happen today?” He tingled at the thought of it.

“Might this be the hour?” he pondered often throughout the day, every day.

It certainly was not a relaxing life: constantly attending to what might be, always alert, living on the lookout, but he had been given a promise. The promise was his purpose and the promise was his pursuit. He could not have rest until it happened, this he knew. And so he watched and he wondered, and he waited.

The story of Simeon is a story of waiting: a story of living in the promise, living in that in-between time. The time between a promise given and a promise fulfilled.

We, like Simeon, live in an in-between time: the time in between receiving God’s promises to us in Christ and seeing the full realization of these promises.

The expression: “we walk by faith” is true for us because we have experienced God’s presence with us and care for us, and yet there is still so much that we cannot yet see or understand clearly. There is so much for which we still wait.

As Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, we who have the first fruits of the Spirit wait for the redemption of our bodies, not only we, but all of creation groans to be set free from its bondage to decay. We, with all of creation, are waiting for that time when an end will come to suffering and pain and death. We are all waiting for the day when we no longer feel any distance between us and God. We are all waiting to be reunited with the ones who have gone before us.

While we wait with all of creation for these things in this in-between time, there are also things for which we each wait in our lives that have been promised to us in the midst of this relationship with God. Part of the witness of Simeon’s story is that God really does enter into our lives and speak promises to us.

What are God’s promises for which you are waiting?
What is it for which you are still longing to be revealed?

It is into this time—our time of waiting and anticipation and longing—that God’s word comes to us today.

And thanks be to God for this because waiting is no easy task. Waiting for God’s promises to us to be fulfilled is difficult because in this in-between time we see glimpses but not the full picture. As Paul writes, we see in a mirror dimly, and only know in part, but we wait for when we will see face to face and understand fully.

In this space, in this in-between time, there is so much room for doubt.

We may doubt the promise itself: Did we hear the promise correctly? Was that really what God promised? Was the promise really for us?

We may doubt ourselves and our ability to recognize or to receive the promise, especially if we are waiting longer than we anticipated for God to keep God’s word: What if we somehow missed it? Is there some way that we could mess it up or prevent the promise from being fulfilled?

We may doubt the One who has given the promise. It is difficult to wait because it is difficult to trust: will God be faithful to God’s word?

Perhaps for some of us, the problem is not doubting the promise, but not knowing what it is that we are promised. We are not certain what God’s word is for our lives. How can we trust if we do not even know what it is for which we are waiting?

In response to each of these fears which often seem to hold so much power over us, we are given the witness of Simeon so that we might wait with good courage.

At first, we might scoff at this witness and think: “Ha. It was easy for Simeon! He had a direct word from God. He knew exactly what God had promised him and what he was supposed to do about it.” Maybe it’s harder for us because it’s not always clear to us what God has promised to us, how God is at work in us, or where or to what God is calling us.

But the key to hearing the good news in this story today is to recognize that the God who spoke to Simeon and led him to the temple is the same God who has claimed us and is at work in our lives.

It is evident from Simeon’s witness that this God is a God who loves us deeply and acts out of this love. God cares so tenderly for Simeon that God the Father makes the promise to Simeon through the Holy Spirit. God the Son fulfills this promise. God the Holy Spirit ensures that Simeon gets to see the promise fulfilled.

So much of our difficulty with waiting arises from the fear that we have been abandoned, and that we must have somehow imagined the promise or screwed it up. But God doesn’t just make a promise and then step aside or sit back. God is intimately involved in Simeon’s life, so much so that the Holy Spirit rests upon Simeon so that God may dwell with him. By this Spirit, Simeon is guided at just the right time to meet the Messiah promised to him.

It is clear that just as the Triune God is committed to the saving purpose of redeeming Israel, so too is God committed to ensuring that Simeon, whom God also loves, is able to witness the fulfillment of this promise.

God is a God who keeps promises. God was faithful to the promise made to Simeon. God was faithful to the promise made to all of Israel. God will be faithful to the promises that God has made to us.

What is more, the same promises that were given to Simeon and to Israel are also given to us. We have also seen our salvation. In Jesus, God has given us God’s own heart. When Simeon was led to the temple by the Holy Spirit, he was met by his savior. We were led here today by the Holy Spirit where we are met by our Savior. When we take the Eucharist, we take Jesus into our arms. The same love, the same life, the same freedom that Simeon realized was offered to him, to Israel, and to all people is ours. The same Spirit that rested upon Simeon has been poured out onto us in our Baptism.

Just as the Triune God tenderly cared for Simeon, ensuring that Simeon heard the promise, was led to the one promised to him, and recognized it when the promise was fulfilled, the Triune God is at work in our lives, guiding us and giving us what we need to be formed into who God has promised until that time when we experience the fullness of all that God has promised.

When we hear the story of the presentation of our Lord, God is taking us up into God’s arms and saying: “Look what I’ve done for Simeon. Look what I’ve done for Israel, for the world, and for you. You can trust my promises.”

When we cling to this word from God, then we too, like Simeon, can live in the promise.

Two things emerge for us from Simeon’s witness about what this looks like.

First, we are to keep waiting.

Simeon expected God to fulfill God’s promise to him, so he lived watching and waiting—living on the word given to him. God also asks us to wait, to watch, and to listen. We live in the promise when we live on the lookout for Jesus to meet us, and when we listen for how the Holy Spirit is nudging us, drawing us closer to the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives.

We are to wait and watch and listen, even for the unexpected. The promise might not be fulfilled precisely in the way that we expect. Is it likely that Simeon expected the deliverer and savior of his people and every nation to come to him as a baby? The fact that God’s promises are often fulfilled in unexpected ways is made clear to us not only in this story, but throughout the gospels. Think of the rich man who did not anticipate that the Messiah would ask him to give up all of his possessions to follow him, and how he went away sad because he had great wealth. Think of the Pharisees who could not accept a Messiah who broke bread with sinners. Think of the disciples who were filled with fear because they did not expect their Messiah to suffer and die.

God may not fulfill promises to us in the way that we expect, but with open hearts that listen for the Holy Spirit to guide us, God will see to it that we are led to where we need to be, that we are formed into who God would have us be, and that we can recognize God at work.

We are also to wait and watch and listen even when it takes longer than we thought for God’s work in our lives to be fulfilled. Think of Anna: the prophet who never left the temple but worshipped night and day. Think of all the nights and days and weeks and years that she waited for the promised redemption of Israel before she got to see that promise fulfilled before her eyes.

It might take longer than we want for God to fulfill what God has promised for us and for the world, but God will see to it that it is accomplished.

The second thing that God asks of us today is to respond when we are called.

When the Word was given to him to go to the temple, Simeon got up and followed. By following the Word given to him, Simeon encountered his Messiah and witnessed the fulfillment of God’s promises. We hear from Simeon’s song, however, that following the Holy Spirit caused Simeon to come closer to his own death, for once he met his Messiah, he knew that he could now pass away. Yet, being faced with his death also meant coming face to face with the one who had come to set him free from the power of death.

In the same way, we are not told that living according to God’s promises or following the Holy Spirit to where Jesus is will be easy. Simeon’s prophecy warns us alongside Mary and Joseph of opposition, rejection, and suffering. But what we are promised is that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God will be with us as we follow the call to follow.

Although waiting, watching, listening and following where the Holy Spirit leads us in this in-between time is not easy, we know that the Triune God who held Simeon in tender care also holds us. It might take longer than we would like, and it might not happen in the way that we expect, but God will be faithful to God’s promises for our lives. To this we can cling. That is living in the promise.

The Olive Branch, 1/29/14

January 31, 2014 By moadmin

Accent on Worship

In the Gospel reading for the Presentation of Our Lord, Mary and Joseph go to the temple in Jerusalem in order to present Jesus to the Lord as their first born son.

Though all the characters in this story are quite compelling, like Simeon, who would probably be considered the main character and is the one who gave Mary the bad news about how she is going to suffer, the persons who most capture my imagination in this narrative are the women, Mary and Anna.

What draws a person like Mary to say yes to God? Truly it was her willingness to serve, but was she also not just a bit flattered that she was chosen for the task, not realizing how hard it was going to be? Remember how excited she was when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth? The Spirit gave her only the vision of the end results. I would like to think that Mary was like many of us who are often excited and flattered into taking on the lead role in a noble venture, (one we feel called by God to do) and in the midst of it regretting our decision more times than we care to admit. But, in the end we are glad we did it and like Mary, glad we put our trust in God and said yes. The Gospel tells us how amazed Mary and Joseph were to hear the praise for Jesus and the prophecies of his greatness. The mother in Mary would dwell on those things rather than on her own suffering.

Anna is the other fascinating person in this Gospel story. I am assuming that, like most women of her time, she was a teenager when she married. Therefore, she would have been in her early twenties when she entered the temple as a widow and never left. I feel that Luke mentions her father and her tribe in order to make a statement about her ability to make such a decision of her own free will. She was not a widow who went to the temple in order to be cared for. She had family. Therefore, it was her decision and hers alone to take on a life of prayer and fasting. She was recognized as a prophet, which is pretty remarkable for a woman of her time. Anna is one of only six women in both Old and New Testaments recognized as a prophet, six among forty eight male prophets, sixteen of whom have their own books in the Bible. However, only two prophets held the Messiah and she was one of them.

– Donna Neste

Sunday Readings

February 2, 2014: Presentation of Our Lord
Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm 84
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40
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February 9, 2014: 5th Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 112:1-9
I Corinthians. 2:1-16
Matthew 5:13-20

This Week’s Adult Forum

February 2: “Postures of Prayer: How our Bodies Shape and Reveal our Faith,” presented by Dwight Penas.

Book Discussion Group Upcoming Reads

For its meeting on February 8, the Book Discussion group will read and discuss The Bell, by Iris Murdoch. For March 8 they will read Howards End, by E. M. Forster.

Website Mapping Event

Do you think Mount Olive’s site could be better organized? Here’s a chance for you to offer your two cents. This Sunday, Feb. 2 between liturgies, come to the Undercroft to participate in a website mapping exercise and discussion about Mount Olive’s site. Questions? Contact bethgaede [at] comcast [dot] net.

Annual “Taste of” Festival Set For February 9

Mark your calendar for Sunday, February 9! This year’s annual celebration will be “A Taste of Mardi Gras celebrating Lutheran Volunteer Corps!”

The Adult Forum will feature guests from Lutheran Volunteer Corps, sharing the history of LVC, its impact, and its current mission and initiatives. Guests will include the Regional Director of Lutheran Volunteer Corps, the Development Director, and several current volunteers who are serving in the Twin Cities. Following the second liturgy, join us for a Mardi Gras celebration with gumbo, jambalaya, slaw, dirty rice, macaroni and cheese, and bread pudding–all prepared by Mount Olive members. Feel free to invite others.

In places like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated over the weeks ahead of “Fat Tuesday.” So let’s kick off Mardi Gras right (And this event will be a good bookend for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, planned with our youth.)
Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC), is one of the supported missions of Mount Olive through our congregational giving. Each year, the Lutheran Volunteer Corps provides opportunities for young adults and others to complete a year of full-time service work at select nonprofits in cities across the country, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. During their year of service, participants live in community and have opportunities to reflect on their commitments, their spiritual journeys, and the ways they hope to put their values into practice.

Questions? Please e-mail Paul Schadewald at pschadew@yahoo.com.

Stories for the Journey: Thursday Evening Bible Study

The Thursday evening Bible study meeting in the Chapel Lounge from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. continues this week. Pr. Crippen is leading a series on the parables of Jesus and how they provide us a vision of God’s reign. As with all these Thursday series, there will be a light supper when we begin. The series runs through February 20.

Attention Worship Assistants Schedule Request Deadline

The Servant Schedule for the second quarter of 2014 will be published at the beginning of March, 2014. The deadline for submitting requests to me is February 14, 2014. Please e-mail your requests to me at peggyrf70@gmail.com. Thanks!

-Peggy Hoeft

Neighborhood Ministries Interim Position News

As previously announced, Mount Olive will hire an interim person to be the Neighborhood Ministries Coordinator from the time of Donna’s departure in March until a permanent replacement is hired in the fall. A position description for this interim position is being finalized and will be ready for distribution next week. If you are interested in the position or know of someone who would be interested, please contact the church office ASAP. Cha will take names and contact information, including email if possible, and then send out the position details next week. This is work that would be eligible for job-sharing. For any questions, contact Lisa Nordeen.

Godly Play Needs and Opportunities

Godly Play, our Sunday morning program with children that takes place between liturgies, is in need of people to assist on Sunday mornings by helping the children “get ready” to enter the Godly Play classroom (where we “talk more quietly and walk more slowly”) and to help with our work time and feast. Training will be provided. Please consider whether you might be able to serve in this wonderful ministry. Your service would be needed only once every 4-6 weeks. For more information, or to express your interest, please contact me at diana.hellerman@gmail.com or at 612 581 5969.

In addition, the pre-school class is looking for Arch Books Bible Stories. Do you some at home you’d like to donate? Please bring them to church.
It is a pleasure to spend Sunday mornings with the children of Mount Olive. Together with Patsy Holtmeier, Carol Austermann and Marilyn Gebauer, I thank you for this blessing and privilege and I invite you to come and be a part of this.

– Diana Hellerman

Bible Study at Becketwood

Vicar Emily Beckering is offering a second run of the six- week Bible study on human suffering at Becketwood Cooperative on five Tuesday afternoons (January 7 through February 11) from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm. This study examines the Biblical witness to suffering and who God is for us in the midst of that suffering. All are welcome!

Synod Voting Members Needed

Mount Olive is entitled to send two lay voting members (one woman and one man), in addition to Pr. Crippen, to attend the 2014 Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly May 2-3 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ramsey. This is the event that deals with the business of the ELCA on both a local level and beyond.
The theme this year is “Sent Forth By God’s Blessing.” If you are interested in attending – even if you’ve never done so before – please speak to Pastor Crippen or Lora Dundek (651/645-6636 or lhdundek@usfamily.net). The congregation pays registration fees for voting members.

A Good Time – A Great Cause

A very good time was had by all the guests who came to the wedding shower for Cathy Bosworth and Marty Hamlin, held at the home of Tom Olson and Maury Anderson on January 19. Cathy and Marty were married at Mount Olive this past Saturday, January 25.

Their wedding shower was a tremendous blessing for the Diaper Depot! Instead of gifts, Cathy and Marty requested diapers! On Tuesday morning, the day after the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, thousands of diapers representing hundreds of dollars were waiting to be unpacked and put on the shelves of the Diaper Depot.

Thank you to all the guests who celebrated the union of Cathy and Marty in such a generous way!

National Lutheran Choir to Host City-Wide Hymn Festival

On Sunday February 23, at 4:00 p.m., the National Lutheran Choir will join forces with hundreds of Twin Cities’ church choir members for a City-Wide Hymn Festival to be held at Central Lutheran Church (333 South 12th St., Minneapolis). Mark Sedio, Cantor at Central Lutheran, will conduct the massed choir. David Cherwien and the NLC will perform with the help of the mighty Casavant organ.

Tickets for this event are $25/adults; $23/Seniors; and $20/Students, and can be obtained by calling the NLC office at 612-722-2301. or by visiting them on the web: www.nlca.com.