Musings for Lent 5

Sunday, March 21, 2010
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Midweek Musings
Reflection By Debbie Johnson

INTRODUCTION
The Lord our God makes all things new. In the first reading God promises it. In the gospel Mary anticipates it, anointing Jesus' feet with costly perfume in preparation for the day of his burial. In the second reading we recall the transformation of Saul, the persecutor, into Paul, the apostle. In baptism, God's new person (you!) rises daily from the deadly mire of trespasses and sins.

Thomas Cranmer, Bishop of Canterbury, martyr, died 1556
Cranmer's lasting achievement is contributing to and overseeing the creation of the Book of Common Prayer, which remains (in revised form) the worship book of the Anglican Communion. He was burned at the stake under Queen Mary for his support of the Protestant Reformation.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)
Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness, and your grace waters our desert.
Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing, that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Reading Isaiah 43:16–21
The prophet declares that long ago the Lord performed mighty deeds and delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage through the waters of the sea. Now, the Lord is about to do a new thing, bringing the exiles out of Babylon and through the wilderness in a new exodus.

16Thus says the LORD,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
19I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

Psalm (ELW) Psalm 126
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. (Ps. 126:5)
1When the LORD restored the for- | tunes of Zion,
then were we like | those who dream.
2Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with | shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great | things for them."
3The LORD has done great | things for us,
and we are | glad indeed.
4Restore our for- | tunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses | of the Negeb.
5Those who | sowed with tears
will reap with | songs of joy.
6Those who go out weeping, carry- | ing the seed,
will come again with joy, shoulder- | ing their sheaves.


Second Reading Philippians 3:4b–14
Writing to Christians in Philippi, Paul admits that his heritage and reputation could give him more reason than most people to place confidence in his spiritual pedigree. But the overwhelming grace of God in Jesus calls Paul to a new set of values.

4bIf anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Gospel John 12:1–8
Judas willfully misinterprets as waste Mary's extravagant act of anointing Jesus' feet with costly perfume. Jesus recognizes that her lavish gift is both an expression of love and an anticipation of his burial.

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor? 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Reflection.
I remember the Homily three years ago, when Pastor announced the beginning of the Lazarus Fund. He talked about how in scripture this is the only parable in which the subject of the story is given a name. The name Lazaraus.

That morning, Pastor shared the story of the man who rattled down the neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning collecting cans from recycling bins. Every since that Sunday I have noted more and more those who walk along University Avenue on their way to Tops or Wegmans to redeem cans and bottles. On Sunday evenings I watch the pick up truck go down my street to collect metal from the trash and almost daily someone checking out the dumpster in the parking lot outside my window for things of value that have been tossed from the window.

So where am I going you ask? Please, connect the dots: cans … trash … Lazarus … redemption … Atonement.

A man rummaging for cans … Lazarus is brought back to life … Cans are collected and redeemed … Christ dies on the cross … There is redemption … There is Atonement … God gave his only son that we might be saved.

Christ is on his journey to the cross. Mary anoints his feet with perfumed oil. Christ gives his life so that we might be saved. We are released from our sins through Christ’s death.

Lazarus was released from death by Christ
We are released from sin and death by Christ.
We are called not to be served, but to serve.
Just as Mary served Christ.
Just as she gave her best perfume.
We too must give our best in service to the poor.
For they will always be with us.

There is a connection.
Redemption is for all.
Christ died for all of us.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers

• For those seeking comfort.
• For the people of the world who seek peace.
• For those who push shopping carts for cash, beg for food, and seek shelter.
• For those the peoples of Haiti and Chile as they continue to rebuild.
• For our children that they may know that they are loved.

Musings for Lent 4

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 14, 2010

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

Introduction

The psalm sets the tone this day: "Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!" Happy are those who have "become the righteousness of God" in the merits of Christ Jesus. Happy are those for whom the forgiveness of God has "rolled away ... the disgrace" of former times. Happy is the father at the return of his prodigal son. Happy are we that our sins are forgiven for Jesus' sake. Rejoice!

Prayer of the day

God of compassion, you welcome the wayward, and you embrace us all with your mercy. By our baptism clothe us with garments of your grace, and feed us at the table of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

FIRST LESSON Joshua 5:9-12

By celebrating the Passover and eating the produce of the promised land instead of the miraculous manna that had sustained them in the desert, the Israelites symbolically bring their forty years of wilderness wandering to an end at Gilgal.

{9} The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. {10} While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. {11} On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. {12} The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Psalm 32

¹ Happy are they whose transgressions | are forgiven

and whose sin is | put away!

² Happy are they to whom the Lord im | putes no guilt,

and in whose spirit there | is no guile!

³ While I held my tongue, my bones with | ered away,

because of my groaning | all day long.

⁴ For your hand was heavy upon me | day and night;

my moisture was dried up as in the | heat of summer.

⁵ Then I acknowledged my | sin to you,

and did not con | ceal my guilt.

⁶ I said, "I will confess my transgressions | to the Lord."

Then you forgave me the guilt | of my sin.

⁷ Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in | time of trouble;

when the great waters overflow, they | shall not reach them.

⁸ You are my hiding-place; you preserve | me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts | of deliverance.

⁹ "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that | you should go;

I will guide you | with my eye.

¹⁰ Do not be like horse or mule, which have no | understanding;

who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will | not stay near you."

¹¹ Great are the tribulations | of the wicked;

but mercy embraces those who trust | in the Lord.

¹² Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice | in the Lord;

shout for joy, all who are | true of heart.

SECOND LESSON 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

In Jesus’ death on the cross, God works to persuade us of divine love, so that we might be reconciled to God. As part of God’s new creation, we are challenged to share with others the good news of our reconciled relationship with God.

{16} From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. {17} So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! {18} All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; {19} that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. {20} So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. {21} For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

GOSPEL Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Jesus tells a story about a son who discovers his father’s love only when he walks away from it. But the father’s grace is also a crisis for an older brother, who thought that by his obedience he had earned a place in the father’s home.

{1} Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. {2} And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." {3} So he told them this parable: {11} "There was a man who had two sons. {12} The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. {13} A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. {14} When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. {15} So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. {16} He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. {17} But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! {18} I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; {19} I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' {20} So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. {21} Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' {22} But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. {23} And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; {24} for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate. {25} "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. {26} He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. {27} He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' {28} Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. {29} But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. {30} But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' {31} Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. {32} But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

REFLECTION

Charles Dickens called the Prodigal Son the ‘greatest story ever told’. Quite an accolade from quite a writer. Having said that, is the title of the parable truly reflective of its content? In reading through some material for this text earlier today one author suggested that the parable might better be titled “A Father and Two Sons” or “A Father Loses Two Sons.”

This parable is packed with action, drama and surprises around every corner. The son who got lost was found by the father in a very unexpected way; unexpected because this younger son came home to seek a position as a hired hand and work his way back into his father’s graces. Never in his wildest imaginings could he have conceived of being returned to status not only of a son but also welcomed in such fashion!

The father apparently is sitting on the front porch waiting for his son to return when he sees him and runs to him, embracing him and changing his life for ever. He dresses him in the finest clothing and throws a big bash for him, a bash which the older son approaches with great hesitation and anger. He’s been working his fingers to the bone and never so much got a goat for his friends, to say nothing of a fatted calf! His anger appears justified.

Yet, what is perhaps most interesting in the story is where we find ourselves. What role do you play? Father? Younger Son? Older Son?

We are quick to condemn those who waste resources, who stand outside the boundaries of what we understand the church to be, who don’t fit our neat little descriptions of who God’s children truly are. If they don’t look like us or act like us we approach with great caution and care.

Like the older son we often reflect on what we have done, our faithfulness to the church and our work ethic and when someone breaks those stereotypes we grow furious.

Maybe where we should truly land is at the party the father throws. Note the theme of great rejoicing, not only in this parable but in the parables preceding it as well. There is great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.

This all starts of course because the Scribes and Pharisees are critical of the fact that Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners. Who’s sitting at your dinner table these days?

LET US PRAY

To be people who rejoice when the lost are found

To search out those in need and embrace them with joy

For hearts wide enough to accept those who are different than us

For our enemies

With thanksgiving for God’s loving embrace

QUOTE
“Never cease loving a person, and never give up hope for him, for even the prodigal son who had fallen most low, could still be saved; the bitterest enemy and also he who was your friend could again be your friend; love that has grown cold can kindle” Soren Kierkegaard

Musings for Lent 3

Sunday, March 7, 2010
Third Sunday in Lent
Midweek Musings
Reflection by Ken Klassen

INTRODUCTION
The warnings are plentiful and blunt on the third Sunday in Lent. Lent is a season of repentance. Cut it out or get cut down! The warnings are accompanied by God's invitation to attentiveness: "Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live." The landowner's ultimatum is forestalled by the gardener's readiness to till the ground one more year. That is good news for all of us. Thanks be to God!

Perpetua and Felicity and companions, martyrs at Carthage, died 202
Vibia Perpetua was a noblewoman, and Felicity her slave, who were catechumens at Carthage, northern Africa. They, with four other catechumens, had defied the Roman emperor who had forbidden conversions to Christianity, and were put to death in the amphitheater.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)
Eternal God, your kingdom has broken into our troubled world through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. Help us to hear your word and obey it, and bring your saving love to fruition in our lives, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.


First Reading Isaiah 55:1–9
To those who have experienced long years in exile, the return to their homeland is a celebration of abundant life. God calls them into an everlasting covenant of love. Those who return to the Lord will enjoy new life and forgiveness, because God's ways are not our ways.

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
4See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
5See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
6Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
7let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
9For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.


Psalm (ELW) Psalm 63:1–8
O God, eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you. (Ps. 63:1)
1O God, you are my God; eager- | ly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there | is no water.
2Therefore I have gazed upon you in your | holy place,
that I might behold your power | and your glory.
3For your steadfast love is better than | life itself;
my lips shall | give you praise.
4So will I bless you as long | as I live
and lift up my hands | in your name.
5My spirit is content, as with the rich- | est of foods,
and my mouth praises you with | joyful lips,
6when I remember you up- | on my bed,
and meditate on you in | the night watches.
7For you have | been my helper,
and under the shadow of your wings I | will rejoice.
8My whole being | clings to you;
your right hand | holds me fast.


Second Reading 1 Corinthians 10:1–13
Paul uses images from Hebrew story and prophecy to speak the truth of Jesus Christ: He is our rock, our water, our food, and our drink. Christ is the living sign of God's faithfulness.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." 8We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.


Gospel Luke 13:1–9
Asked about current tragic events, Jesus turns a lesson about whether suffering is deserved into a hard call to obedience. He then tells a parable that holds out hope that the timeline for ultimate judgment will be tempered by patience.

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."
6Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Reflection
I have often asked myself, why do bad things happen to seemly good people? Apparently, others were asking that same question over 2000 years ago. In our second reading, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds this young church of believers that the rain falls on everyone. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone; so bad things happen to good people and to bad people alike. He goes onto say that as Christians, even when you think you’ve been singled out for “cruel and inhuman treatment”, God is faithful to us and won’t allow you to get more rain than you can handle. During times in my life when I have experienced “cruel and inhuman treatment” I’ve wonder about that, but in hindsight it’s true, I was able to handle it. Most likely because during those times, he provided a way for me to endure it. God is good.

Prayer
Lord we give thanks for God’s amazing grace and pray for:

• strength to withstand the rain
• continuing wisdom for President Obama
• all those who serve our country and work for peace
• the sick, the suffering, and those in need

Quote
Things that don’t kill you outright, make you stronger.
From “Grooks”, by Piet Hein