ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 29, 2024
There is that one extra day every fourth year that I’m not too sure what to do with. I’ve got an extra day this year—an additional 1/365th of a year—that I could use for some wonderfully crazy idea that will forever change history. Sadly, this extra day will probably feel a lot like yesterday and tomorrow. But why can’t we approach today like we’ve been given a special gift? Actually, let me pause and ponder why that isn’t the way we approach each day of each year. Psalm 118 reminds us, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” As far as I know, the author of those words was not writing about a specific day. It wasn’t exclusively June 11 or February 29 at the exclusion of all other days. I believe those words were to be said each day, and then for us to approach every hour of each day as if it were a gift… because I think it is.
On this unusual day on our calendar, we pause to give you thanks for the gifts of life and love. Holy God, inspire within us a gratitude that is visible in the life-giving and loving way we live our lives. Amen.
Month: February 2024
02-28-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 28, 2024
In yesterday’s Etching, I asked about the emotion you first felt when finding yourself needing a reset in life. Some of you referenced fear, while others talked about hope or even relief. As I thought about those three specific emotions, I found myself resonating with all of them, as there have been different times in life with entirely different resets that brought different reactions. There are times when you are so fed up with your current reality that a reset, even when you’re not too sure what it’s going to look like, sounds good. There have been folks who have gone through a period of grief, and once on the other side, they have talked about needing to find a new way forward, but even in that uncertain reset, there is hope. Today, I want to ask a second and somewhat related question to what I asked yesterday, and if it’s ok, I might reference some of the responses in my sermon on Sunday. When the possibility of a reset is before you and there is some trepidation or even fear, what do you do with passages of scripture that seem to suggest we as people of faith should not fear (Isaiah 41:10 & John 14:27)? Do you believe that God expects us to have no fear, especially since fear is less a choice and mostly a survival response that begins as a chemical reaction inside the brain that triggers the nervous system? How does faith help you deal with fear?
In the daily grind of life, especially in those moments of anxiousness, I pray for the capacity to hold tightly to the conviction that I am loved unconditionally by you, O God. Amen.
02-27-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 27, 2024
I took a quick flight to Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sunday night, spending only a short time in town. But after boarding the plane, I had an interesting experience. My seat was in the last row of the plane, and when I sat down, no one else was seated in my row. The plane was nearly filled when a family came down the aisle. They got to my row, and the man told me that I was in his seat. I pulled my ticket up on my phone, and he showed me his boarding pass. We were both assigned to the same seat. I must confess a moment of panic as the thought crossed my mind, “Am I on the wrong plane?” I had heard of people arriving at the wrong destination. Come to find out, according to the flight attendant, two people having the same seat happens more than you might think. With all the technology we have these days, it seems sort of strange that two boarding passes could have been made for the same seat, but I’ll take her word for it.
In our Lenten Series: Pressing the Reset Button, I think there have been moments in my life when I thought I might need a slight adjustment (a different seat), only to discover I was going in the wrong direction completely. Of course, I was not on a plane to Florida, but a handful of times in life, I have been awakened to the fact that I needed to go in an entirely different direction. It’s hard to even come to a place where you can say it out loud. It is even more challenging to do something about it.
As we look to next Sunday, I want to ask you to think about a time in your life when you found yourself needing to make a pretty dramatic turn (change/reset). What was the first emotion you felt? Was that emotion helpful or a hindrance to making your first move?
We know that, according to Romans, we are called to your purpose. This is both a humbling and joyful thought until we realize what you have called the faithful to do throughout the centuries. Provide me strength, O Life-Giving Word, for whatever change might be necessary to join you in that good and just purpose. Amen.
02-26-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 26, 2024
When the night seems unwilling to yield to the dawn, I seek courage to step forward, believing the new day lies ahead. This is my request to you, Holy One of Grace, on behalf of all who have felt the night undeterred by the cries of those longing for even a hint of light. Amen.
02-25-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 25, 2024
Today in our Traditional Worship Service, we have a baptism (it’s right at the beginning, so don’t miss it). I am a pastor who probably gets a little too goofy around the baptismal experience, yet there is something so beautiful and compelling about the ritual. I have been asked numerous times about the meaning of the ritual, and I have started to respond by saying, “Yes!” Scripture is filled with images about what people experienced in the waters of baptism, along with some of Paul’s theological explanations of the ritual. Those are all good and helpful, yet at the same time, I like to hear what others have to say, not just the time immediately around the baptism. I have heard profound words uttered months or even years after someone took the plunge. Sometimes a life experience a decade later becomes the lens through which baptism is understood differently or more deeply. Suddenly, the experience of being engulfed in the waters speaks to a person’s soul in a new way. If you plan to attend the Traditional Worship Service today and witness the baptism, know that even watching has the potential to evoke an idea or insight never previously imagined.
Give me a spirit that is made more available to the movement of your Spirit, O Lord, and may the ritual of baptism become a window through which I am better able to glimpse you and your grace. Amen.
02-24-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 24, 2024
Tomorrow is the second Sunday of Lent, the second Sunday of our focus on the idea of a reset. Whenever a reset comes our way, a number of decisions need to be made, and among them is the question of whose voice I will listen to in the determination of my reset. The go-to answer is, of course, God. But who might God be using? In Proverbs 13, we read:
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise…
The word ‘walks’ should not be taken in a literal way. Instead, it describes someone who listens to the wise and then chooses to implement what has been gleaned from the insight of the wise. Of course, the wise are not simply book smart folk or those who did real well on their ACT. These might be true, but at the end of the day, the wise are those who know themselves and are able to look at the world objectively. They are not giving people advice from which they themselves will benefit. In fact, the wise will speak the truth to the best of their ability, even when it means their words will cause them harm. Do you know anyone like this? Do you have some people who are willing to sacrifice their own interests, even their own reputation, for the sake of imparting unvarnished insights into your situation? If you do, be thankful and listen.
Give me ears to hear, Lord God, from those whose passion for the truth will speak beyond self-interest or even a need to sugarcoat what might be a bit unpleasant. Amen.
02-23-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 23, 2024
Donna and I were watching a little of the movie/musical, The Greatest Showman, and I don’t believe there are very many musicals that make me want to leap up and dance like that one. Now let me be clear: I don’t do much leaping, and the dancing is done in the privacy of my home, but the music and choreography are so inspiring. The song, This Is Me, begins with the words:
I am not a stranger to the dark
“Hide away, ” they say
“‘Cause we don’t want your broken parts”
I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars
“Run away, ” they say
“No one’ll love you as you are”
And then, a little later in the song, there is a shift in the emotion, a new level of energy, and what I can only describe as divinely-inspired pride. They go on to sing,
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown ’em out
This is brave, this is bruised
This is who I’m meant to be, this is me
Look out ’cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
It is a rebirth story, a story of people having a reset in their lives, but from the stand point of finding themselves, embracing themselves, loving themselves, and not allowing any of the negative energy of life to deter this new found sense of self.
Who are you? Don’t answer that question with what the negative voices have tried to implant within you. Instead, allow for God’s opinion to speak forth with complete clarity in regard to your beloved status. Make no apologies! This is who God made you to be.
As I push my way through all the negative, hurtful, and malevolent ideas that have been laid upon me, O God of Grace, I pray for the courage to step forth on the other side as one bathed in your love and holy affirmations. Amen.
02-22-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 22, 2024
There are times in life when a reset or restart requires some boundaries. There are times when we have known injury, a deep wound to the soul, and seeking a reset in life necessitates creating a safe space from which that reset can percolate. In our culture, we too often have expectations of a quick return to normalcy (whatever that is) or those around us feeling compassion for a week or so, and then quietly thinking to themselves, “When is this person going to get over it?” A reset almost always requires healing, reconnection to God and self, and the realization that a reset might not be a return to the way things were. The reset might appear to be a release into something completely different. That itself can be frightening, often causing the individual to return to the past and the unhealthy system. Not to be overly dramatic or pithy, but the dawn only happens at the end of the night, and resurrection is found on the other side of the tomb. A reset in life often brings a re-setting, finding a new setting from which God’s dream for us can move forward.
You meet us wherever we are, Lord God, and for that we are beyond thankful. Give us ears to hear your permission-giving grace that invites us to do what is necessary for our lives to be healthy and move along the path that you would have us walk. Amen.
02-21-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 21, 2024
Today is the funeral service for Tammy Wilson, who served as our Nursery Director for more than 32 years. Tammy loved what she did, while also being very clear that she had no desire to be recognized or stand before any groups beyond a group of toddlers. She was fantastic at what she did, and countless children (many of them now adults) received grace-filled care from Tammy. It is a number we cannot begin to estimate. Grief is real for many individuals this day, and while recognizing the pain many are feeling this day, I wish to acknowledge the communal grief that is being felt. I believe the Apostle Paul’s metaphor for the church, the Body of Christ, was more than a catchy way of describing who we are. The bond of love draws the community together in such a way that there is a unique life that is greater than the sum of the individual members. And inside that body, there is a grief that must be named and processed. Someone who helped to undergird something so foundational as the place where we entrusted the care of our youngest participants is not something we can simply move past. I know many will be present at the service today, and that representation of the larger body will be part of our healing work. As we pray for Tammy’s family and friends, let us also be mindful of our own body and the grief that is felt.
By your immeasurable grace, O Ever-present God, we pray for healing to pour over every individual and every body that grieves this day. May we give thanks for the amazing gifts that have been shared while also praising you for the love that embraced Tammy in life and continues to embrace her in the life everlasting. Amen.
02-20-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 19, 2024
How easy is it to tell someone who is in a very comfortable rut or feeling trapped by addiction that it is time for a new beginning? Actually, it is very easy to tell them, but much more challenging to be heard with both compassion and seriousness. I feel as if some of Jesus’ parables were hidden tough love wrapped in what felt like a cute fable. Though not necessarily a parable, I think of Jesus using the removal of the speck from a neighbor’s eye without paying attention to the log in the eye of the one obsessed with the speck. The whole thing is sort of ridiculous on the surface. As far as I know, there have been no known cases of people having logs stuck in their eyes. People were probably chuckling at the thought, even if they sort of understood the point. Yet a lot of folks read themselves into the story as the person with the speck in the eye that everyone else with logs in their eyes seemed consumed by. But because it is a story that is both humorous and a bit quirky, you remember it. And there is the day when it sort of confronts you as you notice a symbolic log of hypocrisy protruding from your own eye. Ugh! Yet because the story did the confronting in a rather gentle and nonjudgmental way, it has the power to actually bring about change. Where a new beginning is needed, it often begins with a story that has been teasing the heart and mind for quite some time.
Use whatever means necessary, God, to bring about a recognition of my need for a new beginning… though using a gentle story is preferable. Amen.
pastorfrogge 