we hope.

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“At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’” - John 10:22-30 (NRSV)

It’s been a strange week, yeah?

On Monday of last week I finally settled in to tackle my senior thesis for the Children, Youth and Family concentration. I was working hard until news broke out of Boston about a bombing at the Boston Marathon. My productivity went way down and my Twitter timeline reading went way up. And it continued that way for much of the week. I just couldn’t pull myself away from the coverage.

So, while I’m attempting to pump out twenty-some pages of brilliance about how the church might better engage young adults in ministry, two young adults filled pressure cookers with nails and ball bearings and detonated them amongst an unsuspecting and vulnerable crowd. A crowd filled with excitement, hope, pride and happiness.

And while I spent every extra minute I had trying to put words on paper, sharing stories like that of my best friend from high school and why he doesn’t believe in God that very same friend spent his entire Friday on lockdown in his apartment in Boston.

And then a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas. And more bombs exploded in Iraq and Pakistan, among other places. And then a devastating earthquake hit China.

How long will you keep us in suspense?

A version of this question has been repeating in my head, and surely many other heads, as this week has unfolded. And, of course, it’s not just this week. The world and the people who inhabit it experience tragedy and devastation on a daily basis. We cannot escape it. Nor will we ever be fully prepared for its pain.

And so we ask, Lord, how long will you keep us in suspense?

How long will you be absent while people continually kill each other? How long will you hide your face while evil runs rampant in our streets? Why do you make it so difficult to proclaim your loving grace to human beings that are losing hope by the second?

Lord, how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us, show us, assure us. And do it plainly. Because right now, your voice is not easily heard.

And, yet, here we find ourselves the day after Good Shepherd Sunday, a day on which we hear of a shepherd that leads his sheep to the promise of forgiveness, reconciliation and hope. A day on which we are to hear, loud and clear, that nothing can separate us from the love of God. For the love of God made known in Jesus Christ, our shepherd, is a love we share with Christ in our mutual humanity. It is a love greater than all things. We are one with Christ because Christ is one with God. And nothing gets in the way of that.

Or, that’s at least what I’m supposed to say, right? That’s what the text tells us. That’s what Jesus says about who he is and what he does for his flock. Meanwhile, I’ve got a friend who was about to head to the finish line of a marathon where victory and accomplishment were blown to bits by the very evil that stands between my friend and the God I’ve come to know.

But Jesus is your Good Shepherd, he knows you, he gives you eternal life, nothing and no one will snatch you out of his hand. I think.

This week has been a good reminder of how little control we have over what happens in our lives. Whatever we perceive as normal can change in an instant, without warning, without reason. It’s also been a good reminder at how quickly we can give up on each other, how quickly we can lose hope in our own humanity. It’s been a good reminder of how empty this existence can be and how alone we can feel when the shepherd seems to have lost us along the way.

I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes it seems near impossible to proclaim good news into a 24-hour news cycle. Sometimes it’s unfathomable to promise the presence of God where God feels most absent. Sometimes it’s unimaginable to speak life into so much death.

Instead, we just hope. We hope when it feels like there’s no hope because hoping is all we’ve got left. When Jesus says that he knows his sheep, we hope that it’s true. When Jesus promises that he gives eternal life to his sheep, that they will never perish, we hope he’s not lying. And when Jesus says that his Father and him are one, and whatever his Father has given him is greater than anything else and that absolutely nothing will ever snatch it away, we hope beyond all hope that never really means never.

And so in the midst of bombs and explosions, earthquakes and hurricanes, violence and hate, death and even more death, we gather ourselves together as a flock and pray that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, will somehow bring us out of this desert to pastures of hope and new life.

Amen.

 

(If you’d like to watch or listen to this sermon you can find those options right here.)

real.

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“I don’t know that we are actually human at this point, those of us who are like most of us, who grew up with TV and movies and now the Internet. If we are betrayed, we know the words to say; when a loved one dies, we know the words to say. If we want to play the stud or the smart-ass or the fool, we know the words to say. We are all working from the same dog-eared script.

It’s a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters.

And if all of us are play-acting, there can be no such thing as a soul mate, because we don’t have genuine souls.

It had gotten to the point where it seemed like nothing matters, because I’m not a real person and neither is anyone else.

I would have done anything to feel real again.” – (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, p. 73)

I read this book about a month ago (well, finished a book I started many months ago) because my wife and mother both read it and said it was great. The book was great. I have other opinions, but for the sake of those who have not read the book, I’ll leave them off of this blog. If you’d like to chat, let me know. Anyway, I wasn’t really expecting to find something in this book like the above quote. I guess I wasn’t prepared for some deeper thinking about life in a high-speed, mystery novel that is, in all honesty, pretty messed up.

They jumped off the page because while I’m sick of hearing people speak about the younger generations in this way I’m simultaneously feeling exactly like what these words describe. There’s no escaping the heightened connectedness and technology-centered nature of the upcoming generations. And the implications of both are clear. But I don’t think that makes young people any less real than generations past.

However, here I am, considering my “realness” in life. And I gather that this is sometimes where we all find ourselves: trying to find meaning and reality in the things that we do or in the relationships we have. I have most certainly said to myself something similar to the character in this book, “I would do anything to feel real again.” And half the time I don’t really know what “real” means but I know it’s not what I’m feeling.

I think I’m just sick of pretending I know things that I don’t, acting like someone that the outside world defines or hiding behind a reality that isn’t real. I just want a place, an existence, in which I can be a real human being and where that is the only thing that anyone or anything requires of me.

I wonder, then, if that’s possible in faith, in religion or in the Church. I wonder if being a real person amongst other real people is what true Christian community is all about. I wonder how our perceptions of people of faith would change if these real relationships and real communities became the rule and not the exception. Real people and real communities committed to other real people and real communities, all open to experiencing the very real presence of God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

I think so many of us in this age are trying to figure out how to be real in an age when a lot of what we do has lost its reality. I guess I’m just hoping that we don’t forget that a real person exists in front of that TV, phone, computer or tablet. I hope that we can somehow figure out a way to engage young people in finding their “realness,” whatever that means. And I hope that we can point to a real relationship with God within that reality.

Maybe I desire something that isn’t real. Who knows. I sure wish it was, though.

a lesson.

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I wrote down these thoughts a few weeks ago on my 1:59pm flight to Los Angeles for a youth ministry convention after missing my 6:15am flight earlier that morning:

I learned a good lesson today.

Well, actually a couple. Things like setting two alarms, making sure to press ‘snooze’ rather than completely turning off my alarm and avoiding all forms of caffeine for the 24 hours leading up to a 6:15am flight will all become standard practice. I never want to miss a flight again. It’s miserable.

The most important thing I learned today, though, was that having a loving group of people in my life to rally around me when things go amiss is invaluable. I don’t think I will ever take it for granted again.

My wife allowed me to mope and be upset until that need was spent. My dad talked me through the all the suck and, like a good father, told me to call my mother while proceeding to contact her himself. My mom and brother then kicked into high gear in an attempt to find me a new flight using as few of Ma and Pop’s mileage points as possible.

I’m spoiled, that’s clear. Spoiled materially, yes. A realization in all of this is how fortunate I am to be able to fly on a plane somewhere, stay in hotels and spend money traveling. More than that, though, never in my life has it been more clear how important it is to have family or a community of people who will drop everything (all that one could be doing at 7:00am) and support me in any way they are able. As I said, I’m pretty spoiled.

I am loved. I am thankful. I am incredibly blessed.

My prayer is that we are all able to find that same kind of support in our families, our peer groups, our churches or wherever it may be. My hope is that we can all become that kind community for others. And I hope a product of that sense of community is that we might realize how loved and blessed we really are.

And maybe it’d be a good idea to stash away a few emergency mileage points for yahoos like me.

return.

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In my sophomore year of college I took a class called World Theatre I in which I was to learn the history of theatre through many years of plays and playwrights. I was still kicking around the idea of another major and, at that point, a theatre major was the top choice.

I loved acting. I suppose I still do but, outside of the occasional skit at Confirmation on Wednesday nights, I don’t get the opportunity very often. Anyway, I had gotten a small theatre scholarship upon entering college, had received some smaller roles in a few productions in my first year and was looking forward to more opportunities in the future. So, why not add that theatre major?

Well, I loved acting but found I had no interest in learning the history of it all.

After a couple class sessions I dropped the course and, being a requirement for the major, I dropped that, as well. The reading was too heavy for me, the subject matter wasn’t interesting and acting was a heck of a lot more fun.

So, why this history of my encounter with theatre history?

I can’t seem to shake the fact that this is sometimes how I feel about my seminary education and my calling to ministry. And I think this is sometimes what happens in our personal faith lives, as well.

It all sounds well and good until we open up the book, start reading and the weight of what we take in demands so much more of us than we are willing to give. We love what we do, we feel good where we’re at, so why add more to the equation?

I’m returning to blogging this week. Part of the return is finally having some inspiration to write. Part of it is being nudged by photography challenge for Lent. Most of it, however, is that this practice requires deeper thought, engagement of Biblical texts and ideas and a desire to grow in faith. All of which I’ve had almost zero interest in doing since I returned home from “acting” last year in my pastoral internship. I was already out there doing ministry and I’ve struggled with coming back to the classroom.

Acting is the fun part. Of course it takes discipline, focus, commitment and creativity, among many other things, but it’s ultimately very fun. However, acting without knowing where the art comes from, the main players in its history and the brilliant people who have contributed and still do contribute to its life can only go so far.

The same is true for a seminary student preparing for a life of ministry or teaching and for a person of faith in daily life. Being in faithful communion and ministry with one another without being engaged with Scripture, understanding where we come from and learning of those who have given their life for our existence as people of God can only go so far.

My hope for myself is that I never again get to the point where my perception of my gifts, my desire for what’s more enjoyable or what feels more worthwhile gets in the way of potential growth and further knowledge.

I hope we can all remember that what’s gotten us to where we are now is what will make us more whole in who we are.

Acting is fun. But it’s only the product of something much larger than the art itself.

called.

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time in seminary it’s that God has called many different people to vastly different roles within the church. Even more than that, God has called many different people to vastly different roles in the world. To be clear, this is different than God calling specific kinds of people to specific kinds of roles, a belief that will surely promote stagnancy in any area of life. Instead, we open ourselves up to a belief that God calls many different kinds of people to the same role in order to fulfill a specific purpose in that time and place.

This will, of course, come at a cost. In many instances this will create anxiety, conflict and pain, at times. Moving forward, growing or changing are difficult realities when we are not ready or we feel we know a better way. There will be missteps, mistakes, abuse and wrongdoing. We are, above all, human beings capable of all the good and all the bad we have known in our many years of existence. Let us not forget that simple truth.

However, successes will abound. Celebrations will be raised up. Life will be given where death was the only hope. We must continue to look to the ways in which God restores us within all those whom he calls to life in this world.

Ultimately, we are called to communion with others. We are called to be people who exist alongside each other and do our best to lift each other up to successful and meaningful lives in this world. We are truly called to be different people called to different roles within humanity but we hold on tightly to the hope of a God who calls us by name to a larger purpose beyond that which we know here on earth.

one church.

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It’s been a while. Hello.

I’ve resolved to get back into this after visiting and speaking in a class here at Luther Seminary called Fostering Faith in a Media Culture. We talked about all things social media, websites and, yes, blogging. So, I kinda figured it was time.

I thought it would be interesting to share a sermon I wrote for my senior preaching class. We were charged with writing “Leadership Sermons” and were able to choose from a variety of topics and hypothetical situations. I chose to write about a hypothetical church in a hypothetical town with a hypothetical disagreement over a not so hypothetical issue in the not so hypothetical ELCA.

With all that’s happening in our country and in our state surrounding this issue I thought it pertinent to share this sermon with you. While it is addressed to a hypothetical situation, it is a very real perspective on a larger issue. This is a message to the larger church about what it means to live in disagreement. I’d love to get some response.

Leadership Sermon

Good to be back. Thanks for reading.

faith matters.

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This is my second post in my last few that has to do with things that matter. I’m thinking it’s because I don’t feel like we talk enough about what matters to us. Either way, this one is about why faith matters. My friend Aaron, a fellow seminary student of mine, posed the question, “Why does faith matter?” the other day and asked some people to respond so he could post the reflections on his blog. I obliged and he threw it up there today.

You can find my response and the rest of his wonderful blog here. Or here. Or here. I’ll give you a little preview here but you’ll have to head over to his blog to get the rest. That way, you’ve got the link for the rest of the series coming over the next days.

Take care. God Bless. You’re awesome.