First Lutheran Church

March 5, 2023 + The Second Sunday in Lent

11“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

“New Beginnings”

Pastor Greg Ronning

In today’s appointed Gospel Nicodemus asks the question, "How can anyone be born after having grown old?"  “How can anyone be born again?”  At first glance it’s kind of a strange question, but at its heart, it’s actually a very familiar question.  It’s a question that we have all asked at one time or another.  Essentially, Nicodemus is wondering if it’s possible to “start over again.”  And that’s something all of us have asked at one time or another.  We’ve all wanted a second chance, we’ve all wanted a do-over, we’ve all wanted a mulligan, we’ve all wanted another opportunity, - we’ve all sought after a new beginning.

I often daydream about what a new beginning might look like in my life.  I wonder what would it take for me to be able to “start over?”  What kind of things would need to take place to set me up for a “second chance?”   What conditions might set me free to write a “new chapter” in life with the days still allotted to me?  How might a I get a fresh start in my career, my vocational pursuits, my retirement, my passions, my interests, my faith, my participation in the life of the Kingdom of God?  We all dream about starting over, new beginnings, but it seems we seldom get or seize the opportunity.

What is it that prevents us from “starting over again?”  What is it that keeps us from “new beginnings?” There are plenty of obstacles that hold us back.  We all want change but at the same time we all really don’t like change.  Change makes us anxious, and there are so many things to be anxious about when it comes to change, - security, finances, and the expectations of others.  And of course, there is always doubt and fear, - there is always doubt and fear.  And so it is that in the end, we often only dream about a new beginning, relegating ourselves to living out the same old story. It’s just easier.

I don’t know about you, but when the Mega Millions pay out got up to One Billion dollars, I went out and bought a ticket.  If I was to win that prize, that would surely open the door to an easy new beginning!  That kind of money would certainly alleviate all my concerns about finances and security.  My choices would be unlimited!  Hey, a few million bucks would probably even take away some of the doubt and fear!    

And then, yes then, I could write a new and faithful chapter in my life.  The things I could do for God would be amazing.  I could feed the poor, house the homeless, create educational scholarships, lobby for peace and justice. My tithe to the church would be transformational to the life of this congregation.  I could expand the Caring Hands Ministry to include social workers, counselors, health workers.  I can see it now, they could all be housed in a new building appropriately named, “Caring Hands – The Greg Ronning Center for Social Ministry.” I would be limited only by the amount of money my winning lottery ticket would be worth.  That would be a great way to be “born again.”  A new life filled with faith and good works.  

But that just doesn’t seem to be the way that God does new beginnings.  New beginnings with God start in a whole different way.  The great 19th century theologian Soren Kierkegaard comments on today's first lesson, the call of Abraham and Sarah, the new beginning given to them by God.  He writes, "Abraham takes one thing with him and leaves one thing behind.  He leaves behind his earthly understanding and takes with him faith.  Otherwise, his journey would have seemed and been totally unreasonable."  

That's the kind of new beginnings that God gives to us.   It's not grounded in our reason, in the world's established way of doing things, in our structures, within our systems, our way of thinking, familiar habits, and conventional ruts.  It’s not rooted in economic security.  It does not come with a guarantee.  It does not come easy.  All those things are not part of the equation.   The things of this world are left behind, the new beginnings that God provides happen in, with, and through faith, in “faith alone.”  A faith that sees and understands the world differently.

When God reaches out to Abraham and Sarah with the invitation to start over again, to begin again, to write a new chapter in their life, to offer them a new beginning, Abraham is seventy-five years old, and Sarah is sixty-five years old.  They have a good life in Haran, they have a place to live, they have acquired some wealth and possessions, they are comfortable.  While they do not have offspring, they are surrounded by their kinfolk.  Things are good for them.

But something is missing, and it seems, deep down, they must know it.  They must have known that there was something more to life, something more for their life.  And it was true, God does have something more in store for them.  So it is that in the twelfth chapter of Genesis, God enters into history, into their story, and offers them a new beginning, an adventure, a great destiny. Abraham and Sarah are to be the parents of a great nation, a nation that will be blessed by God, a nation that will reveal God to all the world.  What an amazing dream! 

But note, this adventure, this incredible new start does not begin with God blessing Abraham with greater power and an increase in wealth, no check from the lottery.  Instead God tells them to pack up all their things and go to Canaan, - that's it.  “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  They are told to simply pack up your things, leave behind your good life, your routines, your friends and extended family, your safety and security, and head into a land where you will have nothing, where there will be enemies, and lots of uncertainty.  Abraham is called to be a sojourner in this land, a stranger in a strange land, someone who must wander from place to place, live off the land and the hospitality of others.   It doesn’t make sense, it’s totally unreasonable. “But Abraham believed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”  In with and through faith Abraham and Sarah, make the journey, they begin again, they are “born again” into a new life.  "Abraham takes one thing with him and leaves one thing behind.  He leaves behind his earthly understanding and takes with him faith.  Otherwise, his journey would have seemed and been totally unreasonable."  (Kierkegaard)

Such it is with the “new beginnings” of scripture.  Abraham and Sarah leave the security of home for the unknown of Canaan.  Next, Moses will leave behind his flocks to go tell the most powerful person on the earth, "Let my people go!"  Years later Joseph's new beginning will start when his brothers sell him into slavery.  Mary gets a new beginning when she finds out she’s unexpectedly pregnant with the Christ child.  The great dream of her life begins with the shunned and outcast life of an unwed mother.  And many years later a few fishermen will drop their nets and leave their families and their boats behind to follow a traveling preacher named Jesus.  And in today's gospel Nicodemus asks what he must do to have a new beginning, and he is told he must be “born again.”   The new beginnings of God demand that we leave behind “earthly understandings” for they are born not of this world, but of water and spirit, in faith, and faith alone. We are called to leave everything else behind.

Sounds daunting, but hear the “good news!”  In Christ Jesus we have all been gifted with faith, not just a gift of faith that saves our souls from “some kind of hell” but a gift of faith that sets us free from this world and its ways, the bonds of “earthly understanding,” in order that we might really “become,” and do “something” with our life.  Your desire for a new beginning, wherever you are in your life, whatever stage in life you are living, will not be found in the ways of this world. Wealth and power will not bring about the things that you want, the path of convention will not give you meaning and purpose, clinging in fear to safety and security will not open the door to your destiny, you are not going to find a transformational new beginning in the way things are.

God gives us a new way of looking at the world.  God gives us the eyes of faith that reveal those things for what they really are, - empty.  And when are set free from the empty living of the principalities and powers that surround us, the gift of faith sets us free to walk away from the world and into a promised land.  We are set free to a life where all things become new.

St. Paul writes in the second chapter of Philippians, verse 5, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”  God’s great beginning in Jesus Christ begins the same way that all the other new beginnings of faith began.  God leaves it all behind, God descends from the heavens, and becomes a sojourner, a stranger in a strange land, a human, Jesus of Nazareth.  God leaves everything behind, taking only faith, and the gift of faith for you and I.

That’s the way you “begin again,” that’s how you are “born again.”  I guess that’s what they call it “a leap of faith.”  And yes, it is natural to be afraid of taking that leap, it’s not easy, it’s not to be taken lightly, but it’s also not to be taken alone.  The good news of the gospel is that God has taken the leap, the saints of old have taken the leap. And as you take the leap, they will be with you, we will be with each other, and Christ will be with you.  This good news calms our fears and produces faith, faith that leaps into the future.

As you continue your Lenten journey; the call to repentance, a call to stop, a call to turn around, a call to change, a call to be “born again;” May the faith that resides in your heart rise up, giving you the courage to fully embrace the new beginning God has waiting for you. Amen.

Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

The devil is all about easy answers and quick fixes in this story.

He finds a time when Jesus is weakened—he’s been alone in the wilderness for a long time. He’s hungry and probably uncomfortable and tired.

So, Jesus is tempted to provide for his needs—understandable, right?

“Turn these stones into bread! You’re powerful—why wait to be satisfied?”

Then, the devil suggests that Jesus should prove his identity and special relationship with God.

“If you’re really who you say you are, how cool would it be if you jumped from here? Everyone in Jerusalem would see angels catch you!No one would be able to doubt you then.”

Finally, the devil shows Jesus the glories of the whole world.

“Why wait? This could all be yours right now! Just submit to my authority and you can have everything you want.”

It would be so easy to do any of these things. All of his problems would be solved: he would never be hungry, doubted, or powerless again. All he had to do was take matters into his own hands.

Easy answers and quick fixes are so tempting! Even when you know in the back of your mind that there’s probably a catch, that it’s probably not that simple, it would be such a relief if it actually worked!

But at what cost?

For Jesus, it would be his whole identity and all of his values. He would be departing from his focus on his mission and his tender reliance on God.

Fortunately, this story comes right after Jesus’ baptism, when the voice of God and the dove-shaped Holy Spirit came down from the clouds and affirmed Jesus’ identity: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Even accounting for his time fasting in the wilderness, Jesus had just had this amazing affirmation of his identity. He was so grounded in his identity and relationship with God that he didn’t need to prove himself to anyone. He could withstand the temptations he was faced with, because he kept his focus on his values and on God.

That’s hard to do, though. There are a million things every day vying for our attention, telling us we’re incomplete and unworthy, trying to make us forget who we are and whose we are.

Advertisements try to get us to forget that we are sufficient and whole in our belovedness.

The news can make us forget that our acts of love are powerful even in the face of the terrible hurt in the world.

Busyness can make us forget that it is enough just to be, and that God’s time works differently than our sense of chronological time.

That’s one of the helpful things about Lent. It’s a time when so many of our ancestors in faith have set aside time to simplify and reorient toward God.

Unfortunately, it can be tempting to even use Lenten disciplines, practices, and traditions in ways that don’t do justice to our identities or orient us toward God.

As the Lazy Genius podcast reminded me last week, “external solutions will not fix inner problems.”[1]That episode was specifically talking about “kindly navigating a changing body” and so was talking about how a change on the scale or a new lotion does not help us feel better about ourselves if internally we’re shaming ourselves. No outside change is going to make us stop hating ourselves on the inside.

Quick fixes and easy answers don’t satisfy.

It’s so easy to make our spiritual lives into a checklist. As if giving up something for Lent, attending Bible study, and telling someone you’re praying for them is what proves that we’re Christians.

To a certain extent, outward actions can orient us toward mindsets we want to cultivate. For example, it’s a lot easier to live up to a value of service by making it a habit of regularly volunteering with Caring Hands instead of waiting until 7 a.m. on a Wednesday morning to decide whether to go that day. Habits are easier to keep than to start.

But even doing something as wonderful as helping out at the pantry doesn’t mean anything if we are doing it because we’re afraid of God’s judgment. That requires inner work, not a checklist.

Like Jesus, we need to start with our identity.

We are children of God. We are followers of Jesus. We are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther was plagued by shame and guilt throughout his life, and when it got bad, he would remind himself, “I am baptized.” It was not about “I got baptized – check! Now I’m not going to Hell.” Instead, it was a way to remind himself of what God had done, not what he had done. He was baptized, so he was God’s forever—nothing he could do could take that away.

He rested in his identity in God, just like Jesus did. And we can, too.

Our baptisms remind us that we are part of God’s family and that we are children of God forever—no checklists required.

If you are not baptized, God still loves you, and you are welcome and valued here. If you would like to talk more about baptism, come talk to me after the service.

Whether you’re baptized or not, God loves you, and nothing can change that. We are not saved by anything we do or don’t do. There is one savior, and that’s Jesus. Our salvation was taken care of a long, long time ago.3w

Therefore, we can do spiritual practices, such as a Lenten discipline like 40 Days of Less, not so we can get a gold star on our heavenly report card, but for the ways they help us pay attention to what God is doing and figuring out what really matters to us.

Once Jesus was grounded in his identity in his baptism, he was able to spend time fasting in the wilderness, focusing on what mattered to him and what his mission was. He was able to resist the temptations to get sidetracked and take shortcuts. He knew his values and centered his life on God, so he turned down the offers of easy answers and quick fixes.

When we’re grounded in our identity as children of God, then we can participate in spiritual practices to focus and orient ourselves. Pastor Jaz’s 40 Days of Less devotional helps us discern what objects and mindsets are getting in the way of what truly matters to us.

If you’ve picked a different Lenten discipline, that’s great, too. I hope it’s a fruitful experience for you. I’d love to hear about it.

And if now is not the time to add another practice to your life, thank you for listening to what you need right now. You are still a beloved child of God, and God loves you exactly as you are.

Whatever this Lent brings you, may you find your grounding in your identity as a child of God. That is what will help you withstand the distractions, easy answers, and quick fixes in the world we live in.

Hold fast to your values,

support each other on our journey,

and whenever something is getting you down,

remember that you are a child of God.

[1]https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy/bodychange Episode 301 “How to kindly navigate a changing body”

Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount

Part Four “Discipleship in the World”

February 19, 2023 (Transfiguration Sunday)

Matthew 5:38-48“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.  Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The Sermon on the Mount

Part Four “Discipleship in the World”

This morning we conclude our sermon series on “The Sermon on the Mount.”  And we do so on “Transfiguration Sunday.”Bothof these storiesreminding us that God often speaks to us on mountain tops.  Bothstoriesalso reminding us that we are not called to live on the top of mountains, but to come down from mountains, from “mountain top moments,” inspired to live out our faithdown below, in the world, as disciples, as servants serving in the midst of God’s people.

This morning before we get back into “The Sermon on the Mount,” I want to begin briefly with the story of the Transfiguration as found in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew.Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.  As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:1-9)

Transfiguration Sunday marks the end of the liturgical season of Epiphany.  This is the last “aha-moment” revealing the nature and mission of Jesus.  As he is standing on top of a mountain, Moses and Elijah appear representing the Law and the Prophets confirming Jesus’s continuity with the Israelite tradition.  Just as God spoke on a mountaintop to Moses and Elijah in ages past, so now God speaks on the Mount of Transfiguration, “This is my beloved…listen to him.”The lectionary cleverly places today’s appointed Gospel, immediately following the last three readings featuring “The Sermon on the Mount,” wonderfully connecting God’s presence and authority to the teachings of Jesus.

Today we remember and reflect and connect these two “mountain top moments.” The amazing story of Jesus’s “Transfiguration” and the magnificent vision of God’s Kingdom as found in the teaching of Jesus’ so called“Sermon on the Mount.”Once again, we are reminded that God often speaks to us on mountain tops,-  Mount Saini, Mount Horeb, The Sermon on the Mount.  We are also reminded that we are not called to live on the top of mountains, but to come down from mountains, from “mountain top moments,” inspired to live out our faith below, as the disciples, the followers of Jesus. 

With that “connection” being made, let us continue with our sermon series on “The Sermon on the Mount.” Last week the emphasis was in part three of our series was on “right relationships in community,” this week the emphasis shifts to our relationships in the world, our calling as we come down from the mountain. Today our theme is “Discipleship in the World.”

Simply put, today’s challenging verses from the Sermon on the Mount, invite us, as the followers of Jesus, to behave in a “radically different way”than others in this world.  In a world where “retaliation” and “revenge” have become “the new normal;” we are called to forgive, to “turn the other cheek.”  In a world where we are increasingly invited and encouraged, even duped, to see “others” as “enemies;” we are called to love those who are different than us, those who see things differently than us, even those who are in direct conflict with us.  Even to love as God would love, “perfectly.”As the followers of Jesus, we are called to behave in a “radically different way” than others in this world.

I recently came across an article entitled “Let’s Get American Revenge,” by Laura Blumenfeld.  I found the article very helpful in understanding what I find to be a very troubling trend in our society, the all-consuming, and often violent, preoccupation withretaliation and revenge. 

Retaliation and revenge dominate the daily news, we hear story after story now labeled “revenge.”  We have “revenge dressing,” “revenge vacations,” “revenge relationships,” “revenge videos,” and of course “revenge politics.”  Revenge drives “athletic contests,” “work behavior,” “neighborhood disputes,” “road rage,” and “mass shootings.”  It seems that people everywhere are looking for opportunities to feel “dis-respected” in order that they might seek out some “seemingly now legitimate” revenge.  And our notion of revenge is extreme, to get revenge is not just to get even with someone, but to totally destroy someone. Remarkably more excessivethan just “an eye for eye.”

In the article Blumenfeld points out that this has not always been the American way. She writes, “Yes, we dreamed of revenge, cheered it - attheaters and sports arenas, secretly wished it upon bosses and double-crossers. … Yet we respected the line between fantasy and action. Our society demanded it. Vengeance was considered uncivilized, unethical, an act of ugly self-destruction. We denied the need to get even.”

Violent and extreme revenge was something that happened in other places in the world. American revenge at that time was different, it was primarily characterized by looking forward and not back.  Americans believed in taking the higher road, retaliating by turning the other cheek, letting go, and overcoming despite being treated unjustly.  Our revenge was found in our future success.  Americans used to consider revenge - economically, socially, and politically- unproductive, and therefore distinctly un-American.Blumenfeld quotes Douglas Horton, an American protestant theologian from the early 20th century, “While seeking revenge, dig two graves — one for yourself.”

Sadly, over the last few decades we no longer view “punishingrevenge” as un-American.  Things that used to be seen as shameful behavior are now celebrated.  We parade them without embarrassment all over social media.  Rather than forgive and forget, we hold on to our grudges and our pain - and aggressively retaliate.  Blumenfeld concludes, “Disputes resolve themselves according to the Darwinian rhythms of jungle justice.”

And all this grieves me, it really grieves me.  How I long for the world to set aside, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” How I long for people to stop “hating their enemies,” to stop “demonizing” each other.  How I wish we could find a way to see beyond conflict, to find a way to love the other, even the enemy.How I wish we could put an end to the never-ending cycles of retaliation.  Blumenfeld,referring to the teaching of Jesus, laments that unfortunately, “Grace is appealing, though unrealistic.”Noting that we would rather trust in a sense of immediate divinevengeance rather than do the hard and slow transformative and lasting work of grace.

Yet the hard work of grace, love, and forgiveness is what we are called to do as the followers of Jesus.

What our society, what our world, desperately needs now is people who will practice grace over revenge, love over hate, people who will be the “salt” that saves us, people who will shine the “light” that reveals a better way to live. 

But how are we to begin such a demanding, seemingly impossible, task?  As much as I grieve the practice of revenge in our world, I am also very aware of the way“the very thing I hate,” is also present in the brokenness of my own heart, the dark calculating corners of my mind.The desire for revenge is not beneath me.  I imagine all of us have entertained notions of revenge. How,for heaven’s sake,might I begin to love “perfectly,” as God loves, as God has loved me?

The challenges found in “The Sermon on the Mount” can only begin to be met if we are able to understand and receive them in the context in which they were presented.  The order of the sermon is critical.  So it is that we must return to the beginning.

The sermon begins with the Beatitudes, and that’s where we must begin.  We are the blessed of God, not in the things we do, the things we have accomplished, the things we have acquired, but only in the mercy of God’s love.  As Pastor Jennifer reminded us, we are God’s blessed in our brokenness, our humility, our grief, our pain, and perhaps even more important, - in our embracing of others who find themselves in such spiritual, emotional, and physical poverty.  Only in this identity, in this solidarity, as the blessed and beloved of God, gifted with a “peace that passes all understanding” along with a peace that gives our life meaning and direction, - can we begin to follow the way of Jesus.  We must begin “immersed” in the Beatitudes.

Once we “know” who we truly are, “the blessed of God,”“the beloved of God,” we will begin to know what we can do.  Pastor Jasmine reminded us that we are “salt,” that little bit of flavor that makes a big difference.  And that “light”which we are called to be, is not some kind of light that we must ignite and keep burning by ourselves, but rather the light of the divine that is in each of us.  This light within us is the light of God that shines brightly when we are in the right place at the right time, engaged with faithful people doing faithful things, living in the midst of the life of the “fleshed out” Beatitudes.  We have not been called to a superhuman task, but actually a humble task, to simply be present where God is present in this world.  Here in this place;a little bit of salt goes along way; in with and through humble hearts, the light of God shines.

Last week we were reminded that we are not alone in this task.  God has called us into relationships, and those relationships lived out and practiced well - give us strength.  The challenge of discipleship is not something we take on as individuals, but as members of a “reconciled” community, nothing less than the Body of Christ, active and present in this world.

This is the order of things that we must consider!  Now as the “blessed” of God, filled with the “light” of Christ, “united together” in grace and love and peace, we can begin to be “disciples in the world.”  People who behave radically different.  People who practice the grace they have received. People who love with the love they have received. People who are actively engaged in helping to usher in the reign of God.

And one final tidbit, the Hebrew word for revenge “nekamah,” contains the verb “kum,” which means “rise up.”  In the face of revenge, in the temptation to seek revenge, let us not fall into the prevailing malaise, but instead “rise up” above retaliation, “rise up” above demonizing, “rise up” above rage, “rise up” above our own brokenness.  In the daunting face of revenge let us “rise up“ together in the unity and power of God’s grace and love.  Let us “rise up” to our calling to be Jesus’ disciples in this world.  Amen.