First Lutheran Church

March 12, 2023 + The Third Sunday in Lent A

Exodus 17:1-7From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Exodus 4:1-4, 17.But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say,‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.“Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand. … And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

Sermon

“What’s in Your Hand?”

Pastor Greg Ronning

Last Sunday I talked about new beginnings, - the new beginnings of faith.  In last week’s appointed First Lesson we heard the story of the call of Abraham and Sarah, the call to pack up all their belongings and travel into the land of Canaan, where they will be sojourners, strangers in a strange land, dependent on the hospitality of others; until some far away day in the future when their descendants would become a great nation, a nation that will be a blessing to all the world, a nation that would reveal the kingdom of God unto all the world.  This call was characterized by the 19th century theologian Soren Kierkegaard, "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."We were reminded that the new beginnings of faith demand that we leave behind “earthly understandings,” for they are born not of this world, but of water and spirit, in faith; born of faith alone. We are called to leave everything else behind.The new beginnings of faith are not rooted in the things of this world, in financial resources, conventional power, or temporal safety and security.  The new beginnings of God begin with that proverbial “leap of faith.”

This week’s appointed First Lesson from Exodus tells the story of how Moses is able to provide water for the Israelites as they cross the desert in search of the promised land by striking a rock at Horeb with his staff.  Moses travels to the rock with the elders, strikes the rock with his staff, and water comes out of the rock.  This water provides them with the water they need in the desert, but more importantly reminds the people that God is still present among them as they make their journey across the desert to the land of promise. 

As I read this week’s lesson, I found myself thinking primarily about the “staff” of Moses.  It plays a prominent role in almost all of the stories of “The Exodus,” God’s deliverance of the Israelites from their bondage of slavery under the Egyptians.  The Jewish theologian IsmarSchorsch writes, “In the saga of Israel’s liberation from Egypt, the staff of Moses is more than a prop. Though inanimate, it is nothing short of a lead character, an effective change-agent in the face of determined resistance.” 

The staff becomes a snake on more than one occasion, bearing witness to the authenticity of the call of Moses before the Jewish Elders; and when Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh for the first time, Aaron tosses the staff on the ground where it becomes a serpent that devours the serpents conjured up by the Egyptian magicians.  The staff is the instrument that brings about the first three plagues; changing the water of the Nile into blood, infesting the land with frogs, and then rats.  Later it is used to bring about the plagues of hail and locust.  It is widely supposed that when Moses raised his hands to part the Red Sea, his ever-present staff was in his hand.  In today’s lesson Moses strikes a rock with the staff and the rock produces water.  And later when the warriors of Amalek attack the Israelites, Moses stands up at the top of a hill, and as long ashe lifts up his staff in the air, their attackers are defeated.

But this morning I want to focus in on the staff of Moses and the role it played in his new beginning with God, his great calling in life, to lead the Israelites from the bondage of slavery into the freedom of the promised land.  So it is, we shift back, and continue to look at the new beginnings of faith.

The call of Moses is found in the third and fourth chapters of Exodus.  Moses at the time is a shepherd tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro.  He is with the sheep far into the wilderness at Sinai, the mountain of God.  As he walks along, he come across a “burning bush.”  When Moses stops to check it out, God calls out to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses!  Moses!”  God then proceeds to tell Moses, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So, I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land.”  And then comes the part that surprises Moses, “Now go, for I am sending ‘you’ to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

Moses vigorously objects. “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”Moses is not looking for a new beginning, and certainly not this one.  He has already fled Egypt for his life once, why would he want to go back again.  And even if he did, he was not the right person for the job.  He continues to protest; I wouldn’t know what to say, I’m not a good public speaker, I don’t know even know how to describe who you are, I don’t even know your name, I don’t have an army, I don’t have any power, I don’t have the necessary skills.  And what if they don’t believe me, what if they think I am making up this whole burning bush thing? 

At this point, after all the excuses, God asks Moses a simple question, “What is in your hand?”  Moses replies, “A shepherd’s staff.”God then tells Moses, “Throw it down on the ground.” Moses obeys, and as the staff hits the ground it becomes a snake.  Moses jumps back in fear.  God then directs him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” “So Moses (I imagine reluctantly) reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.”God once again calls Moses to got to Pharoah, and finally concludes, “And take your shepherd’s staff with you …”

When God calls us, invites us, exhorts us to a new beginning in faith; when God summons us to undertake a greater participation in the work of the coming of the Kingdom of God; notice what God asks us, and what does not ask us to do.  God does not ask us to become something we are not, God does not demand that we learn a new skill, God does not demand that we ignore all our life experience, God simply asks us, “What is in your hand.” 

Pastor Roger Tabler comments on The Call of Moses, “Notice that God starts right where Moses was: God didn’t ask Moses to read a book (though books can certainly be helpful), God didn’t ask Moses to take a class in freeing slaves (though classes can certainly be helpful). God didn’t ask Moses to wait a few years when Moses would be ready. No. When God has you cornered, be prepared for [God] to ask you “What’s in your hand?” It’s not a matter of what’s going to be in your hand; it’s not a matter of when better days are ahead. How often do we think “I will give you more, when I get more.” But that’s not how God works—[God] asks you to use the resources that you have right now, …”

Moses held in his hand the essential tool of his trade.  It was a staff, a rod, a shepherd’s crook.  Shepherds used the crooked end to pull sheep back when they strayed from the heard, and they used the blunt end to prod and guide the sheep as necessary.  It could also be used to fight off wild animals.  It was an instrument that was very comfortable in the hand of the shepherd, perhaps worn with their grip, something they would never leave behind, something that was not only representative of them, - but a very part of them.

God’s new beginning in Moses, just as God’s new beginning with Abraham and Sarah, demanded that he leave behind his “earthly understandings,” and his comfort zone, but not the tools of his trade, his staff, his gifts, his talents, his resources.  God will make use of those things in the new vocation.

Thus, the question for all of us this morning, the primary question we must consider as we ponder God’s calling, our vocation in the kingdom of God, the adventure that is our new beginning of faith, is simply this, “What is in your hand?” 

As we answer this question we are encouraged not to get caught up in the “magic” of Moses’s staff.  IsmarSchorsch reminds us, “According to the narrative, the staff is nothing more than an ordinary shepherd’s staff. … It could not have been more nondescript and unexceptional. But, that is precisely the point: the staff harbored no inherent potency. At work was solely God’s will which chose to transform a crude artifact into an instrument of titanic power.”   Keeping in mind that you don’t have to do magic like Moses, what is that skill set that you have created, what is the natural gift with which you have been blessed, what is that passion that wakes your hands into action, what is that thing that is uniquely you?  I love Fredrick Buechner’s classic definition of vocation, our calling in life.  He describes it this way, “[Vocation] is the place where your deep gladness and world’s deep hunger meet.”  What is the “deep gladness” you hold in your hands, that you live out with your hands?  And where can it be used to make a difference in the world!  Once again, the question posed by God this morning to each of you is simply, “What is in your hand?”

Now, notice the pattern in God’s call to Moses.  It’s important!  God first asks, “What is in your hand?”  Then God tells him, “Throw it down!”  And then God invites Moses to pick it back up again and go tell Pharoah.  Once we identify that “thing” that we hold in our hand, that thing that might be a physical thing, or could be a metaphorical thing.  Once we identify it, that precious “thing” in our life, we are asked to let it go.  Moses is asked to throw down his staff, to let go of his all-important staff.  In that moment, he does not know that God is going to ask him to pick it up again.  I imagine he might be wondering if God is now going to send him out into the worldwithout it.  And besides all that, the staff surrendered now appears as a dangerous snake on the ground.

Yet perhaps it is in this surrendering of his staff, that his staff is transformed into a “sacrament” for his new calling, a sign of, and the presence, of God.  This morning as we consider the precious“things” we hold in our hands, let us also be willing to surrender them for the sake of the gospel, to let them be used in a new way, allowing them to be the instruments of God in the coming of God.  We are reminded that it is in letting go - that we truly receive.

Once again as we consider God’s invitation to a “new beginning” in our life, as we consider “a leap of faith,” as our Lenten Journey invites us to contemplate what it means to repent, to change direction, to turn around, do more with less, to be born again; let us remember the saints that have gone before us, the descent of God in Christ Jesus, and those things that we hold in our hands that might become the very instrument that might hold the presence of God for those who need it the most.  We are reminded by St. Paul in Second Corinthians, “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2nd Corinthians 4:7)

And finally, a concluding word from the Psalmist, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” (Psalm 23:4-5)

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.  Listen even now God is calling you,“What’s in your hand?”Amen.

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”