First Lutheran Church

April 23, 2023 – Earth Day

Exodus 3:1-6 + Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.  Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.”  When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 

John 3:16-17 + 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. 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.

Sermon

“Earth Day”

Pastor Greg Ronning

Every year around Earth Day it is not uncommon to see this quote from Martin Luther, "God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars."  Here’s a meme that I recently discovered on Facebook. (See Worship Screen) It’s a wonderful quote, and a great quote for Earth Day.However, there’s a problem with it, according to Luther scholars, - Luther never said it! 

Don’t worry about it if you’ve publicly shared it, I must confess that I have mistakenly used the quote more than once over the years.  The truth that Luther probably never said it, was something I just learned this year!  Luther may not have said it, but it’s still a great quote, and I believe it still is the truth.  Anna Madsen, a self-described Freelance Lutheran Theologian, believes, I bet Luther wishes he would have said it.  It’s nice, to the point, and it fits his theology.

Here’s something Luther did say, regarding God and creation, using quite a few more words, “The Scriptures teach us…that the right hand of God is not a specific place in which a body must or may be, such as on a golden throne, but is the almighty power of God, which at one and the same time can be nowhere and yet must be everywhere. It cannot be at any one place, … On the other hand, it must be essentially present at all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf.  The reason is this: It is God who creates, effects, and preserves all things through God’s almighty power and right hand, as our Creed confesses.  For God dispatches no officials or angels when God creates or preserves something, but all this is the work of God’s divine power itself.  If God is to create or preserve it, however, God must be present and must make and preserve God’s creation both in its innermost and outermost aspects.”

A goodsolid theological quote, but not something that might easily become a “meme” on Facebook!  (A bit wordy, and a lot of run on sentences.)

Anna Madsen sums upLuther’s teaching more succinctly, “Therefore, indeed, God must be present in every single creature in its innermost and outermost being, on all sides, through and through, below and above, before and behind, so that nothing can be more truly present and within all creatures than God with God’s power.”And even more succinctly she declares, “Upshot: God is everywhere and in everything.”

In today’s first reading from Exodus, we see this notion that God is indeed present in everything.  God appears to Moses in a burning bush, on “holy ground.”  Dr. Lynn Nakamura, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, invites us to consider this more carefully.  Noting that God, the God of the whole universe, appears in a bush, in an everyday bush, a bush in the wilderness, a bush planted in the dirt, planted in the earth.  It’s all very ordinary, yet Moses is instructed, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  Taking off your shoes is a ritual with ancient origins, an act of humility, performed by one who is about to enter a sacred place.  We are reminded that God is everywhere and in everything, we are reminded that everywhere and everything is holy, and on this day – the earth is a sacred place, a place God dwells deeply and powerfully.  "God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars." 

Yet it seems that this understanding of God being powerfully present in creation, this understanding of creation as being sacred, is not something that Christianity has done a good job of proclaiming, or even retaining.  It’s not something that’s really been an important part of our tradition.  It’s certainly not something clearly stated in the New Testament.  It’s not something that early church writers or leaders in the first millennium of the church wrote much in anything about.  And while the principle of “stewardship of the earth” has become more prevalent in recent decades, it’s still more of a - protect the environment response - and not a strong sense of discovering and celebrating the presence of God in nature.

The Early Church was convinced that Christ was going to return with the fullness of the Kingdom God at any minute, “soon and very soon.”  And in that conviction, in that belief, there was no need to develop a faithfuland thoughtful doctrinein regard to creation.  They were preparing for “a new earth,”and “a new creation.”  They were ready to leave the world behind and be welcomed into heaven.  The writer of the book of Revelation writes, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1). The early Christian focus was not on caring for the earth but the anticipation of a new one!

Anna Madsen concludes, “I’m not entirely sure that we Christians have ever recovered, either from the texts that diminish our relationship to the Land, or, come to think of it, that Jesus hasn’t returned when expected!Heck, too often enough we can’t even get the interpretation of the Jewish texts about creation right, like,- no, “have dominion” does not mean “dominate,” but very much rather to care for, love, steward.Truth is, Christians’ future-fixation, and its spiritualization of the present, has harmed the earth, and it’s harmed us.”

So where does all this leave us on Earth Day 2023?  As I was contemplating how to bring this sermon to a conclusion, I came across a different meme, while wasting time on Facebook, one that really intrigued me.  It was a quote from Ilia Delio, a Franciscan Sister who specializes the study of the intersections of science and religion.  And I am quite confident she really did say this!  She writes, “God is not the supernatural being above but the supranatural center of everything that exists.”

And here’s what I’ve been thinking, could it be that we spend too much time and energy pondering and envisioning and seeking a God that is absolutely enormous, instead of looking for a God that is incredibly small?  We often challenge, even reprove, chide each other, “How big is your God?”  As if not having a really big God is somehow unfaithful.  But perhaps, especially on this day, the better question to ask is, “How small is your God?”

What would it be like if we were able to find God, present and alive, in the very fabric of the life that is all around us?  What would be like if we found God in an ordinary bush?  What would be like if the dirt we walk upon suddenly became “Holy Ground?”  What if we were able to find the Gospel written boldly,albeit in an extremely small font, in these “things” of creation?  What if we were able to see the divine in the life, the creation that surrounds us?And what if we were able to see “the life that sparks” deep inside of us?  What if God is not the supernatural being above and beyond us, but the supranatural center of everything that exists?

And what would happen if we were able to shrink God down, and begin to see and to understand God fully present in the intimate details of creation?  Would that change the way we treated the earth?  Would we humbly take off our shoes and acknowledge the sacred?  Would we be able to cease our need to dominate the planet and instead begin to care for and love the earth, become good and faithful stewards of creation?  Would we begin to realize that in loving “creation” we would be loving the “Creator?”  Would the earth in turn respond by continuing to provide all the things that everyone needs to live and even thrive?

Just How small is your God? 

Martin Luther never said, "God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars."  But it’s true.

Luther did say, “Therefore, indeed, God must be present in every single creature in its innermost and outermost being, on all sides, through and through, below and above, before and behind, so that nothing can be more truly present and within all creatures than God with all God’s power.”  God is everywhere and in everything!

And Moses found “Holy Ground” in the wilderness, in an ordinary bush made alive by a fire that revealed the presence of God.

I suppose God can be both big and small, but on this Earth Day Weekend, I am challenged and comforted by a God that is small. Small enough to be in every living thing.  Small enough to be in every living thing that surrounds me.  Small enough to be in you, small enough to be in me.  Small enough toremind us that we are all sacred.  Small enough to remind us that we are loved in a very big way!

May you discover this “Small God” in the world around you.May you see the awe and beauty of creation in the details of the world “God so loved,” - both God and the promise of the Gospel. May you find that sacred place to take off your shoes. And in all this may you find a deep and lasting peace.  Amen.

Sermon on John 20:19-31

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Jesus’ disciples had seen him day in and day out for the past three years—but he had been killed.

Since Friday, they had woken up, and he wasn’t there.

As they finally drifted off to sleep at night, the weight of his absence was crushing.

There were some rumors that his body wasn’t in the tomb, and that Mary Magdalene had seen him alive, but that couldn’t be. Could it?

They were hiding out—locked themselves in, lest the authorities (referred to as “the Jews,” but who were the religious authorities who had been threatened by Jesus’ mission)—lest the authorities make them suffer the same fate as their rabbi.

The air in that room was thick with their silence, with the shuffling of feet, clenched fists, and quiet tears.

Then,

Jesus appeared! He was suddenly in the middle of the room—no approaching footsteps or creaking of the door.

He was just…there—he was there!

Their tears of guilt, grief, and confusion turned to tears of joy.

He gave them peace and the Holy Spirit and sent them out to continue his mission of bringing the Beloved Community into the world.

But Thomas wasn’t there.

Poor Thomas, who has gained such a bad reputation for doubting (as if doubting were the opposite of faith, when doubt means you’re thinking deeply about faith).He only asked for what the other disciples had received: an encounter with Jesus.

And Jesus honored his request.

A week later, Jesus again appeared in their hideout. This time, the door was only shut, not locked. Perhaps their encounter with Jesus emboldened them to start opening themselves up to the world again.

But Jesus hadn’t come back to give the disciples more instructions or push them out the door.

Jesus had come back specifically for Thomas.

He returned so that Thomas could have an encounter with him, just as the other disciples had had.

Jesus offered his hands and his side for Thomas to touch—it was Jesus’ wounds that Thomas wanted to see. He didn’t ask for Jesus to shine like at the Transfiguration or perform miracles. He wanted to see Jesus’ wounds—evidence of his suffering and humanity. Perhaps that was the only way Jesus could pierce Thomas’s grief.

And out of that encounter, Thomas declares Jesus’ identity: “my Lord and my God!”

Two thousand years later, we don’t get to have a physical encounter with Jesus like that.

Some over the centuries have had visions of Christ and mystical experiences. If you have experienced something like that, I would love to hear about it—please let me know!

But for most of us, we don’t have physical experiences of Jesus to that degree.

It seems like it must have been so easy for people who actually met Jesus to believe in him. How could you look into the eyes of God and not recognize it?

But for us two thousand years later, with a hefty dose of modern skepticism, it’s much harder to believe that a first-century rabbi and miracle worker was executed by the state and then came back to life.

I don’t blame anyone for having doubts. The Gospels are full of some pretty wild stories.

In fact—this might sound surprising coming from a pastor, but—it doesn’t bother me if you don’t believe in the resurrection.

If that’s too bizarre of a story for you to accept, that’s okay. The way the Gospels record it, even Jesus’ most inner circle had a hard time believing it.

I think what matters a lot more is how you see God working in your life now.

Do you see God in the beauty of nature?

In the resilience of a weed growing out of a crack in the sidewalk?

In the vastness of space as you look at a photo from the James Webb telescope?

Do you hear God in the giggle of a toddler delighting in the splash of a puddle?

In the concern of a stranger really looking into your eyes and asking how your day has been?

In the thoughtfulness of a friend who sent you a card just when you needed it most?

In the compassion of someone like Mother Teresa?

Or the generosity of our Messy Church folks who, after the Easter egg hunt last week, started picking out treats and prizes for cousins and friends?

Do you recognize God in the way a piece of music or art takes your breath away?

In the gratitude and sense of humor from someone at Caring Hands?

We can’t touch Jesus’ hands like Thomas could, but we can see God’s hands at work in our world, if we only pay attention.

I, along with our stewardship team, want to challenge you to pay attention to where you see God this Easter season. Easter is not just a single Sunday when we dress up and sing Alleluias and eat brunch with our family and friends. Easter is a whole season—one week longer than Lent.

We’re already a week in, but we’d like to invite you to log your God sightings for the next six weeks until Pentecost Sunday on May 28 (which is also Memorial Day weekend).

Hopefully you received one of the little notebooks on your way in—if not, be sure to grab one before you leave.

You can use this notebook to jot down notes—doesn’t have to be complete sentences—just a word or two is fine—whenever you notice God in your life during these next six weeks. You can doodle in the notebook, or—even better—take pictures. Log your God sightings however works best for you.

There’s a theme each week for inspiration. This week’s theme is “seeing God in creation.” So, you might take your notebook with you on a walk or snap a picture of a sunset. You don’t have to stick to the theme—the Holy Spirit is notorious for not sticking to human plans—but use the themes however they’re helpful.

As we collect these God sightings, we invite you to post your pictures on social media with our hashtag or send them to Terri Robertson. The details are on the inside cover of your notebook. You can also send in pictures of your doodles or written reflections. The stewardship team will be collecting these photos, and you may see them in worship on Pentecost.

No sighting is too small—God works in both big and subtle ways. What matters is that you’re paying attention to the ways God is at work in and around you.

We may not get to see Jesus in the way he appeared to the disciples in that locked room, but we are the recipients of the disciples’ legacy. They, starting with Mary Magdalene, told others about their experiences with Jesus. Their stories have been passed down all the way to us.

We add to their stories every time we have an encounter with God. And God is always at work. So, whatever you believe about what happened 2,000 years ago, you can encounter God today.

Along with Jesus’ first disciples, we can rejoice when we see our God.

We can marvel at the world our Creator God made.

We can recognize Jesus in the wounds in this world.

We can feel the breath of the Holy Spirit moving us to compassion for our neighbors.

And then, we can tell others, sharing our experiences of God in our daily lives.

The stories of the Easter season are full of Jesus showing up in unexpected places. Let’s practice looking for him together.

First Lutheran Church

April 9, 2023 + Easter Sunday A

John 20:1-18 - 1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.

11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Sermon

“You Can’t Run To Easter”

Pastor Greg Ronning

(Pastor Greg is not in the sanctuary as the time for the sermon arrives.  After about thirty seconds he comes running in from the Narthex.)

Sorry, I seem to be “running” late this morning.  There’s always just so much to do, especially on Easter Sunday.  Actually, I’ve been “running” all week, - Holy Week!  Extra services to prepare and lead, just so much going on these days.  And I noticed that a few of you were “running” a little late this morning, getting here just in time for the service, - almost.  I appreciate the effort, and I am so glad you made it!

Truth be told, our life gets busy!  We have demanding schedules, things to do at work, things to do in retirement.  (How did that happen?)  It’s hard to keep it all together.  So we “run” around all day.  And sometimes we just get tired, and we hit the snooze bar, literally and figuratively, losing a few precious minutes - here and there and everywhere.

I’m reminded of the Jackson Browne song, “Running On Empty.”

Running on (Running on empty), Running on (Running blind)
Running on (Running into the sun), But I'm running behind

And it’s not just our hectic life and busy schedules that keeps us “running on. ”Often, we find ourselves running, “running away,” from much deeper things.  We run away from our mistakes and our failures, we run away from the past, we run away from broken relationships, we run away from our feelings, we run away from the realities we don’t want to face, and we run away from our pain and our grief.  We keep running because if we slow down, we’re afraid that some, or all, of these things might catch up with us.  We’re all “running on,” we’re all “running on empty;” when it comes down to it, we’re all runners.  Running to keep up with the busy life we have created, and running away from the fear that resides deep within us, the fear that haunts, the fear that keeps us on the move.

As I listened to this morning’s Easter Gospel, I couldn’t help but notice, there’s a lot of “running” going on there too!  Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb early in the morning and discovers that the stone has been rolled away.  “So she ‘ran’ and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, (John)  …”.   (Side note: It’s kind of funny, how the author of the Gospel of John describes the disciple John, he is always the “beloved” one.)  Anyways, when Peter and John hear about the stone being rolled away and the disappearance of the body of Jesus, so they “run” over to see for themselves.  John writes, “The two were ‘running’ together, but the other disciple ‘outran’ Peter and reached the tomb first.”  (Side note:  John is not only the “beloved” one, but he is a faster runner too.). Mary “runs” after them, and they all look and see that the tomb is empty indeed.  Peter and John decide to go back to their homes.  Remember they are “wanted men” because of their association with Jesus.  So, I doubt they just strolled back, I imagine they “scurried” back, “running” and hiding in fear.(Side note: I wonder who got home first?  Sometimes we run because we’re afraid to lose)  The next time we hear about Peter and John, and the other disciples, they will be hiding behind locked doors because they “fear” the religious authorities.

While Peter and John remain “on the run,” at this point, Mary decides to stop running.  “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, …”.  Mary, in her faith, in her grief, in her tears, in her love for Jesus, remains. 

I remember a certain graveyard my friends and I would sometimes visit when we were teenagers.  This graveyard was not kept up very well, it was overgrown, it was in the woods, and it was scarry.  And there was this one crypt that was often “opened up.”  It became a game of dare, a dare we would always lose.  We would slowly creep into the graveyard and up to the crypt, and then there would be a noise, there was always a noise, and we would turn and run as fast as we could out of that place.

But Mary Magdalene remained, “As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, …”

Weeping, crying, tears – they are powerful.  Some of us are good at crying, some of us find it hard to cry.  But it’s a fact, crying is beneficial.  Shedding tears can reduce our stress, let the tension out of our body.  Tears shared, open up our humanity to others, creating relationships.  Tears release chemicals that ease both physical and emotional pain and make us feel better.  Tears keep our eyes moist and prevent them from drying out.  And tears improve vision literally and figuratively.  I’m reminded of the words ofthe martyr Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador said, “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.”

Mary Magdalene began that first Easter morning “running,” but eventually, perhaps in a moment of courage, or perhaps in a moment of exhaustion, perhaps both, she faithfully stops “running” and “remains.” She stops, sits down in the midst of it all, in a graveyard with an open crypt, and she cries.  And in that moment, - she sees Jesus.  She is the first to bear witness to the resurrection. “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.”

I’m reminded of the gospel story from a couple of weeks ago, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus arrives too late to heal Lazarus, and outside his tomb he pauses, and “Jesus wept.”   And then, in the midst of a graveyard, surrounded by death, Jesus calls out to Lazarus, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, “Unbind him, and let him go.”  “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.”

Immediately following today’s service, we will have an Easter Egg Hunt in the courtyard.  We will gather up the children, open the gate, and they will “run” into the courtyard looking for Easter Eggs.  And why not, did you know that the eggs contain candy and coins?  And the kids will be filled with excitement and joy.  We too, watching them, will be filled with the excitement and joy of Easter. And I will be looking for any eggs that might get left behind after the hunt is over.

But let us remember that Easter cannot truly be found in the act of “running.”  You can’t “run” to Easter, “running” only takes you away from Easter.  Let us leave this morning, no longer “on the run,” but ready to slow down, even stop.

Emboldened by the witness of Mary Magdalene, let us faithfully seek out the graveyard that haunts us, the fears that keep us moving, the pain and the brokenness that bind us, the things that keep us captive.  Let us faithfully seek out the graveyards of our world, where all those who suffer must live out their life in pain and death.  Let us find the place where the God who suffered on the cross in Jesus, revealing the heart of God, is present risking to love where it hurts.

And in that place, let us dare to remain, even as the tears begin to flow.  For it is in that place that Christ awaits you, it is in that place that the resurrection begins, it is in that place that healing starts, it is in that place that all things become new.  It is in that place that our desire to be loved, our need to know that we are loved, and our calling to love others as we have been loved, is fully experienced and boldly lived out.

“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.

As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; …”

“There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.”

Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed!  Amen.