Here’s the date we’ve all been waiting for: Sunday, September 6! That’s our tentative reopening date, as outlined by St. Mark’s leadership.
Details were included in a letter sent to members and friends by the Worship Committee last week.
As part of the planning process, the Worship Committee distributed a survey, asking respondents their preferences about returning to in-person worship. St. Mark’s building has been closed since mid-March in an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Seventeen people are ready to return as soon as possible. Sixty prefer to wait until Delaware enters “Phase Three” status — or later.
The plan now is to re-open St. Mark’s for a single 10 a.m. service. The plan is tentative and will follow state guidelines, with proper safety measures and volunteers in place in our worship area.
The following recommendations were made by the Worship Committee:
Greeters will ensure that names are gathered, temperatures taken and will distribute homemade face masks, if needed
Ushers will distribute communion items from a table prior to entering the sanctuary and provide guidance as people move to pews and leave the service.
The congregation will not sing or speak during the service.
Communion will be consumed in the pews
The offering will be collected in a basket at the rear of the church
Several volunteer roles are essential for us to re-open. If you are planning to attend when the building is first opened, we ask you to prayerfully consider filling one of these roles during this time of transition:
Greeters – take temperatures, gather names, hand out face masks, if needed
Ushers – monitor communion table elements, guide worshippers to their pew, count the number of worshippers in attendance, dismiss worshippers at the end of service, take offering to the church office.
Liturgist/worship leader – Read the prayers and scripture
Sound board – operate sound board and livestreaming equipment
In order to familiarize you with these recommendations and roles, a video will be produced to illustrate the manner in which worshippers enter, attend and exit the church.
We hope that you prayerfully consider volunteering for one of these roles and that you will attend church at St. Mark’s when you feel it is safe for you to do so according to your personal needs. Services will be livestreamed for those continuing to worship from home.
Our prayer is that you be blessed by our worship service wherever it finds you!
Please indicate your willingness to serve by filling out this form by August 14 so that we may prepare for returning to Sunday worship on September 6.
Where’s the joy when we’ve got storm troopers in Oregon?
Where’s the joy when we have such animus between various peoples in our own country?
Where’s the joy when we have economic concerns about how we’re going to manage economically and financially?
Where’s the joy?
Interim Pastor David Mueller attends to that subject in today’s Midweek Extra, an informal video discussion of questions sent to him and his thoughts on assorted issues of the day.
He also discusses making reparations for slavery and other injustices.
Have your own questions for Pastor Mueller? Send them to the church office for future consideration.
Thanks to John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, for producing these videos.
If you’ve been gardening during this time of Coronavirus pandemic, you may have strong feelings about weeds these days. Interim Pastor David Mueller has a weed-related challenge for us in his message today.
Join us as we worship by way of a prerecorded video, produced by our Director of Music and Worship Arts, John Lasher, who has worked with Pastor to provide these online services each week.
Also participating today are Cheryl Powell, worship assistant and soloist, and this week’s Virtual Choir: Allen Kirk, Myrna Kirk, John Lasher, David McClure, Fred Meckley, John Nichols, Cheryl Powell and Teresa Stebner.
The link below will take you to the video on our YouTube channel. The video goes “live” at 10 a.m. The text of Pastor Mueller’s sermon is also included below.
“Have You Loved a Weed Today?” (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)
Interim Pastor David E. Mueller
In a class at Princeton years ago, a professor claimed that many parables of Jesus were intentionally designed to confuse his listeners. Confusion is a state of affairs most people cannot tolerate, which compels them to work their way out of the confusion, to think through all angles until it begins to make some sense.
The perfect example is the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). “Which one of you, having 100 sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”
Any shepherd, as well as anyone else for that matter, would find this absolutely insane. One cuts his loss of one sheep and continues to watch out for the 99. What on earth was Jesus saying?
With today’s parable, even though Jesus explains it, listeners are left with incredible questions and concerns. I am no botanist, but I have enough yard to know that if weeds are allowed to grow, they take over quickly. Explaining this by speaking of people instead of plants makes thing worse and not better. Evil in the midst of us tends to thrive even as we suffer difficulties at least.
Haven’t many or most of us at one time or another, perhaps more often, asked why God doesn’t do something about certain people, groups or forces that tend to be so effective at causing problems? Why can’t basically good people be left alone to accomplish good things? Why are we constantly confronted by resistance?
Yet again with incredible energy, we are faced with the evil of racism raising its ugly head ironically in the north and not just the south, perhaps in our very midst here at St. Mark’s? How can some people be so cruel, insensitive and selfish as to fight for not wearing a mask when all the research strongly supports wearing one is a main mitigation against the virus?
Is this mere misguidance or is it evil? Where is God in any of this? Must the devil so often prevail so it seems?
Jesus, as a Jew, got much of his teaching from the Hebrew Scriptures. I turn to the book of Ecclesiastes of the Wisdom Literature to seek some assistance. There are at least a few hints herein.
Solomon, traditionally believed to have been the author, says in 7:15: “In my vain life, I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in theirevildoing.”
Ain’t it the truth!
Similarly in 8:14, Solomon says: “There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous.”
God, this is just not right!
Both Solomon writes and Jesus says that in the end, the righteous will prevail and the wicked will fail miserably, but what a hell of a meantime this is.
Have you heard about the lawsuits against the poison Roundup? It kills weeds for sure, but evidently has caused many cancers in those who use it frequently. That sort of risk Jesus raises — namely, that we do not want to harm the wheat or good folk as we poison, cut, or in some way kill the weeds. I get that!
In Romans 12,9, we note: “Let love be genuine, hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.” We are not told here to hate evildoers, but the evil they do.
There are children and families still stuck in cages at our southern border. I hate that! It does no one any good to hate the perpetrators!
There are tens of thousands of good police personnel without whom life and crime would be worse. What of those police who cause unnecessary harm, even death? That is a question for us all these days.
What of those white guys who wave foreign and domestic enemy flags, shout racial slurs, make violent threats, and — all too often — are violent? I hate that!
What of politicians and government officials who fail in their duty to keep Americans safe and secure, physically, financially and otherwise? I hate that!
Speaking of police, Gigi and I were in Venice, Italy, on what we called our “There is Life after Tuition Trip.” After dinner one evening, we walked what there is of streets amidst the canals. We came upon a very drunken Gondolier who was surrounded by six policemen. There were several Carabinieri, military police, and an equal number of Polizia di Stato, civilian police, being incredibly patient with this young man. They spoke softly to him, encouraged him to stop shouting and making a fuss, and seemed prepared to take whatever time it took to wait him out or wear him down. There were no threats, no gestures of force, no drawing of weapons. That has stood in contrast to all too many scenes here in America. I realize that we are not frequently exposed to our police being patient and kind.
There is almost nothing in the words of Jesus that could be interpreted as “do nothing!” If then, weeds or evil people are so near us, what do we do? Hating, killing or harming them in any way is not the Christian way. What then? Love them! How? Allow them to get away with their evil ways? Not really. Come on, Mueller, you are suggesting this, so what do we do?
Love is misinterpreted sometimes. There is absolutely nothing mushy about love here. It is not a weak gesture. It is not passive but active. It seeks to express care for sure, care they probably have not known in their lives or they might not be the people they have become.
“Pray for those who persecute you.” (Luke 6:28) Offer them an example which is their moral opposite! Pray for them! Be Jesus to them, forgive them, show them mercy and grace. Pray for them! Be the redeemed person you are and they are not!
“Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6) Let them see the rejoicing we do in what is good, true and positive. Let us refuse to rejoice in their evil ways. Pray for them! Praying cannot hurt. It can keep us engaged!
Back in seminary with a student body of approximately 400 or so (oh, to have that many today!), there were about a dozen of us who were not satisfied with what we were being taught about certain matters or about important matters about which nothing was being taught.
We set up what was an “inner seminary.” We had retreats, discussion sessions, prayer times. What really kept the seminary administration’s bowels in an uproar, was when we planned a weekend retreat with special guests or held an evening symposium.
We invited Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party to come and speak to us. In the late Sixties, one of their stated desires, not goals but desires, was to get 13 states in the South for themselves. I remember moving from the back of the room right up front where Fred was sitting with several of his companions. When given the chance, I asked if after getting their 13 states, might some small percentage of their own people start to exploit them? His answer was “perhaps, but at least they would be our own people.”
Sadly, two weeks later, he and another Panther were shot and killed by the Chicago police in a raid.
There were then and there are now those white folks who would think of the Black Panthers as a terrorist organization. They did have a violent streak in what could better be called riots and not just protests back then. But we engaged them, sought to understand them, did not have to agree with them on anything. How Fred Hampton thought of a bunch of German Lutherans inviting him to dialogue we will never know.
As Christians, washed in the blood of Jesus, forgiven and freed, loved forever, we cannot allow ourselves to merely become victims of the evils around us. Engaging evil in a careful, caring, intelligent, faithful and prayerful manner is far less risky and potentially far more effective than doing nothing. Jesus engaged the devil and those throughout his ministry who were less than righteous.
Have you loved a weed today? If not, give it a shot! You might just discover a new and possibly righteous part of your Christian self.
He called for questions — and you are sending them!
This week’s “St. Mark’s Midweek Extra” — an informal, half-hour video hosted by Interim Pastor David Mueller and produced by John Lasher — focuses on the social statements of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the denomination St. Mark’s is part of, and what it means to be a congregation in the ELCA.
Pastor also talks about Christian sexuality in an increasingly permissive society.
If you have questions of your own, feel free to send an email to the church office.
We gather again today to share a prerecorded service with worship, prayer and a word from Scripture. Our building remains closed in this time of Coronavirus pandemic and we are thankful indeed for the work of Interim Pastor David Mueller and John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, which allows us to continue to meet and share a common experience, albeit from afar.
Also participating in today’s service are Nancy Myers, worship assistant, and this week’s Virtual Choir: Dave Herrmann, Allen Kirk, John Lasher, David McClure, John Nichols, Cheryl Powell and Teresa Stebner. We will also hear from vocalist Paige Stebner.
The link to the prerecorded video is below, along with the text of Pastor Mueller’s message: “The Messy God.”
Also, be sure to check out the new “St. Mark’s Midweek Extra,” which offers a more informal encounter with Pastor Mueller, who offers to reply to questions we submit and also shares his reflections and thoughts on a range of other issues for about half an hour. The broadcast started on Wednesday, July 8, and it is planned as a weekly event, usually arriving online by 10 a.m. You can find last week’s discussion — and all those to come — on our YouTube channel.
“The Messy God” (Matthew 13:1-9, 36-43)
David E. Mueller, Interim Pastor
You may or may not find it interesting that seminary education in Lutheranism traditionally has included four theological disciplines: Biblical theology (exegetics), history, systematics, and practical theology. I am troubled that far less history is required these days.
I want to center for just a minute on systematic theology, which is like engineering. If the foundation of a bridge has not been built correctly and strongly, it could easily collapse. The engineers have to put the design together in such a manner so that various parts of the bridge support rather than conflict with each other, making the whole a safe and practical bridge.
Systematic theology, which includes our Lutheran Confessions, seeks to make certain that various points of theology, belief and practice fit together and in no way contradict. Systematic theology is structural and quite technical. It is an attempt to neatly package what we believe even if complex.
Along comes Jesus speaking in parables which often defy neatness and order. I will not go through a number of them to prove my point, except to look at the Gospel lesson appointed for today about the sower and the seeds, which, as Jesus reveals when He explains what He first spoke, is really about the word and kingdom of God. God the sower flings seeds all over the place, in hopes that some will fall on good soil, take root and grow.
Seeds cannot and do not germinate on the road with birds eating what is not destroyed by traffic, like the devil coming along and snatching the seeds away.
Seeds cannot grow well on rocky ground either for the soil is not deep enough, which is like a person believing initially until the going gets hard and persecutions and other troubles come along and the person falls away.
Seeds can fall among the thorns and weeds, but get choked by the thorny cares of the world and wealth, yielding nothing.
Finally, seeds grow best on good clean and rich soil. The word is received, understood, the seeds germinate and produce fruit in various measures.
Interestingly, in the appointed Gospel for next week from just a bit later in Matthew 13, the weeds and thorny things are left to grow together.
It is all very messy and doesn’t seem to fit together very well. God does the things God does whether flinging seeds in reckless fashion or allowing weeds and seeds to co-exist.
In the familiar Psalm 23, we hear of cups running over, making a real mess on the table. God can be and often is quite messy.
We do ourselves and anyone else no favors by looking at the various places seeds land and identifying people we know who are like that. Good old Charlie gets very involved in things at the church but can never sustain his excitement. Henrietta simply cannot keep up with the thorns and weeds which end up killing off her many efforts. Mortimer always has his mind on what is best for himself and how he can make a killing. We all know people who seem to fit into these three categories. We can even identify the ones among us who do all the work, take little credit when all goes well and take a lot of guff when things go badly. These characters are all here at St. Mark’s in full and living color.
But what if there is a deeper interpretation without meaning to outdo Jesus here. What if in each of us there are four kinds of soil? What if there are birds which take the seeds in us which have not been smashed by traffic? What if in a spiritual sense we have rocks in our hearts much like stones in our kidneys which can act up? What if we find ourselves so wrapped up in the things of the world that there is no room left for the things of God? What if there is in each of us really good soil? If all this is true, what to do? Move to the good soil and let the word and will of God grow; avoid the other places in our lives where no growth of consequence is possible!
There is a parable in Matthew 21:28-32, where one son said yes when asked by his father to go out and work in the vineyard but who did not show up. The other son said no to his father but showed up and did the work. Which son did the work of the father? Obviously the one who showed up after all. This is a messy business as well because to have said “no” to a father in those days would have been asking for real trouble. It would be nice if sons or daughters always said a loving and obedient “yes” and did the work. But a case can be made that two sons like that or daughters are in each of us, doing some sort of battle. Which of them wins in us? It is like the soil. Move to the good soil in yourself!
I believe I have shared about the Native American grandfather who told his grandson that there were two wolves in each person, a ravenous, angry, dangerous one and a kind, friendly, but protective one. “Which one wins?” the grandson asks. “The one you feed,” said the grandfather.
There is clearly an eternal implication to all of this, that is, what is it that makes life last forever and not just for a while? But there is an immediate temporal significance and benefit as well.
Listen to the Prophet Isaiah in our first lesson as he lists the beautiful things God will do: to summarize, there will be joy, peace, hills singing, tress clapping hands. There will be no thorns but the Cypress, no brier but Myrtle. It is all an everlasting sign that people will not be cut off from the Lord.
Paul in our second lesson (Romans 8:1-11): set our minds on the things of the Spirit and live or on the things of the flesh and die!
As we ask ourselves what we want out of life, we Christians are invited to believe that the word, will and wonder of God is well worth it, while the stuff of bad soil, bad boys and big bad wolves are worth nothing in the end. Believing then and having living faith is setting aside our stuff — whatever it is — and allowing God in Christ to sow His abounding and steadfast love in us, on our hearts and in our minds.
There is clutter like thorns and thistles in us. There are false but formidable forces calling us to destruction. Let Jesus die for that so that you might be good soil on which God sows good fruit! Amen.
Here’s your chance to ask those questions that have been bugging you and listen in as Interim Pastor David Mueller tackles them and shares his perspective on the past, observations on current events and ideas about the future.
We’re calling it “St. Mark’s Midweek Extra” — a half-hour-ish video hosted by Pastor Mueller and posted on Wednesday mornings. This week, Pastor Mueller will discuss “hating the sin but loving the sinner,” explain what led him to accept the Interim Pastorate at St. Mark’s and share some observations about the future of the Church in general and St. Mark’s in particular.
Check it out by clicking the link below. Then send an email to the St. Mark’s office. with questions you’d like Pastor to address in future encounters.
It’s a holiday weekend — and happy Independence Day! But it is a strange holiday indeed. With much of our world still shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a different perspective on the idea of freedom and liberty and what it means to care for each other in sacrificial ways.
We know many are carrying heavy burdens. Today’s prerecorded worship service includes a sermon from Interim Pastor David Mueller that looks at Jesus’ invitation in Matthew’s Gospel: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
The service, which is available at 10 a.m., is led by Pastor Mueller and John Lasher, director of music and worship arts. Also participating are Greg Landrey, worship assistant, and this week’s Virtual Choir: Dave Herrmann, Allen Kirk, John Lasher, David McClure, John Nichols, Cheryl Powell and Teresa Stebner. There is other special music, too.
The link to our YouTube channel is below, along with the text of Pastor’s sermon.
“Rest! What is that?” (Matthew 11:25-30)
David E. Mueller, Interim Pastor
We are into a moment in history where there are those who seem given to the taking of risks, especially young folk but some older folk who should know better as well. Being in a crowd — whether in a bar or a church — not wearing masks and keeping distance is as risky as it gets these days. There are Christians who claim they are exempt from or immune to the virus due to the protection of God.
In the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — all Jews — were thrown into a furnace of blazing fire for refusing to give homage to Nebuchadnezzar, but God preserved them (Daniel 3:8). Christians meeting without protections are like those running into a burning building not to save anyone but to prove God would protect them, like our three friends from Daniel. They might just be in for the surprise of their lives. With one exception, we are not to tempt or test God.
I am reminded again of the book of Daniel when in Matthew 11:25, we read: “I thank you, Father, the Lord of Heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” That sounds very much like Daniel 2:20 and following: “Daniel said: ‘Blessed be the name of God … for wisdom and power are his … he gives wisdom … and knowledge … he reveals deep and hidden things.’”
In the Zechariah passage, which foreshadows Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, the King comes “triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey.” Just as the entry of Jesus was a slam on Roman pomp, so also Zechariah’s is a slam on the comparatively ridiculous image of seemingly more powerful earthly kings with their decorated steeds, banners and well armed troops. The earthly powers here mean nothing. The King of kings is The Humble One!
And He comes for the humble ones and not the proud; the poor and not the rich; the common folk and not the “upper crust,” that bunch of crumbs connected by a lotta dough. We would do well to listen to the words of the Prophet and those of the King.
“Come to me, all you who think you are special, who wield the power, who have the wealth, who believe they need nothing.” Whoops! Wrong book! That is an unholy book. The Holy book invites the weary, burdened and nearly worn out!
It would seem that if you are rich, you lose! Is there inherent blessing in being poor? Doubtful. So what is going on here? It is simply that those who don’t have much are open to gifts Jesus offers. Those who have much don’t need Jesus!
The “yoke” here is an interesting matter which requires an explanation. The image is of the yoke that holds two cattle together leading a wagonload of whatever. What we are offered is a trade, the yoke we are burdened with in exchange for that of Jesus. What we get with this trade is relief and rest.
We have all heard it said that so and so has a great cross to bear due to reasons of poor health, broken relationships, financial ruin, job loss, etc. We may have said that of ourselves when we feel overloaded. There are, indeed, crosses like that to bear, but Jesus invites us to “take up our cross and follow Him.” We get a new cross; it is His cross and not ours. The cross must be born before the crown is worn. Here also, we get a new yoke, Christ’s yoke, which is easier and lighter.
We turn to Paul who must be exaggerating his flaws when he makes his claim in Romans 7. “Wretched man that I am!” Even on the surface, there is a lesson here. Just imagine Paul if instead he claimed: “I am the greatest of Apostles! I know everything! I am holy! I am wise! Whatever sins may linger in me are few! Do what I tell you and maybe you can be the wonderful Christian that I am!” It would be as if he were still the Pharisee he was. Instead: “I am the least of the Apostles and the greatest of sinners.” I can relate to that.
It really takes a great deal of energy as well as nerve to pull off being someone we are not nor meant to be! It can be exhausting. The person who has wealth, power and influence could use all of that in the service of humanity and the praise of God, but all too often does not. To be free of self-centeredness, false pride, which is the only kind there is, and the desire to manipulate and take advantage of others is to become open to caring and sharing and daring to be truly alive. That is what Jesus offers here! “Give me all your junk and I will give you joy!” “Give me your burdens and I will give you rest!”
There is something else here. Scholars believe the “yoke” is the “Law.” The Ten Commandments are good, but to think we can keep them is a burden for sure. Jesus kept them. In trusting Him and casting our sins and shortcomings on him is to be free to live; free to let the law come alive in its invitation to love God and others and ourselves for positive reasons. It is the intelligent wise thing to do!
Jesus here in Matthew claims: “I am gentle and humble in heart.” In Biblical Greek, “gentle” is “praus” (“meek”) and “humble” is “tapenos” (“of poor estate”). Remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem, as did the king in Zechariah, on a donkey, the humble beast of burden and not a war horse. If Jesus is who he says he is, then to have wisdom and intellect capable of knowing him is to be humble and of poor estate ourselves. Those of the high and mighty crowd just don’t because they cannot get it.
Jesus offers a prayer here as well, not only thanking God as did Daniel, for who are the truly wise and intelligent ones, but claiming this as God’s “gracious will.” God the Father, gives “all things” to Jesus and Jesus offers “all things” that matter to us. Wealth, power, influence and the like will not last, but “all things” do!
Jesus is not a spiritual sleeping pill, nor a tranquilizer to numb the effects of our reality, whatever that may be, nor a pious cocktail to calm the nerves. Jesus is the one who offers us freedom from burdens of guilt, shame, blame and whatever other game our unredeemed hearts and minds would have us play. In THAT freedom to love and care, to rejoice and share, there is genuine rest because THAT is what we were initially created to be and do.
I don’t know how much we really need open bars and restaurants right now. I feel for the owners and managers of those businesses. I cannot for absolute certain believe that what we need is open churches and other places of faith. I do know that God-given and Jesus-won wisdom and smarts requires of us to humbly wear masks, keep appropriate distance, stay out of large crowds and wait patiently as God’s gifts of medical scientists do their thing.
Oh, there is plenty else to be about in hopeful, healing and helpful ways to come. In this meantime, let there be rest and quiet rejoicing.
Join us for our pre-recorded worship service and a message from Interim Pastor David Mueller: “It’s Simple!”
Our leaders today are Pastor Mueller, John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, and Cecelia Cronk, worship assistant. Also participating are this week’s Virtual Choir: Dave Herrmann, Allen Kirk, John Lasher, David McClure, John Nichols, Cheryl Powell and Teresa Stebner.
We’d like to hear from you, too! John Lasher has posted a questionnaire to get a sense of how and when you are viewing the pre-recorded services. Please take a few minutes to answer those questions and let him know.
Click on the link below to go directly to today’s pre-recorded service, which begins at 10 a.m. The text of the sermon is below if you wish to follow along.
“It’s Simple!” (Matthew 10:40-42)
Interim Pastor David E. Mueller
I am going to begin by making a thoroughly outrageous claim! Life can be and often is complex, but against that background, the message of Jesus is incredibly simple. In my message today, I will attempt to validate that claim.
Pray with me first.
Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son and our Savior Jesus Christ into the world because You love the world and all the people of it, no exceptions. Believing in Jesus Christ puts us in a wonderful position of being agents in loving the world and everyone in it. Empower and inspire us all this day with Your Holy Spirit to desire to live seeking justice and peace in our community, our country and our world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
I must insert here that last Sunday, I avoided preaching on the Gospel. In Matthew it fell immediately before what is being shared today. Jesus was portraying familial conflicts all over the place, claiming also that He came not to bring peace but a sword. That is scary, but I did not avoid it out of fear. At this time, when we are having to contend with a number of extremely difficult matters, I did not want to add to this reality.
I would share in passing that when Jesus uses the “sword” word, He is not talking about slaying anyone. By neither implication nor suggestion does the question “Who would Jesus kill?” have propriety. There is the “sword” of discernment between good and evil. Jesus desires to cut through the clutter and get to the truth of things, having cut away any falsehood. I could not help but offer this observation just in case in listening to last Sunday’s Gospel, anyone became upset. Please remember that Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). If the Law requires “honoring father and mother” Jesus would hardly rebut that. If anything, when we put Jesus first, our other relationships of all sorts are enriched.
In today’s short Gospel, Jesus presents a litany of simple truths about certain circumstances in which Christians might find themselves.
The first of the circumstances Jesus mentions is: “Whoever welcomes youwelcomes me” — speaking to His disciples then and now. When we seek to represent Jesus to others, if we are accepted, so is Jesus. He then says: “whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” If we, therefore, are accepted, so is God. God is in the midst of our attempts to represent God, simple as that!
Later in his “Olivet Discourse” (Matthew 25), Jesus with his words and not a sword separates the sheep and the goats saying whoever did or did not do certain things to “the “least of these” did it or did not do it to him. The association is profound. When I offer food to a hungry person, I am feeding Jesus. Jesus places himself in the position of the receiver and not the giver in these instances. In Proverbs 19:17, similarly we read: “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord.”
Years ago, decades actually, there was a homeless woman walking around Wilmington. Occasionally she showed up at Concordia when we were at Washington Street at Lea Blvd. On one occasion, it was the dead of winter, and she came asking for some help. I looked at her feet and, I kid you not, she had two clear plastic bags revealing soaked newspapers wrapped around her feet. No shoes! There was snow on the ground. Sears was right down the street. I drove her that short distance, led up to the shoe department, and asked the clerk to fit her with a new pair of good winter boots. After retching a bit, the sales clerk fitted her, gave her a thick pair of socks, and off the woman went to walk some more in winter at least with shoes on her feet. She thanked me and as she walked away, I said to myself, “I just bought Jesus a pair of shoes and socks!” It is as simple as that!
“Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.” In Matthew 23:27, Jesus says “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” If we are to judge prophetic effectiveness by how many hearers repented, the biblical prophets were miserable failures, with the exception of Jonah, who prophesied to the Gentiles of Nineveh, all of whom repented. We may not be living in a prophetic age, except for numerous false prophets, but if a true prophet spoke, we might just kill her or him, just like Jesus was killed. It is as simple as that! The welcome of a true prophet is rare indeed!
“Whoever welcomes a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous.” I am not sure who is a righteous person, except that the biblical definition is “the righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). We are looking for anyone who lives by faith in Jesus and enjoying time and talk with them. Simple!
“Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple….” This is simply beautiful. If, indeed, Jesus associates himself with those in need and we feed (clothe, visit, attend to) a child, we are especially attending to Jesus. I trust this does not surprise us. Jesus related with the children, the little ones. In Luke 18:17, Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” The biblical language used to refer to believers is “children of God,” not adults of God.
We must distinguish between child-likeness and childishness. We are expected to grow up in the will of God, but if we grow as much as possible in this life, we are still closer to children than to elders. Some folk, baptized decades ago, are still splashing away in the wading pool and refusing to go out into the deeper waters of the faith. There comes a time in the faith to stop splashing and start swimming.
One often hears in Christian Church circles, “the children are the future of the church.” Nope! The children are already the church, no need to wait. We, like so many congregations of every denomination or expression, have cause to be deeply concerned about the noticeable absence of children and young adults in our midst. There are complex reasons for this which need to be understood, but the simple truth is that we have not been giving them enough water.
In John 19:34, we read: “… one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” If we could take this book and wring it, it would drip blood and water. The blood symbolizes the violent nature of humanity and the violence extended toward Jesus. The water symbolizes the cleansing we know in Christ and the thirst quenching this basic substance can be to others, especially little others.
In faith, we need to be soaking wet and neither dry off nor dry up in the living faith we are privileged to know and share. It is this simple: water could not be more significant! We Christians are waterers!
Editor’s Note: Happy Father’s Day! We join together again at a common time — 10 a.m. — with hopes of doing so in person soon. If you have arrived here later than that, the link to the prerecorded service on our YouTube channel will still work.
We are thankful to Interim Pastor David Mueller and John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, for their faithful delivery of these services that have kept us connected even while our building is closed during this Coronavirus pandemic.
Also participating in this service are worship assistant Beth Miller and this week’s Virtual Choir: Dave Herrmann, Allen Kirk, John Lasher, David McClure, John Nichols, Cheryl Powell and Teresa Stebner.
“Go and Sin No More!” (Romans 6:1b-11)
David E. Mueller, Interim Pastor
Bishop [William] Gohl was to have been with us virtually today, but he prefers to wait until he can visit with us physically, which all of us hope is sooner than later, even if we are prepared to wait until the disease diminishes.
Our second lesson from Romans 6 is one most of us are familiar with if only because it is traditionally read at all baptisms.
Before moving on, we pray:
“Lord God, Heavenly Father, help us this day to remember and be renewed in our baptisms. This “rebirth” — like birth itself need not be and cannot be remembered as usual. We did not choose our rebirth any more than we chose to be born to begin with. Just help us, O Lord, to know that You called us by name, made us Your own and promised never to leave nor to forsake us because of Jesus Christ. In His Name we pray and say “Amen!’”
The first insight I need to share with you is about prepositions and their importance in Scripture. In Paul’s letter, Chapter 6, it is especially important to note them.
Notice the preposition “into!” We are baptized INTO Christ Jesus and INTO His death.
Notice also “with.” “We were buried WITH him by baptism into death” and “if we have been united WITH him in a death like his, we will certainly be united WITH him in a resurrection like his.” The language here is intimate. “We know that our old self was crucified WITH him.”
In other words, in baptism we are drawn back to Christ’s death and, as we shall see, Christ is drawn forward to our lives now. It is all an extremely close encounter of the spiritual kind.
The question this occasions is: “How then shall we live?” If we are WITH Christ and were baptized INTO His death, what does this mean in this life and the next?
There are those in history and now who would answer this question in a behavioral way. Being IN Christ, we behave differently and better than we would otherwise. To some extent we should genuinely hope that is true. I would certainly like to think that not only in whom I believe but how I behave is vastly influenced by being IN Christ. That, however, has its limits and its downside.
Werner Elert, a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and ethicist, after World War II, wrote that we Christians lift up an ethic to which we cannot possibly attain. We can never come close to being or behaving like Jesus. Martin Luther is often quoted for having said: “Sin boldly!” Before we experiment with that one, please note that he was speaking to those who felt they did not sin boldly and about how important grace and forgiveness are in the face of our sinfulness. Paul, a little later in this letter (7:19) wrote: “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” While in a way that may sound like double talk, Paul is serious about openly sharing his reality.
If on the one hand Paul invites us not to continue in sin but goes on to admit that he continues in sin, even if he does not want to, what does this mean for us?
Sin most typically is understood as either bad behavior (commission) or as good behavior avoided (omission). Once again, we must stress that to some extent our behavior is influenced by being “en Christo” (in Christ). But is behavior what Paul is referring to here, and —if not — what in God’s name is he talking about?
I believe and many theologians are with me on this that Paul is here speaking of condition of relationship. Sin is brokenness with God and others. We are not to live in a broken but in a forgiven state. In Christ, our broken relationship with God is healed. God remains God and I, with all of my faults and sins, remain who I am. I am still not near perfect in anything, especially my behavior. With the relationship healed, God’s grace constantly flows with forgiveness toward and into me, having me live not in sin but forgiveness.
Maybe a pertinent metaphor would help.
It is Fathers’ Day! I love our children and they love me. I trust my bad behavior is at an absolute minimum especially as it regards my flesh and blood. I would never intentionally harm any of the three of them. I have sought nothing but their good even during those times I had to be firm. You might best be served by asking them about my imperfections. I could share with you about theirs.
But our love for each other is because of the relationship and not just the behavior. Our love is not just familial (phileo) but unconditional (agape). It can be damaged by bad behavior just as it can be affirmed by better behavior, but only in extreme instances can it be damaged, leaving permanent scars.
God is my Heavenly Father, my utterly perfect Heavenly Father. I am far from being His perfect son, who is Jesus and not me! But God still loves me because of the relationship, and with the relationship healed in Christ, I have the benefit of receiving and knowing God’s unconditional eternal love.
When Jesus encountered the adulterous woman in John 8 — followed by a crowd of Pharisees and others with stoning on their minds and hearts — He spoke of the one in the crowd having no sin getting to cast the first stone. By their own silence, not one of them stood the test. Jesus said to the woman: “Go and sin no more!” There are those who act as if Jesus said: “You are forgiven; go and sin some more!” Obviously, what Jesus actually said with “sin no more” had implications about her lifestyle or what we might more accurately call her “deathstyle.”
We are not forgiven so that we can misbehave, but are forgiven because we know where forgiveness can be found when we do misbehave. In the meantime, who among us would argue about good behavior like loving God with all of our hearts, souls, strengths and mind and our neighbors as ourselves? Go and sin no more!
Please note the new 10 a.m. Sunday service start time!
Editor’s Note: This is the 14th Sunday since we worshiped together in our sanctuary! But worship continues — every day in so many different ways. Today, John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, is taking a small, virtual step toward regaining that togetherness, setting 10 a.m. as the time he will make our prerecorded worship service “live” on the St. Mark’s YouTube Channel. As he noted in a message published earlier this week, this is an effort to move us all back to a common time of worship, which — you may recall — we shared either at our 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. service. Now, at 10 a.m. on Sundays, we can “gather” again at a common time. Of course, if you can’t make it at 10, you can tune in later and join in the prerecorded worship.
The goal in the not-so-distant future, when the church has reopened, is to broadcast the service live on the Internet — “livestreaming” it — so that those who cannot be present can join in worship with those who are present in real-time.
For a little while longer, we savor these prerecorded connection points, provided by John Lasher and his team. In addition to John, this week’s leaders include Interim Pastor David Mueller and worship assistant Jeannine Herrmann. Also participating are this week’s Virtual Choir: Dave Herrmann, Allen Kirk, John Lasher, David McClure, John Nichols and Cheryl Powell. Additional voices on “The Lord’s Prayer” include: Fred Meckley, Jan Meckley and Teresa Stebner.
You can see the pre-recorded service, starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, on the St. Mark’s YouTube channel at the link below. If you subscribe, you’ll also get weekly notices of the upcoming broadcast.
Also below is the text of Pastor’s sermon, if you’d like to read along.
“Rejoice Anyway” (Romans 5:1-8)
Interim Pastor David E. Mueller
My strong hunch is that none of us would desire or accept a joyless Christianity.
Most of us fully realize that Christmas and Easter are more joyful than Lent. We are aware that there are circumstances in our environment which can, and, in some cases, should mitigate our joy. There is nothing joyful about a deadly virus. While we may support protests of certain kinds, they are seldom joyful.
Clearly, in the midst of such conditions, there are experiences of a positive kind about which we can be joyful, as when neighbors care for the family of a patient with COVID-19 or one sees video of a policeman and a protester kneeling together. Most people want to be happy. We live in a country which celebrates the “pursuit of happiness.” As human beings we need some joy anyway!
PRAY WITH ME PLEASE:
O Lord God, Heavenly and loving Father, we believe in You; we have our Savior in the person of Jesus, Your son, and in Him we know grace and forgiveness; we believe that we need and have Spiritual power to live in the world. Sometimes, Lord, the world can be an ugly and dangerous place to live. Other times, we appreciate the beauty around us and the people in our lives close to us. We rejoice in the beauty of the earth and most of the people inhabiting it. Please Lord, allow us to know joy these days, for we know that no matter how dark the night, joy comes in the morning. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
To be a Christian living in Rome was for the better part of three centuries, a potentially difficult and, at times, dangerous place to be. At one point, the citizens believed that Christians were cannibals because they heard that they were eating body and drinking blood. There was one Emperor who felt that the Christians were making the Roman government look bad because of how much the Christians cared for the poor. There were periods of persecution toward Christians, especially when a scapegoat was needed for government impotence or incompetence. Interestingly, persecuting a religious minority tends to assure their growth.
I personally believe that a person could get along fine in the faith if the only resources they had were one of the Gospels and the Roman letter. Paul’s letter to the Roman congregation is jam-packed with theological and practical significance.
In our second lesson appointed for today from Romans 5:1-8, Paul starts by reiterating how we are made right with God, that is, through faith in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ we have peace with God. In a similar reading from Philippians 4:4-7, Paul reminded the Philippian Church to “rejoice in the Lord, always … do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Interestingly, they and we are not promised answers to the prayers on our terms and timetable, but rather: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is Paul’s way of saying that being at peace with God is primary and essential and that whatever else is going on cannot violate, victimize or in any way damage that peace.
In Romans 5:2, 3, Paul invites us to boast (other translations: “rejoice”) not only in our hope of sharing the glory of God, but also in our sufferings. The Christian faith, in this case, as in some other circumstances, could not be any bolder.
Always pay close attention to the prepositions. We are told to boast or rejoice IN our sufferings and not because of them. In the midst of whatever sort of difficulties, dangers or disasters one might be in, boast, rejoice!
Paul goes on to delineate the process: “suffering produces endurance, enduranceproduces character, character produces hope.” If then we desire hope in the midst of suffering, boast, rejoice!
“Hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” It is all here: Holy Spirit and love. The love, like the cup in Psalm 23, is poured and running over. We are filled up with and spilling over with God’s love even and especially if we also are dripping with blood due to persecution and pain.
All this, by the way, is love shown us “while we still were sinners” for whom Christ had to die! Perfection or near perfection is not a prerequisite for mercy and forgiving love. It is called grace!
I have found in my pastoral ministry that I could never run into a suffering situation and cry out “Rejoice! Rejoice!” or “Boast! Boast!” We hear a great deal these days about empathy, which is to enter a painful situation close enough emotionally to feel at least some of the pain being experienced by someone else. Sympathy stays at a distance and says “Isn’t it awful!” Empathy moves into the awfulness. Obviously, this is not easy and involves some risks.
While on staff at the University of Virginia Medical Center back in 1976, I was beeped in the middle of the night to come to the Pediatric Clinic. When I got there, everyone, including two physicians, was hysterical. I first insisted that the physicians leave. I learned quickly that a grandmother was in a room with her deceased 18-month-old granddaughter and would simply not give the child up.
I went into the room, introduced myself, and got down and leaned with her against the wall. We talked for a half hour, during which I learned that this was the second grandchild she had lost within a year. She brought tears to my eyes and an ache to my heart. She finally calmed down some, gave the baby over to me, the family crowd calmed and the physicians came back with this look on their faces as if to say: “It’s a miracle!” No! It was just a little genuine empathy.
We live in complex and troubling times for a host of reasons, but also divided times. Perhaps our greatest temptation is not so much to learn to rejoice or boast in our own sufferings, but not to rejoice in the suffering of others!
There is a Jewish “Midrash” — not a biblical but later interpretive imperative — that the Hebrews were not to relish or rejoice in the deaths of Pharaoh’s army when the Red Sea came on them after the Hebrews got through on dry land. It teaches as if to say: “Who do you think you are to relish the tragic deaths of others, even enemies?”
There have been people, some for decent reasons, others for silly ones, who have not worn masks in the face of COVID-19. There will most likely be consequences, but please, do not boast that you were smart and caring enough to wear yours and now those others get what is coming to them. Never boast of yourself or rejoice when others suffer even if they brought suffering upon themselves. Always be glad when justice is served, but not when the one it is served on suffers the consequences of their own acts. Four Minneapolis Police officers are in a whole lot of trouble. Let justice prevail but do not rejoice.
All of this falls into a very different place than we tend to think. What we are to boast about, usually quietly I suspect, is our hope of sharing the glory of God who know that Christ died for us not because we deserved it, but because He loves us.
Might we be so bold as to love even those who would persecute us?
e Wisdom Literature to seek some assistance. There are at least a few hints herein.
