Forgotten Passwords to the Church

Whew!  I finally remembered my password!

I've been unable to get into my blog since December because I couldn't' remember my password.  When I tried to get it reset the questions Google asked were so specific and my blog is now getting so old, I couldn't' remember the answers (and didn't have them written down), so I couldn't get in.  I nearly gave up on ever getting in here ever again.

But then I decided to give it one more try--and, I'M IN!!

I think the church is kind of like that for some people.  Especially those who used to be very engaged and even active in their churches.  But then, something happens in their life or perhaps nothing happens in their life but they get distracted by other things and then finally realize that they have become totally disconnected from the Church they once knew and loved.

Like I've done with my blog the last four months, they drive by, looking to see if anything has changed.  They might have even driven through the parking lot, wondering if they would run into someone they knew.  Of course Sunday mornings are always an option, but a painful one. 

"Hey!  Good to see you.  Where have you been?  We are so glad you are back!" is the greeting they dread. 

Dread?  But that is such a warm and welcoming greeting!  Yes it is, but one who has been confronted with the reality of breaking of the third commandment to honor the Sabbath Day, and who has not yet received absolution, anything said is couched in a guilty conscience.

Despite our best efforts to welcome them back with open arms, what they might hear instead is,

"What's wrong with you?  Why did you leave?  And you think you can come back here and just pick up where you left off?  We've moved on without you."

This fear can especially come home to roost if, when they return, things really have changed; new faces, new facilities and new programs or liturgies can all be 'password protected' from the one who is seeking to come back into the worship life of the congregation.  Each of those things become like passwords into the community of faith. 

So, am I saying we can't change?  That we have to preserve everything of our past out of fear of losing the one who is not currently here on the off chance they might return?  Yes and no.

The familiar prayers, the favorite hymns, the traditions and rites of passage that every congregation forms apart from the actual content of the faith itself are all methods of entry into a shared experience.  And that is a good thing as they unite  and encourage us around the faith we've been given in Jesus and help us share that Good News with others. 

However, they should also never hinder the mission of the Church which is to seek and save the lost through the work and proclamation of the saved as, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all.

Without a password, its nearly impossible to gain entry into a blog or your bank account or any other on-line account that you haven't interacted with in a long time--unless you get that email that allows you to reset the password.  Something outside the blog and outside your mind which says, "Its OK.  Let's have a do-over."

Many of our folks need a do-over.  Over half of the folks "on the books" at Redeemer have not been in church for over a year.  For some its 10.  Those of you who have been around during that time, have you noticed the changes that have occurred?  Does the place look different than it did one, three, five, or 10 years ago?  Of course it does!  Do we do things differently?  Yes.  I'm sure we do.  But do you know what hasn't changed?  The one thing that can bring them back into the church guilt-free and ready to pick up right where they left off--forgiveness, grace, and mercy.  And just like none of "by our own reason or strength" can seek faith without the Holy Spirit, neither will someone who is long separated from the Church readily seek a relationship with Her.

So, as the site administrators, perhaps we could offer a password reset.  Just like that reset e-mail you get, as Christians we are called to reach out to those in our fellowship who have been absent and offer that hand of friendship and forgiveness.  We go to them instead of waiting for them to show up on Sunday and we say,

"We've missed you.  How can we help you reset your password?  We are willing to overlook your absence and forgive you of that lapse of faithfulness so that you can pick up where you left off and continue in your faith and live in that faith to the fullest extent that God has planned for you." 

And we are willing to do that because Jesus has already promised it is so.  He reset all our passwords on the cross and so that when we reach heaven we will have no trouble entering.  And just as Jesus paved the way for you to enter heaven we pave the way for those who have lost their way.  We welcome the prodigal sons and daughters of God with open arms, running out to them while they are yet a long way off, so that they can rejoin the celebration which goes on with out end.

Oh, and by the way, the password on that final day will be SSAN1 (Sunday School Answer no. 1=Jesus).

Where is the Joy?

Where is the Joy?

I was blessed with a weekend mini-vacation out west this past Friday-Sunday.  While vacations are a nice break and can, indeed bring their own kind of blessings, that is not the Joy I seek in life. In fact, vacations can be very stressful and tiring.  As a matter of fact, our plane landed in Omaha at 9:40 last night and we finally crawled into our bed around 1:45 this morning after making  the three hour trek back to Olathe.  One wouldn’t think a two hour time-difference would mess you up much, but I was really slow in waking up this morning.  I was not anticipating joy as a began my day.

But that which woke me was hearing an interview with Rev.Matt Crebbin from the Newtown Congregational Church (UCC).  Unless you have been cut off from society the last three days, you know of the horrible violence that struck the first graders and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School, and the Today show was seeking to hear from him what message he had to share concerning this tragedy.

I was very impressed with the way in which he was respectful of other faiths, but at the same time sought to share with the world the nature of the Christian faith.  While some might say that he was weak for not stepping on the “third-rail-J-word” (Jesus) he did everything possible to make sure the world knows that our God is a loving God who is there for us, will listen to us, and will not be turned away from us when we cry out to him.

I also liked the way he pointed out that our God can take whatever we throw at him; pain, anguish, anger, frustration, guilt, and then replace them with Joy (and he mentioned the traditions of the “joy candle” of the .Advent Wreath).  Then he went on to point out that Joy is not happiness.  Joy is the comfort and knowledge that our Lord is ever with us, despite the goings-on of this world around us, or even our particular pain or suffering.

I won’t fault Rev. Crebbin for his interview—it was very cautious, but also very winsome.  I pray God would use his words to send people seeking hope to churches around the world this weekend.  And I pray that pastors the world over would share the Good News of Jesus with them.

And just was it that Good News?  That despite the fact that every person has sinned and has earned eternal death and separation from God, all sin and wrongful deed every person ever committed was paid for by Jesus the Christ.  He accomplished that forgiveness by his death once and for all on the cross, and rose from the dead three days later, to assure us of our eventual resurrection and eternal life with him and we know that it will be with God in heaven because he also ascended to that place a few weeks after his resurrection.

Is this world messed up?  Yes.  Is it God’s fault?  No.  Can we fix it?  No.  Will God fix it?  Yes, when he comes again to take us to a new heaven and a new earth.  Will everyone be there?  No, just those who believe (trust God) that this is true and that his love for them is complete—so complete that He would send his own Son into the world (what we call Christmas) so that He could grow up to be the perfect sacrifice that would atone for all sin, so that perhaps some would hold on to that salvation and be with him forever.  

So where’s the joy?  The joy is found in the manger; not in the cuteness of the baby or the soft glow of candles and lights.   The Joy is found in the Love of God, who came to us to save us.  O come, O come, Immanuel.  God with us.  Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Review: Allegro "Winter Blessings" Concert

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd of 2 concerts by the Allegro group of Kansas City children's choirs.  I had attended the fall concert at the Unity Temple on the plaza which was very nice, but tonight's service at Visitation church in the Brookside neighborhood was something very special.  It did what nothing so far has been able to do for me; put me in a proper "Christmas mood."

First off, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a biased reviewer; my son is a member of one of this group's ensembles, Allegro con Spirito (or, just Spirito, for short.  each of the Choirs has a similar naming scheme, but I shall just refer to them by their final contribution to the Allegro con... formulation) which is in its first year as Allegro's all male choir.

In the opening paragraph I referred to this concert as a service as the setting was indeed a beautiful, modern interpretation of a classical, Spanish-inspired Catholic church.  Its location just south of the Country Club Plaza and west of UMKC was easy to find and the acoustics were phenomenal.  In addition, the modern, adjustable lighting scheme added to the ambiance which the musicians and singers set to achieve.

The music chosen was by and large sacred, drawing from a wide range of traditions, styles and instrumentation.  in my opinion, this bold decision was a wonderful change of pace from our local public school concerts where sacred music is rarely featured so prominently.  This was definitely a Christmas concert.  Not a "holiday" or "winter" concert.  Recent attempts to strip the historical Jesus and the tenants of the faith he taught from the holiday named for him not only baffle me, but, as a pastor, also tend to infuriate me at times.

Prior to the processional, one of the singers stepped into the pulpit wearing a Santa hat to ask the congregation to sing along on the processional hymn "O come all ye faithful".  While I personally cringed at seeing the Santa hat so near a crucifix of our Lord which arose to a height of 10 feet or so above the pulpit, I don't fault the youth who probably didn't know better.  An adult should have said something to her about it before hand.

The concert then began with a processional in the dark with the youths carrying battery operated candles as they entered the sanctuary in the round and circled it on the four-sided balcony as well. Although the program only listed lyrics for verse three of the hymn, those in attendance seemed to know the first two verses and sang them with gusto.  The amazing thing was that we could also hear the Allegro choirs over the congregation and their addition was bright, full, and added a richness to the hymn that would not be found in a normal advent or Christmas church service.

The entire ensemble then sang for the first time ever, "Hark, What Music Fills the Sky" by resident composer Andrea Ramsey.  It was a nice piece and compliments her other numbers which I was able to hear at the fall concert.  This young composer has a talent for writing music appropriate for the younger voices which seem to flow quite nicely.

These first two songs were sung by all the choirs.  Now, it was time for Moto and Brio to share the stage as they sang "Carol of the Bells" and "Somewhere in My Memory" without a break for applause between them.  Both were nicely done by these, the senior most voices in the Allegro family.  The latter piece by John Williams began with a wonderful orchestral introduction.  Though they were not acknowledged in the program, nor at the venue, it needs to be said that this small chamber-sized group was a very integral part of the program; especially the first half as they really rounded out the night and added a real "professional" feel to the whole affair.

Next, Moto got the stage to themselves  as they sang a nice rendition of "I Wander as I Wander" and "Dashing through the snow" arranged by John Leavitt.  Leavitt is well-known in sacred music circles (especially Lutherans and Catholics) and currently teaches at Midwestern Nazarene University in Olathe and so to year this arrangement of a non-sacred holiday favorite was a pleasant surprise.

Now it was time for the men to provide cover for the change of choirs on stage as Spirito took to the rear balcony for "Contata Domino" by de la Lande.  Unfortunately, my seat in the left transept did not allow the best location for hearing this song, but having heard the boys rehearsing it in the studio a few weeks back, I knew the notes were right; my location tonight, however, was just not acoustically in the right place to hear the richness this song contains.

Vivo was next in the lineup of the evening with three songs.  Handel's "He Shall Feed His Flock" from Messiah, another fine Ramsey piece, "What Can I Bring?" and finally, "Joy to the World."  The first stuck in my head as a fine example of controlled, uniform unison singing with voices well-matched to one another.

As Vivo exited the chancel and Spirito took their place, Brio sang "Jolly Old Saint Nicolas" from a corner balcony.  As the senior-most female choir in the Allegro family they were, of course, crisp, on tune and very good.  My only complaint would be that this song with its childlike, whimsical lyrics, was sung a little too "high-brow" for my taste.  Let kids be (and sound like) kids when the music is appropriate.

Spirito took to the risers for "Coventry Carol" and "Little Saint Nick." Jake Naverud has done a great job with this new choir of just 22 voices.  A few more voices would have helped support the pitch on "Coventry Carol", but it is very clear from the smiles on their faces and by the exuberant way in which Jake directs that this is going to be a great "guy's choir"; not an easy think to accomplish with teenage boys.  "Little Saint Nick was clearly a joy for singers and listeners alike.  Spirito is on its way to being just as highly thought of as Brio as long as they keep this keep up this level of hard work and if they can get a few more voices to round out the sound.

Though not an intermission, "Deck the Halls" was a nice break in the program as once again, the audience was invited to sing along with all the choirs.

The final set was probably the most powerful of the evening.  Starting with an interesting double choir effect with half of the Brio choir in the chancel with the other half in the rear balcony, Vivaldi's "Chirste Eleison" was light, crisp and very well-paced.  It was followed by "Gaudete! Gaudete!" which was quite powerful and was sung by all the choirs combined.  "Before the Paling of the Star" by Tom T. Shelton, Jr. was very nice piece which seemed to have a modern flair about it and was quite interesting to listen to.  I liked it.  Next, Shelton's "I Saw Three Ships" was a completely different style of piece and was performed by Brio only.  It reminded me a little bit like a Gilbert and Sullivan piece with its very quick, and full-chord-ed accompaniment.

Vivo, Moto, and Brio then sang the first of a pair of Bob Chilcott pieces.  "This Joy" had a lovely, full sound that filled the room before all the choirs finished with "For Him All Stars Have Shown," an excellent piece which ties together wonderfully the teachings of the first two articles of the Apostles Creed, tying Christ as the second person of the Trinity to his presence with the Father at creation.

As a Recessional, the combined choirs repeatedly sang the first verse of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" as the choirs exited the sanctuary in darkness with the exception of their hand-held candles.  The men were the first to leave and the other choirs followed until there was a solitary voice singing the familiar O Antiphon as she receded to the narthex.  It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful evening.  Regrettably, however, the beautiful silence which enrobed the room after the last solitary voice concluded her offering was broken within 5 seconds by an exuberant person (a proud parent?) in the front row of the section in which I was seated who began vigorously applauding.

The silence now broken, the room erupted into thankful applause as these children had completed a concert worthy of earthly and heavenly praise.  I can't  wait till spring and the opportunity to hear them all again, this tiem in the brand new, wonderful, beautiful, Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts.

Thanks for Nothing!

Here is my sermon for Thanksgiving.
I hope it is helpful and a blessing to you.

John 17:11-19

Day of Thanksgiving      

November 20/21, 2012      

Redeemer, Olathe, KS & Good Shepherd, Fremont, NE

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen

“Thanks for Nothing!”  I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before. 

And, very rarely, is it a good thing to hear. 

Not only is it sarcasm,

but it almost always is an unveiled display of displeasure concerning your contribution or input to a given situation.

But when we see ourselves as God does through Christ, we can thank our savior that because of Him God sees NOTHING wrong with us.

Let me repeat that:  God sees nothing wrong with us!

Therefore we can pray, “Dear God, thanks for nothing…thanks for holding nothing against us.”

Our Gospel lesson today tells the story of the 10 lepers.  And, as I have spent the last 6 ½ years in Olathe, I think I might now know where the story for the Wizard of Oz may have come from.

Jesus was traveling in the country between Jerusalem and Samaria when these 10 lepers approached him and asked for his mercy.

This could have been alms to help them buy food,

Or, possibly, a place to find shelter, or salve for their wounds

Or, perhaps, they might have heard about Jesus and his miracles and hoped that he would actually heal them of their disease.

They were just as hapless and helpless as Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man

Well, Jesus simply told them to present themselves to the priest (the wizard?)

There was a law banishing lepers from within the city walls as a way to prevent epidemics from spreading to the general populace

Therefore, there had to be someone who would determine who could and could not be considered part of  the community fellowship

And the priest was the only one in town who had that authority to declare a person healed—who could allow them to go back home. 

Because, as we all know, (click your heels three times) “there’s no place like home”.

And, so, it made sense to these men when Jesus sent them away with these words.

If they wanted to be accepted back inside the city walls, they had to see the priest

If they wanted their old life back they had to prove they were clean.

And maybe, just maybe, this Jesus had enough clout that the priest, when he heard they had been sent by Jesus, would let them go back home.

Well, along the way, something amazing happened; they were cleansed!  Healed!

However, the only one who returned to thank Jesus was the Samaritan leper.

At first glance it would seem that the other nine were not thankful for being healed

But I don’t think that this was the case.

Most people can be thankful about the good things in their lives, even those other nine lepers.

But being full of thanks wasn’t what made the Samaritan leper special to Jesus

What made him special was that he returned to give thanks to the one who made him whole again

He didn’t keep his thanks to himself.  He gave it back to the one who had filled him with such a blessing.

We can apply this concept to our lives as well.

These next few days the vast majority of households in this country will be celebrating a day of thankfulness

They might be saying to each other, “We don’t have everything, but we’ve got enough.”

 Or, “We’re sure glad we aren’t as bad off as “those” people.

But that feeling of thankfulness is not what is so special about any of those celebrations. 

What will make our day special to us and to God is not our being full of thanks (or turkey and stuffing, or anything else, for that matter)

But our giving of that thanks to God

That is, we are aware of, acknowledge and express appreciation to the one who is the Giver of Good Things

The Samaritan leper was the only one of the 10

 who gave thanks as a result of his being full of thanks

And this, I think, is what pleased Jesus so much.

It’s not that Jesus needed the recognition or the appreciation

It’s not even that they were required to offer it—for they were all still healed

But Jesus does want to hear that we know our freedom from sin and our healing comes from God

Just as a mother and father desire the love of their child, God desires our worship and thanks.

In their eyes, the lepers’ very lives were in the hands of the priest

Only he could declare them as clean or unclean.

But this Samaritan didn’t go to the priest

to prove and receive his bill of good health

and restore his newly “clean” place back in the community of the Jews.

Because, despite how healthy he might appear, he would always be “unclean” as a Samaritan.

As a Samaritan, the words of the Wizard, I mean, the priest, were worthless to him.

Being declared physically unclean by another man who detested him for who he was held no value to him

But giving thanks to the one who made him whole and gave him back his life, well, that “was a horse of a different color!”

Surely, the other nine were excited as they realized they were healed

I’m sure they ran all the way to the temple so that they could get the official word as soon as possible

They had families and livelihoods to tend to.

They had lost time to make up for

They had lots of living to catch up that they were sure they had missed out on while they were banished from their friends and family, left to rot outside the city walls.

But then what?

The Samaritan, on the other hand, was moved to action

Upon realizing he was well again, his first thought was not about himself,

He didn’t go around bragging about his newfound wellness.

He didn’t try to make up for lost time.

Once he was healed, he knew that Jesus was the reason

And so he returned to the one who gave him his life;

 Who performed the miracle by which he knew that no matter what others thought of him,

 he was clean, and well and whole by the miracle works of Jesus

He wanted to go back to Jesus and say, “Thanks for nothing!”  

Thanks for taking away all that made me unacceptable

Thanks for taking away all that kept me from earning my way in life

Thanks for taking away that which kept me from those I love.

Thanks for taking away that which gave me continuous reminders of my wretched, stinking, scar covered and scabby self.

Thanks for making sure there was nothing on me which makes me objectionable before the sight of others.

“Thanks for nothing!”

You and I are that Samaritan.

In the Old Testament God told the Israelites to shun those who did not follow his commandments,

especially his desire that they should remain a pure race of people.

Because his promise of a Savior would be fulfilled through that special nation.

But in the New Testament Jesus points out that since he had fulfilled that prophecy, there is no longer Hebrew or Gentile

Now, there are Children of light

and children of darkness

Before we became part of the Body of Christ, we were like the Old Testament Samaritans

We were unclean and unholy and infected with sin, instead of leprosy

Like the Samaritans who could not come to God in his temple, we too had no ability to know God

We were just as grotesque to God as those lepers appeared to the other townspeople.

We were just as separated from God and his Church as those lepers were from the people of Jerusalem.

And we too were outcasts, because

God hates sin and is not found where sin pervades

The apostle John writes in his first epistle, “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the begging.  The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”  And, by implication, the children of the devil.

And just like those four hapless souls who trekked down that yellow brick road, our salvation cannot not be found in anything we do.

It’s found in what we believe;

It’s found in the faith that has been placed within us from the Holy Spirit.

It’s too bad that sin doesn’t leave a physical mark on us like leprosy does.

If those who live in sin and separation from God showed on their bodies the result of sin,

they would be grotesque and ugly, indeed!

And then, perhaps, one could see more clearly the need for cleansing and healing.

And we could know for certain who was and was not saved.

But, thankfully, we are not separated from God, nor grotesquely maimed by sin.

Because Jesus took away our sin by his excruciating death on the cross,

 only the perfect Son of God could live through that separation

and make atonement for all sin.

Because, through our baptisms,

we are Christ’s Body here on earth,

we are seen by God as that sinless person born of God

and not the sinner born of the devil.

And instead of telling us to go to the priest,

 he tells us to go to the Father to be declared righteous.

We go to Him to ask for his forgiveness,

to ask for him to declare us as clean

and free of the sores and scars of sin

And as we are on that trip to go see the Father and ask for his forgiveness, a wonderful thing happens to us;

We notice that all those sins are gone.

We notice that they have all been washed away by that great act of redemption Christ carried out on the cross for us.

And you and I become pure, healthy, and presentable to God the Father as his Children of the light.

We can be thankful because there is NOTHING evil for the Father to see in us any longer.

Instead of going to the Father to beg for mercy as leprous sinners,

We show up at this throne as perfect in his sight; sinless and saintly.

As people who are perfected in the sight of God, what then is to be our response?

Quite frankly, as Christians, even we have a common tendency to overlook the obvious, just as the lepers did.

We sit in church and thank God for his forgiveness and for making us his children, 

but we forget at what great cost that kinship cost him; the loss of his very own Son.

We forget to thank him for his sacrifice in addition to the gifts he gives

As we think about giving thanks this weekend, just about everyone in our country will come up with a laundry list of things they are thankful for

But very few will actually give thanks for them or for the most important gift they have been given:

Forgiveness by grace through faith

Which was won by Jesus on the cross at Calvary

At this time of national Thanksgiving we are given the privilege of not only giving thanks to God for all the good things he has blessed us with, but also for the things we no longer have

We can give thanks that we have nothing to feel guilty about

In Christ we can give thanks that we have nothing blotting our record before God the Father for which he would require penance or satisfaction.

We can give thanks that on Easter morning a tomb with nothing in it sealed our fate as ransomed souls who one day will be with God in heaven.

We can give thanks that on the last day, when Christ comes with trumpets sounding and an army of angels at his side, our graves will be found to have nothing in them as well

Because we will have been raised from the dead

And placed at the seat of honor on God’s right hand side.

And in the midst of all that earthly nothingness, we will finally realize the complete fullness, the “everything” that God has in store for us in heaven.

And now you know what it means to faithfully say to God, “Thanks for nothing?” no, “Thanks for everything!”

In Jesus’ name, Amen.