Acts 4: 5-12;
Its good to be home again. A couple weeks ago you and I were together,
celebrating the second Sunday of Easter. The sanctuary looked a little
empty after the crowd of 220 wed celebrated Easter Sunday with. But, we
were together again, just like those early disciples in that upper room,
telling the good news and reminding each other whose we are. And, here we
are again.
So much has happened since I was with you last. I went to pastors classes
out in Phoenix for four days and I listened to great speakers, met a couple
old acquaintances and (in my time-off) visited with extended family I hadnt
seen in 40 years, or hadnt even met before. Then, my daughter Kathryn
graduated from college last weekend, and we briefly celebrated that
accomplishment before putting on the work clothes and moving her and her
roommate, Heather, out of their dorm room and hauling all their stuff back
home to Connecticut. My husband, Karl and I took a couple days, on our way
home, to tour around Virginia, seeing Monticello and Mt.Vernon and driving
the length of Shenandoah National Park. It was a busy couple of weeks.
But, in all that time, you were in my thoughts and prayers. See, thats
what Christians do. We hold each other in prayer. We hold in prayer people
who need to be reminded that they are Gods children. We ask God to be
their shepherd, their guide, their comfort and their peace.
The evening that I flew out to Phoenix one of our Lutheran congregations in
Maine was in the news. Youve heard the reports that 16 people at Gustaf
Adolf Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine, were poisoned. One died and
three remain in critical condition. Investigators are still not sure how
the poisoning took place.
People in that town of fewer than 700 residents are watching to see how the
whole thing comes out. There are rumors there are ALWAYS rumors that a
nice man, a less-than-regular member of the congregation may have been to
blame, either accidentally or intentionally. And, people in New Sweden and
in the entire nation are watching to see how these people of God react to
the realization that not one among us is perfect. We all have needs and
sometimes we behave in destructive ways because of them.
Theyre watching to see if these good Christian people will turn their
backs on the mans family. Theyre watching to see if these followers of
Christ will be able to be strong through terrible times. Theyre watching
to see if THEY know, as John wrote, that God is greater than our hearts ...
and by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit he has given us.
(1 John 3:20, 24)
What would you do? I know Ive asked myself what *I* would do if such a
tragedy touched my life. Id like to think that Id call on God to give me
strength. Id ask God to come into my heart and transform my grief into
comfort. Id ask God to give me hope for the future and a renewed trust in
my neighbors good intentions.
Itd be very easy to look for someone to blame in a situation like the one
in Maine. Thats what the FBI and Homeland Security are doing there.
Thats NOT what Bishop Margaret Payne and her staff are doing there. The
bishop of the New England Synod has been there to be a shepherd among those
hurting children of God. She took communion to the hospitalized members and
to the family of the man whos thought to be responsible for their
poisoning. She told the congregation that the risen Lord of Easter does not
abandon those he calls his own. She reassured the suspected poisoners
family that he, too, is one of Gods own children, and that they would not
be alone in their grief.
Thats important to know. I mean, its important to really KNOW that God
doesnt turn away, that God comes close and reaches out to us. One of the
young women I met in Phoenix said it really clearly for me. The church
where I was attending the meetings a couple weeks ago is what we call a
Mega-Church. Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Arizona counts 12,000
baptized souls in their membership reports. Its hard for us to think of
more than our nearly 300 members coming and going and worshiping and serving
and praying together.
But, in this small city of Christs own, one young woman told me she had
really, truly learned of Gods love. She told me she had been raised in a
family that went to church every Sunday. She called her former self a
fully-churched non-believer. I knew when to sit and when to stand and when
to kneel. I could recite the Lords Prayer and the Creeds and the 10
Commandments. But, I didnt know Jesus loved me, really loved me.
A fully-churched non-believer. Thats how she described herself. She said
she first came to Community Church of Joy because she thought this sandstone
colored complex of buildings with a fountain out front and big
auditorium-like center might be a shopping mall. She walked in the
always-open front doors and realized she was in a place where nothing was
offered for sale but lots was given away.
There were brochures advertising bible studies and divorce support groups,
grief counseling and youth meetings, financial planning seminars, infant
care, pre-school and a school for kindergarten through 8th grade. There was
a janitor walking through the building who welcomed her and asked if he
could help.
Part of what he did was to invite her to look around. And, then he told
her how he came to worship there at Community of Joy. He said how hed been
empty inside and Jesus had filled his emptiness. He was supposed to be
retired, but he was busier than ever these days, excited to see all the
young families, the single adults, and the old people coming alive in this
place where Christ had claimed him as his own. He invited her to come back
that evening when a whole bunch of people would be celebrating Gods love
together.
And, she did.
She first came out of curiosity, she said, and she was among others who
were first-timers, too. She liked the music, lively and rhythmic or soft
and comforting and not an organ in sight! but she especially felt loved,
included, cared for and needed. She said it wasnt long before she was
looking for a way she could be a part of this community. Now, each
Wednesday evening, while their parents talk around tables about scripture
and every day life, this young woman supervises 4-year olds in one of the
churchs classrooms. She worships with her own young family on Sundays, at
one of three services, and her teen-aged younger brother plays in the band
at the youth gathering where he regularly tells others how much Jesus means
to him.
Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. ... I know my own and my own know me.
Jesus knows the people in New Sweden, Maine. He knows their pain and their
fear and their hope and their need for comfort in tragic times. Jesus knows
the fully-churched non-believers and will make a way for them to realize
whose they are. Jesus knows our kids, as they grow up in this church, not
told to be seen and not heard but welcomed to grow up surrounded by love
and encouraged to explore what God has in mind for them. Jesus knows us
each by name, by the name given to us by our mothers, by the name spoken at
the baptismal font, by the name we have come to be known through our words
and deeds.
Jesus own name is powerful. His claim on each of us is powerful and
loving and giving and reliable. In tragic times, in lonely times, in times
of illness and pain, in times of joy and new beginnings, Jesus chooses to
save us. Jesus saves us from ourselves, from our rivalries and rumors, from
our mistrust and fear. Jesus name is the only name by which we can be
saved, saved from ourselves, saved from evil in the world, and saved
throughout eternity for life in Gods never-ending embrace of love.
You are welcome, today, to come to this table where Jesus love is poured
out for you. You will be forgiven, fed and nourished, and strengthened by
the Good Shepherd himself, so that you can go out into that world believing
you are Gods own child through the love of Jesus our Lord.
I invite you, not to just go through the motions, routinely repeating
meaningless words, but to really truly know within your heart that you are
Gods own child. You have been claimed through your baptism, strengthened
through the Word of God, nourished at his table, and prepared to live in
such a way that others will know you are the Lords.
Come to the table. Be fed. Know that you are His own. Then, take that
love into the world with you each day, serving others in Jesus powerful
name, so that they, too, might one day know the peace of God that passes all
understanding. God goes with you. Amen
Scripture references:
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24;
John 10:11-18
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, for all people
according to their needs.
Sovereign Lord, you reign over all nations. Guide rulers in all lands to look on their people with compassion. We pray for prisoners, those who live in fear, the persecuted and the shunned. Release them from the chains of injustice. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Acts 4:5-12)
Gracious Shepherd, we pray for people whose lives are broken by sin: for the abused and their abusers, for those struggling with addictions, for the mentally, spiritually and physically ill. Strengthen them and guide them to wholeness. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Psalm 23)
Loving Lord, your word tells us we are to be willing to lay down our lives for one another as our Lord Jesus laid down his life for us. Help us to look on the needs of others and send your Spirit to guide our response. Make us eager and generous in our giving. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (1 John 3:16-24)
Living Lord, your resurrection gives us hope when serious illness or accidental injuries threaten our lives. Guide us through these crises, knowing you are with us at all times. You laid down your life for us. Help us to show our gratitude for your mercy every day of our lives and make us fit to be with you into eternity. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (John 10:11-18)
Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Comments to Linda at Linda_Kraft@Ecunet.org.)
Linda Kraft, Pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Trumbull, CT