Early Words and Sermons (1)
Reverend Marilyn A. Riedel 1978

Early Words and Sermons (2)Early Words and Sermons (3)
 
 

"The God-Who-Is-With-Us"
Christmas 1978
1st Lesson: 1saiah 52:7-10
2nd Lesson: Hebrews 1:1-9
Gospel: John 1:1-4
Intern pastor
Immanuel Lutheran, Jackson, MIch.

 This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us be glad and rejoice in it!
Immanuel! God-with-us! God is with us today, the day of Jesusí birth! This is the day we have been awaiting for weeks as we begin not only the new church year, but soon the new year. New beginnings!
 In the beginning, God created the universe says Genesis. In the beginning, was the Word, Logos, according to the Gospel of John. And the Word Logos was with God, and the Word Logos was God...and the Word Logos became flesh and dwelt among us...the only human Son...of God! says Hebrews. Jesus is the Word, the Word of Life. Jesus has taken part in human life since the very beginning of time so that God has spoken to us through creation of human flesh. God has become known to us in so many ways, in ways that Jesus showed us with his life on earth.
 Jesus is the most important human being to us, because we know from the writings of the gospels that Jesus died, and Jesus arose and lived among us! This startling event shows us we too, will have life, permanent life, life more abundantly because Jesus died for us, to take our sins away, and with it the sin and death we were condemned to experience. Jesusí death, therefore, makes his birth and life and ministry to the poor important to us. Jesus chose to walk in our shoes, to suffer hunger, shame, prejudice and rejection and even death. We know that God understands us now, our temptations, our guilts, our weaknesses and this brings us strength and hope and a sense of awe and worship that such a loving God could love us in spite of ourselves!
 To reiterate, the gospel hymn we read in the first chapter of John, says God's word to us is a human person, Jesus Christ! God's language is spoken in the flesh, it's real, not just a doctrine we mouth or repeat, but a dynamic, living experience.
 The first chapter of John was written at a time in the life of the early church when Gnosticism, which denied the created goodness of physical life and creation, was vying for adherents with Christianity over hundreds of years. Many Christians became Gnostics and believed that the world was evil, and that they could be saved, not by believing in the living Jesus Christ as their Lord, but by receiving special knowledge, secret knowledge that only a few were privileged to receive. The writer of John cleverly uses their language, their doctrine of the Logos, by taking this word and using it in a Christian context. Jesus Christ is the Logos, is the Word, is God's Word. John not only in this way affirms the goodness of life through the life of Jesus, but also clearly says Jesus was always part of life, and alludes to the beginning of creation when God said, ìLet there be lightì...and it was good. God created the world through Jesus Christ, the Word. No longer would the Word, the Logos have the same gnostic meaning because the church used it as a life giving message. the life of Jesus Christ dwelling among us. The early church knew how to proselyte among the learned Hellenistic world in this way. And God's Word, Jesus Christ, was not meant for only a certain few, nor as a secret, but was meant for the whole world.
 Jesus came as the Guiding Light to the whole world, not just to save the few who think they are one up on the rest of us. Like the Gnostics, we  won't be saved by our knowledge of technology, nor will those of us with academic credentials have special consideration, nor the bankers and money makers, nor those of Menses' high IQs, nor for those of us who think we are fair and just in our behavior toward all others. Ethical behavior  udoesn't saves, thank God! Only belief in a relationship of life and love with Jesus Christ is now open to us all. John turns the words of esoteric knowledge of the Gnostics into the Word, the liberating and lllifeigiving  Word who is Jesus Christ.
 But today, we are not only trapped by a modern day gnostic counterpart of slavery to teric or technical which only certain experts in our society can explain to us in ìlay peoples terms,î or who may try to make their expertise sound loftier, mystifying, and more convoluted and technical than it really is or ought to be.. We also have a modern counterpart to the Gnostic view, that the technological world and its life and matter are inherently evil because of their use in war to kill people., Our Puritan ethic filter of looking at life by judging those who are poor or unemployed as a moral defect. Those who seem to be enjoying themselves are judged as hedonists or merrily pleasure seekers who shouldn't play cards or dance or drink liquor; Or we should be ashamed, awkward and ill at ease, and rejecting our bodies. That we must avoid being open, sharing/intimate, and loving with people because this înecessarilyî leads to a sexual or physical encounteróand you know what could happen! We may be afraid, confused, or uncertain about the importance and role sexuality plays in our lives. We have remade God in the image of "Peeping Tom" of back car seats, and of bedrooms, a God who takes pleasure in our guilt and suffering and ignores the God of the joys of life and the gift of living/giving. If God loves us so much, if God is our Lover, if God comes to us through human flesh, if God even speaks to us through human experience such as Jesus Christ, who are we to denigrate and ignore the creation God has made for our benefit and enjoyment? The pleasure God gives to us is the pleasure God wants in return. If we use these pleasures for ego tripping, for manipulating others instead of loosing ourselves, our egos, we are no longer pleasing God. John reminds us that God speaks to us in the language of the flesh, and particularly through the life of Jesus Christ.
 Likewise, the Letter to the Hebrews we read today reinforces that God speaks to us through human language, particularly through the liberating and sustaining words of Jesus (v 2-3). Language is more than a way of communication. It is an expression of shared assumptions. It transmits values and behavior models to all the people who use it. Language allows us to interpret and organize the world we experience through our senses, providing structure and meaning. When Helen Keller connected the cool water to the living, flowing existence of it in her hand, she became able to grow and comprehend. In this way, language screens reality like the filter lens on a camera, limiting our thinking to the ideas we can express in that language. The water became a living, organizing word to Keller, she says, giving her hope, and joy, and freedom. Language creates, our world. It is an illusion to think that we adjust to reality without the use of language, that language is merely incidental to solving specific problems of communication and reflection. The real world is unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group which predispose us to certain choices of interpretation.
 When we speak about our faith, our experience of God, we use symbols and metaphors and analogies to describe and communicate what is by nature indescribable, but we try to describe it in terms of our human experience. The symbols arenít intended to be taken literally, but to point beyond themselves to a reality we can only dimly perceive.
 Krister Stendahl, Lutheran theologian and dean of the Harvard Divinity School affirms the serious problem  of our religious God language which uses mostly male centered religious imagery. He says we link the way we Christians speak of God with the way we tend to think about God. He tells the story about the person who came back from heaven and told what God looked like, saying: ìShe is black!î He says good theologians realize the importance of language, that the use of masculine pronouns and images of God is a cultural and linguistic accident. That Christ was a male is not more significant than that his eyes may have been brown. Stendahl says, and I quote: ìIncarnation is a great thing. But it strikes me as odd to argue that when the Word became flesh, it was to reinforce male superiority.î
 ìThe anthropomorphism describing God in human terms, mainly as Father, throws the imagery of God all out of proportion,î Stendahl asserts. Because this trend of using "He" in Christian language has increased in recent years, as a pronoun for God. He calls for a renewal and rethinking of the total language of theology and liturgy and everyday life so that language doesnít become an obstacle and a form of idolatry that accepts God only as male, He calls for the liberation of our  experience of God from sexism and the sexist language of our day. For example, the Holy Spirit is feminine, in the Hebrew, a rich understanding, a refreshing way to visualize the doctrine of the trinity of Father/Creator, Son/Savior, and Spirit/.Sustainer.ì And Word became a human being, full of grace and truth, and lived among us.î
 Let us pray. We thank you, oh Lord, our Creator, that you have come to us today in the human form of a baby. We need you so much, Lord, to renew us in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We thank you that you have given us the Word, Our Lord Jesus, who is living among us through each day in your Holy Spirit. You gives us new hope and joy that we cannot help but share with one another and with the whole world. You, oh God, are our Truth, and our Light, and our Life. We adore you and we praise you and we worship you for who you are and what you have done for us through your great love. Continue to give us life more abundantly as you promised, that we may be made strong enough to be your witness, even when it hurts. This we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the child of Bethlehem.
 And now, may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

 ìDeck the halls with boughs of holly!
 ë'Tis the season to be jolly!î

 These carols are filling our ears, our eyes, and our hearts more each day at the stores we shop in. I find myself racing to make up the card lists from last year, lists of gifts for Grandpa Albert, for my friends and family. Next week we'll have a buffet and cocktails for the neighbors with all the trimmings. Oh, I wonder if Polly's still has the macramé on sale? ìHoney, do we have enough wine for the punch?î The pressure mounts.

 Some of us wonder why we're in this frenetic pace. When can we find that special time to do what we want and to sit down and relax? Maybe not until December 26! Some of us thrive on challenges, on activity; we may get excited thinking of seeing our families or friends if we're away, and become dazzled by the glitter, about childhood dreams and fantasies.
 Others may see this season as a burden, a big rush that ends within a 24 hour period, concluding with the annual ritual of returning unwanted, broken, or mismatched items to the store.
 But Christmas presents problems in other ways. It might be a stocking with no gifts in it. It's living on a fixed income with no disposable money to buy the expected gifts. It may be the loneliness of spending Christmas Day in a hospital bed, or in prison, away from the comfort of home. In other parts of the world its just another day of painful and slow starvation, privation, and degeneration. Perhaps we've just learned we won't be seeing our favorite uncle when we visit his family. Or it's a remembrance of the last time you spent Christmas with your spouse who is painfully no longer there.
 The Christmas season produces the highest suicide rate of the year because of the high expectations, the anxieties, or loneliness many people feel.
 Some churches establish a Christmas hot line with information of planned activities throughout the city during that week. Still another approach involves all churches to reflect on human rights week and what this means for basic human justice and dignity for the people of the world.
 You and I can look at Christmas from both perspectives, with anticipation and excitement, or as a let down; we have probably experienced both these ways. Through tragedy we can know joy, and the lack of joy can show us sadness.
 The gospel, or the good news we read today speaks to us who have been burdened in transition who have been in a wilderness experience, where life is dry, shriveled up. It presumes all of us have such experience, or the scripture would not announce that there is good news coming ahead of us! The excitement is not over a new philosophy of life, or a new code of ethics, nor dependent on who we are or what we've done, but it comes in a very concrete way to us in the person of the messenger, John the Baptist.
 Now John isn't your ordinary messenger. He looks like Tarzan with his animal skin and belt. Because of this description we know he's God's  messenge Elijah. And we must be a vegetarian or health nut eating locust and wild honey found in the holes of rocks. In Old Testament times this was considered clean living by Deuteronomic lawDDeutermiclaw. John was a very humble person, a servant whcouldn't untiecouldn'tuntie the shoes of his Master. But, in times of insecurity, God asked John to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus. John also had many followers like Jesus, but he knew who his Master was. John has a very important message we'll discusswwe'lldiscuss shortly.
 But let's take a look at another self proclaimed messenger we all were shocked to read about in the newspapers who is the antithesis of our John the Baptist. He brought not good news but destruction, grief, and tragedy. The cult leader, Jim Jones, and the People's Temple lost over 900 people because this self proclaimed god figure couldn't allow the evil of his corrupt plans and ways to reach the scrutiny of the public.

The few who survived knew that death and suicide were not the only way out of Guyana. These followers were looking for security couldn't stand the ambiguities of life, its disappointments. They needed a controlling force, a rigid routine that brainwashed them into obedience so they could get through the wilderness. Their search for a socialist utopia where the world was wrong and they were right allowed Jim Jones to exploit them and their fears. The resulting tragedy warns us that no individual can promise us a life of bliss and peace, unless we want to be fooled. We can't  steel ourselves against the desert experiences of life.
 The analogy I'm drawing between Jim Jones as a messenger of death and of John as the messenger of life has several contrasting aspects. But the most important one is that John was experiencing the wilderness of peopleís lives, yet demanding that, with God's help, with the Holy Spirit, that they change their lives, that they be resilient, flexible. This is in stark contrast to sects which set themselves apart from the world and from life because the world won't change for them. This becomes an "us versus them" mentality. The world doesnít change for us, we have to change, if the world is going to change.
 Thatís the key to Johnís message. Another name for this is repentance, to change heart, to turn 180 degrees in the other direction. Jones would have lost millions of dollars if he had done that, and some of us might think weíll loose something, too. John didnít entice people with empty and self serving promises. He gave us one promise, that God would forgive, renew, and strengthen us as often as we needed it.
 And as human beings, God knew we needed something tangible we can touch and see, to be reminded and assured of this promise of God's presence and forgiveness. Just like the Israelites who were led by God in a cloud by day, and fire by night, in the trek through the Sinai wilderness, we are lead and renewed with the sacrament of holy baptism. We are led by God's love.
 How many people have been baptized into God's presence, God's kingdom these 20 centuries? It staggers the imagination to know how important and how seriously people take Godís promise, and how much we need Godís Spirit.
 John tells us the Lord is coming, as he quotes from Isaiah 40: Jesus will come like a king down the highway of our deserts. And the Lord promises to make the hills into a plain and the rough country he will make smooth. He is the only one we can trust to take care of us, as a shepherd.
 This advent season we are refilled with anticipation of this good news in the midst of our busyness.

 I am looking forward to tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day! and I hope you are too. It will be a day I spend at home with my family and friends. Iíll fly to Madison, Wisconsin, early tomorrow morning. Iíll be able to worship in my home parish that morning, and spend the rest of the morning preparing some of the Thanksgiving meal, and getting a look at the Macy's Day parade on television, and perhaps football that afternoon, after overeating a sumptuous meal with indigestion following. ìTurkey Dayî and your celebration might be  similarly active..

 But in the midst of all this good fortune and blessings, my awareness of the poverty of others is never dull, and adversity is not at my door. It is easy for me to watch horror stories on the television of human and natural disaster and death without being personally touched by these events. Itís a matter of self preservation to protect myself from such appaling misery. I ìsteel myselfî to keep tragedy from affecting me and this, I think, is normal for us Americans to do with our ìon the sceneî instantaneous news reporting.
 Iím sorry if this sermon sounds like a ìguilt tripî where we feel bad because God blessed us. But God is showing all of us how much we are loved, and God also loves the poor. It would be almost ludicrous for us to celebrate Thanksgiving this evening without acknowledging that while those of us here tonight are pretty well off, there are others who are not here, nor with family, and who are not well .
 I admit that when I prepared this sermon, I found out how little I know about the worst, current economic situation, and I had an overwhelming feeling of guilt, so much so that this sermon is filled with it. Who are the poor? Just to provide us with a perspective of the world, the number of people who are starving amount to one-and-a-half times the population of the United States. The same number is suffering constantly and painfully from malnutrition and hunger. About three fourths of the world is tolerably nourished or better. And interestingly, 90 percent of us Christians live in the well fed world which significantly affects the poverty and hunger of the rest of the world in their governments, their policies of trade, aid, and ownership of land.
 Each year, the world grows in population the size of one third of the US and in a few decades will double in sizeómostly among the poor nations who have little capabilities for food supply. Therefore, the food supply must double.
 The Old Testament lesson shows us that God is on the side of the poor, and continues to work on their side as he did for the Israelites in the Exodus, and promises a land of milk and honey. The second lesson speaks of Jesus becoming poor, even to death, in order to make us rich with God's love.

 God is God of both the poor and the rich. The real test for those of us well off lies in how we respond, and  treat the poor or ignore them. Second Corinthians emphasizes a transformation of economic relationships between people so that there may be equity or equality. Jesus, our model, says he came to preach good news to the poo, to release the  captives, to set free the ooppressed. Jesuslifts up the poor.
 Where do you and I as the church come into the picture? Our Social Ministry committee has discussed several of these following actions to both educate us and to help us live lifestyles that can ease the gap between rich and poor countries. We and our children can do something together by talking it over and deciding what to do. For example, we could eat less meat which per pound, uses up eight pounds of grain to produce. Or we can skip a meal a day a week and save the money for local organizationsë hunger appeals. We can go on a hunger walk for CROP, adopt a grandparent in a nursing home who has no family or friends, conserve or recycle clothing, bottles, and caps, paper, etc. We are already doing many of these things, even tonight, when our offering will be used for benevolence of othersí needs.
 The gospel highlights the Samaritan, the symbol of the poor, who Jesus healed. And the Samaritan, a despised foreigner to the Jews, was grateful. In fact his gratefulness was what made him well!
 The poor know Christ well. They call out to Him, ìMaster, have mercy!" And the poor call out to us.
 We ask God to give us the strength to carry on the uplifting of the poor.

  This week marks the first four weeks of a new church year and Advent season. Happy New Year! We look for the coming again of Jesus into our hearts, the Christmas event.

 This idea of looking forward, of hope in the coming of Jesus in the future is part of our faith. Yet, how does our faith relate to the future? Do you and I have a future?
 When I was a little girl, I remember one time we children were taken by the folks to visit a relative one winter day in the Windy City of Chicago. The weather was awful, with driving rain, sleet, sheeting ice, and snow all happening at once. When we got inside the warm apartment, I  sat on the couch with my sister. Just then, a large bolt of lightening sounded out. I was so startled at an instantanious lightening flash and crash and didnít know that lightening can occur in the wintertime. I exclaimed to dad, ìThe world is coming to an end!î I didnít understand what was happening and I was panicky. What made it worse was that dad played along with my fear, didnít explain the weather to me, but sadistically suggested that ìwe better hold on tight if the world was going to end.ì I waited for a very big explosion from below to blow us apart! When momensts ticked by in the silence, and nothing happened, I could gradually let loose my griip of the arm rest as I began to trust my own experience of safety. Gradually this biggest fear subsided.
 I cite this illustration because it speaks to us something of how we view the future. Some people look for signs that the world is coming to an end and actually set dates when God will come again. They look around at the disasters and world events as if nothing like that had happened before, and they think the Bible description matches these. So, God must be coming soon to bring vengeance and retribution to all those sinners!
 They miss the intent of what the Bible in its whole is about. Concern for a date perhaps is due to their preoccupation with their own lives and successes, rather than the coming of Jesus. We know that the context and timing of the New Testament was based upon getting ready for Jesus'  returning to help end the persecution and martyrdom of Christians by their Roman occupiers and captors. The Romans viewed Christians as a rebellious minority to be dealt with severely. Christians wanted the Messiah written of  in the old covenant to come and deliver them from death, and judge those responsible. Their faith in Godís coming again helped them endure and.the Holy Spirit Sustainer strengthened them in their faith. They believed, however Jesus Christ was with them in spirit  even though Jesus Messiah didnít and hasn't returned in such a  way or manner.
 Yet as a child, I didnít know or was I able to comprehend such faith in God, and I thought the world was coming to an end, period. Now I know the hope I have in the future because I know my future is with God, and in Godís hands. Even though God didnít come again during New Testament times, and don't know when, I remain awake and prepare for and anticiipate Godís coming even today. So my faith about the future of God affects me today, because. I know I will be cared for by God as each day comes and goes,
 I have trust in Godís love. Yes I often have times when I have no comfort, when God seems so far away. Some days, we really donít want God to come again. What kind of judgment will take place? The Gospels tell us the only way to face the future and Godís coming is to be full of faith or faith-ful/ed in Godís love and use our God given talents and gifts toward life, and be watchful rather than be care-less.and asleep or sleep walking!.
 The kind of carelessness and recklessness Matthew speaks of is a greater danger than immoral conduct itself! You see, if we are not serious and have no need to accept Godís love, we are not serious enough to be watchful for God,.to  avoid any serious grappling with our lives, and the meaning of our lives. To ignore Godís promise to love us, we are, like the people in Noahís time, who couldnít care less about the coming flood, even though they were told about it!
 Itís like being in a boat that God made for us and set us going, then leaves us as we float down the river, as if there are no waterfalls, whirlpools, rocks, and steep canyon walls,.or places to stop along the way to rest,  refresh, and to pray, as if God were finished with us and let us go through the dangerous rapids alone. We may be so busy directing and performing our life that we ignore Gods part in our journey..
 True awareness  in living, then, is to grasp passionately and grapple with our life journey and its perils, and live it, acknowledging Godís guidance and presence. To put it another way, we believe so strongly in the  reality of God and the meaning, mission, or calling in our lives, that we come to terms with Godís coming at any moment. Our faith saves us from fear of the future.
Amen

 Question One: My preparation for the ministry, my decision?
 Pastor Bremer, the Lord helped me through a long period of time to prepare me for the ministry. As I look back at the many blessings I received from God, I could not do otherwise but commit myself to full time work in response and gratitude for what my Sustainer, my Creator has done for me!
 I was always involved with the church through my youth such as Luther League, choir, and teaching. I was confirmed in Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Portage, where Reverend Tom Wagner, a son of this congregation, is now pastor.
I went to Oshkosh State University, majoring in psychology with a music minor and was involved in the leadership of the Lutheran Student Association when there were no campus pastors.
 I had a variety of experiences and two careers before entering seminary. Yet, a church vocation was always on my mind. I wrote for a seminary catalog about correspondence courses after college graduation in 1964. There were no correspondence courses according to the then Dean of Students, Pastor J. Stephen Bremer!
 However, I decided to enter the military service. As a WAC officer, I volunteered to direct the WAC chapel choir and other choirs and church outreach programs.
 Five years in the military passed and I wrote to Gettysburg seminary for a catalog, but decided to return to Wisconsin in 1970 for my schooling and accepted a job in personnel with the State of Wisconsin. I became a member of Lutheran Memorial Church in 1973 because I was interested in the education programs, and served on the church council prior to entering seminary in 1976.
 Why was my call so long in coming? Part of the answer is that God has his own time to work with me, and that I wasnít ready. Also, I saw no role models, no women leading worship until I met Pastor Robin Mattison. Nor did I have a mentor who could encourage me to identify the ministry as a career until I met my dear friend, Helen Kuga, who encouraged and supported me. The Lord has provided these people in my life!
 I was 34, and after five years, I was uncertain about remaining in personnel work. I began to reevaluate my niche in life. Did going up the bureaucratic ladder mean success? What was success? What meant happiness in my life?
 I talked to many people in and out of the church, read books on careers and took career counseling and self evaluation.
 In Lent of 1976, Pastor Bremer, you and Pastor Jerry Knocke presented a dialog sermon on the very  îQuestion of Faithî I had submitted anonymously, ìWhat does God want for my life?î Pastor Knocke doesnít know it, but he helped me so much on this spiritual journey when he shared his God-story about using Gideonís Fleece to help him know and confirm what God wants for his life.
 So I asked God what he wanted me to do, that I was going to apply to seminary, and if God wanted me in the ministry, the seminary would accept me.
 In my trip to Israel that summer, I left a small slip of paper with that prayer to God in the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem. That is a Jewish custom.
 God answered my prayer very boldly, and I have been on a most exciting and healing spiritual journey ever since!
 I encourage every person who is interested, and who is thirsting for more knowledge of God, and like me, who haunted the philosophy and religion sections of book stores, to consider studies in seminary.
 Question Two: What is involved in being prepared for the pastoral ministry today ...and the number of women candidates?
 To answer your last question first, Pastor Bremer, we are finding a great variety of people entering seminary, not only young men and women, but married couples with families, single people like me in mid-life and the formerly married, and minority group members which LCA is actively recruiting to increase our witness to the whole people of God.
 In my class of 1976, 30 percent of us were women. The Chicago Cluster of TheologicalSeminaries has seen a rise in the number of women in the last five years from 15 to 30 percent, and more in some seminaries.
 Now about the preparation and qualifications for entering the seminary. One needs a college degree, although studies in religion are not required, but helpful. The seminary looks for more than just academic achievement, which is a sign of discipline. It also looks for strong recommendations from members of the community and the church who know you well. The Greek language is often required for entrance, though many seminaries will provide such instruction in the first year to fulfill this need. Hebrew may be optional.
 Seminary training involves four years of studies. The first two years concentrate on basic courses in both the Old and New Testaments where Greek and Hebrew are useful. In addition, we receive classes in theology of Christianity including the Lutheran confessions and ethics, as well as classes in the history of Christianity, its origins, development and present activity such as world mission.
 Seminary also has a practical side. We gain experience in teaching, preaching, counseling and church administration. The most helpful program I found was the Clinical Pastoral Education or CPE summer program. This clinical program is offered usually in a hospital setting and is important to our personal development and to our ability to minister to others in crisis.
 The third year is a capstone of practical experienceóthe internship year in a parish under the supervision of a pastor, where you can try out the theory you have learned and discover your style of ministering to others.
 The final year completes the orientation to the ministry. We can take classes based on the needs we found during internship along with other electives. A thesis may be written during the last quarter as a summary of your Christian thought or position on an issue.
 Question Three: Living in community at seminary, ìin this time of preparation.î When I face a lot of work and studies, I stop and realize how brief my stay is in seminary and the marvelous resources that will not be available.
 Pastor Bremer, my seminary training would be only half complete without spiritual growth through daily devotions, both personal and with the community. This habit reinforces my faith and trust in Godís Holy Spirit to be present and guide me in a very real way.
 The seminary students hold daily chapel services in the morning and vespers in the afternoon and Holy Communion on Wednesday. And since Iíve been home this summer, and working at Luther Memorial, Iíve enjoyed worshiping with you and the staff each morning for prayer.
 Question Four: There is a new dimension in theological education, that of ecumenism.
 I find that a most exciting part of being at Chicago, Pastor Bremer. The Chicago Cluster of Theological Schools includes ten seminaries and gives us the opportunity to cross-register in any one of them, including the University of Chicago Divinity School.
  The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), ELCA, itself shares its facilities and housing with the Jesuit School of Theology and the McCormick Theology Seminary (Presbyterian) so that our Krause Library is the second largest theological library in the country, next to Harvard Divinity School.
 Iíve found great stimulation both intellectually and socially getting acquainted with members of Catholic religious orders, sharing in common concerns as students. My class on Jewish mysticism, taught by a rabbi, furthered my understanding of our common heritage and differences.
 In fact, as I grow to see and experience what Lutheranism is and its difference with other faiths, Iíve come to experience more of our unity and closeness as believers in God. Itís a paradox.
 As the writer of Ephesians8 says in the analogy about the many different parts of the body, with the head being Jesus Christ, the parts learn to fit and work together as it should. The whole body grows and builds itself up through love and under the loving guidance of Jesus.

 Love is about the business of removing barriers in our relationships. God created us for one purpose only, to be conversation partners with God and each other. This is Godís image in which we are made. To be partners with God as in the Garden of Eden as we were with one another.
 Forgiveness recognizes all our needs. It has been said that if we love someone, we know where they hurt without them telling us. Loving the other person helps us see over the other personís weaknesses and defects, and see and find beauty and wonderful qualities others canít see. Dorothy Sayers, the brilliant theologian and mystery writer, puts these words on the lips of the woman taken in adultery: ìThe Masterís the only good man I ever met, who knew how miserable it felt to be bad. It was as if he got right inside you and felt all the horrible things you are doing to yourself.î

 Forgiveness is a two-way street. Only the forgiving and accepting person is able to receive forgiveness. Paul Tillich10 emphasizes this acceptance as forgiveness: ìBeing forgiving and able to accept oneís self and others are one and the same thing.î Acceptance goes beyond the ideas of tolerance, indifference, making concessions, or sharing an opinion. Rather, it moves toward an awareness of the reality of life. We face the reality of our pain and anger  rather than deny the condition; or rationalize it or shrug it off; we prefer the darkness, and illusion. We donít want to see.
 Perhaps the most helpful awareness Iíve had recently showed me how much I needed help from others, that I could no longer deny the reality of my need to reach out for support and love.
 Some of you may know that I had anticipated approval for my ordination by the Synod Personnel Committee last year, but something went wrong, and I wasnít approved. I felt crushed, ashamed, and angry. It would have been so easy to deny my call to the ministry, to deny that I was in pain, to deny my need for love and support by ìsticking it out,î hanging tough and swallowing hard. Instead, I sought out my colleagues and classmates, you and Pastor J. Stephen Bremer, and later I was approved for ordination. This was repentance. How easy to think that I was perfect, conscientious, a good student, and justify myself and blame others for this. By asking God what he was saying to me in this crisis, and by sharing my wounds with others, I became healed.
 Jesus Christ is our wounded healer who takes the first step and shares himself with us on the Cross this very day. Through his prayer, Jesus Christ keeps the relationship with us even though what is inside us tries to destroy us. Our relationship is nonnegotiable to God and to each other. This is why we call this Friday, Good Friday, and Good News! Amen!

 ìLord, teach us to pray,î asked the disciple in Luke. And Jesus taught him how to pray.
 Jesus provides guidelines for our prayers and even gives us a suggested text which the early church writers provide in two different forms of the gospels and other forms in the Didache, a short manual called ìThe Teaching of the Lord through the Twelve Apostles,î (200 CE) manual of teachings for Christians, and other patristic writings. Perhaps this indicates that prayer, even the Lordís Prayer is valuable, not so much for itís literary form and repeatability, or consistency, as for its content. We pray from our heart like a child would talk to a parent, in a very unselfconscious way. We arenít praying a theology, or babbling words in order for God to hear us.
 Prayer was one of the three most important activities Christians inherited from Jewish piety, along with almsgiving, and fasting. And Martin Luther says, ìFaith is prayer and nothing but prayer.î
 Matthew says some very interesting things about prayer to people who already have some contact with prayer in their lives.
 You and I probably have some form of devotional life or meditation and reflection process that is essential to renewing our relationship to God and to each other, so we can face the day with our many agendas. And the Lordís Prayer is probably a very important part of our devotions.
 If we look at the start of the Lordís Prayer, we get some idea about what the content of the prayer may be. The petitions are divided into two sets, one set about God and the second set about our needs.
 In the first point, we pray, ìOur Father,îóeven if we are alone! The content of prayer is therefore social, and acknowledges that we are never alone when we pray in the name of God...Abba...Father. And we pray together as brothers and sisters without rivalry and disputes before God, and in Godís sight and in Godís power of love. The barriers between us are broken, those of fear and anxiousness that hinder our relationship to each other, to our neighborhood, and world by the working of Godís Spirit among us and in us. God is present among us when we call on Godís name.
 The petition, ìHallowed be thy nameî says two things to us. We are asking God to sanctify or make Godís name holy in our land, to rule over the earth with victory, opposing the evil one. And by giving us his guidelines of law, and his love and grace, we also are called to sanctify Godís name, to enter the battle with God, to have our faith be active in love. We have so many opportunities to be lovers and carers of Godís created world.
 The calling for Godís kingdom naturally follows. This is not a statement of resignation, but of joy! What would it be like to have a world where the wrong is made right for each of us?
 J. E.. Roberts say, ìweíd see the death of flunkyism in personal life, the death of mammon is social life, and the death of jingoism in natural life.î
 We only have to look around today to see natural and international and personal crisis.
 Last week, some of us students built a South Africa shanty on the seminary lawn, to show how apartheid affects the economic status of its victims. Based on our work the Exodus Board of the seminary decided to withdraw its funds within the year from the Continental Bank, which makes money off this condition.
 Only two weeks ago, we were shocked by the early morning news that an American rescue mission to free our hostages in Iran had to be aborted by the president. We didnít know if the lives of the hostages would be spared, but we knew that other lives were lost from this tragedy.
 These crises create personal crisis, and it seems some fundamentalist movements, like the Moral Majority, Inc., headed by Jerry Falwell, turn around and blame the agents of change, like the womenís movement, and the ERA for our plight. It is very difficult to provide black and white answers by blaming others and longing for the past instead of facing problems of disintegrating personal and family relationships. It is difficult to be in a creative tension for renewal and for justice when it seems the whole world is caving in around our ears.
 ìGive us this day our daily bread.î This second set of petitions, we pray for our own needs which we have every right to ask of God. Some of us are in the call process and some of us are not. What will we do about this summer? Can we get along enough to pay our bills? And yet, next week, congress will let expire the food stamp program in the midst of even greater needs of unemployment and inflation, in order to balance the federal budget! We need bread for the body, for the family of humanity, and for our spirits.
 In the next petition, we ask God for forgiveness, and put aside our call for revenge and for repayment of debts. And God still surprises us by doing just that!
 Jesus Christ is the burning center of lifeówith God, our prayers cannot be a time for play-acting. We pray for faith and hope, and for renewal.
 Our prayer is a prayer of faith, and asks for God to come to fulfill the purpose of incarnational love that Jesus showed in his ministry, and in the prayer which you and I receive.  God encounters us in a secret place as we worship apart and together, from the rush of our living, focusing upon God and the coming of the kingdom. Our whole being, our desires are  put in tune with God, like tuning a fine instrument so it may give purer sound.
 This we pray. Amen

 Simon Magus, the magician,ì is an exciting and seductive individual when we compare him to Phillip, the disciple and preacher.
 Simon, was well known by society, and known as the ìPower of God.î Simon, also called the Great, a pretender, a messiah to the popular mind.
 For you see, Simon was a Samaritan, a gnostic philosopher of Hellenistic persuasion who believed in the magic of power, or vice versa, the power of magic.
 Historically, Simon represents in the Book of Acts, is the early churchís dispute with gnostic doctrine. He, like many others in the pre-Christian era, claimed to be the bearer of divine revelation. The early church fathers, Justin, Irenaus and Tertullian, in fact write about Simonian Gnosis as it flourished in the second century AD from Palestine to Rome.
 So Simon wanted to buy Godís free gift of power, the Holy Spirit, for his own purposes, to build his reputation and popular power even further. We use the word ìsimony,î today to mean just that.
 Where do we find the use of simony today? Where are the pretenders and the users of magic.
 Iíve had my share of experience with magic and pretend messiahs in my own spiritual revolution and journey as Iím sure you have.
 In the early 70s, after I left the military service, I came back to Madison, Wisconsin, and I was quickly caught up in the Aquarian Age and became aware of astrology and Eastern philosophies, Zen, TM, the Human Potential Movement, and the drug scene that surrounded every segment of our lives. We were in the middle of a political and social revolution and in search of our faith for a modern age.
 I was a Christian, and believed in Godís love, and yet, I was curious to know how these new ideas fit or related to Christianity. Could some of them be Christian, I asked?
 And particularly I thought these might offer greater depth and certainty to my faith than I had, if I explored them.
 I went to a TM (Transcendental Meditation) free lecture and decided to buy the whole package deal for $75. Anyway, the price was doubling in two weeks, so I had to act fast. I was assured TM was not religion.
 When I went to the ceremony to get my mantra, or secret Sanskrit word to repeat into a ìblanknessî of awareness, I found myself standing in front of a picture of Maharishi Mehesh Yogi, offering him fruit and my ìguideî saying prayers in Sanskrit very mysteriously, and bowing. I was confused and promptly in my pragmatic way, ignored this ritual in order to obtain the mantra and practice two times a day. This magic ritual was designed to clear my mind and increase my awareness and ability to be successful in life and interpersonal relationships. All this had been ìprovenî to me with the scientific-looking charts of data, TM was touted as the revolution to change the moral character and delinquent and health habits of the worldóa messiah!
 Well, Maharishi Mehesh Yogi used my money to build himself a university to further his religious magic. Even though I still remember the mantra that we must never forget, overall, it didnít do what it was supposed to do, and I wasnít disciplined enough to practice it forty minutes a day. The magic of it wore off in my increased sophistication and skepticism. I found further this philosophy was a nihilistic view of the world scene devoted to a type of hedonism or ìme firstî approach to life, and without regard to the world or to the situation of my neighbor, the ethical question. When might my spiritual search have ended it, if I put as much energy into reading my Bible two times a day as I did practicing TM?
 Yes, I continued my exploration into a weekend retreat that stressed a mind-science approach to living, and I found out about stories where the mere advanced could deny time and space and transport themselves to their destinations. I was impressed, but a bit frightened. Some practitioners were having a difficult time using its techniques and some of the people there seemed to be disturbed or have obvious personal difficulties with the life. I asked the leader of the workshop some difficult questions concerning Christianity that I wasnít satisfied with. During my break, the leader said my questions and sensitivity would make me a good candidate for leadership in the program. After a lot of reflecting overnight, I asked for my money back the next day. This wasnít for meóit was too weird, and a denial of reality and life as it is.
 There are many places where we find simony and magic. Not only are you and I affected with it each day, but you may recall the television special this year about the Guyana tragedy of two years ago when ìFather-Godî Jim Jones lead his believing flock to their death through his physical and spiritual madness and megalomania.
 This week we note the TV coverage of the political process of selecting a presidential candidate. The opening prayer by Billy Graham seems to typify the growing blur between conservative politicians and conservative Christianity who appeal to the least enriching traditions of the past and attempt to revivify and sentimentalize them into the present day.
 We also see each candidate claiming power that will turn around the plight of their constituents if they will give the power of their votes. We must think politicians are magicians like Simon! We seek after a promise of tax cuts that seem improbable in view of the realities of inflation and increased government spending. Yet we look for saviors to lead us to a promised land, who has all the seeming ìright answers,î but not the personal commitment or credentials and authority, even if they claim to be ìborn again.î
 Yet we share in the problems of this country by expecting and relying on our government more than on ourselves if someone else will do for us, what we couldnít care less about what to do.
 Simon and Philip represent two roads you and I take in our spiritual journey. One points us to a magical way to manipulate life, where we desire to make life easy and where we can gather powers and authority as ends in themselves. This is a very attractive road indeed. Prior to my call to the ministry, I always thought that promotions meant everything, ìupî was right. But to me, creativity or learning and expanding my horizons is success, not the acclaim that goes with it. Philip, on the other hand, is a learner who is open to being a channel to God, who takes God seriously and proclaims the love and power of God in his life to others in his own actions and deeds. In this way is Godís purpose made public in each of our lives and in a very personal way which does more than give us ìwarm fuzzies.î
 Even Simon had the privilege to ask the disciples to pray for him, even though he had been high and drunk with his own power, because he recognized the truth and the power of Philipís and Peterís preaching of Good News, so that his envy might not make him a prisoner of sin. This is the assurance you and I have as we gather around the Lordís Table, not in some magic way, but in a very personal and concrete way are we reconciled to ourselves, to each other, and to God. This is Godís will which we surrender to tonight. Amen

 ìWhosoever make himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.î

 My understanding of humility was a rather negative ideas about myself, that I should become a doormat for someone to walk over, or that I was to debase myself as unworthy. In fact, when I checked a Funk & Wagnalls dictionary, I found these very same ideas in its definition! One was lowly, submissive, deferential, inferior, dependent, etc. Who wants to be that way? Yet as a youth, I remember reading on the back of my offering envelope these very same ideas. I can vividly remember how it started outóbecause I kept it and tried to practice it. It says, ìNo one can humble a truly humble person...î and that showed me how far or how low I had to feel to be a Christian. As I look back on all this, it seems I was being asked in the name of my faith to follow a Norman Vincent Peale principleóonly in reverse. It came across to me as a ìshould,îî as a law of loneliness that must be practiced in every situation. There was no ìgood newsî in this for me, because I couldnít possibly begin to live up to this standard or earmark of Christian deportment. And there was no way that a writer could give me the context or examples of what was meant, some kind of ìhandlesî for understanding on the back of a child-sized envelope. And so I accepted a rather perverse and sterile understanding of humility.
 In the gospel lesson for today, Jesus indeed gives us handles to understand the word ìhumility.î We see Jesus talking with the crowd and the disciples or followers, i.e., all of us, first about what humility is not! And, he is referring to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who are perhaps a symbol of the world we live in, a world governed by power and prestige. And, as part of that world, you and I as human beings, often buy into its systems and values, as an employer, student, consumer, or retiree, etc. We buy into power trips, its competitiveness, its ìbigger is betterî syndrome, which all the media advertising will affirm for us every quarter hour of our dayóif we allow  seeing it!
 Now, although Jesus respects the function and role of the Pharisees as authorized interpreters of the Law (and we also respect the structures of our world, such as government, business, and the church), Jesus starts to speak about and identify their lack of humility which he condemns. In fact, Jesus goes so far in this chapter in his condemnation of their hypocrisy and lack of humility that he predicts the very Temple in which he is teaching and arguing with them will become abandoned and even destroyed. No crowds, no lawyers, nor priests  or Pharisees will perform their rituals there. Likewise, we too, as followers of Jesus Christ, speak out on the abuses and injustices, and criticize the values we see that are evil and destructive. And yes, Jesus has predicted that we too cannot live forever if we cling to our sins and do not turn around from them and face God, asking for forgiveness.
 Jesus begins to describe what humility is not in verses 2-7: public recognition, and approval for what we do; exaggerated and affected actions that will catch peopleís eye; demanding the best seats in the house; a desire and a liking for the feel of authority and respect for themselves; and finally the adding of heavy burdens upon others and then watching them in their helplessness.
 Especially this last earmark brings me to a story in last weekís paper which you might have read about a 51-year-old crippled vagrant who was suffering from old frostbite injuries. A police officer found him, called the paramedics who refused to treat him, took him to the city jail, and to the university medical center, both of which declined to treat him, and finally after several hours, to the VA hospital. There, the surgical resident rejected him, because they had no private room available to treat people with hygiene problems, a non-medical treatment, even though his underwear were covered with maggots and his skin was raw. Now this doctor reminds me of the humbling situation in Bethlehem when the inn keeper said there was no room for Mary and Joseph who were also in dire straights, with Mary about to give birth.
 After hearing these words of rejection from the doctor, the vagrant told the officer to leave him under a pine tree on the VA hospital lawn in that 41 degree temperature until morning when he could see a social worker. He was brought blankets and coffee by the officer, and left there! In no way was the doctor moved from his determination of proper procedures to intervene in the life of this human being. But, a nursing supervisor of the hospital heard he was out there and got him inside at 3 am, and while he was being washed, the vagrantís heart stopped. Fortunately, they revived him. The police officer said, ìI lost a lot of respect for the medical profession last night.î
 The surgeon has sworn an oath to take extraordinary measures to treat and heal sick people as a profession. Yet, in this case, he stands by and causes a citizen to almost loose his life because of policy or rules. He added a burden. Another person puts the life of the other first, and through her compassion, is moved to lift the burden from this sick man, and not just stand idly by. The great are humbled and the humbled are lifted up when Jesus Christ has his way.
 So Jesus makes his point about the Pharisees  and interpreters of the Law, as to unacceptable behavior. He turns to the disciples, verses 8-12, the ones who want to learn from Jesus and who are ministering to others, and he begins to tell them about humility, and the method and the motivation for their ministry to others. Jesus does this in such a way so as to undermine the exaggerated authority and prestige held by the Pharisees and the world.
 The first point Jesus makes is that we are all equal, we are all sisters and brothers to one another. No one is above us as a teacher or master. Why? Because in Godís plan, we have only one master and leader over us that counts, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. God created us to be in community with each other with no one automatically lording in over us by divine command.
 The second point Jesus makes to us believers is, we are all related to each other much like the children of parents. We all have been created and sought out and adopted as heirs to Godís beautiful reign on earth, to Godís kingdom. As our Parent, God is therefore, our only Father, our only Creator, and no one else on earth has this unique relationship and rule over us, according to Jesus.
 This morning, Jodi and Judy Kalli and Amanda Schroeder will be adopted as Godís children through the rite of baptism of Godís Holy Spirit, and their earthly parents will stand in for their children as representatives for them, and for God.
 In three short verses, Jesus does away with behavior that is motivated by authority and prestigious titles and in their place he holds up Godís authority in our lives and Godís love for us as our Divine Parent. This parent image is even more amplified at the end of this chapter where Jesus says, ìJerusalem! Jerusalem! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!î God is both like a mother, and a father, both loving and authoritative.
 So what has Jesus told you and me abut humility by this castigation of the Pharisees? To be humble requires an application of the love command where our own prestige is replaced by human involvement and concern for others. To be humble is carried out in relationships, and is not an abstract principle or law. And ultimately, the only source, the only teacher, the only leader who can help us is the Lord Jesus Christ. In this sense we are dependent upon God as the first source of our life and well being.
 My most recent experience of humility came in a realization that when I perceive a problem related to another, I generally put all the freight upon that person, leaving myself untouched by self-evaluation. When I begin with blaming the person, and I start feeling sorry for myself, I say to myself, ìpoor me.î ìIf that person would do such and such, or if that problem left me alone, etc., then everything would be okay!î ìPoor me.î And of course, this unrealistic dreaming, this ìgreener pastures syndromeî shows I have put my feelings and my problems first and that they have clouded my ability to problem solve. So when I see what I am doing, I can back off, think of the situation and of the other person and actually start to deal with the real problems and issues. More and more I have realized how often I put myself and my feelings first ahead of other people and their concerns! Even in my first sermon preparation, I became so anxious about what other people would think of me and what I said, that, in my anxiety,  lost sight of the Good News message, and the part God plays in these meditations and sermons. To know that God can help me work through these moments has been such a big relief and has liberated me for other tasks.
 Is Jesus doing away with all earthly authority and institutions? Not by any means! Jesus is showing us that authority can be Good News when it is viewed through the symbol and the figure of Jesus Christ who died on the cross. Jesus Christ symbolizes both the humility and the authority he holds in his dying and living again. Jesus is a symbol of our own dying and rising daily, a symbol that shows God can harmonize these two elements of life. And that is Good News for us all! Amen
 
 

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