Cut it Out

Today I was outside for much of the day pruning some of my neighbor’s bushes, in particular, a large forsythia that kept me busy for some time.  It gave me plenty of opportunity to think about how often the Church and our own personal lives also often need a good pruning. 

(For those of you who don’t know, my family looks out for and takes care of my elderly neighbor, Barbara.)

Barbara’s forsythia isn’t just huge, it’s humongous.  I bring out a ladder to reach some of the top stuff that needs trimming.  It takes a long time to shape and thin.  (My hair dresser can probably say the same thing!)  This year I was going to pay the price for having neglected this task for the past two years as I face three seasons of growth.

Long tendrils of forsythia branches had grown almost down to the ground.  New growth shoots on the inside of the bush would struggle to grow if the heavier growth on the outside was allowed to shade the interior.  

A very old, and very large forsythia in the process of being pruned.

It’s a very old bush.  Many years ago I got out there and cut out a lot of the thicker and older branches to allow some room for new shoots to fill out and strengthen the infrastructure of the bush in upcoming years.  Each year I cut out the dead wood from the previous year.  Each year I try to trim down one or two really old stalks so that the process of new growth can continue.  It seems to be working.  It is amazing to me to see some of those thick old branches still shooting off new growth, even down inside the bush.

Truthfully, I’m not even sure if I’m really doing it right.  It took me a year or two (a long time ago) before I understood that I should really prune forsythia after it is done flowering in the Spring, not in the Fall.  But in the end, the bush seems to hold a nice shape, flowers beautifully in the Spring, and my neighbor is happy that I keep it from becoming an unsightly monster.  It’s exhausting, but fulfilling.  I imagine that it would hurt (if forsythia had feelings), but the result is worth the work or pain. 

God encourages us to do pruning in our own lives and in the Church as well. 

A healthy Church does not allow individuals or groups to sway it from its Mission.  A healthy Church will, by keeping its Mission in focus, eventually trim away those whose ideas or self-interests are at odds with its Mission by not giving them the power to alter the Mission.  A healthy Church gives rise to new ideas and ways of doing things that still support the vision of its Mission.   A healthy Church builds new life upon the strength and wisdom of healthy older lives that encourage new ideas, new visions, and new ways of being Christ to our communities.

Of course, a healthy Church knows its Mission in the first place and has its roots grounded in Christ.

God encourages us to do the same with our own lives.  We are to prune away the things that weigh us down and keep us from growing… the over-commitment to things that ultimately mean little, the addictions to things that keep us from being committed to the One Thing that can make an eternal difference for our lives, and the people and things that poison our hearts and minds and keep us from seeking out the nourishing and life-giving Grace of God, to name a few.

When we do these things…our lives, and our Churches, will grow and bear fruit with the abundance that God has intended to fill our lives.

John 15:2  “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Amen.  

Are you willing to cut away the dead wood in your life?  What sort of things (or people) hamper or come between you and your relationship with God?  What can you prune away to stimulate your spiritual growth?

www.elcaAndy.org
Worship with us on Sundays at 8:30 and 10:45 am
Come support our Youth Group Fundraiser:
Yard Sale, May 7 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm

The Easter Resurrection Births a New Church

We are now in the season of Easter until the Day of Pentecost.  During these upcoming weeks we’ll hear stories of Jesus appearing to His disciples, assuring them of His Resurrection, comforting them from their distress, chastising them for their disbelief, warning them of the dangers ahead, praying for His disciples, giving them hope with the promise of the Holy Spirit, and then ascending to Heaven before their eyes.

On June 12, we’ll celebrate Pentecost as Jesus delivers to us His Holy Spirit, but in between we’ll walk with our risen Lord as He lives among us.

Imagine the joy!  All of creation wanted to cry out when Jesus conquered death and rose victorious on Easter Sunday.  With Jesus’ Resurrection there is a New Creation….the Church…God’s Holy People, made of flesh and bone but born again as REDEEMED Children of God.

The Church is made new in the Resurrection of Christ!

Christ is risen, Alleluia!

Join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 and 10:45 am

www.elcaAndy.org

Easter - Be Not Afraid!

Jesus Christ is Risen Today…Alleluia!

All during Lent we have spent time in self-reflection, trying to look at ourselves as God might, trying to change our lives and our hearts and our thinking to reflect the commandment of Jesus to “love one another as I have loved you.”

The last few days have been emotion filled as our collective guilt roared to a crescendo and we cried on Good Friday, “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

As we left church on Friday, we shared in the darkness of the world, a world without Jesus.  We are left bereft of the Light of the World, feeling alone, guilty, and maybe a bit scared. 

Did you feel empty on Saturday?  Did you feel a little like you were in limbo?  What are you supposed to be feeling about where Jesus is right now…dead in a tomb, wrestling for victory on our behalf?

But we are also gifted with the knowledge and hope of the Resurrection!  Imagine the fear and the despair of those who believed Jesus to be the Messiah to see Him dead on the cross and laid in the tomb.  The doubt that must have assailed them, “Could we have been wrong?  How could this be?”

It is no surprise therefore that the first words of the angels in the garden near the tomb are “Do not be afraid!”  Or that the risen Jesus first greets Mary Magdalene and the other women with “Do not be afraid!”  Or that His first words to His discples upon meeting them after His Resurrection is "Do not be afraid!"

For all my soul searching during Lent I still fear that I will come up short (or fall down short) in the eyes of God.  How can I possibly be good enough?  How can I withstand the temptations of the world?  What will happen if I fail to resist those temptations?  What if…?  How?

For all my life-long relationship with God and the church THESE doubts still sometimes creep into my mind and my heart.   Martin Luther’s Small Catechism is full of answers to these doubts.  The New Testament is full of answers to these doubts. 

But the biggest piece of evidence to answer my doubts lies in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ , which we  celebrate today… Easter Sunday.  Jesus rises from the grave and speaks, not only to Mary and the other disciples, He speaks to me, and to you…. “Be not afraid!”  Love has conquered all.

God knows we can not be perfect, or sinless.  He knows we will fail.  He knows we will reject Him; and yet, He suffered unimaginable pain and loss through His death on the cross because He loves us.  He took the fear and the pain upon Himself and turns to us to say, “Don’t be afraid.  I’ve gone ahead of you and won the victory over death.  I’ve been through it all.  I know what you are going through and I will see you through it, if you but trust and believe in me.”

On this Easter Resurrection Sunday we are given the gift of a life free from fear, if we are willing to grasp it.   Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

Every Sunday is a little Easter celebration.  Don’t miss the opportunity to be refreshed anew after being beaten down each week.   Come celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday and join the disciples as they conquer their fear and stride forth into the world to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Join us for worship - Sundays at 8:30 & 10:45 am
www.elcaAndy.org

And we crucified him...

Today is Good Friday.

The Gospels all say some variable of "there they crucified Him." 

Knowing how culpable we all are in the death of Jesus by virtue of our sinful nature, I suggest that we read these verses differently and say, "there we crucified Him."  

Each time we willfully choose to turn our back on God, to turn away from His love and mercy, in search of what the world offers us instead, we crucifiy our Lord again.  For God offers us His Grace...His underserved love and forgiveness...because His Son paid the ransom for our souls so that we might have life eternal with our Father in Heaven. 

If you have any doubt about the suffering Jesus went through on our behalf, check out the link below to a medical doctor's evaluation of the method of execution during Roman rule called crucifixion.

http://www.vancouverchurchofchrist.org/bible-study-series-outline/3-1-2-medical-account-of-the-crucifixion/

The curtain in the temple that separates us from God was torn in two.
The wall that sin built up between our Father and His children has been torn down.

The world now waits...3 days in darkness...for victory over death to shine forth as we find an empty tomb on Easter morning.

Join us for Easter worship. 8:30 and 10:45 am.  Easter breakfast 9:45 am.  Free-will offering.
www.elcaAndy.org for directions

Judas' Bad Rep Rap (video)

Here's an attempt to spice up the last post. Sorry no sound...I don't have a mic! (Hey, it's a church budget you know...besides...this chick doesn't seem to rap so well...it sounds much better in my head.  Well, you've got to try something new once in a while, right?  Hope you can find the rhythm!)

Judas' Bad Rep Rap

Judas’ Bad Rep Rap by Tina Levorse

I’ve got a bad rep, that much is true
You’ve heard the story, some of it is gory, but it all had purpose
Yeah…  Yeah…

Jesus was my Lord, my love for Him was true
I’ve been called pariah, but He was my Messiah, and my deed was monstrous
Yeah…  Yeah…

But He chose Me, what could I do
I felt the call, as did we 12 all, to follow this Dude around the land
Walking…walking…

Feeding the hungry, healing the sick
Crowds pressing in, reaching out to touch his skin, with outstretched hands
Yearning…Yearning…

Jesus touched their hearts, He touched mine too
I knew He was special, a man from God - celestial, to return Israel to power
Hoping… Hoping …

Why was He not moving?  What’s this talk of death?
Defeat the Romans?  Without even a swordsman?  Why all this passive strolling about town?
Waiting….waiting…

He’s pissing off the Pharisees, how will that move Rome?
Breaking bread with friends…will it never end?  I’ll force his hand and make Him wear His crown!
Plotting….. Scheming ….

Three years of austerity.  Where is the posterity?
Three years I’ve waited.   Now I will be hated, for what He is forcing me to do.
Secret….  Meetings  …..

30 silver pieces.   I have betrayed my Lord.
I lead the soldiers to Him.  He still knows that I love Him.  Betrayed with a kiss.
Broken….  Hearted …..

Jesus knew that I would weaken, wasn’t strong enough
To deny the tempter’s power.  Satan filled my final hours.  Redemption for me is lost.
Alone…. alone …..

Oh what have I done?   There is nowhere to run.
I have answered Satan’s call.  Will he win after all?  Because I didn’t understand the plan?
Lost…..  lost …..

Life is not worth living.  I’m not worth forgiving!
No redemption for me.   But with this rope and from that tree…perhaps I’ll end this misery.
Silence…  Stillness…

Jesus’ heart is broken.  Judas refused the token
Of His love.   Forgiveness was his to have.   If he had only asked.  If only he had asked…
Loving…forgiveness..
Un-ending...eternal…
Just ask…Just ask…
Yeah.

www.elcaAndy.org
Come worship with us tonight.  Agape Meal (potluck) 6:30 pm.  Bring an item to share.  Free-will offering.  Maundy Thursday Worship @ 7:45 pm
Good Friday Worship @ 7:30 pm.  Service of lengthening shadows/increasing darkness.
Easter Worship @ 8:30 and 10:45 am, Easter Breakfast @ 9:45 am - free-will offering.

Jesus ramps it up in Holy Week

When you read the Gospel accounts of Holy Week I have to stop and wonder if Jesus wasn’t purposely ramping up the religious leaders, goading them into plotting his death.

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we hear multiple stories of Jesus agitating the religious leadership shortly after His triumphal ride into Jerusalem met by cheering crowds:

Jesus turns over the tables of the money changers in the temple and rebukes the chief priests and scribes; 

He agitates them further when He challenges them when they question by whose authority He does His teaching.

He goads them further when He tells the parable of the wicked vine-growers, alluding to the religious leaders being the vine-growers. 

He outright warns the people listening to Him to “beware the scribes…”

It is no wonder that they plotted to kill Jesus.  He was undermining their authority and showing them up to be liars and thieves.  He was gaining favor with the people and turning them away from the traditions and practices which the religious leadership sought to preserve as a right to gain power and wealth.

So dangerous was this Jesus of Nazareth that it would be only days until those in power would try to claim victory by His death.

Little did they know that by His death, Jesus would be victorious over all.

Isn’t it ironic that we seek to silence the voices who call us to question the status quo or stand up against the tyranny of the powerful?  Think Boston Tea Party.  The Holocaust.  Tiananmen Square.  Egypt.  Libya. Lebanon. Israelites and Palestinians. Sudan. Uganda.  Women’s Suffragists. Civil rights marches.  Those who protest for and against the rights of gays and lesbians, transgendered and transsexuals. 

Revolts and revolutions abound…throughout history and our current daily news.

What about those who stand up or speak out with in the church?  Do we let their voices be heard?  Or do we drive them out?  Maybe Holy Week is also a good week to think about the other voices among us who challenge us to think outside the box as we worship, study, and fellowship together.

What would Jesus think about the way your church worships and conducts its ministry?

www.elcaAndy.org
Join us tomorrow for Maundy Thursday.  Dinner at 6:30 pm, bring an item to share. Free-will offering. Worship @ 7:45 pm with Holy Communion and foot washing.
Join us Good Friday at 7:30 pm for a Tenebrae Service of lengthening shadows/increasing darkness.

Don't Toss Out the Oreo Filling of Your Holy Week

Yesterday’sblog about Palm Sunday talked about the cookie in our Oreo.  Today we'll talk about the filling.

Palm Sunday begins with celebration and ends with the story of the crucifixion.  We leave the service fully steeped in the knowledge that within the span of a week we go from shouting “Hosanna!” to turning our backs on God, denying His Son, and demanding Pilate to “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

I’ve often wondered why the designers of the church year cram all this emotion and storytelling into one Sunday.  I guess it is so that those who only worship on Sunday will hear the whole story …so that we do not rejoice on Easter without hearing of how we are all culpable in the death of Jesus.

But only attending Holy Week services on Palm Sunday and Easter is like eating  the Oreo cookie and tossing out the cream filling.  (Although there are some people who do eat their Oreo’s exactly like that.)

Please, please, don’t skip out on the other opportunities to worship during Holy Week.  Just because we sang “Hosanna!” two days ago, don’t think we’re finished getting ready for Easter.  

While yes, we will hear the stories that detail this last week of Jesus’ life in human form again during worship on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, each worship experience creates unique opportunities for us to become closer to God.

Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday

Join us as we share an Agape Meal (agape means “love”…as in brotherly love) on Thursday (April 21) beginning at 6:30 pm.  Bring an item to share.  We also take a free-will offering to help offset the costs.  Our meal is followed by our Maundy Thursday worship service beginning at 7:45 pm.  We share in Holy Communion as modeled by Jesus during the Passover Seder with His disciples at the Last Supper.  Pastor Fred also invites anyone who wishes to come forward for foot washing, a modeling by Jesus of the how we are to be a servant to each other.  At the end of our worship service, our sanctuary (church worship space) is stripped of all decoration and we leave in silence.

Good Friday

On Good Friday (April 22), we worship at 7:30 pm in a bare sanctuary with only a black swag draped over the cross as we hear the story of the betrayal, crucifixion and death of Jesus one last time.  The tomb slams shut and our hearts are broken.  While this sounds depressing and ominous, and is not necessarily a worship service that small children will enjoy, we are called to spend a few minutes contemplating our Lord’s last moments on the cross and the price He paid for our salvation.  By participating in this story we feel the utter aloneness and finality that seems to rule the day. This sadness is but the tiniest, tiniest glimpse of the ransom paid for us.  But we know that this is not the end.

To truly be able to live with joy in Christ’s Resurrection, you need to be a part of Good Friday.  Easter is oh so much more of a sweet and happy celebration when you have gone to the cross on Good Friday.

So don’t skip the filling.  Join us for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship services.  You’ll find yourself feeling even closer to God and your Easter joy will have even more meaning.

Why do you, or don't you, go to Maundy Thursday or Good Friday worship services?  Please leave a comment and let us know.

www.elcaAndy.org

Waving Holy Week On Toward Easter

The season of Lent is almost complete.  Easter is a few days away.  On Sunday, our hallelujahs will rise in joy and tell the world of the glory and triumph of our God.  Churches around the world will be filled with people, their voices raised in song proclaiming “Hallelujah!  Jesus is risen!”

But before we can celebrate our Lord’s triumph over death, we still have some work to do and lessons to learn.

Beginning with yesterday, Palm Sunday, we hear the celebratory story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, welcomed as a king.  The people recognize him as someone special, possibly even their Messiah.  They have seen and heard of the miracles He has done.    

We join them and become a part of the story as they wave palm branches and lay their coats across the road to keep the dust from kicking up onto this man of God.  We march around the church waving our palm branches and shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”

They know, as do we, that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9  “Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

But many expected a different kind of king.  They thought the Messiah would deliver them from the unjust and oppressive rule of Rome and restore Israel to greatness.

How often do we expect a different Savior than the way in which Jesus comes to us?

How often are we fair weather Christians?  As long as the going is going our way, we’re right there waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!”   But as soon as the going gets tough or things don’t go our way, do we turn around and abandon our God thinking He has broken His promises?  Do we become like the crowd in Jerusalem only days later shouting for Pilate to “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

In order to truly celebrate Easter we need to see ourselves for whom we really are.  And THAT requires a full investment in Holy Week.

I invite you to join me here this week and we’ll get ready for the most spectacular event in history…Easter.

www.elcaAndy.org
Maundy Thursday, 4/21, Dinner 6:30 pm - bring an item to share.  Free-will offering.  Worship 7:45 pm
Good Friday, 4/22, 7:30 pm Tenebrae Service (increasing darkness/shadows)
Easter Sunday, 4/24, 8:30 & 10:45 am Worship, 9:45 am Easter Breakfast (free-will offering)

Egg Hunt - tomorrow @ 10:00 am

Tomorrow is St. Andrew’s annual Easter Egg Hunt.  We gather together at 10:00 am so don’t be late as you can imagine how quickly the eggs are scooped up.

But what is the origin of the Egg Hunt and why do we color/dye the eggs?

Basically, eggs are a symbol of new life, both in Christian tradition and in earlier pagan practice.  It is not hard to see how the egg was associated with the prospect of new life, as a new life is begun when an egg hatches.

One legend tells a story of Mary Magdalene where she tells Pilate that “Christ is risen” only to be rebuked with “he is as much alive as that egg is red” and upon looking at a previously white egg to find it now colored red.  

Other thoughts pin this practice to the Medieval period when it was forbidden to eat eggs during Lent.  The eggs were hard-boiled or preserved in other ways and often painted or dyed to provide a fun entertainment for the children and something to do with the eggs.  This made eggs an Easter day specialty.

The practice of coloring the eggs may also come from early pagan spring festivals and rituals, later adapted and tweaked to celebrate Christian ideology in the resurrection of Christ.

I don’t seem to be able to find any real details about the beginnings of the Easter Egg Hunt, but I’m guessing it was a way to get rid of all those eggs that piled up over Lent.

Whatever  the origin, the symbol of an egg as new life and its use in the Easter celebration of Christ’s Resurrection is here to stay.

And, it’s fun!

So come over to St. Andrew tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.  Bring your Easter basket to collect your eggs.  The hunt is open to children up to age 10.  The event is FREE and will be held rain (indoors) or shine(outdoors)!  Refreshments will be served following the egg hunt.

www.elcaAndy.org

Devotion - Recreating the Temple in Jerusalem

Holy Week will soon be upon us.  Palm Sunday is this coming Sunday, April 17.

We will hear a multiude of stories about Jesus' time in Jerusalem beginning with His entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.

I thought it might be a good time to contemplate what the temple in Jerusalem might have looked like.

Follow the link below and look at the amazing creation of Alec Garrard.  It is remarked to be the most realistic reproduction of the temple and its various levels.  After you read the news story and look at the pictures, contemplate the heartfelt dedication to God of a man whose wife says he is mad.

What are you passionate about?  Does it include God?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1155962/Pensioner-spends-30-years-building-amazing-model-Herods-Temple---admits-wont-finish-it.html

www.elcaAndy.org
Easter Egg Hunt, Sat., April 16, 10:00 am, Rain or shine.  FREE!  Don't be late.  Refreshments served.

Friends and Tabbouleh

Sometimes you never know what you’ll learn to like when you meet new people.

I’m not always the most adventurous person, but for the sake of neighborliness I found a new food (actually a bunch of new foods) that will forever be a reminder of a terrific friendship.

Tabbouleh.

If you’ve never eaten it, it looks somewhat strange.  It’s one of those salads you’re not sure what it is by looking.  In reality, it is parsley, tomato, onion, bulgur (or cracked) wheat, lemon juice, olive oil, and a little salt and pepper.  Not so scary when you know what’s in it, huh?

For me it is also symbolic of friendship.  You’re not sure what you’re getting in a new friend until you get to know her.

Many years ago, new neighbors moved in behind our house.  There was a fence between the properties and so I couldn’t really see much to learn about them, but they often spoke a different language, one I couldn’t recognize.  I got to meet my friend Olga at the school bus stop.  Their family is Lebanese. Through the friendship of our daughters and being Girl Scout leaders together, we became really good friends.    We decided to cut a gate in the fence.

The first time we were invited to their house, we were offered a mix of Lebanese and American styled foods.  Among those foods was a bowl of tabbouleh.  Olga’s mom, Lody, made this salad and is “reknown” for her attention to chopping the parsley incredibly fine.  Everybody was commenting on having to have some of Lody’s tabbouleh, so I had to try some too.  It was delicious!  As were almost all the other Lebanese foods we sampled.   (The grape leaves still have yet to grow on me.)   After many years of eating together, Olga once joked that her American friends all looked forward to the Lebanese food almost more than her Lebanese friends.

Olga and her family now live in Chicago.  I miss them a lot, but I’m not the greatest at long-distance relationships.  Luckily, I feel like Olga and I can pick up easily even if we haven’t spoken for months.

Yesterday I made tabbouleh.  It will forever remind me of the blessings of the friendship with this family and of all that I learned about another culture because of them.

I have many wonderful friends who color and fill my life and challenge me to grow in ways I would probably not normally venture.  I thank God for all of them.

Proverbs 17:17  “A friend loves at all times.”

Today’s Gospel lesson was of the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus wept and was moved by the sadness of his friends, Mary and Martha.  Mary and Martha could only begin to imagine how their lives would be changed by their friendship with Jesus.  He opened up a future previously unimaginable to them.

Tabbouleh is a Mediterranean salad.  I wonder if Jesus ate tabbouleh?  I think he’d find it a fitting food to share with friends.

What is a favorite food that you first enjoyed because of a friend?

www.elcaAndy.org
Easter Egg Hunt, Sat., April 16, 10:00 am, Rain or Shine.  FREE. Don't be late.  For children up to age 10.  Refreshments will follow. 

7 Ways Your Dog Displays the Thumbprint of God

When God gave humans “dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:27-28) he gave us the responsibility of their care as well.   In domesticating dogs, humans have taken that responsibility one step further; we have made them our companions and workmates.  While animals are not created in the image of God, as were human beings, every creation bears the thumbprints of its creator.   So here are some thumbprint images of God exhibited by your dog:

1.       Dogs miss us when we’re gone.  Almost every dog comes running when its people come home.
2.       Dogs will do just about anything to show us they love us.
3.       Dogs will still love us, no matter how many times we screw up.
4.       Dogs don’t care what anyone thinks about you.
5.       Dogs will protect you and sound the alarm when danger approaches.
6.       A dog’s favorite place to be is curled up near you, watching and listening to your every move, even when asleep.
7.       Dogs never give up hope.

God’s thumbprint on your dog should help you to see:

1.       God misses us when we’re gone too, and welcomes us back with open arms every time we return to Him.
2.       God will do anything to show us how much He loves us, including sending His only Son to pay the price for our salvation.
3.       God loves us no matter what, no matter how many times or how badly we screw up.  If we ask for forgiveness, it is given.
4.       God doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of you.  He passes His own judgment based on what He knows lies in your heart and mind.
5.       God will always be by your side, even if we can’t see or feel Him.  We are never alone for He has given us His Holy Spirit which lives within us.
6.       God is omniscient – He sees everything, in all places, at all times.  He is a 24/7/365/lifetime lifeguard.
7.       God wants to be in relationship with us.  It is why we were created.  God never abandons us, even though we might abandon Him. 

Now everyone read this next part tongue-in-cheek. J
You did know dogs are dyslexic, right?  Dogs think their name is spelled G-O-D, but of course this is the image of the Servant King that they see and fulfill (with the rights of one included…like sleeping on the couch or your bed, because it’s closer to you and he can better protect you…riiiight! Wink, wink).

I have never had a cat, but from what I know of the cats who belong to people I know, cats seem to have a God-complex too, but the Servant King isn’t how they see themselves. 

So hey, all you cat owners…how does your cat display the thumbprint of God?  Click on the "comments" below to tell us.

www.elcaAndy.org
Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 16, 10:00 am, Don't be late.  Rain or shine.  For children up to age 10.  Refreshments served.  FREE!

Love is a Crazy Thing

My son asked me to review his essay for his English class tonight.  He was writing about love and the Shakespearean tale of Romeo and Juliet.  His primary point is that love makes people do crazy things.   This made me wonder, would we consider God’s love for us a crazy thing?

Most of us have heard the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13  (Love is patient, love is kind…) and the ever-familiar sports stadium placard citing John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

But what else does the Bible tell us about love, and God’s love for us?

Let’s look at 1 John 4:7-12 for one example:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Well now THIS is some proof that God’s love for us is indeed a crazy thing.  We learn that God IS love, AND again that God loves us so much that He sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Crazy!

Sean cited Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Something Crazy” in his essay.  The song details the lives of a few people who have done crazy things under the influence of God’s love.  The refrain says it all nicely:

“And it’s crazy when love gets a hold of you.

And it’s crazy things that love will make you do

And it’s crazy but it’s true, you really don’t know love at all
Til it’s making you do something crazy.” 

Wouldn’t it be nice when people say “the world is going crazy” that they meant crazy like this?

www.elcaAndy.org
Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 16, at 10:00 am SHARP!

Better Than A Hallelujah

During Lent we are asked to spend more time reflecting upon our lives and our relationships with God and others.  St. Andrew’s Thursday Lenten Taize Service gives us a meditative forum to jump start this activity each week.   This self-reflection often sends us to our knees, head down, in shame or sorrow over the ways we have failed to live up to our responsibilities and our promises. 

I think this is often the reason people do not cite Lent as one of their favorite seasons of the church year. 

We are often saddened by the results of our introspection.  Who wants to be sad?  Aren’t there enough sad things in the world?  Just listening to the news and hearing of the suffering and loss that the people of Japan are dealing with is sadness beyond measure and enough for everyone, don’t you think?

But the wonderful thing about Lent is that by going through the extra self-reflection we undertake at this time, we strengthen our relationship with God.  And THAT is worth the work and the pain.

If Lent puts us in more frequent and heartfelt communication with our Father in Heaven, don’t you think He finds that pleasing? 

Just like the kid who broke the window with his baseball, the damage is already done.  His parent is just waiting for him to own up to the deed, so the parent can forgive the child.  Action can then be taken for making things right and to prevent it from happening again.  Imagine if the child never owns up to his mistake.  The parent is disappointed and still loves his child, but an opportunity for communication and to show love has been lost.  An opportunity to receive forgiveness and to be loved is lost.

God already knows our failings and has forgiven them.  But when we come to him on our knees, head down, admitting where we have gone wrong and made mistakes, God wraps His love around us and tells us all is forgiven, reminding us of a better path to choose.  The price has already been paid.  The window is already fixed. Now go out and play and take care not to do it again.

Lent brings us closer to God.  Our prayers bring us closer to God.

A song by Amy Grant, “Better than a Hallelujah” keeps running around my head as I think about my Lenten reflections and prayers.  The refrain says…

“We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts…

Are better than a Hallelujah."

I’m sure God loves all our praise and joy on Easter.  But I bet he loves our conversations with Him over our broken and contrite hearts during Lent even better.

Better than a Hallelujah.

www.elcaAndy.org
Lenten Taize Worship, Thursday, 7:30 pm

We Are Pond Scum

A former pastor at St. Andrew frequently referred to us sinful beings as pond scum.  Her analogy likened us to the stinky, smelly floating goo that gathers at the corners and fringes of a pond, offending the visual and olfactory pleasantries of an otherwise beautiful scene.  We are so far from being able to keep from sinning that we were no better than pond scum.

Our self-reflections and self-examinations during Lent might send us to thinking of ourselves in the likeness of pond scum.

Perhaps sometimes we are….stinky, smelly, gooey weeds and slime gathering at the fringes of society, offending others by our faults and mistakes. 

But pond scum has value, too. 

Pond scum, a mass of algae, is redeemed by the gifts it provides to the life of the pond (and others).

1.       Pond scum absorbs the excess nutrients in a pond, often produced by decaying matter or water run off from land.  What is old (decay) becomes new.

2.       Pond scum provides a nutrient food source for fish.

3.       Pond scum provides a place for small fish to hide from bigger fish.

4.       Pond scum provides a safe haven for small species of animals, like turtles and frogs, to lay their eggs.

5.       Pond scum (algae) may be a future fuel source as it is loaded with oil within its cell walls.

6.       Pond scum (algae) harvested in algae farms is used as a fertilizer for crops.

Pond scum becomes smelly when it dies.

We die a little bit each time we succumb to the temptations of the world.  We die a bit more each time we refuse to use our God-given gifts for the benefit of others. 

In other words, when we sin, we die a little more, and stink a little more.

We are redeemed simply because of the Grace provided by the One who has breathed the Spirit into our lives and gifted us with talents, skills, knowledge and assets that we are to use to serve others.

Will you be the kind of pond scum that provides a benefit to others, or will you die a stinky, smelly goo?

www.elcaAndy.org