May 4, 2020
Today is the first anniversary of arriving in Florida. I have lost so much over this past year. I have lost my marriage, my husband, my home church community, my work church community, Compassion Circle, Lydia Circle, my amazing Bethel coworkers, over half my retirement savings, my job, my health insurance, the family I thought I was part of, an author I never knew, friends who chose sides, the city I grew up in, being able to walk to the library.

Today I lost hope. I’ve struggled for almost a month now trying to file unemployment in two states with no progress. I can’t even call, when the message I get says, “the party you are calling is not accepting phone calls’ or even simply disconnects when I do get through. Today I logged on to healthcare.gov. I no longer have health insurance (again) and with zero income, I was not expecting this to be difficult. After completing the application, the best coverage I could get (with an $8100 deductible) would cost me $828/month. Today I was overwhelmed and lost hope.

With a few tears, and little motivation, I decided to give myself grace today. I probably won’t make my daily exercise goal; maybe just a day on the couch will be okay.

As one of my favorite songs says,
“I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you”
 
Today my army consisted of the loving voice of my daughter Wendy with her understanding and support. My new Florida friend Lorrie, calling to see how I am doing, the movie Inside Out which reminded me that sadness is part of life. Knowing I have a loving family that has caught me during all of these difficult times. I spent time remembering and reflecting on the love that propelled me forward a year ago. All the cards, gifts, emails, etc. that carried me forward into the uncertainty of my future. I still draw on all this expressed love towards me. Just as the woman who anointed Jesus’s feet with oil, poured out her love onto him before his journey into Jerusalem.

I found motivation to prepare roasted vegetables in the afternoon. I’m headed out soon into the sunshine and 90 degrees for a swim in the pool. Today, as I grieve losses, I rest in the loving embrace of many people who know and love me. I rest in the loving embrace of God, whose infinite perspective is unlimited by time and space, God who collects my tears, God who holds me precious. I look forward to the joy of tomorrow but today I give myself permission to grieve.
 
 
You are not hidden
There's never been a moment
You were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken
Your innocence stolen
I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you
There is no distance
That cannot be covered
Over and over
You're not defenseless
I'll be your shelter
I'll be your armor
I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It's true, I will rescue you
I hear…

Rescue sung by Lauren Daigle

Mark 10:32-45 The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. Glory to you, O Lord. (not at 11:15)
The disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They replied, ‘We are able.’
Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So, Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
(please be seated)
 
 
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Amen.
 
James and John come to Jesus looking for a yes, before they even ask the question. Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. How would you answer if your child came to you and asked, “Will you buy me whatever I want for Christmas?” Right away we are alerted that this is going to be a huge ask. If the ask is going to be for new underwear or socks, it wouldn’t start out with a question to prep us.
They said to Jesus, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Wow! It’s like a sixteen-year-old asking for a new sports car!
You do not know what you are asking. Are you, at the age of 16, able to drive responsibly? No speeding, always attentive, no racing with your friends, always being safe. At 16, the thought that a new sports car will bring you popularity and friends. It will bring you glory with your peers.
 
Who doesn’t want glory? I looked up synonyms for glory – magnificent, splendor, beauty, grandeur. Even in the first century, as in the twenty-first century, the lure of power and glory ensnares us all.  
Athletes are in a constant pursuit of glory. Remember the Packers first game of the season. Aaron Rogers being carted off the field in the second quarter only to return and throw three touchdowns in the second half to come from behind and beat the Bears. Everyone was pouring glory out on Rogers and the team. Since then they have tied with the Vikings and lost to the Lions.
And Mason Crosby, one week fans calling for the team to cut him and the next week he kicks a field goal to win the game.
What sort of things do we long for that we think will bring us glory? Like the teenager with the sports car, how often do we search for glory in our possessions. Do we long for a bigger house in a better part of town? A return to what we perceive as our great and glory days? A promotion that will give us more status and money.
How is that working for you? Sure, it feels good for a while, a great accomplishment that gets noticed and praised. But since it is all temporary we soon find ourselves on to the next bigger and better thing, eager for more splendor and grandeur.
We find ourselves as slaves to this glory seeking. We continue to chase down these temporary highs hoping they will satisfy us. Every once in a while, pausing to think, “There’s got to be more to life than this.” Earthly glory is fleeting.
In our gospel today, we hear for the third time Jesus foretelling of his suffering, death and resurrection. When things in the bible are repeated it means we are to take notice. And for the third time, the disciples still don’t get it. What is this raising from the dead that Jesus speaks of?
 
After the first pronouncement it was Peter who attempted to rebuke Jesus. The disciples and the crowd are told, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
After the second pronouncement the disciples argued over who was the greatest. They are told, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
Now, the third time, we have James and John wanting seats of glory on the left and the right sides of Jesus. They hear of suffering and death, yet they see a royal scene of honor and power that they want a piece of. Perhaps they are remembering back in chapter 9 the Transfiguration moment with Elijah and Moses on the mountaintop and want to be with Jesus in glory.
 
As we will see at the end of Mark, the ones on his right and his left are the bandits who will be crucified alongside him. Once again, God creates a reversal of the expected order in our world.
When the others hear of their request they get angry. They are jealous and want a piece of the splendor for themselves. There is a rivalry brewing in the group as everyone is seeking glory to be the greatest.
 
 Again, Jesus must define greatness for them, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
 
This challenges our earthly expectations. World truth is fleeting. The truth of the god of love is eternal. We’ve bought into the lie of individuality that enslaves us. This lie that says I should be great at the expense of others.
 
God loves us and calls us to love one another with radical love. When we rest in the presence of God and believe in his eternal promises the desires of this world and the need to be great and glorious meltaway.

When we live in the abundant promises of God there is no need to hoard our resources of food, possessions, and lovingkindness. No need to lord our power over others.
 
When we look into a mirror and see ourselves with all our flaws, perceived physical flaws on the outside and imagined flaws on the inside, we can see Jesus standing there beside us knowing all our flaws and covering us with His love.
 
 
We have our own repetition of thoughts that circulate over and over in our heads that society enforces on us. Telling us we’re not worthy, that we need to be more. God wants us to replace these thoughts with the repetition of the knowledge that you are covered by God’s inexhaustible love.
 
You are worthy. This Radical Love is for ALL!! The God of all creation created you. Let’s put these thoughts on a loop in our head so they can burrow into our soul.
 
The rhetoric of our current culture seeks to amplify the fear and the desire for glory in our lives. But we can look to the gospel for freedom. The gospel of God’s unconditional love for all through Jesus frees us.
Frees us to care for one another. Frees us to listen and hear each other. Frees us to serve one another.
 
In a few minutes, together as has been done throughout the centuries and will be done around the world today, we will recite the Apostles’ Creed. In the second article of this creed we will express our faith in Jesus Christ.
 
In the Small Catechism Luther wrote this explanation, “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being… This is most certainly true.”
 
 In a recent article in the Living Lutheran magazine Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton wrote, “Here is pure grace. It is God’s action, not ours. We don’t have to—in fact, we cannot—do anything to save ourselves or the world. God has done it. So now what? So now we live, really live, in freedom and in service.”
 
James and John don’t understand the coming resurrection of Jesus. They have difficulty trusting in the gospel. But we, as Easter people, can live the gospel.
 
The gospel of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection over all aspects of our lives. We can believe this. Trust this. Jesus’ glory sets us free to serve.
 
God sent His son to be fully human and walk with us on this earth. His death and resurrection reconcile us to God. This leaves no us vs them, we are all one. The fullness of humanity is taken up into the fullness of Christ.
 
This removes every line of righteousness drawn. For whenever we draw lines between us and them, the very act of drawing the line puts us on the unrighteous side. We are called to show the love of God that transforms the universe.
 
 We lack faithfulness when we put our trust in worldly things: money, possessions, leaders. Jesus’ power doesn’t come from being a tyrant and lording power over others. The Gospel shows us over and over that to be great is to be about servant-power.
 
We lack faith when we put our belief in ideology and not God. Trust in the triune God frees us from trusting in everything else that can’t give us life.
 
The life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ persuades us to put our faith in the living God and frees us from bondage to untrustworthy, glory-seeking actions. God loves you beyond your comprehension, beyond your imagination. You can trust that.
 
God is faithful to God’s promises. In this time of chaos and lack of trust, we can sing out the love and trust and faith of God. What God has done through Jesus, and continues to do through the Holy Spirit, changes the world forever.
 
We get to put our trust in the one who frees us from fleeting earthly glory. This freedom in Jesus sets us free to live out this servant-power.  This is most certainly true. Amen

Good Friday 2018

John 19:26-27

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
‘They divided my clothes among themselves,
   and for my clothing they cast lots.’
And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
 

Mary and John witnessed it all. The crucifixion. The gambling over his clothes. The waiting for him to die.
Jesus, having been flogged and mocked, is nailed to the cross. Crucified on the cross and enduring great agony and suffering, gasping his last breaths, he sees his mother. The person who has been with him since his first breath on this earth. Through childhood scrapes and bruises, through the beginnings of his public ministry with ridicule and scorn and part of the crowds that have followed him through the countryside. Believing in him from the beginning.
How hard Jesus' suffering must have been for her. Remember when Mary and Joseph brought young Jesus to the temple, Simeon said to Mary,
"This child is destined
to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel…
And a sword will pierce your own heart too."

Simeon had predicted Mary's grief at her Son's execution. Her grief was compounded by the fact that in the midst of Jesus' suffering, people were heaping abuse on Him, mocking and ridiculing Him; gambling for his clothes. For Mary to see such hatred directed at one she loved, to see them be so exceedingly cruel to Him… It's hard for us to imagine the anguish and agony that she felt.

Mary’s wellbeing, as a widow, is the legal responsibility of her oldest son. Protection particularly needed now as she is the mother of a known and crucified criminal. Jesus wants to ensure that she has a place to live and food to eat during her widowhood. He sees her at the foot of the cross, heartbroken and weeping. Instead of being consumed with his own suffering, he is touched by hers.

His concern for others first and foremost, he puts everything and everybody before himself without a word of complaint until the end. Behold, my beloved disciple shall be to you as a son, and provide for you.
‘Woman, here is your son.’.

Christ doesn’t call her mother, but woman; not out of disrespect to her, but partly to conceal her from the mob, lest she should be exposed to their rude insults. Perhaps also to let her know that their natural mother-son relationship was now ending between them. Jesus may also be intending his words to be understood as a formal testament of disposition under Jewish family law.

We don’t know how well Mary and John knew each other? But they had in common their love and devotion for Jesus. They had been journeying with him around the countryside for several years amongst the crowds that followed him, focusing on Jesus’ mission.

Jesus sees his beloved disciple at the foot of the cross. John, always there when Jesus needs him. He knew that John would always be there for his mother too. Jesus, in his dying moments, filled with tender regard for his mother, secured for her an adopted son and obtained for her a home.
‘Here is your mother.’

Even as Jesus was dying on the cross for all the sins of the world, he looked in love on his mother and his closest disciple. He gave them to one another in love, his love to be shared.
 
And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. Jesus entrusts his mother to John's care and John takes this commission seriously. Together, in their shared bond of love for Jesus, they shared their grief and their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. This overwhelming grief of despair, another thing they now have in common. At this time, before the resurrection, Mary and John are confused in their grief. How could Jesus who loved, taught, healed, and showed kindness, be dead?

It wasn’t just out of concern for his mother’s welfare that Jesus gave them to each other. He knew that Mary, having been a loving, devoted mother, would be a comfort to John as well. They would build a life together founded on what they have in common: dedication to Jesus’ mission but most importantly Jesus’ love for them.

Love that surrounded Jesus during his years of ministry, love and care for others. Love that he demonstrated and shared with his followers just the night before at the last supper. He washed their feet, uniting them in the love of his family. Jesus’ love for all of us unites us all as his family, brothers and sisters in Christ.
In the days ahead, as John and Mary see Jesus’ promises fulfilled in the resurrection, their sorrow will turn to joy. They will have faith and hope that look forward, beyond the tragedy of the death that they witnessed, to being united again in love. So, faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.

What a gift he gave them! Jesus’ dying love focused on Mary and John, yet is wide enough to include the whole world. To include us. What a gift of love He gives to us. This deep abiding unconditional love that we all yearn for. Jesus loved His mother and John. He loves you with the same kind of love. You are so special to Him. We can rejoice in our standing with Christ. He loves us with the same kind of love that He has for Mary and John.

Loving each other though is tricky and difficult sometimes. Love - if only it was that easy. We’ve heard it before -Love conquers all. All you need is love. Clichés that trick us when we come smack up against our everyday lives. The pain and loss caused by poor choices and bad decisions by ourselves, our family, friends and neighbors.

How do we cope with this? How do we love through and beyond this pain and brokenness?
With Jesus. This shared love, we have together in Jesus, gives us hope. In Jesus’ love for us and our love for one another we have hope. In Jesus Christ we have been given to one another, just as Mary and John were given to each other. Only with Christ-powered love can we have healing.

Our common love for Jesus gives us special insight into each other. We find love for each other in this love for Christ that we share. Our closeness with Jesus, that we share with each other, brings us together. This common bond that we share with all our sisters and brothers in Christ, throughout all time and throughout all place, brings us hope.

Out of love Jesus made Mary’s welfare one of his last cares on the cross, even when making atonement for the sins of the world! We all are in the category of people that Jesus loves. Jesus didn't just love His mother Mary. He didn't just love His beloved John. He died for all people, for all of us. Through Jesus’ death we see His radical and redeeming love for us. Jesus’ mission–from birth through death and into a new beginning–was love.

For Christ’s Love to reach its full potential it must be shared. For Christ’s love for Mary and John to reach across the world we must share it with each other. When Jesus had been asked, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus had answered, ‘The first is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’

Jesus great selfless love always did things for the benefit of others even in His final agony. Love for us motivated all He did. Feel this love he gives to us and share it throughout your lives. “For all who die believing die safely in His love”
Amen

Heavenly Father, we see Jesus' example of love. As wonderful and loving as relationships can be, they are often complex and sometimes hurtful. Help us to rest in Jesus’ all-powerful healing love as we go about our daily tasks that all too often are done with heavy hearts burdened with grief, loneliness and burdens too heavy to be borne. Feeling Jesus’ steadfast abundant love, we feel refreshed, renewed and restored. Give us the divine wisdom that we need so that we can love as Jesus loves. In His name, we pray. Amen.

Gospel: Mark 1:9-15 

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 
 
  12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 
 
  14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 

 
There is a lot going on here in this short reading. Jesus is baptized. Jesus is driven into the wilderness and tempted for 40 days. Jesus comes to Galilee to proclaim the Good News. All this in seven verses. Each one of these could be expanded on greatly into its own chapter or even its own book.  
But maybe there is a reason, a point to not getting more of the details that we often desire when reading the Bible. Sure, there a lot of details we could ask: Who all were at the river? What exactly did Satan tempt him with? Details of John’s arrest?  

 I like knowing more details, more facts. But maybe, they can get in the way; distract us from the words that are important. I am reminded of what the Bethel Series teaches “Don’t let the vehicle distract you from the message.” The brevity of the stories forces us to focus on what is important.  

 Four days ago, Ash Wednesday, we began our Lenten journey. Today this journey continues with Jesus’ baptismal immersion, His wilderness temptation and His mission to proclaim the kingdom of God. On April 1 our journey will take us to His death and resurrection. We have the privilege of knowing how the story ends as we journey. This season of Lent, we will travel with Jesus through His earthly ministry and through His suffering, death, and resurrection for us.  

 Today our readings are filled with imagery of water, 40 days and promises.  

 Our first reading is the conclusion of the flood story in Genesis. Because of human sin, God destroys the earth with a rain that lasts for 40 days causing a flood, saving only Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. Yet divine destruction gives way to a divine promise. Like in creation, God blesses humanity and establishes a covenant with all creatures. 

 Noah had built an ark to house all the creatures of the earth. For centuries the ark has been used as a symbol of the church. The word nave compares our Sanctuary to a sailing ship. Look up and you can you see how our Sanctuary ceiling looks like an upside-down ship. Noah’s Ark was a symbol of hope during the chaos of the flood. In the midst of our chaos we gather in the Sanctuary, together for worship and find hope. During Lent we have an “Ark of Hope” in the Emmaus Room. Each week on our calendar we are invited to bring an item “dish soap, deodorant, tooth paste” that we can fill our “ark” with for the Food Pantry and provide hope for the guests that visit.  

 Water is a vital part of creation. Water sustains and maintains life; but too little or too much water can end life. A glimpse at the headlines points out the destructive power of water’s presence or water’s absence. In the United States several parts of the country are afflicted with severe drought requiring water conservation measures. On the opposite end of the spectrum, floods ravaged the Plains states in the spring and summer, displacing from their homes many people who live near rivers. Last fall was a devastating hurricane season in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. Our mission team just returned from work in Puerto Rico. My daughter and son-in-law endured as Hurricane Irma, as a category two, roared over their home in Florida.  

 Yet we need water as much, or more, than we need food, shelter, and other necessities of life. Since ancient times people have established their communities near sources of water. We cannot survive long without it. 

 This tension between water’s ability to be destructive or saving is seen in our readings today.  The waters of the flood overwhelmed the world in the days of Noah, even as God delivered Noah and his family from death. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus after he is immersed in water and baptized by John. Then the Spirit drives Jesus into the desert—a place defined by its lack of water.  

 Through water and the Word in baptism our former, sinful self is put to death, and we are reborn as children of God. There is a theme that flows through these paradoxes: in death and life, in flood and drought, God remains faithful. As the psalmists often reminds us, God’s mercy and steadfast love are everlasting. 

 God saved Noah’s family in the flood with the same way God saves us through the waters of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with each of us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world. God acts through the waters of baptism to save us from a sinful existence. This spiritual cleansing marks our new life in Christ. 

 Mark writes that Jesus was tested for forty days and forty nights. In the Bible, forty is always the time between; the necessary span before the gracious conclusion. It is forty days or forty years that numbers: Moses on Mount Sinai; Israel in the wilderness; the spies scouting out Canaan; the taunting by Goliath; Nineveh’s repentance; and Jesus’ appearance after Easter. For us, it is forty days until the resurrection.  

 Each year, Lent begins with an account from one of the synoptic gospels of Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Jesus was truly human, suffering from the devil’s temptations no less than we, and so he can stand by us when we are tested. Each day brings us so many ways that we are tempted. Think for a moment about all the ways, each day and each night, that you and I face temptation.  

 Yet we, too, are accompanied with the Spirit of God. Verse 13 “and the angels waited on him.” As we read on our bulletin cover two Sundays ago, this was a similar phrase that was used to describe Simon’s mother-in-law after Jesus healed her. Simon’s mother-in-law ministered to Jesus. The angels ministered to Jesus in the wilderness and we, too, are ministered to as we face daily temptation as God remains faithful to us. God’s love was with Jesus in the wilderness and God’s love is with us too.  

When Jesus came up from the waters of baptism he heard God’s promise’ “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” In Genesis, after the flood, God makes another promise, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  
 We know the rainbow as a spectrum of light that is sunlight being refracted and reflected by droplets of moisture in the atmosphere. As we read the Hebrew Scriptures, we can use this natural phenomenon to remind us of divine mercy shining through all that rains down upon us. 

God’s promises claim us as a child beloved and nurtured by God. We receive, along with Noah, his family, and all the animals of creation, a covenantal promise from God. God remembers us and promises us the forgiveness of sins and life in Christ. God gives and sustains faith by the Holy Spirit and adopts us as His children. 
 We live our baptismal calling in community—not for our sake alone, but for the sake of the whole world. In today’s Gospel Jesus’ journey goes from baptism to wilderness to mission. Our own faith journeys may travel from temptation, renewed purpose and discovering oneself beloved by God. 

 Many of us were baptized as infants and therefore, have no memory of the specific day. But we have witnessed baptisms throughout our lives, often right here in this Sanctuary. During this season of Lent, I am going to try every day to remember my baptism. Through reading Scripture, attending worship and prayer. As baptized children of God we are united with Christ.  

 All what Jesus lived for us and won for us is given to us in our baptism. Romans chapter 6 tells us "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life”  

 Jesus and Luther both relied on their baptism. At his baptism, Jesus hears the words, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drives him out into the wilderness. The Spirit that comes upon Jesus at his baptism sustains him when he is tested by Satan. His baptismal promise allows him to endure the wilderness so that he can proclaim the good news of God’s reign. 

 Martin Luther, renewer of the church died on February 18, 1546, 472 years ago today at the age of 62. He began as an Augustinian friar, but it is his work as a biblical scholar, translator of the Bible, reformer of the liturgy, and hymn writer that holds him in our remembrance. In Luther’s own judgment, the greatest of all his works was his catechism, written to instruct people in the basics of faith. And it was his baptism that sustained him in his trails as a reformer.  

 We never lose God’s baptismal promises to us and we may always return to them. Luther placed baptism at the center of the Christian life. In the Large Catechism Luther writes: “Baptism is not a work that we do but … a treasure that God gives us. In baptism every Christian has enough to study and practice all his or her life. … Thus, we must regard baptism and put it to use in such a way that we may draw strength and comfort from it when our sins or conscience oppress us and say: ‘But I am baptized! And if I have been baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body”  

 We don’t need to have water poured over us again. We have one baptism; its effect and significance continue and remain. The difference between baptismal water and regular water is the Word and promises of God. Therefore, baptism remains forever. Even when we fall from it and sin, we always have access to our baptism. Returning to your baptism daily is a matter of trusting God’s promises of forgiveness, life and salvation offered there. Through Holy Baptism we remember that God continually brings us to repentance and brings us to new life in Christ each day. 

 This Lent our weekly Bible study centers around Luther’s Small Catechism. There is a copy in the bag each family will receive today. In this small book, Luther covers the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Confession, The Sacrament of the Altar, morning, evening and meal Blessings. Luther asks throughout, “What is this? Or What does this mean?” These are the basics of our Lutheran Faith. My prayer for you this Lenten Season is that you find time to read, study and ponder this small book.  

 Earlier this year I took time and wrote the Small Catechism in my journal. This forced me to really reflect and be still with it. Now when I reread it in my own handwriting, this makes it very powerful and personal.  

 There are four weekly opportunities to attend study, with the first being this morning directly after worship in the Good Shepherd Chapel. Wednesday opportunities include soup/sandwich meals, speakers helping us to explore chaos and services will include Overheard: Conversations by the Cross. These potential dialogues are between two people who were by Jesus during Holy Week such as: the two thieves crucified with Jesus and Simon of Cyrene and the Centurion. Did they ever have a chance to talk with one another about events? If we could have listened to these potential conversations what might we have heard?  

We give thanks for all that sustains us on our journeys of Lent and life: the communion meal, our community, and baptismal water remembering that through all raging storms and wilderness wandering, we are always beloved.  
 Later today I’d like you to take a moment, gaze into your reflection in a mirror and say to yourself the words printed on our bulletin cover from Martin Luther that remind us of God’s promises, “I am baptized! And if I have been baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life”  

 Now many the peace that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

David has finally brought the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem! He is overcome and filled with JOY!  There was shouting and trumpets and burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. David danced before the Lord with all his might.

What a feeling, to be in a moment when we are in such a right relationship with God that we are filled with the need to dance in the street. David was driven with such a desire to show praise and glory to God that he couldn’t have restrained himself even if he had wanted to.

Life is a merry-go-round of ups and downs. But through it all we are in relationship with Jesus. It is the daily tending to this relationship that enables us to feel God’s presence during the complicated times and the joyous times.

We know that even King David had difficult times in his life. Sometimes these low points are due to situations outside of his control, but often due to his own choices and decisions. Throughout these times David turns to God. Sometimes it is with the help of Samuel.

We often need the help of others to keep us tuned into God and accountable for our actions. Our Lenten daily practices of praying and bible reading help to keep our focus where it belongs. People are often quick to turn to God during stressful and hard times. God can comfort us in our grief and loneliness. But God is also there in our joyful experiences. I have heard the prayer “God, let me prove that winning the lottery won’t spoil me.” But if we won the lottery (or any wonderful experience - getting that job or dating that person or a shared time with family and friends) do we immediately give the thanks and praise to God?

I pray that we take a cue from David and dance before the Lord with all our might whenever we feel His blessings.