A Prayer for Lent

(April 1, 2020)

O Lord, given all that we face,
                                                     all that happens,
                                     all that we go through –
                             the illnesses and pain,
                     the troubles and losses and grief –
         it’s so easy to get all wrapped up in ourselves,
                 to think about ourselves,
                                   talk about ourselves,
                                               tell others about ourselves,
                       with every post, every text, every call,
                                                        until at last
                there’s hardly room
                           for the thought of others,
                                                                     for others themselves,
                                                       for no one but ourselves.
                And to be all wrapped up in ourselves like that
                       is to be the smallest package in the world
                                and that is the last thing
                                                          you need.
                                                    You need people
                                                                                    who are big,
                                                                            big on love and kindness,
                                           large enough to have room for others,
                                    great in serving others.

O Lord, this day, every day, give us the strength,
                                                        the discipline,
               to do the hardest thing you ask of us:
          to deny ourselves,
                                             to deny that
                              we are more important than everyone else,
                       that our needs, our wants, our feelings
                                          are more important,
                                  that our troubles and pains are greater;
                   to come out of our pre-occupation with ourselves,
                            forget ourselves enough
                                                                       to be there for others
                                                               and actually be able to listen to them;
                        to look for you not within ourselves
                                        but out in the world,
                                                  there in all who need us,
                                                            there in the hurting and hungry,
                                                                     he lost and alone,
                                                                                    those far from home.

O Lord, we live in a culture
                 in which it seems that there are more and more
                                         really small people.
                                                                                 Let us
                                not add to their population
                        but offer a model of what it means
        to grow up
                                  into the fullness
                                                  of the measure
                                                          of the stature of Christ.

Amen.

 

March 27, 2020

Dear Member,

      Attached is the sermon for this Sunday. It was not composed with the coronavirus in mind. For a good while now, I have been preparing sermons in advance because these days I never know when there will be an emergency or other situation to which I need to give all of my attention. I did think about altering the sermon in light of the current crisis but decided not to so that it would stay closely tied to the Gospel reading and speak to the situations and questions it was originally meant to. Also, I thought that as it is it could still speak in some way to what we are experiencing.

      In addition, I want to mention two announcements that would have been in the bulletin today:

      Even though we have temporarily stopped having worship services, the grass has not stopped growing! And so, if you have not yet signed up to mow, please consider doing so. Please contact George Dietz, (George.Dietz@Woodward.edu) and he will give you all the information you need to know and be happy to put you on the crew.

        We are also continuing to take orders for Easter lilies, even though we are not sure if we will be able to have a service. The price will be $12.50 per plant rather than the previously announced price of $10.00. However, the plants will be the larger 10-inch pot. If you wish to order a plant, please call (770-997-7117) or email (coh@bellsouth.net) the church office.

 

     The sympathy of the congregation and the strength and hope we share in the resurrection of Christ is extended to Lynn Carroll and her family upon the death of her mother.

 

May God continue to grace your days with the laughter that helps us make it through such days, the love that casts out all fear, and the peace that calms our anxiety.

God be with you,

Pastor Halenza

JMH/nvn

 

Sermon                                                                                                                                                                                          The Reverend Jeffrey M. Halenza
March 29, 2020                                                                                                                                                                      Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church
John 11:1-6, 17-45                                                                                                                                                                                               Fifth Sunday in Lent

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “1 know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “1 am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 2

 

And so today we hear the story of Jesus and Lazarus.

The story of Jesus calling Lazarus back to life.

It’s a powerful story and yet a disturbing story too, a story that raises some tough questions, and a story that gets us thinking about the whole issue of life and death and life beyond death.

Lazarus was Jesus’ best friend.

And Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, were great friends of Jesus as well.

As one commentator has described the relationship, Jesus would drop in on them whenever he was in the neighborhood.

Maybe because their home was the one place Jesus felt at home and could relax, although it’s hard to picture Jesus ever relaxing, just sitting back and being himself — always the demands, the unending needs, everyone approaching him because of what he could do for them but never once thinking that there might be something they could do for him. And so maybe that was it – maybe Lazarus and Mary and Martha didn’t make demands on him but just allowed him to be himself for a time. Maybe Lazarus was the one person Jesus didn’t have to be the Messiah with, and the one person he could talk with about what it was like being who he was.

And if that’s the case, it’s easy to understand why Jesus loved going there, loved Lazarus, and Mary and Martha too.

And they loved him and so when Lazarus became ill, they immediately sent word to Jesus.

But Jesus did not drop everything and go to the side of his best friend, and you have to wonder why he didn’t.

One answer, of course, is that the note said that Lazarus was only ill, not dying, and so there was time to delay, time to complete his work in the region where he was. 

 

And anyway, how do you know exactly when to go? When you receive word that someone you love who lives some distance from you is ill, do you drop everything and go or do you wait for further word? Sometimes you go immediately only to discover that the person is doing better and then later, when you’re back home, you receive word that the person has had a relapse, but you can’t go back and be there when the person really needs you. It’s hard to know when to go. And sometimes you just can’t drop everything — family and job obligations can make it nearly impossible. So we anguish over when to go, if we can go, how we can manage it.

And maybe Jesus felt some of that very same anguish.

And yet a little later in the story Jesus does seem to know.

He seems to know just how sick Lazarus truly was and exactly when Lazarus dies.

Jesus even tells his disciples that he was glad he wasn’t there because now he can call Lazarus back to life and the disciples will believe even more. And suddenly Lazarus seems to be merely a prop in some divine drama and Jesus seems to be not much of a friend to Lazarus at all.

And you have to wonder about that too. Was it really Jesus’ plan all along to delay, or was he just trying to make the best of a bad miscalculation and rationalize away his failure to be there — as we ourselves often do in such situations?

But whatever the reason for his delay, the fact remains: Jesus wasn’t there for his friend when his friend needed him the most.

And that’s all that mattered to Martha.

That’s what hurt: his absence.

When Jesus finally does arrive on the scene, Martha immediately demands: Where were you when we needed you?

“Lord, if you had been here,” Martha says, “my brother would not have died.” And while some might not take that as an accusation, it is. As another commentator has put it, “There is such love in that greeting, and such blame.” Martha knows that Jesus is a lifesaver, a life-giver, so where was he?

And Martha’s pain and questioning is often our pain and questioning at such a time. Like Martha, perhaps we blame God for not being there, not working the miracle we so want.

For Martha, Jesus would have made all the difference, only he wasn’t there.

And now it was too late.

 

But in her grief Martha clings to one last hope.

“But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him,” Martha says to Jesus.

For a moment Martha hopes beyond hope that somehow Lazarus can be returned to life, but in the end it’s beyond imagining for her, it’s just too much to believe.

She and Jesus talk of resurrection and it’s clear that for Martha it is only a future thing, not something that can be worked in the present. But Jesus tells her differently, tells her not that he has the power to work resurrection but that he is the resurrection and the life — that to be hooked up to him means that even though we die, we shall live; that to believe in him is to start eternal life right then, right now.

But it is all too much for Martha.

And Mary too. For when Mary greets Jesus, she expresses the same anguish and blame, and all she can do is weep with grief and hopelessness.

And this time Jesus makes no attempt to say anything — he is deeply moved and asks only to see Lazarus’ tomb.

 

And when he comes to the place, Jesus weeps.

It is the only recorded instance in the New Testament where Jesus breaks down and sheds tears. And why does he weep? Certainly because he has lost his best friend. But there are other reasons as well. Those standing nearby make a devastating accusation: “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept his man from dying?” But as one author has pointed out, they said nothing that he hadn’t already said to himself. If he really was the resurrection and the life, wasn’t there something he could have done to keep Lazarus alive? The blunt fact of it was that he had not been there and Lazarus died, and the blunt answer to the question of the bystanders was no, he could not keep his friend from dying. And so Jesus weeps because of death itself, the frailty and grief and pain of life. But weeps too because for all he has said and done, still no one understands, no one believes — believes that death is not the end, that to follow him is to somehow outlive death, that eternal life begins this side of death.

But Jesus not only weeps, he also becomes angry.

The Greek word that is translated “deeply moved” means more than that. It suggests anger, someone ready to explode. And Jesus is angry – angry at death, angry at the randomness of things, angry because everyone has given up on Lazarus, given up on life.

And so it is with both love and anger that Jesus calls Lazarus back from death, calls him to life again. And while it is not a resurrection in the truest sense — because Lazarus will die again — this much is clear: death does not have the last word.

And that’s what Jesus wanted people not only to see but to believe: that to be connected to him means to have life.

Life now, life in the midst of death, life beyond death.

 

Now how you take the story of Lazarus, I do not know.

It may leave you with more questions than it answers or stretch belief to the breaking point.

All I can do is proclaim what for me is the truth of the story.

And the first truth of the story is a hard, painful truth: the truth that there will be times when Jesus will not be there when we need him most, at least not in the way we want or need. It is the hard, painful truth of the absence of God, a truth the Psalmists knew, Israel knew, and Christ himself knew on the cross. The Bible is very honest and blunt about it, much more so than we are. But Scripture also tells us that in their sense of abandonment the Psalmists and the people of Israel and Jesus kept crying out to the absent God, kept turning toward God, kept holding fast to God. And it is in such moments that faith is truly faith and love for God is truly love for God. In those moments when God is absent and no miracle comes, to keep trusting and loving God are faith and love at their deepest and truest.

And there is another truth of the story: the truth that God knows the frailty and pain and grief of life and anguishes with us. And God also knows our anger at all that happens and feels that anger as well. Our bodies fail us sooner or later. Illness strikes without warning or reason, sudden accidents sweep us away, terrible things happen in this violent, chaotic world, and neither God nor we ourselves can make our lives immune from all that threatens. The Bible is honest about that too — what life is like. And God anguishes with us and knows the power of death not only to take life from those we love but also to take the life out of us who watch helplessly.

But God does more than anguish with us. God answers all that happens with a power more powerful than death: God answers with life.

That is the deepest truth of this story, a truth I cannot prove or explain but only proclaim: the truth that to follow Christ and live in him and allow him to live in us is to know life that is stronger than death. And the life he gives is not only life after death but life now, before death. Jesus called Lazarus back into life, back into the life he had known before his death. It wasn’t a resurrection but a being returned to life, life before death, life in the midst of death.

And maybe that’s what we need to hear more than anything. Like Martha, most of us probably believe in a resurrection after death — eternal life. Believing in life before death, in the midst of death, is the problem. But as Jesus was calling Lazarus back to life, he was also calling Martha and Mary and all who grieved for Lazarus back to life — to come out of the death of despair and grief and disillusionment and live fully again. And he calls us to do the same: to come out of the death before death we often find ourselves in and discover life that is a match for death.

It is the deepest truth of this story: in Christ there is the power to put the life back into us - before death, in death, beyond death.

 

And maybe it’s all a bit too much for us.

But then it will be, as it was for Martha and Mary and the original disciples and even Lazarus himself — until they lived with that wild faith day after day. 

The same wild faith that connects us to the One who is the resurrection and the life.

 

 

 

Prayers: 3-29-2020

Prayer of the Day

Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Pastor: O Lord our God, life is the miracle you work — life now, life in death, life beyond death. Grace us with such faith in Christ that the miracle of life would be worked in our lives and we would see that set next to the abundant life you give, death would scarcely fill a cup.
People: Amen.

 

Prayers of Intercession

Pastor: O Lord, you are the resurrection and the life! And we pray that you would so live in us and we in you that we would have life now and forever. Call us each day out of all that seeks to take the life from us, raise us up each day in hope, grant us the wild faith that trusts ourselves to you, now, and at the last, and beyond. Work the miracle of life each and every day! Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And we pray too, O Lord, that we ourselves would be life-givers. Often we speak such deadly and deadening words to others, put on them the deadness we feel inside, take the life from them with our moods and bitterness and anger. Heal us, release us from our tombs, fill us with new life, that we would give life to others day after day. Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: But if we are to feel anger, O Lord, let it be the righteous anger that you yourself felt. Let us be deeply moved and greatly disturbed by what poverty does to people, what hunger does, what violence and abuse do. Fill us with an anger that moves us to help raise people out of poverty, to provide bread and shelter and comfort, to bring an end to violence and abuse. Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And move us as well, 0 Lord, to stand with those who grieve and hurt. When everyone turns away after a few days, let us remain. Let us weep with others, continue to hold them, be a friend who helps them find the way to life and joy again. Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer. 

Pastor: And we pray too, O Lord, for those risking their lives to protect our lives. But as we support them, let us also support every effort to undo the conditions that breed despair and lead people to do violence. Let us never become arrogant as a nation, but even more dedicated to building up peace and hope in our world. Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And we pray, O Lord, for those who are shut-in, those who are ill or hospitalized, for those who are suffering and hurting, those who are dying, those who are grieving. Comfort them! Heal them! Be with them! Especially do we pray for those who have contracted the coronavirus and are struggling to live, for their families who fear the worst, and for all the healthcare workers treating them and risking their own lives and we pray too for Carolyn Herche, Michelle Bryant, Ralph Turner, Barbara Hellwig, Harold Finney, Linda Keyser, Justin Markham, Martha Ratzman, Kay Douma, Judy Cable, Annette Flanigan, Ryland Jones, Joanne McGee, Sharon Allison, Barbara Gordin, Walt Sternke, Bill Dixon, George Pringle, Carl Berkobin, Sandy Tiedemann, Genelda Clinton, Eleanor Gibson, Sarah Fields, Kristi Gordin, Winifred Pernell, Roberta Lecour, and Lynn Carroll and her family upon the death of her mother. And for all those relatives and friends so dear to us. Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And now in the silence, O Lord, we pray our most personal prayers and listen for the word you speak to us...

Silence

Pastor: Lord, in your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: O Lord, as we go out into the day, help us to lift up our hearts in thankfulness and praise. Guard and guide us. Grace our days with laughter. Grant us the faith that trusts that all shall be well.
People: Amen.

 

Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church

P. O. Box 961690
Riverdale, Georgia 30296
(770) 997-7117                                               (770) 997-3312

Jeffrey M. Halenza, Pastor

March 25, 2020

Dear Member,

We continue to honor the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus and thus there will be no worship service tonight, March 25, nor this Sunday, March 29. All other activities, including Bible Study remain on hold. We will update you next week concerning Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter. I have attached the Lenten prayer I was going to pray tonight. Once again, please keep in mind that I composed this prayer six weeks ago when I did my preparation for Lent and so it doesn’t speak directly to the crisis we face. On the other hand, given the stress and frustration and even anger many people are feeling, perhaps tonight’s prayer will speak to you or others in some way. I hope so.

Finally, I wanted to let you know I have spoken with or been in touch with nearly every member of the congregation and to date not one has contracted the virus and for that I am very thankful. But many others beyond the congregation have, and so please continue to pray for all who are ill in our community and state and around the world.

God be with you and see you soon!

Pastor Halenza

JMH/nvn

A Prayer for Lent
March 25, 2020

O Lord, help us to tame our tongues,
                                                 to watch our mouths,
                                                                 to guard what we say,
                  because words matter,
                                                           names hurt,
                                                                             what we say
                                              can destroy a person.
                And if ever there has been a time to bridle
                                        our tongues,
                                                                  it is now
                                                                                because
                        mean and cruel words are the new entertainment,
                                 and many people,
                                                           including many Christians,
                                                     find name-calling funny
                                             and enjoy people being demeaned and
                                                                                                       degraded,
                                                                                        and many Christians
                                                                          act as if
                                                                  there is no connection
                                                          between what they say and how
                                                                                             they are seen,
                                                                                     seen by others,
                                                                              seen by you,
                                                     seen to be hardly Christian at all.

O Lord, give us the strength this day, every day,
         to resist the temptation to join the chorus of derision,
                                                                              culture’s choir of cruelty,
                                                               that fills the air,
              to think before we speak,
                                to consider the feelings of others,
                                                   to speak words you would have us speak,
                                                          language that heals,
                                                                   and gives life.
                    And help us to see that every encounter we have,
                                           no matter how brief or insignificant,
                                                           will be an encounter
                                                  that will build up or tear down another,
                                   that will make someone glad he met us
                                                                     or sorry that he met us,
                                 that will make someone’s day or
                                                                 ruin someone’s day –
                                                                                                   the checkout clerk,
                                                                                            the child,
                                                                                     the husband or wife,
                                                                   fellow worker or fellow member,
                                                           the stranger on the elevator,
                                                    the bum on the corner,
                                            the kid who just handed you your burger
                                                                                                     and fries –
                                                                                    because
                                                                  of the words we speak.

O Lord, remind us each and every day
                that to say we are Christian
                                         means nothing
        unless what we say as Christians
                                                        means everything.

Amen.

 

Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church

P. O. Box 961690
Riverdale, Georgia 30296
(770) 997-7117           (770) 997-3312

Jeffrey M. Halenza, Pastor

Dear Member,

     I hope this finds you all well! Attached is the sermon I was going to preach this Sunday, along with the prayers we were to pray. I have also attached “A Prayer to Help Us through These Days”.

     We are also looking at ways of “live streaming” sermons and prayers if we cannot hold services for a while. In the meantime, let me know if sending out written sermons and prayers is helpful.

     Pastor Flanigan and myself will stay in regular touch with the congregation and offer whatever help we can. Please let us know if there are situations or particular needs we may not be aware of.

     You are in our prayers and I hope we can soon resume gathering for worship and greeting one another without worrying about “Social Distancing”!

God Be With You,

Pastor Halenza

JMH/nvn

 

Sermon                                                                                                                                                                            The Reverend Jeffrey M. Halenza
March 22, 2020                                                                                                                                                        Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church
John 9:1-41                                                                                                                                                                                            Fourth Sunday in Lent

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out. Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

For years my wife Kitty worked downtown. Before MARTA extended rail service to the airport, she would often ride the bus to and from work. I would drop her off at the stop at Flat Shoals and Old National in the morning and pick her up at the same stop in the evening. One afternoon she called and said that she wasn’t feeling well and asked if I could pick her up early. She would meet me, she said, at 3:30 in front of the Winn-Dixie instead of at the bus stop. That would be a better place to wait, she thought, if the bus was ahead of schedule. I said that would be fine. But as I was preparing to leave the office to meet her, the telephone rang and by the time I could graciously conclude the conversation I was running late. I raced down Old National, sped through the parking lot, and pulled up in front of Winn-Dixie hoping she wouldn’t be too upset. But she wasn’t there. At first, I was worried. Had she become too ill to ride the bus? Did she miss the bus? Then I thought that maybe she forgot where we were to meet and was standing at the bus stop. So I drove there. But she wasn’t there either. So I drove back through the parking lot to the front of the store. She still wasn’t there. Then I started to get mad. I’ll bet she went into the store, I thought. Why would she do that if she wasn’t feeling well? She’s probably stuck in line, I fumed. Suddenly, the car door on the passenger side was flung open and there stood Kitty, huffing and puffing. “Why... (huff)... didn’t... (puff)... you... (huff)... stop?!” she demanded. “What do you mean?” I demanded. And she said, “You looked right at me and kept going. I’ve been chasing you all over this parking lot!” And I said, “What in the world are you talking about?” And she said, “I was waiting at the Amoco station on the corner where you always turn into the parking lot. You were late, so I walked over there to look for you. You drove in, looked right at me, and kept going. I’ve been chasing you ever since!” And I said, “But I didn’t see you.” And she said, “Yes you did.” And I said, “But you weren’t where you were supposed to be. You were supposed to be here!” And she said, “But you saw me!” And I said, “I did not see you.” And she said... and I said... and she said... Well, maybe it would be best not to get into what she said and what I said. Even though I had looked right at her, I literally did not see her standing there. Because, well, I didn’t expect to see her there. 

 

And that’s what our Gospel Reading for today is all about.

Seeing and yet not seeing.

Having 20/2O vision and yet being as blind as a bat to what’s right there before our eyes.

Really, it’s a story that hits close to home.

Because it’s a story about illness and disease and doubt and healing, a story filled with people questioning.

And the story can help us with such things.

By helping us understand that there is a difference between religion and faith.

And by helping us to see.

 

Think about the story.

Jesus and the disciples come across a man blind from birth. Immediately the disciples ask, “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But where did that come from? Why in the world would the disciples ask such a thing?

Well, the question came from their religion. The disciples were good Jews, as was Jesus, and the Judaism of Jesus’ day taught that illness or disability was God’s punishment for sin – the sin of the person himself or the sin of the parents. Such punishment, this teaching went, was a form of chastisement which, if the person bore it graciously, could lead to later rewards. It was a belief that explained why things happened without questioning God’s love and righteousness. God was not being cruel in sending illness or disability upon someone, the belief held, because obviously the person deserved it – it was the person’s own fault, or his parent’s fault. God was actually being quite loving in that the punishment was meant to correct a person and thus save him. That was part of the belief system of the disciples – their religion. And so they asked who sinned.

 

Sound familiar? It should, because many of us carry similar beliefs within us. “Why is God punishing me?” we ask. And that question comes out of our religion, our beliefs about God. We want to understand why certain things happen. We want answers, explanations. And somewhere along the line we have been taught that the answer must be us, something we have done, that we deserve it. And even though we often really can’t buy that, still, we want answers or explanations so bad that we’ll blame ourselves anyway. Or blame others. Either way, we feel strangely comforted, because at least we can make sense of things and feel that we have some control over what happens. That’s what we want: a reason. And religion supplies one.

So like the disciples we believe there is a connection between what we have done and illnesses that strike.

 

But Jesus said no.

There is no connection between sin and illness – it is not God’s punishment. Period.

What Jesus did say was that the man was born blind so that God’s work might be revealed in him. But that sounds like Jesus was saying that God caused him to be born blind so that God could use him at a later date to make a point. And that would seem more cruel than God punishing the man. The idea that God would lay such a terrible thing on someone just to score a few points in a debate years down the line seems horrible.

So what did Jesus mean? That God could work through the man’s blindness. Jesus was not saying that God caused the man’s blindness. He was saying that even in the man’s blindness God’s power could work to help the man and others truly see.

Jesus wasn’t giving an answer or reason, but trying to open the disciples’ eyes to the presence and power of God in a very unlikely place.

It’s the difference between religion and faith.

Religion asks: Why is God punishing me?

Faith asks: How is God working in what is happening in order to bring life and hope?

Religion looks for explanations.

Faith looks for the presence of God.

Religion needs answers to thrive and holds fast to its explanations.

Faith lives without answers and holds fast to God.

 

And there’s another difference between religion and faith.

Religion sees God only where it expects to see God; faith is open to seeing God everywhere and in everything.

It’s the difference between the Pharisees and the man born blind.

The Pharisees were mainly concerned with what was not of God according to their religion. That’s what religion does: it spends most of its time and energy looking for and pointing out who is not from God, what is not of God, where God is not. Religion’s main preoccupation seems to be to protect itself and its beliefs, even protect God. So the Pharisees questioned whether the man ever really was blind, interrogated him and his parents, looked for all the reasons why his healing was not God’s doing and Jesus was not from God. Because they had already determined, on the basis of their beliefs, that Jesus couldn’t be from God and thus the healing couldn’t be of God. According to their beliefs, Jesus was a sinner - he violated the sabbath, didn’t follow their rituals, didn’t respect their rules. Besides, he was of questionable origin. He didn’t fit in their system and thus they couldn’t see God at work in him.

The blind man couldn’t have cared less about all of that. He didn’t know if Jesus was a sinner or not, didn’t even know who Jesus was. All he knew was that something wonderful and powerful happened to him, and he was willing to believe that it was of God. And that is what faith says: “All I know is that something happened.” And faith is willing to believe that the strength that came, the love that came, the healing that came, the peace or hope that came was from God, that God’s power and presence was at work.

Religion needs to make sure it is right before believing; faith believes before it knows whether it is right or not.

Believes because all we know is that something wonderful or powerful happened.

 

A Lutheran pastor has told of the time one of the pillars of the church he was serving stopped by his office to tell him that he had been “born again.” “You’ve been what!” the pastor exclaimed. The man said that he had visited his brother-in-law’s church the previous week and something – he wasn’t sure what – happened and he’d been born again. And the pastor blurted out, “You can’t be born again – you’re a Lutheran! You’re the president of the congregation!” And the pastor says that as the man stood there brimming with joy, he sulked. Then he comments that spiritual renewal is wonderful, but we prefer it to be within our own acceptable tradition so that it doesn’t disturb our understanding of God.

That’s religion’s reaction.

If it’s not the way we believe, then it’s not of God, religion says.

Faith says, “Who knows?”

 

Religion is certain of everything. It’s a closed system. It closes out everything that violates its understanding of God. And often it closes out God and Jesus and the surprising ways of God. Often it causes us to go blind to God who is right there before our eyes.

Faith is never certain of God, never certain where God might or might not be found or what God can or cannot do.

So faith remains open – faith looks for what is right before our eyes.

 

But how does this help us with illness and all the rest?

By helping us to ask Where more than Why. 

By helping us to live without answers and live rather in the presence of God.

But how God is at work in what happens to each of us I cannot say – each of us can only answer that for ourselves.

What I can say is what others have seen of God. I can tell you that some have discovered how truly precious each day is and they have lived more in a few months than in their entire lives. I can tell you that some may not have been healed physically but healed in a far deeper way – the memories and guilts and old wounds healed. I can tell you that some have grown closer to family and friends and have come to know love like never before. I can tell you that some have realized that significance matters more than success and have started to live that way. I can tell you some have experienced the love of God like never before and have come to love God like never before.

And yes, I can also tell you about the angers and despair and frustration and confusion and hard questioning and doubts. But what I can also tell you is that what finally gave peace was not an explanation but a presence, discovering the presence of God in the last place you’d expect.

The very place the cross of Christ tells us to look: in bewilderment and confusion, even in pain and suffering and death.

What faith will see is the God who can work hope and life in and through all things.

And what faith will trust is that somehow in the power of God all shall be well.

 

Or to put it another way.

Religion drives right past God because it thinks it knows where God is.

Faith keeps its eyes open and sees God in unexpected places and opens the door to God and the life God can work out of all that happens.

 

Prayers: 3-22-2020

Prayer of the Day

Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Let us pray.

O Lord our God, sometimes we believe that you must be punishing us or something because of what happens. Sometimes we wonder what we have done to deserve what happens to us. At such times, O Lord, grace us with the faith that sees that you are not like that, the faith that sees you present with us to help and heal and raise us up to new hope and life, the faith that trusts your love in all things.
People: Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Pastor: O Lord our God, truly you are like a shepherd to us, a shepherd who cares for us and will guard and guide us through all things. Help us to see that and to trust ourselves to your care, to trust that truly you are our Good Shepherd and Great Friend. Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: O Lord, we have so much and yet still we often feel empty, bored, so terribly lost. Shepherd us unto seeing that in your care we will never be in want, that never will we lack what we need most, which is your presence, your peace, your love and strength to manage all things. Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And on those days, O Lord, when we are played out and prayed out, worn to a frazzle, lead us to a still place, help us to stop and remember what matters most. And restore our weary spirits and revive us with new hope and joy. Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And shepherd us, O Lord, along right paths. Shepherd us in our work and at home, shepherd us in our choices and actions. And shepherd the children as they grow and parents too. And this nation, O Lord. Shepherd us all along the paths that lead to life and becoming the people you call us to be and we so want to be. Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer. 

Pastor: And shepherd those, O Lord, who walk through the valley of illness and disease, death and grief. Help them not to be afraid. Grant them the peace of knowing that you are with them. Especially do we pray for those in our country and around the world stricken with the corona-virus. And we pray too for Carolyn Herche, Michelle Bryant, Ralph Turner, Barbara Hellwig, Harold Finney, Linda Keyser, Justin Markham, Martha Ratzman, Kay Douma, Judy Cable, Annette Flanigan, Ryland Jones, Joanne McGee, Sharon Allison, Barbara Gordin, Walt Sternke, Bill Dixon, George Pringle, Carl Berkobin, Sandy Tiedemann, Genelda Clinton, Eleanor Gibson, Sarah Fields, Kristi Gordin, Winifred Pernell, and Roberta Lecour. And for all those relatives and friends so dear to us. Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: O Lord, you prepare a table before us, you throw a party for us, and the guest list includes friends and enemies alike. You invite us to sit down and battle no longer. You anoint us with forgiveness and fill us to overflowing with gladness. Help us to rise up from your table and be people who forgive and give life and help others overflow with gladness — to be shepherds ourselves, especially to those who are hungry and homeless, all who hurt and need our care. Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And shepherd this earth unto peace, O Lord! Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: And now, O Lord, we pray our most personal prayers and listen for the word you speak to us, knowing that you are our Good Shepherd and Great Friend...

Silence

Pastor: Lord, in you mercy,
People: hear our prayer.

Pastor: O Lord, when we go back into the day, let your goodness and mercy accompany us in our work or retirement, in every moment of the day. Grace our days with laughter. Grant us the faith that trusts that all shall be well and that through all things you shall shepherd us home.
People: Amen.

A Prayer to Help Us through These Days

O Lord, you are our refuge and strength,
              a very present help in trouble,
                                                                         and therefore
                                                 we are not to fear
           even though the earth should change
                         and the mountains tremble
                                                                       with its tumult.

O Lord, be our help now!
                                       Because we are in trouble,
                            much is changing,
                                                      the very ground beneath our feet feels like
                                                                                                            it is shaking,
                                                                            so tumultuous the times,
                                                                                                                        and the truth is
                                      we do fear.
                                                         And so give us
                                                                              faith enough
                                                                                                 to trust that you are with us
                                                                                                                    and will see us through it all,
                           courage enough
                                                        to manage whatever comes,
                                                                                                               and sense enough
                                                                        to listen only to the voices
                                               of those who actually know
                                                                                       what they’re talking about
                           and do what we should to protect others and ourselves.

O Lord, lift us in hope;
                            return kindness to our land;
                                         move us to forget ourselves enough
                                                            to be there in whatever way we can
                                                                          for the elderly who are isolated and
                                                                                         for those struggling financially;

               grace our days,
                                          especially these days,
                                    with laughter;
                                                         and help us
           to hold fast to your love,
                                                           the love that casts out
                                                                                all fear,
                                                      and to believe,
                                                                          believe that all shall be well.

Amen.

Dear Member,

    Attached is the prayer for this week's Wednesday evening Lenten service which was cancelled.

    The purpose of our mid-week Lenten services this year is to pray for what we need to keep being Christian in a culture in which it's hard to keep being Christian, truly Christian.  Just as Jesus would go off now and then to a lonely place to pray for the strength to keep being Jesus, so too we come to a quiet place to pray for what we need to keep living as Christ calls us to.  While the attached prayer does not speak directly to the corona-virus crisis, it does speak to how we are to be in all times, not just when things are at their best but also when things are at their worst, especially when things are at their worst.

    I hope you can use the prayer to guide your prayers this week.  

                            God be with you,

                                Pastor Halenza 

A Prayer for Lent

(March 18, 2020)

(adapted from Frederick Bucchner)

O Lord, praise be to you
                                   for giving us back the world,
                              for the miracle of waking,
                                                                             new again,
                      into the newness of another day.

             Praise be to you
                                   for our freedom not simply to be
                                                                                         your children
                           but to choose to be.

      Praise be to you
                                    for our waking minds
                      through which we not only live
                                                                               but know we live
                 and can marvel at your gift of life to us,
                                and can offer our lives to you
                                                                                to use as you will.

O Lord, guide us, we pray,
                           down the unknown corridor
                      of this day and every day.

                 Lead us, each one, to the one door
                                                         of all the many doors
                                                    you would have us open.

                  Give us the courage to speak a word
                                                                               of love and healing
                                             in a world of hate and division.

                   Give us ears to hear you speak
                                                                  at every turning of way –
                                                            to listen,
                                                      to truly listen,
                                                to hear,
                                                              and to obey,
                                         even when the heart within us faints,
                                                  even when so many other voices
                                                                call us away from you.

                     Give us the strength to choose to be yours,
                                  to choose words that are your words,
                                                               thoughts that are your thoughts,
                                                  actions that are your actions,
                             so that this day and every day in some small way
                                           we would be Christs to others,
                                                                      be Christian
                                                                and keep being Christian
                                                           in a way that you would recognize
                                                                                      and know
                                                                                the joy of that.

O Lord, help us to live this day
              as though it were the first of all our days
                                      or the last
                                                     of all our days.

Amen.