JOB 38:1-11; PSALM 107:1-4, 12-15; 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13; MARK 4:35-41

There’s been a lot of fighting in the news this week from here in Anchorage to the streets of Iran- people have been arguing about rights and routines. Some of this fighting has been physically violent and some of the fighting has been through strong words and emotional struggle. With this fighting in the back of our minds, we look at some of the texts for this week and think about how and why God fights and what that means for us in our life of faith.

In the text from Job, God tells Job to get ready for a fight. That’s what it means to “gird up your loins”. Job, like other men of his time, would have worn a long loose robe. To prepare for battle or for a physical altercation, they would pull up the back of the robe and tuck it in their belt. Thus they would be ready for the fight. After thirty-some chapters of listening to Job’s friends explain how he must be less righteous than he thinks and listening to Job lament the state of his existence, the Lord has had enough.

So He tells Job, “You want the truth. Get ready for it because it will knock you over. Come on out and let’s talk about what you have to say. You have questions; well, boy, do I have answers.” The answers Job got may not have answered the questions he thought he was asking, but they shed light on a different kind of truth- the truth by which he had lived and, more importantly, the truth by which God abides.

Certainly Job had been afflicted and seemingly without cause, but God said, “It is not that you haven’t been righteous or that you have been, but that I have a picture and a plan that is larger than you. Do you know all the ways of the world? Are you intimately acquainted with how the universe works? Do you have the kind of knowledge and love that can only come from being the creator of such works?”

Job’s personal agony brought out a fight in him that covered up the real matter. Because his friends and family offered suggestions for why such terrible things were happening to him, Job lost sight of what had given him stability before. What he thought had been solid faith shook a little when God turned out to act in unexpected ways.

However, unexpectedness is always God’s way, even though we, like Job, can forget that. Let’s think for a moment about the story of David and Goliath. That story is part of the semi-continuous lectionary this week. While we are not specifically hearing that reading, the whole Bible ties together and that story provides a good example of the fighting God. When we think of the story of David and Goliath, we often see it in our minds as the triumph of the underdog, a small shepherd, over the mighty, in this case- a Philistine giant.

Yet, that’s not actually the message of David and Goliath. Yes, David was a small shepherd whose abilities were doubted even by Saul, the Lord’s anointed. Yes, Goliath was a giant among men and a fierce warrior among warriors. However, the triumph over him didn’t come from David’s own determination. Listen to David’s words to Goliath before he winds up the slingshot, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”

In a political fight against a seemingly overwhelming enemy, the gift of victory belongs to God for it is God who ultimately has the power. The triumph of David over Goliath points to the faith, that mustard seed to bush-and-tree-faith, that believes in the long-ranging strength of the hand and in the plan of the Lord. That faith calls us to lean not on our own understanding because our understanding can cause us to be Job’s friends, looking for unrighteousness where it might not be, or to be the army of Israel, doubting the power of God to demonstrate his strength against his foes.

Of course, the disciples, in their own understanding, had every reason to believe they might drown, every reason except for one. Didn’t Jesus just take them aside and explain the seeds of faith to them? In private, did he not reveal to them that God had planted these seeds within them? Had they not just learned about whom this Jesus the Christ was? And yet they immediately cling to the side of the boat and start yelling for Jesus to wake up and do something, lest they die, “Rabbi, do you not care that we are dying?” You’d think these fishermen had never been in a storm before.

Jesus stands and calms the waves. Well, that’s a little mild. In this passage, the words in Greek are the same fierce words Jesus uses when he casts out demons. “Be still” is no gentle calming, but an intense invective- one that can only come with authority, the authority that is within the Creator of the universe, whose power the universe recognizes and whose authority that creation obeys. “Be still!”

Jesus then speaks to the disciples, “Have you no faith?” What happened here? Haven’t we talked about what God has sown in you? And this is your response- cowering in fear and wringing helpless hands?

In the song “A Mighty Fortress is our God” is this line, “For God himself fights by our side with weapons of the Spirit.” This means for those who believe, in the midst of struggles and our joys, God’s own self is fighting for us. When we are like Job and overwhelmed by the circumstances of our lives, God’s Spirit battles on our behalf so that we will not feel hopeless. God engages us, as he does his servant Job, to bring our attention to the larger message of creation and the continued work of God’s hand in obvious and mysterious ways.

God’s Spirit shores us up, like David, so that we can face the insurmountable foe of the world and the forces that oppose God. Rather than let us be overcome by helplessness or fear of death, God fights to remind us that the cross is the most powerful weapon and we live in, with and through the power of the resurrection- the triumph over the grave, as well as all political and worldly powers.

And we are reminded in Jesus that God is the ruler of the universe. When we feel nearly swamped, we do not need to call for God to wake up and notice our peril, for God is awake and is right beside us in our travels and our travails.

Far too often, we believe that we fight alone and we become exhausted. Today’s texts point to a different reality and the real truth. Not only do we not fight alone- we are not leading the fight. We wrestle with fear, faithlessness and foes that are unimportant. God our Father is the fighter and He fights on behalf of the whole creation.

We are called to be supporters in that fight. We are called to use our gifts and our faith to point others to the true power and ruler of the world. Like Job, we are called to remember who made this world and loves it. Like David, we are called to stride out in faith and give the glory to God in all things. Like the disciples, we are called to open our eyes and to live by the words that Jesus has spoken. Consider God’s power and rejoice that the pressure of that power is not upon you, but rests solely with the one who made you. On this day and all days, we are called to celebrate and dedicate ourselves to God, our fighter and our Father.

Amen

ISAIAH 6:1-8; PSALM 29; ROMANS 8:12-17; JOHN 3:1-17

This may be the Sunday that you determine that your pastor is crazy. Holy Trinity Sunday is my favorite festival of the year. (It is a festival.) I get more out of this day than Christmas, Easter, Pentecost or even, dare I say it, Reformation Day. All other church festivals either commemorate something God has done for the world, send the Messiah, raise him from the dead, or the other festivals acknowledge aspects of history or of the life of faith, like Reformation or All Saints’.

Holy Trinity Sunday is different. The only festival that is celebrated around church doctrine, this day asks to look at who God is and our experience of God over us, God with us, and God in us. Born from this day are the other days we celebrate a God who cared enough to send His only begotten Son, a God who cared enough to die on the cross, a God who remains with us interceding with sighs to deep for words.

The Trinity is mysterious and crazy-making. Not in that the Three-in-One God is in the habit of making people crazy, but that trying to understand it could definitely stretch the limits of one’s sanity. We believe in one God made manifest in three persons. What? The Father, our Holy Parent, birthed creation, but the Son and the Spirit were present and active in that same act. The Son died on the cross for our sins, but spoke with the authority of the Father and through the inspiration of the Spirit who also gave of themselves on Calvary. The Spirit gives us strength and power to live our lives, but does so with the inspiration of the Father and with the love of Christ.

No one person of the Trinity is limited in their role or power. For us to say otherwise is heresy. For Three-in-One God to do otherwise is not in God’s nature. Confused? The Trinity is confusing, challenging and beautiful all at the same time. Let’s break it down as though we were going to give a report. Let’s look at the who, what, when, where, why and how of the Trinity.

Who is the Trinity? The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God, now and forever.

What is the Trinity? The Trinity is how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have chosen to relate to one another and to the world. Because of the great love that is within God and is God, there is a relational aspect, a relationship, within God’s own self that needs these three expressions. Who you are has several expressions: child, parent, spouse, former spouse, employee, employer, parishioner, volunteer, etc and each of those roles makes up your entire person. You are able to be more than one thing at a time because of the gifts you have and who you have been created to be.

God was not created, but has always been. However, due to the gifts that are God’s own- the Trinity is formed- a relationship that pours out love, mercy, judgment and forgiveness. It is three expressions of one great God, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God.

When is the Trinity? One God, now and forever. From Genesis, we know that the Spirit moved over the waters at creation, bringing forth God’s desire from chaos. From John, we know that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. We come to understand, through faith, that Word is Jesus the Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. From Paul, we learn that our heavenly Father extends to us an inheritance for which we did not work, but so that we might understand and believe that we have a place to belong and a family everlasting as children of God. When is the Trinity? One God, now and forever.

Where is the Trinity? Everywhere. Not only limited to the sacraments or sacred locations, but the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are God above us, God with us and God in us. Our Three-in-One God is always inspiring us to go forth, meeting us on the road and completing the work we cannot finish because of our human nature. Isaiah believes he will die because he is seeing the hem of God’s robe. He believes this because the Lord told Moses that no one could see God and live. Then the Lord moons Moses. (See Exodus 33, where the Lord does indeed show Moses his backside.) Rather than dying, Isaiah is called into the presence of the Lord so that he might know his own calling, his own sinfulness and God’s plan to send him out into the world. God reveals the plans for us in the same way, calling us, forgiving us and sending us out- but never alone. Always we are accompanied by the richness of God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit in all that we do.

Why is the Trinity? Maybe the best way to explain the “why” of the Trinity is to say something personal. I have almost always found the person of Jesus comforting. If I am mourning, I know that he wept over Lazarus. If I am rejoicing, I imagine him smiling at playing children and celebrating with the families of the healed. If I am tired, I imagine him sleeping in the boat during the storm. I cannot be the person Jesus was, but I appreciate that He understands the person I am.

When I found out that I was pregnant two days before Christmas, it was very overwhelming- to say the least. As the first weeks went by, it was hard to fully celebrate this miracle of life because I felt so surprised and very upset that Rob was going to be gone and we would not be together for this experience. So I began to think about Jesus. And then I felt frustrated. Jesus didn’t know how I felt about this. Jesus did not have a baby. He didn’t have mood swings, have to run to the bathroom all the time, worry about missing his spouse and think about the 900 foods he couldn’t eat. (Well, he might have done that. He was following Jewish dietary laws.)

I also thought of this congregation. Jesus did not get elderly or watch a spouse struggle with a terminal illness. All of this began to boil in my mind. This is where some people find comfort in the lives of the saints or Mary or the other apostles, but not me. Not only am I crazy about the Trinity, I am stubborn about the Trinity. If this is how God has chosen to express God’s self, then there is a good reason why.

The thing is, Jesus doesn’t cover all the bases. Jesus is God-with-us, but Jesus is not the only way that God accompanies us or the only way that God understands us. There can only have been one Messiah and so he was sent into the world, not to condemn the world, but that it might be saved through him. When I desperately want to know that Jesus understands what I’m experiencing, I forget that was not the only purpose of God’s human life on earth. Because God has made each of us, out of care and love, God does know what we are going through. We are pointed not only to Jesus, but to the entire Trinity so that we might have confidence that the One who made is us is also the Three who understand and are present with our every emotion and experience. Jesus the person might not have known what I felt or what you feel, but God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is always with us, in the thick of it.

How is the Trinity? They’re fine, thank you. In all seriousness, the how of the Trinity is where people get hung up, stopped and close their minds to God or to God’s full expression. The how of the Trinity is the aspect we don’t have to understand. We believe that Christ is present to us in the bread and wine. We don’t know how, but we believe through the gift of faith. We believe that God adopts us through baptism, when we cannot act on our own, and makes us. How exactly that works, we couldn’t say for sure, but we believe through faith. We believe that the Spirit ever creates in us a clean heart, sanctifying us throughout our live. How? God only knows, but we believe through faith.

So also through faith do we believe in a Three-in-One God, a God above us, God with us and God in us. This is the God who made us, who saved us through the cross and resurrection, who breathes life into us. Holy Trinity Sunday- where we are brought together to acknowledge that we don’t have the control, but God does and God reveals that strength to us in many, many ways. Here we learn that God’s own love and mercy are so great- that it takes three intertwined expressions to show it. Ever creative, comforting and compassionate- the Holy Trinity, the one True God, has the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever.

Amen.

EZEKIEL 37:1-14; PSALM 104:24-34, 35B; ACTS 2:1-21; JOHN 15:26-27, 16:4B-15

The valley was deep and wide in front of Ezekiel that day:
The bones lay bare and dry; he knew not what to say.
And then the Lord questioned, and Ezekiel did reply,
“Mortal, can these bones live?” “Lord, you know better than I”.

Ezekiel drew in his breath and made his voice heard well
“Oh, dry, dry bones. Dry, quiet bones, hear what I do tell
Knees and elbows, thighs and hips- all a skeleton has to give-
Hear this word from your Lord, receive sinews and flesh and live.”

Before his eyes, the bones did rise and stand upon the ground-
Bone met bone, from head to toe, with a fierce rattling sound.
There were bodies standing with ears open, waiting to hear
The word the Lord wanted sent forth about his presence, near.

Ezekiel called forth the wind, as he had been told to do,
The standing bodies inhaled and breathed with life anew;
They were a sign for Israel of what the Lord had done.
The bodies showed that in the end, always, the Lord has won.

How did those bones together come and how were they alive?
God’s Spirit works in strange, new ways and causes all to thrive.
The same Spirit moved on Peter, who was the church’s rock.
Reborn, on fire, the disciples seemed drunk at nine o’clock.

Jerusalem gathered for Pentecost celebration.
Annually, they recalled God’s own gifts unto their nation.
Jesus’ followers were together, waiting on God’s word.
Then tongues of flame descended and, oh!, the noise that was heard.

Each person began to speak in a language not his own.
The Spirit’s power gave them ability, voice, strength, words and tone.
The crowd was surprised, hearing their languages spoken.
To simple Galileans, this gift from God was no mere token.

Then Peter stood, began to preach and the Spirit supplied the words:
As Ezekiel to dry bones, here too God’s power was heard.
Prophetic children, young men with visions and old men with dreams,
Spirit outpouring, all the world knows comes apart at the seams.

And what now does this matter, this strange, spiritual power?
Breathing on bones, at Pentecost and here in this hour?
Oh, why and how does this Holy Breath move within the world unbidden?
Its gifts are so public, so out there, and so unhidden.

The Lord God revealed unto Ezekiel the Spirit’s end goal.
Jesus told the disciples earthly life can and does take its toll.
The Advocate is for comfort, guidance and intercession.
If God seems hands off, that’s absolutely the wrong impression.

The Holy Spirit re-wets us. It baptizes and reforms our flesh-
So God’s will for creation and our understanding might mesh.
The dry bones received holy breath so they would know God anew.
Peter said to those listening, “This work is done for you.”

On this day, here in this church, we are called to recognize
The work of the Spirit is ongoing, right in front of our eyes.
Not just dry bones nor drunk with new wine, we do have more to give.
The Spirit among us, drives and compels you and me to live.

The Spirit gives us power now to hear the Truth, walk the Way, see the Lord.
Here we have so many gifts. There is so much need. How could we be bored?
So get up from your seats, share this news through song, speech and shout:
There is great joy in Anchorage- the Holy Spirit is let out!

ACTS 1:15-17, 21-26; PSALM 1; 1 JOHN 5:9-13; JOHN 17:6-19

This week we mark the ascension of Christ into heaven. It falls in the church calendar right before Pentecost and we hardly ever notice it. Jesus speaks to his disciples again (Acts 1:4-11). After hearing this, the disciples go back to Jerusalem and do what? (They pray, they talk about Judas, they decide to elect a twelfth disciple.) The election of a twelfth is important because they were correlating the twelve apostles with the twelve tribes of Israel.

So they pray and come up with two names: Joseph-Barsabbas-Justus and Matthias. Then they essentially roll some dice or draw straws to confirm their selection. This was not that unusual at that time- remember the sailors casting lots to discover that Jonah was to blame for the storm at sea? The lots confirmed for the believers how they believed God was guiding them. They were leaning toward Matthias and the lots confirmed that choice.

Before the selection, however, how did they come up with the two choices? They looked at the men who had been with Jesus and with them, from the time of Jesus’ baptism through to the witnessing of the resurrection. That last part was crucial. They didn’t want someone who had witnessed most of the miracles or the teachings. The apostles knew that the witness and experience of the resurrection was crucial to the ability to minister to other people.

That’s something for us to think about: a witness to the resurrection, to the power of the risen Jesus, is crucial to the ability to minister to other people. After all, that is what brings us here. Beyond our parents or our grandparents, our habits, our social needs or anything else, the experience we have had with Jesus- the One who and the One who is to come- is what brings us back to this place, to be nourished and fed and what sends us back into the world.

This is even what Jesus is praying for his disciples and for us in today’s Gospel lesson. He asks the Father to sanctify us in truth, to make us holy through the reality that only comes from the Word that is with God and is God. That resurrected Word offers conviction, consolation and healing.

Healing. Ultimately, when we pray for one another- we are asking for a renewal of the experience of the resurrection and the joy of salvation. We long to see the restoration of the body and the return to life, as we’ve known it. However, life as we know it is not always God’s desire for us. God longs to sanctify us in truth, to make us more than we are and more than we thought we could be.

When we look to the resurrection and to one another as witnesses to that miracle, we are also looking to the God of unexpectedness and mysteriousness. The disciples chose Matthias to complete the twelve and believed that choice to be the will of God. How many of you know anything about Matthias beyond today’s story? Church history says he may have been a missionary to Ethiopia and what may be his remains rest in Germany today.

The disciples believed they knew God’s will and selected a reasonable candidate to fill their ranks- a man who had experienced Jesus as they understood Him, from beginning to beginning, baptism to resurrection. However, God completed the ranks of the apostles through calling Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul. Paul’s experience of the resurrection was a completely different witness, overcoming him in the middle of his intense opposition to Christianity- the risen Christ knocked him from his mount, turned his day into night and set him off in a completely new direction. Paul never got over it and neither did the message of Christ to the world. Sometimes witnesses to the resurrection don’t fit the mold we expect, the stories we know or the experiences that we have had.

And so, when we pray for one another for healing and restoration, we must keep this in mind. The healing may not look like what we desire. The restoration may not meet our checklist of requirements. It may not come in a time frame that we desire or in through the means we choose.

Yet, the resurrection experience comes to those who seek it and to those who are not expecting it. Healing does as well. We are called to be with one another, to pray for one another and share our experiences of resurrection with one another. We are called to ask for experiences of the resurrection for one another. This is how we are apostles and disciples to each other today. In the mutual caring of one another, God reveals His truth and we share together in the miracles that come through life daily- miracles of physical restoration, miracles of peaceful deaths, miracles of intensely shared pain, miracles of grief survived, miracles of quiet hope and faith.

Together we seek God’s will, we pray for healing, we share our faith. Together we proclaim, “Christ is risen.” (He is risen indeed.) Believing that, together we are witnesses to the resurrection- yesterday, today and forever.

ACTS 10:44-48; PSALM 98; 1 JOHN 5:1-6; JOHN 15:9-17

When I was growing up, my father had a phrase he would say when I was preparing to go on a trip or away from home for any amount of time. He would look at me and say, “You know what’s right. Do it.” My mother would ask if I had enough toiletries and then if I had enough clothes. I always assumed the order of her questioning was if I had to run around naked, at least I could be clean. However, my father’s advice was applied regardless of cleanliness. No lists of “Call us”, “Don’t spend all your money on something stupid”, “Don’t go anywhere with strangers”, but “You know what’s right. Do it.”

I thought about that phrase this week in a scary situation. There were no moral choices to be made, but more some quick decisions. My brother David and I were walking my dog down by Eagle River when we spotted a cow moose, which (as it turns out) had a very young calf. She charged at us on the trail and we went leaping into the woods, just like you’re supposed to. Well, David and the dog went leaping into the woods. I waddled quickly into a little stand of trees. Over the next 30 minutes, we slowly made our way back to the car, stopping, calling out, listening and discussing other options. We wanted to be out of the situation, but we also knew the moose was not enjoying herself.

Once we finally got back to the car without incident and then got home and debriefed the situation, David and I both settled down for the worst night’s sleep we’ve both had in a while. It was one of those nights where you wake up, sweating, thinking about what could have happened. As I lay awake on Friday morning, in the few hours of darkness, I thought about how automatically we had reacted. We didn’t debate the situation or the nuances of different options. As we started to make noise and the moose started for us, we immediately moved into the trees. We knew the right thing to do and we did it.

As we saw her go up the trail, pushing the calf in front of her, we knew to move slowly and not crowd them and to give plenty of indication of where we were and to keep our eyes peeled for where they might have gone. We knew the right thing to do and we did it. Granted David and I have been in some wild and hairy situations before (and I do mean wild and hairy), but to a certain extent- you just know what to do in the majority of them- what your options are, what your capabilities are and what you can do in the situation with what you have.

This applies to today’s gospel lesson in two ways. The first is that we, as Christians, often spend a lot of time agonizing over what the right thing is in a given situation. The second is that we don’t often act on what we definitely know to be the right thing to do. Why in our walk of faith do we so often feel paralyzed by indecision?

Jesus tells the disciples in today’s passage, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” So what is the right thing to do? (Love one another as Christ has loved us)

Why does this matter? In the gospel according to John, this is the last command that Jesus gives his disciples before the trial and crucifixion. In the days between what seemed like the end and the new beginning in the resurrection, Jesus knows the disciples are going to point fingers at one another, bicker and blame. He is reminding them, urging them, encouraging them not to do this, but to hold one another in love. To remember the truth and to remember Him as their friend and in that remembering to love one another.

Through John, today, Jesus reminds us that He is our friend and that what was right for the disciples is the same thing that is the right thing for us to do. And we’re called to make it so automatic in our lives that we don’t stop to think about, but that we find ourselves leaping into the woods, leaping toward one another, hurrying to repair breaches, to show justice and mercy- to do what is right in a way that we are surprised later at how it happened.

But, Pastor Julia, don’t you always tell us that we can’t do what is right. That our best efforts are still weak and we cannot save ourselves. You’re right. I do say that. You can’t do what is right.

When we stop there, we are sitting at the foot of the cross, singing “What a Friend We have in Jesus” and that’s all that happens. When we stop with “Well, I can’t be perfect, so I won’t do anything”- nothing gets done. No one is fed, no one is visited, no one is healed, nothing is built and, essentially, we negate the whole purpose of the cross.

Jesus is our friend, our confidant, our supporter, our God-with-us because we’ve been told what to do. Further instruction is not necessary. We have enough to do to keep ourselves busy, and, theoretically, out of trouble. Has anyone here ever reached the end of day and said, “I’ve loved everyone I could today. Good night.”

We need a friend who listens to our venting, our supplications, our charges, our needs, our hopes and our dreams. We need a friend who responds to those with love and compassion, a friend who walks with us. In Jesus, we have this friend, one who laid down his life for us on the cross, so that we might have life.

That friendship calls to us- in our waking and in our dreaming. That friendship binds us together. That friendship goads us and comforts us. That friendship sees where we fall short and makes up the difference in our lives and in the world around us. We are cleansed and clothed in the righteousness of Christ, according to Paul, and therefore we are not called to be concerned with those details.

Knowing this, we are called to be friends in the same way to one another and to all those whom God loves. In this world, there are daily people being charged by loneliness, oppression, fear, doubt, anger, hurt and so many other forces. You aren’t called to help them alone. Your friend goes with you- on the trail, in the wilderness, in the city, in your home. And, yes, things can get wild and hairy- but we’re never left without help.

Jesus gives us the Spirit to guide us; even we don’t know what we’re doing. God has given us the Bible so that we have a guidebook with some directions. And we are bound together, through the ties of faith, so that we can help one another.

Even as Jesus is speaking to the disciples, he knows what they are going to do in the days ahead, but he wants to remind them that there is a better way, a way to which he is calling them, a way to which we are called.

As I abide in you and you in me, Jesus says, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. You know what’s right. Do it.

Amen.

ACTS 8:26-40; PSALM 22:25-31; 1 JOHN 4:7-21; JOHN 15:1-8

What’s the name of this church? (Lutheran Church of Hope) And it belongs to what larger church body? (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) How often do you think about that denominational title? While the age of denominational affiliation may be ending, that title still says a lot about who we are as a church. Or, at least, who we are supposed to be?

Yet, when you think of yourself, on your own terms, do you think of yourself as an evangelical? What does evangelical mean? (Based in and recognizing the authority of Scripture) Evangelical comes from the Greek word, evanggelion, which means “good news”. This is not only the gospel, but all of the good news, the entirety of Scripture, which points to the saving work of Jesus the Christ.

When the smaller church bodies merged to form the ELCA, the foundation for the church was not our ethnic heritage, our emphasis on education, our mission work, our ecumenical outreach or any other extraneous source of identity- the merging congregations went to the church’s one foundation, Jesus Christ our Lord. We are his new creation, by water and the word. Thus, we are rooted in the good news.

The same was true for the early church in the days after Christ’s sending of the Holy Spirit. The twelve apostles suddenly got their legs under them and began to preach in all kinds of places. They then appointed seven other elders to take care of church matters, like feeding people, buildings, local ministries, etc. However, these new elders couldn’t keep the Spirit from moving within themselves. (Nobody can keep the Spirit from doing what the Spirit will.)

The Philip we encounter in today’s reading from Acts is from this new group of elders, appointed in Acts 6. He ended up leaving Jerusalem, the apostles’ jurisdiction, and traveled to Samaria. If Jesus was going to include them in so many stories, perhaps they needed to hear the good news as well. It would seem the Spirit was already at work in their hearts.

Philip was a fantastic success for the Lord in Samaria. People heard his preaching, saw his signs and miracles and came to believe and were baptized. The word of the Samaritans faith got back to Jerusalem and even Peter and John came out to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit.

Then Philip receives a new mission. He is sent out into the wilderness. There’s nothing more specific, just out to a certain road and start walking. The wilderness in Scripture is hardly ever positive. The Israelites wandered in it. Jesus was tempted there. Sheep have to be rescued from it. Things are lost. But Philip is sent and he goes out into this desert wilderness.

Lo, and behold, here comes a chariot with an Ethiopian eunuch inside. Now if Samaria already seemed like the outer reaches for the Gospel, Ethiopia was a whole other world. And a eunuch? The Pentateuchal laws prevented people with certain bodily injuries or handicaps to enter into the presence of the Lord. So this man was as far on the outskirts from what the apostles previously imagined as preaching to Martians or Venusians would be to us.

Yet, there he was and there was Philip. And where two or more are gathered? There is… Christ. In the reading from Isaiah, the eunuch is moved by the Spirit to know that he is reading more than the story of a mere martyr. And Philip is placed there to guide his understanding, by revealing to him the good news of Jesus.

And, so through the work of the Spirit, the eunuch desires to be baptized. What is to prevent him from being baptized? (Being Ethiopian, being a eunuch) EVERYTHING is there to prevent him from being baptized, but nothing can. After the resurrection, all bets are off. Everyone and anyone can hear the good news. God’s work through the Spirit in water and the Word is unstoppable. Even the distances of the known world at that time cannot contain it.

God is calling people to faith and people hear the call. The apostles, elders, teachers and followers of the church guide first one another and then their neighbors in that walk of faith.

God’s calling does not end with the book of Acts. Consider that Philip was moved to be right where God wanted him to be. Maybe it was wilderness, but the Spirit had work for him there. Do you doubt that God will do any less with you, right where you are, right now? Tomorrow? Next week?

We long for the world to understand God’s message of justice and forgiveness, of judgment and grace, but how can they understand it unless someone guides them. And who will guide them?

How about the evangelicals? That’s not the people on TV. That’s not the people at Anchorage Baptist Temple. That’s not missionaries in Africa or Latin America or in Anchorage. The evangelical is every person who has been baptized, who believes, who understands in their heart that the love of God is the greatest gift the world has been given.

If I am not mistaken, that would be you. You evangelicals. Does that mean you know exactly what to say, how to explain the whole Bible, how to make clear the nuances of the Trinity or details about everlasting life? No. You are evangelical because of what you believe, in the good news of Jesus Christ, the Word of Life revealed by God’s Word. And if you believe in that, then you may also believe that you do not go into the world alone.

When the queen uses the royal we, to whom is she referring? (Herself and the Holy Spirit) Well, the use of that we doesn’t come through coronation, it comes through baptism. You are never just a me, you always go into the world as a we. Philip did, the eunuch did, I do, your mother does or did, you do.

Your faith comes to you from God and the God who grants you that will not abandon you, even as you are lead to new places to speak up, speak out and speak for Christ. And so, do not be afraid, of the wilderness or of uncertainty. Do not be afraid to be evangelical. What exactly do we believe? Christ is risen. (Christ is risen indeed.).

After the resurrection, all bets are off. The Spirit moves where the Spirit will and there is nothing to stop it. Everyone and anyone can hear the good news. All they need is someone to guide them. And that may well be you.

Amen.

This week’s text, John 15:9-17, talks about Jesus’ followers as his friends. John 15:13 reads, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

So needless to say, I’ve been thinking about friendship this week. Also burned in my brain is the following incident: I was recently chatting with a friend who happens to be a couple years older than me. I don’t think of this that often and she doesn’t either. In the course of our conversation, a mutual acquaintance came up and mentioned our age difference. The acquaintance proceeded to ask my friend why, since I was younger, I was already married and had a baby on the way. The underlying implication was that there was something wrong with the friend since she was so far behind the curve in these areas.

This compounds my mixed feelings about Mother’s Day (Father’s Day/Valentine’s Day/Grandparent’s Day/etc). Everyone does have a mother, but on that particular day- we acknowledge the people who are mothers. While I’m all for honoring your mother (see Proverbs 31), I think these specialized days also detract from the people for whom mothering conversations are painful.

Let me make it very, very clear that I fall into the camp of “not everyone is the same”. Not everyone is married, a parent, single, white, purple, pierced, a veteran, peacenik, etc. And I don’t believe it is possible to always offend none of the people all of the time. Sometimes, some people just aren’t in a group. Sometimes you need to have a Bible study for married people. Sometimes for single people. Sometimes you honor parents. Sometimes you honor teachers. Not everyone is everything, but everyone is something.

We are called to abide in Christ, to bear one another’s burdens in love and to lay down our lives for one another- at least those we consider friends. Therefore, beloved, it is important to consider each person as a person. A person’s worth comes not from marital status, parenting status, age, rank or serial number, but because they are created and loved by God.

People are generally aware of their life circumstances and probably don’t need you or me or anyone else to point it out to them. I know I’m 6 months pregnant. I don’t need anyone to tell me or to try to guess how far along I am or to wonder if I am sure I’m only having one baby. Rejoice with me in a healthy pregnancy and give me good wishes for a safe birth. Be my friend.

Laying down your life may mean laying down the expectations that everyone has the same goals or is on the same timeline. It may also mean acknowledging that not everyone’s goals are achieved in the time their heart desires. Be their friend.

Branches get intertwined and it can be hard to separate them, but apart from the vine- they bear no fruit. Sever not your fellow vines, but support them in mutual love and friendship. Be willing to lay down your life for them.

ACTS 4:32-35; PSALM 133; 1 JOHN 1:1- 2:2; JOHN 20:19-31

Where was Thomas when Jesus appeared in the upper room that first night? When everyone else is locked in for fear of being associated with Jesus and, thus, receiving the same treatment He did, Thomas is out and about. Why would that be?

We get a little glimpse of the character of Thomas earlier in John, when word comes to Jesus that Lazarus is dying. Some of the other disciples are concerned that heading back toward Jerusalem will mean certain and sudden death for Jesus. Jesus slows his own walk, so that Lazarus might be raised for the glory of God. However the other disciples hope to dissuade him from the plan all together. Another dramatic healing within close proximity to the holy city is just too dangerous.

Finally, it would seem, Thomas gets tired of the hemming and hawing of the others and realizes Jesus is going to do what he’s going to do. Thomas turns to the others and says, “Let us also go [meaning to Jerusalem], that we may die with him.” Thomas gets it. This life with Jesus means putting everything else behind him and so he has. Where Jesus leads, he follows.

In John 14, as Jesus promises to prepare a place for his followers, a place where they can meet him, practical Thomas asks, “We don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?” Jesus answers, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Philip asks for the disciples to be shown the Father, but Thomas is quiet now. If Jesus says he’s the way, then he’s the way.

He’s not Peter, always offering a quick, blurted response- “Lord, let us build booths and stay here”, “Lord, you will never wash my feet”, “Lord, I will never deny you, deny you, deny you.” Thomas isn’t James and John, the sons of Zebedee. We don’t see him ask about seating arrangements in heaven. He isn’t Judas or Simon the Zealot, confused about the role of the Messiah and refusing to accept that this carpenter is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the little we see of him, Thomas has taken up the yoke and started down the road with Jesus, wherever it leads. So, why isn’t he in the upper room? Maybe because he doesn’t think the mission is over. For Thomas, perhaps fear must take a backseat to all that Jesus commanded. Maybe he’s out laying hands on people. Perhaps he’s in the synagogue, praying and discussing Isaiah with other men. He could have journeyed out to the tomb and might be running his hands over the rock rolled away, wondering just how it happened.

Somewhere, when someone came to the upper room and said Jesus was no longer in the tomb- Thomas apparently stood up, dusted off his sackcloth and ashes and decided there was work still to be done and he left the room and his fellow disciples.

When he returns, maybe with some food for the evening meal, and they all are clamoring to tell him that Jesus appeared among them- he’s a little skeptical. You can imagine Peter and James and John, people whose reluctance has frustrated Thomas in the past, going on and on about Jesus coming through the wall, about the experience of receiving the Spirit, of seeing Christ again. Thomas can’t take it, “Enough. Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in their mark and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

And there Thomas sealed his fate in the life of the church to come. Oh, Thomas, doubting Thomas, how could you not believe in what the others had spoken to you? But Thomas, faithful Thomas, knew the Jesus whom he was still following. He didn’t say, “I will never believe that” or “You’re lying” or “I think we should switch to weaker wine”. If Jesus came once, he would come again and Thomas would wait for that encounter.

And so it happened. This time, Thomas is there and Jesus comes into the closed room and extends his peace to his frazzled disciples. He immediately looks at Thomas and extends his hands, saying- “Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” And then Thomas gives the most profound profession of faith in the gospels. This is not Peter’s recognition of the Messiah, God’s anointed one. This is not Mary Magdalene’s recognition of her rabbouni, her teacher. This is not the cry of the soldier for a healer or the call of the centurion identifying the Son of God. This is the deep-rooted cry of Jesus’ most practical follower, recognizing not only his Lord, but his God.

Only Thomas, with his questions, his stubbornness and his willingness to follow without totally knowing the way, can see the two natures of Jesus the Christ, risen from the dead and apparent before him. His cry is the cry of the church from that moment on, from that upper room to this open room and in all times and places.

Thomas is called the “Twin”, but no mention is made of his sibling. Sometimes, it is we who are considered his twin, Thomas’ other half. We are with him in the gospel and he is asking the questions in our minds. Will we die with Christ? How can we know the way? Did he really appear to so many? Our brother in faith and in questioning draws the answers we need to live in faith. And the answers we need to live with our questions.

Jesus extends to Thomas what Thomas needs to believe. So also do God the Holy Spirit give us the gift of faith, but also opens us to see Jesus’ hands, body and blood and blessing extending to us as well. It might not have been right when Thomas asked for it, but he received what he needed in order to believe.

In the meantime, it would appear that he kept doing what Jesus had called him to do. He didn’t sit and wait until he fully understood. He did not refuse to ask anything, hoping someone else would clarify or ask the questions that seemed stupid or outrageous.

So, we, Thomas’ faith brothers and sister, can do no less. We are called to wrestle with difficult questions, with painful realities, with the real presence and sometimes felt absence of our risen Savior. We want to reach out and touch Jesus or at least to feel Him touching us. However, we keep going. You keep going. I keep going. The church keeps going. And we believe. We believe when we have not seen, we obey when we don’t understand, we persist when we don’t feel like it, we thank God before we receive and we keep trusting when we don’t receive.

This is the life to which we are called through the risen Christ. This is the life that Thomas led and offers as an example. We take our convictions and our questions, both of which make up our faith, the hope of things unseen, and we live the life to which we have been called- service to God and to our neighbors.

And we keep our eyes open for signs of God’s gracious presence and love. For we know signs were given to Thomas and the other disciples and to so many who have preceded us into glory, signs that are not written down anywhere. But we have the Spirit and God’s Holy Word so that, with or without signs, we may come to believe that Jesus is our Lord and our God and that through believing we may have life, abundant life, in His name.

The Friday Five prompts come from here.

Holy Week is almost upon us, I suspect that ordained or not, other revgal/pals calendars look a bit like mine, FULL, FULL, FULL……..

Jesus was great at teaching us to take time out, even in that last week, right up to Maundy Thursday he withdrew, John’s gospel tells us he hid! He hid not because he was afraid, but because he knew that he needed physical, mental and spiritual strength to get through…

So faced with a busy week:

1. What restores you physically?

I do love a nap. It’s not just the pregnancy talking. In college, I got very good at the twenty-minute power snooze. I don’t even have to have a bed or a couch. I can lay flat on the floor in a slightly darkened room and be asleep. 10 years later, I hardly ever need an alarm clock for that kind of nap. I wake myself up almost 18 minutes from when I fell asleep. I usually set a little buzzer, just in case, but I typically wake up in time to turn it off, get up, brush my hair and teeth, put my earrings back in and go back to work. Ta-da!

I have also come to love swimming in the past few weeks. After my few short laps, I stretch in the shallow end of the pool. The weightlessness gives me a little recharge. After I wash the chlorine off, I feel ready to take on the world, but I usually go home and make dinner.

2. What strengthens you emotionally/ mentally?

A good solid devotional time, complete with devotional reading, journaling and deep prayer, makes me feel refreshed and recharged in a way nothing else can. That may sound like one of those things a pastor is “supposed” to say, but it’s true. Like anything else that’s good for you, though, it takes time to do that. As essential as that practice is, I don’t do it as often as I should (daily). I do parts of it, but the complete routine offers the most consolation and connection from and with the Holy Spirit.

3. What encourages you spiritually?

Reading the works of other spiritual thinkers- from the Gospel writers to contemporary writers. There is something deep and stirring about the feel of words in my mind, rolling around, provoking other thoughts, stirring up faithfulness and spiritual comraderie- even for someone long since gone to their eternal reward.

4. Share a favourite poem or piece of music from the coming week.

These aren’t quite the words in my hymnal, but this is one of my favorite hymns. This text is taken from here. The hymn tune can be heard in the same place, not a very resounding version- nevertheless…

5.There may be many services for you to attend/ lead over the next week, which one are you most looking forward to and why? If there aren’t do you have a favorite day in Holy week if so which one is it?

It is difficult to say which Holy Week service is my favorite. The moving nature of all the services and the anticipation of Easter Sunday makes them all special. However, if I had to choose one- it would probably be Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from earlier Latin and Old English phrases for “mandate”, which in context comes from “commandment”- as in, “This is my commandment…”

The institution of the Lord’s Supper and the washing of the feet aren’t my favorite parts because they are still meaningful in the church today or because they reflect our life together. To me, Maundy Thursday is a clear representation (and set-up for Easter Sunday) regarding the physical nature of our salvation. Here we see that what God will do through Jesus the Christ isn’t merely for souls- some nebulous part of our existence, but for our whole being- body, mind and spirit. In as much as we love God with all these parts, so to God loves all these parts and loved them first (!!)- enough to save them.

The physical elements of Maundy Thursday- the nourishment and cleansing that are instituted by Christ and commanded or encouraged of us- stir up in me gratitude for the God who made, preserves, loves and saves my whole being. The Three Days point to that in a variety of ways and it is these three days that not only save us from ourselves, but save us from the rest of the church year that can easily turn dualistic (body versus soul).

Yesterday, I had to put my dog in time-out (in the backyard) and myself in time-out (under the covers of my bed). When I came home from work, I discovered that he had amused himself during the day by chewing on a photo album that holds (held?) recipes and a box of dust masks. The scraps were strewn all over the living room.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, but, for me yesterday, it was a final straw in my currently tenuous grip on emotional control. I put Ivan outside and then while he howled at the door, I went upstairs and howled into a pillow.

In my theological tradition, I understand (spiritually and intellectually) that God is in control. Yet each day that I manage to do what I need to do without breaking down about my husband’s imminent deployment or being pregnant or any number of other things that are well beyond anything that I can change or alter- each day I *handle* these things, I feel like I have myself under control.

Well, my scrappy dog pushed me over the edge. If I don’t really have a handle on 68-pounds of Labrador Retriever, then why have I deluded myself into thinking that I have a handle on anything?

It is often said that preachers sometimes need to hear their message the most and a message that God is in control is what I need to hear the most right now.

And that is the message at the heart of Holy Week (next week) and all the services I’m currently planning. As events, the story leading to the empty tombs seems very much like a careening tale of political intrigue, treason and punishment. Yet, we as believers, (I as a believer), are called to see God’s control in the situation, to recognize through faith that was happened to Jesus was bigger than Caiaphas, Barabbas, Pilate, Caesar, you or me.

It was and is the work of God, the in-breaking of God’s kingdom into history and the promise of the kingdom to come. But more, we look at all those people (Judas, Peter, Ananias, Mary of Magdala) and we know that they weren’t in charge. Why do we think that we are?

Ivan will always be a rascally dog. I will love him for it and he’ll probably get more time-outs. The deployment is what it is and will be what it will be. I cannot do nothing about that. And I’m entering the world of parenting, where you realize your sphere of influence is crucial, but doesn’t quite have the circumference for which you might hope (or that you think you have).

I’m not letting go and letting God because I don’t “let” God do anything. What I’m hoping and praying for is that God will “let” me see His hand at work in my life, feel His presence and assure me with the comforting truth that I am not in control.