Sojourners Verse & Voice

Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground! ... They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.
- Amos 5:7-12

Whoever loves true prayer and yet becomes angry or resentful is his own enemy. He is like a man who wants to see clearly and yet inflicts damage on his own eyes.
- Evgarius the SolitaryTreatise on Prayer, 64.

Health Care Benefits and Alaska State Employees: Pastoral Response

This Tuesday, we have before us an Advisory Vote that recommends a change to the Alaska Constitution concerning not providing health care benefits to some partners of State employees. This concern has surfaced political, religious, and social questions. As a person of faith and a representative of one Christian denomination in Alaska, it is important to acknowledge that not all Christians, nor all Lutherans in our denomination, have the same views on health care, same-sex partnerships or marriage. Though in a leadership role in the Christian community, I can only speak for myself out of my tradition and experience.

First, as Christians anchored in scripture, we turn first to the Living Word--Jesus Christ--and look to the texts within the Bible that reveals Christ most clearly. This is not about proving our point of view on a single issue (e.g. marriage), it needs to be about what Christ has called us to in relationship with God and each other: relationships without judgment, relationships that include rather than exclude, relationships that seek health and life. Critical in the faith community’s dialogue about the Advisory Vote is to note that Jesus never speaks of same-sex relationships and says very little about marriage. Jesus does speak about compassion, caring and serving others, and a lot about forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus’ ministry was all about healing…healing the sick, healing relationships, having healing be part of the community. In reflecting on this Advisory Vote, I believe Jesus calls us to ask: how are we called to heal others, not wound them?

Second, as Christians in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we have resources that can help guide our conversation and reflection (as do many denominations). One such resource is the social statement Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor passed in August 2003. It states: 1) we have an enduring commitment to work for and support health care for all people; 2) we support equitable access for all people to basic health care services and to the benefits of public health efforts; and, 3) we encourage faithful moral discernment guiding individual participation and public policymaking in health care services [pg. 2-3]. The text reminds us that “equitable access to health care for all” is a matter of love and justice [p.18]. Such resources call us to exercise justice, not judgment, based on what love requires of us.

Third, with no disrespect to other opinions, God does not need us to protect our definition of marriage. God has found ways around our narrowness and short sightedness of the past, our distortions of what God desires for us. Marriage through the Biblical and historical narrative has taken on many forms and expressions. Many practices “approved” from the Old Testament would be scandalous and not appropriate for our community or church today (e.g. read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, etc.) Some Christians, even today, find it scandalous that Christ’s Church does not stand together nor speak with a single voice on the issues of sexuality and marriage. Some conclude that any divorce, remarriage or sexual expression outside of marriage are not to be tolerated in the faith community; while others celebrate Jesus’ apparent inclusion and shared hospitality with those that the community has shunned. Within the Christian community, we are called to continue this dialogue and continue to seek God’s guidance.

Health care should be a basic human service available to all. Why, then, do we divert this issue of basic needs into a discussion about yours or my views on same-sex partnerships, or of providing special benefits as opposed to equal benefits? It is important to clarify whether this vote is punitive in nature or one that seeks the best for all the employees of the State of Alaska. What does justice and love call forth from us?

Pastor Michael Keys
Bishop, Alaska Synod of ELCA

Sunday of Passion

Luke 22:1-23:56

Hosanna! Hosanna!
to the one who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna to the one who comes to save us
we rejoice
yet sorrow that this one
the Song of God
the Lord most High
has come to this world
in which each one of us dips our bread
with this one
the Churst
and in this act of oneness
of family
we bring death
to our Lord
to our selves
we are all there shouting
Hosanna!
and Crucify Him!
in thought, word and deed
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone
yet not rejected, but loved
by the one we hung on the cross
Hosanna!

5th Sunday in Lent

Luke 20:9-19

Scrambling and trying to make it
---- the Lord is coming
on our own
in our own way
---- The Lord is coming
Rejecting the voices we have heard
the signs we have seen
---- The Lord is coming
and hearing only our own voice
seeing only our own works
---- The Lord is coming
in our scramble to make it
with what we see as the way
---- Rejoice
our way
our time
---- Rejoice
we have killed and silenced the ones
who have come it he name of the Lord
---- Rejoice
turned a deaf ear
and a clenched fist
---- Rejoice
our striving killing even the son of God
---- Rejoice
yet you love is there
seeing past what we do
into who we are
the children of God made holy
by your love
The Lord is coming
Rejoice

They would put him on the no fly list if they could

Saturday April 7th, Luke 23: 1 Then they all took Jesus to Pilate 2 and began to bring up charges against him. They said, "We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King." 3 Pilate asked him, "Is this true that you're "King of the Jews’?” Those are your words, not mine," Jesus replied. 4 Pilate told the high priests and the accompanying crowd, "I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless enough to me." 5 But they were vehement. "He's stirring up unrest among the people with his teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting in Galilee and now all through Judea. He's a dangerous man, endangering the peace." We must stay the course. If Jesus is not with us he is against us and as threat to our power. Well……………. Jesus IS a threat to our power and all the evil it manages to condone. If he were around today, I am sure he would be on the no fly list. Good thing he doesn’t need it.

Been there and done that

Friday April 6th, Luke 22: 59 About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: "He's got to have been with him! He's got "Galilean' written all over him."60 Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about." At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. 6 1Just then, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." 62 He went out and cried and cried and cried. Been there, done that!!! Time and again, I’ve been there and done that, and no doubt so have you. For us there is forgiveness and a call to be the church out there once again.

When will we see it?

Thursday April 5th, Luke 22: 49 When those with him saw what was happening, they said, "Master, shall we fight?" 50 One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest's servant and cut off his right ear.51 Jesus said, "Let them be. Even in this." Then, touching the servant's ear, he healed him. Even in this moment, Jesus shows us the way. When will we see it?

Why?

Wednesday April 4th, Luke 22: 41 He pulled away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 "Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?" 43 At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. 44 He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.45 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. 46 He said, "What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won't give in to temptation." Why did Jesus have to die? Was it to appease an angry god? Was it to atone for our sins for all time, the perfect sacrificial offering, which is also appeasing a blood thirsty god? Was it to show the way to obedience? Or was it the only thing humanity could, and still can, understand? Perhaps it has less to do with the violent nature of god than with the violent nature of humanity.

Relational, not magic

Tuesday April 3rd, Luke 22: 14 When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, 15 and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. 16 It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God."17 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, "Take this and pass it among you. 18 As for me, I'll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives."19 Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory."20 He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you. The Passover, the celebration of freedom is the root of our communion service. Freedom from all that enslaves you, from all that holds you back and makes you afraid. Freedom from sin, both those committed and those many that fall under the heading of things left undone. The bread is not magic, the wine is not magic, the ceremony is not magic, it is the sharing of them with God and with one another that is relational. When we gather for communion, God is there with us. When we eat out in a restraint with friends and family, God is there with us. When we gather around the table at home with family, God is with us. In each setting we are called into relationship with God who is present with us. In each setting we are called into relationship with those who are present with us. Most importantly, through the miracle of God’s presence, in each setting we are called into relationship with those who are not with us. It is less a celebration of freedom from as a celebration of freedom for.

Things haven't changed much

Monday April 2nd, Luke 19: 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Who were these people. In Borg and Crossan’s book “the Last Week” they say it was the poor, the landless who had been manipulated off the family land by the wealthy. It was the hopeless who were looking for hope. On the other end of town, in the west, Pilot came into town on his stallion, army behind him, the emblem of Caesar known as the son of god and the prince of peace leading the way. He also was cheered on his way. His crowd was the wealthy land owners, the well connected and those in power in the temple who served at the pleasure of the Caesar. Things haven’t changed much.

He went on ahead

Sunday April 1st, Luke 19: 28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' " Jesus is always out ahead of us, leading us on the way. There is no place we can go that Jesus has not already gone. Our sin is not so much what we do wrong, but what we hold back from doing. Luther said to sin boldly but rejoice more boldly still. Take fear out of your live, move out in trust and hope. Know that Christ is already out ahead of you, and if you fall, you can get up, dust off you knees and be on your way, forgiven.

Sojourners Verse & Voice

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

- Matthew 5:43-45

Great indeed is the baptism which is offered you. It is a ransom to captives; the remission of offences; the death of sin; the regeneration of the soul; the garment of light; the holy seal indissoluble; the chariot to heaven; the luxury of paradise; a procuring of the kingdom; the gift of adoption.
- Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (c. 315-386) from "Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril"

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth ( Washington)

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth ( Washington)

14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Year of the Jubilee the great economic leveling of society)

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows

By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON

Published: March 29, 2007

Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows.

The top 10 percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also reached a level of income share not seen since before the Depression.

While total reported income in the United States increased almost 9 percent in 2005, the most recent year for which such data is available, average incomes for those in the bottom 90 percent dipped slightly compared with the year before, dropping $172, or 0.6 percent.

The gains went largely to the top 1 percent, whose incomes rose to an average of more than $1.1 million each, an increase of more than $139,000, or about 14 percent.

Khuzestan

Heard last night that some of the European newspapers are reporting that the US is planning an invasion of the oil rich section of Iran called Khuzestan on or about April 17th. Sure hope this is false hype.

Web Radio again, again, again

When you are using shoutcast, it is a good idea to chose the Line in volume when you are using line in. With one click of the mouse, we are now up and running again on web radio.

God's "Yes" to the world's "no"

“You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, he is not here, he has risen just as he said.” And with that announcement a flurry of activity was set off in the world that would never be the same again. The women ran back to tell the disciples the news.

Just a week before, as Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, he was greeted by the peasants lining the road. They welcomed him by laying down their cloaks and palm branches for the colt carrying Jesus to gently step upon. There were shouts of Hosanna, and Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord and welcome to the Son of David. They were warned by the authorities, warned to keep quiet so they did not risk the wrath of the other procession entering Jerusalem. At the same time Jesus was entering from the Mt of Olives in the East and being welcomed primarily by the poor, Pilot was entering Jerusalem from Caesarea Maritima “Caesar by the Sea,” about sixty miles to the west and was also being greeted by a crowd, but one made up of a different group of people. This crowd was filled with the well connected, the land owners and the leaders of the temple who served largely at the pleasure of Caesar. They too were shouting as they were welcoming the one bearing the royal insignia of Caesar, who was known as the son of god, the prince of peace. Two different processions that would meet in the royal city that week and change the world forever.

In the conflict between the Kingdom of God, preaching a Gospel of hope for the hopeless, and good news for all on the one hand and the kingdom of Caesar representing the power and might of this world on the other, it seemed as if the kingdom of Caesar would win. Jesus was turned over to the authorities and crucified on a cross for all to see, a punishment reserved only for those who threatened the power of the state. At his dying, the land was plunged into darkness as was the whole of life. At his death, hope. The curtain in the temple separating the Holy of Holies, the very place thought of as the dwelling place of God, was torn, no more to symbolize the separation of God and humanity. Following his death, it was not the disciples, who had fled, but the centurion, the representative of the Royal Godhead of Caesar who pronounced that truly this was the Son of God. In doing so, he was proclaiming therefore Caesar and all his military might and power, was not the son of god.

If the crucifixion was the worlds “no” to the Gospel message of justice and caring for the least, lost and lonely, then a few days later was God’s response. The women peered in to see the empty tomb and hear the words, “he is not here, he is risen just as he said.” The empty tomb was Heavens “no” to the powers of this world, powers that rule by brutality and wealth and military might. Heavens response was a yes to all of creation. It is a call put aside the injustice and violence. It is a call to work to bring about an equality of power and wealth and with it, hope. It is a call not only to truly see one another as brothers and sisters in this world, not just the wealthy, not just the poor, not just those who think and act and believe and live and love as we do, but all people, but to act on that vision.

The disciples did not fully believe the message the women brought on that Easter morning and most of the time, neither do we. But we are called each and every day to let the vision unfold before us and to try to truly live in the midst of God’s “yes!!!” in this world.

Web Radio Again and Again

How does this happen. I tell you all about our web radio, and it stops working. I don't know why. I will try to get someone who is smart to figure it out. Also, I turned 58, my son got a real nice present for me, the book, Second Chance and put it on my credit card. The Cab-Sav wine I was brewing in the family room blew up and spewed about a half gallon of red wine on the carpet and a Hummer (enzite commercial on wheels) runs into my little gas efficient Honda Civic. It was an interesting day. I will let you know when the radio is up and running again.

web radio again.

Funny how things work. I post a note to try our web radio and later in the day a car accident wipes out some of the fiber optic lines and the internet was down until about an hour ago. We are back up and running again. So give our web radio a try and let me know what you think.

Web radio

Don't forget to give our Web radio a try. Just click on the Web Radio link to the left and it will come up in what ever music program you have as the defalt player on your computer. If it does not come up, well, we do have some computer glitches from time to time, so try it again later. Music, Luke, Luther and comentary 24/7

Let me know what you think.

Passion Sunday service

For Passion (Palm) Sunday we build the worship service around the longer reading starting with Luke 22:7 and ending with Luke 23:56. Within that longer reading I have inserted prayers, offering, hymns, communion and confession. If anyone would like a copy of this just let me know and I will send it to you as a MSWord attachment.

Pastor Dan
bollerud@gci.net

Meyers-Briggs Prayers

I have found these helpful in Pre-marital counseling

These are the prayers of the different psychological types
according to Meyers-Briggs Personality system

INTJ:
Lord, keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be

ISTJ:
Lord, help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 am e.s.t.

ISTP:
God, help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.

ESTP:
God, help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they're usually NOT my fault.

ESTJ:
God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.

ISFJ:
Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.

ISFP:
Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don't mind my asking).

ESFP:
God, help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.

ESFJ:
God, give me patience, and I mean right NOW

INFJ:
Lord, help me not be a perfectionist. (did I spell that correctly?)

INFP:
God, help me to finish everything I sta

ENFP:
God, help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.

ENFJ:
God, help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?

INTP:
Lord, help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.

ENTP:
Lord, help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I'll settle for a few minutes

ENTJ:
Lord, help me slow downandnotrushthroughwatIdo

Amen.

Perfect love will cast out fear

Friday, March 16, 2007

Jim Wallis: Ending the War is a Matter of Faith

Several thousand Christians from around the country will gather at the Washington National Cathedral this evening for a Christian Peace Witness for Iraq worship service, followed by a candlelight procession to the White House. This is an excerpt from the talk I will give this evening. We’ll have the full text and coverage of the event next week.

For all of us here tonight, the war in Iraq has become a matter of faith. By our deepest convictions about Christian standards and teaching, the war in Iraq was not just a well-intended mistake or only mismanaged. THIS WAR, FROM A CHRISTIAN POINT OF VIEW, IS MORALLY WRONG - AND WAS FROM THE VERY START. It cannot be justified with either the teachings of Jesus Christ OR the criteria of St. Augustine’s just war. It simply doesn’t pass either test and did not from its beginning.

This war is not just an offense against the young Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice or to the Iraqis who have paid such a horrible price. This war is not only an offense to the poor at home and around the world who have paid the price of misdirected resources and priorities. This war is also an offense against God.

And so we are here tonight, very simply and resolutely, to begin to end the war in Iraq. But not by anger, though we are angry, and not just by politics, though it will take political courage. But by faith, because we are people of faith. This service and procession are not just another political protest but an act of faith, an act of prayer, an act of nonviolent witness. Politics led us into this war, and politics is unlikely to save us by itself. The American people have voted against the war in Iraq but political proposals keep failing, one after the other.I believe it will take faith to end this war. It will take prayer to end it. It will take a mobilization of the faith community to end it - to change the political climate, to change the wind. It will take a revolution of love to end it. Because this endless war in Iraq is based ultimately on fear, and Jesus says that only perfect love will cast out fear.

So tonight we say, as people of faith, as followers of Jesus, that the deep fear that has paralyzed the conscience of this nation, that has caused us to become the kind of people that we are not called to be, that has allowed us to tolerate violations of our most basic values, and that has perpetuated an endless cycle of violence and counter-violence must be exorcised as the demon it is - THIS FEAR MUST BE CAST OUT! And to cast out that fear, we must act in faith, in prayer, in love, and in hope - so we might help to heal the fears that keep this war going. Tonight we march not in belligerence, or to attack individuals - even those leaders directly responsible for the war - or to use human suffering for partisan political purposes. Rather, we process to the White House tonight as an act of faith, believing that only faith can save us now.

5th Sunday in Lent

John 12: 1-8

In the midst of time spent together
Aroma filled the air
The sweetness drifting into every corner
Filling every nostril and lung
And out into the world.
Wasteful!
Just imagine what we
(I)
could do with that
for a slight fee for handling
all legit of course
I could help some people
And you will
Those in need
The least, lost and lonely
Will be there always
The simple creation of our greed
But their care is less about helping them overcome our greed
And more about our need
To worship
In praise and deed
Worship drives us to the streets
Where the justice work drives us back to worship
And the streets
And worship
Round and round until they blur into one
And the sweet fragrance once again fills the air

Not bad for a dime

Saturday March 31st, John 12: 7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." The two points of worship are all wrapped up in this phrase. We are called to love God and love others. Our worship informs our service and our service informs our worship. Liberation theology calls it “praxis.” Service without reflection and worship is just activism. Worship without the urge to go out and serve is just Sunday morning entertainment, you might as well just stay home and watch the game. Too often we end up with couch potato worshipers. There once was a father and his young son who after shaking hands with the preacher following worship had a conversation while walking to the car. The father said, “Well, I’m not going back there, the church was hot, the pews were hard, the preacher was boring and the choir was off key.” The young son replied, “Gee Dad, I didn’t think it was bad for a dime!” Sometimes we just have to put more into it.

For the love of it all

Friday March 30th, John 12: 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. I once tried to get permission to use two different songs in worship. “For the Love of it All” by Peter, Paul and Mary in our worship service, and “You have come down to the lakeshore,” at another church I was preaching at. After three phone calls and one faxed letter I received letter giving me permission to use the non-hymnal song “For the Love of it All” as long as I wanted in worship at no charge. After four weeks of phone calls, $30 and counting in fees for a one-time use, I never managed to make all the connections and permissions I needed to use the song from the church hymnal for worship in another non-Lutheran Church. Sometimes I am afraid; this church stuff gets focused way too much on big business.

Breath it in

Thursday March 29th, John 12: 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. One of the visions I get from this text is the whole house being filled with Mary’s adoration and worship. What a wonderful description of what worship should be. Let the whole house of God be filled with the fragrance of your worship. I am not talking incense here, which too often results in forcing the allergy prone to flee worship and not come back, but let there be such love and adoration that the very atmosphere is changed. Let the very breath of God fill your lungs and tickle your senses and share that experience with others. Then leave, go out, and serve.

Be among friends

Wednesday March 28th, John 12: 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. A model for ministry. Minister to and then allow yourself to be ministered to. Jesus was about building relationships with God, behold the kingdom is near. Once in a while, he allowed just time to be with friends. Sometimes I think it is a good model for the church, being with friends, then we miss the point and start to worry about who is going to sit where and who is going to do what. The next time you are at church, just be among friends.

From persecutor to preacher

Tuesday March 27th, Isaiah 43: 16 This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? God is way ahead of us. We tend to look on what has been. We judge others on that criteria. God looks ahead to what could be. Why else would some of the Old Testament “heroes” be chosen? From Abraham right on down to Jesus and on to Paul, most of them would not pass the mustard in today’s world. God sees us in a different light. If Paul, the persecutor of the church can go on to be it’s greatest preacher, what do you think God has in store for you if you give it half a chance?

Boats, Cars, Kitchens and baths

Monday March 26th, Philippians 3: 10-11 Give up all that inferior stuff and learn to know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. Christ is not after all that groveling and poor me stuff. When God created all that exist, God said it was good. That pronouncement of good was as much a part of creation as was the sea and stars and the land we walk upon. God pronounced it good and you can count on that. All that inferior stuff we tend to hoard in our lives is just a form of security because we can’t quite convince ourselves that the goodness of God is for us also. If you can’t throw away that security blanket of stuff, at least recognize it for what it is. More time with God and less time on the boats, cars, kitchens and baths will make those boats, cars, kitchens and baths more enjoyable. Using them for the work of the kingdom is even better.

Insignificant as dog dung

Sunday March 25th, Philippians 3: all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness. Religion all too often is rules. We want to put the Ten Commandments in the courthouses and the right judges on the bench. We want everyone in the congregation to agree with us on all the important things, and the unimportant ones also. When all is said and done, what we are after is not religion at all, but control. Paul reminds us that none of that is important. Some of it might be good and some of it might be bad, but in the end it really doesn’t matter all that much. What matters is a relationship with God.

Opening Litany and confession for the 25th

Opening Litany
Psalm 126 (New International Version)

Pastor: When the LORD brought back the Babylonian captives to Zion after so many years, they were like children in a dreamland. They said in one voice, “Our mouths are filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.”

Congregation: Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." And we as the children of God in this day know that the LORD has done great things for us, and because of that we too are filled with childlike joy.

Pastor: Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev desert. Let those who sow in tears reap with songs of joy.

Congregation: Let those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, return with songs of joy, carrying the harvest sheaves with them.

Prayers of Confession and Forgiveness
Philippians 3:4-14 (The Message)

Pastor: 2-6 The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Philippi, Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.

7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.

All: All too often, I think I connect with the word and the will of God, and the next thing I know, wham, I find myself deeply involved in things that don’t matter. I want to throw out the rules about religion and exchange them for a relationship with Jesus. But I must admit, I find comfort and a sense of control in the rules. Forgive me Lord and guide me onto the path toward a loving relationship with you. Amen

(Silence for confession and reflection.)

Song in Prayer

I want Jesus to walk with me wov 660

Pastor: 10-11 Give up all that inferior stuff and learn to know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, do it.

Focused on the Goal
12-14 I'm not saying that you have to have this all together, that you have it made. But be on your way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for you. Friends, you don’t have to count yourself as an expert in all of this, but keep your eye on the goal, where God is beckoning you onward—to Jesus. So You are forgiven, be off and running, and no turning back

Grandson photo's and prayer request

Photo's of my new grandson can be found at www.bollerud.blogspot.com He is in the NICU and doing well. Prayers please for continued growth, health and wholeness for him and continued relationship healing for his mother and I.

Good Search

Goodsearch.com is a new search engine tht donates half of its revenue (about a penny per search) to the charity of your choice. To contribute to Lutheran Disaster Response just put in LDR in the charity section.

So how do you live in the mean time?

These stories of lost and found are some of my favorite in all of scripture; however, real life never seems as clean as the story. My own prodigal is my sixteen year old daughter, caught in the middle of a long ago but never ending divorce, and off in the far land for several years now. As I was working on what to say on the Luke 15 text, my prodigal daughter gave birth to a son on Tuesday. He was early, 2 pounds, 2 ounces and in the incubator in the NICU. I find myself as the father in the story, standing there with arms open with the prodigal coming close and then retreating, coming close and retreating. I find myself as the older brother in the story way too often, angry at both the coming close and the retreating. I also find myself in the middle of old issues, wanting to be the open armed father in a room filled with unresolved anger, snide comments and power posturing. How do you live in the mean time? Mean having the double meaning of “in between” and “cruel.” I long to be father to my daughter and her boyfriend and grandfather to her son, and I am drawn back into the older brother on occasion. I think for me, the story calls me to be who I am called to be, the open armed father, and not letting old issues draw me into the meanness of the mean time. Grace, it is what I receive from a loving God who compels me to show grace to the prodigal on the horizon who may never fully come home and to be gracious in the midst of the slings and arrows. So as I attempt to go through the mean time with grace received and grace given, I ask you to join with me in prayer for my new grandson Brian that as he enters this life so small and so fragile, that the hand of God would be upon him and upon all the doctors and nurses in the NICU to guide him gently on the path to strength and wholeness. I would ask for prayers for my prodigal daughter, Liz, that she would find the strength to walk the path God has set before her, and to freely let God be a part of that journey. May she find the strength to veer occasionally onto the old home farm to be greeted with those open arms. May the Lord continue to walk with the father, Josh, who is showing a great deal of grace by staying close and attentive and an active loving father. So I ask your prayers for this mean time, that over time it become less mean and may the loving grace of God especially surround this new forming family with a miraculous but struggling young son. Amen.

Please post any prayers, words of wisdom, or comments in the comment section below.

4th Sunday in Lent

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Rejoice
let the trumpets sound in the heavens
Rejoice
at the return of the one lost
don’t ask at the why
or where
for this one was gone
lost in the gods of this world
sucked down
and running all the way
on his own
until by the gift of God
the bottom was seen
the momentum was stopped
and the face turned
Rejoice
not at what has been
but what will be
for the one who was lost
has been snatched from the jaws of death
by the God of love
Rejoice

Party Hardy time

Saturday March 24th, Luke 15: 28-30 "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' 31-32 "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'" We are the church, the body of our Lord, we are all God’s children and we have been restored. And we want everyone else to be restored just like us. The older brother in this story is the church. In all three stories about the lost being found in Luke 15, they all end in rejoicing. We are called to party hardy as the church. There is a reason for the words, “we had to celebrate.” There is no other option for God, and we are called to have no other option for us. Our tendency to focus on whether the other has repented enough has more to do with our sinfulness than on the prodigal’s. Remember, we are the church, the body of our Lord, we are all God’s children and we have been both restored ourselves, and called to party hardy at the restoration of others.

Still scanning

Friday March 23rd, Luke 15: 20-21 "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' 22-24 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! I like the “Message” translation of this passage. The father wasn’t listening!! The rehearsed plea smacked more of scam than repentance. The father was after repentance. In real life I have a hard time following in the fathers footsteps. But then in real life, the trip from the pig pen to the banquet table can take years and years. It is good to keep the vision of the banquet before us. It helps us focus less on the insincere repentance before us, and our insincere repentance for waiting so long to accept it. As for me, I am still scanning the horizon.

wasted either way

Thursday March 22nd, Luke 15: "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' 12-16 "So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. One of the common Bible study techniques is to ask, “who are you in this story and why.” Though most of us in the church might not readily identify with the younger son, in many ways we are. There is the truly running away, spending time far from God’s kingdom, and many, including myself, have done just that. But there is also taking the gifts God has given us and running out to buy candy instead. Spending our time and talents on what we want instead of what God wants for us is more our speed. The danger of going to the far country is getting lost and not finding your way back. The danger of not going to the far country is not even knowing you are lost or need to find your way back. Either way, the old man is scanning the horizon just to get a glimpse of our face.

Jesus loves me

Wednesday March 21st, 2 Corinthians 5: God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. How do people find out about all this Good Christ News? For some it truly may be “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so”, but for most I suspect it is “Jesus loves me this I know for God’s People show me so.” Unfortunately, most of us don’t spend most of our time showing others God’s love. Remember, one out of a hundred read the Bible, ninety nine out of a hundred read the people who read the Bible. Sometimes it is amazing God’s love gets through, but then again, that’s God’s love.

New Life time

Tuesday March 20th, 2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Walking with Christ is walking in the light of possibility. A new creation means we will do our best to discover what God has in this life for us. Sometime we fall, all of us. We fall into that first of all temptation to be like god, take a big bite of the fruit and walk our own ways. After a while, most of us find the same thing Adam and Eve found, shame. There is what Bradshaw calls healthy shame that pushes us back to what we should be doing, and there is toxic shame that simply tells us that we are a bad person (Healing the Shame that Binds You). For the toxic shame, Christ offers forgiveness and a welcome to New life. For the healthy shame, forgiveness is already known as is the New life. Either way, it is cause for a celebration.

Transition party time

Monday March 19th, Joshua 5: 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan. After 40 years in the wilderness and the “men of war that came forth out of Egypt, perished, because they did not hearken the voice of the Lord,” a new beginning was about to take place. All the men born in the wilderness were circumcised at Gilgal and after a time of healing, all celebrated the Passover, the deliverance from bondage. No longer did the Lord hand feed them the manna, but they were able to experience gift of a new life that lay before them. Transitions from death to life, from bondage to freedom, from what was to what will be, are times of celebration. Worship is a celebration of those transitions.

To burden or not to burden, that is the question

Sunday March 18th, Psalm 32: Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. To someone who is burdened down with guilt, the gift of forgiveness is the gift of life itself. To someone who is not burdened down with guilt, the gift of forgiveness can be a nice but rather meaningless gesture. I feel more are burdened down today by not being burdened down with guilt than are burdened down by being burdened down with guilt. Perhaps the rebellion to the Lord we must first confess is our lack of being burdened by guilt or even all that concerned. For the ills in our lives and the ills in this world it is all too easy to blame someone else and never take the responsibility for what we have done or left undone. What we lose in the process is the joy that comes with knowing our guilt is gone. That dark shadow in our souls could just be an ink blot from that letter I was going to write.

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I miss Nixon

A friend of mine gave the the above bumper sticker. I thought the following two stories would fit under that category. You may click on the link for the full stories.

By LARA JAKES JORDAN

WASHINGTON (AP) –

And for three years the FBI underreported to Congress how often it forced businesses to turn over the customer data, the audit found.

FBI Director Robert Mueller said he was to blame for not putting more safeguards into place.

"I am to be held accountable," Mueller said. He told reporters he would correct the problems and did not plan to resign.

"The inspector general went and did the audit that I should have put in place many years ago," Mueller said.

The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found that FBI agents sometimes demanded personal data on individuals without proper authorization. The 126-page audit also found the FBI improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.

The audit blames agent error and shoddy record-keeping for the bulk of the problems and did not find any indication of criminal misconduct.

Still, "we believe the improper or illegal uses we found involve serious misuses of national security letter authorities," the audit concludes.

At issue are the security letters, a power outlined in the Patriot Act that the Bush administration pushed through Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The letters, or administrative subpoenas, are used in suspected terrorism and espionage cases. They allow the FBI to require telephone companies, Internet service providers, banks, credit bureaus and other businesses to produce highly personal records about their customers or subscribers - without a judge's approval.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070309/D8NOQ1PO0.html

Pentagon set to begin hearings for 14 detainees

By Warren P. Strobel

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department said Tuesday that hearings for 14 "high-value detainees," including the alleged mastermind of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, will start Friday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but that reporters would be barred from the procedures.

The 14 were held in secret CIA prisons for up to four years, and none is known to have appeared before a hearing of any sort before the group was transferred to Guantanamo in September. Questions have repeatedly been raised about whether the 14 were tortured while in CIA detention.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said at a news briefing that the hearings will be closed "based on national security concerns." He promised to release censored transcripts "as expeditiously as we can," but said officials had decided not to provide the names of the suspects, even after the transcripts have been released.

Reporters have been allowed to observe previous hearings of so-called Combatant Status Review Tribunals for Guantanamo detainees, the aim of which is to determine whether a detainee is an "enemy combatant."

The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, a detainee advocate group which represents one of the 14, Majid Khan, denounced the hearings.

"Any suggestion that Khan's CSRT proceedings would comport with our values and traditional notions of justice is demeaning to all Americans. ... We might expect this in Libya or China, but not America, " it said. The hearings "routinely" rely on information derived by torture or other coercion, the group said.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16846928.htm

3rd Sunday in Lent

Luke 13:1-9

I don’t feel good
I hurt
and in looking for a why
I find
a them evil has befallen
and I grin
with the assumed connection of
they’ll get theirs
and I feel better somehow
for now
and then I must search again
for a someone
who
in their pain
makes my hurt
less
for now
then through the foggy mist
of my prayer dreams
I hear a voice of God
calling me to repent
calling me to hurt
for the them
calling me to forgiveness
calling me to love
in the midst of my hurt
and feel for the first time
my pain truly disappearing
I think
but I don’t have time to worry about that now
someone needs me.

Bury the BS

Saturday March 17th, Luke 13: 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ “ God’s response to all this chop em down mentality, is to get some fertilizer, and not the artificial stuff either, real honest to goodness organic fertilizer the way God intended. God’s response to our lack of fruitfulness is to offer nurture for our souls too. Instead of throwing around a bunch of BS, perhaps we should put it to good use and bury it. Then maybe things could grow and bear fruit.

Time for the ax?

Friday March 16th, Luke 13: 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ What are the good fruits we are to be busy producing? Swords into plowshares? Binding up the broken hearted? Release for the captives? Proclaiming the year of the Lord’s jubilee? Showing kindness, mercy and forgiveness for all? Forgiving? When we want to judge others, remember that our own fruit bearing deserves the ax most the time also. Perhaps learning justice and mercy is a better way to go.

Why did we start that war anyway?

Thursday March 15th, Luke 13: 1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. We all seem to be concerned about how someone else might be a little bit worse than we are. Look God, over there, as we take the opportunity to do our own little dastardly deed. It doesn’t work. We all know that, but we do it anyway. Jesus turns the focus from what others are doing wrong, to what we could be doing that is right. Why did we start that war anyway?

Vacant people

Wednesday March 14th, Isaiah 55: 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Even the most evil person, is a child of God. Anyone can come across as evil if they are self centered enough. Throw some power and money behind it and you have real trouble. God’s calling is to turn to the Lord. God will not only show mercy, but show how to show mercy, and thus they learn to properly fill the holes in their life. Without God, they are just kind of vacant.

Filling holes

Tuesday March 13th, Isaiah 55: 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Most of us spend the majority of God’s gifts on the most ungodly things. Gifts include not only our money, but our time, our mental energy, our dedication. Most of our spending goes to fill the hole left in our soul by not spending our gifts on God stuff. Most wars, fights, angers, spending sprees, and therapies are about trying to fill holes by people who feel powerless. Without all that spending on the wrong stuff, this world could feed and nourish everyone. Just think of a world where everyone can contribute to the positive. God does.

Not alone, ever!!!!

Monday March 12th, 1 Corinthians 10: 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Sometimes it seems as if God’s idea of what we can bear and our idea of what we can bear are miles apart. Life pushes us sometimes. When it does, at least know that you are not alone. Luther is purported as having thrown an inkwell at the devil one day and yelling, “I have been baptized.” I don’t suggest throwing inkwells, even if you could find one. But you can claim your baptism in less messy ways. Claim it. Remember your baptism in the midst of the calamities of life and hang on. You are not alone, ever!!!!

Enter as a New Creation

Sunday March 11th, 1 Corinthians 10: 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Baptism is not fire insurance, it is a calling and a grafting into body of Christ. The generation that crossed through wilderness, including Moses, did not enter the promise land. What entered was a new creation. When we enter the promise land, it too is a new creation, made new in Christ. As the baptized children of God, we may know where we are going, but the only guarantee about the journey is that we are never alone.