March 4th in the Narrative Lectionary, Mercy on Tenants.

The following is a 10 minute worship for March 4th in the Narrative Lectionary, Mercy on Tenants. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church. The song for the day is, "Mercy on this Fallen World" by Dakota Road from the album "Break These Chains" which can be purchased HERE

March 4th, the Second Sunday in Lent, Seek Ye First

The following is a 10 minute worship for March 4th, the Second Sunday in Lent, Seek Ye First. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church. The song for the day is, "See Ye First" by Arlen Salte and the Break Forth Band Vol. 2.  which can be purchased HERE

Opening Litany based on Psalm 22

Pastor: I will declare your name to my people O Lord and in the assembly I will praise you.

Congregation: Let all who live in awe of the LORD, praise the holy name of God. All the descendants of Jacob and Israel, all the peoples of the world Praise the Holy name of God!


Pastor: For the Lord has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted ones but has listened to their cry for help.

Congregation: From you O Lord comes the very essence of my praise in the great assembly before all who live in your grace I will fulfill my vows.


Pastor: The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will live forever in a life of praise.

Congregation: All the ends of the earth will remember God’s loving grace and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before the Lord, who is ruler of all.


Pastor: All the blessed of the earth will feast and worship, All mortals will bow before the Lord of all creation.

Congregation: We will use the blessings of this world are to serve the Lord so that all future generations will know of the righteousness the Lord has done.

Poem for March 4th, Mark 8:31-38 2nd Sunday in Lent

These words are so hard to hear
So hard
Why?
--why must our master walk in this direction
Why?
--when we have left our families and work
do we have to hear these words of doom and death
Why?

This talk makes no sense
We could have it all
We could live
We could live in a world so kind
With none of the pain
We left behind
A world far better than any have seen
A world that for many is just a dream
We could have it
We could have it all
The power that comes with the ones
Who lead
And show the way
That people want to follow
They really want to follow you
Away from Romans
--and poverty
----and hardship
we could be a great power
A Nation
--that is looked up to and feared
----by nations
Master!
--Rabbi!
-------listen to what your senses
-------and to what the people are saying
-------listen

and Jesus turns
and faces all
--who have come this far
--and hung on every word
--and lived on every morsel of life
----dropped from his lips
--who have lived as they have never lived before
--with a hope they had never known
Listen, this is my Son
His eyes said
As he looked through the crowd
In a stare of ice
And the thoughts turned to those unexplained moments
That raised the questions
And the hearts raced with fear
--as they knew
----once more
they were in for something more
than they had ever known
--or dreamed
----or bargained for
in the collective memory of all creation

GET--------THEE--------BEHIND--------ME
------(take)---------(up)---------------(thy)--------(cross)
with your temptress minds of humanity
and live
LIVE
--beyond the limits of your perceived reality
and a world that
-----changes
--hatred for hatred for hatred
until all see only the gain in their world.
See and feel and hear that glimmer
That goes beyond the mere pretense of happiness
And see the children’s faces
--for what they could be
LIVE
--(and follow me)

Abram fell on his face.

Sunday March 4th, Genesis 17: When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him and said, "I am God All-powerful. Obey Me, and be without blame. 2 And I will keep My agreement between Me and you. I will give you many children." 3 Then Abram fell on his face. Did he fall on his face because of the joy that the promise would finally be true or did he fall on his face because of the fear that the promise would finally be true? I must say that I do hope and pray that the Lord does not visit me when I am 99 and tell me I will be a new father. At many years younger than that my wife and I may joke about it, but believe me, IT IS A JOKE, OK God!!!! But that is that old control thing going on within me again. God made the promise and was true to that promise. The wait for Abe and Sarah was to show that it was God who was doing this great thing. What we can take from this is to trust in God. Trust in Gods always, even when it seems impossible, or laughable, or frightenly laughable. What can God do through you once you let go of the hands of control? Trust! Pray! Laugh!

Not a “God and I” thing

Monday March 5th, Genesis 17: 7 I will make My agreement between Me and you and your children after you through their whole lives for all time. I will be God to you and to your children's children after you. Many see religion as a “God and I” thing. God however often sees it as a “God and all the people of creation” thing. The promise was less about the covenant with Abraham and more about God’s promise for all humanity for all time. That promise extends also to us, and to our children, and to our children’s children. Ever since that tree in the Garden thing, we tend to get hung up on the old “What’s in it for me” thing. The temptation after all was to be like God, knowing good and evil and therefore being in charge. When we do the “what’s in it for me” thing, we are only one step from getting out of step. Life only makes sense when we get back in step and remember that it is a God and All People thing. It is then we can look around and see in the faces of one another, that spark of God, and begin to treat the other as we would treat God. Then the world will be better for their children and for ours. Remember God cares for all of God’s children. All of them!!!

God flows

Tuesday March 6th, Genesis 17: 15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, do not call her name Sarai. But Sarah will be her name. 16 And I will bring good to her. I will give you a son by her. I will bring good to her. And she will be the mother of nations. Kings of many people will come from her." Here is where the priestly writers during the Babylonian captivity moved from one set of stories about Abraham and Sarah from Israel to another set of stories from Judah. In the languages of the two kingdoms, they pronounced and wrote the names differently. The priests inserted these transitional phrases to move from one set of stories to another. They also explain how God can change our lives. When God enters, everything changes. You might not change your name when God enters, but God will change your heart. When your heart is changed there is no telling what can happen. Good flows from God, but the good of God flows through the people of God. So open the flood gates of your heart and let the God colors flow into the world. While you watch things change in the world around you, notice the change that takes place in your heart also.

Peter was scared

Wednesday March 7th, Mark 8: 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Peter was scared. What he had envisioned was a Messiah which would ride into town on a white horse to the praise of the crowd and the kingdom would be established on earth with great fanfare and little cost, and he and his buddies would ride into power as the new ruling party. Peter wanted regime change. God wanted a heart change. What Peter was to find out was that the cost of discipleship was and always is, high. If we allow God to be ruler of our hearts, the cost will be high for us also. Following God is not a “Sunday Only” thing. It is a life changing, life altering thing that brings about change in your world, change in their world, change in the world. And change is not always met with welcome arms.

back off!!

Thursday March 8th, Mark 8: 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Satan is not always seen as the harbinger of evil as we often see Satan today, but as the tester. After his baptism, Jesus was tested by Satan out in the desert after 40 days. Here Satan comes as a tester in the form of Peter’s desire for the easy way out. For Jesus however, the path ahead leads not to the easy, “what’s in it for me” way and to personal salvation, but rather leads to the salvation for, and of, the whole world. That kind of salvation and change comes at a cost. When we seek only our own satisfaction, we tend to short circuit what God has in mind for our mission in the world. Don’t worry about God. Gods plan will prevail, remember, God has time on his side. Now what God needs is You on his side also.

imperfections

Friday March 9th, Mark 8: 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. We are called as the children of God to be aware of our cross that we are asked to carry, and to be aware of our brothers and sisters crosses as well. We are asked to carry these crosses not to feel somehow humble and therefore noble, but to carry them to help ourselves and others in this world. We are asked to carry these crosses in the kingdom here and now. It is not shock to learn that this is not a perfect world. One of the greatest imperfections humans have is the pretense that we need to appear perfect to others. When we carry our imperfections, bathed in the insight we have from facing them and bathed in the forgiveness we receive through Christ for them, bathed in the light of Christ to guide our way, then these imperfections, these crosses can become the instruments through which others may receive blessings. Take up your cross today and follow Jesus.

born in our heart

Saturday March 10th, Mark 8: 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? One of the paradoxes of this life is that the surest way to get to the end of the line is by trying to get to the front of the line. The tree in the garden thing is the first sin mentioned for good reason. The very essence of sin is the desire to be like God and therefore take over for God. This is your choice daily; trust God, even if you have to wait until you are ninety-nine years old like Abraham for the answer to your prayers. When we do so, we also find new life born when we least expect it. The new life that is born is born in our hearts. The process of waiting and walking with God brings new life to others.

February 26th in the Narrative Lectionary, The Rich Young Ruler.

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 26th in the Narrative Lectionary, The Rich Young Ruler. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.  The song for the day is, "Open My Heart to Your Love" by Dakota Road and can be purchased at: http://www.dakotaroadmusic.com/

February 26th, the 1st Sunday in Lent, Tempting

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 26th, the 1st Sunday in Lent, Tempting. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.  The song for the day is "Out in the Wilderness" by the Jay Beech band and can be purchased at: http://www.baytonemusic.com/

Poem for 1st Sunday in Lent Mark 1:12-15

The old has passed
With a final test and purging
That has set the stage
  in this plane
for eternity to break in
to a world
  still the same
  and yet new
(repent)
a world that has seen
  its future dashed
      again
            and again
      by the mindless strivings
of humanity
  trying so very hard
(for the kingdom)
          to make it alone
standing in its toddler steps
and facing
    life
(of God)
in the hopes and dreams
    of making it
        with an eye toward the God who was and is
on their own
but the air smells different now
(is at hand)
with a newness
        and a freshness
that seems to come from beyond time
(Life)
and there is an excitement
(has come to a fullness)
in the air
(that has not been known
on this earth
since God looked at what had been made
and said
It is good)

Opening Litany Psalm 25,

Psalm 25: 1-10 - This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, therefore in using the first ten verses I attempted to follow that patterning in English.

Pastor: All gather before you O Lord as we lift our souls to you.

Congregation: Be merciful onto us O Lord and do not let us be put to shame for we put our trust in You O Lord our God.

Pastor: Can anyone whose hope is in the Lord be put to shame?

Congregation: Doomed however are those who are treacherous without excuse, for they will be put to shame.

Pastor: Evermore you will show me your ways, O LORD and teach me to walk in your paths; You O Lord guide me in your truth and teach me your ways,

Congregation: For you are my God and my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Pastor: Gracious Lord, Remember your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Congregation: Heed not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;

Pastor: Instead, remember me according to your love, for you are merciful, O LORD.

Congregation: Just and upright is the LORD who instructs sinners in the ways of righteousness.

Pastor: Kindly the Lord guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the ways of grace and mercy.

Congregation: Lord our God, all your ways are loving and faithful for those who walk in your ways.

God is not a sadistic SOB

Sunday February 26th, Genesis 9: 8 Again, God said to Noah and his sons: 9 I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you. 10 This includes the birds and the animals that came out of the boat. 11 I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood. Those who would profess rapture theology tend to see this as one of God’s trick statements, sort of a “I won’t use water next time, I’ll watch you all burn with fire ha ha ha!!!” statement. They are wrong, and more than just a bit sadistic, and their view of God as a sadistic SOB is not one I can embrace or even tolerate. God made a promise to all of life on the planet earth that God will love them and keep them in a loving relationship. The unspoken part of that is the God will keep on our case until we “get it” and start to respond to God, creation, and one another in a similar, loving, caring manner. In other words, there will be love, grace and Jesus and we are called to be a part of that, but make no bones about it, there will be love, grace and Jesus. What do we make of this? God is concerned about and loves all of creation. Climate Change is a concern, The Sudan is a concern, the Middle East is a concern, Syria is a concern, Warfare is a concern and you and I are concerns. Our job is to get our concern in line with God’s concerns and care for all creation, all creatures, all people, not just our own back yard. If we think and pray globally and act locally, our backyard, as well as our neighbor’s backyard will both benefit. God has called us into relationship with Creator, Creation and Creature because God is in relationship with us.

raindrops keep falling on my head

Monday February 27th, Genesis 9: 12-13 The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise forever. We can explain the science behind a rainbow but not the beauty or how it makes us feel when we see one. Some call it God’s signature, a sign to us, the earth, our fellow citizens and every living creature on this planet that God is in charge and love will rule the day. Just maybe there is an explicit warning there also. Should we choose to not connect with God’s vision for the world perhaps it will not bode well for us. Our mistreatment of others and of creation in exchange for money and power is just an expanded version of pissing in the corners of our kitchen and living room and not taking out the garbage, it may mark our territory but in time our own lives begin to stink. For the last 30 years we have lived by the motto that a rising tide lifts all boats, and then sold the illusion that the way to make the tide rise was to build bigger yachts for a few. Now we find the water is down, the yachts are listing, the people are starving and Newt and the boys come along and tell us the problem is that the yachts are not big enough. God is more into the OWS mentality and calls us to make boats for everyone. God also calls us to care and nurture and keep the water in which they float clean while we are at it. That rainbow signifies a two way contract. God is doing God’s part, now it is up to us to do our part. This planet and the people in it are not here simply for our use and taking. We are called as co-creators to nurture and care for one another and the creation from which we came. That is the meaning of the rainbow. Now it is time to hold up our end of the deal.

rainbow of colors

Tuesday February 28th, Genesis 9: 16 When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. 17 The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise. When we see a rainbow, it is not a solo experience. We are not the only ones to see it. It is caused by the rain and sunshine which falls on the good and the bad, friend and foe alike. The curved encompassing shape is a reminder that we live in community on this planet and are called live like we understand that. The old ways of tribalism, racism, sexism and nationalism are not part of God’s intent. We are called instead as stewards of this world and brothers and sisters with one another in it. What does that mean in your life today? What are you doing to help save this planet given to us by God, to save relationships given to us by God, to save an economy that will lift all the boats not just the yachts, and to bring justice as God views justice to the world? When you work with God, you become part of the rainbow that comes in many colors.

fire insurance?

Wednesday February 29th, Mark 1: 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Why did Jesus have to be baptized by John? The question stems in part from our view of baptism. If baptism is seen as fire insurance to take away sins, then the question indeed is valid. If however it is seen as an ushering into a relationship with God and with one another, then Jesus’ baptism becomes the symbol of his ministry and a symbol of our ministry. Through the love and teachings of Christ, we are all called to view ourselves and one another as brothers and sisters in this world. Christ came to bring salvation to all, being baptized by John ushers him into our world just as our baptism ushers us into Christ’s world. It’s not magic, it’s not rules, it’s not ritual, it is relationship.

you are our child

Thursday March 1st, Mark 1: 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." The voice of God is also heard on the mountain when Jesus is transfigured and in the heavens when Jesus is born. It marks the transitions in the life of Jesus from birth, to ministry to the movement down the mountain as Jesus moves toward Jerusalem and the cross. In Mark’s Gospel the heavens are ripped apart in the process, never to be put back together in the same way again. God is loose in the world and will not be put back. In our lives, we may not hear the voice of God speak “you are my child” but we hear the community of God say those words. In our congregation, when someone is baptized, they are brought into the midst of the congregation and with the laying on of hands, are blessed and welcomed by the congregation. It is the collective voice of God. You are our child, whom we love; with you we are well pleased, and with you we will journey through life together, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Drop Kick Me Jesus

Friday March 2nd, Mark 1: 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. No time for rest. In Mark's gospel everything happens fast and with power. Being a child of God is no special protection for Jesus or for us. Being a child of God is to take on the awesome responsibility of being there for one another. As we enter the Lenten season, it is our calling also. These brothers and sisters of mine in the kingdom, God wasn't just kidding when God asked us to reach out and care for one another, and God wasn't kidding when the most care was given to those who hurt the most. Watch out for one another in this wilderness called life. In our baptismal blessing, it is what we have promised to do. After his baptism, the spirit drop-kicked Jesus right out into the wilderness where the temptations began and where theology was honed. In our baptism, the spirit drop-kicks us through the goal posts of life (thank you Bobby Bare) and onto the playing field called life where we are tested and tempted and our theology is honed by a combination of trouble and grace. Welcome to God’s world.

near

Saturday March 3rd, Mark 1: 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news. And the good news is??? The good news is that the kingdom of God is near. To each and every one of us, the kingdom is near. Even when we face what John was facing in prison, yes even there, the Kingdom is near. What we do in life, who we are in life, even our thoughts in life ripple through the kingdom. The good news is that Jesus is never far from you and that the kingdom of God (salvation) is a gift from God and it is near. Our calling is to walk through this life, knowing, deep in our hearts, deep in our very being, that the kingdom is near, God is near. God is with us and with those we meet, and if they don’t know it, it is or job to let them know in word and deed. The time has come, the kingdom is near. Go and announce the good news.

Christianity after religion

February 22nd, Narrative Lectionary, Ashes, predictions and egos.

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 22nd, Narrative Lectionary, Ashes, predictions and egos.  You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.

February 22nd, Ash Wednesday.

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 22nd, Ash Wednesday. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Poem for Ash Wednesday, Matthew 6:1-16

Is my hair straight?
How about this tie
     does it match
the rest of the image
    (help me)
I wish to present?
            an image
I sometimes make a show
for the world
                so busy making shows
yet
        I long for something more
        (Lord)
        I long to uncork
              that stream
        of passion
              within me
that passion
       that draws me toward the light
              and illumines
                    my innermost
                          Yes I dare let go
                                 self
        (to place)
protected now
by the walls of expectation
built on the unfulfilled dreamings
of what should be.

But there are those times
when
      for some reason
              beyond me
I live in a world filled with people
              alone
         (my trust)
and in those brief glorious moments
I become
          whole
          (in)
and cry
      for no reason
      seeing no eyes upon me
      and I Thank You
      (You)
            Lord

Opening Litany based on Psalm 51

Pastor: Have mercy on us O God, with your unfailing love and great compassion blot out all our transgressions.

Congregation: Wash away all our iniquities and cleanse us from our ever sin. For we are aware of our transgressions, the thoughts of those things that stand between us and the God who loves us are always on our minds.

Pastor: When it comes right down to it we realize that it is against God, and God only that we have sinned and done that which is shameful in the sight of God.

Congregation: Should the Lord judge us, that judgment would be justified. I have been full of myself and not God from the beginning, perhaps even before I was born.

Pastor: the Lord desires that truth would be an intimate part of who we are as the basis for teaching us wisdom that would guide our every move.

Congregation: Cleanse us O Lord with your gracious good will, wash us with your grace and we will be clean. Let us hear once again of your joy and gladness.

Pastor: Hide your face from all our sins O Lord and blot out all our iniquities.

Congregation: Create in us a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within us.

February 19th, Narrative Lectionary, Transfiguration and Confession

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 19th, Narrative Lectionary, Transfiguration and Confession. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.

February 19th, the Transfiguration of our Lord.

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 19th, the Transfiguration of our Lord. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Opening Litany based on Psalm 50:1-6

Pastor: The Mighty Lord God speaks and summons all of creation, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Congregation: From the Heavens above, from the holy places in our midst, the perfect beauty of our God shines forth.


Pastor: But our God does not come in silence. A purifying fire rages before the Lord as the Lord God prepares to judge both the heavens above and the earth below with righteousness.

Congregation: Gather onto the Lord all the people of God and let the heavens proclaim the righteousness and justice of our God.

The Transfiguration of our Lord Mark 9:2-9

In the Joy filled intensity of our excitement
We look up
And catch a glimpse of
      something unseen
  (This)
beyond the realm of all we know
  and feel
    and hear
beyond the encounter of those special moments in life
when every part of our existence
      is focused
on the here and now
and for a brief moment
    all is just right
beyond even the pureness of joy
that comes in the perfection of religious expression
  amid the rising voices
    and the spine tingling timelessness
  (is)
came this almost moment in time
rising from the mist
  of exhausted ecstasy
    on a high mountain top
  (My)
apart
  from the world
    seething in hunger and pain
  longing to see that to which they have turned
    a blind eye
here
  in this almost place and time
comes the light
  (Son)
that can burn through even the blindness
    of not looking
  or looking too hard
with our eyes focused on that unseen moment
that we almost notice
here at this time
the Son of God leads us down
      into
          the world around us
to see the glory of God
in the poor and lost around us
to see the pureness of unbounded timelessness
in the moment of love expressed
to one who knows not love
to see
  by not trying to see that faint glimmer
                                                  off high
                                         in the distant mist
  (Listen to Him!)
Christ
  in those around us

never sing the old songs anymore

Sunday February 19th, 2 Kings 2: Elisha replied, "I swear by the living LORD and by your own life that I will stay with you no matter what!" And he went with Elijah to Bethel. 3 A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, "Do you know that today the LORD is going to take away your master?" "Yes, I do," Elisha answered. "But don't remind me of it." Change comes hard. Sometimes we just want to bury our head in the sand and pretend it isn’t going to happen, at least not to us. Sometimes even when God wants to bring about change in our lives, we want to bury our head in the sand and pretend that it won’t happen, at least not now. It just seems easier to go on as we have always done, in our minds. We hear it in, but we never sing the old songs anymore, confirmation was not like that when I grew up, why do we now allow children to take communion? These are all statements about keeping the church for me and not opening it up to them, even if they are my children and grandchildren. These statements are all about staying on the mountain top in the booths rather than coming down into the dusty streets or heading toward the crosses in Jerusalem. What God wants to bring into our lives is what we were destined for from the time of our birth, a relationship with God the creator, a relationship with one another, and a relationship with the creation from which we were formed. Change doesn’t come easy, but if God is leading, it will bring you down the mountain and back to the life you have desired all along.

the cheese is gone!!!

Monday February 20th, 2 Kings 2: 11 Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, when suddenly there appeared between them a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses. Right away, a strong wind took Elijah up into heaven. 12 Elisha saw this and shouted, "Israel's cavalry and chariots have taken my master away!" After Elijah had gone, Elisha tore his clothes in sorrow. Change, especially when viewed with an element of loss, can and often does bring about sorry as well as fear. Elisha would miss his old friend and mentor Elijah. Elisha would have been content to follow and never really become the Elisha God had in mind. Elisha’s journey and calling would now begin and God would open before him vistas and ministries beyond his imagination. Sometimes it is when we are cut loose, even from good things, that we begin to get our footing on what God has called us to do. Sometimes loss can also be gain and a ministry ended is just the beginning of a new ministry begun. I think that perhaps for the health of the church it would be best if we passed the torch rather than just having it pried from our cold dead hands. The church would be blessed with a melding of the wisdom of the ages and the enthusiasm of youth, and perhaps even growing in the process.

what a snappy dresser

Tuesday February 21st, 2 Corinthians 4: 3 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. 4 All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. O that old god of darkness, what a snappy dresser. Sure wish I had cloths like that, car like that, moves like that, influence and power like that. Sure wish……………..Wait a minute, what am I saying? It is so easy to get mesmerized by all that styling. Billions are spent each year just to get us to pay attention to it and want it. Each year we hear that red, blue, green, grey, white etc. is the new black. My thirty year old ties are right in style now. Right now someone is working real hard to make something no one wants so they can make enough money to buy something no one needs because it is different from what they needed last year. God offers something different. Instead of just a change of clothes, God offers a change of heart that lasts forever. Instead of a home makeover, God offers a heart makeover, calling each and every one of us to be the child of God we were created to be. It is a change that is guaranteed to stay in style for an eternity.

all things bright and beautiful

Wednesday February 22nd, 2 Corinthians 4: 5 Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. 6 It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. That’s it! All those stories about how humanity interfaced with God, even if they didn’t do a very good job some of the time. All those stories from the Hebrew scripture were trying to tell us something besides just the cool sounding miracles and battles and stuff. They were trying to tell us that God is a God of love, and we are called to love God and to love one another. When the light first came to earth, we were created for just that, love. When I see the light in the face of Christ, I began to understand. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love you neighbor as yourself is why we were created. It’s all in Jesus’ face. Can you see it? Can you see the face of God? Can you see the face of your brothers and sisters? Can you see the face of your enemy? If not, look again, if you still can’t, you might want to spend some time in the dark and quiet, letting your eyes, ears and heart recover from all the noise your life has been filled with and tune in once again to the love of God and then look. Ahhhhhhhh! The shining face of God is everywhere!!!

can you see it?

Thursday February 23rd, Mark 9: 2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Jesus crossed the reality of this world into the reality of the next. Something new was taking place. Something new was breaking into the world. Something new that was already here and the people just didn’t see it. We don’t see it today either, most of the time. That feeling that things are going to be OK in the midst of tragedy, that tingle at the sign of the true beauty of creation, that feeling of closeness and love from another human being, they all let us know in one way or another that the newness of God’s love has touched our souls. What we have to understand is that newness is only newness because we so seldom open ourselves up to that kind of love. In reality it has been around since the creation of the world. Here the chasm between God and humanity is crossed and after the flurry of the moment, Jesus brings that down the mountain into the often dusty and dirty streets of our world. The Kingdom of Heaven is near. If you are looking for Hallmark beauty and perfection, you probably missed it.

edifice complex

Friday February 24th, Mark 9: 5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Peter just didn’t see the big picture. One could say he had an edifice complex. In his fear all he could fathom was a Kodak moment, to stay there and capture the essence of this glorious but transitional event. In our fear, we too just want to stay put, we want the church to be what it was when we grew up and we want it just for ourselves and people like us, and we want the God of our youth, in that order. What we don’t realize is that sometimes holding onto the image of the God of our youth can deny our youth the glory of finding the God of their youth. Sentimentality and Fundamentalism feed on that fear. We can’t really blame Peter, any of us, given the choice between sitting in the glory on the mountain top and working in the dirt down belos, would want to grab our hammer and saw and start building booths. What God wanted was for Peter, James and John to take this essence of the nearness of the Kingdom down into the world and there bring about transformed lives rather than booths reminiscent of the past. God asks the same of us, instead of focusing on the self and past memories of our experience of adoring God, focus on others and find God anew through their eyes.

listen, listen God is calling

Saturday February 25th, Mark 9: 7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" Truth and wisdom start with listening. We can’t do that when we are talking. We can’t do that when we are being entertained. We can only do that when we enter into the presence of the living God and tune out everything else. We can’t stay in that place, just as Peter, James and John could not stay on the mountain top. But we must return to that place in our lives where we can connect with the transcendent and loving Christ in order to bring wholeness to our lives and the lives around us. If the wholeness that comes from connecting with the living and loving God doesn’t include the dusty streets, your still not listening.

February 12th, NL, What Defiles a Person

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 12th, NL, What Defiles a Person.  You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church. 

February 12th, Ep6, The Cry of the Poor.

The following is a 10 minute worship for February 12th, the 6th Sunday after the Epiphany, The Cry of the Poor. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY . You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the 10W blog or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. Please help fund this ministry by clicking HERE and making a small donation to Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Poem Feb. 12th in the Narrative Lectionary Mark 7:1-23

The young child grew and blossomed
Full of love and joy
Each morning was greeted with a song
And laughter
And a glass of spilled milk
Graciously lapped up
By her best furry friend
Under her chair
And her days were filled with new adventures
Exploding her horizons
With each new discovery
And a fair sampling of dirt
Smeared from soiled hands
To now soiled clothes
Until one day
The clouds seemed to cover the sun
Differently
Than they did before
And she learned not to spill her milk
Though she never did figure out
How
To feed her furry friend
And one day
She learned something new about dirt
And where she could not play
And where she could not wipe her hands
She also learned other things
She could not do
Until one day
While sitting there sad
And very still
She learned
She was a good girl

7th Sunday after Epiphany Mark 1:40-45

Standing alone
  in the far off corner of the world
    stood
        the messiah
The Chosen one
Who
Would lead the people on to
  a newness
beyond
their ability to see
and yet standing there
  with the hurting ones
    (if it be your will)
  who saw
if even for a brief moment
a wonder
    in this one called Jesus
    (you)
who in the powerlessness of humanity
  Shattered
    (can make)
the chains of those who could see them
the chains visible
  in the sores and blood
    the rejection and death
        (me clean)
of all
but seen only by the many
who hurt enough to care
  or cared enough to hurt
        and be made whole again
by the grace of God
  among us
and the void that was filled
in the lives
    made empty
spread
        (it is my will)
to all the land
  and people
    and time
with the message
          (be clean)
that the Christ was here

Abana & Pharpar

Sunday February 12th 2 Kings 5: 11 But Naaman stormed off, grumbling, "Why couldn't he come out and talk to me? I thought for sure he would stand in front of me and pray to the LORD his God, then wave his hand over my skin and cure me. 12 What about the Abana River or the Pharpar River? Those rivers in Damascus are just as good as any river in Israel. I could have washed in them and been cured." I want to be healed, but on my terms, my place and my timing. The trouble with things like arrogance, pride, and self-righteousness is that they are very good gate keepers. They don’t keep us safely within their confines however, within our confines we are stuck with our greatest enemy, ourselves. What these self-imposed gates do is keep others safely away from us, and in the process life changing grace safely out of our lives. Elisha no doubt could have used the Abana or the Pharpar rivers. It wasn’t about the magic of any particular river; it was about the willingness of ones faith to break down our own fences in life, the ones we hide behind thinking we are safe. Our economy has taken many hits, from a long, protracted and unnecessary war in the Middle-east and a long protracted war on the Middle Class at home. The war over there allowed and covered at the same time, a major and unregulated shift of wealth to the top of society at the expense of those at the bottom and middle. Now those at the top are trying to hang on to their wealth while those in the middle and bottom are trying to hand on to their lives. In the process, all are erecting their safety fences which only exacerbate the problem. God calls us into loving and trusting relationships. When we feel insecure or out of control, we erect fences thinking we are safe. But in the end we find that with every fence we erect, Jesus and God’s Grace, are on the other side. What hang-ups do you have that keep that grace at bay?

smooth skin

Monday February 13th 2 Kings 5: 13 His servants went over to him and said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it. So why don't you do what he said? Go wash and be cured." 14 Naaman walked down to the Jordan; he waded out into the water and stooped down in it seven times, just as Elisha had told him. Right away, he was cured, and his skin became as smooth as a child's. I am sure that if Naaman was upset that Elisha didn’t come out to meet him, and that Naaman was upset that he was asked to wash in what he considered the wrong rivers, he surely was not happy when his servants pointed out the error of his ways. Naaman was a proud man. That was his downfall. Sometimes when we cross the boundary walls of our own pride we find remarkable results. In our current economic difficulties, is perhaps the boundary of pride also keeping us from a solution? Throughout the scriptures we are called to create and live in a just society, where no one has too much, no one has too little and everyone has enough. It is almost impossible for those with too much to either recognize or admit they have too much, or do anything about it. It is often up to those in society with too little to make the noise and bring about the change needed, the change that will benefit those with too much as well as those with too little, that is what the occupy movement is all about. We too need to hear the voices of those around us, especially those who find themselves outside of our self-defined boundaries. We need to hear those voices for the healing of us all. Naaman had to cross national boundaries to get to where Elisha was, but the more difficult was crossing the boundary was imposed by his own arrogance. The same is true for us.

only got a T-shirt

Tuesday February 14th 1 Corinthians 9: 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. The prize is not the gift of eternal life, that one is up to God and is a matter of grace. In trying for the prize that is already ours as a gift, eternal life, the prize most of us miss is the joy of the journey. We are all invited to enter the joy of the journey right here and right now. Live surrounded by the knowledge that salvation is yours. Live surrounded by the saints from races, colors, creeds, faiths, and orientations that God places before us every day. We are all invited to live our lives surrounded by the knowledge of the grace of God that saves us all. We are all invited to live our lives immersed in God’s presence which is with us always. We can always choose to skip life until the end and hope we can still hop on board. You might get a T-shirt, but you have missed the joy of running together with that great cloud of witnesses.

how to win the race

Wednesday February 15th 1 Corinthians 9: 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever. Being a Christian is more than just hanging out watching others being Christian in this world. Being a Christian is more than just some crown at the end of a journey avoiding the least, lost and lonely, and Jesus. Being a Christian is wearing and sharing the crown of God’s Grace each and every day of your life, knowing that sometimes the crown looks and feels an awful lot like a cross. At Christ Our Savior Lutheran we state that we are inspired by God’s love to Gather to Grow through God’s Grace. That growing takes place in community. Solo Christianity is simply watching the superbowl of Christianity from the sidelines even though you are all suited up and ready to go. Suiting up is what happens at our baptism. That growing in God’s Grace is the result of some input and effort on your part as well as input and interaction with others. Which Bible study or small group are you a part of today? Which one is God calling you to start and lead? Who are those watching from the sidelines that are just waiting to be invited for a good run? If you are watching from the sidelines, what fearful fence is keeping your there?

unclean, unclean

Thursday February 16th Mark 1: 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus, don’t touch that man, Jesus, he is unclean. If you touch him, you will become unclean. It is not only wrong, it is illegal. Remember Leviticus 13:45-46, The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, "Unclean, unclean." he shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. OK then, so much for all the laws and all those rules, and rubrics and fences and boundaries, and borders we put in place to keep others at bay. Neither Jesus nor the leper listened to the conventional wisdom of the day. They both cross boundaries that were not meant to be crossed. Sometimes crossing those boundaries is crossing from unfaith to faith, from unlove to love, from fear to hope; from self-reliance to relationship, etc… sometimes crossing those boundaries is what is needed in order to see the love of God that surrounds us. What boundaries do you have in place, who is out there and what are they trying to tell you? Every people boundary in your life has Jesus on the other side. Open the door let in those kept out by those fences so meticulously maintained by our satanically inspired prejudice. In our political rhetoric of hate the gays and love god all that God and the world hear is hate God.

expectations

Friday February 17th Mark 1: 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. There were expectations of what the Messiah would be like and do. Jesus did not want the newly healed and whole leper to go and tell others so the word would not get around that the Messiah was in town. Once the word got around, Jesus’ ministry would be hampered by other people’s ideas of what a messiah should be. Jesus wanted him to go back to the church that had rejected him and show them the expanse of God’s Grace as a healing measure for the church as well as himself. Jesus did not want him to be excluded from the worship communities because of their prejudice against what they considered clean and unclean. Jesus does not want to be excluded from our worship communities by what we consider clean and unclean. Everyone, then and now, would come and see only what they expected to see, nothing less, nothing more. The message of Jesus’ healing ministry could end up being just another roadblock keeping the boundaries of expectation in place. Jesus did come to tear down every and any boundary, mental, physical, social, righteous and religious we put in place to try to feel safe in an unsafe world. The world will however will never be safe until we dispense with the boundaries and replace them with welcome signs.

cat out of the bag

Saturday February 18th, Mark 1: “45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. The cat was out of the bag and the Messiahship of Jesus was being defined by exactly what everyone expected, no more and no less. Jesus continued to heal and minister to all who came out, outside the border fences of society and expectation, to him. Sometimes we find ourselves boxed in, surrounded only by expectations, laws, rules and outside grace. When you find yourself in this situation, reach out to those who are trying to fence you in and heal also, tear down the fences, confront the evil, change the expectation and welcome Jesus to the process of welcoming the enemy. Sometimes it is just that reaching out that is in and of itself the boundary crossing, and those on the outside who are precisely what is needed to extend ministry, grace and forgiveness on the inside that has grown so stale.