Jun 3, 2018
The Hope Business
By: Jim Bennett
Series: (All)
June 3, 2018. Our sermon today is from Jim Bennett, who is a hospital chaplain. He preaches on the metaphor of earthen vessels, healing, and how leaving the hospital is like leaving church on a Sunday morning: you come out better than when you went in.
 
*** Transcript ***
 
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
 
Now, some of you may be thinking to yourselves, "What is he doing up there?" I have to tell you that's a question that's gone through my mind a few times this week too. I'm a pastor. I'm a Lutheran Pastor who's served congregations for about ten years, before I responded to what I felt was God's call for me to move into chaplaincy ministry, and eventually education. And so it's been many years since I've preached a sermon, contrary to what my wife tells me every now and then.
 
But when I was contacted and asked to preach today, I was a little nervous because I'm out of practice. And so that's why I'm going to stay up here in the pulpit. The pulpit's nice and protective. But I was also really excited when I read the lessons for today, because the lessons are just filled with great preaching themes. You know, we have the gospel lesson where Jesus heals the withered hand of a man in the temple. We have the Old Testament lesson that depicts God bringing God's people out of slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand. And in our second lesson, God has bestowed a treasure in earthen vessels. And the psalm, "You called out in distress and I delivered you." Great preaching themes. But there's an overarching theme that I really want to focus on today, and it follows what I said with the children this morning about the people of God being the church, and how God cares for his people.
 
That ought to be reassuring, right? It is for me, most of the time. Yet if we read the entire second lesson that Paul was sharing with the people in the Corinthian Church, he goes on to write as servants for Jesus' sake we are afflicted, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not forgotten. So even as we may be reassured that God cares for us, we may not always feel that care in a way that we expected or hoped. And that is exactly where a lot of my ministry comes into play.
 
I try to show people that God cares, when they don't really feel that God cares, when they feel perplexed or afflicted, when they feel struck down or when they're persecuted. Because you and I and many of the people that I minister to, we are these earthen vessels.
 
Earthen vessels. I noticed in the lesson today that the version of this translation said we are clay jars. And you know, I was thinking about earthen vessels and clay jars, and which would be a better metaphor today. Last evening my wife and I and some friends went to the Webster art show at Webster University in Eden Seminary. And my wife and I are always drawn to the artists that do clay jars. They have earthen vessels there, and they're beautiful. And we always think about perhaps buying a piece or two. And as I was there I remembered the second lesson for today, that we are like earthen vessels. You know that earthenware is very durable, but sometimes it gets cracked. Sometimes it may get broken, chipped. And it wears out over time. That's like the metaphor of our bodies as earthen vessels, that sometimes we abuse our bodies, or over time they're worn out. And we are breakable. So when those parts wear out or we break, we need to be fixed.
 
And it's amazing to me. I think about when those body parts wear out or we need a new part. (I myself have had a knee replacement. And I know of others here who've had the same, or a hip replacement. Some of you may even have had an organ transplant.) I'm simply amazed that when our bodies are broken, they can be repaired.
 
There are times when I converse with others and the topic of vocation comes up and people say, "What is it that you do?" And I say I'm a hospital chaplain. And they look at me and say that must be a really tough job. And I say to them, sometimes it is. But you have to keep in mind that many more people leave the hospital in better shape than they arrived in, than otherwise.
 
And you know, I feel kind of the same way about church on Sunday morning. When I come here to worship, sometimes I'm still a little bit asleep and I'm not too sure about things. But I always leave church better than when I first arrived.
 
More often than not, when I see people in the hospital they are hoping for healing. Some of them may even hope for a miracle. But healing miracles today are more often performed by modern medicine. We place our trust in the wisdom and knowledge of God as bestowed on physicians. Yet healing is a process that even modern medicine is not an exact science. So I have found that people of God may be challenged when those purveyors of modern miracles acknowledge that nothing more can be done to heal or to make one whole.
 
Now, there are times when people then turn to God and they want a miracle more like what occurred in our gospel lesson today. The section of Mark. If you had read earlier portions of Mark you might realize that our gospel lesson today comes at a time after Jesus had performed many healing miracles. He had cast out demons. He had healed the leper and a paralytic. And you may remember that one of the titles that Jesus was known by was the Great Physician, because he healed people. Jesus was God. But today, even though we have some very talented physicians whose work sometimes seems miraculous, they are not God.
 
We wait for the Good News to come to us from God to proclaim a miracle like Jesus did. Healing a withered hand. Or, as the writer of Deuteronomy says, God brought you out of the land of Egypt. Or the psalmist, "In distress you called and I delivered you." A responsive God that seems to answer our every need.
 
But then I'm reminded of an old tune as a child that I became familiar with. It's about Humpty Dumpty. And it says Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
 
So where is God when we need God most? Jesus taught us that, "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there with you." I didn't ask the children today in the children's sermon where they thought God was. It might have been interesting to hear some of those responses. It might have been a bit too confusing, but I can ask you: where is God?
 
If you think about it, maybe you'll come to the conclusion that it's not as confusing as one might first think. Where is God? Actually God is right here. When I'm doing my other job as an usher here on a Sunday morning, or when I'm reading the lessons, or when I'm taking up the collection -- you know ushers have the responsibility of counting the number of worshippers on a Sunday morning, and I'm in the practice when I'm doing that at the end -- I always add the number three. Why would I do that? I add the father. Why would I do that? Yes, because of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I'm not just padding the attendance record. It's theologically sound!
 
Just think about it: God is with us on Sunday morning. And God is not with us just on Sunday morning. God is with us wherever two or more are gathered in God's name. A few weeks ago the church celebrated the holy day of the Ascension of the Lord. It's when Jesus was taken up into heaven. The disciples were worried that when Jesus would go away they would be left alone. But Jesus told his disciples not to worry because he would be sending them the Holy Spirit.
 
Another name for the holy spirit is the Great Comforter. And the Great Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would be with them. Now, the Holy Spirit has a role in our lives as well. Just like it's been a long time since I've preached, it's also been a long time since I taught confirmation. So I may need some help from some of you. In terms of what we learn about the role of the Holy Spirit In our lives, any recent confirmations here who can name off the four or five things the Holy Spirit does for us? Uh oh, somebody in the back. Yell it out. What does the Holy Spirit do? Okay. The Holy Spirit calls us. The Holy Spirit gathers us. The Holy Spirit enlightens us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, and keeps us. The five things: calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps. All of you coming up for confirmation, remember. That's a good thing to remember. It's good Lutheran theology.
 
But I practice my ministry in a setting that is multi-faith or no faith at all. So I don't serve just Lutherans anymore. So I practice what we call more of a practical theology. And there is, in practical theology, several roles that God serves. And that is to sustain us, and to guide us, and to reconcile us, and to heal us. These are actions that show that God cares. Now, I have to admit if my loved one was sick and they could not be made whole again, I would expect the function of God's healing to take place. And if it didn't I would be angry about that.
 
In our lesson today, Jesus was angry at the Pharisees. Well, I would expect I would be angry. Any one of you probably would as well. But once I could move past my anger, my hope and prayer would be that God would sustain me or God might guide me or God might in some way reconcile me to those I love. Those would be actions that God could show God's care.
 
In my years of ministry, I have witnessed great resilience and courage, both in parishioners and patients who may be in pain or suffering for days and and weeks, and maybe even years, waiting for God's healing. Or maybe knowing that that healing may not take place. And sometimes I talk with people who feel hopeless. Hopelessness can be a disease. It can be a disease almost as bad as many others that we are aware of. It can lead us to despair. So I sometimes tell people as sincerely as possible that as a pastor, my chief title is I'm in the hope business.
 
I'm in the Hope business.
 
Now, I don't mean that I'm going to try to dispense some pie-in-the-sky hope. But what I try to do is to resurrect hope -- that hope that is within us, the hope that is what Paul talks about in our second lesson, the treasure that is in earthen vessels. You know in Corinthians, Paul talks about faith, hope, and love. These are treasures that we possess within us as earthen vessels. We all have it but sometimes it needs to be resurrected. Those earthen vessels that may be afflicted but remember, Paul said, not crushed. May be perplexed but not driven to despair. May be persecuted but not forsaken. Or struck down but not forgotten. God will not leave us alone.
 
When we pray to God, we often want God to change things. And sometimes God does change things, but sometimes God changes people. And that's what happens when I come here on Sunday morning. I am changed. I leave better than when I arrived.
 
I teach as part of my ministry. I just recently completed a class on pastoral care skills for community clergy, and one of the clergymen who was enrolled in the class, he was a pastor in the Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee. That pastor's denomination is known to have a rather conservative theology. And part of the training of these clergy who come to me, they are required to visit patients in the hospital. And six months ago when his training began, the pastor wrote that "I've always worked toward the goal of ministry where a person is brought to their knees to the point of asking Jesus into their heart so miracles can take place."
 
Well, I want to reassure you, I would never allow him to do that to patients in the hospital. But that is the mindset in which he entered this training. But when he left just a few weeks ago, he wrote something very different that almost brought tears to my eyes. He wrote, "In the end, the most important things in life have been relationships with people." In the end, the most important things in life have been relationships with people. And I believe if we look at our lessons again for today, God feels the same way. God cares for God's people. God is with God's people. And we are the church together.
 
Amen.
 
*** Keywords ***
 
2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Jim Bennett
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  • Jun 3, 2018The Hope Business
    Jun 3, 2018
    The Hope Business
    By: Jim Bennett
    Series: (All)
    June 3, 2018. Our sermon today is from Jim Bennett, who is a hospital chaplain. He preaches on the metaphor of earthen vessels, healing, and how leaving the hospital is like leaving church on a Sunday morning: you come out better than when you went in.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
     
    Now, some of you may be thinking to yourselves, "What is he doing up there?" I have to tell you that's a question that's gone through my mind a few times this week too. I'm a pastor. I'm a Lutheran Pastor who's served congregations for about ten years, before I responded to what I felt was God's call for me to move into chaplaincy ministry, and eventually education. And so it's been many years since I've preached a sermon, contrary to what my wife tells me every now and then.
     
    But when I was contacted and asked to preach today, I was a little nervous because I'm out of practice. And so that's why I'm going to stay up here in the pulpit. The pulpit's nice and protective. But I was also really excited when I read the lessons for today, because the lessons are just filled with great preaching themes. You know, we have the gospel lesson where Jesus heals the withered hand of a man in the temple. We have the Old Testament lesson that depicts God bringing God's people out of slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand. And in our second lesson, God has bestowed a treasure in earthen vessels. And the psalm, "You called out in distress and I delivered you." Great preaching themes. But there's an overarching theme that I really want to focus on today, and it follows what I said with the children this morning about the people of God being the church, and how God cares for his people.
     
    That ought to be reassuring, right? It is for me, most of the time. Yet if we read the entire second lesson that Paul was sharing with the people in the Corinthian Church, he goes on to write as servants for Jesus' sake we are afflicted, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not forgotten. So even as we may be reassured that God cares for us, we may not always feel that care in a way that we expected or hoped. And that is exactly where a lot of my ministry comes into play.
     
    I try to show people that God cares, when they don't really feel that God cares, when they feel perplexed or afflicted, when they feel struck down or when they're persecuted. Because you and I and many of the people that I minister to, we are these earthen vessels.
     
    Earthen vessels. I noticed in the lesson today that the version of this translation said we are clay jars. And you know, I was thinking about earthen vessels and clay jars, and which would be a better metaphor today. Last evening my wife and I and some friends went to the Webster art show at Webster University in Eden Seminary. And my wife and I are always drawn to the artists that do clay jars. They have earthen vessels there, and they're beautiful. And we always think about perhaps buying a piece or two. And as I was there I remembered the second lesson for today, that we are like earthen vessels. You know that earthenware is very durable, but sometimes it gets cracked. Sometimes it may get broken, chipped. And it wears out over time. That's like the metaphor of our bodies as earthen vessels, that sometimes we abuse our bodies, or over time they're worn out. And we are breakable. So when those parts wear out or we break, we need to be fixed.
     
    And it's amazing to me. I think about when those body parts wear out or we need a new part. (I myself have had a knee replacement. And I know of others here who've had the same, or a hip replacement. Some of you may even have had an organ transplant.) I'm simply amazed that when our bodies are broken, they can be repaired.
     
    There are times when I converse with others and the topic of vocation comes up and people say, "What is it that you do?" And I say I'm a hospital chaplain. And they look at me and say that must be a really tough job. And I say to them, sometimes it is. But you have to keep in mind that many more people leave the hospital in better shape than they arrived in, than otherwise.
     
    And you know, I feel kind of the same way about church on Sunday morning. When I come here to worship, sometimes I'm still a little bit asleep and I'm not too sure about things. But I always leave church better than when I first arrived.
     
    More often than not, when I see people in the hospital they are hoping for healing. Some of them may even hope for a miracle. But healing miracles today are more often performed by modern medicine. We place our trust in the wisdom and knowledge of God as bestowed on physicians. Yet healing is a process that even modern medicine is not an exact science. So I have found that people of God may be challenged when those purveyors of modern miracles acknowledge that nothing more can be done to heal or to make one whole.
     
    Now, there are times when people then turn to God and they want a miracle more like what occurred in our gospel lesson today. The section of Mark. If you had read earlier portions of Mark you might realize that our gospel lesson today comes at a time after Jesus had performed many healing miracles. He had cast out demons. He had healed the leper and a paralytic. And you may remember that one of the titles that Jesus was known by was the Great Physician, because he healed people. Jesus was God. But today, even though we have some very talented physicians whose work sometimes seems miraculous, they are not God.
     
    We wait for the Good News to come to us from God to proclaim a miracle like Jesus did. Healing a withered hand. Or, as the writer of Deuteronomy says, God brought you out of the land of Egypt. Or the psalmist, "In distress you called and I delivered you." A responsive God that seems to answer our every need.
     
    But then I'm reminded of an old tune as a child that I became familiar with. It's about Humpty Dumpty. And it says Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
     
    So where is God when we need God most? Jesus taught us that, "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there with you." I didn't ask the children today in the children's sermon where they thought God was. It might have been interesting to hear some of those responses. It might have been a bit too confusing, but I can ask you: where is God?
     
    If you think about it, maybe you'll come to the conclusion that it's not as confusing as one might first think. Where is God? Actually God is right here. When I'm doing my other job as an usher here on a Sunday morning, or when I'm reading the lessons, or when I'm taking up the collection -- you know ushers have the responsibility of counting the number of worshippers on a Sunday morning, and I'm in the practice when I'm doing that at the end -- I always add the number three. Why would I do that? I add the father. Why would I do that? Yes, because of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I'm not just padding the attendance record. It's theologically sound!
     
    Just think about it: God is with us on Sunday morning. And God is not with us just on Sunday morning. God is with us wherever two or more are gathered in God's name. A few weeks ago the church celebrated the holy day of the Ascension of the Lord. It's when Jesus was taken up into heaven. The disciples were worried that when Jesus would go away they would be left alone. But Jesus told his disciples not to worry because he would be sending them the Holy Spirit.
     
    Another name for the holy spirit is the Great Comforter. And the Great Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would be with them. Now, the Holy Spirit has a role in our lives as well. Just like it's been a long time since I've preached, it's also been a long time since I taught confirmation. So I may need some help from some of you. In terms of what we learn about the role of the Holy Spirit In our lives, any recent confirmations here who can name off the four or five things the Holy Spirit does for us? Uh oh, somebody in the back. Yell it out. What does the Holy Spirit do? Okay. The Holy Spirit calls us. The Holy Spirit gathers us. The Holy Spirit enlightens us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, and keeps us. The five things: calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps. All of you coming up for confirmation, remember. That's a good thing to remember. It's good Lutheran theology.
     
    But I practice my ministry in a setting that is multi-faith or no faith at all. So I don't serve just Lutherans anymore. So I practice what we call more of a practical theology. And there is, in practical theology, several roles that God serves. And that is to sustain us, and to guide us, and to reconcile us, and to heal us. These are actions that show that God cares. Now, I have to admit if my loved one was sick and they could not be made whole again, I would expect the function of God's healing to take place. And if it didn't I would be angry about that.
     
    In our lesson today, Jesus was angry at the Pharisees. Well, I would expect I would be angry. Any one of you probably would as well. But once I could move past my anger, my hope and prayer would be that God would sustain me or God might guide me or God might in some way reconcile me to those I love. Those would be actions that God could show God's care.
     
    In my years of ministry, I have witnessed great resilience and courage, both in parishioners and patients who may be in pain or suffering for days and and weeks, and maybe even years, waiting for God's healing. Or maybe knowing that that healing may not take place. And sometimes I talk with people who feel hopeless. Hopelessness can be a disease. It can be a disease almost as bad as many others that we are aware of. It can lead us to despair. So I sometimes tell people as sincerely as possible that as a pastor, my chief title is I'm in the hope business.
     
    I'm in the Hope business.
     
    Now, I don't mean that I'm going to try to dispense some pie-in-the-sky hope. But what I try to do is to resurrect hope -- that hope that is within us, the hope that is what Paul talks about in our second lesson, the treasure that is in earthen vessels. You know in Corinthians, Paul talks about faith, hope, and love. These are treasures that we possess within us as earthen vessels. We all have it but sometimes it needs to be resurrected. Those earthen vessels that may be afflicted but remember, Paul said, not crushed. May be perplexed but not driven to despair. May be persecuted but not forsaken. Or struck down but not forgotten. God will not leave us alone.
     
    When we pray to God, we often want God to change things. And sometimes God does change things, but sometimes God changes people. And that's what happens when I come here on Sunday morning. I am changed. I leave better than when I arrived.
     
    I teach as part of my ministry. I just recently completed a class on pastoral care skills for community clergy, and one of the clergymen who was enrolled in the class, he was a pastor in the Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee. That pastor's denomination is known to have a rather conservative theology. And part of the training of these clergy who come to me, they are required to visit patients in the hospital. And six months ago when his training began, the pastor wrote that "I've always worked toward the goal of ministry where a person is brought to their knees to the point of asking Jesus into their heart so miracles can take place."
     
    Well, I want to reassure you, I would never allow him to do that to patients in the hospital. But that is the mindset in which he entered this training. But when he left just a few weeks ago, he wrote something very different that almost brought tears to my eyes. He wrote, "In the end, the most important things in life have been relationships with people." In the end, the most important things in life have been relationships with people. And I believe if we look at our lessons again for today, God feels the same way. God cares for God's people. God is with God's people. And we are the church together.
     
    Amen.
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Jim Bennett
  • May 27, 2018Listen To the Voice
    May 27, 2018
    Listen To the Voice
    By: Tom Schoenherr
    Series: (All)
    May 27, 2018. Pastors Penny and Keith have retired. Guest pastor Tom Schoenherr preaches today on Psalm 29, and grieving the loss. We don't really know what will happen during this time of transition. But what we do know is that God's voice will continue to lead us.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
     
    This may be a day of some sadness and grief for you, as you come together this morning. You may have hoped that pastors Keith and Penny might have been here to lead this worship instead of me. I appreciate the relationship that we've had together. But I also recognize that this is a time when people who have been significant in your life, who have led the congregation for fifteen years, are not here because they've retired. There is grieving that happens.
     
    We need to recognize that, as we move forward into this time of transition. You've heard the announcement about what's going to be happening in the future. There is still opportunity for you to grieve for Keith and Penny that they're not here. And I share that grief with you, because I miss their voices, and you probably miss their voices and their presence too.
     
    But as we come together today, we're having the opportunity to grieve, but also to celebrate a new chapter for Keith and Penny, for the Holstes as they move into a new chapter in their lives. And as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit move this congregation into your new chapter. And where that will lead and what that will mean in the future. We don't really know for sure. But what we do have is a promise that as we listen to God's voice that he will continue to lead us in the days and weeks and months to come.
     
    The text for today is Psalm 29, and you read that psalm earlier. If you would like to refer to it and take a look at that in the bulletin, you are welcome. Psalm 29 is a reflection of a terrible storm, a chaotic storm that has taken place. And there are evidences of that storm throughout the psalm. There are certainly earthquakes. There is thunder. There's fire. There's the breaking of cedars. There's flooding. There is the whirling of oaks turning around. It sounds scary to me. It is a scary storm.
     
    And I think about the pictures that we've been seeing about Kilauea in Hawaii. Some of you maybe have been there yourselves. But that storm, that volcanic storm, can be scary because you see that lava, that hot lava, burning and flowing and it surrounds houses and trees and cars and burns them out. You don't want to get too close to lava because it's extremely hot. It can cause all kinds of problems, particularly also from the gases that are emitted out of the Earth. And we recognize that that volcanic storm, and the storm that's being described in the psalm, are evidence of great power. And we're left just looking at it and saying wow, out of an understanding that we don't have that power at all. We don't have any control over those storms. And that God is the one who is in the midst of it all.
     
    How do we worship a God who has that kind of power? Well, maybe we need to be listening to the voice, as we repeated again and again, the voice of the Lord. To hear that voice, that voice may be speaking to us in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty that we may feel as pastors Keith and Penny are no longer here. As we move into the future, we may sense some bit of confusion and uncertainty, and that's normal.
     
    But as we do, we also listen to the voice. Listen to the voice of the Lord. What is God saying to us in the midst of the storm? If you look at the psalm, the first two verses, the word of the Lord or the name "Lord" is repeated four times. In verses 3 through 9, there are seven "voices of the Lord," and there are ten times when the divine name is mentioned. And in the last two verses of the psalm again four times "the Lord" is spoken. So in the midst of the storm the Lord is present, and in the midst of our confusion and chaos that life can bring to us, how do we respond? How do we respond to this storm in our lives?
     
    One of those storms is certainly the retiring of beloved pastors. Another one, maybe those who are sick or dying who are part of our family and our household. A number of you have attended graduations in these days. And as we come to those graduations, there is a certain amount of sadness, as well as joy, as we see children and grandchildren graduating from high school and from college, and what the future may hold for them as well. And as we come to a time in our lives when maybe we need to make some decisions about where we're going to be living so that somebody else may be taking care of us at a time later in our lives, then in the midst of all of that this psalm is saying to us, God has this. We're in the Lord's hand. God will not forsake us. He is in the midst of the storm. He will not let you go.
     
    But we want to try to control it somehow or other, don't we? We want to figure out a way in which we can deal with this chaos with the vacuum that's been formed. And so we have questions and we wonder, why does it take so long to get a new pastor or pastors? Why can't we speed up that process and just have somebody here right away, because that's what we need. We think. Or we may think that we've lost the voice of the Lord as pastors Keith and Penny are no longer here. Where is the Lord's voice now? Does God know or care about our problems and the kinds of things that we're going through? Where is God's presence for us? Life seems somewhat out of control. It seems a little bit chaotic. Things are not certain. Where do we go from here?
     
    But the psalm says the Lord sits above the flood. God's there. He doesn't stop the flood from happening or the earthquake or the thunder or the whirling oaks or the breaking of trees. But God is there in the midst of it all. And the voice of the Lord, where is it? It is where it's always been. The voice of the Lord is with our Lord Jesus Christ who comes and is in the midst of us, who invites us to the table, who continues to speak God's word to us, who sends that Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds that we might receive a word from the voice of the Lord. That is a word that speaks hope and promise in the midst of some chaos and confusion.
     
    Where is the voice of the Lord? The voice of the Lord is also you. You are the voice of the Lord to one another. And as you gather together and have opportunity to be together, you are speaking words of love and hope and care and peace to one another that are so necessary, and you are God's voice to one another. Where is the voice of the Lord? The voice of the Lord is also in the community. People of different religions, of different cultures, of different races. People who are oppressed, people who are broken, people who are looking for hope listen to those voices because the voice of the Lord is also coming through them.
     
    Listen to the voice.
     
    So when the stormy times, when anxiety levels rise, and we feel so uncertain and a bit confused, it's important to continue to gather for worship. The importance of continuing to be here, to listen to the voice of the Lord, to gather at the table in order that you might be strengthened for the work that you are called to do. Continue to care for one another. Continue to reach out with the voice of the Lord to one another in this desperate and difficult time.
     
    Continue to hear that word gathered at the table, so that you may come to receive the forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ, and there be strengthened and connected to one another again, so that your stories and your struggles and your problems and concerns are shared with one another and you can minister to one another with that voice of the Lord that makes so much difference in our lives.
     
    And also continue to reach out in service and care to all of the world that God is calling you to serve. Because you don't need a flashy, exciting pastor to continue to do the work of the Lord in the world. That's you. God speaking to you and moving you into all kinds of ways. Yeah, when a pastor comes that's exciting and wonderful. But you don't need that presence in order to continue to do the work of the Lord in this place.
     
    So, God who's enthroned in the storms of life is also the God who calls you children of God, who loves you and is with you and loves this whole world. There is awesome power in that love. And God is always faithful to us, will never abandon us or forsake us.
     
    Finally God's gift to this congregation is peace to calm the storm. Peace in the midst of the struggle to lead you in ways that can heal a broken and chaotic world. May God bless you and all the people of God say, "Glory." Glory in the name of Jesus.
     
    Amen.
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Tom Schoenherr
  • May 20, 2018Parting Words
    May 20, 2018
    Parting Words
    By: Pastor Penny and Pastor Keith
    Series: (All)
    May 20, 2018. As Pastors Penny and Keith retire, they leave us with a twofer sermon. These are their parting words to the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    [Pastor Penny]
     
    Well, you're getting a twofer for today. We decided we would do everything together. So you'll have two messages, but they'll be short.
     
    And it will seem strange after we retire when Sunday comes and I won't put on my clergy shirt. But sometimes I've worn that clergy shirt outside of worship, and I don't wear it very long without remembering that I have it on. If I go to the grocery store, this being a predominantly Catholic community I always get a few looks. And I know they're thinking, "A woman priest?" Or maybe a smile or two and right away I remember I'm wearing a clergy shirt. And my demeanor and my actions might change. I hope not, but they probably do because I realize that I am a witness, or as our gospel said, one who testifies to our Christian faith.
     
    But in truth, whether you're wearing a blue t-shirt or not, we are all witnesses. We all testify to our faith by our demeanor, by our actions. And that's good because the gospel today says we really should testify to the world. But what exactly are we supposed to testify? What is it that we want to convey to the world about our faith?
     
    I was at Rolling Ridge nursery in Webster Groves last week and a friend came up who was buying mint. His mint died. We had a pretty rough summer last summer, even though that's a hardy plant. He looked at me and said, "You're a woman of the cloth. Maybe I should have just had you come over and resurrect my plant." And then he said something really interesting. He said, "Resurrection, that was a one-time thing, wasn't it? It was kind of a 'one-off.'"
     
    And I thought he was right, that really is the heart of our faith. And that's what we hear in the gospel: that the world does not really get Jesus because he was so different, because he really was a "one-off." And in fact a lot of times we don't get Jesus because we are really part of the world. The world of nature is beautiful, especially at this time of the year. Everything that can bloom is blooming. But the laws of nature are not so beautiful: survival of the fittest, dog eat dog. The natural law is that we are born, we decay, and we die. Even where we live, the accident of where we happen to be born, sets something in motion that doesn't seem to be able to be changed. Being born in the United States gives us a much different path than if we were born in a Palestinian refugee camp.
     
    So the world seems to move with laws that just keep going along. And then there's human nature. And there too, we are kind of set. We know as humans that we are born selfish. Of course, sometimes we can do things that are better. Often our minds and our bodies lead us to hurt people, and later we feel bad. The church of course has words for this: original sin and guilt. But if you just set those church words aside, the simple truth that we all know is that we are human and we are born selfish. And so we hurt people and we hurt the world.
     
    In short, we are caught. With the laws of nature and the laws of human nature, we are trapped. We are in this machine that seems to go on without any sense of justice, that just keeps moving along. And we are caught up in it.
     
    But God would not tolerate that. God interceded. Intervened. God threw a wrench in the machine and stopped that cycle, first by giving unmerited goodness to the people of Israel as we hear in the Old Testament, but most perfectly we see that God intervened in the life of Jesus Christ. He lived for justice, and in truth he gave everything and died for justice. And with Jesus, his life defies selfishness and his resurrection defies death.
     
    Now on this Pentecost, we are celebrating that the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' followers long ago. But we also celebrate that it came to us when we were baptized, and that it is with us daily, giving us the strength to testify to the world. And we testify by our actions, by the way we treat people, by the way we raise our children, by the way we spend money, by the things that give us joy and the things that make us sad. We testify. We testify something amazing.
     
    We testify that in a world that is caught and trapped in inevitable selfishness and death, Jesus brings grace. And what that means is there is forgiveness. There are second chances, do-overs. There is the opportunity to turn your life around a hundred and eighty degrees. With Jesus there is mercy for those who don't deserve it and bread for those who haven't earned it and salvation for all, and life. Life here and life after this life.
     
    So in short, we testify. We testify that there is grace in the world. By the love of God and by the life of Jesus Christ there is grace, and that changes everything.
     
     
    [Pastor Keith]
     
    In our gospel today, Jesus says I will not leave you bereft. He's preparing his disciples for the fact that he will not be visible to them anymore, but that the Holy Spirit will come to them. And through the working of the Holy Spirit, they will have his presence to be with them all the time.
     
    The red banner that's before us today is one that was made by my mother on the occasion of my ordination back in 1974. And on that day, I acknowledged the call of God to let the Holy Spirit work through me as a minister of the gospel. The banner shows the main tools that we have to work with as they have the spirit working through us, the word and the sacraments of Communion and of Holy Baptism. And so it's through these ways the spirit works in the congregation.
     
    So as Pastor Penny and I take leave from you, there will be others who will come with the consecration of the spirit to preach and to teach and consecrate Holy Communion. These gifts of the Spirit will continue to be with you. We need to remember that the Holy Spirit doesn't just work through pastors -- that's the main thing -- but works in the congregation through the people of the congregation. Those of you who are gathering here as a people of Christ Lutheran Church, God's spirit will continue to work through you.
     
    While it's not completely accurate because it doesn't really capture the spirituality of the work, I often think of my role as a pastor of being like a coach. The coach brings guidance to a team, but the real playing is done on the soccer field or on the football field or on the basketball court, whatever the sport is. It's the players who do the playing and score the points. At the church, it's the spirit who works through all the people to do the real playing of the church in the world. The pastors kind of guide as coaches.
     
    So we've been here and we've endeavored to be good coaches for Christ Lutheran. We've spoken God's word to you the best that we know how to as you're gathered on Sunday mornings. Maybe worked and hopefully coached you well enough. We've worked with you in different ways through committees, and confirmation classes. We've been with young people. In all kinds of ways, we've tried to exert the influence of the spirit. We've encouraged the music of worship which helps people to internalize the work of God's spirit in us and to lead people to live in that spirit.
     
    But as we know one person can only do so much. When many get involved a whole lot more can be done. So our goal has been to lead in a way that all of you, or many of you, will become more and more involved in different ways of living out the gospel, not only here at church but especially out in the world. Just this week we heard of yet another person in the congregation say, well I do this and I do this and I do this in service in the community, another member of Christ Lutheran. We've been hearing that for years. We've been hearing people saying, I do this, I do that.
     
    And that's the key thing. It's mostly not what happens here on Sunday, but happens Monday through Saturday. That's the important work. You come here and then you go into the world to serve, and that's what we've been about. That's the court. That's the playing field. That's where things happen. We hope that our coaching here helps you be the church out in the world. Coaches have different styles. Some do everything but play the game, as they point out every little play that's supposed to be done on the court or on the field. Other coaches do their work in the locker room where through the work we can do all the preparations -- say this is where we're at, this is a strategy. Now you go do it. We know that the Holy Spirit has been unleashed upon the world. Jesus says, I'm only one. It's much more effective, Jesus says, that I leave and that the spirit comes so that you can be out there in the world living in my name, sharing my word in the world.
     
    And so it is with pastoral leaders. Pastors are only one. They can't do all the living of the Holy Spirit on Earth, but they can coach and teach and inspire others to live the Christian life. And I have no doubt that the spirit will continue to be active among you as you continue to accept your role as people of God in the community and in the world. So as I speak my parting words to you, I want to remind you of that phrase. Really Pastor Penny was kind of talking about this too, we hadn't coordinated quite well enough, but there's that phrase we are saying a lot last fall especially: live generously.
     
    So on the Thrivent and t-shirts, live generously. I think that's a key phrase I want to leave with you. I preached about that several months ago as well. I just really think that's a key phrase for where we are: to live in the spirit of the gospel. God was so generous that he gave us the life of Jesus. There's no greater gift or sacrifice one can make than what Jesus made for us. God has shown us that and God said to us: live generously. I've been generous to you. I gave you my son. Now with that same spirit of self giving live generously to the world. Luther reminded us of that original sin that means that we're basically selfish people. Adam and Eve were tempted right away and they succumbed to the temptation that was come to them to live for their self-interest. We as human beings are so inclined to turn in on ourselves. Jesus has given us a different way, as ones forgiven to live generously for the sake of others.
     
    This congregation has strived to do that and done it. Endeavor to do that in the spirit of generosity that lives this life that way, and I pray that you continue to do that -- to live generously as people of his congregation and as a congregation in the world. That will be a sign that indeed the Holy Spirit is alive and well among you. Because the Holy Spirit calls you to do this, I have no doubt that you will live in the way of Jesus.
     
    Amen.
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, podcast, sermon, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, Pastor Keith Holste
  • May 13, 2018Romans and Christians
    May 13, 2018
    Romans and Christians
    By: Pastor Penny
    Series: (All)
    May 13, 2018. How do we as Christians live in a society that is so politicized? That is so anxious? That is so materialistic? That tells us again and again that we should look out for ourselves first? How do we live out our lives as children of God? How do we live in the world and for the world without being of the world? Pastor Penny takes on these questions today and offers some thoughts. Jesus gives us all we need.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
     
    As some of the people in the congregation know from their own experience, one game that is played at Confirmation Camp, probably every year, is called Romans and Christians. In this game the counselors, and many other adults that happen to be around, make makeshift togas out of bed sheets and they have spears that are cardboard with foil wrapped around, and then they wander around a very large area in this large camp looking for Christians.
     
    If they find Christians then they take them to jail or prison -- a special building on the grounds. They are re-enacting the persecution that the early church suffered at the hands of Rome. The Christians, of course, are the campers. So their first goal is to avoid the Romans, and avoid them long enough, to find the underground church, which will be hidden in some Grove of trees somewhere with a candle that's lit. Once they find that area, they're safe from the Romans.
     
    But safety isn't the only goal of the Christians. Once they get to the underground church where they're safe, then they are encouraged to think about those other Christians wandering out there who haven't found the church and are still in danger, and to willingly leave the safety of the church and go out and bring them in.
     
    There's still a higher goal for these campers as Christians, and that is to consider that once they are in the safety of the church, they might leave it. Not for the other Christians, but to willingly interact with the Romans and possibly, in conversation, convince the Romans to become Christian, and then they would all go to the safety of the church.
     
    And you know, even today churches do have a sense of an aura of safety about them. I think this church in particular, with its big stone walls. We feel that we are leaving day-to-day life for maybe a more sacred, safer place than arched doorways, and the stained glass windows all remind us of that. And of course that's good. You know, we need to on a regular basis extract ourselves from the everyday concerns and spend time here together, hearing the word, praying, receiving Holy Communion, and being sent out as those campers were with the faith into the world.
     
    Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis had a fire a number of years ago. It's a church that's bigger than ours, but similar, with stained glass windows. When they rebuilt or remodeled, the stained glass windows had been destroyed. And rather than replacing them with new stained glass windows, they replaced them with plate glass, clear glass. So the front of the church is a clear window. And so while they are hearing the word and singing and coming up and receiving communion, they are seeing city buses drive by and people walking their dogs and people biking by and homeless people. So they are always aware that they're being nurtured to be sent out to bring that love to the world.
     
    Well, it occurred to me that the game of Romans and Christians would be quite different if the Romans didn't wear costumes. Because you wouldn't know who was who then, at least not from a distance. You wouldn't know where the Christians were, who the Romans were, and Christians would be very tempted to just blend in with the Romans for safety's sake.
     
    And I think that is our challenge today. Just on the radio this morning, I did hear of Christians being killed in other parts of the world, but in general we are not being persecuted the way the Romans for 300 years persecuted Christians in the early church. We are not taken to jails. We are not forced to fight gladiators and lions. And that is exactly the problem for us because we are in a position to be tempted to blend in.
     
    You don't really know who's a Christian or isn't a Christian in this world. Unless you're a priest and you wear your clerical to the grocery store as some pastors do, you don't know. And so this world, rather than persecuting us, is much more likely to ignore us and leave us alone. We can blend in. But that's the problem. There is a greater danger in blending in than in being persecuted physically, because while we won't lose our physical lives, we can lose something even more precious: our identity, our soul.
     
    It is very easy to blend in with the values of our society. To not say anything. For instance, when a friend makes a racial slur. Or to join with the media when they demonize one political party or the other. It's so tempting to feel inferior around people who are attractive, gifted, and successful by the standards of our society
     
    And I think it's very easy for us to feel anxious for ourselves or a family member if they don't get into the right class. If they don't get into the right team. If they don't get the right career that would ensure their future happiness. As if God doesn't have promises of happiness and joy for us in our futures.
     
    The writer of the Gospel of John really thought the world was dangerous. While you read in John that God loved the world, John also says the world is enslaved by the evil one. And that is exactly our challenge. How do we as Christians live in a society that is so politicized? That is so anxious? That is so materialistic? That tells us again and again that we should look out for ourselves first? How do we live out our lives as children of God? How do we live in the world and for the world without being of the world?
     
    Well, that's why we have the gospel that we have today, because Jesus says I will help you. And the first way Jesus promises to help is to give us a name. A name that sets us apart and a name that protects us. His name: Christian. We get that name when we are christened and baptized, and in baptism a seed is planted. We are given Jesus' identity. We are given his value. We are given his power. And that seed has DNA in it that, all through our lives, as we water it and nurture it spiritually, we grow and flower and are able to live out our identity as Christians, even in this world. So Jesus gives us the name.
     
    The other thing Jesus gives us is, he makes us one. He gives us Christian Community. The Presbyterian USA church is having their biennial convention in St. Louis this summer, and they expect there'll be about 5,000 people attending. So they've told the Presbyterian churches in our area: we want you to be prepared to host on Sunday morning some of these attendees.
     
    Well, one church is small, predominantly white, and they were a little apprehensive. How will our guests feel? Will they be disappointed if they outnumber us in worship, we're so small? So they looked to a neighboring church, which happened to be predominantly African American, and said let's co-host. But then it became clear that if they were going to both work together to be inviting people, they needed to know one another. So they have set up a number of events this spring to become one community.
     
    God has strange ways of making us into one community. And it's not just that there's strength in numbers. It's that when we are in community -- especially with Christians who don't always see things the way we do, especially with people who come from a different background -- we grow. We grow in our strength. We grow in our ability to maintain our Christian identity.
     
    So Jesus gives us a name and he gives us community. And the last thing we see in the gospel today is that he holds up the power of prayer. Now, you may have recognized the fact that the whole gospel today is a prayer. Jesus is praying to his Heavenly Father for the disciples, who are listening in. And if you've ever been in that situation where someone prays for you, sometimes even you didn't expect it and there you are hearing them pray for you. It's a very uplifting experience. So I want to read a few verses that come right after our gospel lesson. Toward the end of Jesus' prayer he says to the Heavenly Father, "I ask not only on behalf of these," his disciples, "but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word that they may be won." And then he explains this a little later on when he says, "I in them and you and me, Father, that they may become completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
     
    In the gospel today, Jesus is not only praying for the disciples. He is praying for us. And we know from Romans 8 that he continues to pray for us and be our advocate at the throne of God throughout our lives.
     
    It is not easy to live out our values as Christians in our society, but we have nothing less than the power of God through the prayer of Christ to protect us and to empower us to carry this love out into the world.
     
    Amen
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, Pastor Penny Holste, transcript
  • May 6, 2018Pep Talk
    May 6, 2018
    Pep Talk
    By: Pastor Penny
    Series: (All)
    May 6, 2018. Pastor Penny tells us today that Jesus has chosen us. When he told his followers that he would be leaving them and asked them to carry on his work, they were devastated and scared. But he reminded them and he reminds us that he chose us, and he loves us, and that carrying on his work will bring us joy.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    We begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
     
    It's halftime. The team is losing and their morale is very low. So the coach gathers them all around him. And he looks carefully at them in the face, each one of them, and he gives them a pep talk. Now, have any of you ever had a halftime pep talk from your coach when you were involved in sports? I don't see any heads nodding. Oh there is. All right. Did it work? Yes, it worked. Okay. Well, I'm glad I worked because that's exactly what's happening in the gospel this morning.
     
    The followers of Jesus for three years have been with him, and when they first encountered Jesus they were probably drawn to him because he was very charismatic. He was popular, but he was a miracle worker. And not only that, but when they met him he looked at them in the eye and said, "I choose you to follow me." Now, they might have been drawn to him because of his charisma, but they stayed with him because of his love, because of the friendship that developed over those three years as they walked from town to town, as they sometimes had to sleep out under the stars, sit around campfire at night. They could see his love for them. He listened to them and he shared his dream -- his dream that people would begin to care about each other, that there would be no more hatred. And that love they had for him, that friendship also grew into admiration as they watched and saw how he was always willing to help, even when it cost him. When his feet were sore from walking or his stomach was very hungry and he'd rather eat. Or when he was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. If someone came and needed to be healed, he did it. He was there.
     
    So after these three years of this love and admiration and friendship, all of a sudden there is this blow to them, to these followers, because Jesus says, 'I am leaving you, and where I go you cannot follow this time. And I want you to carry on my work."
     
    Well, they were devastated like Jimmy in the puppet show. They were devastated. They were heartbroken to lose Jesus. And not only that but they were afraid -- afraid to lose their leader. And then they weren't at all sure that they had the ability to carry on his work. And it's been two thousand years, but I think we probably can understand that feeling that they had. We have it at times in big ways and small. Our hearts are broken, when we lose someone we love or when we are afraid for our own health. Our hearts get broken when we see our children make decisions that we know will hurt them. Our hearts are broken when we see people in the inner city, innocent people living in a trap of violence with no way to get out. Our hearts are broken and we are scared too at times, sometimes with distinct fears. Sometimes just a general sense of anxiety about what's coming next.
     
    And I think we also do share times when we're not sure we're ready for what's coming next. We're not sure that we will handle it well, whether it's college or a first job or getting married or being parents for the first time or a change in career or retirement or as you look to the last years of life and you consider your death, we're not always sure we're prepared to handle those things.
     
    So that's why we have these verses today in the gospel. They are for Jesus' followers back then and they are for Jesus' followers now. It is his pep talk to us, words of encouragement and above all words of promise.
     
    Jesus' pep talk starts probably differently than most coaches. I don't think Mike Matheny would start this way. He looked at each one and said, "I love you. I love you." And then here's his twist on it, a strange request. He says, "Don't just think from time to time and remember that I love you." He says, "Abide in my love. Stay in it. Rest in it. Depend on it. Live in my love."
     
    You know, there's a difference between living somewhere and visiting that place. Maybe some of you have visited a small town. Maybe a nice little town by the river. You stayed in a bed and breakfast and it was charming and quaint. It's a whole other thing to live in a small town. And I remember being very surprised the first small town we lived in. Right away I'd walk down the street and people who I didn't know -- teenagers, adults, didn't matter -- would look at me, smile, and say hello. They didn't look the other way or kind of shyly look back. They greeted me as if they knew me, and they didn't.
     
    And pretense at appearance was not as important as it had been growing up in the suburbs. I remember women could wear their hair in rollers at the grocery store and people would think nothing of it. They wouldn't be embarrassed. And everyone knew what everyone else was doing, for better or for worse. But what I found after living there for a while is that you learn you can trust people. And their values become your values, and it changes you.
     
    So Jesus said, "Live in my love. Don't just visit it on Sunday morning, but stay in it. Think of it every moment of your life. Depended on it. Let it change you." So that was his word to us. And then he went on to say, "To live in my love this is what you need to do: you need to keep my commandment." Well now, that sounds very dictatorial, "Keep my commandments." You know, we don't like to hear that, and not that we shouldn't but it really isn't exactly what Jesus was saying. The word "keep" has a lot more meaning than we think. He was saying, "Revere my words. Treasure my words," much as you would revere the advice of a favorite coach or your favorite grandpa. And this was the word that he wanted us to revere. This was the command: "Love one another as I have loved you, and be willing to lay down your life if need be." Those are strong words and yet we understand, and we do. We do in small ways -- sometimes in large ways -- but in small ways certainly we do know how to lay down our lives for someone else.
     
    I think of when I was a teenager and I was a nurse's aide in a nursing home and one of the other young women thought nothing of taking her day off to go with the residents to the parade because she had so much joy in watching them enjoy the parade. Or a father who had a fairly good job, but he got tired of missing his kids' ballgames and finally he just quit and took a job that was much lower pay, feeling that it was better to work hard to put food on the table, but to stay with his kids. Or the woman who gave up a job without another job to fall back on, because she felt that her company was asking her to do unethical things. Or the caring acts that we do, and we saw it in the puppet show where Jimmy sought out his cousin and knew how to comfort her. We know how to lay down our lives in little ways, day by day, for others.
     
    And this is what we can expect, Jesus says, when we do it. Joy, not necessarily happiness. Not necessarily comfort, but joy. And that's because as we risk ourselves for others, we make relationships and we learn to depend on God above all else. And I know that you have all experienced that, whether it's tutoring children after school, or parenting foster children, or giving people rides to places like church. You know that when you risk your time and your energy for others it builds relationships, and that brings joy.
     
    In the last council meeting we talked about how our congregation can not only give money to people who need help, which is very important, but how we can also get involved in their lives -- learn from them, form relationships -- because we know that it is relationships that bring joy. And above all we know that those relationships that we enter into out of love for each other bring joy to the one who gave his life for us.
     
    And then Jesus leaves us with one last word of encouragement, and it's very simple. He says, "I chose you. I chose you."
     
    And it's good to be chosen, isn't it? I mean don't we all feel good about that, whether we're chosen for the team or chosen for a scholarship or chosen for some recognition or honor. Don't we all imagine as adults getting that phone call, "Our company thinks you would be so good when you come in for an interview," but they would come to us that we would be chosen.
     
    Jesus says you did not choose me. But I chose you. There is no good reason that God would become human and suffer and die to relieve us of the consequences of our selfishness. God simply chose to do that, and God continues to choose to do that in every baptism that we have. So little Paige will experience that because what happens in baptism is that God says, "I choose you. I love you. And I appoint you to reveal my love to the world. And as you do, I promise you joy. Not just any joy. My joy. Complete joy. The joy that only I can give."
     
    Amen.
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, Pastor Penny Holste, transcript
  • Apr 29, 2018Pruning
    Apr 29, 2018
    Pruning
    By: Pastor Keith
    Series: (All)
    April 29, 2018. Pastor Keith preaches today on Jesus preparing the disciples for his departure by using the image of grape vines being pruned. Like the earliest Christians, cut off from Jesus and going out into the world to spread the gospel, we too are God's vineyard. God cares for us one by one, as a vigneron lovingly prunes grape vines by hand. *** [Keywords: 2018 Christ Lutheran Church Easter Garden of Gethsemane Good Friday Gospel of John Holy Communion Island of Patmos Jesus is with us Jesus' first miracle Last Supper Matthew Maundy Thursday Pastor Keith Holste Prophet Isaiah Sermon on the Mount abide in me abide with me as I abide with you abiding in you acting in his stead address disciples argument arrest arrested assurances attached to him authorities balance baskets full left over being pruned bereft best wine better things down the road better wine brain disease branch by branch branches extending broken for us budget stay in the black celebration come to life common cup communal meal condemned connected to him convert sunlight crucified cut off cut off from others cyber bullied deeper roots deepest roots of all drink the wine early Christians eat the bread employment endure most intense pruning everything changes exiled faithful fed a crowd flourish followers of Jesus forewarns them forgiven fruit of life fruits we produce gathered in his name gracious words of presence grafted to him grape orchards grape vine grapes planted on marginal soil grieving process growing of grapes hard to bear harvested haters his roots are our roots holding us hope of life for all image important for community improve upon grapes individual care interpret their lives isn't worst thing job prospect last meal led to hill left there to hang life cut off life for all people life gets hard living out this love lonely love one another low unemployment lush and wet make ends meet makes life better in end merged together miraculously more character wine most severe pruning mowed down by life multiplied no machines not cutting but pruning not letting us go oneness in community pays off persecuted person by person plant by plant planted us prayer preparing disciples for departure produce the fruit profound loneliness pruned beyond bearing pruned by hand pruned from human race pruned on the cross pruning pure promise pushed and pulled receive new life receiving bread and wine renewed promise robust economy rocky on hillside sermon set apart single mom or dad soil strengthening tastes better terminated they will know we are Christians by our love thrown down tough soil tried trivia night questions vineyard we are God's vineyard what we were to suffer whispered in moments wine and bread wine at wedding wine left over won't be the same words of comfort]
  • Apr 15, 2018Released From Captivity
    Apr 15, 2018
    Released From Captivity
    By: Pastor Penny
    Series: (All)
    April 15, 2018. Pastor Penny preaches on Jesus' purposes when he appeared to his followers following his resurrection. *** [Keywords: 2018 Christ Lutheran Church Gospel Greek I am alive again I say no I want to convert to Judaism I will be left out Jesus Jewish rabbi Mark Zuckerberg Muslim Imam Pastor Penny Holste RSV Romans accept his mission accept this mission admitting your sins all eyes on Jesus all suffering was part of God's plan allow to be held captive anger and selfishness attitude baptized in the name of Jesus become Christian become a Jew being released from captivity blinking blood running through both good and bad bought for us bound to pole breaches in security break Passover bread cavalier changed college class sociology of religion congress convince crucifixion death itself doubt and dread dust all over eat enabled to bring release to the world enemies evangelism tactics extremities eyes of joy facebook feet on the ground final say first Easter evening first reasons flawed as we are flogged followers founder freedom friend values you ghost tests in antiquity gift give them a mission glowing with joy of seeing him again good news and bad news hands and feet hands wash their feet he was present higher purposes holding food hopeful hovering how do you recruit new members impose on ourselves imposed upon us instant coffee invited to baptism inviting your best friend over it's me jewel entrusted to us join your congregation just the opposite kids fighting large group lawn isn't mowed leads to forgiveness life death resurrection live in the water loved and cherished made an appearance make sure they have bones makeup more honest more important to be quick than careful motto move fast and be willing to be broken move fast and break things myself nailed to a cross narrowed with fear or disbelief not just the twelve only way they can receive forgiveness open a door open the scriptures painful process panel persecution in recent times popcorn all over preach repentance and forgiveness to the world purposes really seeing him really there really was alive release from captivity religious leaders repentance for forgiveness requirements risk same clothes second purpose seeing a ghost share it shoulds slogan something good about suffering stamp of God's approval strength students sure you want to join us take time teeth think very highly of me third purpose translated treasured undergo suffering as well very different motto victorious warned them it might be difficult washed and blessed way of living way of operating we are all captive we have his presence what eyes of God look like what might come in what they had seen what you're getting into when we fail wide eyes with astonishment women there as well]
  • Apr 8, 2018Resurrection As Relationship
    Apr 8, 2018
    Resurrection As Relationship
    By: Pastor Keith
    Series: (All)
    April 8, 2018. Christians are a diverse group, but we are all gathered together in the risen Lord’s offer of peace, wholeness, and newness. For us, the resurrection is more an experience than something to be proved. Pastor Keith discusses this idea today, and suggests that maybe the resurrection is not about something to believe, but about the someone who makes believing possible.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    Well we reflect further on this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
     
    It's quite an assortment of people and emotions who gather in that Upper Room with Jesus after the resurrection. There are those who had deserted him, those who had denied him. Some had watched him die from a distance. Some watched him die close up. There are folks in that group maybe who came to see an empty tomb. One of the people there believed right away, and one was confused by what he saw. So there were all kinds of people together. But they all seem to be fearful. The doors are locked tight. After Jesus appears, there is joy and there's testimony, as they can tell one another what they've seen, and they now believe that indeed he is the one risen from the dead. But in the midst of all this, especially between the two weeks when they meet, there is the skepticism of Thomas, who had not been there to see what the others had seen. There are so many different emotions, moods, reactions, impressions. Yet all are gathered together in the embrace of our risen Lord's offer of peace, wholeness, and newness.
     
    This really is a picture of the resurrection community: all kinds of distinctive and diverse people, bound together in the promise of the resurrection in such a way that the whole is larger than the sum of its parts. As Christians gathered together, they believe in the resurrection and coming together that makes them bigger than what each one could do. So we may talk today about that very early Christian community, gathered around the resurrection. But that is who we are today. We all gather, having had that death and resurrection in common of Jesus. Yet we're all different: in who we are, how we are moved by the resurrection, and how it has an impact on what we do each and every day. And so we come together on Sundays, the day of resurrection, to gather ourselves and to remember what we hold in common — and then to go into our activities during the week mindful that we have this community of people gathered around the risen Lord to sustain us. We come together on this first day of the week, as did the early disciples.
     
    In the last decade, an insight of professor Sandra Schneiders has changed some thinking about part of this passage we heard today. We heard the verse read that Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." And that's often been troubling to people: what do we do with this retention of sins? But looking more carefully at the original Greek writing of this verse, she has noticed that the word "sin" really isn't there in the Greek in the second part of the verse. And so in her view it's not really accurate to say, "If you retain the sins of any, they are retained," because the word "sin" isn't there. She also has noticed that the word that we use for "retain" can also mean "hold fast" or "to embrace" someone. It's not just to keep in your mind, but to come close to someone. So with this in mind, the verse translated would be more like this to her mindset: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; and anyone you hold fast is embraced and is held fast as well." So anyone who is close to you is someone you hold onto.
     
    And so when we think of Thomas in this case, the verse means something more like this: "If you forgive someone who has struggled to believe, they are forgiven; and if you hold fast anyone who is struggling, that person will be held onto and not let go of, nor lost or abandoned." So Thomas is there, someone struggling. But the disciples don't diss him. They don't do anything bad to him. They embrace him and say Thomas, come in here and come and see, and this will make sense to you. And so this seems to be a sensible way to look at this passage in the light of Thomas. Even though he questions the resurrected Jesus, he's not criticized by them or shunned or excluded. They include and retain him, hold onto him, until he has his own encounter with Jesus the next Sunday. It makes sense to think that this is what John wants for all of us. John, the gospel writer, wants us all to be able to forgive each other, to hold onto each other, to embrace each other — especially when we struggle — until we are caught up with the common experience of the risen Christ ourselves and share that in our community of faith.
     
    Perhaps this experience of the disciples starting so fearfully, not judging each other but thinking about what the resurrection means for them, describes who we are as we gather on Sunday. We are a diverse group of all kinds of people who will hold onto each other and retain and embrace each other, especially when we struggle, until we are caught up in the experience of the risen Christ — and we do that together. And it helps us hold up and support one another.
     
    We see here that this resurrection thing is more of an experience than it is a poof. Thomas was looking for his own encounter with the risen Jesus. He wanted to see Jesus alive again, so he could be assured that the promise of his relationship with Jesus would never be taken away. And Thomas helps to see that this resurrection, then, is experienced in different ways. It's more than a scientific proof that Jesus is alive or that the resurrection happened. There's no poof for that. Rather, the resurrection is among us, whether we see it or not. It's in the midst of us, whether we're able to point to it or not. When we're looking for the proof that it happened, we've missed the point. The truth is that it isn't something to be believed, but someone who makes the believing possible. And that someone we are talking about is someone who sees believing in terms of relationship, and who creates community through relationships. By the rising of Jesus, we know that we might have relationship with God and with one another and have life, and have it abundantly.
     
    When we see resurrection as relationship, then we begin to see our lives in terms of what we saw described in our first lesson today from Acts. Life in the name of the resurrection looks like what Acts describes. Here were the Christians gathered together of one heart and one soul. That can be us. We live together with no one claiming any private possessions, but all having things in common. We can be free to give testimony to the risen Lord and to receive God's grace. We're able to live without anyone being needy in our midst. We're free to lay our possessions at the feet of the church leaders and have it distributed as any had need. That was the lifestyle in the beginning of Acts. That's seeing resurrection as a relationship. While we may not do all those things in that way, we too are free to lay our possessions at the foot of the altar, to say these are the things I want to share with the world and the people around me. When we see resurrection as relationship, we know how good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity, as our Psalm proclaimed today. And we know how we strive for fellowship, as our second lesson mentioned as well.
     
    Seeing resurrection as relationship, it becomes a way to measure what we do in life. Our life in faith becomes a lifestyle for us. It's a way to live in a world where we can live simply and non-violently, in a shared style and in a loving style. It's not so much belonging to a certain organization called the church, but a way to live — even though we have membership and we'll be celebrating that today. But it's a group of people, it's a community. Not so much: are you on the rolls or not? How will our way of life help the world to come and believe, is what we want to ask as we live in this lifestyle of the resurrection. What will we help the world to see? Will the world be able to see the resurrection in each one of us, in all that we do, and all that we say? Then seeing what we do will be the way to believing for them.
     
    This past week there was a lot of recognition of the 50th anniversary of the violent death of Martin Luther King, Jr. And as they remembered that event, most of them played the highlights of his speech in Memphis, where we heard that brief section from his very famous speech: "I've been to the mountaintop. I've seen what we need to see, and that inspires me to live the life I live." That speech is based on his own religious experience of seeing something God had put before him. The disciples were seeing Jesus. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw and had another kind of vision of what God meant for him. I've mentioned other times this spring how what he saw led him to do things in his life. Seeing this vision of God is what inspired his faith and action.
     
    It's generally believed there were probably only a few hundred people who saw Jesus alive after the resurrection, yet thousands and millions have come to follow him. They obviously didn't see it with their own eyes, as we haven't ourselves. Yet Jesus has spoken to them and been heard in the voices of others, and been seen in the lives of others, which has inspired so many to believe. Through what we have seen in the faith lived out by others, and as we have heard the words of Jesus passed on through those others, we live as though we have seen Jesus too — because we have. We've seen him in the modeling and inspired lives of others. We've heard the words of Jesus to start with. We've had the witness to him. So now we join others to live out this resurrection, and he now lives through us, in this congregation, and in the world.
     
    Three times in this reading Jesus says, "Peace be with you." He comes to us and presents himself to us as the one who is alive to give life to us. It's not to be a fearful thing, but it is something that gives peace. He's come to give his life for us. Indeed, to know that Jesus has risen — and risen for us — gives us peace. It takes away our stress and our fear about living well enough. It gives us the freedom to live out the resurrection in the world around us. With this peace, like the peace of having a mountaintop experience with Jesus, we're able to live boldly in the world and to live with hope in the world. It's the one who was killed and then rose to life who urges us on. With him as our faith leader, we can live with peace, and live out the joy and the promise of the resurrection. Amen.
     
    And now may the peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ, that passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Keith Holste, John 20:19-31, Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133, 1 John 1:1-2:2
  • Apr 1, 2018Who Played the Fool
    Apr 1, 2018
    Who Played the Fool
    By: Pastor Penny
    Series: (All)
    April 1, 2018. Easter and April Fools' Day fall on the same date this year. Some say we Christians are foolish to celebrate a man who came back from the dead. How believable is it after all? But Pastor Penny tells us that in this story it's Jesus who plays the fool. He allows himself to be arrested, doesn't speak for himself when given the opportunity, and while being crucified he prays forgiveness for those taunting him. Why does he do all this? For us. In playing the fool for us, Jesus took away our fear of death so that he can help us with life.
     
    *** Transcript ***
     
    We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
     
    I saw an Easter card that had a picture of Jesus on the front, and the words, "They thought I was dead." And then you open it up and it says, "April Fools." Have any of you played an April Fool's joke yet today? Anybody have one played on them? Was it a good one? No, it was not a good one — which is kind of how we feel when the joke's on us. We typically don't want to be fooled, or to feel foolish, or to play the fool, you might say. Now, there are many people who would say we're pretty foolish this morning, as Christians, to come together and celebrate a man who came back from the dead. They would say that's pretty unbelievable. And you know, it always surprises me because most people believe in God. And God is a force that is able to do amazing things, like bring people up from the dead. But somehow it's hard to make the jump from God to Jesus. And you know, I understand. It's hard to believe. It's hard for us to believe at times too. But I think if there is someone who has played the fool in this whole story, it's Jesus. It's God.
     
    Because how foolish for a god to come to earth as a human being, and be born even into a poor family at that. How foolish for Jesus, once he was an adult, to leave everything — to leave his job, to leave his family, to leave his home, to leave the chance to live a normal life, get married and have children — and instead spend three years on the road, on his mission, eating wherever he could, sleeping wherever he could, really pushing himself to go to every town he could get to, to give his word of love and forgiveness. And then how foolish of Jesus to rub the important religious leaders the wrong way, to heal a blind man on the Sabbath and get their ire up. Or to befriend people they considered to be unclean. Or to stop the buying and selling in the temple, which was overshadowing the true worship. All these things made the religious rulers, who are very powerful, angry. How foolish. And how foolish of Jesus to let himself be arrested. And then when he was given the opportunity to speak for himself in his defense, he was silent. How foolish to let himself be crucified, and while on the cross to pray forgiveness for the very people who were taunting him as he believed. Why? Why did Jesus play the fool? It was for us. It was to give us something. It was to give us life that begins here and goes into eternity.
     
    I remember the first time I went to Chicago, and our family went up to an observation deck on the then tallest building in Chicago, which was the Prudential Building. And I looked out at the city and I was amazed. There were streets and cars and trees and houses as far as I could see. In my mind the city had no end. And that is like the gift that we are given on Easter: a life that has no end. Death is simply a portal to a new and better life. And so Easter reminds us that we do not have to be afraid to die. But we have a lot of other fears besides death to contend with. Fears in life, fears that often are revealed in our complaints or our self accusations: my grades aren't good enough, my resume isn't strong enough, my body isn't thin enough, my performance isn't good enough. I don't have enough time, I don't have enough money, I don't have enough strength, I don't have enough authority, I don't have enough friends, I don't have enough years left in my life. All these fears keep us from seeing others. They turn us in toward ourselves, keep us from seeing and caring what's happening in other people's lives.
     
    There is a church historian (she has died now) with the strange name of Phyllis Tickle. She was a wonderful woman. We were able to hear her when she came to Eden Seminary and speak once. She writes about the time that she had a near-death experience at age 21. She was on a new medication to prevent miscarriages, and she stopped breathing. And she said as they were working to resuscitate her, she was above, looking down at herself. And all of a sudden the ceiling opened up and she found herself in that tunnel they always talk about. And in that tunnel she experienced absolute peace. And then a voice asked her, "Do you want to come?" And she said, "No, I want to go back and have my baby." And then she began to breathe again. But after experiencing that death, that amazing peace, she was never afraid to die again. To her dying day she was not afraid. And she said it made a difference in her life. And this is what she says: "Once the fear of death goes, then you're not so afraid of life. And you're free to love. You're just a different person."
     
    If Jesus has taken away the sting of death as we believe, then he certainly has the power to help us with life. You know, the resurrection isn't the end of his story. He is here. He is with us. And when we know that he felt we were precious enough to die for, it also takes the sting out of the feelings we have if we don't like our body, or we don't like the gifts that we've been given. And when we know he is with us, it gives us courage to take risks for other people. It gives us the strength to stand up for people if they're being abused or bad mouthed, people who are different, they look different, they speak differently, they have a different sexual orientation. We have courage to stand up for them. Jesus gives us the power and the desire to help. And we find ourselves spending time helping someone, even if we will never see the results of our efforts.
     
    Christians live differently, not because we feel we're so much more open-minded or more honest, more caring or better than other people. That comparison game, you know, that's part of the the fears we've left behind. No, we try to live as Christ lived — for the same reason that we wear a T-shirt or have a bumper sticker that promotes a certain team or a certain school or a certain political view. We do it because we want to be associated with Jesus. We want to be with him. We want to be part of his mission. And so our whole lives are a tribute to this loving savior, this loving God. We hold our lives up as a tribute to God. We say to Jesus, who played the fool to give us life here and eternally.
     
    Amen.
     
    *** Keywords ***
     
    2018, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, Eden Theological Seminary, LGBTQ
  • Mar 25, 2018Break Down Our Prison Walls
    Mar 25, 2018
    Break Down Our Prison Walls
    By: Pastor Penny
    Series: (All)
    March 25, 2018. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the adoring crowds shouted, "Hosanna!" On this Palm Sunday Pastor Penny preaches on that word, which means "save us." We not only need to be saved from our fears, we also need to be changed so that we can reach out beyond ourselves. *** [Keywords: Chief of Police Willoughby played by Woody Harrelson Christ Lutheran Church Easter Sunday dawns God leads us Greek word Hebrew Jesus has won Mildred Hayes played by Frances McDormand Palm Sunday Palm Sunday crowd Pastor Penny Holste Roman occupation Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri adoration affecting us alcohol led to violence be the kind of police detective you want to be believe in himself beyond their own lives break down our prison walls chief of police city comfortable consumed contribute to low level anxiety council met Tuesday country criticized crowds darkness daughter had been killed dealing with cancer dissolve like shadows of the night don't cry out for help don't look beyond don't want to be changed ecological future as a planet emerge from their prisons expression failed failure family fear of future fears fears tend to trap us focus on ourselves follow Jesus to Good Friday friend go beyond ourselves guilt had to look it up he would save them health issues here at the cross holy are you hopeful hosanna hunker down important messages impossible to improve lot in their lives jubilant keep us awake at night lack of money lashed out lead us leave Palm Sunday like to know lived up to father's expectations living with his mother make it all his responsibility meaning meant neighborhoods not doing his duty not free in their own country own prison of shame own schedules paralyze us parts of this country passionately desires perpetrator prevent it prone to violence publicly shamed him reached out retirement rigid social system rush to Easter satisfy our deepest desires save us saved from their poverty see clearly see other people selfishness sermon setting bombs in Austin shouting singing start loving people stop hating suffers with us and for us talk only to people they know tendency terrible price terrorism they felt trapped through his life and his death took words to heart trying new things trying to teach us turn us inward victory over death evil violence terror guilt shame violence violent movie want to be saved from our fears we will be changed what that word means when Jesus came why would they say that won't appreciate amazing gift world wrote in a letter you have it in you young police officer 2018]
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