Not again! Where is God working?

“Despite the change of the calendar, I suspect it will feel like little has changed. A vaccine for COVID-19 is available…”

That’s what I wrote in January 2021. I thought about just copying the whole article and using it again. What’s changed? How has God been working?

It feels a bit like one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day. Bill Murray stars as a weatherman who is assigned to cover the Feb 2 events in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania when the groundhog is pulled out to forecast if the winter will be long or short. Murray is trapped repeating the same day over and over again, through comedy and tragedy. 2021 started with COVID fears and restrictions and the promise of a vaccine. 2021 started with political, social and cultural divisions exploding into ugly fights between family, friends, and even strangers. We pray over and over for God to help guide us out of this pandemic and our cultural divisions, but where’s God working? We’re living the same thing over again.

Maybe. Like anyone, Christians are also prone to become depressed or disillusioned. We pray and may lose heart when we don’t see God at work.

But maybe we’re not repeating last year. One of the problems with humanity is we have trouble seeing ourselves and the world clearly, especially when stressed and emotional. We tend to forget the past and overreact to the present. Are we focusing on the wrong things? Are we missing where God is working?

Look in the manger with me. Look at the Christ child behind the inn. In the middle of Roman occupation, social strife between groups trying to reform Jewish society, would you have looked for God working in a peasant family from Nazareth? Would you have expected kings to tremble at this baby or wise men to leave their homes? We fail to see where God is working because God is at work hidden in the world. What the world overlooks and calls weak—those are the places where God has worked in the past and likely where God is working now.

At the end of Groundhog Day, Andie McDowell’s character loved the unloveable weatherman. It was this caring that ended Bill Murray’s endless day and started a new one. 

It is God’s love in Christ, even to death on the cross, that ends what seemed like the endless history of human selfishness and Sin. It is resurrection with Christ that gives us confidence about a new year coming. Will we see it? The manger is our guide in between: we see God working, loving, leading, in places and relationships where there is weakness. Look for the love, look for the forgiveness that breaks the cycles of anger and hurt. There, I suspect, you’ll find God at work.

Looking for God's love in all the unlikely places,

Pastor Peter

 

No Home for the Holidays

Jesus, Mary and Joseph were homeless that first Christmas. They were in Joseph’s family town (Bethlehem was the ancestral home of King David), but there was no family to take them in. They were living a culture that valued hospitality, but no one opened their home. There was no room at the inn. The only rest for the family was where animals ate and slept. And there the King of Kings was born! In the cold, without warm water or towels to wipe the newborn, without OB/GYN or nurse or midwife, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the world.

To be more precise, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were a family struggling with homelessness. Sometimes we use the adjective “homeless” as if it is an eternal condition, like “Mary is short” or “Joseph is old”, Jesus is “homeless.” But they would not always be in a state of homelessness—it was temporary. Eventually, they did make it back to Nazareth where there were people to welcome them, where they had a home. This is why we say they "struggled with homelessness" rather than "were homeless."

The end of the eviction moratorium on Sept. 30 has meant increasing numbers of people struggling with homelessness. We talk with them every day at St. John’s: yesterday, it was Jessica and Derek. Brothers Christopher and Timothy are regulars. Sunshine is 19. Glenn is 67. Tabitha and Marcia live in a blue pickup with a shell. We hear stories of abusive boyfriends; aunts who get tired of addictive behavior; an apartment complex being remodeled; rent going up from $700 to $1100. The situations are difficult and varied. What can the Church do?

At least three things: First, care. Sometimes we can become numb. At best, numbness is a coping response when we don’t know what to do. At worst, it disregards our common humanity and Creator and forgets that when Jesus was born everyone turned a cold shoulder. Because we care, we share our names and ask theirs. We listen to stories how they got on the street. Everyone has a story, and sometimes you may hear a true one. But even the story shaped to elicit help tells of pain, abandonment, and longing—parts of many of our stories.

Second, connect. Although they are far from perfect, there are resources available. After many (many!) years of work by many partners, there is a new Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) center opening down the street at 7031 N 56th Ave. Already people can get replacement ID’s and birth certificates (necessary for applying for jobs, housing, more services) and soon there will be over a dozen agencies providing services, including Lutheran Social Services (LSS) and Family Promise. Put LSS’s phone number 480-654-4539 or Family Promise 480-659-5227 in your phone so you can share them. Only rarely is it helpful to give money to someone—it usually is a drop in the bucket compared to the complex needs that people have. Connecting to those who can sort through the issues makes a difference.

Third, communicate. Although the reasons for the increase in homelessness are complex, affordable housing is at the center of it. Some members of St. John’s know personally how difficult finding an apartment or home is. The Arizona Republic just published an article about the need for 280,000 new affordable housing units in Arizona. We can communicate with our elected leaders that affordable housing must be an urgent priority. If in Glendale, write, email, or call Mayor Jerry Weiers at 623-930-2260 or glendalemayor@glendaleaz.com to let him know what you think. Find out your city council members, state legislators. If we don’t communicate, our leaders will think we don’t care and will instead listen to other voices.

We care because God cared enough to enter the cold, sinful world with a family without a home. We help connect people with resources because God connected us to forgiveness, hope, and eternal life in Jesus. We communicate with leaders on behalf of others because Jesus advocates for us.

Come Lord Jesus!

Pastor Peter

The Lord of the Harvest

The Lord of the Harvest

Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matt 9:37-38)

One of my stock phrases is, “Money is not the problem. If there is vision and people to lead towards the vision, the money will come.” I’m usually saying this when somebody is lamenting that the church can’t do X or Y because we don’t have the money. I’m not saying there is money already in the bank; I’m saying that when there is a clear, compelling, and well communicated vision of what God is calling us to do and when there are people willing to lead others towards that vision, then people naturally give and the money comes. For example, when St. John’s leaders expressed a vision of having an intern pastor, people stepped up to give money needed to make it happen.

It’s different when we already have some money but no clear vision. The Jorgensen Fund was given in 1984 when Walter died. The congregation couldn’t touch the principal but received the income for 35 years. There was no vision for it, except perhaps, “we’ll use the income to cover deficits in the general operating fund.” From that point of view, it was very helpful: there were tough financial years that the Jorgensen Fund helped keep the lights on. But is that God's vision?

We are currently in a process to decide the vision for the Jorgensen Fund. You’ve hopefully seen the videos part 1, part 2, and part 3 that help us know the Jorgensen’s and their faithfulness to God and God’s Church. A survey in June revealed that people’s hearts were in improving the property, reaching out (especially to youth and young adults), and savings for the future. The Congregation Council has been working on recommendations to discuss with the Congregation in November. I encourage you to participate in these on Nov 14, 21, 28 at 9:45 in the chapel and online.

As you pray for God’s guidance, consider the two part vision we chose in 2018: Deepening relationships with God and others and Developing Leaders. Our vision should guide how to use the Jorgensen fund or any fund. For example, which choices direct us towards deeper relationships? Which options help us develop leaders? Money is a tool towards a purpose not an end in itself; how does the Lord of the Harvest want us to use this tool?

The harvest is plentiful, that is, there are many people who do not know Jesus and feel harassed and helpless in the face of the maze of life (Matt 9:36). I suspect you know some of them. The Lord of the Harvest sends you—yes, you!—and this congregation so that others may know the freedom and love of God in Christ. As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m thankful to be a “field-hand” with you and pray God gives us vision not only for how to use the Jorgensen Fund but how to “harvest” during these changing days!

Thankful to harvest with you,

Pastor Peter

Being a Neighbor

Growing up, I watched Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. I didn’t understand at the time that Fred Rogers had chosen the word “neighbor” very carefully. When he said, “Welcome neighbor” and “won’t you be my neighbor?” he was referring to the Christian idea that God made us to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) someone asks Jesus, “who is my neighbor?” and Jesus tells the story which reaches its point when Jesus tells the man, “Go and do likewise.” Don’t try to decide, “Is this person my neighbor or not?” but “be a neighbor!” See the others around us not as people outside our circle of concern but as a neighbor to be loved.

     One way to describe “Sin”, the problem with humanity, is that we naturally turn away from the “other”—the person who comes from another family or tribe, thinks differently, dresses or acts in ways that we don’t understand. We consciously and subconsciously sort ourselves into groups of similarity. We form clubs, teams, party and even “neighborhoods” where we can be with people “like ourselves.” This gives us comfort and a sense of belonging. But this becomes sin because we often treat “others” as strange, suspicious, or even hostile. This is what Sin does: turns something natural and good (like caring for your family or tribe) into something that dehumanizes and destroys the “other.”

     God overcomes Sin in Christ. Christ comes as the ultimate “other,” God-in-the-flesh, who is rejected and killed on the cross. But God raised Christ in triumph over Sin and the human inclination to destroy what is different. In Christ, there is a new humanity that does not reject the “other” but sees them as neighbor and loves the one that is different.

     The Church is this group of people who are gathered around Christ, the “other” who changes us, who drives us to love the person we now see as our neighbor. There is no Church without Christ at the center, transforming people to care about others. There is no Church, then, unless it is a group of people who are different from each other but knows it is Christ that brings them together.

     In this sense, if everyone in church is like you, its not really Church. If you never have to struggle to understand where someone is coming from, if you never feel like an outsider, if you never interact with someone who thinks, looks or acts differently than you, it probably isn’t Church. If there’s no misunderstanding or disagreement, it may not be Church. It may be a club, a team, a party of similar people but it likely isn’t Church. Nowhere else in society will you find such a motley group of people, strangely and wonderfully bound together by the one they call Christ.

     The local congregation is not free of Sin, however. We are both Saints and Sinners on the road with Christ becoming new people, and along the way we still struggle with the sinful tendency to turn the church into a club or a party of people who look, think and act alike. We become impatient with difference. We subtly and overtly let “the other” know they don’t belong. Check yourself: have you every reacted in less-than-loving ways to people who are different than you? Have you ever ignored someone to talk to a person you feel more comfortable with? I have. We need to repent.

     The Good News is God forgives! God makes us new people in Christ! The world needs us to be their neighbor, to know that God is gathering all people together in Christ!

Your neighbor in Christ,

Pastor Peter

Lament for Lent

In the middle of Lent last year, we stopped meeting in-person to help slow the spread of COVID-19. We are now planning Lent this year to be streamed online. I’m disappointed. I’m frustrated. I miss seeing you. You may feel these and other emotions too.

It seems appropriate to lament. A lament is a cry to God about our situation. Psalm 22:15 expresses extreme thirst like someone waiting for surgery, “my mouth is dried up like a shard of pottery; my tongue sticks to my jaws.” Laments cry out to God for help, such as Psalm 69:1, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.” Laments like Psalm 13 even blame God: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”

We aren’t always good at lamenting together. Privately, we maybe complain to each other. Publicly, we think we need to be happy, put on a strong face, and not admit how sad we are. But sadness and disappointment are a part of life, the result of this life not being what God intended. Sin, death, and the devil—powers beyond our control—bring pain, grief, and broken relationships. Sometimes the reasons to lament will be few, but there are always reasons to lament.

And in this season of distress, we need to discover a way to lament together, to express our feelings in a healthy way. I suspect our inability to accept public sadness leads some to drink and do drugs, to party in a pandemic, and to make other reckless choices. Without lament, we nurture grievances against those we blame for robbing us of our happiness. Perhaps I’m overstating the case, but lamenting together may help us better understand one another and cope with what we’re facing.

Laments don’t save us ultimately—Jesus does. Jesus lived the lament of the Psalms in his suffering and death. The forty days of Lent and its disciplines of prayer, fasting, and giving, unite us to Jesus’ suffering and cries to God. But it is Jesus’ death and resurrection that bring us through lament into true joy.

Almost every lament in the Bible (except Psalm 88; check it out!) end with God providing healing and salvation. Read Psalms 13, 22, and 69 to see! Likewise, Jesus’ death becomes resurrection; Lent becomes Easter; a new day dawns because of God’s desire and power to make all things new.

Your companion on the journey,

Pastor Peter