Facing Idols

The prophet Daniel was probably a teenager when he was taken from his home in Jerusalem to Babylon, about 400 years before Jesus was born. Babylonian leaders saw that Daniel was a gifted young man, and sent him and some other young Jews to school to become leaders in the government. This meant going to school, being trained, and working with people who worshipped other gods. When they ate a meal, some of the food was sacrificed to a god like Marduk. When they started the day at school, they prayed to gods like Tiamat for blessing. As a part of their job, they were asked to bow to the king as a god! They lived with idols and idolatry all around them, while trusting only the one true God’s promises and responding in prayer, worship, and service. (Read Daniel chapters 1-6 for the full story.)

But there was also the idolatry inside: the pressure they felt to be comfortable. It would have been easier to eat the food sacrificed to Marduk. It would have tasted better too! They likely felt frustrated and anger that people wouldn’t just let them worship their God—and the temptation was to be disrespectful and lash out in anger. Plus, self-righteousness always lurks inside: the feeling that it was up to them to save themselves instead of trusting God and following God’s direction. Comfort, anger, and self-righteousness were idols hidden in their hearts.

Our idols are even more seductive because they don’t look like idols. We aren’t asked to sacrifice to Marduk before every meal or pray to Tiamat for guidance. Money, possessions, social media, political parties, ideologies, alcohol, drugs, sexual and all kinds of pleasurable activities can all be idols that we “bend the knee” with our time and energy, trusting them to save and guide us more than God. They are seductive because they do offer some power, security, and pleasure. They may be good and helpful until they become idols that we can’t live without.

When something becomes an idol, it is ultimately destructive to self and others because they cannot save or guide us out of the mess humanity is in. Once we start to turn to an idol, it is never enough. Idols say, “if there’s only a little bit more money” or “you can’t live without the drugs” or “if our party was more pure,” but they always demand more a little at a time until they consume our attention, our time, our energy, and our relationships.

Jesus didn’t remove the idols; they are still inside and out. He exposed them as frauds, he died because humans are willing to kill for them, and he was raised to show us that the One True God is the only one worthy of our highest love and trust. He gives us the power like Daniel to resist them even while we live with them.

I suggest that one of the crucial jobs of the Church is to expose the idols inside us and outside us and to point to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Weekly worship, Bible study, prayer, and Christian conversation are all ways that God helps strengthen us against the pressure to submit to the idolatry inside and out. Idols always look so powerful and comforting up close; together in the Holy Spirit we see them as a sham, like the statue of the King of Babylon that Daniel and his friends were commanded to worship. God gave them strength and protection to resist. How much more in Christ are we strengthened to resist the idols we face!

Facing our idols together with Christ,

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