Sunday, August 25, 2019
THOU art LOOSED!
In this story about Jesus healing the bent woman, our place in the story is where Jesus addresses the the woman herself. There is a blatant Jordan B. Peterson quote in the sermon and I didn't give him credit, but I'm doing so here. Click HERE to listen.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
There is more than one way to have our sin cling to us...
And when we won't set it down, it keeps our focus in the wrong direction.
Click HERE to listen.
Click HERE to listen.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Churchwide assembly says we have a Patriarchy problem
Most likely to die in a workplace accident? Men.
Most likely to suffer substance abuse? Men.
Most likely to be victim of a violent crime? Men.
Most like to be incarcerated? Men.
Lower life expectancy? Men.
Most likely to drop out of school? Men.
Most likely to commit suicide? Men.
Most homeless? Men.
Most likely to die in war? Men.
Fellas, if this is a patriarchy, we stink at it.
Most likely to suffer substance abuse? Men.
Most likely to be victim of a violent crime? Men.
Most like to be incarcerated? Men.
Lower life expectancy? Men.
Most likely to drop out of school? Men.
Most likely to commit suicide? Men.
Most homeless? Men.
Most likely to die in war? Men.
Fellas, if this is a patriarchy, we stink at it.
Monday, August 12, 2019
Maybe I was wrong
**Updated to correct typos**
If you read my blogpost titled "Pffft", you know that I said the ELCA CWA decision to declare itself "a sanctuary church body" was basically an exercise in puffery. In our church's polity, no congregation is bound by one of these statements (called "memorials"). And without binding authority, it basically just ends up being an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back for being the right sort of Christian.
But that was before FoxNews chimed in.
Now, a little background. A parishioner had come up to me in the narthex Sunday morning. I wasn't aware of the FoxNews piece, and I do not know if he was. But he was upset by the decision. I reiterated my position saying it means "nothing". He responded, "oh, it means EVERYTHING." Now he didn't convince me that it was EVERYTHING, but I certainly was convicted. It didn't mean NOTHING. It meant something.
On Sunday morning, a FoxNews panel chided the ELCA for its decision to declare itself a "a sanctuary church body". The panel was one sided, no one from the ELCA was represented, there was obviously no understanding of ELCA polity and there were often points that were just wrong. I'm not going to offer all the correction. That's not the point. But I wondered, since when does FoxNews give a hoot about the ELCA?
By yesterday evening, I was seeing posts circulated by earnest pastors trying to explain what this all meant. That Lutherans have a long history with refugees. Etc. Etc. Etc. By this afternoon, I saw a local colleague had done the same to his congregation and posted it on Facebook. In it, he makes very reasoned arguments in a warm pastoral tone and goes through the memorial line by line. But why was he having to do it at all?
And then the SOMETHING came to be realized. It's no surprise to anyone that the illegal immigration debate looms large in the USA. I don't have to go down the list of recent stories that are related to immigration. But, of course, one of the stories is the ongoing resistance of entire cities to assist ICE in the enforcement of immigration law. These cities are known as sanctuary cities. By now you are thinking "Lance, didn't you notice that?" And, of course, I did. But that is not the something. The SOMETHING is that the ELCA had come together on one of the most highly charged national debates and in those three words "sanctuary church body" declared "THIS is the side we are on!" No nuance. No calls for seeing both sides to an issue. No respect for varying opinions out in the congregation. Just BOOM.
Gosh. Even in the days of the sexuality debates of 2009, the church presented all the sides and said, "okay, yes, we have many differences on these issues, but they don't have to be church dividing." (they were, of course, and the body count from that decision was enormous) Nevertheless, that was decade ago, nuance mattered. Apparently it doesn't any longer. For the progressive ELCA being "woke" matters. Being on the "right side of history" matters.
I keep wondering what it must be like to be Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. She was re-elected for another 6 year term on the first ballot. That almost never happens. She seems even-keeled, kind of nerdy and certainly not interested in the church as cultural warrior. Even her first election seemed to promise a calmer ELCA, an ELCA less interested in devouring its own tail. Six short years later and she has her little church body is getting ravaged on FoxNews. It's not a job I would want. She's going to hear it, too. There's a lot of Trump supporters in those Lutheran heavy states that won him the election. They are going to be heard. But wokeness has a terrible side effect, it makes you deaf.
If you read my blogpost titled "Pffft", you know that I said the ELCA CWA decision to declare itself "a sanctuary church body" was basically an exercise in puffery. In our church's polity, no congregation is bound by one of these statements (called "memorials"). And without binding authority, it basically just ends up being an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back for being the right sort of Christian.
But that was before FoxNews chimed in.
Now, a little background. A parishioner had come up to me in the narthex Sunday morning. I wasn't aware of the FoxNews piece, and I do not know if he was. But he was upset by the decision. I reiterated my position saying it means "nothing". He responded, "oh, it means EVERYTHING." Now he didn't convince me that it was EVERYTHING, but I certainly was convicted. It didn't mean NOTHING. It meant something.
On Sunday morning, a FoxNews panel chided the ELCA for its decision to declare itself a "a sanctuary church body". The panel was one sided, no one from the ELCA was represented, there was obviously no understanding of ELCA polity and there were often points that were just wrong. I'm not going to offer all the correction. That's not the point. But I wondered, since when does FoxNews give a hoot about the ELCA?
By yesterday evening, I was seeing posts circulated by earnest pastors trying to explain what this all meant. That Lutherans have a long history with refugees. Etc. Etc. Etc. By this afternoon, I saw a local colleague had done the same to his congregation and posted it on Facebook. In it, he makes very reasoned arguments in a warm pastoral tone and goes through the memorial line by line. But why was he having to do it at all?
And then the SOMETHING came to be realized. It's no surprise to anyone that the illegal immigration debate looms large in the USA. I don't have to go down the list of recent stories that are related to immigration. But, of course, one of the stories is the ongoing resistance of entire cities to assist ICE in the enforcement of immigration law. These cities are known as sanctuary cities. By now you are thinking "Lance, didn't you notice that?" And, of course, I did. But that is not the something. The SOMETHING is that the ELCA had come together on one of the most highly charged national debates and in those three words "sanctuary church body" declared "THIS is the side we are on!" No nuance. No calls for seeing both sides to an issue. No respect for varying opinions out in the congregation. Just BOOM.
Gosh. Even in the days of the sexuality debates of 2009, the church presented all the sides and said, "okay, yes, we have many differences on these issues, but they don't have to be church dividing." (they were, of course, and the body count from that decision was enormous) Nevertheless, that was decade ago, nuance mattered. Apparently it doesn't any longer. For the progressive ELCA being "woke" matters. Being on the "right side of history" matters.
I keep wondering what it must be like to be Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. She was re-elected for another 6 year term on the first ballot. That almost never happens. She seems even-keeled, kind of nerdy and certainly not interested in the church as cultural warrior. Even her first election seemed to promise a calmer ELCA, an ELCA less interested in devouring its own tail. Six short years later and she has her little church body is getting ravaged on FoxNews. It's not a job I would want. She's going to hear it, too. There's a lot of Trump supporters in those Lutheran heavy states that won him the election. They are going to be heard. But wokeness has a terrible side effect, it makes you deaf.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Pffft!
If you listened to last Sunday's sermon on Ecclesiastes 1 ("Vanity of Vanities. All is Vanity"), first of all, thank you. I listened too. I thought I had some good points, but sounded more disjointed to me that I thought. I'd like to have another shot at it. But secondly, you will recall that the word that gets translated into "vanity" is the Hebrew word "abel". Other translations have used words like "meaningless" (NIV), "useless" (GNT), "futile" (NET). Because the word is related to the idea of breath, I choose to translate it as "pffft".
Our ELCA Churchwide Assembly is meeting this week and the press release for August 7 came out with a pretty shocking headline--"ELCA Churchwide Assembly declares ELCA sanctuary denomination". What's that mean!?! (if you can't tell from the previous paragraph, the answer is going to be pffft.)
Sanctuary is a biblical idea. In Numbers 35, we read:
Declaring itself a "sanctuary church" draws up images of an immigrant family seeking refuge at an ELCA congregation as a brave alb-clad pastor stands at the door with the procession cross shouting out to ICE agents "YOU SHALL NOT PASS".
So this is the first paragraph of the press release:
Lutherans have a tradition of helping refugees. I support those agencies. I urge my church members to support those agencies. They do good and Godly work. Had the memorial commended these services in their ministry, I'd not be here ranting. But this "key action" is frustratingly pffft.
All the more frustrating because after that paragraph in the press release there was more news to be discussed from the day. (Yes, the key and history-making action got all of three sentences) In the other news, the retiring Secretary of the ELCA, the Rev. Chris Boerger was quoted saying "'We still have 3.4 million members,' he said. 'We are not an insignificant church.'" I'm sorry, Pastor Boerger, but as the adage goes "when you have to tell someone you are the boss, you are not the boss." I've said before and I'll say again--since its formation, the ELCA has only grown smaller, older, poorer and whiter. And I mean no offense to the small, old, poor and white readers. Of Catholics, Evangelicals, and Mainline denominations, it is the mainline decreasing the fastest. And, of the mainline, we are one of the front runners of decline.
Like the dog of Proverbs 26:11, we just seem to be unable to resist the temptation to gather together, make nonsense statements, and act as if it matters.
Pffft.
Our ELCA Churchwide Assembly is meeting this week and the press release for August 7 came out with a pretty shocking headline--"ELCA Churchwide Assembly declares ELCA sanctuary denomination". What's that mean!?! (if you can't tell from the previous paragraph, the answer is going to be pffft.)
Sanctuary is a biblical idea. In Numbers 35, we read:
When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly. These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.In a land where the standard rule was "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth", being guilty of accidental manslaughter was a tricky concern, and this provision seems to suggest that there was no sense in having two families fatherless over an accident. Get to one of the specified cities and get something worked out.
Declaring itself a "sanctuary church" draws up images of an immigrant family seeking refuge at an ELCA congregation as a brave alb-clad pastor stands at the door with the procession cross shouting out to ICE agents "YOU SHALL NOT PASS".
So this is the first paragraph of the press release:
In a key action this afternoon, the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to approve a memorial that declares the ELCA a sanctuary church. This is the first North American denomination to declare itself a sanctuary church body. As a sanctuary church the ELCA is committed to serving and supporting migrant children and families in communities across the country.
First of all, it's a little confusing. We are one headline and three sentences in and we've called ourselves a sanctuary denomination, a sanctuary church, and a sanctuary church body. For those of you who do not understand when someone accuses the ELCA of too much jargon, this is exactly what they mean. (click here for a hilarious send-up of ELCA jargon from 2009)
You would think for a "key action" and the bold step of being the first North American denomination to declare itself a sanctuary denomination/church/church body there were be something a little bit more meaty than being "committed to serving and supporting migrant children and families in communities across the country". Any hows? Any direction? Any finances committed? Pffft.
Religion News Services reported that there was also a march including 570 assembly members from the convention center to the Milwaukee ICE office where they taped 9.5 theses onto the office door. (9.5...see what they did there!??? Get it?!?)
You would think for a "key action" and the bold step of being the first North American denomination to declare itself a sanctuary denomination/church/church body there were be something a little bit more meaty than being "committed to serving and supporting migrant children and families in communities across the country". Any hows? Any direction? Any finances committed? Pffft.
Religion News Services reported that there was also a march including 570 assembly members from the convention center to the Milwaukee ICE office where they taped 9.5 theses onto the office door. (9.5...see what they did there!??? Get it?!?)
 |
| Every bit as dramatic as this, but with a tape dispenser |
Lutherans have a tradition of helping refugees. I support those agencies. I urge my church members to support those agencies. They do good and Godly work. Had the memorial commended these services in their ministry, I'd not be here ranting. But this "key action" is frustratingly pffft.
All the more frustrating because after that paragraph in the press release there was more news to be discussed from the day. (Yes, the key and history-making action got all of three sentences) In the other news, the retiring Secretary of the ELCA, the Rev. Chris Boerger was quoted saying "'We still have 3.4 million members,' he said. 'We are not an insignificant church.'" I'm sorry, Pastor Boerger, but as the adage goes "when you have to tell someone you are the boss, you are not the boss." I've said before and I'll say again--since its formation, the ELCA has only grown smaller, older, poorer and whiter. And I mean no offense to the small, old, poor and white readers. Of Catholics, Evangelicals, and Mainline denominations, it is the mainline decreasing the fastest. And, of the mainline, we are one of the front runners of decline.
Like the dog of Proverbs 26:11, we just seem to be unable to resist the temptation to gather together, make nonsense statements, and act as if it matters.
Pffft.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Money to burn
Why always talking about money? uh, I guess because the Bible does. Click here to listen
Friday, August 2, 2019
Everyone Dumps on Martha
I'll be honest. This sermon was two weeks ago and I scarcely recall it. Not my best effort, but maybe you can find some Good News in it. Click here to listen.
The Lord's Prayer
Sometimes you get in the pulpit and you say a little prayer "Holy Spirit, I'm going to need your help." And it happens! Click here to listen
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