This week’s Gospel texts feature two hot button topics: Divorce and Children. Being a child of divorce, Pastor Stephanie knows that discussions of marriage & divorce can be messy! Today she is encouraging us to view Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees not as a condemnation of any & all divorce but rather as a condemnation of those times when people misuse power to exclude someone else. In the Kingdom of God there is room for ALL at the table! Jesus further demonstrates this vision when he says the kingdom belongs to the ones who are like children, the ones without power in society. The good news is those on the margins, those without power, those who have been turned away, those who have fallen short, those who are doubting their worth, the widow, the orphan, me and you, ALL have a place in the Kingdom of God, without reservations!

This week we welcome Jerry Sparby to share his Story of Resonance. Being an educator, God's Story resonates with Jerry in the stories of families and especially in children experiencing isolation & depression. Jerry knows the value that God sees in every child and that reminds him to treasure each person he encounters no matter the circumstances they are in. Through his nonprofit, the Yes Network, Jerry strives to connect students with a purpose in their community to show them their worth and their connections. Jerry's goal for every day is: to see & feel God's presence in each and every one he meets! It is our hope that part of Jerry's story will resonate with you and draw you closer to God's story that is at the center of it all.

Working with kids is sometimes compared to herding cats. So why does Jesus want his followers to be more like a child? The disciples were busy fighting amongst themselves about who was the greatest because they didn’t really understand what Jesus was talking about when he told them to take up their cross and follow. Being among the lowest rank in society Jesus uses a child as an example of who his followers are called to welcome and serve. Even when children are more precocious than precious they need our help to grow into their full potential. Even as adults we sometimes don’t live up to our potential, throw tantrums, and hurt the ones we love. And the Good News is that God welcomes, serves, and loves us even when we are being the most “unherdable” children.

Sometimes in life we come up against deep questions that cause us to stop and think. Pastor Chad relates a question asked by a son of his father "Why did you choose to have me knowing that I was going to die someday?" How do you answer a question like that! How do you answer Jesus' question of his Disciples "Who do you say that I am?" For Pastor Chad it comes back to our theme for the coming year: Resonance. The best answer is the one that finds resonance with your story. For the father, it is the indescribable bond he found from the moment his son was born. For the disciples, it was Jesus is the Messiah; but did that really resonate with them after Jesus describes the path the Messiah and his followers must take? For Pastor Chad, the God Story that deeply resonates with him is the way the Hebrew notation for God reminds him that God's name is resonating all around him.

As humans we like to contain things, to set boundaries on things (and people), to create barriers between us & things that are different. In the Gospel today, Jesus comes up against a barrier meant to protect the Jewish people from outsiders. At first, he is hesitant to cross the boundary that separates him from a Gentile woman asking for healing of her daughter. The woman's persistence and willingness to risk crossing the barrier to help her daughter, causes Jesus to rethink this boundary. The Gentile girl is healed, and Jesus shows God's love and mercy cannot be contained. When Jesus crosses boundaries and no longer fits the container the leaders have for him, he is seen as a dangerous outsider and it leads to his death. The Good News we hear today is that God’s love cannot be contained and God calls us to break through the barriers of our own making in order to share that boundless love with all our neighbors!

Society has plenty of rules & expectations. Today's preaching texts address what makes us unclean. The religious leaders think that because the disciples eat without washing their hands in the proper ritual manner they are defiled. Jesus corrects them noting that it is not what goes into our body but what comes out of a person that makes them unclean. It is our words and actions that come from our heart that are important to God. And the really Good News is even when our words and actions don't meet God's expectations we are still wholly loved by God for who we are just as we are! We are washed clean in the waters of Baptism and are named Child of God, an identity that can never be defiled!

Have you found yourself walking away lately? Walking away from friends? From family? From activities? From church? From God? In the Gospel text for this week the followers of Jesus walk away. They can't understand what Jesus is talking about when he says "I am the Bread of Life" and that for eternal life we must drink his blood and eat his flesh! It's hard for us to understand too. They also leave because Jesus is not meeting their expectations for a powerful leader that will free them from the Roman occupation. Sometimes Jesus doesn't meet our expectations and we walk away. But the Good News today is that God is NEVER Walking Away!

Pastor Stephanie Christoffels preaches on the next section of "The Bread of Life" texts from the Gospel of John. What makes Communion a Sacrament? How do the earthly elements of Bread & Wine combine with the divine promise of God's presence bring about eternal life? The simplicity of this sacrament serves as a reminder that we are all welcome to experience the love of God first hand, we all have a place at The Lord's Table! Questions to consider this week: How do you experience God, forgiveness, the promise of eternal life, and being a part of the body of Christ with each of your five senses? How does it look? How does it taste? How does it feel? How does it sound? How does it smell? Think about what Holy Communion means to you, and how you felt the last time you received it.

Pastor Chad Peterson preaches on the next section of "The Bread of Life" texts from the Gospel of John. Pastor Chad works from a quote by Elisabeth Kubler Ross claiming there are only two emotions Love and Fear. They can not coexist and when we ingest the Bread of Life that is Jesus way of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and compassion we are living in Love. Too often we find ourselves trying to live our lives from a base of Fear that is the opposite of what God intends for us and for all Creation. Learning to recognize our Fear based choices and rather choose Love will help us find the true sustenance that has come down from heaven!  Questions to Consider This Week:  Right now what is giving you life and energy and what is draining your life and energy? How does fear impact your ability to live the life God dreams for creation?

These are the podcasts available from Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Saint Cloud, MN