July 1, 2018. Pastor Stephanie preaches on the raising of Jairus' daughter from Mark 5 and the healing power of Jesus' touch. *** Transcript *** Thinking about the scripture reading that I had for today, I was saying that if we read carefully this chapter 5 of Mark and see the power of these stories, a story within a story, we can't miss the feeling of desperation that comes, can we? The desperate need that people have for the healing touch of Jesus. And not only by one person in this story, but two people. Two people from distinctively different stations in life and circumstances, but bound together in this story of people who are desperate for help from Jesus. The first one described for us is a man who is a leader of the local synagogue. That alone tells us a few things. This is a person with respect and authority within the local community. He has visibility. He is named. His name is Jairus. That much we know, and of course that he has a daughter who is at the point of death, because he tells Jesus repeatedly. What we aren't told explicitly, but can surmise, is that as a leader of the synagogue he has undoubtedly heard things about this rabbi Jesus that made him uneasy. But here's the thing: none of that seems to matter right now. He has also heard that Jesus has a healing touch and his little girl is dying. This isn't the time for theological debates. If there is a chance, any chance at all, that having Jesus come to his house could save his daughter's life -- well, that is what he wants most earnestly. So he dispenses with any sense of how a leader of the synagogue should comport himself and he literally falls at the feet of Jesus. This act alone shows his desperation, to appeal to Jesus, to have mercy on him, and to come with him immediately. His daughter's life is at stake and he cares of nothing else at the moment. He doesn't even have an eloquent, persuasive speech prepared. All he can do as he is laying at the feet of Jesus is to say repeatedly, in the emotion of the moment, that his daughter is dying. Not just sickly, but dying. "Please Jesus, lay your hands on her, that she may be made well and live." We are told that Jesus and a large crowd followed Jairus toward his home. Next we meet a second person who is desperate also for the help of Jesus. She, however, is an unnamed woman who does not dare to ask Jesus for anything. She is unclean, and is very used to this designation in her community, since she has been bleeding for twelve very long years. It is so much a part of her identity that she dares not even suggest that Jesus might lay his healing hands on her. Instead, she tells herself that if she could only touch the hem of his garment, she might, just might, receive that for which she so desperately longs. Relief. Wholeness. Wellness. Reprieve from the pain and misery of her condition. Perhaps a chance to be seen again as a real person, rather than someone to be shunned. So she reaches out to touch the clothes of Jesus and immediately senses his healing power coursing through her body. Two people from very different circumstances, bound together in Mark's account by their desperate desire for the healing touch of Jesus to affect their lives. There is something about the desperate need to be touched in loving and kind ways that is universal. The right kinds of human touch, it is well known, can provide physical relief from pain, as well as healing. In fact, touch is so essential to wellbeing that, without it, something within human beings withers up. I was reading this week about the power of touch and came upon an account of the Romanian dictator Ceausescu's inhumane orphanages of the 1980s. Children were given food and other basics needed for survival, but they were deprived of something all human beings need in order to be fully human: comforting hugs from another human being, contact like hand-holding, embracing, goodnight kisses. When the children of that orphanage were finally released, their conditions

October 20, 2019. The message today is on Luke 18:1-8, the Parable of the Unjust Judge. Pastor Tom Schoenherr tells us that we should not lose heart or give up on God, but that we should continue to believe the promise. *** Transcript *** Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Before beginning, I want to say I am not colorblind and I did not wake up this morning just bleary thinking I picked up the wrong stole. This is blue. It is the Advent stole, the Advent color. But the focus of the gospel is on hope. And more and more, we need hope in our world and in our lives. And so the Advent theme being hope, I know it just looks strange to see it in relation to the green of this season, but think not necessarily that we're into the wrong season, but it's hope that's our focus. Grace to you. Peace. On Thursday night, my wife and I joined with a group of a hundred and fifty other people to pack food for Feed My Starving Children. During that whole time, Wednesday night through Sunday today, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, they're going to pack nearly a million meals. On Wednesday night, they finished packing five million meals over a thirteen year period. Every time, at the end of one of those sessions, we pray over all of those meals that are going to be sent. We pray in the face of hunger, and still there is hunger in the world. My wife and I have good friends who want to have a resolution in court for their daughter. It's been going on for three years. They and we keep praying for a miracle, and yet it hasn't happened. And still the problem is going on, and it seems like lawyers and judges and even God are not listening. And that's the way it is sometimes with prayer for us, isn't it? It just seems as though God isn't there, or isn't listening. My wife and I have a list at our kitchen table of all of those people who are loved ones, friends, family for whom we are praying. We keep praying for a miracle. And yet also we wonder when will God show up and do for these people like we are praying for them. And it's difficult. It's so hard because we want so much for them to be healed. And yet it doesn't seem like things change sometimes. We pray for this person that they might be delivered from their disease. We pray for this person that they might be delivered and comforted in their time of grief. We pray for family that they might be connected to God's love for them in the midst of the process that they're going through of grieving. And yet it seems like things go on and problems continue, even though we've prayed. And I wonder if what God is saying to us is that prayer is not a matter of just asking for things, but that prayer has to do with connecting with God's will and God's way of compassion and care. And that we are changed in the process of praying, that we are opened more and more to what God has intended for us and for his world. This widow comes continually wanting to have a resolution of her problem and she doesn't seem to get any response. She comes without anyone standing by her. As Katie mentioned, she doesn't have a husband. She doesn't have another person who's going to come with her and stand there in the court with her. She is alone and she is unfortunately more easily ignored. So she keeps coming and finally, as she does, this unjust judge grants her what she wants, because she's going to give him a black eye. That's what he's concerned about. He's more concerned about his own reputation than he is about what's going on with her. And so in order to prevent her from giving him a black eye in the public eye, he gives her what she wants. I think it's one of those places where Jesus is really wanting us to laugh. It's that sense of humor that Jesus is showing us this woman who, as Katie said, doesn't have much to offer, is pummeling this judge because he doesn't do his job. And it sets up a way in which Jesus is also pointing out that the whole justice system seems to be

June 24, 2018. Have you ever had any fearful experiences on the water? Pastor Stephanie preaches today on the story of Jesus calming the storm. She reminds us that there is no storm that we face, personally or as a community of faith or in any other realm, where we are actually alone. *** Transcript *** I'd like you to say a brief prayer with me, please. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be acceptable in your sight, O God. Amen. I introduced myself a bit last week, and I know that every week I'm going to need to do a little bit of that. I probably won't do that so much from the pulpit today, but I do look forward to meeting each and every one of you. My name is Pastor Stephanie Doeschot, as a you've probably read about somewhere or heard, and I'm looking forward to spending this time with you as your interim pastor, and look forward to what God will do in and through this congregation, and as we work together in partnership to ascertain where God is taking this congregation, and to just be still and be the people of God in the meantime as we continue on loving God and loving one another. I have a question for you, much like I did for the children: have any of you ever had any fearful experiences, this time on the water? Well, bodies of water can be so beautiful and inviting, but then there are times when they are mighty forces to be reckoned with. Several years ago, my husband and I were on a pastoral sabbatical concluding with a lovely week at a beach cottage south of Monterey, California. If you've been there, I need say no more. That is one of God's finest designs over there. The Pacific rolls in and there's so much beauty to enjoy, and it's very peaceful and wonderful. Well, it was peaceful until we decided that we would like to try our hand at sea kayaking, which had been highly recommended to us. We made an appointment for the last day of our stay there. It was the only one still available. This was about three weeks after Labor Day. The season was winding down at the rental shop and to have guys go out with you. So we showed up on that Friday morning only to find out that the guide who was to take us on this adventure had not shown up for work. This was our last day. We were flying home the next day and we were determined to take advantage of this opportunity. The manager of the store had to stay nearby to rent out the kayaks, but he told us with a short tutorial by him that we should be fine. And we fell for it. Well, it was not without difficulty and several attempts, that we did make our way through the first line of the waves that break into the shore, and I assure you on the Pacific Ocean those are no small force to be reckoned with either. My husband made it a little better than I did. But you had to put your kayak perpendicular, heading straight out into the water to break through the waves, and I had a couple of times I have to admit that the waves had the better of me and I would be flipped over. And I would have to get myself up and get the thing readied again, and stand and try to push out, and make it through about four or five layers of these breakers. Well, we eventually got to do that, and then we were delighted to enjoy a long stretch of peaceful water where the harbor seals would playfully pop their heads up and make their little sounds and look at us, and then they'd pop down to swim. It was idyllic. But the instructor had told us that what we really wanted to do was to go out further, where the kelp beds lie and where we would see more wildlife. He said we would know we were there when the water turned green all around us. And he was right. What he did not tell us was that when we would get out that far, we would also be likely to be caught up in swells that were for the first twenty seconds rather fun. But after that, sheer terror set in. I know for me much of that was in my head. As I said, I'd already overturned two to three times near the shore when the s

June 17, 2018. Today we welcome our interim pastor, Pastor Stephanie. She talks about her work with the Bridge ministry, relationships that have been made, and the idea of planting a seed that will grow into a great plant that provides sustenance for all. *** Transcript *** Well, I've already confounded some of you by what you should call me. So let's just make it clear: you can call me pastor Stephanie. Or Stephanie. But some of you say you have to use the word "pastor," so we'll go with your comfort level. But don't worry about my last name. It's very difficult. It's Dutch, with some German and French Huguenots influence in it. So it's kind of an amalgamation of many ethnicities. It took me a while to learn how to spell it too, since I took that from my husband's side of the family. It's really a pleasure to be with you this morning, and I know it's warm for many of you so we'll keep our our words succinct and celebrate together. I feel like I need to give a little bit of an introduction, since I'm going to be here for a while, beyond what I just already said, and that is that I just want to let you know that I really am looking forward to getting acquainted with you. I see some familiar names already, faces from places that I've been before with you. But I look forward to how we can serve God together in these coming months, as Christ Lutheran continues to live out the call of God to witness to the grace of God, made known through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When I was asked to consider joining you as resident pastoral interim minister -- that's kind of the official term, but whatever, interim pastor's fine -- I was immediately interested because of my previous experiences with this congregation. You will be hearing more of them, I assure you, in future sermons. But be assured these interactions have been positive. So I readily engaged in that conversation when invited. The key connection that I have had with Christ Lutheran has been through the ministry of the Bridge, which is a joint ministry of the ELCA and the denomination to which I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament, already alluded, to the RCA or the Reformed Church in America. There will be more on that at another time. But the reason I can be here with you is that we are Formula of Agreement partners, as I said, and therefore we can be involved in joint ministries as brothers and sisters in Christ around one table. Some of you have already connected the dots or recognized my face as being one of the people who has participated in the Lady Gray Beads holiday boutique that you hold each fall at the Arden Mead Center, raising money for missions. I have come bringing a variety of fair trade items from the Bridge, based in New Town, and I have had the pleasure of meeting several of you there. As you have purchased fairly traded socks or children's sweaters or wooden carved puzzles, you have enabled artisans and farmers to have the dignity of providing food, shelter, education, and more for their families and places where they would not have had that opportunity otherwise. Thank you for your participation in furthering that mission. I mentioned this today because the ministry of the Bridge has relevance as I thought about how today's gospel lesson is experienced in our lives. First some background. Ten years ago, three ELCA churches in St. Charles County -- Living Lord; Christ the King; and Hope, and one RCA Church, Christ's Church (which I have served in St. Charles County) started with a small dream. We wanted to plant a ministry that could build bridges among our churches and engage people who had not been part of any church, in participating in a ministry for the common good. So we chose to start with a small fair trade store in a new development called New Town, and from there a coffee house, and a faith community has developed. I got to thinking about what God has done through this ministry more intentionally, because June 8th of this year marke

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 remember 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

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, ho

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

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 chu

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

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]