Simply Grace

Sermon from Worship on August 22, 2021, Lectionary 21

Have you heard the midrash about the young Abram and his father Terah? Many thousands of years ago human civilization was beginning to develop in the fertile crescent, that is, in the area of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Some human beings were able to specialize in trades as a result of a developing economy centered on agriculture. One such man was named Terah. He had sons: Abraham, Haran, and Nahor. They lived in Ur. Terah was an artisan. He made the most beautiful statues of gods and goddesses. He worked with stone and clay. All the people knew that he was the most gifted artisan in Ur. Furthermore, the power of the deities were attested to as well. They were supposedly efficacious at receiving offerings and influencing nature. It was widely regarded that they were not merely stone objects but vivified beings; powerful deities who were alive. 

Abram was the most precocious of Terah’s sons. He would ask unusual and difficult questions of his father Terah. He wanted to know in detail how the deities worked. When did they come alive? At night? Could you see them? It was bothersome to Terah that Abram would hone in on contradictions and question the long held traditions of Ur. Occasionally Abram would wonder out loud if there was only one God. Again and again Terah would lecture Abram that he must stop with these foolish questions. Their entire livelihood depended on the fact that everyone believe and not question that the deities were real. 

Then, one day, when Abram was a teenager, something monumental happened. His father Terah asked him to watch the shoppe while he went out to run some errands. While the father was away Abraham impulsively took a hammer and began to smash to pieces all of the deities. He smashed the large ones, and the small ones. He smashed the expensive and the economical. He smashed statues and images that appeared like men, women, and animals. He smashed them all to bits except for one. He left one idol untouched. He rested the hammer in the idol’s hands and then took a seat on a stool in the corner of the shoppe, put up his feet and relaxed. A while later Terah came back to the shoppe. His eyes grew as big as an owl’s and he put his hands on his head while he squatted down on the ground and yelled at the top of his lungs: “What did you do!” He stood up turning on his heels rounding on Abram staring at him with bloodshot eyes. Abram sat slouched a little and in a soft voice and gentle eyes said, “I didn’t to anything father. That one god over there did it all.” He pointed at the statue with the hammer in its hands. “It is powerful and alive, isn’t it father?” It’s no wonder they left Ur and headed to a promised land. 

Have you ever noticed that it is kind of impossible to control people? Why is it that the harder and harder you try to tell somebody something the harder and harder they resist? 

God has told us as humans repeatedly not to worship anything other than God; and yet we keep doing it. 

“I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods. You shall not make false idols.”

Hundreds of years after Abram, Joshua gave his big speech at Shechem. Joshua reminded the people of Abram and how he led his family in leaving behind idols on the banks of the Euphrates. That was when a move from polytheism to monotheism took place. Kind of. Joshua’s speech was very inspirational. All of the tribes stood at attention and pledged that from this day forward we will leave all of the idols behind. They really meant it this time! If they quit once, they can quit again! 

Have you ever asked yourself: What’s the problem with idolatry anyway? Why is that commandment one? Are we supposed to criticize, judge and feel superior to polytheist

15 July 2021

Mary, Mother of Our Lord

I’m baaack! Vacation was awesome. Thank you for the privilege of being able to have one. But you know what? Vacation isn’t always easy. For example when you are a guy like me, and you unload all your stuff for camping to find out that the spot your friend decided to go camping is about 100 degrees in the shade, and you are the only guy with three women and eight kids. Do you know what happens to a tent in 100 degree weather. It turns into a solar oven. And I thought I got bossed around at church! You know what two words really started to bother me after a while? “We should.” Because whatever followed those words didn’t really matter, I knew it would involve me doing a bunch of grunt work. That’s when I remembered an old trick I learned in the very first parish that I served as a youth ministry. Once I tried to tell Stephanie, a parent volunteer what “we should” do. She looked at me and said, “Do you have a mouse in your pocket?”  

Have you ever felt emotionally worn down? Have you ever felt simply exhausted from listening to other people’s problems, and intervening on their behalf? If this is true for you, then you might actually be doing too much. It is possible you could actually help people more, by doing less. 

For example, a person with a problem may approach you presenting themselves as a victim needing help. Perhaps someone is being mean to them, or not giving them what they want. This person might be genuinely hurting, sad, angry, and at a loss for what to do. They may ask you to go and confront someone on their behalf. 

The problem is that when you confront someone on behalf of somebody else you may not help anybody, and might actually make things worse. Here are three reasons why.

By taking on somebody else’s problem you are not helping the victim to take responsibility for their own problem which encourages a helpless mentality and gets in the way of their ability to grow and heal. If you serve as someone’s proxy and confront the person they are having a problem with then you are actually not allowing the supposed perpetrator to really understand what happened or to make amends. When a person is confronted by a third party they automatically become defensive because it just became two against one. You might succeed at using your power or influence to manipulate the accused into some action, but it will likely be short term and not genuine until they get out from under your thumb. If someone really is in the wrong, they need to hear it from the victim directly. This will be infinitely more powerful than hearing it form a third party.  Once you are known to be a “go between,” you will likely be approached again and again by apparently helpless people and you will see your own resources of time and energy depleted. This may feed your ego, as a big time problem solver, but it will drain your soul. 

Another course of action is to accompany people who ask for our help. Accompaniment means letting people solve their own problems but being there for them to encourage and witness. Accompaniment is the power of presence without the toxicity of manipulation. Accompaniment is what Mary, the Mother of our Lord does. We can look to her as a brilliant example of how to help people in their time of need. 

For the first thirty five years of my life I did not pray to Mary, the Mother of our Lord. I was led to believe that it was unnecessary and inappropriate to do so. I thought that if I had a problem I should go directly to God in prayer asking for help. Then one day everything changed. It was the year 2016. I was serving as a pastor in Santa Ana when life became very difficult. I felt overwhelmed by the challenges that faced me. Personally our family was expanding from small to big. Professionally I felt overwhelmed by the constant need I

11 July 2021

Lectionary 15, Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

APOSTLES’ CREED

With the whole church, let us confess our faith.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.* On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Credo Apostólico

Creo en Dios Padre todopoderoso, creador del cielo y de la tierra. 

Creo en Jesucristo, su único Hijo, nuestro Señor. Fue concebido por obra del Espíritu Santo y nació de la Virgen María. Padeció bajo el poder de Poncio Pilato, fue crucificado, muerto y sepultado. Descendió a los muertos. Al tercer día resucitó subió a los cielos, y está sentado a la diestra del Padre. Volverá para juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos.

Creo el Espíritu Santo, la santa iglesia católica, la comunión de los santos, el perdón de los pecados, la resurrección del cuerpo, y la vida eterna. Amén

Lectionary 14, Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Our Father, who art in heaven [love] Hallowed be your name [faith and works]Thy kingdom come [Holy Spirit]Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven [Faith] Give us today our daily bread [thank you]Forgive our offenses as we lose those who offend us [grace]Do not let us fall into temptation [devil, world, sin] Free us from evil [body, soul, material, reputation]Because yours is the kingdom, yours is the power, and yours is the glory now and forever. Amen. [a good prayer]

One God, no idolsGod’s name is sacred use it for prayer and praiseThe sabbath is sacred, rest and worship GodHonor mother and father, parents, and children we all live longer when we care for one anotherDo not murder, do all that you can to support lifeNo adultery, there is tremendous blessing in long-term faithful and trusted relationshipsDo not steal or defraud othersDo not lie, but speak well of others when they aren’t thereDon’t envy thingsDon’t envy relationships

In case you can’t remember them all:

Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mindLove your neighbor as yourself

Joey, Roy, Harlean, Loretta, Sandy, Aurora, Fran, Ingrid T., June, Joisanne, Mark, Chris, Sergio, and Pastor 

Bible Study! Theology Thursday

Lamentations 3:22-33, Psalm 30, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark 5:21-43

Lectionary 13, 5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

June 24, 2021

Grace Lutheran Church

Once upon a time there was a person who was caught in a storm. They couldn’t leave their house even though there was a mandatory evacuation order. They prayed to God to be rescued. There was a knock on the door and it was a firefighter. She said to get in the firetruck to go to safety. The person refused and said that God would rescue them. Flood waters rose so that a boat came by. They knocked on the door too. “Get in the boat,” they said. The person refused believing that God would rescue them. The flood waters rose and the person stood on their roof. A helicopter hovered over and a man lowered down and said, “Come with me if you don’t want to die.” The person didn’t; believing that God would rescue them. Then the person drowned and went to heaven. There they said to God, “Why didn’t you rescue me?” God said, I tried three times, but you didn’t have faith in me, and that I would provide for you through others. So what’s the moral of the story? If you have faith in God, then you must take action in your life and see that God is caring for you through others. 

Once Jesus fell asleep in a boat with the disciples. A storm came and threatened to sink them all. They woke up Jesus. Jesus calmed the storm, and then reprimanded the disciples for being afraid and not having faith. Was he mad that they woke him up? I don’t think so. It is good that we go to God and ask for help. The problem is that they didn’t trust one another. They hadn’t gelled as a group and trusted one another and cared for one another in the storm. The simple fact of the matter is that if you have faith in God you must also have faith in other human beings. If you trust God, you must trust others. If you are faithful to God, you must also be faithful to other human beings. If you commit and love God you must also commit and love other human beings. That is why we are the church.

One of the best ways you can make a commitment to God and other human beings is by joining a church, and becoming a member of a church. Joining a church is scientifically proven to help you in life in practical and spiritual ways. 

Who? Any person baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is eligible to join this church. 

What? Church membership means that you come to church regularly, receive the word of God through worship and Holy Communion. Church members are asked to practice stewardship. That means giving some of your time and money to God. As a member in good standing you are entitled to vote at annual meetings, and to serve on committees and the church council if you are so called. 

Adult Confirmed Members are expected to know a few things:

The 10 commandmentsThe Lord’s PrayerThe Apostle’s CreedThe Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion

In this sermon and in the next three sermons I will be teaching about the core beliefs of what it means to be a Lutheran. We will begin with the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.

What is Baptism: It water and the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. 

What is Holy Communion: It is bread and wine and the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. For this reason we believe that communion is the body and blood of Jesus. 

Wh

13 June 2021

Lectionary 11, Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Ezequiel 17: 22-24

In Querétaro, Mexico, is the Cerro de las Campanas where the put a memorial for Maximiliano, the King of Mexico. Maximilian was a man from Austria who in 1864 began as an emperor with the help of France. There was an understanding that with Maximiliano in power, Mexico was going to pay money to France for its debts. But there was also a president in Mexico, Benito Juárez, who had the support of the United States. Coincidentally the kingdom of Maximilian existed while the United States was in a civil war, so the support of the United States was not much until the civil war ended. Maximiliano died in 1867 by execution and liberal democracy was restored in Mexico with its president Benito Juárez. This incident in history is an example of a leader being taken out of one place and being placed or planted in another place. Sometimes it works and other times it is useless. 

In the bible the cedar tree is symbolic of the kingdom of a government. And according to the prophet Ezekiel, God has a plan to take a leader out of one place, and put him in another place. The aforementioned sapling is a symbol of a king or leader moved and planted in a new place. The most important thing to remember is that apart from the changes of earthly leaders and governments it is a spiritual kingdom that is even greater than the kingdom of God. 

Jesus Christ was like a tender sapling on top of the largest and most powerful Cedar in the universe. Jesus was the son of God taken out of heaven out of time and space and planted in the shape of a cross in Jerusalem, Mount Zion 2000 years ago. His species of Cedar according to Ezekiel was designed to give home to all kinds of animals and birds. These are symbols of us human beings, with all our diversity. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a king who loves and accepts all kinds of human beings, animals, and birds. And in the Kingdom of God there is peace and justice for everyone. 

All the trees in the field will be aware that their existence is totally conditional on God. It means that all governments, states, nations, empires, companies, in the eyes of God are nothing more than trees of the field. The largest and most beautiful cedar is Jesus Christ who we find peace and justice. 

But wait for a moment please. Didn’t Jesus die on a cross as a criminal? Where is your kingdom? If we find peace and justice in the kingdom of God established by Jesus Christ, why do we still find violence and injustice in many places? Why are there so many leaders of nations who act like gods or goddesses and not humble servants of God?

We are foolish if we think that we can be sitting back and passive while a benevolent dictator is going to make the whole world cool and cool with no effort on our part. No. No. No. The apostle in 2 Corinthians 5 says that even though we cannot see the kingdom of God we have to walk and live in faith. It is easy to walk with the eyes, but it is limited to what we can see. But if we could walk by faith, we could move forward and progress and improve our lives and the world. 

Last week was the last week of school for my children. It is something special to receive and hear the grades, evaluations,

Theology Thursday Bible Study

Grace Lutheran Church

Thank you: Ingrid, June, Loretta, Mark, Sandy, and Pastor Wesley

Ezekiel 17:22-24, Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15, 2 Corinthians 5:6-17, Mark 4:26-34

10 June 2021 for Lectionary 11 the Third Sunday After Pentecost Year B, 2021

Lectionary 10, Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Adam and Eve. History and archeology can be useful to understanding the scriptures. There are two related things we know from history and archeology of the ancient Near East. 

Female deities or goddesses were worshiped and were believed to have the power of fertility and life. They were sometimes depicted holding tree branches, such as an olive branch.Snakes were also included in statues of goddesses and were revered as symbols of divine wisdom. 

The worship of goddesses in the ancient world centered around fertility and wisdom. There were other gods like “Seth” in Egypt who was the god of the desert. There is a famous carving from Egypt that shows Seth standing next to a goddess who is holding a tree branch, and another man worshiping her. This is recorded as the famous figure 129 in James Pritchard’s book, “The Ancient Near East.” In this account of things the woman is not at fault for committing a sin, nor is she even a human being. She is divine. 

The fact that these ancient artifacts existed within the same cultural milieu of ancient Hebrew people, suggests that there is more to the story of Adam and Eve than we have been led to believe. Some have claimed that the serpent in the story from Genesis was the devil. But there is at least one major problem with this interpretation. Nowhere in the story does it say that the snake is evil or the devil. It doesn’t. It does say that it was the most clever of the created things. 

What the story does make clear is the frailty, temerity, and foolishness of human beings from the very get go. Right away they stumble. Right away they fight. The symbolism of tree and snake with a man and women may have been used by God to question the reality of gods and goddesses that people held to with superstitious beliefs. 

Who told you that you were naked? God asks Adam and Eve, almost teasing them for the slowness on their part to realize their condition. The figures once revered to be gods by such powerful and noteworthy subjects as the Egyptians are now portrayed quivering and shivering in the bushes. God commands consequences to ensue. To save the relationship between Adam and Even, God punishes the snake. It gets bruised on the head, which is far worse than the also very bad condition of being bruised on the heel for Eve and the terrible pain of childbirth. Notice the centrality of birth and new life. If Adam and Eve are not to be gods then they are mortal and will die. The pain of childbirth is offset by the tremendous and ineffable gift of life!

But what of Adam. What is his punishment? He blames Eve for his actions and doesn’t seem to yield very bad consequences. This has led many a reader of the sacred scriptures to ask if there isn’t some gender bias, or patriarchy woven into the story. One professor of mine in seminary went so far as to say that the superiority of the Hebrew God is elevated in Genesis over ancient near eastern gods at the expense or on the back of Eve. 

Feminist theologians have argued that maybe we’ve had the story wrong all along. What if Eve made history? She was the civilizing force that lifted the first primate into a higher state of consciousness! If it wasn’t for Eve eating th