Bungee Cord 2-27-12

Hello,

     I am watching my beloved Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, and for the first time in 9 games, they are actually ahead at half time!  You may not care, but it has not been a happy winter for us who root for the Illini.  They have lost 8 of their last 9 games…..ugh!

    After starting out as a team to beat, they have now become a team that is easily beaten.  As you might expect, there has been a mounting call to fire their coach, Bruce Webber.  I’ve always liked Coach Webber.  He’s always seemed to have a positive attitude toward his players, and has generally done a good job in getting the most out of his players…..he also happens to be a Lutheran.  But this year things have fallen apart, and the blame has fallen on his shoulders.  In the eyes of many, he has failed…he is a loser…he is not wanted anymore.  His tenure as coach may soon be over, and all because he isn’t winning.

     It isn’t only college basketball coaches who are wanted when they are winning, and not wanted when they are losing.  It happens every day.  We live in a world that loves winners, and tends to get rid of losers.  Your employer loves you if you are exceeding your expectations, but isn’t so loving if you have not met your quotas month after month.  The phone rings off the hook for dates for those in high school who are cute and popular, but put on too much weight or make a big mistake and the phone turns silent.  Even little kids learn that if you are smart, things go better for you, but if you are “dumb” life is hard.  We live in a world that loves winners and welcomes winners, but is not so loving or welcoming to losers.

     So where do you go if you are a “looser”?

     Where do you go if you have no friends because you have cheated everyone around you to get ahead (like Zacchaeaus)?  Where are you welcomed if you are a failure as a spouse and have failed at marriage over and over again (like the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well)?  Where do you go if you have made a fool of yourself and the whispers of the community blare in your ears (like the prodigal son)?  Where are you wanted if you just don’t seem to be able to temper your desires (like the man who crazily prowled the graveyard)?  Where will you find open arms if you are not a winner, but a loser?

     Well, the world may not want you, but Jesus does.  If you are a loser, come to church.  From the very beginning, Jesus welcomed people who the world thought were losers: prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, habitual sinners, thieves, criminals, and outcasts of every kind.  The church….the church that Jesus created is not a hotel for the holy to haughtingly hang out, it is a hospital for the hurting to be healed in order to head back out into the world whole. 

     A wise man that was a member of one of my congregations was telling me of the failures of his life, and he said that he learned that if you scratch beneath the surface of any one’s life, there’s a river full of failures, a river that flows to the heart of Jesus.  Looking at the people that Jesus gathered around him, that certainly is true.  Often church signs say, “Visitors Welcome”, and so visitors are.  But a clearer message to all those who go by a church would be “Losers Welcome”, for that is the deepest connecting truth for those who walk in the church’s doors.  So, where do you go if you’re a loser?  Come to church….you’ll be welcome there.   Even if you are Bruce Webber.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace,

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Bungee Cord 2-20-12

Hello,

     How many employees of a hardware store does it take to free a log splitter from it’s chains?

     Five.

     If you read the Bungee Cord last week you may remember that I told you about an emergency generator that we purchased.  Well, on the day that we purchased the generator, we also purchased a log splitter.  Sitting amid a large stand of trees, some of which fall down every year, and having a fireplace to cut the chill we burn quite a bit of wood.  Cutting up the trees and hauling the logs around is a good workout, leaving a much too sedentary 50+ year old like me with sore muscles for the next day or so.  I have tried splitting the logs by hand only to find out that it far exceeds the level of work that I aspire to.  So, driven by a combination of waning strength and aging laziness, we decided that we should invest in a log splitter.

     If you have never seen one of these devices, what they amount to is a large wedge that is hydraulically driven into the log so that the log splits apart as it pushes its way through.  Sometimes the force of the wedge snaps the log apart, and other times it sort of creeks the log apart like a slowly opening door.  But  either way, it does so with wondrously little human effort.  All a person needs to do is place the log on the splitter and pull the lever. 

     Anyway, after we brought both the generator and the log splitter home, we discovered that we could not get the log splitter started.  We pulled and pulled and the engine just would not start, rendering us weary from pulling and the log splitter of no use.  So, we called the hardware store from which we had purchased it, and they said, “Ok.  We have another one here.  Just bring it back and we will give you the other one.”  

     On Saturday, we hitched the log splitter to the back of my pick up and wheeled in into the store to get our replacement.  True to their word, they did the paperwork and said, “Just wait here, I’ll  get someone to get you the log splitter.”  Soon a middle aged man and a hefty young man appeared….but no log splitter.  When they saw the curious look on our faces, they said, “Follow us.  It’s outside.”  And sure enough it was; secured to a brick wall by a chain, and locked onto that chain with a lock the size of a softball.  As we were examining the log splitter and making sure it would start, a young woman in her hardware uniform came out with a ring of keys saying, “I know that it is one of these.”  The older gentleman took the key ring from her and started placing one key after another in the lock, with no response from the lock.  After making several revolutions around the key ring, he handed it  over to the younger guy saying, “Here, you give it a try.”  No luck.  Someone must have called in for reinforcements, because just then two brawny guys in their hardware store uniforms walked out the door to free the log splitter from its chains.  One of the guys had biceps larger than my legs and walked with his arms angled at his elbows.  The other guy was not as muscularly massive, but he certainly had spent plenty of time in a weight room, too.  But even they could not produce freedom for our log splitter. 

     So there we were standing around that chained log splitter with five hardware store employees unable to unbind the machine.  I don’t know how much time elapsed, but I don’t think that a half our would be an exaggeration.  Having had enough of the cold, we told the employees that we had other errands to run, and we’d be back in a while to see if they had made any progress.  Thankfully, when we returned, the mission was accomplished.  We didn’t ask how they did it, or how many more people it took to open that lock.  But this we do know.  It took at least 5 hardware store employees to free that log splitter from its chains.

     By the way.  How many people does it take to free you from the chains of your sins, from the shackles of sadness, from the lock of despair?

     Only one….only one if that one is the Son of God.  And that one has done what no five people…or even an army of people could do.  When he hung on the cross he locked himself in a battle to the death with everything that would chain us down, and when he walked out of that Easter tomb he broke open every lock, even the lock of death, so that we would never be locked down again.

    It only takes one person, if that person is Jesus, to free us from our chains.  And because Jesus has done just that, we close everyone one of our worship services with a declaration of our freedom, “Go in peace.  Serve the Lord.”

     To which we all respond, “Thanks be to God!”

Have a great week.

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Bungee Cord 2-13-12

Hello,

Jesus is recorded as saying in the Gospel of John, “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.”

   We arrived in Western Pennsylvania in June and have been engaged in the multifaceted process of building a home since then.  During construction we have been the guests of a most gracious and patient brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  Their hospitality has made the treadmill of building a home less stressful.

     Their home is deep in a valley several miles away from the nearest town.  Because of its remote location, we deal with the issues that come from country living.  Cell phone reception is terrible, as is the Internet reception.  (That is why I am sitting in a coffee shop in Latrobe, Pa to send off this Bungee Cord.)  But more importantly, the electrical service has a reputation of being somewhat unreliable.  A good snowfall or a good rainfall….or even a good wind….can knock us back into the world of pre-electricity.  When that happens we aren’t totally brought to our technological knees.  We have a wood-burning fireplace to keep us warm, and we have candles and flashlight aplenty.  The biggest problem when the electricity dies is the water.  Since we are on a well, we need electricity to have running water….running water for drinking, for washing the dishes, and most importantly for flushing the toilet.  I suppose since we are surrounded by woods we could answer nature “naturally”, but I have to confess my lack of such outdoor adventure.

     So, this weekend with a winter snowfall dropping upon us, my brother-in-law and I set off to get an emergency generator, as the old emergency generator was not old and trusty.  As we secured the emergency generator in its place, I felt a sense of relief.  Although this generator would not run all of the electrical needs of the house, it would keep a constant water flow in the pipes.

     With my emergency generator hooked up and ready to go, it got me to thinking that for most of us, God is often a sort of divine emergency generator.  We get ourselves hooked up to so many things that energize our lives….hobbies, work, family, friends….and they do a pretty good job of powering us up.  But just like rural electrical lines, all it takes is a good storm to cut off their power, and when that happens that is when we tend to find ourselves firing up our divine emergency generator,  We turn to God for the energy we need to keep us going until the power that we are usually plugged into is restored.  Now, I am not saying that turning to God when the lights go out is a bad thing…no, it is a good thing.  It’s just that if we make of God to be our emergency generator, we are missing out on what Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.”

     The fact is that God is far greater than an emergency generator.  God is much more like the power plant that generates electricity for massive cities, but only greater.  God is the power that spins the universe and holds it together.  God is the power out of which life first exploded and will explode again when this life comes to an end.  God is beyond time and space, and his power will never fade or flicker any second of time or in any corner of space.  That is the kind of power/life that Jesus has come to give us….not the power of an emergency generator, but the power that stands behind all that is and ever will be.  Abundant power.  Abundant life.

     So let me invite you to plug yourself into God abundant life giving power.  Come to church this Sunday and be empowered by Jesus.  Come and be filled with the power of his forgiving and life changing word.  Come and be filled with the power of his very self in his meal, the Lord’s Supper. Come and be filled with the power of his Spirit as we connect with God through song and prayer.  Let me invite you to come and get plugged into something more than an emergency generator.  Get plugged into the one who generates abundant life, perpetual power.

    And with that power surging through your soul, you might just be amazed at the joy that is ignited in the hobbies of your life.  You might just be amazed at the peace that you carry into your workplace and into the lives of those who work around you.  You might just be amazed at the hope that you find for the struggles and challenges that your family faces.  And you might just be amazed at the bonds of care that you will find between you and your friends.

     Jesus has come to bring us this kind of power, this kind of life; power that generates life and enlivens all the things that we hold dearest in this life.  So come and plug yourself into God power this Sunday, and you will discover that God is far more than just an emergency generator!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace,

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Bungee Cord 2-6-12

Hello,

     Those of you who have been longtime readers of the Bungee Cord know that I am a loyal fan of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.  So, when a friend of mine invited me to go with him to the University of Illinois vs. University of Maryland basketball game, was there any other answer to come from my lips but, “Of course!”

     So, on a late fall day, I drove over to Gettysburg to pick him up and make our way to the University of Maryland, which is just outside of the Washington D.C. beltway.  It was an early season game, and at the time, the Illini were undefeated.  As we pulled into the parking garage, it was fun to see quite a few people sporting the orange and blue of Illinois as were.   We had arrived early, and when we walked into the arena, the emptiness of the seats told us just how early we were.  But because we were early, we were able to walk down close to the court and watch the Illini warm up.  We took our close up pictures and then ventured off to find our seats, which we discovered gave us about the same view as the Goodyear Blimp.  But we were there, there in the same arena as the University of Illinois Fighting Illini!

     When it came time for the game to start, the Illini were introduced in less than enthusiastic fare, but when it came time for the Maryland introduction, the lights went low, the music kicked in at an earthquake initiating decibel, and the announcer called out their names as if they were candidates for the President of the United States.  The crowd responded in like: cheering loudly, jumping up and down, and clapping their hands.  When the introductions were over, a song blared from the p.a. system (I call it the “oh…oh….oh” song.  Turn on any college game and you’ll hear it) sending the crowd into a fury and meant to taunt my beloved Illini.

     That is when I noticed something very strange happening on the darkened sideline.  The members of the Illinois team were locked arms to shoulders dancing back in forth in something that resembled a chorus line.  Back and forth they danced, undaunted by the crushing noise and commotion going on all around them.  As they danced, it was clear that they were issuing a response to the intended intimidation that was reverberating in that building.  The response: “Bring it on.  We’re not afraid of you!”

     Have you ever wondered why we sing when we gather for worship?   Well, there are many reasons, but one reason is to give our response to the intended intimidation that reverberates all around us.  As the world thunders around us, booming our mistakes in our ears….as the ground rumbles as the world celebrates our defeats…as our sins join a chorus of “oh….oh….oh”…. we interlock our hearts, stand shoulder to shoulder, and send our spirits a’ dancing in our song.  Our singing is an act of defiance, saying to the world, “Bring it on.  We’re not afraid of you!”

      I am not sure what the basis of the Illini’s confidence is (lately, it has been a bit misguided), but I do know what the basis of our confidence is, we who gather on Sunday mornings and sing.  Our confidence comes from the fact that we already know what the final score is, and the victory is Christ’s…and thereby, ours.  When Jesus walked out of that Easter tomb, he slammed down a game-winning dunk that shattered the hopes of all the forces of the universe like they were a flimsy backboard.  Jesus, the Son of God, for whom time is no barrier, stepped into time to win a victory for all time.  Every Sunday we sing because the victory is and will be ours!

    I know that not everyone likes to sing, and not everyone likes the tunes that are sung in church…but don’t let either of those things keep you from defiantly dancing in the face of the world’s taunts.  If you don’t like to sing….come to the victory party every Sunday and hum.  And if the music isn’t the kind that you listen to through your earphones…come to the victory party every Sunday and I’m pretty sure that there will be a song, sooner or later (hopefully sooner) that takes hold of your heart.

     So, whether you sing or not, or like the music or not….the victory is yours…and so is the party.  Hope to see (and hear) you there!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace,

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger