Bungee Cord 5-28-14

Hello,

     Across the table from me this past Saturday at a wedding reception that I attended was a woman in her mid eighties. She was soft spoken, and carried with her an air of gentleness and compassion.  She was kept busy talking to children, grandchildren I suspect, to whom she listened with life and death attention.  The noise of the room overwhelmed her conversation with the children, so I don’t know what they talked about, but whatever it was I am sure that the children felt as though their conversation was the only thing of any importance in the world.

     Next to her was an 89 year old man who had just come home from a walking tour of the Mayan Pyramids in South America.  One day they walked for 6 miles to see the sites.  The woman commented that as much as she might want to do such a thing, she was not able because of Stenosis of her spine that caused her such pain that she often struggled to get out of bed. “I just pray to God,” she said, “that I can at least make it to church every Sunday.”

     In some cultures the words of the elderly are considered wisdom to hold on to.  Though not always so thought of in our culture, as I watched her interact with those around her and the peace, grace, and thankfulness that they gathered in when they were with her, I believed that I was hearing words that were well worth taking into my life as wisdom.

     Of course the wisdom of the world would tell us that there are many other things of import that when time is short, when travel is difficult, when money is tight, or when one has spinal stenosis are worth our every effort to be there.  But I wonder if attending the Super Bowl plants a seed of peace in a person’s life that become a shelter against the howling storms of life?  I wonder if catching every episode of a sitcom can warm one’s life with grace that overcomes the meanness of the world?  I wonder if winning a soccer championship can hold a person together with thankfulness when the world seems to be falling apart?

     I suspect that very few of us, including me, might say as that woman said of her struggle with Spinal Stenosis, “I just pray to God that I can at least make it to church every Sunday.”  But if I remember that whether I go to church every Sunday or on a rare Sunday, God will love me no more or no less (He sent his Son to die for me.  How much more could he love me?)….if I remember that God doesn’t invite me to his house to teach me how to be a good person (There’s plenty of places that I can go to learn how to be good.), but rather to create me anew as a person of God….if I remember that I don’t go to church and give my offering to keep the doors open and pay the light bill, but instead go to express my thankfulness for all God has done for me, none of it earned, none of it deserved….you know what….those words that that 80+ year old woman said seem to make a lot of sense, and carry great wisdom.

     So, stepping into this week….not knowing what will try and capture my time, get in my way, or seek to convince me of its ultimate importance….I pray to God that I can at least make it to church this Sunday.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace,

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger   

Bungee Cord 5-19-14

Hello,

     “Pastor!!  Pastor!” the secretary yelled up the stairs to my office.  I had heard her  yell like this before when something was going on in the parking lot of our urban sited church.  So, I in my late 20’s but looking like I was in my late teens, puffed up my chest a bit to make myself look as intimidating as an adolescent looking pastor could be.

    “Pastor!  Pastor! Look!” she said to me as I reached the bottom of the stairs.  To my surprise, she was not pointing out the window, but was holding a piece of paper in both of her hands, cash.  Flopping them in the air she said, “Pastor I was counting last night’s offering from Vacation Bible School, and this (flapping the bill in her left hand) was wrapped up in this (flapping the bill in her right hand).  What are we going to do?”

     Taking a couple of steps closer I saw the source of her concern.  The bill in her left hand was a $100.00 bill, and the bill in her right hand was a $1.00 bill.  “Someone,” she said, “must not have known that this (the $100 dollar bill) was behind this (the $1 dollar bill).  What should we do?”

     I shrugged and with all of my 5 years of pastoral wisdom said, “I don’t think that there’s anything that we can do.  If someone discovers they are missing $100 dollars, we can give it back.  But if not, I guess we’ll just have to put it toward Vacation Bible School offering.”

     No one said anything, so the $100 dollar bill went into the offering, which for the sake of the Vacation Bible School was a good thing.  That year we had switched our attack on VBS, and changed it from a kid’s daytime program to an intergenerational evening program to be funded by the offerings.  We averaged over 120 people each night for a week, so we ran up a bit of a bill…a bill for which that bill really helped.

     When the same two bills appeared in the offering the next year’s Vacation Bible School, I realized that the first time that this happened was not a mistake (these two bills wrapped in each other appeared every year that I was at that church).  After eight years at that church, I moved to a different church.  As I was going around visiting people, saying good bye, I stopped at one home, the home of a couple in their 70’s.  As we sat sipping coffee in their dining room, the man looked at me with a teasing glimmer in his eye.  “Did you ever find a couple of bills wrapped around each other in the VBS offering?” he said.

     “Yes, as a matter of fact we did,” not knowing if I had been tested year after year?

     “Well,” he said with a large pregnant pause, “I thought it would be fun to surprise you.”  We all chuckled.

     His name was Don.  His wife’s name was Mary.  I found out that Don died this past year, and that Mary has been gone for a while.  They were gentle souls.  He had been a star football quarterback in his high school years. Their lives had not been spared the struggles that come with life and raising kids.  But as I knew them, they always remained unflappable and full of faith.  The door to their life open to anyone, and their seats in church filled every Sunday.  Mary tended perennial flower gardens, and got me started perennial gardening, too.  Don, in his 70’s, helped me reroof the flat roof of my garage.  Always a gentle smile from Mary.  Always a warm handshake from Don.

     There are those people in life who probably without great intent make a big dent in our lives.  Mary and Don were such people for me.  As I age closer to the age when I knew them, I hope that I can be like Don.

     I give thanks to God for the intersection of my life with theirs.  It was a blessing.  It is my hope that God will use me to likewise bless others….and I hope that God will use you in “Don-like” and “Mary-like” fashion

     For those of you old enough to remember the Nike commercials who had little kids saying of Michael Jordan, “I want to be like Mike,” I say let them have Mike, I’d rather be like Don (or Mary) any day!

     Have a great day.           

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Bungee Cord 5-12-14

Hello,

    Last week I saw something that I had never seen before.  In the early evening one day last week, my wife and I were sitting on our deck watching the sun go down (isn’t that a sign of our aging years).  Immediately to our left perched on the branch of a small tree my wife noticed a bright red bird.  Not being an ornithologist (a big word for a bird watcher) I don’t have a great knowledge of bird species.  So, my first thought was “Cardinal”, but this bird did not have a crown and its wings were black….not a Cardinal.  Having seen a couple of Baltimore Orioles (not the baseball players), I thought maybe this bird was one of them….but no….too red, not really orange. 

     Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remembered that there is a bird called a Scarlet Tanager,  a bird that I had never seen before.  So, my wife pulled out her phone and punched “Scarlet Tanager” into it and sure enough, a match with our sighted bird.  If you have never seen one, here’s what the internet says about them,

Male Scarlet Tanagers are among the most blindingly gorgeous birds in an eastern forest in summer, with blood-red bodies set off by jet-black wings and tail. They’re also one of the most frustratingly hard to find as they stay high in the forest canopy singing rich, burry songs. The yellowish-green, dark-winged females can be even harder to spot until you key in on this bird’s chick-burr call note. In fall, males trade red feathers for yellow-green and the birds take off for northern South America.

     I felt fortunate to see one of these rarely sighted birds with its stunning scarlet body set off ebony wings.  Joining now in my back field the robins, the bluebirds, the swallows, the blue jays, the cardinals, the grackles, the finches, the wrens, the crows, the red winged black birds, the hummingbirds, the balitmore orioles, the turkeys, the woodpeckers big and small, the hawks and vultures that circle high in the sky is the scarlet tanager.  What an amazing array of color and sound, colors and sounds that are a blessing from God.

     When I stand up in the pulpit, I see something akin to my back field.  People old and young, tall and short, frail and brawny, long haired and short, bald and coiffed, stylishly dressed and casually clothed…each one with a distinctive look, personality, and sound.  What an array!  What a blessing!

     In a world where birds of a feather flock together in drab unity, I am blessed to be part of the kaleidoscope of color and sound that God gathers in his back yard Sunday after Sunday.  Brought together by the grace of God we discover the wonder of God’s creative love as we chirp, sing, fluff our feathers, and soar in God’s forgiveness and mercy.

     So, whatever kind of bird you are, know this: you are welcome to nest in God’s Sunday morning back yard.  Through you, God opens our eyes to the grace of God that includes all birds (even me!), and with you the song we make of God’s love and mercy grows in beauty and depth that sends hope and peace to every corner of the world.

     It was great to see that Scarlet Tanager last week….greater yet will be to see you on Sunday morning!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor  Jerry Nuernberger

Bungee Cord 5-5-14

Hello,

     There are some things that a person can put into words, and there are some things that all you can say is, “I guess you had to be there.”

     Yesterday, we had the 40 member concert choir from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania join us for worship.  It was an amazing worship service.  First Lutheran is a fairly large building, easily seating 400 people.  I wish I could put into words the power that filled that place of worship, but I guess you had to be there.

     I wish I could put into words the angst that swallowed me up as  the choir took us to the valley of the shadow of death when they sang “Where You There When They Crucified My Lord?”, and the exhilaration that sent shivers up and down our spines when they came to the last verse, “Where you there when God raised him from the tomb?”…it caused trembling…..but, I guess that you had to be there.

     I wish that I could put into words the rending of all fear and doom when they hit chords that pierced the soul singing, “Great God Almighty”…..but, I guess that you had to be there.

     I wish that I could put into words the peace that embraced me like a goose down comforter when the soloist sang the first verse of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, and the choir gathered their voices in varied tone and tempo for the rest of the song….but, I guess that you had to be there.

     I wish that I could put into  words the anticipation that caught my heart to hear the reading of the Gospel when it was introduced by the choir singing, “Ain-a That Good News”….but, I guess that you had to be there.

     I wish that I could put into words the bond  with Jesus that I felt as I came to the table of the Lord, receiving the meal of his body and blood, when proceeded by the melting of voices when the choir sang, “In Remembrance”….but, I guess that you had to be there.

     I wish that I could put into words the profound thankfulness to the Lord that swept across my soul when Communion was finished and the choir’s voices pierced the callous fears of my unworthiness of God’s love when they sang, “Even Me”….but, I guess that you had to be there.

     It was a rare and real treat to have the Lincoln University Concert Choir come and worship with us.   It doesn’t happen every Sunday, but what does happen every Sunday is lives are transformed by God’s forgiveness of sin, hearts are opened up to love others by the unconditional grace of God, and hope and courage fills people’s lungs as the Spirit blows among us.  What happens every Sunday  may not be as spine tingling as what happened this past Sunday with the choir, but it is as grand and glorious….and if that is hard to believe….well…be there, and you’ll find out!

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger