The Bungee Cord   9-25-18

Hello,

     As I write today’s Bungee Cord, some time has passed since Hurricane Florence struck the southeast leaving a trail of turmoil behind it.  I am sure that for those who were hit by the storm, time has stopped and it seems like just yesterday that the winds and the water were surging.  For some, these tragic and capricious storms stir up questions, questions of divine doubt. “How can you believe in a God who makes/lets storms like this happen?”

     Personally, I think that this question is a good question, because it recognizes the pain and suffering that storms of this nature bring. And because it is a thoughtful question, I think it deserves a thoughtful answer.  When I hear Christians answer, “Well, God has a plan for everything,” to me, that is an answer that is given with little thoughtful wrestling with the misery that has cascaded into people’s lives.  Or, when I hear Christians say, “It is a punishment for ________,” I find that a lacking answer because it usually is a punishment for someone else’s stumblings, or it forgets that those who are inflicted by a tragedy are not the only ones that might come under the judgment of punishment. Or, when I hear Christians say, “God is trying to teach us something,” it seems to me that such teaching is like trying to kill a fly with a sledgehammer, and who would want that kind of teacher?

     How can I believe in a God who makes/lets storms like this happen?  My answer, as incomplete as it might be is this; the God that I believe in has shown that he doesn’t passively and callously just watch the storms roll in, he jumps into the storm and rescues people, saves people.  That is what Jesus, and Christianity, is all about.  The God that I have come to see in Jesus flies like a hurricane chasing plane, right into the center of the storm to be where the storm is the strongest.  This God doesn’t turn tail and run when the storm is fierce, but walks right into it and takes it on, head on.  This God throws all caution to the wind, and winds up in a death battle with the storm on a cross.  This God even goes to the place where storms claim their final victory, the grave, and steals that victory from them.  The reason that I can believe in a God who makes/lets storms (whether it is true that it is God who makes/lets storms happen is another question that for today’s Bungee Cord, I am passing over….maybe a Bungee Cord to come?)….the reason that I can believe in a God who makes/lets storms happen is that the God that I believe in takes on every storm…..and wins!

     It may be that you, like I, missed the brunt of Hurricane Florence’s fury, but you and I know that there are plenty of storms ahead, not necessarily meteorological ones, that will take aim at us and hit us head on. And when that happens there are two things that, like those floaters that wander in your eyes, come into my vision; the Good Friday cross and the empty Easter morning grave.  In a battle in which only God, who is beyond time, can engage, Jesus, the Son of God, gathers into the battle cage of the cross, every storm that rumbles into life, and in a battle to the death, crushes the life right out of those storms.  Breathing his last breath and shouting, “It is finished.”  And in a victory that only God, the author of life, can claim, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, leads his flock through the valley of the shadow of death, not needing fear any evil.

     When I see storms, like Hurricane Florence, stampede in this world, it is hard for me to believe that anyone would risk their lives, fly into the center of the storm…or risk their lives and stay with those who cannot escape it.  But they do. And when I see storms of any kind take their deadly aim at people, I find it hard to believe that there is a God who charges into the eye of the storm, risking everything….but in Jesus I see that that is exactly what God does….and that is why I believe in this God.

Prayers for all who suffer.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord 9-17-18

Hello,

     I have had a lot of mishaps over the years during worship services, but yesterday I was faced with a new one.

     The church where I am serving on an interim basis is a mid-sized church building.  The worship space is well taken care of.  The altar is always carefully set when Communion is part of the service;  a pressed cloth covering the chalice (the cup for the wine), the folds draping it perfectly, and two additional perfectly folded cloth napkins to use as the wine is served.

     So, on Sunday as we were nearing the time for Communion, we were speaking together the faith that we hold in the words of the Nicene Creed (A confession of faith that was developed in the 300’s.  Lutherans speak the Creed together every Sunday as a way of connecting ourselves with Christians of all time and of all places, experiencing a taste of the unity of the Body of Christ that God is striving for.) Anyway, as I was leading the congregation in the Creed, I looked down on the altar, and there crawling across the white linens was a small black spider.  I watched it as it took its time, almost as if it was scoping out what was being readied for Communion.  As I watched it, I found myself getting a bit distracted from the Creed, and I muffed up a couple of the phrases, hoping that the people didn’t notice. It continued across the altar until it found the two folded cloth napkins, whereupon reaching them, it decided to crawl inside one of them.

     Uh oh!  What should I do?  I thought about doing nothing, but then it occurred to me that a scream from the person serving wine when the spider emerged from the napkin would sort of break the solemnity of Holy Communion.  I decided I needed to do something.  So as soon as the Creed was finished, I reached down and picked up the napkins and tried to nonchalantly   shake them in hopes that I could shake the spider out….without it landing on me and crawling all over me!  I shook them, but didn’t notice the spider coming out, but I didn’t notice it on the napkins, either.  

     I hoped that I accomplished my goal in delivering the spider from the napkins.  Unfortunately, I realized that in shaking the napkins, if the spider was freed from the napkins, it might now be crawling around on the floor where the people would soon be kneeling.  I did not think that I should stop the worship service and announce that a stray black spider had joined me to serve communion, and if I could be given a minute, I would try and locate it and take it outside.  Instead, I decided to press on, and by virtue that there were no screams or jumps, my assisting spider must have gone elsewhere.

     So, all’s well that ends well, and two things come to mind. First, if it has been a while since you’ve been to worship and you are worried that you might create a bit of a disturbance, as you can see, disturbances are part of worship. Second, no matter how big of a disturbance you fear you might cause, know this, you will be far more welcome than that little black spider!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Hello,

     I remember the first airplane flight I took. It was in 1981 and I was flying from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh to get married.  Having never flown before and not one who enjoys heights, I was a bit nervous.  I remember getting locked into my seat and listening with care as the flight attendant went through the safety instructions.  I remember taxi-ing to the runway, my heart beginning to beat a bit faster.  I remember with great clarity the engines throttling up and trusting us ever faster down the runway.  But most of all, I remember when the wings caught the air and we lifted off the ground, feeling every bump of turbulence on the takeoff, and certain that each bump was a sign of something wrong and that we would plunge back down to the ground.

     But no, off we sailed, and when we got up in the air I looked out my window in amazement.  Amazement at the small scale of everything on the ground.  Amazement at seeing clouds from the top-side rather than the underside. Amazement at the clarity of the air and the brightness of the sun’s light.  Amazement at being able to soar at speeds that would make my head turn. Amazement to be caught up in the wonder of flying.  I could have stayed up in the air for days.

     That was the first time that I flew, but now having flown a number of times some things have changed.  I don’t listen to the flight attendant’s safety instructions.  I don’t grab ahold of the armrests at take-off, and I don’t find myself caught up in the amazement of the things that I was amazed at on my first flight.  Now, I find myself impatiently waiting for us to reach our destination.  Flying now is all about getting somewhere.

     Living in the grace of God, I think, can have the same transition.  From amazement to just getting somewhere.  When one takes that first flight in the grace of God, it is easy to get caught up in amazement.  Amazement that God would so love a mere speck of his creation enough to send his Son so that God might have me forever.  Amazing! Amazement that God would so much love me that nothing in all of creation, not even me, could separate me from him.  Amazing! Amazement that even though I reoccuringly spit at God in the face, God forgives me…every time.  Amazing!

     But after soaring in the grace of God, it is easy to find one’s self merely focusing on getting somewhere…..heaven.  Perturbed by the turbulence of life.  Annoyed by those who travel alongside me.  Bothered by the delays and hoops to jump through.

     I was flying this weekend, and I don’t know why, but I found myself looking out my window, and I could feel amazement flutter through my soul….amazement over all those things that I encountered the first time I flew. And a wonderful thing happened. The bumps didn’t bother me, they were actually exciting.  I enjoyed the encounter with the people around me.  And the delays and security hoops were less aggravating.  Most of all, I found myself not preoccupied with impatience to get to my destination.

     As you get this Bungee Cord, let me invite you to look out the window of your life as you soar in the grace of God, and see the things that enveloped you in amazement when your flight began….the forgiveness, the awesome wonder, the unconditional love.  Take a look out the window, and see if the leg of the journey that you are flying today might be wonderfully different.  The bumps…the people….the time.  Oh, it is not that the eagerness to arrive at the journey’s end is any less pressing, but you just might discover that there is a lot to be amazed about along the way.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   9-4-18

Hello,

     Are tomatoes a reminder of God’s grace?

     For me, this year, they are.  My wife is our family gardener, and this spring as she planted the garden she planted a bunch of tomato plants.  The exact number, I do not know.   All I know is that now that the tomatoes are ripening, we have tomatoes coming out of our ears.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like tomatoes, fresh now, and stewed in the winter.  But it seems like we have been hit with a Tsunami of tomatoes.

     Given the harvest, I am led to wonder, “How many tomato plants would have been enough?”  And therein lies the connection with the grace of God.

     When Jewish folks gather for the Passover meal, part of the culinary telling of the ancient story of the release of the Israelites from the Pharaoh’s torturous reign is a song entitled, “Da Da Yea Nu” (phonetic spelling of the Hebrew).  Translated into English; “It Would Have Been Enough”.  When they get to this point in the meal, one person starts by listing just some of the wonders of God’s grace that he had bestowed on his people leading up to the Exodus, the release from the Pharaoh.  Paraphrasing the song,(I don’t remember the exact listing) it goes something like this:

Leader:            It would have been enough if God, in his gracious mercy had created all things and ordered them to live in peaceful order.

Gathered:        “Da da yea nu.  Da da yea nu. Da da yea nu.  Da yae nu, da yea nu.”

Leader::           It would have been enough if God, in his gracious mercy, would have raised up a people from aged Abraham and Sarah.

Gathered:        “Da da yea nu.  Da da yea nu. Da da yea nu.  Da yae nu, da yea nu.”

Leader:            It would have been enough if God, in his gracious mercy, would have led them to a land full of milk and honey.

Gathered:        “Da da yea nu.  Da da yea nu. Da da yea nu.  Da yae nu, da yea nu.”

Leader:            It would have been enough if God, in his gracious mercy, would have cared for his people by providing food for them in Egypt while there was a famine in their land.

Gathered:        “Da da yea nu.  Da da yea nu. Da da yea nu.  Da yae nu, da yea nu.”

Leader:            It would have been enough if God, in his gracious mercy, would have provided homes for his people as they lived in Egypt.

Gathered:        “Da da yea nu.  Da da yea nu. Da da yea nu.  Da yae nu, da yea nu.”

Leader:            It would have been enough it God, in his gracious mercy, would have raised up a great leader, like Moses, to guide his people.

Gathered:        “Da da yea nu.  Da da yea nu. Da da yea nu.  Da yae nu, da yea nu.”

Leader:            But God, in his gracious mercy, rescued us from the tyranny of the Pharoah, and fed and led us in the wilderness.

     

     But that is the way it is with God and God’s dispensing of his grace.  From the very beginning of God’s story with God’s people, God has been unbelievably generous with his grace.  Just when it seems like the grace that God has given would have been enough…..God gives more….even to the point of giving of his Son so that he might eternally claim us for his own.

     Like an overwhelming harvest of tomatoes, God continues to overwhelm us with his grace….grace coming out of our ears!  I don’t know how many tomato plants would have been enough, but God has shown that when it comes to filling our lives with his grace…..to God, it is never enough! 

     Have a great week living in the overwhelming crop of God’s grace.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger