The Bungee Cord   4-29-19

Hello,

     Back some time ago when I was the pastor of a church in a small town with a major two-lane highway going through it, on which the church stood, I took to the streets before the service to wave at those who were driving by.  Why? Well, in this time and age when people are not flocking to churches to experience the grace of God, we, the people of God, need to get out of our churches and bring the grace of God to the people.  (That is not to say that going to each church is unnecessary, for if we are to be people of God’s grace in the world, we need to regularly refill our tanks so that we have the spiritual energy to accomplish our goal.)

     Anyway, ever since then, when the weather permits, I have been taking my place outside the church before worship and waving at people, a wave that is meant to carry a gesture of God’s grace.  It is my hope that when people see my wave, though the world may have them spinning in life on an ever-whirling hamster wheel, that they see that God’s love for them is spinning with them.  It is my hope that when people see my wave, though a person might feel like an invisible nobody in a world that tells you that you have to be somebody to be cared about, that they are noticed by one, the Lord, who would give his life for them.  It is my hope that when people see my wave, though the world might shun them for the mess that they have made of their lives, that there is one is never ashamed to call them “friend”.  I hope that my street waving just might make a dent of God’s grace in the lives of those who drive by….a dent that I hope will grow.

     I am now the interim pastor of a church in Ligonier, Pa., a medium sized town settled in the rolling hills.  The church sits on the main street, and so there is always some traffic going to and fro.  Last Sunday, Easter, was warm enough for me to venture out to the street and do some resurrection waving.  As is always the case, some people waved back, some people gave me a gentle honk in return, some people were so consumed with their driving that they didn’t see my wave (I think that some people just acted that way because they didn’t know quite how to respond to some white-robed guy waving at them on the street), and some people actually did roll down their windows and return a greeting of God’s grace.

     One who drove by on Easter Sunday morning was a panel van that was the travelling workshop of a lock-smith.  I don’t remember the name that was written across it’s sides, but I snickered a bit when I saw the characature of one applying his unlocking trade.  It was an old van that had obviously made many an emergency call to open a locked door.  As it drove by at 7:30 on that Sunday morning, I gave a wave to the guy who behind the wheel.  He didn’t wave back, but I could see his face through the windshield.  He was wearing an old weathered baseball cap, the hair that came from under the hat was disheveled and frayed, his shirt was a well-worn sweatshirt, and a slight scowl was on his face.  I imagined when I saw him that he wasn’t very thrilled about this early morning trek to rescue someone from the foolishness of their ways.

     I couldn’t help but recognize the parallel to the one who early in the morning on this very day many years ago had rolled the stone way and unlocked a three-day-death-sealed grave.  Although I wasn’t there to see the face of that divine locksmith, I doubt that there was even a hint of a scowl on his face.  Instead, I bet that there was a snicker of delight as he pushed that boulder away as if it were a mere pebble, and a burst of laughter when out of that tomb walked the one who was crushing death under his feet.  It occurred to me as I waved at that Easter morning locksmith, that on Easter morning (and every Sunday) we celebrate the work of a locksmith that has come to rescue us from the locks that entomb us from the foolishness of our ways….locks of our deeds, and even the lock of death.

     The job that that panel-vanned locksmith had been called to was apparently not too difficult, because within 10 minutes he passed me again, going the opposite way.  I waved at him again.  He still had a grumpy look on his face, and he still did not wave back.  But I hope that my wave might have jiggled the tumblers of his life and the lives of all who caught my wave, and that they might hear the snicker of delight coming from the divine locksmith for whom even the toughest of locks is no contest to his unlocking love.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  4-22-19

Hello,

    Since last week I posted my Good Friday message, I figured that I should post my Easter message this week.  After all, can’t leave you hanging on Good Friday…..when Easter has come!

                                                                                    Luke 24:1-12

                                                                                    Easter 2019

I can imagine this happening.  I can imagine a bunch of exhausted, out of breath women bursting into a secluded room, and saying, “You won’t believe what we just saw.  Notre Dame is burning down.”

And everyone in the room responds with the same words, “O come on.  You’re kidding.  You know this isn’t something to joke about.”

“No, really.  Notre Dame is burning down.  We saw it with our own eyes.”

Finally, someone brave enough to be made the fool to believe such a unbelievable story says, “Ok, you guys wait here.  I’ll go see what’s going on.”  And so he goes outside, hops in a cab, makes his way to the island in the middle of Paris where they had seen Notre Dame standing, and when the cab turned the final corner, he saw the flames shooting from the roof.  His heart sank at what he saw, and he told the cabbie in despair, “Take me home.”

Of course, I wasn’t there, and neither were you, but I bet that when Peter went home after witnessing with his own eyes what some exhausted out of breath women had told him...that when they got to Jesus’ tomb, the stone had been rolled away, and that it was empty, when suddenly two glistening men…must have been angels….said to us, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead.  Jesus is not here.  He is risen.  And when he saw himself that empty tomb and the graveclothes lying by themselves….I bet he didn’t say, “Take me home.” (Despairingly)  I bet he said, had there been a cabbie to say it to, “Take me home!” (Enthusiastically)

As I watched the news reports of the burning of Notre Dame, over and over again the commentators were saying how tragic this burning was…

·      .it was the burning of a place where thousands and thousands of people had come for strength and peace,

·      it was the burning of a place that was the emblem of the finest artwork and architecture in history, 

·      it was a place that had been an anchor through wars, and revolts, and disasters…

·      it was the burning of one of the most valuable things humans have ever made..

·      .and there it was engulfed in ravenous flames.  

I have been to Notre Dame, and I agree with all those commentators.  It is an amazing work of human talent and skill.  My heart sank as I saw it burning.  Sure, they say it will be rebuilt…maybe even rebuilt to its old glory…but even when it is rebuilt it, as we have seen with our own eyes, like all things human made, it will still stand dangerously on a cliff of potential destruction and ruin.

But here’s the thing about what those Easter women and Peter witnessed on that first Easter day, and that is the things that God makes and that God values..his finest handiwork …they do not stand on a cliff of destruction and ruin. God will not let that happen.  

 What could be finer divine handiwork than Jesus. Compared to the artistry and wonderment of Jesus, the Son of God, Notre Dame doesn’t even compare.  And although humans, who had seen their finest handiwork destroyed by flame and fire,  thought they could destroy and ruin this one who embodied divine beauty by hanging him on a cross and sealing him in a tomb, they found out otherwise.  God isn’t about to let the finest of his handiwork be destroyed and ruined.  

Though people hung Jesus on a cross, though people stabbed him with a spear in the side, though people saw him breath his last and hang his head in death, though people laid him in a rock hewn tomb, though people sealed that tomb with a huge bolder, God did not hang his head in despair…no, God rolled away that stone….God opened that tomb….God breathed life into that lifeless and decaying body…and Jesus walked out of that tomb…not just fixed and repaired….but with life so strong and mighty that not even death could take it away.

And this is God’s promise to us on this Easter morning; that which God has done for his Son, Jesus, he will also do for all his sons and daughters, for you and for me upon whom God has staked his claim and name, who God says are the apple of his eye, the pride of his handiwork. 

·      So, though your life may be wrought with struggles and pain, 

·      though the world may throw embers of guilt and shame  upon you, 

·      and though death will one day take hold of you with a smothering grip … 

God is not about to watch you go up in smoke.  When you are brought to your knees, when your lungs fill no more with air, when the cover of the casket slams down with the super seal of death….God will do for you and me what he did for Jesus…he will pry open that tomb as if it were a paper bag, he will gather the dust of your life and breath new life into it, he will stand you up on legs that will never lose their strength again, and he will ignite a beat in your heart that beats with eternity.  

That first Easter was God’s megaphonic pronouncement into all time and space: God is not about to let his handiwork go up in smoke.  And today that decree echoes again in this place.  When it comes to that what God values and treasures the most, his sons and daughter, you and I,  God he will use everything in his power, and that is certainly power enough, to  preserve it forever.  And when that happens, when that day comes, you and I will say to God in a tone quite the opposite from that Paris cab rider watching Notre Dame go up in flames, we will say, “Take me home!” (Exuberantly!!!!!)

Christ is Risen.  Alleluia.

He is risen indeed.  Alleluia.

AMEN

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord 4-15-19

Hello,

     This week is Holy Week, the week that God changed everything. Sin no more sting.  Death no more power.  That makes Easter a grand day of celebration like none other, but to get to Easter we need to go through Good Friday, the day of Jesus crucifixion. For this week’s Bungee Cord I am printing my sermon for this year’s Good Friday Worship Service.

Luke 23:35-43

Good Friday 2019

     “What’s the problem?  Don’t you like pie?”

     That was the response by one of my seminary professors to the grilling of a bunch of other professors at a seminary that he was visiting to deliver a presentation.

     “So much of what you write,” they said, “speaks of the culmination of God’s grace in heaven, about until God gathers us in heaven we cannot expect  things to go very well.  You seem to be resigned to the pain that is part of this life, and you keep on turning our eyes to the peace and joy that awaits us in heaven.  You talk a lot about the wonder that lies ahead in the sweet by and by.  What you seem to offer is a lot of pie in the sky.”

     “What is the problem?”, he responded with a pregnant pause, “Don’t you like pie?”

     As we gather here on this Good Friday, we need little reminder that this world in which we live is far from perfect.  Pain and suffering is part of our daily forecast.  Sometimes it pours into our lives like cats and dogs, and sometimes it is there as a misty haze.  Sometimes, we like cloud seeders bring it into our lives and the lives of others.  Sometimes it seems to just blow in from nowhere.  But this is certain, there are no cloudless days as we live this life. We need little reminder that this world in which we live is far from perfect.

     It was certainly a far, far from perfect day for the three who hung on those Golgotha crosses.  The clouds of suffering a pain darkening by the moment.   Two who hung were criminals who had stirred up a deadly storm in their lives.  The crowds around them and one who hung on his own cross, rumbled with thunder, mocking the seemingly powerlessness of the one who hung innocently on his cross.

     But what the crowds and the one who hung next to Jesus did not know was that this storm in which they found themselves had not happened by accident or chance.  What they didn’t know was that the one who hung in the middle was the cause of this great storm.  For he, whose heart was a low pressure center of God’s uncompromising love, was like a black hole of grace, suctioning every sin and evil into it, gathering into itself everything  of every time and place that brings pain and suffering.  The storm that was stirring on that Golgotha hill was being gathered from every corner of the universe by the one who had created the universe.

     It is true, there is still pain and suffering in this world, but we who gather here on this Good Friday see all those clouds of pain and suffering moving in a crossbound direction, a destination from which they cannot escape, a destination that will be their end.  From every corner of creation, being drawn to the cross, so that the day will come when pain, and suffering, and tears, and sorrow will be no more…and joy, peace, and love will shine with endless light.

     Unlike the crowds who were gathered on that hillside and mocked Jesus for the swirling storm…unlike the crowds who still gather on the hillside and mock Jesus for the storms that swirl in life…Jesus knew why those clouds were there….Jesus knew why those storms were circling around……Jesus knew that those clouds and those storms were being sucked into his heart by the power of God’s love….and that is why he said to the one who hung next to him….that is why he says to you and me who gather around him, “Truly, I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”

John 16.33:

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you may have peace.  In this world you shall have tribulation.  But be of good cheer.  Be of good cheer.  I have overcome the world.

     You’ll like the pie!  

AMEN.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  4-8-19

Hello,

     Some years ago my family and I moved from Ohio to South Dakota to follow what I believed was God’s call into a new ministry.  I have moved several times in my life, and each move comes with much unknown and adventure.  The move to South Dakota had the extra dynamics of having three boys who had established their lives in our small Ohio town.  But because of their courage and faith, we decided to follow God’s call to South Dakota.

     As part of the move, we told our kids that we would pay their way once to visit their friends in Ohio, which we did.  As it happened we made arrangements for my middle son to make his visit during Christmas break.  We bought tickets for him to fly in and out of Columbus, Ohio, and his friend’s parents were going to make the two hour drive to pick him up and take him down to the airport.

     After we had made all these arrangements, my son’s friend, whose parents were good friends of ours, too, said that they would like to come up to visit us, and instead of having my son fly to Columbus, they would just take him back with them, and then take him to the airport at the end of his visit and he could fly back.  Sounded great to us.

     So, our friends came and visited us, and after their visit he hopped in their car and travelled with them back to Ohio.  He spent a week with them, and then they took him to the Columbus airport, where a problem emerged.  The phone rang in our South Dakota home, and it was my son, who said he was at the airport and the airline was not going to allow him to board with his ticket because he did not take the flight to Columbus.  In order for him to fly home, he would need to purchase a one way ticket at $700.00+, an additional charge from the ticket that we had already bought.

     Confused as to why this was happening, after all, we had bought the ticket, I asked him to put the airline person on the phone who told me that because he did not fly to Columbus, his seat was revoked for his return flight. I told the person, and many more airline representatives that I talked to as I worked my way up the ladder of authority, that I didn’t understand what they were saying as we had already bought the ticket.  This policy was news to me.

     “Sir,” each of them said, “it is in the documentation.” (Fine print, that is.)  It was an argument that I lost, and in order for my son to get home, I wound up purchasing an additional one way ticket. Fine print!  What would have happened if I would not have had the funds to but this unexpected ticket?  I asked them how they would have felt if they had a high school freshman stranded in a strange airport?  “Sir,” it is in the documentation.”  Fine print!

     This incident came to mind when I was talking to a fellow pickle ball player who had forgotten his glasses, and we were joking about seeing a green pickle ball, let alone reading fine print.  “Who reads the fine print, anyway?”, we joked.  But, as I discovered with my son, you can be surprised, frustratingly and shockingly surprised if you don’t.

      But here’s the thing with God…..there is no fine print. When it comes to God, there is just on, oversized font, bold and underlined word….GRACE.  No exceptions hidden away in paragraphs of fine print.  No parameters buried under reams of paper printed in legaleze.  No, “Sir, it is in the documentation.”  When it comes to God’s relationship with you and me, there is no fine print…..only one word GRACE.

     So, when you find yourself in a pickle of sin and pain. When you find yourself barred from the world to journey in life.  When you find yourself in a hole of your own making, or of your misguided stumbling. When you find yourself being lowered into a six foot grave.  And you call upon God, know this….God will answer with one word, GRACE.

  

     With God, there is no fine print!   Just GRACE!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   4-1-19

Hello,

      So….I’ve been a pastor for just about 36 years, and over those years I have written my share of sermons.  I’ve kept them all, filing them away in a large file cabinet.  I haven’t kept them in order to reuse them.  I have never reused a sermon, and as of yet, I haven’t re-read any of them.  I don’t reuse them because I try and write a sermon speaking to the specific people who are listening to it, and I haven’t re-read them…..well….just haven’t.  But I have kept them thinking that it might be fun to see my growth and progression in my faith and in my preaching over the years. Even without re-reading them, I am sure that over the years the growth and progression of my faith and of my preaching has been in the direction of God’s grace, God’s love that is given to us, in spite of who we are, and because of who God is.  “God is love” (1 John4:16).

     A critique of my preaching that some have offered is that I preach too much grace.  “All fluff, no stuff.”  Those who offer this critique would want me to preach more about living a good, Christian life.   They want to hear clear judgments on the big moral issues that we face, clearly pointing out people’s sins and indicting them for those sins  They want me to emphasize the demands and expectations that God has for those who call themselves Christians.  

     “You preach too much about God’s unconditional love.  We hear the same thing every Sunday, ‘You can trust in the grace of God.’”

     Well, at this stage of my faith and ministry, I have decided that the critique of preaching too much grace is a critique I am willing to take, and this is why.  First, it seems to me that grace was the central point of Jesus’ ministry.  As a matter of fact, it was the preaching of God’s grace that got Jesus in the hottest water with the Scribes and Pharisees, folks whose message focused on doing right and making judgments. Second, I believe that every time I step in the pulpit, there just might be someone who is burdened by the weight of their sins….their failures…..their struggles, and if I haven’t given them hope to face those things….hope founded not in their power to get their act together but in the power of God Almighty to act with lifegiving grace and mercy…..if I haven’t given them hope, I have failed both them and God.  And third, I believe that God’s grace changes people’s lives.  It transforms them into people who love as God loves, and it shapes and molds people into little Christs….that is what “Christian” means.

     But, last week, I discovered the truth to what I have come to believe as I sat in a congregation in Florida and listened to a pastor preach grace.  I can’t tell you exactly what this pastor said, but he was clear in proclaiming the power of God’s grace and mercy in the lives of those for whom his Son died and rose. He turned my eyes and heart to the cross and empty tomb, the cross on which my sins lost their power, and the empty tomb out of which the power of new life and hope exploded.

     As some of you know, the deck of cards that I have been dealt in life contains the cards of depression and anxiety.  Just like all of us who hold the cards we are dealt, I have striven to play these cards the best that I can.  Thanks to the many blessings of God, most days I play my life’s cards with significant ease.  But there are days when the hand that I hold is weighty and life consuming.  (Those of you who have these cards in your life know of what I speak.)  Such was the day when I went to church in Florida.  The shackles of my sins clung tight.  The pain of my failure, in my life and in the lives of others, was piercing.  My knees were strained to buckling.

     And that is when I heard the proclamation of the pastor from the pulpit.  I heard him proclaim the power of God’s love that overwhelms the power of my sins and failures.  I heard him proclaim God’s forgiveness and mercy that God has invested in my life. I heard him declare God’s unyielding love for me that will never let me go.  And then I went forward and heard the pastor say as he placed a piece of bread in my hand, “This is the body of Christ, given for you,”  and say as he gave me wine to drink, “This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”

     And when I left that worship service, I felt an ease of the weight on my shoulders.  I could see a horizon of hope in front of me.  I felt empowered to take on the day.  There was a light that gave me vision beyond myself to others who I could bless with divine love. 

     I was one who needed to hear the Gospel….the good news of Jesus Christ….that day.  Truth is, I find myself needing to hear it every day.  So, most of my sermons – no, all of my sermons, I am preaching to myself. But on that Sunday in Florida, I was blessed to have someone else with the power of the Holy Spirit declare it to me.

     Boy, I am glad I was in church.  And I am glad that that pastor aimed both barrels of the grace of God at my heart.

     I hope that the Bungee Cord does the same for you every week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger