The Bungee Cord   6-23-19

Hello,

     Miss Nicklebee, Duncan, and Me.

     We have two garage cats.  Miss Nicklebee and her buddy, Attaboy.  Attaboy is an independent male.  Miss Nicklebee is a sweet, cuddle loving lady.  We see Attaboy occasionally as he is prone to wander the countryside.  Miss Nicklebee is a homebody, serenely resting around her cat box.

     Duncan is our 12 year old Gordon Setter who has a history with Miss Nicklebee.  Ever since we got the cats three years ago, Ducan (and his 2 ½ year old Gordon Setter buddy, MacMahon) have targeted the cats, stalking them and treeing them on occasion. Once, Duncan cornered Miss Nicklebee and was about to do her in when she was rescued from the jaws of death by my wife. My wife got to her just as Duncan was about to bring her days to an end by violently shaking her.  My wife got Duncan to drop her, but when he did, she laid motionless, barely breathing.  In shock. 

     Thankfully, she recovered, but she has not forgotten Duncan’s mal-treatment.  So, when he comes around, she takes cover.

     Yesterday, as I pulled into the garage, Miss Nicklebee was calmly nestled nest to her elevated cat box, elevated for safety.  When I got out of my car, I walked over to her.  She saw me coming, and characteristically she strolled over to the edge of the table awaiting me to pick her up and pet her. Which I did.  I petted behind her ears and under her chin, and then I held her on her back and scratched her belly, which she loves.  Like chocolate, she melted in my hands, purring contently.

     And then Duncan entered the garage, and when he saw Miss Nicklebee in my arms, he froze in a catatonic hunting stance.  His eyes set upon Miss Nicklebee.  He stared at her with evil intent.  She looked over at him……

     And then calmly looked away.  I continued petting her belly, and she continued her purring, at ease in my arms.  That is when I realized something.  I realized that she had come to learn that when she was in my arms, she was safe, safe from even the most terrifying thing.  But not only did she realize she was safe, she let that knowledge take hold of her.  She was at peace.

     She was right.  She was safe in my arms.  No need to fear…not even Duncan.  I, who find myself prone to anxiety and fear, learned something that day from Miss Nicklebee. In fact, I, too, am held in the arms of one within whose embrace I am entirely safe.  Jesus Christ.  The sins that may have once had me in their jaws, have me no longer.  The stalking stare of shame and guilt is only that….a stalking stare. Even death’s drooling appetite will not be satisfied by me.  Miss Nicklebee has learned to trust me and let that trust shape her life, might I learn the same of my Lord?

     Actually, I look forward to the day when I, who am held in the safe care of Jesus’ arms, will take a glance at that which is out to devour me, and like Miss Nicklebee am completely nonplussed.   I simply roll my head back in total serenity, restart my purring, and delight in the one who cares for me and loves me.  I look forward to that day, and even confidently  anticipate it, because I figure that if a simple garage cat can learn such a thing, surely I can, too.  Lord, keep on holding me.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger 

The Bungee Cord  6-18-19

Hello,

     A study was done some years ago that looked into what people prayed for when they found themselves struggling in life, and an interesting thing was discovered.  The studiers found out that when people in developed countries ran into struggles, they generally prayed that God would take those struggles away from them. People in developing countries, when they were sinking in the quicksand of life’s struggles generally prayed that God would give them strength to make it through their struggles.  Interesting.

     This study (and I don’t remember who exactly did it) was done a good number of years ago, so I don’t know if the researchers would get the same results if the same study was done today.  My suspicion is that they would, and the reason that I say that is that in developed countries, like ours, we tend to approach everything with a “let’s fix that” sort of expectation; disease, economics, social barriers, and the like.  From my limited experience in developing countries, it seems to me that in many of these things, the strength of these things is greater than the resources to combat them, and so people ask for the strength to persevere through them, whether that be for a short time or a life time.

     As I consider the findings of this study, I find myself feeling like the folks of developing countries have caught onto the deeper reality of life, and because of that may find their answered prayers bringing more peace to their lives.  I say this because in the nearly 62 years that I have lived, it has become clear to me (hardheaded as I may be) that struggles do not go away.  Some struggles pursue us with the same face every day of our lives, and other struggles pursue us likewise, but just put on different masks as they do so.

     Christians have long heard Jesus’ words in Matthew and Luke that we call the Beatitudes.  (“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”….and the rest.)  I know that when I was younger, I heard them with my developed country ears….waiting for peace (that is the Greek word that is translated as “blessed”) to come my when my hungers and thirsts ended.  But as my life and faith have aged, I find myself hearing them with the ears of those from undeveloped countries, finding myself blanketed in peace, now, knowing that the struggles of this life will not have their way with me because the Lord accompanies me every day of this life.  And I see the sure sign of Jesus’ strength over the struggles of life when Jesus battled every one of them on the cross and walked over every one of them when he walked out of the Easter tomb.

     I went to Africa for a month a little over a decade ago to visit Lutheran churches in Cameroon, sister churches of Lutheran Churches in South Dakota.  Although it is true, there are many of life’s struggles that we in developed countries can pin down, at least for a while, the people of Cameroon helped me see that many of life’s struggles are simply more powerful than my human hands and mind can tackle, and in the end will pin me down.  But that’s where the power of prayer comes in, the power that comes from being enfolded in the mighty and loving hands of God, hands that were nailed to the cross and hands that rolled away the Easter boulder.

     So, I pray, “God give me, and those who are reading along with me, the strength, your strength to make it through whatever this day might bring.  AMEN”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord
6-10-19

Hello,

     This past Sunday, churches throughout the world celebrated a day called Pentecost.  Pentecost always falls 50 days after Easter, and it the anniversary of the day when the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples after Jesus ended his earthly life by ascending into heaven.  (The story of Jesus’ ascension would be a good topic for another Bungee Cord…..where did Jesus go?)  

     Anyway, the second chapter of the book of Acts tells of the day when all of the Apostles were gathered in a Jerusalem room, when suddenly there was a great roar of a rushing wind and tongues of fire appeared over their heads.  Spontaneously, the Holy Spirit that had just come upon them, led them to begin telling about the great acts of God in languages that they had never spoken before. The people in Jerusalem, hearing the chorus of languages and voices figured that the Apostles had gotten into the wine that morning and were mumbling drunkards.

     “Oh no,” said Peter, “They aren’t drunk.  They couldn’t be.  It’s only 9:00 in the morning.”  (I have always snickered that the early time of the day was the evidence for their sobriety!)  “What you are witnessing,” he said, “was God pouring out his Spirit upon his people, just as he had promised he would do.”

     So, that is Pentecost, and red is the designated color of the day….red for the tongues of fire over the disciples’ heads.  So, in our church the altar area was clad in red, I wore a red stole, and many of the people put on their finest red garb to wear to worship.  Red.

     Pentecost is all about the power of God in our lives…..red hot power!  God’s presence is so intense in our lives that it is red hot.  So hot that not even one sin can withstand God’s singeing  heat, incinerating every one of them.  So hot that not even a mountain of doubts can create a wall to separate any one from God, engulfing them in an unstoppable wild fire of his love.  So hot that not even the most painful deeds, the longest held prejudices, or the most foolish of convictions can keep God from uniting everyone in God’s love, gathering all people together under a lava flow of his grace.  God is at work in our lives…in our world…with red hot heat.

     Of course the world keeps heating things up, too, working on us. Sometimes it can warm us up just enough to get us through a tough time, but when the next tough time comes, it may not have enough fuel.  Sometimes it can start a fire of guilt and shame that gives us third degree burns and scars us for life.  Sometimes it can produce cinders of arrogance and pride that shower down on people whose lives are dried up with failures, igniting a bon fire.

     When I look around me in the world, I see a lot of fires burning.  Some are good and helpful….some are just terrifying.  But none of them fueled with the unending grace of God, raging with God’s love and mercy, generating life out of ashes, decimating fields of hopelessness with eternal peace.  God is at work in our lives and in the world with the blazing power of the Holy Spirit, that is what Pentecost is all about.  So, when the world or my life seems to be going up in smoke….and when you watch the news or look in the mirror, it sure can look like it, I am glad that the power of God’s presence in our lives and in our world is a mightier fire….and so I pray amid the world’s fire…..Come Holy Spirit, Come!

Have a blessed week!

God’s grace and peace,

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  6-4-19

Hello,

     “Have a blessed day.”  So said the young man from behind the check out counter at the liquor store to me as he handed me the bottle of whiskey that I just paid for.  It was not the phrase I was expecting to hear from that person in that place.  The young man, in his twenties would be my guess, was nicely dressed and sporting one of those stylish hair “do’s” that you see on NBA players.  I had not seen him before in this store, and I had never heard, “Have a blessed day,” spoken to me by any of the other clerks….usually, “thank you”, or “see you”, or sometimes nothing at all.  “Have a blessed day.”  

     It caught me by surprise.  I thought that I heard him say it to the two people who checked out in front of me, and so when he handed me my bag, I listened carefully…..and sure enough, “Have a blessed day.”

     When he said it, it seemed to naturally flow from his lips. It did not come across as an overly pious pronouncement with head thumping force.  Rather his words had a genuine and light feel to them that did not seem overbearing, nor, strangely enough, out of place.  I can’t say that I know for sure that his definition of “blessed” stems from my understanding of “blessed”, but by the seeming sincerity of his words, I think it to be so.  “Have a blessed day.”

     When his words fell upon my ears, I felt a connection to this young man who I had never met before.  By his words, I sensed that this young man actually cared about me….cared about me to offer words of encouragement if I was having a tough time of things, cared about me to offer words of a relationship founded on something deeper than the purchase of a bottle of whiskey, cared about me enough to see in me (who in so many ways was different than he) a person walking a common journey with him.

     There was power in that young man’s words to me, a power of blessing.  It occurred to me that you and I also have that power of blessing…..when such words naturally roll off of our lips because we see in the other one who is journeying with us, one who may be painfully stumbling along the way, and one whose relationship to us is deeper than the connections the world has to offer.  When I say at the end of the worship service, “The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless you now and always,”  I hope that benediction propels those who have been worshipping out into the world with divinely grace-full power.  But this I know, that when that young man in the liquor store handed me that whiskey laden bag, I felt a surge of grace as I walked toward the door.

     His words changed my day.  And listen to this…..your words can change someone’s day, too.  Change it from drab, troubled, chaotic, meaningless, burdened, lonely, miserable, dull, hopeless……to…….blessed!

Have a BLESSED week!

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger