The Bungee Cord   8-26-19

Hello,

     I was watching a nationally televised Cub’s baseball game the other day.  Having grown up a Cubbie fan, I still find myself rooting for the Cub’s, maybe not as devoutly, and certainly not when they are playing the Pirates.  But in the days when Wrigley Field didn’t have any lights and all the home games were day games, I found myself often in front of our black and white TV watching the perennially 2^ndplace or worse Cubs.

     I grew up when Jack Brickhouse was the main announcer and, he was famously followed by Harry Carey.  Harry was noted for his big black rimmed glasses, his sloppy articulation, and his leading the crowd at the 7^thinning stretch in singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”.  Even though Harry passed away several years ago, his singing goes on as he occasionally appears on the Big Screen slobbering into the mic with gusto.  But the game that I watched the other did not feature Harry Carey singing at the 7^thinning stretch.  Instead the singers were a couple of Black Hawk hockey players.

     They were terrible singers.  Far worse than Harry Carey.  Their rendition of the melody was remotely similar to the written tune. When they held a note it sounded like a turn table that could not keep a constant speed.  Their tone was bellicose.  And they kept looking down on the table for the words.  Yet, when they sang, you could tell that they were having fun. And as terrible as their singing was, when the camera panned the stadium, there were smiles on everyone’s face, as the crowd bellowed out the song with them.

     You know, Christians sing every Sunday morning when they gather for worship, and depending on the congregation the joyful noise that is made sometimes can sound like the Wrigley Field singers.  Truth is, that public group singing is a seldom occurrence in our day.  It wasn’t unusual a generation or two ago for people to gather around a piano and sing songs together.  But not now. People might sing along to a CD or have fun doing karaoke, but to public ally sing songs accompanied by a piano or organ…..well, I think it only happens in one place in our society; in church.

     I know that there are many reasons that people find themselves not going to church, but if you asked people the honest truth, I bet a bunch would say, “I don’t like to sing.”  Still, non-singers would come to church, but when singing time came many in my congregations (usually men) would stand silently, arms folded and not sing. Nowadays, when the social pressure to go to church has decreased, I find fewer non-singers in my congregation, their dislike for singing keeping them home.

     Thing is, I doubt many, if any, stayed home from the Cubs game that I watched because they knew they were going to be encouraged to sing at the 7^thinning stretch.  And, as they panned the crowd…a crowd of 40,000 people…..I can’t say that I saw many arms crossed, mouths shut non-singers.  It seemed like everyone was singing….and why?  It was fun.  It was fun to get caught up in the excitement of the game.  Fun to add a voice to the crescendo of delight.  Fun to vocally thumb a nose at the visiting team, especially with the phrase, “root, root, root for the CUBBIES (or PIRATES).

     And although the songs that we sing in worship may not be as familiar to some as “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, we sing our songs in church for the same reason.  It is fun. Fun to get caught up in the excitement of the biggest victory in history, Jesus victory over the cross. Fun to add a voice to the crescendo of delight, as we together watch sin and death slump away with their tails between their legs.  Fund to vocally thumb our nose at the world that thinks it can hold our joy down, especially  when we come to phrases like, “Christ the Lord is risen today!  Alleluia!”

     So, let me invite you this Sunday to come to church.  The seating is limited so get there early, and bring your singing voice, even if you sing worse than Harry Carey, because you and I are on the winning team.  What fun to sing with all the gusto you can muster, “Jesus Christ is risen today! Alleluia!”

Have a great week!

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  8-19-19

Hello,

     Those of you who are regular readers of the Bungee Cord know that I spend my time before worship services out in front of the church waving at the people who pass by.  Sometimes people wave back.  Sometimes people don’t see me, or they act like they don’t see me.  Sometimes people tap their horn.  Sometimes those who are walking will stop and chat for a few minutes, and other walkers cross the street so they don’t have to chat with me. But this past Sunday my waving brought about an occurrence that has never happened before.

     A white SUV came down the street, and I waved.  Before it got to me, it slowed down, put on its turn signal, and came to stop right in front of me.  The driver of the car parked, and as I glanced in the windshield I noticed that this was someone that I didn’t know.  A visitor, perhaps.

     Out from the car emerged an older man, in his 80’s I suspect. He was tall, and had his grey hair trimmed close to his scalp, making him look almost bald.  Right above his forehead was a tuff of hair that he had let grow an inch or so, and it was combed up.  He had on dark rimmed glasses, wore a black suit, with a white shirt and a simply tied black tied.  I did not recognize him.

     “Good morning,” I said with a welcome note in my voice.

     “Good morning,” he said back, and before I could say anything further he said, “You know, I see you out here every Sunday and I just had to stop and say “hi” to you.”

     “Well, that is awful nice of you,” I said.  “Thanks for stopping.  Looks like you are dressed up for something.”

     “Yeah, on my way to church,” and he told me the church to which he was going, and I responded with a look of, “oh yeah, that church”, but I had never heard of it before.  We small talked a little bit, I asked him his name, and then  shaking his hand I said, “Yeah, I am out here every week waving, not so much to get people to stop, but to let them know that no matter how busy their lives are, someone cares.”

     And that is when he looked at me with a big smile on his face, his eyes looking skyward, and his finger pointing the same way, “Someone cares!”

   

      I said, “That’s right.”

      He turned around, headed for his car, and as he turned to open his door and get back in, I waved at him, and said to him calling him by his name, “Thanks for stopping.  Have a great day.”

     He smiled.  He waved back and drove off down the road.

     Guess my waving just might be making a dent of God’s grace in some people’s lives.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   8-12-19

Hello,

     This past Saturday, I officiated at a wedding at the church that I am serving.  Weddings are part of the work of a Pastor.  When people come to me and say they are planning to get married, I say to them that that is wonderful news, “Let’s get together and get the ball rolling.” So, I meet at least a couple of times with them.  The first time I meet with them, my hope is to try and get to know them a bit and develop a pastoral relationship with them.  For some, this is already in place as they are members of the church, but for most, at least one of the couple is someone for whom I have not been their pastor.

     My second goal at that first meeting is to get on the same page with the couple regarding weddings.  Weddings, as I am sure you are aware, take many forms and expectations. I tell the folks that I hope to be a pastor at their wedding.  Knowing that there are many different types of people that can conduct a wedding, I tell them that when I am part of people’s weddings I try to make it a “pastoral” thing….that is, a matter of their Christian faith.  I say to them that I don’t want to be a judge who just makes things legal and says, “good luck”.  I want to be someone who helps secure their relationship with the One who has secured his relationship with them, and I want to be someone who aids the Good Shepherd, Jesus, in shepherding them through life. (If you read Psalm 23 you can get a picture of what that shepherding care looks like.)

     So, when I am part of a wedding, I see myself as being part of a great time of thanks, thanks to God.  Thanks to God for all the grace that he has poured into the lives of these two who want to travel through life together.  Thanks to God for the grace of his presence at the wedding, sealing the couple’s vows with his vow of steadfast love.  Thanks to God for opening up the future for them as they step out into the world with the power of his love.  Weddings, as I hope to be part of them, are far more than ceremonies, public degrees, family celebrations, or legal arrangements.  Weddings are worship services of thanks and praise to God whose grace and mercy is visibly at work in the lives of the couple.

     Usually, I don’t know most of the people who come to a wedding service, so, I don’t know where they are at in their relationship to God.  I am sure that there are a number of people at most weddings who regularly find themselves in church on Sunday morning, deepening their relationship with God and God’s people.  I am also sure that there are a number of people at most weddings who generally are not inclined to go to church on any given Sunday.  With people covering the continuum between these two groups of people, I try to keep in mind the opportunity that weddings give me to speak a word of hope and love that just might make a huge dent in their lives.

     At the wedding I conducted on Saturday, the couple chose Jesus’ prayer from the Gospel of John that people would become one in him.  It was a great passage to hear on a day when “two become one”.  What tremendous hope for a wedding couple to hear, that their hope of unity is also a hope that lies in the heart of Christ.  Not only will they be working at their oneness, Christ will be working toward it, too. Wow!

     And as we gathered in that church, I saw Jesus at work in creating unity.  Not just a unity in the couple who was getting married, but a unity amongst all who were gathered in that place.  As they crowded into that small church, strangers sat beside strangers.  Since there was no “bride’s” side or “groom’s” side, friends of both families rubbed shoulders.  A hymn was sung, and the people’s voices blended together.  The “peace of the Lord” was shared throughout the congregation as Communion was being prepared, and when it came time for Communion, everyone who wanted to receive the tangible grace of God was welcome, and most did even though they were of different denominations of the Christian faith.

     I told the people in my message that something was happening in that place that doesn’t happen very often in the world.  Barriers were being broken down, and bonds of love were being formed.  In a world that tends to build all sorts of barriers, we, who were in that place got to see Christ at work building caring relationships.

     That is one reason why we have worship services every Sunday.  As we live in our world and see more and more barriers going up between people, and we find ourselves more and more in isolation chambers, we come together every Sunday to have Christ open up our lives, connecting us ever more deeply to him, and connecting us ever more deeply to each other.  It is a hard job that Jesus has, because we who gather on Sunday mornings are quite different and often quite stubborn.  But Jesus is stubborn, too.  He is determined to unite all people in divine love and care, and he won’t give up until he does!

     So, let me invite you to worship this Sunday and see Jesus at work tearing down the walls that make life so small, and building up bonds of love that makes life so grand!

Have a great week,

God’s Grace and Peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   8-5-19

Hello,

     I heard on the radio that this week a number of people will be inducted into the National Football League’s Hall of Fame.  Although I am certain that their induction would not be taking place if each of them was not an extremely great player in his day, but when their names were read, I did not recall any of them.  Maybe avid football fans would be able to recite the accomplishments of these Football stars, but as someone who simply enjoys watching football games, I cannot.

     It intrigues me that we live in a world where superior stardom is argued and noted.  Way back in my youth baseball days, the team would select a MVP (most valuable player). It seems that no football game, at any level, can conclude without the same selection being made, and for the MVP of the Super Bowl, the one named MVP gets a brand new car/truck (of course, the winner is in great need of another car/truck…).  With every new Olympics, handing out more gold medals, setting new world records the announcers carry on the debate of who has been the greatest of all time…..Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz?  And if you travel to a small town in Upper Minnesota, you can visit the National Hockey League’s Hall of Fame as you check off the hundreds of such places for nearly everything under the sun.  We are a culture that likes to discern that some people are the cream of the crop, and some people are Most Valuable.

     Why do we do that?  

     I suppose that there is something appropriate to noting excellence.  It encourages people to hone their talents and do their best.  That is a good thing.  But there is a flip side to this good thing that is not so good, and that is the judgments that fall upon those who do not find themselves in MVP or Hall of Fame discussions.  In its mild form such people are seen as valuable, but certainly replaceable. In its brutal form, some people are seen as having no value at all, but are simple leeches and burdens.  Wouldn’t we find it strange if people decided to give out an award for the LVP, the Least Valuable Player?  Or if shrines were constructed to house those who had made the biggest mess of their lives, Halls of Losers?  (It seems to me that as strange as these things sound, in truth, many a discussion provides a great list of names for LVP and Loser nominations.)

     I don’t know why humans tend to be driven to elevate some and crush others, but I do know this: God does not engage in this.  I know this because God did something that supersedes and judgment of worth or value that the world might give.  God sent his Son to die and rise, not for some people, but for all people.  To God, each person is a MVP, a Most Valuable Person.  What greater value could one claim than to be someone whom God sent his Son to die for and claim as his eternal child.  Think about that….not a coach….not a teacher….not a general….not a world leader….but God Almighty … God Almighty sent his Son for each person. Each person has a display booth in God’s book of life, God’s Hall of Fame, not noting the good or bad that each person has done, but noting the depth of love that God has for each person that led God to do what God did….sent his Son.

     Some people might say that to think this way makes it too easy and encourages laziness, spiritual and general laziness.   But not me.  For me, to know that I am already an MVP (along with everyone else) gives me the freedom to live out of my worth, rather than try and make myself worthy.  It allows me to get up when I stumble and fall and say, “let’s give it another try.”, instead of berating myself for my clumsiness and two left feet.  It gives me the eyes to see those who lay beaten on the roadside of life and stop and help them, instead of ignoring them on my own journey to greatness.  It gives me hands to clasp onto others’ hands walking together into dark and scary places, rather than hands that clasp the sides of a ladder that I think I need to climb.

     This week, no matter who you are and no matter what you have done…no matter how terrible or good the world or you think you are, know this: God sent his Son for you.  God has named you MVP.  In a world that wants to rate the relative degree of yours and my worth, I want you to know that God does not do that. So valuable are you to God, that in the words of Songwriter Michael Card, God could not live without you.  WOW!   You….You….are God Almighty….God Almighty’s MVP!

Have a great week,

God’s Grace and Peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger