The Bungee Cord  6-29-20

Hello,

An interesting thing happened yesterday.  I was stationed before worship, as usual, in front of our church building waving at people as they drove by on main street.  As I have told you before, I get varied responses from my waving.  Some don’t see me and drive right by.  Some, I am sure, do see me and drive right by, too. Some wave back.  Some honk their horns.  But yesterday, something happened that has never happened before.

A white pick-up drove by. I waved.  Because of the small oak tree that stand in our parkway, it is sometimes hard for people to see my waving until they are right upon me, and that is what happened with this pick-up driver.  Just as the pick-up was passing me, the driver saw my wave, and tapped on his horn.  I watched him drive down the road a bit, and then turning again in that direction, I saw him turning around.  He drove back up to our church and parked immediately across from it, and got out of his truck.  As he was coming across the road, I did not recognize his face, and so I said with a bounce in my voice, “Good morning.”

He reached the church side of the road and started walking up the stairs on the parkway, and as he did, he returned my greeting.  He was dressed in clothes that would have made me think he was planning on doing some yardwork.  “Good morning,” I said again as he reached the top of the stairs.

That is when he said to me, “I really appreciated your wave,” and he stretched out his hand and handed me a $50.00 bill.  “Put that in the offering basket, would you.  Just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated your wave.”

I said, “My, that is very kind of you.   I just want people to know that they are loved by God.  That is why I wave.”

“Well,” he said, “I really appreciated the wave,” and he turned around, got back into his pickup and as he drove off, I waved at him again.

In truth, the $50.00 bill was certainly not needed or expected, but it was a clear sign to me of the weight of my wave upon his heart.  It underscored my hunch that there are people for whom an expression of God’s love to them is just what they need.  It also underscored my hope that by this small gesture of God’s grace, my wave, that I give to people as they drive by might touch their hearts in a meaningful way.

I hope that these Bungee Cords come to you as a wave of God’s grace to you.  Also, I hope that this Bungee Cord will be an encouragement to you to be “wavers” of God’s grace.  That is to take the opportunity to do small things that convey God’s love that might actually touch people on any given day in a big way.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  6-22-20

Hello,

This is a story that I wrote a long time ago (when I was in seminary!) based on Romans 6:2, one of the readings from this past Sunday.  If you want to see me in action telling this story, here’s the link …the story begins at 18:45) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRnZqTjzPUg

One day a young boy was playing in his backyard, when he looked over at a small tree, maybe 10 feet tall, and it appeared that the bark on the trunk of the tree was moving.  As he went closer, he saw that the bark of the tree wasn’t moving at all, but the trunk had become main street for a parade of caterpillars making their way to the branches.  He was amazed at the beauty of these uniformly decked out caterpillars, crawling in perfect rhythm up the trunk, just like a marching band.  He sat there for hours taking in the sight, and imagining the tune they might have been playing.

After they had all reached the branches he watched them all take their place on their own leaves, and seemingly tired out from their parade, each of them settled on their leaf as if it were a mattress, and slowly spun itself into what looked like a sleeping bag.

Day after day, he would go out to that tree to see what would become of these resting band members. And then one day, he noticed movement going on inside these sleeping bags.  Restless stirring and shaking.  He took a close look and there right before his eyes, the sleeping bags began to open, and he was startled by what emerged.  Not a furry caterpillar, but a graceful and beautiful butterfly. One by one they emerged from their rest, and each one of them uniformly dressed in a far more spectacular uniform than before.  Before long the tree was fluttering with these transformed creatures, and the little boy stood there in amazement as the butterflies dried their glistening wings in the warm sun.

He reached out to touch one of them, but as his hand drew near, with a flap of their wings they all took off into the sky, in a parade far more awesome then their parade before.  As they flew into the sky, the little boy’s heart filled with joy watching them soar, and imagining the new song that they were playing.

When the band of butterflies left his sight, he turned his gaze back onto the tree, and he noticed that there on one of the branches was one lone butterfly that remained behind.  He took a close look at it, and it seemed to be exactly like all of its band members that had taken off.  It’s wings were solid.  But instead of flapping them, this butterfly kept its wings motionless as it walked back and forth along the branch.  As it walked, its wings caught the breeze and its walk was labored and awkward.  Back and forth this butterfly that did not fly  walked along the branch, and with each passing its journey was slower and more trying, until finally a gust of wind caught hold of its wings, and it tumbled to the ground.

The butterfly lay there on the ground, so tired and exhausted from its trek.  It did not move.  So, the little boy reached down to pick up the butterfly that would not fly.  He cradled it in his hands, and judged it to be as perfectly reassembled as the rest of the band of butterflies.  And with sadness in his heart, he brought the butterfly that would not fly to his face and he said to it, “How can you, a butterfly, live like a caterpillar?”

Hear these words from the Apostle Paul, “How can you who have died to sin keep on living in it?"

“How can you, a butterfly, live like a caterpillar?” 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (GGAP)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord 6-15-20

Hello,

One day Jesus and Moses went out to play a round of golf.  They came upon a par three hole with a pond right in front of the green. Moses studied the distance and wind, and pulled a 3 iron out of his bag.  He stepped up to the tee, teed the ball up, took a practice swing, and then took a swipe at the ball.  The ball sailed high, and as Moses stood there proudly eyeing his shot, suddenly he became dismayed, because instead of reaching the green, the ball plopped into the water…..splash.

“Darn,” Moses said, and without saying another word he started walking toward the green, and when he reached the water, he struck it with his 3 iron and the water separated and he walked on dry ground and picked up his ball.  He carried it back to the tee, set it on a tee, took out his 3 wood, took a practice swing, and then took a swipe at the ball.  Once again the ball sailed high, and this time it barely made it over the water, and it landed on the front edge of the green.  “Phew!”, said Moses.

Then Jesus walked over to his golf bag, and he looked over at Moses and asked, “Moses, if Arnold Palmer was here, what club do you suppose that he would use?”

Moses thought for a bit and said, “Well, in his prime I bet he would have used a 7 iron.”

“Okay,” said Jesus, and Jesus pulled his 7 iron out of his bag, walked up to the tee, teed the ball up, took a practice swing, and then took a swing at the ball.  The ball sailed high, and as Jesus stood there admiring his shot, he became dismayed because the ball landed right in the middle of the pond….splash.

So, Jesus walked down the fairway and upon reaching the pond he walked on the water, reached down where the ball had splashed, pulled the ball up out of the water, and headed back to the tee, where he pulled out his 7 iron again.

“Wait,” said Moses, “You just used your 7 iron and you hit it into the water.”

“I know,” said Jesus, “but if Arnold Palmer was here, he would use a 7 iron.”

Jesus set the ball on the tee, took a practice swing, and took a swing at the ball.  The ball sailed high, but once again plopped into the lake.  Again, Jesus went down to the pond, walked on the water, retrieved the ball, and came back to the tee where he pulled out his 7 iron, again.

Startled, Moses said to Jesus, “Wait, you just put it in the water a second time with that 7 iron.”

“I know,” said Jesus, “but if Arnold Palmer was here, he would use a 7 iron.”

Jesus set the ball on the tee, took a practice swing, and took a swing at the ball.  The ball sailed high, and once again it fell into the pond.

Undaunted, Jesus walked down the fairway, strode out on the water, and reached down to pick up his ball.

In the meantime, things had gotten a bit backed up at that par three hole, and the next round of golfers had arrived and were waiting their turn.  Frustrated, they watched Jesus walk down the fairway, but they became amazed when they saw him stride out onto the water.  And in amazement one said to the other, “Do you see that?  Who does that guy think he is, Jesus Christ?”

Moses, overhearing that question, turned his head toward the waiting golfers and said, “No, Arnold Palmer.”

LOL.

Just thought a little (I know, a very little humor) humor might make these long drawn-out Covid days go by a little easier.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   6-8-20

Hello,

Yesterday we re-began in person worship.

It was a wonderfully sunny and cool morning.  The squirrels were playing on the telephone pole.  The birds took their place in the trees, singing us in.  We worshipped outside on our side lawn, as we plan to do all summer, weather permitting.  A couple of the high school boys painted a 4’x8’ sign that said, “Christ Has Risen. Alleluia.  So Have We.”  Gathering outside on a beautiful day was a great rejuvenation of the Spirit that brings us together, and a great witness to the world around us of the hope in Christ that arises out of the turmoil of life.

As an extra precaution of starting up again, we asked that everyone wear a mask, and they did.  In this time of mask wearing, you have probably noted what I have noted.  First, you can’t always tell who someone is when they are wearing a mask.  Those facial features that carry the individual characteristics of a person are hidden, and when encountering someone you have to study  carefully the characteristics that one can see to asses who it is….and even then, sometimes you are left wondering.  The other thing about masks is that a person’s facial expressions are covered up. Smiles.  Frowns.  Pursed lips. Without those facial features, it clouds the encounters that we have, and sometimes makes them confusing.

So, we all wore our masks through the entire service (except for me when I preached in order to be more audible).  And as I looked out at the congregation it was with a hindered connection….were they with me….how were they feeling about what I was saying….work they awake? Alas, at least for the time being, this fogginess in relating will be part of our lives together for the sake of the care of the most vulnerable amongst us.

If  you have been catching our virtual worship services on-line, you know that we always finish our worship services with the singing of the Benediction, a rendition that was written by Michael Card.  Pre-virus, I would sing it once, blessing the congregation. Then the congregation would join me in the second time, giving me my needed blessing from the Lord.  And then the third time we would sing it, the congregation would turn to the center aisle, and sing it to each other…..blessing each other.

Well, since the virus, I have been singing it alone, albeit three times, hopefully drawing people into the memory of our mutual blessings pre-virus.  Not being certain of the risk of congregational singing, even with masks, we decided to refrain from congregational singing for a while, which meant that yesterdayI soloed the benediction…the first time, the second time, and the third time.  But, I decided to be a bit rebellious yesterday, and before I sang the benediction the third time, I paused and said, “Let’s be a bit risky, and pull your masks off of your faces for just a few seconds, and look at each other as I sing.” 

And the people did…every one of them.  And when they did, you could see the smiles.  You could see those characteristics that pronounce who we are. You could feel a rise in the Spirit, and a tethering of Christ’s love between us.

It all reminded me of the Apostle Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians, “But now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see (Christ) face to face.”  Seeing the joy erupt in seeing one another face to face, opened my heart to the joy that awaits me….and you….when faith will become sight, and we will see him face to face.  

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Bungee Cord  6-1-20

Hello,

I recorded St. James’ worship service on Wednesday afternoon, before our nation was being shredded by the hatred and violence that boiled over because of injustice.  

When evil raises its ugly head and starts to feast upon our world, one way that many deal with that evil is to respond in a defensive manner, saying, “Its not my fault.”  Blame is placed on others.  Shields of self-righteousness claims are raised, “I am not racist.”  And maybe the worst salvos are launched when some say, “Those people are just getting what they deserve.”

We Lutheran Christians are people who believe that defensive dwelling on fault is not worth our time or energy.  It is not that we do not believe there is fault to be had.  What we believe, and every Sunday we say it when we begin our worship services, “We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot save ourselves.”  In other words, we confess that we share in that fault.  No if, ands, or buts about it.  And the reason that we start all of our services with that confession is that pointing fingers of fault is a dead end street, literally.  For life to happen, we need to move beyond fault, and into the power of Christ to make a difference in this world.

It is interesting that this upheaval of our world that is being seen in living color on our T.V.’s is happening on the week that we, Christians, celebrate Pentecost.  As I spoke red-clad in my sermon that if there is a day in the year that is meant to draw all people together, it is Pentecost.  It is a day that God stepped into the world that is prone to divide people because of their differences, and by the power of the Holy Spirit brings people together.  And remember, when God brings people together, God does not get rid of those differences, instead God cherishes each person in the wonder of those differences.

As I watched fires rage this past week, I saw the fires of this world at work to tear people apart.  As I saw the fire of that first Pentecost sweep through Jerusalem, I saw the fire of God melting people together in God’s love and mercy.  Just like metals that are heated together and bring greater strength, Pentecost is a day when we see that God is at work to make an alloy of Grace that can stand up to the dividing forces of this world.

So, what can you and I, Pentecost people, do about the shredding of our world that is happening all around us.  Well, it seems to me clear that we need to step out of defensive hole of faulting and blame, and step into the world with the power of God’s uniting Spirit.  Today, I invite you to throw your stone of Grace into your corner of the world, and watch it move into the world with ripples of healing and care.  When someone comes up to you who is caught in defensiveness and blame, you can draw upon the power of Pentecost and say, “Well, there’s blame enough to share.  I am determined to move forward from blame into actions of love with a heart of love.” And on this Pentecost Sunday we see that God gives us more than enough power to do that.

Let us pray,

God of grace and mercy, pour out upon us the Spirit of your love. Empower us to be so emblazoned by your love so that with every person we encounter, an alloy that bears the strength of Christ’s love might unite us and hold us together.  In Christ’s name.  Amen. 

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

(You can find a video of this Bungee Cord on my Facebook page