The Bungee Cord 7-27-20

Hello,

 

Those who know me, know that I am a baseball fan.  I played a lot of baseball as a kid, and I enjoy watching the match-play of strategy and skill. If football and hockey are high energy video games, then baseball, to me, is more akin to an intriguing game of chess.

 

So, when the opening games finally began, I was to be found sitting on my couch in front of my TV. Of course, that is the only place to watch baseball games as of now, due to the coronavirus restrictions.  No fans at the games.  Some of the teams have filled some of the sections with cardboard cutouts of fans, fans of course which make no noise.

 

But that is not to say that there is no fan-sound.  In many of the stadiums, fan noise is being pumped in.  I don’t know how they do it, but they seem to be able to recreate the noise that would be made if the fans were there.  The increase in volume when a ball is hit.  The clapping in sync with the organ, and even the boo-ing of the opposing coach when he comes out to argue.  

 

If you are watching on TV, you know that the noise is not real, but if you are listening on the radio, you would never know the difference.  And listening to the radio is what I was doing yesterday as I was driving in my car.  The Pirate announcers sounded as if they were right there at the game, but they were not. They were in a studio in Pittsburgh. The stadium in St. Louis sounded like it was a sellout crowd, but it was empty.  Everything that came across the radio waves was so realistic, that when I took in a deep breath, I could almost smell the peanuts and popcorn that I would eat at the games when I was a kid.

 

It sounded so real…..but it wasn’t.

 

But that is the way things often are in this world that we live.  We don’t hear guns and tanks, and we think there is peace, but it just war taking a nap.  We see people of all races living in a neighborhood and we think we see love, but we don’t, it is just tolerance.  We hear money jingling in our bank accounts, and we think we have security, but it really is just a screen door as we face the future.  The world offers a lot of things that seem so real, but in truth, they are not.

 

But with God, things are different.  They are real.   They are what they say they are.   When silence surrounds us, we experience peace, true peace, because as Psalm 46 says that our Mighty Fortress God says to us, “Be still, and know that I am God.”   When we see folks of all ages and races kneeling side by side at the altar to receive communion, we experience love, real love, because the one who came in unconditional love to give his life for the world is at working to unite people in his cross-conquered love.  When we hear the vault of heaven resound in joy, we experience security, real security, as the one who danced his way out of the grave takes hold of us and gathers us in that dance.  

 

One of the things that I am finding to be true during these Covid days is the unveiling of the things of this world so that we might see them for what they really are….not really real.  Simultaneously, I am finding these Covid days to clear the vision of my eyes to see the things of God for what they really are….really real.

 

Have a great day.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord 7-20-20

Hello,

Time for a little humor….a very little humor.  If you have ever lived in the upper-Midwest (Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin) than you have probably heard more than your share of “Ole and Lena” jokes.  These are jokes that Scandinavians tell, laughing at themselves and their idiosyncrasies.  Of course, when you tell them you need to tell them with your best Scandinavian accent…. So it’s …. OOOOOOOlee and Leeeeeena…..and you have to throw Sven in there, too (tuuuu).

So….starting off with a bit off color joke….

One day Sven was sitting on the porch of the sheriff’s office, and all of the sudden he looks and he see Lena running into town, and she’s got no clothes (“cloooose”) on. Well, don’t you know, Sven jumps from his chair and runs over to Lena and he says, he says to her, “Lena, you gots no cloooose on.”

Vell, Lena looks over at Sven and she says, she says to him, “Vell Sven, you know Me and Ole, ve vent up to the lake, and ve vas doing some smooching, and Ole, Ole he says to me, “Hey Lena, let’s take off all of our cloooose and really go to town……and it looks like I beat him here!”

Lol….

If you made it through that one, here’s another one….

One day as Ole and Lena were sitting in their kitchen eating their breakfast and drinking their coffee, Lena breaks the silence and she says to Ole, “Ole, how come you don’t ever tell me that you love me?”

Vell….Ole….he sat there thinking to himself, and then he said, “Vell, don’t you remember that vhen ve got married, I told you that I love you?   Vell, I haven’t changed my mind yet.”

Lol….

Vell…unlike Ole, God tells us over and over again of his love for us.  In the waters of Baptism, God says, “I love you.”  In the promise of forgiveness, God says, “I love you.”  In the fellowship of Sunday morning, God says, “I love you.”  In the bread and wine of Holy Communion, God says, “I love you.”  In the prayers that tuck us in every night, God says, “I love you.” Ole may not think that Lena needs to hear that he hasn’t changed his mind, but God says it over and over to us again so that we might not ever wonder if God has changed his mind.”

“I love you,” God.

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  7-13-20

Hello,

In these days of Covid, I find a general grumpiness taking hold of a lot of people.  

Last week, I stopped into the local grocery store to pick up a couple of things, and as usual the folks at the grocery store were hard at work, as they have been throughout the onslaught of this virus.  All of them wearing masks that I am sure are cumbersome and bothersome.  All of the cashiers behind plexiglass shields that I am sure makes it difficult to communicate with their customers.  All of them wiping their hands and counters over and over again with unmitigated repetition.  All of them daily putting themselves in harm’s way to help people like me stay alive.

So, I haven’t been surprised when the workers at the grocery store are a little grumpy, and sometimes that has happened.  I am not surprised if they seem a bit weary and worn out and are people of few words when they encounter me.  I am not surprised when they are not delighted by my presence.  Given all that they face, I know that I would probably be likewise.

But I was surprised this past week when I stopped to pick up a couple of things at the grocery store. After gathering what I needed, I proceeded my way to the checkout area.  The “express” lane was long, so I looked to see if there was a shorter “normal” lane with folks that didn’t have overfilled grocery carts.  I found one,  and  I stood on the green dots on the floor that kept me appropriately distant from those around me.  I was third in line.  As I waited my turn, I noticed something that took me by great surprise.  The checkout person was vibrantly friendly and wonderfully engaging the people.  When she greeted the person she was about to help, it was delightfully warm.  When the older woman in front of me reached the checkout person, I heard the checkout person call the customer by name, and said, “Oh hello, Mable.  How are you today?”  She engaged in some endearing chit-chat with the customer, and when her checkout was complete, she said with an energetic wish, “Mable, you have a great day!”

When I reached the front of the line, she likewise warmly and delightfully greeted me, someone she had never met before.  “Do you have a Giant Eagle card?”, she asked, not with an assembly line monotone but with a bounce in her voice.

“No, I don’t, but here’s my telephone number,” which I rattled off to her.

“Oh, Jerry.  Good morning!”, she replied when my number unveiled my identity.

She chit chatted with me as she rang up my few items, and when she handed me my receipt, I said to her, “Thank you for your cheeriness.  It is wonderful.”

She, with a lilt in her voice, “Well, I am trying.”

And then she said….., “My cat died this morning.”

The surprise of her words hit me in the face like cold water.  “Oh, I am sorry,” I replied, “I had to put my dog down this winter, and boy was that hard.”  And as I left her, I said, “Thanks, again, and take care.”

The saying is certainly true, “Be kind because you don’t know what battle someone is fighting.”  I was wonderfully amazed at her cheeriness in the face of the never relenting shroud of this virus, but I was astonishingly amazed at her cheeriness towards me in the face of the loss of a beloved companion, just that morning.  She didn’t know me.  I had never met her before.  I was merely a buyer of potato chips crossing her path that morning, and yet she treated me as something far more.  She greeted me with joy that I had come to her checkout line.  And she sent me away with a blessing of grace that made a dent in my life.

Thank you, Lord for the grace that that checkout person showed me and showered into my life. Lord, so fill me with your gracious love, that I, like she, might be able to overcome the battles of my days and make a dent of your joy, hope, peace, and love in those who cross my path. Amen.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  7-6-20

Hello,

This was my sermon on Sunday….thought it might be good to share it with you, too.  Read the sermon, and then play the video….and be hugged by God.

 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matthew 11:28-30)

·      I don’t know about you, but I am weary.  

·      I am weary of being hunted by this virus, 

·     a hunt that has caused me to go into hiding, 

·     a hunt that has caused me to be constantly vigilant and careful, 

·     a hunt that has caused me to refrain from things that previously had brought much joy to my life, 

·     a hunt that has caused me to be on the look out wherever I go and concern myself with details 

….I am weary.  

·     And my weariness has had a way of sapping joy out of my life.  

·     It has had a way of making me more edgy and less patient.  

·     It has had a way of wearing me down

….and the hard part of all of this is that I think that we have a long way to go before this covid thing is under wraps.  I am weary.

And so when I hear Jesus say this morning, “Come unto me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens,”  I hear that invitation being spoken directly to me.  “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Notice when Jesus gives you and me this invitation, he does not offer to take all the wearying things away.  

·     No, what Jesus offers is to be the place of peace and rest.  

·     A place of gentle care in a world that is harsh and cruel.  

·     A place where he will enfold us in his shielding love, and we can take refuge under his wings.  

·     A divine lap to sit upon….to sit upon and be loved.

I think that most of you know that I deal with depression, and when depression hits life is hard.  Depression, like covid, is a constant hunter, and it, like covid, can just wear you out. It makes one weary.  And when depression hovers near and I am worn out, I have found that there is something – besides good counselling and medicine – that really helps out… and that thing is a 20 second hug from my wife.  

·     Embraced.  

·     Enfolded. 

·     Encompassed in the arms of one who loves me.

 It gives me a 20 second break from the hunter.  

·     It allows me to catch my breath. 

·     It refreshes my soul so as to give me strength to take the next step.  

“Come to me,” says Jesus, “ and let me give you a hug.”

“Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Here….in these next few seconds and minutes….feel the hug of the Lord.   

(Play the video)

“Come you laden with burdens…..”

Have a great day.

God’s grace and peace,(ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

(Unfortunately, I can't post the video here...but you can access it by going to my Facebook page, Jerry Nuernberger)