The Bungee Cord  9-29-20

Hello,

 

άγιο πνεύμα.  

 

This is the Greek for “Holy Spirit”.  As you may know, the original text of the New Testament is Greek, because the dominant international language was Greek, established as such by Alexander the Great and the leaders that followed him.  When he conquered a land he brought with him his culture, Hellenic or Greek. The Romans came along afterwards and the international language changed to Latin.

 

Lutheran pastors, part of our seminary training is to be able to handle Greek, because if one can wrestle with the original nuances of the Bible, one will, hopefully, give a better understanding of what the Gospel writers were trying to convey.  Many years ago….in college….I took four semesters of Biblical Greek.  Over the years much of what I learned has slipped through my memory, but the remnants of my learning still provide a microscope to the message of scripture.

 

The reason that I am writing about my Greek studies, and specifically the Greek word for the Holy Spirit (hagio pneuma), is it relates to what transpired at my house this past weekend.  Earlier in the summer I ordered a 12’x18’ shed, that would come as a kit, to house the growing number of equipment that we use to keep our property tame.  The brush-hog.  The rototiller that attaches to our tractor.  The cart we use to tote logs around.  Numerous other things that have been either consuming room in our garage or sitting outside under tarps.

 

The kit arrived a couple of weeks ago, 5000 lbs., and this past weekend two of my sons came to help me and my wife put It together.  None of us had ever attempted such a project,   The company, however, assured me that with all the pieces numbered and cut, we could do it.  So we courageously attacked the project, only to find out that it was to be held together by nails….thousands of them…to be pounded into hard 6”x6”s, and 4”x4”s.  It was only a matter of hammering in the first 20 nails that we realized this was going to be a daunting and exhausting task. Fortunately, one of my sons brought a pneumatic hammer with him.  It is a device that you hold in your palm, with a place to insert the nail head, and with little effort at all, it pneumatically and speedily pounds the nail in. Hosanna!

 

True enough, three brawny (?) guys like me and my sons could have pounded in all of those nails by hand. However, if we had to hammer each of those nails in, I think we would still be nailing, our arms would be burning, our shoulders would be aching, the boards would have been dented with innumerable hammer strikes that missed the nail, and we probably would have found we didn’t get enough nails in the kit for all of our mis-hit, bent over nails. The pneumatic hammer made life a lot easier.

 

It likewise occurs to me that the “hagio pneuma”  (the Holy Spirit) also makes life a lot easier.  It is true that people can hammer their way through life with their own power and strength….although when you come up against a concrete wall, human strength and human hammers don’t provide much help.  But when I consider the task of trying to hammer my way through life, the depth of exhaustion, pain, and frustration is a sure and tormenting reality. But here’s the thing, God has given us….each of us…a pneumatic hammer, a hammer powered by the Holy Spirit.  As we try to assemble our lives….all the thick and heavy boards that we need to nail together, nail into concrete walls, and sometimes even into thick steel girders…God comes to our building site and says, “Here, use this, the “hagio pneuma” (the Holy Spirit).  And when we do, we discover that the task is much easier, even when the building is incredibly hard.

 

Today, as you tackle the building project in front of you, look and see the amazingly powerful pneumatic hammer that God brings with him to your task.  And to those who say that using power equipment is wimpy, I say, from this weekend’s experience, using pneumatic equipment is wise!

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord  -  9/21/20

Hello,

 

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
   praise him in his mighty firmament! 
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
   praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 

Praise him with trumpet sound;
   praise him with lute and harp! 
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
   praise him with strings and pipe! 
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
   praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

Yesterday was a crisp September day, but not too crisp to keep us from having out worship service outside.  Hardy folks, these people.  Bundled up.  Sat in the sun.  And gathered together in thanks and praise to God for showering us with endless love and care.

 

But we weren’t the only ones praising God on this cool, sunny morning.  As I stood on the sidewalk waving to folks, I had some company. Squirrels, about a dozen of them. There’s a big oak tree that stands in front of the church, and as I was waving I could hear the acorns and shells falling to the ground in a chattering shower of praise.  Tap.  Tap. Tap.  A acorn-ic anthem of praise from some of God’s creatures.  Praising God for the food that God had given them. Praising God for the agility to reach those acorns.  Praising God for a harvest to carry them through the winter.

 

“Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!”

 

The soft praise of those squirrels fell loudly on my ears as I am trudging through these Covid months. The daily onslaught of the virus has a way of dampening life’s delight and making every day feel burdensome and heavy. The isolation that has been part of dealing with this virus has put roadblocks in the way of getting together with friends. The future carries an ominous echo reverberating caution and fear.

 

But thanks to the squirrels whose acorn-ic praise opened my ears and eyes to the truth that even in the midst of these days, God has provided me, as God has provided the squirrels, my daily bread, and in the chilling wind of the virus’ fetch of destruction, God has blanketed me with a divine promise that not even Covid has the power to separate me from God’s love.

 

The goodness and graciousness of God is indeed, far more powerful and prevalent than the struggles the world can throw our way.   It is there for us to see…hanging right in front of us, like acorns….hanging on the cross, hanging from kitchen cabinets, hanging from elbow bumps with friends, hanging from phone calls from people checking in on us, hanging from an e-mail from a friend who misses us, hanging from sunsets painting the evening sky…….  It is true.  The goodness and graciousness of God is far more powerful and prevalent than the struggles the world can throw our way.  It is just sometimes hard to see it under the world’s siege.

 

So…as the Psalmist says, “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!”  Including squirrels.  Including you and me.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord  9-14-20

Hello,

 

I am a big fan of sports. I enjoy watching the games on TV, going to games, playing games, and rooting for my team (The Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois….perennially on the bottom of the pile).  So, I am glad for the re-entry of sports into life, although I hope its re-entry doesn’t cause more problems in this Covid fight.

 

Last night I turned on an NFL game, Cowboys vs. Rams.  As I was watching, they were showing pictures of this new stadium that the Rams now plan in. It is an amazing structure. Swooping roofs, covered patios, waterfalls and ponds, state of the art everything.  The announcers said that it cost $5Billion dollars to build!  I guess a million here, a million there, and then it starts adding up to real money (lol).

 

Thing was: it was empty. Not a soul in the stands.  The luxury suites looked vacant.  No cheerleaders or mascot (that is because they had to stay outside on the steps).  Only the football team and personnel.  Otherwise, it was empty.

 

I am sure that the day will come when it will be filled to the brim with people.  There will be people walking all around the stadium.  Venders calling out their wares.  Cheerleaders and mascots.  Fans rubbing shoulders as they sit in the narrow placed seats, jumping up and down, and yelling with all of their might.  But yesterday, it was empty.

 

With some exceptions, over the course of these last 6 months, churches have been empty, too.  This church, St. James Lutheran, has been empty since the pandemic began.  We have not gathered inside this building as a measure of care for our neighbor. Fortunately, in the warmth of the summer  and with cooperation of the rain we have been able to gather outside, outside the empty building.

 

Truth is, however, that most churches have been becoming more empty over the last 50 years.  Gone are the days when people would arrive a half hour early to get a seat.  Gone are the days when choirs filled their lofts.  Gone are the days when the roof and the walls shake from the commotion going on inside.  Although some churches have been packed and loud, for the majority of Christian churches in this country, they have become emptier, and some of them empty.

 

Call me a fool, but I have great hope that the current emptiness of many things, will make much clearer the level of importance of the various things that have gathered us.  I am all for the joy, excitement and cathartic expulsion of emotions that stirs in people when they are in a football stadium. However, I am far more anticipating the joy that fills the heart of a high school kid who is struggling through life, when a piece of bread and a sip of wine are given to them, “Given and shed for you!”  I am far more anticipating the hope that fuels a person’s soul when the burdens of life are bearing down and a person gives that one a hug and says with Christian conviction, “We love you.  We are with you.”  I am more anticipating the thrill that comes from an organ with all the stops pulled and people singing from the bottom of their lungs, as I am just plodding my way through my daily life.  I am more anticipating the peace that blankets someone who has just really made of mess of life, and someone sits down next to that one in the pew and says with Christ-felt care, “How are you doing?”  I am more anticipating the sense of relief running up and down a person’s spine who is trying to be someone in the world, and hears from God himself the utmost of worth, “You are my child.”  I am more anticipating the awe and wonder when the grief of death is met head on with the power of the resurrection of Jesus, “Now all the vault of heaven resounds!”

 

I look forward to the day when that pricy stadium gets put to use, but I am looking with greater anticipation as the love of God which led God to pay a price far greater than the building of that stadium is a-stir amongst the people who gather in the magnified presence of God in each and every church.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord   9-7-20

Hello,

 

If you happen to be in Ligonier, Pa., and you drive from the Diamond to the Giant Eagle store, you will pass St. James Lutheran church as you go down the hill.  And if you look at the church while passing by, you will see a new sign on the church lawn.  “Q: Y wave?”

 

I asked one of our members, a high school sophomore, to paint it.  (He was also the painter of the previous lawn Post-Covid closure sign that said, “Alleluia!  Jesus has risen!  So have we!”) Just as with the previous sign, it is my hope that the sign catches people’s eyes and causes them to think.

 

“Q: Why wave?”

 

As the readers of the Bungee Cord know, every Sunday I stand out in front of the church and wave at people driving by.  I started doing this nearly 30 years ago when I was the pastor of a church in a small town. If you have ever lived in a small town you know, that waving is part of the culture.  So enculturated is waving that people have their own distinctive waves. The index finger wave from the top of a pick-up steering wheel.  The elegant wave from an older person sitting low in a Buick.  The eyes popping out “I can’t believe it is you” wave that is given to the wavee no matter how many times they have been seen.  The semi-salute wave.  Waves a plenty!

 

In small town, waving is expected.  As a matter of fact, if you don’t wave, people think of you as a bit of a snob.

 

So for nearly three decades, I have waved at people as they have driven by the church that I have served. My wave….mmmm….a semi-energetic wiping of the mirror wave.  As I wave, I try to catch people’s eye, and when I do, a nod is attached to my wave.

 

Ever since I left that small town, I have lived in places where waving at everyone is not the norm, and so I have found that my waving has caught people off guard.  They don’t know what to do….some wave back, some act like they didn’t see me, some stare and do nothing.  It has been an interesting adventure, standing out there on the sidewalk waving.  And I bet that more than once the question has popped into the minds of those to whom I am waving, “Why is he waving?”

 

If the answer that comes to mind is, “He is trying to get us to come to his church,” that would be a wrong answer (although if that is the result, that is not a bad result).  If the answer is, “He’s just a friendly guy,” that, too, would be wrong answer (although I hope that it is true.)  If the answer is, “He must want something from me,” again, a wrong answer and isn’t at all why I am waving.  If the answer is, “He is such a fool,”…..well, no comment on the correctness of that answer.

 

So, what is the answer? “Q: Why wave?”

Guess you’ll have to wait until the next lawn sign goes up to find out!

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord   9-1-20

Hello,

 

If you are a regular reader of the Bungee Cord, you know that I stand outside in front of the church and wave at people before the service.  I don’t wave at them to try and get them to come to our worship service (although that would be fine), I wave at them as a gesture of God’s grace, hoping that they see that they are counted as someone in the eyes of God no matter how busy or difficult their world might be.

 

So, as usual, I was out waving at people this past Sunday, and a white SUV stopped.  This car has stopped a couple of times before, and when it has stopped an elderly man got out to tell me how much my waving meant to him. And so that is what happened this time. After it stopped, the elderly man got out, but this time it wasn’t to thank me.  It was to tell me a joke.  I saw this as giving me a gesture of God’s grace.  Thank you, sir.

 

Let me extend that grace to you.

 

There was a man who went out in the ocean in his boat, and he got caught in a terrible storm – a Gilligan’s Island storm.  After the storm subsided, he found himself washed up on a small island.   Years and years went by as he made his life on the island.  But one day, a small boat came along, and when it did, he ran to the beach and waved the boat down.   He was seen by the captain of the boat and the boat came ashore.

 

When the captain of the boat came ashore, the man gave him a big hug, and said, “You don’t know how long I have been waiting for this day.”  And then he said, “Can I show you how I have survived?”

 

“Of course,” said the captain and the man led him over to the house that he had built.

 

“You did a fine job of building yourself a house,” said the captain.

 

And pointing him to a building about 50 yards away, the man said to the captain, “And that building, that is the church that I built.”

 

“Wow,” said the captain, “What a wonderful church you built.”

 

The man started gathering up his belongings and the two of them started making their way toward the rescue boat, when the captain spied another building about 100 yards away, and he said to the man, “I see another building.  What is that?”

 

And the man said, “Oh. That is the church that I used to go to.”

 

Hahahahaha!

 

Hope you had a laugh full of God’s grace during these days of Covid’s cover.

 

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger