The Bungee Cord. 5-31-21

Hello,

 

On this Memorial Day week, when our eyes and our hearts are turned to graveyards filled with those interred who lost their lives on the battle field, I hear the words from Isaiah 11:

 

⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.
⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
⁹ They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.

And I find myself crying, “Lord, make it soon!  We’ve battled enough.”

 

We’ve battled enough in the darkness of our souls from the brokenness of our lives, hating ourselves for the things that bring pain to ourselves and others.

We’ve battled enough in families where the deepest pain is felt from harsh words and broken promises.

We’ve battled enough in communities that believe the worst about our neighbor and look for the worst, too.

We’ve battled enough in churches where personal power tries to usurp the power of God’s grace and mercy for which the churches exist.

We’ve battled enough in our country that fights over pieces of the pie when there is a feast great enough for all to share.

We’ve battled enough over trivial things so we don’t have to confront the deeper, more frightening things of life.

We’ve battled enough in our world, seeking to dominate others rather than embrace them.

We’ve battled enough driven by the arrogance that we are certain of our rightness, and others who do not see things our way or live like us are wrong.

We’ve battled enough against you, God, and your desire to shepherd us to green pastures and still waters, prodigally wandering away.

 

“Lord, make it soon.  We’ve battled enough.”

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord  5-24-21

Hello,

 

One of my “parables”.

 

The forgiveness of God is like…..

 

A man went into a local restaurant for his evening meal.  He sat down at the table to which he was escorted, leaned back in his chair and awaited the server to come to bring him the menu.  In short time a well-dressed young man came up to his table carrying a menu and a glass of water.

 

“Good evening, sir,” said the server handing him the menu and sitting the glass of water on the table.

 

Immediately, the man saw something that nearly turned his stomach.  “Sir,” said the man, “there are dozens of mouse turds floating in this water!”

 

“Oh,” said the server, “I am sooooo sorry.”  The server grabbed the glass of water, quickly stuck his hand in it and scooped out a bunch of the mouse turds and then set it back down in front of the man.

 

Caught off guard, the man cleared his throat and said, “Excuse me, but there are still a couple of mouse turds floating in the water.”

 

The server eyed the glass with unbelief and said, “Oh, I am so very sorry,” and he picked up the glass again, took a good look at it, and proceeded to stick his hand back into the water, and this time was careful to scoop out all of the mouse turds, and then he set it back down in front of the man.

 

Not believing what he was seeing, the man said to the server, “Sir, do you expect me to drink this water?”

 

“Why not?” the server responded.

 

“Because there were mouse turds in it!”

 

A bit perturbed, the server took the glass of water, walked over to the sink, dumped out the water and refilled the glass with water from the tap, brought it back to the table, set it down in front of the man and said, “Here you go, sir.”

 

Seeing what the server had done, the man looked with shock at the water that was set in front of him.  “I can’t drink this water,” the man said to the server.

 

“Excuse me,” said the server.  “What’s the problem?”

“This glass had water with mouse turds in it.”

 

The server rolled his eyes in disbelief, and grabbed the glass, took it over to the sink, dumped the water out, and then he spit into the glass, took a dishcloth and scrubbed the inside.  He then filled it with water, brought it over to the man, and set it in front of the man.

 

“Are you kidding me?”, the man said to the server.

 

“What’s the problem now?”, said the server with a humph in his voice.

 

“I saw what you did.  This glass still isn’t clean.  I can’t drink this water.”

 

“Sir,” said the server, “what will it take for you to drink the water?”

 

“What I need you to do is to take this glass over to that sink, squirt a goodly amount of dish soap into it, scrub it with clean, hot water, dry it with a clean towel, fill it with clean water, and set it in front of me.”

 

“Ok…ok…ok,” said the flustered server, who did just what the man asked.  And when the server placed the glass of water in front of the man, the man picked up the glass-full of water, drank it down, and said, “Thank you.”

 

“For there is no distinction, ²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; ²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”  (Romans 3:23,24)

 

All who have ears, listen.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger 

 The Bungee Cord  5-17-21

Hello,

 

As odd as it may seem, I have come to see that the point of the Christian faith in my life is not to become a good person.  Rather, the point of the Christian faith is to become a person of God.

 

You see, if Christianity is all about making good people, then that puts Christianity alongside so many other things whose object is to do the same thing.  Rotary Clubs.  Educational groups.  Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.  Planet Fitness gyms.  Sports teams.  Patriotic groups.  When you look around, there are all sorts of things who hope to be about forming good people.  And if you ask each one, you’ll find out that each of them has their own take on what it means to be a “good person”.  So, if Christianity is a “good person” factory, then it is no wonder that many people see no need for it, or take it so lightly  because there are lots of other places to turn to turn out a good person.

 

But as I see it, it seems an awfully high price to pay, that Jesus would endure the sufferings he received and a crucifixion on a cross to simply set up a good person’s society.  As a matter of fact, I can’t think of any group that seeks to make good people that was begun with such a high price.  There must be something other to the Christian faith.

 

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)…..³And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

 

I think that these two verses from the Book of John capture the unique purpose of Christianity: to raise up people who know God.  And when I say that I don’t mean that the point of Christianity is to merely intellectually assert the existence of God, or even be able to retell all of the stories from the Bible.  That would be knowing about God.  No, as the Bible says, the goal of Christianity is to know God.  In the Biblical meaning of the word “know”, there is a sense of deep and intimate understanding.  Trusting completely.  At one in thought and heartbeat.  Inseparably united.

 

In Jesus, God does what is seemly beyond belief, God knows humanity, in order that we might know God. And when we know God, as deeply as God knows us, our eyes take in wonder that surpasses all human understanding.  Our ears hear pulses of power that spring from eternity and rumble to the close of time.  Our hearts beat with the compassion of the One who treasures everything in the universe.  Our hands feel the strong grip of divine love and mercy that will not let us go.  Our weak knees are steadied with a quiet of peace that not even death and disturb.  And our entire self is blanketed in grace and mercy that is impenetrable. 

 

The world is a very complex place, so complex that simply striving to be good often leaves us empty handed.  But to be a person of God, one who as the Bible says is a piece of clay in the hands of the potter, in that I find great hope for myself, hope for all the people of the world, hope for all the people of all time….and if I might be so bold to say so, hope for you, too.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 

 The Bungee Cord.  5-11-21

Hello,

 

I was watching a Pirates baseball game yesterday, when a player who was playing his first major league game got his first hit.  The Pirates retrieved the ball for him to put somewhere in his house as a lasting memory of that memorable moment in his life.

 

I have one such ball.  Displayed on one of my man cave walls in a plastic box is a ball given to me when I was 12 years old by my Little League Allstar team.  I pitched all 6 innings of the game.  Hit a home run off of the opposing pitcher, Ricky Bouchard.   Struck out my best friend with a curve ball, Mike Kripner.  And we won the game! (We had so many Little League teams that we had two leagues in my town.  National League if your address was an odd number.  American League if your address was an evening number.  705 was my house number, and so I was on the National League Allstar team, representing the Foster Toys Pirates.)

 

So, when the game was over, the coach handed me the ball and a blue ballpoint pen.  The ball was passed around the dugout, and every player signed it.   Kids that I used to kick around the infield dirt with.  Kids who I turned double plays with.  Kids who were cheered on by our coach who would yell onto the field, “Atta’ baby!  Atta’ boy!”   Now, 50+ years later, that ball hangs on my mancave wall next to pictures of me pitching in high school, various University of Illinois baseball hats (didn’t play baseball in college), some chalk drawings done by my oldest son, and a couple of pictures of my fraternity brothers when I went to Illinois.  Makes me smile when I see it.

 

I don’t know if God has a “Godcave”, but if God does, I imagine that on one of the walls God has all sorts of memorabilia…a piece of the hull of the ark, the pebble that David used to slay Goliath, a thorn from the crown that was placed on Jesus’ head, a chunk of the stone that God moved from the tomb of Jesus, and…a shelf holding a big book….the Book of Life (Rev. 3:5).  And like that baseball on my mancave wall, on the pages of that book are printed all the names of those who have a share in God’s victory of eternal life.  Scripted by Jesus’ hand, written in his blood, and smudged a bit by the Holy Spirit’s finger when God prays over all of our names.  And on page 6,783,201 is my name.  A name that bears the memory of my Baptism in October 1957.  A name that holds the words of God’s forgiveness of sins that God does not remember.  A name that has a room number next to it for the room in God’s heavenly mansion that God has prepared for me forever.

 

I don’t know how often God takes that book off the shelf and reads through all the names, but when God does, I bet a smile comes across God’s face, because each of those names is a name of a person that the devil did not get…the name of a person that the world did not conquer….the name of a person that not even death could claim.  Names of victory….God’s victory.  Your name.  My name.

 

Makes God smile when God sees it.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord - 5-3-21

Hello,

 

Spring has sprung in western Pennsylvania, and at our house that means gardening.  Nor for me, but for my wife.  She plants three vegetable beds, grows pollinating plants for the butterflies, and tends the various decorative plants around our house.  She is an official “master gardener”, so I guess she has an official green thumb.

 

These past several weeks she has been starting her vegetable plants, and they take their spot in our family room in front of the big picture window facing west.  She tends each one of them with care.  Spraying them with water a couple times a day, rotating them daily so that grow straight, and soon she will set them outside in the shade to get them prepared for their summer in the garden.

 

God is often pictured in the Bible as a gardener, specifically a vineyard owner.  Much like my wife, God is said to be a careful and caring gardener.  Pruning branches, tending the soil, and overseeing the growth of the vines.  Watching my wife tend her fragile plants opens my eyes to a clearer vision of God’s tending of God’s tender plants, especially and including you and me.  Also, you and I are not in the hands of some green-horn gardener, but you and I are in the hands of someone, who like my wife, is not a green-horn gardener, but a certified green thumbed Master Gardener.  God daily showers us with divine love, spins us around when we are starting to lean too far in one direction, and sets us out in the shade of his mercy to prepare us for the heat of our lives.

 

There is something about God that is quite different from my wife’s gardening practices, and that is that God is also known for his rather reckless abandon in the use of the seeds.  Unlike my wife who carefully plants each individual seed in nearly perfect potting soil, God is said to be like a gardener who grabs a handful of seed from his bag, and just tosses all those seeds into the wind, making sure that all the soil is covered in seed….good, bad, rocky, or weedy.  He does this because God has an endless bag of grace to sow in this world.  God does not sow his love as if it were limited or scarce.  God sows his love knowing that his love will never end.  The good news about that is that I can rest assured that God’s love will land on me.  There are times when God’s grace lands on my life and the soil of my life is not good.  I am confused.  I am caught in the world’s cares.  I am hard hearted.  But never the less, God doesn’t stop sowing his grace in my life, giving up on the soil that his seed finds on one day.  Every day, God is back at God’s gardening job, recklessly sowing new seeds of grace and mercy.  And maybe on this day of sowing, my life is more receptive to God’s grace…..maybe God has done some fertilizing and loosing of my life by the love that others have shown me…..maybe I have come to my wit’s end and my heart has softened….maybe the blessing of rain has fallen and the seed takes a better hold.  Unlike my wife, God does not give up on the soil that his seeds fall upon, God keeps on casting grace into every corner of the world….including the soil of my life and the soil of your life.

 

Spring has sprung in western Pennsylvania!  And know this, God is at work in your life springing forth hope, peace, joy, and faith in your life as God recklessly sows the seeds of grace, and carefully and caringly tends the plants.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger