The Bungee Cord 1-11-21

Hello,

 

How do we know when we are doing God’s will?

 

I ask that because as I watched the on-goings at our nation’s capital, I saw several signs declaring that the folks involved were participating in the will of God.  I saw a cross attached to a flagpole that was carrying a couple of flags, and I saw a flag that said, “JESUS”, on it.  Having seen these things, I am sure that there were some, if not many, who believed that they were involved in God’s will.  (I might say that I didn’t see any of these things carried by those who broke their way into the building.)

 

As a matter of fact, I would venture to guess that at virtually every demonstration hosting thousands of people, the same sights would be seen.  I have seen them myself.

 

How do we know when we are doing God’s will?

 

Those of us who regularly pray the Lord’s Prayer ask that God’s will would be done among us, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

I am sure that theologians far wiser than I can answer this question with far more wisdom, so, I would rather answer a corollary question:  How do we know when we are not doing God’s will?  My answer: When we are unaware that we might not be doing God’s will.

 

God has placed the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, in human hands.  And in one of Jesus’ parables, we find out that God expects us to do something with His Gospel, and not just safely bury it in the sand or in our hearts. (Matthew 25:9ff). With that expectation in mind, it seems only right that we take the Gospel boldly into the world, infecting the world with the love and mercy of God.  Like a good virus run amuck, we might bring hope to the hopeless, peace to the embattled, joy to the despairing, faith to the despairing, and love to the unloved.

 

But as we do this, we need to remember that God has placed the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, in human hands…..that is, sinful hands.  Nothing that we do or think is free from our entanglement in sin.  Only Jesus has completely emptied himself for others, all the rest of us hold on to at least some self-centeredness. Me.  That is the crux of sin.  

 

That is not to say that God is against “me”, after all there is absolute truth in the song, “Jesus loves me.”  But when “me” gets in the way of God’s love…..love for me, and love for others…that is where sin comes in.  When “me” gets in the way, and it always does to some extent, we don’t listen to others, absolutely convinced of our rightness.  Also, we do things that cannot be undone, leave scars that never heal, and tread heavily no matter how thin the ice.   We allow anger to guide our actions, and words.  We don’t care about others.  We have seen how big of problems “me” can cause.

 

It doesn’t take too much digging into history to find times when “me” invaded the will of God on earth, including the work of the church.  Even at its best, because the church is a bunch of sinners in need of forgiveness and not a bunch of perfect angels, those who bear the name of Christ, Christians, will always fall somewhat short of God’s will.  Yet, when we are led by Jesus’ words, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, by the love that you have for one another,” it seems to me that we are moving in the right direction.  It is a direction away from “me” and toward “another”.  After all, that is the direction that Jesus took in coming to this world, away from himself and toward us.

 

And when we do this, loving one another as Christ has loved us, we find ourselves feeling the pain of others, experiencing the fear that chills their bones, coming to know their loss and confusion, and hearing the roaring lions that prowl their lives.  It is when we gather these things into our decisions on how to engage the world with the Gospel, with the mercy of Jesus Christ, that I believe we are most closely walking on a path of God’s will.  

 

In my mind, it is a supremely arrogant thing to act in such a way that excludes the possibility that we may be more led by “me” than by the will of God.  That doesn’t mean that we should be catatonically cautious in our convictions of faith.  We can be bold, as a matter of fact, we need to be bold because God has placed the lifegiving Gospel in our hands….hands that are likewise dirtied with sin.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord.  12-4-21

Hello,

 

     You may have read your share of “good byes” to 2020 and “hellos” to 2021, but just in case you haven’t reached your fill, here’s one from me.

 

     If there is one thing that was made crystal clear this past year is that we, everyone in the world, are in fact all in the same boat.  No one, anywhere has not had their lives effected by the attack of this virus.  Some have died.  Some have become sick, even very sick.  Some have lost jobs, and everyone has had their daily lives adjusting to new restrictions.  When it comes to the Covid19 virus, we are all in the same boat.

 

     Often, we live otherwise, living as if we sail through life in our own boats.  Sometimes those boats are as big as countries, as big as faiths, as big as workplaces, as big as economic status, and as big as race.   Sometimes those boats are very small, one person boats.  My house.  My money. My opinion.  Myself.   

 

     Whether big or small, when we live our lives as if we sail in our own boats some painful things happen.  We collide and people raise their fists and voices at one another.  We find ourselves getting caught up in boat superiority or inferiority.  We get jealous and engage in “keeping up with the Jones’”, We stake out our claim on certain waters, and forbid trespassing.  We tend to float with boats of a feather, and are completely unaware of the struggles other boaters are facing.  And we narrow our perspective in life to just keeping our boat afloat.

 

     So, when someone’s boat is going down, we might say, “Too bad they don’t know how to sail.”  Or, “I’m glad they’re gone.  I didn’t like them anyway.”  Or, “That’s what they get for being lazy.”  Or, “I told them, and they wouldn’t listen.”  Or, “What boat? I don’t see any boat going down.”

 

     But when we live our lives as if we are all in the same boat, we realize when my neighbor is sinking so am I.  I realize that even the person furthest from me has a part in me reaching my journey’s end.  I can’t use the terms “us” and “them”, it’s “we”.  I have to get used to not everything being done my way, and yet remember that my way can be very helpful.  Leaving people behind is not a possibility.

 

     It is not easy to sail along all in the same boat, but this year we have seen that at the deepest level of our existence, the truth is that we are all in the same boat.  Of course, God has seen and known that for a long, long time, and that is what the Christian faith is all about.  “For God so loved the world…the world…the boat…that he sent his Son.”  And here’s even the more amazing thing about God that we discover in Jesus Christ, he so loves the world – that is the world of people sailing in this boat of life – that God jumps on board with us.  Even God does not sail in a different boat than we do.  God so loved the world that even God will sink if we sink…even God has a place in my journey….even God is not part of “us” and “them”….even God’s will gets entangled with our will…and even God knows that there is no way to leave anyone behind.

     As we sail into the year ahead, we have been given eyes to see the truth…..that we are all in the same boat, the same boat God is in!

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)]

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord. 12-28-20

Hello,

 

     100% chance of rain!

 

     That was the forecast for Christmas Eve evening for Ligonier, Pa.  Normally, such a forecast would only cast a shroud of disappointment on those who dream for a white Christmas, but this year this forecast cast a blanket of anxiety on me…..because, St. James Lutheran Church was going to have an outdoor Christmas Eve service around the manger scene on our side lawn.  Snow, we could handle.  Cold, we could bundle up for.  Wind, we could manage.  But rain, especially pouring rain….that was going to cause problems….problems for our sound equipment not getting wet, and problems for people not getting drenched and chilled to the bone.  Rain…100% chance of rain!  Ugh!

 

     But, I had spent the first part of the week calling the whole congregation to tell them we were going to have the outdoor Christmas service No Matter What!  You see, as we have been dealing with our unwanted guest, Covid 19, we have had to cancel in person indoor worship since Thanksgiving, and we don’t know when we will be able to gather again in the months to come.  So, because outdoor gatherings of 50 or less are still allowable in our area, we decided to boldly have an outdoor service in the middle of the winter.  No Matter What!

 

     After all that is kind of what Christmas is all about.  When God sent his Son into our lives, he didn’t wait for the perfect day…when the world was all at peace, when birth mortality rates were low, when HVAC systems could ward off the weather, and when all people would welcome his Son with joy.  No, when Jesus was born things were far from perfect for his birth, as a matter of fact the conditions were all the opposite from what I listed.  Jesus came to the world as it was….NO MATTER WHAT!

 

     So, the day before Christmas Eve, I brought the picnic tent that was stored in our garage to church and set it up, in hopes that it would protect my sound system (amp, soundboard, mic’s, speakers).   I secured it  with a bungee cord to the tree, and  I was prepared to tarp one of the sides to protect everything from the blowing wind.

 

     It turned out that the weather forecast was right.  From the moment the sun rose it rained…and rained…and rained.  The only good news was that it was 47 degrees, warm for Pennsylvania on Christmas.  The service was at 5:00, so at 3:30 I hopped in my pickup and drove my 10 miles to church in the rain, but when I got there, I noticed that my windshield wipers were not working as hard as they were when I left my house.  It was raining, but not pouring!

 

     So, I started setting up my equipment under the tent that had not been blown away.  The rain had turned to sprinkles so I could carry everything from the building to the lawn without wrapping them up in garbage bags which I had brought.  Part of the plan was to have a fire going in front of the manger scene.  One of our members had brought her fire pit, and as I saw her getting ready to light it, I said to her.  “I will be impressed if you can get that fire going.”

 

     “No problem,” she said back confidently, and sure enough, she was right.  In a few moments it was burning away.

 

     As we neared 5:00 people started coming.  Trickling in under their umbrellas, and before we knew it there was a crowd of about 50 people gathered around the manger scene.  We handed out bulletins that included the Bible message and carols which stayed pretty dry under people’s umbrellas, and because we started at 5:00 there was light enough to read them.  But as our service went along, the sunlight went away and darkness began to set in.

 

     Fortunately, we gave everyone something else, too.  A battery lit candle that produced enough light for everyone to fend off the dark.  It was wonderful.  All of us around the manger scene, hearing the Christmas story and singing (socially distant and with our masks on), and watching the candle light shimmer in the dark. The church is on one of the main roads in town, and as cars passed us, they all slowed down to “see this thing that had taken place”.  We ended, as we do every Christmas ever, singing Silent Night, and on the last verse we lifted our candles to the sky as a sign of the Light of the World’s triumph over the darkness of suffering, sin and death.

 

     The service, this year, didn’t end there.  When the people received their candles, they were told that these candles were for them to keep.  To take home.  To take home with them this shrouded year as a reminder that Jesus, the Light, shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.  Also, as a reminder that we have a God who comes into our lives, just like he did in Bethlehem….NO MATTER WHAT!

 

     And that is something to be thankful for….even merry about!  Merry Christmas.

 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry

 Bungee Cord. 12-21-20

Hello,

Merry Christmas. This week's Bungee Cord is visual...here's the link.  https://www.facebook.com/jerry.nuernberger.3

God's grace and peace,

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord. 12-14-20

Hello,

 

This upcoming Sunday is the last Sunday of Advent, the waiting is just about over.  I don’t know about you, but for me this year of waiting has had a whole different feel to it.  The shroud of Covid restrictions and the gloom of sickness and death has almost numbed be to await the upcoming joy of Christmas.  But maybe that is the central point of the coming of Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t just come when everyone is joyful and having a great time.  Jesus comes no matter what!  When times are joyful, his coming magnifies the joy.  When times are dismal, his coming brings a light of hope that no worldly light can give.

 

In my years of being a pastor, I have encountered people who do not want to have the funeral of a loved one in the church, because they don’t want sadness to enter their mind when they come to church.    Although I hear what they are saying, for me, I need to know that Christ meets me no matter how I am feeling.  As a matter of fact, it has been true that on some of the saddest days of my life I have found peace and hope as I have gathered with others in the House of the Lord. 

 

We, unfortunately, are not meeting in person during this advent as we try to care about our neighbor.  But we have been providing a video experience, and although it is not nearly as dynamic as sitting together is song and praise, I hope that it has proven to you that nothing, not even Covid, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Likewise, it is my hope for the Bungee Cord.

 

So, as you are sitting on the edge of your seats anticipating the final segment of my Advent story, let me invite you first to privately, or with your family, continue your Advent waiting in the devotional.

 

Advent 4

 

 

Psalm 139

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence? 
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast. 
¹¹ If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night’, 
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 

 

We give you thanks, Almighty God, that you fill the darkness with glad tidings.  As we await the brightness of your Son….when sun and moon need no longer shine, when darkness and death will no longer be known,  when manger and stable are transformed into an eternal feasting table….enlighten us with a glimpse of your glory so that our lives might be lights to prepare your way.  Amen

 

Light One Candle

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Cubic Zirconia (The story, in its entirety, can be found on my Facebook page)

 

They were crushed.  All that practice.  All that work.  For nothing.  “Maybe we should just give up,” they said one to another. 

“No! No!”, said Old Lady Rogers to them.  “I love listening to you guys.  You make my day!  I feel alive….like a teenager…..when I hear you singing.  Listen, I’ve got tickets for the Neil Diamond concert, too.  And I think there should be a warm up band for him.  I’ve got an idea.  I will rent out the old barn and I’ll invite all of my friends who are coming to the concert with me, and you can be the warm up band for us.” 

“That’s really nice of you,” Ms. Rogers, they all said to her, “But we don’t need your pity.” 

“You think I pity you?  No way!  I just want to be warmed up for my concert, and I think you can do it.” 

“Well, ok.  You’ve done so much for us, so we owe you something.” 

So, Old Lady Rogers rented out the Old Barn and the guys brought all of their equipment over to it on the afternoon of the Neil Diamond concert.  As they were setting up, they were all saying to each other about how psyched they were to go to the real concert, and they just wanted to get this over with. 

They went back stage at the Old Barn and awaited the “crowd” to arrive.  At 4:30 they heard a familiar voice echoing in the Barn.  Old Lady Rogers.  “Welcome!  Welcome everyone!  Do I have a treat for you.  Let me present to you the best Neil Diamond cover band in the nation, Cubic Zirconia!”  The crowd erupted….really erupted!  And as the guys nervously shuffled out on stage, they saw that the Barn was packed!  Shoulder to shoulder people in their 50’s and 60’s with gray hair….but not only that…. in the clutter of people was also a whole bunch of their classmates….brought their by their parents who had heard them ridicule the singers. 

They started off their set with their favorite, “Forever in Blue Jeans”.  Sang “Song Sung Blue”, “Craklin’ Rosie”, “Brother Love’s Travlin’ Salvation Show”.  They figured they would finish with “Sweet Caroline”, because everyone would probably sing along.  But before they could start, Old Lady Rogers ran on stage, in her Michael Jordans, and grabbed a mic, and said, “Aren’t these guys great!”  The crowd erupted….really erupted.  They’ve got one more song to sing, and I want you to sing along with them.  But there’s someone else I want to sing along with them….. 

And from backstage out walked Neil Diamond.  He did his Neil Diamond strut, walked up to each of the guys, hugged them and went to the Mic.  “Hey everybody, O heard there was a warm up for my concert, and I wasn’t about to miss it.  I need to be warmed up, too.  And by the way….I heard that a bunch of people who know nothing about my music told these guys that they don’t sound like me at all.  Well, this isn’t the only time I am going to be with these guys…..someone needs to carry on my sound….I am going to work with these guys, and I won’t stop until they sound just like me ….Cubic Zirconia.….Neil Diamond!

 

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 The Bungee Cord 12-7-20

Hello, 

 

Well, it is the third week of Advent.  As I have for the past two Bungee Cords, today I bring you along on my Advent journey, inviting you to light three candles, read the Psalm, and say the prayer.  The increase in candles brings with it an increase in light, a sign that when the light comes into the darkness, the darkness does not overcome it, but rather the light overcomes the darkness!

 

ADVENT 3

 

Psalm 139

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence? 
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast. 
¹¹ If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night’, 
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 

 

 

We give you thanks, Almighty God, that you fill the darkness with your presence.  As we await the day when your presence is wholy unveiled….when every gate of sin has been thrown open, when every moat of guilt and shame has dried up, when every stone of life’s burdens has been cast down….enlighten us with a glimpse of your power and love so that our days might be brightened with courage and peace.  Amen

 

Light one Candle

 

Cubic Zirconia…continued, part 3

  (all three parts can be found in one place on my Facebook page)

 

 

 

A couple of months later they saw a poster in the music store that read, “Battle of the Bands , High School Gym, Audition Tapes Welcome”.  So before the next practice they all went over to Old Lady Rogers’ house to see if she would work the computer to record them.  Surprisingly enough, she said, “Sure, I’ve been working on “Garage Band” for years with my singing.”

 

So, as weird as it might seem, Old Lady Rogers joined them for their practice the next afternoon, and they laid down a few tracks. “Not bad,” said Old Lady Rogers as she sent the songs off over the internet to the radio station sponsoring the battle.

 

A couple of days later, she got an email from the radio station that said, “Loved your tape.  You’re in.  You’ll be the third act.  Bring your equipment and set up early.  Good luck.”  She threw on her Michael Jordans (she usually just wore them around the house) and ran over to the garage that was vibrating with music.  She pulled up the door and said, “You’re in!”

 

This time, no silence, but cheers that could be heard all around the neighborhood, because they yelled into the mics.  Really motivated now, they set their minds and wills to get ready for the battle.  Practice.  Practice.  Practice.  That is how you get to Carnegie Hall, and that is how you win the battle contest.

 

The day of the Battle of the Bands arrived and Cubic Zirconia was psyched!  They had practiced and practiced and practiced, and they were ready.  The first two groups were pretty good, but they were sure that they were better.  Then they heard, “Let’s hear it for the next group, Cubic Zirconia!”  A less than rousing response came from the crowd, and the guys all walked on stage, dressed in their finest Neil Diamond wear.  It was hard to decide which song they were going to do, but they all felt that “Forever in Blue Jeans” was their best.  The music cued, they started singing, they sang with Neil Diamond motions and zeal, and when they finished the crowd erupted….well not really….a smattering of clapping, and they saw a lot of their peers laughing.  When they walked off the stage, they heard one of the judges say to another, “They didn’t sound like Neil Diamond at all.”

 

(to be continued next week…..)

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

 

 The Bungee Cord 11-23-20

Hi,

 

It is Advent, the four weeks before Christmas when our lives are progressively filled with the hope of Christ’s advent in our lives…in a manger, in our daily lives, and at the end of time.  It is a tradition in many Christian homes and churches to light a candle each week to mark our way to Christmas, a visible remembrance of the brightening light that comes into the world. (John 1).

 

So, I thought I would bring you along with me on this journey in two ways.  First, each week I am going to include the litany that we will be doing in our church.  Let me invite you to get four candles and put them someplace where you will see them. In our home we put them on the table that we usually eat on.  Then in each week of Advent as you read the Bungee Cord, you can light a candle until all four are lit.

 

The second thing that I am going to do is to write an Advent story.  Although the story may not have the usual Advent/Christmas characters, I hope that it will deepen and broaden your experience of these four weeks of hope during these days of Covid’s shroud.

 

ADVENT 1

 

Advent 1

 

Psalm 139

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence? 
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast. 
¹¹ If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night’, 
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 

 

We give you thanks, Almighty God, that you fill the darkness with the light of your promise of salvation.  As we await the day when sin will scale our eyes no more, when chains of oppression will all be broken, when the prison of guilt and shame will be torn down, and when the darkness of death will be shattered…enlighten us with a glimpse of your power and love for us so that the light of your promise might bring us hope.  Amen.

 

Light One Candle

 

 

And the story…..

 

“Cubic Zirconia”

 

With all of the weird stuff going on this year, one of the weirdest things was how 5 high school students living in the deep south found each other.  They were the first five people in line to get tickets to the Neil Diamond show that was coming to town. It was weird because everyone else in the line was at least 60, and even though they all went to the same high school they had never met each other.

 

Though teenagers in 2020, they were devout Neil Diamond fans, and how could they not be.  They had grown up with parents who were Diamond groupies in their youth and Neil Diamond music saturated the houses that they raised their children in.  “Sweet Caroline”, “Song Sung Blue”, “Forever in Blue Jeans”, “Cracklin’ Rosie”, “Brother Love’s Travlin’ Salvation Show”……  Those songs were played so often that not only were they etched in the kids’ brains, but they were etched in the walls of those homes.

 

As the five of them sat in line to get their tickets, they started singing those classics.  They knew every song, every verse, every word by heart. All the old people who stood in line with them smiled.  Some sang along.  The kids, though, who walked by and heard them singing Neil Diamond songs laughed with arrogant scorn, “Wierdo’s!”, they smirked in unison pointing their fingers at the weird non-country, non-rock and roll, non-hip hop quintet.  

 

The singers didn’t notice, they were lost in their songs.  When they finished the last words of “Forever in Blue Jeans”, one of them said to the others, “We should form a Neil Diamond cover band…you know a boy band with a whole different twist.  And that is how “Cubic Zironia” got its start.

 

(Continued next week….)

 

Have a great week!

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger