The Bungee Cord  10-28-19

Hello,

     As the news told us, Elijah Cummings, a member of Congress from Baltimore passed away a couple of weeks ago.  Apparently, when he died there was some discussion about where his funeral should take place.  There were those who said that it should take place in Washington, D.C., where he made his name.  People thought that the National Cathedral or some huge formal assembly hall would be the appropriate spot.  But neither place held his funeral. His funeral was held in the Baltimore church where he and his wife worshipped every Sunday morning at 7:00.

     The reason I was alerted to his funeral was that someone posted a video of some of the speakers on my Facebook page.  So, I clicked the link and listened to the messages that President Obama, President Clinton, and Hillary Clinton gave.  After hearing from these prominent people, I clicked on the video of the message that someone who I never heard of before gave.  It was the message that Elijah Cumming’s pastor gave.

     Apparently, Elijah Cummings and his pastor were good friends who knew each other quite well, and his pastor was there at Elijah’s deathbed when Elijah signed some official papers just before he died.  After the pastor told of his presence at this deathbed signing, the pastor said, “But that wasn’t the last thing that Elijah did on this earth.  The last thing that Elijah did on this earth was to bring you here, to his church, for his funeral.”  And with the oratory of a tremendous African American preacher, Elijah’s pastor moved me with his words.  Elijah Cummings wanted, he said, to have the powerful people of the world be touched by the Power that empowered his life, Jesus Christ.

     It may be that you and Elijah Cummings did not see eye to eye on the matters in which he dealt as a Congressperson (good Christian people often see themselves on different avenues when addressing concerns, and in my mind that is a good thing), but as I listened to his pastor I saw him paint a picture, clearer than I had ever seen before, of the Potter’s hands at work, week after week, shaping Elijah into a vessel of God’s grace for the world. Elijah’s last deed on this earth was to bring the powerful of the world to the place where the power of Almighty God might shape them, too.

     Often when I write the Bungee Cord, I invite you to be part of a worship service on Sunday morning, and when I do that I hope that you receive that invitation in the same way that those who were at Elijah Cumming’s funeral received his invitation.  My invitation does not come to you so that the pews of the church might be filled, simply for the sake of filling them.  My invitation does not come to you so that when you come to church you’ll also bring an offering that will help the church make its budget.  My invitation to you is not so that the doors of the church remain open and the institution of the church keep running.  My invitation to you to be part of a worship service is for one reason, and one reason only; that you, like I, might be shaped and molded by the power of the one whose love for you is so great that he would die on a cross for you.

     I find life to be full of challenges and struggles.  Often times those challenges and struggles are large and complex, sapping me of my energy and my wisdom.  On Sunday morning, in worship, I find the might of those challenges and struggles placed in perspective with the might of God Almighty, and the power of his love.  There is no shortage in the world of those who pour out fear, despair, and violence into it (sometimes I am one of those polluted pourers), and that is why I, like Elijah Cummings worship every week (not at 7:00 a.m., though!) in order that I might be part of God’s gracious love, pouring out into the world through the vessel that he is molding of me.

     Take a listen to the video of Elijah’s Pastor….you can find it by Googling it…and maybe, you, regardless of your power in the world, will be part of Elijah Cummings last deed, being touched by the one whose powerful love makes you and  everything brand new!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace,  (GGAP)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   10-21-19

Hello,

     Last week I was sitting with my brother-in-law by the stream that flows next to his house, solving the world’s problems.  (I don’t think we made much of a dent….good thing that God has “the whole world in his hands.”)  It was a lovely fall day.  The trees were half-way to their color change, so there was a mixture of gold, orange and green.  The sun was shining full, and as the trees caught it rays the scenery was softened like felt.  The stream, although low, trickled by us as it gently clicked over the rocks, and the temperature was perfect for an outside summit.  It was, as my brother-in-law says, a “chamber of commerce” day.

     And then I looked up.   Directly above us, just above the treetops was a volt (apparently that is the proper name for a group of turkey vultures) of turkey vultures circling. There must have been at least a dozen of them.  When I saw them I wondered if they knew something about the impending future of the two of us over whom they were lurking.  Were they drooling with anticipation over a delightful meal being set under them?   They were high enough that I couldn’t see the whites of their eyes, but by the sheer number of them they obviously had their eyes on something…..maybe us?

     I don’t know if this circling doom has ever happened to you….not literally, but figuratively….but really.  Have you ever woke up in the morning, feeling the freshness of a new day, and then suddenly turkey vultures appear in your sight….a call from a child, a news flash, a letter from the IRS, something expensive suddenly breaks, an unusual pain.  The beauty of the day takes on an ominous feel.  Will these hovering turkey vultures be making a meal of you?  It has happened to me.  More than once….more than I can count, I think.

     In truth, the future is fraught with danger and gloom, and someone once said that it is a good thing that we don’t know what the future holds, because if we did we might not want to step into it.

     Thing is, although turkey vultures may encircle the future skies above us, they do not fly alone.  When Jesus said to his disciples as he physically left them and ascended into heaven, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” he left them, and us with a promise, that he will, like a mighty eagle also be encircling above us.  The turkey vultures might drool over us and think they might have their eyes on their dinner, but Jesus says they are wrong….flat wrong…because the skies and the land and all that are in them belong to him….and that includes you and me….and he has staked his claim, a claim that he will not give over to turkey vultures, one you and me.

     In the Bible there is a story of a friend of Jesus, Lazarus, who dies, and when Jesus arrives in the town, Lazarus’ sisters say to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died.” For many years, I heard that as a scolding of Jesus for arriving late, but as I study that story more deeply, I now hear it as a confession of faith….faith that Jesus has power over death.  I put that story to music some years ago, and the song of those sisters when they greet Jesus is, “Lord, when you draw near there is hope.”

     Hope.  When the turkey vultures are circling above, know this.  Jesus is with you always, even to the end of the age, and he will draw near with the might of an eagle.  And he has staked his claim on you, a claim that he will not hand over to any ugly turkey vultures.  “Lord, when you draw near there is hope.”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  10-14-19

Hello,

     I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Hinsdale, to be specific. As in every metropolitan area, our streets were lined with streetlights to put a damper on the darkness.   So what I thought was dark, was far less dark than the dark that I experience where I currently live, out in the middle of nowhere.  Where I live now, on the darkest of nights the stars glitter the skies with abundance like a cupcake decorated by a child with sparkling sprinkles.

     The other thing about living in the middle of the street-lightless nowhere is that I don’t need to pull any shades when I go to bed.  The darkness from the outside invades my bedroom, and there are no neighbors from whom to hide.  Actually, I enjoy going to bed with the shades open and gazing at the sparkling sky as I make my way into slumber.

     A couple of nights ago when I awoke in the middle of the night I found myself greeted by an intruder, the moonlight.  It was a full moon that was bright enough that the trees were casting their shadows on the hillside and the ridge across from our house was in complete view.  It so happened that the moon was situated in the sky at just the right place that it was shining like a spotlight upon me.  As a matter of fact, when I opened my eyes I was blinded by the light.

     As I lay there, I found the words of the Psalmist (139) brought to light, 

If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night’, 
 even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.  (Psalm 139:11,12)

     I could imagine myself, at that moment,  swallowed up in darkness, having fallen deep into a hole, beaten and bruised, so battered that the air to cry for help not able to escape my lungs.  I could see myself being so squeezed by the darkness that life was oozing out of my pores.  I could feel despair and hopelessness like heavy debris pressing down on my soul.  And then out of nowhere a light, the bright flashlight of a rescuer lasering its way through the darkness and landing upon my face, blinding me.  And in that blinding a sudden flood of hope, a flood of hope coming from a voice yelling, “I found him!”

     When I hear Jesus talk about searching for one lamb, or one coin, I hear Jesus speak of himself much like one of those sent in to find a person after an earthquake has shattered life.  I hear him speaking of himself, “the light of the world”, searching every dark and hidden hole for the one that he loves.  And I hear the delight in his voice upon casting his light into one of the holes and discovering the one for whom he is searching.  “I found him!  I found her!”

     If you live out in the middle of nowhere, I suspect that you have experienced the searing power of the full moon on a pitch black night, but if you live where street lights are plentiful, I hope that this Bungee Cord has captured your imagination, so that you might discover, as I did on the night of which write, the determination of our Lord to find you when the world and its darkness come crashing down on you.  And even more than that, I hope that you might discover the joy that fills the universe when Jesus has found you……and this is for certain, no darkness will keep you from him, and he will find you!

“Even the darkness is light to you.”

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord  10-7-19

Hello,

      Believe it or not, I, all 5 foot nine of me,  played a lot of basketball growing up.  I don’t play anymore, but I do enjoy watching it….not the pro’s, but college basketball…and for us University of Illinois fans, watching the Illinois basketball team isn’t quite as painful as watching the football team.  Anyway, one of the things that I like about watching basketball is to see the grace and agility of the players, players that would tower over me, but leaping and spinning with quickness and speed that I could never muster.

     If you have ever watched a slam dunk contest you know what I mean.  Guys taking off from the free-throw line, pirouetting in the air, passing the ball from one hand to another between their legs, and then as if putting an exclamation point on their flight, slamming the ball through a hoop ten feet in the air. And they make it look so easy.

     I have never entered a slam dunk contest, for obvious reasons.  I am 5 foot nine, carrying more weight than I used to, and my vertical jump is about an inch and a half now.  I can only dream of doing what those 7 foot, perfectly in shape, guys with a 48 inch vertical jump can do.

     But imagine with me this happening, that one day I go to watch a slam dunk contest, and as I am sitting there in the stands, Lebron James walks up to me, hands me the ball and says, “Hey, you.  Here.  Let’s see what you can do.”

     Of course, I laugh, and say, “Do you mean me.”

     “Yeah, you.”

      And believing that Lebron may have gotten an elbow in the head the night before and seeing things a bit dazed, I say, “Mr. James, are you serious?  Look at me. I could never do a slam dunk.”

     And then he looks back at me and says, “What do you mean?”

     “Well, isn’t it obvious.  I am a short, old, out of shape, gray haired man.”

     And then Lebron laughs. 

     “What’s so funny,”  I say back.

     “Have you looked at yourself lately?”  And putting a mirror in front of me, I see someone who I don’t recognize….me….but now a me who is a young, svelte, person who is standing nose to nose with him.  Amazed at what I see, he hands me the ball and says, “Go ahead, you can do it.”

     Can you forgive someone 7 times in one day for committing the same sin against you?  That is what Jesus told the disciples they must do (Luke 17:4).  Other places in the Bible Jesus says the number is higher, 70 times 7.  But even 7 times, when the disciples heard that they said, “Lord, increase our faith!” Or in other words, “Are you kidding, we can’t do that.”

     To which Jesus replies, “Have you looked at yourself lately? If you had faith the size of a mustard seed (and the Greek, which is the original language of Luke, implies that they indeed do)…If you had faith the size of a mustard seed….and you do….then you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.”  You see, the point that Jesus is making here is not the power of faith to uproot and replant mulberry trees….it is the power of faith to forgive.  

     “Have you looked at yourself, lately?”  That is what Jesus was asking the disciples, and that is what Jesus is asking us.  The world tells us every day who we are.  The world tells us that we are people of short stature hope.  That we are people who are so out of spiritual shape that our vertical leap is no higher than getting even with others, or having vengeance on them.  That the only way for us to stay in the game is to hold everyone down and keep the guilt of their sins on their back.  So, today, when we as the disciples hear Jesus hand us the ball of forgiveness and tells us to slam dunk it 7 times…well even one time seems too much…we find ourselves saying, “Lord, we can’t do that.”

     “Have you looked at yourself lately?”  That is what Jesus says to you and me today, “Have you looked at yourself, lately.”  Today, Jesus, like Lebron James puts a mirror in front of your eyes so that you might see who you really are.  You are, as Jesus said to his disciples, people who have the faith of a mustard seed. And how does Jesus know that? Because he has planted it in you. When you were Baptized….when you heard the promise of your forgiveness….when you receive Holy Communion….Jesus is planting seeds of faith …  seeds of forgiveness in you….seeds that will rise up and produce a bumper crop of forgiveness and mercy.

     Getting even…scoring vengeance….burdening others with guilt and shame, those are nothing but weeds, stealing the nourishment of hope and peace from the soil in which we all live.  They are nothing but thistles and briars bringing pain and fear to all who rub up against them.  The world may tell us over and over again that that is what we are, weeds and thistles that make life miserable.  But today….today Jesus comes to you and me today and says, “Have you looked at yourself lately?”  You are forgiven.  You are full of forgiveness.  There’s not a single thing unforgiven in you.  “In Christ,” the Bible says, “you are a new creation.  The old has passed away, and you are brand new.”

     “Take a look at yourself,” says Jesus.  “See who you truly are.  You may never be able to slam dunk a basketball….but you do have the faith of a mustard seed….faith powerful enough to enable you to forgive someone 7 times…or even 7 times 70.”  So, go out this week with empowered by the faith that Jesus has planted in you, and when someone asks you where you got the power to forgive in an unforgiving world, then you can say with the 7 foot tall basketball player dunking a basket, “Shucks, that was nothing.  I just do what God has given me the power to do.”  Forgive. 

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   9-39-19

Hello,

      Close, but no cigar!

     This is a phrase that is often found in my vocabulary. When I am playing pickle ball, and the ball hits slightly out of bounce, I find myself saying, “Close, but no cigar (see-gar).”  I don’t remember exactly where I picked it up, but I think I picked it up from the days that the travelling carnival came to our town and parked itself in Robin’s Park, which was right across the street from my house.  The park was a big open field, covering a peat bog (so I was told), where little league diamonds were housed, junior football practice took place, and where we kids played our neighborhood football and baseball pick-up games.

     But once a year, in the summer, the carnival would come to town for a week with its rides, cotton candy, and games.  One of the games was the sledge hammer challenge. You would get a big sledge hammer, hit a mat that was connected to a pole, and up the pole would go a metal ball that if you hit the mat with significant force, the ball would ring the bell at the top of the pole.  If you rang the bell, you got a prize…..a cigar.  If you didn’t ring the bell….well, “close, but no cigar.”

     You see, close, when it comes to the sledge hammer challenge, wasn’t good enough….no cigar.  And likewise, when it comes to salvation, close is not good enough….no cigar. When it comes to salvation, there is no middle ground.  After all, if you are dropping a net into the ocean to pick up someone who is bobbing up and down in the waves, and the rope from the helicopter is not quite long enough to save them, close is not good enough.

     But notice, when Jesus came into this world, he came all the way into the world…not just close to it, but all the way into it.  He didn’t just pretend to take on human flesh, he incarnated himself in it.  He didn’t just come close to the pain and struggles of life, he ran smack into them and took them on.  He didn’t just come close to dying, he breathed his last on the cross.  And he didn’t come close to rising from the dead and just peek out of the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, he stepped out with a victory march and is still making that march today.  When Jesus came to save, Jesus didn’t just come close….he came all the way.  Rang the bell!

     There may be a lot of really good things that come close to being able to save us….friends, family, productive work, wealth and money, fun and excitement, and the rest….but when it comes to pulling us with forgiveness out of the holes we make in our lives, or pulling us out with new life of the 6 foot hole that we will all find ourselves in one day, all those things can only come close.  No bell. No cigar.

     So, this week as you stroll through the carnival of your life…with all the challenges, thrills, fears, and confusion….take a look at a particular pole that stands in your path, the pole of the cross, and see how Jesus hit it with all of his might, the might of God Almighty, and hear his final cry from that pole, a cry of victory over every sin that might try and claim you or me.  And hear the ring from that cross-pole, “It is finished!” And then see the prize that Jesus has won, not a cigar, but new life!  And then hear Jesus say to you as he hands you the prize that he has won….a prize that no one can take away…. “Here, this is for you.”  Alleluia!!!!!!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   9-23-19

Hello,

     Over the 37 years of my ministry, I have done lots of funerals. Funerals are one of the things that every pastor finds themselves doing.  I have done funerals for nearly every age of person.  Some of the funerals have been laden with grief, and some have been blanketed in peace.  Many times the people who gather bring with them a mixture of both.  Saying “good bye” leaves a hole in people’s hearts, a hole that never really goes away, but by the grace of God in time it is filled with blessed memories and thankful hope.

     One of the things, I believe, that has happened is that the Christian faith has become a lifetime of preparation for one’s funeral. Maybe you have heard someone say, “Are you prepared to meet your maker?”  When this becomes the focus of the Christian faith, the impression that folks get is that the Christian faith is really all about how to get to heaven when you die.

     Now, don’t get me wrong.   When I do funerals, I proclaim with all the gusto I can muster the power of Jesus resurrection over death, power which has opened the gates of heaven.  Thing is, though, I believe that the power of Jesus resurrection is a power that brings us hope not just on the day that we die, but also in every day that we live.  As I have come to know Jesus and the depth of his love for me, I am convinced that the Christian faith is far more meant to be a daily journey with one who loves every step he takes with me (even the step into the darkness of death), than a destination at which I can hardly await to arrive.

     Someone once said to me, “But Pastor, Heaven is about eternity, and doesn’t that make it more important?”  

     My response, “Well, when Jesus talked about eternal life, he wasn’t only talking about life after death, but he was talking about filling every moment of our lives with eternity.”  Because Jesus’ death and resurrection shattered the shackles of time, every tick of the clock is like the a splashing stone making ripples when tossed into the water.  It doesn’t just abruptly end and get relegated to the past, but instead it emanates into the future with hope and peace.  Our days are not preparation for eternity, they are empowered by eternity. 

     And so it is with the power of eternity that we stride ahead in life.  Failures, tragedy, sin and even death are no more than branches strewn in our path that are ground into mulch by a divine chipper, Jesus Christ.   Nothing is more powerful than his love.  Nothing can stand up to his forgiveness.  With the power of Christ in our lives, the stark paths of our lives take on a heavenly sheen.

     Christians have prayed the Lord’s Prayer since it rolled off of Jesus’ lips, and if you have ever noticed each of the petitions concerns the things that we face in our daily lives.  When we have concluded the petitions, we conclude this prayer with a doxology, “For thine is the kingdom, and power and glory forever and ever.” There is one little word in that doxology that sort of flies under the radar of our thoughts, but is in actuality the foundation of why we pray…..and that word is “for”.  It is “because”, or “for” the “forever and ever” nature of God’s kingdom, and power and glory that we place ourselves in God’s hands every step of our journey of life, even the step we take into the darkness of death.

     So, where ever you are in your journey in this life, you aren’t simply travelling toward something (heaven), someone (Christ) is travelling with you!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

The Bungee Cord   9-16-19

Hello,

     I was flipping through the channels the other day and landed upon a international swim meet for physically challenged swimmers. Apparently it was the world finals, and the participants were simply amazing.  For some of the races, all the contestants were wheeled to their starting blocks in their wheel-chairs, and the participants swam without the use of their legs.  In another race, the swimmers were all blind, and to know when they were reaching the end of the pool, a person reached out from the poolside and tapped them on the head with a tennis ball which was attached to a pole.  Race after race was simply amazing.

     I was inspired by these athletes; their resolve, their dedication, their adaptation.  It all nudged me to tackle life in their example.

     We do have a way of giving accolades to those who find themselves dealing with unique struggles to the point that they are able to accomplish amazing things.  These accolades are well deserved and need to be sounded loudly.

     Given the absolute propriety and importance of the support and encouragement that these battlers receive, it seems to me that it is likewise proper and important to remember those whose struggles are overwhelming and all consuming.  I think about those folks for whom life is so heavy that even getting out of bed is an amazing achievement.  I think about those folks who are treading along a path of increasing struggle as they age, and finding the courage to face the next day is a tremendous task.  I think of kids who ride the bus all alone every day, and that step onto the bus seems higher than an Olympic high jump.  I think of a severely autistic teen, locked in the prison of their own mind, and the parents who try daily to bring a ray of peace and hope to their child.

     The world does a pretty good job of encouraging and praising folks who make it to the spotlight (and that is good!), but maybe not so good in doing so for those who struggle in the shadows.

     Over and over again the Bible tells us that our value does not come from what we do, but from who we are.  “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.”  (1 John 3:1)  Fact is we all find ourselves holding cards that are difficult to play.  Sometimes we play them well.  Sometimes not so well.  Either way, God is cheering us on as his children.  He applauds when we do well.  He applauds when we have small successes.  And even when we fail, God does not sit on his hands, instead God reaches down to set us on our feet again, and when our knees won’t hold our weight, God embraces us and holds us tight when we are shaking in fear.

     So, no matter where you are in the struggles of your life, in the spotlight or in the shadows, know this; God treasures you.  God treasures you with the life of his Son, Jesus, who died for you to claim you as his own, and rose from the dead so that God would have you with him forever. When Sunday morning comes, let me invite you to come and experience the depth of God’s love and delight in you as we celebrate the Easter victory over and over again.  And if the depth of your struggles might make the trek to church too hard and long, know that we will be praying for you, asking God to give you courage and strength, and asking God to open our hearts to you.

     Some give encouragement to those who battle by saying, “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”  That is not what God says, because God knows that is not encouragement for those who are so burdened that they cannot move.  God says this, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger