The Bungee Cord

Hello,

Here’s the majority of my sermon from yesterday….it seemed Bungee-able to me.

In today’s Gospel lesson (Matthew 9:9-13) we hear a rather detail-less story of Jesus’ selecting Matthew to be one of his twelve disciples. There is, however, one detail that we are told; Matthew was a tax collector.

Now, tax collectors in our day may not the most popular people in town, and letters from the IRS are not considered Valentines cards, but tax collectors in Jesus’ day were far, far more despised. The reason that they were so hated was that the taxes they gathered were sent off to Rome who had conquered their land. They collected poll taxes, land taxes, and tolls levied on goods that passed over roadways. The tax collectors, in order to get their jobs, paid a stipulated sum to the Romans, and then amassed their wealth by gathering more than they had paid the Romans. Generally, the tax collectors were Romans, the oppressors, but sometimes they were Jews, and those Jewish tax collectors we considered traitors. So, when people spoke of these tax collectors, they were paired with robbers, sinners, prostitutes, and Gentiles. They were considered the lowest of the low…few, in Jesus’ day, were lower.

And today we find out that when Jesus started to amass his disciples, the twelve that he would spend his life with, he chose a hated tax collector, Matthew.

As we would expect, his choice did not sit well with the people who observed this choice. With disgust the Pharisees asked some others of Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Why was he eating with … and eating with people was a public sign of alliance with those people … why was he eating with such scum? Why was he eating with those who everyone else had the sense from whom to keep their distance. Why was he eating with those who were the cockroaches of their town?

Jesus’ answer, “Because those people need me.”

I suppose the same thing might be said of those with whom Jesus eats today, those who gather at his table. Why does Jesus eat with us? Look around…look who is here. Although there may not be those the likes of tax collectors in Jesus’ day…look around. Here, just like in every church,

• there are people who have quirky personalities,

• people who wear the scars of things they have done in the past,

• people who the world has branded “losers”,

• people whose temper gets the best of them,

• people whose skulls are thick and hearts are calloused,

• people who when they are seen by others the others cross the road so they don’t have to talk to them,

• people whose children won’t talk to them, and children whose parents have turned their back on them,

• people who are called old and stupid by this technological world that is racing around at break neck speed.

We are not a bunch of angels, we are a band of sinners…every one of us…sinners in need of a savior…and that is why Jesus has called you and me here this morning, and that is why he eats with us….we need him.

It may have been that the other disciples were thinking that others would not want to join their group, a group with such a vile sinner, when they saw Jesus welcome Matthew…that scummy tax collector, and if that’s what they thought, their suspicions held true when the townsfolk scoffed at Jesus for eating with the likes of Matthew. They did not want to be part of such a crowd. But Jesus did not regard all those judgments and fears…the only judgments that Jesus regarded were that Matthew, a tax collector, was one who he had come to die for, and he, Matthew, needed Jesus.

And having seen Jesus make his judgment on Matthew, you and I can be assured that Jesus makes the same judgment on you and me. And that judgment is this: no matter what the world thinks of you and me…no matter what you and I think of ourselves…you and I are welcome here in this church…welcome to eat at Jesus’ table…because Jesus came to die for you and me, and you and I need him.

And as we go out in the world, that is the welcome that Jesus sends you and me out to proclaim….that no one is so low, so messed up, so sinful, so scummy…that they are not welcome here. Actually, the opposite is true. Such are the very ones that Jesus has chosen to be among his disciples… he chose Matthew…and why? Because Jesus came to die for them, and they need Jesus.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord

Hello,

Grace.

It is a difficult thing to understand and it is a difficult thing to live under, but as I was sitting in the Denver Airport awaiting my flight to return home from my visit to my son who lives in Denver, I encountered grace.

All the seats in the gate area were full, so I was thankful that I had a seat to sit in. As I was waiting, I noticed in the row of seats next to the ones that I was sitting in, there was a young man moving in the aisle. As I looked more closely, I saw that he had a freshly opened bags of Fritos, and he was going to each person in that aisle with a Frito in his hand offering it to them. It was a remarkable thing to see, such grace. He had a bag of Fritos, and everyone else was empty handed so he shared, not expecting anything in return. Grace.

The people were at first a bit surprised by this young man’s gesture, but when they could determine that this was a man with Down’s Syndrome their response came with a smile, “No thank you.” Smiles spread around that aisle of previously somewhat impatient waiting folks who had been through the hassles of getting to board their flight. Grace.

I believe that grace has transformational power, and I saw that power work its might through that grace-full man. Having run through the obstacle course of rules to get to the gate….getting their tickets, obtaining their boarding pass, tunnelling through TSA, getting their luggage checked and approved….the gesture of a Frito lightened people’s hearts and transformed their trip.

Because grace has such transformational power, that is why God used grace to transform creation. Sure, creation is well served by the rules and laws that keep everything in order, including everything on earth. But the rules of daily life can feel as binding as the rules that proceed getting on a plane. Grace, however, does something that rules cannot do. It transforms. It renews. It brings hope. It opens life. That is what happened when Jesus took his place on the cross, dying so that we might live, and expecting nothing as payment or in return.

Grace is hard to understand, because it doesn’t come naturally, at least to us. We tend to hold on tightly to that for which we have worked hard. We tend to expect others to carry their weight. We tend to expect appreciation for what we have done, and hold people accountable for what they have done. We hold on tightly to rules.

And grace is hard to live under, because it knocks down all the ladders that we proudly climb. It declares us no better than those whom we have a hard time stomaching. It speaks, “Fear not,” when we encounter situations that would lead us to turn to violence and destruction.

But when you fall flat on your face, bruised and broken like the traveler which the Good Samaritan encountered, there is no more blessed or powerful thing to encounter than grace. And that unmerited, self-giving love shown by the Good Samaritan, is a picture of the kind of love which God bestows upon us. Grace.

There are some who say that it is possible to refuse grace, but from what I saw happen at the airport, it confirms my belief that that is not true. It may have been that the people to whom that young man offered a Frito refused the Frito, but the utter kindness that he gave to them was something that they could not turn back…..evidenced by their smiles. I hope that in telling you this story, you may have a keener power of God’s love for you….a love that is pure grace…a love that brings joy to your heart and breath to your life!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord

Hello,

I went to see my father, who is 93 years old and lives in a memory care unit in Davenport, Iowa, this week. Although his health is good, his memory is completely gone, so when I visit him, he has no idea who I am. My brother lives in Davenport, so my visit to my dad is doubled with a visit to my brother and his wife.

It is an eleven-hour drive from my home in Pennsylvania to Davenport, so being retired and old, I break the trip up. This time I stayed in LaPorte, Indiana for a night in a national chain hotel. They stay was fine, as usual, but when I checked out something happened that has never happened to me before. I went to the desk to tell the young woman that I was leaving, and as I turned to walk away from her, she said to me in a very friendly voice, “Make good choices.”

It caught me off guard. Was this something the company has told its desk clerks to say? Did I look like someone about to get myself in trouble? Certainly, her words were wise ones to say, but it did seem to be an odd thing to hear as I was checking out of the hotel.

When I greet people at the door as they are leaving worship, I always say, “Have a great day.” It seems like an appropriate thing to say to someone who has just spent time in the refreshing presence of God, has unloaded their burdens and received the promise of God’s forgiveness, has communed with the Almighty, and is about to step back into the world and its challenges. “Have a great day.”

I wonder, however, if my end of worship greeting catches people off guard. As I listen to Christians and non-Christians speak about the Christian faith, it seems to me that as they left the church, they would expect to hear something akin to, “Make good choices.” I say that because for many, it seems, that the Christian message they hear is, “Be good.” The message they hear or think they will hear amounts to a bunch of rules by which to lead one’s life accompanied with the admonition to abide by those rules.

But when I listen to Jesus’ parting words, either from the cross or when he left folks as he encountered them in life or when he left this world and ascended to the Father, I don’t hear a bunch of rules coming from his mouth. Instead, I hear things like, “fear not,” and “I will be with you always.” Personally, when I leave worship, I find myself like a bird whose wings have been injured in life and I have just undergone the healing care of the greatest veterinarian, and now, better than new, I leave with the graceful hands of the healer tossing me triumphantly into the sky and joyfully bidding me, “Soar!”

That is not to say that rules are unimportant to know and live by, for they do bring order and safety to our lives, but they don’t give life. They don’t fill one’s lungs with hope and courage. They don’t break the chains holding the guilt and shame that brings us down. They don’t open our eyes to wonder and awe. It may certainly be appropriate to be told in by those who share the world with us to follow the rules and “make good choices”, but Jesus has a far better thing to say…something that bestows life in all of its abundance….”I love you. Your sins have been taken from you. I will be with you, and noting in all of creation will be able to separate me from you.” So, “Soar!”

Have a great day!

God’s grace and peace, “(ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 Hello,

I was just about finished with this week’s Bungee Cord which was about Pentecost (which is this Sunday and is known as the birthday of the church), so I decided to take a short break and ease my mind. I switched my attention to a breaking news story on CNN. I couldn’t finish what I was writing.

The news story was about a shooting at a Muslim school and faith center in San Diego. At the time of this writing, the motive of the shooters is not known, but the fact that it was a Muslim facility raises, in my mind, the possibility of a religiously motivated attack.

If you saw the news coverage, then you saw children holding hands being rushed out of the building. You saw women being led to cover. You saw police cars lined up on the road looking like an evening rush hour. It was horrific.

Some day we may find out what motivated the gunmen, but whatever the motivation, it is hard to imagine anyone calling it justified. No matter the anger. No matter the hatred. No matter the prejudice. No matter the opposition. No matter the foolishness. No matter what, this kind of thing should never happen.

I know that much harm and death have been done under the name of religion, but it is my belief that such evil is evil wearing a religious mask, no matter who is wearing the mask. From my visit to Africa, it is clear to me that the killing between people of different religions is primarily driven by ancient hatreds and long held grudges. The study of history has unearthed deeper and darker motivations than religion for such things as the Crusades. And the same thing has shown to be true about “religious” violence in our country.

But even more than my amateur observations, when I read the Bible, I hear Jesus say, “ Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5), “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12), “love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.” (Luke 6)….”turn the other cheek….give the shirt off your back…walk the extra mile”, and when Jesus was betrayed, he told his disciples to put their swords away. Clearly, Jesus would not want his name inscribed on bullets, bombs, or swords.

That is why I don’t understand people who share my Christian faith rejoicing in the death of thousands of Iranians, though enemies they might be. I don’t understand celebrating capital punishment, though murderous the criminals might be. I don’t understand applauding intimidation and callousness, even though it might bring the desired end. I don’t understand bragging about lethality and deadly precision, though fearful it may be. I can’t imagine any of these things coming from the mouth of Jesus.

The purpose of each Bungee Cord that I write is to bring an echo the grace and mercy that comes from the one who died on the cross for all people and rolled back the stone of death forever. Today, when I heard the echo of gunshots in a San Diego Mosque, it rattled me to the point that I felt a need to turn up the volume of Jesus words that considers each person in the world so valuable that Jesus would give his life for them…that includes you, and me, and even those who have been given the name “enemy”.

“ 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. “ (John 14)

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord

Hello,

“Name someone who makes you feel guilty.”

That was the question that was asked of a contestant on a Family Feud segment that popped up on my Facebook page. The contestant quickly answered, “my preacher.”

When I heard her answer, I thought to myself, “Is that the experience of people who are part of the Christian church?” Unfortunately, I think it is. The reason that I think so is that this is not the first time that I have heard guilt being the prime experience named by church goers. I’ve heard people make jokes about church being a place where the spotlight is targeted at all the things one should not or should be doing. Also, I have heard stories about people who turn away from going to church because of the anticipated judgement of guilt they expect to feel. There is a story, maybe an apocryphal story, of a woman who found herself in the thralls of a crushing divorce, when a friend of hers invited her to come to church for some comfort. The response from the newly divorced woman was, “Why would I want to go there? I feel guilty enough already.”

Thing is, that when I read the Bible and see how Jesus dealt with people, what I see is something far different. When Jesus encountered the woman caught in adultery, Jesus spoke mercy. “He who is without sin may cast the first stone.” When Jesus found Zacchaeus up in the tree, Jesus didn’t turn his back on him, rather he invited himself to Zacchaeus’ home. When Thomas had a hard time believing that Jesus had risen from the dead, Jesus did not lecture him on his faithlessness, rather he answered Thomas’ needs. When people were burdened and feeling guilty, Jesus did not dump more guilt on them. Instead, he poured forgiveness and mercy on them.

Interestingly enough, Jesus did dump guilt on some people he encountered, and the ones that were the recipients of the spotlight of guilt were the ones who were trying to “guilt” others.

I don’t know how the Christian church gained the reputation of guilt casting, but I am certain that is not what Jesus wants the church to do in his name. It may be true that in the light of Jesus’ incredible love for me, I see how unworthy I am to receive such love. I see the betrayals that I have given into. I see the fickleness that I have shown. I see the pain that I have brought. It may be true that when I go to church, the radiance of Jesus goodness makes my guilt as clear as day, but it is there, when my warts are unhidden, that I do not find the judgment of guilt placed upon my shoulders. The judgment that I receive by Jesus is not “guilty”, but “forgiven;”

In a world that handles guilt in so many other ways…punishment, rationalizing, minimizing, diverting, ignoring, not forgetting….all ways that do not have the power to scrub the stubborn stain of guilt and its life-crushing power away, I find myself overwhelmingly blessed to step into a church and hear, “In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for our sins, and for his sake all of our sins are FORGIVEN.” “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…your sins have been washed clean. You are FORGIVEN.” “This is my body, given for you…This is my blood, shed for you..for the FORGIVENESS of your sins.” “Go in peace. You are FORGIVEN.”

No “if’s”…no “ands”….no “buts”. The thing that is supposed to happen when a person comes to church is FORGIVENESS! And FORGIVENSS has power…power to transform, power to renew, power to give life to the FORGIVEN one and to those that the FORGIVEN one encounters.

It may be that other preachers are ones that “make you feel guilty,” but I hope that I am a preacher that “makes you feel FORGIVEN!”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord

Hello,

“Every party has a pooper, that’s why we have toilet paper……”, so the song goes, and often it is true. Sometimes there is someone at a party that is meant for joy and celebration that douses the party with emotional water that puts the fire out. Commenting about someone’s taste in clothing. Criticizing the food. Worried about an empty glass left on the table. Determined to bring up gossip and rumors. “Every party has a pooper…..”

I wonder if people think that is what is going on inside churches every Sunday? “Can you believe that she wore that to church?” “How can they serve such dry communion bread?” “Didn’t you see how the pastor’s stole was not evenly draped?” “Look who is in church today. Did you know that he….?” I know that people hear these things seeping out through church walls, and since that is what they hear, they have no desire to go to a gathering like that. “Every party has a pooper….”

But to poopers of Sunday morning worship celebrations, I hear Jesus say this, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…….and I have come that they may have life, and have it abuntantly.” Jesus is no party pooper, he is the life of the party! When Jesus comes to his Sunday morning parties, he starts singing a reveling song about opening a prison of guilt and setting the prisoner free, and he gets everyone to start singing along. When Jesus comes to his Sunday morning parties, he grabs ahold of peoples’ hands and starts dancing around in a victory dance over death. When Jesus comes to his Sunday morning parties, he looks for the hurting and fearful and pins a rose on their jacket to let them know how much he cares. When Jesus comes to his Sunday morning parties, he stands at the door and embraces people who seemed to have lost their invitation and says, “It is great to see you here!” When Jesus comes to his Sunday morning parties, his grace is so infectious that when people leave his party they infect the world with that same grace. As the Gospel of John says, (paraphrased) “Jesus is the life of the party!”

That is not to say that Jesus’ Sunday morning parties are meant to be full of frivolities that ignore the pain and suffering of those in the world or those who attend. It is not to say that those whose eyes are dripping tears should stay away. It is not to say that skeptics and doubters should be turned away at the door. Folks like these are not party poopers, they are real people in need of hope, peace, joy and love.

No, the party poopers are the ones who stand at the door of the church and try and keep Jesus out. The ones who hand Jesus a list of rules and regulations that he must agree to before entering. The ones who pat Jesus down to make sure that he isn’t sneaking a megaphone in. The ones who question his reputation, who his friends are, and which side of the tracks he lives on, politically speaking, that is. It is true, I believe, that every (church) party has a pooper, or even a lot of them…and sometimes, I am one of them.

But every Sunday morning party does not belong to the poopers. Each and every one of them belongs to Jesus. They are his parties, and he, the life of the party, will not be kept out. Jesus sneaks his way in. He sneaks his way in in the cry of a baby sitting next to a woman who has just received a terrible health prognosis. He sneaks his way in through a bad note played by the organist. He sneaks his way in in the heart of a teenager who awkwardly stands afraid to be uncool and sing. He sneaks his way in with a splash of water on a baby’s head, and a piece of bread and sip of wine sliding down an anxious throat. The truth is that Jesus won’t let himself be kept out of his Sunday morning parties.

So, if you tend to believe that all those Sunday morning parties are full of nothing but party poopers, I believe that you are wrong. There is at least one at each and every one of those Sunday morning parties that is the life of the party, and gives life to everyone who comes…maybe life unbeknownst to them.

So, please receive this Bungee Cord as an invitation, not from me, but from the one who throws a party every Sunday morning, who is the life of the party, and who promises to be there ….to come to his party. You may be surprised what life you find there!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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Jerry Nuernberger

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The Bungee Cord