The Bungee Cord. 7-29-24

Hello,

As I told you last week, I went on a two-week trip to Denver to help my son. I drove, which gave me 46 hours to do some thinking. So today, I thought I would share with you something I was thinking about.

At its core, many people think that Christianity is about abiding by certain rules and conduct. I agree that rules and conduct are very important, but for me, they are not the core of the Christian faith. For me, the core of the Christian faith is a story that is at work shaping me, like a potter shapes the clay. It is a story of a God who is so heartfully invested in all of creation, that every speck of creation is of supreme importance to God. Amazingly enough, that includes the infinitely small speck that is me, and you. So important are we specks to God, that God has given everything to hold us in God’s heart. Amazing! And amazingly more, the everything that God has given is God’s very self. The one who is the potter became clay, and in so doing put God’s signature on all God’s handiwork of clay, so that all may know that God’s handiwork is Gods, especially you and me. God did this in a simple work of clay named Jesus, who stirred up the dust with his feet, who embodied God’s love with his words and deeds, who hung on a cross made of wood, who put God’s signature on all people with his blood, and when he had done so he proclaimed with his last breath, “It is finished!” And then three days later, out of the kiln of the grave, the one whose blood claimed all people, began gathering up, and is still gathering up, all of God’s kiln fired pottery for God to treasure forever.

That story, for me, is the core of the Christian faith. I know that there are some, if not many, who consider me to be a fool to believe such a story. They say, “What proof is there that God exists? Such a story sounds too good to be true. How do you know that this story is not the result of some people’s imagination? What about all the other stories? People don’t rise from the grave.” These and so many other reasonable questions are asked of me and those who believe this story. And I know, to many of those questioners, I am a fool.

But what if this story is true? What if there is a God who is so deeply invested in his handiwork that God would even give of God’s self to bring to death anything that would claim me as its own, including death? If that is so, wouldn’t I be a fool not to believe and trust in that story, and watch with joy as the potter shapes my life with that story?

Some Christians say that you have to believe this story to be in God’s good grace. I say, this is a story worth believing in as I marvel in God’s transforming grace. Some people say, “You can’t believe everything you hear,” which is true. But as we hear so often the truth in these days in the words of Maya Angelou, “When someone tell you who they are, believe them the first time they tell you.”

So, I find myself believing this story, and as I believe in it and trust in it, I see God’s hands at work shaping me into a piece of pottery whose value is eternal to him. God is shaping me with my interactions with others. God is shaping me as he embraces me in my prayers. God is shaping me when his claiming words that fell upon me with water that softened my dried clay. God is shaping me from the inside out as God joins God’s self to me at God’s table. God is shaping me with living words that come from his Word. I see God at work, being the potter to me, the clay. I am not just hoping this story is true. I am seeing that this story is true. I see God shaping me with this story, which to me would be foolish for me not to believe.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord. 7-23-24

Hello,

I have been gone a couple of weeks, taking a trip to my son’s place to lend my “expertise” as he is building a backyard office. He designed the structure and is constructing it on his own. Every day we made several trips to Lowe’s, because we needed something that either he had forgotten to buy or something that we ran short on. I was more of the grunt man, but after five days, we got the structure up and weather tight. Shingling in the 95degree Denver heat was a bit of a challenge for this sixty-seven-year-old man whose hands are soft from lack of that kind of work. Now, the rest is up to him.

I got home yesterday around 9:00 at night after my three-day drive. I opened the door of my house, walked into the darkness, and set my bags down. Suddenly there was a barking from the family room, a clattering of dog-nails coming up the stairs, and from around the corner appeared my dog, McMahon. Still in his “watchdog” mode, he peeked around the corner with a snarl in his voice, but when he saw it was me, the snarl turned into a look of delight. His tail wagged with accelerated speed, his eyes brightened up, he came dodging at me, and when he reached me, he jumped up and began licking me as if I was a melting ice cream cone. The excitement in seeing me was explosive, and it was a welcome that made the 23-hour drive worth it!

Although this welcome may have been a bit more exuberant than usual, the welcome that he gives me after I have been gone a couple of hours is not much less slobbery.

“Where ya’ been?” “I see the roof hasn’t fallen in yet.” “You must have done something really bad this week for you to come here.” Such words of welcome I have heard given to people who arrive at church after having been gone a long time. I know that they are most often said in jest, but even humor can bite deeply.

When I read scripture, however, they are not the words that God speaks to those who have been away. “Kill the fatted calf!” “Get the finest robe!” “It’s time for a party!” Those are God’s words, words that the father slobbered when his absent son came walking up the road.

If it has been a while since you have prayed. If it has been a while since you have been in worship. If it has been a while since you have opened up a Bible….know this: the greeting that you get from God when you offer your prayer, the greeting that you will get from God when you walk into a church, the greeting that you will get from God when you open the Bible will be McMahon-like. God will not be able to contain his excitement. God will slobber you with love and mercy. God will stop everything in the universe and say, “Let’s have a party!”

I know that that is what will happen, because I see it happening to me all the time. My prayers are always met with uncompromised welcome. Every time I go to church, there is a place for me at God’s table of infinite grace. Every time I read the Bible, I see divine embrace, squeezing fear and despair out of me. Every one of my encounters, no matter how frequent or infrequent they are, are slobbery.

So, if you are weary from a long-traveled road, get ready, because when you open the door of God’s presence, God is waiting there for you to welcome you with the slobber you with his love.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord 7-16-24

Hello,

The saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together,” and from what I see there’s a lot of truth to that saying. It is much easier to live with people who think like you do, who see the world the way you do, whose personality is like yours, who root for the same teams, who enjoy the same music, who like their food cooked the same way….on and on. It is easier, most often, to flock together with same feathered birds.

Unfortunately, there’s lots of different “birds” in the world….different colored birds, different sounding birds, different sized birds, different temperament birds, birds whose diet is different, birds who soar and fly at different altitudes, birds who are more solitary than others…on and on. There’s lots of different kinds of “birds” in the world who share the world and its airspace.

When you take a look at our world and all the “birds” that live in it, the truth is that we don’t live in a world that resembles a uniform flock who fly around in perfect synchronicity, like a flock of grackles. Our world is far more like an aviary, where birds of a different feather are flocked together….where birds of a different feather need to learn how to live together.

Martin Luther had a strange name for Jesus and each of his followers, “rara avis”, that is Latin for “strange bird”. Rather than trying to gather a flock of same feathered birds, Jesus put together a flock of very, very different feathered followers: rich, poor, highly patriotic, traitors to the country, strict law abiders, repeat offenders, staunchly conservative, radically liberal….a true multi-feathered flock living in a world-sized aviary.

Some years ago, when I was at a church-growth seminar (a movement that I think is overly worried about the wrong thing: church growth), I remember hearing the speaker say that churches that grow the fastest are those whose members are most alike. And although same mindedness may not always be a bad thing, it does seem to me that such churches do not train their birds very well to live in an aviary.

I find myself being a fervent proclaimer of God’s grace, something that Lutherans are noted for. So, I am glad that God has chosen Lutheran birds to be in his aviary so I can be included. However, I am just as glad that God has chosen Episcopal, Baptists, Catholics, Mennonites, Presbyterians, Quakers, Methodists, United Church of Christs, non-denominationalists of many colors….and on and on ….in his aviary, in order to include so many others. When I think about it, I am very thankful for the variety of sound and colors I see as I drink my coffee on my porch in the morning. I suspect the same might be said of God.

In 2009, the denomination with which I am affiliated, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, took on the struggle of coming to understand how our traditions relate to concerns of human sexuality. The ultimate decision that the denomination made was to say that we do not have an understanding of unanimous agreement on very many aspects of human sexuality, especially in regard homosexuality, and rather than impose such an understanding, we will try to love each other and live together focusing on our unanimous agreement of God’s grace in Jesus Christ rather than our differing views on human sexuality. When this decision was made, there were numerous churches who were unable to live in such tension, and they left. At the time, I was the pastor of two small churches in rural South Dakota who were struggling with the denomination’s decision, and I voiced my opinion which was, “In a world that is so divided, we have the chance to show how people who hold significant differences can actually lovingly and peacefully live together.” So, my judgment was against leaving the denomination.

It hasn’t been easy for those Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America to live out this decision to live in tension but given the anger and violence that is stirring in our country, it seems like this is one of the most important things that Christians can do in our world. Let me invite you to experience God’s unconditional grace in Jesus Christ among folks who are striving to live by it, and having experienced such love and grace, you and I might help our world tot be much more of a wonderful aviary rather than competing flocks of grackles and crows.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord. 7-8-24

Hello,

I have never bought fireworks before in my life. I grew up in a firework-less house, partly because some high school kids who lived right behind me blew off a bunch of their fingers as they were shooting off rockets that were propelled by a bundle of match heads. The stains of the streams of blood running down the street were enough to convince me that my parent’s prohibition of fireworks made a little sense.

But this past week, I stepped across that lifelong line and bought some fireworks, just six sparklers. My son and his family were coming to visit, and my wife wanted to have some sparklers to light for the fourth of July.

When I arrived at the Phantom Fireworks store in Greensburg on the third of July, I could not find a parking spot. I had to drive around several times before one opened up. I walked through the front sliding doors (it used to be a Toys R Us store) and got backed up behind some people who were emptying things out of their pockets. What they were emptying, I don’t know. I dodged around them and gazed into the huge store, but before I could enter the shopping area, I was greeted with, “Sir, would you please come over here?” I followed her invitation, and when I reached her counter she said, “May I see your ID?” Puzzled, I asked, “What are you needing me to do?” After all, I was only going to get six sparklers. She said, “You need to be registered.” So, I pulled out my wallet that has clear plastic in front of my driver’s license, and then she said, “Could you please remove it?” I took it out and she scanned the bar codes on the back side. She handed it back to me, and I was just about to venture into the shopping area when she said, “Sir, please wait a minute, I need you to sign a form saying you won’t hold us accountable if you incorrectly use the fireworks.” She gave me the form, and I signed it.

Form in hand, I went to the sparklers display area, and from the selection I took a package that contained six sparklers, and then I made my way to the check-out. There were eight check-out stations, and every one of them had at least two people with a grocery cart full of fireworks in line. I stepped into the first line I saw, and I found myself behind two people with full carts. The one in front was done and was moving ahead. The woman in front of me had two elementary age children in tow, and a newborn in a stroller. She emptied the contents of her cart onto the conveyer belt, and when everything had been checked in her total purchase was $464.00! I was amazed.

After she had repacked her cart and moved forward, I put my package of six sparklers on the conveyer belt, handed the cashier the form that I had been given to sign, and the cashier said to me, “That will be $4.99.”

I was amazed at all I had to go through to buy six sparklers for our fourth of July celebration, and I was amazed at what everyone else had to also do, and the expense they were willing to make for their celebration.

There is a celebration that is far more worthy than the birth of our country that goes on every Sunday morning. It is a celebration that you won’t have to show your ID, won’t have to sign a consent form, and you won’t even have to pay for. Actually, it is a celebration that you couldn’t pay for, no matter how much money you have. It is a celebration that all the grocery carts in the world full of fireworks could not match. It is a celebration of universal consequence for the whole universe. It is a celebration of a victory that dwarfs any national victory. It is the celebration of God’s explosion of grace out of an Easter tomb that knocked every barrier down that might separate anyone from God, that disintegrated every thing that might try and claim anyone and pull them away from God, and that turned death inside out forever.

I invite you to this unmatched celebration this Sunday and every Sunday. I am pretty sure that you’ll find a parking place. I quite certain that you will be greeted with love and welcome, and I am positive of this: it won’t cost you a thing….Jesus’ love is free!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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