The Bungee Cord. 3-3-25

Hello,

Maybe you, like I, have run into a person who says of their life, “I have no regrets, because everything in my past has made me the person that I am.” I, however, am not one of those regretless people.

It may be true that the conglomeration of my past has made me the person that I am, but that doesn’t mean that my past is void of regrets. When I look back, I feel badly about the pain that I have caused others when I dropped the ball, especially the pain that I caused my wife and sons. I feel awful about decisions that I have made, either carefully or thoughtlessly, that have caused me to crash into a brick wall. I feel miserable about the holes that I have dug into which I have fallen, and others have fallen, too. I am pained by some of the things that I have said that have been like a chainsaw to a relationship. I have regrets.

I know, however, that I am not alone in having regrets. The Bible tells us that many people that Jesus encountered had regrets in their lives. Zacchaeus regretted that he had over taxed people (Luke 19). Peter, one of Jesus disciples, regretted denying Jesus three times at Jesus’ trial (Mark 14). Paul, the one who wrote many books in the New Testament, regretted torturing early Christians (Philippians 3). It seems to me that to say one has no regrets requires one to turn a blind eye to the pain that we all bring into our lives and the lives of others.

I readily say that I have regrets as I look at my past, but I would not say that my life is dominated by regrets. My life is dominated by thanks, thanks to Jesus whose grace is stronger than my regrets. I say that with complete confidence because I have Jesus gather all of my regrets and their power unto himself, like a black hole of grace, and bring them to death as he died, and then with the power that created the universe, God’s power, Jesus walked out of death’s grave. Alive! Nothing else walked out of that grave, not one regretful thing. Only Jesus. Alive. Regrets, dead.

Because I have seen the power of Jesus in his cross and resurrection, thankfulness dominates my life. I am thankful that Jesus loves me so much that he doesn’t just leave me in the grips of my regrets but rather has shown that he would die for me in order to hold me in his embrace forever. I am thankful that Jesus shepherds my wife and my sons, even if they don’t know it, and carries them in his arms when they have strayed off. I am thankful that the pain that I have brought to the world does not have the last word, but God, who has endured all the sufferings that the world can give, does not abandon anyone in pain, but instead dives headfirst into that pain. I am thankful that my severing words are met by God’s indivisible love. I am thankful that God, the potter of my life, will not give up on this lump of clay until it is a masterpiece of his handiwork.

I am thankful that every day, God goes into his pottery workshop, takes a look at what has become of me, this piece of his artwork….maybe dented, maybe cut, maybe hardened, maybe flattened…..and instead of throwing me away, he enfolds his hands around me, splashes water of forgiveness on me, and says to himself, “This one is going to be the apple of my eye.”

By the way, God says the same thing of you, too!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord 2-24-25

Hello,

In worship yesterday, we heard “The Golden Rule”. It is a rule that is often quoted. There is even a handyman that has given the rule’s name to his company and has it written on the side of his truck underlined by a yardstick, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The reason that we heard it in worship yesterday is that this rule comes from the Bible, actually from the mouth of Jesus.

Notice that “The Golden Rule”, when given by Jesus, did not say, “Do unto others with kindness so they would be kind to you.” If that was the rule that Jesus gave, it would be better named “The Rusty Pipe Rule”, because it wouldn’t be a rule full of leaks. Life teaches us all, at least it has taught me, that kindness is not always returned. Some people view kindness as weakness and return kindness with increased abuse. Some people view kindness as foolish naivete and mock those who practice it. Some people view kindness as craziness, and they dismiss those who call for it. Kindness fuels an enemy’s bravado. Kindness leads people to hate you and curse you. Kindness has brought people to slap someone on the cheek and say, “Wake up! You fool!” Kindness can even lead people to take advantage of you and take the shirt right off your back. Jesus did not say, “Do unto others with kindness so they would be kind to you.”

No, Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” He never mentions any expectation of similar reciprocation. As a matter of fact, Jesus makes it clear that any such expectation misses his point. Right before saying “The Golden Rule”, Jesus says, “if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again,” and a few verses later, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”

So, if Jesus says that there is to be no expectation of kindness in return, why would anyone want to follow “His Golden Rule”? Here’s the answer: fish swim, birds fly, Christians love. Love is in our genes as children of God. Grace, love that comes from no merit to be given and with no strings attached, is the dominant gene in God’s genetic code. How do we know that? Because it was the driving force in Jesus, his Son. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not die, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16,17)

Kindness runs in the family, God’s family. Scripture tells us that God loves us so much that he makes his home in our hearts, and God stakes his eternal claim there. “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). Consider how foolish it would be for a family of seven-foot-tall people to walk through doors as if they stood only five foot tall. A lot of bruised foreheads, and one would wonder how long a person would continue to beat their head against the wall before they got it through their head that seven-foot people need to duck to go through a six-and-a-half-foot door. (Read Romans 5,6). When God moves into our lives, God doesn’t just do a renovation of our lives, God does a recreation of our lives. “So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5.17). Figuratively, no longer five foot. We are seven feet tall!

Jesus gave us “The Golden Rule”, not so that we might expect others to be kind to us, but rather to give us the power to change the world with God’s love. Jesus puts “The Golden Rule” in our hands to be a saltshaker, spicing up this blandness of people’s lives who are yearning for the taste of purpose and meaning. Jesus puts “The Golden Rule” in our hands to be a spotlight for us to shine into the darkness of people’s pain and suffering. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth….You are the light of the world,”, what an adventure lies ahead as we shake up the world and light up the world with God’s love!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord. 2-17-25

Hello,

In the early 2000’s I was interviewing at a church that was interested in me to be their pastor. In the denomination to which I belong, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, interested churches form what is called a “call” committee to interview potential pastors. This committee ranges from six to twelve members is usually comprised of various ages, vocations, and interests in hopes that the questions that it might ask would cover the breadth of the congregation. I have found these interviews to be a wonderful time for the sharing of minds and lives.

As this particular interview went along, they asked me all sorts of questions about my previous congregations, how I might address the issues their congregation was struggling with, and some things about myself. Then I was asked a question which I had never been asked before, “What do you think about this gay issue?”

Actually, it was a timely question, because the denomination to which I belong was doing a study on human sexuality, which included things like living out one’s sexual life with respect for the other, the importance of family (in whatever configuration that family might have), the place that abortion might or might not have in pregnancy, and many other things of this sort…..including the “gay issue.”

Having not been asked this question before, I paused a bit before I answer it, and then I said, “Well, I believe they are people.”

I don’t remember what the committee’s response was. It seems to me that there was a brief silence. I don’t think it was the kind of answer that they were expecting. I think they were expecting me to express my opinion on the rightness/wrongness of being gay and my opinion on how the church should treat gays. I don’t think they were expecting me to say, “Well, I believe they are people.”

Unfortunately, at least in my mind, the world tries to label people and put them in categories. Sometimes that is helpful like “infected with covid” so that others do not get infected, but in addition to any helpfulness when a person is put into a labeled category the tendency is to forget that when we deal with a category or label, we are not dealing with statistics, or amorphous blobs. Instead, we are dealing with people. People who feel pain and sorrow. People who are trying to be counted as somebody. People who are loved and who love.

It is far easier to be callous to a category. It is far easier to put up fences around categories. It is far easier to feel no connection to a category. It is far easier to look upon a category as the enemy, or a bunch of freeloaders, or a just a number.

But when I read the Bible, I see Jesus breaking down categories into what comprises them, people. Consider how Jesus responded to the woman caught in adultery (John , or blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10), or the un-named leper (Luke 5). When Jesus encountered someone, Jesus saw a person. Someone who was the object of God’s divine love. Someone for whom he had come to die. And when Jesus saw each one as a person, he treated each one with the compassion that came from his heart being linked to each one of their hearts. Person-ally.

It is easier to deal with categories. It is messy when one deals with persons, but that is who Jesus was and is, someone who involves himself in the messiness of life. You and I have been categorized by the world, but know this; when Jesus looks upon you, Jesus sees only one thing: a person for whom he died and rose. And in seeing you that way, Jesus treats you with the compassion in his heart for you. Jesus forgives the sin that is ripping your life apart and makes you whole. Jesus lifts you out of the pit of your failures and stands you on your feet to live anew. Jesus embraces you when life is falling apart and carries you in his arms like a Good Shepherd. Jesus stands between you and anything that would try and take you from him and says, “This one is mine. A person that I won’t let you have!”

What do I believe about this “gay issue”? I believe that they are people. What do I believe about you….whether I know you or not? I believe….no, I know….you are a person, a person for whom Jesus died and rose!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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