The Bungee Cord. 7-7-25

Hello,

As many of you know, I am back in the pulpit for a while. The pastor of the church of which I am a member left in February, so I’ve been assuming Sunday morning responsibilities until a new pastor is “called” (that is the word we use when a person becomes a pastor of a church). There was a day that weekly church attendance surpassed 100 people, but not now. Now it is about thirty or so, so there’s plenty of room in the church. Many of the people of Bethel are related to families who were part of the church’s early years, and they sit in the same pews that their families always have. As a matter of fact, even “new” people sit in their self-assigned pew.

This past Sunday, I stirred things up in my church. I knew that the person who normally runs the sound system was not going to be there, and I was right. It was time to start worship, and we had no sound operator, so I asked the people to move toward the front of the church so that they could hear. The groan that came from the congregation was a little less gruesome than the groan that comes from pulling teeth, but the people did obey my request, grudgingly.

Jokes are sometimes made about the fact that people who worship regularly regularly sit in the same place. Although I have not personally witnessed it, but some tell stories of folks being told to move because they were sitting in the requestor’s pew.

Although such stories are certainly unwelcoming, as I reflect on the congregation’s response to my oral surgery request, I have come to see something significant in the people’s groans. It may seem like the people’s regular seating places are simply a matter of habit, but I think it is something deeper. The folks of Bethel Lutheran church have gone through much in their lives, the same sort of struggles and trials that are common to everyone who spends their life on this earth, and they have weathered their storms because they have been firmly planted on solid ground, their faith in Jesus Christ. And the seats that they find themselves sitting in every Sunday are the spot of their planting. They have sat there when children have been born, when bills could not be paid, when marriages have taken place, when tragedy strikes, when jobs have begun, when jobs have been lost, when birthdays have been celebrated, and when death has come to loved ones.

Those seats that they sit in every Sunday are not just the result of a matter of habit, they are a result of being the place where roots of faith are deeply set. Jesus tells a parable about a Sower who goes out to sow seeds. Some of the seed falls on the road, and it never grows. Some falls on weedy ground, and the growing plant get choked and dies. Other seed falls on thin soil and after it sprouts quickly, the sun and the heat of the day wilt it because it has shallow roots. Other seed falls on good ground where it sprouts and thrives and creates a bumper crop.

Worshipping the Lord every Sunday in church is not just a matter of habit. It is having been sown in soil where roots can grow deep, deep to hold steady when storms hit, deep to hold steady when swirling winds hit, and deep to produce a bumper crop of hope, peace, forgiveness, love and joy. It is my hope that this Bungee Cord will be a Sower’s hand for you, tossing you into the great soil of God’s grace where your roots can be deeply set and your life a harvest thirty, sixty, or even a hundred-fold of God’s mercy.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger