The Bungee Cord

Hello,

Kate and I are on our way back home after spending two weeks in the Northwest. Apparently and unusually, every day was a sunny and warm day, and so we got to see the best of the “Evergreen State”. However, there was something that we did not get to see over these weeks, the news.

Although we had a TV to turn on, we never did. The world went by without us….or at least without us knowing it did. Actually, it has been nice. No word wrestling from Washington, D.C.. No earth rumbling from crimes. No meaningless distractions from athletic venues. No saber rattling from muscle pumping countries. No forecasts of weather that are rarely right. None if it for two weeks, and it has been nice.

That is not to say that I think it is good for a person to climb into a hole and hide from the world in which we live. It is important to take a productive place in this spinning circus in which we live: to silence the cries of babies whose hunger cannot be satisfied, to give a lift to those who have been kicked to the gutter, to throw a pebble of love into the lake of society and watch the waves it makes travel in every direction. “Out of sight, out of mind,” only adds to the pain and misery of the world when it is the mantra of one’s life. Nevertheless, swimming in the rough seas of life can be wearisome. Our legs can become so tired that they just flop through the churning waters. Our arms can become so weak that they just splash and we just motionlessly flutter. We need times to refresh and revitalize.

It may not be two weeks, but refreshment and revitalization are two of the main things that God gives us when we “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.” I heard Prof. Jim Nestingen give the Biblical understanding of “to keep it holy,” and he said it means that holiness is when something does what God intended it to do. That is holiness. When we remember the sabbath by gathering together in worship to hear God’s word and share in his supper, the Sabbath gives us the strength and courage that we need to get back into the fray of life. A time of respite from the world’s news. That is what God intended it to do.

Instead of being bombarded by the news of the world, when we gather in God’s house we hear God’s news, good news. That is what the word “gospel” literally means. Euangelion (Greek, the language the New Testament is written in) which is translated as “Gospel” is good (eu) message (angelion). The “sanctuary”, the place where we worship, is a place where peace is fostered. The stained-glass windows tell the story of God’s never yielding love and keep the world’s screeching brokenness out. The food from the table and the fellowship amongst the pews fill our souls with resiliency and grace. The music restores our heartbeat to beat with God’s heart. And the word that comes from Scripture and the pulpit are the hands of the potter restoring his works.

The repeated practice of weekly worship is God’s gift to us. It may not always be thrilling. It may not always be earthmoving. It may not always be exhilarating. But it will always be a time where the news of the world is silenced by God’s good news…news of hope, news of forgiveness, news of compassion, news of joy, news of victory…..news of Jesus! And like the two weeks silence of the world’s news that Kate and I have experienced, the hour of silence of the world’s chaotic news ….. will be nice!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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