The Bungee Cord. 1-16-23

Hello,

Today, I have some bad news for you. You did not win the Mega Million Power Ball. Someone in Maine is now 1.3 Billion dollars richer than they were last week. Too bad for you.

I was watching CNN the night before the drawing, and the reporter was talking about the drawing that was to happen the next day. He said that the odds of winning were 1 in 350 million. So, in the words of the movie “Dumb and Dumber”, he was telling all of you who bought a ticket, “you mean I have a chance.” I can only imagine the look on the face of the person who, against all odds, picked the winning numbers.

1.3 billion dollars. Unless the buyer was one of the rare people in our country who already has that amount of money in the bank, overnight that person’s life was changed in ways that are hard to imagine. No more worries about putting food on their table. No more worries about rent and utilities. No more worries about keeping their job. Sure there would be a lot of adjustments and “friends” coming out of the woodwork, but with a bit of wisdom, those problems are ones that most of us would be willing to accommodate.

No one knows as of today who the buyer of the ticket is, but imagine with me this possibility: imagine that someone bought this ticket as a Christmas present for a friend. I suspect that when the one to whom the ticket was given opened the card and saw it, they probably thought “nice thought, but in truth a pretty cheap present.” After all, the odds of winning were 1 in 350 million. I can imagine that the receiver might have just put it back in the card and sat it aside with all the other cards that had gift cards to stores they never shopped at, soon forgetting that it was even there at all.

But the giver did not forget the gift, having written down the numbers that were on the ticket. One can only wonder what feelings might go running through the purchaser’s body. Excitement in having picked the winning numbers? Regret in having given the ticket away? What should the purchaser do?

What a shame it would be not to tell the one to whom the ticket was given. What a shame it would be for the recipient to live without the knowledge of the life changing gift that had been given. It seems to me that it would even be mean or cruel to keep the news of the value of that ticket a secret. All the unneeded worries and fears that would be carried. All the people that the ticket holder could help.

It is hard to imagine someone not telling the recipient of the gift that had been given to them. It is hard to imagine holding back the thrill of calling the person up and telling them of the life changing gift they had received. It is hard to imagine not getting in one’s car and going over to the recipient’s house, banging on their door, and anticipating seeing the look in their friend’s eyes when they tell them the good news.

What God did in Jesus – sending his son into our world, to live, die and live again – so that nothing in all of creation can separate anyone from God’s love – is literally called, in the Bible, “good news.” The word that has been used as a translation for “good news” is Gospel. And when you think about what the good news that has been given to the world in Jesus Christ is (to be held in the embrace of God, now and forever), the Mega Million Powerball prize in comparison is only a matter of pennies.

Even though it might appear the odds are virtually nil that a universal god would care about the speck of dust that you and I are, that is exactly what God Almighty has done in Jesus Christ. Although some have said that Christians are guilty of shoving religion down other people’s throats, (and I would agree if Christians are merely telling you how you should live your life), but if they are telling you about Jesus….about the depth of God’s love for you so that “neither life nor death” can take you away from him, then I would say that such Christians are only doing what a dear friend would do for someone who is holding a winning ticket.

So, the fact is that unlike how I began this Bungee Cord, I have Good News for you: God has given his Son to you…..you have THE winning ticket!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord 1-9-23

Hello,

“You should change your shoes if you are going to rob a bank.”

That is what was said to me as I got off my short daily exercise on the elliptical machine and passed the leg press machine on my way to play pickleball. The voice did not bear the deep rumble of a muscle popping hulk, and when I looked to my left to see the orator of the comment my eyes fell upon a slight little old lady sitting on the weight machine between her reps. Her gray hair was neatly kept under a headband. She was clad in sleek exercise pants and she had a baggy sleepless t-shirt layered over her underarmor-ish top.

“You should change your shoes if you are going to rob a bank,” she said again pointing down at my pickleball shoes (pictured above). “Someone tried to rob a bank wearing bright yellow shoes, and the shoes were the way the police caught him.” She snickered.

“Thanks,” I said back, “I’ll remember that.” I snickered.

Now, there’s a huge danger in anthropomorphizing God, but if when I saw this small elderly woman sitting on that leg press machine I imagined that her image could be on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Aged. Gentle. Strong.

I was having a bit of a rough day with my lifelong companion, depression/anxiety. I’ve learned that when these days come, it is important to press through them with physical activity and things that I enjoy doing. Although exercise and pickleball are part of my daily routine, on days when the “dog” (as Winston Churchill called his depression) bites, and thankfully it doesn’t bite too often, it is even more important to keep those things up.

I never expected that God would intervene that day in the work-out room of the Ligonier YMCA. Yet as I was trudging through the dark turmoil spinning in my brain, the spiral of gloom was interrupted by this elderly woman’s humorous words. “You should change your shoes if you are going to rob a bank.” A ray of hope broke into my despair.

I’ve don’t remember noticing her when I have exercised at the Y before. I really hate going nowhere on those machines, so generally I am focused on getting my “running” done and getting out of there to play pickleball. But she was there again today, sitting on the leg press machine and as I passed her getting off the elliptical machine, she pointed to my shoes and said, “I really like those shoes,” and I heard a reminder of hope.

Now some may say that what happened to me was an incident of simple human interaction and God had nothing to do with it. Maybe. But as a Christian, I have seen that God, embodied God’s self in a human, Jesus, who brought hope into all creation by simple human interaction. It seems to me that that is how God has decided to work. Not with shock and awe, but with simple human interaction. “You should change your shoes if you are going to rob a bank.”

(By the way, I have since found out that she is 93 years old!)

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (GGAP)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord 1-3-23

Hello,

Today's Bungee Cord is an audio/visual production. As you will see, my production abilities are not professional....yet. The video cut out before the second song (maybe a blessing to you!), and I was a little off pitch on the second song, but I wasn't going to start all over again for the 6th time. Nevertheless, I hope that this Bungee Cord reaches your heart with God's ever-embracing love that gathers up the past with forgiveness and mercy, and inspires you with great hope for the year to come.

Have a great week.

God's grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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