The Bungee Cord 2-3-25

Hello,

A couple of weeks ago we heard the story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast where the wine had run out. (John 2). Wedding feasts in Jesus’ day were often a multiple day event, so it is not hard to imagine the case where the wine could run out. For some reason, Mary, Jesus’ mother, brought the party killing dilemma to Jesus, who asked out loud, “What has that to do with you or me?” After all, they were guests, not the hosts.

Nevertheless, when the servants, who were urged by Mary to involve Jesus in this problem came up to Jesus, Jesus told them to fill the six 25-gallon, stone jars that held the water for ritual cleansing (I guess the people needed a lot of cleansing!) to the brim with water. After doing so, they drew out some of the liquid, and brought it to the “wedding coordinator” (the steward) to be tasted, and to his amazement he found himself tasting wine much better than the expensive stuff that the groom had provided at the start of the celebration, which for a variety of reasons seemed odd to the “wedding coordinator”.

I’ve heard this story more times than I can count, and as with things familiar, sometimes one finds ones self missing something very important. And here’s the very important thing that I realized this time in hearing the story: no one commented on the jars. No one said anything about how beautiful they were. No one said anything about how sturdy they were, after all they were stone, not clay. No one said anything about how well they held the liquid inside them. Crickets about the jars. Amazement about the wine.

Obviously, they were necessary to hold the wine, but it was the wine that they held that was of most importance.

As I experience the Christian faith from the inside and listen to those who experience it from the outside, it seems to me that many Christians….maybe even most Christians…concern themselves more with the jars than the wine. We find ourselves focusing on styles of worship, which might be akin to the painting on the jars. We get all bound up with rules and regulations, which might be akin to the material of the jars. We find ourselves worried about budgets and empty seats, which might be akin to the size of the jars. When I hear many people outside of the Christian faith speak about this faith, I hear a lot of “jar” talk. “All the church wants me for is my money. The church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. The church is out of touch with the world.”

Looking back on my several decades of being a pastor, I confess that I, too, have done a lot of “jar” gazing. I, too, have been caught up with budget and attendance concerns, traditions and congregational habits, administration and leadership proficiency, and rules and regulations. Of course, none of these things are bad. As a matter of fact, one might rule them important….just like jars are important.

But as Jesus’ “sign” (that is what the Bible calls what Jesus did at that wedding) points us to what is essential. It is the wine. The wine! The wine that fills those jars is better than the best wine that the world can offer. Beyond its quality, is its quantity. More than we could ever drink dry. And its cost: FREE!

And what is the wine that fills the “jar”, the church? It is the mercy of God. Mercy so powerful that its stain in our lives is unremovable. Mercy so robust in hope that no plate that the world gives us can overwhelm its taste. Mercy so exquisite with peace that once you taste it, you won’t want any other. Mercy so abundant that it will never run out in this life or when this life is over. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, he vinted the best wine of all eternity…and he offers it to you to drink it. For free!

So, if you are one who has found the church to be rather “jar” obsessed, let me invite you to dip your glass into the jar and taste what it holds…the mercy of God for you…and I think that you will find….it tastes REALLY good!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord. 1-27-25

Hello,

Over and over again, one hears that these are very chaotic and dangerous times. World orders are crumbling and changing. Natural calamities. Worldwide epidemics. People deeply polarized with matching deep anger. You don’t have to be awake too long to hear people tell you that we are in a time of walking on thin ice.

As we tread this cracking ice, people are responding in many ways. The biggest response that I see is fear. Fear often does take hold of a person when one finds one’s self watching the ground that one is standing on become brittle and eroding away. It’s natural. So, out of fear people try and hold onto something new, and we see that happening. Hatred of strangers. Hoarding of things. Strengthening one’s muscles, figuratively and literally. Building walls, once again figuratively and literally. Being cynical about everything. Grabbing onto things that don’t make sense.

Of course, it would be foolish to passively ignore the fact that a lion is charging at you. Fear is not necessarily a bad thing. The bad thing about fear is that it can lead us to do things that are bad for us and bad for the world.

As many of you know, I am a rabid University of Illinois fan. I consider my fandom to be a healthy meaningless diversion to cope with the daily realities of life. Anyway, the Fighting Illini were playing a game a couple of weeks ago that personal scheduling problems did not allow me to watch. But thanks to the many wonders of technology, I was able to watch it the next day.

In the meantime, between the game’s end and my watching the game, I came across the score. Illinois victory! This was the first time that I have ever watched a game having already known the outcome. I had always thought that to do so would be boring. However, as I watched, I did not find myself feeling boredom. What I found myself feeling was two things: peace and curiosity. When we were falling behind due to sloppy play and missed shots, I was not worried. I knew we were going to win. And when we were digging holes for ourselves, I found myself wondering, “How are we going to get out of these holes and win?” Amid the chaos and disasters, I watched with peace and curiosity because I knew…I knew..the outcome.

I, who lives with the knowledge of the empty Easter tomb, carry with me the rock solid knowledge of how the on court battle of my life will end. When it ends, I will find myself embraced by Jesus in an eternal victory hug, and hear Jesus say, as a victorious coach does, “Well done good and faithful servant.” So, with that impending hug and words of praise I need not fear the chaos and danger. Though the world may be quaking, the embrace of the one who has “the whole world in his hands” will be mine. Though my sins blind my eyes and burden my shoulders, the light that enters the darkness and the yolk that is easy will be mine. Though the holes that I get pushed into or dig for myself may seem bottomless, the grasp of the good shepherd who search will not end for me until I am found will be mine. Though the pain that might bring me to my knees in paralysis may take ahold of me, the life giving, power-laden words of one who speaks, “take up you pallet and walk,” will fall upon my ears.

I have witnessed the end of the match…that is the witness of the Christian faith…a witness that has been passed on to me, and which I pass onto you. So, in these days, when so many are reacting out of fear, you and I can live these days in peace and curiosity. Jesus has won the victory!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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 The Bungee Cord. 1-20-25

Hello,

WWJD?

It wasn’t too many years ago that many Christians adopted these for letters as their guide to their life of faith. “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?” I remember that wristbands were made carrying these letters, and many people wore them daily. Not to disparage the question that these letters ask, nor those who wore the wristbands, but I do think that there is somewhat of a difficulty with the question the letters pose. The difficulty: the answer is not always readily answered. If you put a handful of Christians in the same complex situation, I suspect you might get a handful of different answers.

I was watching a “reel” from America’s Got Talent, and onto the stage came a girl in her teens, and her mother and father. They had come to sing. As Simon Cowell was asking them about their background and if they had ever sung to a big crowd before, the mother said that she had. She had been a Christian singer and had put out some albums produced by a Christian Record company. However, she lost her job. Seems that she, who had been single at the time, had become pregnant, and because of that her record company dropped her.

Is that what Jesus would do?

The crowd, who I wonder the percentage of those whose lives were guided by the Christian faith, groaned at what happened to her, and maybe you, too gave out a groan as you read of her plight. But truth to be told, I have heard and seen the record company’s decision often carried out by those who bear Christ’s name. “How can you call yourself a Christian after what you just did?” “Look who just walked into the church. What is he doing here after what he did?” “We can’t let that person come to our church. People will leave and no one will come.” “She’s not even sorry for what she did. She doesn’t belong here until she is.”

What would Jesus do? What is the clear answer?

Well, maybe someone wiser than I has also seen the unclarity of WWJD, and offered a different question, the question that I offer to guide the Christian life, and that question is “WDJD?” “WHAT DID JESUS DO?”

Jesus broke bread with Judas on the night that Judas betrayed him. Jesus went to the house of Zacchaeus, a thieving tax collector. Jesus told his disciple to put away his sword when the crowds came to arrest Jesus. Jesus stopped and talked to lepers, and he healed them, whether they were thankful or not. Jesus loved his disciple Peter, even though Peter denied him three times. Jesus, who was without sin, threw no rocks at a woman who was caught in adultery. Jesus died on a cross, took sin and death to the grave, and left them behind in the grave when he rose from the dead on Easter morning. These are some of the things that Jesus unquestionably did.

So, if you are one who finds yourself heavily burdened by the struggles of this life, or by the boulders you have sinfully placed upon your shoulders…..and don’t we all find ourselves so burdened to a greater or lesser degree in our lives…let me invite you not to ask “WWJD?” and find yourself guessing and caught in a swirl of answers. Instead, ask “WDJD?”, “WHAT DID JESUS DO?”, and you will find a certain answer: Jesus loved people just like you, embraced them with that love, welcomed them into his life, died for them so that nothing else might have the breath to put a claim on them, and rose from the dead and breathed new life…eternal life…into them. That is what Jesus did…..for that singer who got pregnant…and for you!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (GGAP)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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