Falling into rambling

Ah, the chill in the air. The heat has abated and the coolness of fall has arrived. Beautiful blue skies, marked with white clouds drifting along on the light breeze. Yes, fall. Clouds roll in, threat of rain. Darkness comes earlier. The sun sets early and rises late. Yes, fall.

If there is a season that I really enjoy, it is fall. The cool nights, the warm days. The smells of fall. The feel. The sounds, or lack of sounds. All are a part of fall. Where have the birds gone? They are there, just not singing like they were in the spring and summer. Where is the sunshine? It is still there, just not as long as in the summer. Where are the green leaves? They are changing into the yellows, reds, oranges and browns that color the trees of summer.

So many things that we can count on when fall arrives. Penny always says that the weather changes from summer to fall right around my birthday (Sept. 21) which is right around the time of the start of Autumn.

This year is was right on time. It was hot and sticky on Thursday the 20th and cool and less humid by the evening of the 21st. Saturday morning, as I went to Cracker Barrel for Men's Breakfast, I wore a jacket. Two days earlier, I was in shorts and shirt sleeve, not dreaming of wearing a coat. Welcome fall, it is good to see you.

The change of the seasons always make me think about the order of the universe that God created. Things are in order. The sun rises and sets in such a way that you can actually say exactly when it happens. The seasons come just a the time they are to come. Days, weeks, months, years are in order. Perhaps you don't even think about it. Can you imagine what it would be like if sunrise was random, depending not upon the order of creation but on the whim of who know what or whom? Today the sun rises at 4:13 a.m. and yesterday it rose at 9:03 a.m. and who knows when it will rise tomorrow? Thank You Lord for giving us order in creation and order in our lives.

Anyway, I just was thinking of fall and felt like rambling. I pray that you have a blessed day today. Know that the Lord of all is with you. He never leaves you nor does He forsake you.

Go out and enjoy the day, even if it is only for a few minutes at lunch time.

9/11 memories

A day of reflection. 9/11. Who cannot help but reflect when this day arrives? It is true that there are those who never lived through this day. Those born after 2001. There are no students in our school that were here on that day. Consider that those who are 17 and younger were born after that fateful day in 2001. It is hard to imagine that what we lived through is nothing more than a history lesson. And even then, who knows how it will be taught in schools around the nation and around the world. Is it a day of infamy? Or what kind of day is it?

A sunny day, apple butter time at Bethlehem Lutheran, Ferrin, IL. Apples peeled. Fires started. Kettles on. Apples poured in the kettles. Sun coming up. Blue skies. Rachael and Matthew were ready for school and wandered out to be with the folks cooking. Fun times. A grand day. The smell of wood fire in the air. This is what life is all about.

Then the reminder, life is not so beautiful. The shock. Disbelief. What happened? An accident? One plane, maybe. Then the 2nd plane. Complete shock. Watching the news feeds showing the second plane going into the second tower. What? How? Why? Who? So many questions. So much confusion. This shouldn't be happening. It couldn't be happening. What can I do? What can I say? Um, I don't know.

And then, shock of all shock. Watching as one tower begins to collapse, then the other. Hearing of the Pentagon. Hearing of the plane in Pennsylvania. What is happening? Is this just the beginning? Is there going to be more? Planes grounded. People stuck in cities, countries, that they did not plan to be stuck in. What were they going to do? What were we going to do?

Prayers. Lots of prayers. Gathering children together at Trinity Lutheran School, Hoffman, IL. Talking, praying, reaching out with the love of Christ.

There it is. There is what was needed. Not rhetoric. Not speeches. Not let's go get them, whoever they are. But Christ. Only the love of Christ could cover the pain of the day. That shouldn't surprise us. It is the love of Christ that covers the pain of any tragedy, any death. It is a reminder of our great need for the Savior, for His presence in our lives. We need. And that which we need is Christ!

He knows the hurt. He knows the shock. He knows what we are going through - then and now. It is only Christ that helps us through the pain and loss of death, through the sting of death. And it does sting. Knowing that all those folks died in an instant when the planes went into the buildings. Knowing that there were people in the buildings when they collapsed. Hearing of the heroics of emergency personnel that were there to save people only to lose their lives. The crushing agony of the great loss of life. Lord, wrap Your arms around us, for we are in shock.

Still in shock. Perhaps not from the event of 9/11/01 but from the events of today. The accident, the surgery, the illness, the betrayal, the actions of those around, actions that are unkind, nasty, upsetting. The world we live in. Only the arms of the Lord, arms that have nail scarred hands, wrapped around us can help us through the moment, the pain, the suffering, the shock. Only hearing the words form the lips of the Savior, the One who gave His life upon the cross for wretched sinners, sinners who would kill others. Wretched sinners who treat others with disdain. Wretched sinners who speak words that hurt, that maim and that destroy the life of the person who is at the center of such actions.

Yes, the Savior, Jesus Christ. His love. His presence. His life. His death. His resurrection. That needs to be the focus of our remembrance. Share that news. Share that love. Live in Him. We see what happens when we don't live in Christ. We see lives ruined, destroyed, people crushed, hurt, walking shells of what they used to be - all because of sinful people like you and me.

Lord, forgive. Forgive me. Forgive my anger. Forgive my hate. Forgive my unkind words. Forgive my selfish actions. Forgive. And lead me to forgive. Lead me to love. Help me.

Yes, remembering 9/11. It is important. We cannot forget. We will not forget. But we also must let the love of Christ cover it. We must not forget, we cannot forget His love. Apply Christ to your memory. Apply Christ to your actions. For Christ is all in all.

We need Christ.

Tuesday morning chirping

A warm morning, window open, listening to the crickets chirping. There is something relaxing about the sound. It is still dark out. The sun hasn't started to rise yet. At this time of the summer, it is getting later and later and sunset is getting earlier. Yesterday was Labor Day, making it the unofficial end of the summer. There are still some hot days ahead of us, warm days and yet, we know that fall is on its way. It will be with us soon.

As I listened to the crickets, I thought, won't be long till they won't be heard again. So I better take advantage of listening to their song. What are they saying? As I listened, I realized that they are praising God for giving them life. They are joining with all creation in lifting up praise to the heavenly Father as they are fearfully and wonderfully made. Created. Created by God to be crickets. They weren't created to be anything other than crickets.

Just like you and me are created by God to be who we are. Yes, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. God wanted you to be you. He made you special, different from others. Oh yes, you are human. You were created male or female. There are similarities between all humans, which is great news when the doctor has to do something for us. He/she doesn't have to figure out what we are first. The doctor knows the way the body is made. He/she knows what needs to be done and how to do it. Praise the Lord for that!

Yet you are different from anyone else. God made you special. He made you - YOU. That is right, he made you to be you. Rejoice in who you are. Rejoice in the gifts you have been given. Give thanks to the Lord that He looks upon you, knows who you are and calls you by name. Think about how wonderful that is! Out of the millions and millions of people that are alive (all right 6+ billion), God knows your name. He calls you by name. He loves you. He cares for you. He made you to be you so that you can live as you. Wow! That is amazing, just as you are amazing.

All that from listening to the crickets. It is great what a simple little black insect can teach me this morning. Listening to them chirp, listening to them on this warm September morning, I know, they are praising God as long as they have life. So too, shall I.

Did you catch it?

In the Gospel reading for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, series B in the 3 year series, there was a line that I caught yesterday. I am sure that I heard it before but it never struck me until I was reading it in worship in the early service here at St. Paul's, Troy. It is John 6:62. The lead up to this is that Jesus is telling the disciples that He is the bread of life. There is the discussion about eating His body and drinking His blood (to which there is the ongoing debate about what He means. I fall on the side of the fence that He is talking about the Lord's Supper. ).  All of this is following the feeding of the 5,000 and the people wanting to make Him the Bread King and the topic of manna in the wilderness. You can get a feel for that when Jesus says, "This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died." (John 6:58 ESV).

So what is the verse that struck me? The disciples (not just the 12 but the crowds that had gathered around him) said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it." (John 6:60 ESV) It was difficult for them to understand and take hold of what Jesus was saying. Folks today still struggle with the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in, with and under the bread and wine in the Supper. There are those who find it difficult to understand and don't really want to listen to it.

Then Jesus says to the disciples, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" (John 6:61b-62 ESV) What if you saw the Son of Man ascending to heaven, the place He was before? There will be some of those standing there that day who would indeed see Jesus ascend into heaven. How would that be so difficult to accept and understand?

In the ascension we see that Jesus did not come to set up and earthly kingdom but that He ascended to take His place at the right hand of the Father, to that heavenly, eternal kingdom. The disciples continued to look for the worldly Messiah, the One who would set up the earthly kingdom. In Acts, right before the ascension, they even ask Jesus, (as I read it I always think of them asking in breathless anticipation), "Are You going to set up the kingdom now? Are you going to get rid of the Romans? Are you going to make Israel great again?" Yes, I am paraphrasing, but that seems to be the thoughts they were having.

When Jesus doesn't set up an earthly kingdom but instead ascends into heaven, it could have been very confusing for them. Just like they struggled to understand the bread of life discussion, they were going to have to face the ascension discussion. What does it mean? Why did Jesus ascend? Why are the Romans still here?

The ascension, seeing the Son of Man ascending to heaven, would be confusing and difficult thing for them. And I think it is for us too. Today, many churches, and many Christians, don't even think about the ascension and what it means. Ascension Day services, if they are held any longer, tend to be sparsely attended. Folks don't have time for such a service. My opinion? I think it is because we don't understand the ascension. So like other things that are hard to get our mind around, we just ignore it. The whole Real Presence discussion gets pushed off to later since it is difficult and may cause some problems. In the same way, the ascension gets pushed off because it is difficult to understand and may cause so discomfort.

The disciples had no clue what Jesus meant that day when He said this. I often wonder if they thought back to this time when they were in Jerusalem those 10 days between the ascension and Pentecost. John must have had this in his mind for some time because it came out in the writing of this gospel. Maybe he had connected the dots by then, or maybe he hadn't.

Just sitting here thinking on a Monday morning. Blessings on your day.

A new month, a new ramble

A new month. Can you believe it is August? If you are a teacher, like Penny, you probably are very aware that it is August. If you are a student, you are moaning about it being August already. This last weekend, I asked each of our college students when they were heading back. Without fail, it was within the next week and a half to two weeks. They were going to be back at whatever college they are attending, getting ready for another year. Here at St. Paul's, our teachers report back here in this month. With younger kids, school is exciting and uplifting. For older students, there is a bit of dread that comes with it (though they too may be excited but don't want to admit it).

For a pastor, things change. The pastor is busy all summer, whether he is at a church that has a school or not. Things don't stop at a church just because the school is on summer break. There is still plenty going on. With the start of school, this pastor does get busier since not only do I teach confirmation 3 days a week (then after Labor day, the Wednesday class begins), I also begin to lead chapel weekly, and get into each one of the classrooms once a week to teach one of the religion lessons or to read to the preschool classes.

What did you do this summer? Penny and I were talking about that this week. We didn't do the things we wanted to do. Why not? It seemed like there was too much going on. Matthew and Chelsey's wedding. VBS. Doctor of Ministry class. Call to Antioch, IL. We did get a 4 day weekend away this summer. During that time we made it to a Cubs game. That was fun. But we didn't make it to the zoo or the Museum of Transportation. We didn't get to do the Friday drives like we wanted (Friday is my day off). Like you, like your family, there was just too much going on.

This teaches us a lesson. We make our plans but like James writes: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit" - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring....Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."  (James 4:13-15 ESV) Yes, Penny and I approached the summer with the thought, we would like to do this or that. But we also approached it with the thought, "Lord willing, we will do this or that."

Each day, we trust in the Lord. Each day is in His hand. each day is guided by Him. And I thank His holy name that this is the case. He knows much better what my life needs than I do.

Lord, I pray that you will guide me through the month of August, whatever it holds for me and my family. Lord willing, I will do ________________ today. (Fill in the blank.) Lord, I am Your child, lead me.

From the morning reading

I was coming to the end of Hosea. Quite a fascinating book. Talk about an object lesson! The Lord was doing all He could to get the attention of His people Israel. And they were not listening. I read this book and wonder, "How could they not get it?" It is pretty obvious to me what the Lord was trying to do. The people just didn't pay attention. Then I quickly turn my thoughts away from myself and my life, for in many ways, I am just like the people of Israel. I fail to see when the Lord is calling me back to Him. My hardness of heart kicks in. I figure that the Lord isn't talking to me, not me, not little ol' me. Have you been there?

But that isn't what I actually was going to write about. I read: "But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior." (Hosea 13:4 ESV) Truth! God saved them from Egypt. They didn't do it. For 400 years they cried out. They were not able to just up and leave any time they wanted. Otherwise they would have. Why? At first they had it good. Instead of returning to the land of their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they stayed in Egypt because they had a good life. Joseph saw to that. Plenty of food, good jobs, life of leisure, and no fears. So they stayed and you can say they overstayed their welcome. For soon all was forgotten and they just became another people trying to take over the nation of Egypt and were treated as such. Made slaves, forced to work, the good times part of their history but not part of their current situation. Then they cried to the Lord because they couldn't save themselves. When they realized it, things were in too bad of a shape and they were stuck.

God saved them. Moses, the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, Mt. Sinai, the wanderings, the water from rock, manna in the mornings, clothes that never wore out and a new land, which was really the old land. He saved them. No one else. Yet they would go to all the other 'gods' and worship them. They gave what should have been given to God to something else. How often have you done that? I know I have. Too often. You?  He alone saves. He alone has sent His only-begotten Son to be the Savior, of all people! All people! You, your neighbor, the person you work with, the person driving down the road! Everyone. He is the God who saves. Praise be to God.

Thank You Lord for speaking to me through Hosea. Please continue to speak through Your Word. Continue to guide me, for by myself, I am lost.

What a book. What amazing words. I will keep reading.

The Good Shepherd Leads You

Do you have trouble following the Lord's will in your life? Do you find it easy to follow His will? I would venture to say it depends on the situation. Each one of us are called to follow the Lord and do His will daily. As we do so, we will face temptations, trials and tribulations. While the Lord has promised to always be with us, to never leave us or forsake us, the things of life often cause us to take our eyes off the Lord.

We can say, "I will pray more." or "I will read the Bible more." We can focus on what we do, and think that will help us to follow the way of the Lord. Unfortunately, if we are relying upon ourselves to follow the Lord, we will be like sheep who stray. Something will attract our attention and we will find ourselves wandering off one direction or another. 

So what can we do? We can receive the gifts of God that are meant to strengthen us in our daily walk of faith. Notice I say "receive." They are given to us by the Lord. What are these gifts? Word and Sacrament. The Means of Grace. Where do we receive these? Right where the Lord tells us they will be - in worship. That is what worship is all about - receiving from the Lord. Yes, we do praise the Lord in worship, but that is in response to what He does for us. That is in response to receiving both Word and Sacrament. He promises to be there for us. His Word is trustworthy and true.

Then throughout the day, we listen to His voice. Have you ever noticed that the times when you struggle the most, is when you haven't listened for the voice of your shepherd? I know that happens to me. I get busy. I start to rely upon myself. And that is when I find myself starting to focus on ME and not on the LORD. When you focus on yourself, you will lose focus on the Lord. The Shepherd goes before you. You need to have eyes on Him and not on the things around you. If you are watching the Shepherd, those tufts of grass off the path don't entice. If you are following the Shepherd, those trials and tribulations aren't so big. You know that your Savior is bigger than they are.

So today, as I begin this day, as the focus is going to be on my Lord and not on my will, on His guidance and not my desire, on His love and not on my love for the world. For there, in Him, I know that He will lead me beside still waters, He will restore my soul, He will anoint my head with oil, He will keep me in His hand all day long. Thank You, Lord.