June 2, 2022
It has been a heavy week. I am still sad and tired and angry and grieving over the loss of life in Uvalde and in the 20 mass shootings in our country since (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting), not to mention cancer diagnoses, major surgeries, and the personal griefs and cares of the members of our congregation.
I’ve spent the last week (weekly message | sermon) talking about the language – scripture, tradition, liturgy – God gives us to name what’s going on and what God wants us to be and do about it. But let us not forget as we head toward Pentecost, the gift of a Spirit that removes the barrier of language. The Spirit intercedes for us when we have no words and when words are not enough (Romans 8:26). The Spirit is our advocate and helper (John 14:26). The Spirit enables us to connect across borders we thought we could not cross and through barriers we thought impermeable (Acts 2 Pentecost story).
As we take stock of our wandering from the way of Jesus, the way of abundant and everlasting life for the whole world, and turn again to live for God alone, my hope is built on nothing more or less than God who brought something from nothing, who brought again our Lord Jesus from death to life, who shatters the spear and sword and transforms weapons of violence into tools of cultivating life.
That same God has promised to be with you and in you through the love of Jesus. That same God sends again the Holy Spirit into you and into the church calling us out (after all, the root word for church means the “assembly of the ones called out or summoned,”). You have been called forth by God to receive the grace and power to participate in the way of Jesus here and now. You have been called forth by God to share the grace given to you in your unique way with your unique gifts for a time such as this as we mourn with those who mourn, serve all people, share in the Lord’s Supper, hear and proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, strive for justice and peace in all the earth, and never alone as we live among God’s faithful people and Christ is with us to the end.
Your life, lived and enjoyed and shared with others, centered in Christ and filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit, is a gift. A gift that the world needs, that the church needs, that our children need, that your neighbor needs. Thank you for living. Thank you for loving.
I want to wrap up with a quick word about joy, and encouragement to identify, celebrate, and enjoy joy. I know it seems impossible and at times insensitive to celebrate and rejoice in a circumstance such as this. And yet, in the midst of persecution, when leaders in church and society were tearing one another apart, even as the church prayed fervently and Paul encouraged time and again for the church to refocus and recenter on the mind of Christ rather than their own self-interests, Paul writes to the church in Philippi exhorting them to “Rejoice always!”
Grounded in the victory of Christ over death and the grave where we see life and love win, we dare to rejoice even as we work for a God’s will on earth as in heaven and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
What are you boldly celebrating in the midst of a broken and suffering world?
Here’s a few things we can rejoice in together:
- Bob Madsen celebrated his 100th birthday on May 25th
- We celebrated Kira Baker, Kate Horton, and Chris Urban – all of whom graduated this semester
- Pastor Steve Youngdahl is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination this week
- We will welcome a new member of the body of Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism on Sunday
- Construction has begun in earnest as we seek to complete our site development
- People uncovering and living into the fullness of their identity as a beloved child of God
- The pouring out of the Holy Spirit in and through the church again this Pentecost
As you walk today, rejoicing in all circumstances, mourning with those who mourn, engaging in the tasks that mark your daily life, walk with justice, walk with mercy, and walk in God’s tender and humble care.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Drew