Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…  

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

I have been watching my share of nature videos on Facebook lately. Most of them are out of Africa and many of them are hard to watch. The natural world is harsh, every critter is hungry and looking for prey. I feel very badly for the poor gazelles or baby water buffaloes who find themselves surrounded by a pack of wild dogs. The hyenas are a menace and the Komodo dragon video could give you nightmares. In the great migration of the wildebeest and the zebra, large herds have to cross great rivers as crocodiles look to devour them. It is a dog-eat-dog world, where the fittest tend to survive and the most vulnerable end up being an entree. In general, if the other animal does not look like you, then they are probably looking to eat you. It is best and safest to keep yourself distanced from unfamiliar creatures and to surround yourself with a homogeneous community.

Human beings, created in the image of God, should aspire to a higher more civilized calling. I think that is it is safe to say that God is still working on us. If we look back at human history there has been a long arc of evolution. There was a good reason for our ancestors to be tribal. People from other tribes might very well be dangerous. If you saw a Viking long-ship coming down the river it was probably a good idea to hightail it into the hills. The Native Americans who kept their distance and refused to accept warm blankets infected with smallpox tended to fare better. Sorority co-eds who recognized the danger of a fraternity blazer conceived fewer babies than those who did not.

God’s still working on us. Most of the reasons for tribalism are no longer relevant. We probably don’t need to run if we see a Viking long-ship. In fact, I am told that they offer a very fine river cruise experience. The Romans are not looking to enslave us, and most religious movements in the world wish God’s Shalom on all people. The world is smaller and more interconnected than ever. Our communities become less homogeneous every year. The schools where our children learn are attended by children of a variety of races, speaking a wide range of languages. There is no reason for us to fear people of color; we are not being threatened by the gay and lesbian community; the Muslim presents no danger to us; but if you see a hyena, run!

God is still working on us. We are seeking to overcome thousands of years of tribalism. The good news: we are making progress. The progress might seem slow but in reality, things are changing at the speed of light. The progress might be painful, but most progress is painful. The progress might make us uncomfortable, but the alternative is to try to cross rivers filled with crocodiles.

God is still working on us, to make us more connected, more human, more like Jesus. May we work with God for a better, more inclusive, more highly evolved world. We owe our children and grandchildren that. Progress is hard, but I am glad that God has not given up on us. God is still working on us.

One day closer.

Much love,

Pastor Jim

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…  

The Christian Church gets a lot of bad press.

That is partially because we deserve it, but it is mostly because bad news is what makes the news. Most churches, like most people, just go about their faithful work day after day, year after year. They routinely keep the laws of the land, conduct themselves ethically, and treat their neighbors with love and respect.

The stories of faithfulness are so routine that they are mostly boring and get little attention. In the same way, most teachers are good and faithful, most first responders quietly give their lives to public service, and most parents lovingly care for their children. There is no news-worthy story to be found; their actions are expected, predictable, routine, and faithful. Most black people do not live in poverty, most white people are not white supremacists, most of our cities are not experiencing riots, and most of our people wear masks to protect others.

The Christian Church gets a lot of bad press. That is partially because we deserve it. The church is a human institution and all human institutions are flawed. The Christian Church has often been overly concerned with political power, the oppression of minorities, amassing great wealth, and building impressive edifices. The survival of the human institution has taken priority over the teachings and the mission of the one whose name we bear. The Christian Church has been around for 2,000 years; of course, there are chapters in our historical record that are anything but Christian. We have reason to repent and to act differently going forward.

That said, most churches, like most people, just fly under the radar doing good and trying to live justly and peacefully with their neighbors. Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland rarely makes the news.

We were in the paper years ago, when we granted a common courtesy to a neighbor, who happened to be a developer. We garnered some public attention when we were among the first to honor, celebrate, and officiate at the weddings of same-sex couples. For 67 years, TLC has pretty much just tried to quietly do what Jesus has called us to do.

The Christian Church gets a lot of bad press. Perhaps sometimes you find it awkward to identify yourself as a Christian, knowing that some will conclude that you are anti-intellectual, right-wing, judgmental, bigoted, and in lock-step with certain political candidates.
Let me share some good news with you, and let me thank you for making this good news possible.

In the midst of uncertainty, church closure and pandemic anxiety, in the first six months of 2020 your church has given $118, 634 to local, national, and international benevolences. When we add in the 2020 College Scholarships that have been awarded, that number nearly doubles. Do the math. In the first six months of 2020 we have given $8,000 a week to causes outside our church. More than $1,000 every single day, no holidays or days off. Why is it important to share this news? Because this is not news at all, it is what we do, and we do it because we are followers of Jesus; we are called to change the world for good. We are blessed to be a blessing.

Be inspired. Be hopeful. The world is not as bad as it appears. The news of the 24-hour news cycle is not the norm. Most churches and most people are good and faithful.

One day closer.

Much love,

Pastor Jim

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…  

I met with a young couple this past week to plan their wedding. It is the wedding season, even though a strange one, thanks to that uninvited guest by the name of coronavirus. Planning the wedding itself is quite simple; processional details, musical options, the positioning of the wedding party, vows and rings. That is about it. I have officiated at hundreds of weddings; once I know what the couple wants, executing that plan is not very complicated. “Don’t worry about a thing. I will tell you what to say and when to say it. I will show you where to stand, help you with your vows and cue you when it is time to kiss. When it is over, it will have been beautiful, trust me, and you will be married.”

Weddings are just not that complicated. Spoken like a man. Felicia and I were married on July the 10th, 1982. I can honestly say that we did not have a single fight until four minutes after the preacher said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” I am still not sure what that disagreement was all about – that says a lot about me doesn’t it? Thirty-four years of pastoral experience have taught me that weddings are always complicated. Most grooms are clueless, worried more about the beer at the reception than the wedding itself. The bride has been dreaming about this day for decades. Throw in the in-laws, budget realities, concerns about the weather, ferry schedules and this poorly-timed coronavirus and ask yourself, “what could possibly go wrong?” Every detail becomes a potential landmine; be careful where you step – that could be your mother-in-law’s foot there. Wait, you didn’t realize that this partner of your dreams, comes with a complicated family system, and a series of historical oddities that shaped your soon to be spouse? Men wonder if their sweetheart could possibly share DNA with these people. Perhaps she was adopted. Women begin to comprehend what they are up against. It is going to take a lot of patience and persistence to train this guy.

It probably does not make any sense to put two people together and expect them to weather decades of change and uncertainty. As I tell them, “In the next 50 years everything will change. Children will arrive, steal your heart, break the bank, and run off with someone that you may or may not like. Careers, cars and homes will come and go. Money will be made, lost, spent and wasted. Everything will change – except your vows. Your sacred promise to journey through life together. Everything will change, and 50 years from now, you will still be waking up next to each other.”

Two people promising their lives to each other. What a concept. Make no mistake about it, marriage is a crazy, ill-conceived notion. Who in their right mind would sign on for 60 years of hard labor, followed by nursing your life-mate to their death? And yet, that’s the deal! Just ask Jan and Don Allen (who celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary last week) !

Sir Winston Churchill spoke in the House of Commons on November 11th, 1947. He said, “Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
It is a privilege to be with couples young and old, gay and straight, as they exchange sacred vows and set out on the precarious journey of life together.

We are one day closer to the end of this crisis.

My love to you,

Pastor Jim

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

We moved into our new gym/fellowship hall and Sunday School wing on September 9th, 2001. It was two days before 9-11 and the sermon title that morning was, “The World will never look the same.” On that grand day of celebration, we did not realize how that sermon title would ring true. When we walked in for our first-ever coffee hour, the floor was brand new and shiny. The gym was in constant use from September of 2001 until March of 2020. The gym hosted wedding receptions, potlucks, youth group activities, Preschool play, model airplane flying, and volleyball. Never a dull moment. When our campus closed, members, guests, and students quit coming. The gym, like the rest of our building, went silent. The floor had been mopped every week, but deep down, the dirt of 20 years had left the floor without shine. For the past 5 years, at least, I had longed to have that gym floor deep-cleaned.

Finally, two weeks ago, we had professional vinyl cleaners come to deep-clean the gym floor. The results were amazing. The floor looks brand new. The shine is back and I was beside my self with contagion happiness. We left the doors open for several days as we attempted to air out the gym. That is when it happened. Two barn swallows decided to fly in the open doors. They hovered in circles around the ceiling. They danced nervously from light fixture to light fixture. I encouraged them to leave, and then I demanded that they leave the building. We were closed after all. The longer they flew, the more tired and anxious they became. I opened every door and returned to my office to work.

It was a pleasant surprise a few hours later to see that the stressed swallows had found the door and, presumably, found their way home. I closed the doors and took a deep breath; order had been restored. 2020 order that is. I discovered what birds do when they are anxious and tired. They poop. They poop, they poop, they poop on my clean gym floor. Somehow, the metaphor had not escaped me. We can make every effort to clean up our lives, our space, our acts, and someone, something, or some virus can come along and poop all over us. The gym floor will now be spot-cleaned. It once again will display the luster of its youth. For now, anyway, it is clean.

The gym floor is a metaphor for life in 2020. It is a tough time for that floor, but it will be serving us long after this virus and those birds have moved on. Let’s not let this crazy new rhythm get the best of us. Just dust yourself off, clean up the mess and carry on, one day at a time. After all, we are one day closer.

Much love,
Pastor Jim

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/