Jan 25, 2025 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Just before Christmas one of our TLC families was devastated by the suicide of a beloved husband and son-in-law. He died as the family had gathered to celebrate his wife’s birthday. It is hard to imagine such grief.
Suicide is the final act of mental illness. No one in their right mind kills themselves. The disease is depression which leads one to a sense of hopelessness. It stalks its victims and kills them just like cancer kills our loved ones. The disease is no one’s fault, there is no one to blame. It is a disease like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. The author Kate Bowler reminds us that, “There is no cure for being human.” Death is an inescapable reality for all of us.
Historically, the church made every attempt to stop suicide. Suicide leaves a devastating wake of grief and destruction. The church called it an unforgivable sin (it is not an unforgivable sin), the church taught that the suicide victim would go directly to hell, consequently the church would not allow suicide victims to have church funerals or be buried in the church graveyard. The suicide victim would be buried on the outskirts of the village, out of sight, removed from the community and separated from God’s love. The suicide’s only legacy was one of shame. It was a desperate attempt by the church to stop a disease that destroyed families. These well-intentioned actions in reality caused further punishment and shame for the families left behind.
Romans 8 is clear “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Nothing means nothing. We are not powerful enough to defeat the love of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing; not addiction, not sin, not cancer, not mental illness, not unbelief, not suicide.
This poor man was ill, very ill, diseased– his disease is what killed him– no one is responsible, and no one could have prevented it. Sometimes prayer, doctors, chemo and radiation leave us still at the graveside of a cancer victim. Sometimes prayer, medication, and the love of family still leaves us at the graveside of a suicide victim. There is no cure for being human.
My grandfather hung himself in the basement of his house just two days after Felicia and I left him after Christmas to return to seminary. I came home to officiate at his funeral. He died of loneliness, depression, mental illness but nothing could separate him from the love of God. That was 40 years ago, on occasion that grief still visits us.
This broken family will never be the same—his poor wife will never have a birthday free from tears. The grief that descended upon them just days before Christmas will be with them forever, but they will be better off if they can name the cause of his death and understand that this man did not quit loving them, he did not want to leave them. This was disease, this was about the enveloping darkness of depression which steals all hope and sometime extinguishes all life. But nothing can separate him from the love of God. He is safe in the hands of God; no more tears, no more pain, no more death for him.
Paul Skinner, one of our dear saints, wrote me a note years ago at a difficult time in my ministry. He said, “I read the last chapter– we win. God wins, love wins.” The truth can help us to dispel the shame and secrecy that for too long has come with suicide. There is no cure for being human; a disease or an accident will take us all. This dear, broken man was taken by a disease he could not defeat. The darkness cannot overcome the light. God wins– love wins.
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
PS: If you would like to respond directly to Pastor Jim, please email [email protected].
Jan 10, 2025 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? I have not had great luck with New Year’s Resolutions in the past. Given my track record, I decided this year to make two resolutions: I will make every attempt to gain 5 pounds, and I will not get more exercise. If the past is any indicator of future performance, then I should be healthier come December 31st, 2025. We will see.
I have had much better success with vows. Vows are less common, more serious, and we might say sacred. I held hands with Felicia at First Lutheran Church in DeKalb, Illinois 42 years ago and we exchanged wedding vows. At the very same church in July of 1986, I knelt and took the lifetime vows of ordination. When I came to Trinity in 1989, I vowed to be your pastor.
As we begin the year 2025, you are going to have opportunities to take some vows. Tomorrow we will be remembering and celebrating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. Then you will have the opportunity to be baptized or to reaffirm your baptism as you approach the baptismal font. I am expecting a parade of good Lutheran sinners. The process will be like Holy Communion except there will be no bread or wine, just water waiting to remind you of God’s love. There will also be vows: “is it your desire to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of your life?” You can come forward or you can stay put, Karl will be singing for you either way.
Then on February 9th, as we approach the great lover’s holiday known as Valentine’s Day you will have the opportunity to renew your marriage vows. You need not be married to come forward, and if you want to make it official that day, get a marriage license and let me know. I can save you a lot of money on the reception.
I know that we have a lot of widowed folks at TLC and others who are not in a relationship. You will not be left out that day. Together we will recommit ourselves to stand for love. The focus of the day will be about God’s call to love, and that call goes out to all Christians. Couples of all kinds will approach the altar; young, old, gay, straight they will come. We will all be participants, cheerleaders and supporters of a Christian community that will vow to love God and love our neighbors.
Now for the really good news! Both of those Sundays are second Sundays so there will be fresh cinnamon rolls and who knows, in February, maybe even wedding cake. Those who take vows and those who do not take vows are always welcome in Jesus’ church, at the Lord’s table, and in the cinnamon roll line.
Let’s make 2025 a year of renewed commitment to our God, to our community, and to each other.
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find cinnamon rolls, I am your,
Pastor Jim
PS: If you would like to take part in the vow renewal on February 9th please let me know at [email protected]. I can let you know the logistics.
Jan 4, 2025 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
“You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.” Stan Laurel.
I realize that many who are reading this have no idea who Stanley Laurel was. He was of course, one half of the comedy team “Laurel and Hardy.” Together, Laurel and Hardy would leave them laughing. On the big screen or live on stages across the world they would amuse audiences with their silly slapstick humor.
Stan Laurel quietly and humbly mentored the comic genius of Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, Peter Sellers, Marcel Marceau and Johnny Carson. Near the end of his life, Stan Laurel said, “If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I’ll never speak to him again.”
I would encourage you to laugh today. Seek out people who make you laugh. Laughter might not be the best medicine, but it certainly is good medicine. Every Sunday, I hope that we have an opportunity to laugh together. Does that mean that we do not take worship seriously? Does that mean that we do not take our mission seriously? Does that mean that we do not take the problems of the world seriously? It means that we do not take ourselves too seriously and we recognize that humor is a gift from God.
Laughter and tears are equally important aspects of the human journey. One without the other leaves us strangely out of balance.
Saint Teresa of Avila in the 16th century wrote, “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.” And again, she wrote, “A sad nun is a bad nun. I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits.”
2025 is now upon us. It will be a challenging year for many in our community and around the world. Keep in mind that five years ago, unbeknownst to us, as we made grand plans for 2020, we were soon to journey into pandemic uncertainty and isolation. Together, we persevered through that dark pandemic season and our lives emerged to a new normal. It is my prayer that in 2025 TLC might be a place of joy, laughter, praise, generosity and peace. May we provide a safe place, a sanctuary for all who grieve and a place where the downhearted are comforted and encouraged to dance again.
Tomorrow we will consider the Christmas vacation of the wisemen 2000 years ago. I hope to see in church or online.
Blessed to be a Blessing!
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Dec 28, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
It is now the 28th day of December. Jesus is three days old. Mary and Joseph have not had a good night’s sleep for a week or more, they are exhausted. The baby is not sleeping through the night. He may be the Son of God, but he is also very human, and he has not figured out how to nurse. Don’t romanticize it, there was more crying under the stars than there was hymn singing during those days after that first Christmas.
Mary and Joseph and the baby, it was just three of them now, they had no choice but to face an uncertain future together. It was a time of wonder and terror. Jesus arrived, as babies do, with no user manual. First time parents especially are easily overwhelmed; “what is normal, should I worry that he has not pooped, why does he cry all the time, cloth or disposable diapers, I am too tired to think.” This birth was complicated too by the God thing. It is one thing to wonder if your mother-in-law is judging your parenting, it is entirely different to know that God is watching your every move. 2000 years ago, a large percentage of the babies died before they were three years old, with the salvation of the world on the line this added a lot of anxiety for a teenage mother and a carpenter who probably had never held a baby before. What to do with the baby?
In a much different light, the same question is before us. No, we don’t need to worry about keeping the baby fed, comfortable and healthy but we still must figure out what to do with the baby. The baby became a man, the man became a carpenter and then a Rabbi. That Jewish Rabbi, Jesus, taught us how to live, how to love, how to welcome the stranger, how to touch the untouchable, how to wash feet, how to trust God in life and how to trust God in death. Jesus once said to a known sinner, “neither do I condemn you, now go and sin now more.” Jesus did not judge the broken, he invited them to the table, he risked hostile stares from the religious folks and hung out with undesirables. Does our congregation do the same? Are we a triage for the broken or a country club for self-righteous pretenders? What will we do with the baby? Three days after his birth, the presents are opened, the eggnog is depleted, the family has gone home, what now?
What will we do with the baby? There is no user manual for babies, lots of advice certainly but when it comes to babies, one size does not fit all. Thankfully, there is a user manual for the human journey, the life and teachings of Jesus offer us a pathway to a more abundant and healthy life. Of course, there are no heavenly insurance policies that will protect us from the dangers of living, the vulnerability of loving, and the inevitability of death. We are never promised an easy life, and no one I know has had an easy life. The manual for living in a fallen world tells us to love God, to express that love by loving our neighbors, and to somehow learn to love ourselves, to forgive ourselves for being human. Human like the teenage mother, human like the father who adopted Jesus, human like the baby who did not know how to nurse and consequently did not sleep though the night.
It is December 28th, the baby is three days old. What now Mary? What now Joseph? My friends, what are we going to do with the baby?
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Dec 21, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim….
“My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” Psalm 130:6
In Biblical times people lived in walled villages, military camps were enclosed with various defensive barricades. The safety of those inside the walls was entrusted to those who were charged to watch, to watch for danger through the night, to give the darkness their full attention until the sun crested the horizon and put to bed the fears of the night.
Most of us have never been called upon to stand guard through the darkest hours of the night, maintaining a heightened awareness of our surroundings, sensing any movement among moonlit shadows, listening for the slightest out of place sounds. The night was a fearful place in the ancient world where illumination was in short supply and surprise attacks from enemies or animals were real threats. The solitude of the watch, the endless hours of tedium allowed time for vivid imaginations to spin yarns of mythical creatures who lurked in the darkness. The fear was real, though the actual threat on most nights was non-existent. Those on watch yearned for the first signs of morning, for the end of their shift and for the promise of a new day.
On occasion, we find affinity with ancient watchmen as we too yearn for the first signs of morning. Sleep does not come easy, the long-suffering hours of night become a prison cell of darkness, filled with the demons of our greatest fears. Our sentence plays out in agonizing fashion as each hour of the night slowly passes. Mythical worries and real-life problems dominate our troubled spirits, typically the threat of our ruminations is greatly exaggerated. We toss and turn, unable to find comfort in mind or body. We curse the darkness, anxiously waiting, unable to hasten the promised return of the sun. My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning.
It arrived as most blessings do, without our planning or participation. Most of us did not stay up into the wee hours of the morning to mark the promised return of the sun in real time. As we slept the seasons simply turned. Fall gave way to winter, the sun headed north and began its yearly journey, a journey that will culminate in long summer days and breathtaking Northwest sunsets. At 1:19 a.m. this morning darkness began to retreat. 2000 years ago, a star appeared in the sky above Bethlehem. We know now that the light of that star had been traveling through the cosmos for thousands if not millions of years. The birth of our Savior, not unlike our birth, came about without our planning or participation. Most of the blessings of our lives come to us as pure gifts.
I detest the darkness of winter; I don’t do darkness or silence very well. Death could be hard on me. Today, I will celebrate that at 1:19 a.m. I was reminded again that morning always comes, darkness cannot overcome light, and my entire life is lived in response to the grace that God has showered upon me.
Christmas is just around the corner my friends, follow the light to TLC on Christmas Eve and we will worship under the stars.
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
Dec 14, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
It was 7:52 am on Sunday, December 8th. The sanctuary was filling for the 8 o’clock service. I had run to my office to grab a scripture reference for a waiting parishioner, paper in hand, one step back toward the door when my phone pinged. I don’t keep my phone with me on Sunday morning, it resides in its assigned seat plugged in to a charger next to my desk. The waiting text stirred my heart; “Just to let you know that John died last night. He took a rapid downhill turn and never recovered.” 36 hours earlier I had been talking to John. His last words to me were, “I love you brother.”
Though we shared no blood, John was like a distant brother to me. 35 years ago, when my family arrived on Whidbey Island his mother took us under her wing and under her roof for a period of time. She became my “island mom.” That adoption added four siblings to my family. I would see John often through the years; birthday celebrations, funerals, fourth of July parties and family gatherings. Every interaction was positive, heartfelt, playful, joyful. We always greeted each other with a bear hug, and we said our goodbyes in a similar fashion. He called me “his island brother.”
My heart raced, the candles needed to be lit, there were hands to be touched. “Be upbeat, thank them for coming, this is the day that the Lord has made.” Scripture was read, hymns of faith washed over me, Pastor Chris preached about hope. My body was present, all went according to plan, but John was on my mind. When the service ended, I returned to my office to a missed phone call. The missed call was from my wife. Felicia rarely calls me on Sunday morning, so I knew something was up.
Her voice cracked; in Boston her Uncle Mike had taken a turn for the worse. Uncle Mike has been a constant in Felicia’s life, loving and influential, a father figure, a role model, a mentor, the North Star of her life. He was a calm, wise and faithful presence in our lives. Dr. Michael Freed spent his professional career as a Pediatric Cardiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital while also teaching at Harvard Medical School. Suddenly his life was hanging in the balance, resting peacefully somewhere between the world and the next. My heart ached for the love of my life whose heart was broken with grief. 3000 miles separated them, should she fly today or wait it out?
It was 10:24 am on Sunday, December 8th. The sanctuary was filling for the 10:30 service. The candles needed to be lit, there were hands to hold, ushers to thank, smarties to give the children, the prelude was nearly over. “Be upbeat, thank them for coming, this is the day that the Lord has made.” Everything went as planned, my body was present, yet my mind was far from TLC. The warmth of the community gave me comfort, hymns of faith washed over me.
It occurred to me in that moment that behind me were two hundred people with 200 distracted broken hearts, praying for prodigal children, grieving death, lonely today, afraid of tomorrow. They were right there over my shoulder, they had no idea what was going on in my life, and I had no idea what was going on in theirs. We were just there together, frail humans sharing an hour, positioned in the pathway of Jesus, beggars looking for a word of grace or a glimmer of hope.
It was 11:35 am on Sunday, December 8th. The people were eating cinnamon rolls and sharing stories, smiling faces hiding broken hearts and deep-seated insecurities. I was anxious to get home, to be close to Felicia, that we might together face a certain, uncertain future. Tomorrow at 8:00 and 10:30 they will return. The candles will need to be lit. On December 15th our lives will once again merge for an hour, there will be bread and wine, hugs and handshakes, smiles and tears, the people of God in the pathway of Jesus. One day further from our birth, one day closer to our death, but together sharing the commonalities of our humanity.
Everyone is carrying burdens. What lies behind the smiles and the outward appearance of another’s life is mostly hidden from us. So be kind, be patient, be slow to judge and hold on. Hold on knowing that the seasons will turn as they always do, the darkness will not overcome the light, the tears will dry, hope will be rekindled, and grieving will give way to dancing again.
Thanks Brother John, thanks Uncle Mike; it was a profound privilege to share the journey with you both.
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
PS: Dr. Michael Freed died on December 11, 2024
If you would like to email Pastor Jim direct please send a note to: [email protected]
