Jan 27, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom…
“In but not of…” One of the great lines of scripture. A slight paraphrase from John chapter 17, Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. Jesus prays for his followers who are “in” this world but not “of” this world. For me this is one of the most profound images of scripture. Jesus prays for us, and in doing so we are gifted with a glimpse of the two Kingdoms we are simultaneously living in. We are in this world living a life of faith always pointing toward the Kingdom of God that we pray for each day to come closer.
While we are in this world, we are already of another. Let that sink in a while.
Thich Nhat Hanh died last week. He was 95; a good life span. This Vietnamese Buddhist Monk made me a better Christian. He wrote over 100 books during his life. He was known as “Thay” (Teacher). Jesus was often called Teacher. His book, “Living Buddha, Living Christ,” has crossed the desk of many a Christian seeking a deeper understanding of the life of faith as well as the expanse of God’s Kingdom.
“It is safer to approach God through the Holy Spirit than through theology,” Thay writes. These can be challenging words for those of us who have always believed that though we are saved by grace, it is best to know we can have nailed down the correct theology. “Yay, Lutheran!”
Thomas Merton, the Christian mystic and author, wrote that “Nhat Hanh is my brother.” These were two monks approaching the evils of the Vietnam War from two different traditions, yet speaking of one mind. Merton referred to him as “a brother in the Spirit.” Nhat Hanh taught this Lutheran pastor that Christians do not have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit blows where she wills,” John 3:8.
As I write this, I am mindful that today I will visit with a 103-year-old friend who had a decorated WWII military career and is having a real struggle with dying. As well, I am in conversation with a middle-aged mother who has received a difficult cancer diagnosis and is living with real fear. To which Jesus prays for us who are in this world but not of it. While we live this life we are not bound by the limitations of this life. Maybe, sometimes, that is easier said than done.
Jesus prays for us. God answers that prayer, the means of grace are available to us. It is the Spirit breathing into us that allows the curtain to be lifted and “the peace that passes all understanding” overtakes us to either take the next breath, or not. Meanwhile, as people of faith we keep each other company, which means sometimes we will love each other to death. An easier task by virtue of a Spirit that has given us a confidence in the Kingdom we are truly “of” and will, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For now we see as in a mirror dimly, then we will see fully.”
Okay my friends! Go! Go out there into the world today, live the full Spirit-led life regardless of circumstances. While you are “in” this world, you live your life already “of” another. Jesus has prayed for us; that is the source of our confidence. Sit for a moment, mindful of that truth.
Pastor Tom
Jan 26, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Sheila Weidendorf…
I am writing this from the rooftop of our Rajasthani farmhouse, nestled in the arms of the Aravali Mountains outside of Udaipur. Udaipur is a gleaming white marble city known as “The City of Lakes.” The historic palace of the royal line of Udaipur floats on Lake Pichola, sister to nearby lakes Udai Sagar and Fateh Sagar. Incidentally, my home city of Minneapolis, Minnesota is also known as the City of Lakes—a fact I took as a good sign back when I first knew I’d eventually be moving here. (Another little tidbit about Udaipur: This region is the source of Indian marble—the marble used to build the Taj Mahal in the state of Uttar Pradesh AND used to build our farmhouse—but I digress…)
The land here is rocky and the soil red. Scattered stones shimmer in the penetrating desert light—sandstone and quartz and granite schist and dazzling deposits of mica-infused zinc. Everywhere are blooming trees and undergrowth softening the arid landscape. From our mosaic-filled rooftop (standard issue here!) you can see the village women in their bright sarees, water urns or firewood on their heads, leading their goat herds home. You can also see the occasional fox or wolf or leopard. You can hear the laughter of the tribal children floating from their hillside villages, and the call of many birds penetrating the air. Every other night there is some village festival or celebration, filling the evening skies with the drumming of the dhole and music resounding into the night. As always, India is nothing if not a sensory delight!
And did I mention the light? It is winter here—which feels a little like early Island summer. Nights are 45-50 degrees, and the daytime 68-78 degrees or so. Mornings are often foggy, giving way mid-morning to a most persistent sunlight. It penetrates the skin and the bones and offers a welcome reprieve from the damp cold of our Island winters. In the evening I watch the sun set – no, sink – into the mountains in a brilliant blaze while, across the sky the moon rises just as red as the setting sun.
As it happens—though I am currently 13.5 hours ahead of Trinity/Island time—it is the same sun that sets on Whidbey, the same moon that rises, the same light that penetrates and permeates. This is cause enough for celebration. There is, ultimately, no distance, no separation, no division, but what we ourselves have created in the individual and in the collective mind. Whether we find ourselves on Whidbey Island or on a rooftop in Rajasthan, we are all manifestations of Life living itself, of God revealing and reveling in God’s Self and in God’s love for creation. We are all created in God’s image and all called to not only partake but to participate in the Light of Christ. We are One in this Light, and that is a blessing for sure.
Sometimes when I write I worry that the India-infused spiritual sensibilities that inform my experience of the Christ within us and in our midst might offend. On the other hand, I can only write from my own experience and share my own ponderings, colored as they are with my particular set of hermeneutical lenses. I suppose I agree with one of my seminary mentors, Dr. Mary Bednarowsky, as she addressed an inter-faith colloquium of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian feminist theologians: “True and meaningful discourse requires that we be willing to offend—not TRY to offend, but willing to speak our truth for the sake of expanding our mutual understanding.”
I don’t know if my sharing expands anything at all. I do know that the opportunity to participate in and share my music and my musings with this community has been a great blessing to me, and for that I thank you all. That’s enough for this Rajasthani rooftop reverie. I’ll be seeing you soon.
Click HERE to listen to today’s musical offering; one of my own improvisations, “Om Shamtih.”
With Love, Sheila
Jan 25, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
2022 is going to be a fantastic year! I expect there to be some bumps in the road, but by any measure I am certain that 2022 is going to be a great year. A year of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, a year of hot showers and tasty food, a year of great church music and marginal sermons, a year when the pandemic loses its grip and life returns to the new normal.
2022 is going to be a great year, but if that is to be true, you will need to participate. What will be the single most important determining factor in your experience in 2022? Your attitude!
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” Frances Hodgson Burnett
“Our attitude towards life determines life’s attitude towards us.” John Mitchell
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Oscar Wilde
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope.” Helen Keller
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Dale Carnegie
Life is hard. Life is hard for everyone. The Bible tells us that in every human life there will be times of weeping and mourning, but the Bible also says that there will be times of laughter and dancing. I expect to do both, but I certainly expect to spend more time laughing and dancing.
Saint Teresa of Avila said, “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord deliver me.”
Our goal should be to position ourselves somewhere between the naiveite of those with heads buried in the sand and the despair of those who wallow in the desert of the 24-hour news cycle. There are problems in the world and from our position of privilege we can help solve some problems.
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” Maya Angelou
My friends, open your eyes and look around. We live in comfort and safety with only first world problems. “The ferries are a mess, the mail is slow, my package from Amazon is late.” Get over it, get some ice cream from your overflowing freezer, and look out your window at the Garden of Eden we call home.
2022 is going to be a great year! This will be the year we get past the masks and see smiling faces again. We have so much to be thankful for, we have so much to celebrate, we have been blessed. But we are never blessed in isolation; we are blessed to be a blessing to others. It is hard to bless others, if we move through life with a dark cloud and a doomsday attitude. Let us adjust our attitudes and believe that the best is yet to come!
2022 is going to be a great year!
I end with Dr. Seuss: “You’re off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.”
In anticipation and hope,
Pastor Jim
Jan 21, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog
The Trinity Lutheran Church Endowment will give away $240,000 in 2022. This money will support local charities, national and international causes, and provide needed scholarships to dozens of college students.
Make your final statement in life consistent with the values that guided your days on earth. Remember the Trinity Endowment in your will. The total overhead cost to run the Trinity Endowment is .85%. This means that 99.15% of your money is used to touch the future.
This is your endowment!
Visit the Endowment page on our website for more information.
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
Jan 19, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
There has been a lot of criticism of the Christian Church in recent years and it has led many to be skeptical of all organized religion. The criticism has been mostly fair. This is not a new story; the Christian Church has opened itself to criticism for 2,000 years. We have often wandered away from the teachings of our Rabbi Jesus. In the pursuit of power, wealth, and influence we have often left behind the towel and basin used in foot washing. Like any human institution, the Christian Church has had it share of scandals, misguided programs, dishonest dealings, and the betrayal of its own values. Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther sought to reform the church he loved by setting the people of God free from questionable teachings and superstitious practices.
Things have changed in the past 500 years, and things haven’t changed. Human institutions are inherently flawed by the humans who run them. No government, church, non-profit, college, or business is free from blemish. History is clear; from the Garden of Eden to Wall Street, if humans are in charge, then scandal is bound to be close at hand. In recent years the Christian Church has experienced a mass exodus as disillusioned parishioners have left the Church behind. As I read the news, observe the behavior of Christians, and experience life in an institution that is more concerned with self-preservation than the plight of the poor, I can’t say that I blame them.
All humans and all institutions are flawed. There is an old saying, “If you find a perfect church, don’t join it; if you do, it won’t be perfect anymore.” Our goal is not to have a perfect church, filled with perfect people, Lord, have mercy! Our goal is to be honest about who we are, vulnerable in humanity, and faithful in following Jesus. If we stumble along holding true to these values, I believe that we can make a difference on our island and in the world. The Church is flawed, TLC is flawed. Very aware of that, Jesus has called us still to continue the work he started. We have been entrusted with the Gospel; we are to be people of grace. It starts at home, with our treatment of those we live with, but it does not end there. We are to feed the poor, care for the sick, provide hospitality for the immigrant, all the while working for justice and peace.
They’ll know we are Christians by our love. That has not always been the case. But in 2021, the flawed people of God at TLC, pandemically weary, facing an uncertain future, followed Jesus and in every corner of the globe flawed humans were touched by grace. Blessed to be a Blessing! Let me conclude by sharing with you our 2021 benevolence report.
All I can say is, Thank you!
One day closer,
Pastor Jim
Jan 15, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Our first story, Genesis chapter one: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness’..”
We were created in the image of God. Now there is much that we could say about that. Female and male were created in the image of God, but God is not a male or a female. We must resist the temptation to tread the path of fools, somehow thinking that we have God figured out. To make God male or female is to create God in our image. Humans have a special place in creation, God loves the world, all of creation, and God has entrusted the care of creation to the human ones. Humans occupy a special place in God’s heart, even though God probably finds dogs to be more faithful and easier to live with.
The gifts in the garden at the dawn of creation were abundant, trees and flowers, fruit and sunshine, water and oxygen, animals and birds, and a companion for the journey. The humans were also given the ability of higher critical thinking, though this gift is hidden in many politicians and citizens. Created in the image of God, the humans were given limited freewill.
We have been entrusted with limited free will. 500 years ago, Martin Luther taught that we are free to exercise this freedom in “things below.” Things below include the everyday choices that we make: what we eat, when we go to bed, what color shirt to put on, the books we read, how we treat loved ones and strangers. “Things above” are in a different category: the orbits of the planets, the movement of the stars, where we will spend eternity, the speed of light, the natural laws and the consequences that come from our exercise of our limited free will. Maybe this distinction will help illustrate the “things above” and the “things below: We are free to lower our head and run into the wall; we do not get to decide if we get a headache.
The exercise of free will, the choices we make large and small every day, will go a long way in determining the quality our life and relationships. Our free will decisions make a difference, not only to us but to those we live with. Now let me say up front that we can make wise, healthy, prudent choices and still be run over by a drunk driver, subject to the covid-19 virus, or financially ruined by conditions that are totally out of our control. Remember, other humans have free will too, and some tragedies are totally unavoidable or random in nature.
We have before us a New Year! 2022 is an empty canvas waiting to be painted. I do not live under a rock; I know that the world seems out of control right now. Many are suffering, the pandemic has left us weary, parents, students, and teachers are at wits end. We long for the good old days. Of course, in actuality, the good old days were not much different than today. The specific details of any season are different, but we humans have always lived with the uncertainty that a violent, broken world brings.
We have before us a New Year! 2022 is an empty canvas waiting to be painted. I want to encourage you to let go of the things that are out of your control and concentrate on your limited free will. Make choices every day that are healthy for you and your neighbors. Make the choice every day to look for good, to have an attitude of gratitude, to share smiles, to offer a helping hand, to be more patient with yourself and others. Kindness costs nothing. Kindness is free. You and I can make the choice to be kind. To a large degree the quality of your life in 2022, and in the years to come, will be determined by how you exercise your limited free will.
Choose love in 2022. Choose kindness in 2022. Make the choice to forgive and have the courage to seek forgiveness from others. I don’t expect you to make peace between Russia and the Ukraine, but I hope that you can learn to live in peace with your neighbors.
We were lovingly created in the image of God; in 2022 may we live into that reality.
One day closer,
Pastor Jim
