Mar 16, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Thank you for reading, for sending me emails, for your kind words, and for your gentle reminders that I don’t have all the answers. I read every letter, email, and text. I enjoy conversations that are sparked by the power of the written and spoken word. On occasion, I also get anonymous letters in the mail. I really don’t understand the rational behind anonymous letters. If one takes the time to write a letter, address an envelope, and buy a stamp, why would they want to do so under a cloak of invisibility? I can tell you from my own experience that anonymous letters rarely contain words of encouragement. I received an anonymous letter a couple of weeks ago. Here it is:
“Pastor Jim, please consider this regarding posters in the foyer. Matthew 6:1-4. Thank you.”
Matthew 6 contains the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
The posters referred to in the anonymous letter are the big checks that are on display in the narthex. After reading the letter a few times I walked into the narthex and took a moment to reflect on the words of Jesus and upon the criticism of our letter writer. Why do we display these checks? Should we not just offer these charitable gifts without drawing any attention to ourselves? Carefully reading the words of Jesus, you could certainly make a case for my hypocrisy. However, earlier in that same Sermon on the Mount Jesus said,
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.
So, which is it? Are we hypocritical to display the checks or are we simply letting our light shine? How do we understand the words of the preacher? How is it that we let our light shine? How might our gifts inspire the generous giving of others? How is it that the seemingly contradictory words of Jesus in Matthew 5 and Matthew 6 can both ring true? Leave it to a preacher to leave us a little confused.
Most congregations have annual fall stewardship drives. The church leadership spends a month or more educating their membership about Christian stewardship. There are sermons, temple talks, letters and emails, home visits and pledge cards. The annual fall stewardship campaign then culminates in the rendering of pledge cards and a celebration of some kind. I have taken part in such campaigns and have been asked to help lead stewardship campaigns at other congregations. At TLC we have adopted another stewardship model. There are no fall campaigns, no home visits, no pledge cards, no keeping score of anyone’s giving. I choose to focus year-round on the good that we are doing at home and across the globe. I believe that people want to be generous, but they want to be sure that their gifts are being used wisely. The big checks are a form of communication, encouraging people by showing them what their money is doing. We are blessed, but we are never blessed in isolation! We are blessed to be a blessing to others. I am a cheerleader on behalf of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven!”
The words of Jesus come to us across thousands of years, they come from a time and culture that is unrecognizable to us. I believe the key to understanding the seemingly contradictory statements of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount is to be found in the hearts of those who give. If we offer our gifts to earn God’s favor, then we are misguided. If we offer gifts to enhance our egos or to be recognized in our community then our intentions are less than pure. The gifts we offer to God should flow from grateful hearts, all that we do as Christian people should be in response to what God has already done for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christian giving should not be motivated by fear or shame. There is a saying, “Christianity is caught not taught.” Intellectual arguments will rarely convince someone to become a follower of Jesus. It is by observing the authentic lifestyles of Christian people, that others are inspired to join in. When Christian gatherings are joyful, when the good works of their community are observable, then others will be inspired to join the Jesus movement.
Blessed to be a Blessing! “Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” The big checks will continue grace our narthex, to light a pathway to generosity, to bear witness to the work that God has entrusted to us.
Anonymous letters. I never really liked anonymous letters. My office is open, I answer emails, I enjoy theological conversations, I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread. I am your
Pastor Jim
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
Mar 9, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
It was drummed into us at Seminary. Each sermon must find a balance between the law and the gospel. The law and our genuine inability to live up to the law, offers us a constant reminder of our human failings. This part of the sermon is painfully true, but not very encouraging. The law convicts us, it underscores our need for a Savior. The law acts like a meat tenderizer, softening up the parishioners and paving the way for the gospel. Gospel literally means “good news.” The balance we were told is critical, one without the other will lead to despair, or to cheap grace. If there is an overabundance of grace without the counterbalance of the law, then the good people might assume that they don’t really need Jesus or the church. A sermon must find balance, the cattle prod that pushes us to Jesus. Jesus, the grace filled Savior who never met a sinner that he did not like, and never met a dead body that he did not raise. There must be a balance between LAW and GOSPEL. Now in theory, this all makes sense, but in practice I have found it to be poppycock.
Trinity Lutheran Church is a place of Grace! Broken, imperfect, terrified, insecure people like me come to Trinity every week. They tune in online or show up in person and they are enveloped by grace for an hour or two. And therein lies the problem: an hour or two of grace can be easily overwhelmed by the remaining 167 hours in our week. The reality is that many of us never experience grace except in church. And even at church we are confronted with voices tempting us to compare ourselves to others, unaware of the brokenness that hides behind their masks. There is no escaping the law. Our families are… shall we say complicated, our workplaces are competitive, the company does not really care about us, our bodies are aging, our minds are forgetful, big oil is not concerned with your tight finances, the ferries are off schedule, the medical system is a mess, and by the way, you are too fat or too skinny. All week we encounter the law, the last thing I need on Sunday morning is some preacher reminding me that I don’t measure up. We are most certainly privileged, we are most certainly among the most blessed people in the world, but when we drag our aching keister to church on Sunday morning we are no different from the frail, fragile, diseased, pathetic crowds that followed Jesus around the Galilee looking for a word of hope.
There is no balance between law and gospel. The law is under our bed, in the mirror, in the flashing lights of a state patrol car, in a marriage where tender words are rendered silent, in children who are in rehab, in school shootings, climate change, and that wretched scale that always tells the truth. We are starving for good news! We long for words of hope! We hobble forward, extending our jittery hands to receive bread and wine. Give me Jesus! Give me grace! Come on preacher, what do you have for me?
We are loved, we are forgiven, and we are never alone. We share our humanity, there is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less. How is that for Grace? Now believe it, and share it, and have compassion for family members, neighbors and strangers who journey on in a world of law.
I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread. I am your
Pastor Jim
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
Mar 2, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
Ask them, just ask one of the elders of our community about a dark time in their lives. Their stories of survival will inspire wonder. The human condition is one of beautiful brokenness. No one escapes, no one is unscathed in life, but we are promised that no season of darkness will last forever. I was sitting in a restaurant on a day off from work, dressed casually in one of my Trinity Lutheran Church tee shirts, my breakfast was placed in front of me, my mouth began to water. Sitting at the next table, a woman in her early 40’s asked me what I had ordered. She then commented on my shirt. “My daughter’s name is Trinity. I could not help but notice her name on your shirt.” Pointing to a tattoo on her left arm she said, “This is my daughter Trinity, she died a year ago, but she is always with me.” Her grief was apparent, but there we no tears. Her tears had given way now to a tender smile as she touched her arm and spoke of Trinity. The grief will forever be with her, but the seasons had changed, as they always do.
Ask them, just ask a friend, neighbor, or stranger about a dark time in their lives and be prepared for stories that will inspire your journey. Winston Churchill carried the weight of the free world on his shoulders. In the early years of World War 2 he seemed to stand alone against a seemingly unbeatable foe. London was devasted by the unrelenting bombing raids that marked the Battle of Britain. Churchill faced impossible odds, but he refused to give up hope. He encouraged the citizens of the United Kingdom to remain vigilant, he stayed by their side, he persisted when others would have fled, he cajoled and badgered the United States to join the war effort. On June 18th, 1940, Churchill addressed the House of Commons on the heels of the disaster at Dunkirk saying, “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: This was their finest hour.”
Ask them, just ask a friend, neighbor, or stranger about a dark time in their lives. Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, just keep on going.” The message was clear, the current circumstances of life will not last forever, the seasons will change, the darkness of night will give way to the dawn of a new day if we can hold on. “Hold on, hold on, keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.” Martin Luther King, Jr. understood that the battle for Civil Rights would never be lost, unless the people who longed for justice lost hope. Maintaining hope in uncertain seasons is the key to the survival of a moment, or the survival of an individual. Like Churchill before him, King would inspire hope in a future that seemed veiled, invisible, or even impossible. King did not negate the difficulty of the struggle, but he encouraged action saying, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
At any given time, there are many in our congregation, in our families, in our community who are deeply distressed, depressed, lonely, afraid, nearly out of hope, wondering if they can face even another day. If you are languishing in a season of darkness, if you are finding hope hard to come by, I would encourage you to ask others for help or at least for perspective. Ask them, just ask a friend, neighbor, or stranger about the dark seasons of their lives. The human story, indeed all our stories, are more alike than one might think. Our shared human story is one of beautiful brokenness. What will those dark tales have in common? They were mere seasons, one among many, the cold winter nights will give way to warmer and longer days. What do they have in common? The darkness was fleeting. The war came to an end, Europe would be reborn, a mother could run her fingers over Trinity’s tattoo with a slight smile on her face, mourning will step aside that the dancing may begin. “Hold on, hold on, keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.”
President Franklin Roosevelt, disabled and sometimes discouraged by the Great Depression and the Great World War, inspired our nation saying, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” He also said, “If you come to the end of your rope, make a knot and hold on.”
Hold on my friends. I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread. I am your
Pastor Jim
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
Feb 24, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
After 38 years of parish ministry, I have a vast assortment of files. Multiple file cabinets, computers and somewhere in the Cloud there are literally hundreds of files. There is a file of thank you notes that bring a smile to my face. There is file of angry notes that chronicle some of my missteps and the musings of crabby Christians. There are thousands of sermons, a thousand more missives like this one, church council files, scholarship files, HR files, confirmation essays, wedding files, endowment reports and building plans.
Recently I pulled out a file that was more than a thousand pages, it is an assortment of prayers. Prayers used by our congregation during worship, prayers for special occasions, prayers lifted to God over three decades. In perusing the prayers, I noticed that most of the prayers seemed to be unanswered. It was also clear upon further examination that though the words changed from week to week, the prayers requests were remarkably consistent over all those years.
We have prayed for the sick among us, sadly most of the people who made it to our prayer list have died. We have prayed for peace in the Middle East and yet there is no peace. We repeatedly pray for the homeless, those who are hungry, for God’s creation entrusted to us, and for an end to racism, greed, bigotry and religious judgmentalism. Every few months a new conflict, war, or natural disaster shows up in the prayers. This all got me to wondering, do our prayers make a difference? Is anybody listening? Why do the good prayers of good people go unheeded?
I prayed about it, I shook my fist to heaven a little, taking a chance on a thunderbolt coming my way, secretly hoping that it would if only to prove that God was listening. And then in the Epiphany season, I had one, an epiphany that is. While it is true that most of those that we prayed for had died, it was also that we helped them to die, we comforted and cared for them to the very end. We ministered to their grieving families, and we honored them with a respectful and hopeful funeral.
People are still hungry but worldwide those percentages have decreased, and we have collectively given hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million dollars to alleviate hunger. There are homeless people on our streets and in refugee camps across the world. We have not solved the problem of homelessness, but Habitat for Humanity of Island County was birthed at TLC, the Tiny Houses in Langley have provided homes for our island neighbors, and a TLC ministry called His Hands Extended continues to bring critical food, clothing, essential personal items, and hope to God’s children who live on the streets of our cities.
Religious self-righteous Christians will be with us always, but TLC was among the first to celebrate same gender marriages, our communion table is open to all, seekers, skeptics, and doubters are encouraged to be a part of our family. Peace in the Middle East? That is beyond us, we are simply not capable of understanding the complexities of the issues and we are certainly not in a position to negotiate peace. Having said that, I hope that our families are more peaceful, and our neighborhoods are more friendly because of the prayers we have offered.
Tomorrow we will once again lift our prayers to God. My prayer file will be expanded once again. To be honest I am not sure how this all works, in fact, at times I am not sure that it is working at all, but I see signs of hope. With a 38-year perspective, I can see that our prayers have inspired us to change the world. Our prayers have emboldened us to swing hammers, to write cards, to wash feet, to offer comfort, to feed the hungry, to build and dream, to believe that God can use us to bring healing to a broken world. Maybe that is the point, God was never going to sweep in and make all things right, God is not genie at our beck and call. We have been called to be the hands and feet of God in this world. That’s how it works, and in many ways, it is working.
I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread. I am your
Pastor Jim
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
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Feb 17, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
I have officiated at more than 900 funerals and half that many weddings. Weddings are technically harder, there is more choreography, there are more clients to please, the hosts feel an obligation to provide lavish hospitality for their guests, drinking often begins before the ceremony, and with two mothers, one bride and a wedding coordinator there are usually six different opinions. Weddings are also much more expensive. This raises the stakes, and the sense of entitlement. When it comes to success, in the short term, every couple who shows up, ends up married regardless of what unforeseen happenings might arise. Over the decades to come all bets are off; it is not easy staying married. My success rate at tying the knot is currently at 68.2 percent.
Funerals tap into a much different range of emotions. The community, filled with joy at a wedding, now finds itself in varying stages of grief. The loss experienced is real, people of faith look forward to a hope for heavenly reunion, but they also know that there is no hope of ever experiencing that reunion in this world. Wardrobe color coordination is much simpler, just wear black. There is no florist, photographer or caterer on site. Funerals are simpler in most every way. Unlike weddings not a single member of the surviving family has ever been buried before, very few spend extravagant money on guests, no drinking is involved, and when it is over our loved one has been remembered respectfully and buried. My success rate at funerals is one hundred percent, with not a single corpse complaining or rising from the dead.
This February morning just after Valentine’s Day provides us with an opportunity to consider and manage our expectations. Michael J. Fox is one of the most successful actors of our time, a star of the small screen and the big screen. His life and his livelihood were forever changed when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His battle has been honest and public. He has raised millions for research and inspired millions with his attitude. Fox writes, “My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.” By accepting life as it is and letting go of personal or societal expectations, Michael J. Fox continues to find meaning and happiness in his life. Can we live in the moment, can we enjoy each sunrise and sunset, can we break bread with others not finding it necessary to judge them, can we live each day without focusing on those things that are lacking in our lives?
At counseling sessions before the big day arrives, I remind the couple that living with someone over decades is insanely difficult. It is work, and it will always be work. Joyful work? Yes, but the vows that are exchanged are for life, and making this marriage work will be the greatest challenge of their life. In the wedding meditation, I tell them that there will most certainly be more tears than red roses, chocolate, and romantic getaways. In the years ahead they will doubt themselves, their spouse, and their love for each other. If this crazy idea of marriage is to last, then their love must be patient, kind, and compassionate, with heavy doses of forgiveness.
The author Jodi Picoult writes these words, “There are two ways to be happy: improve your reality, or lower your expectations.”
If you expect your love or marriage to be perfect, you are going to be disappointed. If you think that your body or mind will function as they did when you were 35 years old, you are setting yourself up for unhappiness. If you expect politicians to worry more about their constituents and less about reelection, well good luck. What should we expect? We should expect that we will stand at graveside in the year to come. We should expect moments of joy punctuated by, and interrupted by, darkness and sorrow. We should expect our loved ones to be frail humans who disappoint us from time to time. We should expect 2024 to be filled with many of the same problems that marked the previous thousand years.
I will leave you today with a word of wisdom to guide you and a simple prayer as you seek to navigate the year and manage your expectations:
Jesus said, “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread. I am your
Pastor Jim
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
Feb 10, 2024 | Pastor Jim's Blog
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
“What I’ve found in my research is that realism and self-honesty are the antidote to ego, hubris, and delusion.” – Ryan Holiday
The transition happens twice. The first is rather predictable, the second is most certainly inevitable. In between is a period of illusion, when the frail nature of our humanity looms distant, and the reality of our morality escapes us.
We spent time with our grandchildren over the Christmas holiday. There are five of them now, the oldest is seven years old and the youngest is one. Our granddaughter Ava turned two in November. She is a darling, she tries to keep up with the older brothers, she carries a football in one hand and her baby in the other. When it was time to open presents this Christmas, the brothers moved quickly through the wrapping paper revealing a toy or game. Ava was having trouble with the ribbon on her present, she looked at me and said, “Help me Bapa.” I was happy to assist her, and once the ribbon was off, she was good to go. This litany continued over the family vacation in a variety of situations, Ava would ask for help getting in and out of the pool, going potty, pushing elevator buttons. “Help me,” she said, with not the least bit of hesitation or shame.
The transition happens twice. The first is rather predictable, the second is most certainly inevitable.
Brooks is a sweet a little boy who will turn five next Spring. He is a third born grandson. No longer a toddler, he has transitioned to a new phase of independence. One evening I offered my help as he navigated a rather tricky circular staircase. He wanted none of it, “Bapa, I do it myself.” Unless there was pain, or some egregious transgression by his older cousins, he did not want to be helped; he wanted to be independent.
“There’s no such thing as an independent person.” – Peter Jennings
The transition happens twice. The first is rather predictable, the second is most certainly inevitable.
In the years between the first transition and the second, we enjoy a season of illusionary independence. Short of accident, disease, or some grave injustice, we do not like to ask for assistance. We are more than happy to offer assistance to others, but asking for help, admitting that we need help, is somehow viewed as a weakness, it is an assault on our ego. Consequently, in our hubris we often go it alone, rather than to use the simple words of our younger years, “Help me.” The author Anne Lamott writes that human prayers lifted up to almighty God ultimately fall into two categories: “Help me, help me, help me,” and “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
I have spent my entire life caring for people who are transitioning for the second time, and they don’t like it at all. The journey of a lifetime brings with it an inevitable toll on the body and mind. There is no escaping it in the end. We move slower, our bodies creak out of bed, our bathroom cabinet resembles a pharmacy, stairs look daunting, we give up skiing and sky diving. After decades of expansion, our world now becomes smaller with each passing year. We still desire to say, “I do it myself,” but the reality is that we need to utter the words, “Help me.”
In the garden our first parents were tempted not with an apple, but with the promise of independence. If you eat of the apple, you will have knowledge, you will be like God, you will not have to depend on God to provide food or care. The first humans were scammed, there is no such thing as independence in this world or the next. We are creatures, we need help, we need to help each other, and we need to embrace our shared humanity by asking for help. There is no shame in asking for help.
It was a family Christmas vacation, there were fourteen of us, the middle generation adults were quick to care for their children, but they also uttered these words, “Are you OK Bapa, how is your bursitis, can we give you a hand?” And in the ultimate transition they now reach for the bill after dinner. I am in the midst of the second inevitable transition.
I am one beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread. I am your
Pastor Jim
Contact Pastor Jim if you have questions at [email protected]
