Free At Last

Free At Last

Jan 13, 2023 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

“Free at last, free at last, Thank God Almighty we are free at last.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. – August 28, 1963

“Nobody’s free, until everybody’s free.”
Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights leader

History tells us that the United States has made considerable progress in the pursuit of civil rights for all people. Thanks to the courage and sacrifice of prophets like Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, and Betty Friedan, our country is slowly becoming a more tolerant and just nation. Perhaps one day all people will be judged by the content of their character and not by their gender, race, or orientation.

The battle is certainly not over, and probably never will be. But the progress is undeniable. This progress is not so apparent in some parts of our country and in many nations of the world where racism thrives, the persecution of minority religious sects continues, and Christians continue to be the most persecuted people in the world.

As followers of Jesus Christ, it is incumbent upon us to work for civil rights, and to speak out against racism and other forms of prejudice. Our voices and votes have power; power entrusted to us. It is my prayer that we will find ourselves on the “right side of history.”

By following Jesus, we can be a part of a revolution of peace and justice; Mine is the Church Where Everybody’s Welcome. It is not enough to use that phrase to bring us comfort. We must live it, mean it, and offer gracious hospitality to all of God’s people.

Jesus is the answer. Jesus sets us free. Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be judged.” Jesus talked more about judging others than he did about sin, heaven, or money.

Jesus sets us free by reminding us that it is not our job, calling, or business to judge anyone else’s behavior, color, or lifestyle. If you just keep working on the one who looks back at you in the mirror, you will have plenty to keep you busy.

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last.” You want to be free? Then quit judging others. You don’t have to understand or approve of those who worship differently, eat strange food, express their love in ways that seem foreign to you, change their names or genders, tattoo their bodies, or cheer for the San Francisco 49ers. Not your business, not your concern. Just love them; just love them, and let God take care of the rest.

History tells us that the United States has made progress in the pursuit of civil rights. Not a straight line, but progress. On October 27, 1838, Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri signed an executive order that proclaimed that all Mormons must either leave Missouri or be exterminated.

Yes, we have made a lot of progress, and yes, there is a long way to go. Let us follow Jesus, and let us be found on the “right side of history.”

See you in Church,
Pastor Jim

Don’t Lose the Story

Don’t Lose the Story

Dec 16, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

I think about her often. She lived in a modest home built by her father. She walked with a limp, and drove a Cadillac. When I came over, we made fudge together. She taught me how to play poker. She was the first person I knew with a remote on her TV, and yet she never did get a dishwasher. She volunteered tirelessly. Her hospitality was comfortable and gracious, no pretense. Her door was always open. There was always room at her kitchen table. The coffee was always on.

She was my Grandma Elliott. She raised children during the Great Depression. She carried our family on her back when my grandfather was ill. She loved me. I always knew that, and she loved CHRISTMAS!

She loved Christmas, the tree, the decorations, her family gathered at her house. The cards, the food, the friends, she loved Christmas. She loved THE STORY. The promise of life stirring mysteriously in the womb of a virgin. The journey by donkey from Galilee to the sleepy village of Bethlehem. The stable, the shepherds, and the angels. A Christmas Star bearing witness to the light of the world. The lamb of God lying in a feed trough. The journey of the wisemen as they sought the face of God.

It was just a few days before Christmas when she died. I was with her. Struck down forty-one years ago by a strange disease that attacked her immune system. She had contracted the disease through a blood transfusion. The doctors did not even have a name for the disease then.

I remember that Christmas vividly. Presents under the tree from a grandma who was gone. Celebration continued, carols sung, the story shared. Grandma loved the story.

The light shines in the darkness.
The cries of a baby who came to dry the tears of a thousand generations.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Grandma loved the story. My friends, don’t lose the story. Don’t lose the story in the lights of the season. Don’t lose the story in the commercials which beg us to shop.

Love the season. Love the traditions. But don’t lose the story. Come to church and hear. Invite friends to visit the story with you.

For unto you a child is born.

In love,
Pastor Jim

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The Season that Lends Itself to Reminiscing

The Season that Lends Itself to Reminiscing

Dec 9, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
 
This is a season that lends itself to reminiscing. There are so many memories embedded in the music, customs, food, and festivities of Christmas. Together we will remember the journey of Mary and Joseph as they traveled under the stars from the Judean Hills to the little town of Bethlehem. We will recall the wonder of the shepherds as they are visited by angels, the desert journey of the Wisemen, and a teenage mother who “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
 
This is a season that lends itself to reminiscing. I can remember visiting the Christmas tree lot with my mother as we attempted to find the perfect tree. I am quite certain that my father never got involved in Christmas tree shopping. I remember the year that my mother had our Christmas tree flocked purple. I am quite certain that my father never understood this.
 
Christmas was a special time in my family. The children took part in Christmas Pageants at little Trinity Lutheran Church… we shopped on the decorated streets of downtown DeKalb… we threw snowballs at cars… and we had our yearly encounter with Lutefisk: the piece of cod which passes all understanding.
 
But Christmas belonged to my Grandma Elliott. In many ways she was my best friend — we had a common enemy after all. She was a tiny stick of dynamite who walked with a noticeable limp. My brother and I were with her the day she broke her leg. He ran for help, and I stayed with Grandma.
 
That Christmas Eve scene at my grandmother’s is among the most vivid of my childhood. The Christmas tree adorned with tinsel and lights was placed in front of a large picture window. That window looked out on a snow-covered Illinois landscape. Wrapped packages were piled high, a nativity set was close by, fondue pots filled with boiling oil and creamy cheese, oyster stew and plates of sweet delights. The celebration would not be complete without the reading of the Christmas story, a Christmas carol or two, and plenteous laughter as toxic clouds of cigarette smoke filled the room.
 
Every Christmas Eve the family gathered, a more dysfunctional family than I realized as a child. Vikings don’t show a lot of emotion, but they carry axes. Norman Rockwell never showed up at Grandma’s house.
 
They are all gone now: grandparents and parents, aunts and uncles too, the family homestead gave way to an apartment building, the cousins and some of the siblings are no longer talking to each other. The story is neither good nor bad, it is just a story — a human story.
 
Perhaps no story in history has been more romanticized than the Christmas story. How romantic to be young, poor, away from home for the holidays, giving birth in a stable, facing an uncertain future, soon to be refugees fleeing to the land of Egypt. How lovely to raise a baby boy who will never really belong to you, a boy who will become a man, spend way too much time with tax collectors, and die as a criminal on a Roman cross. How is that for a Christmas card?
 
Take time to reminisce this Christmas, take time to make memories, the customs, carols, food and festivities are there to help you. Take time to thank God for human stories and for the gift of celebrating Christmas at TLC.
 
My love to you!
 
And don’t forget to wear that Christmas sweater this Sunday!
 
Pastor Jim
All I Want For Christmas

All I Want For Christmas

Dec 2, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

What great excitement filled the Lindus household in the 1960’s when the Sears catalog arrived in the mail. Pen in hand, my sister, my brother, and I would take turns thumbing through the most amazing array of toys, gadgets, and clothes. We would circle items, placing them on our Christmas wish list. Our names would be scribbled close by hoping that Santa or Grandma would make our Christmas wishes come true.

On Christmas Eve we would gather for an early dinner featuring assorted fondues and oyster stew. The children would then be sequestered in the basement. There would be lots of noise upstairs, the floor would shake, and we could hear Santa laughing as he cried out, “Merry Christmas.” Once the “all clear” was signaled, my siblings and cousins would bound up the stairs toward the Christmas tree. Like magic — the scene had changed. It looked like an entire sleigh had crashed into my grandmother’s meticulously decorated tree. There were more wrapped presents than a Toys for Tots warehouse.

The kids cried for joy at wishes granted, or cried in despair for the gift that did not arrive, or the perceived better deal that a sibling received. The adults gorged themselves with tasty Christmas pies and too much alcohol as a cloud of cigarette smoke filled the air. Then it was off to church to listen to a boring sermon as our new toys sat silently, waiting for our return.

Sears catalogs are mostly gone now; the internet has taken its place. The Amazon delivery person has become the modern-day equivalent of Santa, showing up so often that I know his name, his children’s names, and his astrological sign. Children still wait for Christmas to arrive, wish lists are still made, but the connection to anything religious is mostly an afterthought.

There is not a single physical item on my wish list this year, certainly nothing that the Amazon delivery truck could bring me. There is nothing I need. I can do without the Metaverse, and the I-Phone I have works fine. Good Housekeeping has a list of the 35 most popular Christmas gifts for adults in 2022. I checked it out, and I don’t need a single one of them.

My list cannot be purchased online or at the store. I wish for peace in Eastern Europe, tolerance in our changing society, humility among Christians, hospitality for immigrants, happiness for my children and opportunity for my grandchildren, for elected officials that care more about people than reelection.

My Christmas wish is that we might once again see our interconnectedness, working together for the common good, renewing interest in service clubs and churches that together we might weave a diverse American tapestry.

My wish is that the people of God might wake up each morning with a sense of meaning and purpose believing that they are called to ministry and service.
It was much easier being a kid, circling toys on colored catalog pages and waiting for Christmas.

I believe in Christmas. I believe that we can make a difference in a rapidly changing world. I hope that you will join me.

One day closer,

Pastor Jim

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Reflection on a Rich Man’s Art Collection

Reflection on a Rich Man’s Art Collection

Nov 19, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

A week ago, at Christie’s Auction House in New York City, a portion of the art collection of Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, was sold for 1.6 billion dollars. Paul Allen, who also owned the Seahawks, died of cancer four years ago at the age of 65.

There are many things that money can buy: luxuries, experiences, private planes, access to the world’s power brokers, homes, cars, the finest medical care, and art collections. There are many things that money cannot buy: happiness, health, protection from aging or disease, time, love, or integrity.

Death is the great equalizer. Paul Allen, the local barber, and the fallen soldier in Eastern Europe all look the same when they are dead. Ashes to ashes. Rich or poor, no one escapes the reality of our shared humanity. Naked we arrive and naked we depart. And there are no U-Hauls behind hearses. We take nothing with us when we go.

If we are rich, our art collections go to Christie’s, but for most of us, our possessions will end up at Senior Thrift, the Habitat for Humanity store, or the dumpster beside the for-sale sign at our home. Our children will have little interest in our collections, furniture, China or silverware.

We own nothing. We are simply stewards for a short period of time. Taking care of the garden, changing the oil in the car, rearranging the deck chairs, trying to keep our frail flesh functioning.

Paul Allen was wealthy beyond our wildest dreams, and he took nothing with him as he made that final journey home to meet his maker. His art collection was auctioned off and the proceeds will go to charity. In 2010 Paul Allen had taken The Giving Pledge. He promised to give at least half of his vast fortune to charity. That benevolent giving will have a much longer lifespan than Paul Allen did. Blessed to be a Blessing!

This week Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced that he would give the vast majority of his 124 billion dollars to charity during his lifetime. Blessed to be a Blessing.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Life is not without its challenges, but we have much to be thankful for. We are not billionaires like Allen and Bezos, but most of us are among the richest 5% of all the world’s humans.

For perspective, a net worth of $110,000 would put one in the top 10% in the world. That net worth would include your home, cars, retirement accounts, your Starbucks coffee mug collection, and that box of eight track tapes in the basement.

Blessed to be a Blessing!

May God bless you this Thanksgiving!

Pastor Jim

[email protected]

 

 
Country Western Sunday

Country Western Sunday

Nov 12, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

Join us tomorrow for a worship service featuring Country Western music. “I’ll Fly Away,” “I Saw the Light,” “Keep on the Sunny Side,” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” are just a few of the upbeat offerings this Sunday.

One of the great things about TLC is the marvelous diversity of our congregation. We are blessed with people of all ages, coming to us from all walks of life. At TLC the conservative and the liberal come to worship and serve side by side. We find our unity in Jesus. We don’t all understand or experience Jesus in the same way, but we come believing that we are better as individuals and as a community when we put ourselves in the path of the Gospel.

We are blessed with amazing musicians who share their talents with us. They too come from a variety of musical backgrounds. Sheila often graces us with concert quality classical preludes. She tickles the ivories with the best of them. Ron, Brian, Jim, Deb and Sally join Karl as the sound of Breaded Fish gives a soft rock beat to our worship. The Bell Choir and our Trinity Choir inspire us most every week. Arne shares a story and sings a ballad of grace, peace and love.

Some Sundays it’s Bach and Beethoven, at other times the service features the music of James Taylor, Burt Bacharach, Fernando Ortega or David Roth. No one style works for all, but all musical varieties have the capacity to touch hearts, make memories, and inspire the people of God.

This Sunday will be the first Country Western Sunday since 2019. I invite you to put on your favorite cowboy hat and boots, slip into your jeans, and don’t forget your good attitude. It will be a memorable service highlighted by the gathering of the family for the celebration of Holy Communion.

I have been preparing myself by watching the PBS documentary, “Country Music,” by Ken Burns.

The storm has passed, the power is on, the family will gather.

I will see you tomorrow.

Much love,
Pastor Jim

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