ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 31, 2021
Scripture: Romans 8:28
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Thought for the Day: These are rather well known words from scripture and are quoted in all kinds of circumstances. Yesterday, these words came to mind, but in a way that I had never thought of previously. Monday is my day off, and I had things to do. Nothing big or dramatic at all, but there was a list: I had to buy some line for my weed eater before I could do the lawn which now looks pretty good. I spent almost an hour weeding a garden area in the backyard. The toilet seat in the guest bathroom needed to be changed out. There was laundry to do, and some more items went into the pile for Goodwill. There were a few other things, but nothing to make the front page of the paper. As I sat down to write this, it made me realize how even somewhat unrelated items on a to-do list can come together for good. Maybe it’s a stretch to connect it to what Paul was describing, especially since he was pointing this good to God’s love and purpose. At the same time, I have been trying to view what I do each day, big and small, as fitting into the work of the Jesus-life. I even include some of the most mundane, which came to mind as I felt the heat of the sun on me as I dug those weeds. It felt good, renewing and might I even say, “Purposeful.” Too often in life, we think to ourselves, “I’ve got to get the busywork done so I can get on to what is important.” Maybe some of the busywork is important as well.

Prayer: Lord of Creation, help me to see my life, and all that is within it, as part of the good that can be done on this earth. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 30, 2021
Prayer for the Week: Gracious God, provide me your peace – a gift of contentment for the busy mind; a therapeutic balm for the fractured heart; a generous bestowal of restful sleep for the body. I seek to be healthy, to know the wholeness made real through your loving Spirit. I will never be the conduit of your grace if I remain scattered, broken and exhausted. Share with me the help and guidance I need. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 29, 2021
Scripture: John 2:1-3
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

Thought for the Day: This is the first “sign” in John’s Gospel, the changing of water into wine. There are seven signs that Jesus performs in John’s Gospel, and an eighth sign which is the resurrection (God’s doing). So many people read the story flat, seeing it as nothing more than an act of changing water into wine. Those people wander through life hoping Jesus changes some water into wine or some hamburger into steak or some other fancy magic trick. Such a reading fails to see the power of John’s storytelling. The Wedding Feast in Cana is a story of abundance, tied to the other signs in John’s Gospel. These seven signs culminate with the resurrection on the first day of a new week, the first day of a new creation. These seven signs are hints of what the new creation will look like, the attributes and attitudes of those who belong to this new creation. People who see the depth of the storytelling are suddenly challenged to ask, “Am I a participant in this new creation? Does my life reflect those attributes Jesus revealed through his signs?” How you read the story dramatically impacts how your going to live your life.

Prayer: Provide me eyes to see and a mind to perceive the depth and beauty of the Jesus story. Holy God, I request your assistance as I wish to move beyond the superficial arguments so often happening around scripture, and move into an experience of the glorious message put forth by the Gospel writers. Amen.

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TODAY’S WORSHIP
9am & 11am

Pastor Bruce Preaching
“The Perfect Number”
Mark 8:1-5

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 28, 2021
Scripture: Acts 19:11
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul…

Thought for the Day: The word “miracle” is one that causes modern people to raise a cautious or even skeptical eyebrow. We have read too many stories about con artists who claimed miracles, but were only taking advantage of the vulnerable. In the days of Jesus and Paul, there were plenty of miracle workers. It was not an uncommon thing at all. In fact, people sort of expected any great teacher or prophet to do some miracles. With that in mind, we always need to take a step back and ask what the Gospel Writers (the Book of Acts was written by the Gospel Writer, Luke) were attempting to communicate when they spoke of miracles. Jesus sure wasn’t attempting to convince anyone of his special role with the use of miracles. If anything, they appear to be more of a teaching tool, a window through which one is able to glimpse some important characteristic of the divine. I think both Jesus and Paul would have said, “Don’t simply be wowed by some act of healing. Instead, ask yourself, ‘What does it tell me about God, and thus, about what is expected of me?’”

In the movie, Bruce Almighty, Morgan Freeman plays God. There is scene toward the end where God helps Bruce rethink what a miracle really is. God says:

Parting your soup is not a miracle, Bruce. It’s a magic trick. A single mom who’s working two jobs and still finds time to take her kid to soccer practice, that’s a miracle. A teenager who says “no” to drugs and “yes” to an education, that’s a miracle. People want me to do everything for them. But what they don’t realize is ‘they’ have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle.

It is a lot easier to simply point back to miracle stories involving Jesus, Paul and others. It is much more challenging to ask, “How can I be a gift in the lives of others, a gift they will describe as a miracle?”

Prayer: Wherever my life can present your grace, O God, I pray it will be a gift to as many others as possible. Fill me and utilize me in the miraculous work of your transformative love. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 27, 2021
Scripture: Luke 15:6
And when the shepherd comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”

Thought for the Day: The lost sheep has returned. The Prodigal has made his way home. Ok, that might be a bit dramatic, but today is my first official day back after Sabbatical. A lot has happened since leaving town in mid-July. In fact, I am doing a lot of catch-up as the staff, very kindly, didn’t want to burden me with everything that occurred in my absence. On top of everything, I have an infected tooth that required the first of a couple procedures yesterday. I know when someone returns from a wonderful experience (not the tooth thing), there is the tendency to immediately plow forward as if everyone else had the same experiences, or in this case, read the same books and interviewed the same people. Over the last month or so, I have tried to drop some hints along the way, whether in Highlights or in my daily Etchings. I guess one of the more important takeaways goes back to something I learned right at the start of the Sabbatical. Faith Formation does not begin with ideas or creeds, rules or beliefs, but with belonging. Though many have attempted to make the Gospel into a set of regulations that one must learn, it is first and foremost about finding a place where one belongs. Love not only assumes belonging, but requires it. We will never change the world if we continue to think of our purpose as nothing more than an indoctrination of beliefs. Holy transformation happens when one experiences true belonging. Indoctrination has an underlying tactic of fear, creating the assumption that there must always be insiders and outsiders. Once you’re indoctrinated, there is still an underlying possibility of falling out. The indoctrinated spend all their energy trying to remain in, which is exactly where those doing the indoctrinating want you to spend your energy. They never want you to actually question the system itself. Jesus not only questioned the system, but put forth the design of a whole new worldview. The indoctrinated felt very comfortable with the 99, and they had no reason to consider the value of the one that was lost. Jesus’ parable inferred how going after the one was really good news for the 99. If the 99 so easily gave up the one, would they feel comfortable when it was 98 or 97. Suddenly, the 99 might begin to wonder who is the next one out. That’s not belonging. That’s a state of anxiety. We want to make sure, from the beginning, that everyone feels a sense of belonging. If we put Love First, I’m pretty certain will be setting a stage where people find a sense of belonging.

Prayer: Loving Jesus, Holy God, there was always room for more. Not only for those who appeared at the door, but for those who were lost and estranged. May the belonging we claim reflect the belonging you showed. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 26, 2021
Scripture: Galatians 1:10
Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Thought for the Day: I am a people-pleaser. Most clergy, deep down, are people-pleasers. We tell people what we know they want to hear, and avoid conflict wherever possible. It is thought that people-pleasers lack self-esteem or personal conviction. As a pastor, that is painful to hear. Yet I know I’ve preached sermons that were soft and warm simply because I didn’t want to get 12 emails and 5 text messages telling me I shouldn’t get political or cause people to feel so bad. Though my avoidance might have been for the purpose of seeking human approval or maybe just to evade the wrath of emails and texts, it often means faithfulness to Christ was disregarded. More than a dozen years ago, I preached a sermon that was very scripturally based, though had a political (not partisan) edge to it. Clearly it made folks uncomfortable. A couple left the church over it (though came back a year later), but amidst that turmoil, I received one of the best indirect compliments I have ever received. A long time member of the church said to me, “I didn’t like your sermon at all. I think you stepped over some lines, but I also have to consider that it might have been God speaking through you to tell me something I didn’t want to hear.” Maybe I did step over the edge, or maybe it was exactly what God wanted spoken. It is a tough call, and I struggle daily between my ego’s need for human approval and my faith seeking to live a life and preach a Gospel that has God’s approval.

Prayer: May we all, not simply the preachers, seek to live a life that honors you, Lord God. It is not always clear, and it requires us to know ourselves, our fears, our insecurities. Continue to build our faith so we can both hear the Gospel and live the Gospel, not simply a watered down people-pleasing Gospel. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 25, 2021
Scripture: Galatians 1:6-7
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Thought for the Day: There are some folks who have a wonderful ability to challenge or confront without really upsetting people. It is usually found in their sweet-tempered approach, often beginning with words of celebration or accolades for what has been done as a way of softening things up just a bit. And then, ever so gently, pointing out where some modest modifications might be considered. The Apostle Paul did not take a course on the gentle approach. After speaking beautiful words about the grace of God in the opening verses, he then unleashes on the Galatians. He doesn’t point out some areas for improvement or a place where a slight adjustment could help. He is brutal and straight forward, but that’s because they’ve lost sight of the most central part of the faith. They’ve made (or have followed others who have done so) the Gospel into something it was not, and then followed this “perversion” of the Gospel. Before the pandemic, I was working with a group of folks on writing their own definitions of the Gospel (the Good News). As they read scripture and prayed, experienced the grace of God in worship and fellowship, and as they witnessed the saintly acts of self-giving love, they began to form a short definition of the Gospel, one they could easily expand upon if asked. Too often people use a pithy saying or quote as their definition, but then asked to expound upon it, they are left perplexed because it was never personal. It was more like an academic definition one needed to memorize for some test, but had no personal or intimate witness to offer. Tell me your own story or something you personally witnessed that changed your life, and then tie it back to the Jesus who healed the broken, loved the outcast and subverted the unjust systems of the world. If we want to change the world, we need to offer some genuine Good News that captures the hearts and imaginations of others.

Prayer: Gracious God, there are so many, some intentionally and some unintentionally, who have perverted the Gospel of Jesus. They have used it for the defense of the most unholy and unkind actions. They have twisted it as a way of giving a blessing to the abuse and dehumanizing of the most vulnerable. They have called upon the name of Jesus, and then done unspeakable things in his name. It happens when we, those who claim to follow Jesus, don’t really know him. Help us, Lord God, to know the Jesus-life, and to grow in our capacity to reflect his life in the choices we make each day. It won’t be easy, but we trust your Spirit’s assistance in this work. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 24, 2021
Scripture: Galatians 1:3-5
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Thought for the Day: In these opening remarks from Paul’s Letter, we hear of a Jesus who gave himself for our sins. That phrase, along with a few other scriptural passages, has given birth to dozens if not hundreds of theories of what the self-giving act of Jesus really accomplished. Paul wrote of how this event “set us free from the present evil age,” but there is no explanation or diagram for how that happened. For centuries, people have been putting forth explanations, including that of an angry God who required the death of a perfect sacrifice. This theory has been used and modified many times, yet for most modern day people it raises more issues than it solves. First of all, how can God be an angry God. If Jesus is the visible expression of the invisible God (Colossians 1), and Jesus is love, then how can he also reflect a God who is angry. And what does it say that the God of the Universe, the Perfect One, needs anything. It suddenly makes God dependent, which sounds more like one of the Greek or Roman gods who were basically powerful versions of ideal human beings. Could it be that Paul was less concerned about some system or structure, and was simply expressing the power of love? How this love does its thing is not always clear, but it has the capacity to tear down walls, unshackle those who are heavy burdened and provide freedom of body, mind and spirit. I’ve read many of those theories and explanations, and though some are interesting, I can’t say any of them are really that convincing. But I have seen love, the limitless love of God, truly change a life. I have seen this love expressed unconditionally, and the result was freedom from fear, addiction, hopelessness or some other demonic burden. I am less concerned about the mechanics and more appreciative of the outcome.

Prayer: Good and Grace-filled God, your love is beyond limits. We too often diminish its power and beauty when we attempt to confine it inside some restrictive system by which it is distributed. Let us celebrate your love, and then seek to unleash that love through our own lives. Maybe that’s all you had in mind. Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 23, 2021
Prayer for the Week:
For the people of Afghanistan –
We pray for mercy, Holy One,
as we do not know what else
our prayers should contain
Images from the news
stories in the media
turmoil, fear, repression, suffering
Our hearts break again and again
as hopelessness consumes our thoughts
as a purgatory of despair covers us
Yet what we see
like so many things in life
has a history –
a long complicated painful history
We can help,
we can give to aid organizations
we can come alongside refugees
but it is a complicated historic mess
May those with a vision for true equality
never allow the vision to die
And may we always seek ways
of encouraging this vision
long after this story has dropped
from the news cycle
For the people of Afghanistan,
are your beloved
and their cries shall always be heard.
Amen.

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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
August 22, 2021
Guest Writer: Rev. Mariah Newell
Scripture:1 Corinthians 13:4-8: 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

Thoughts for the Day: One of the simple truths of my faith that comes to mind when I read this passage is something I learned from a Sunday School teacher years ago as a High Schooler. She said, “When you find someone you think you love put their name in the place of ‘love’ in the Scripture and see if the words still sound true. Then, read your own name in the place of ‘love’ and see if you feel confident you are reflecting those words to the person you love.” I’ve held that with me throughout the years. I remember reading Evan’s name in the place of “love” and mine before we first said “I love you” to one another. I’m happy to say I believe Evan and I live up to this on most days…but, of course not all. We’re new to this married reality, but one thing I’ve learned so far and that this Scripture reminds me of is that love has never been about agreeing. Being married, I realize love is, most importantly, remembering that no matter what, you’re on the same team.

Even though we read this Scripture often at weddings and when talking about couples (as I just did), Paul was speaking to a church about their love for one another as a community. Paul often speaks of the church in terms of marriage. In the past year, I think about my relationship to you all so differently. We’re in a marriage of sorts with one another, but also with our God. We may not always agree, but we’ve chosen to be on the same team. Our team has chosen to ‘put love first in all things.’ I can cheerlead for that. I can hang in with moments of discomfort and disagreement for that. I’ve chosen you and you’ve chosen me and Love has and will continue to bond us together.

Prayer:
God who is Love,
Give us all we need to embody love to one another as it is so beautifully described in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. We saw this love modeled in Jesus Christ and now, as the Church, we strive to live this example of love with one another. Be ever present in reminding us, we’re on the same team.
It is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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